Alternatives to At-Will Magic

[Nifft]

Maybe the at-will spells need a consumed material component so it essentially needs 'ammo' like a bow.

This I like.

 

[Drowbane]

Maybe the at-will spells need a consumed material component so it essentially needs 'ammo' like a bow.

Material components are one sacred cow I wouldn't mind sacrificing.

Material components are a joke. I'm not saying that they are metaphorically a joke in that they don't act as a consistent or adequate limiting factor to spellcasting, I mean that they are actually a joke. Material components are supposed to be "ha ha" funny. The fact that even after having this brought to your attention, you still aren't laughing, indicates that this is a failed attempt at humor. Most material components are based on technological gags, when you cast scrying you are literally supposed to grab yourself a "specially treated" mirror, some wire, and some lemons - which is to say that you make a TV set to watch your target on and then power it with an archaic battery. When you cast see invisibility you literally blow talc all over the place - which of course reveals invisible foes. Casting lightning bolt requires you to generate a static charge with an amber rod and some fur, tongues requires that you build a little Tower of Babel, and of course fireball requires that you whip up some actual gunpowder. Get it? You're making the effects MacGuyver style and then claiming that it's "magic" after the fact. Are you laughing yet? Of course not, because that joke is incredibly lame and there's no way for it to hold your attention for several months of a continuous campaign.

 

[Dark Mistress]

You might like at-will magic use in your games. If you do, please continue to enjoy it. However, not everyone likes at-will magic use. Some think that it is unbalancing and too easy to exploit. Others prefer magic to be rare and powerful, not ubiquitous and weak. Still others might have entirely different reasons for thinking so.

So my question is this: what is the best way to houserule them?

Me, I think I will assign a "per day" limit to zero-level spells...probably twice the number of 1st level spells the character can cast. Fast and easy.

I personally don't like them. They are in pathfinder as well and my group has been experimenting with other ways to deal with them. Right now we are trying a default of 4 + ability mod per day for them. Which works well for lower level but not as well for higher. Thinking about adding in say half caster level too not sure. Just been working on options now and haven't found one we think is just right.

 

[Drowbane]

I personally don't like them. They are in pathfinder as well and my group has been experimenting with other ways to deal with them. Right now we are trying a default of 4 + ability mod per day for them. Which works well for lower level but not as well for higher. Thinking about adding in say half caster level too not sure. Just been working on options now and haven't found one we think is just right.

A static 4 per day was too few in 3e. While I am ok with at-wills, 4+ ability mod might be sufficient also.

 

[Chalice]

I personally don't like them. They are in pathfinder as well and my group has been experimenting with other ways to deal with them. Right now we are trying a default of 4 + ability mod per day for them. Which works well for lower level but not as well for higher. Thinking about adding in say half caster level too not sure. Just been working on options now and haven't found one we think is just right.

3* + [caster level / 3] + ability mod? (Rounded down.)

That's what I've been using for 3.5 (I use a lot of little house rules; the kinds of things that won't break anything ), so it should work for Pathfinder too.

[edit] * 5 for Sorcerers. [/edit]

 

[Li Shenron]

I really don't like cantrips at will... Personally I think most gamers want them at will because they have moved on from low-magic, low-resources characters and they are used to play mid-high level, but I really believe that the game should start with characters that have limited resources.

Because this sets the tone and flavor of the world around... Cantrips at will means that magic (ok, low-level magic!) is in fact technology. Any village with one wizard is going to have a different approach on illumination, labour, agriculture or whatever... I don't think that saying that there are few wizards in the world is enough, because after a few months of adventures the PCs will have met already tens of wizards.

If cantrips became at will at higher level, I would have nothing against.

 

[Szatany]

You might like at-will magic use in your games. If you do, please continue to enjoy it. However, not everyone likes at-will magic use. Some think that it is unbalancing and too easy to exploit. Others prefer magic to be rare and powerful, not ubiquitous and weak. Still others might have entirely different reasons for thinking so.

So my question is this: what is the best way to houserule them?

Me, I think I will assign a "per day" limit to zero-level spells...probably twice the number of 1st level spells the character can cast. Fast and easy.

I like at will magic, but I don't like that it can be spammed. To prevent spamming spells, I see several possibilities:
- a caster may only cast certain amount of at will spells between short rests. Maybe 3, or 2+ability mod, or something like that.
- a caster may cast an at-will spell once, and every time after that he suffers cumulative 1 damage. Short rest resets the counter.
- whenever a player casts an at-will spell, he may not cast at will again for the next 1d4, or 1d6-1, (or other number) rounds.
- a caster may cast a number of at will spells per day equal to his ability score.
- a check is required to cast an at will spell
- after casting an at will spell, caster makes a burnout check. If failed, he can't cast this particular spell until long rest.

 

[Mattachine]

I love at-will magic, especially minor effects like mage hand and light.

I do not like MM as an at-will. Something about an auto-hit at will rubs me the wrong way. I would prefer at-will attacks with a damage type and a hit roll, and make MM better, and a 1st level spell.

Easy to house rule.

 

[Tehnai]

I'd say a character with minor magic could cast a number of minor spells per day equal to his or her spellcasting attributes + level. It's high enough so that wizards won't be constantly running out, but it gives a limit still.

I'll keep my at-wills, though.

 

[Dannager]

Maybe the at-will spells need a consumed material component so it essentially needs 'ammo' like a bow.

As long as it doesn't cost more than arrows, that's fine.