The "Spatzworld" homebrew system

[Spatzimaus]

Chapter 7: Metamagic.
While I could put this in the upcoming Feats section, it's important enough to be mentioned separately. Plus, these rules could be used with the stock 3E as written, replacing the old metamagic system.

Metamagic is spontaneous. Each class implements it somewhat differently (Channelers suffer additional drain, Wizards expend MPs and disable metaforms on use, Mutants disable spell-like abilities when they modify them), but in every case, the decision to use metamagic is made at the time of casting.

Every spellcasting class gets a single Level 1 metaform at class level 2, either pre-set or from a small list.
The Feat that matters:
Expanded Metamagic Pick two additional metamagic forms to add to your repertoire, of level no higher than 1.
This Feat may be taken multiple times. Each time bestows two additional forms, and the level cap increases by 1.
That is, the first time you get two level 1s, the second you get two 2s, and so on. The highest forms are level 4.

Each type of magic also has a "Metamastery" feat that helps reduce the limitations of metamagic. Each requires Expanded Metamagic.
Metamastery(Innate) reduces the time your SLA is disabled by 1 round (to 1dN-1) and allows you to remove the increased display strength of metamagic.
Metamastery(Freeform) removes the increase in casting time for metamagic, and you can put multiple metaforms on a single spell (but you can still only have one [Shaping] metaform).
Metamastery(Ritual) removes the increase in casting time for metamagic, and the metaform is only disabled for 1dN rounds (instead of N).

The non-Shaping metaforms are generally the same as the existing D&D metamagics. If it was +1 level before, it's now a "Level 1" metaform, and so on. There are a few changes; Substitution is now a Level 1 (not +0), and Delay moved from 3 to 2.

The list we use, not counting "series" forms or Shaping forms:
1: Enlarge, Sculpt, Silent, Still, Substitution, Transdimensional
2: Delay, Hidden, Indirect, Reach
3: Maximize, Repeat, Widen
4: Admixture, Twin

Also, the more commonly-used forms come in series:

Efficient I/II/III/IV: (Channeler only) Once a spell's drain has been calculate, multiply the resulting damage by 3/4, 1/2, 1/3, or 1/4 respectively. Round all fractions down, although the minimum of 1 Mental damage remains.

Empower I/II/III/IV: All variable, numerical spell effects increase by the listed number of die sizes. (2 dice are ~150%, 3 dice are a doubling.)

Enhance I/II/III/IV: The spell's caster level and Focus skill increases by +2, +4, +6, or +8 respectively when determining spell effect. This extends any level-based caps as well. (So a 10d6 fireball becomes a 12d6 with Enhance I, plus with the higher caster level it has more range.)

Extend I/II/III/IV: The spell's duration is multiplied by 2, 4, 6, or 10. (Extend IV replaces Persistent Spell.) No spell's duration can exceed 24 hours.

Heighten I/II/III/IV: The spell's DC (or Manifestation checks or ranged touch attacks) increase by 1, 2, 3, or 4, and the spell is treated as an increased level for the purpose of spell immunities. And yes, this can go beyond 9th level; Heighten IV on a 9th-level spell makes it "13th level" for purposes of DCs and spell immunities.)

Quicken I/III/IV (there's no II): These all reduce the casting time of a spell, and override any inherent change in casting time due to spontaneous metamagic. All count as a quickened spell (with the usual limit of one per round), even if the casting time is not reduced to a Free Action. The exact effect depends on which one you're using:
Quicken I: If the spell required a Full-Round Action, it is reduced to a Standard Action. If it required "1 round", it's now a Full-Round Action. (The first part is useful if you used some OTHER metamagic already, which increased the casting time, and you want to get it back down.)
Quicken III: Spells with casting times below 1 round are reduced to a Move-Equivalent Action. Spells requiring 1 round are reduced to a Standard Action. Any casting time longer than 1 round is halved.
Quicken IV: As Quicken III, except all spells with casting times less than 1 round are reduced to a Free Action.

And then there are the [Shaping] metaforms. We've got 11 so far:

Aura (1): All targets in squares adjacent to the caster take secondary damage. No saving throw is allowed, and no attack roll is needed.

