Recharge Magic? Bad Varient?


log in or register to remove this ad

I've never played with recharge magic, but from my reading of the rules, I think part of the messiness comes from keeping track of recharge times and the varying recharge times for each level of spells.

Instead of a random recharge method, how about using an encounter-based recharge method similar to the one used for maneuvers in the Book of Nine Swords? One minute after each encounter (alternatively, after one minute of meditation/prayer), all of a spellcaster's spells refresh.

To balance this with the non-spellcasting classes, you need to significantly reduce the number of spell slots available to each spellcaster. One possibility is to give one spell slot for each spell level that the spellcaster has access to.
 

While it's HIGHLY inappropriate to an entire genre of games (IE the low-magic type), recharge magic is a great kicker for other game types.

I used recharge in a fairly video-game heavily inspired game I ran (set in Worlds Largest Dungeon), and I have to say, it was a lot of fun for the casters. I did use a slight variant (I think, can't remember) with spell preparation still holding the difference between caster types, but regardless it was very fun.

You could just see the casters POV, with green little bars slowly filling up as spells came back online :-)
 

I used it once for several sessions and the result was not what I had hoped for. Invariably, the players began using their highest level spells during the first round of every battle. D&D's vancian spellcasting system simply isn't balanced for that. If you want spellcasters to overshadow everyone else in the game, then that is what it will accomplish. But if you are looking for a way to introduce sustained magical power, I recommend the dragonfire adept and warlock classes instead. It is a much more balanced way of doing it.
 

We use it in a game I'm soloing in right now as a 16th level Eldritch Knight. It works well IME.

The DM modified it of course. :) The rolling after each spellcasting is annoying so we took the average for each recharge time, rounding up for the higher level spell and rounding down for the lower when the two spell levels have the same recharge time. This significantly reduces the annoyance of tracking the recharge times. Now we just put out a little chart of spell levels with dice next to them and at the end of the round change the dice to the appropriate number of rounds to go, removing them when you can cast again.

The DM took away bonus spells for high stats and gave sorcerers some extra boosting (on the fixed time recharges I think).

It changes the dynamics of resource management for spellcasting in a way I like a lot.
 

I wonder if there isn't some variant resolvable with a deck of cards.

You start the day with a 'hand' of cards consisting of 1-card/spell level you have available with duplicates based on bonus spells. (i.e., an 18Int Wiz would have 2 1st-4th level spell cards).

To cast a spell you put a card of the appropriate level or higher on the bottom of the (initially empty) deck. Every n rounds you draw the top card back off the deck and put it back in your hand.

This does create a serial-recharge instead of a parallel-recharge, but if n is tuned correctly that's probably not a big problem.

Of course, it still doesn't solve the issue of the character always starting off combat with his big guns, but...
 

Hmm, I am planning to greatly weaken magic in terms of brute strength. If I weaken magic enough do you think it could work? I might add a Stress Token pool with the system to make them have to rest at some point. I want to avoid "wearing PCs" down as a challenge.

Maybe I'm looking for a different magic system... but I'd like to know how this one works.
 

Recharge changes the dynamic of resource management to within a combat instead of between daily spell preps.

Under recharge magic sorcerers must rest as often as fighters and rogues. If you want to avoid having encounters wear down PCs I would not add a stress token pool.
 

Remove ads

Top