Talk:Battlecaster, Tome (3.5e Class)

DON'T DELETE

AHHHH!!!! I just finished writing the class, and it still says it'll get deleted.

The reason levels 13-20 are empty is because I wanted to make the class 12 levels long, but give the spellcasting opportunity to continue in the case that someone takes this to a spellcasting PrC.

Is there any way I can get it off the "to be deleted" list? --For Valor 05:25, July 31, 2010 (UTC)

Might be better to move the advanced spell progression (13-20th level) to another table. I'm not sure why it has the delete template applied; maybe the person who put it up will come and explain what they think is wrong. --IGTN 06:27, July 31, 2010 (UTC)

The incomplete template is not a deletion notice by itself. It was added when there wasn't anything on the page, which has since been filled in. It's just saying it's still incomplete, is all. Fluff sections would be nice, even though they might not be necessary since with have the lines to keep them off the page if they are unwanted or unfinished.

I'm confused as to why there is a spellcasting progression here at all, since this class is basically intended to be used with Tome rules (hence the "Tome" bit). With the spheres and such (which basically have their own progression of spellcasting, having another table seems unnecessary unless the regular spellcasting is an alternative and not in addition to the spheres. - TG Cid 13:41, July 31, 2010 (UTC)

It looks to me like the Spheres are supposed to be spells known, not spell-like abilities. Casting them eats spell slots from your spell progression. --IGTN 14:01, July 31, 2010 (UTC)

Ah, I see. In retrospect, I probably should have read it more thoroughly instead of assuming it operated in the same fashion as a regular sphere. I'm still of the opinion that making it function as regular spheres would alleviate some of the potential complications that come up with this class having its own spellcasting progression. Especially since the spells are so limited, it seems to function a great deal like a warlock to me but with no eldritch blast and a host of limitations that come from having spell slots. - TG Cid 19:39, July 31, 2010 (UTC)

Well, I'm trying to make a flexible casting class (at creation) that could specify in a variety of things. I don't want SLAs to be the main casting ability because of their annoyingly linear progression, and also because it looks less like a caster and more like a guy with SLAs (which it is.) and I'm trying to write up the class for someone who is getting into spellcasting. I want it to look as much like a casting class as possible.

The spell slot recharging mechanic is also in there to make casting viable constantly (so you're not a wizard who casts color spray 1/day and then sucks the rest of the time.) With a very limited spell list, but theoretically infinite castings per day (and possible minor panic in the middle of the battle when your recharge is based on whether or not you make one of your attacks).

However, I want to keep the class features going beyond level 12 and I want to fill in the crappy levels where all you get is a sphere/field/domain ability. Do you guys have any recommendations? --For Valor 03:57, August 1, 2010 (UTC)

Getting a sphere doesn't really seem like a crappy level to me, since you get access to every spell on that list based on how high your character level is, which means under normal Tome rules your spells known is automatically progressed regardless of what levels you take before or after entering this class. I also think (but am in no way sure) that higher access to spheres comes with each new sphere you receive (so if you have three spheres in total you would have Expert Access with your first sphere, which is all usable at will if I remember correctly, Advanced Access with your second Sphere and Basic access with your third. So the progression using the normal Tome spellcasting rules is far quicker and less complex than the one provided here, hence my initial consternation at the spellcasting table. This also allows you to not have to waste a turn recharging your spells and just continue on as usual, making the class much more streamlined and actually Wizard-level. If you want to keep the recharging and still ditch the table, you can make it so you can recharge one of the sphere SLA's that is only available once per day, thus compensating for the obvious limits in your spell list. Just for the sake of reference, I got my info on spheres from the Tome of Fiends, so I'm not sure if you're following that or something else.

The only problem that I could foresee with this tactic (but you already essentially have it anyway) is the limits of the spell list, which basically straightjackets you into a couple of spells early on. This is bad because it takes away from a great deal of ther versatility that wizards enjoy (and what makes them Wizard-level), thus making them similar to sorcerers in concept but even more limited in practice. To remedy this, I might include an ability that allows the Battlecaster to temporarily swap out a current Sphere for another one of your choosing, or maybe even temporarily giving you another sphere with basic access (say, for one round per level) which solves your versatility problem and gives you a few more spells to boot. - TG Cid 12:33, August 1, 2010 (UTC)