PDA

View Full Version : 3.5 Innate Spellcasting



Falontani
2020-10-27, 05:40 PM
Sorcerer:

Sorcerers cast spells through innate power rather than through careful training and study.

As noted in the Monster Manual, creatures with innate spellcasting abilities, such as dragons, do not require material components to cast their spells. If a spell has a focus, however, a dragon or other innate spellcaster must have the focus on its person. Dragons can use the Embed Spell Focus feat to satisfy this requirement.

Sometimes a creature can cast arcane or divine spells just as a member of a spellcasting class can (and can activate magic items accordingly). Such creatures are subject to the same spellcasting rules that characters are, except as follows.

A spellcasting creature that lacks hands or arms can provide any somatic component a spell might require by moving its body. Such a creature also does need material components for its spells. The creature can cast the spell by either touching the required component (but not if the component is in another creature’s possession) or having the required component on its person. Sometimes spellcasting creatures utilize the Eschew Materials feat to avoid fussing with noncostly components.

A spellcasting creature is not actually a member of a class unless its entry says so, and it does not gain any class abilities. For example, a creature that casts arcane spells as a sorcerer cannot acquire a familiar. A creature with access to cleric spells must prepare them in the normal manner and receives domain spells if noted, but it does not receive domain granted powers unless it has at least one level in the cleric class.

Sometimes a creature can cast arcane or divine spells just as a member of a spellcasting class can. Such a creature can activate magic items accordingly. It’s subject to the same spellcasting rules that characters are, except as follows.

A spellcasting creature that lacks hands or arms can provide any somatic component a spell might require by moving its body. Such a creature still needs material components for its spells. The creature can cast the spell either by touching a required component that isn’t in another creature’s possession or by having the required component on its body. Spellcasting creatures sometimes utilize the Eschew Materials feat to avoid having to use some material components.

A spellcasting creature isn’t actually a member of a class and doesn’t gain any class features unless its description says otherwise.

Couple of questions here!
1. According to the Sorcerer quote above, does a sorcerer indeed count as an innate spellcaster and follow the rules detailed in the second two quotes?
2. Draconomicon is explicitly saying that innate spellcasters do not need to use material components, and that some spellcasting creatures utilize the eschew materials feat specifically because they still need to use material components. Rules Compendium backs up the Monster Manual, so the question is, is Draconomicon just wrong, or does it take precedence for Dragons?

KillianHawkeye
2020-10-27, 06:01 PM
As to your first question, IMO the sorcerer descriptive text and the section from the Draconomicon are using the word "innate" to mean slightly different things. The quotes you provided from the Monster Manual and the Rules Compendium do not use that word, but it appears in the Draconomicon to refer to that same phenomenon (creatures who can cast spells without actual levels in a spellcasting class).

If the sorcerer were not intended to need material components, that information would be in the Player's Handbook.

sreservoir
2020-10-27, 07:55 PM
I'd put my money on the Draconomicon author just misreading "also does need" as "does not need". It's an easy misreading to make; I made it while looking it up and had to reread the passage a few times to figure out how that was supposed to be distinct from requiring the material components if they had to be touched or carried anyway.

Draconomicon is wrong, and since it expressly defers to the Monster Manual, it's doesn't seem to be making an exception. Monster Manual is otherwise the primary source for how racial spellcasting works.

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2020-10-27, 08:12 PM
The portion you've cited from the Sorcerer class is flavor text, not rules text, and has no bearing on what rules apply or don't apply to that class. Sorcerers are spellcasters by virtue of being a member of the class, which means they don't follow the rules regarding innate spellcasters.

Falontani
2020-10-27, 10:21 PM
It is what I expected; I just had to check.