Tokiko Mima
2006-12-07, 12:56 AM
Blue Sorcerer
Alignment
Any.
Hit Die
d4.
Class Skills
The sorcerer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). At first level the Sorcerer may also choose 3 skills to be class skills for his Sorcerer levels. These skills may not change when the Sorcerer takes another level of Sorcerer.
Skill Points at 1st Level
(2 + Int modifier) × 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level
2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the sorcerer.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Sorcerers are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor of any type interferes with a sorcerer’s gestures, which can cause his spells with somatic components to fail.
Spells
A sorcerer casts arcane spells which are drawn primarily from the sorcerer/wizard spell list. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or a cleric must (see below).
To learn or cast a spell, a sorcerer must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a sorcerer’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the sorcerer’s Charisma modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a sorcerer can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Sorcerer. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score.
A sorcerer’s selection of spells is extremely limited. A sorcerer begins play knowing four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells of your choice. At each new sorcerer level, he gains one or more new spells, as indicated on Table: Sorcerer Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a sorcerer knows is not affected by his Charisma score; the numbers on Table: Sorcerer Spells Known are fixed.) These new spells can be common spells chosen from the sorcerer/wizard spell list, or they can be unusual spells that the sorcerer has gained some understanding of by study. The sorcerer can’t use this method of spell acquisition to learn spells at a faster rate, however.
Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered sorcerer level after that (6th, 8th, and so on), a sorcerer can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the sorcerer "loses" the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level sorcerer spell the sorcerer can cast. A sorcerer may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level.
Unlike a wizard or a cleric, a sorcerer need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his spells per day for that spell level. He does not have to decide ahead of time which spells he’ll cast.
Spell Conversion
A sorcerer uses magic the way a poet writes a poem, or a singer delivers a song. Given a few moments to prepare his craft, a Sorcerer can convert a spell that he can spontaneously cast into a spell-like ability of the same spell that is usable once and is cast at the sorcerers normal caster level. This consumes a spell slot of that level and can be maintained only until the sorcerer next refreshes his spells. If a metamagic feat raises the spell level of the spell to be converted , a spell slot of the effective spell level must be free and is consumed in order to convert the spell.
The spell-like ability can be used as a standard action and requires no components; either verbal, somatic, material, or focus. If the original spell has an XP cost, that cost must still be paid at the time of casting: this is an exception to the normal rules governing spell-like abilities. If the Quicken Metamagic Feat was applied to the spell being converted, the resulting spell-like ability can be cast as a swift action.You may only convert a number of spells equal to your sorcerer level at any one time.
The amount of time it takes for a sorcerer to convert a spell varies by level. At level 1, a sorcerer takes 5 full rounds to convert a single spell into a spell-like ability. This time decreases by 1 round at 5th level and every 5 levels of Sorcerer taken thereafter, to a minimum of 1 round at level 20. A Sorcerer cannot convert supernatural, extraordinary or other spell-like abilities.
Blue Magic
A Sorcerer does not study magic in the traditional sense that more scholarly casters do. Their learning is intuitive, and this is reflected in their ability at 2nd level to learn from the spell-like abilities of monsters they encounter.
If any creature uses a spell-like ability within 30 feet of the sorcerer or uses a spell like ability on the sorcerer (whether the sorcerer resists the spell or not), the sorcerer is allowed to make a Spellcraft check as a free action (DC is the spells save DC + 5) to learn the spell-like ability. If successful the sorcerer learns and can use three spell slots of equivalent level to convert and prepare an identical spell-like ability that is usable only once, even if the original spell is not on his list of Spells Known. The sorcerer must have at least 3 unused spell slots in order to convert a Blue Magic ability for use.
If a sorcerer cannot cast spells of that level, he cannot convert them into a spell-like ability. Supernatural, Extraordinary, or spell-based abilities cannot be learned in this fashion. The conversion time is identical to normal spell conversion. A Blue Magic spell-like ability requires a standard action to use, unless the original spells casting time was less.
A sorcerer may only know a limit of Blue Magic spells equal to half his sorcerer level. A Blue Magic spell-like ability can be forgotten at any time in order to gain a different Blue Magic ability in it's place. A sorcerer is allowed to know Blue Magic abilities he cannot yet use due to level or slot restrictions.
Increased Spell Conversion Capacity
At 8th level you may add your Charisma modifier to determine the maximum number of spells you can convert to spell-like abilities.
Improved Blue Magic
At 12th level the sorcerer can convert a Blue magic ability at the cost of only two spell slots of equivalent spell level. The sorcerer must have at least 2 unused spell slots of equivalent level in order to convert a Blue Magic ability. A sorcerer now may know a limit of Blue Magic spells equal to half his sorcerer level plus his Charisma modifier.
