Yakk
2007-02-09, 12:53 PM
As has been done many times before, and will be done many times again, here is an attempt to inject some M:tG feel into a D&D magic system.
Lands By Caster Level
{table=head]Level|Lands|Innate[br]Mana|Hand[br]Size|Draw[br]Speed
1st|
2|
0|
1|
1
2nd|
3|
1|
1|
1
3rd|
4|
1|
2|
1
4th|
5|
1|
2|
1
5th|
6|
1|
2|
2
6th|
7|
2|
3|
2
7th|
8|
2|
3|
2
8th|
9|
2|
3|
2
9th|
10|
2|
4|
2
10th|
11|
3|
4|
2
11th|
12|
3|
4|
3
12th|
13|
3|
5|
3
13th|
14|
3|
5|
3
14th|
15|
4|
5|
3
15th|
16|
4|
6|
3
16th|
17|
4|
6|
3
17th|
18|
4|
6|
4
18th|
19|
5|
7|
4
19th|
20|
5|
7|
4
20th|
21|
5|
7|
4[/table]
I'm using a deck, but it is only used for land cards.
Total Lands: The number of lands you can have linked to you. Aka, your deck size.
Innate Mana: The mana that is innate to yourself, not drawn from lands. This mana is always single-coloured.
Hand Size: The number of cards from your deck you have pre-drawn, and your max hand size. If you pass this limit at the end of your turn, place the extra lands on the bottom of your deck.
Draw Speed: How many lands you can draw per turn from your deck.
Deploying your Lands:
Deploying the link to a land card (playing it) is a move-equivilent action that does not provoke an AoO.
Detecting a Land being deployed within 50' is a DC 20 check. If one can see the person deploying the land, one can take 10 on this check. Note that (other than taking 10) this does not need line of sight -- one can feel the land being deployed even through a wall or a door. If someone has land deployed and enters within 50' of you, you can also detect it.
Keeping land deployed is about as fatiguing as engaging in combat.
Casting Spells:
To cast a spell, the player must have sufficient mana availiable. You don't burn the mana to cast the spell -- rather, your magical resources flow through the mana to shape the spell.
Each spell needs to have a "mana requirement". This is the tough part of this job, and it hasn't been done by me. :)
The "total mana" for a spell is equal to (spell level+1). A cantrip is a 1 mana spell, a L 9 spell is a 10 mana spell. As an example, fireball might be RRR1 (3 red mana and 1 other), arcane mark would be 1, Animate Dead would be BBB, Magic Missile would be R1 and Mage Armor would be W1.
Black: necromancy, death and unholy
Blue: water, thought and divination
Red: destruction, fire and chaos
Green: nature and physical enhancement
White: protection, healing and order
You don't tap mana -- simply having it accessable (either innate mana, or "played" like a land) is sufficient to cast the spell. But you have to have enough of the right colour. Your spells/day or spell points limit how many spells you can cast.
Spells mostly require coloured mana. Most spells should be about 2/3 to 1/3 coloured -- ie, a L 9 spell should be 3 to 7 coloured mana, and 7 to 3 mana of any colour. A handful of spells might require all coloured mana. Some spells require only 1 coloured mana. The universal cantrips have no mana colour requirements.
Aquiring Lands:
Lands are actual places. Forming a link with an area requires a 1 day (24 hour) long ritual and requires that the land be unlinked to anyone else. A symbol or glyph is created during that ritual which represents the link -- if the spellcaster is lacking that glyph, they cannot use the link.
Some spellcasters etch their glyphs on their staff, others tattoo it to one's body. Note, however, that if the link with the land is forcefully severed, whatever surface the glyph is inscribed upon takes 2d6 damage -- which sucks if you tatoo your land glyphs on yourself. Staffs, Tattoos, Books, Runestones, Gemstones and Metal Coins are all popular places to place land-glyphs. Inorganic items with at least one land glyph on them get 10 hardness, or the hardness of the innate material, whichever is greater.
A "Land" is about 100 yards by 100 yards (300 feet by 300 feet). Some areas have more mana, and the plots are smaller -- other areas have less. Not all terrain can be used as a "Land" -- how common such areas are should be campaign specific, but I'd propose making basic lands pretty easy to find.
Most lands produce 1 mana of a particular colour -- white, black, blue, red or green. Some special lands work differently. (you can use MtG cards for inspiration. Convert lands that do 1 damage to you to 1d4 damage, lands that enter play tapped as lands that can't be used the turn you play them, etc.)
These special lands are highly prized by Mages.
Note that metamagic effects do not increase the mana requirements of a spell.
Innate Mana
This mana is, as noted, a mixture of single colour mana. Using a 24 hour long ritual you can change one innate mana to another colour.
...
How is that for a first pass? I believe, if one was keen, one could write up cards for spells, and draw all cards randomly. :)
The goal is to get the 'power up' feeling of magic, where as combat progresses your options grow.
