MoleMage
2014-02-28, 05:33 PM
So this started with a desire to design a system whereby magic had a corrupting influence on those who used it. I wanted to do this because my friend was running a setting where arcane casters (well, mostly wizards, sorcerers were rare but okay) were feared and hated even though arcane magic had no ill effects for using it, because an extremely powerful faction of necromancers had antagonized most societies for centuries. I wanted a setting where wizards could be good or bad, but the magic itself was bad. Here are some of my working notes. Wizard is almost completely updated to the new system, and I'll post that once I finish typing the new class features.
Note that what is below is intended to apply to arcane casters specifically. I have a similar system in very early workshop stage for divine casters, focusing on the fact that they get their magic from gods (who can perfectly safely use magic) who do not give magic out infinitely. I am currently thinking of ways to mechanicize that system.
Please note: This represents a more or less complete overhaul of the magic system and the magic-using classes will have to be rebuilt to accommodate it.
Design Goals
Limit spellcasting in a penalties-based way rather than a hard limit.
Increase the availability of "minor" (1st and 2nd level) spells, so that spellcasters don't burn through everything that makes them spellcasters at early levels
Decrease the availability of high level (especially 6th and up) spells, with an aim at making them more "drastic" measures.
Add more class options to spellcasters. This is partly to compensate for dampening their world-shattering power and partly to make them more fun to design.
Fluff
Mortals, as a whole, are incapable of truly grasping arcane magic. Attempts to use arcane energy existing in the world always leave a stain on the person who does so. If too much corruption builds up, or the person is unlucky, or both, the forces of magic start to pull them apart, causing any number of effects ranging from nosebleeds to demonic possession. Never failing in ingenuity, however, mortal spellcasters have discovered a number of methods of reducing the corruption they must take in to use magic. Wizards use Book Magic, infusing some of the energy of spells into written marks. Sorcerers form a bond with an animal or spirit familiar, gaining an ally that can share the strain of corruption. Bards learn to use music or dance to shape the energies of magic without needing to draw the full amount into their person. Warlocks sign a pact with a magical entity of great power, pledging their souls and power to that being in exchange for some protection from the energies of magic.
Current Notes:
Arcane Mechanic:
Whenever you cast a spell, you gain the corruption points according to the spell level and your class. After the spell’s effect take place, roll d%. If the result is equal to or lower than your current corruption total, you suffer a corruption effect according to the result of the corruption check.
Big changes:
Spellcasters no longer have a hard limit on the number of spells per day they can cast. Instead, they are limited by how much they are willing to corrupt themselves (risking corruption penalties). Any spellcaster can use any spell they know at any time, but they generally suffer greater corruption effects if they don’t adhere to specific limitations (which are limited per day). Example: Wizards suffer increased corruption for casting a spell which they did not prepare, with limited prepared spells per day.
Removed Feat:
Scribe Scroll
Replaced with Infuse Orb, which creates orbs rather than scrolls. The rules for crafting and activating an Orb are the same as for scrolls, except as follows: Read Magic does not work for identifying an Orb, and rather than be read, the orb must simply be focused on. (Scribe Scroll now a wizard class feature.
Removed or changed spell features:
Material, Verbal, Somatic Components.
Now defined by the class using the spell rather than the spell itself (bards always have verbal components, wizards have the new visual component which requires them to read something, etc.)
Expensive Material Components.
Generally spells with expensive material components now are a higher spell level or cost additional corruption. There will be rules for designing material components for ANY spell, which lower its corruption rate when used for that spell.
Focus components
Spells with inexpensive focus components will simply have this removed. Spells with expensive focus components will work like expensive material components above. There will be rules for crafting foci for ANY spell, which lowers the corruption cost of using that spell.
RULES FOR THE ABOVE TWO NOTES (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nkqan4TCfBBqau8P-hW3MDDmkoos-GERn3czRAWWIRA/pub)
Reworked classes:
Arcane casters. Initial focus is on Wizards, Sorcerers, Bards, and Warlocks.