Spell Conversion Quickness
At 15th level, all spell-like abilities converted using the Spell Conversion feature can be cast as a swift action at the sorcerers option.
Greater Blue Magic
At 18th level the sorcerer can convert a Blue magic ability at the cost of only one spell slot of equivalent spell level. The sorcerer must have at least one unused spell slot of equivalent level in order to convert a Blue Magic ability. Blue Magic spell-like abilities can now be cast as swift actions, regardless of the original spell-like abilities casting time.
Flavor Changes:
I made this variant sorcerer because it bugs me how boring the Sorcerer class can be, when it's supposed to stress being exotic and unique. I wanted a way to reward players willing to stick it out as a Sorcerer to high levels, and to give a hook for Sorcerers to explain why they want to adventure (since they gain spells without having to look for them.)
I dropped the Familiar feat, because it's ineffective as a reason to commit to Sorcerer, and I consider it to be more of a Wizardly class feature anyway. I also added the ability to choose 3 class skills, since the Wizard base class has 9 total more class skills over a sorcerer. Again, the sorcerer must choose his specialty ahead of time, while the wizard generalizes.
A big complaint of sorcerers is that they become too predictable, and it's the Wizards spell flexiblity that allows them to dominate arcane casters. With 10-15 spell-like abilities that aren't tied to spells known and can be traded around and reused, hopefully this is less of a problem. It should also ease up on the penalty sorcerers face during item creation, as they can now cast spells needed generate items without committing themselves to that spell permanently. They just need to find a creature that can cast permanency as a spell-like ability!
This class variant also gives Sorcerers a reason to collect exotic and unusual pets for their spell-like abilities. The blue magic idea came to me when I was trying to create a character to fit the role of a strange pet shop owner with mysterious powers and an assortment of deadly and magical pets. I couldn't get the wizard class to fit the flavor, but sorcerer class as it was didn't explain why she collected her animals.
It also opens the class up to multiclassing with armored type fighters, since a sorcerer willing to prepare spells (from a much smaller spell list) can now cast them as spell-like abilities without incuring Arcane Spell Failure. I don't consider this overpowering, as wizards gain spell levels faster than sorcerers anyway, and all it takes is one extra spell level to use metamagic: Still Spell.
What do you think? Overpowered? Balanced with Wizard flexibility?
Alignment
Any.
Hit Die
d4.
Class Skills
The sorcerer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). At first level the Sorcerer may also choose 3 skills to be class skills for his Sorcerer levels. These skills may not change when the Sorcerer takes another level of Sorcerer.
Skill Points at 1st Level
(2 + Int modifier) × 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level
2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the sorcerer.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Sorcerers are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor of any type interferes with a sorcerer’s gestures, which can cause his spells with somatic components to fail.
Spells
A sorcerer casts arcane spells which are drawn primarily from the sorcerer/wizard spell list. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or a cleric must (see below).
To learn or cast a spell, a sorcerer must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a sorcerer’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the sorcerer’s Charisma modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a sorcerer can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Sorcerer. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score.
A sorcerer’s selection of spells is extremely limited. A sorcerer begins play knowing four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells of your choice. At each new sorcerer level, he gains one or more new spells, as indicated on Table: Sorcerer Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a sorcerer knows is not affected by his Charisma score; the numbers on Table: Sorcerer Spells Known are fixed.) These new spells can be common spells chosen from the sorcerer/wizard spell list, or they can be unusual spells that the sorcerer has gained some understanding of by study. The sorcerer can’t use this method of spell acquisition to learn spells at a faster rate, however.
Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered sorcerer level after that (6th, 8th, and so on), a sorcerer can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the sorcerer "loses" the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level sorcerer spell the sorcerer can cast. A sorcerer may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level.
Unlike a wizard or a cleric, a sorcerer need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his spells per day for that spell level. He does not have to decide ahead of time which spells he’ll cast.
Spell Conversion
A sorcerer uses magic the way a poet writes a poem, or a singer delivers a song. Given a few moments to prepare his craft, a Sorcerer can convert a spell that he can spontaneously cast into a spell-like ability of the same spell that is usable once and is cast at the sorcerers normal caster level. This consumes a spell slot of that level and can be maintained only until the sorcerer next refreshes his spells. If a metamagic feat raises the spell level of the spell to be converted , a spell slot of the effective spell level must be free and is consumed in order to convert the spell.
The spell-like ability can be used as a standard action and requires no components; either verbal, somatic, material, or focus. If the original spell has an XP cost, that cost must still be paid at the time of casting: this is an exception to the normal rules governing spell-like abilities. If the Quicken Metamagic Feat was applied to the spell being converted, the resulting spell-like ability can be cast as a swift action.You may only convert a number of spells equal to your sorcerer level at any one time.
