D&D Magic -- how would you fix it?

[tetsujin28]

I'd play Iron Heroes without the magic system.

 

[tetsujin28]

No problems, IMHO.

And I do like Psionics.

Can't they all just get along?

Pretty much. The game works fine, as it is.

 

[S'mon]

I think the major change I'd make would be to make sure all spells have some sort of order and progression about them. You can't learn X unless you already know Y and M.

I agree, spell prerequisites would help a lot to make magic flavourful, you would get ice wizards & fire wizards, elementalists & enchanters. That would work much better than the current specialist wizards system IMO.

 

[S'mon]

I think spellcasters in 3e are generally overpowered compared to the warriors; they should be balanced for combat assuming 1-2 encounters/day not 4. After all spellcasters can do plenty of things outside combat too.

 

[Sado]

I wouldn't change the current system -- it's one of those hoary old game elements that feels cozy and familiar to me.

However, if I were designing a d20 magic system from the ground up, I would not set absolute limits on the number of spells you can cast per day, just a fatigue check/mana check/faith check with a DC that climbs depending on how many spells of each level you've cast since you rested/studied/prayed. As long as you keep making the check, you can cast the spell; fail once, and you've burned out for the day, unless, maybe, you're willing to "buy" the spell with your own hit points/sanity points/corruption points. Evil magic users might be able to buy spells with other creatures' hit points, either by spilling the blood of a creature of good alignment, or by sacrificing them outright as part of the casting ritual. Hey, maybe clerics could buy spells by doing good works, such as healing wounded NPCs or giving alms.

Certain magic items would give you a bonus to your mana check, or a one-time boost.
I could see spell components working to lower the DC for the mana check of a particular spell, rather than being strictly necessary to cast it.

This is prety much my ideal system as well. Very similar to the Mystic class from Dragon Warriors RPG, and my homebrew system converting D&D spells to D6.

 

[Umbran]

I would not fix it, because I don't view it as broken, or even in bad repair. It's quick and conceptually simple, and needs few DM interpretations to get right. Sounds like it does what it is intended to do, and does it fairly well. Thus, no fixing required.

The only reason I can see for changing the system in general would be to change overall flavor of the game. But that isn't "fixing". That's "reimaging" or some similar Hollywoodism.

 

[Jer]

How would you fix the D&D Magic system (assuming you feel it is broken)?

A friend of mine says that Psionics is the way to go.

`Le

It's not broken, but its not really as elegant as I'd like. Some things I'd like to see changed are:

* Consolidation of spells of different levels that do the same thing, with the ability to augment a spell by casting it at a higher level. Basically, getting rid of the Summon Monster I - IX and just having one Summon Monster spell that can be cast at multiple levels. Or the various Cure spells. Or anything with a Lesser/Greater version. I like how the psionics system handles this and I almost (but not quite) like how Arcana Unearthed handles it.

* Separation of spells that are "quick cast" combat spells and ritual spells into different types of spell-casting. I kind of like the Incantation rules found in Unearthed Arcana, but they're a little cumbersome.

* Removal of XP spending as a "mandatory requirement" for item creation and some spells. This could be balanced by giving spell-casters a pool of item creation points like the Eberron artificer class gets to be used on magic items and spells that require an XP expenditure right now. You'd also have to adjust the treasure tables in some way, though, to account for the fact that they'll be levelling "faster" than if they spent XP on item creation.

* Personally, I'd like to see the "slot" system removed and replaced with a more flexible point-system, but that's not a requirement. I think that the slot system gets a little cumbersome at higher levels (10th or so), when you have a lot of "slots" at various levels to shuffle around.

* I'd also like to see most spells being "spontaneously" cast, with few if any classes relying on "spell preparation". I'd like to see divine casters have to choose smaller spell lists but be able to cast anything on them spontaneously. I'd also like to see feats/class abilities that still allow you to "prepare" a spell that isn't on your "spell's known" list for spontaneous casters.

Like I said - its not really broken, but the current system isn't terribly elegant or scalable either.

 

[DragonLancer]

I like the Vancian magic system, and if I could I'd like to change how Psionics work to that same system. As much I like how the XPH is vast, vast, (third time for luck) vast improovement over prior Psionics systems, I'd rather it used the same system over points based.

 

[Umbran]

I like the Vancian magic system, and if I could I'd like to change how Psionics work to that same system. As much I like how the XPH is vast, vast, (third time for luck) vast improovement over prior Psionics systems, I'd rather it used the same system over points based.

That I don't understand - the whole point of psionics is to have a non-vancian magic system. If you want it to be vanican, you can just make up spells that mimic the psionic effects you want, and play wizards that cast those spells.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

It needs fixing?