The Soulriders Wizard

[Dracos]

Wizard
Alignment:Any.
Hit Die:d4.
Class Skills:
The wizard's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) ×4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: The Wizard Level    Base Attack Bonus    Fort Save    Ref Save    Will Save    Special    Spells per Day 0    1st    2nd    3rd    4th    5th    6th    7th    8th    9th
1st    +0    +0    +0    +2    Summon familiar, Scribe Scroll    3    1    —    —    —    —    —    —    —    —
2nd    +1    +0    +0    +3       4    2    —    —    —    —    —    —    —    —
3rd    +1    +1    +1    +3       4    2    1    —    —    —    —    —    —    —
4th    +2    +1    +1    +4       4    3    2    —    —    —    —    —    —    —
5th    +2    +1    +1    +4    Bonus feat    4    3    2    1    —    —    —    —    —    —
6th    +3    +2    +2    +5       4    3    3    2    —    —    —    —    —    —
7th    +3    +2    +2    +5       4    4    3    2    1    —    —    —    —    —
8th    +4    +2    +2    +6       4    4    3    3    2    —    —    —    —    —
9th    +4    +3    +3    +6       4    4    4    3    2    1    —    —    —    —
10th    +5    +3    +3    +7    Bonus feat    4    4    4    3    3    2    —    —    —    —
11th    +5    +3    +3    +7       4    4    4    4    3    2    1    —    —    —
12th    +6/+1    +4    +4    +8       4    4    4    4    3    3    2    —    —    —
13th    +6/+1    +4    +4    +8       4    4    4    4    4    3    2    1    —    —
14th    +7/+2    +4    +4    +9       4    4    4    4    4    3    3    2    —    —
15th    +7/+2    +5    +5    +9    Bonus feat    4    4    4    4    4    4    3    2    1    —
16th    +8/+3    +5    +5    +10       4    4    4    4    4    4    3    3    2    —
17th    +8/+3    +5    +5    +10       4    4    4    4    4    4    4    3    2    1
18th    +9/+4    +6    +6    +11       4    4    4    4    4    4    4    3    3    2
19th    +9/+4    +6    +6    +11       4    4    4    4    4    4    4    4    3    3
20th    +10/+5    +6    +6    +12    Bonus feat    4    4    4    4    4    4    4    4    4    4
Class Features

All of the following are class features of the wizard.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Wizards are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, and quarterstaff, but not with any type of armor or shield. Armor of any type interferes with a wizard's movements, which can cause her spells with somatic components to fail.
Spells

A wizard casts arcane spells which are drawn from the sorcerer/wizard spell list. A wizard must choose and prepare her spells ahead of time (see below).

To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, the wizard must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a wizard's spell is 10 + the spell level + the wizard's Intelligence modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a wizard can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Wizard. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Intelligence score.

Unlike a bard or sorcerer, a wizard may know any number of spells. She must choose and prepare her spells ahead of time by getting a good night's sleep and spending 1 hour studying her spellbook. While studying, the wizard decides which spells to prepare.
Bonus Languages

A wizard may substitute Draconic for one of the bonus languages available to the character because of her race.
Familiar

A wizard can obtain a familiar in exactly the same manner as a sorcerer can.
Scribe Scroll

At 1st level, a wizard gains Scribe Scroll as a bonus feat.
Bonus Feats

At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level, a wizard gains a bonus feat. At each such opportunity, she can choose a metamagic feat, an item creation feat, or Spell Mastery. The wizard must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including caster level minimums.

These bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. The wizard is not limited to the categories of item creation feats, metamagic feats, or Spell Mastery when choosing these feats.
Spellbooks

A wizard must study her spellbook each day to prepare her spells. She cannot prepare any spell not recorded in her spellbook, except for read magic, which all wizards can prepare from memory.

A wizard begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level wizard spells (except those from her prohibited school or schools, if any; see School Specialization, below) plus three 1st-level spells of your choice. For each point of Intelligence bonus the wizard has, the spellbook holds one additional 1st-level spell of your choice. At each new wizard level, she gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new wizard level) for her spellbook. At any time, a wizard can also add spells found in other wizards' spellbooks to her own.
School Specialization

A school is one of eight groupings of spells, each defined by a common theme. If desired, a wizard may specialize in one school of magic (see below). Specialization allows a wizard to cast extra spells from her chosen school, but she then never learns to cast spells from some other schools.

