Unified Spell Theory (in progress)

[DreamChaser]

For some time I have been working on an idea which is little more than an attempt to rectify the two major issues I have with D&D magic.

The Problems
First, is the lack of consistancy in an area of magic that should be extremely consistant: combat magic. The primary battle spells are, for the most part, relics from earlier versions of the game and have very little internal logic. The addition of the energy subtypes in 3.0 was a great start but they, IMO, failed to generalize it. Fire is very much the same as sonic is very much the same as electric and so on.

Second is the existence of spells, which are nearly identical in effect over several levels but are considered completely unrelated for the purpose of learning. The Obscuring Mist, Fog Cloud, etc spells and the Summon Monster spells are prime examples of these.



The next two posts will relate my solutions to each of these problems.

DC

 

[DreamChaser]

First, is the lack of consistancy in an area of magic that should be extremely consistant: combat magic. The primary battle spells are, for the most part, relics from earlier versions of the game and have very little internal logic. The addition of the energy subtypes in 3.0 was a great start but they, IMO, failed to generalize it. Fire is very much the same as sonic is very much the same as electric and so on.

THE ENERGY SUBTYPES:
The modifications in this section would replace all direct damage spells with an energy subtype. Everything from Fireball and Burning Hands, to Lightning Bold and Cone of Cold.

Direct attack spells will all fall into one of eight energy subtypes. These subtypes do more than simply determine what kind of energy resistance affects them but also determines amount of damage and secondary effects.

The idea of secondary effects was taken, in part, from the spells Melf's Acid Arrow and Ice Knife (from T&B). Each of these spells has a lingering effect that is related to its energy type. I have always liked these spells and feel that they add a great deal of character to the game. Because some secondary effects are more potent than others, the nature of the secondary effect determines the base die of the primary effect (the damage).

The eight energy subtypes, their base damage, and their secondary effects are

Energy.......Die......Secondary Effect
acid........."D"......half damage next round
dark........."B"......fear effect: target becomes shaken (area) or takes Str damage (targeted)...cannot harm objects (will negates)
cold........."C"......target is entangled (area) or takes Dex damage (targeted) (fort negates)
electricity.."C"......target is dazed (area) or stunned (targeted) (fort negates)
fire........."B"......none
force........"C"......affect incorporeal/ethereal creatures
sonic........"C"......target is deafened (area) (fort negates) or bull rushed (targeted) (str check negates)
white........"A"......subdual damage except against undead or evil subtype...cannot harm objects


The Die types are relative. At any given level, a fire spell's die should be one higher than a sonic spell's but one lower than a white spell's. Except for dark and white energy, all the energy types have the ability to cause damage to objects (combustion, shattering, etc).

The second part of this unification is the use of the basic spell areas and effects.
touch, grasp, etc (melee touch attack)
ray, etc (single ranged touch attack)
missile, dart, etc (multiple ranged touch attacks)
line
cone
burst

So basically, each spell would be a combination of an energy and an effect. It would look something like this.

Lesser Energy Ray
Evocation [varies]
Level: 0
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft. / 2 levels)
Effect: Ray
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: none (see below)
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell is actually eight spells which must be learned separately. Each time you learn it, you learn a new energy form of the spell.

A tiny bolt of energy projects from your finger to strike a single object or creature. You must succeed at a ranged touch attack in order to hit.

The a ray of fire or darkness deals 1d4 points of damage, a ray of cold, force, lightning, or sound deals 1d3 points of damage. A ray of acid deals 1d2 points of damage. A ray of white deals 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. Secondary effects apply.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, there it is. What do you think?
DC

 

[DreamChaser]

one more thing

The resist energy and protection from energy spells would be extended to affect any of the eight subtypes. Energy resistance could be gained in any of the eight subtypes as well.

DC

 

[gpetruc]

Interesting, I like it.

Maybe you should specify better the secondary effects (how long they last, what's the Str bonus in Bull Rush and so on)

 

[Planesdragon]

First, is the lack of consistancy in an area of magic that should be extremely consistant: combat magic. The primary battle spells are, for the most part, relics from earlier versions of the game and have very little internal logic. The addition of the energy subtypes in 3.0 was a great start but they, IMO, failed to generalize it. Fire is very much the same as sonic is very much the same as electric and so on.

