Warmange from Complete Arcana ... um WOW.

[Wraith-Hunter]

I was just looking at Complete Arcane and saw the Warmage. d6 Hit die armored casting and a boat load of known spells AND spontaneous casting. 10-11 at 1st level

vs

Unearthed Arcana Battle sorceror d8 hit die cleric BaB but gets his feet cut out from under him with spells. Less known spells 1 @ first level (lvl 1) And less spells per day.

All the other spell casting classes I've seen have spell lists but you have to learn a small number of them.

Makes it nearly pointless to play a blaster type sorceror. I'm sure this has been beaten to death but it is the first I have looked at it. Sure a blaster type sorceror gets alittle more in the way of utility spells but makes me wonder what they were thinking to give Warmages every known spell on their list AND spontaneous casting. Even Clerics and Druids need to prepare all but cure/summon spells.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Warmange: he has really bad hair!

 

[WarlockLord]

Ahh...but blasters are weak without metamagic cheese, and splatbooks such as the Spell Compendium ignore warmages all the fricken' time.

 

[Evilhalfling]

Yes, but even a blaster sorcerer can choose to do something else.
Warmages get no buffs for others, no utility spells.

and they loose out at higher levels to indirect spells, greater invis, teleport, limited wish, gate,
They are just artillery, and I think they would grow boring compared to a regular caster.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

they are strong but not diverse, and thus they will never be as good as the casters in core

 

[Thurbane]

They are just artillery, and I think they would grow boring compared to a regular caster.

...sound like the Warlock...

 

[Wraith-Hunter]

Granted they lack versitility but it was surprising to see them get the whole spell list as known. Seems to go against every class prc WotC has published.

 

[shilsen]

Granted they lack versitility but it was surprising to see them get the whole spell list as known. Seems to go against every class prc WotC has published.

The beguiler (PHB2) has precisely the same mechanic.

 

[FireLance]

The beguiler (PHB2) has precisely the same mechanic.

As does the dread necromancer (Heroes of Horror). The warmage was the first, though.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

I don't have personal experience with warmage, but I have both a beguiler and a dread necromancer in my game, and I've not had any problems "know the whole list and spontaneous cater" thing.