| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Mar 2007 : 04:43:57
|
I was thinking about wizards and sorcerers and the fact that their default ability is to have a familiar. I know a lot of people aren't really fond of familiars, but with the right spells and feats, they can be quite useful . . . but that's the problem. If you want to have a wizard or sorcerer that relies on a familiar, you can run that kind of character, but otherwise the benefits of this class feature are kind of lost.
Beyond this, if you take some of the alternate class abilities that replace the familiar ability, you get an all or nothing ability in exchange, not one that becomes more potent as you go up in levels the way a familiar does. Ideally, the replacement ability would likewise get more powerful at certain levels, and provide an actual hard choice between getting your normal progression and getting the abilities of whatever class you multi class into.
So, upon thinking about this I tried to figure out what abilities would be a good alternate class feature for Realmsian characters. So I came up with some, and I decided to post them here. Let me know what you think and how you think they balance out.
|
|
|
KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2007 : 04:47:42
|
Alternate Class Features: The Sorcerer
The following abilities replace the ability to summon a familiar at 1st level.
Heritor Sorcerer: Your natural magical bloodline is more apparent that it might be in other sorcerers. You don't form a natural connection with a magical animal, but rather you gain a deeper connection to your own bloodline.
1st level; Sorcerous Inheritance (Feat)
7th level; Sorcerous Inheritance (Feat)
13th; Sorcerous Inheritance (Feat)
Sorcerous Inheritance: To reflect the greater connection to your bloodline, you gain a bonus feat at each of the above listed levels, if you take this alternate class feature. The feats must by taken from the lists that follow.
Heritage Feats (Planar Handbook, Complete Mage, Player's Handbook II)
Heritor Feats (Fiendish Codex I)
Draconic Feats (Complete Arcane, Races of the Dragon, Dragon Magic)
Bloodline Feats (Dragon Magazine Compendium Volume One)
Devil Touched Feats (Fiendish Codex II)
|
Edited by - KnightErrantJR on 19 Mar 2007 03:47:29 |
 |
|
|
KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2007 : 04:59:59
|
Alternate Class Feature: The Wizard
The following ability replaces the ability of the wizard to summon a familiar at 1st level.
Personal Lesser Spell Mantle: You have trained with a master of the Art that is skilled in the use of spell mantles, and they show you how to create a minor spell mantle that is personally keyed to you and cannot be destroyed while you live.
A personal spell mantle does not interfere with spell mantles created by the Create Spell Mantle feat. If a wizard is targeted with a dispel magic while spells are in his spell mantle, they may be dispelled, but this does not permanently harm the spell mantle.
The spell stored in the spell mantle must be cast normally when the wizard prepares his spells for the day, although it remains in the mantle until discharged. A spell may only be placed in the spell mantle if its range is self or touch. Even if the range is touch, the spell can only be cast by the wizard on himself.
The spell discharged from the spell mantle is discharged as a swift action.
At 3rd, 7th, and 15th level each level of spell that can be stored in the spell mantle may be activated as an immediate action instead of a swift action.
At 1st level, the wizard can cast a single 1st level spell into his personal spell mantle.
At 5th level, the wizard can cast a single 1st and a single 2nd level spell into his spell mantle. He may place a 1st level spell in the mantle instead of a 2nd level spell.
At 11th level, the wizard can cast a single 3rd level spell, in addition to a 2nd level and first level spell into his spell mantle. The third level spell may be replaced by a 2nd or 1st level spell if the wizard desires.
1st; Lesser Spellmantle (1st level spell)
3rd; Improved Mantle (Immediate Action Casting of 1st level spell)
5th; Lesser Spellmantle (2nd level spell)
7th; Improved Mantle (Immediate Action 2nd level spell)
11th; Lesser Spellmantle (3rd level spell)
13th; Improved Spellmantle (Immediate Action 3rd level spell) |
|
|
|
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2007 : 15:31:06
|
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Alternate Class Features: The Sorcerer
The following abilities replace the ability to summon a familiar at 1st level.
Heritor Sorcerer: Your natural magical bloodline is more apparent that it might be in other sorcerers. You don't form a natural connection with a magical animal, but rather you gain a deeper connection to your own bloodline.
