Haphazzard Casting, Thoughts?

[Higgs Boson]

Yeah, why dont we just go w/ stargate's idea and put it in with base spellcraft that governs scrolls, etc. ooh! maybe we can add in some sort of bonus mana for ranks in base spellcraft, because that shows that the wizard is skilled in harnessing arcane energy.

[Stargate525]

Yeah, why dont we just go w/ stargate's idea and put it in with base spellcraft that governs scrolls, etc. ooh! maybe we can add in some sort of bonus mana for ranks in base spellcraft, because that shows that the wizard is skilled in harnessing arcane energy.

*ahem*

ugh. More numbers to keep track of, more of everything...

I had another thought. What if the maximum spell level was tied to the number of ranks in the governing skill?

[Higgs Boson]

hmmm...that could work, maybe something like the (ranks+ability mod)/2? or maybe not...i dunnno....to tired to do math. but yeah, i think we should go for that.

[Stargate525]

hmmm...that could work, maybe something like the (ranks+ability mod)/2? or maybe not...i dunnno....to tired to do math. but yeah, i think we should go for that.

That means at first level, you could be learning and casting third level spells...

[Higgs Boson]

well, yes. *looks at part after equation*

[Stargate525]

sleepiness is NO EXCUSE! :-p

[Higgs Boson]

So, to review,
 

SKill based spellcasting*spellcraft skills for each school, (Conj, abj, ench, illusion, evoc, necro, trans, and div)*divine skillls (domains, and regular divine)*the long thing about learning spells in the first few posts*and, finally, mana points as given in some SRD or other thingy.

[Stargate525]

I had a thought about adjusting the level of spells depending on what caster you were.

 [th]Class[/th][th]Bard[/th][th]Cleric[/th][th]Druid[/th][th]Paladin[/th][th]Ranger[/th][th]Sorc/Wiz[/th][th]Bard[/th][th]Cleric[/th][th]Druid[/th][th]Paladin[/th][th]Ranger[/th][th]Sorc/Wiz[/th]

+0	+2	+1	+2	+2	+1
+2	+0	+1	+1	+2	+2
+2	+1	+0	+2	+0	+2
+2	+1	+2	+0	+3	+3
+1	+2	+0	+3	+0	+2
+1	+1	+1	+3	+2	+0

Those are just off the top of my head. The left column is the class you are, and the table is the level increase spells take from being on a particular list.

[Higgs Boson]

Umm..kinda confused ovr here...what is this chart?

[Stargate525]

Ok, I'll give an example, as that's probably the best way to demonstrate.

Tim the Wizard wants to learn and cast Warp Wood, the second level druid spell. He consults the chart, going across along the sorc/wiz line until it intersects with the Druid column. That number is the 'level adjustment' that the spell has. Tim will have to learn Warp Wood as a third level spell sue to the fact that it's not on his original spell list.

It solves the problem of a casting class becoming uber off of spells it was never designed to cast, but I see a couple problems with this that need to be smoothed out. It doesn't take into account spells that are on multiple lists, nor does it explain why Tim's casting of the above spell will have duration, saves, and DCs appropriate for a third level spell, making his casting more powerful than a druid's. It might make more problems than it solves, but I decided to at least put it up there.

[Higgs Boson]

I see now. Heh heh...Clerics with Permanency and Wish...heh heh

[Ra-Tiel]

@Stargate: you are right that this would make spells from other lists inherently more powerful (higher base save DCs, able to penetrate globes of invulnerability, et al) - something I guess you didn't intend.

However, why not - instead of increasing the spell's level - impose a [significant] penalty to its caster level? This would probably work with most spells off the box, and only leave those to "manually correct" that create effects not based on casterlevel.

[Higgs Boson]

hmm..yes that would work better. I think you should just change the + to a - and subtract another 1 or 2.

[Ra-Tiel]

Just something else that came to my mind: there is a problem with some spell lists. Eg the bard has several spells on a lower level than the wizard. While it has some consequences (lower saves, most likely), it would still allow a wizard to gain access to powerful spells earlier than intended. Even with the lower casterlevel, I'm not so sure about this.

[Stargate525]

Well that can be solved by setting some rules for selecting duplicates, such as a caster uses the version on his spell list first, then the one that is his type (arcane/divine). If neither of those apply, then you use the highest level version there is.

Seems like the best way to balance it to me.