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Jack Daniel 04-16-04, 02:46 PM

Thanks to Unearthed Arcana and a few other sources, I've finally been able to refine my Magic Point rules into one honey of an alternate spellcasting system. UA's spell point system is okay if you don't mind some extra math whenever you have to cast a damage-dealing spell that scales to caster level... or making the sorcerer obsolete... or severely undermining the balance of psionicists (perhaps the XPH will fix that, but from the looks of things, I'd still say that in any campaign that uses both psionics and the UA spell point system, the spellcasters have a huge flexibility advantage). To that end, I set out to create a hybrid preparation-spontaneous spellcasting system, with a few goals in mind: 1. Psionicists should remain the only classes that have the supreme flexibility of a single "point pool." 2. That leaves magic-users with bard & sorcerer style spell slots per day (which I'll hereafter refer to as magic points), but I don't want the spellcasting classes to have strict tables of spells known. 3. In fact, I want to go back to a uniform spellcasting system, one where everybody prepares and casts spells the same way. Arcane magic-users study spellbooks, divine magic-users pray or meditate, and psionicists don't have to prepare because they don't cast spells. 4. In any system where the wizard and sorcerer cast the same way, the sorcerer probably has to change drastically in order to remain viable. It's either that, or drop the class entirely. The spellcasting system is simple enough: each MU has a broad library of spells, either an arcane spellbook or a whole pile of divine spells. From this library, the MU can prepare exactly 3 spells from each spell level (plus occasional bonus spells, depending on class). 3 spells per spell level is an arbitrary choice, but it does strike a balance and capture a flavor I like. I could have used a preparation progression like the sidebar in UA or Monte Cook's AU, but it didn't feel quite right; a more solid limit, like Everquest d20's "prepare exactly 8 spells," was more of the simplistic mechanic I was shooting for. The flavor I went with in the end was decided by my continued pathectic fanboy nostalgia for Final Fantasy I. Three spells at every spell level is nice and simple and more than enough for a magic-user to get by. That just leaves the business of a few important new ground-rules: no leaving empty slots open to prepare later in the day, and no preparing a lower-level spell in a higher-level slot. Gotta keep the balance with the psionicists. Actuall spellcasting is spontaneous, a lot like bards and sorcerers cast normally. You've got a table of "spells per day" (your Magic Points by spell level), to which you add bonus MPs for high ability scores. You can cast any spell you have prepared by expending a magic point of that spell's level or higher. As you can see, the "arcane MP progression" is the table used by wizards, while the "divine MP progression" is the spell table of clerics & druids. Specializing in a school or having a domain doesn't grant any extra MP -- one rule I took from Unearthed Arcana is that these class features grant extra prepared spells, but not more spells per day. MAGIC POINTS BY SPELL LEVEL Arcane MP Progression Divine MP Progression Level 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1st 3 1 - - - - - - - - 3 1 - - - - - - - - 2nd 4 2 - - - - - - - - 4 2 - - - - - - - - 3rd 4 2 1 - - - - - - - 4 2 1 - - - - - - - 4th 4 3 2 - - - - - - - 5 3 2 - - - - - - - 5th 4 3 2 1 - - - - - - 5 3 2 1 - - - - - - 6th 4 3 3 2 - - - - - - 5 3 3 2 - - - - - - 7th 4 4 3 2 1 - - - - - 6 4 3 2 1 - - - - - 8th 4 4 3 3 2 - - - - - 6 4 3 3 2 - - - - - 9th 4 4 4 3 2 1 - - - - 6 4 4 3 2 1 - - - - 10th 4 4 4 3 3 2 - - - - 6 4 4 3 3 2 - - - - 11th 4 4 4 4 3 2 1 - - - 6 5 4 4 3 2 1 - - - 12th 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 - - - 6 5 4 4 3 3 2 - - - 13th 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1 - - 6 5 5 4 4 3 2 1 - - 14th 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 - - 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 - - 15th 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1 - 6 5 5 4 4 4 3 2 1 - 16th 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 - 6 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 - 17th 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 