Deepbluediver
2012-01-14, 10:16 PM
This is something I've been working on for a while now, and it forms a major part of my attempt to rebalance the 11 core classes so they are closer in terms of versatility and power. The project is ongoing, as I have only posted fixes for 4 classes.
I don't think my new system is all that complicated, but it is rather extensive; don't spring it on your players/DM 5 minutes before the game.
The "what" and the "how" of my changes are in this first post, then links to the rewritten spells. The spoilers mostly contain the "why"* for any given change, if I felt it necessary to explain my intent. Thanks for reading!
*DBD Inc. cannot be held liable for any ensuing madness or loss of sanity due to trying to unwravel the twisted logic of it's writer's brain. You assume full responsibility for any destruction of property or loss of life while under the influence of DBD. By reading this, you have agreed to forfeit your soul for a period of not more than 17 and a half minutes any time DBD requests it, up to and including through the year of 2043. Thank you and have a nice day.
Special thanks goes out to jiriku, who's comments in his Philiosopher's Stone Magic Fix (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210623) inspired me to begin thinking about this, and the ever-famous Neoseraphi, who has answered many important questions regarding casting and gameplay. Additional thanks goes out to every forum poster who has suggested their own updates for spells; you may see some of your ideas here.
Magic
Magic exists in 3 varieties: Arcane, Elemental, and Divine.
Arcane spells are cast using power that exists within the caster.
--Wizards, Sorcerers, and Bards are all arcane casters.
Elemental magic draws on the ambient magical energy of the environment.
--Druids and Rangers are elemental magic users.
Divine spells are granted to mortals by deities and other exceptional beings.
--Clerics and Paladins cast spells using divine magic.
Individual spells are not of a particular type; the type of magic used to cast the spell is determined by the caster and how the spell is prepared. The spell Earthquake, for example, can be prepared by sufficiently powerful Wizards, Druids, and Clerics (with the Earth domain). Each caster prepares and casts the spell according to which kind of magic they use. A character with sufficiently powerful magic could prepare the spell three different ways, and cast it 3 separate times as an arcane, elemental, or divine spell.
Elemental magic is a new addition, that I added for variety and minor mechanical differences. (Rather than thinking of the different types of magic as pizza vs ice-cream, think of them as chocolate vs strawberry.) Since elemental magic is drawn from a creatures surroundings but is channeled through them; it is less affected by armor than arcane spells, but not entirely immune to it's effects like divine magic. Most elemental magic users fashion a totem or talisman that strengthens there connection to their environment in some way, acting as a Divine Focus for spellcasting purposes. If they lose their totem and do not have the time or resources to fashion a new one, most elemental magic users are practiced at finding material components that can substitute in a spell for the normal focus or spell components.
Spellcraft
Spellcraft is a new stat (no longer a skill) similar to your attack bonus. A player’s Spellcraft bonus is equal to their Base Spellcraft Bonus (BSB), plus their wisdom modifier, plus any bonuses from class features, items, or feats. A player’s BSB progression is usually the inverse of their BAB. Unless stated otherwise, classes with a poor BAB have a BSB equal to their level, classes with an average BAB have an equal BSB, and classes with the best BAB have a BSB equal to one half their level.
Spellcraft pulls double-duty since it acts like both an attack roll and skillcheck for casting spells. It is opposed by Spell Resistance (SR), which is the magical equivalent of AC.
[Previously magic worked very different from attack rolls and AC in combat. Attack rolls and damage where active, while AC is passive (no roll). Magic was automatically successful (in terms of casting the spell) and defense, if any, was active (saves, etc) unless special spell resistance came into play. This should change both magical attacks and defense to line up more similarly with physical actions (active offensive/action rolls, passive defense/resistance stats).]
On a side note: it's always bothered me that spells start at level "0" instead of level 1. In my games, spells run from 1-10, and everything is otherwise exactly the same. This doesn't have much effect except that some DCs are slightly higher (in my version of things, this means the spells in question are harder to cast). Feel free to make this switch in your games or not, as you choose; I am leaving everything listed as the level it is in the PHB so as not to cause confusion.
Casting Checks
Every time a caster wants to use a spell, they need to make a Spellcraft check to see if they successfully cast it. The DC for casting is equal to 10 + twice the spell’s level + conditional modifiers (if any). If the spell has a target with Spell Resistance (whether it be a person, monster, item, etc) the Spellcraft DC is instead equal to the spell’s level + the target’s SR + conditional modifiers.
If you attempt a spell and do not pass the casting check, nothing happens. You do not lose the spell slot or prepared spell, but neither does it activate. The only loss is in the time you spent attempting the spell.
