New Magic Mechanics
A new, more grounded, magic system
The Problems
To preface this long-winded explanation, here are some bullet points to sell you on wasting your time with this idea:
An alternative to Vancian casting that IS NOT mana points
A lower inherent power level of magic that doesn’t lower the utility of the casting classes
Very powerful magic is naturally rare
More opportunities to cast (yes, even with a lower magic level)
I have a couple issues with the way D&D does magic. They are really just personal problems, but they aren’t uncommon complaints. As easy and convenient as Vancian magic is to use for managing resources and scaling the power of a magic user, it is narratively annoying. Unless you use the explanation and fictional mechanics for Vancian magic in the way that they are intended, you have to either come up with some sort of explanation for why your magic users have spell slots, hand-wave it altogether, or come up with a new system. I like doing things the hard way. So, naturally, I revamped the system.
NOTE: I have already published my Wizard Class that uses this system.
The Reasons for the Problems
Truth is, there are a few reasons why Vancian magic doesn’t work for me:
I want something that isn’t a complete rip off of an existing famous “named” system. But I don’t mind something a little more generic, if it makes sense.
I want to be able to write stories in the setting where my D&D games take place, so the magic system should make sense from a story-telling perspective.
My particular setting is not as high-magic as the implied D&D setting. I prefer for magic to be a bit more rare, mysterious, and fantastical. Many people just say “make magic illegal in civilized areas, and make MUs super rare.” But that doesn’t actually change the amount of magic accessible to a character. I want finding a spell scroll to be a bigger deal than “cool lemme just copy this to my spellbook.”
The most common solution for people who don’t want to use Vancian casting is to switch to a mana point system. Add up all the spells slots for a given level, multiplied by the spell level, and that’s how many points you have. Casting a spell costs one point per level of the spell. This seems nice at first, but becomes a problem when you realize that casters can now just spam low-level spells over and over. Your fifth level Magic-User now can cast sleep nine times in a day. This satisfies point 1 above, and point 2 to a degree, but definitely not point 3.
The Inspiration
My solution takes from both the standard B/X magic system, and the Mage class published by Gavin Norman in the Carcass Crawler #1 zine.
For those not familiar with Gavin’s “Mage” class, he removed spell slots entirely, gave the Mage a handful of low level spells, and made them skills with a probability of success, similar to how Thief skills work. The Mage also has all the typical scroll and magic item rules. He also gives them a “light” ability, and a very mild healing ability. In addition to a natural AC boost, and some extra weapon options, that is about it for the changes. His original intent was to make a more “Gandalf” type class.
I like his version, because it lowers the magic level quite a bit. There are a handful of magic abilities that the Mage can access an unlimited amount of times, but they are all relatively mundane. These include things like Read Magic, Detect Magic, Open/Close. There are five total. Any extreme magical ability will come from the discovery of magic items and scrolls, and being able to cast scrolls on repeat will require a continual dedication of time and effort to copying them. This achieves all 3 of my goals, however, the mechanics are not to my liking.
I have changed the name of these at-will “spells” to “cantrips” in order to distinguish them from actual legitimate spells.
The Solution
I already don’t like how B/X handles thief skills (and have replaced thief skill progression with a target d20 roll which I will probably write about later,) so I also don’t really love how the Mage “skills” work. I could give it the Thief skill treatment, but I decided against it. I am not a huge fan of having each individual cantrip be a skill. I want CASTING ITSELF to be the skill. I think that accessing the ethereal realm of magic should be the concern, not the mastering of individual types of magic tricks. Sure, some cantrips are harder than others, but they are not individual skills to be mastered.
Therefore, every cantrip has a difficulty rating, but the ability to successfully manipulate magic is something that scales up as a whole over time (most casting classes have a “casting bonus” similar to decreased THAC0 or increased to-hit bonuses.) More powerful cantrips have a higher difficulty rating, and they range from a target of 17 up to 10.
Note: I have completely rebuilt the list of cantrips that Gavin uses for the Mage and Acolyte classes. Some cantrips are taken and restructured or given new parameters, but many are entirely new. I wanted some more variety and a bit more strict rules.
The Cantrip System
The only method of manipulating magic unaided by enchanted items is the Cantrip. The only way of accessing the Old Magic, which is significantly more powerful than cantrips, is through scrolls and magic items which can be found though adventuring.
Spirit Points
Cantrips can be cast at-will, a certain amount of times per day. This number is described as “Spirit.” The amount of spirit a mage has per day is in their class description. When out of spirit, HP may be used instead. HP used for casting is spent regardless of failure, and cannot be healed by magical means.
Casting Cantrips
All cantrip attempts cost 1 spirit, even if failed. Each cantrip has a difficulty rating with a target from 7-10. When casting a cantrip, roll a d20 then add your level and INT(wizard) or WIS (mystic) bonus to the total. If the number matches or exceeds the Cantrip target, it is a success. Even if success is all but guaranteed, the roll still must be made to check for mishaps and boons.
Scrolls & Magic Items
All mages can use and create scrolls and magic items. Casting spells from scrolls costs 1 Spirit, but other magic items cost nothing to use. Using a scroll requires that the spell level be one which you are of high enough level to cast (Spell Max on class progression chart).
Spells are divided between General, Arcane, and Mystical. General magic can be used by any mage, Arcane magic can only be used by wizards, Mystical magic can only be used by mystics.
Copying Scrolls
Spell scrolls can be copied by a mage, if the type of magic (Arcane, General, or Mystical) is appropriate for the class. The first time you copy a spell scroll, it needs to be transcribed from the original interpretation of the mage who created it, into your own interpretation that you can understand and use yourself. This takes effort, time, and resources.
You can copy scrolls with a successful ability check (INT for Wizards, WIS for Mystics), two days of study per spell level and 200 sp (sp is used instead of GP in my system) of precious metal or gems per spell level.
Failing the save means that this particular scroll can never be copied, and is destroyed in the process. Making copies of a scroll which you created does not require an ability check, but still requires the same time and money.
Creating Cantrips from Spell Scrolls
A spell may be converted into a cantrip, at great and permanent cost
to the mage who converts it. To do this, you must spend 1 full week of study spell level, and 500 sp of precious metal or gems per level.
You also need a scroll containing the spell you wish to convert, which will be destroyed after completion. Spells turned into Cantrips must be of a level which the mage is capable of casting.
As a consequence, permanently reduce your Spirit number by the spell level. In addition, make one CON save per spell level. For every failed CON save, the mage's HP is permanently reduced by 1.
After all this is complete, the spell is now a Cantrip in the mage’s repertoire, and is cast the same way as all other Cantrips. The difficulty level is 8 + the original spell level.
Creating Magic Items
Creating magic items requires the use of a scroll, which will be destroyed upon completion. Imbuing the necessary magic into the item consumes 300 sp per spell level, and takes 3 days per spell level per daily charge.