Freeform magic [Archive] - Wizards Community

Freeform magic [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
caeruleus
03-01-05, 01:57 PM Does anyone know of any freeform magic system for d20 that actually works? By "freeform", I mean that there are no given spell lists. Whenever a mage decides to cast a spell, the effect, cost (spellpoints or whatever), difficulty, etc, are only determined then. I've seen such systems before, but I'd like one that works for D&D/d20. I'd also like one in which it doesn't take too much time to work out what the spell does.
scwolf
03-01-05, 02:09 PM Does anyone know of any freeform magic system for d20Off the top of my head? One or two.

that actually works?
Unfortunately, whether a system "works" or not is something that can change from gaming table to gaming table. [Insert standard "I can only show you the door..." disclaimer here]. Good places to start, would be trying to adapt the freeform system from the Epic Level Handbook to non-epic spell casting, or if you don't mind third party produdcts, Mongoose Publishing's Encyclopaedia Arcane: Chaos Magic.
The Morninglord
03-02-05, 05:14 AM Try Encyclopedia Arcane: Chaos Magic, by Mongoose Publishing.
Jiquepe
03-02-05, 02:52 PM Try Encyclopedia Arcane: Chaos Magic, by Mongoose Publishing.
Better yet- pick up Complete Chaos Mage, by Mongoose. It's got more content, some changes, some fixes and will be exactly what you're looking for.
I play a chaos mage in one of my games and i can safely say i will never play another "static" mage again. If you're imaginitive enough and your DM is open minded, you'll totally dig it.
caeruleus
03-03-05, 10:15 AM Better yet- pick up Complete Chaos Mage, by Mongoose. It's got more content, some changes, some fixes and will be exactly what you're looking for.
I play a chaos mage in one of my games and i can safely say i will never play another "static" mage again. If you're imaginitive enough and your DM is open minded, you'll totally dig it.

Thanks for the note. Is Chaos Magic required to use Complete Chaos Mage, or does it reprint the information?
Jiquepe
03-03-05, 11:30 AM Thanks for the note. Is Chaos Magic required to use Complete Chaos Mage, or does it reprint the information?

You can do with either- and i say go for the Complete. My advise; Complete is the book you need, dont even bother with the Encyclopidia Arcana one. It has everything in Encyclopidia and much more.
Also- make your own chart to help you build spells faster. Encylopidia has one on the inside of the the front cover. But factor in the changes and updates from Complete and its almost useless. Take a glance at it to get an idea- but your better off with your own tailored chart. (I can email you my chart if you want- might help simplify things)

When your first reading it, it may be a little confusing, and it will take you a little bit to figure it all out for sure. But just read it thoroughlyto get the idea. Its tricky, but once you get it, youll be blown away by how simple and cool it is.
Hope i helped :D
NineInchNall
03-03-05, 04:09 PM It's actually "Quintessential Chaos Mage," and it completely replaces the Encyclopedia Arcane version.

It needs some rebalancing, though. I'll post my revisions to an outside web page some time.
Soel Griffin
03-06-05, 04:13 AM You could also try the Black Company Campaign Setting book from Green Ronin. Its supposed to have an incredible new magic system, based on feats, not spells. There is a current thread over at Enworld that details the many different magic systems out there for d20.
Lord_Anthrax
03-06-05, 08:59 AM Trick with the Black Company's magic system is that it's geared towards a generally low-magic gameworld. If you want lower-powered magic, that's fine, but for the more conventional magic of D&D you might need to do some serious tinkering with it.
Xorial
03-06-05, 10:54 AM Does anyone know of any freeform magic system for d20 that actually works? By "freeform", I mean that there are no given spell lists. Whenever a mage decides to cast a spell, the effect, cost (spellpoints or whatever), difficulty, etc, are only determined then. I've seen such systems before, but I'd like one that works for D&D/d20. I'd also like one in which it doesn't take too much time to work out what the spell does.
The closest I've seen is a PDF release that you can get here (http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2699&). I own it & it works of spell lists, which arent like spells so much as a list of things that can be done. It is by ENPublishing, which I get a little leary of at times, but this is really a good product. You can make up specific spell effects on the fly, which take 2 rounds to cast. Or, you can use Sugnature Spells, which are like core rules spells, which can be cast as a standard action.
Jiquepe
03-06-05, 12:30 PM It's actually "Quintessential Chaos Mage," and it completely replaces the Encyclopedia Arcane version.