Ball (2): All targets within a 20’ burst of the target point take secondary damage. A successful Reflex save divides the damage in half, and no attack roll is needed.

Burst (2): The target of the spell takes full effect as normal on a successful attack roll. If the primary target is hit, anyone within a 5’ burst of the target takes secondary damage, with no saving throw or attack roll. If the primary attack misses, there is no additional effect.

Chain (3): The target of the spell takes full effect, and 1 additional target per level within 30’ of the primary target takes secondary damage. A successful Reflex save divides the damage in half, and no attack roll is needed.

Cloud (4): Each round, all targets within a 30’ spread of the target point take secondary damage. This cloud lasts 1 round per level. No saving throw is allowed, and no attack roll is needed.

Cone (1): All targets within a Cone extending out to Close range take secondary damage. A successful Reflex save divides the damage in half, and no attack roll is needed.

Flux (3): All targets within 30’ of the caster take secondary damage. No saving throw is allowed, and no attack roll is needed. The caster can choose to decrease the radius to any multiple of 5’.

Fork (1): The spell is split between two targets within range, dealing secondary damage to each. Each target requires a separate attack roll or saving throw.

Line (2): All targets along a 5’ line extending out to the spell’s maximum range take secondary damage. A successful Reflex save divides the damage in half, and no attack roll is needed.

Shot (1): Can only be applied to ranged spells targeting someone other than the caster, requiring an attack roll. Instead of a single bolt, the effect of the spell is broken into a shot pattern to cover a single square. Gain a +(5+X) bonus to the attack roll, where X is the spell's level, but the target only takes secondary damage if hit. Effectively, you cut the damage in half to increase the chance to hit.

Swarm (2): The effect of the spell is broken into X packets, where X is the spell’s level. For spells which multiply the numerical effect of the spell by X, the spell deals X equally-sized packets of damage. For spells with no multiplication, the effect is broken into X pieces with approximately equal sizes, although partial dice are not allowed. Each packet may be targeted on any target, although all targets must be within 50’ of each other. Each damage packet requires a separate attack roll or saving throw. For example, if a level 5 bolt spell does 5*2d6, you could do 2d6 twice to one target, and 2d6 to three others. You couldn’t do 1d6 to a target, since it’s limited to 5 packets of 2d6. You could assign all five packets to one target, dealing 10d6 (less random than the original), but that wouldn’t be worth the metamagic use. If the spell was a level 3 spell dealing 10d6, it’d break it into 3d6, 3d6, and 4d6.

 

[Spatzimaus]

And for the last major part...

CHAPTER 8: Feats 'n Skills
(not including the metamagic ones listed above)
We've added new skills, modified existing skills, added new Feats, and modified some existing Feats.

New skills:
Two new skills were added, to make magic a bit less level-dependent.

Focus (None)
When using many kinds of magic (most often, the elemental variety), experienced mages can shape and focus their attacks into slightly better forms for greater effectiveness. Many spells include a line of the form
Focus(N): For every N ranks of Focus skill, (some listed bonus).
Unless specified otherwise, this bonus is always assumed to stack with itself and with the base spell.
Additionally, some spells have more explicit dependencies on the Focus skill. (For instance, a spell might bestow spell resistance of "Focus + X", where X is the spell's level.)
It replaces the caster level dependence of many spells' effects. Since you can buy skill ranks to cover any non-magical levels, races with more racial HD aren't punished as much this way.

While this is a normal skill in most ways, there are no Focus skill checks, so no attribute is linked to the skill itself. Only the number of skill ranks matters.

Wizards can cast a number of cantrips per day equal to their number of Focus skill ranks (minimum 3).
Mutants may not possess any single ability costing more Mutant Points than they have Focus skill ranks.

Manifestation (CHA)
Manifestation is the ability of the spellcaster to react to a changing situation by modifying his magic as it is manifesting. This has several uses:
1> When casting a spell requiring any sort of ranged attack roll (such as rays), a caster can choose to use the result of a Manifestation check instead of his normal attack roll. This is opposed by the target's AC (or touch AC), often with a range modifier. If the target is willing, his AC is 10, modified only for size and range, and a hit is automatic within Close range.

