Elements of Magic
- Thread starter yipwyg
- Start date
Terath Ninir
Yog Sothoth loves you
Howdy! I have been summoned. 
I will be sending preview information to Morrus ASAP. My wife just had a baby two weeks ahead of schedule, so it will take a bit. I'll also post the info in this thread so you can get advanced teasers. I should be able to post the first teaser Sunday or Monday.
I will be sending preview information to Morrus ASAP. My wife just had a baby two weeks ahead of schedule, so it will take a bit. I'll also post the info in this thread so you can get advanced teasers. I should be able to post the first teaser Sunday or Monday.
RangerWickett
Legend
Hey, congratulations! Even though somebody *cough*Morrus*cough* didn't tell me you had proposed a book until many days late, I'm still very interested to hear what you've got up your sleeves. Of course, you've got enough pressure now from other sources, I'm sure. 
Terath Ninir
Yog Sothoth loves you
He didn't tell you? Eeek! Well, he is kind of a busy guy, I spose.
I could send you a copy of the current document (I'm rapidly turning written notes into actual computer document) or you could get it off of Morrus.
I could send you a copy of the current document (I'm rapidly turning written notes into actual computer document) or you could get it off of Morrus.
Terath Ninir
Yog Sothoth loves you
Sorry for the delay. I hope someday soon to get more than four hours of sleep a night.
The Elements of Magic uses a different system of magic than the core rules. The only standard spellcasting classes it uses are the Ranger and the Bard, and they each have access to different spells than in the core rules.
But you can still have a character similar to a sorcerer/wizard, cleric, or druid. The sorcerer/wizard is replaced by the black mage, the cleric by the white mage, and the druid by the green mage.
Instead of learning an individual spell, spellcasters learn spell lists. Each list has spells from 0th to 9th level. They get access to the higher level spells on a list at the same time as in the Core Rules -- so if you're a 5th level spellcaster, you have access to the 0th, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level spells on every spell list you know.
Most spell lists are either Elemental related or Creature related. Black mages specialize in the classic elements -- air, earth, fire, and water. They're pretty similar to sorcerer/wizards. White mages specialize in the elements of Life and Death; they're very similar to a cleric. Green mages specialize in the Creature spells -- enchantments and polymorph spells, especially.
In addition to the spell lists, I've turned most divination spells and dispel magic into skills. I think the big reason that most players don't use divination spells much (at least in the campaigns I've been in) is that they're not very versitile. I'm trying to make them more versitile, and more like the sort of divinations you might see in a fantasy novel. I'll include the description of the broadened Intuit Direction skill in another post, so that Morrus can more easily extract it if he wishes.
The Elements of Magic uses a different system of magic than the core rules. The only standard spellcasting classes it uses are the Ranger and the Bard, and they each have access to different spells than in the core rules.
But you can still have a character similar to a sorcerer/wizard, cleric, or druid. The sorcerer/wizard is replaced by the black mage, the cleric by the white mage, and the druid by the green mage.
Instead of learning an individual spell, spellcasters learn spell lists. Each list has spells from 0th to 9th level. They get access to the higher level spells on a list at the same time as in the Core Rules -- so if you're a 5th level spellcaster, you have access to the 0th, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level spells on every spell list you know.
Most spell lists are either Elemental related or Creature related. Black mages specialize in the classic elements -- air, earth, fire, and water. They're pretty similar to sorcerer/wizards. White mages specialize in the elements of Life and Death; they're very similar to a cleric. Green mages specialize in the Creature spells -- enchantments and polymorph spells, especially.
In addition to the spell lists, I've turned most divination spells and dispel magic into skills. I think the big reason that most players don't use divination spells much (at least in the campaigns I've been in) is that they're not very versitile. I'm trying to make them more versitile, and more like the sort of divinations you might see in a fantasy novel. I'll include the description of the broadened Intuit Direction skill in another post, so that Morrus can more easily extract it if he wishes.
Terath Ninir
Yog Sothoth loves you
Intuit Direction
Teaser #1 -- an expanded version of Intuit Direction that is, dare I say it, an actually USEFUL skill.
(After two tries, I am giving up on the table below. It has only two columns, anyway -- one for Range, and the other for Obstructions.)
Intuit Direction (Wis; Trained Only)
You have an innate sense of direction.
Standard Check: As in the Core Rules.
Magical Check: Using a focusing item of your choice (such as a forked stick, spyglass, or compass) you can use your sense of direction to find a creature, object, location, or magical aura. The DC for your check is usually 20; magically hidden items may have higher DCs.