Second is the existence of spells, which are nearly identical in effect over several levels but are considered completely unrelated for the purpose of learning. The Obscuring Mist, Fog Cloud, etc spells and the Summon Monster spells are prime examples of these.

Go pick up The Elements of Magic. They fixed both of your problems in their own little way.

I don't use it in my game, because the energy types ARE different. I use a seperate magic system of my own, which nicely solves the second problem (spells of a very similar style are the same spell with different levels), and I don't consider the first a problem. (Plus, EoM doesn't really allow for unique magical effects...)

 

[DreamChaser]

Second is the existence of spells, which are nearly identical in effect over several levels but are considered completely unrelated for the purpose of learning. The Obscuring Mist, Fog Cloud, etc spells and the Summon Monster spells are prime examples of these.DC

This one requires lots more work than the last one. The idea of spell chains is hardly new but it has never been implemented in a way that really made it worth while. That is until Wheel of Time came along. They implemented the idea of multi-level spells. A spell with a single effect that becomes more powerful as you spend higher level spell slots on it.

A list of spells from the player's handbook that fall into spell chains follows.
General:
Dispel: Dispel Magic (3), Greater Dispelling (6)
Dominate: Dominate Person (5), Dominate Monster (9)
Energy Ward: Endure Energy (1), Resist Energy (2), Protection from Energy (3)
Fear: Cause Fear (1), Scare (2), Emotion: Fear (4)
Geas: Lesser Geas (4), Geas (6)
Hold: Hold Person (3), Hold Monster (5)
Light: Light (0), Daylight (2)
Magic Weapon: Magic Weapon (1), Greater Magic Weapon (3)
Mystic Search: Locate Object (2), Locate Creature (4), Discern Location (8)
Protection: Protection (1), Magic Circle against C, E, G, L (3)
Scry: Scrying (4), Greater Scrying (7)
Summon Monster I-IX

ARCANE
Apport: Teleport (5), Vanish (6), Teleport, Greater (7), Rapid Journey (8), Teleport Circle (9)
Bigby’s Hand: Interposing Hand (5), Forceful Hand (6), Grasping Hand (7), Clenched Fist (8), Crushing Hand (9)
Charm: Charm Person (1), Charm Monster (4) , Mass Charm (8)
Confuse: Confusion (4), Insanity (7)
Create Illusion: Silent Image (1), Minor Image (2), Major Image (3), Persistent Image (4), Programmed Image (5), Permanent Image (6)
Creation: Minor Creation (4), Major Creation (5)
Distort Form: Blur (2), Displacement (3)
Globe of Invulnerability: Minor Globe of Invulnerability (4), Globe of Invulnerability (6)
Invisibility: Invisibility (2), Invisibility Sphere (3), Improved Invisibility (4), Mislead (6), Mass Invisibility (7)
Mask Terrain: Halucinatory Terrain (4), Mirage Arcana (5)
Mystic Fog: Obscuring Mist (1), Fog Cloud (2), Stinking Cloud (3), Solid Fog (4), Cloudkill (5), Acid Fog (6), Incendiary Cloud (8)
Otiluke’s Sphere: Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere (4), Otiluke’s Telekinetic Sphere (8)
Phantasm: Phantasmal Killer (4), Weird (9)
Planar Binding: Lesser (5), Binding (6), Greater (8)
Power Word: Stun (7), Blind (8), Kill (9)
Prism: Prismatic Spray (7), Wall (8), Sphere (9)
Shadow Conjuration: Shadow Conjuration (4), Greater Shadow Conjuration (5), Shades (6)
Shadow Evocation: Shadow Evocation (5), Greater Shadow Evocation (6)
Suggestion: Suggestion (2), Mass Suggestion (6)
Wish: Limited Wish (7), Wish (9)

CLERIC
Command: Command (1), Greater Command (5)
Cure Wounds: Minor, Light, Moderate, Serious, Critical, Light, Mass, Moderate, Mass, Serious, Mass, Critical, Mass
Heal: Heal (6), Mass Heal (9)
Inflict Wounds: Minor, Light, Moderate, Serious, Critical, Light, Mass, Moderate, Mass, Serious, Mass, Critical, Mass
Planar Ally: Lesser (4), Planar (6), Greater (8)
Quicken: Raise Dead (5), Resurrection (7), True Resurrection (9)
Restoration: Lesser Restoration (2), Restoration (1)

