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View Full Version : 3.X Specialist Change



Sergeantbrother
2009-01-08, 09:44 AM
I have often thought that perhaps specialist magic users in D&D weren't quite distinct enough from general magic users. I wondered about changing the rules so that specialist wizards learn and memorize spells of their specialty school as though they were one level lower than they actually are and that non-specialty school spells are treated as if they were one level higher?

For example a 5th Necromancer could learn and cast enervation since it counts as a 3rd level spell for him but he would be unable to cast fireball because it would count as a level 4 spell to him.

Would such a thing be balanced?

kamikasei
2009-01-08, 09:55 AM
Would such a thing be balanced?

Heck no. Getting spells two levels early is too good. The schools of magic are not sufficiently well-balanced against one another that there wouldn't be choices you could make where the early access to your specialty school didn't easily balance the late access to others. Conjuration for example would give you direct damage better than your level should have (via the Orbs) plus summoning of monsters with abilities you shouldn't have access to plus teleport at low levels.

Tempest Fennac
2009-01-08, 10:08 AM
Are you familiar with the Gnome Wizard which is mentioned on http://crystalkeep.com/d20/rules/DnD3.5Index-Classes-Base.pdf ? That's pretty much a weaker version of what you want to do (it only gives some Illusion spells early up to level 5, though). The idea would be broken if it attected all spell levels, though.