Greensnakedrex
Explorer
I'd like to share the alternative to Vancian spell casting I am developing for my homebrew campaign based on these personal preferences.
- All players should expect to roll a d20 when attempting to do something challenging.
- Spell casting is chaotic by nature and success is not guaranteed. Flawed spell casting can go horribly wrong....
- Spell casters should not 'run out' of spells, but they should become increasingly difficult to cast.
This is what I have come up with.
-Remove the spell level mechanic from the game. Assign a base casting DC for all spells. You can use the old spell levels as a rough formula for figuring DCs. I was thinking 10 + (spell level x3), so what was once a 1st level spell is now a DC 13 spell.
- Arcane casters have a pool of Focus that grows as you level, similar to HP. Perhaps start with INT score +4/level. This pool is recharged by an appropriate rest mechanic (daily/long rest).
-To cast a spell, Make the DC check. Bonuses for Int and level progression apply (base casting bonus in essence). Specialized casters get a bonus for spells of their school. Damage taken since your last turn and other factors can boost the DC (or give a penalty to the roll, or grant disadvantage, et cetera)
- If you fail, you can use Focus to boost your roll.
Casting can go awry when.....
--Option 1- When a casting check results in a 1- that is; the caster rolls a 1 and cannot or chooses not to spend Focus to boost it to a 2.
--Option 2- When a caster fails to meet at least 1/2 of the attempted DC.
DMs can dust off those classic Wild Magic tables, or use your own judgement to inject whatever you deem is needed.
Game play wise, this makes it so that casting is never guaranteed, and eliminates 'Out of Spells' without granting at will spells. It unlocks the door for 'spell crits' as well, but I am keeping that door closed at the moment.
I am also considering removing the level dependent effects of spells and replacing them with DC modifications. To cast Magic Missile with a single missile- DC 13. To cast it with 2 missiles- DC 16, and so forth. You could even reduce the DCs for spell such as fireball for reduced effect. For instance, a 5d6 Fireball would have a DC of 19 to cast. Maybe a 4d6 fireball would be only DC 17 or a 3d6 Fireball DC 15. It may be wise to have minimum DCs for some spells if I go this route. This may be a little to fiddly, though. May end up on the chopping block.
I strongly considering the idea of letting any character attempt to cast arcane spells. Characters without arcane training get -10 to casting DCs and no Focus pool. They can take feats/backgrounds/themes to mitigate this penalty. This allows for characters who 'dabble' in magic, or have received specialized or limited training without forcing players to multiclass.
As for spell acquisition, I have always taken an active hand and worked with my players to develop spellbooks that are suitable. Not sure if hard rules are required here. I like the idea of letting characters have access to spells that may be difficult for them to cast, especially if using the option that if they do no meet 1/2 the required DC, the DM can toss some failed/wild magic into the mix.
Thanks for reading, and I'd love some feedback.
-Drex
- All players should expect to roll a d20 when attempting to do something challenging.
- Spell casting is chaotic by nature and success is not guaranteed. Flawed spell casting can go horribly wrong....
- Spell casters should not 'run out' of spells, but they should become increasingly difficult to cast.
This is what I have come up with.
-Remove the spell level mechanic from the game. Assign a base casting DC for all spells. You can use the old spell levels as a rough formula for figuring DCs. I was thinking 10 + (spell level x3), so what was once a 1st level spell is now a DC 13 spell.
- Arcane casters have a pool of Focus that grows as you level, similar to HP. Perhaps start with INT score +4/level. This pool is recharged by an appropriate rest mechanic (daily/long rest).
-To cast a spell, Make the DC check. Bonuses for Int and level progression apply (base casting bonus in essence). Specialized casters get a bonus for spells of their school. Damage taken since your last turn and other factors can boost the DC (or give a penalty to the roll, or grant disadvantage, et cetera)
- If you fail, you can use Focus to boost your roll.
Casting can go awry when.....
--Option 1- When a casting check results in a 1- that is; the caster rolls a 1 and cannot or chooses not to spend Focus to boost it to a 2.
--Option 2- When a caster fails to meet at least 1/2 of the attempted DC.
DMs can dust off those classic Wild Magic tables, or use your own judgement to inject whatever you deem is needed.
Game play wise, this makes it so that casting is never guaranteed, and eliminates 'Out of Spells' without granting at will spells. It unlocks the door for 'spell crits' as well, but I am keeping that door closed at the moment.
I am also considering removing the level dependent effects of spells and replacing them with DC modifications. To cast Magic Missile with a single missile- DC 13. To cast it with 2 missiles- DC 16, and so forth. You could even reduce the DCs for spell such as fireball for reduced effect. For instance, a 5d6 Fireball would have a DC of 19 to cast. Maybe a 4d6 fireball would be only DC 17 or a 3d6 Fireball DC 15. It may be wise to have minimum DCs for some spells if I go this route. This may be a little to fiddly, though. May end up on the chopping block.
I strongly considering the idea of letting any character attempt to cast arcane spells. Characters without arcane training get -10 to casting DCs and no Focus pool. They can take feats/backgrounds/themes to mitigate this penalty. This allows for characters who 'dabble' in magic, or have received specialized or limited training without forcing players to multiclass.
As for spell acquisition, I have always taken an active hand and worked with my players to develop spellbooks that are suitable. Not sure if hard rules are required here. I like the idea of letting characters have access to spells that may be difficult for them to cast, especially if using the option that if they do no meet 1/2 the required DC, the DM can toss some failed/wild magic into the mix.
Thanks for reading, and I'd love some feedback.
-Drex
It's nice when people can appreciate and respect others preferences without feeling threatened. There's a lot of supportive and knowledgeable posters on here and it's great when they share their ideas and concepts. Sometimes it seems such a waste to argue with someone about the "best" way or edition to do something when instead you can bounce off of their passion and enthusiasm, reveling in their ideas and using this to motivate your own.
