How do you make your wizard a spontaneous caster?Well you can't, at least not by the true definition of spontaneous spellcaster, but you can gain the practical end result. Within this very thread me and other contributing members of this board will try to present you with a list of choices to help you in your goal of mimicing spontaneous casting, or just plain expanding your daily list of spells. Just try not to upset the sorcerer any more than he already is.
Definition: Spell Storage
An item, ability, skill, or feat that allows one to cast a spell into it at the end of the day so tomorrow morning they need not prepared it since they can cast the spell from the item, ability, skill, or feat storing said spell instead.
Spell Storage may or may not require additional spell slots to recall a stored spell.
On to the lists.
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Base Classes
Wizard (the only base class that matters)
The wizard's class alone give the benefit of out of combat spontaneous casting. By leaving slots open, the wizard can later take 15 minutes out of the day to fill an uncasted slot with another spell thus giving them the effect of spontaneous casting when ever they have 15 minutes free.
Which when you think about it. Only the higher level spells tend to be the ones you use in battle. Prepare half your upper slots as offensive weapons as backup in the morning, and fill the rest of your slots as you need them later on in the day.
Substitution Levels
Spontaneous Divination (complete champion)
Level: 5th, 10th, 15th, or 20th.
Gives up: Bonus feat.
Benefit: You can spontaneously cast any divination spell using a prepared spell of equal or greater level.
Planar Spell Casting (planar handbook, 10th level)
Level: 10th.
Gives up: Bonus feat, the spells added to your spellbook for free by level up.
Benefit: All spells you cast cast gain an alignment descriptor (such as [chaotic]).
When combined with Chaotic Spell Recall (see below) you can recall any spell and the slot used to cast it.
Spontaneous Summoning (unearthed arcane)
Level: All.
Gives up: Extra spells from being a school focused wizard.
Benefit: Conjurers using this variant can "lose" a prepared spell to cast any summon monster spell of a lower level.
Abyssal Specialist (DotU)
Lose one school of magic to become specialized in spells with the [chaotic], [compulsion], [darkness], [evil], and [fear] descriptors including all the normal benefits. Combo with Planar Spell Casting & Chaotic Spell Recall for an epic win.
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Prestige Classes
Mage of the Arcane Order (complete arcana)
Full spell casting, some other stuff. Spellpool works just like Spell Storage, only you cast into the pool within 24 hours of calling a spell from it. You can call up to (CL/2) spell levels per day from it.
Ultimate Magus (complete mage)
Full spell casting with a feat, freebie metamagic enhancement. Nets 9 levels of a 'real' spontaneous casting class at the cost of two levels of wizard. for beguiler or sorcerer & one feat slot for Practiced Spellcaster for the mentioned class.
Magelord (lost empires of faerun)
Full spell casting, +3d6 sneak attack.
You can convert any prepared spell into any mastered (which may be metamagicly enhanced) spell via CORE's Spell Mastery feat. Added bonus, an extra 4 spells are added to your Spell Mastery list.
Shadowcraft Mage (races of stone)
Full spell casting, 40% concealment 24/7.
While the class does not really grant spontaneous casting, it does allow you to turn the ___ Image spell chain into shadow conjuration/evocation-like spells. Spells mimiced are one level lower than the image spell used to create it, and are only 20%+(10%*level of image spell used) real. The Earth Spell(RoS) bumps Empower Spell up a level, including beyond the cap, so you can use an empowered silent image spell to cast a 110% real 9th level divine evocation spell Miracle which in turn lets you cast any 8th level Divine Spell using one of your 9th spell level slots.
Dweomerkeeper (complete divine web enchantment)
Full spell casting, 5/day ignore components, AoOs, and spell resistance and allows you to pick up to any 5 spells, you may spontaneous cast them by using a spell slot of equal or higher level.
Primal Scholar (secrets of xendrik)¤
Ancient Secret lets you chose the Mystery of Magic class ability which allows the spontaneous casting of an assigned spell one level lower than your prepared slot.
Hathran (player's guide to faerun)¤
X/day Place Magic, which lets them trade any spell out they have prepared for any spell in their spellbooks. While inside of Rashemen, you can use Place Magic all day long.
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Feats
Spell Mastery (core)
While the feat does not grant spontaneous casting, it is the prerequisite to many things that do.
Alacritous Cogitation (complete mage)
1/day cast any spell from any spell book you own with an open slot as a full round action.
Chaotic Spell Recall (fiendish codex I: hordes of the abyss)
Gain the ability to recall & recharge any spell with the chaotic descriptor of any level (abyssal Heritor feats / 2) + 1 times per day as a swift action. Useful when combined with Planar Spell Casting (see above).
Proteus (exemplars of evil)
Allows you to cast any Illusion(glamer) spell using a higher level prepared spell slot. And also, by expending a spell slot of equal or greater level to a prepared Illusion(glamer) spell you can cast the illusion as an immediate action.
Signature Spell (Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting & Player's Guide to Faerûn)
Pick any one spell mastered by the Spell Mastery Feat, you can convert any prepared spell of higher ot equal into it as a free action.
Uncanny Forethought (exemplars of evil)
Reserve (int bonus)/day spell slots to cast any spell you selected with Spell Mastery as a standard action, or as a full round action any spell to know at your caster level - 2.
