Rewriting the Rules- Wizard's Spellbook.

[Waker]

Allo everyone, Waker here with another idea for a homebrew project. A thread from a few weeks ago asked, "What would you change about the Player's Handbook?" And I made my comment.

Wizards- Vancian Casting. Rehaul the spell list though so it's not as bad.
Sorcerer- Power Point Casting. Give them more unique spells. Basically a Psion.
Cleric- Uses Invocations. Include many new ones.
Druid- Uses Binding to assume Nature Aspects.
Paladin/Ranger- Use Incarnate and Totemist influences respectively.
Monk- Swordsage stuff.
Fighter- Warblade stuff.
Rogue- Knick some stuff from Factotum, and maybe Ninja. Assassin stuff?
Bard- Truenaming
Barbarian- Steal some Crusader stuff, specifically Stone Dragon and Devote Spirit, plus Mettle and Delay Damage.
Now, assuming that these are the only classes available, I decided to go about checking through the Wizard's spell list and finding the spells that I find problematic for balancing a party. My intended goal is reducing/raising every class listed until it is T2-4. Eventually I'll post a topic in Homebrew with all of this, but for now I just need some help spotting the somewhat bothersome Wizard spells.

Spells removed:
Calling- All spells of the Calling subschool are removed from the Wizard list.
Teleport-All spells of the teleport subschool above 4th level are removed from the Wizard list.
Polymorph-All spells of the Polymorph subschool are removed from the Wizard list.
Creation-Creation spells are no longer permanent.
Shivering Touch-Allows a Fortitude save.
Contact Other Plane-Removed from the Wizard list.
Arcane Sight-Effect requires Concentration.

[Vaz]

So a Sorcerer is an StP Erudite.

[Perseus]

Spells of the polymorph subschool are fine.

However polymorph and the other core spells that are based on that do not have the polymorph subschool and are broken to high heaven (except for shapechange... It IS a 9th level spell after all).

At least last I checked.

[Waker]

So a Sorcerer is an StP Erudite.

Not quite. I plan on having the Sorcerer use it's own spell list, unique to itself. It will be more of a Psion than an Erudite.
My reasons for going about this rewrite (aside from power balance) is that I've thought it was odd that a spell would show up on the spell list for classes that had completely different power sources and fluff, like Bull's Strength as an example. Or how mechanically speaking there is practically no difference between the various spell types (Arcane vs. Divine, Prepared vs Spontaneous). So Wizards spell casting is more like mini-rituals, Sorcerers shape raw magic, Clerics are conduits for their patrons, Druids adopt aspects of Nature, Paladins are aided by celestial/infernal spirits, Rangers command nature spirits, Bards use Truespeech. Granted there will be some other work done on it, but this is simply a rough draft for now.

As I said before, I need help finding the problematic Wizard spells and shenanigans. I'm aware of certain specific spells, like Astral Projections from personal Demiplanes, but there are just so many spells. Specifically I'm looking for instant-win spells (Freedom of Movement), spells that obviate other classes (Knock, Polymorph subschool), or are just in general annoying for anyone who is not a Wizard to deal with. I'm not looking to completely gut the Wizard class, but making it so they can't play the game by themselves.


Spells of the polymorph subschool are fine.

However polymorph and the other core spells that are based on that do not have the polymorph subschool and are broken to high heaven (except for shapechange... It IS a 9th level spell after all).
I realize that the core spells aren't technically in the subschool, but for this purpose I'm including them. Aside from the fact that they are so incredibly open-ended in power for those who are willing to peruse through the many Monster Manuals or other books, but I'm trying to keep Wizard's strictly book-wielding nerds who reshape reality. If you want to turn into a bear, play a Druid.

[Komatik]

Is your intent more "Druid=>Binder" or "Druid - spells + Pact Magic"?

[Waker]

Is your intent more "Druid=>Binder" or "Druid - spells + Pact Magic"?

The second one. Druidic Magic now entails performing a little ritual, inviting nature spirits to quasi-possess you, which in turn grants some new powers. Druids will no longer have any of the traditional spells that they normally do, rather they have Pact Magic. Druids will still retain Wild Shape as well, though I will possibly drop their Animal Companion. Like I mentioned in the opening topic, this current rewrite assumes that the aforementioned classes are the only ones available. Stuff like Incarnate or Binder don't exist, though others like Beguiler or Warmage may be brought in at a later time. That however is a topic for another time. At the moment I'm more concerned with the Wizard, since they have such a massive list of spells and I definitely don't want to tackle it alone.

[ArcturusV]

I might look at various Wizard Divinations. Like Contact Other Plane. Generally I think of things like that generally belonging more in the Cleric camp. Identify and such being obvious candidates for shifting over to Bard.

Arcane Sight is another one I've had problems with before, as it turns whoever has it (Much less the guy who has it permanently) into a walking radar array against most enemies once you hit a particular level. May not be a problem, but it's one thing that can basically circumvent the Scout/Spotter role.

[Komatik]

Shivering Touch. Charm Person type effects can actually be more bothersome than sheer Domination. Dominate is brutal force and leaves the victim very much aware what was done to him and by whom, while Charm can do nasty things in secret.

Summoning Walls breaks economies.