A specialist wizard can prepare one additional spell of her specialty school per spell level each day. She also gains a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks to learn the spells of her chosen school.

The wizard must choose whether to specialize and, if she does so, choose her specialty at 1st level. At this time, she must also give up two other schools of magic (unless she chooses to specialize in divination; see below), which become her prohibited schools.

A wizard can never give up divination to fulfill this requirement.

Spells of the prohibited school or schools are not available to the wizard, and she can't even cast such spells from scrolls or fire them from wands. She may not change either her specialization or her prohibited schools later.

The eight schools of arcane magic are abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, and transmutation.

Spells that do not fall into any of these schools are called universal spells.
Abjuration

Spells that protect, block, or banish. An abjuration specialist is called an abjurer.
Conjuration

Spells that bring creatures or materials to the caster. A conjuration specialist is called a conjurer.
Divination

Spells that reveal information. A divination specialist is called a diviner. Unlike the other specialists, a diviner must give up only one other school.
Enchantment

Spells that imbue the recipient with some property or grant the caster power over another being. An enchantment specialist is called an enchanter.
Evocation

Spells that manipulate energy or create something from nothing. An evocation specialist is called an evoker.
Illusion

Spells that alter perception or create false images. An illusion specialist is called an illusionist.
Necromancy

Spells that manipulate, create, or destroy life or life force. A necromancy specialist is called a necromancer.
Transmutation

Spells that transform the recipient physically or change its properties in a more subtle way. A transmutation specialist is called a transmuter.
Universal

Not a school, but a category for spells that all wizards can learn. A wizard cannot select universal as a specialty school or as a prohibited school. Only a limited number of spells fall into this category.
Familiars
Familiar    Special

   1. A raven familiar can speak one language of its master's choice as a supernatural ability.
   2. Tiny viper.

Bat    Master gains a +3 bonus on Listen checks
Cat    Master gains a +3 bonus on Move Silently checks
Hawk    Master gains a +3 bonus on Spot checks in bright light
Lizard    Master gains a +3 bonus on Climb checks
Owl    Master gains a +3 bonus on Spot checks in shadows
Rat    Master gains a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves
Raven1    Master gains a +3 bonus on Appraise checks
Snake2    Master gains a +3 bonus on Bluff checks
Toad    Master gains +3 hit points
Weasel    Master gains a +2 bonus on Reflex saves

A familiar is a normal animal that gains new powers and becomes a magical beast when summoned to service by a sorcerer or wizard. It retains the appearance, Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, skills, and feats of the normal animal it once was, but it is treated as a magical beast instead of an animal for the purpose of any effect that depends on its type. Only a normal, unmodified animal may become a familiar. An animal companion cannot also function as a familiar.

A familiar also grants special abilities to its master (a sorcerer or wizard), as given on the table below. These special abilities apply only when the master and familiar are within 1 mile of each other.

Levels of different classes that are entitled to familiars stack for the purpose of determining any familiar abilities that depend on the master's level.
Familiar Basics

Use the basic statistics for a creature of the familiar's kind, but make the following changes:
Hit Dice

For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher.
Hit Points

The familiar has one-half the master's total hit points (not including temporary hit points), rounded down, regardless of its actual Hit Dice.
Attacks

Use the master's base attack bonus, as calculated from all his classes. Use the familiar's Dexterity or Strength modifier, whichever is greater, to get the familiar's melee attack bonus with natural weapons.

Damage equals that of a normal creature of the familiar's kind.
Saving Throws

For each saving throw, use either the familiar's base save bonus (Fortitude +2, Reflex +2, Will +0) or the master's (as calculated from all his classes), whichever is better. The familiar uses its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn't share any of the other bonuses that the master might have on saves.
Skills

For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master's skill ranks, whichever are better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability modifiers. Regardless of a familiar's total skill modifiers, some skills may remain beyond the familiar's ability to use.
Master Class Level    Natural Armor Adj.    Int    Special
1st-2nd    +1    6    Alertness, improved evasion,
share spells, empathic link
3rd-4th    +2    7    Deliver touch spells
5th-6th    +3    8    Speak with master
7th-8th    +4    9    Speak with animals of its kind
9th-10th    +5    10    
11th-12th    +6    11    Spell resistance
13th-14th    +7    12    Scry on familiar
15th-16th    +8    13    
17th-18th    +9    14    
19th-20th    +10    15    
Familiar Ability Descriptions

All familiars have special abilities (or impart abilities to their masters) depending on the master's combined level in classes that grant familiars, as shown on the table below. The abilities given on the table are cumulative.
Natural Armor Adj.

