Tormsskull
2007-02-13, 02:38 PM
Hey everyone,
I've been trying to come up with a comprehensive spellcasting system that meets some requirements. This is based on 3.5 D&D, and will follow all rules of 3.5 spellcasting except where mentioned.
Spellcasters all share some common traits, which I will define below. What I need help on is the critical thinking. Let me just list what I have so far and then I'll ramble on some more.
Ok, first the premises:
-All spellcasters draw their magic from the same source. They may use different methods to get to the source of magic, but there is only 1 source. The source is unaligned, it is unintelligent, and it has no agenda. It is simply a tool to be used in whatever way a spellcaster chooses to use it.
-All spellcasters are spontaneous spellcasters.
-Spell slots are replaced with spell points.
-Spell points are regained at a rate of 1 per spellcaster level per hour.
-Casting spells is tiring on the body. Casting spells often results in fatigue, exhaustion, and if the caster really overdoes it, death. When a caster reduces himself to 25% or less of his spell point pool he is considered fatigued. If a spellcaster reduces himself to 10% of his spell point pool he is considered exhausted. In addition, if a spellcaster ever uses 50% or more of his total spell point pool on 1 spell he must make an immediate Fortitude DC 15 + level of the spell or become exhausted. If the spellcaster is already exhausted and fails the save he dies, if he succeeds he is knocked unconscious for 2d4 hours.
-All spellcasters can use detect magic at will, this costs 0 spell points. If a spellcaster wishes to hide the presence of his spells (so another cannot detect the traces of it), it costs half again as many spell points. A hidden spell can only be detected on a concentration check of 10 + level of caster + level of spell. For example, a level 18 spellcaster casts a level 7 illusion spell and chooses to hide it. He pays 54 spell points rather than 36. If another spellcaster tries to detect it he must make a concentration check of 35.
-All spellcasters can use dispel magic at will, this costs 0 spell points unless it succeeds. On a success the dispeller pays an equal amount of spell points as the spell that was dispelled cost to create. Any semi-permanent or permanent spells in place (a Arcane Locked door for example) can only be attempted to be dispelled once by a spellcaster. On a failed roll the spellcaster must gain a character level before attempting again.
-All level 1 spellcasters start with a number of spells equal to a level 1 wizard, gaining bonus spells based on intelligence. All spellcasters gain 2 additional spells per level & can expand their repetoire by learning from other spellcasters or on scrolls.
-Divine Spellcasters DO NOT autmatically know all spells of a given level.
-All spellcasters select 2 schools of spells for which they are powerful in (they can learn & use all spells level 1-9 of these schools), 4 schools that they are average strength in (they can learn & use all spells level 1-6 in these schools) and 2 schools that they are weak in (they can learn and used all spells level 1-3 in these schools).
-Spellcasting relies on all three mental attributes, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Intelligence determines how many spells of a given level a spellcaster can know & how often he can cast them, Wisdom determines how powerful those spells are/how hard they are to resist & how quickly his spell points are restored, and Charisma determines a spellcaster's ability to cast spells in schools that he is less powerful in.
Breakdown:
Intelligence grants bonus spells as normal. The spell slot level to spell point conversion is as follow:
{table=head]Spell Slot Level | Spell Points
0 | 1
1 | 3
2 | 6
3 | 10
4 | 15
5 | 21
6 | 28
7 | 36
8 | 45
9 | 54
[/table]
Wisdom: Determines save DCs as normal. For every bonus bonus point of +1 modifier to Wisdom a spellcaster has they regain 1 additional spell point per hour.