One bug that ought to be fixed, perhaps, is that you can prepare more than one copy of a spell at a time which makes no damn sense given the flavour of Vancian casting.

Trying to get a bit of a theme going with Wiz/Sorc might also be beneficial - not as specific as, say, the themed Sorc classes, but the style of separation between raw, physical effects and more subtle, manipulative things for example. Wizard magic could have very odd limitations to it, strange rules it works by.

Speaking of Summoning, and getting back to the Druid that I'm more interested in, I'd make Wild Shape an at-will - it becomes close enough very soon anyway. Summoning might be a problem unless bindable Spirits are made specifically for that or the Druid just generally gets the ability to cast SNA. One interesting template might be to bind an animal spirit to get it's properties and to be able to SNA those animals as one spirit ability.

If you're using the Binder progression, please give a second bind out quickly. Normal Binder feels limited, and options are the main thing I play magic-users for.

Talking with critters and plants as passive (Su), perhaps limited to bound spirits again?

I agree with removing the animal companion - better fit for a Ranger.
Totemist Ranger may be a tad too Christmas Tree-y, but I guess that's impossible to escape from in this game.

I'd just make Paladin into Crusader, honestly. Incarnate/Soulborn melds are hilariously unfitting for a great many settings (and tbh make precious little sense anyway) and are even more Christmas Tree than Totemists are. I mean, those at least look like beasthide.

I don't know if Truenaming fits Bards as standard - some Wiz/Bard related PrC or alternate class feature, sure, but I'd probably derive more inspiration from White Raven, 4e Warlord and the like than Truenaming for a general Bard class.

[Perseus]

Not quite. I plan on having the Sorcerer use it's own spell list, unique to itself. It will be more of a Psion than an Erudite.
My reasons for going about this rewrite (aside from power balance) is that I've thought it was odd that a spell would show up on the spell list for classes that had completely different power sources and fluff, like Bull's Strength as an example. Or how mechanically speaking there is practically no difference between the various spell types (Arcane vs. Divine, Prepared vs Spontaneous). So Wizards spell casting is more like mini-rituals, Sorcerers shape raw magic, Clerics are conduits for their patrons, Druids adopt aspects of Nature, Paladins are aided by celestial/infernal spirits, Rangers command nature spirits, Bards use Truespeech. Granted there will be some other work done on it, but this is simply a rough draft for now.

As I said before, I need help finding the problematic Wizard spells and shenanigans. I'm aware of certain specific spells, like Astral Projections from personal Demiplanes, but there are just so many spells. Specifically I'm looking for instant-win spells (Freedom of Movement), spells that obviate other classes (Knock, Polymorph subschool), or are just in general annoying for anyone who is not a Wizard to deal with. I'm not looking to completely gut the Wizard class, but making it so they can't play the game by themselves.


I realize that the core spells aren't technically in the subschool, but for this purpose I'm including them. Aside from the fact that they are so incredibly open-ended in power for those who are willing to peruse through the many Monster Manuals or other books, but I'm trying to keep Wizard's strictly book-wielding nerds who reshape reality. If you want to turn into a bear, play a Druid.

Oh yeah I get you but remember if a player or group reads something and takes it by as written... Then saying polymorph subschool doesn't mean ploymorph spells. Make sure you add in "polymorph spells and spells with the polymorph subschool"

Only you can protect people from countless RAI vs RAW debates *insert smokey the bear*

[Blackhawk748]

Heres my couple of cents. Firstly i dont like wizards, this is a personal thing of mine, im just not a fan of them, but that doesnt mean i dont want them not to suck, though i would laugh for a bit.

Heres what they need to lose, the Orb spells. Yes. Chuck'em. Those were designed for the warmage and wizards found out how awesome they were and then conjuration started doing evocation style stuff.

And i agree that polymorph in and of it self isnt so bad, it can just get ridiculous. I recall that Dragon Magic had a few polymorph style spells that only let you turn into one thing, i think these would be ok as they limit the shenanigans you can do.

[Waker]

If you're using the Binder progression, please give a second bind out quickly. Normal Binder feels limited, and options are the main thing I play magic-users for.

I agree with removing the animal companion - better fit for a Ranger.
Totemist Ranger may be a tad too Christmas Tree-y, but I guess that's impossible to escape from in this game.

I'd just make Paladin into Crusader, honestly. Incarnate/Soulborn melds are hilariously unfitting for a great many settings (and tbh make precious little sense anyway) and are even more Christmas Tree than Totemists are. I mean, those at least look like beasthide.

I don't know if Truenaming fits Bards as standard - some Wiz/Bard related PrC or alternate class feature, sure, but I'd probably derive more inspiration from White Raven, 4e Warlord and the like than Truenaming for a general Bard class.
I most likely won't go with the standard Binder progression. That is something I'll have to think about when I get around to working on the Druid.
As for the Ranger and Paladin, I used the Totemist and Incarnate as an example. I don't intend to simply slap the soulmelds onto the class, I'll alter them a bit to make them more thematic. While I like the Crusader, I would prefer that the Paladin be a bit more supernatural.
As for the Bard doing Truenaming, I felt it was thematic.

I made a few updates to the list. I changed Arcane Sight so that you only detect magic while actively concentrating. Shivering Touch allows a save. Creation spells, like the Walls only last rounds/level.