Should I allow this? (duskblade knowing all spells in spell list)

[NekoJoker]

Ok, quick balancing question for the Playgrounder Overmind

Would it break the game if I let the Duskblade have a full knowledge of it's spell list? How about I do the same with the Warmage? How about something like a Hexblade?

This has been around my mind for some time already, I mean, the beguiler knows it's whole spell list and it goes up to 9th level spells... so having the Duskblade (a primary melee type) know all the spells in it's list (which only goes as high as 5th level) is a very cool fix... I am worried about balance issues, it does seem powerful...

The reason behind this fix is just because the actual process of leveling up a character and carefully choosing it's spells is long and troublesome and I want to run a fast-paced campaign... In particular I want to run the Age of worms campaign, it seems really combat-heavy and the PC seem likely to level up as the adventure goes (even before finishing the first chapter the Whispering Cairns) So I was thinking... wouldn't it be nice to save myself the trouble and bookeeping if everything was set beforehand?
So i thought of giving my players-to-be some characters that do not need much optimization or bookeeping, specially when it comes to choosing spells and such. I find classes that already know their spell lists like the beguiler would work well with this... and so i want to put it to use with other classes.

Oh Mighty Playground i call to thee for help!

[Cog]

I can think of nothing that would change if the Warmage knew its entire list. Nothing at all. :smallbiggrin:

The Duskblade is often said to be on the tier 3/4 border as is. Giving it full knowledge would put it more squarely in 3, making sure it still has access to the maneuverability and defensive options without cutting into potential damage. That should be fine.

[TehLivingDeath]

Not sure about Duskblade, but Warmage does know all the spells of it's list.

[Etrivar]

Not sure about Duskblade, but Warmage does know all the spells of it's list.

I think he means changing it to a spontaneous caster while retaining the full spell knowledge, so that he has 24/7 access to all his spells, as long as he hasn't run out of slots.

Am I right, Neko?

[Cog]

I think he means changing it to a spontaneous caster while retaining the full spell knowledge, so that he has 24/7 access to all his spells, as long as he hasn't run out of slots.

Am I right, Neko?
That's still just already what the Warmage has. If you want to give it a boost, give it more instances of Advanced/Eclectic Learning.

[Godskook]

Duskblade doesn't have anything too gamebreaking, and giving it more spells known won't really improve it too much. Should make it more solidly to the tier 3 side if its really on the border right now.

[Metahuman1]

I though Duskblade was a spontaneous caster who knew his whole spell list?

If he's not, then no, you can safely add some more touch attacks and some of the not inherently broken Buffs (I'm looking at you Polymorph.) and it will at absolute best get too strong T3, which is where Warblade sits and Warblade is not a game breaker.

Edit: Making him know his whole spell list and have spontaneous casting won't break it either, even if done in conjunction with the above.

[Allanimal]

The reason behind this fix is just because the actual process of leveling up a character and carefully choosing it's spells is long and troublesome and I want to run a fast-paced campaign...

The duskblade, after first level, gets 1 spell known per level, from a short list. Level up won't take too long, IMHO. By giving them the whole list, you run the risk of each and every combat taking longer, from the player trying to decide which spell to cast rather than concentrating on the few the PC knows. This will slow down a fast-paced campaign more, IMHO, than the spell choice at level up.

If anything, I would relax the mechanic for swapping out known spells, just in case the player picks a clunker.

[faceroll]

The duskblade, after first level, gets 1 spell known per level, from a short list. Level up won't take too long, IMHO. By giving them the whole list, you run the risk of each and every combat taking longer, from the player trying to decide which spell to cast rather than concentrating on the few the PC knows. This will slow down a fast-paced campaign more, IMHO, than the spell choice at level up.

If anything, I would relax the mechanic for swapping out known spells, just in case the player picks a clunker.

I just count to ten and skip their turn.

[Coidzor]

I am worried about balance issues, it does seem powerful...

It's not going to increase the power of the duskblade significantly, as any actual combos could already be obtained anyway.

Also, this is probably the number one houserules/homebrewed tweaks of WOTC classes in terms of how pleasing the idea is to me. <_< >_>

[DeAnno]

The Duskblade spell list is pretty small and junky anyway, they won't be tier 2 (or even high 3 really) with this. Go for it if you have other tier 3s or higher around.

The Hexblade actually has some interestingly good stuff on its list (various invis, solid fog, mirror image, various utility spells, etc), and this would probably be a nice little boost for the career Hexblade. I don't really know much about Hexblades, but I don't think this would really move them up from tier 4, and they certainly wouldn't be any better than an all-spell Duskblade.