Homebrew First inklings of a new class (or classes)

[xiphumor]

My best friend, to whom I owe my introduction to TTRPGs, frequently has ideas for characters that he can’t quite make work using Vancian magic. The running theme between them, as he’s expressed it, is that what he wants is to have basically one power that he can use in increasingly creative and clever ways.

The best example he’s given is a martial character who can manipulate gravity like certain characters do in Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings. I also think the Portal video game series gives a good example of this kind of concept, as do the runes in Tears of the Kingdom.

I was mulling over how to make this work while also reading up on WOIN’s noun-verb magic system at the same time, and I started to wonder whether you could do something with bringing a class with a that kind of flexible magic style to A5e.

I dunno. I haven’t looked into it enough yet (as I don’t own WOIN) but I wanted to say it out loud to see what people thought.

 

[Morrus]

Well the WOiN system was based on our alternative D&D 3E magic system, ‘Elements of Magic’. So it works in a d20 system. I reckon it could be translated to 5E with some work. You’d need to use the 3E source as a starter rather than the WOIN adaption though.

 

[xiphumor]

Thanks for the advice! Although just to be clear, my end goal is “find a method for flexible and creative problem solving that can work in A5e,” and the WOIN/Elements of Magic system is one possible means to that end. I’m open to alternative ideas if anyone has any.

 

[Mike Myler]

Seen this yet? Home Page - The Spheres 5E Wiki

 

[xiphumor]

Seen this yet? Home Page - The Spheres 5E Wiki

I had not! This looks very cool!

 

[Mike Myler]

I had not! This looks very cool!

It is very cool. The publisher/original Spheres of Power guy (Adam) is an excellent dude and has really chased that design space down.

 

[xiphumor]

Well the WOiN system was based on our alternative D&D 3E magic system, ‘Elements of Magic’. So it works in a d20 system. I reckon it could be translated to 5E with some work. You’d need to use the 3E source as a starter rather than the WOIN adaption though.

I have now purchased and mostly looked over both, and I’m glad I did. Elements of Magic does have some useful benchmarks for translating the system to a d20 model, but overall I found WOIN to be more streamlined and easy to approach.

 

[lichmaster]

I've been saying this countless times. Elements of Magic is a fantastic idea, and has a brilliant synergy in WOIN.
D&D should really do something to improve on the now ancient vancian magic system. I hoped LU would try to include EoM as an option, given ENP have the rights for both.

 

[xiphumor]

I’ll have to think about how I want to proceed, and I have GPG articles to focus on first, but I’ve been looking for something worth putting out a 3PP for, and an A5e EoM book sounds like just the thing!

 

[lichmaster]

I’ll have to think about how I want to proceed, and I have GPG articles to focus on first, but I’ve been looking for something worth putting out a 3PP for, and an A5e EoM book sounds like just the thing!

I have plenty of other ideas to spice up significantly the magic system. I wrote some ideas in a previous post. If you'd like to chat about that, or eventually to collaborate, I'm in