3 2 1 18th 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 19th 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 6 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 20th 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 That just leaves the issue of metamagic. Since all casters cast spontaneously, it doesn't do to have metamagic increase casting times or to deny Quicken Spell to everyone. So, that rule is nixed. The spontaneous metamagic system in UA where each feat can be used 3 times per day and they don't actually increase the spell level is also a great system, so I make that standard for my MP rules. WIZARDS Wizards don't need any special attention, apart from a clarification of spell preparation. Mages prepare exactly three spells from each spell level, while specialist wizards prepare three spells of their choice plus one additional spell from their specialty school at each spell level. This increased flexibility makes up for the fact that specialists don't actually cast any more spells per day than mages (which, frankly, makes the mage a worthwhile choice again). SORCERERS The sorcerer needs to be totally re-written to fit into any system where spontaneous magic is the norm. One favorite direction many take the sorcerer is to turn it into a battle-mage, increasing its combat stats to that of a cleric. I didn't like that very much, so I went back to an old favorite archetype and made the sorcerer into a summoner-type class. Many examples of fantasy display sorcerers as monster-summoners, and often in RPGs a summoner is the alternative to the traditional spellchucker. Fantasy stories also portray sorcery as the art of summoning creatures for information as much as anything else -- so I decided to make the sorcerer into a sort of über-conjuerer/diviner, emphasis on the conjurer. The mage has access to all eight schools; the diviner to seven; and other specialist wizards to six. The sorcerer has access to five schools, two of which must be conjuration and divination. The sorcerer also chooses a single domain, taken from the following list: Magic, Good, Evil, Law, Chaos, Earth, Fire, Air, or Water. This defines the sorcerer's "sub-class," just like specialty school (or lack thereof) does for a wizard. Domain Sorcerer Type Granted Power Magic Summoner Summon familiar Good Angelist Rapid-summon good outsiders Evil Diabolist Rapid-summon evil outsiders Law Axiomatist Rapid-summon lawful outsiders Chaos Anarchist Rapid-summon chaotic outsiders Air Aeromancer Rapid-summon air outsiders Fire Pyromancer Rapid-summon fire outsiders Earth Geomancer Rapid-summon earth outsiders Water Hydromancer Rapid-summon water outsiders Instead of the listed granted power awarded to clerics, sorcerers recieve a different ability from their domain. Sorcerers with the magic domain retain the ability to summon a familiar. Otherwise, the sorcerer can use summon monster as a one-action spell rather than a full-round spell when summoning a creature of his chosen alignment or element. The rapid summoning ability comes from the variant conjurer in UA, replacing the wizard's familiar. Naturally, this version of the sorcerer also recieves all of the other additional conjurer abilities, replacing the wizard class features: Agument Summoning replaces Scribe Scroll and Enhanced Summoning replaces wizard bonus feats. The sorcerer keeps a spellbook, just like a wizard. At first level, he knows all the cantrips he has access to, 3 + his CHA bonus in 1st-level spells, his 1st-level domain spell, and summon monster I. The sorcerer gains two free spells, his new domain spell, and that level's summon monster spell at every odd level. At every even level, the sorcerer instead gains two free spells, plus an additional conjuration and an additional divination. The sorcerer is able to prepare 3 spells plus his domain spell at each spell level, and he need not ever prepare summon monster -- the sorcerer can always spend an MP to spontaneously cast summon monster as if he had prepared it. ARCANE SPELLCASTERS Wizard Sorcerer Level BAB FST RST WST Special Abilities Special Abilities 1st ±0 ±0 ±0 +2 Scribe Scroll, Augment Summoning, one domain summon familiar 2nd +1 ±0 ±0 +3 3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 4th +2 +1 +1 +4 5th +2 +1 +1 +4 Bonus feat Enhanced summoning (DC +2) 6th +3 +2 +2 +5 7th +3 +2 +2 +5 8th +4 +2 +2 +6 9th +4 +3 +3 +6 10th +5 +3 +3 +7 Bonus feat Enhanced summoning (Str/Con +2) 11th +5 +3 +3 +7 12th +6 +4 +4 +8 13th +6 +4 +4 +8 14th +7 +4 +4 +9 15th +7 +5 +5 +9 Bonus feat Enhanced summoning (DC +4) 16th +8 +5 +5 +10 17th +8 +5 +5 +10 18th +9 +6 +6 +11 19th +9 +6 +6 +11 20th +10 +6 +6 +12 Bonus feat Enhanced summoning (Str/Con +4) PRIESTS & CULTISTS In my campaign setting, I divide the cleric class into a good/neutral priest class, and a neutral/evil cultist class. Priests may not be evil and always channel positive energy into cure spells, turning undead, and turning fiends. On the flip side of the coin, the cultist may not be good and always channels negative energy into inflict spells, rebuking undead, and turning celestials. Priestly casters are able to prepare 3 spells plus one of their domain spells at each spell level, and need not prepare cure or inflict spells, which they cast spontaneously as if always prepared. This makes the Healing domain much weaker for priests and the Destruction domain slightly weaker for cultists, so priests with the Healing domain can use d12s with curative spells, and cultists with the Destruction domain can use d10s with inflicting spells. WITCHES It's a druid by any other name. Druids don't fit my campaign very well, but witches work famously. Sure, it has the medium fortitude save and its animal companion has been replaced by a wizard's familiar and the hexblade's curse, but hey, six of one, half-dozen of the other. Witch or druid, you've probably got the spell preparation drill figured out by now: 3 spells per spell level, plus summon nature's ally needn't be prepared and can always be cast by spending a magic point of that level. DIVINE SPELLCASTERS Priest Witch Level BAB FST RST WST Special Abilities Special Abilities 1st ±0 +1 ±0 +2 Turn undead, Summon familiar, curse 1/day, two domains wild empathy, nature sense 2nd +1 +2 ±0 +3 Woodland stride 3rd +2 +2 +1 +3 Trackless step 4th +3 +2 +1 +4 Resist nature's lue 5th +3 +3 +1 +4 Wild shape 1/day, curse 2/day 6th +4 +3 +2 +5 Wild shape 2/day 7th +5 +4 +2 +5 Wild shape 3/day, improved curse 8th +6 +4 +2 +6 Large wild shape 9th +6 +4 +3 +6 Venom immunity, curse 3/day 10th +7 +5 +3 +7 Turn fiends Wild shape 4/day 11th +8 +5 +3 +7 Tiny wild shape 12th +9 +6 +4 +8 Plant wild shape 13th +9 +6 +4 +8 A thousand faces, curse 4/day 14th +10 +6 +4 +9 Wild shape 5/day 15th +11 +7 +5 +9 Timeless body, huge wild shape 16th +12 +7 +5 +10 Elemental wild shape 1/day 17th +12 +8 +5 +10 Curse 5/day 18th +13 +8 +6 +11 Wild shape 6/day, elemental wild sape 2/day 19th +14 +8 +6 +11 Greater curse 20th +15 +9 +6 +12 Huge elemental wild shape 3/day Separate MP tables and preparation rules could easily be cooked up for the paladin, ranger, and bard, and a whole slew of prestige classes, but I don't have to bother. For one thing, I switched to the 15-level prestige versions of these classes from UA. I also added a ninja to the lineup, modeled on the assassin, which made a nice, rounded two arcane and two divine spellcasters. The assassin and blackguard just being the flip sides of the ninja and paladin, it was easy enough to also make them into 15-level prestige classes. That done, I smothed out the spell level progressions into something more workable. For the bard, I rearranged the levels into a pattern that would be much easier to carry into epic levels. The asssassin was already a very weak arcane spellcaster, so for my ninja & assassin, the classes recieve a level of arcane spellcasting at every third level, and cast all spells other than illusions at -2 caster levels. The paladin, ranger, and blackguard are a no-brainer, but I did tweak the pally to gain spells at every even level -- and that, as they say once the carpal tunnel syndrome sets in, is all I have to type right now. PRESTIGE SPELLCASTERS Bard Ninja/Assassin Arcane Spell Arcane Spell Paladin/Blackguard/Ranger Level Progression Progression Divine Spell Progression 1 --- --- --- 2 +1 spell level --- +1 spell level 3 +1 spell level +1 spell level --- 4 +1 spell level --- +1 spell level 5 --- --- --- 6 +1 spell level +1 spell level +1 spell level 7 +1 spell level --- --- 8 +1 spell level --- +1 spell level 9 --- +1 spell level --- 10 +1 spell level --- +1 spell level 11 +1 spell level --- --- 12 +1 spell level +1 spell level +1 spell level 13 --- --- --- 14 +1 spell level --- +1 spell level 15 +1 spell level +1 spell level ---