How would you adjust the levels of spells for a "limited magic" world?

[Mordane76]

I'm sorry -- I did mean for those changes to be universal, not just for NPCs; I was focusing on NPC concepts because as DM, you control the reactions towards and prevalences of these character types in the world, so if you want lower-magic, then make sure the populace reacts accordingly.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Second, we could increase the levels of certain spells, thus making them more difficult for casters to attain. But which spells should we affect this way? And by how much?

I wouldn't go this route, for two primary reasons.

1: Saves are determined by Spell Level.

2: Many Spells are scaled by Caster Level.

All this option does is delay when the spells appear (which you seem to want) while making the spell more potent (it's lowest scale-factor is increased by 2 Caster Levels and the save increases by +1 per increase of +1 Spell Level, which may or may not be what you want, and I would venture "not").

What you would be better off doing is simply eliminating the spells that you don't want in play. If, at a later time, you decide that you do want these spells in play, then you simply add a tome of "lost arcane lore" to a treasure pile that contains some "new spells" for the PCs to discover, learn, and use (or, alternately, contains enough information to allow the researching of previously barred spells by the PCs).

 

[Azlan]

All this option does is delay when the spells appear (which you seem to want) while making the spell more potent (it's lowest scale-factor is increased by 2 Caster Levels and the save increases by +1 per increase of +1 Spell Level, which may or may not be what you want, and I would venture "not").

What you would be better off doing is simply eliminating the spells that you don't want in play.

But I don't want to eliminate those spell altogether. Nor do I want to delay the spell progression of casters as a way to keep them from obtaining those spells. It's okay for a 3rd level wizard in a "limited magic" world to have access to 2nd level spells like Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, Gust of Wind, Web, etc., because spells like this cannot have any real, lasting impact on society. But 2nd level spells like Continual Flame, Invisibility, Levitate, Rope Trick, etc., can have a great impact on society, if those spells are put to clever and/or industrious use.

Furthermore, the spells in the former group that I just gave are common enough in the legends and folklore of our world, as well as in fictional worlds like Middle Earth. But the spells in the latter group are fairly rare in those worlds, and considered to be pretty powerful. Thus the need to increase the levels of those kinds of spells.

And, BTW, I'm okay with the initial scale-factor of these spells increasing due to the increase of the minimum caster level. If, say, I increase Fireball to be a 4th level spell, that means a wizard will have to be at least 7th level to cast it, and the damage at that level will be 7d6, with a Reflex save vs. a DC of 14 (plus the caster's Int bonus). This also means that wands of fireball will be more powerful, but likewise rarer and much more expensive.

 

[Nik_the_Pig]

I totally agree with Mordane76, the PrC approach in d20 Modern for spellcasters works well with 2-3 levels dropped from a spellcaster at low level effecting the power levels of spellcasters significantly.

If you follow this up with the d20 Modern idea of max 10 levels in a spellcasting class therefore allowing a max of 5 level spells you restrict almost all of the uber instant kill spells without losing much versatility (with a large number of high level spells being just enlarged, widened, generally suped up versions of lower level spells) and for any high end spells you do wish to keep just transform them into an equivalent incantation or only found in rare magic items

 

[Belegbeth]

I suggest possibly dropping all spells of 6th level or higher, and have all pure spellcasters have the bard's progression for spellcasting. Or something similiar.

This is one possible strategy. Give wizards and sorcerers a d6 HD and 2 more skill points per level to compensate. Clerics and druids might also get 2 more skill points per level (but maybe not -- they have many other non-spell abilities, compared to wizards and sorcerers).

 

[Bendris Noulg]

This is one possible strategy. Give wizards and sorcerers a d6 HD and 2 more skill points per level to compensate. Clerics and druids might also get 2 more skill points per level (but maybe not -- they have many other non-spell abilities, compared to wizards and sorcerers).

Doesn't really gel... They have a Bard's Hit Die and Spells, but 2 less Skill Points and none of the extras (Bardic Lore, Bardic Music). The Wizard's Bonus Feats might make it even for them, but Sorcerers look like they'd be in the back seat; otherwise, I'd say this would make the Bard the uber arcane class within the setting (better weapons, skills, extras, and unhampered by armor).

 

[Belegbeth]

Doesn't really gel... They have a Bard's Hit Die and Spells, but 2 less Skill Points and none of the extras (Bardic Lore, Bardic Music). The Wizard's Bonus Feats might make it even for them, but Sorcerers look like they'd be in the back seat; otherwise, I'd say this would make the Bard the uber arcane class within the setting (better weapons, skills, extras, and unhampered by armor).

But the wizard and sorcerer have much better spells than the bard, no? 2nd level wizard/sorcerer spells are, on balance, better than 2nd level bard spells. So I would think that the superiority of their spells would balance for the bard's special abilities.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Possibilities (you COULD combine them into one, but I'm not sure what would happen):

Variants on all these are things like only applying them to some schools or categories of magic (ie - only spells which cause damage have extra casting time, or abjuration spells don't suffer from these effects or something)

1. All spells now take (original casting time)x level x level to cast. Which basically means that combat spells of above level 1 are right out unless you're ambushing someone or in a mass battle, and other spells require you to be forewarned of a situation.

2. Raw spellcasting is impossible. Noone gets spell slots. Known spells can be used for crafting only. Spellcasting from magical items is still allowed. UMD is no longer a valid skill - take a level of wizard if you want to use magic. I'd also suggest making every magical item (except possibly potions) a spell-trigger item, meaning ONLY spellcasters can use most magic.

IOW - that first level wizard has to write scrolls to cast spells. At third he picks up craft wondrous item and makes 1/day or better items. The warrior can't use boots of haste, but he CAN use a +1 sword. This will make most uses of magic specific to wizards or clerics, heavily restricting the commercial use of them. Lower the frequency of spellcasters, and it stops being economically viable to do things via magic.

3. Spellcasting causes damage. 1pt of ability damage/level, assigned however the caster wishes among his stats. This is a most severe option and really relegates magic to being a last line of defense. It doesn't really restrict the non-adventuring use of magic however.

4. Easy dispelling. Make magic really really easy to counter. Give every spellcaster 'reactive counterspell' and 'improved counterspell' for free and allow counterspelling against permanent and instant spells. Allow counterspelling with a sufficient amount of lower-level magic (ie - 3 1st level spells can counter 1 3rd level spell). If two forces of mages meet, chances are they burn up all their magic to no effect. If a merchant gets a teleport circle built, it's a simple job for a wizard to turn it off. If someone gets turned to stone, the next wizard along can turn them back. This is the approach taken by Godlike (although godlike applies it to supers) - every single super in godlike can identify another super on sight, and suppress their powers, which leads to supers only having an edge against a situation which is entirely non-super.

 

[Pants]

Here's an easy idea.
Drop ALL of the PHB spells and either use only:
1. True Rituals from S&S Relics and Rituals (they'd have to be modified slightly). This introduces the powerful but uber-rare magic. Magic can only be performed by circles of 'mages.'
2. Incantations from Unearthed Arcana. Everyone has the ability to cast spells... they just may not work or they are way too specific for some situations.