Simplified Spellcasting

A variant from Pathfinder Unchained for high-level prepared spellcasters who find daily spell selection unwieldy. With simplified spellcasting you track only your 3 highest spell levels as prepared spells; all lower-level slots merge into a flexible spell pool you draw from spontaneously.

Simplified Spellcasting Rules

For a 1st-level wizard who knows only a small handful of spells, it isn't too hard to decide which spells to prepare each day. But a 20th-level wizard could easily have more than 60 spells from which to select — choosing them can eat up quite a bit of time, leaving the other players twiddling their fingers.

With simplified spellcasting, you keep track of only your 3 highest levels of spells, and all the other spells are placed in a pool that you can use on the fly. The pool is more flexible than preparing all the spells in advance, and allows you to save the tricky decision-making for your most important spells. Because this system affects only your 3 highest levels of spells, it doesn't change anything for a character who isn't yet able to cast 4th-level spells.

Using the Table

Find the appropriate progression table for your class (or the table for a class that normally has the same spell progression as your class). Consult the row for your caster level. The 3 highest spell levels in the row each have a listed number indicating spells per day — prepare these spells each day as you normally would; you still gain bonus spells per day for those levels if you have a high enough ability score. The letter P appears in all other available spell level columns (except level 0) to indicate lower-level spells that are cast using your class's spell pool.

The Spell Pool

Each day, you can spontaneously cast a number of lower-level spells from your class's spell list equal to the number listed in the Pool column for your level. The level of spell doesn't matter (as long as it's one of the levels that uses your pool) — if you could cast five spells from your pool per day, it wouldn't matter if you cast five 1st-level spells, five 2nd-level spells, or a mix of the two.

A spell cast using slots from your spell pool must still be on your spell list or in your spellbook, just as it would need to be if you were preparing the spell. It also must meet any other restrictions imposed by your class or other abilities, such as restrictions on casting spells of an opposing alignment.

The slots in your spell pool refresh after 8 hours of rest, and any effect that prevents you from preparing spells also prevents you from refreshing your spell pool.

Ability Score Bonus to Pool

Your pool increases if you have a high spellcasting ability modifier, similar to how you gain bonus spells per day. Add a number of spells to your pool equal to ¼ your spellcasting ability modifier (rounded down). For example, a wizard with an Intelligence modifier of +8 adds 2 extra slots to his pool.

Bonus Spell Options

If your class grants bonus spells selected from an extremely limited list (such as domain spells, spirit spells, or similar), you gain those spells separately from your pool.

If your class grants bonus spells from a somewhat limited list (such as a wizard's specialty school spells), when you gain a pool you gain one additional slot per day usable only for spells of that type, and at 13th level you gain a second additional slot with the same restriction.

Expending Multiple Spell Slots

If you have a class ability that requires expending multiple spell slots (such as a battle oracle's combat healer revelation or a wizard's opposition school), you must expend the appropriate number of slots from your spell pool. For instance, if the necromancer above has conjuration as an opposition school, he could expend two slots from his pool to cast summon monster II.

Simplified Spellcasting Tables

P = spell level uses the pool  |  — = spell level not yet available  |  Numbers = spells prepared per day normally

Table 4–1: Magus or Warpriest

Table 4–2: Cleric, Druid, Shaman, Witch, or Wizard

Special Rules

Other Spellcasters

Though spontaneous casters can use this system, they gain relatively little benefit — they already don't need to select which spells to prepare in advance, and their spell slots are comparable in number to those they would have using a spell pool.

This system doesn't apply to spellcasters such as paladins and rangers, who gain only 1st- to 4th-level spells, since they have so few spell slots that they don't run into the same problems other spellcasters do.

Metamagic

Pearls of Power & Runestones

A pearl of power can be used only to regain a spell slot of a level you prepare normally — it cannot restore slots to your spell pool.

Conversely, a runestone of power (Advanced Class Guide 234) can allow the caster to cast a spell without expending a slot from his pool. The spell must be both of a level the runestone can restore and of a low enough level to be part of his spell pool rather than a prepared spell.