I've been thinking that spell DCs on some of my spells are a bit...low for this server.

For instance Maximized Chain Lightings and Flame strikes have a DC of 22 (And that's with 25 wis and a +7 modifier). Very rarely do I find any of my spells striking for their full potential. (The DC on Destruction is roughly the same I don't even bother with it.)

The same goes for spells with wis Saves (Undeath to Death, hammer of God.)

Most of the monsters on this server have fairly high saves...I was wondering if we could get the base DCs on spells jacked up a bit?? (Maybe have the DC= Character's Level + Stat modifier?) Would be a bit more realistic.

Wholeheartedly agreed. The whole appeal of status magic is lost on this server. I cast Phantasmal Killer three times on a deer once to no effect whatsoever.

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Capitalization is the difference between "I had to help my uncle Jack off a horse" and "I had to help my uncle jack off a horse..."

I will look at phantasmal killer, I have not modified it. The DCs are unchanged from the standard. If I need to look at some of the creatures saves let me know which ones. So I can make sure it is balanced for the level of the creature.

Also, many creatures have some form of elemental protections, make sure you right click and examine a creature you may get some useful info about what will harm it.

Also look at the spell changes sign, at higher levels I have characters who do well over 120 Damage with chain lighting.

In my opinion I think every single spell needs its minimum DC bumped by four points.

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Capitalization is the difference between "I had to help my uncle Jack off a horse" and "I had to help my uncle jack off a horse..."

I like the idea of basing the DC on caster level as suggested above, frankly, any spell that is a save or nothing effect is hard to depend on in a fight.

I think raising the DCs wouldn't make most of the tougher encounters a push-over. That's what natural monster resistances to damage are.

Also, consider that Spellcasters only get a limited number of times they can cast the same spell over before then run out of spell slots.

For example it took me 3 maximized flame strikes to kill the lizardman sorceress (That's about half the amount I'm capable of casting at this point). (She had a Base Reflex DC of 27)

Usually when Flamestrike or chain lightning gets reflex (at level 24.I know CL goes higher but bear with me) The damage I do is 60 per target (And that's maximized, anything not maximized of course can do lower damage) 20d6 maxed is 120 cut in half with reflex save is 60.

In perspective a melee character can do more damage in a round with crits/buffs due to mulitple attacks.

60 Damage doesn't amount to muchu against a 500 HP opponent and there goes a valuable spellslot (As I said I get about 6 max FLamestrikes and 6 Maxed Chain lightnings using my level 8 and 9 spell slots)

So as a Offensive caster I can spend all my offensive spells 2 or 3 groups of mobs depending on the mobs in order to kill them. As a result usually I sit back and watch my Mummy rush in kill things once I'm out of spells or if I'm saving them.

I'd like to reiterate we only get a limited number of offensive spells a day...lets make em count!

Okay a normal DC is calculated like this.

10 + the spell level + your primary stat bonus. Int for Wizards, Chr for sorc and Wis for Druid and Cleric.

+ your spell focus for the school of magic if you have those feats.
Spell focus +2
Greater spell focus +4
Epic spell focus +6

using the chain lightning example.
Chain Lightning is a 6th level spell.

to see what it is capable of I'm going to assume your 40th level with a 40 prime stat. Just for ease of calculations.

The DC will be 31 (10 + 6 + 15 = 31). this can be raised by taking the feats spell focus, greater and epic, by +6, to a 37. (with this the lizard women only has a 50/50 chance of saving)

Normal damage: 30 - 180 average of 90 save for 45.
Maximised: 180 save for half is 90.
Empowered: 45 - 270 average of 135 save for 70.

A lizard Women Sorcereress is a spell caster they are going to have high saves versus spells. Lizardmen in general are agile and have good reflex saves. Not to mention she is considered a boss type creature. She is also a 25th level creature with an unadjusted CR of 40, meaning you should need to be 40th level with standard gear to take her down in a one on one fight.

I would rather not make a change to the basic engine such as basing the DC off of your level. this would have several effects to game balance.

1. NPCs can be 60th level, ohh you will never make your save against them.
2. This will make it harder for spell casting classes to multiclass if they want a nice DC for their spells.

As it is now you can maximise your DCs, for one school of magic, by about 24th level probably 21st really. Excluding your prime stat bonus. So that way it is now makes caster classes more flexible with multiclassing.

If I need to adjust the saves of some creature that I can do.

When you distract your spellcaster with other classes, then their spells will suffer. That's what the spell focus and spell penetration feats are for. If you have a wizard/fighter, then the character will only ever be a half-decent fighter that can do half-decent magic. In that case they should concentrate more on the defensive spells because they've used the time they could have used to learn how to control a fireball on sword practice instead. I don't mind adding a few levels of spellcaster to my fighters or a few levels of another class to my spellcasters, but I know something has to be traded off somewhere. On that, I can sort of understand why a sorceress or bard can't take paladin or blackguard levels, even if the bonuses they get from the high Charisma aren't all that much in the long run, but why forbid a wizard from being a paladin like it says on the sign at the start ?

the thought behind the class restrictions is purely RP

no god would want you seeking your own power over his/hers which is what an arcane user is, a self powered spell caster. It takes away from your devotion to you deity.

Its the way I have always done things

One of my favorite builds is actually a Wiz/PM/Cleric but it is just not right in an RP environment like Arcana.

So, there isn't a god of magic that the best sign of devotion to would be learning to use magic ?

My cleric/sorceress was a priestess of Mystra, that made RP sense to me and it made for a reasonably rounded character that wasn't overpowered at all.

Yeah no god of magic here. This mod is a conversion of my PnP world and is not connected to any other D&D setting.