Charisma: For every +2 modifier to Charisma a spellcaster has, they increase their maximum spell level possible by 1. This maxes out at level 8 spells for average schools and level 7 spells for weak schools. For example, a spellcaster who has chosen enchantment as one of his weak schools (he can normally only cast spells levels 1-3 in this school) has an 18 Charisma. Due to the 18 Charisma the spellcaster can actually cast up to level 5 enchantment spells. But even if the spellcaster had a Charisma of 30, he could not cast level 8 enchantment spells do to the maximum restriction. See the table below:
{table=head]Charisma Score | Adjustment | Max Level Spell (Average) | Max Level Spell (Weak)
10-11 | - | 6 | 3
12-13 | +1 | 6 | 3
14-15 | +2 | 7 | 4
16-17 | +3 | 7 | 4
18-19 | +4 | 8 | 5
20-21 | +5 | 8 | 5
22-23 | +6 | 8 | 6
24-25 | +7 | 8 | 6
26-27 | +8 | 8 | 7
28-29 | +9 | 8 | 7
30-31 | +10 | 8 | 7
[/table]
-Many spells have their durations drastically reduced. Spells such as fly, invisibility, and windwall are the first that jump to mind. No spell should last so long that a typical wizard can be considered to ALWAYS have it active.
What I think this does:
First, it powers down spellcasters a bit. By forcing wizards to spread their attribute points over more stats it will weaken them. By forcing clerics/druids to spread their attribute points over more stats it will weaken them & in addition by not giving them the entire spell list it will weaken them further. By forcing all spellcasters to have Powerful/Average/Weak schools it powers them all down further.
By making all spellcasters spontaneous casters it grants more flexibility to them & powers them up a bit (Hey, I've taken a lot away from them). By also granting them detect magic & dispel magic it will allow them to handle magical dangers that come their parties' way.
Stuff I'm planning on adding:
New Feats that:
-Reduce the cost to hide a spell.
-Increases spell point regeneration.
-Increase total spell point pool.
(and more)
New Spells that:
-Allow a spellcaster to drain spell points from another caster.
-Allow a spellcaster to connect to another caster thus providing a shared spell point pool.
(and more)
New Items that:
-Reduce the spell point cost of a spell.
-Allow a spellcaster to safely cast spells 1 level higher than they normally could.
-expands a spellcaster's "spells known" lsit by certain specific spells ONLY when the spellcaster is holding onto the item.
Ok, so far any suggestions/comments/questions?
I've been trying to come up with a comprehensive spellcasting system that meets some requirements. This is based on 3.5 D&D, and will follow all rules of 3.5 spellcasting except where mentioned.
Spellcasters all share some common traits, which I will define below. What I need help on is the critical thinking. Let me just list what I have so far and then I'll ramble on some more.
Ok, first the premises:
-All spellcasters draw their magic from the same source. They may use different methods to get to the source of magic, but there is only 1 source. The source is unaligned, it is unintelligent, and it has no agenda. It is simply a tool to be used in whatever way a spellcaster chooses to use it.
-All spellcasters are spontaneous spellcasters.
-Spell slots are replaced with spell points.
-Spell points are regained at a rate of 1 per spellcaster level per hour.
-Casting spells is tiring on the body. Casting spells often results in fatigue, exhaustion, and if the caster really overdoes it, death. When a caster reduces himself to 25% or less of his spell point pool he is considered fatigued. If a spellcaster reduces himself to 10% of his spell point pool he is considered exhausted. In addition, if a spellcaster ever uses 50% or more of his total spell point pool on 1 spell he must make an immediate Fortitude DC 15 + level of the spell or become exhausted. If the spellcaster is already exhausted and fails the save he dies, if he succeeds he is knocked unconscious for 2d4 hours.
-All spellcasters can use detect magic at will, this costs 0 spell points. If a spellcaster wishes to hide the presence of his spells (so another cannot detect the traces of it), it costs half again as many spell points. A hidden spell can only be detected on a concentration check of 10 + level of caster + level of spell. For example, a level 18 spellcaster casts a level 7 illusion spell and chooses to hide it. He pays 54 spell points rather than 36. If another spellcaster tries to detect it he must make a concentration check of 35.
-All spellcasters can use dispel magic at will, this costs 0 spell points unless it succeeds. On a success the dispeller pays an equal amount of spell points as the spell that was dispelled cost to create. Any semi-permanent or permanent spells in place (a Arcane Locked door for example) can only be attempted to be dispelled once by a spellcaster. On a failed roll the spellcaster must gain a character level before attempting again.
