Anyone homebrewed a d20 Harry Potter-style world?

[beepeearr]

Hp Rpg

I started out the same way you did. My son wanted to play D&D, and Harry Potter seemed like a good choice, I tried at first to just use the Normal D&D rules, but the flavor didn't match. However, I found that Mutants and Masterminds from Green Ronin worked very well. It's class less, no hit points and very flexible, you have power points instead of experience. The power points are used to buy everything from skills to magical power. I would suggest using The socery power with the following flaws for the average student, concentration required (casting spells requires the caster to focus on the spell), rote (the caster must have learned the actual spell), device (ie wand), Restricted (the spells also require command words and gestures, not just the wand) obvious (most harry potter spells are pretty showy), and either tiring (caster has a chance to become fatigued from casting) or degrades (power loses 1 power rank with each use) to limit the casting in someone way, with all the above flaws sorcery would only cost 1 power point per rank, but would be fairly limited.

The power points would also fit better in a campaign built upon a learning environment like a school, since you can give power points here and there so they can increase their abilities as they go, instead of waiting for the next class level. Plus hero points (similiar to action points) would work well in a HP setting.

Plus some of the other power fit some of the unique abilities of other characters (ie animagi, tonks abilities, parsel tongue, heck moody eye would make a great gadget, as would the sneakascope and several of fred and georges inventions.

just some thoughts

 

[GMSkarka]

Well, it uses a D20, but it isn't "D20"....

Jared Sorensen designed a freebie HP game called "Broomstix":

http://memento-mori.com/games/broomstix.html

 

[Derren]

May I suggest Star Wars D20 for inspiration about the magic system?

 

[Macbeth]

In the same vein as the Star Wars force system, you might look at the Psychic's Handbook by Green Ronin. A very nice skills-and-feats based magic system that would work fairly well for Harry Potter. Not a perfect match, but it gets at the idea of variable successe with spells, and it works transparently with the base classes.

 

[maddman75]

I'd recommend Cinematic Unisystem actually. The magic system in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is fairly close to Harry Potter magic, with a couple of tweaks. The system is pretty flexible as well, and you should have no trouble coming up with some Hogwarts students.

 

[Horoku]

Ooooo
At one point, in 2E, I experimented with "intuitive casting," where you'd describe the effect of a spell, and then make a modified INT check to cast.
Now, in d20, here's how I would handle it:
Characters can buy skills in "elements of magic." These are material elements (earth, fire, air, water, positive, negative) and functional elements (creation, destruction, enchantment, attack, defense). Then whenever the character tries to cast a spell, you'd make a check using the appropriate skills. For example: Expecto Patronus would use Positive and Attack, and allow the character to make a Turn Undead check.
I dunno, it requires refinement. Learning a new spell (in class or whatever) would work like normal spell learning or research. You might employ a fatigue system for very powerful spells, and maybe a vague system of spell level... Just some thoughts.

 

[mikedidthis]

Wow! Thanks for all the wonderful responses and links! As I've been working on the setting, handling the magic has seemed like the hardest bit of the books to replicate in D&D. I'll definitely try out several of the options you've all brought up. I'm particularly intrigued by the Mutants & Masterminds idea...I've been thinking of looking into the system and now I have a great excuse

Thanks, too, for the Broomstix and Redhurst links. I think those will be great resources for fleshing out the setting.

Just as an FYI, I've decided to set the campaign in an area near where we live so that I can add a few local touches to it as well (ghosts of local historical figures, actual ancestors of the kids, and the like). I was thinking the kids might get a kick out of that.

Thanks again for all your help and ideas. I'll post again after the game gets going to let you know how it turns out.

 

[Krieg]

You might want to take a look at Grimm by Fantasy Flight Games. It is primarily designed to run children PCs through a dark faerie tale world, but is pretty flexible. Grimm simplifies a lot of the D20 rules and is a bit easier to learn for youngsters as well as faster to run.

The magic system is the biggest departure from standard D&D & might work very well for your purposes. Characters receive "imagination" points which allows them to modify the world around them to a degree determined by how many points they spend. They can also use the imagination points to cast standard D&D spells which they have learned.

Grimm is probably the best D20 product I've seen so far for introducing younger players to the game. You are going to have to tinker a bit for Harry Potter, but if nothing else it is great for stealing ideas from.

FFG's Grimm homepage:
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/hr02.html

Reviews of Grimm:
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/search-review.phtml

http://www.enworld.org/reviews/index.php?sub=yes&where=currentprod&which=Grim1

 

[mikedidthis]

You might want to take a look at Grimm by Fantasy Flight Games. It is primarily designed to run children PCs through a dark faerie tale world, but is pretty flexible. Grimm simplifies a lot of the D20 rules and is a bit easier to learn for youngsters as well as faster to run.

The magic system is the biggest departure from standard D&D & might work very well for your purposes. Characters receive "imagination" points which allows them to modify the world around them to a degree determined by how many points they spend. They can also use the imagination points to cast standard D&D spells which they have learned.

Grimm is probably the best D20 product I've seen so far for introducing younger players to the game. You are going to have to tinker a bit for Harry Potter, but if nothing else it is great for stealing ideas from.

FFG's Grimm homepage:
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/hr02.html

Reviews of Grimm:
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/search-review.phtml

http://www.enworld.org/reviews/index.php?sub=yes&where=currentprod&which=Grim1

Thanks Krieg. The reviews make it sound interesting and I really like the fact that it focuses on the PCs as children. I already own Midnight, so I know FFG puts out great stuff. I'll see if I can find it at my FLGS and look through it.

 

[Psion]

I second Redhurst.

I will also say: AFAIAC, skip the skills-n-feats recommendations. For fairly newish players, I don't think you need it. Start their characters with no spells, and as they attend the proper classes, have them learn cantrips. That's complex enough for most begining players. It's doubtful they want to go through the complexity of the "roll to set DC then roll a save" stuff that plagues the SW force system just yet.

If IYO, they are ready for that, I still don't recommend it. Pick up Elements of Magic: Revised by ENPublishing (link), and as they attend classes, give them access to different lists.