Freeform magic variants?

[typo]

I have looked at the Arcana Evolved system a bit (the book is somewhere 'round here). It's a cool system, but the first time through, it seemed a bit too integrated to the Arcana Evolved system as a whole, but it's worth another glance. It's still reliant on big lists of specific spells, though. Part of what I'm looking for is a system that gets away from the "you have THIS spell with THIS effect" idea and makes magic more of a...power. The Elements of Magic system looks darn intriguing. I think I'll take a look at that. If I used it, I would probably just leave most mechanika items "as is" anyways.

 

[Wombat]

Given what you seem to be looking for, I think Elements of Magic is the way to go. I will take a bit to work through the rules with your players, but ultimately it would work well without leaving the confines of D20.

Now Ars Magica has a great, highly flexible magic system, but porting it over to D20 would be, to say the least, incredibly difficult. If you are interested in taking a gander at it, the older 4th edition version of the rules are still available as a free download at RPGNow:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=774&

Like I said, though, it works best in terms of itself, rather than as something to add onto a D20 game.

 

[Samloyal23]

Given what you seem to be looking for, I think Elements of Magic is the way to go. I will take a bit to work through the rules with your players, but ultimately it would work well without leaving the confines of D20.

Now Ars Magica has a great, highly flexible magic system, but porting it over to D20 would be, to say the least, incredibly difficult. If you are interested in taking a gander at it, the older 4th edition version of the rules are still available as a free download at RPGNow:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=774&

Like I said, though, it works best in terms of itself, rather than as something to add onto a D20 game.

I've never had the chance to play Ars Magica, but the idea of creating effects on the fly is too brilliant to not try in D&D. Has anyone taken a serious look at the possibility of converting the system to d20?

 

[Quickleaf]

Here's one attempt to convert Ars Magic to d20:
http://www.users.qwest.net/~jordanerik/Gaming/ArM/

Also, you might give True20 a look for its elegant "power" rules that could easily replace the d20 system. Though I have to admit certain elements like components, rituals, item creation are pretty much left up to the Narrator to create.

 

[Zweihänder]

Even better: ditch the d20-style magic altogether, and go with the system from Mage: The Ascension (one of White Wolf's old WoD games). It's the most fun one I've ever experienced.

 

[The Lost Muse]

I have an untested homebrew system that uses spell seed feats, and the Spellcraft skill for casting - if you want I can send you the draft, just drop me a line at timmundo (at) hotmail (dot) com

 

[Quickleaf]

Even better: ditch the d20-style magic altogether, and go with the system from Mage: The Ascension (one of White Wolf's old WoD games). It's the most fun one I've ever experienced.

Actually, if you go that route, I'd wait till the new Mage book comes out this month. YOu can download a sample adventure that introduces the rules on the White Wolf website.