D&D 5E The Rising Tides of Chaos: Alternative Wild Magic Rules for 5th Edition

[freeWeemsy]

I have been somewhat disappointed by how rarely wild magic surges are triggered in the campaign I have been running.

This could be that I haven't been triggering Tides of Chaos enough, but I don't like how it is at the DM's discretion to decide when Tides of Chaos creates a Wild Magic Surge.

I believe that the random nature of Wild Magic is what makes the system fun, and that transforming it from a chance based to a decision based system would make the system worse.

Eventually I decided to create a series of alternative wild magic rules that expands on the existing wild magic mechanics. The main purpose is to make wild magic surges occur more often from normal rolling, and to create a chance based system around the Tides of Chaos ability.

So without further ado, I present to you my alternative wild magic system for D&D 5e.

Thoughts and feedback would be greatly appreciated!

For those of you who can't access the link, a paste dump is below:

---

Tidal Surge

The metaphorical Tides of Chaos function similarly to ocean tides on the material plane. Under normal conditions, the weave of magic ebbs and flows in a fairly consistent nature. A Wild Mage tapping into this chaotic realm causes the weave to contract, causing the Tides of Chaos around the caster to become more dense, and consequently more susceptible to disruption. Wild Mages susceptible to this phenomenon have started to refer to it as the "Tidal Surge" effect due to its resembling the turbulent waters during an intense storm.

After a Wild Magic Sorcerer uses Tides of Chaos to manipulate fate, the odds of a wild magic surge increase dramatically. Instead of rolling a d20 to determine if a Wild Magic Surge takes place, the DM can opt to have the Wild Mage roll a "smaller" die. This die is used until a Wild Magic Surge takes place.

In The Tanius Campaign, I've opened things up by having Bellamy roll a d4 when Tidal Surge is in effect; however, it is up to the DM to determine how severe the impact of the Tidal Surge is.

The Rising Tide

The unpredictable nature of Wild Magic manifests itself differently in different locations. In many areas, when the forces of chaos are tapped, the magical weave surrounding the caster remains stable. In some areas of Tanius, though, chaotic disruptions grow progressively more violent over time. Scholars in these magic zones refer to this increasing intensity as The Rising Tide of Chaos.

Every spell cast by a Wild Magic Sorcerer creates a progressively larger disruption of the magic weave around the caster. Until a Wild Magic Surge is triggered, the range of Wild Magic rolls triggering a Surge is expanded by one after each Wild Magic Surge check.

For example, if a Wild Magic Sorcerer casts a 1st level or higher spell, when the Sorcerer rolls for a Wild Magic Surge, a roll of 1 will result in a roll on the Wild Magic Surge Effect Table. When the Sorcerer next casts a 1st level or higher sorcerer spell, Wild Magic Surge rolls of 1 or 2 will result in a roll on the Wild Magic Surge table.

Once a Wild Magic Surge has been triggered or the Sorcerer takes a long rest the Tides of Chaos settle, and the chances of a wild magic surge taking place return to normal.

Optional Clause 1: Tidal Flooding

As long as a Wild Magic Sorcerer continues to disrupt the magical weave, the Tides of Chaos begin to pool around the caster. While the Sorcerer is alert and active in the world, the Rising Tide around the sorcerer is maintained. While Tidal Flooding is in effect the Rising Tides of Chaos do not settle after a Wild Magic Surge takes place. Only after a long rest do the Tides of Chaos recede and the odds of triggering a Wild Magic Surge return to normal.

Optional Clause 2: Fight The Tide

There are limits to how intense the Sea of Chaos can become. A Wild Magic Sorcerer is capable of containing even most intense chaotic forces. A max roll on a Wild Magic Surge check allows the Wild Mage to hold the forces of chaos at bay and avoid a roll on The Wild Magic Effects table. However, the caster may decide to embrace the tide and unleash the forces of chaos despite his ability to fight it.

Final Thoughts

Bellamy and I have both been very happy with the dramatically increased rate of Wild Magic Surges occuring with both rules in place. Furthermore, the ability to recharge Tides of Chaos fairly quickly makes Wild Magic Sorcerers much more competitive with Draconic Sorcerers from a meta-gaming standpoint.

One critique of the system in place is that in certain conditions the Wild Mage will know a Wild Magic Surge will take place. For example, a Wild Mage who has cast three spells with Tidal Surge in effect knows a fourth spell will trigger a Wild Magic Surge. Although I do not see this as a drawback mechanics-wise, I do think it's predictability is at odds with the theme of Wild Magic.

Though I have no plans of implementing this in my campaign, I created the "Fight the Tide" optional clause for the Rising Tide rule to address this issue.

But that doesn't sound like any fun, does it?

