New Divine Spellcasting Mechanics

[RickVigorous]

I am well aware that many people dislike psionics in D&D in general and in 3e in particular. I am not one of those people. The existence of psionics as a separate system (but one which is compatible with the standard system) got me thinking: should divine spellcasters use the same Vancian magic system as arcane casters?

The regular 3e system works; I have no problem with it. However, I'm toying with the idea of running a plane-hopping game, and it would be interesting to have divine casters work differently. There is a Cthulu-esque component to the campaign cosmology (the Far Realm), and I'd like a system that can handle mad cultists calling out to their alien lords and also the party cleric casting cure light wounds on another character.

I am also lazy, so the less work that has to be done to implement it, the better.

That said, here is what I have:

Rather than cast spells, divine casters call for miracles. To do this, the caller rolls a d20+class level+Wis bonus versus a DC of 10+a number determined by the level of the miracle+the number of attempts to call a miracle that have been made that day. Calling for a miracle always requires a divine focus, and may require other components.

The DC increase for miracles is as follows:

[color=white]
Level     DC     Level     DC
  1        1       6       11
  2        3       7       13
  3        5       8       15
  4        7       9       17
  5        9[/color]

Miracles are chosen from the standard list of divine spells. A 1st-level cleric can attempt to call miracles of up to 3rd level; at 7th, level, the cleric can call miracles of up to 6th level, and at 13th level, any miracle can be attempted.

The caller still pays any XP costs associated with the miracle.

For example, a 1st-level cleric wis a Wis of 16 wants to heal his friend. He calls for his god to have mercy on this wounded soul and asks for a cure light wounds. He rolls 1d20+4 versus a DC of 11. If he succeeds, the wounds close; if not, he tries again, but the DC goes up by one. In fact, it goes up by one for any further attempts to call a miracle.

As usual, a 20 is always a success; a 1 is always a failure. I may want to include some sort of critical success/failure rules.

It is possible to take 10 and take 20 on this check, even though there is a penalty for failure. Taking 20 still increases the DC only by 1. This represents a lengthy ceremony to channel the deity's favor.

Metamagic feats add to the calling DC; treat the miracle as though it were of the indicated level.

This is still only half-formed. I haven't really worked through the balance issues entirely. My hunch is that clerics will get one, maybe two big attack spells per day, plenty of healing, and less buffing. They gain quite a bit of potential versatility, but their primary skill relies a bit much on the dice. Overall, I think this is weaker than the normal clerical spellcasting. Any thoughs would be welcome.

 

[Alchemist]

This has potential to be interesting. Let us know how it works in practice.

 

[starwolf]

Be prepared to have every member of the party *fully* buffed for every combat. Since almost all of the buff spells have durations of hours your cleric will simply keep rolling until he manages to get off as many buff spells as it takes.

 

[Stalker0]

I think there should be a penalty for failure, such as if I try to cast bull's str and fail, I can't cast bull's str the rest of the day, basically my god has decided not to bestow that gift upon me that day.

I really like the potential of this system, since it puts the gods more in the forefront. Right now, clerics are basically wizards that are much better in combat and have some god somewhere. With this system, its more like the clerics are at the mercy of there god, which is how it should be. It also opens up the potential for granting bonuses to those success checks when you do some holy service or something.

For paladins, are you going to do something like 1/2 their level is added?

 

[Stalker0]

Also, I would keep the normal level access that clerics have now. If you consider a 13th level cleric under your system right now with a 20 wis (not hard to get at 13th, often much higher), he would have a +18 to his success checks. To means he has over a 50% chance of casting a 9th level spell!! Seems a little high in my opinion.

 

[Afrodyte]

Hey! I created a system similar to this months ago, when I revised the cleric class. Here's what I have:

CLERIC
Flavor text as PHB, but add the text below. Saves and skills are the same, but BAB follows the SOR and WIZ model. Clerics are proficient in all simple weapons and the favored weapon of their deity or aspect. If the cleric is already proficient in the favored weapon, she gains the Weapon Focus feat in that weapon as a virtual feat. Clerics are not proficient in any armor or shields unless War or Protection is one of their domains. If this is the case, they gain proficiency in light, medium, and heavy armor and with shields.

Clerics gain power through their faith. Faith is greater than the belief in a god or following a code. It is the experience of an enhanced reality. For a cleric, even the most ordinary of activities take on a special significance. This frequently means devotion to a deity, but sometimes, clerics derive faith from an ideal.

