Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DragonBringerX 10-01-05, 05:54 PM	I wounder what materia would work like in a D&D (3.5) game. I'd immagine it would work like some form of new magical item all together. Now before we get started there a few things I would like to point out... 1) I DONT care if you don't like the idea, i'm still going to use it 2) It all started with a thread on someone trying to Stat up Sephiroth in 3.5 D&D rules (epic of course) This all comes from Final Fantasy 7 (great game) 3) I dont have a well defined system YET...it's still in very early stages ok...now that i got that accross, I plan on doing a game where spell casters don't exsist, with the exception of monsters and ancient people (either way NPC's ONLY) With a materia system, anyone could equip them and gain the use of limited magic. For all of you who are familiar with the system (in the game) I don't want to see Fire 1, Ice 3, Life 2, or any Quake spells. Lets use standard D&D spells if at all possable. Though I do like the idea of a simplified spell casting system as well. As for some rules on how they work i was thinking like this... -you can only equip 1 or 1 per stat modifier (like Int or something) -certian equipment allows you to equip and use more -they allow spells per day (sense thats the D&D way) -as they gain xp, they give access to more spells. Once you master a materia, you produce another one (like in the game)...maybe with new feats allow you to learn the spells now I know this is still very crude and unfinished, but i was woundering if anybody had any ideas at all on how this could be done. Maybe there was already a thread on this...plz point me there. I really like the idea of a world with little to no spell casters at all.
Phantom Lord 10-01-05, 06:43 PM	Would it be a mage-only type item, or usable by anyone? Because as it stands right now, either the Use Magic Item DCs would be extremely low, or nobody but a magic-user would be able to use it. Otherwise, sounds interesting...
DragonBringerX 10-01-05, 11:39 PM	:P it would be anyone could use it...requiring NO use magic device check. It's just a strange magical item that allows access to some very select spells. Different materia holds different spells. for example Fire mareria holds - Burning Hands, Lesser Fire Orb (comp arcane), Fireball, so forth and so on... Summon Materia holds - summon monster I-IX Heal Materia holds - cure light, moderate, serious, critical... The only thing is how do I define ... --When do you have access to higher level spells stored --How often can you use them In a normal game, it would basicly give a mage free magic that never goes away until you equip a different one... My game will have NO mages (but thats a different story)... :P ouuuu...I JUST thought of an idea (as i was typing), you could have the materia resemble domains...but without the power. However, to argue myself here, i guess you could require a UMD check, in my game i would just allow UMD to all classes a class skill (anyway)... anymore Ideas...plz!!! :lightbulb
Koga:The ninja trick 10-02-05, 12:40 AM	Actually The Koga would think mateira be better suited for a psionics campaighn.. Especialy with the science fiction fantasy tone of FF7..
Tenzhi 10-02-05, 01:02 AM	The Elf-Bane agrees with the Koga. He also thinks that materia would essentially be a type of Ioun stone that you attach to something rather than letting it orbit. The Elf-Bane would also point out that it did not start in FFVII - the Materia of VII is essentially the Magicite of VI.
DragonBringerX 10-02-05, 01:16 AM	true...but in ff3 (america aka ff6 japan) it was called espers...also a great idea. I do kinda like the psionic idea too, either way it really dosen't matter. The reason i like the psionic idea is because it gives me points instead of daily uses...unless you use the magic point sys in unearthed arc...
Tenzhi 10-02-05, 01:40 AM	It was called Magicite. The beings it was created from were called Espers (lending more credence to the Psionic link). In FFVI terms, Aerith would've been an Esper or Half-Esper (like Terra).
DragonBringerX 10-02-05, 10:30 AM	true...your right (i remember now) but, now that we know were they come from how could we put them into d&d without breaking balance (too much). Like I said, I dont care if they should be psionic like or magic like...it'll probably all work the same anyways. I do like the idea of like ion stones, but you equip them to things. However (if you saw the Advent Children movie)...they put them in their arms. It kinda absorbs into them. Then they can do kewl things. I want something like that, but balanced...so far what i've got is: --you can equip 1 materia/ Int mod you have. In order to cast a spell from the materia, you must have an Int of 10 + spell level. (like normal magic/psionics) I know...thats all i've go so far...PLEASE HELP!!! :confused:
oneday 10-02-05, 11:01 AM	I think you should base it off of Charisma instead........