Divine casters. Will use a slightly different mechanic (which also requires a d% roll) to cast spells.
Metamagic feats:
Metamagic feats function similarly, but now cause the spell they affect to be treated as a higher level for the purposes of corruption only, and are prepared (if applicable) as the base spell's level.
The Corruption Chart:
I haven't truly gotten to this part yet. I actually am posting this early partly in the hopes that my fellow playgrounders will help me design a chart!
As mentioned in the current notes above, the result of a failed corruption roll determines which corruption on the chart you receive. This means that if you have a corruption of 25 and fail a corruption check, you only would need to suffer the effects of anything between 1 and 25. With that in mind, more severe effects should be further down on the corruption chart (closer to 100, in other words). As target categories, my friend and I settled on 1-40 being "minor effects" (temporary and livable penalties which have very low chance of removing your character from action), 41-80 being "moderate penalties" (those which are less temporary or incur sever penalties, but can still be overcome), and 81-100 being "severe penalties" (which include things like permanent possession, those effects which are almost certainly going to remove your character from present goings-on and which are reasonably likely to result in loss of character. Only the very lucky or the very well prepared should be able to deal with these).
Minor Effects (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W52aS0BV96hYM2QkH8dePXMPTTsg_aWNuhUF78h69KI/pub)
Classes Being Reworked:
I'll include a progress estimate for each class as I go.
Wizard (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gIP2I3PuouOthhOuQysowt9dl7ut3_DSBPJ2mDiAf6Q/pub) (Finished Draft)
Sorcerer (Tentative framework)
Warlock (Concept)
Bard (Concept)
The Arcane Spell list:
That's right. As part of the project, I'm rolling all the arcane spell lists into one big list. As of yet, it consists of all Sorcerer/Wizard spells at their pre-existing level which do not have expensive material or focus components or experience point costs. I'm going to go through the Warlock invocations and the bard spells eventually and decide which ones deserve to be made into more general spells and what Sorcerer/Wizard spell level they count as. I'm also going to go through the spells which have expensive components or experience costs and adjust their levels and/or corruption rates to compensate for removing said components or costs.
Note that what is below is intended to apply to arcane casters specifically. I have a similar system in very early workshop stage for divine casters, focusing on the fact that they get their magic from gods (who can perfectly safely use magic) who do not give magic out infinitely. I am currently thinking of ways to mechanicize that system.
Please note: This represents a more or less complete overhaul of the magic system and the magic-using classes will have to be rebuilt to accommodate it.
Design Goals
Limit spellcasting in a penalties-based way rather than a hard limit.
Increase the availability of "minor" (1st and 2nd level) spells, so that spellcasters don't burn through everything that makes them spellcasters at early levels
Decrease the availability of high level (especially 6th and up) spells, with an aim at making them more "drastic" measures.
Add more class options to spellcasters. This is partly to compensate for dampening their world-shattering power and partly to make them more fun to design.
Fluff
Mortals, as a whole, are incapable of truly grasping arcane magic. Attempts to use arcane energy existing in the world always leave a stain on the person who does so. If too much corruption builds up, or the person is unlucky, or both, the forces of magic start to pull them apart, causing any number of effects ranging from nosebleeds to demonic possession. Never failing in ingenuity, however, mortal spellcasters have discovered a number of methods of reducing the corruption they must take in to use magic. Wizards use Book Magic, infusing some of the energy of spells into written marks. Sorcerers form a bond with an animal or spirit familiar, gaining an ally that can share the strain of corruption. Bards learn to use music or dance to shape the energies of magic without needing to draw the full amount into their person. Warlocks sign a pact with a magical entity of great power, pledging their souls and power to that being in exchange for some protection from the energies of magic.