The number noted here is an improvement to the familiar's existing natural armor bonus.
Int

The familiar's Intelligence score.
Alertness (Ex)

While a familiar is within arm's reach, the master gains the Alertness feat.
Improved Evasion (Ex)

When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.
Share Spells

At the master's option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his familiar. The familiar must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit.

If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the familiar if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the familiar again even if it returns to the master before the duration expires. Additionally, the master may cast a spell with a target of "You" on his familiar (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself.

A master and his familiar can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the familiar's type (magical beast).
Empathic Link (Su)

The master has an empathic link with his familiar out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The master cannot see through the familiar's eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated.

Because of this empathic link, the master has the same connection to an item or place that his familiar does.
Deliver Touch Spells (Su)

If the master is 3rd level or higher, a familiar can deliver touch spells for him. If the master and the familiar are in contact at the time the master casts a touch spell, he can designate his familiar as the "toucher." The familiar can then deliver the touch spell just as the master could. As usual, if the master casts another spell before the touch is delivered, the touch spell dissipates.
Speak with Master (Ex)

If the master is 5th level or higher, a familiar and the master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.
Speak with Animals of Its Kind (Ex)

If the master is 7th level or higher, a familiar can communicate with animals of approximately the same kind as itself (including dire varieties): bats with bats, rats with rodents, cats with felines, hawks and owls and ravens with birds, lizards and snakes with reptiles, toads with amphibians, weasels with similar creatures (weasels, minks, polecats, ermines, skunks, wolverines, and badgers). Such communication is limited by the intelligence of the conversing creatures.
Spell Resistance (Ex)

If the master is 11th level or higher, a familiar gains spell resistance equal to the master's level + 5. To affect the familiar with a spell, another spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the familiar's spell resistance.
Scry on Familiar (Sp)

If the master is 13th level or higher, he may scry on his familiar (as if casting the scrying spell) once per day.
Arcane Spells And Armor

Wizards and sorcerers do not know how to wear armor effectively.

If desired, they can wear armor anyway (though they'll be clumsy in it), or they can gain training in the proper use of armor (with the various Armor Proficiency feats—light, medium, and heavy—and the Shield Proficiency feat), or they can multiclass to add a class that grants them armor proficiency. Even if a wizard or sorcerer is wearing armor with which he or she is proficient, however, it might still interfere with spellcasting.

Armor restricts the complicated gestures that a wizards or sorcerer must make while casting any spell that has a somatic component (most do). The armor and shield descriptions list the arcane spell failure chance for different armors and shields.

By contrast, bards not only know how to wear light armor effectively, but they can also ignore the arcane spell failure chance for such armor. A bard wearing armor heavier than light or using any type of shield incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance, even if he becomes proficient with that armor.

If a spell doesn't have a somatic component, an arcane spellcaster can cast it with no problem while wearing armor. Such spells can also be cast even if the caster's hands are bound or if he or she is grappling (although Concentration checks still apply normally). Also, the metamagic feat Still Spell allows a spellcaster to prepare or cast a spell at one spell level higher than normal without the somatic component. This also provides a way to cast a spell while wearing armor without risking arcane spell failure.

==============

Kind of a print out.  Just a thought spurred by discussion with Carthrat.  The problem as I see it generally with fixing wizards and clerics is that it takes a long time, considerably  longer than virtually any other class or in fact, usually drawing up a non magic class from scratch.  They also are generally considered to be pretty necessary in their own way.  My thought: What if we put together a generally agreed upon wizard base (and later possibly a cleric) that folks running games on the site can just use in replacement of wizard/sorcerer.  Get it so that it sanely balances in with the others while in some way retaining such.  Of course, this would probably involve rewriting much of the spells too though.  Mmm, thoughts?  I'll edit in suggested/agreed on fixes/additions/removals to the above class.

General thought?  I'm already leaning towards it being a poorly thought out endeavor :D

[Dracos]

Opening thoughts:

Wizards shouldn't be able to trade spells.  Yes, roleplaying wise it makes no sense that they can't, but balance wise, it basically allows something no other class gets which is to buy something for one person and have it usable by anyone who can use it.

Familiars as written, are really there because 'wizards have familiars'.  They're usually traded away or ignored or something as they don't tend to fit.  They're a painful weakness if paid attention to and I've rarely seen taken into the game meaningfully.  Has anyone else?

