A while ago, I posted about a design for a post-apocalyptic campaign set in a fantasy realm. In it, due to the nature of the doom that befell that world, plus the events that followed, most of the written knowledge of the sentient races of the world were lost.
Including the magic tomes and scrolls.
As a result, the magic in the world is far less systematic than in a typical FRPG- arcane magic is having to be rediscovered.* The divine casters are somewhat less disadvantaged, since their spells come directly from the gods...but they have less of an idea as to what is out there. They don't necessarily know the prayers to ask for particular spells. Overall, this means that there are very few "classic" spells known- most spells are the result of individual research.
As a result, I was looking for a system by which spellcasters would be making up their own spells. I wanted to keep using 3.5, but there aren't many rules for that thing- there was some of that in the Epic Level sourcebook, but it was, of course, all Epic level.
(Part of the reason for staying in 3.5 is that its universally accepted by our group, which is pretty conservative overall. Some guys pretty much only play D&D. With the advent of 4Ed's release, though, they're a bit more open to 3.5 derived RPG systems.)
Now, I could run this in M&M. However, my recent attempt at an M&M campaign fizzled because they didn't like some of the design decisions (like no iterative attacks)...aaaaaaaand possibly because a Supers campaign set in a Vernian/Wellsian 1912 isn't everyone's cup of tea. (Philistines!)
I'm pretty sure that I could run this in W&W or True20 (esp. w/the True Sorcery sourcebook). However, I'm a bit concerned that both of those systems are related to M&M and would share some of the same design decisions (like no iterative attacks).
But I really want to do this!!!
What system has the advantage of a DIY magic system and is closest, overall, to 3.5?
* Note: in an alternative version of the campaign, the world is young and the rules of magic are just being discovered and codified...but at the individual level. There are no schools or traditions, its every arcanist for himself.
Including the magic tomes and scrolls.
As a result, the magic in the world is far less systematic than in a typical FRPG- arcane magic is having to be rediscovered.* The divine casters are somewhat less disadvantaged, since their spells come directly from the gods...but they have less of an idea as to what is out there. They don't necessarily know the prayers to ask for particular spells. Overall, this means that there are very few "classic" spells known- most spells are the result of individual research.
As a result, I was looking for a system by which spellcasters would be making up their own spells. I wanted to keep using 3.5, but there aren't many rules for that thing- there was some of that in the Epic Level sourcebook, but it was, of course, all Epic level.
(Part of the reason for staying in 3.5 is that its universally accepted by our group, which is pretty conservative overall. Some guys pretty much only play D&D. With the advent of 4Ed's release, though, they're a bit more open to 3.5 derived RPG systems.)
Now, I could run this in M&M. However, my recent attempt at an M&M campaign fizzled because they didn't like some of the design decisions (like no iterative attacks)...aaaaaaaand possibly because a Supers campaign set in a Vernian/Wellsian 1912 isn't everyone's cup of tea. (Philistines!)
I'm pretty sure that I could run this in W&W or True20 (esp. w/the True Sorcery sourcebook). However, I'm a bit concerned that both of those systems are related to M&M and would share some of the same design decisions (like no iterative attacks).
But I really want to do this!!!
What system has the advantage of a DIY magic system and is closest, overall, to 3.5?
* Note: in an alternative version of the campaign, the world is young and the rules of magic are just being discovered and codified...but at the individual level. There are no schools or traditions, its every arcanist for himself.