The amount of time it takes for a sorcerer to convert a spell varies by level. At level 1, a sorcerer takes 5 full rounds to convert a single spell into a spell-like ability. This time decreases by 1 round at 5th level and every 5 levels of Sorcerer taken thereafter, to a minimum of 1 round at level 20. A Sorcerer cannot convert supernatural, extraordinary or other spell-like abilities.
Blue Magic
A Sorcerer does not study magic in the traditional sense that more scholarly casters do. Their learning is intuitive, and this is reflected in their ability at 2nd level to learn from the spell-like abilities of monsters they encounter.
If any creature uses a spell-like ability within 30 feet of the sorcerer or uses a spell like ability on the sorcerer (whether the sorcerer resists the spell or not), the sorcerer is allowed to make a Spellcraft check as a free action (DC is the spells save DC + 5) to learn the spell-like ability. If successful the sorcerer learns and can use three spell slots of equivalent level to convert and prepare an identical spell-like ability that is usable only once, even if the original spell is not on his list of Spells Known. The sorcerer must have at least 3 unused spell slots in order to convert a Blue Magic ability for use.
If a sorcerer cannot cast spells of that level, he cannot convert them into a spell-like ability. Supernatural, Extraordinary, or spell-based abilities cannot be learned in this fashion. The conversion time is identical to normal spell conversion. A Blue Magic spell-like ability requires a standard action to use, unless the original spells casting time was less.
A sorcerer may only know a limit of Blue Magic spells equal to half his sorcerer level. A Blue Magic spell-like ability can be forgotten at any time in order to gain a different Blue Magic ability in it's place. A sorcerer is allowed to know Blue Magic abilities he cannot yet use due to level or slot restrictions.
Increased Spell Conversion Capacity
At 8th level you may add your Charisma modifier to determine the maximum number of spells you can convert to spell-like abilities.
Improved Blue Magic
At 12th level the sorcerer can convert a Blue magic ability at the cost of only two spell slots of equivalent spell level. The sorcerer must have at least 2 unused spell slots of equivalent level in order to convert a Blue Magic ability. A sorcerer now may know a limit of Blue Magic spells equal to half his sorcerer level plus his Charisma modifier.
Spell Conversion Quickness
At 15th level, all spell-like abilities converted using the Spell Conversion feature can be cast as a swift action at the sorcerers option.
Greater Blue Magic
At 18th level the sorcerer can convert a Blue magic ability at the cost of only one spell slot of equivalent spell level. The sorcerer must have at least one unused spell slot of equivalent level in order to convert a Blue Magic ability. Blue Magic spell-like abilities can now be cast as swift actions, regardless of the original spell-like abilities casting time.
Flavor Changes:
I made this variant sorcerer because it bugs me how boring the Sorcerer class can be, when it's supposed to stress being exotic and unique. I wanted a way to reward players willing to stick it out as a Sorcerer to high levels, and to give a hook for Sorcerers to explain why they want to adventure (since they gain spells without having to look for them.)
I dropped the Familiar feat, because it's ineffective as a reason to commit to Sorcerer, and I consider it to be more of a Wizardly class feature anyway. I also added the ability to choose 3 class skills, since the Wizard base class has 9 total more class skills over a sorcerer. Again, the sorcerer must choose his specialty ahead of time, while the wizard generalizes.
A big complaint of sorcerers is that they become too predictable, and it's the Wizards spell flexiblity that allows them to dominate arcane casters. With 10-15 spell-like abilities that aren't tied to spells known and can be traded around and reused, hopefully this is less of a problem. It should also ease up on the penalty sorcerers face during item creation, as they can now cast spells needed generate items without committing themselves to that spell permanently. They just need to find a creature that can cast permanency as a spell-like ability!
This class variant also gives Sorcerers a reason to collect exotic and unusual pets for their spell-like abilities. The blue magic idea came to me when I was trying to create a character to fit the role of a strange pet shop owner with mysterious powers and an assortment of deadly and magical pets. I couldn't get the wizard class to fit the flavor, but sorcerer class as it was didn't explain why she collected her animals.
It also opens the class up to multiclassing with armored type fighters, since a sorcerer willing to prepare spells (from a much smaller spell list) can now cast them as spell-like abilities without incuring Arcane Spell Failure. I don't consider this overpowering, as wizards gain spell levels faster than sorcerers anyway, and all it takes is one extra spell level to use metamagic: Still Spell.
What do you think? Overpowered? Balanced with Wizard flexibility?