Many spellcasters utilize either a focus or material components to make spellcasting easier. It is possible to cast spells without a focus or spell components but the effective level of a spell for determining the spellcraft roll to cast it is doubled. (the spell does not need to be prepared in a or occupy a higher spell slot, it is just more difficult to succesfully complete)
Some spells have a continuous effect so long as the caster continues concentrating on the spell. The DC for these checks is equal to one half (rounded down) of the initial check required to cast the spell; see individual spells for details.
[Note: the intention for the concentration checks is that casters should always be able to pass them under good circumstances, such as buffing before a fight; it is only when the situation is dire that it becomes a problem, which I feel only heightens the tension, and is a good thing. The spellcraft checks should succeed about as often as attack rolls.]
Critical Success and Failure
Due to the vagaries of magic and the unpredictable nature of ultimate cosmic power, a spell is sometimes more powerful than normal or unexpectedly fails completely.
For Arcane casters, on a natural roll of 20, the spell is more successful than normal, and the spell is cast successfully, regardless of SR or the actual check needed to cast the spell. For Elemental casters, a spell is automatically successful on a roll of 18, 19, or 20.
See the description of each spell for the additional effects of an automatic success.
For Arcane casters, on a roll of 1, the spell automatically fails, regardless of the necessary check. For Elemental casters, a spell automatically fails on a roll of 1 or 2. In general, elemental magic is more powerful but also riskier than arcane magic.
When a spell fails automatically, roll a d10 to determine the effect of the failure.
1-6: You flub some small gesture or syllable, and the spell consumes your daily spell slot or prepared spell, but does not cast.
7-10: Critical spell failure! The spell nearly activates, but at the last moment you make some small mistake, and the spell rushes out in a way you did not expect. See the individual spell description for the effects of a critical failure.
Divine spellcasters do not have critical successes or failures with their spells, due to the nature of the way they receive and use magical energy. They still need to make casting checks, however; a roll of a 1 or 20 is simply calculated like any other number. This means that spells may will not automatically fail on a 1, but they also might not succeed even on a roll of 20.
As a magic user grows more powerful and learns how to succesfully manipulate ever-increasing amounts of magical energy, it becomes easier to cast formerly difficult spells. Any spell 2 or more levels below the highest level spell you could cast of that type (arcane, divine, etc) is not subject to critical spell failure. On a roll of 1, you simply lose the spell. Any spell 4 or more levels below the highest level spell of a given type you can cast is not lost on a roll of 1, you simply calculate the spellcraft check normally to see if the spell can be cast or overcomes spell resistance.
For example, a sorcerer with access to 9th level spells would not have to worry about critical spell failure for any spell of 7th level or below. The would not need to worry about wasting the spell slot at all for a spell of 5th level or below, though a roll of 1 is unlikely to overcome a target's SR in any event. If the sorcerer also has 1 level of druid, he still has a chance of failure on his druid spells, because his proficiency with arcane magic does not affect elemental spells.
Some spells do not have additional effects if you roll a critical success of failure. The spell is still automatically successful on a roll of 20, and still fails on a roll of 1; there are just no other additional bonuses or penalties (other than using up the spell slot if you fail).
Spell Resistance
Nearly every person and creature has some innate level of Spell Resistance (SR) that helps them avoid and shrug off the effect of spells. The SR of a creature or person is equal to their base SR, plus their save bonus depending on which school the spell is from, plus any bonuses from class features, items, or other spells.
Base SR starts at 5, and increase by 1 for every 2 HD the creature posseses. (same as base AC in my sytem)
For spells from the Transmutation and Necromany schools, add your Fortitude save bonus to your base SR to determine the resistance you have against a spell.
For spells from the schools of Illusion, Enchantment, Divination, and Abjuration add your Will save bonus to your base SR.
For Evocation and Conjuration spells, add your Reflex save bonus to base SR.
If you are unconscious or otherwise totally incapacitated, do not add your saves to your base SR.
Just for clarification; it is intended that you add your entire save bonus, including feats and ability modifiers, to your base SR.
Generally, this SR only counts towards spells that specifically target the person, or if the effects of the spell are inherently magical. For example, SR helps repel the effects of both a Charm Person or a Fireball spell, because they target an individual. SR also helps resist the effects of an Entanglement spell because the vines and roots are magical in nature. SR does not help prevent against the effects of an Earthquake spell, because the spell does not target a person, and the effects (shaking, collapsing walls, fissures) are non-magical results of the spell.
For spells that target an area, compare your SR against the Spellcraft check made when the spell was cast. If the check is higher than your SR, the spell works normally; if the check is lower, you can resist the effects of the spell. Some spells with an extended duration may eventually overcome a creature's Resistance if they spend to long inside the affected area. See individual spells for additional details.
Standard Effects
Your effective SR against that spell will slowly decrease until the spell can affect you as normal. If the spell was cast in the last 24 hours, your effective SR against that spell decreases by 1 each round. If the spell was cast in the last month (30 day period) your effective SR decrease by 1 each minute. If the spell was cast in the last year your effective SR decrease by 1 each hour. If the spell was cast more than a year ago, your effective SR decreases by 1 every 12 hours.