Phantom Lord 10-02-05, 11:11 AM	I agree, base it off of CHA - force of personality; and make it so that you can only use spells up to your modifier, so with 16 INT you could use 3rd-level spells. They should cost [(Spell lvl * 2) - 1] * 1,500 gp, and be usable 4 - 1/3 spell level times per day. That way, anybody with 16 INT could use a level 3 spell 3 times per day for 7,500 GP, and could have up to 3 materia equipped at once. Does that make sense in such brief format, or should I expound upon it? EDIT: Or better yet, I just had this beauty of an idea: All materia starts off with level 1 spells. They earn XP with battles, minimum 1/3 that of the wielder; the wielder can sacrifice some of his own XP to grant to the Materia, though. Once they have 1,500 XP their spell increases to 2nd-level; the new spell must be comparable to the old one, such as upgrading from burning hands to flaming sphere, then at 3rd-level to fireball or flame arrow. Table: Materia Advancement Spell Level XP 1st 0 2nd 1,500 3rd 5,000 4th 10,500 5th 18,000 6th 27,500 7th 39,000 8th 52,500 9th 68,000
Dreamstryder 10-02-05, 11:48 AM	Or number equipable could be equal to Int modifier, & spells castable could be based on Wis or Cha (both have different connotations into how "magic" works: awareness giving you insight into more spells OR force to allow more extreme manipulations, so you as the DM decide) mods or points beyond 10. (How accessible do you want high level spells?) Or if they hold them in their bodies, should Con rule how many they can equip? As an example: IMC, I use Int to increase spells learnable/equipable, Wis-10 for what spells are castable, & Cha mod for +/- effective caster level (not sure if using Cha like that is overpowered, but it hasn't stopped us). PS: I found in the Final Fantasy Campaign Setting thread use of feats for attaining higher spells form materia (scroll most of the way down ( http://boards.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=45835&page=5&pp=30)). Here's my materia take to equip them to armor/weapons: Tiny weapons could have 1 slot, Small 2, Med 3, Large 4 (Light armor 2, M 3, H 4), and you could add another slot to something by taking it to a shop & paying 300 gp. (Max slots it can have could be double what I've said above.)
Millennium 10-02-05, 12:08 PM	Or if they hold them in their bodies, should Con rule how many they can equip?. The only people who were ever able to equip materia in their bodies were the Sephiroth-clones. Everyone else always had to equip an item and put Materia into that. So maybe that part shouldn't be tied to stats after all. Materia gain XP at the same rate the person equipping them does, and "level" using the standard XP table. All materia can (theoretically) go up through Level 9, and can grant spells of up to the highest level they've obtained (for example, a level 9 Materia can grant a level 9 spell). 0-level spells become available as soon as the materia has at least 1 XP. This isn't perfect -it grants level-9 spells way too quickly- but it's something to start with. What do people thing?
