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Message: <blockquote data-quote="argo" data-source="post: 2048753" data-attributes="member: 5752">Sorcery in Conan d20Spellcasting is basically a class feature of the Scholar class (your other option being the Dabler feat which grants anybody very limited spellcasting).  Spellcasting uses a Power Point system to cast and a proprietary spell list which is not compatiable with most other d20 spell systems (though many CoC spells are quite easy, and fun, to port over!).  Every spell in the core rulebook is an attempt to simiulate a magic effect from a REH Conan story.The Scholar Class: is the primary way to become a spellcaster but, as the name indicates, is flexiable enough to do other things.  As a Scholar level he gains Sorcery Styles and Advanced Spells as class features which he can either use to learn more magic or else trade in for bonus feats and skill points (his choice).  With 8 sill points per level and a bardic-knolwedge type ability he can be quite the loremaster.  With the Priest feat and Leadership feat he could be a powerful political power-broker.  With the right selection of spells and feats he can become a strong kung-fu type martial artist.  Each scholar selects a background at 1st level which indicates how he comes by his knolwedge.  I.e. a scholarwith the Demonic Pact background has sold his soul to a demon, he can learn prety much whatever spells he wants but will slowly become Corrupt.  A scholar with the Acolyte background belongs to a coven and can only learn the spells his master (the DM) teaches him and is bound to his master in servetitude.  A scholar with the Independent background has no superior and may learn whatever spell he wants but must make Knolwedge (arcana) checks or fail to learn any spell at all.  Ability Scores: magic requires the use of all three mental stats.  Inteligence grants a scholar bonus Advanced Spells.  Wisdom gives a bonus (or penalty) to Power Points.  Charisma modifies the Magic Attack Roll.Magic Attack Roll: most spells require a magic attack roll which sets the DC for the target to resist the spell.  The magic attack roll is 1d20 + Magic Attack Bonus + Cha mod.  The magic attack bonus is a class based bonus, think of it as magical BAB.  Every class has a magic attack bonus progression but the scholar has the best progression (this makes multi-classing a viable option for scholars).Power Points: spellcasting requires the expenditure of PP.  Most characters do not have a reserve of PP, only spellcasting characters do.  A scholar starts off with a Base PP of 4 + Wis mod and this number is raised with levels in the scholar class.  This number is the number to which PP will regenerate with normal rest (at a rate of 1PP/2 hours rest).  There are ways to boost your PP above your base PP up to your Max PP which starts at twice your Base PP but also increases with levels in scholar.  Ways to recover/boost your PP aside from mundane rest include Sacrifices (which can be boosted with certain feats as well), organizing Power Rituals, Draining other creatures (including other scholars!) and creative drug use.Sorcery Styles and Advanced Spells: as you level in scholar you gain access to a few Sorcery Styles, you gain one Advanced Spell at every level after second plus some for a high Int.  Sorcery Styles are basically like schools of magic (Nature Magic, Counterspells, Hypnotism, etc) and when you gain a new Sorcery Style you also gain access to its Basic Spell which is a minor effect.  When you gain a new Advanced Spell you can pick any Advanced Spell which you already have the Sorcery Style for and which you meet the prerequisites for (much like picking feats).  Spellcasting: once you know a spell you can cast it at any time provided you can pay the cost of casting (usually just a number of PP).  Many spells have looong casting times which precludes their use in combat.  Most all spells have components including V, S and M components (and all suffer from Arcane Spell Failure for wearing armor).  Actually casting spells works much like it does in standard d20: provoke AoO's, Concentration checks, line of sight/effect, etc.  Spells range in power from Astrological Prediction (which gives you a +1 bonus to one check within the next week) to Black Plague (which can slaughter armies wholesale or even wipe out entire cities).Magic Items: magic items in the traditional sense are rare and usually introduced by the DM as plot devices.  However the Craft (alchemy) and Craft (herbalism) skills have both been expanded in their uses.  The wise sorcorer will keep plenty of Stygian Tomb Dust and Black Lotus Blossom on hand as they will be his most reliable weapons in combat.  Poisions too, a little Great Serpent Venom on an arrowhead goes a long way.Corruption: corruption is a game mechanic which can affect anyone.  Its effects are somewhat similar to Dark Side Points in SWd20 if you are familiar with that system.  Basically anytime you come into contact with a corrupting influence you must make a Corruption save (will save) to which you apply your current corruption score as a penalty.  Sorcorers have an unplesant tendancy to bump into Things Man Was Not Meant To Know more frequently than other characters as they go poking around in the dark corners of the world (espically if they choose to persue some of the darker options open to them).Other Rules: there are severall other game mechanics to support sorcery including: a master dominating his students, rules for two sorcorer's "sizing each other up", rules for Runaway Magic (which can literally result in apocaplitic scenarios) and, most interestingly, rules for a War of the Souls which is mechanically much like a grapple but is psychic combat for spell-casters.Overall I think that Conan does a good job of emulating Swords 'n Sorcery style magic.  This is not a "low magic" system.  Magic is both powerful and almost common.  It is simply that magic is so damned expensive you have to either gather massive resources or else take one of the "dark paths".  Although it is not easy to port spells directly in from other systems it is easy to add/subtract spells.  You simply decide which Sorcery Style the spell belongs to (or else start a new Style) and what PP cost and prerequisites the spell should have (as I said, most CoC spells are easy to port in).  As for actually runing sorcery in game: I have found that it is no harder than DnD, like DnD most spells tend to be a succede/fail this check and effects X, Y and Z take hold but a small number of spells are of the sort that they have their own little subset of rules attached.  With the limited number of Advanced Spells that most scholars have I have found that the best way to approach it is to encourage my players to be creative; tell them that if they have a spell that is vaguely similar to the effect they want to achieve and they can make a good argument for it then I will let the effect take hold (maybe with some bonuses/penalties to the rolls involved).  The only really bad thing I have to say about the system is that building a scholar NPC of above level 6 or so requires about as much time as building a DnD wizard of a similar level.Later.</blockquote>

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