Not all Area of Effect spells allow checks against SR. Alarm, for example, triggers automatically, regardless of how high your SR is.
If you are attempting to cast a spell on yourself, your body and mind ‘recognizes’ your own brand of magic, and automatically reduces your SR against that particular spell to 0, not including any magic items your may be in possession of that grant increases to SR. A friendly target who is aware of what you are doing may reduce their SR against a particular spell to one-half its normal amount as a free action (in effect, choosing not to resist the effects of the magic). This does not include any items the target may be wearing that grant additional SR. This effect can function even if the target is Unconscious or otherwise incapacitated.
Dead targets do not have SR, though the Undead, being products of magic, may have SR. The same goes for golems and other constructs.
Non-magical objects generally have no Spell Resistance. Non-magical objects in some one's possession use that creature's SR. Magical items generally have SR of 10+the level of the magic effect on them. If they are in the possession of a creature, they may use their possessor's SR if it is higher.
If you are unsure of whether or not to use a spell-check or a resistance check when casting, look under the description of each individual spell; there should be a guide to help you determine what DC you need to overcome:
Regular- make your spellcraft check against the DC to cast the spell; if you are successful the spell functions normally
Target Resistance- make your spell check against the target of the spell’s SR
AOE Regular- make a spellcraft check when you cast the spell; when someone enters the area they are immediately subject to the spells affects
AOE Resistance- make a spellcraft check when you cast the spell; when someone enters the area compare their SR to that check to see if they are affected by the spell | For spells with an Instantaneous duration, make a regular spellcraft check to cast the spell, then compare that to each person in the targeted area individually.
[Note: I realized after I started working through this that when players fail to overcome SR, I was treating the spell the same as if they had failed a non-target spellcraft check. What happens to the spell in this case? With the rules I laid out, its as if the spell never cast, which made sense for things like Earthquake, but less so for Fireball or Ray of Frost.
My intent was that SR allows players to shrug off magic effects, but under my own rules, a wizard might “cast” fireballs all day and never actually get one to hit a player. After thinking for a while, I decided that there was no easy solution that didn’t involve adding more checks and complicating the process further, but I didn’t have a problem with this.
Rather than thinking of it as “the player dodges or simply ignores the effects of magical fire”, the spell is like a guided missile, and the target's SR is making it difficult for the caster to get a ‘lock’ on them, and so he can’t cast the spell. Only if he manages to overcome the SR can his spells hit the target. After thinking some more, I decided I actually liked this better, since I was having trouble wrapping my brain around how a magical fireball might NOT cause someone damage without involving counter-magic. In addition, this adds a little longevity to blaster-type casters, since they don’t (usually) have to worry about wasting spells on targets with high SR.]
Caster Level
I’ve always disliked that caster level could somehow be different from character level. If you see anything that reads “caster’s level” or “/level” just assume it means the same as ECL. I’m convinced I can do everything I want to with ECL, and Spellcraft checks. I am emliminating spell-level and the Heighten spell feat; spells will scale automatically and any need for an opposing check against a spell can be done via spellcraft.
If you can explain to me why your Fighter 19/Wizard 1 or other Gish-combo that can make a few more gallons of water (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/createWater.htm) is game breaking, I’ll reconsider my stance.
Bonus Spells
Bonus spells are now always determined by Intellect.
You only recieve bonus spells if you would normally recieve spells of that level from your class.
[Ok, I’m sure this is gonna cause some unholy ruckus, so lemme explain before you break out the pitchforks and torches. It took a long while to settle on what I wanted to do here, so please be assured that this is not a decision I am making on a whim. Basically, I feel that if the only difference between two classes of casters is their primary casting attribute, then that is a failure of the RAW. I fully intend to see that both wizards and sorcerers feel completely different by the time I am done (at the very least, as different as one melee class feels from another).
Just as Strength/Constitution forms the backbone of melee classes, I want Intellect and Wisdom to be the caster-combo. Casters who end up with Intellect/Charisma will be like Dexterity builds; they have a different focus and flavor, but can accomplish much the same thing.
I am planning on adjusting the base level of spells that most casters get, particularly hybrids (like druids), and increasing the amount they get as bonus spells. The end result will be that primary casters will end up at about the same spot, but hopefully with their SAD somewhat reduced. The other important change is that hybrid classes will not be the same as primary casters UNLESS they invest in a spellcaster build, at the expense of their melee stats. Non-primary casters (paladins, rangers, maybe bards, etc) will either stay the same, or get their base spells increased slightly so that they do not need to add Intellect to their already extensive MAD. These classes generally have less powerful and less varied spells, so even if someone stacked intellect and wisdom on their paladin, I am unconcerned that it would be game breaking.]
