Hogwarts Wizard

[Baron Opal]

My son comes to me and says he wants to play D&D. Warms the ol' gamer's heart, it does. So when I ask him what he wants to play he tells me a Hogwarts Wizard.

Hrm. He's six, and a usual wizard is a bit beyond him. What kind of magical class could there be that has a limited selection of at will spells?

Why, the warlock, of course.

And let me tell you, the conversion is working really well. The warlock, heavily retooled, is making for an exceptional Hogwarts student. I do have an issue on how to balance protego, but that's one of the few problems. Once I get my ducks in a row I'll post it.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Cool.

 

[Eidalac]

NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!

It burns us! It burnses usssss!

*ahem*

Sorry, not a big fan of the books.


My own issues aside, sounds like a good fit, in terms of base mechanics.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Cool.

Indeed.

 

[Quartz]

I think that D20 is a sub-optimal system for Hogwarts. I'd do it using Hero with a Variable Power Pool. You'd need OAF wand, of course, and Gestures and Incantations.

 

[Claudius Gaius]

Wizardly Options

Depends a bit on what kind of "feel" you're going for. If you want flexability there have to be usage limitations or the characters wind up doing EVERYTHING with magic, including getting a drink of water. Unlimited use is a little awkward to do with the base d20 system for most classes, although I have run across at least one point-buy example Here.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Here is something I just put together. Not that it is inspired by Hogwarts wizardly spellcasting but is derivative of The Magister's Staff class feature found in Arcana Evolved/Unearthed.

The Wizard’s Wand
The wizard crafts a wand specifically attuned to her. Regardless of its construction or composition, it has a hardness of 12, 50 hit points, and a break DC of 30. The wands hit points increase at a rate of 2 per wizard level, and the hardness and break Difficulty Class increase at a rate of 1 point per two wizard levels.

If a wizard’s wand breaks, she is stunned for 1d4 rounds. It takes a month and 1,000 gp in materials to create a new one. A wizard can have only one wand attuned to her at a time. If the character finds a new wand she would rather become attuned to, switching wands requires no money. However, it does take a week of meditation.

Should the wizard die or take on a new wand, the old wand becomes normal (unless it had been given other magical properties, in which case they remain). A slain wizard who comes back from the dead can immediately and automatically re-attune to her old wand as a free action.

The wizard uses her wand in place of using costly material components. The wand may be used to substitute material components that have a cost of 10 gp per caster level of the wizard.

At 7th level, the wizard can use her wand to substitute material components that have a cost of 25 gp per caster level. At 13th level, the wizard can use her wand to substitute material components that have a cost of 50 gp per caster level. At 19th level, the wizard can use her wand to substitute material components that have a cost of 100gp per caster level of the wizard, to a maximum limit of 1,000 gp.

If the wizard wishes to cast a spell that has a material component that exceeds a gp value that her wand is incapable of replicating, the wizard must than purchase or seek out the material component.

 

[Claudius Gaius]

Maybe as a Feat, but otherwise you'll need to watch out for things like characters who want to get rich selling objects with Continual Flame on them and mass-producing arrows with tiny bottles attached that open on impact to release Fire Traps.

Secondarily, be prepared for a hundred or so Glyphs in the entry hall for that evil mystic theurge's house and to reduce the prices on a variety of wands and potions that normally have mildly-expensive components. Stoneskin, identify, and a lot of other spells just got a lot more attractive.

A lot of spells with mildly-expensive components have them to keep them from being used ad nauseum, and will need some other restraining system - or accounting for their effects on the game world - if that restraint gets removed.

 

[Corbert]

My son comes to me and says he wants to play D&D. Warms the ol' gamer's heart, it does. So when I ask him what he wants to play he tells me a Hogwarts Wizard.

Hrm. He's six, and a usual wizard is a bit beyond him. What kind of magical class could there be that has a limited selection of at will spells?

Why, the warlock, of course.

And let me tell you, the conversion is working really well. The warlock, heavily retooled, is making for an exceptional Hogwarts student. I do have an issue on how to balance protego, but that's one of the few problems. Once I get my ducks in a row I'll post it.

Sounds neat, I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Claudius, is your response geared towards me?