D&D 5E [Primeval Thule] House rules for spellcasting

[Barantor]

I would be a little different with it than the way DCC put theirs together, though you might want to still use their tables for this idea.

Cumulative madness/corruption over the course of a day check.

Each spell that they cast gives them 1 point and you can increase that to equal the spells level if you want, or not depending.

At the end of the day, you add all the points up they have accumulated and then roll a D100, if they roll at or under the amount that they accumulated then they have a corruption/madness. If they roll over then they do not. So this way if they go around blasting spells off everywhere then they will have a greater chance of slipping into some sort of corruption. They only have to keep track of the spells they cast, so it isn't hard.

If you want to add cantrips to this system make them the same as a 1 or maybe for each 5 cantrips cast it is 1 point or something.

If you want to add critical failures, then make each 1 rolled count for 5 points instead.

I love Thule, but I think that I would just have someone roll for the ability to be a caster if they wanted to make that type of character at all.

 

[Agamon]

I would be a little different with it than the way DCC put theirs together, though you might want to still use their tables for this idea.

Cumulative madness/corruption over the course of a day check.

Each spell that they cast gives them 1 point and you can increase that to equal the spells level if you want, or not depending.

At the end of the day, you add all the points up they have accumulated and then roll a D100, if they roll at or under the amount that they accumulated then they have a corruption/madness. If they roll over then they do not. So this way if they go around blasting spells off everywhere then they will have a greater chance of slipping into some sort of corruption. They only have to keep track of the spells they cast, so it isn't hard.

If you want to add cantrips to this system make them the same as a 1 or maybe for each 5 cantrips cast it is 1 point or something.

If you want to add critical failures, then make each 1 rolled count for 5 points instead.

I love Thule, but I think that I would just have someone roll for the ability to be a caster if they wanted to make that type of character at all.

Huh, good idea, I like. My game won't start for a while, so I have some time to consider exactly what I'll do, but something like this might work.

 

[Hussar]

I'm not sure watching someone burn is enough to drive a person mad. At least, not in the traditional sense. Maybe if "fireball" was a flying immolating demon that flew at the victim and then disappeared before coalescing inside him, slowly liquefying his insides while a deep ghostly laugh echoes around him. Even allowing reskinning the spell, that's a bit of a stretch...

But, you have to think of this from a different perspective though. We're D&D players, and probably have been playing for a while. We're used to campaigns where fireballs are common events. In Thule, most people have never seen a spell cast. It's all myth and taboo. It's not the actual fireball, necessarily, driving people mad, it's the notion that you have this figure, this taboo wizard, blasting fire after chanting some bit of gibberish. It would be terrifying to see that, when you think about it.

I might actually make actual full casters immune to it, since they understand what's going on. But, non and half casters get to make the check. It just nicely nips in the bud having full casters in my game (which I don't want) and makes the campaign nicely low magic.

 

[Ath'kethin]

It hadn't even occurred to me to make bystanders pay for seeing a spell cast. In my mind, the burden is on the spellcaster, for interfering with reality; I feel that this approach fits in OK with the whole Great Old Ones approach. It's part of the reason I decided to run with the Taint tables form Heroes of Horror; they provide physical and mental repercussions for fiddling with things Man Was Not Meant To Know. But then, I altered the spell list too, and removed most flashy stuff.

Honestly, while it makes sense for those who see magic performed to suffer sanity effects from it, that approach just seems like way too much bookwork to me. I can have people freak out ad hoc as necessary, but I think the burden of sanity should be on the one bending the cosmos to their will.

 

[Agamon]

But, you have to think of this from a different perspective though. We're D&D players, and probably have been playing for a while. We're used to campaigns where fireballs are common events. In Thule, most people have never seen a spell cast. It's all myth and taboo. It's not the actual fireball, necessarily, driving people mad, it's the notion that you have this figure, this taboo wizard, blasting fire after chanting some bit of gibberish. It would be terrifying to see that, when you think about it.

I might actually make actual full casters immune to it, since they understand what's going on. But, non and half casters get to make the check. It just nicely nips in the bud having full casters in my game (which I don't want) and makes the campaign nicely low magic.

You'd think party members wouldn't take too long to figure out what their ally is doing, though.

I see what you're getting at, I would just have trouble explaining it through the in-game fiction to my satisfaction, so I'd have trouble convincing the players. Sound mechanical idea, though.

 

[Greg Benage]

I might actually make actual full casters immune to it, since they understand what's going on.

Yes, they should have already gone mad just learning how to do it.

 

[Hussar]

I kinda like the old Unearthed Arcana 1ed Barbarian rules here. See wizard? Kill wizard. Hate magic that much.

Barbarians in general detest magic and those who use it. They will, at low levels of experience, refuse to employ any sort of magic item if they recognize it as such. They will often seek to destroy magic items, and if successful they receive an experience-point award as if they possessed the destroyed items. While magic-users will be shunned initially, and always viewed with suspicion, clerical spells of the type used by shamans and witch doctors are not so viewed, though high- level clerical spells are suspect.

I think that this attitude fits nicely here for pretty much all PC's. Makes life more interesting. I mean, 1e Barbarians couldn't associate with MU's until 6th level and even then, only if necessary. Clerics were okay by 2nd level. Then again 1e clerics are a lot less flashy than 5e clerics.

 

[D&Dsince76]

Greetings All...

I plan on starting a very gritty Primeval Thule campaign around the first of the year (once the GM's & Player's Companions are available). Besides heavy restrictions (and possible consequences) on magic, there will be the fear of lingering wounds, slow natural healing, and all sorts of other things to capture a gritty feel.

I have started a forum for Primeval Thule fans: Mythopoeia Thule, and will be posting my house rules (as I write them) there as well. You can visit at http://mythopoeiathule.freeforums.net

(@ Ath-Kethin... saw you were there. Thanks!)

I'd love to build a thriving community of fans, and there seems to be a bunch of great ideas here so far - Stop by, sign-up, and discuss "All Things Thule". I'm sure we all have an idea or two that someone else would love to steal!

Bill W.
ThuleBill@comcast.net

 

[Psikerlord#]

I put together a dark dangerous magic table (in my sig). I also recommend rituals take d4 hours and require a d20 roll to see if the dark magic table comes into play.

 

[ChrisCarlson]

I'm still mulling things over on how I want to represent dark and dangerous magic. But whatever it is, I'm fairly certain I want it to involve a Wisdom saving throw somehow.

Spellcasters who have Wisdom for saves:

• Clerics
• Druids
• Paladins
• Warlocks
• Wizards

Spellcasters who do not:

• Bards
• Eldritch Knights
• Monks
• Rangers
• Arcane Tricksters
• Sorcerers

I like that the former list consists of classes that would tend to have a stronger ability to control their magic. Where as the latter list are casters who dabble or who have raw or natural power and therefore less likely to have the extensive training to contain the forces they are using.