Bonus Spells by Level
{table=head] Score |Modifier|0 |1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
1|-5|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
2-3|-4|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
4-5|-3|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
6-7|-2|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
8-9|-1|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
10-11|0|1|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
12-13|+1|2|1|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
14-15|+2|2|2|1|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
16-17|+3|3|2|2|1|--|--|--|--|--|--
18-19|+4|3|3|2|2|1|--|--|--|--|--
20-21|+5|3|3|3|2|2|1|--|--|--|--
22-23|+6|4|3|3|3|2|2|1|--|--|--
24-25|+7|4|4|3|3|3|2|2|1|--|--
26-27|+8|4|4|4|3|3|3|2|2|1|--
28-29|+9|4|4|4|4|3|3|3|2|2|1
30-31|+10|5|4|4|4|4|3|3|3|2|2
32-33|+11|5|5|4|4|4|4|3|3|3|2
34-35|+12|5|5|5|4|4|4|4|3|3|3
36-37|+13|5|5|5|5|4|4|4|4|3|3
38-39|+14|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|4|4|3
40-41|+15|6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|4|4
42-43|+16|6|6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|4
44-45|+17|6|6|6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4
etc...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...[/table]
Range
The range for spells has been decreased somewhat.
Long – 100 ft + 10 ft/level
Medium – 50 ft + 5 ft/level
Short – 25 ft + 5/ft 2 levels
Touch – within Reach
Formerly high level spellcasters could hurl spells nearly a quarter mile, well outside the effective range of all but the best archers. Even short and medium range spells easily outdistanced what most non-primary spellcasters could handle. Combat rarely took place at those distances, but it was just one more thing that could lead to abuse and imbalance.
The range of a touch spell is most accurately represented as "less than 1 foot". This means you do not actually need to succeed on a touch attack to deliver a touch spell, you merely need to be within reach.
Metamagic
Metamagic reducers do not stack; only the largest reduction applies to the total adjustment for any single spell. Metamagic reducers cannot reduce a spells level slot below +0.
I intend to tweak some of the most egregious ways to abuse metamagic, mainly Arcane Thesis and DMM. I’ll probably leave most of the metamagic feats where they are, unless someone brings a specific case to my attention.
If you think some metamagic feats are overly inhibitive and choose to alter the enhancement cost (spell slot level increase) I recommend you work within the following philosophy: Any metamagic feat that has a purely positive benefit should have a minimum increase of +1. If you want a metamagic feat to have a level change of +0, there should be an equal possibility of loss or ineffectiveness.
For example, if you wanted to align your spells with lawful (axiomatic) energy to be more effective and deal extra damage to chaotic creatures, then it should have a spell slot increase of at least +1. This is a fairly specific effect, but the cost should only be +0 if the feat also made your spells less effective and dealt less damage to lawful creatures.
Counterspelling
The counterspelling mechanic has been removed and replaced with an actuall spell called "counterspell". It is my hope that I can make this more usefull without it being overpowering.
Spell Books
For casters who use spellbooks to prepare their daily use of magic, they not only record the exact incantations and gestures of a spell, but also any notes on their research or experience devoted to learning the spell, as well as records of it's use and possibly even anecdotes about its effectiveness or lack thereof. This is why several pages of a spellbook may be devoted to a single spell that is ostensibly only one word long.
0 level spells take up 1 page
1st-6th level spells take up 2 pages
7th-9th level spells take up 4 pages
10th+ level spells take up 8 pages
Spellbooks are generally available in 3 sizes:
Standard spellbooks are 12 inches tall, 9 inches wide, and 2.5 inches deep (approx. 30x23x6 cm), weigh 5 lbs., and cost about 15gp. (many wealthy wizards prefer more lavishly decorated tomes, which of course are more expensive) They can hold up to 150 pages worth of spells.
Travel-sized spellbooks (also know as "Apprentice spellbooks") are 7"x5"x1", weigh 1.5 lbs., and cost about 10 gp. They can hold up to 40 pages worth of spells.
Reference spellbooks are 18"x12"x4", weigh 18 lbs., and cost about 300 gp. They can hold up to 500 pages worth of spells, although most creatures do not try to carry such an unwieldly, expensive, and fragile piece of equipment into dangerous situations.
Spell-Like Abilities
Unless the individual ability describes otherwise, Spell-like abilities take 1 Standard action to use and are treated as if they where always succesful (as if you had rolled a natural 20), however they cannot achieve the critical effect of a spell. For purposes of overcoming spell resistance, the spellcraft check of a spell-like ability is considered to be equal to 10+the caster's ECL or CR+Wisdom.
For non-standard SLAs, see the individual description for details.
Supernatural Abilities
Supernatural abilities are inherently different from other magic. Unless the individual ability describes otherwise, Supernatural abilities require a Full-round action to use. For the purpose of overcoming spell resistance, the spellcraft check of a supernatural ability is considered to be equal to 20+the caster's ECL or CR+Charisma.
