TaranTheWanderer
Legend
Here are a few ideas:
Grim Tales is a d20 modern game and, to get magic you need to find 'spells'. If I remember correctly, spells work the same way except for a couple of things:
1. You can cast an unlimited amount of times;
2. when you cast a spell, you roll a d6 for each level of the spell and then take that much CON damage.
You can get better by taking a feat which changes it to STR damage. (so you get weaker instead of dying).
Then you take another feat which allows your spellcasting stat bonus to work as hardness on each die.
- example. I cast a 3rd level spell. I roll 3d6 STR damage. If my INT is 18, I reduce the damage by 4 for each die.
You wouldn't have to use those rules exactly but you could riff off them. Maybe the damage is just tracked and when it reaches 0, you gain some kind of permanent negative consequence. Like disfigurement, or a penalty to interacting with animals. Maybe milk curdles when the spellcaster is around.
As another idea to have some kind of "fallout" when you cast the spell. The more powerful the spell, the more obvious/dangerous the fallout is. EIther create a table or have each spell have it's own unique effect (that's a lot of work, obviously)
Dresden Files had something called "fallout". Essentially, if you failed to cast the spell, you could choose to suck up some of your failure. If you failed by 3, you could suck up those 3 points and take 3 damage or you could let those 3 shifts go into the environment and cause havoc. In FATE, it would put an aspect on the scene. In a game like D&D, you could just narrate something. Like, casting a fireball would cause things to set fire or superheat water in the area and cause a fog cloud. You just discuss it with the player and find something cool (but slightly inconvenient.) The bigger margin of failure, the bigger the effect.
For a D&D-type game, the caster could make a saving throw vs each spell they cast - or a skill check. The spell always succeeds but your control of it could vary. (just brainstorming here). But fallout could definitely give you a Dark Sun effect or the player could suck up damage.
Last idea:
Maybe the curse is attached to power. Build in some powers and drawbacks and, as the player levels in a spellcasting class, they gain those powers and drawbacks. Each level it is built into the class or, maybe, at each level they roll on a table. Maybe they gain the ability to shoot lasers out of their eyes but they are blind for an hour after they do it. Weird stuff like that.
Grim Tales is a d20 modern game and, to get magic you need to find 'spells'. If I remember correctly, spells work the same way except for a couple of things:
1. You can cast an unlimited amount of times;
2. when you cast a spell, you roll a d6 for each level of the spell and then take that much CON damage.
You can get better by taking a feat which changes it to STR damage. (so you get weaker instead of dying).
Then you take another feat which allows your spellcasting stat bonus to work as hardness on each die.
- example. I cast a 3rd level spell. I roll 3d6 STR damage. If my INT is 18, I reduce the damage by 4 for each die.
You wouldn't have to use those rules exactly but you could riff off them. Maybe the damage is just tracked and when it reaches 0, you gain some kind of permanent negative consequence. Like disfigurement, or a penalty to interacting with animals. Maybe milk curdles when the spellcaster is around.
As another idea to have some kind of "fallout" when you cast the spell. The more powerful the spell, the more obvious/dangerous the fallout is. EIther create a table or have each spell have it's own unique effect (that's a lot of work, obviously)
Dresden Files had something called "fallout". Essentially, if you failed to cast the spell, you could choose to suck up some of your failure. If you failed by 3, you could suck up those 3 points and take 3 damage or you could let those 3 shifts go into the environment and cause havoc. In FATE, it would put an aspect on the scene. In a game like D&D, you could just narrate something. Like, casting a fireball would cause things to set fire or superheat water in the area and cause a fog cloud. You just discuss it with the player and find something cool (but slightly inconvenient.) The bigger margin of failure, the bigger the effect.
For a D&D-type game, the caster could make a saving throw vs each spell they cast - or a skill check. The spell always succeeds but your control of it could vary. (just brainstorming here). But fallout could definitely give you a Dark Sun effect or the player could suck up damage.
Last idea:
Maybe the curse is attached to power. Build in some powers and drawbacks and, as the player levels in a spellcasting class, they gain those powers and drawbacks. Each level it is built into the class or, maybe, at each level they roll on a table. Maybe they gain the ability to shoot lasers out of their eyes but they are blind for an hour after they do it. Weird stuff like that.
I didn’t mention it as this is the general TTRPG forum and I was looking for ideas outside the box. But to answer the question, I’m currently using Level Up (A5E). However, I’m also considering what the setting might look like in various different game systems in the event I run some games in other systems using the same or similar setting.