Limit it to two spells per level.  or 3.  No learning from scrolls.  Explain it however you'd like, but this means that they genuinely have to choose their abilities in a more meaningful way and gets us closer to something that can be balanced.  Balancing out with a 'up to x level number' eventually results in having every spell you'd want of a given level.  Heck, maybe even limit it per level.  You can only have eight spells in your book per level or something.  Again, pushing towards having a defined, if variable set of tricks you can pull out of your hat at any point.

Hey rat, you were talking about offenders.  As you've played a wizard for a while, what would you say are the top 10-20 offenders that really should be changed?

[Dracos]

Also opening thoughts:

What is a wizard to you?  I assume it isn't a magical howitzer.  To me, it is someone whom can approach things with strange and/or exotic solutions to problems outside the norm.  Having the capable to handle the supernatural in a superior fashion rather.  They shouldn't out damage fighters or even out disable other classes, but be the ones that shine when things aren't convenient or straightforward.  To be able to prepare and be flexible and address rare cases more than generalized ones.

[Ebiris]

Simple answer, ditch wizard entirely. Vancian spellcasting sucks and no one will miss it.

Instead replace the standard wizard with sorcerer - can freely pick any spell to know, but is very limited in the number known, and only slowly progresses in them. Gets no other class features (I'd probably give it some, but lets keep it simple, for now). As for the specialist wizard, WOTC has already generously shown us the way with a few classes that would function admirably in such roles.

Beguiler - Automatically knows all the spells on its list whenever it gains access to the relevant casting level, and spontaneously casts from them. Gets a good selection of illusion and enchantment spells, with a few thrown in from other schools that mesh with the overall theme. Gets sufficient skills (and trapfinding) to let it double as a rogue in many respects, and a few bonuses to its spells when cast against unwary opponents, and some metamagic feats that fit the theme, like Still and Silent spell. All in all, a very well rounded class that fits the niche of 'trickster wizard' perfectly. Gets a d6 hit dice, too, which is nice. Found in Players Handbook II.

Dread Necromancer - As above, automatically knows all the spells on its list, and spontaneously casts them. Unsurprisingly, the list is heavily focused on necromancy, with a few additions from other schools that really fit the theme - big focus on save or dies. Interestingly, gets a few cleric spells like the Inflict Wounds line, culminating in Harm, and the addition of Greater Harm. In addition to spellcasting, it gets lots of special abilities that reflect a slow transformation into a lich - by level 20 you'll be a true lich, but even before that you'll start to get resistance to crits, natural armour, a fear aura, damage reduction and so on. Gets a few nice touch attacks, although they'd be a last resort since you still have poor bab (slightly better hd, than wizard, though - d6). Can also rebuke undead and gets class features to boost the number of undead it can control. As above, a very well made class that really sells its particular niche as a necromancer - no longer do you need to be a cleric to be a credible master of undeath. Found in Heroes of Horror.

War Mage - Again, automatically knows all the spells on its list, and spontaneously casts them. Big focus on evocation and conjuration (of the blasting kind, not the summon monster kind), with a few buffs and save or dies thrown in. Again, gets a d6 hit dice, and special abilities allow it to cast wearing armour (successively heavier as levels are gained), and has a limited selection of additional class features, but they are quite nice - Sudden Empower, Enlarge, Widen, and Maximise metamagic feats are thrown in for free, and gets an 'Edge' which adds their Intelligence bonus to damage on damage inflicting spells. If you're into blasting, this is a pretty solid class for it. Found in Complete Arcane.

With the above three for examples, it shouldn't be too hard to come up with variants for Diviners, Abjurers, Conjurers, and Transmuters. And the fact that they have set spell lists removes the concern of 'New book came out, now the wizard has a few hundred more spells to choose from' - they each get the chance to add a few more spells to their list over the course of their progression, but its no more than 4 or so, so they need to be chosen carefully, and are still limited to being within the overall theme of the class.

[Dracos]

Mmm, if so, I'd probably suggest having int based sorcerers.

Namingly, I think cha based sorcery is always a bit 'eeeh?'

But yeah, I do like that simple answer: No wizards. 

[Carthrat]

I am behind this in theory, but I want to emphasize a couple things.

