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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 3707075" data-attributes="member: 1645">I've long thought that the per-day limit is exactly the wrong time-frame.  Either a character/creature should have a magical ability it can perform more or less at will (e.g. it can fly), or it should make a great effort to cast a spell at the right time, in the right place, while paying the price, etc.S. John Ross's alternative magic rules for GURPS, known as <a href="http://www.io.com/~sjohn/unlimited-mana.htm" target="_blank">Unlimited Mana</a> introduced a few useful ideas.  First, instead of having a small reserve a spell points and recovering them quickly, mages get a huge reserve and recover them very slowly.  Second, instead of having a hard limit, mages could easily spend more spell points than they had -- and risk a roll on the calamity table.From the intro: Standard GURPS magic is "tactical;" mages can create dozens of small effects in a given day -- but very few (if any) world-shattering miracles. Manipulations of mana, the force behind spells, leaves sorcerers drained and weak. Thus, GURPS wizards are limited by their knowledge (which determines their flexibility) and their physical stamina. "Powerful" wizards are wizards that know more spells at higher levels than others. Absent from this basic structure is the concept of Raw Power - wizards that can crack a castle in half or drown an army in flames. Fantasy novels that feature such levels of power rarely have mages that get ``tired out'' by magic. Instead, extreme effects threaten the fabric of the universe, creating a situation in which wizards can create true miracles in times of need, but do not use their powers frivolously. When their companions ask for more magic, they will drone cryptically "To draw too deeply on my Gift can lead to madness and death. Do not demand of me what you do not comprehend." Fantasy writers need character balance as much as GMs do. While it's exiting to establish that a sorcerer can wreak serious havoc when needed, it's boring to let him overshadow the rest of the characters. That cryptic doubletalk exists as a handy plot device, no less than the wizard himself. This approach to magic has been left untouched in gaming, and for good reason. It's easy for a writer to create a wizard that will be prudent with his arcane wisdom. Trying to get an ambitious fantasy gamer (even a well-meaning one) to do the same is risky at best. GURPS has no such bounds, however. The magic system is flexible enough to permit Unlimited Mana that will balance in ANY fantasy campaign, even the lowest of "low fantasy!"</blockquote>

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