Capoeira
2007-10-15, 03:13 PM
So Ive been spending some time thinking about houserules for a new campaign Ill be starting next year, and It has lead me to develope a new spellcasting system, loosely based on truenaming (mechanically) and elemental manipulation (thematically).
First let me explain my use of skills: I do this to expedite gameplay and simply the char.creation process. skills are based on class and INT, as per 3.5 rules, but instead of points/level you just get trained in your class skills, plus 1/INT bonus.
Untrained skills get a roll of d20 + attribute mod - modifiers/penalties
Trained skills get d20 + 5 + applicable class level + attribute mod - m/p
Specialized skills get d20 + 10 + level + attribute mod - m/p and in many cases can take 10 on a check.
Its not perfectly balanced, but in all cases common sense supercedes the ruleset anyway.
Anyway, on to the beginning of my new spell system:
Taking a look at poopular fiction, I was listings the most useful, powerful, and interesting powers (teleportation, regeneration, elemental, etc.) and comparing them to D20 equivalents when there were. I started to see them as being grouped into a few related categories. Adding and removing ill-fitting selections I worked up a list of basic powers divided into 4 essences, with 4 spheres or schools of training in each:
((if anyone wants to tell me how to do a table that would be nice...))
Listed in general order of difficulty in each group:
Elemental magic (earth/air/fire/water), light and darkness spells, storms/nature effects, electrical/magnetic/gravitational effects, up through the force (ala Lucas) are grouped into the energy essence
Regeneration, augmentation, transmutation, cloaking (camouflage,invis), enchanting, transforming and enchanting are grouped into the Coproreal/Material essence
Extra sensory perception, mind reading, mind tricks, charms, domination, direct psionic attacks and defences, curses, psionic immunology, foresight, and permanent control are grouped in the mental/psionic essence
Telekinesis, levitation/flight, advanced mechanical effects, astral/ethereal sight, a/e travel, voluntary etherialness, teleportation, summoning, planeswalking, and chronolocical effects such as slowing, stopping, or travelling through time are grouped as spiritual/superplanar essence.
each has a slight school tree, which must be climbed to allow access to more complex functions, such as megnetic effects or time stop.
the skill trees look like this:
Energetic
start with elemental sphere, can move into natural -or- electromagnetic, but to learn direct primal force you must have training in all 3 other spheres.
Material
Starts with regeneration sphere, transmutation and cloaking branch from that, but only regeneration and transmutation are needed for the transformation sphere.
Psionic
Starts with perception sphere, grows into psionics sphere of attacks and effects, both of those are required for either domination or superawareness spheres, which are two separete branches and require no overlap.
Aetherial
Starts with telekinesis sphere, expands into etherial/astral planar effects, which is then needed for teleportation, finally temporal effects comes directly from all 3, making it and direct unmanifest force powers the hardesst to get.
Each has a different but similar tree and they look *sort of* arcane drawn out from the middle of a circle. :smallbiggrin:
As far as use, its all skill-based, spontaneous, and very open-ended.
Each of those 16 spheres can be trained to lesser, greater, or mastered levels (just like my skill ruleset, greater gives a +5 to all lesser checks of that sphere, mastery gives +10 to lesser, +5 to all greater) and players will be encouraged to come up with their own spell/effect combinations, with the DC and required skill check being decided upon each spells creation/casting. For example, a level 5 mage who will have greater understanding of the elemental sphere will be able to cast a fireball unlimited times per day, but each casting (as well as circumstancial penalties) subtracts -1 from his success rate and every casting starts with a d20 to see if it even has an effect.
This makes magic far less reliable, occasionally more powerful, and far more adaptable and spontaneous.
other rules Ive come up with so far are:
Must be level 5+ to learn greater level understanding of spheres, level 10 for mastery of a sphere.
skill levels are awarded on a similar path as spell level in 3.5, wizards for example getting 1+ 1/2 levels, scorcerers getting 1/2 levels, palys and rangers get 1/4 levels, etc...
Except that all caster classes get 1 point at every 5 levels in addition for balance reasons.
Here is a list of spells from 3.5 and their aproximate place in this system
fireball
3.5=level 3
mastered elemental effect (requires 3 skills in elemental sphere)
roll d20 to get maximum damage (for example, a roll of 7 minus 3 {for a 13+(attribute bonus) DC} gets 4, a 4d6 fireball with an easy DC)
time stop
3.5=level 9
mastered temporal effect
roll d20 to get duration in rounds
mirror image
3.5=level 2
greater psionic effect, (makes illusions)
roll to get number of images
cure serious wounds
3.5=level 4
greater regeneration
roll for hit dice healed
implosion
3.5=level 9
greater transformation
roll d20 to get DC/damage dealt on save
hellball
3.5 level 10/epic
mastered elemental + greater transmutation + lesser telekinesis effects
probably need a hell of a d20 roll to pull this off without incinerating oneself
shapechange
3.5=level 9
greater transformation
roll d20 to see duration
lightning storm
3.5=level 3
greater nature effect
roll to see DC/damage/number of strikes
Okay, now you guys be nice this is my first time posting such an... experimental... system.
To close, heres an example characer:
Joey
level 7 scorcerer (elemental focus)
spell points 3(1 each at level 1,4,6)+1(bonus at lvl 5)=4
Spellskills:
greater, lesser elemental (2)
lesser telekinesis (1)
lesser electromagnetic/gravitational(1)
so he can fireball(g. elem), levitate(l.tele), throw boulders(l. elec/grav/l.tele), electrocute(l. elec/grav), et cetera depending on the players imagination and dice rolls...
