D&D General Idea - Reframing "spell level" terminology to fit the "Weave" of magic

[Yaarel]

Yaarel, I've read lots of your posts about your home game's lore and underpinnings of your universe, and I can't help but clearly recognize that they are personal ideas that you seem to call out as truths, or state as facts for the game. What you are describing is not the lore of D&D to me, so I just look at your ideas and consider them on their own merits and what potential value they bring to me. Maybe because D&D has tried all kinds of potential lore, and I view that old lore the same way. What can it add to my own game?

D&D traditions are highly conflictive with each other. It is the job of each DM to makes sense of the contradictions as best one can.

Also, because this thread is about in-game narrative, what is a sorcerer actually saying if they use the word "slot"? A slot of what? To me, that word has no relevance to me in magic lore, rather it is just rulebook jargon.

The "rulebook jargon" is actually the official description of D&D magic from the perspective of a character in the setting. For example, a "slot" is a packet of magical energy.

D&D spells have discrete amounts of power. For example, a Wizard who is level 5 can only cast spells of 3 and lower, and cannot cast spells of 4 or higher.

The ingame universe recognizes these peculiar properties of magic.

A "slot" refers to these discrete amounts of magic. From the perspective of a Wizard character, the scrolls and codices about magic refer to terms like "level" and "slot", when describing how magic works.

Where does it say again in 5E that Psionics is a different source, rather a different way to access one of the known sources? Also, Primal does not seem to me a "Mind" power, any more or less than Divine is. Primal is the Primal forces of Nature.

In 5e, the 2014 Players Handbook mentions the "Arcane" and "Divine" power sources and that the Forgotten Realms setting (only) describes the concept of a "Weave". In FR, both Arcane and Divine use the power of the Weave.

Meanwhile, the 2014 Monster Manual mentions "Psionics", and defines it as a kind of "innate spellcasting" "using only the power of its mind". In other words, psionics is a kind of magic but doesnt use the power of the Weave.

The Primal power source actually doesnt appear in 2014. However, it is thematically present, later 5e books develop its themes via Druid and Barbarian, and the current UA playtests for 2024 explicitly make Primal a different power source, separate from Divine and Arcane.

So far, 5e officially ahs four power sources: Arcane and Divine, and Psionic and Primal.

Also, because this thread is about in-game narrative, what is a sorcerer actually saying if they use the word "slot"? A slot of what? To me, that word has no relevance to me in magic lore, rather it is just rulebook jargon.

In fact, just off the top of my head, I would rather call Bard spell levels "grooves" because at least thematically, grooves are slot-like, and records have grooves that the needle follows. Why doesn't a bard synch with a "groove" of magic, join the melody, and manipulate magic from those metaphysical vibrations? ... That's actually pretty cool to me.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

Layer: better. But it's still quantitative. What about colors? Animals? My favorite so far: body parts, ascending. Head magic = level 9.

Color: I have also thought about an expanded ROYGBIV spectrum of color representing the spectrum of "spell levels"
White - cantrips
Red - 1st level
Orange - 2nd level
Yellow - 3rd level
Green - 4th level
Blue - 5th level
Indigo - 6th level
Violet - 7th level
Ultraviolet - 8th level
Black - 9th level

Animals: How does the Community decide on what animal means what? That would cause more debate than Batman's alignment.

Body parts: Can also correlate to chakras, but that brings in a lot of real-world correlations that would either be adopted into game rules for familiarity, or if changed, feel discordant to people who are familiar with real-world chakra spirituality. And I'm curious, what are the 10 body parts that relate to Cantrips through 9th level spells? (Without adding anything controversial like groin?)

 

[AnotherGuy]

This wizard wields magic of the first
branch, circle, colour, corner, finger, house, layer, light, order, plane, star, thread, tier

 

[Yaarel]

For example, I see that magic alters reality, and Sorcerers alter reality even further by altering magic itself. (Which is why a psionic sorcerer subclass appeals to me. It has built in mechanics to use "subtle spell," for instance.)

The Sorcerer class has an identity crisis. In 3e, the Sorcerer was special because of spontaneous casting. In 5e, all casters are spontaneous casters. The Sorcerer lacks a reason to exist. 5e tried to make the Sorcerer about metamagic gamerule mechanics, but its point system is awkward, and its concept is an important aspect of the Wizard traditions too.

The Sorcerer class is kinda coasting.

The 5e character class concept of the Sorcerer is difficult to distinguish from the Warlock. For example, characters from both classes can gain magical features by making a pact with an other creature, such as a Dragon for a Sorcerer and a Fey for a Warlock.

For me, the Sorcerer class is almost deletable, without any information loss to the D&D game.



One of the few concepts about the Sorcerer that still feels salient to me, is the Sorcerer does magic my means of ones own physical body. The body itself flows with the blood of a Dragon, or else is physically transmogrified by some event of cosmic or alien magic.

It is the body that is magical. The sorcerous body is inherently attached to the Weave. A Sorcerer learns to cast spells, similar to the way an Athlete trains to perform stunts.

A recent suggestion caught my eye and makes alot of sense. The Sorcerer is all about planar magic.

The physical body of a Sorcerer is altered by the magical planar influences of the Material Plane via Dragon or Giant. Or altered by the Plane of the Shadowfell. Or altered by the Elemental Chaos for unpredictable chaotic effects. Or altered by the planar influences of Celestial dominions. Or altered by the ambient influence from the Plane of the Far Realm. Or so on.

In the case of the Aberrant Sorcerer the concept is notable. The Aberrant isnt actually "psionic". The Aberrant wields psionic magic by means of the sorcerous body − not the will of ones own mind. It is the body that is transmogrified by the Plane of the Far Realm, it is the body that wields the ambient planar influences of the Aberrations there.

So, the Sorcerer does sorcery by means the physical body while attuning to a specific plane in the Multiverse. The Sorcerer personally physicalizes a distinctive aspect of the multiversal Weave.

In fact, just off the top of my head, I would rather call Bard spell levels "grooves" because at least thematically, grooves are slot-like, and records have grooves that the needle follows. Why doesn't a bard synch with a "groove" of magic, join the melody, and manipulate magic from those metaphysical vibrations? ... That's actually pretty cool to me.

For many reasons, it makes sense for the Bard to be a Psionic class. This is the mind of an artist, the commanding influence of a leader, the psychic healing of a mystic. The Bard uses the power of ones own mind.