Quote:
Originally Posted by
OldTrees
I am trying to balance an at-will caster. Please help. Thank you in advance.
- requires high Wis to cast spells
- gets Cha modifier for spell DCs
- Can cast spells spontaneously at will
- If the learn spells as an wizard
- Can choose form any list
(Fullcaster spell level -> unchanged) Ex. Magic Missile Wiz 1st -> 1st
(Halfcaster Pal/Rgr/Ass spell level -> x2) Ex. Holy Sword Pal 4th -> 8th
If this thing truly learns spells like a wizard (complete with "scribing"), you are suggesting a class that effectively gets every single spell of up to a certain spell level at will. There is apparently no cost for casting the spells and the only penalty is a bit of MAD.
If I understood properly, this class makes (approximately) 90% of all other classes worthless and is going to be tier 1. Even if you never get the higher spell levels, the tier system is based on adaptability more than power and having access to hundreds of splatbooks of spells lets you deal with pretty much any problem (to a greater or lesser extent) even if you are limited to low-powered spells. Surprisingly, there aren't many problems that can
only be fixed with a high level spell.
Putting that aside, the biggest problem that you're going to have is with the first 4 levels or so of this class. If your guy starts with level 1 spells at will, it will have an advantage over both the wizard and the sorcerer and less optimized members of almost any class. If your guy starts with 0 level spells, you'd probably need to give some other class feature at 1st level to balance things out, something that would likely make this class even more powerful in the long run. If you delay casting until level 4, you will similarly need to put something in those first 3 levels, giving this guy an unecessary boost.
If I were trying to design the class, I'd have it so that your spells start with spell slots per day when you first get them but that they become unlimited as time goes on. In fact, this is what I'd suggest as a progression list
Unlimited class
{table=head]
Level|
0lvl|
1st|
2nd|
3rd|
4th|
5th
1st|u|1
2nd|u|2
3rd|u|2
4th|u|u|1
5th|u|u|1
6th|u|u|2
7th|u|u|2
8th|u|u|u|1
9th|u|u|u|1
10th|u|u|u|2
11th|u|u|u|2
12th|u|u|u|u|1
13th|u|u|u|u|1
14th|u|u|u|u|2
15th|u|u|u|u|2
16th|u|u|u|u|u|1
17th|u|u|u|u|u|1
18th|u|u|u|u|u|2
19th|u|u|u|u|u|2
20th|u|u|u|u|u|u[/table]
u= unlimited uses per day.
On top of that, I would put a hard rule limiting players to 2 spells known per level. Lastly, give this guy a bad bab, a d4 HD, cast all spells as arcane, and give no other class features and you've got a class to your basic qualifications that isn't
that powerful.