FlameLover 10-02-05, 06:55 PM	Ok here is how i see this system. You equip materia to your weapons and armor. The max slots ar 1 for Light, 2 for One-handed and 3 for a Two-handed weapon. Masterwork weapons have an extra slot. Armor would similarly have 1, 2 and 3 for light, medium and heavt respectivley (and 1 extra if mwk). So you'd equip materia (this would probably require about a minute and some sort of ritual) and then it becomes bonded with the weapon. Removing a materia would take a similar amount of time. I think that their should be some sort of "adjustment" period with materia before they work, maybe 1 hour per spell level? This would stop people just switching them in and out after every encounter and encourages forthought. Ok well i think materia should have spells go up to level 9 (including 0 level spells). Some would be arcane, some divine. They would have a theme like fire, cure, inflict, etc. To limit when you can cast it would be done like so. Your CL is equal to your character level. To cast a spell you need a CL of twice it's level. So you'd get access to the cantrips straight of the bat, and only get 9th level spells at level 18. Sounds good to me so far. To work out your "pool" of power you would multiply your character level by your INT mod for Arcane and WIS for Divine (and CHA if you have Psionic materia). This limit would also apply to spell level, so you'd need 10+ spell level score to power such materia. When you "cast" from materia it depletes your pool of points (call it MP for now) by the spell's level. Cantrips wouldn't decrease a point (making them free an unlimited use). This would pretty hardly limit the number of spells per day since your pool is based on level. And also make sure the pool is based on PERMANENT score and bonuses, items won't help you here! Ok so lastly materia should apply some sort of property to your weapon and armor. I would say a Fire materia would add the flaming property to the weapon, and the power of that effect scales with the characters CL. At levels 1-5 it'd just do 1 extra fire damage, at 6-10 it'd do 1d6, at 11-15 2d6 and at 16-20 3d6 fire damage. Just as an example. Same would go for armor and your shield (Which would have 1 slot on it but bucklers have none). Your max limit of materia you can use would be equal to half your caster level. So at level 2 and 3 you could only have one, 4 and 5 you could have 2, 6 and 7 you could have 3, etc. To the max of TEN at level 20. So this system would basically replace magic items. You could have like seperate XP for different materia but it just adds so much paperwork i wouldn't be bothered with it. This system scales nicely i think and if you made up enough materia could get very interesting. Just working it out the most materia you could get would be 2 from One-handed weapon and 1 from shiled or 3 from two-hander, 3 from heavy armor. That means you'd have a 6 materia limit. Add in the 3 you'd get for mwk and you get 9. That is one shy of the level limit, so i would allow a feat, PrC or whatever to add one to their body directly. It should be something special only a few can do. Oh and lastly you could even have a bnuch of feats to extend the effects slightly, grant spells abit earlier, etc. Having a nice big tree of feats would rock, prefferably about 10 in total. And here are a few ideas for materia: fire/ice/electricity/acid/sonic, posotive/negative (heal/harm), the various schools of magic, and you could even have special one of a kind materia! It'd be custom made and you could have only the very important people have them. So yeah, this is how i would do it. It means everyone can get some use out of them but only those focussed on them can cast like level 9 spells :) EDIT: Just realized that the point system isn't good. So i'd change it to CHA+WIS+INT mod with a maximum from each of your level. That would mean you could get a max of 3 points at first level and a max of 60 at level 20. This also means that you can't focus on one area to the exclusion of another, they all contribute to your pool. EDIT2: I've been reading a few other threads and i have an idea how to do this best. Enhancements need to be added though, but i think they should be handled non-magically with various mwk degrees (1 to 5). So they'd go in price for maybe 1,000gp/2,000gp/4,000gp/8,000gp/16,000gp. You could amke it much more exponential but you get the idea. This would actually apply to both attack and damage though since you couldn't get magical enhancements. And you'd get extra materia slots equal to the base + mwk rank. And i was thinking maybe 1 or two should be linked? It addes extra paperwork but would allow materia like a "mass" materia for example. That does complicate things abit tohugh so maybe not... Anyway i think that sorta system would work quite well. I plan on using something like that in my own game, just without the FFVII ties and such. But i like the idea of customizable weaponry and armor.
