Person_Man
2014-07-10, 02:57 PM
I'm unhappy with the current 5E Wizard. A potential solution I've been thinking about for a while is to institute true Vancian casting, as in, spellcasting that is based on how magic actually works in the Dying Earth novels by Jack Vance.
Each spell has one fixed purpose. (No "open ended" spells like Gate). Spells must be prepared in advance of actual use, and each prepared spell can be used only once before needing to be prepared again. Magic users can memorize only a very small number of spells at any given time, around 1 to 6. Spells automatically scale with the ability of the caster, but more powerful spells take longer to memorize. You can't memorize the same spell more then once. Spells are jealously guarded secrets, and you can't buy scrolls or any other equivalent at a magic mart. You either learned them from another magic user, took it from them, or spent years researching them. There were a very limited number of spells in the world, perhaps only a 100 spells left known in the world (though at one point, its rumored that their were many more). Spells were extremely powerful and awesome. If you cast the right spell at the right time and had sufficient ability in doing so, you basically solved whatever problem it was directed at. You can instantly kill a creature with the right spell, create life, be completely protected from harm for a short period of time, transport yourself across the planet, etc. So your choice of which spells to memorize was really important. Magic users weren't weak/squishy by default. They were adventurers, tricksters, and/or powerful sages.
Add in cantrips and take out Arcane Recovery and other resource breaking class abilities, and you get a pretty interesting class. And you don't even have to rewrite any of the 5E rules other then the class itself.
True Vancian Caster Wizard
Hit Points:
Hit Dice: 1d8 per class level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per class level after 1st
Proficiencies:
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons plus the hand crossbow.
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Perception, and Religion.
Level
Class Abilities
Cantrips
Max Spells Memorized
Max Spell Level
1
Cantrips, Spellcasting, Ritual Spells
4
1
1st
2
Arcane Tradition
4
2
1st
3
-
5
2
2nd
4
Ability Score Increase
5
3
2nd
5
-
5
3
3rd
6
Arcane Tradition
6
3
3rd
7
-
6
3
4th
8
Ability Score Increase
6
4
4th
9
-
6
4
5th
10
Arcane Tradition
7
4
5th
11
-
7
4
6th
12
Ability Score Increase
7
5
6th
13
-
7
5
7th
14
Arcane Tradition
8
5
7th
15
-
8
5
8th
16
Ability Score Increase
8
6
8th
17
-
8
6
9th
18
Spell Mastery
8
6
9th
19
Ability Score Increase
9
6
9th
20
Signature Spell
9
6
9th
At 1st level you have 4 at-will Cantrips, and gain additional spells according to the chart above. You can choose new Cantrips with a Long Rest.
At 1st level you can memorize 1 spell, and can memorize addition spells according to the chart above. You start with access to 1st level spells, and gain access to higher level spells according to the chart above. Memorizing spells takes 10 minutes of uninterrupted meditation per spell level, during which time you may not do anything other then studying your spell book or resting. You may choose to memorize any spell you know in the highest spell slot you are capable of casting, or any lower level slot that is capable of holding the spell if you want to memorize it more quickly. You can't memorize the same spell more then once at the same time, and if you memorize new spells any currently active spells that you cast immediately end.
Spell Mastery: Choose two 2nd level or lower spells that are currently in your spellbook. You can cast these spells at-will using their normal casting time at their lowest spell level without the need to memorize them or expending a spell slot. By taking a Long Rest, you can exchange one or both of the spells for different spells in your spellbook of 2nd level or lower.
Signature Spell: Choose one 3rd level or lower spell that is currently in your spellbook. You can cast this spell at-will using its normal casting time at their lowest spell level without the need to memorize them or expending a spell slot. By taking a Long Rest, you can exchange this spell for a different spells in your spellbook of 3rd level or lower.
