Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Beyond Basics- The Art of Casting

 
Beyond Basics- The Art of Casting

Being a caster is more than going to events and collecting spells. As with combat there are skills to learn, strategies to be effective, and a responsibility to follow the rules. This is a series of articles by the Magi of the Realms, designed to encourage the effective, creative, and thoughtful use of magic in the Realms.

So you have a chance to Grandfather…

You might instantly feel like you know whether or not you want to Grandfather. Don’t make a hasty decision. Even if you feel like you adore your spell build, you still might benefit from a little tweaking. If you start out instantly thinking you are going to make significant changes, makes sure you step back and give that impulse decision some additional consideration.

For some there might not be a choice. At times the Event Holder’s Council passes magic system changes that either remove spells from the game or raise where they are in a path and you may have to make changes (unless they raise the circle of a spell you’d already learned in a higher slot). This year that will be the case with Seed of Life. As it moved from 6th to 7th, healers who had previously learned in it 6th (or non-healer 2 paths, who had bought down to it for their 7th) will have to pick an alternate legal spell to Grandfather into.

While spell circles being raised may lead to someone being required to change a spell, the circle a spell is in being decreased doesn’t lead to the same requirement. If you could have learned heal limb in 3rd (you aren’t a healer so you would have to learned it with a 1-cost buy down), there is nothing that makes it illegal to have learned it in your 4th, 5th, 6th or even 7th circle slot. There are many people who have a spell or two learned above where they could learn it (either really loving the spell and wanting more castings, or having many spells in the same circle they want and not being able to fit them in at the lowest possible circle they could have learned them at) but having a spell in a slot higher than it needs to be in can be a waste of resources, so you should at least consider what your other options would be. This year Group Healing, Raise Dead, and Cry of Life moved to a lower circle. You may find that you really like your lower level spells though and not have a spell in your wish list you would be able to learn in you’re the newly freed spot. If that were the case you would likely decide against making changes. So again, think this through thoroughly and don’t make your decision lightly. Higher circle doesn’t always equal better spell.

Historically the main purpose of Grandfathering was to allow players to change their spells to a legal build. Each year the Event Holders vote on if Grandfathering is going to occur. Sometimes it did but it was a Partial Grandfathering, only those who had the specific spells that were removed, had their circle raised, or other specified spells were able to make changes. Other times there was full Grandfathering, meaning anyone can change any current build to any legal build (with no more spells then you already have). This year players can change any spells they wish to, so long as they keep the same path(s). Their new spell progression must of course be a legal build.

Sometimes you imagined a spell build would work better for you than it does, or your character has evolved and what you had for spells no longer suits you (for example you have beckon corpse and have been convinced that necromancy is unnatural). Grandfathering is your opportunity to change your spells to something that will either suit your character better or be more fun to play quickly and easily.

It is good to have a strong sense of who your character is. As you look at spells think about where you get your magic and what you value and believe in. Your spells and paths should reflect that. Professing to be a pacifist and hucking magic missiles doesn’t make sense. That said your character, like you, isn’t static. He or she will change and evolve based on things that happen in game. You also have control of your character's back story and life between events. If you as a player are going to have more fun doing something, you can make it make sense for your character with some creativity. For example, your character who has always been a pacifist returns to their homeland after a stint out adventuring and finds their sister is being brutalized by fiendish local lord, Sir Schlep. You are consumed with anger you can’t contain and it bubbles up within you until it is released in a magical burst of energy killing the bastard. It feels good. You want to keep doing it. Your character knows magic missile and is no longer a pacifist.

Before you can come up with your story though, you need to decide what spells you are going to take. Start by looking through the spell descriptions and writing a list of every spell you are potentially interested in that you can legally have based on your current build/paths. Underline the ones that you consider essential. Write out the best build you can make getting as many of the spells you marked as essential as you can (and don’t be surprised if it isn’t all of them). Create a couple more builds. Keep making builds until you get one or two that you gravitate to. You may want to consider asking members of your country what might be most useful for the group, or more experienced players for feedback at this point and narrow down your choices.

Another item to consider is how your spells fit together. At times you may encounter something that will reset a path of spells. If you’ve learned spells in an order where you have a mix of limited and unlimited spells in multiple paths, you may want to swap around what you can to have and put as many of the limited spells you consider to be “most useful” in one path.

Once you finalize your choices, prepare your new spell book (don’t forget a spell mastery list if you opt to have one). Take time and make sure you really know and understand how to cast any spells that are new to you. Memorize those verbals. Come up with a rationale on why your character’s magic is changing. Then bring both your old and new spell book to the first event you go to where there is grandfathering. Remember you do need to Grandfather at the first event your character attends post the new Omnibus being released and you can only Grandfather once per year, so arrive prepared.

In closing, I want to reemphasize that most important thing to remember when creating your new spell list is that the “correct” Grandfathering choices for you are specific to you. This is about your character and what spells you enjoy. Don’t let anyone else dictate your build, but don’t hesitate to ask any of the Magi for help or advice as you prepare to Grandfather.