Anyone play a Sha'ir?

[hex0]

They seem like a Sorcerer with much better spell selection and some Djinni/Genie related abilities. Are they a decent class, better than a Sorcerer, or a Middle-Eastern fluff class that only needs proficiency with the Scimitar and a free Magic Carpet to push it into being a total cliche?

[flumphy]

They seem like a Sorcerer with much better spell selection and some Djinni/Genie related abilities. Are they a decent class, better than a Sorcerer, or a Middle-Eastern fluff class that only needs proficiency with the Scimitar and a free Magic Carpet to push it into being a total cliche?

Unless I completely misread the retrieval mechanic, the casting times seem too slow to be worth it, maybe even playable, at low levels. Unless all your encounters for the day always happen within a 3-4 hour span, which I guess may be true for some DMs.

Since the amount of time you can keep spells in your head is equal to your class level in Sha'ir, you'd probably want at least 8 levels in Sha'ir to be safe, potentially 10-12, unless your DM is very forgiving toward rope trick shenanigans. This cuts down somewhat on the amount of room you have to play around with prestige classes, many of which are far better than what you'd gain from Sha'ir.

[sreservoir]

depends on reading of what happens if a spell times out. if you lose the slot, sha'ir suck. if you can replace it after, easily tier 1. take frequently-used spells for knowns, and fetch utility spells on demand.

[hex0]

depends on reading of what happens if a spell times out. if you lose the slot, sha'ir suck. if you can replace it after, easily tier 1. take frequently-used spells for knowns, and fetch utility spells on demand.

You just lost the ability to cast it, not the slot.

[flumphy]

You just lost the ability to cast it, not the slot.

By that interpretation, then yeah, it gets a lot better. I'm not sure that's all that clear, though. The wording is annoyingly vague in places.

[Amphetryon]

Obligatory Iron Chef shill (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10175626&postcount=154). Skills got a bit wonky on me at one point.

There's actually a Handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10153.0) over at BG.

[sreservoir]

You just lost the ability to cast it, not the slot.

the wording is a bit odd, but if that's the ruling, then they're great. they just don't get much support.

[Chilingsworth]

what book is this class in?

[flumphy]

what book is this class in?

Dragon Compendium.

[Sdonourg]

One player plays sha'ir in my PbP game and rather enjoys it. From 1st to 4th level now he had no problems with "spell-wasting".