Re: The well balanced sorceror...

Hong Ooi wrote:

> >> Sorcerers are generally 'bang for your buck' casters.  They should out
> >> do a wizard at it.  Unfortunately they don't make versatile casters,
> >> that's what wizards are supposed to do.
> >
> >IM(somewhat limited; not many people play arcane casters in our games)E, 
> >in practice, exactly the opposite happens.
> >
> >Due to his limited number of spells per day, the wizard is likely to use 
> >up all his slots for stuff he knows he'll use, like magic missile or 
> >haste, leaving just a few (if any) of his slots open. OTOH, a sorcerer is 
> >always ready to cast any of the spells he knows.
> >
> >It seems to me that while the wizard is more likely to *be able* to cast 
> >spells like feather fall or stone shape or knock, the sorcerer is much 
> >more likely to actually *cast* them (assuming he knows them), as the 
> >wizard has most likely loaded up on fireballs, instead of spending slots 
> >on knock, for which he might not have had the need.
> >
> >Obviously, this depends most on the type of game one runs/plays in: if 
> >the wizard can usually know what sort of obstacles expect, or if the 
> >campaign is light on combat, the wizard has less reason to load up 
> >exclusively on the mainstay spells. But in our games, which are usually 
> >pretty combat-heavy, it's actually the sorcerer that gives the impression 
> >of being more versatile.
> 
> A smart sorc player will also know how to choose spells to maximise utility
> both in and out of combat.

This is where I think it's easy to go wrong and fall to the temptation to 
pick the "same" spells over and over again. But you don't really need 
fireball if you have scorching ray and you don't need scorching ray if 
you have magic missile. Obviously, you need to upgrade your spells 
*sometimes*, but I think it's worth the slight decrease in if don't just 
pick the next version of the spell you have at first opportunity, but 
instead pick something that fills a different role.

The telekineticist in our party went wrong here, IMO, picking all the 
concussions (lesser, improved, greater) in sequence, and now it feels as 
if his list was even more restricted than it really is.

> And when they get 7th level spells, limited wish
> gives them all the flexibility they need, albeit at a slight cost in XP.

This is another reason why I want to try playing the mystic from 
Dragonlance. As a sorcerer-style caster with the cleric list, come 18th 
level (it's a wait, but still...) and miracle, you get to cast *any* 8th 
or lower level spell whatsoever with no XP cost at least 3 times per day. 
Talk about versatility.

> (Aside: whoever says 3.5E haste will never get used is talking out of their
> hat. In the last session, the sorc used it 3 times in 3 battles. And a
> tide-turner it was, too; in one battle, the fighter made one attack roll
> due to the extra +1 to hit, and got missed because of the +1 to AC; it's
> likely they won without any casualties because of that.)

<shrug> When we heard about 3.5 haste, everyone in my group (of course, 
the wizard especially) whined that it was nerfed into uselessness. They 
still cast it in almost every time.


-- 
Jasin Zujovic
[EMAIL PROTECTED]