D&D General Alternatives to spell slots and spell points

[M.T. Black]

I have a little Weird World War II game I run at conventions. It is currently 5E, which works surprisingly well but is a bit heavy for the two-hour experience.

I'm migrating this game over to something inspired by Black Hack, but I'm a bit stuck on the Magician (wizard equivalent). Specifically the magic system. Spell slots is more complex than I want. Spell points feels a bit too mechanical but will probably be my default option. Black Hack has you cast a spell then make an INT test to see if you forget it. Knave has a level-less spell system I'm thinking of adapting, though Ben controls magic access via inventory, which doesn't suit my game

What are some other interesting ways to manage magic spells as a resource?

 

[Umbran]

Shadowrun (and, some other games) have the concept of "drain" - casting of spells is exhausting, but not in a strict "spend X spell points to cast this spell" way. Each casting has the potential to tire the caster out some, and the caster makes some form of resistance roll to avoid some or all of the fatigue.

In Shadowrun, this extends to the point of the caster causing physical, even lethal, damage to themselves if they push the spell hard and fail badly to resist the fatigue.

White Wolf's Mage: the Ascension expands on this idea - it isn't that the spellcaster gets tired, it is that the universe resists change, and if the spellcaster cannot resist in some way, they take Paradox as the universe pushes back on them. This, however, is somewhat setting-specific, and would not fit in all games.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I don’t know the 5Ed mechanics, but something as simple as a small suite of (possibly related & focused) at-will powers- like the 3.5-4Ed Warlock’s eldritch blast- should work relatively well as long as they’re not overpowered.

 

[Andvari]

I've been looking at various methods for my own homebrew. I'd like as little tracking as possible while having spells being powerful, so the DCC casting check method seemed obvious. Unfortunately, I don't like the permanent corruptions or self-exploding, and it's hard to make that system work without the features that incentivice the wizard player regulates their spell-casting.

The current method I'm looking into is a mana system. Casters have a small selection of known spells, each with their own mana cost. You can cast any spell you know as long as you have mana for it. So all you have to track is your mana. (Or "spell points")

There are no spell slots and spells scale with your level instead of needing to be "heightened." Higher level spells are more powerful, but something like a fireball is a waste of mana compared to a lower level single target spell unless you can hit a lot of enemies, so hopefully the spells you start out with stay relevant throughout your career.

 

[M.T. Black]

Shadowrun (and, some other games) have the concept of "drain" - casting of spells is exhausting, but not in a strict "spend X spell points to cast this spell" way. Each casting has the potential to tire the caster out some, and the caster makes some form of resistance roll to avoid some or all of the fatigue.

In Shadowrun, this extends to the point of the caster causing physical, even lethal, damage to themselves if they push the spell hard and fail badly to resist the fatigue.

White Wolf's Mage: the Ascension expands on this idea - it isn't that the spellcaster gets tired, it is that the universe resists change, and if the spellcaster cannot resist in some way, they take Paradox as the universe pushes back on them. This, however, is somewhat setting-specific, and would not fit in all games.

These are helpful suggestions. I might let the magician cast each spell once, and then cast it subsequent times at a cost of damage to themselves.

 

[M.T. Black]

I've been looking at various methods for my own homebrew. I'd like as little tracking as possible while having spells being powerful, so the DCC casting check method seemed obvious. Unfortunately, I don't like the permanent corruptions or self-exploding, and it's hard to make that system work without the features that incentivice the wizard player regulates their spell-casting.

The current method I'm looking into is a mana system. Casters have a small selection of known spells, each with their own mana cost. You can cast any spell you know as long as you have mana for it. So all you have to track is your mana. (Or "spell points")

There are no spell slots and spells scale with your level instead of needing to be "heightened." Higher level spells are more powerful, but something like a fireball is a waste of mana compared to a lower level single target spell unless you can hit a lot of enemies, so hopefully the spells you start out with stay relevant throughout your career.

Does DCC just lists the spells and you mark them off when you cast them?

 

[Andvari]

Does DCC just lists the spells and you mark them off when you cast them?

IIRC the way it works is that you can keep casting a spell until you fail the casting check. Then you can't cast that spell against for the remainder of the day. So there is still some tracking.

 

[Li Shenron]

Spell slots is more complex than I want. Spell points feels a bit too mechanical but will probably be my default option.

If simplicity is what you want, you could replace spell slots with a flat number of spells per day, no matter their level.

Because this means more higher-level spells can be cast than normally, I would cut the total in half, perhaps make it equal to the number of spells prepared divided by 2 and round down.

 

[Ath-kethin]

Does DCC just lists the spells and you mark them off when you cast them?

In DCC, you make a casting check every time you cast a spell. The check is typically a d20 roll, though there are circumstances where you roll a smaller or larger die to make the check. You add your relevant ability score modifier to the roll as well as your class level. Most spells require a 12 or better to successfully cast, though higher level spells require higher rolls.

If you roll low, you might just not succeed at casting the spell, you might also lose access it for the day, and if you roll low enough you suffer physical corruption. Rolling high makes the spell more effective, which could mean affecting additional targets, causing more damage, or simply having additional related effects.

It makes for a great dangerous-feeling magic system, which better captures the idea of magic being powerful but difficult to control as well as risky to the body and sanity of those who choose to pursue its mastery.

Cleric magic works a little differently - instead of corruption you your deity gets annoyed with you - but it's the same basic idea.

Goodman games offers a free quickstart for the game on their website; it provides basic rules for characters of 0th to 2nd levels and a small sampling of spells, but will tell you all you need to know.

DCC is hands down my favorite RPG ever, and the folks at Goodman Games are just about the nicest and most supportive folks you'll ever meet

https://goodman-games.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DCC_QSR_Free.pdf

 

[Atomoctba]

4e has an alternative to make every power (maneuvers for martial types, spells for spellcasters) have a cooldown. Some are at-will (like 5e cantrips). Some can be used once per encounter (recharged in a short rest), while the most powerful can be used only once per day (recharged in a long rest). Maybe it needs a tweek or two for what you pretend, but can be a easy-to-learn option.