2> When using an offensive Psionic ability, "aiming" the effect requires the ability to adapt to the mind and actions of the opponent. Most Psionic attacks use modified Manifestation skill checks in place of a static spell DC, creating an opposed roll.
A Psionic attacker rolls 1d20 + Manifestation bonus + spell level, although the individual spell might add a bonus or penalty to this check. Normally, the target would defend against this by attempting to endure the effect with his Mental Hardness by rolling 1d20 + Mental Hardness (see below for MH explanation).

Footnote: Mental Hardness. MH is simply equal to your Will save, plus the number of nonmagical levels/HD you have. Effectively, those who don't study magic can resist psionics passively, while those who have trained MUST defend with a skill check, as in #3 below. Additionally, MH determines the effect of Mental damage. If a single Mental attack deals more damage than your MH plus your CHA, you are Shaken. If a single attack deals more than twice this amount, you are Dazed for one round, losing your next action but retaining your DEX bonus. For each additional amount equal to this threshold, you are Dazed for one additional round.

3> When defending against a Psionic ability requiring a Manifestation check, the defender can attempt to disrupt the magic using his own Manifestation skill, rolling 1d20 + Manifestation bonus. Effectively, this makes an opposed Manifestation-vs-Manifestation roll, except that the attacker still gets to add the spell's level to his roll.

4> No Mutant may possess more distinct abilities than he has Manifestation ranks. Any ability that can be incrementally improved (wings, natural attacks, numerical bonuses) counts as a single ability, regardless of how many Mutant Points it costs.

5> A spellcaster may attempt a Manifestation check to use the effects of an elemental spell or spell-like ability to mimic a similar ability of lower level. Failing this check results in the spell fizzling.
If the mimicked spell is of the same element, the check DC is 10 minus the level difference.
If the mimicked spell is of a different element, the DC increases. If the mimicked element is a Basic element within the same elemental triad, add 5 to the DC; if it is the advanced element within the same elemental triad, add 10 instead. If the element is not within the same triad, add an additional 10.
Example: I've got Telekinesis memorized as a 5-level spell. I really, really need to fly, so I use Telekinesis to mimic the effects of the 3rd-level Fly spell. The DC is 8 (10 minus the two level difference), plus 5 because I'm mimicking a basic element (Air) within the same triad as the element of the original spell (Force), so the final DC is 13.
Note that it must be conceptually possible to mimic the effects this way. Using telekinesis to fly is okay, but using Fireball to heal isn't.

Taking 10 on a Manifestation check is never allowed, and no Feat or class ability may bypass this limitation.


Modified existing skills:

Finally, we broke Speak Language up into Speak Language and Read/Write Language, as in d20Modern. Buying a half-rank provides a rudimentary ability, while a full rank gives fluency. You won't necessarily be able to pass as a native, but you know enough to have normal conversations.
We also kept the Language groups from d20Modern, and added various languages from other planes. Since Gaia, the Plane of Life is far, far more populated than other planes, most planes only have a handful of languages, and most are related to Human tongues. The only new ones which don't fit into the pre-existing language groups are Abyssal (the main Shade language), Thari (the Traveler language), and the Djinni Trade Tongue (which is an offshoot of Thari).

Knowledge(race) (INT)
In addition to the normal Knowledge skill categories, a character can choose to learn about a specific race. This skill mimics all other non-racial Knowledge skills, but only in relation to that race. For instance, while Knowledge(history) will include the histories of Humans, Nymphs, Salamanders, etc., Knowledge(Human) includes only the history of Humans, plus knowledge of their nobility, culture, physiology, and so on.
The Knowledge skill corresponding to the race the character was raised by is always a class skill (and is included as part of his Racial Levels.) If a character is raised by a race other than his own, replace this racial class skill with the one appropriate to his adopted race. (A Nymph raised by Humans gets Knowledge(Human) as a class skill, not Knowledge(Nymph).)

Perform (CHA)
As d20Modern; each separate type of performance or instrument is a distinct skill, such as Perform(Guitar) or Perform(Drama).