Clerics don't cast spells. Their abilities are granted to them via the power of their convictions. Clerics may have faith in a specific deity (as listed in the PHB). Or, this faith can focus on a particular ideal or aspect (detailed later). It is perfectly alright for clerics to create deities around a certain aspect, such as Cupid as a god of love or Buddha as a god of peace. The powers granted a cleric via her faith come from the domains associated with the cleric's deity or ideal.

All clerics, regardless of where they put their faith, have tenets of faith which influences their codes of conduct. Naturally, these tenets depend upon the deity's alignment and the domains associated with it. The tenets need not be elaborate, but they must at least indicate the deity's values and goals. From these tenets, deities have vows and taboos, activities which their followers must always (vows) and never (taboo) participate in, or they will risk losing divine favor and incurring divine wrath. In general, the code of conduct of lawful and good deities are more stringent than those of chaotic and evil deities. Do not be fooled into thinking chaotic and evil deities are easier to serve. The few rules these deities have can be hard to maintain on a daily basis.

Faith. Clerics have a Faith bonus equal to their level + their WIS modifier. Unlike arcane casters, who have more control over the spells they cast and the effects they wish to implement, divine casters depend upon other powers for their abilities.

To pray for divine favors, the player rolls 1d20 and adds the Faith bonus and other mitigating factors (such as fasting, bathing, devotional song, using a divine focus, sacrifice, etc). The player then tells the DM (acting as the "will of the higher power”) the result, which tells the maximum potency of the divine favor. The exact effect of the divine boon depends on the result, the domains of the higher power, and the wording of the cleric’s prayer. These things together express the will of the deity.

The target number for getting these favors depends on level. The target number starts at 10 for 0th level favors and increases by 5 each level (yes, this means a DC of 50 for 9th level spells). The DM, acting as the higher power, narrates the effects of the divine caster's efforts. Whatever happens, the divine caster has no idea (though the player might) what her deity will grant. Divine favors are only granted from the domains associated with the deity or aspect. Thus, a cleric of Heironeous can cast spells from the War domain, whereas one worshipping Obad-Hai cannot. A cleric of Pelor can grant Healing spells, but one of Moradin cannot.

For instance, say that Roger Rogue, a companion of Cletus Cleric (CLC 5, WIS mod +3), is on the verge of death. Cletus prays for Pelor to bestow his favor onto the fallen comrade and spare his life. The player rolls 1d20 and gets a result of 20 (including Faith bonus). Mechanically, this means that the DM, acting as the deity, may give the cleric a "divine favor" (aka, spell) of up to 3rd level from one of the domains associated with the deity or aspect. This is a drastic change from the PHB, for no automatic cure or inflict spells are granted unless Heal is one of the domains associated with the deity or aspect. Even for divine casters who do not worship a deity, the results of a "divine favor" is indicative of the power of her belief in her ideals. Such belief can sometimes work miracles if it is strong enough.

Devotional activities such as fasting, ritual bathing, celibacy (or ritual sex acts), meditation, poverty, sacrifice, self-mutilation, and non-violence influence the Faith roll by adding a +2 circumstantial bonus that lasts for each day each activity is voluntarily participated in. Thus, a Buddhist monk who follows the tenets of his faith without deviance can have a +6 bonus to his faith roll (poverty, meditation, celibacy). If at any point during the day the cleric violates these temporary vows, she loses the bonus. When experiencing these things, the cleric must do so with a mind of utmost seriousness. Being hungry is not fasting. Not having sex is not celibacy. Daydreaming is not meditation. It is reasonable for a DM to ask for a Concentration check to see if the cleric can achieve and sustain the proper mental state.

Just because a cleric is pious does not mean that she will automatically gain the most favorable boon. Gods can be moody, especially when they give great benefits. If Pelor is angry, he may just give the cleric enough to keep her fallen friend from dying. Gods can also be vain (or very compassionate for the masochistic things the faithful do to themselves), and displays of devotion can move them to do more. Having noted that Roger is at -5 HP, the DM decides that Pelor wishes to reward Cletus’s piety as well as teach Roger about foolishly pursuing violence. Pelor, benevolent as he is, grants Cletus cure moderate wounds. Roger will live, and the soreness he feels for the next few days will give him plenty of time to be thankful for his life.