1st level; Heritor/Bloodline Feat
7th level; Heritor/Bloodline Feat
13th; Heritor/Bloodline Feat
I think this whole subject is great (why should people have to have the familiar ability?), but could you explain this Heritor/Bloodline feat a bit more? |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
|
|
|
Reefy
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
892 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2007 : 21:01:17
|
I'm guessing he means using Bloodline feats from various of the sourcebooks that have featured them, rather than this being a creation of his own. Unfortunately I can't think of what those books are currently.
And I've made a couple of small changes to sorcerers in my game, such as giving them 4 + Int bonus skill points a day. Given a sorcerer's talent is natural, they should have a little more time to learn other things, and as Wizards use Int as their casting stat, they're going to get more skill points anyway. |
Life is either daring adventure or nothing. |
|
|
|
KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 17 Mar 2007 : 21:59:38
|
Yeah, sorry about that. Dragon Magazine published some bloodline feats years ago, and they were reprinted in the Dragon Compendium. The opening bloodline feat of each bloodline basically adds a spell of each level "for free" to the Sorcerer's spell known based on the "theme" of the bloodline. Then there are other feats that "build" on this bloodline from that point on.
A few WOTC products, like the Fiendish Codicies and Dragon Magic, introduced "heritor feats," which are somewhat similar to the bloodline feats from Dragon Magazine.
Must to remember to explain things when I post in the middle of the night, lol. |
|
|
|
Conlon
Learned Scribe
Canada
132 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2007 : 06:46:05
|
| That sounds great. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the books outlining those feats you mentioned. Could you maybe explain them just a little for me? The next session I'm running will definitely include a showdown with a daemonfey sorcerer lvl 10, along with his cronies, and a bloodline thing with him would make perfect sense. Any help making the dude even more interesting would be greatly appreciated. |
My hopes are ashes, my dreams are dust. All my intentions mean nothing unless they are followed by action. |
|
|
|
KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2007 : 14:53:34
|
Without giving away anything in those books, here is a "do it yourself" version of a couple of the feats, so as not to disuade anyone from picking them up.
A Fiendish Bloodline feat gives you one extra "fiendish theme" (i.e. usually evil) spell per spell level that you know as a sorcerer that don't count against your normal limit on spells known. There is a specific list of what these spells are, but for your purposes you can come up with a "fiendish list."
For a second bloodline feat, there is one called Power in the Blood that lets you cast one of your bloodline list spells once per day, in addition to normal spells per day, kind of like a domain spell for a cleric.
Hope that helps some . . . |
|
|
|
Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2007 : 20:35:18
|
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Yeah, sorry about that. Dragon Magazine published some bloodline feats years ago, and they were reprinted in the Dragon Compendium. The opening bloodline feat of each bloodline basically adds a spell of each level "for free" to the Sorcerer's spell known based on the "theme" of the bloodline. Then there are other feats that "build" on this bloodline from that point on.
That's pretty cool, and a welcome change for those who don't always feel like having a pet sidekick. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
|
|
|
KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2007 : 03:22:06
|
I listed all of the sources for "bloodline" type feats in the original entry. After doing that it really makes me wish that they would settle on one name for the "type" of feat that having a particular bloodline is classified under.
Also, anyone have any thougths on the spell mantle ability for wizards? |
Edited by - KnightErrantJR on 19 Mar 2007 03:49:08 |
|
|
|
Sian
Senior Scribe
Denmark
596 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2007 : 07:22:43
|
| i must admit ... eventhough Wizard is (one of) my favorite classes i've never had a Familiar ... once time i had that staff from Dragon (somewhere between 330 and 345) ... and another of mine had one of the ideas from unearthed arcana |
what happened to the queen? she's much more hysterical than usual
She's a women, it happens once a month |
|
|
|
Drunken Master
Acolyte
USA
39 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2007 : 16:14:42
|
KightErrantJR,
Excellent suggestion! I've been wanting to implement something like this for a while into my campaign. I'm not crazy about the spell mantle thing, but the sorcerous inheritance deal is killer. I have officially put it in my "House Rules". Thanks, man! |
Erik Nowak
Graphic Designer, Blackdirge Publishing |
Edited by - Drunken Master on 19 Mar 2007 16:15:32 |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
Alternate Class Features for Wizards/Sorcerers