As per a normal Wizard, you can also cast Ritual spells strait from your spellbook with a casting time of 10 minutes if you do so at their base spell level, or you can memorize them normally. Concentration and Spellbook rules also exist as normal.
Time spent meditating to memorize spells counts towards time needed to take a Short or Long Rest. For example, if you memorize two 3rd level spells (30 minutes each) you also benefit from taking a Short Rest if you choose, without having to sleep or meditate for an additional 1 hour. However, if you do not complete the minimum amount of time needed for a complete Rest, the time spent meditating cannot be saved and applied to a future Rest. For example, if you spend 30 minutes meditating to memorize a spell and then start to adventure again, you cannot apply that 30 minutes to a future Rest.
New spells have to be found through adventuring. You don't automatically learn new ones when you gain a level. (Though it's possible that you could find spells you're not capable of casting before you gain the appropriate level). You can research a spell with enough down time, but this is at DM discretion.
Other then Arcane Renewal (which you don't get because its a terrible mechanic) and the slightly modified Spell Mastery/Signature Spell (I made them stronger by making them at-will without the need for rest or memorization), you gain every other Wizard class ability, your chosen subclass abilities, and Ability Score Increases just as a normal Wizard does according to the chart above.
Thus a first level Wizard gets four Cantrips and one 1st level Spell that he can change out or replace with 10 minutes of rest, plus Rituals. A 20th level caster gets nine Cantrips, some at-will low level spells from Spell Mastery and Signature Spell, and six 9th level memorized Spells, but it takes you 90 minutes per 9th level spell to memorize new ones (or you can memorize lower level spells more quickly if you want), plus all his other Arcane Tradition class abilities. The net result is that low level memorized spells are basically Encounter abilities, but as you gain levels and spells become more powerful, they basically become a Daily resource. If you pick the right spells for the right situation and are willing to use your very limited memorized spell resource, then you can basically win the encounter, because you always have the highest level of spells at your disposal and don't have to keep track of a lower level spells you don't use. But if you don't pick the right spell or want to conserve the resource, you still have a solid number of at-will cantrips and any Rituals you have to fall back on, as well as Simple weapons.
Thoughts?
Each spell has one fixed purpose. (No "open ended" spells like Gate). Spells must be prepared in advance of actual use, and each prepared spell can be used only once before needing to be prepared again. Magic users can memorize only a very small number of spells at any given time, around 1 to 6. Spells automatically scale with the ability of the caster, but more powerful spells take longer to memorize. You can't memorize the same spell more then once. Spells are jealously guarded secrets, and you can't buy scrolls or any other equivalent at a magic mart. You either learned them from another magic user, took it from them, or spent years researching them. There were a very limited number of spells in the world, perhaps only a 100 spells left known in the world (though at one point, its rumored that their were many more). Spells were extremely powerful and awesome. If you cast the right spell at the right time and had sufficient ability in doing so, you basically solved whatever problem it was directed at. You can instantly kill a creature with the right spell, create life, be completely protected from harm for a short period of time, transport yourself across the planet, etc. So your choice of which spells to memorize was really important. Magic users weren't weak/squishy by default. They were adventurers, tricksters, and/or powerful sages.
Add in cantrips and take out Arcane Recovery and other resource breaking class abilities, and you get a pretty interesting class. And you don't even have to rewrite any of the 5E rules other then the class itself.
True Vancian Caster Wizard
Hit Points:
Hit Dice: 1d8 per class level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per class level after 1st
Proficiencies:
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons plus the hand crossbow.
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Perception, and Religion.
