Arcane Taboos (replacing arcane spell failure )

Here is my replacement for arcane spell failure.....

Each arcane spellcaster must select an arcane taboo upon character creation. A taboo describes the conditions under which a caster functions at a lower level, cannot funciton at all, or other special penalties to their spellcasting. Here are some guidelines followed by 3 examples of what I'm thinking...

Guidelines for Creating Taboos:
Benefit: Most taboos provide a single benefit, the equivalent of any 1st level class ability.
Reduced Casting: Refers to those conditions under which you function as a spellcaster 2 levels lower (or half your level, whichever is the greater penalty). Exceptions are noted
Prohibited Casting: Refers to those conditions under which you must make DC 20 Will save to cast spells and are fatigued after attempting, whether or not the spell is successfully cast. Exceptions are noted.
Special: These are additional restrictions (or minor benefits) that complete the flavor of the taboo, including restrictions on spell selection, limiting available classes, oaths, social repercussions, alternate ways to memorize spells, etc.


Collective Consciousness (Taboo)
Your magic depends upon you remaining unobserved. The laws of reality are shaped by a collective consciousness. The presence of others seeing your magic calls upon the collective disbelief or condemnation of such things by the greater community.
Coincidental Magic: You gain the coincidental magic feat.
Reduced casting: When observed by a small group (1-10) of people who disbelieve in or condemn magic, you function as a spellcaster 2 levels lower (or half your level, whichever is the greater penalty). Thus, a 1st or 2nd level caster functions as if 0th level and cannot cast spells at all. Likewise, whenever you cast a spell with an obvious effect that would be witnessed by someone who doubts or condemns magic, you suffer these effects.
Prohibited casting: When in a large crowd, you must make a successful DC 20 Will save to cast spells. Whether the spells succeeds or not, this strenuous casting fatigues you.
Special: Casting "wiz-bang" types spells in plain view is hazardous for your reputation, and possibly your life. For every 6 spell levels worth of "loud" magic you cast in plain view in a populous area, you suffer a -2 penalty to all Cha-based checks in that community. Likewise, base reaction toward you in that community decreases by one step (e.g. indifferent to unfriendly). Should reaction toward you shift to hostile, a lynch mob forms to burn you for witchcraft, heresy, consorting with dark powers, atheism, etc.

Hedge Mage (Taboo)
Hedge mages answer the call of the communities they serve in, acting as working-class wizards. Sometimes they charge a fee, but often they will accept gifts of spells, land or livestock. Even promises are legal tender where a hedge mage is concerned. Theirs is the job of agricultural advisor, youth counselor, veterinarian, matchmaker, astrologer, charm crafter, physician, midwife, weather forecaster, herbalist, and arbiter. Your magic is weaker than other wizards, and you find “loud” magic and high-level spells especially intimidating.
Magic in the Mundane: All hedge mages have an ability referred to as magic in the mundane, allowing them to weave their spells into everyday actions. This requires at least one minute to perform. Short actions, like felling a small tree, cradling a baby, or telling a story can be imbued with any 3rd level or lower spell the mage knows. Long-terms actions, like harvesting wood for the winter, nursing a child, or staying in a village for one month as an entertainer can be imbued with any 6th level or lower spell the mage knows. Such spells become indistinguishable to mundane actions, provided they don’t have any material components. Only another hedge mage can detect the spell.
Reduced Casting: When not using the magic in the mundane ability to cast a spell, or when attempting a 7th level or higher spell. Essentially this means a hedge mage must be 15th level to cast a 7th level spell (instead of 13th).
Prohibited Casting: When casting spells which directly target other spellcasters or casting in a royal court.
Special: You gain +2 on all Charisma-based checks among the people of you community you work in, but suffer -2 on all Charisma-based checks made with wizards who look down on your craft. In addition, a hedge mage recovers spells during extended periods of low-intensity work, and not through rest. The hedge mage chooses one skill which is the skill she was taught by her family or mentor. When performing the action of the skill for an hour (e.g. working a loom, caring for the horses, chopping wood), the hedge mage makes a skill check (DC 10). Each additional hour provides a +5 bonus to the check. For each degree of success one spell is recovered. When unable to perform the specific skill, but able to do something similar instead, the base DC is 14, and the mage only gets +2 to the check per extra hour spent.
For example, Sibrun is a hedge mage who uses a pottery wheel to regain spells, the vessels formed from her own hands breathing magic into her. She has a Craft (pottery) skill of +8. Working the wheel for 3 hours (+10), Sibrun rolls a “6” on her skill check. Her total for the check is 24, so she beat the difficulty (10) by 14, which allows her to recover 14 spells.

