Runecaster

[unknownmercury]

So, I decided to try my hand at homebrewing a magic class. The idea is, instead of knowing a certain number of spells he can cast, this character will be able to learn a certain number of 'Runes' that each have different effects. Think the Shouts in Skyrim. I haven't figured out class skills, weapon or armor, so with just the very basics, here is the Runecaster and the list of Runes I've thought up:

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Runes Known

1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+1|Runespeak|
3

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+2||
4

3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+2|Bonus Rune|
6

4th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3||
7

5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|Scribe Rune|
9

6th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+4|Bonus Rune|
11

7th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+4||
12

8th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+5||
13

9th|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+5|Bonus Rune|
15

10th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+6|Rune Tattoo|
16

11th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+6||
17

12th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+7|Bonus Rune|
19

13th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+7||
20

14th|
+7/+2|
+4|
+4|
+8||
21

15th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+8|Bonus Rune|
23

16th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+9||
24

17th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+9||
25

18th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+10|Bonus Rune|
27

19th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+10||
28

20th|
+10/+5|
+6|
+6|
+11||
29[/table]

Runespeak: At first level, a Runecaster can call upon the words of power that are runes, forming them into spell sentences.

Bonus Rune: At 3rd level and every 3 levels thereafter, a Runecaster learns an additional rune along with the one normally granted for that level.

Scribe Rune: At 5th level, the Runecaster gains the ability to scribe runes onto items and scrolls. When activated, the runes cast the spell on the item so inscribed (Or on the target specified for scrolls.)

Rune Tattoo: At 10th level, the Runecaster learns how to scribe runes on people. The tattoo lasts for 24 hours or until used. As a standard action, any non-runecaster tattooed with a rune can cast the spell, requiring a Use Magic Device check with DC 10+Number of Runes used. The subject must be willing and know what the Runes do.

Rune List:
There are 37 runes, split up into three different groups. Subject runes determine what is being manipulated, verb runes determine what is happening, and range runes are used to determine the range of the spell. A rune sentence consists of at least 3 runes: A subject, a verb, and a range.

Subject Runes:
Acid
Air
Animal
Body
Charisma
Cold
Constitution
Chaos
Death
Dexterity
Earth
Electricity
Fire
Force
Human
Intelligence
Monster
Person
Strength
Sonic
Water
Wisdom

Verb Runes:
Blast
Create
Crush
Cure
Deceive
Decrease
Harm
Increase
Protect
Reveal

Range Runes:
Allies
Area
Foes
Self
Touch

[AttilaTheGeek]

Hm! This looks very similar to the Truenamer or Pathfinder's "words of power" variant, which you might want to steal from use for inspiration. I'd provide links, but I'm posting from my phone. I'll edit them in when I get back to my computer.

I don't really get how exactly runes work. Are they at-wills, similar to the Warlock's Invocations? Do they have individual cooldowns, like the first Mass Effect game, or shared cooldowns like Skyrim? Are they use-limited (per encounter or per day)? You don't need to write up a whole bunch, but including two or three examples would help communicate your ideas.

[unknownmercury]

I'm not entirely sure how accessible they should be. That's part of why I came here. But an example of a low-level rune sentence would be "Body, Heal, Touch" and it would work like the spell 'Cure Light Wounds.' And you would add in an additional 'Heal' for instance to get 'Body, Heal, Heal, touch' to get 'Cure Moderate Wounds' and so on and so forth.

[AttilaTheGeek]

I'm not entirely sure how accessible they should be. That's part of why I came here. But an example of a low-level rune sentence would be "Body, Heal, Touch" and it would work like the spell 'Cure Light Wounds.' And you would add in an additional 'Heal' for instance to get 'Body, Heal, Heal, touch' to get 'Cure Moderate Wounds' and so on and so forth.

That sounds exactly like the Words of Power (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateMagic/ultimateMagicWordsOfPower.html) system. For example, the equivalent of Cure Light Wounds would be "Lesser Cure, Selected Target". You could make a powerful area heal by changing it to "Boosted Elder Cure, Burst". You could even make it heal anyone who passed through a wall across the map by saying "Greater Cure, Distant Barrier".

[unknownmercury]

That is almost exactly what I was looking to do. However, I think I'm going to stick with the level progression and just incorporate Wordspells into the homebrew.