My Custom D&D wolrd has a very specific magic system which is tied in with politics and history and other asspects of the world. Is it better to start a Magic system from Scratch or tweek the exisiting 3ed rules to fit? Keeping in mind that I am bad at math and that my previous (non) system left great room to be abused though my faithful players of three years seldom did so and intimadated the heck out of any new players who tried to, I am leaning towards tweeking the existing 3ed Sorcerors rules. Any Suggestions?
New Magic system, Is it better to start from scratch or tweek the existing System?
KDLadage
Explorer
This would greatly depoend upon the nature of your magical system. For example, I found that tweaking the D&D default system worked well for me in Umbragia (link in the signature; check out Volume III: Liber Veneficium -- it is still in a late draft form, but close to completion).
However, depending upon the level of tweaks you are talking about, it might be easier to just start over...
So.. describe your home system ideas...
However, depending upon the level of tweaks you are talking about, it might be easier to just start over...
So.. describe your home system ideas...
Apok
First Post
It looks like a Fireball, only bigger. MUCH bigger.
It's going to depend on how your magic system works.
Do Wizards et al learn/cast spells in a radically different manner than the norm in your world?
Are spells still divided up into 9 levels of power?
Do you want spells to be formulaic as the standard, or more flexable like the Wheel of Time RPG?
These are just a few questions you might want to ask before making a decision. Obviously, tweaking the existing system will probably be much easier than developing a whole new system from scratch unless you have a solid concept already in mind.
It's going to depend on how your magic system works.
Do Wizards et al learn/cast spells in a radically different manner than the norm in your world?
Are spells still divided up into 9 levels of power?
Do you want spells to be formulaic as the standard, or more flexable like the Wheel of Time RPG?
These are just a few questions you might want to ask before making a decision. Obviously, tweaking the existing system will probably be much easier than developing a whole new system from scratch unless you have a solid concept already in mind.
As a general rule, I'd say start with the current system, tweak it a bit, and err on the side of weaker, rather than stronger, magic. You can always make powerful wizards higher level.
What's your goal though? What kind of magic system do you want? Have you looked at Star Wars' Force rules or Wheel of Time's Channeling rules? D&D's Psionics rules?
What's your goal though? What kind of magic system do you want? Have you looked at Star Wars' Force rules or Wheel of Time's Channeling rules? D&D's Psionics rules?
BiggusGeekus
That's Latin for "cool"
Hey, rip it out and start afresh! What's the harm? Of course, the current system does have the advantage of having been playtested, so just keep that in mind.
What were you thinking about doing?
What were you thinking about doing?
IMO, the simplest way to get a different feel for your magic system is to redo the spell lists, so casters have the right "flavor" in your game world (cp. the witch spell list example in DMG). The worst you could do with these mods is to give a class too wide a selection of powerful spells.
Also, decide on which spellcaster classes you actually want.
E.g. you could decide to use only sorcerers, but give them the choice of taking their spells either from the sor/wiz or druid list (but not both, if you feel that this is unbalanced).
Also, decide on which spellcaster classes you actually want.
E.g. you could decide to use only sorcerers, but give them the choice of taking their spells either from the sor/wiz or druid list (but not both, if you feel that this is unbalanced).
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Tsyr
Explorer
My personal suggestion would be to check out one of the existing magic systems... The Sov. Stone magic system is my favorite, but Chaos Magic (from Mongoose Publishing), the Wheel of Time system (WotC), the Fading Sun occult system (from Holistic Designs) and heck, even the Psionics Handbook are all good places to look.
I agree completely. In fact, if you want a fairy-tale feel, give wizards the Druid spell list. If you want a low-magic feel, restrict sorcerers (evil Wizards) to conjurations (of evil demons, naturally) and priests (good, divine Sorcerers) to subtle Cleric spells. There are so many ways to alter the game's flavor with minor tweaks like that.
