Ezri said:
I guess my question is then - where scholars intended as a support class? Is there a reason their top skill is a production skill and not combat oriented?
Maybe I should change the title, as rits as they are do come in handy, but the concept of a true "battle caster" is very hard to play in our game without picking up a weapon, which to me, defeats the concept.
Formal Magic is the top skill for people who choose it as their top skill. Prison is a celestial caster's true top skill. Prison is just as effective if not more so than an eviscerate and is definitely more effective than most slays. Whether it "sticks" or not (resist magic/spell shield/dodge vs magic armor/dodge/parry) is another matter and somewhat up to monster desk and strategy. No on is FORCED to take ritual magic. We have a rit caster with a very large column and only a few rit levels. That's the route they chose and in combat they are much more effective than someone who chose the ritualist route.
I would argue that earth scholars are more support/utility casters. But they get to feel the love every time someone yells "life spell".
What was hurting celestial casters, who seem to be designed to be the combat mage, was a severe lack of all day damage. Wands are an effort to change that. And any true balancing effort in the rules can't be predicated on magic items, like the old wands mechanic was. Any balance fix needs to be available to everyone to buy fairly easily.
But to me, choosing to take a lot of formal magic levels isn't much different than someone choosing to take a lot of levels of alchemy or blacksmithing or potion making.
Wands were also made "elemental" as there aren't a lot of elemental blockers out there. Since it's only damage, it's not a one shot take out of the big bad, so it shouldn't necessitate putting more resist magics on creatures. As a caster, I would think it would be less disappointing to know your damage stuck to the monster, even if he gets healed afterwards. Hearing resist gets old after a while.
Scott