Tumble (DEX)
On a failed Tumble check, all affected opponents receive an Attack of Opportunity. If any opponent succeeds at that AoO, the character ends his movement in the first square threatened by that opponent and is considered prone. If the tumbler was attempting to move through an occupied square and fails his skill check, he MUST stop at the last open square, even if no AoOs hit.
Tumble was the only skill in the game where, even if you failed the check, you still succeeded in doing something the rules didn't normally allow.


New Feats:

Affinity: You have the rare gift of magic, and can manipulate the primal forces of nature. Three different affinities exist, one for each type of magic.
> Affinity(Freeform): Prerequisite: Good Reflex save. Pick a number of basic elements equal to your current INT bonus (max 6); you may channel cantrips in each of these elements; no Focus or Overflow may be used. This does not allow you to cast higher spells. You may enter the Channeler class.
> Affinity(Innate): Prerequisite: Good Fortitude save. Select any Innate ability or abilities whose total price in Mutant Points is not more than your CHA modifier. You may enter the Mutant class.
> Affinity(Ritual): Prerequisite: Good Will save. You know a number of cantrips equal to your WIS bonus. If at some point in the future you become ineligible to use one of these cantrips (i.e. Wizard Specialization), you may replace it with another. You may use three cantrips per day, without need of components. You may enter the Wizard class.
The primary purpose of these Feats is to limit entry to the "magic" classes.
Many races have a natural affinity for magic, gaining one of these three feats for free at a racial level (typically level 2); these racial levels also always give the appropriate Good save. Additionally, many people take one of these Feats to get a little cantrip-level magic, even if they don't intend to enter the linked class later. Someone who has a non-racial Affinity but doesn't take a magical class is referred to as a "Wild Talent", while someone with levels in a magical class who possesses a second Affinity, whether they take levels in the linked class or not, is called a "Wild Mage".

Elemental Focus: All spells or spell-like abilities of the appropriate element have their saving throw DCs increased by 1, Caster Level and Focus are treated as 1 higher, and they receive a +1 bonus to Manifestation checks. (replaces Spell Focus)
Stable Channeling: (Channeler only) You may "Take 5" when making a Channeling check to determine drain (even though it's not actually a skill check), replacing the 1d20 with a flat "roll" of 5.
Improved Stable Channeling: (Channeler only) Prerequisite: Stable Channeling. You may "Take 10" when making a Channeling check to determine drain, replacing the 1d20 with a flat "roll" of 10.
Infusion Admixture: You may place an additional Infusion spell on a target that already has a single Infusion (even if the original was cast by someone else).
Flexible Chain: (Wizard only) Select one cantrip, and any number of non-cantrip spells whose total level equals 3 plus your WIS modifier from within your specialized elements/disciplines. These are treated as an additional Specialty Chain for the Wizard. This feat may be selected multiple times.
Chain Mastery: (Wizard only) Select any one Specialty Chain the Wizard already knows (including the pseudochain from the Flexible Chain feat). You may swap any prepared spell of the same element as the selected chain for the chain's spell of the same level or lower.


Modified Feats:

Skill Focus: Prerequisite: 5 ranks in the selected skill.
If on a skill check for the chosen skill you roll a 5 or less, you may re-roll (but results of the re-roll are final, even if worse). You may also Take 10 even under duress.

Improved Skill Focus: Prerequisite: 10 ranks in the selected skill, Skill Focus in the selected skill.
As Skill Focus, except the re-roll threshold increases to 10. Additionally, you may Take 20 even if failure would normally have a negative result (although it still takes 20 times as long).

Modify any Feat providing the +2 bonuses to specific skills (like Alertness, or ones which provide +2 to one skill but then add some other bonus) as follows.
For each +2 bonus, replace as follows:
1> If the skill is often used under duress (DM's discretion), replace the +2 with "You may Take 10 on this skill even under duress"
2> Otherwise, replace the +2 with "If, on a skill check for the chosen skill, you roll a 5 or less, you may re-roll (bur results of the re-roll are final, even if worse)."

----------------
I might add a few more bits and pieces, but that's the bulk of it. Most of this last part (Feats and Skills) were house rules that predated this homebrew.