Feats have been moved here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12543613&postcount=4) to reduce clutter.
I don't think my new system is all that complicated, but it is rather extensive; don't spring it on your players/DM 5 minutes before the game.
The "what" and the "how" of my changes are in this first post, then links to the rewritten spells. The spoilers mostly contain the "why"* for any given change, if I felt it necessary to explain my intent. Thanks for reading!
*DBD Inc. cannot be held liable for any ensuing madness or loss of sanity due to trying to unwravel the twisted logic of it's writer's brain. You assume full responsibility for any destruction of property or loss of life while under the influence of DBD. By reading this, you have agreed to forfeit your soul for a period of not more than 17 and a half minutes any time DBD requests it, up to and including through the year of 2043. Thank you and have a nice day.
Special thanks goes out to jiriku, who's comments in his Philiosopher's Stone Magic Fix (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210623) inspired me to begin thinking about this, and the ever-famous Neoseraphi, who has answered many important questions regarding casting and gameplay. Additional thanks goes out to every forum poster who has suggested their own updates for spells; you may see some of your ideas here.
Magic
Magic exists in 3 varieties: Arcane, Elemental, and Divine.
Arcane spells are cast using power that exists within the caster.
--Wizards, Sorcerers, and Bards are all arcane casters.
Elemental magic draws on the ambient magical energy of the environment.
--Druids and Rangers are elemental magic users.
Divine spells are granted to mortals by deities and other exceptional beings.
--Clerics and Paladins cast spells using divine magic.
Individual spells are not of a particular type; the type of magic used to cast the spell is determined by the caster and how the spell is prepared. The spell Earthquake, for example, can be prepared by sufficiently powerful Wizards, Druids, and Clerics (with the Earth domain). Each caster prepares and casts the spell according to which kind of magic they use. A character with sufficiently powerful magic could prepare the spell three different ways, and cast it 3 separate times as an arcane, elemental, or divine spell.
Elemental magic is a new addition, that I added for variety and minor mechanical differences. (Rather than thinking of the different types of magic as pizza vs ice-cream, think of them as chocolate vs strawberry.) Since elemental magic is drawn from a creatures surroundings but is channeled through them; it is less affected by armor than arcane spells, but not entirely immune to it's effects like divine magic. Most elemental magic users fashion a totem or talisman that strengthens there connection to their environment in some way, acting as a Divine Focus for spellcasting purposes. If they lose their totem and do not have the time or resources to fashion a new one, most elemental magic users are practiced at finding material components that can substitute in a spell for the normal focus or spell components.
Spellcraft
Spellcraft is a new stat (no longer a skill) similar to your attack bonus. A player’s Spellcraft bonus is equal to their Base Spellcraft Bonus (BSB), plus their wisdom modifier, plus any bonuses from class features, items, or feats. A player’s BSB progression is usually the inverse of their BAB. Unless stated otherwise, classes with a poor BAB have a BSB equal to their level, classes with an average BAB have an equal BSB, and classes with the best BAB have a BSB equal to one half their level.
Spellcraft pulls double-duty since it acts like both an attack roll and skillcheck for casting spells. It is opposed by Spell Resistance (SR), which is the magical equivalent of AC.
[Previously magic worked very different from attack rolls and AC in combat. Attack rolls and damage where active, while AC is passive (no roll). Magic was automatically successful (in terms of casting the spell) and defense, if any, was active (saves, etc) unless special spell resistance came into play. This should change both magical attacks and defense to line up more similarly with physical actions (active offensive/action rolls, passive defense/resistance stats).]
On a side note: it's always bothered me that spells start at level "0" instead of level 1. In my games, spells run from 1-10, and everything is otherwise exactly the same. This doesn't have much effect except that some DCs are slightly higher (in my version of things, this means the spells in question are harder to cast). Feel free to make this switch in your games or not, as you choose; I am leaving everything listed as the level it is in the PHB so as not to cause confusion.
Casting Checks
Every time a caster wants to use a spell, they need to make a Spellcraft check to see if they successfully cast it. The DC for casting is equal to 10 + twice the spell’s level + conditional modifiers (if any). If the spell has a target with Spell Resistance (whether it be a person, monster, item, etc) the Spellcraft DC is instead equal to the spell’s level + the target’s SR + conditional modifiers.
If you attempt a spell and do not pass the casting check, nothing happens. You do not lose the spell slot or prepared spell, but neither does it activate. The only loss is in the time you spent attempting the spell.
Many spellcasters utilize either a focus or material components to make spellcasting easier. It is possible to cast spells without a focus or spell components but the effective level of a spell for determining the spellcraft roll to cast it is doubled. (the spell does not need to be prepared in a or occupy a higher spell slot, it is just more difficult to succesfully complete)
Some spells have a continuous effect so long as the caster continues concentrating on the spell. The DC for these checks is equal to one half (rounded down) of the initial check required to cast the spell; see individual spells for details.
