Has anyone thought about guidelines for alternate magic systems?
I know a few people who love the Warlock so I've been toying with the idea of how to port over the concept of the Warlock and its associated add-on traditions like Hexblade. I'm having some issues with the mechanics though. Technically I suppose it could just be another Magic Tradition with its Spell Lists determined by the Pact chosen but that really doesn't cover the main flavor of the warlock, which includes things like the Eldritch Blast and at-will Invocations rather than true spells.
For instance, for Eldritch Blast I first thought about it simply being an Evoke Cantrip, but:
a) limited uses per day, which defeats the warlock's Blast from being it's primary weapon.
b) touch range without it costing a bunch of MP.
Then I thought about using the Psi-Blast from Psionics as the template for Eldritch Blast, which does seem to fit a bit better thematically being range 5, but the damage is higher than a cantrip but costs Health.
Then I thought of perhaps a new system that gave Spell-Like Abilities in the same manner as Psionics (so a maximum of 4-5 per Warlock tradition) mixed with a very limited spell list (2-4 primary [i.e. Evoke, Charm] most likely).
For an ability like Eldritch Blast, would it really hurt to have an at-will magical attack that replaces the use of a weapon, especially when a bow does 2-3 dice? What I had in mind was something like this...
Warlock (1d6 years)
Prerequisite: Cha 4+, MAG 0
* MAG 0 = thus you can't pick this Tradition up later just for the invocations. You can however branch our from warlock into other magical traditions.
Attributes: MAG only +1 per grade like wizard
I: You gain the Eldritch Blast warlock invocation. (or Cantrip?)
ELDRITCH BLAST | Force MP 0
Warlock Invocation
Range: Short (30ft.)
Area of Effect: 1 Target in range
Duration: Instant
Actions: 1
Checks: MAG vs. AGI
This is a crude magical attack that is granted to all warlocks. It is a projection of raw magical force energy (that reflects the nature of the warlock's pact) that deals 1 die points of damage.
Enhancements:
* Damage (1MP per +1 die of damage)
* Range (2MP = medium 100'; 3MP = long 500')
(* other meta as usual)
The only real issue with this would be having to write/convert a lot of warlock invocations over, assuming the concept works.
Currently this is just a rough idea. Thoughts?
I know a few people who love the Warlock so I've been toying with the idea of how to port over the concept of the Warlock and its associated add-on traditions like Hexblade. I'm having some issues with the mechanics though. Technically I suppose it could just be another Magic Tradition with its Spell Lists determined by the Pact chosen but that really doesn't cover the main flavor of the warlock, which includes things like the Eldritch Blast and at-will Invocations rather than true spells.
For instance, for Eldritch Blast I first thought about it simply being an Evoke Cantrip, but:
a) limited uses per day, which defeats the warlock's Blast from being it's primary weapon.
b) touch range without it costing a bunch of MP.
Then I thought about using the Psi-Blast from Psionics as the template for Eldritch Blast, which does seem to fit a bit better thematically being range 5, but the damage is higher than a cantrip but costs Health.
Then I thought of perhaps a new system that gave Spell-Like Abilities in the same manner as Psionics (so a maximum of 4-5 per Warlock tradition) mixed with a very limited spell list (2-4 primary [i.e. Evoke, Charm] most likely).
For an ability like Eldritch Blast, would it really hurt to have an at-will magical attack that replaces the use of a weapon, especially when a bow does 2-3 dice? What I had in mind was something like this...
Warlock (1d6 years)
Prerequisite: Cha 4+, MAG 0
* MAG 0 = thus you can't pick this Tradition up later just for the invocations. You can however branch our from warlock into other magical traditions.
Attributes: MAG only +1 per grade like wizard
I: You gain the Eldritch Blast warlock invocation. (or Cantrip?)
ELDRITCH BLAST | Force MP 0
Warlock Invocation
Range: Short (30ft.)
Area of Effect: 1 Target in range
Duration: Instant
Actions: 1
Checks: MAG vs. AGI
This is a crude magical attack that is granted to all warlocks. It is a projection of raw magical force energy (that reflects the nature of the warlock's pact) that deals 1 die points of damage.
Enhancements:
* Damage (1MP per +1 die of damage)
* Range (2MP = medium 100'; 3MP = long 500')
(* other meta as usual)
The only real issue with this would be having to write/convert a lot of warlock invocations over, assuming the concept works.
Currently this is just a rough idea. Thoughts?