1) Using your spells and abilities to do cool things and advance your agenda. I find this to be somewhat at odds with Drac's interpretation of 'the go-to-guy for problems nobody else can solve'; I'd rather play a proactive wizard who uses his spells to further his plots, not to counter obscure situations with even more obscure magic, and, what's more, is able to use them in creative ways.

Think about the countless shows out there where the protagonist has one or two cool abilities and uses them with panache and finesse. There are those elabroate planners, ala Lelouch from Code Geass, or the
running-on-instinct kind of character, like pretty much any superhero ever . This concept is what draws me strongly towards the sorcerer archetypes (particularly the specialists) and frequently encourages unorthodox solutions to problems based on what you've got at hand.

2) Sometimes you want to run a game with a scholarly wizard tradition, which can entail people wanting plothooks directly relevant to that. The wizard class is a bit of an anomaly amongst the classes in that he can actually increase his options with study as opposed to XP, but I can't say I dislike this; it gives incentive to go out on Quests for Knowledge and Power as opposed to getting that along the way anyway. I think things like incantations and rituals (see the SRD) could get way more utility if they're used in a game that ditches the wizard like this; they'd allow for oneshot effects, and I think a lot of PC casters long for the day when they can make a volcano erupt or the like without having to resort to epic spells. (And villians do too, obviously.)

3) Like I've said before, a huge bitch I have with the spell system is the way most of them are 'all or nothing' in nature, and for those spells that *aren't*, it's often to their detriment (evocation hohoho). In your typical D&D fight, being incapacitated for more than a couple of rounds is almost as good as being booted out of it alltogether. I feel one way to counteract this is to rewrite certain spells, particularly those that cause you to get KO'd instantly (or the like) to have multiple levels of effect, similar to damage.

For instance, glitterdust is well-known as a fight-ending spell, because blindness is often rendering someone as good as dead, especially with the long duration (3 rounds and up, up, up.). It also targets an area and reveals invisible targets. It's a second-level spell nobody goes without. I'd rather have a system where they could be blinded for the full duration (on a good casting), a short time (1 round, perhaps), or not at all (successful save).

There would be a couple ways of implementing this and it would, of course, be a large overhaul to the system. You could...

1) Use multiple saving throws. Pass both, you're fine. Pass one, you're somewhat hurt. Pass none, you're boned. In compensation, saving throws would have to be a little more difficult in general; this both gives wizards a bit more assurance with their spells (SOMETHING will happen), lessens the deadly threat of a one-hit wonder on strong opponents, and yet weaker foes are still likely to be easily incapcitated for the most part. This system is pretty intuitive and doesn't really require any math to figure it out.

2) If an opponent fails a saving throw by too much, the worst possible thing happens to them. If they fail by a little, less happens, and if they pass, they're fine. I actually prefer this system, although it'd be a little more complex. Again, saving throws would have to be a little more difficult to compensate, in my opinion.

By increasing the difficulty of their saving throws, spellcasters can not just see their spells hit more, but hit *better*, without necessarily compromising the already-thin lines of balance within play.


Finally, since we're talking about spellcasters, clerics and druids aren't actually that bad. You should restrict them to core only spells, however, rather than giving them free access to splatbook spells (which can still exist, but have stricter access conditions).

Remove natural spell for druids or at least make it have a higher level requirement; give them a lessened animal companion progression. (The ranger should have the full progression, and probably better spells for buffing it at that.)

Clerics are pretty much fine, in my opinion. Turning could probably stand to be buffed (do some amount of reliable damage instead of randomly make foes run away, I think) and the number of feats that draw on it for powers should be lessened.

<->

On an unrelated tangent, give rogues a frigging d8 HD and make getting high levels in skills actually be awesome. Make crap like 'hide in plain sight' simply a function of having a *really high hide score*, or use skill tricks, or a better choice of special abilities (like, say, death attack) and you won't even need PrCs anymore. (Or, yeah, run tome of battle.)

[Carthrat]

Oh, yeah. Either rewrite the cleric/druid spell progression so they get higher level spells later, or rewrite the sorc progression tree so they get them earlier. It's bugged me forever, and I feel that a dedicated spellcaster should outdo, well, someone with better saves, better HP, and better BaB.

