Domain Wizard

[Yogibear41]

Are a Domain Wizards spells automatically added to his spellbook or does the domain wizard simply "know" the spells and does not need a spellbook to prepare them?


"A domain wizard automatically adds each new domain spell
to her list of known spells as soon as she becomes able to cast it."

Is the only thing UA says on it.

[Yael]

Are a Domain Wizards spells automatically added to his spellbook or does the domain wizard simply "know" the spells and does not need a spellbook to prepare them?


"A domain wizard automatically adds each new domain spell
to her list of known spells as soon as she becomes able to cast it."

Is the only thing UA says on it.

You add them to your spellbook, because with the exception of Read Magic, every spell should be prepared from a spellbook. This is what I think.

EDIT: Also the way I rule/play it.

[Fouredged Sword]

As a DM, I have treated them as spells you can scribe into a spellbook by memory.

[Diarmuid]

@FeS - But do you make the wizard pay the 100gp per page for those spells? The spells automatically gained at level up are normally exempted from that requirement.

[Fouredged Sword]

Not the first time.

Now, the real issue becomes when exactly they gain the ability to cast those spells. A wizard 6 with the spontanious divination can cast the next level up domain spell, as he explicitly has it as a spell known, so long as he can cast it. Now, he can't cast it until it's a spell known. Nice bit of circular logic there.

[Slipperychicken]

I'd probably let a wizard get his domain spells as part of his 2 freebies per level. If he doesn't want to blow freebies for the domain spells (maybe he wants to use them for more obscure spells?), then he'll need to acquire them normally.

[Kazudo]

It's kinda tough to call. In the past, however, my DMs (and I, when I DM with a Domain Wizard in the party) have ruled pretty much that it just appears in their spellbook when they go up, independent of the 2 free spells.

[Diarmuid]

Kaz - that's likely how I would rule it if I were to be DM'ing and someone wanted to play a Domain Wiz.

[Kazudo]

Kaz - that's likely how I would rule it if I were to be DM'ing and someone wanted to play a Domain Wiz.

It's at this point that I'd bring up that they're giving up soooooo much by giving up the ability to specialize. And in a LOT of cases that's completely and totally true. At the same time, though, the only time our groups (and myself specifically) have used that particular ACF, it was being weighed against the rest of the party using things like Whirling Frenzy Pouncing Barbarians and Shapeshifting Druid Warshapers and other such things, so it makes sense in context as far as which ruling to go with.

Another way I've seen it played (not by my group or me personally, of course) was to say that the character simply can forego the spellcraft check to put it into their spellbook. The money may still be needed to convince another wizard the right to copy from their spellbook, but the skill check's not necessary. (Though in a high-op game, not many wizards would fail or even need to make said check).

[Slipperychicken]

(Though in a high-op game, not many wizards would fail or even need to make said check).

If by "high op", you mean "wizards preparing the Read Magic (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/readMagic.htm) spell now and then", I suppose you're right. For the copying bit (DC 15+spell level), if you've got a wizard who has a good Int score (14 or higher) and maximum ranks in Spellcraft (and slap the wizard's player across the face with a DMG if he somehow doesn't), he should be able to Take 10 and ace that check every single time.

[Kazudo]

Hence why I pretty much just call it a freebie for the Domain wizard. There are far better ACFs out there for Specialist wizards, depending on what the end-goal of the character creation is concerned, so one free spell and slot per level isn't an incredible unbalanced burden.

[Rebel7284]

The only things I can think of that may add more power as a specialist wizard than a domain wizard are Abrupt Jaunt and Rapid Summoning. Also Domain Wizard + Elven Generalist = lol.

[Yogibear41]

Not really going for a high-Op game at all, friend is just playing a wizard and decided he was not going to specialize because he didn't want to give anything up, so I just suggested to him to take the Domain Wizard because he wasn't losing anything for doing it since he wasn't going to specialize anyway, and only have 2 1st level spells a day at level 1 would be rather crappy for him.