Adding CoC style magic to a D&D campaign
- Thread starter Kamard
- Start date
Kamard
First Post
Fine. Let me duct tape on some thoughts to this then.
Magic of this other system is rated by level. To cast a spell of Level X, one must take X points of attribute damage. Perhaps there could be a Will save to negate this, like DC 15 + spell level.
Perhaps a good idea would be to require a feat to access this magic system, and we could divide it up into paths or schools with a skill check (Spellcraft? Concentration?) to cast a spell.
I don't see this magic system as going much higher than 5th level or so.
Magic of this other system is rated by level. To cast a spell of Level X, one must take X points of attribute damage. Perhaps there could be a Will save to negate this, like DC 15 + spell level.
Perhaps a good idea would be to require a feat to access this magic system, and we could divide it up into paths or schools with a skill check (Spellcraft? Concentration?) to cast a spell.
I don't see this magic system as going much higher than 5th level or so.
Last edited:
Kesh
First Post
The magic from CoC d20 works just fine. Cut 'n paste to D&D. However, you might want to add in the Sanity system as well. Perhaps it only applies to those using CoC magic, or to the entire campaign.
The spells themselves should be available to anyone willing to sit down and study the books, but they have to pay the price.
The spells themselves should be available to anyone willing to sit down and study the books, but they have to pay the price.
Kamard
First Post
What if I don't want to implement the Sanity system?
What could I do to replace the numbers needed for Sanity...
maybe something like a base of 50 points, modifyable by feats, which regenerates at some number per day, or by some set condition, like points under the light of the moon, or something.
But then there would need to be a negative effect from using these points.
Perhaps this magic is "raw" and pulled from somewhere that causes hit point damage, the strain being too much for a normal character. Or maybe rather than dealing a Sanity damage, it makes characters shaken or stunned?
What do you folks think?
What could I do to replace the numbers needed for Sanity...
maybe something like a base of 50 points, modifyable by feats, which regenerates at some number per day, or by some set condition, like points under the light of the moon, or something.
But then there would need to be a negative effect from using these points.
Perhaps this magic is "raw" and pulled from somewhere that causes hit point damage, the strain being too much for a normal character. Or maybe rather than dealing a Sanity damage, it makes characters shaken or stunned?
What do you folks think?
Kamard
First Post
ced1106 said:
Hmm. You might be onto something there. Do you think that it would be fair to just have the normal sanity lost be a like number of XP, or would you multiply it by 5 or 10 or some other arbitrary number?
I was also thinking of making each spell a once per day sort of deal, and making the Sanity roll be how many days must be taken between castings.
Kamard
First Post
Okay, despite the fact that I could find no corrolation between D&D spell level and Call of Cthulhu ability point cost/sanity cost, I still wonder what would be good to replace said Sanity point cost with. I am seriously thinking of basing it off of scroll cost-
a 0th/1st level spell costs 1 xp to cast, 2nd = 6, 3rd = 15. Not sure if I would allow spells cast via this method to be higher than 3rd level.
Now what do people think?
a 0th/1st level spell costs 1 xp to cast, 2nd = 6, 3rd = 15. Not sure if I would allow spells cast via this method to be higher than 3rd level.
Now what do people think?
In an existing D&D campaign? Not easy at all -- unless you were already playing a low-magic campaign.
It probably wouldn't affect game balance, because no one would elect to cast spells at a great cost when they can already cast spells that just use up spell slots that come back the next day.
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
Been there, done that. ^_^
I did it because I was integrating the Cthulhu pantheon into my world as a herald for the apocalypse. Tentically fun!
The sorcerer of the party gained some cultish status, and was given a CoC spell. I gave it to him as sort of a "bonus spell." It didn't count against spells known, and he could use it even when out of magic, but he had to pay the cost...
I think this would work well. The back of the CoCd20 book gives rules for spell levels that the CoC spells would be at. I'd use that as a guideline...I wouldn't limit them to class or race or anything. Anyone who was touched or did the research could cast the spells. As a DM, I'd probably limit them by character level...roughly, a character of twice the level of the spell in question could gain the spell. So, a 4th level CoC spell could be learned by an 8th level character, be it a fighter, a sorcerer, or a cleric. And whoever learned it could use it basically "for free," simply by paying the ability score cost.
I did it because I was integrating the Cthulhu pantheon into my world as a herald for the apocalypse. Tentically fun!
The sorcerer of the party gained some cultish status, and was given a CoC spell. I gave it to him as sort of a "bonus spell." It didn't count against spells known, and he could use it even when out of magic, but he had to pay the cost...
I think this would work well. The back of the CoCd20 book gives rules for spell levels that the CoC spells would be at. I'd use that as a guideline...I wouldn't limit them to class or race or anything. Anyone who was touched or did the research could cast the spells. As a DM, I'd probably limit them by character level...roughly, a character of twice the level of the spell in question could gain the spell. So, a 4th level CoC spell could be learned by an 8th level character, be it a fighter, a sorcerer, or a cleric. And whoever learned it could use it basically "for free," simply by paying the ability score cost.
Similar Threads
