Harry Potter D20 (3.5 (or Pathfinder))

[CoCoPuffy]

I realize Harry Potter isn't everyone's cup of tea, but there are individuals who very much enjoy the books, movies, etc. and love the entire concept as a setting.
A while back an ingenious group of individuals found a way to make H.P.d20 actually work and unfortunately it didn't get the attention it deserved, because H.P.d20 appeals to a very small and scattered variety of gamer.
Fortunately, they did manage to get the core mechanics down before the thread (i.e. the Harry-Potter-D20-Heavy-3-5-Varient-Help-Needed-PEACH thread.) died and was more or less lost in the internets.
I am interested in reviving their works, or having the original posters revive their works, and possibly turning the completed version into a pdf.
First on my list of to do things will be the Wandmaker. It got off to a good start, but was never completed.
If there is a completed version, or the original author is willing to complete it, that would be amazing. If not, I don't mind finishing it myself or possibly creating my own version.
Ideas I have in mind revolve around wand materials, cores, etc.
I do think wands and wandmakers should have a more significant, if subtle, role in H.P.d20 as wands are considered very nearly necessary and very unique to the individuals chosen by said wands.
Anyway, what do H.P. fans think?

[CoCoPuffy]

The following errata completes the Wandmaker:
- Triple Ability:As Dual Ability, exc. Triple (self-explanatory).
- Master Crafter:Your wand crafting costs and times are halved.
At 10th level, your wand crafting exp. costs become zero.
NB:Wands in HPD20 = (+1/wand ability; plus +2 for unlocked core; plus +5 for master's wand) weapons for all purposes related to crafting costs and times.
- Block Wands:You gain Spell Resistance = 10 + your character level vs. wanded magic.
At 10th level, you gain Immunity to Magic vs. wanded magic.
Add., you gain Spell Resistance = 10 + your character level.
- Master's Wand:Your wand can't be used by anyone else.
Add., you can craft this quality into others' wands.
NB:HPD20 wands are not the same as wands in 3.5 or Pathfinder.

[EndlessKng]

Intriguing idea. Do you have a link to the original thread?

One thing that may need to be considered is Spheres of Power. It has the potential to explain the way wizardry works - using Spheres and Talents to reflect specific spells. There's even ideas for a tradition in the novels series - requiring a wand to utilize magic under normal circumstances, saying the name of the spell, etc. It may not be your cup of tea, but wanted to mention it. I'll see if I can find ways to make a formal tradition specifically for it.

[CoCoPuffy]

wwwDOTgiantitpDOTcom/forums/showthread.php?161166-Harry-Potter-D20-Heavy-3-5-Varient-Help-Needed-PEACH

sitesDOTgoogleDOTcom/site/harrypotterrpgd20/prestige-classes/wandmaker

The House Rules I use...

HPD20 Wizards typically know far fewer spells than Pathfinder Wizards. However, they can cast them, typically as a Standard Action, at will w/No SP cost and w/o foci or material components. HPD20 Wizards normally require a wand, as well as verbal components to cast their spells unless they have the Non-verbal and Wandless Magic abilities.
HPD20 Wizards are treated as having Spell Mastery for every spell they learn.

I also calculate the casting DC for SRD spells as follows...

5 + (1/2 spell level (round up)) + (2x the power point cost a spell would have were it converted to a psionic power via Convert Spell to Power.)

why?

5 (5+0+(2x0)) is the lowest DC, effectively 0th level spells

35 (5+4+(2x13)) is the DC for Avada Kedavra (did I spell that right?), which is basically Finger of Death, effectively 7th level.

[weckar]

Weirdly, I played a HP wizard in 3.5 just fine with minimal homebrewing. Warlock with a focus dependency flaw. They can get Brew potion just fine.

[noob]

Weirdly, I played a HP wizard in 3.5 just fine with minimal homebrewing. Warlock with a focus dependency flaw. They can get Brew potion just fine.

Could the warlock use dozens of different spells like a real hp wizard?
Did you craft a dozen of wands for simulating that?

[EndlessKng]

Could the warlock use dozens of different spells like a real hp wizard?
Did you craft a dozen of wands for simulating that?

I mean, Harry only seems to use about five with any regularity and one of them's a cantrip. In fact, Warlock has previously been my own go-to for simulating HP wizards/witches for similar reasons as weckar mentions.

[CoCoPuffy]

I use the harrypotterrpgd20 (Google should show it immediately) system and add my house rules to it. It's a really good system. Reminds of Green Ronin's Psychic's Handbook for their Psychic class.

[noob]

I mean, Harry only seems to use about five with any regularity and one of them's a cantrip. In fact, Warlock has previously been my own go-to for simulating HP wizards/witches for similar reasons as weckar mentions.

Because only some of his spells are combat spells but for out of combat spells there is a lot of them that are used only a few times or just once.
You are not simulating harry potter wizards properly if you decide to only take in account the combat spells.
Also hermione(which is not higher power) and higher power wizards have a lot more spells.

Let us see: harry potter does apparition(seemingly like teleport and it is as short as a regular teleport), aberto which seems to be able to attract objects that are possibly very far(much better than telekinesis for grabbing objects: it does not needs line of sight), aguamenti(makes water), Ascendio to lift itself in the air(to exit water),confringo(a blasting charm), defundio(digs/carve),depulso(push things away), diffindo(cuts things), episkey(heal minor wounds), expecto patronus and expeliarmus which are used a whole lot of times,furnunculus(covers the target in boils),levicorpus(used to prank ron),locomotor mortis(sticks legs together), lumos and lumos maxima(makes light),point me(finds the north),reducio(shrinks target), reducto(breaks objects), a charm that refills liquids within containers,relashio(makes the target release their grip on what they are holding),reparo(repairs nearly anything that is not organic or magical),rictusempra(tickles target),Riddikulus(extremely specific spell only made to work on boggarts) and finally sectum sempra(cuts creatures).

That makes a total of 20 spells.
And hermione supposedly knows more spells.(So unless we assume that hermione is higher level which does not seems to fit the story then it makes the warlock comparison extremely wrong)
Seems hardly like warlock casting.

Hp wizards have a whole lot of different spells and most of them have low amounts of effect so they always use the same ones in fights.

With a warlock you are not going to simulate hp wizards: you will simulate hp wizard fighting at best.

I think that in order to simulate hp wizards you should probably allow hp casters to learn as many spells as they find provided they take the time to learn them and knows the theory behind the spells(essentially over the levels you would unlock new possible learnable spells).
then afterwards you have the ability to cast any spell you know(possibly at a spell point cost)

It would probably be a spell progression that goes up to level 6 spells(seeing no hp spell seems beyond level 6) with the killing curse being one of those level 6 spells (with possibly the ability to craft items beyond that(such as time turners)).

[weckar]

The more I think about it, the more I wonder whether using d20 isn't akin to squeezing a square peg down a round hole. Wouldn't a system like Cypher or Fate do the trick much more elegantly?

[Tvtyrant]

Knows all cantrips and has them as at-wills and then Warlock goes a long way to be an HP Wizard.