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View Full Version : [PEACH, 3.5] Mana Restoration: Spells and Potions



Maginomicon
2013-10-22, 01:57 PM
I made a number of changes to the SRD's Spell Points variant and the Vitalizing subvariant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/spellPoints.htm) to make them "non-broken". One of these changes was to implement "Mana Restoration" spells and potions.

Important New Concepts In a Nutshell

There are a few non-negotiable new concepts (which I go into exhaustive detail in the campaign setting document but give only the basic gist below):

All spellcasters are innately vulnerable to the fatigue and exhaustion state effects ("state effect" means it's not a temporary effect, but the actual condition state) and ability burn. No state or effect of any sort can ever give a spellcaster blanket immunity to fatigue, exhaustion, or ability burn (including among other things creature type/subtype). This is done for a number of reasons, but most significantly so that the Vitalizing subvariant has a real impact upon spellcasters, and the taxing effects of using spell points should never be mitigated. It also makes a lot of sense thematically.

Spell Point Burn are a number of special points specific to each of your casting classes and exist so that using Spell Points taxes your mind as well as your body. Every time you cast a spell, you must first succeed on a special Concentration check that incorporates how much Spell Point Burn you currently have in that class. You also must succeed on a similar concentration check when trying to cast a spell that exceeds your current Spell Points. Further, Spell Point Burn causes and is directly tied to Ability Burn in the ability that determines the Save DCs for that class at a ratio of 4:1 (thus, gaining Spell Point Burn usually reduces the maximum spell level you can cast and always reduces the Save DCs of spells you cast in that class). You gain Spell Point Burn by exceeding your current Spell Points and lose Spell Point Burn when the associated ability burn heals. Spell Point Burn is also a new spell component, albeit only for the mana restoration spells.

There are limits to how many spell points you can regain from any given effect other than rest. Whether your Spell Point maximum is greater than 1, whether you're a single-class/multiclass spellcaster, and whether you're currently fatigued/exhausted are all factors in determining how many spell points you actually regain from the effect.

The Potions

These come in two varieties depending on the spell used for the potion (either lesser mana restoration or mana restoration). Further, unlike most potions, you're highly likely to find them in the wild or in stores with increased caster level. The costs for potions of lesser mana restoration and potions of mana restoration are described in the table below.

(the "N/A" entries below refer to the fact that you either can't cast or there'd be no benefit to casting the spell at that specific caster level)

{table=head] Caster Level | Potion of Lesser Mana Restoration | Potion of Mana Restoration
3 | 525 gp (6 SP) (Item Level 3rd) | N/A |
4 | 700 gp (8 SP) (Item Level 3rd) | N/A |
5 | 875 gp (10 SP) (Item Level 4th) | N/A |
6 | 1050 gp (12 SP) (Item Level 4th) | N/A |
7 | 1225 gp (14 SP) (Item Level 4th) | 2275 gp (21 SP) (Item Level 6th) |
8 | 1400 gp (16 SP) (Item Level 5th) | 2600 gp (24 SP) (Item Level 7th) |
9 | 1575 gp (18 SP) (Item Level 5th) | 2925 gp (27 SP) (Item Level 7th) |
10 | 1750 gp (20 SP) (Item Level 5th) | 3250 gp (30 SP) (Item Level 8th) |
11 | N/A | 3575 gp (33 SP) (Item Level 8th) |
12 | N/A | 3900 gp (36 SP) (Item Level 8th) |
13 | N/A | 4225 gp (39 SP) (Item Level 9th) |
14 | N/A | 4550 gp (42 SP) (Item Level 9th) |
15 | N/A | 4875 gp (45 SP) (Item Level 9th) |
16 | N/A | 5200 gp (48 SP) (Item Level 10th) |
17 | N/A | 5525 gp (51 SP) (Item Level 10th) |
18 | N/A | 5850 gp (54 SP) (Item Level 10th) |
19 | N/A | 6175 gp (57 SP) (Item Level 10th) |
20 | N/A | 6500 gp (60 SP) (Item Level 10th) |
[/table]
NOTE: While potions of lesser mana restoration can be created by anyone with the Brew Potion feat, mana restoration is a 4th level spell, so only Master Alchemists (Magic of Faerun PrC) of 2nd level or higher can craft a potion of mana restoration and their market value follows those rules for potion creation.

The Spells

Mana Restoration

Evocation
Level: Brd 4, Clr 4, Drd 4, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, Burn
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Spellcaster touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

The effects of mana restoration are different depending on the caster level used when casting the spell (remember that you can always lower the caster level of a spell to as low as you want down to the minimum caster level of the spell). Regardless of the caster level, all of the spellcaster’s 0-level spells per day are recovered for all of their spellcasting classes.

Up through caster level 20, the affected spellcaster recovers a number of spell points in each of their spellcasting classes equal to three times the caster level. Beyond caster level 20, the number of spell points recovered is 60.

Use the rules for either “Single-Classed Spellcaster Exceptions” or “Multiclassed Spellcaster Exceptions” as appropriate to determine the limits on how many spell points are recovered (since this spell recovers spell points for all of their spellcasting classes).

Burn Cost: The burn cost is equal to three times the caster level.

Special: For the purposes of creating magic items, only potions of mana restoration can be created. For the purposes of making a potion of mana restoration, ignore the burn cost and treat this spell as having an XP cost of 25 per caster level. In addition, as a 4th-level spell potions of mana restoration can only be crafted by Master Alchemists (Magic of Faerun PrC) of 2nd level or higher and their market value follows those rules for potion creation.

Mana Restoration, Lesser

Evocation
Level: Brd 2, Clr 2, Drd 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, Burn
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Spellcaster touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

This spell functions like mana restoration, except that up through caster level 10, the affected spellcaster recovers a number of spell points in each of their spellcasting classes equal to two times the caster level. Beyond caster level 10, the number of spell points recovered is 20. All other effects and limits described for mana restoration also apply here.

Burn Cost: The burn cost is equal to two times the caster level.

Special: For the purposes of creating magic items, only potions of lesser mana restoration can be created. For the purposes of making a potion of lesser mana restoration, ignore the burn cost and treat this spell as having an XP cost of 25 per caster level. Unlike mana restoration, as a 2nd-level spell potions of lesser mana restoration can be crafted by anyone with the Brew Potion feat and their market value follows that feat’s rules for potion creation.

What I want to know:


PEACH about the above homebrew as a whole (if you outright want to see the full details of my changes to the Spell Points variant and the Vitalizing subvariant, PM me).
Edge cases that I might not have accounted for yet.
Corrections to the calculations used for the potion costs and item levels.
Suggestions for how to better balance the potions/spells (such as by comparing the Item Level to the number of spell points a caster might realistically have at that level (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=284086)).

What I don't want to hear:

Complaints about the original Spell Points variant as a whole.
Complaints about the original Vitalizing subvariant as a whole.
Complaints about how spellcasters are already too powerful to warrant a spell point recovery method of any sort.
Complaints about the premise of caster vulnerability to fatigue/exhaustion/ability burn.
Complaints about the premise of Spell Point Burn.
Complaints about the premise of limiting how many spell points you can regain.