Spontaneous Wizard variant

[noparlpf]

Yup, that's right. I prefer the Sorcerer for flavor and all, and I just prefer being able to pick spells whenever I want to instead of having to prepare them daily. Therefore, how about applying the Spontaneous Caster variant from Unearthed Arcana to the Wizard? You get the same spells/day and spells known as a Sorcerer, but you get bonus feats! (Yes, I realize that the variant in question is intended for divine casters. But why not use it for arcane casters? The mechanic is exactly the same, they just have different spell lists.)

[Seerow]

So you want a sorcerer with bonus feats, so you can call it a wizard?

[noparlpf]

Not really. I've homebrewed other "fixes" for the Sorcerer before. I just generally prefer to stay more or less within the rules. This is mostly within the rules, and I like the Sorcerer better than the Wizard both for flavor and mechanic.

[Thurbane]

There's already a couple of ACFs that help Wizards be (partially) spontaneous: Spontaneous Divination (CC) and Proteus (EE). Not to mention the Alacritous Cogitation and Uncanny Forethought feats.

...although that's not exactly what the OP is looking for, I guess.

[Redshirt Army]

Well if that's the flavor you want, I really have to recommend the Psion. Int based, (more versatile than) spontaneous casting, gets bonus feats, and its flavor can easily be changed.

[noparlpf]

I've looked at the Psion before, but I'm more experienced with arcane spells, so I'm not sure I want to try a Psion yet. I really just posted this because I was feeling silly and since I'm home for the summer and my brother's away I have nobody to tell my silly D&D ideas to.

[ericgrau]

What if we came up with some sort of homebrew hybrid. Hmm, how about no preparation but Vancian casting, wizard progression. You can, however, swap 1 spell per day from your spellbook so you can still say "Ok, I'll prepare one of those tomorrow instead of X", without redoing your entire spell list. Keep the wizard bonus feats. In exchange for the limitation on spell swapping, you can (optionally) leave one spell slot blank per spell level. Any time you cast a spell you can expend the blank slot of the same level instead of that spell.

So now instead of preparing haste twice you prepare haste + blank. Then if it turns out you need 2 sleet storms instead you're also ready to go for that. It's an advantage over a wizard who doesn't like to swap his spell lists too much, at the least.

[noparlpf]

You know, despite the fact that I like it more, I don't find the Sorcerer quite as plausible. At high levels, they know lots of spells. All by memory. I can hardly remember half the spells on my spell list at a time when I play one, and that's after a few sessions. (Of course, I spend my education studying Chemistry, not magic. That could be the difference.)

[Dr.Epic]

This still sounds a lot like just a sorcerer with bonus feats.

[noparlpf]

But it's (largely) RAW! The only exception you have to make is to generalize the Spontaneous Divine Caster to Spontaneous Prepared Caster.

[Divide by Zero]

This still sounds a lot like just a sorcerer with bonus feats.

And more skill points, since it's Int-based now.

[Psyren]

Use Spell Points (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/spellPoints.htm); your wizard is now spontaneous. You still have to prepare spells, but you don't have to try and guess how many of a given spell you'll need per day. (In other words, you only have to prepare a spell once,then you can spend as much "mana" on it as you like; e.g. prepare Dispel Magic once and you can spam it.)