Court Magus(Taboo)
Every ruler has their vizier, and many pay just as much heed to their court mage. You wear many hats in service to your liege: advisor, diviner, entertainer, herald, scribe. Naturally, like any political creature, you have your own motives, and don’t hesitate to manipulate your lord to get what you want. As an advisor in the royal court, you see magic as a means to an end. You disdain the parlor tricks of lesser mages, and you fully realize the limits of magic ability. Your magic suffers when you are made to act beneath your station, and when acting treacherously against your liege (only if he knows about it though).
Apprehend the Invisible Thread: You are keenly attuned to the telltale signs of magical influence. After interacting with someone who is under the influence of a spell with the charm or compulsion descriptor (or has been within the past 24 hours), you may automatically make a Sense Motive check to notice they’re being manipulated by magic. The DC is the original spell’s DC plus the influencing caster’s Charisma bonus. If a magus who is aware of magical influence spends a minute in conversation with the affected person, they may determine the extent and nature of the influence (DC as above +5). Finally, a magus may determine who the influencing caster is (DC as above +10).
Reduced Casting: When you are insulted in court and are unable to make a cutting reply or stand up in your defense, when you are forced to obey the will of a commoner, when the court believes you’re guilty of some crime (even if you’re innocent), when your liege is suspicious of your motives.
Prohibited Casting: Inside the home and properties of a hedge mage, in a kingdom where nobility isn’t recognized, in the court of your patron’s enemies, when your own liege is against you.
Special: You must choose who your liege is upon selecting this taboo. Should you ever fall out of favor with your liege, you suffer the effects of reduced casting until you gain a new patron. If betrayal was involved in your losing your office, and word has spread of your infidelity, you may have to make do with a less than perfect patron. Often this involves fleeing many miles from the old court.


If we get a couple ideas for taboos, I'll compile them and put them in a nice format for the tsunami relief project which is helping Oxfam help the flood survivors

not what you are going for I know, but I simply changed arcane failure to effect both arcane and divine, but anyone with appropriate proficiency in the armor isnt effected by it

I use a feat: Armored Arcane, which gives a -15% to spell failure the first time you take it, and -10% every time afterward.

Ooh, I -like- these. While not useful to me in the short run for the campaign I'm in, later on the party will be doing planehopping, and magic may work differently in other planes. I like the idea of subtle magic.

On the other hand, subtlty isn't the only source of a potential wizard's power. How about a wizard drawing from other things...


Sky Mage (Taboo)
You draw power from the lights of the sky, and thrive when not under a roof. While both the Sun and the Moon enable you to cast spells, the softer beams from the moon lend themselves more easily to your magic, granting you additional power.
Moonlight Weaving: You cast spells as if one level higher while standing in moonlight, increasing save DCs and other level based effects appropriately. Additionally, when casting spells on targets who are standing in moonlight, their saving throws (if applicable) are reduced by one, as is any spell resistance. Targets and locations in moonlight are considered one step "more familiar" for the purposes of scrying and teleporting.
Reduced Casting: When neither the Sun nor the Moon can be seen in the sky (such as during the "New Moon" phase at night, or a thunderstorm) you function as a spellcaster two levels lower than usual.
Prohibited Casting: When casting from a position in which the sky is not visible, such as in a room with no windows or when underground, you must make DC 20 Will save to cast spells and are fatigued after attempting, whether or not the spell is successfully cast. When inside the area of a Sunlight Spell, you are considered to be able to see the sky.
Special: During Solar and Lunar eclipses, your power grows further as long as you are able to see the sky. You are considered to be a spellcaster two levels higher than usual, and gain temporary knowledge of a single spell of one level higher than you are usually able to cast. This spell may not be chosen from a prohibited school. This knowledge and power fades once the eclipse is over. Targets within sight of the sky during an eclipse have their applicable save bonuses and spell resistance (if any) halved (minimum of -2).

Cool one, Fieari! Here's one that I've been revising for the bad guys in an adventure...

Tainted earth (Taboo)
The earth is tainted after the great cataclysm when the gods left the world and the sinners were punished in the great disaster. You believe the earth is beyond redemption, and aspire to rise to the celestial stars one day. Of course, you must temper your great ambitions. Your magic is weakened whenever you are in touch with the earth or are in the presence of earth-tied beings (druids, plant creatures, earth elementals, etc). To evade these restrictions, you employ a variety of tricks, foremost among them being stilts, but you also employ boats, sedan chairs, even riding golems.
Stilt-Walker: You gain the stilt-walker feat for free.
Reduced casting: Whenever you are in touch with the earth you are shaken and you function as a caster 2 levels lower (or half your level, whichever is the greater penalty). Wearing shoes or riding a living animal/plant constitutes being in touch with the earth, as does climbing a tree below the canopy layer. Being on a building's floor, or on the top most part of a tree above the canopy does not limit your magic, though you are still shaken.
Prohibited casting: When you are barefoot upon the earth, in a druid village, or covered in earth.
Special: You may never become a druid. You cannot learn spells with the earth or plant descriptors.