Looking for an alternate magic system...

[sfgiants]

Hey, I am looking for an alternate magic system for my d+d setting. I have WoT but I still want spells such as magic missile etc. Using WoT (or even CoC) just doesn't quite work. The question is this: What d20 products offer up a new magic system?

-what I need:

-easy to use
-uses same spells as core rulebooks


Help!

 

[Umbran]

It's not generally wise to make a thing different just to be different. What's the purpose of changing? What do you want to see in the new system? What about the standard system don't you like? Answer these, and you'll get better responses.

 

[Jediblack]

I know that Sovereign Stone Campaign Sourcebook contains a brand new magic system.
Check it out.

See you
Davide

 

[kenjib]

-what I need:

-easy to use
-uses same spells as core rulebooks

I'm not sure what you are looking for. What do you not like about the current system?

Based on just the criteria you have given, one option is the Psionics Handbook and Malhavolic Press' If Thoughts Could Kill. That combo will give you a mana based magic system with conversions of all spells in the PHB and Relics & Rituals, as well as giving you new spells to pick from the psionic disciplines if you so choose.

 

[sfgiants]

OK just to clarify. I am looking for a different system than the Vanician one as presented in the core books. I like a more flexible system such as presented in WoT (except for the fact that their system doesn't include d+d standard spells etc). Really I just want to know what other systems are out there.

 

[Geoffrey]

OK just to clarify. I am looking for a different system than the Vanician one as presented in the core books. I like a more flexible system such as presented in WoT (except for the fact that their system doesn't include d+d standard spells etc).

I think I might know of just the thing you're looking for:

The Elements of Magic

The Elements of Magic is a rules module designed to replace the "fire and forget" spell system of the d20 Core Rules. The d20 spell system, while balanced and usable, is not flexible enough to model the magic users from most fantasy books and movies. Few wizards have ever memorized or prepared a spell, and even fewer forget them immediately afterwards. In the Elements of Magic, each character has only a single spellcasting level, no matter how many types of magic she learns in her career. Each character also has a pool of magic points, keeping their spellcasting abilities balanced, but better modelling the flexibility of most fantasy spellcasters. The Elements of Magic gives characters many times the options of the standard d20 rules. Most divination spells have been converted into skills, expanding on the model of the Scry skill. Most other spells are replaced by spell lists. Instead of learning a fireball spell, for example, a mage could learn the Evoke Area Fire spell list. This list includes spells from 0th to 9th level and each spell can take on the form of a fan, line, cone, cylinder, or sphere burst. Nor is the mage limited to fire evocations – with 20 elements to choose from, she could learn Evoke Area Ice or Lightning, or an even more exotic spell list, such as Evoke Area Lava or Shadow. And this is only one spell list from the Elements of Magic – it would take literally thousands of standard spells to duplicate the effects of the spell lists in this 64 page book.

It will be published soon by Natural 20 Press. Here's the link: http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/reviews/index.php?sub=yes&where=currentprod&which=elm8a

 

[Sulimo]

There's also Sovereign Stone. I think it uses the normal spells, but includes a whole heap more...

Or alternately, you could just dump the Sorceror and use all the remaining spells users the way Sorcerors are in 3e. Thats how alot of our 2e campaigns worked, becuase we didnt like the fire-and-forget system and we didnt like the challenge of trying to read the DM's mind when picking spells. Plus it was less work.

Of course, this would powerup divine casters again as they aren't limited in spell choices like wizards would be.

 

[Umbran]

OK just to clarify. I am looking for a different system than the Vanician one as presented in the core books.

One word - sorcerer. Modify it, andyou're ready to go.

Switch the important stat to Intelligence. Drop the weapon proficiency. Maybe increase the number of spells known slightly. Yield - one non-vancian wizard.

 

[kenjib]

OK just to clarify. I am looking for a different system than the Vanician one as presented in the core books. I like a more flexible system such as presented in WoT (except for the fact that their system doesn't include d+d standard spells etc). Really I just want to know what other systems are out there.

In that case, psionics handbook + if thoughts could kill is a good solution for a system that uses totally standard D&D spells but uses mana instead of spell slots. It's kind of like the next step beyond sorcerer.

It's actually really cheap too if you just use the SRD for the basic mana rules:

http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/srd.html

Then all you need is If Thoughts Could Kill.

 

[Oni]

Here use mine, its not perfect but hey, its a little different while still using the dnd spells.


http://personal.rmc.edu/~jcpugh/Channeller.html


Ok, so its not a d20 product per say, but it is free (course I suppose you get what you pay for....) anyway have fun.