Merlion said:
If their is a cost it should be only marginaly more than the cost to scribe a spell into your spellbook. I mean mechnacialy your paying a lot for nothing. your paying 1k GP per spell level for a balanced spell. For a good deal less(especialy at lower and mid spell levels) you can buy a scroll of a spell and the materials to scribe it, or better yet for a small anual fee join a guild and be able to trade spells freely or almost freely with memebers. now yes theirs the RP aspects...but I dont think players should be penalized by having to spend lots of money for good RP.
I think you are misunderstanding. Those rules are for CUSTOM spells. Not spells in the PHB, but
brand new spells that ONLY your wizard has!.
And for a wizard competent enough to have those "ah ha" moments based on their use of the magic they do know, how hard is it going to be for them to come up with something that no one else has by the same means? really it should be the same. Or only slightly different...like the same cost as scribing a spell of equal level into your book.
Nope. It's a little concept called "game balance" -- it should cost LOTS of money to exceed the number of spells a "typical" PC Wizard of a given level should have.
If you want something "extra" you have to pay for it. IF it's a PHB spell, buy the scroll and "Take 10" to understand it, then scribe it in your book.
If it's not a published spell, IOW if it's custom, you pay the research costs. You're gettign somethign that, for example,
no other wizard can read from a scroll ... it's not on THEIR class list, it's only on your own custom PERSONAL class list!! Nor could they use a Wand or Staff of that spell, either! If it's a particularly useful spell, and can be made into potions ... until someone else manages to reverse-engineer the spell, you have a window in which to make a LARGE profit (being the only source, most reasonable GMs would agree that, for a couple months at least, you could sell potions of that spell at full price, or more ... depending on the local economy, and how good the spell is, etc).
and again what about sorcerers and bards?
What about them? One chool of thought could have them
utterly screwed when it comes to personal research!
Sorcerors STILL need to use spell components, just like wizards do. Bards, OTOH, would probablyhave to hire other musicians, to assist in working out the right harmonis to generate the magical effect(s) involved. Changing hired help every couple days, ofc, to avoid unintentionally hsaring their new creation.
And why is Divine spell "research" handled in this same way? to me that should really be a totaly different thing.
You're right -- the cleric should ask very very nicely, and the GM should (usually) just say, in the role fo the deity involved: "What? Are you dissatisfied with my blessings? Not good enough for you, eh?
Try living without ANY of them!"
And deny spellcasting, turning, and domain powers for a couple weeks. Sucks to be the impertinant
servant for life of a divine authority.
But, no, again for balance's sake, it's presumed the cleric can buy lots of expensive candles and incense (and possibly mind-altering substances), and meditate / go on vision quests / etc, for the requisite time. The higher the level fo the spell, the longer this process takes.
And it costs a nice, blanket 1,000gp per week of research. Why?
Game balance and mechanical simplicity.
...
I agree. I also think charging a wizard large amounts of money for what could be seen as the same thing is unfair also.
But it's NOT the same thing. As part of the benefits of levelling up, the Wizard is presumed to have earned income sufficient to research -- with guaranteed success -- two spells of his or her choice.
If the Wizard wants two MORE spells, she can either wait for another level, OR, do
extra research, above and beyond what is presumed to be going on "behind the scenes".
Note that "behind the scenes" != "absolutely free of in-character charge" -- like I said, I personally presume that the Wizard is paid an occasional "behind the scenes" fee for some spellcasting service or other, which moneys are (still "behind the scenes") applied towards their
behind the scenes research.
No sorry. Every spellcasting and especialy every arcane spellcaster should be able to create new spells...
If you're BORN with spells in you already (one way to look at sorcerors, IOW, "hell or high water, Bob the Sorceror would have eventually been able to cast <insert spell here>, because it's in his blood." The corrollary to which is, "hell or high water, Bob the Sorceror would never become able to cast <insert spell here>, because it's just not in his blood!"
research develop whatever you want to call it or whatever it is for that class. In fact given how sorcerers are described they should be even more likely to develop unque spells of their own. and why should it take them 1,000gp/spell level of "research" stuiff when their magic is innate?
Because, innately based or spellbook based, Sorcerors and Wizards do the same THINGS when they cast their spells. They use the same gestures, the same words, the same material components, the same costly foci.
Spell research for a sorceror can be seen as the sorceror trying to artificially control their very SOUL, and form it into a desired pattern. This owuld involve much magick, consuming many expensive materials.
Or it could involve lots of incense, mind-altering substances and even ... er ... "ladies of the night" ... if some form of meditative, inwardly-turned form is preferable.
However you dress it up, though -- for game balance purposes, it takes 1 week per spell level to make a roll, and costs 1,000gp per week -- regardless of who's doing it.
Wizards get a "bye" only for their two-per-level, beause to do otherwise would screw the class over, bigtime. Just like sorcerors get a "bye" on their newly-learned spells. It's presumed to be done all "in the background", a.k.a. "behind the scenes" -- both the cost, and the assumed income to PAY for those costs.
