Bendris Noulg
First Post
I'm giving my own system one last OGL-compliancy scrub (yes, I'm that paranoid, but that's another topic...), but here are some "easy imports" that don't require system overhauls to apply...
Sorcerers, Bards and other Spontaneous Casters (such as Green Ronin's Witch Class): They don't spontaneously produce spells, but must learn their spells as a Wizard. However, once learned, they retain the spell indefinately as a Core Sorcerer.
The only difference is thematic, as the class is mechanically unchanged.
-Option: Alternate Spell Lists between Wizards & Sorcerers. Best explained by examplifying my own campaign: One branch of Sorcerer practice lore taught by Genies and are Elementalists, while another branch study the teachings of a deity of death, gaining the Necromancer Spell List from Green Ronin's Secret Colledge of Necromancy, and so forth. Channelers (another S&M conversion) use the standard Wizard List. Channelers are described as being scholarly scientists, while Sorcerers see magic as philosophical art; a Channeler with a book of Sorcery isn't going to benefit much from it.
Spell Research: I'm using a conversion of the Library/Laboratory rules from 2E's Spells & Magic with modifications inspired by Fantasy Flights Spells & Spellcraft and Mongoose's Quintessential Wizard. For a straight d20 option, I recommend FF's book (no offense on QW, I just found it to be better in other areas). Apply these rules (or similar) instead of the suggested method of assumption of access recommended in the PH. With spontaneous development of spells is removed via the Sorcerer/Bard, and removing the other assumption-based rule of a Wizard gaining 2 Free Spells per Level, the influx of spells from Level gain is curbed slightly.
This option (alone) doesn't remove any spells from the PCs, but it requires downtime and/or reasonable in-game justifaction to be obtained. This allows the GM to temper the addition of new spells, but allows the PCs to pursue spells as they wish (admittedly, downtime and opportunities, such as finding or inhereting a spellbook, need to be supplied by the GM every 2-3 levels to be fair to the players, but works well when applied correctly). This also works best when spellcasting NPCs are also rare, as it's easily foiled by having too many found spellbooks.
-Option: Bump read magic to 3rd Level, making the character's dependant on the ability to speak/read Draconic to learn spells at Low Levels. Alternately, remove the "common language" theme of Draconic, making each spell written in the native tongue of the writer (or other language that they chose) and bump comprehend languages to 2nd.
Reduced Item Creation: The Item Creation Feats are only about process and methodology. Each item to be created must be independantly researched in the same manner as a spell. Don't have the Feat, can't research the item; don't research the item, can't make it. Once made, it's made; no upgrading the same item.
-Option: Sympathetic Item Creation, being that a spellcaster must craft an item by their own hands in order to enhance it with magic. This has an extra cost in Skill Points (Craft, possibly others), and is applied best in campaigns that offer alternative means of gaining extra Skill Points.
-Option: Power Components, as described briefly in the DMG, but to date best expanded on 2E's Spells & Magic.
Obviously, there's more, but the rest is lengthy (new Core Class, Spell Points/Fatigue Stages, etc.), while what's above is easily ported into the game as basic concepts.
Mage Born Characters: Character beginning at 1st Level as an Arcane Caster are automatically considered to be Mage Born, but a Feat is required in order to become an Arcane Caster later.
-Option: This may be a "Birth Feat", gained during Character Creation only, or it may be "discovered" in-game that the PC is a mageling.
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Now, there's a few other ideas I've seen here and there...
No Spell Scaling: Spells are what they are at the level they are obtainable (ex: fireball doesn't do more then 5 die of damage).
-Option: Allow Empower Spell to cause scaling when applicable (ex: 5th Level fireball causes 9 die of damage)
One of Ken Hood's methods, "The Rule of Odds": When ever a die is used to determine the effects of a spell, all odds on the dice are read as "1".
Less flashy by Specialization: All Arcane Casters are Specialized, with Evocation as an Opposed School.
Ability Score Reduction: 1 point of Ability Reduction per Spell Level, applied to Physical Stats as chosen by the Caster at the time of casting (points from spells can be divided amongst the other Ability Scores, allowing a caster to not be nailed by a single 9th Level Spell, but two 9th Level Spells aren't so easy to shake off). Ability Scores return at a rate of 1 per hour per Ability Score. A little book-keepy, but effective at keeping spellcasters from "unloading" a lot of high level spells in a short period of time.
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If you are going rare but potent, than what you want ideally is something that will tone Spellcasters down until such a time as the other PCs are gaining some of the more potent magic items available to them. For example, Spellcasters in my game progress in power slowly until around 8th-12th Level (using a combination of mechanical and RP-based methods, such as Feats that reduce Fatigue combined with spellbooks found in ancient ruins that contain rare or forgotten lore, and Guild/Group memberships that supply a library and laboratory or, alternately, the spellcaster gains their own library/laboratory), after which they begin to climb upwards in power until near Core potency. At about the same time, the other PCs, who have had little to no magic on-hand, start acquiring items that (in a standard game) are more suited for 17th+ characters (becoming "signature" items that they retain for the rest of the campaign).
This in mind, determine the point in which the other PCs will begin to gain items, and then add the features that puts spellcaster power on a similar curve. Alternately, allow the spellcasters to set the pace: As they begin to overcome their early limitations (by whatever means provided) and gain potency, introduce the items that allow the other PCs to keep up.