[Dracos]

Why?  And how don't they outdo as it stands?  You were playing one just a while ago and commented that you felt you could generally school such folks.  And wouldn't that defeat the whole concept of pushing up broken low level spells?  Oh, I see, you're referring to the balance between Sorc and Cleric/druid.  And yeah, Sorc/wizards are broken, Druid/Clerics are moreso, but they don't tend to shine as it either that much.  Frankly, I think clerics are mostly ignored on this because outside of a couple of superpowered ones, a lot more of their core spell library is healing/utility related rather than 'end the fight'.  I only see 2 save or die types before 5th level and both of them have a one person target.  In fact, the cleric spell library looks way more sensible at a glance.  no invisibility, no flight, no stone skin, a lot of minor or monster specific effects, and a ton of buffs.  Meanwhile there's nearly twice as many core wizard/sorc spells per level.  Looking at a random level (4), the best cleric ability is the broken divine power which lets them be better fighters than fighters.  The best wizard ability is greater invisibility.  I'd say they both could fairly get hacked, but greater invisibility is probably the stronger of the two.

Re: More difficult saves needed for expanded
I tend to look at the fact that without inflated stats and resistance in play, a DC 14 spell has a better than 50 percent chance of nailing everything but people's high save area until like level 10.  A mid save (Weak with high stats or high with weak stats) is for most characters is only between 6-8 at around 10 with maybe one inflated save at high usually that they should make all the time (And the point behind Paladins and Monks are that they really should be making almost every save).  Cloaks of resistance shift this 1-2 points by that level usually (And cost for this about 10 percent of your to level 10 resources).  Level 10 is giving 7 in the high and 3 in the low, of which most classes have two, + usually 0-5 points (usually towards the low end) on games where money is an object and stats aren't super high.  A DC 14 save, on the other hand as I understand it is actually pretty low for the self same wizard or sorcerer of level 10.  Instead they're generally around 16-22 around then, or about 50-95 percent chance of success, depending on which save you're going against.  Rolling twice against odds this 'low' is generally going to get the same result both times.  All these numbers get inflated a bit with high wealth and/or high stats, but really, I don't think the average case needs difficulty raising in either setup. 

Compound this with wizard spells often effect multiple targets at once, which make even a moderate save more dangerous.  A level 10 monk may have a DC 18-20 stunning attack that's pretty brutal if it hits...  but it only goes against one guy and one save type.   Or Poisons, which tend to be between 11-19 for DCs and the higher ones are very expensive.  The wizard meanwhile usually has disabling spells in all save varieties.  I think one of the main reasons you see  poison used so rarely is a simple low level wizard can match almost all of the effects and DCs for free.

re: 1
Truthfully, I like your definition (why I asked for them), I suspect wizard/Sorcerers would be a lot cooler if they had a lot more spells that were plot type stuff than battle type stuff.  That they were more warping the fabric of space to accomplish their ends rather than having fifty ways to deal with a fighter while laughing, invisible and stoneskinned at 50 feet up.  If they were more dangerous prepared rather than the primary danger from being surprised.  I like your comment on incantations.  Yeah, there really should be more of them and a narrowed scale would make them more interesting.

re: 2
I agree, the scholastic wizard is special here as it increases 'Options' by study instead of xp.  Really, it shouldn't be a problem that it increases power (in the same fashion others may quest for sword, item, etc) but that it gives the wizard new options while the others have no venue outside of levels to get such.  I'd say this actually should go, as much as its a neat thing because it really doesn't balance well.  For the xp/class system to retain balance at all, it really does need to say "You get abilities through this and this alone".  Without it, a GM really can't eyeball "they're at this level, they have this amount of capabilities', which I think is far more of a negative.  I would suggest this be supplemented with the very rituals and things you suggested.  You can hunt for them.  They're one use.  They're estoric knowledge or whatnot and take a DAY to use.  You have more abilities, sure, but they really are so separate that they can be considered plot items rather than simple expansions of class abilities.

You know, aside from removing/weakening/level raising save or die stuff... one could probably get a LOT of utility out of simply changing the time scale of recovery to fit campaigns.  You don't want 6 encounters per dungeon?  Then make it so all 'per day' abilities are 'per week', including spell restore.  Really slow game?  Per month.  All of a sudden, the economics of abilities are back into play.  It hits wizards hardest (but other classes too) who really never run out of spells in casual practice or have any reason to do anything but cast a powerful spell every round.  Sure, they can cast it, but then they won't have it for a few encounters.  If you want to keep their adaptability...let them switch out unused spell slots every day.  They don't refresh, but they can alter their pocket abilities.

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Skill system sucking is an entirely different discussion =P  Get your own thread for it.  I agree but lets not go tangent :)