DRUID
Magic Fang: Magic Fang (1), Greater Magic Fang (3)
Solar Light: Sunbeam (7), Sunburst (8)
Summon Nature’s Ally I-IX

With the multi-level spell change, a caster would learn just the spell chain and would then gain every spell in the chain once they had slots of the right level to use. This is a boost in power. Some spells become become obviously more desireable. The major thing that would need to be changed is the idea of spell known. For clerics and druids, there would be no effect. But for arcane casters, there is could be a huge effect.

The sorcerer's spells known table becomes obsolete with this change. Instead I propose a system wherein a sorcerer starts play with 6 spells. Each level after 1st, he gains 2 new spells known. At no time can he have more spells of a higher level than of a lower level, although they can be equal. Multi-level spells are counted as the highest level that the sorcerer can cast them at.

Wizards learn multi-level spells normally but must use the spells average level when determining scribing cost and number of pages (round fractions up).

What do you think?

DC

 

[Norfleet]

I think you're trying to scientificize magic. That's a lot harder to do effectively than it sounds, due to the fact that a lot of magical spells, and, indeed, perhaps the entire point of magic, is to generate effects which are blatantly in violation of physical principles and create effects where, even disregarding the inherent physical unrealism of their sudden appearance, are inconsistent. (What exactly does Silence *DO* to produce silence? What side effects does this have?)

As for the Sorceror problem, that's easier: When a sorceror levels and picks new known spells, he may trade up to the upgraded version at the expense of his higher-level "known spell" slot. He then frees up that lower level slot and can pick a new lower level spell, but retains the ability to cast the lower-level version of the higher-level spell.

 

[DreamChaser]

Interesting, I like it.

Maybe you should specify better the secondary effects (how long they last, what's the Str bonus in Bull Rush and so on)

acid......half damage next round
single round duration. if no damage is taken the first round or the creature is immersed in liquid or a dispel magic is cast to dispel the acid, secondary damage isn't taken

dark......fear effect: target becomes shaken (area) or takes Str damage (targeted)...cannot harm objects (will negates)
the shaken effect lasts for 1 round. the Strength damage is handled like any other ability damage.

cold......target is entangled (area) or takes Dex damage (targeted) (fort negates)
the entangle lasts for one round. Dexterity damage is handled like any other ability damage.

electricity......target is dazed (area) or stunned (targeted) (fort negates)
dazed and stunned both last for one round.

fire......none

force......affect incorporeal/ethereal creatures

sonic......target is deafened (area) (fort negates) or bull rushed (targeted) (str check negates)deafness lasts for one minute. bull rush strength check is against the spell's save DC and the target is pushed back 5 feet.

white........"A"......nonlethal damage except against undead or evil subtype...cannot harm objects

I think you're trying to scientificize magic. That's a lot harder to do effectively than it sounds, due to the fact that a lot of magical spells, and, indeed, perhaps the entire point of magic, is to generate effects which are blatantly in violation of physical principles and create effects where, even disregarding the inherent physical unrealism of their sudden appearance, are inconsistent. (What exactly does Silence *DO* to produce silence? What side effects does this have?)

I'm not trying to scientificize magic (if that's even a word LOL). I am trying to give the system an internal logic, which, I feel, is currently missing. I don't care about how a wizard makes a fireball or acid burst or ray of white. I am interested in some balance between the energy types and some consequence other than overcoming energy resistance for choosing one over another.

As for the Sorceror problem, that's easier: When a sorceror levels and picks new known spells, he may trade up to the upgraded version at the expense of his higher-level "known spell" slot. He then frees up that lower level slot and can pick a new lower level spell, but retains the ability to cast the lower-level version of the higher-level spell.

That is a great idea...it makes it easier to integrate without having to totally revamp the system. The only problem is what if the sorcerer has multiple scaling spells that all come due?

DC

 

[RangerWickett]

Dreamchaser, would you be interested in taking a look at the revised version of The Elements of Magic? Or take a look at this thread:

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=60376

 

[Impeesa]

Go take a flip through Rolemaster's Spell Law, you might find some interesting ideas.

--Impeesa--