-All level 1 spellcasters start with a number of spells equal to a level 1 wizard, gaining bonus spells based on intelligence. All spellcasters gain 2 additional spells per level & can expand their repetoire by learning from other spellcasters or on scrolls.
-Divine Spellcasters DO NOT autmatically know all spells of a given level.
-All spellcasters select 2 schools of spells for which they are powerful in (they can learn & use all spells level 1-9 of these schools), 4 schools that they are average strength in (they can learn & use all spells level 1-6 in these schools) and 2 schools that they are weak in (they can learn and used all spells level 1-3 in these schools).
-Spellcasting relies on all three mental attributes, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Intelligence determines how many spells of a given level a spellcaster can know & how often he can cast them, Wisdom determines how powerful those spells are/how hard they are to resist & how quickly his spell points are restored, and Charisma determines a spellcaster's ability to cast spells in schools that he is less powerful in.
Breakdown:
Intelligence grants bonus spells as normal. The spell slot level to spell point conversion is as follow:
{table=head]Spell Slot Level | Spell Points
0 | 1
1 | 3
2 | 6
3 | 10
4 | 15
5 | 21
6 | 28
7 | 36
8 | 45
9 | 54
[/table]
Wisdom: Determines save DCs as normal. For every bonus bonus point of +1 modifier to Wisdom a spellcaster has they regain 1 additional spell point per hour.
Charisma: For every +2 modifier to Charisma a spellcaster has, they increase their maximum spell level possible by 1. This maxes out at level 8 spells for average schools and level 7 spells for weak schools. For example, a spellcaster who has chosen enchantment as one of his weak schools (he can normally only cast spells levels 1-3 in this school) has an 18 Charisma. Due to the 18 Charisma the spellcaster can actually cast up to level 5 enchantment spells. But even if the spellcaster had a Charisma of 30, he could not cast level 8 enchantment spells do to the maximum restriction. See the table below:
{table=head]Charisma Score | Adjustment | Max Level Spell (Average) | Max Level Spell (Weak)
10-11 | - | 6 | 3
12-13 | +1 | 6 | 3
14-15 | +2 | 7 | 4
16-17 | +3 | 7 | 4
18-19 | +4 | 8 | 5
20-21 | +5 | 8 | 5
22-23 | +6 | 8 | 6
24-25 | +7 | 8 | 6
26-27 | +8 | 8 | 7
28-29 | +9 | 8 | 7
30-31 | +10 | 8 | 7
[/table]
-Many spells have their durations drastically reduced. Spells such as fly, invisibility, and windwall are the first that jump to mind. No spell should last so long that a typical wizard can be considered to ALWAYS have it active.
What I think this does:
First, it powers down spellcasters a bit. By forcing wizards to spread their attribute points over more stats it will weaken them. By forcing clerics/druids to spread their attribute points over more stats it will weaken them & in addition by not giving them the entire spell list it will weaken them further. By forcing all spellcasters to have Powerful/Average/Weak schools it powers them all down further.
By making all spellcasters spontaneous casters it grants more flexibility to them & powers them up a bit (Hey, I've taken a lot away from them). By also granting them detect magic & dispel magic it will allow them to handle magical dangers that come their parties' way.
Stuff I'm planning on adding:
New Feats that:
-Reduce the cost to hide a spell.
-Increases spell point regeneration.
-Increase total spell point pool.
(and more)
New Spells that:
-Allow a spellcaster to drain spell points from another caster.
-Allow a spellcaster to connect to another caster thus providing a shared spell point pool.
(and more)
New Items that:
-Reduce the spell point cost of a spell.
-Allow a spellcaster to safely cast spells 1 level higher than they normally could.
-expands a spellcaster's "spells known" lsit by certain specific spells ONLY when the spellcaster is holding onto the item.
Ok, so far any suggestions/comments/questions?