Hey, I got a few spell related questions.

[Shinizak]

Just out of curiosity, how do you figure out what level an original spell should be? for instance, what if I wanted to make a spell that instantly made a creature insanely drunk, or perhaps makes a able to teleport it's self within a painting or television show? how would I stat these abilities? is there a clear set of guide lines?

also, is there any alternate D&D magic systems or spell schools worth checking out?

Thanks.

[Troacctid]

Compare it to other spells of a similar level. Guidelines won't do you much good unless it's something really simple like a direct damage spell.

[KillianHawkeye]

Yeah, pretty much. Sadly, while the books mention creating your own unique spells, the actual process for doing so, both the in-character researching and the out-of-character game balancing, is a huge gray area that was never really elaborated upon.

[JBarca]

Just out of curiosity, how do you figure out what level an original spell should be? for instance, what if I wanted to make a spell that instantly made a creature insanely drunk, or perhaps makes a able to teleport it's self within a painting or television show? how would I stat these abilities? is there a clear set of guide lines?

also, is there any alternate D&D magic systems or spell schools worth checking out?

Thanks.

Only thing I have to add to what others have said is basically ask your DM. Start by looking at spells of an equivalent power level and work from there.

Alternate magic systems? Are you familiar with Psionics, Binding, Shadowcasting, Incarnum, Truenaming (sorry), or Invocations? Those are all "alternate magic (sub)systems," of a sort. They're not arcane or divine, but they're all supernatural. Take a look there if you haven't.

Unless you're looking for homebrew or something? In that case, this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?15-Homebrew-Design) has plenty of that, including a lot of very high quality stuff. Take a look around.

[Rover]

Well, I like to look at similar effects in other spells, ask the player if they want to refluff that spell, and If not allow them to make a similar spell with some changes.

Take your spell of drunkenness:

Step 1: "Hey, look! Ray of exhaustion! This describes almost the exact effects of the spell you want to make! How about we just refluff this as Ray of a Little Too Much To Drink!

Step 2: "No? Okay, what did you have in mind?

Step 3: "You want it to be in the Enchantment school of magic? Well, that's easily fixable!"

Step 4: Drunken Shenanigans

Anything more out of the ordinary is subject to the effects of the spell, and the DM.

[Vogonjeltz]

Just out of curiosity, how do you figure out what level an original spell should be? for instance, what if I wanted to make a spell that instantly made a creature insanely drunk, or perhaps makes a able to teleport it's self within a painting or television show? how would I stat these abilities? is there a clear set of guide lines?

also, is there any alternate D&D magic systems or spell schools worth checking out?

Thanks.

For 3.5? The DMG has official rules on it, I don't think they are in the OGL however. If you don't have that and can't or won't get it, then you're stuck with just winging it using your best judgment.

[Squark]

For 3.5? The DMG has official rules on it, I don't think they are in the OGL however. If you don't have that and can't or won't get it, then you're stuck with just winging it using your best judgment.

They're more like guidelines, actually.

Basically, compare it to other spells.

For your Ray of Drunkenness, how do you want to represent drunkenness? Are we talking poor judgement and impaired reflexes? Near-uncontrollable nausea?

Say you want the spell to penalize dexterity and mental ability scores (Or maybe just Dexterity and Wisdom, although Charisma is probably appropriate too). Ray of Exhaustion is mentioned as a good example, and altering it like so shouldn't be too problematic.

The second spell you described is... rather complicated. If you want to use it for an adventure, it should probably be a difficult but attainable one. Or just use the power of plot and a macguffin (be careful with this, though). If you want to use it as an imprisonment spell, compare it to similar spells.

[Chronos]

The level can also be adjusted by various details of the spell. Take that drunkenness spell, for instance: What defenses work against it? Does the target get a save, and if so, what kind? Or maybe it's a ranged touch attack like a ray, or maybe a melee touch. Or maybe it's both a touch attack and a save, like Disintegrate, or neither, like Irresistable Dance. Spell resistance will probably apply to it, but maybe not. Is it mind-effecting? Does poison resistance or immunity work against it? Does it apply the same to all creature types and sizes? How long does it last-- for a few rounds, or until the target gets a chance to sleep it off? How about the casting time, or the range? If your eyeballing puts it close to some level, but a bit worse than typical spells of that level, then tweak a few of these variables in a favorable way. If it's a bit better than other spells of your target level, then tweak them unfavorably.