Each time you use this ability, you spend 1 magic point. You can only choose one subject per use. The duration of each use is concentration, or up to 1 minute/spellcaster level. The range you can search depends on the obstruction in your way:
Range Obstructions
Long (400 ft. +40 ft./level) None
Medium (100 ft. +10 ft./level) Wood or dirt, such as in a forest, through soil, or in most towns
Close (25 ft. +5 ft./2 levels) Stone or metal, such as in a castle or dungeon
You can search for creatures by type (such as animal, beast, plant, or undead) by species (such as badger, griffon, poppy, or skeleton) or for a specific individual. If you wish to search for an individual, you must know exactly who you are searching for. For example, you could not search for a town’s captain of the guard, but you could search for Guard Captain Dogan.
If you search for an object, you must be fairly specific. You can search for a type of metal (gold, silver, iron, etc.) drinkable water, a specific type of treasure (gems, art objects, paintings, weapons, swords, etc.), a specific type of trap or hidden object (trap on a lock, snares, pit traps, secret doors, etc.), and so forth. You can look for poisons; if you find any, you can identify them with your Alchemy skill (see above). You can also look for a specific object, such as Guard Captain Dogan’s longsword.
You can search for any specific location (such as an exit), but you are only shown the direction it lies in, not the path to get there. This skill does not help you escape a maze.
You can search for a magical aura. If you find one, you can study it with your Spellcraft skill (also expanded in The Elements of Magic). You can even detect the aura of an invisible creature, though this only reduces their defence from total to ¾ cover, and only as long as you maintain concentration.
On a successful check, you find the nearest subject in range; you know both their direction and the straight-line distance to them. You may choose to ignore subjects you can see or otherwise know about to concentrate on any other subjects in range. You can either follow your focus to track down the first subject you find, or you can make another check to look for any other subject in range. You may continue doing either until the duration ends. You can also map out the size of a large object, such as a seam of iron ore or an underground lake (at least for the part in range).
Teaser #1 -- an expanded version of Intuit Direction that is, dare I say it, an actually USEFUL skill.
(After two tries, I am giving up on the table below. It has only two columns, anyway -- one for Range, and the other for Obstructions.)Intuit Direction (Wis; Trained Only)
You have an innate sense of direction.
Standard Check: As in the Core Rules.
Magical Check: Using a focusing item of your choice (such as a forked stick, spyglass, or compass) you can use your sense of direction to find a creature, object, location, or magical aura. The DC for your check is usually 20; magically hidden items may have higher DCs.
Each time you use this ability, you spend 1 magic point. You can only choose one subject per use. The duration of each use is concentration, or up to 1 minute/spellcaster level. The range you can search depends on the obstruction in your way:
Range Obstructions
Long (400 ft. +40 ft./level) None
Medium (100 ft. +10 ft./level) Wood or dirt, such as in a forest, through soil, or in most towns
Close (25 ft. +5 ft./2 levels) Stone or metal, such as in a castle or dungeon
You can search for creatures by type (such as animal, beast, plant, or undead) by species (such as badger, griffon, poppy, or skeleton) or for a specific individual. If you wish to search for an individual, you must know exactly who you are searching for. For example, you could not search for a town’s captain of the guard, but you could search for Guard Captain Dogan.
If you search for an object, you must be fairly specific. You can search for a type of metal (gold, silver, iron, etc.) drinkable water, a specific type of treasure (gems, art objects, paintings, weapons, swords, etc.), a specific type of trap or hidden object (trap on a lock, snares, pit traps, secret doors, etc.), and so forth. You can look for poisons; if you find any, you can identify them with your Alchemy skill (see above). You can also look for a specific object, such as Guard Captain Dogan’s longsword.
You can search for any specific location (such as an exit), but you are only shown the direction it lies in, not the path to get there. This skill does not help you escape a maze.
You can search for a magical aura. If you find one, you can study it with your Spellcraft skill (also expanded in The Elements of Magic). You can even detect the aura of an invisible creature, though this only reduces their defence from total to ¾ cover, and only as long as you maintain concentration.
On a successful check, you find the nearest subject in range; you know both their direction and the straight-line distance to them. You may choose to ignore subjects you can see or otherwise know about to concentrate on any other subjects in range. You can either follow your focus to track down the first subject you find, or you can make another check to look for any other subject in range. You may continue doing either until the duration ends. You can also map out the size of a large object, such as a seam of iron ore or an underground lake (at least for the part in range).
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Thanks for the info. I liked what I've seen so far. I also think that turning a lot of the divination spells to skills is a good idea. With this method you make a lot of skills way more useful and Pc's are more likely to invest in them.
With this system are paladins basically Fighter/White Mages.
With this system are paladins basically Fighter/White Mages.
Terath Ninir
Yog Sothoth loves you
You could use a Fighter/White Mage to simulate a paladin. Paladins don't work very well with the Elements of Magic because there is no divine magic -- it's all arcane. Healing magic doesn't have to be divine, so clerics are easy to do (white mages), but the paladin's abilities are all very much rooted in divine magic.
Any other questions? Assuming my son lets me sleep some, I can answer them now in a much more timely fashion.
Any other questions? Assuming my son lets me sleep some, I can answer them now in a much more timely fashion.