He CANNOT detect thoughts, heal, teleport, summon, transmute/enchant, etc. so this is a very attack-oriented example character.
First let me explain my use of skills: I do this to expedite gameplay and simply the char.creation process. skills are based on class and INT, as per 3.5 rules, but instead of points/level you just get trained in your class skills, plus 1/INT bonus.
Untrained skills get a roll of d20 + attribute mod - modifiers/penalties
Trained skills get d20 + 5 + applicable class level + attribute mod - m/p
Specialized skills get d20 + 10 + level + attribute mod - m/p and in many cases can take 10 on a check.
Its not perfectly balanced, but in all cases common sense supercedes the ruleset anyway.
Anyway, on to the beginning of my new spell system:
Taking a look at poopular fiction, I was listings the most useful, powerful, and interesting powers (teleportation, regeneration, elemental, etc.) and comparing them to D20 equivalents when there were. I started to see them as being grouped into a few related categories. Adding and removing ill-fitting selections I worked up a list of basic powers divided into 4 essences, with 4 spheres or schools of training in each:
((if anyone wants to tell me how to do a table that would be nice...))
Listed in general order of difficulty in each group:
Elemental magic (earth/air/fire/water), light and darkness spells, storms/nature effects, electrical/magnetic/gravitational effects, up through the force (ala Lucas) are grouped into the energy essence
Regeneration, augmentation, transmutation, cloaking (camouflage,invis), enchanting, transforming and enchanting are grouped into the Coproreal/Material essence
Extra sensory perception, mind reading, mind tricks, charms, domination, direct psionic attacks and defences, curses, psionic immunology, foresight, and permanent control are grouped in the mental/psionic essence
Telekinesis, levitation/flight, advanced mechanical effects, astral/ethereal sight, a/e travel, voluntary etherialness, teleportation, summoning, planeswalking, and chronolocical effects such as slowing, stopping, or travelling through time are grouped as spiritual/superplanar essence.
each has a slight school tree, which must be climbed to allow access to more complex functions, such as megnetic effects or time stop.
the skill trees look like this:
Energetic
start with elemental sphere, can move into natural -or- electromagnetic, but to learn direct primal force you must have training in all 3 other spheres.
Material
Starts with regeneration sphere, transmutation and cloaking branch from that, but only regeneration and transmutation are needed for the transformation sphere.
Psionic
Starts with perception sphere, grows into psionics sphere of attacks and effects, both of those are required for either domination or superawareness spheres, which are two separete branches and require no overlap.
Aetherial
Starts with telekinesis sphere, expands into etherial/astral planar effects, which is then needed for teleportation, finally temporal effects comes directly from all 3, making it and direct unmanifest force powers the hardesst to get.
Each has a different but similar tree and they look *sort of* arcane drawn out from the middle of a circle. :smallbiggrin:
As far as use, its all skill-based, spontaneous, and very open-ended.
Each of those 16 spheres can be trained to lesser, greater, or mastered levels (just like my skill ruleset, greater gives a +5 to all lesser checks of that sphere, mastery gives +10 to lesser, +5 to all greater) and players will be encouraged to come up with their own spell/effect combinations, with the DC and required skill check being decided upon each spells creation/casting. For example, a level 5 mage who will have greater understanding of the elemental sphere will be able to cast a fireball unlimited times per day, but each casting (as well as circumstancial penalties) subtracts -1 from his success rate and every casting starts with a d20 to see if it even has an effect.
This makes magic far less reliable, occasionally more powerful, and far more adaptable and spontaneous.
other rules Ive come up with so far are:
Must be level 5+ to learn greater level understanding of spheres, level 10 for mastery of a sphere.
skill levels are awarded on a similar path as spell level in 3.5, wizards for example getting 1+ 1/2 levels, scorcerers getting 1/2 levels, palys and rangers get 1/4 levels, etc...
Except that all caster classes get 1 point at every 5 levels in addition for balance reasons.
Here is a list of spells from 3.5 and their aproximate place in this system
fireball
3.5=level 3
mastered elemental effect (requires 3 skills in elemental sphere)
roll d20 to get maximum damage (for example, a roll of 7 minus 3 {for a 13+(attribute bonus) DC} gets 4, a 4d6 fireball with an easy DC)
time stop
3.5=level 9
mastered temporal effect
roll d20 to get duration in rounds
mirror image
3.5=level 2
greater psionic effect, (makes illusions)
roll to get number of images
cure serious wounds
3.5=level 4
greater regeneration
roll for hit dice healed
implosion
3.5=level 9
greater transformation
roll d20 to get DC/damage dealt on save
hellball
3.5 level 10/epic
mastered elemental + greater transmutation + lesser telekinesis effects
probably need a hell of a d20 roll to pull this off without incinerating oneself
shapechange
3.5=level 9
greater transformation
roll d20 to see duration
lightning storm
3.5=level 3
greater nature effect
roll to see DC/damage/number of strikes
Okay, now you guys be nice this is my first time posting such an... experimental... system.
To close, heres an example characer:
Joey
level 7 scorcerer (elemental focus)
spell points 3(1 each at level 1,4,6)+1(bonus at lvl 5)=4
Spellskills:
greater, lesser elemental (2)
lesser telekinesis (1)
lesser electromagnetic/gravitational(1)
so he can fireball(g. elem), levitate(l.tele), throw boulders(l. elec/grav/l.tele), electrocute(l. elec/grav), et cetera depending on the players imagination and dice rolls...
He CANNOT detect thoughts, heal, teleport, summon, transmute/enchant, etc. so this is a very attack-oriented example character.