D&D 5E In a Prehistoric Setting, a fighter's bone axe shatters. A Wizard's _____ breaks how?

[grimslade]

A prehistoric wizard might, instead of memorizing spell formulas, build small satchels or effigies with spell components that are crushed or untied or undone in some way while saying a word of power. Wizards already have a built-in mechanic for 'weapon breakage', they have spell components, material components can be taken or destroyed, verbal components can be silenced and somatic components can be restrained. I don't know that you need to have wizard staff or wand break to demonstrate the fragility of civilization.
That being said you could give wizards a chance of having their magical effigy failing or prematurely detonating. I imagine cantrips could be cast through a focus, maybe masks, or gris-gris, or totems, that could have a chance to break on a crit. Or throwing inscribed bones and one flies too far or not far enough to risk a failure.
Heilung pic included for ambiance

 

[Plaguescarred]

Back to prehistoric age, the young weave of magic could be unstable and prone to wild magic mishap and unpredictable concentration breakage.

 

[BookTenTiger]

These are all really fun, creative ideas! I love the idea of wrangling spirits, or having knotted strings and bags of beads...

I'm not planning on running a Prehistoric Campaign any time soon, but I kind of like this idea for weapon breakage. Keep in mind I'm literally making this up off the top of my head! This would also, in my mind, be supported by Encumbrance and scarcity rules, making it pricey to break your weapons.

Melee Weapon Breakage
When you roll a melee weapon attack that misses, you may choose to break the weapon, adding 1d4 to the attack roll. Depending on the weapon's damage type, the following effect occurs:

• Piercing: Shards of the weapon stick into your target. At the start of each of your turns, they automatically take piercing damage based on the size of the weapon (light: 2, one-handed or versatile: 3, heavy: 4). As an action, they or another creature may remove the shards, ending the effect.
• Slashing: Your final blow opens a gash in the target's armor. Their armor class is reduced by 1.
• Bludgeoning: The stump of your weapon may be used as a Shield, granting you +1 to Armor Class, even if you are already wielding a shield. If you use the stump to attack, it acts as an improvised weapon and is destroyed.

Ranged Weapon Breakage
When you hit with a ranged weapon attack, you may choose to break the weapon, gaining one of the following benefits:

• Long Range: The attack ignores disadvantage for attacking at a far range.
• Deadly Aim: The weapon deals maximum damage on its weapon dice.
• Distraction: You may attempt to hide as a bonus action.

Spell Sundering
After you cast a spell, you may choose to sunder your connection to the magic, drawing more power from breaking your pact to the spirits or materials you rely on for arcane might. You may not cast that spell again until your next Long Rest, even if you have spell slots available. Choose one of the following effects:

• Spell Barrage: Cast a Cantrip as part of this action.
• Unbreakable Magic: If the spell requires Concentration, you automatically succeed on Constitution Saving Throws to maintain concentration, as long as you are conscious.
• Fickle Fates: You force one target to reroll their Saving Throw against your spell, taking the new roll instead.

However, you must also roll for a cost:

1. Magic Blast: The spell component pouch or arcane focus you use to cast the spell is destroyed. If the material used for the spell is usually consumed, or the spell does not require materials, you instead take an amount of Force damage equal to your Spell Attack Bonus.
2. Blood Contamination: You are poisoned for the next hour. This effect cannot be cured by magic or medicine.
3. Eyebite: You are blinded for the next ten minutes. This effect cannot be cured by magic or medicine.
4. Weakened Spirit: You gain one level of Exhaustion.
5. Greater Sundering: You may not cast spells for one minute.
6. No Effect: The fates smile upon you!

 

[BookTenTiger]

Oh, and I would also add:

When you are struck by an attack that would reduce you to 0 Hit Points, you may sacrifice a weapon, shield, or spell focus you are holding to be reduced to 1 Hit Point instead.

Or something to that effect! Maybe different materials would grant different effects.

 

[Campbell]

The wizard's femur shatters because daddy needs a new axe.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

On the knotted/beaded cords thing, I wouldn’t have the casters have to undo them to use them, thus destroying them. Instead, just like the prehistoric weapons, have them wear down with use.

As the caster handles the cords, his or her hands will be rubbing, caressing and otherwise manipulating them. Over time, stones & shells will crack, fragment and crumble. The sinew or plant fiber used to make the cords will stretch, wear and break.

Tattoos & scarification would be less prone to destruction over time, but might instead mandate a limit on the number of spells you can know, simply because your body is of finite size. Additionally, if you wanted to be har about it, magical tats & scars might be destroyed by taking too much damage. (If I went with that, healing magic would repair the magical tats & scars perfectly.)

 

[Mordhau]

It seens to me that if it's wizards, the spellbook is where it is. Ie it's not portable, it's painted on cave walls or carved into a rock somewhere and to memorise the spell you've got to go visit it. You'd have the spells that are in the local area and others you'd actually have to go and visit. To memorise Wish you have to go climb a mountain somewhere and study the world as laid out below.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

In settings where writing is not necessarily presumed, I would expect a wizard to have something like the following:

• a bag of runestones, made of ivory, obsidian, etc.
• a staff of special wood or bone, etched with logographic spells
• body tattoos that signify their spells
• a primitive "book" or "scroll" made from animal hides, printed with dioramas of their spells

For each thing, it can break in its own way. The bag of runestones could tear open and the stones shatter. The staff splinters or catches on fire. The wizard's skin is damaged (by fire, lacerations, acid, whatever). The hides are stained or destroyed.

Part of the problem is that the tools of magic tend to be more variable, because we're inventing them rather than taking them from real-world tools.