[Note: the intention for the concentration checks is that casters should always be able to pass them under good circumstances, such as buffing before a fight; it is only when the situation is dire that it becomes a problem, which I feel only heightens the tension, and is a good thing. The spellcraft checks should succeed about as often as attack rolls.]
Critical Success and Failure
Due to the vagaries of magic and the unpredictable nature of ultimate cosmic power, a spell is sometimes more powerful than normal or unexpectedly fails completely.
For Arcane casters, on a natural roll of 20, the spell is more successful than normal, and the spell is cast successfully, regardless of SR or the actual check needed to cast the spell. For Elemental casters, a spell is automatically successful on a roll of 18, 19, or 20.
See the description of each spell for the additional effects of an automatic success.
For Arcane casters, on a roll of 1, the spell automatically fails, regardless of the necessary check. For Elemental casters, a spell automatically fails on a roll of 1 or 2. In general, elemental magic is more powerful but also riskier than arcane magic.
When a spell fails automatically, roll a d10 to determine the effect of the failure.
1-6: You flub some small gesture or syllable, and the spell consumes your daily spell slot or prepared spell, but does not cast.
7-10: Critical spell failure! The spell nearly activates, but at the last moment you make some small mistake, and the spell rushes out in a way you did not expect. See the individual spell description for the effects of a critical failure.
Divine spellcasters do not have critical successes or failures with their spells, due to the nature of the way they receive and use magical energy. They still need to make casting checks, however; a roll of a 1 or 20 is simply calculated like any other number. This means that spells may will not automatically fail on a 1, but they also might not succeed even on a roll of 20.
As a magic user grows more powerful and learns how to succesfully manipulate ever-increasing amounts of magical energy, it becomes easier to cast formerly difficult spells. Any spell 2 or more levels below the highest level spell you could cast of that type (arcane, divine, etc) is not subject to critical spell failure. On a roll of 1, you simply lose the spell. Any spell 4 or more levels below the highest level spell of a given type you can cast is not lost on a roll of 1, you simply calculate the spellcraft check normally to see if the spell can be cast or overcomes spell resistance.
For example, a sorcerer with access to 9th level spells would not have to worry about critical spell failure for any spell of 7th level or below. The would not need to worry about wasting the spell slot at all for a spell of 5th level or below, though a roll of 1 is unlikely to overcome a target's SR in any event. If the sorcerer also has 1 level of druid, he still has a chance of failure on his druid spells, because his proficiency with arcane magic does not affect elemental spells.
Some spells do not have additional effects if you roll a critical success of failure. The spell is still automatically successful on a roll of 20, and still fails on a roll of 1; there are just no other additional bonuses or penalties (other than using up the spell slot if you fail).
Spell Resistance
Nearly every person and creature has some innate level of Spell Resistance (SR) that helps them avoid and shrug off the effect of spells. The SR of a creature or person is equal to their base SR, plus their save bonus depending on which school the spell is from, plus any bonuses from class features, items, or other spells.
Base SR starts at 5, and increase by 1 for every 2 HD the creature posseses. (same as base AC in my sytem)
For spells from the Transmutation and Necromany schools, add your Fortitude save bonus to your base SR to determine the resistance you have against a spell.
For spells from the schools of Illusion, Enchantment, Divination, and Abjuration add your Will save bonus to your base SR.
For Evocation and Conjuration spells, add your Reflex save bonus to base SR.
If you are unconscious or otherwise totally incapacitated, do not add your saves to your base SR.
Just for clarification; it is intended that you add your entire save bonus, including feats and ability modifiers, to your base SR.
Generally, this SR only counts towards spells that specifically target the person, or if the effects of the spell are inherently magical. For example, SR helps repel the effects of both a Charm Person or a Fireball spell, because they target an individual. SR also helps resist the effects of an Entanglement spell because the vines and roots are magical in nature. SR does not help prevent against the effects of an Earthquake spell, because the spell does not target a person, and the effects (shaking, collapsing walls, fissures) are non-magical results of the spell.
For spells that target an area, compare your SR against the Spellcraft check made when the spell was cast. If the check is higher than your SR, the spell works normally; if the check is lower, you can resist the effects of the spell. Some spells with an extended duration may eventually overcome a creature's Resistance if they spend to long inside the affected area. See individual spells for additional details.
Standard Effects
Your effective SR against that spell will slowly decrease until the spell can affect you as normal. If the spell was cast in the last 24 hours, your effective SR against that spell decreases by 1 each round. If the spell was cast in the last month (30 day period) your effective SR decrease by 1 each minute. If the spell was cast in the last year your effective SR decrease by 1 each hour. If the spell was cast more than a year ago, your effective SR decreases by 1 every 12 hours.
Not all Area of Effect spells allow checks against SR. Alarm, for example, triggers automatically, regardless of how high your SR is.