It needs some rebalancing, though. I'll post my revisions to an outside web page some time.
He's right- queintissential, and it really does replace the other one.
Id be intrested to see what you would revise with it too NineInchNall.
NineInchNall
03-08-05, 01:51 AM Well, here ya go. Here's what I've thought of doing so far. Keep in mind that I have other ideas, but to implement them would make the system too clunky, thereby making the whole spontaneous magic thing not as fun as it should be.

Chaos Mage Revisions (http://userfs.cec.wustl.edu/~tpw1/chaosmage/)
NineInchNall
03-09-05, 03:30 PM Please feel free to offer any suggestions, criticisms about my proposed changes. :) I really want to use the Chaos Magic system as a general arcane magic system, rather than a "chaos" magic system.

So, I guess I'm going to have to add Divination Effects and Summoning Effects.. Hmmm. This'll take some work. :D
scwolf
03-09-05, 09:08 PM I happen to be poking around on Sean K. Reynolds' site and came across his magic system (http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/misc/magicsys.html). Interesting stuff.

Oh, and NineInchNall, you may need to check the HTML on your frames setup. Clicking a link in the navigation frame brings up the page the link goes to, in the narrow navigation frame, instead of the big frame like I'm sure you meant it to.
NineInchNall
03-10-05, 06:09 AM Um, it works for me. What browser are you using?

Whoah. You're right. It doesn't like IE for some reason.

Weird. I really don't know why that would be the case.

... ...

Okay, fixed it. Stupid IE has stupid quirks about it that better browsers don't. Specifically, it didn't like that I'd named one of the frames "_main" -- which happens NOT to be a reserved name in konqueror or mozilla.

Stupid, stupid IE. :rolleyes:
scwolf
03-10-05, 01:42 PM Stupid, stupid IE. :rolleyes:

