One Level Scale to Rule Them All?

[Grazzt]

25 Spell Levels?

Shadows of Saga:

1/2 Character Level + Trained (5) + Focused (5)

That would work out to 25 Spell levels over 30 levels. It also suggests a Skill based Spell System. Just a thought.

Especially if they port the magic system into something akin to Force powers from Saga (e.g., a Spellcraft check determines how potent the spell effect is)

 

[Baumi]

That would also explain how you could dabble into magic and still be useful at it (like in Star Wars Saga where you could play a very good Jedi without ever taking any Jedi Levels).

 

[BryonD]

25 Spell Levels?

Shadows of Saga:

1/2 Character Level + Trained (5) + Focused (5)

That would work out to 25 Spell levels over 30 levels. It also suggests a Skill based Spell System. Just a thought.

That seems like a really big jump though. If trained and focused gave you 40% of the entire range of spell levels that would be a major power swing.

 

[The Souljourner]

1/2 Character Level + Trained (5) + Focused (5)

I don't think that could work.... when you first get "trained" your power level would jump enormously. They're trying to make the power levels scale more gradually, so I don' think it'll be like this.

I think one spell level per caster level is the way it'll go. It's much more simple and straight forward... no more muddying of the water as to what "level" means. 7th level caster vs 7th level spell.

I had posited in another thread that it might be 1/level until 20th then 1/2, but I think it'll either be 1/ level up through 25, and then special things at 26+, or as others have said, 25 was an example and not a limit, and it'll just be 1/level up to 30. If they're going to add so many spell levels, it must be for the purpose of removing the confusion between spell level and class level.

I can't wait to see what they do with spellcasting, I think it's going to make spellcasters much more fun to play, and hopefully more balanced as well.

-Nate

 

[Horacio]

The more I read about 4e, the more I like it

 

[Matthew_]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is definitely the way it will be done, I'm just saying if it's 25 Levels, then it's most likely because of a Saga type Skill System. It would make far more sense to have thirty Spell Levels for thirty levels. That said, giving Spell Casters access to ten levels of Spells at Level 1 may be part of the whole 'Spell Casters will never run out of cool things to do' thing.

I mean, what's happened to 0 Level Spells? That's what I am wondering.

[Edit]
Also, if you want to make Power increments more gradual, it makes a lot of sense to make Level 1 a much stronger base line, so that every level after is a much smaller increase.

i.e. Spell Levels 1-30 = thirty times the power over the course, but Spell Levels 11-25 over 29 Levels makes for much smaller increments compared to Level 1.

 

[Gentlegamer]

The simplest way would probably be to have a whole range of spells which scale with level at are available at 1st level onwards. Graded damage spells, graded influence/charm/dominate spells, graded transportation spells, graded defensive spells, graded wishes (starting with 'incredibly limited wish'!)... that sort of thing.

Cyberzombies Elements of Magic v1.0 did that sort of thing quite nicely.

Cheers

Sounds like Rolemaster . . .

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I mean, what's happened to 0 Level Spells? That's what I am wondering.

Hopefully the 0 level spells will become either effects the spellcasters can do pretty much at will, or will be increased slightly.

Personally I would like to see:

• Light increased in duration and moved out of the zero level.
• Get rid of Cure Minor Wounds where it heals 1 hp and instead create a spell that clerics can cast multiple times per encounter called Stabilize instead.
• Spells such as Mage Hand and Prestigitation used at will with concentration.
• Read Magicand Detect Magic removed as a spells and becomes a class ability that requires concentration. Arcane casters can only read/detect arcane magic, divine reads/detects divine. Longer conentration and more skills in Spellcraft (or a 4e analog) allow more refinement of the detection.

 

[(contact)]

25 Spell Levels?

Shadows of Saga:

1/2 Character Level + Trained (5) + Focused (5)

That would work out to 25 Spell levels over 30 levels. It also suggests a Skill based Spell System. Just a thought.

Great insight, and I think you just hit the bull'seye.

 

[thundershot]

I'm really liking this... I hope it works out that way. I'd love it if they had no particular level on the spells, but a minimum level you need to be in order to use them. And they scale. So FIREBALL could be a 1st level spell, 5th level spell, 15th level spell, or 25th level spell, all depending on your own caster level. That would eliminate the need for "fluff" spells that are either higher or lower versions of other popular spells.


Chris