If you are attempting to cast a spell on yourself, your body and mind ‘recognizes’ your own brand of magic, and automatically reduces your SR against that particular spell to 0, not including any magic items your may be in possession of that grant increases to SR. A friendly target who is aware of what you are doing may reduce their SR against a particular spell to one-half its normal amount as a free action (in effect, choosing not to resist the effects of the magic). This does not include any items the target may be wearing that grant additional SR. This effect can function even if the target is Unconscious or otherwise incapacitated.
Dead targets do not have SR, though the Undead, being products of magic, may have SR. The same goes for golems and other constructs.
Non-magical objects generally have no Spell Resistance. Non-magical objects in some one's possession use that creature's SR. Magical items generally have SR of 10+the level of the magic effect on them. If they are in the possession of a creature, they may use their possessor's SR if it is higher.
If you are unsure of whether or not to use a spell-check or a resistance check when casting, look under the description of each individual spell; there should be a guide to help you determine what DC you need to overcome:
Regular- make your spellcraft check against the DC to cast the spell; if you are successful the spell functions normally
Target Resistance- make your spell check against the target of the spell’s SR
AOE Regular- make a spellcraft check when you cast the spell; when someone enters the area they are immediately subject to the spells affects
AOE Resistance- make a spellcraft check when you cast the spell; when someone enters the area compare their SR to that check to see if they are affected by the spell | For spells with an Instantaneous duration, make a regular spellcraft check to cast the spell, then compare that to each person in the targeted area individually.
[Note: I realized after I started working through this that when players fail to overcome SR, I was treating the spell the same as if they had failed a non-target spellcraft check. What happens to the spell in this case? With the rules I laid out, its as if the spell never cast, which made sense for things like Earthquake, but less so for Fireball or Ray of Frost.
My intent was that SR allows players to shrug off magic effects, but under my own rules, a wizard might “cast” fireballs all day and never actually get one to hit a player. After thinking for a while, I decided that there was no easy solution that didn’t involve adding more checks and complicating the process further, but I didn’t have a problem with this.
Rather than thinking of it as “the player dodges or simply ignores the effects of magical fire”, the spell is like a guided missile, and the target's SR is making it difficult for the caster to get a ‘lock’ on them, and so he can’t cast the spell. Only if he manages to overcome the SR can his spells hit the target. After thinking some more, I decided I actually liked this better, since I was having trouble wrapping my brain around how a magical fireball might NOT cause someone damage without involving counter-magic. In addition, this adds a little longevity to blaster-type casters, since they don’t (usually) have to worry about wasting spells on targets with high SR.]
Caster Level
I’ve always disliked that caster level could somehow be different from character level. If you see anything that reads “caster’s level” or “/level” just assume it means the same as ECL. I’m convinced I can do everything I want to with ECL, and Spellcraft checks. I am emliminating spell-level and the Heighten spell feat; spells will scale automatically and any need for an opposing check against a spell can be done via spellcraft.
If you can explain to me why your Fighter 19/Wizard 1 or other Gish-combo that can make a few more gallons of water (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/createWater.htm) is game breaking, I’ll reconsider my stance.
Bonus Spells
Bonus spells are now always determined by Intellect.
You only recieve bonus spells if you would normally recieve spells of that level from your class.
[Ok, I’m sure this is gonna cause some unholy ruckus, so lemme explain before you break out the pitchforks and torches. It took a long while to settle on what I wanted to do here, so please be assured that this is not a decision I am making on a whim. Basically, I feel that if the only difference between two classes of casters is their primary casting attribute, then that is a failure of the RAW. I fully intend to see that both wizards and sorcerers feel completely different by the time I am done (at the very least, as different as one melee class feels from another).
Just as Strength/Constitution forms the backbone of melee classes, I want Intellect and Wisdom to be the caster-combo. Casters who end up with Intellect/Charisma will be like Dexterity builds; they have a different focus and flavor, but can accomplish much the same thing.
I am planning on adjusting the base level of spells that most casters get, particularly hybrids (like druids), and increasing the amount they get as bonus spells. The end result will be that primary casters will end up at about the same spot, but hopefully with their SAD somewhat reduced. The other important change is that hybrid classes will not be the same as primary casters UNLESS they invest in a spellcaster build, at the expense of their melee stats. Non-primary casters (paladins, rangers, maybe bards, etc) will either stay the same, or get their base spells increased slightly so that they do not need to add Intellect to their already extensive MAD. These classes generally have less powerful and less varied spells, so even if someone stacked intellect and wisdom on their paladin, I am unconcerned that it would be game breaking.]