Versatile Spellcaster (races of the dragon)
Like most ambiguous statements argued in TO, which by the way means let's ignore context by everyone that brings it up, the "ability to spontaneously cast spells" is often heavily debated. Per RC stuff like Spontaneous Divination and such follows the rules of but does not meet requirements. Further Complete Mage also expanded on the definition using the keywords "spontaneous spellcaster" which per RC even if the Wizard using every trick on here he can never meet such a requirement. A Wizard cannot take it and that's it, pure and simple.[/color]
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Items
Weapon Enchantment: Spell Storing (core, +1 bonus)
Spell Storing (any one spell up to 3rd level)
You are required to hit your foe in order to cast as a free action from it.
50 +1 spell storing arrows only cost 4,302.5gp, and allow you to pretty much create a pool of every useful 3rd level or lower spell during adventure down time. This include self buffs seeing how you can attack (and auto hit) your self as an attack action treating the arrows as an improvised weapon that deals 1d4+1, and your likely low Str penalties that damage too.
Spell Storing, Minor (core, 18,000gp)
Spell Storage (up to 3 levels of spells)
Spell Storing (core, 50,000gp)
Spell Storage (up to 5 levels of spells)
Spell Storing, Major (core, 200,000gp)
Spell Storage (up to 10 levels of spells)
Ring Of Therurgy (complete arcane, 20,000gp)
Spell Storage (any 3 spells)
Note - requires a slot to recall the spell.
Amulet of Spell Conversion (complete mage, 18,000gp)
1/day replace any prepared spell as a full-round action.
Circlet of Mages (magical item compendium, 5,000gp)
Has 3 charges per day that can be used to save a spell slot used to cast a spell. It also gives a +2 compentence bonus to concentration checks.
Pearl of Power (core, varies)
1/day recall a prepared spell & slot of X level, where X equals the level pearl you can afford to buy.
Runestaffs (magical item compendium, varies)
Limited form of spell conversion with any unprepared slot. Since you can freely customize the spells stored, feel free to create one with all your choice battle spells, thus allowing you to skip preparing anything in the morning.
Staffs (core, varies)
Cast any spell from a 2~5 long spell list using 1~3 charges (of 50) each time.
Wands (core, varies)
Cast any one spell up to 50 times.
Scrolls (core, varies)
The wizard can craft them from a spell he knows one day, only to not know it tomorrow and depend on the scroll. Oh and wizards get the scribe scroll feat for free. At the 1st level.
Tome of Ancient Lore (CD, MiC)
It's a spell book that contains every arcane spell in the game.
CD's version gives a 90% chance of finding any certain spell and can be used multiple times.
MiC's only lets you use it once per day.
Both allow you to prepare directly from it so it is a spell book and there is no mentioning nor implication that you need to decipher it.
Given that Wizards "know" all spells in their spell book and the tome skips the learning phase this tome is an extremely important item.
The Raiment of the Four (MiC)
Allows you to spontaneously cast Magic Missile, Fireball (fixed DC for some reason though) Teleport (!) and Freedom of Movement (with extra effects), even if they aren't on your list (like a Focused Caster or if you banned the schools).
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Spells
Mage’s Lucubration (core)
Transmutation
Level: Wiz 6
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Reprepare (and regain the casting slot) any 5th level or lower spell you have cast within the last 24 hours.
Rary's Arcane Conversion (complete mage)
Universal
Level: Wizard 6
Casting Time: 1 full round
Exchange any prepared spell for another of the same or lower level.
Spell Engine (spell compendium)
Abjuration [force]
Level: Wizard 8
Cast: 10 minutes
Components: A silver wheel worth 500gp and 250XP.
Reprepare all your unused spell slots. When preparing them this way, it only takes half the usual time.
Shalantha's Delicate Disk (lost empires of faerun)
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sorcerer/wizard 6
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: A golden egg worth 200 gp.
Creates a 1hp disc that can store any spell up to the 5th level (Spell Storage). You can then break it as a standerd action to 'cast' the stored spell. Since the center of affect is on the breaker or where it is broken and it breaks under a DC 5 strength check it can create a cheap and effective trap on the fly.
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2nd Party Stuff
Aligned Spellcaster (Dragon 357)
Adds the [chaotic] descriptor to all your spells at the 1st level at the cost of your Familiar, much faster/better than the 10th level wizard sub but it's dragon material. Did you expect anything less?
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Other FYIs & No-Nos
Sanctum Spell
There is no such thing as a Sanctum Fireball, only Fireball which is 3rd level (see FAQ for a more detailed explanation) and Preparing a Sanctum Fireball uses your 3rd level Slot even if it's calculated level is second when you cast it so you need 3rd level spells to use it. Finally I have no idea how people dual count this thing, if it's supposed to be 2nd level allowing your 3rd level Wizard to cast it, then how does it also count as 3rd level as proof you can cast 3rd level Spells? Be consistent in your arguments.
Racial Substitution Levels (races of the wild)
"The class features of the substitution level simply replace those of the standard level." & "When you take a substitution level for your class at a given level, you give up the class features gained at that level for the standard class, and you get the substitution level features instead." & "Substitute (verb): use or add in place of.". Trying to claim you can trade nothing for something really is cheating.
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Did I miss anything? Tell me what, along with the hows & wheres
in my discussion thread and I'll get around to updating this post some time in the future.