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.