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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gpetruc" data-source="post: 798023" data-attributes="member: 2255">I was wondering if it could be possible to have a skill based spellcasting system with no fixed spells: the mage decides what kind of effect he wants to achieve, pays the mana (or something similar), rolls a skill checks and go.I know that this would be difficult, and probably at the end wouldn't be better than the original rules, but I just wanted to try.There were similar rules on some fan-created Dragonlance-5th Age material that I found some time ago on the net, but I've lost it and I can't find the link anymore.(If someone has it or knows where to find it, please post it here and/or mail me)Also this is partially inspired to the magic system of Dusk and to Magic the GatheringAnyway my idea was:1) Divide mana and skills in some colours / spheres: either 5 a la Magic The Gathering or maybe 7 just to have greater originality. For example:- Green: Nature & Healing- Yellow: Light and protection- Red: Fire and Earth- Blue: Air and Water- Silver: Divination & Metamagics- Black: Necromancy and Distruction- Violet: Illusion and Enchantment2) Give the Mage 4 magical skill points/level (x4 at level 1) that can be used to buy the 7 magical skills. No int bonus to magical skill points; an ability score bonus applies in skill checks, depending on the color: It could be either Int, Wis or Cha, and some skills might allow different options (For example Green could be Wis or Cha).With these points one could master 4 colors, 3) The maxium number of mana you can use in one day is limited by your level, but the maximum mana of one color you can have depends on the ranks. You gather mana with a skill check (modified by some circumstances: in the middle of the ocean it would be more difficult to tap for red than for blue)I'd like to limit it only with ranks, but the ranks don't scale in a nice way (start at 4, grow +1/level)4) The DC to cast spells will be something like the spell level, while the mana cost will depend expecially on the caster level the spell is cast: something like a caster level 5 fireball should cost less mana than one at caster level 10.5) The type of effect you want to achieve determines the colors of the spell (for example something that mimics a fireball should be red). You might cast "mixed" spells to achieve multiple effects (but I don't know how to rule this)6) On a failure on the casting check, you should make a Concentration check with a DC depending on the number of mana points used or face some nasty effect 7) The limits to the spellcasting would be:- total number of mana points/day- a skill check is required for every casting- you will need to tap for mana, that will reduce the number of spells you could cast in a single combat- you could not master all the colors8) The positive aspects would be- much more options for the mages- easy integration of metamagic feats & so: simply give bonuses to the casting DC- one could have spell-dueling rules or something that would allow to cast clever spell combos instead of just throwing down the heaviest damage spell---------------------------------------------What do you think ?Anyone is interested / has some suggestions / random thoughts / similar house rules ?</blockquote>

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