Lands By Caster Level
{table=head]Level|Lands|Innate[br]Mana|Hand[br]Size|Draw[br]Speed
1st|
2|
0|
1|
1
2nd|
3|
1|
1|
1
3rd|
4|
1|
2|
1
4th|
5|
1|
2|
1
5th|
6|
1|
2|
2
6th|
7|
2|
3|
2
7th|
8|
2|
3|
2
8th|
9|
2|
3|
2
9th|
10|
2|
4|
2
10th|
11|
3|
4|
2
11th|
12|
3|
4|
3
12th|
13|
3|
5|
3
13th|
14|
3|
5|
3
14th|
15|
4|
5|
3
15th|
16|
4|
6|
3
16th|
17|
4|
6|
3
17th|
18|
4|
6|
4
18th|
19|
5|
7|
4
19th|
20|
5|
7|
4
20th|
21|
5|
7|
4[/table]
I'm using a deck, but it is only used for land cards.
Total Lands: The number of lands you can have linked to you. Aka, your deck size.
Innate Mana: The mana that is innate to yourself, not drawn from lands. This mana is always single-coloured.
Hand Size: The number of cards from your deck you have pre-drawn, and your max hand size. If you pass this limit at the end of your turn, place the extra lands on the bottom of your deck.
Draw Speed: How many lands you can draw per turn from your deck.
Deploying your Lands:
Deploying the link to a land card (playing it) is a move-equivilent action that does not provoke an AoO.
Detecting a Land being deployed within 50' is a DC 20 check. If one can see the person deploying the land, one can take 10 on this check. Note that (other than taking 10) this does not need line of sight -- one can feel the land being deployed even through a wall or a door. If someone has land deployed and enters within 50' of you, you can also detect it.
Keeping land deployed is about as fatiguing as engaging in combat.
Casting Spells:
To cast a spell, the player must have sufficient mana availiable. You don't burn the mana to cast the spell -- rather, your magical resources flow through the mana to shape the spell.
Each spell needs to have a "mana requirement". This is the tough part of this job, and it hasn't been done by me. :)
The "total mana" for a spell is equal to (spell level+1). A cantrip is a 1 mana spell, a L 9 spell is a 10 mana spell. As an example, fireball might be RRR1 (3 red mana and 1 other), arcane mark would be 1, Animate Dead would be BBB, Magic Missile would be R1 and Mage Armor would be W1.
Black: necromancy, death and unholy
Blue: water, thought and divination
Red: destruction, fire and chaos
Green: nature and physical enhancement
White: protection, healing and order
You don't tap mana -- simply having it accessable (either innate mana, or "played" like a land) is sufficient to cast the spell. But you have to have enough of the right colour. Your spells/day or spell points limit how many spells you can cast.
Spells mostly require coloured mana. Most spells should be about 2/3 to 1/3 coloured -- ie, a L 9 spell should be 3 to 7 coloured mana, and 7 to 3 mana of any colour. A handful of spells might require all coloured mana. Some spells require only 1 coloured mana. The universal cantrips have no mana colour requirements.
Aquiring Lands:
Lands are actual places. Forming a link with an area requires a 1 day (24 hour) long ritual and requires that the land be unlinked to anyone else. A symbol or glyph is created during that ritual which represents the link -- if the spellcaster is lacking that glyph, they cannot use the link.
Some spellcasters etch their glyphs on their staff, others tattoo it to one's body. Note, however, that if the link with the land is forcefully severed, whatever surface the glyph is inscribed upon takes 2d6 damage -- which sucks if you tatoo your land glyphs on yourself. Staffs, Tattoos, Books, Runestones, Gemstones and Metal Coins are all popular places to place land-glyphs. Inorganic items with at least one land glyph on them get 10 hardness, or the hardness of the innate material, whichever is greater.
A "Land" is about 100 yards by 100 yards (300 feet by 300 feet). Some areas have more mana, and the plots are smaller -- other areas have less. Not all terrain can be used as a "Land" -- how common such areas are should be campaign specific, but I'd propose making basic lands pretty easy to find.
Most lands produce 1 mana of a particular colour -- white, black, blue, red or green. Some special lands work differently. (you can use MtG cards for inspiration. Convert lands that do 1 damage to you to 1d4 damage, lands that enter play tapped as lands that can't be used the turn you play them, etc.)
These special lands are highly prized by Mages.
Note that metamagic effects do not increase the mana requirements of a spell.
Innate Mana
This mana is, as noted, a mixture of single colour mana. Using a 24 hour long ritual you can change one innate mana to another colour.
...
How is that for a first pass? I believe, if one was keen, one could write up cards for spells, and draw all cards randomly. :)
The goal is to get the 'power up' feeling of magic, where as combat progresses your options grow.