As people reading the linked thread in the previous post may have noticed, I'm back on converting the HW setting.
Culture conversion discussions are treated in the linked thread, so if people are interested, follow the link!
I will continue the discussion on magic conversion here.
Let me start by presenting my initial ideas on HW unknown spells.
Since listing unknown spells is almost as much work as listing spells that do not work, if not more, I would like to set up a set of rule simmilar to the ones above. I realise this may not be as straightforward as actually compiling a list, but then a compiled list would drag this thread into endless discussions about 'why this spell and this one not', and then we wouldn't get anywhere.
My idea thusfar is to take a look at the HW sourcebooks, try to come up with a generic rule, and then convert that to 3.5e
The following trends become apparent when looking at the HW unkown spells list:
-Instant damage, massive damage and protection spells seem to have gone on the unknown list. This includes magic missile, fire ball, lightning bolt, ice storm/wall, cloudkill, wall of iron, force field, meteor swarm etc.
Other, similar spells however have made it to the 'working' list. example: wall of fire.
-Spells that give you an advantage in a fight have gone on the unknown list. This includes sleep, mirror image, confusion, polymorph, feeblemind, maze, timestop etc.
Other, similar spells however have made it to the 'working' list. example: haste, phantasmal force, projected image.
As mentioned earlier, some of the gazetteers available to the HW cultures introduce spells similar to ones on the unknown list. They tend to be slight alterations with virtual identical effects, although they mostly have lower damage dice, limited usefullness or are set at a higher level.
My current idea is to do the following:
1.Take the list of spells available for a given level. (substract the not-working ones first)
2.a If a spell is specifically designed to counter a spell that does not work in the hollow world, list it as 'unknown'.
2.b If a spell is specifically designed to effect or mimic an element that is rare or unknown in the element, ist it as 'unknown' (ex: spells effecting undead, spells prohibiting planar travel, spells related to the moon)
3.If there are two spells with virtually identical characteristics, move the more powerfull one to the unknown list.
4.If there is a spell with virtually identical characteristics on a lower level, move the spell to the unknown list. (We are assuming the higher level spell is the result of additional research done on the outer world).
5.Divide the remaining list into the schools they belong to.
6.If one of the schools is represented by far more spells than the rest, select the single most powerfull attack, defense or combat-improving spell and move it to the unknown list.
7.Additional spells.
7a.If the culture in question is reasonably civilized (for instance, the milennians), they may have done some research themselves.
-If a spell has been moved to the 'unknown' list under step 4, replace the spell in question with a slightly different spell.
-If a school is underrepresented, try to create a single spell for that school. keep in mind that a lot of spells simply don't work, so don't make the mistake of creating a new spell that cannot function.
7b.Cultures relatively close to nature tend to be focussed more on nature even when using magic.
-If a school is underrpresented, try to find a spell in the druid spell list that would fit into the underrepresented school. Don't take spells from higher levels, but upgrade spells taken from lower levels slightly if you feel you need to.
When creating new spells, incorporate elements native to the hollow world. (for instance, the earlier mentioned 'sunbeam' wich is almost identical to fireball, but consists of a ray of energy coming in a straight line from the central sun).
Ok, that's it so far.
I will try to use my abovementioned rules on the first levels for the sorcerer/wizard list myself, and see what I come up with. In the meantime, feel free to comment!
Herzog
