FreakyCheeseMan
2013-04-13, 10:25 PM
So, I had an idea recently for a casting concept that would actually rely on all three mental attributes, but in different ways, such that the same class could work with any one of them, but would play differently.
The caster would be something like a Psion - if I actually draw this up, I'll probably use Psionics as the base, cause the general arcane and divine spell lists aren't meant to work this way. (Neither is Psionics, but it's closer.)
So, in order to cast, a player would have to pay a certain number of power points, but also make a casting check vs. a DC inherent in the spell.
Charisma would determine the base number of Power Points available to spend - these would renew with an extended rest, so highly Charismatic casters could use more high-level spells and abilities throughout the day.
Intelligence would inform the casting check itself; some abilities would have higher or lower casting DCs, so even an un-intelligent character would still have spells they could reliably cast. (If I do build this off of already-written Psionic abilities, I might make the casting check apply to a set of custom Metamagic feats - so you could cast almost any spell with a low intelligence, but trying to use metamagic requires more brains.)
Finally, Wisdom would allow the caster to "Channel" a certain number of points every time they cast - essentially, every time they cast, the first X points are free. A character with a low-but-positive Wisdom modifier could function sort of like a low-level warlock, able to do limited blasting every turn, but not much else; with a higher Wisdom, more abilities would be "Free." They wouldn't be able to cast as many high-level abilities as a Charisma-based character, but they could win in endurance fights.
Ideally, it should be possible for a character of this class to be perfectly functional with any one of the mental stats, or with a balance of all three - but, the play styles would be distinct. An intelligent caster would be able to use more complicated spells and meta magic reliable; a charismatic caster would be able to use more high-level abilities more often, while a Wise character would be able to keep using their low-to-mid level abilities indefinitely.
So. Where am I being stupid, and how stupid am I being? :smalltongue:
The caster would be something like a Psion - if I actually draw this up, I'll probably use Psionics as the base, cause the general arcane and divine spell lists aren't meant to work this way. (Neither is Psionics, but it's closer.)
So, in order to cast, a player would have to pay a certain number of power points, but also make a casting check vs. a DC inherent in the spell.
Charisma would determine the base number of Power Points available to spend - these would renew with an extended rest, so highly Charismatic casters could use more high-level spells and abilities throughout the day.
Intelligence would inform the casting check itself; some abilities would have higher or lower casting DCs, so even an un-intelligent character would still have spells they could reliably cast. (If I do build this off of already-written Psionic abilities, I might make the casting check apply to a set of custom Metamagic feats - so you could cast almost any spell with a low intelligence, but trying to use metamagic requires more brains.)
Finally, Wisdom would allow the caster to "Channel" a certain number of points every time they cast - essentially, every time they cast, the first X points are free. A character with a low-but-positive Wisdom modifier could function sort of like a low-level warlock, able to do limited blasting every turn, but not much else; with a higher Wisdom, more abilities would be "Free." They wouldn't be able to cast as many high-level abilities as a Charisma-based character, but they could win in endurance fights.
Ideally, it should be possible for a character of this class to be perfectly functional with any one of the mental stats, or with a balance of all three - but, the play styles would be distinct. An intelligent caster would be able to use more complicated spells and meta magic reliable; a charismatic caster would be able to use more high-level abilities more often, while a Wise character would be able to keep using their low-to-mid level abilities indefinitely.
So. Where am I being stupid, and how stupid am I being? :smalltongue: