E6: The Game Inside D&D (with PDFs!)

[FrouzenIland]

Has anyone considered to use an alternative magic system for your E6 game?
Since it's only about 3rd level spells, it could be easier to change it a little bit, without to much worry about game balance regarding the high level game breaking spells.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

How about making an unofficial official appendix for E6 where just the names for E6 appropiate feats and the books they can be found in?

I was just going through some of the WotC splatbooks and for example found a way to cast an empowered Fireball as a 9th level caster (= 13 dice), without using special E6 feats taking the level 6 cap into consideration. And without Sudden Empower!!

 

[Ry]

Sorcica - do tell

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Well, make that a 10 HD Fireball for 15 dice Empowered

Fiery Burst (Reserve Feat from Complete Arcane): Increase Caster Level by 1 for Fire Spells.

Arcane Thesis (PHBII): Chose an Arcane spell you can cast. When casting this spell, you gain the following benefits: 1. effective Caster Level is +2; 2. when you apply a Metamagic to your Thesis spell, it increases the spell level by one less.
You may take this feat multiple times, each time with a different spell.

Metamagic School Focus (Complete Mage): Benefit: Choose a school of magic for which you have the Spell Focus feat, or the school in which you have specialized. Three times per day, you can reduce by one level the cost of a metamagic feat applied to a spell of the chosen school. If you prepare spells, you can have only up to three such reducedcost
spells prepared at any time.
Special: A wizard can select this feat as a wizard bonus
feat. This feat can be taken more than once. Each time you take it, it applies to a different school of magic.

Voila, 9th caster level If we want the 10 levels, we add in a feat from Players Guide to Faerun:

Spell Thematics: Your spells have a visual theme, such as ‘sphere’ or ‘lightning’. Spells you cast have special effects based on your theme, such as Summon Monster I manifesting as the creature springing from a thrown sphere. 1. Since your spells look different, Spellcraft checks to identify what spell you are casting are at +4 DC; 2. For each of your current and future caster levels, you may designate one spell as a ‘thematic spell’, which is thereafter cast at +1 effective Caster level.
Note: you cannot make your spell invisible & the effects of your spells are not changed in any way.


Point is, a lot of what the feats that have been suggested for E6 to provide certain benefits for E6 characters are already out there, by Wizards themselves (which only makes E6 all the more genius IMO )

I'm positive we could do the same for Rogues, Clerics, Fighters and so on. And that's really what my suggestion was all about. Creae an appendix listing all feats that can't be included, but which are perfect for E6, perhaps even giving advice on 'Paths' using the feats, or at least what level 6 boundaries can be ..well, overcome, for lack of a better term.


Edit: Forgot to add: None of those have prereqs a 6th level character can't have.


Edit 2: I do think that melee'ers will need access to some damage dealing (the BAB +8 feats) still.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Since I myself are totally torn betwenn E6 and E8 (favoring E6, but.....) a compromise could be to only allow the 4th level spell slots to be used for Metamagic. So E8 without the troublesome 4th levels spells.

Thoughts?

 

[knight_isa]

So E8 without the troublesome 4th levels spells.

Maybe I just haven't had enough playtime to see this, but I don't see too many troublesome 4th level spells, with the possible exception of scrying. Maybe we just don't use them. Have you seen otherwise? Which ones?

Edit: This is especially true if you use the WotC Extra Spell Slot/Known feats, which max out at 3rd level if you have a 4th level cap.

 

[Shazman]

I would say solid fog, evard's black tentacles, greater invisibility and divine power are at the top of the list.

 

[knight_isa]

The only one of those that I've seen frequently used is greater invisibility, and it wasn't too much of a problem. I suppose that could change, but...

Although looking at divine power... heck, why bother with a fighter?

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Polymorph is as far as I know the most troublesome 4th level spell, since every monster created from any source can alter the balance of the spell. But maybe the problem is severely lessened when the caster has max 6 HD. Maybe.

 

[Kunimatyu]

The big problem with 4th level spells is that the solution to most 4th level spells is another spell, so magic is only balanced with respect to itself, and not with non-magic-users.

Solid Fog is a death sentence for a non-magic type, unless you have the Dispel Magic, Gust of Wind, or Freedom of Movement to escape it, for example.