Current Notes:
Arcane Mechanic:
Whenever you cast a spell, you gain the corruption points according to the spell level and your class. After the spell’s effect take place, roll d%. If the result is equal to or lower than your current corruption total, you suffer a corruption effect according to the result of the corruption check.
Big changes:
Spellcasters no longer have a hard limit on the number of spells per day they can cast. Instead, they are limited by how much they are willing to corrupt themselves (risking corruption penalties). Any spellcaster can use any spell they know at any time, but they generally suffer greater corruption effects if they don’t adhere to specific limitations (which are limited per day). Example: Wizards suffer increased corruption for casting a spell which they did not prepare, with limited prepared spells per day.
Removed Feat:
Scribe Scroll
Replaced with Infuse Orb, which creates orbs rather than scrolls. The rules for crafting and activating an Orb are the same as for scrolls, except as follows: Read Magic does not work for identifying an Orb, and rather than be read, the orb must simply be focused on. (Scribe Scroll now a wizard class feature.
Removed or changed spell features:
Material, Verbal, Somatic Components.
Now defined by the class using the spell rather than the spell itself (bards always have verbal components, wizards have the new visual component which requires them to read something, etc.)
Expensive Material Components.
Generally spells with expensive material components now are a higher spell level or cost additional corruption. There will be rules for designing material components for ANY spell, which lower its corruption rate when used for that spell.
Focus components
Spells with inexpensive focus components will simply have this removed. Spells with expensive focus components will work like expensive material components above. There will be rules for crafting foci for ANY spell, which lowers the corruption cost of using that spell.
RULES FOR THE ABOVE TWO NOTES (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nkqan4TCfBBqau8P-hW3MDDmkoos-GERn3czRAWWIRA/pub)
Reworked classes:
Arcane casters. Initial focus is on Wizards, Sorcerers, Bards, and Warlocks.
Divine casters. Will use a slightly different mechanic (which also requires a d% roll) to cast spells.
Metamagic feats:
Metamagic feats function similarly, but now cause the spell they affect to be treated as a higher level for the purposes of corruption only, and are prepared (if applicable) as the base spell's level.
The Corruption Chart:
I haven't truly gotten to this part yet. I actually am posting this early partly in the hopes that my fellow playgrounders will help me design a chart!
As mentioned in the current notes above, the result of a failed corruption roll determines which corruption on the chart you receive. This means that if you have a corruption of 25 and fail a corruption check, you only would need to suffer the effects of anything between 1 and 25. With that in mind, more severe effects should be further down on the corruption chart (closer to 100, in other words). As target categories, my friend and I settled on 1-40 being "minor effects" (temporary and livable penalties which have very low chance of removing your character from action), 41-80 being "moderate penalties" (those which are less temporary or incur sever penalties, but can still be overcome), and 81-100 being "severe penalties" (which include things like permanent possession, those effects which are almost certainly going to remove your character from present goings-on and which are reasonably likely to result in loss of character. Only the very lucky or the very well prepared should be able to deal with these).
Minor Effects (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W52aS0BV96hYM2QkH8dePXMPTTsg_aWNuhUF78h69KI/pub)
Classes Being Reworked:
I'll include a progress estimate for each class as I go.
Wizard (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gIP2I3PuouOthhOuQysowt9dl7ut3_DSBPJ2mDiAf6Q/pub) (Finished Draft)
Sorcerer (Tentative framework)
Warlock (Concept)
Bard (Concept)
The Arcane Spell list:
That's right. As part of the project, I'm rolling all the arcane spell lists into one big list. As of yet, it consists of all Sorcerer/Wizard spells at their pre-existing level which do not have expensive material or focus components or experience point costs. I'm going to go through the Warlock invocations and the bard spells eventually and decide which ones deserve to be made into more general spells and what Sorcerer/Wizard spell level they count as. I'm also going to go through the spells which have expensive components or experience costs and adjust their levels and/or corruption rates to compensate for removing said components or costs.