On that, we can all agree.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
caeruleus 03-01-05, 01:57 PM	Does anyone know of any freeform magic system for d20 that actually works? By "freeform", I mean that there are no given spell lists. Whenever a mage decides to cast a spell, the effect, cost (spellpoints or whatever), difficulty, etc, are only determined then. I've seen such systems before, but I'd like one that works for D&D/d20. I'd also like one in which it doesn't take too much time to work out what the spell does.
scwolf 03-01-05, 02:09 PM	Does anyone know of any freeform magic system for d20Off the top of my head? One or two. that actually works? Unfortunately, whether a system "works" or not is something that can change from gaming table to gaming table. [Insert standard "I can only show you the door..." disclaimer here]. Good places to start, would be trying to adapt the freeform system from the Epic Level Handbook to non-epic spell casting, or if you don't mind third party produdcts, Mongoose Publishing's Encyclopaedia Arcane: Chaos Magic.
The Morninglord 03-02-05, 05:14 AM	Try Encyclopedia Arcane: Chaos Magic, by Mongoose Publishing.
Jiquepe 03-02-05, 02:52 PM	Try Encyclopedia Arcane: Chaos Magic, by Mongoose Publishing. Better yet- pick up Complete Chaos Mage, by Mongoose. It's got more content, some changes, some fixes and will be exactly what you're looking for. I play a chaos mage in one of my games and i can safely say i will never play another "static" mage again. If you're imaginitive enough and your DM is open minded, you'll totally dig it.
caeruleus 03-03-05, 10:15 AM	Better yet- pick up Complete Chaos Mage, by Mongoose. It's got more content, some changes, some fixes and will be exactly what you're looking for. I play a chaos mage in one of my games and i can safely say i will never play another "static" mage again. If you're imaginitive enough and your DM is open minded, you'll totally dig it. Thanks for the note. Is Chaos Magic required to use Complete Chaos Mage, or does it reprint the information?
Jiquepe 03-03-05, 11:30 AM	Thanks for the note. Is Chaos Magic required to use Complete Chaos Mage, or does it reprint the information? You can do with either- and i say go for the Complete. My advise; Complete is the book you need, dont even bother with the Encyclopidia Arcana one. It has everything in Encyclopidia and much more. Also- make your own chart to help you build spells faster. Encylopidia has one on the inside of the the front cover. But factor in the changes and updates from Complete and its almost useless. Take a glance at it to get an idea- but your better off with your own tailored chart. (I can email you my chart if you want- might help simplify things) When your first reading it, it may be a little confusing, and it will take you a little bit to figure it all out for sure. But just read it thoroughlyto get the idea. Its tricky, but once you get it, youll be blown away by how simple and cool it is. Hope i helped :D
NineInchNall 03-03-05, 04:09 PM	It's actually "Quintessential Chaos Mage," and it completely replaces the Encyclopedia Arcane version. It needs some rebalancing, though. I'll post my revisions to an outside web page some time.
Soel Griffin 03-06-05, 04:13 AM	You could also try the Black Company Campaign Setting book from Green Ronin. Its supposed to have an incredible new magic system, based on feats, not spells. There is a current thread over at Enworld that details the many different magic systems out there for d20.
Lord_Anthrax 03-06-05, 08:59 AM	Trick with the Black Company's magic system is that it's geared towards a generally low-magic gameworld. If you want lower-powered magic, that's fine, but for the more conventional magic of D&D you might need to do some serious tinkering with it.
Xorial 03-06-05, 10:54 AM	Does anyone know of any freeform magic system for d20 that actually works? By "freeform", I mean that there are no given spell lists. Whenever a mage decides to cast a spell, the effect, cost (spellpoints or whatever), difficulty, etc, are only determined then. I've seen such systems before, but I'd like one that works for D&D/d20. I'd also like one in which it doesn't take too much time to work out what the spell does. The closest I've seen is a PDF release that you can get here (http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2699&). I own it & it works of spell lists, which arent like spells so much as a list of things that can be done. It is by ENPublishing, which I get a little leary of at times, but this is really a good product. You can make up specific spell effects on the fly, which take 2 rounds to cast. Or, you can use Sugnature Spells, which are like core rules spells, which can be cast as a standard action.
Jiquepe 03-06-05, 12:30 PM	It's actually "Quintessential Chaos Mage," and it completely replaces the Encyclopedia Arcane version. It needs some rebalancing, though. I'll post my revisions to an outside web page some time. He's right- queintissential, and it really does replace the other one. Id be intrested to see what you would revise with it too NineInchNall.
NineInchNall 03-08-05, 01:51 AM	Well, here ya go. Here's what I've thought of doing so far. Keep in mind that I have other ideas, but to implement them would make the system too clunky, thereby making the whole spontaneous magic thing not as fun as it should be. Chaos Mage Revisions (http://userfs.cec.wustl.edu/~tpw1/chaosmage/)
NineInchNall 03-09-05, 03:30 PM	Please feel free to offer any suggestions, criticisms about my proposed changes. :) I really want to use the Chaos Magic system as a general arcane magic system, rather than a "chaos" magic system. So, I guess I'm going to have to add Divination Effects and Summoning Effects.. Hmmm. This'll take some work. :D
scwolf 03-09-05, 09:08 PM	I happen to be poking around on Sean K. Reynolds' site and came across his magic system (http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/misc/magicsys.html). Interesting stuff. Oh, and NineInchNall, you may need to check the HTML on your frames setup. Clicking a link in the navigation frame brings up the page the link goes to, in the narrow navigation frame, instead of the big frame like I'm sure you meant it to.
NineInchNall 03-10-05, 06:09 AM	Um, it works for me. What browser are you using? Whoah. You're right. It doesn't like IE for some reason. Weird. I really don't know why that would be the case. ... ... Okay, fixed it. Stupid IE has stupid quirks about it that better browsers don't. Specifically, it didn't like that I'd named one of the frames "_main" -- which happens NOT to be a reserved name in konqueror or mozilla. Stupid, stupid IE. :rolleyes:
scwolf 03-10-05, 01:42 PM	Stupid, stupid IE. :rolleyes: On that, we can all agree.