Marked. As stated earlier, gods can be tempermental. Most of them despise it when their favor is taken for granted. Many gods encourage their followers to be judicious with asking for divine favors. Those clerics who do not represent the god well are considered Marked. Marked clerics are in for a rough time of it, as higher powers specifically target him for punishment. Punishments range from embarassing (braying like an ass for a day) to dangerous (lightning striking the cleric from "nowhere"). The DM keeps a secret tally of how many Marked points the cleric has. Examples of activities that incur Marked points are: breaking a vow or taboo, using divine favor when mundane methods work just as well (like using cure spells when you have time to rest), and using divine favors to ends opposed by the deity or ideal.

At any time during or after the cleric prays for a divine boon (so Marked points may accumulate), the DM rolls 2d6 and adds the cleric's Marked points to the total. Then, the DM compares this total to the list to determine the exact nature of the backlash. Once the backlash is endured, the character's Marked points are reset to 0. The most Marked points a cleric may have at one time is 6. When a cleric reaches 6 Marked points, she suffers backlash as soon as she prays for her next divine favor or when she performs another action which would gain a Marked point. If a cleric suffers a backlash too many times, she may lose her powers indefinitely.

Marked points may be erased before the cleric suffers backlash. Usually, this means repentance in the form of devotional activities and the refusal to ask for divine favors.

Marked result
3 - 5: embarrassing (smelling like a dung heap for a day, braying like an ass instead of speaking for a day, always seem nude to others for a day, outsider comes to chastise you)
6-11: hindering (blind/deaf/dumb/crippled for a day, lose powers for a day, your equipment rots/rusts/goes stale)
12+: dangerous (something harmful but not deadly such as a lightning bolt striking you in the head, an outsider beating the crap out of you, or suffering any damage you inflict on others)

Divine favor. Gods tend to take good care of their best followers, and they sometimes grant boons to those they feel worthy. When a cleric reaches 10th level, he may become a candidate for receiving a divine favor. A divine favor is a power that is granted to a cleric as a reward for her faith and diligence in furthering the goals of her beliefs. This power is usually in the form of a spell that the cleric may cast at will. Sometimes, a cleric's divine favor comes in the form of his gear taking on divine properties or an effect that happens as a result of a contingency trigger. To qualify for a divine power, a cleric must be either 10th, 13th, 17th, or 19th level and have suffered no backlashes due to being Marked (either through diligence or repentance). Clerics are advised not to get too cocky. Divine favors can be taken away.

Aspects (for clerics without deities or those who do not follow the standard deities)
Death (N): Death, Destruction, Law/Chaos (choose one), Travel. Favored weapon- scythe
Fate (N): Knowledge, Luck, Protection, Trickery. No favored weapon.
Justice (LN): Destruction, Knowledge, Law, Protection. Favored weapon- longsword.
Learning (LG): Good, Knowledge, Law. Favored weapon- none.
Life (NG): Animal, Healing, Plant, Sun, Water. Favored weapon- none.
Love (CG): Good, Knowledge, Luck, Protection. Favored weapon- shortbow or composite shortbow.
Moon (N): Healing, Magic, Trickery, Water. Favored weapon- sickle.
Mountain (LG): Earth, Law, Protection, Strength. Favored weaopn- war hammer.
Nature (N): Air, Animal/Plant (choose one), Fire/Sun (choose one), Water, Healing/Death/Destruction (choose one). Favored weapon- quarterstaff.
Peace (NG): Good, Healing, Luck, Protection. Favored weapon- none.
River/Sea (CN): Air, Luck, Travel, Water. Favored weapon- trident or spear.
Storm (CN): Air, Chaos, Destructuion, Fire, Strength. Favored weapon- flail.
Sun (LG): Fire, Healing, Sun. Favored weapon- mace or morningstar
Trickery (CN): Chaos, Luck, Travel, Trickery. Favored weapon- rapier.
Valor (LG): Law, Protection, Strength, War. Favored weapon- any sword, battleaxe, or polearm (choose one weapon)
War (CE): Chaos, Death, Destruction, Strength, War. Favored weapon- same as Valor.

 

[Khorod]

I also dabbled with this some time back. As I recall, it went something like...

DC for casting = 18 + LEVEL-POINT COST

Each casting (failed or not) of a spell = DC +1
Roll of 1 = DC +2
Taking 20 = no stress and DC + 1 + (Spell level being cast - Every Hour up to Spell Level casting [9th level spell takes 9 hours, no more, to negate the ritual casting DC adjustment])

LEVEL-POINT COST: As psionic points... Cantrip = 0, else 2(level) - 1

Note that I did little thinking on this beyond jotting down the ideas somewhere.

Very Similar... wonder if I got RickVigorous taint in that memory...

EDIT: Ah. Critical Failure was not in my original idea.