I've been thoroughly dissatisfied with the Epic Spellcasting rules, so I decided to try my hand at some variant rules.
I've read the Immortals Handbook thread, and that inspired me to devise something balanced for our campaign. Not to criticize the yet unpublished work of the esteemed UK (keep up the good work
), our group is currently wading into Epic territory, and we need something better than the SRD/ELH, and before 2005.
The approach I used include:
I would appreciate any constructive comments on how this approach is balanced (or utterly broken ).
Edit: Call for Epic Playtesters!
Edit: Revamped version 1.5
After some playtesting, some more radical changes were made to simplify the system. Most notably:
Edit: Previous comments from 1.3 (still applicable)
Giving some more thought, and with some discussions within our group, I revamped to system to accomplish the following goals:
I have therefore decoupled the actual use of spell slots above 9th level, which are basically normal additional spells per day gained with spellcaster levels, from the creation process. The creation process is flexible enough so that it can use published epic spells as well as existing non epic spells modified so that they become epic spells. This is to minimize player and DM effort to create new epic spells.
I have attempted to balance spell power with the flexibility for different effects. The "modification" aspect for the conversion of non epic spells into epic spells has been toned down somewhat to not overshadow metamagic feats, but provide effects that are not normally granted by those feats.
Andargor
I've read the Immortals Handbook thread, and that inspired me to devise something balanced for our campaign. Not to criticize the yet unpublished work of the esteemed UK (keep up the good work
), our group is currently wading into Epic territory, and we need something better than the SRD/ELH, and before 2005.The approach I used include:
- A more linear progression from non-epic levels
- A "more uses, less über" progression
- Less discrepancy in the power levels of the resulting Epic spells (even things out)
- A few perks that go with Epic, understanding that (for us), Epic does not mean Divine.
I would appreciate any constructive comments on how this approach is balanced (or utterly broken
).Edit: Call for Epic Playtesters!
Edit: Revamped version 1.5
After some playtesting, some more radical changes were made to simplify the system. Most notably:
- The requirements for the Epic Spellcasting feat, Spellcraft ranks and/or Knowledge (arcana or religion) ranks have been dropped in order to streamline the epic spell system with the non epic spell system. ECL 21 is however still required.
- The conversion process from non epic spells to epic spells has been changed so that spell levels are standardized regardless of the characters abilities (skill ranks, Improved Metamagic, etc.). So a 10th level spell is a 10th level spell for everyone.
- The creation of epic spells from non-epic spells is still based on stacking metamagic feats and modifications, but there are no limits to how many can be added up to the final epic spell level and a spellcaster need not possess the specific metamagic feats used for the creation process. They are simply used to reflect the cost of improvements. Metamagic feat level increases, however, incur a 25% premium to reflect the fact that the spell DC is based on the final epic spell level. E.g. Intensify Spell at +7 level increase is the equivalent of 2 x Empower Spell and 1 x Maximize Spell, so Intensify Spell becomes less attractive for an epic spellcaster since the save DC remains at the non-epic level. Hence the premium.
Edit: Previous comments from 1.3 (still applicable)
Giving some more thought, and with some discussions within our group, I revamped to system to accomplish the following goals:
- Streamline epic spell slot progression with the existing system.
- Minimize as much as possible epic spell creation effort, while at the same time offering flexibility for new spells and reusability of existing published material.
- Keep it simple during gameplay.
I have therefore decoupled the actual use of spell slots above 9th level, which are basically normal additional spells per day gained with spellcaster levels, from the creation process. The creation process is flexible enough so that it can use published epic spells as well as existing non epic spells modified so that they become epic spells. This is to minimize player and DM effort to create new epic spells.
I have attempted to balance spell power with the flexibility for different effects. The "modification" aspect for the conversion of non epic spells into epic spells has been toned down somewhat to not overshadow metamagic feats, but provide effects that are not normally granted by those feats.
Andargor
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