 

[pukunui]

When I played a wild magic sorcerer, I was also disappointed with how infrequently surges happened, so for my games, I've instituted a house rule to the effect that when you roll a d20 to see if a surge happens, it doesn't just happen on a 1. The chance of a surge happening is equal to the level of the spell slot you've used. So if you cast a spell with a 3rd level spell slot, you'll trigger a surge on a roll of 1, 2, or 3 on the d20. A 9th level spell slot will trigger on a roll between 1 and 9 (a 45% chance!). The idea being that more powerful magic is harder to control ...

I haven't made any changes to the way Tides of Chaos works, though.


As for your rule, I like the sound of it, but I think it would end up being just one more thing to track in a game that already has lots of things to track. I wouldn't want to use it myself. If it works for your group, though, that's fine!

 

[CapnZapp]

I hope you realize the rules allow for Wild Magic Surges after every non-cantrip spell the Wild Mage casts, right?

So you don't actually need to change anything or add any house rules to have a 5th level Sorcerer, for example, make 4 + 3 + 2 = 9* rolls on the Wild Magic table every full adventuring day.

*) not counting extra spell slots from Sorcery Points or some such.

 

[freeWeemsy]

I hope you realize the rules allow for Wild Magic Surges after every non-cantrip spell the Wild Mage casts, right?

So you don't actually need to change anything or add any house rules to have a 5th level Sorcerer, for example, make 4 + 3 + 2 = 9* rolls on the Wild Magic table every full adventuring day.

*) not counting extra spell slots from Sorcery Points or some such.

Not sure what you mean here? The rules state you need to roll a 1d20 every time a spell is cast while tides of chaos is still available for use, and roll a 1 to create a wild magic surge.

Once the WMS has used Tides of Chaos to modify a roll, then they are technically eligible to use wild magic whenever the DM decides so.

With this system I wanted to keep the wild magic surges "wild" so I decided to change it so the surges are still random, just more frequent.

 

[OB1]

In the campaign in which I play a WMS, we use something similar to the above.

Wild magic surge - If your roll is equal to or less than the number of currently expended spell slots, roll on the Wild Magic Surge Table.

So I get more unpredictable the more energy I've expended that day.

Tides of Chaos - Any time before you regain use of this feature, you can use a bonus action to roll a 1d6. On a 5 or 6, roll on the Wild Magic Surge table and you then regain use of this feature.

 

[CapnZapp]

Not sure what you mean here? The rules state you need to roll a 1d20 every time a spell is cast while tides of chaos is still available for use, and roll a 1 to create a wild magic surge.

Once the WMS has used Tides of Chaos to modify a roll, then they are technically eligible to use wild magic whenever the DM decides so.

I'm not talking about "Immediately after you cast a sorcerer spell of 1st level or higher, the DM can have you roll a d20..." under Wild Magic Surge.

I'm talking about "Any time before you regain the use of this feature, the DM can have you roll on the Wild Magic Surge table..." under Tides of Chaos.

You said:

I have been somewhat disappointed by how rarely wild magic surges are triggered in the campaign I have been running.

This could be that I haven't been triggering Tides of Chaos enough, but I don't like how it is at the DM's discretion to decide when Tides of Chaos creates a Wild Magic Surge.

I'm essentially saying that as the DM you can simply allow the player to roll on the Wild Mage Surge table after each and every non-cantrip spell cast to regain Tides of Chaos.

This will:
1) not require any houseruling whatsoever
2) generate lots of wild magic surges
and
3) not require the DM to intervene in the decision when surges happen

Even if *you* decide to stick to your houserule, perhaps others reading the thread will realize that no houseruling is strictly needed - you just need to interpret and use the RAW a certain way

 

[freeWeemsy]

I'm not talking about "Immediately after you cast a sorcerer spell of 1st level or higher, the DM can have you roll a d20..." under Wild Magic Surge.

I'm talking about "Any time before you regain the use of this feature, the DM can have you roll on the Wild Magic Surge table..." under Tides of Chaos.

You said:



I'm essentially saying that as the DM you can simply allow the player to roll on the Wild Mage Surge table after each and every non-cantrip spell cast to regain Tides of Chaos.

This will:
1) not require any houseruling whatsoever
2) generate lots of wild magic surges
and
3) not require the DM to intervene in the decision when surges happen

Even if *you* decide to stick to your houserule, perhaps others reading the thread will realize that no houseruling is strictly needed - you just need to interpret and use the RAW a certain way

Ohhhh okay I get what you are saying. Yep that technically works! I personally don't like how much direct control the people at the table have over when a wild magic surge happens in that system, but yes that would be a RAW way to handle things and increase the number of wild magic surges that trigger.