Tell me about Midnight's magic system

[sinmissing]

I've heard many people talk about how the magic system is accessible from a lot of classes. What is it? Feat based? Skill based? What's the highest spell list? Is it worth using for other systems? Is it worth using at all?

-Inquiring mind

 

[Narfellus]

The Midnight spell system is feat and spell point based. The channeler class gets the Spellcraft feat for free, and any other class can take it. Channelers get other perks to magic that make them inherently better than say, a fighter learning a few spells. There's actually quite a few differences in the spell system. Mage and druid spells are all lumped together, and there are no clerics in midnight except evil clerics of Izrador, who learn and cast spells like 3.5 clerics.

Channelers and anyone with the Spellcraft feat get magic points based on their level, plus a few other ways to boost it. It's not a whole lot, and the game encourages you to take the feats Craft Talisman and Craft Greater Talisman to make spell casting cheaper. A spell costs one point per level. Adding metamagic feats just adds points to the cost and no extra time to cast. If you get to 0 MP you can burn life energy (CON) to fuel spells at the expense of hit point damage.

Oh, and another major difference is that the Schools of Magic are slightly redone into Lesser Ecocation and Conjuration and Great Evoc and Conj. Some normally low level spells are reallocated to the higher level Schools, and learning schools requires feats (which channelers usually get for free as they advance).

In Midnight there's one more caveat that because the planet is cut off from the Outer Planes, there is no dimensional access. No teleport, rope trick, dimension door, commune with dieties, nothing like that. Of course, in a homebrew game, you can rule whatever you want.

I like the system a lot, it's grittier than default DnD, but by no means perfect.

 

[GlassJaw]

The Midnight system is very good.

Yes, it is feat-based but there is a dedicated caster class called the Channeler. The Channeler works for all caster types: Int, Wis, Cha, but you must select which you will use when you take the class.

The Channeler gets the casting feat (called Magecraft IIRC) for "free" upon taking the class. They also get extra spell points as they increase in levels and their caster level increases as well.

Non-channelers can take the Magecraft feat but unless they spend extra feats, they will have a very limited supply of spell points. When your spell points are gone you can still cast spells but you will begin to take ability damage.

Non-channelers will never have a very good caster level either. I forget the exact formula though - I don't have access to the book right now.

Overall, I like it a lot. It's certainly not a low-magic system though. In Midnight, magic is rare and dangerous but not necessarily low power.

 

[sinmissing]

So is there spell failure? By skill based, is it possible that characters who in other systems couldn't cast, say, a 2nd level spell might do so with great effort? What's the actual mechanic there?

 

[Narfellus]

There's no spell failure, and it's not skill based, just feat based. Spells work just like they do out of the PH, you just have to "spend" points to activate whatever spell you know. You start with a base number of spells, (if you're a chaneller) and gain 2 per level automatically. Other spells you have to learn from teachers, scrolls, spellbooks, outsiders, spirits, etc.

If a skill based spell system is what you're looking for i'd suggest Elements of Magic or Ars Magica. I recently converted Ars Magica to d20 to use in my Midnight campaign as an alternative to the spell point system, if my players wanted to give it a whirl. You are more flexible with magic in Ars at the expense of magic failing right when you really need it.

 

[GlassJaw]

So is there spell failure?

No spell failure, and that's one of the main points that makes Midnight not really low-magic. If you have the spell points, you can cast without consequence. If you run out of points, you can cast but you take ability damage. A spell costs as many points as its level.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I like it a lot. It lacks the elegance and customizability of Grim Tales. It's the best low(er) magic system that is still recognizable as D&D that I've seen.

 

[Narfellus]

Midnight also encourages Ritual magic, where groups of people get together to increase their effectiveness. And then there are Power Nexuses, which are literally reservoirs of raw energy that can fuel spells and be used to craft magic items.

 

[Narfellus]

Whew. Grim Tales is harsh. Midnight magic is rare but not inherently dangerous or especially underpowered, although wizards won't be throwing fireballs as much at low level.

 

[sinmissing]

In Midnight there's one more caveat that because the planet is cut off from the Outer Planes, there is no dimensional access. No teleport, rope trick, dimension door, commune with dieties, nothing like that. Of course, in a homebrew game, you can rule whatever you want.

Aside from the dimensional access spells, were many others changed in level and power? Was this done for flavor, or to balance a unified spell list?