Bonus Spells by Level
{table=head] Score |Modifier|0 |1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
1|-5|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
2-3|-4|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
4-5|-3|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
6-7|-2|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
8-9|-1|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
10-11|0|1|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
12-13|+1|2|1|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
14-15|+2|2|2|1|--|--|--|--|--|--|--
16-17|+3|3|2|2|1|--|--|--|--|--|--
18-19|+4|3|3|2|2|1|--|--|--|--|--
20-21|+5|3|3|3|2|2|1|--|--|--|--
22-23|+6|4|3|3|3|2|2|1|--|--|--
24-25|+7|4|4|3|3|3|2|2|1|--|--
26-27|+8|4|4|4|3|3|3|2|2|1|--
28-29|+9|4|4|4|4|3|3|3|2|2|1
30-31|+10|5|4|4|4|4|3|3|3|2|2
32-33|+11|5|5|4|4|4|4|3|3|3|2
34-35|+12|5|5|5|4|4|4|4|3|3|3
36-37|+13|5|5|5|5|4|4|4|4|3|3
38-39|+14|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|4|4|3
40-41|+15|6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|4|4
42-43|+16|6|6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|4
44-45|+17|6|6|6|5|5|5|5|5|4|4
etc...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...[/table]
Range
The range for spells has been decreased somewhat.
Long – 100 ft + 10 ft/level
Medium – 50 ft + 5 ft/level
Short – 25 ft + 5/ft 2 levels
Touch – within Reach
Formerly high level spellcasters could hurl spells nearly a quarter mile, well outside the effective range of all but the best archers. Even short and medium range spells easily outdistanced what most non-primary spellcasters could handle. Combat rarely took place at those distances, but it was just one more thing that could lead to abuse and imbalance.
The range of a touch spell is most accurately represented as "less than 1 foot". This means you do not actually need to succeed on a touch attack to deliver a touch spell, you merely need to be within reach.
Metamagic
Metamagic reducers do not stack; only the largest reduction applies to the total adjustment for any single spell. Metamagic reducers cannot reduce a spells level slot below +0.
I intend to tweak some of the most egregious ways to abuse metamagic, mainly Arcane Thesis and DMM. I’ll probably leave most of the metamagic feats where they are, unless someone brings a specific case to my attention.
If you think some metamagic feats are overly inhibitive and choose to alter the enhancement cost (spell slot level increase) I recommend you work within the following philosophy: Any metamagic feat that has a purely positive benefit should have a minimum increase of +1. If you want a metamagic feat to have a level change of +0, there should be an equal possibility of loss or ineffectiveness.
For example, if you wanted to align your spells with lawful (axiomatic) energy to be more effective and deal extra damage to chaotic creatures, then it should have a spell slot increase of at least +1. This is a fairly specific effect, but the cost should only be +0 if the feat also made your spells less effective and dealt less damage to lawful creatures.
Counterspelling
The counterspelling mechanic has been removed and replaced with an actuall spell called "counterspell". It is my hope that I can make this more usefull without it being overpowering.
Spell Books
For casters who use spellbooks to prepare their daily use of magic, they not only record the exact incantations and gestures of a spell, but also any notes on their research or experience devoted to learning the spell, as well as records of it's use and possibly even anecdotes about its effectiveness or lack thereof. This is why several pages of a spellbook may be devoted to a single spell that is ostensibly only one word long.
0 level spells take up 1 page
1st-6th level spells take up 2 pages
7th-9th level spells take up 4 pages
10th+ level spells take up 8 pages
Spellbooks are generally available in 3 sizes:
Standard spellbooks are 12 inches tall, 9 inches wide, and 2.5 inches deep (approx. 30x23x6 cm), weigh 5 lbs., and cost about 15gp. (many wealthy wizards prefer more lavishly decorated tomes, which of course are more expensive) They can hold up to 150 pages worth of spells.
Travel-sized spellbooks (also know as "Apprentice spellbooks") are 7"x5"x1", weigh 1.5 lbs., and cost about 10 gp. They can hold up to 40 pages worth of spells.
Reference spellbooks are 18"x12"x4", weigh 18 lbs., and cost about 300 gp. They can hold up to 500 pages worth of spells, although most creatures do not try to carry such an unwieldly, expensive, and fragile piece of equipment into dangerous situations.
Spell-Like Abilities
Unless the individual ability describes otherwise, Spell-like abilities take 1 Standard action to use and are treated as if they where always succesful (as if you had rolled a natural 20), however they cannot achieve the critical effect of a spell. For purposes of overcoming spell resistance, the spellcraft check of a spell-like ability is considered to be equal to 10+the caster's ECL or CR+Wisdom.
For non-standard SLAs, see the individual description for details.
Supernatural Abilities
Supernatural abilities are inherently different from other magic. Unless the individual ability describes otherwise, Supernatural abilities require a Full-round action to use. For the purpose of overcoming spell resistance, the spellcraft check of a supernatural ability is considered to be equal to 20+the caster's ECL or CR+Charisma.
Feats have been moved here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12543613&postcount=4) to reduce clutter.