Would it be disruptive to allow everyone spontaneous spells?

[blackshirt5]

OK, here's a problem I've got in my games. I dislike the prepared spells. I like being able to spontaneously cast, or alternately, having them prepare spells and then have "spells per day" where they cast from the spells they've prepared that day(and not forget the prepared spells; i.e., if they've got Fireball and Lightning Bolt prepared as their level 3 spells, they could cast Fireball once and Lightning Bolt once, or Fireball twice, or Lightning Bolt twice), similar to Arcana Unearthed.

Do you think that it would be unbalanced to allow all casters to work like this? I know it would eliminate the Sorcerer class, which wouldn't bother me much, but I'd like to get other opinions on this before I implement it in my next D&D campaign.

 

[blackshirt5]

And as an added note, I know that at least one of my players likes this idea, as he too hates Vancian magic.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I've played in games run that way with a wizard and a druid.

Both DMs decided around level 6 to change back to prepared spells.

It worked really well up until then - I prevented a TPK with two Soften Earth and Stones (who ever prepares SE&S twice at 4th level?), I cast Guidance, I cast Nystul's Magic Aura...

But around 6th both DMs found that it started to overshadow the non-casters a little too much.

One system another DM used that I really liked was to give all casters an extra spell slot at each level, that could be spontaneously cast with any spell they knew. Alternatives I've seen are to not give an extra slot, but to allow all bonus slots due to high ability scores to function like that, or to allow one prepared spell at each level to be "swapped out" once per day.

All of these systems detract from the sorcerer, but it is really nice to be able to say "Eek! I guess we do need another Mass Heal after all!" or "That's okay, I'll cast Stone to Flesh"...

-Hyp.

 

[blackshirt5]

Hmm; another alternative I might explore is allowing casters to have a spontaneous spell in their arsenals, like how clerics have spontaneous cure or inflict spells, per level, maybe up to 5th spell level; this would allow a bit of flexibility, and those spells could become like signature spells for that particular caster.

 

[DaveStebbins]

Hmm; another alternative I might explore is allowing casters to have a spontaneous spell in their arsenals, like how clerics have spontaneous cure or inflict spells, per level, maybe up to 5th spell level; this would allow a bit of flexibility, and those spells could become like signature spells for that particular caster.

I've seen people tie this into the Spell Mastery feat. All spells which are tied to a caster's spell mastery feat can be cast spontaneously. It gives the feat more oomph, though some think it gives too much. Even gives a reason for divine casters to take the feat occasionally, though it would still be rare.

 

[Gothmog]

Blackshirt5, here is what I have done in my campain for the last 3 years.

Any spellcaster can cast spontaneously. However, I don't have sorcerers anymore, as they are outdated and useless in my system.
Memorized (formulaic) spells work as the PHB says.
A spellcaster may leave any number of slots for any level he has open as spontaneous spells. However spontaneous magic isn't as potent or reliable as memorized magic. Instead, the spellcaster must make a Spellcraft check, with a DC equal to 10 + 2(spell level) +1. So a 2nd level spell is DC15, a 9th level spell is DC39, and a 0-level spell is DC11. In addition, spontaneous spells take effect at two caster levels lower than normal. Finally, spontaneously cast spells can be metamagiced, but the DC is increased by 5 for every extra spell slot the metamagic feat would require. If the Spellcraft DC is missed by 0-5, then the spell fails to work, but the slot isn't lost. If the Spellcraft DC is missed by 6+, the the spell slot is lost for the day.

So far, this has worked really well in our games. The fighter-types are not outdone, since the spontaneous spells are weaker, but it gives spellcasters more versatility. In addition, I find that most spellcasters still memorize about 1/2 their spell slots, for both the added power and its easier to metamagic a memorized spell.

 

[blackshirt5]

Hmm; that sounds like a good idea, maybe I'll try that.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

I don't think spontaneous casting for Wizards is fair to the Sorcerer, as the Wizard has far more spells to pick from at a whim. Granted, I do allow spontaneous casting, but my Wizards are Channelers, so there's a cost association that relates to the benefit and they must have the spell memorized (a cast spell does not "vanish" from memory).

Spontaneous casting for Clerics I don't like, mostly due to the extensive spell list they have combined with their Domain Spells. What I did was remove Spontanous Healing/Wounding and replaced it with Spontaneous Domain Spells. Works fine (and makes far more sense to me and my group).

I haven't had any problems with Druids.

 

[Orius]

I've played in games, both 2e and 3e where characters pretty much spontaneously casted, and it never seemed game-breaking.

The only real problem is how it affects a 3e campaign. If wizards don't pre-memorize, that gives them a big advantage over sorcs. Sorcerers still get more spells per day, but over the long run, the wizard's larger spell repertoire will be more advantageous. I don't really think it matters with clerics vs. sorcs, given that the two classes use different types of spells.

 

[johnsemlak]

If you give wizards some or complete spontaneous casting, and effectively make the Sorceror obsolete, you might consider whether you want your campaigns to have the flavor that a sorceror brings. Or more specifically, the contrast between the Wizard (the academic type arcane spellcaster) and the sorceror (the spellcaster with magic blood flowing through their veins). If this flavor element was very valuable to your campaign, I'd suggest being careful changing the rules.