Alternate Magic Systems

[Desdichado]

Some others I've read but can't now recall the details of very well are Rokugan and Wheel of Time, both for d20. You could also consider Star Wars force use a "magic" system, if you like.

 

[JohnClark]

The PDF Elements of Magic put out by natural 20 press is absolutely excellent! I'm using now for a character in a planescape game, and it's alot of fun. Instead of learning spells, at each level you learn new spell lists, like Evoke [Fire], Evoke Area [Lightning], Abjure [Lawful Evil Outsider], Teleport, Life & Death, and tons of others. then as your level progresses you can cast the higher level versions of those spells. To support this, it uses magic points, which in my opinion is the best option out there for spellcasters right now. It's only 7 bucks to pick up at rpgnow, defenitely worth it.

 

[barsoomcore]

There's always the Barsoom magic system, which is sort of a mishmash of Dark Sun, CoC, Wheel of Time and stuff I think is cool:

Barsoom Magic

Basically, spellcasters draw energy from a place called the Shadow Realm and shape that into spells. They go insane and die. Eventually.

But pretty much everyone on Barsoom goes insane and dies eventually, so it's not that big a disincentive.

 

[Pielorinho]

This thread is great, folks! These are just the sorts of summaries I need for choosing new systems; hopefully, it'll be useful to other folks who are considering alternate magic as well.

Daniel

 

[Sagan Darkside]

This thread is great, folks! These are just the sorts of summaries I need for choosing new systems; hopefully, it'll be useful to other folks who are considering alternate magic as well.

It has gotten me thinking - I was going to use psionics for the evil race in my upcoming campeign, but now I am considering sticking with alien form of magic.

SD

 

[Drkfathr1]

I've been using a system similar to what was presented in the 2nd Edition Player's Option books. Spellcasters get spellpoints based on their level which they use like mana to cast spells. A spell costs a number of points equal to its level, so its pretty easy to use the existing tables and just break them down into spell points from slots.

This way spellcasters can cast any spell they know so long as they have points left. Plus, they can cast spells of any level they have access too, so they're not limited to: 4 1st level spells, 3 second level spells, etc. etc.

Metamagic feats just add to the spell point cost of a spell when it's cast.

Its worked pretty good for the past few years.

 

[blackshirt5]

I was looking into the Sov.Stone Campaign book. Should I pick up the hardcover or the softcover revised? What's the difference between them?

 

[Desdichado]

Oh, yeah, I forgot about Elements of Magic -- I really like that book. Still high-ish magic, but a very different feel than D&D standard.

 

[Nightfall]

*thinks he'll go with Midnight..but that's only cause Will's got some compromising pictures of ole NF. * *is kidding* I'm getting for the Night Lords!

 

[Alzrius]

This is deviating slightly from what magic may be in your campaign, but using the super power system presented in Four Color To Fantasy is a viable alternative.

A new core class, the Hero, is introduced. At each level, the Hero gains points that can be spent on various super powers. These powers can take nearly any form, from evergy blasts to flight to teleporting, and more!

The system is extremely flexible, and doesn't presuppose a specific type of campaign - you can use it in medival fantasy, modern campaigns, or whatnot. Since only the mechanics of the powers are set in stone, you can easily make the source whatever you want. There is even a set of enhancements and restrictions, one of the restrictions being how to make the powers magical in nature so they're vulnerable to dispelling, anti-magic fields, etc.

It's definately a supplement worth looking into, for any campaign, either in addition to, or to replace, another magic system.