Thank you kindly. I had no intention of using Singling Blade (as my combination of Norse Runecasting and Wuxia Sorcery should be good enough for warrior mages), just Magefire, Unity Song, and Wild Spellcraft. A lot of the changes I made to the basic system are mainly superfical flavor changes (I re-named all of the magic skills and lumped Summon in with Create, changed the name of mishaps to backlash, spontanious magic to creative thaumaturgy, signature spells to evocations, ritual spells to invocations, spellcasting penality to ravaging, and added in a few new rules). I've also intigrated Knowledge (arcane lore) into Spellcraft as I've never seem much practical application for knowledge skills outside of skill synergy and ritual casting:
Spell Failure and Drawbacks:
Margin of Success or Failure Effect
+20 or greater Spell is cast successfully, gain 1 mana
0 to +19 Spell is cast successfully
-1 to -5 Spell is cast successfully, lose 1 mana, ravaging
-6 to -10 Spell fails, lose 1 mana, ravaging
-11 to -20 Spell fails, lose 2 mana, backlash, flux
Spell Component: Mages in my setting have the option of using any one of the following components to cast their spells. Only one of the components is needed to successfully cast a spell, chosen before the spell is cast. Should a mage ever attempt to cast a spell with out a component, she suffers a -4 penalty to the spellcasting check and must succeed at a Will save (DC 15), or take 2 points of Wisdom damage from the strain channeling unfocused magical energies puts on her mind.
Verbal: To cast a spell with a verbal component, a character must speak in a firm voice. If the character cannot speak, he or she can’t cast such a spell. A spellcaster who has been deafened has a 20% chance to spoil any spell he or she tries to cast if that spell has a verbal component.
Somatic: To cast a spell with a somatic component, a character must gesture freely with at least one hand. A character can’t cast a spell that has a somatic component while bound, grappled, or with both hands full or occupied.
Material: A material component can be any object, weapon, device or a small amount of some substance that the caster must have on hand. Unless otherwise specified, any material component may be used multiple times without detriment to the object. Wands and staves are treated as universal material components all mages can use. Internal implants may not be used as a material component.
Symbolic: A symbolic component can be magical symbols or runes of any size or complexity that can be inscribed on any surface (wood, paper, flesh, etc.). As long as the caster remains within five feet of her symbols, she may continue to cast spells. Symbols inscribed in tattoo form are good for 15 spells; afterward, the tattoo fades into nothingness and becomes useless.
NOTE: I know this is very diffrent from the standard d20 spellcasting rules, but I feel by allowing the player to choose the spell component, it encourages creativity and adds a small level of personalization to their character. Naturally, with this option, the Silent/Still Spell feats are rendered moot, but I've always though that both feats are entirely useless anyway.
Spellcasting Modifier: Mages may choose Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma to be their “key spellcasting modifier,” which is used to determine how hard your spells are to resist, how many evocations you may have, and how much mana you may hold within your body.
Mana: You may have an amount of mana equal to your key spellcasting and Constitution modifier (referred to as “Vitae”). Under normal circumstances, you do not have to spend mana to cast spells; as long as you have at least 1 point of mana left in your body, you may continue to cast spells. You lose mana only when you botch a spell, or when you spend it on a mana cosuming action.
Your inner Numina produces fresh mana for every 8 hours you go without performing any manner of magical feat (this includes all invocations, and thaumaturgic spells). Mana may also be collected from a Leyline (a natural “wellspring” of mana) with a successful Concentration check (DC 20) while in the presence of an active leyline. You may harvest a single point of mana by succeeding at a Concentration check (DC 25) while standing in the presence of a raging storm of the rising sun (only 1 point of mana per day can be collected in this way). You may only hold an amount of mana equal to your Vitae; all excess mana will simply be wasted and evenly dispersed to the surrounding environment.
You may continue to cast spells without mana by taking a single point of Flux for each spellcasting attempt.
Flux: Whenever a mage horribly botches a spellcasting check, he begins to amass Flux, a terrible anti-magic entity that forms in the wake of a violent ravaging that creates fragments of corrupted mana within the mages body. Every point of flux a mage amasses imposes a -1 penalty to spellcasting checks for a number of days equal to half the spell’s level, and deals an amount of lethal damage equal to the spell’s total level. Damage inflicted by flux cannot be healed magically in any way; it must heal naturally. Flux will disappear after a number of days equal to half the spells originally level, though you may spend 2 mana to alleviate a single point of spellburn.
Should a mage ever amount 10 points of flux, he must succeed at a Will save (DC 10 + current ravaging penalties + total flux) or die horribly in a savage eruption of wild magical energies. Even if on a success, the mage still takes 5d6 points of fire damage, 2d4 points of ability drain to all ability scores, and permanently loses the ability to cast spells.
Finally, I'm considering using a Template to apply to all Mage characters in my setting, as the mythos I'm using sets them apart from normal humans. The template is acquired as soon as the mage takes his first Tradition feat and begins generating mana (though that little rule will be subject to change in my ever mutating mythos). It's based primarily off of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, along with influences from Earthsea and a few other wizardly works of liturature.
“Methuselah” is an acquired template that may be added to any human (referred to hereafter as the “base creature”). It retains all of the base creature’s statistics and special qualities except noted as here.
Type: Add the “Methuselah” sub-type.
Special Qualities: A methuselah retains all of the base creature’s special qualities in addition to the following:
• Body of the Sanctioned (Ex): Methuselah are immune to all forms of disease and suffer no ill effects from exposure to radiation, in addition to benefiting from a +4 racial bonus to Fortitude saves made to resist poison. A Methuselah’s massive damage threshold is equal to 1.5 x his Constitution score. Methuselah have an average lifespan of 500 years, and do not physically age over the course of their long lives, thus exempting them from age related penalties.
• Rapid Metabolism (Ex): Methuselah naturally heal a number of hit points per day equal to double the standard rate and treat any Ability Drain as temporary Ability Damage. Damaged ability points recover at the standard rate. Methuselah do not require rest to recover lost hit or ability points. If treated successfully by someone with the Treat Injury Skill, the methuselah regains double the standard amount of hit points.
• Cantrips (Su): All Methuselah gain the following spells as spell like abilities (with a caster level equal to your total character levels): at will—arcane graffiti, detect magical aura, light, open/close, prestidigitation, read magic; 3/day—mage hand, mending; 1/day—clean
Feats: Methuselah receive the “Improved Damage Threshold” feat for free.
Skills: Methuselah receive a +2 racial bonus to Listen, Search, and Spot checks. A Methuselah that merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if he were actively looking for the door. Regardless of what class they are advancing in, Methuselah always treat Knowledge (theology and philosophy) and Spellcraft as class skills.
Also, is this Tradition balanced?
War Wizardry [Tradition]
You believe your study of the arts of war has given you the power to unleash arcane devastation upon your enemies.
Benefit: You gain the Harrowing Lore as class skills and receive a +2 bonus to Harrowing checks that do not have enhanced damage or enchant attack enhancements. All of your Harrowing spells that deal direct damage deal an extra +1d6 points of damage and benefit from a +1 bonus to the base save DC. If you spend one full round focusing your power before casting your Harrowing spell, the bonus increases by +1 for each round you do nothing but focus, to a maximum of +8.
Rituals: There are no rituals for this round.
Backlash: You take lethal damage equal to the spell’s level.
