I’ll try to keep this brief, as the full rules take several pages.
Only three classes (Fighter, Rogue, Sorcerer) with some minor tweaks (such as d6 hit points for the sorcerer). All classes gain a feat at every level (fighters still get their bonus feats). [Creatures also gain a feat for every HD and level.] Sorcerers can learn spells from the Sor/Wiz, Cleric, and Druid spell lists. If a spell is on more than one list, they can learn it at the lowest level available. Sorcerers can apply metamagic feats on the fly.
Spells known are increased, as sorcerers have to cover many more roles than normal (blaster, buffer, healer, divinations, etc). Use sorcerer progression for when casters gain a new spell level (thus a caster has to be 4th-level to cast 2nd-level spells).
No spells per day. Instead use the Token Pool.
Max Caster Rate
This is the most critical piece, as it places a limit on how much power a caster has with any one spell or ability. Max caster rate is equal to the highest level spell the caster can cast and is the maximum number of tokens which may be spent for any one spell or ability.
A spell costs a number of tokens equal to its level. If a metamagic feat is applied, each additional level imposed by the feat costs one token. Thus a Silent spell costs +1 token, a Quickened spell costs +4 tokens. If tokens are spent for an ability, e.g., Turn Undead, max caster rate applies to that ability also.
Token Pool
The Token pool is divided into three sub-pools: Free, Used, Held. Free tokens can be used to power spells and abilities. Used tokens are tokens that have been spent on spells or abilities, but not yet recovered. Held tokens are tokens spent for currently active spells and abilities, e.g.,
mage armor. If a spell has a duration, the tokens are Held until the spell ends, at which point those tokens become Used. Spells with a Permanent duration cause those tokens to be Held until the character rests for eight hours, which may be done only once in any 24 hours period.
Note: Any spell that a GM considers “problematic” can be declared as Permanent, causing those tokens to be Held until the character rests. Thus if a GM wants
teleport to be used sparingly, just treat it as duration: Permanent. If a GM doesn’t want infinite healing, treat healing spells as duration: Permanent.
Tokens can be recovered. As a full-round action, a caster may recover one Used token. A chain of feats can speed up this recovery to a Standard action, Move action, and finally, a Swift action. A character may never recover more than one token in a round, nor may a token be recovered in the same round in which it is spent. Held tokens cannot be recovered.
The token pool starts at 4 tokens for a 1st-level sorcerer and increases at a fixed rate. The caster gains +1 token for each new caster level, and gains an extra token at every fourth caster level. Here's the base progression, starting at 1st-level and finishing at 20th-level:
4-5-6-8-9-10-11-13-14-15-16-18-19-20-21-23-24-25-26-28
A caster may take the Token Pool feat which currently adds +2 tokens to the pool (with testing, we may lower this to +1 token). A caster may take this feat more than once, but no more often than half his caster level (thus a 4th-level sorcerer could take the feat twice).
Spells Known
At first level, a caster knows 5 0-level spells and 3 1st-level spells. This increases by one with each new caster level, up to a maximum of nine spells known of each spell level. When a caster gains a new level of spells, he starts with 3 known. A caster may take a feat that allows him to learn an extra spell. In addition, feats such as Insightful add spells to the caster’s known spell list. Lastly, if the character takes a race that grants spell use on a limited basis, such as gnomes with
prestidigitation, etc., those spells are instead added to the caster’s spells known.
Example: A 4th level sorcerer knows 8 0-level spells, 6 1st-level spells, and 3 2nd-level spells. If she is a gnome, she also knows
prestidigitation, ghost sound, and
dancing lights.
Turn Undead
Casters must take the Turn Undead feat to be able to use this ability. We’ve changed this ability to simply causing positive energy damage to undead. As a standard action, a caster may spend a number of tokens up to his max caster rate. Roll 1d6 for each token spent, then add the caster’s Cha Mod to the total. This is the amount of damage undead within 40’ of the caster sustain. Turn Resistance subtracts from the total and can reduce the damage to zero.
Divine Feats
A caster can take feats that require turn attempts if the caster has taken the Turn Undead feat. The number of turn attempts required by the divine feat are converted to a token cost and is limited by the caster’s max caster rate. Thus Divine Vigor costs one token, which is Held while the feat is in effect.
Domains
Domains add an ability that almost always costs one or more tokens to use. For instance, the Strength domain allows a caster to spend tokens to increase his Strength for one round, +2 Strength per token spent. The Trickery domain allows a caster to spend one token as a swift action to gain a +4 bonus to any Bluff, Disguise, or Hide skill check. The Sun domain allows a caster to spend up to 50% more tokens when using Turn Undead (this is the
only instance where a caster can exceed his max caster rate). Domains do not add any spells to a caster’s Spells Known.
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What we’ve found is that this makes spellcasters much easier to play, yet they’re still challenging. We use poker chips and Dixie cups to track the three token sub-pools – the player can tell at a glance how many tokens he has available. No memorizing spells before an adventure. The limited number of spells known means a player can focus on knowing those spells thoroughly, rather than having to master every spell in the PHB (plus other sources). Tokens seem plentiful, but tend to run out quickly if a player isn’t careful. Balancing Instantaneous-duration spells with those with a greater duration can be tricky, as Held tokens often take up a significant portion of a caster’s token pool. Best of all, most feats and spells work just fine with this system, usually with little or no tweaking.
What can I say – it works for us.
One caveat: My group doesn’t tend to abuse the rules too badly (no polymorph issues, no scry-buff-teleport tactics), but this system could be abused by players so inclined. I’ve tested a few such abuses and modified the system to limit such things, but really, the best solution is a cooperative effort between players and GM.
BTW, I “borrowed” this idea from another poster on these boards. My apologies – I don’t remember his name, or I’d give credit where it’s due. His system wasn’t quite what we wanted, but it formed the core of the system we’re using now.
I’ll try to attach the full rules – not sure if I know how, but we’ll see.