Sorcerers, Bards and other Spontaneous Casters (such as Green Ronin's Witch Class): They don't spontaneously produce spells, but must learn their spells as a Wizard. However, once learned, they retain the spell indefinately as a Core Sorcerer.
The only difference is thematic, as the class is mechanically unchanged.
-Option: Alternate Spell Lists between Wizards & Sorcerers. Best explained by examplifying my own campaign: One branch of Sorcerer practice lore taught by Genies and are Elementalists, while another branch study the teachings of a deity of death, gaining the Necromancer Spell List from Green Ronin's Secret Colledge of Necromancy, and so forth. Channelers (another S&M conversion) use the standard Wizard List. Channelers are described as being scholarly scientists, while Sorcerers see magic as philosophical art; a Channeler with a book of Sorcery isn't going to benefit much from it.
Spell Research: I'm using a conversion of the Library/Laboratory rules from 2E's Spells & Magic with modifications inspired by Fantasy Flights Spells & Spellcraft and Mongoose's Quintessential Wizard. For a straight d20 option, I recommend FF's book (no offense on QW, I just found it to be better in other areas). Apply these rules (or similar) instead of the suggested method of assumption of access recommended in the PH. With spontaneous development of spells is removed via the Sorcerer/Bard, and removing the other assumption-based rule of a Wizard gaining 2 Free Spells per Level, the influx of spells from Level gain is curbed slightly.
This option (alone) doesn't remove any spells from the PCs, but it requires downtime and/or reasonable in-game justifaction to be obtained. This allows the GM to temper the addition of new spells, but allows the PCs to pursue spells as they wish (admittedly, downtime and opportunities, such as finding or inhereting a spellbook, need to be supplied by the GM every 2-3 levels to be fair to the players, but works well when applied correctly). This also works best when spellcasting NPCs are also rare, as it's easily foiled by having too many found spellbooks.
-Option: Bump read magic to 3rd Level, making the character's dependant on the ability to speak/read Draconic to learn spells at Low Levels. Alternately, remove the "common language" theme of Draconic, making each spell written in the native tongue of the writer (or other language that they chose) and bump comprehend languages to 2nd.
Reduced Item Creation: The Item Creation Feats are only about process and methodology. Each item to be created must be independantly researched in the same manner as a spell. Don't have the Feat, can't research the item; don't research the item, can't make it. Once made, it's made; no upgrading the same item.
-Option: Sympathetic Item Creation, being that a spellcaster must craft an item by their own hands in order to enhance it with magic. This has an extra cost in Skill Points (Craft, possibly others), and is applied best in campaigns that offer alternative means of gaining extra Skill Points.
-Option: Power Components, as described briefly in the DMG, but to date best expanded on 2E's Spells & Magic.
Obviously, there's more, but the rest is lengthy (new Core Class, Spell Points/Fatigue Stages, etc.), while what's above is easily ported into the game as basic concepts.
Mage Born Characters: Character beginning at 1st Level as an Arcane Caster are automatically considered to be Mage Born, but a Feat is required in order to become an Arcane Caster later.
-Option: This may be a "Birth Feat", gained during Character Creation only, or it may be "discovered" in-game that the PC is a mageling.
-----
Now, there's a few other ideas I've seen here and there...
No Spell Scaling: Spells are what they are at the level they are obtainable (ex: fireball doesn't do more then 5 die of damage).
-Option: Allow Empower Spell to cause scaling when applicable (ex: 5th Level fireball causes 9 die of damage)
One of Ken Hood's methods, "The Rule of Odds": When ever a die is used to determine the effects of a spell, all odds on the dice are read as "1".
Less flashy by Specialization: All Arcane Casters are Specialized, with Evocation as an Opposed School.
Ability Score Reduction: 1 point of Ability Reduction per Spell Level, applied to Physical Stats as chosen by the Caster at the time of casting (points from spells can be divided amongst the other Ability Scores, allowing a caster to not be nailed by a single 9th Level Spell, but two 9th Level Spells aren't so easy to shake off). Ability Scores return at a rate of 1 per hour per Ability Score. A little book-keepy, but effective at keeping spellcasters from "unloading" a lot of high level spells in a short period of time.
-----
If you are going rare but potent, than what you want ideally is something that will tone Spellcasters down until such a time as the other PCs are gaining some of the more potent magic items available to them. For example, Spellcasters in my game progress in power slowly until around 8th-12th Level (using a combination of mechanical and RP-based methods, such as Feats that reduce Fatigue combined with spellbooks found in ancient ruins that contain rare or forgotten lore, and Guild/Group memberships that supply a library and laboratory or, alternately, the spellcaster gains their own library/laboratory), after which they begin to climb upwards in power until near Core potency. At about the same time, the other PCs, who have had little to no magic on-hand, start acquiring items that (in a standard game) are more suited for 17th+ characters (becoming "signature" items that they retain for the rest of the campaign).
This in mind, determine the point in which the other PCs will begin to gain items, and then add the features that puts spellcaster power on a similar curve. Alternately, allow the spellcasters to set the pace: As they begin to overcome their early limitations (by whatever means provided) and gain potency, introduce the items that allow the other PCs to keep up.
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![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
) considering that the whole gambit of spells is on the line (healing, combat, defense, utility). The Spellcaster does not possess the Druid wildshape, wizard/sorcerer familiar, wizard specialization, or cleric turn undead abilities. The Spellcaster is a spontaneous caster, so metamagic can be painfull. 
