Harry Potter and the skill-based magic system

[JimAde]

I think the a simple feat/skill approach will cover the difference between Harry and Hermione as long as we don't make Int the casting stat. Hermione gets more skill points because she has a higher INT (and probably a different class or an occupation/feat that gives her some extra skill points) while Harry can get a higher modifier in certain spells because of a higher casting stat (Wisdom, Charisma or maybe something new) or a Spell Focus-type feat that makes him especially good at defensive magic.

I wonder if we could get a mod to merge this thread with Xythlord's?

 

[Super Girl]

I would do it with D20 Modern, and then cherry pick some systems from Wheel of Time.

Divide up all the schools of magic:
Divination, Defense against the Dark Arts(Abjuration, Evocation), Dark Arts(Necromancy), Enchantment, Transfiguration (Transmutation), Potions(various), Healing(Healing domain)

A character can know all spells, and can spontaneously cast any spell he knows. To learn a spell, a character must study the spell for an amount of time based on the level of the spell, and then pass a magecraft (potion craft for potions) with a DC relative to the level of the spell. A character can only learn 0 level spells without taking the proper feats.

2 new feats to go with the system:
Major Talent:
Pre-req: Magical Heritage (Urban Arcana)
Effect: When this feat is taken, select a magical category, and you may cast spells of 5 levels higher belonging to that category. You also gain a +5 skill bonus to learning spells of the category. You may take this feat multiple times, each time it applies to a different category.

Minor Talents:
Pre-req: Magical Heritage (Urban Arcana)
Effect: When this feat is taken choose 2 magical categories, and you may cast spells of 2 levels higher belonging to those categories. You also gain a +2 skill bonus to learning spells of the categories. You may take this feat multiple times.

 

[nobodez]

Harry Potter

Well, it seems people are forgetting something, Harry's the "Boy who Lived", which gives him a few special abilites (most likely a big boost on his effective caster level).

 

[darthkilmor]

Well, it seems people are forgetting something, Harry's the "Boy who Lived", which gives him a few special abilites (most likely a big boost on his effective caster level).

Also, both of Harry's parents were wizards, right? I've not read all the books but IIRC Hermione's parents arent wizards at all, or one of them is? someone else recall for sure ?

 

[Narfellus]

I'll chime in too. I'm still mulling over the system, but Elements of Magic Revised breaks down magic into very, very small pieces. Wizards start with knowing just a few "pieces" such as Evoke Fire or Water, or Charm Person or Mammal, or Summon Force or Air, etc. There's dozens of combinations. Anyway, you create your own spells by powering them up, capped by your level and some other factors. In addition, Dispel Magic becomes a core skill, not a spell, and also Scrying is a skill, and Concentration and Spellcraft and maybe one other.

It would take some work on the GM's behalf, but i'd recommend looking over EoMR, it could give you some ideas.

 

[JimAde]

Also, both of Harry's parents were wizards, right? I've not read all the books but IIRC Hermione's parents arent wizards at all, or one of them is? someone else recall for sure ?

This is dangerous ground!

The whole "pureblood"/"half-blood"/"mudblood" thing is a major theme in the more recent books. You're right about their heritage, but you wouldn't want that to influence their actual casting ability. Naughty Death-Eater!

I agree with Super Girl that d20 Modern is the right base to work from. There's an excellent GURPS-related article that can be used as a basis for consideration. This article is pretty old and doesn't include material from (I think) the last book:

http://www.sabledrake.com/2002/0205_harry_potter1.shtml

 

[JimAde]

I just found some notes I wrote on this subject a while ago. It was just some musings, not an actual system, but there's some decent ideas in it!

Here's what I did:

d20 Modern as a base.
New classes for students. These classes are grossly under-powered compared to the regular classes, but when the student reaches age 15+ they go through a conversion process and start taking regular levels.

Magic is broken up into skills by spell type:

Transfiguration (Changing a creature or object’s form or appearance, or actual polymorph effects)
Curses (Attack spells. The less dangerous ones are called Jinxes or Hexes)
Metamagic (spells that affect other spells or magical effects)
Charms (Seemingly everything else)

In addition, the class has a "spells known" column. This is a single number, the spells don't have levels. You can cast a spell you don't "know" but at a big penalty.

Each spell has a casting DC and might have prerequisites. The prerequisite could be a stat or a feat, but is most often having some other spell on your "known" list. This takes the place of spell levels and instead means that you have to lead up to powerful spells by knowing simpler ones first.

I had this quick list of casting modifiers:
Spell not known: -10
Somebody else’s wand: -4
No verbal: -4
Specifying Target: +2 for specifying the target. This increases casting time to a Full Round action. Can’t be combined with “no verbal”.
Extra time: +2 for increasing casting time to one full round.
No wand: -10, and all failures are critical failures

There's a little more. I can post a link if people are interested. I am cross-posting this in Xythlord's thread.

 

[ARandomGod]

Wands.

One issue with skill points is the + to skills items available. Say a given person's wand gives a +10 to all magic skills... and set the DC's for the spell with that assumption. Then say that using another's wand will give +2 through +8, (or maybe just +5) depending on how similiar their magic types and bloodlines are....
(Add in also that there can be no enhancement bonus greater than +10 on a magic wand, and only wands give magical enhancement bonuses).

 

[JackGiantkiller]

Spellcasting strikes me as Charisma based. All the most powerful wizards in the Harry Potter world have strong personalities. The more unsure they are (Neville, Hagrid) the less power they have. Dumbledore and Harry are very charismatic, as demonstrated by the fact that they are focused on by those around them...whether in love or hate. Malfoy also has a high Charisma. Hermione has a decent Charisma...but has a tremendously high Int and good Knowledge skills. Ron is more average in both abilities.

I'd say Harry probably has the feat Spellcasting Prodigy, a Charisma of 18 or so, and possibly other feats, like the new Apprentice feats in complete Arcane.

It might be unwieldy, but what if each spell was a *seperate* skill, ala GURPS? I mean, Lockheart says "I'm especially good at memory charms..." implying that different people are good at different spells. Of course, that could be feat based. Like Lockheart has Spell Focus: Memory Charms, and Harry has Natural Flier.