The mechanics of non-stop action

[Inconsequenti-AL]

In D20 terms - I guess the warlock is relatively close to what you're talking about?

Feng Shui does this... the mechanic for magic is pretty much the same as for guns, close combat or any other weird attack power... the main difference between the 3 is the FX that you can apply to your attacks... works very well IMO.

If that was the feel of game I was after, I'd probably use that system - although it does come with the expectation that you're trying to run an action movie!

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

OMG. I missed a chance to pimp Ars Magica as well That's like Shadowrun as well - you can cast all day long, provided you make the correct skill tests. Start getting fatigued if you fail or botch.

I find these mechanics mean you can cast a lot of smaller magics, but have quite a tight limit on the larger stuff... another good take IMO.

 

[Nellisir]

recharge magic from Unearthed Arcana.

Cheers
Nell.

 

[The_Gneech]

Well, the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance videogames have a mechanic like this ... each spell you cast uses up a given amount of power points, and when you're out you have to stop for a few minutes and rest (like Endurance in HERO).

You definitely need to do something to limit the wizard's power -- casting fireball round after round would pretty much suck for anybody other than the wizard. Skill checks (and fairly difficult ones at that) are a handy way ... say a Spellcraft check with a DC of 10 for cantrips, 15 for 1st level spells, and some geometric progression from there up (so that a 20th level wizard, with 24 ranks in Spellcraft, a +10 Int modifier, and Skill Focus: Spellcraft still has some kind of a failure chance casting 9th level spells).

-The Gneech

 

[der_kluge]

One concept you could implement might be one similar to the system found in Blue Rose. They can cast magic on a near infinitel level so long as they make their fatigue checks. It only takes a few minutes to an hour to recover from fatigue, depending on how fatigued the character is.

Or, go the other route... give them a very narrow spell list and make the mechanic similar to superpowers...

This was my thought. I like HARP's version of magic better for this, because HARP spellcasters typically only have a few spells, but they can throttle them up so that they become more powerful over time.

But HARP's system is based on power points (mana points), and depending on how powerful of a version of the spell you're casting, the more PPs it costs. In an unlimited system, spellcasters would have no reason not to maximize their spell every time, unless they just didn't want to for some reason.

Everquest, the MMORPG, did this. In that system, you had only 8 spells available to you at any given time, and you had to stop and remove and spell from the slot and replace it with a new one if you needed something different. Of course, there weren't a ton of spells in that game anyway, and most were designed to replace lesser versions of the same spell. That is, every time a cleric got new spells, he got a new version of a heal spell, and a new damage spell, and a new buff spell, etc. There usually wasn't any reason for a 30th level cleric to memorize a 5th level heal spell, unless you just didn't want to waste the mana on healing a 3rd level character, I guess.

But even in EQ, the concept of time was very important, and would be nearly impossible to convey in a P&P RPG. In that game, you could cast spells indefinitely, but you had mana points that constantly regenerated, although in the thick of battle, mana doesn't regenerate faster than the rate of spellcasting, so you're bound to run out. That system is designed so that spellcasters constantly had to rest to recoup mana during intense battle sequences.

 

[der_kluge]

I proposed a system like this, once...

In order for it to work, the first thing you have to do is to make spells as damaging as a Fighter's/Rogue's weapons. Next, you need to give the casters a "miss chance" similar to BAB. I did this by giving a caster a 50% chance to cast any spell, upon first learning it. The chance increased 5%/level, thereafter.

Thus, a Wizard with Magic Missile, Cantrips, and Shield would have a 50% chance to get any of them off, and could do 1D4+1, if they did.

Now obviously, many of D&D's spells would have to be tossed out, or toned down, and Wizards would need to get multiple attacks/round, at higher levels, just like Fighters. The magic system would have to be totally re-written... but it could be done, and made to work.

What about healing spells? How did you resolve those?

 

[Henry]

Warlocks from Complete Arcane work pretty much like that.

My same thought! Even then, there isn't a divine equivalent to Warlock, and a person who could heal all day with no expenditure would be a boon companion indeed.

Adventuring without the "Divine warlock" would be like going adventuring without your armor, then.

 

[RangerWickett]

I wanted the same thing, so as I designed Elements of Magic - Mythic Earth, I did so with the goal of allowing unlimited casting, as long as it fit the power level of the game. I made some changes to the normal assumptions of spell powers, but I had other concerns that prevented me from making the magic completely infinite -- namely that I wanted to design a nice skill-based magic system for d20. I feel the system ended up providing a good experience for gameplay, though it is not entirely unlimited.

To be unlimited, you'd optimally want to rewrite D&D from the ground up. Certain aspects of the rules just don't work with unlimited magic. For one, attack spells would need to be substantially weakened. Hit point damage would need to be revised -- if perhaps you had a combination of fatigue and wounds, magic could heal fatigue easily so people could get back in combat, but it would have a hard time healing wounds until high level. That would prevent a single cleric from going around preventing anyone from ever dying of an injury.

You'd also have to balance classes with different assumptions. You have fighter (damage), and rogue (skills, sneaky, but less damage), but then you have mage (spells that can be sneaky, or emulate skills, or deal damage, or do tons of other things no one else can do). Do you make mages weaker in every area than other characters to balance their ability to do a little of everything, or do you create different varieties of mages who are good at different things, or do you just make mages suck at dealing damage?

I agree, Feng Shui works great for action games. Fight fight fight. But when a game slows down, you'd need something a little different.

 

[KRT]

If its fairness or more realism you are after then maybe you should consider not allowing the Fighter to swing his sword all day or the rogue to lose focus after a while.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Yeah, a measure of fatigue may help both to follow the same mechanics.

If every action cost HP...