Krieg
First Post
Note: Rambling brainstorm follows...
When thinking about D&D magic there is really only one thing that bothers me...and believe it or not it is not Vancian spell slots.
In most fantasy literature, magic always has a cost associated with it. Whether it is physically draining, slowly destroys the mind or entails unholy pacts with otherworldly entitities...magic is rarely free.
A lot of D20 games try to model that in various ways (Midnight, Grim Tales, Conan, CoCD20, The Black Company, Dark Legacies etc etc etc) but most radically alter the magic system to do so.
I've been thinking of modifying the existing arcane classes just a bit to reflect that train of thought.
First Wizards would make skill checks based on Spellcraft to cast spells, a successful check is necesary to cast the spell. 20 and 1 would mean automatic success and failure respectively. I'm also pondering "greater" successes & failures as well.
Meanwhile Sorcerers would be able to cast spells freely as they do now, but their power comes from a pact with a demon, artifact or other similar "power". Instead of facing the possibility of spell failure they face the possibility of corruption and/or madness over time (using some variation of the various madness/taint rules out there).
Thus Sorcerers would be the fast track to power, but face the possibility of pretty severe consequences over the long term while Wizardry is the generally safer but slower route to power.
Any thoughts?
When thinking about D&D magic there is really only one thing that bothers me...and believe it or not it is not Vancian spell slots.
In most fantasy literature, magic always has a cost associated with it. Whether it is physically draining, slowly destroys the mind or entails unholy pacts with otherworldly entitities...magic is rarely free.
A lot of D20 games try to model that in various ways (Midnight, Grim Tales, Conan, CoCD20, The Black Company, Dark Legacies etc etc etc) but most radically alter the magic system to do so.
I've been thinking of modifying the existing arcane classes just a bit to reflect that train of thought.
First Wizards would make skill checks based on Spellcraft to cast spells, a successful check is necesary to cast the spell. 20 and 1 would mean automatic success and failure respectively. I'm also pondering "greater" successes & failures as well.
Meanwhile Sorcerers would be able to cast spells freely as they do now, but their power comes from a pact with a demon, artifact or other similar "power". Instead of facing the possibility of spell failure they face the possibility of corruption and/or madness over time (using some variation of the various madness/taint rules out there).
Thus Sorcerers would be the fast track to power, but face the possibility of pretty severe consequences over the long term while Wizardry is the generally safer but slower route to power.
Any thoughts?
Last edited: