Smallest rule, biggest change: Magic Edition

[Set]

All spells become conjurations. Mortals can't work magic, they can only invoke creatures who can.

A spellcaster uses Detect Magic, and dancing serpents of golden-green fire appear writhing in the air and swarm to anything that detects as magical. He throws a Fireball, and a creature of elemental fire appears squatting in the area affected, burning all within it's enormous incorporeal bulk. Magic Missiles manifest as blue-green shark-like creatures of energy that 'swim' through the air to savage their targets. A Fire Shield appears as undulating tentacles of fire wrapping around the caster, and lashing out at those striking him. Skeletons brought to unlife by Animate Dead have tiny chortling imp-like creatures of ash and stench squatting in their ribcages, yanking tiny strings of mist that coil around the Skeleton's limbs, moving it jerkily, like some macabre puppet-master.

 

[Imp]

A few more:

Slightly nerfy: upon casting any spell, the caster suffers hp damage equivalent to the level of the spell, but they can transfer the damage to someone else they're touching at the time the spell is cast, if that person is willing.

Much more nerfy: all spells deal ability damage to the caster for as long as they are active. Ability damage can be to Con, or Str, primary spell stat, whatever. When the spell's duration is up, the ability damage goes away. Instantaneous spells aren't affected. Possible mitigation: Fort or Will save by caster.

Flavor: Wherever possible, spells have no visible or apparent effects. This can extend to spells like magic missile, which would just look like someone casting a hex. Nobody would "feel" whether they were blessed or bull's-strengthed or not. This works very well with removing detect magic, and allows space for fake magicians in the campaign world.

Flavor: You know how in D&D hit points are supposed to represent luck, fate, the turning of a lethal blow at the last minute? Have this not be true for (wizards/sorcerers/what-have-you). Members of this class enchant themselves so they can actually take unreal amounts of punishment. Run the sorcerer through with the longsword, he keeps going. (Perhaps they also enchant others, sometimes, as part of the levelling-up process. Or maybe that's how all extra hit points for character classes work.)

 

[silvermane]

No spells slots or mana points, fatigue determines how long you can keep casting. For each spell beyond the limit alloted per character level make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + spell level + number of spells beyond the limit) or become fatigued (then exhausted etc.)
Works best when using a classless system or generic classes, so that the caster can choose a good Fort save if she so wishes.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Members of this class enchant themselves so they can actually take unreal amounts of punishment. Run the sorcerer through with the longsword, he keeps going. (Perhaps they also enchant others, sometimes, as part of the levelling-up process. Or maybe that's how all extra hit points for character classes work.)

That's the way I've always handled hitpoints anyway. It may be unrealistic but it's entertaining and definitely fantastic.

 

[jedavis]

Make specialist wizards matter.

Evil spellcasting causes loss of sanity, gain of taint points, etc.
Spellcasting in general causes nonlethal damage or fatigue.

I like the idea for the constitution based sorc...

 

[GreatLemur]

Which book is Thematic Casting from??

I had to look this one up myself, and it turns out it's called Spell Thematics, and it was originally from Magic of Faerun, and updated to 3.5 in the Player's Guide to Faerun.

Themed spells are certainly cool, but what DM wouldn't let a player do this for free?

 

[jmucchiello]

Non-instantaneous spells have a duration of 1 round. You can extend the duration of any non-instantaneous spell by taking a negative level. As long as you maintain the negative level, the spell remains in effect. Of course you can make this varying levels of difficulty. The negative level could only apply to caster level or it could be like energy drain and after 24 hours you need to make a Fort save to avoid making the spell permanent (and thus there could be magic items).

I find it interesting that, aside from Eschew Materials, every suggestion has been to weaknen magic...

Ooo, a challenge. Every living creature on the planet is a gestalt xx-sorcerer.

Or how about this small rule change for big effect? "No saving throws"

 

[jmucchiello]

I like the idea for the constitution based sorc...

How about Str? Musclemancy!!

 

[Voadam]

Most of the settings I see have magic with the same feel as D&D - wizards who have familiars and need spellbooks, etc. For game design reasons, I want to keep the rules as close to core as I can, but for world design reasons I'd like to do something different.

How much can you change how magic "feels" with the smallest rules change possible?

Druids and clerics are not priests but secular spellcasters of different magical traditions.

Eliminating spellbooks as a physical objects works fine. Wizards can teach each other directly instead of copying from spellbooks, and scrolls take the form of little tokens that disappear instead of writing. Spellmastery is eliminated as a feat and nobody risks having their spellbooks destroyed or stolen but not that big a rule mechanics change.

Wizards and sorcerers are still fine without the option to have familiars. I rarely choose to take one because of the xp penalty if they die. Ditching them entirely works fine, or substitute in a bonus feat or a minor specific one.

 

[Set]

Another skill-based spellcasting (spellcrafting?) notion;

Magic cannot exist without a physical focus. Even a prepared spell requires something crafted that is produced by the 'caster' and replaces the material / focus components.

That 'something crafted' varies, however. Some Spellcrafters call themselves alchemists, and brew up potions and elixirs that they drink or splash towards their target area. Others call themselves spellscribes, and create specially illuminated manuscripts from which they 'read' their spells. Still others search out and unlock the inner magic of gemstones, finding just the right stone, and then cutting and shaping and polishing it to specify how the magic is to be unleashed. A small group of disturbing gnomes craft bizarre little clockwork devices, while a band of orcish sorcerers tattoo their spells onto themselves, the fey folk carve little wooden tokens that invoke their magics, and a faction of elven 'bards' compose elaborate songs of power that are sung only once, unravelling to reveal the power locked into the magic.

Each 'spellcrafter' makes a relevant skill check (usually a Craft skill of some sort, but occasionally something wonky like Knowledge (astrology) or (mathematics)) to 'prepare' a spell. The time to prepare, equipment required to prepare and time to cast are all tied up into some sort of matrix to balance them out. An elven songsmith won't have to spent as much money, or need a laboratory, but he might take longer to prepare *and* cast his prepared spells, while a gnomish clockmage would need a lab, or at least a good set of masterwork tools and some raw material, but be able to activate his contraptions much more quickly, to compensate for the cost and equipment requirements of preparation.