Level
Class Abilities
Cantrips
Max Spells Memorized
Max Spell Level
1
Cantrips, Spellcasting, Ritual Spells
4
1
1st
2
Arcane Tradition
4
2
1st
3
-
5
2
2nd
4
Ability Score Increase
5
3
2nd
5
-
5
3
3rd
6
Arcane Tradition
6
3
3rd
7
-
6
3
4th
8
Ability Score Increase
6
4
4th
9
-
6
4
5th
10
Arcane Tradition
7
4
5th
11
-
7
4
6th
12
Ability Score Increase
7
5
6th
13
-
7
5
7th
14
Arcane Tradition
8
5
7th
15
-
8
5
8th
16
Ability Score Increase
8
6
8th
17
-
8
6
9th
18
Spell Mastery
8
6
9th
19
Ability Score Increase
9
6
9th
20
Signature Spell
9
6
9th
At 1st level you have 4 at-will Cantrips, and gain additional spells according to the chart above. You can choose new Cantrips with a Long Rest.
At 1st level you can memorize 1 spell, and can memorize addition spells according to the chart above. You start with access to 1st level spells, and gain access to higher level spells according to the chart above. Memorizing spells takes 10 minutes of uninterrupted meditation per spell level, during which time you may not do anything other then studying your spell book or resting. You may choose to memorize any spell you know in the highest spell slot you are capable of casting, or any lower level slot that is capable of holding the spell if you want to memorize it more quickly. You can't memorize the same spell more then once at the same time, and if you memorize new spells any currently active spells that you cast immediately end.
Spell Mastery: Choose two 2nd level or lower spells that are currently in your spellbook. You can cast these spells at-will using their normal casting time at their lowest spell level without the need to memorize them or expending a spell slot. By taking a Long Rest, you can exchange one or both of the spells for different spells in your spellbook of 2nd level or lower.
Signature Spell: Choose one 3rd level or lower spell that is currently in your spellbook. You can cast this spell at-will using its normal casting time at their lowest spell level without the need to memorize them or expending a spell slot. By taking a Long Rest, you can exchange this spell for a different spells in your spellbook of 3rd level or lower.
As per a normal Wizard, you can also cast Ritual spells strait from your spellbook with a casting time of 10 minutes if you do so at their base spell level, or you can memorize them normally. Concentration and Spellbook rules also exist as normal.
Time spent meditating to memorize spells counts towards time needed to take a Short or Long Rest. For example, if you memorize two 3rd level spells (30 minutes each) you also benefit from taking a Short Rest if you choose, without having to sleep or meditate for an additional 1 hour. However, if you do not complete the minimum amount of time needed for a complete Rest, the time spent meditating cannot be saved and applied to a future Rest. For example, if you spend 30 minutes meditating to memorize a spell and then start to adventure again, you cannot apply that 30 minutes to a future Rest.
New spells have to be found through adventuring. You don't automatically learn new ones when you gain a level. (Though it's possible that you could find spells you're not capable of casting before you gain the appropriate level). You can research a spell with enough down time, but this is at DM discretion.
Other then Arcane Renewal (which you don't get because its a terrible mechanic) and the slightly modified Spell Mastery/Signature Spell (I made them stronger by making them at-will without the need for rest or memorization), you gain every other Wizard class ability, your chosen subclass abilities, and Ability Score Increases just as a normal Wizard does according to the chart above.
Thus a first level Wizard gets four Cantrips and one 1st level Spell that he can change out or replace with 10 minutes of rest, plus Rituals. A 20th level caster gets nine Cantrips, some at-will low level spells from Spell Mastery and Signature Spell, and six 9th level memorized Spells, but it takes you 90 minutes per 9th level spell to memorize new ones (or you can memorize lower level spells more quickly if you want), plus all his other Arcane Tradition class abilities. The net result is that low level memorized spells are basically Encounter abilities, but as you gain levels and spells become more powerful, they basically become a Daily resource. If you pick the right spells for the right situation and are willing to use your very limited memorized spell resource, then you can basically win the encounter, because you always have the highest level of spells at your disposal and don't have to keep track of a lower level spells you don't use. But if you don't pick the right spell or want to conserve the resource, you still have a solid number of at-will cantrips and any Rituals you have to fall back on, as well as Simple weapons.
Thoughts?