Quote:
Originally Posted by eftexar
I would think that with the smaller spell list and weaker spells you should just let players to cast any spell from their list at will without preparing. Furthermore I think that familiars are usless xp destroyers (sorry for the bluntness, but I feel really strongly about that). They really aren't that useful as written. The class as it is right now is weaker than the paladin. It also needs some unique touches too, so you could take down too birds with one stone. What about a progression of special abilities that players can choose from (maybe 4 of them in a pattern) and maybe an animal companion instead of a familiar?
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1 - Spontaneous spellcasting, huh? Hmmmm, let that sink in for a while. Might be a good change.
2 - Don't worry, you were not blunt
But I think you're forgetting about a familiar's strongest ability:
share spells. With that, characters able cast
Polymorph (like adepts and shrine warriors) can essentially turn their familiar into something really big, like a 12-headed pyrohydra, while turning themselves into something equally big, like a Fire Giant, with a single spell. If you also chose something like the Strength domain, you're just one standard action away from
Righteous Might, which will affect both you and your familiar. Then you can proceed to win the internet
In this, both familiars and animal companions are similar, since they both have
share spells, but familiars end up being slightly better because they get to keep their increased Intelligence while under
Polymorph, even if they are somewhat worse otherwise. Familiars are more "burst damage", if it were, while animal companions are more "lasting strength". Reading me write about it, though, this DOES sound like an optimizer's rant, which is okay for playing and DMing, but not for class designing... This class would classify for the
Unearthed Arcana's Simple Sorcerer/Wizard Variant, though. A half-class level animal companion might be good enough, since I don't want this to be too strong.
3 - About the special abilities, this is a nice idea! Those Bonus Feats are there more to keep the class more interesting on the long run, but they can easily be replaced (or complemented). Would you care to elaborate?
Anyways, thank you very much for the critiques, eftexar!