DragonBringerX 10-02-05, 09:12 PM	wow...these are brilliant, nice work ;) lemme throw in a few more (newly inspired) ideas: I do like the MP = Int (or whatever) * Lv...No magical items (except ones that purposly up your Mp (Materia Points) :P so this means... with an 18 Int at 1st level=4 Mp with an 30 Int at 20th lv=200 mp not all that crazy once you concider this: Unearthed Arcana gives sor over 350 sp by 20th level (adding bonus points for a high score) you'll probably have many materia with 1st level spells costing 1 mp while 2nd cost 3...9th costing 17. 0 are free as stated above by Flamelover. so do the math (200 mp / 17 = 11.76...) so this gives you 11 9th lv spells by 20th level by specializing your Int mod (almost like being a mage) Now yes this does mean a Wizard with materia is mean...but how many is looking to equip (4 max if he has a mw 2-hand weapon) OU...i just though of this (in FF7 they had support materia) this could work like metamagic, but only if the weapon allows materia to be linked. this shouldn't be done by specific weapon but instead by something else. Ou...I know (man brain storm :lightbulb ) you could have a whole new modification to weapons and armor called linked materia. It would cost like 1,000 additional gp. to allow materia to be linked & the weapon or armor must be masterworked (no shields can be linked) I also liked the idea of max-materia by level, but should it be Level (in classes) HD (concider monsterous characters) or CR (concider ECL characters [drow]) my vote is for levels only sense it shows training in use of materia. (no one else knows how) I think we got something here & I am compiling it onto a Word Doc. as we speak...but I'm far from done...NEED MORE IDEAS...plz :bigeyes:
Journeyman Samwise 10-02-05, 09:37 PM	A magical force equippable like an item slot... What you're talking about is essentially Incarnum.
FlameLover 10-02-05, 09:46 PM	I do like the MP = Int (or whatever) * Lv...No magical items (except ones that purposly up your Mp (Materia Points) so this means... Quote: with an 18 Int at 1st level=4 Mp with an 30 Int at 20th lv=200 mp This works well if you want actual casters but if you want a much more low-magic campaign i think CHA+INT+WIS (limtied by level each) would be better. That would mean you might get 3 MP at first level and 60 max by level 20. This imposes are hard cap to power and means you can only cast 9th level spells 6 times per day. But if you want people who cast as their "main thing" then level X Cha bonus works well too (make it Cha not Int) OU...i just though of this (in FF7 they had support materia) this could work like metamagic, but only if the weapon allows materia to be linked. this shouldn't be done by specific weapon but instead by something else. Ou...I know (man brain storm ) you could have a whole new modification to weapons and armor called linked materia. It would cost like 1,000 additional gp. to allow materia to be linked & the weapon or armor must be masterworked (no shields can be linked) To make the system simpler i would do it like this. Masterwork automatically gives you 1 linked slot. This can be used for two seperate ones or an "active" materia and a "support" materia. Basically you might have a Fire materia linked to a Mass materia that would increase area of effect. You could also add a Power materia that raises effective CL of effect and you could maybe even have a support materia that lowers MP cost, etc. I also liked the idea of max-materia by level, but should it be Level (in classes) HD (concider monsterous characters) or CR (concider ECL characters [drow]) my vote is for levels only sense it shows training in use of materia. (no one else knows how) I think it should be class levels + HD. That allows creaturex like dragons to have materia too, and makes them just that much scarier. Ok so here is a sample materia,: Fire 1,500gp This materia glows like there is a fire raging deep inside of it. Attack Bonus: Extra fire damage on melee attacks with weapon equal to 1/CL. Defence Bonus: Fire resistance equal to CL. Spells: Burning Hands, Produce Flame, Resist Energy, Wall Of Fire, Fire Shield, Fire Seeds, Fire Storm, Incendiary Cloud, Elemental Swarm So it can be used in either a wepaon ot armor, has a tertiary effect and the spells are taken from the Cleric's Fire domain. A support one would basically apply a MM to all spells cast from that materia but would raise the MP cost of the spell by the MM's normal adjustment.
DragonBringerX 10-03-05, 01:27 AM	This works well if you want actual casters but if you want a much more low-magic campaign i think CHA+INT+WIS (limtied by level each) would be better. That would mean you might get 3 MP at first level and 60 max by level 20. This imposes are hard cap to power and means you can only cast 9th level spells 6 times per day. But if you want people who cast as their "main thing" then level X Cha bonus works well too (make it Cha not Int) ok...so I do agree that it should be Cha based (especially after talking it over with one of friends who is a longtime player). I do admit, that 11 9th level spells is a bit much (even if it is possable through specialization). However, what I dont like about it is that yeah...max 3 at 1st - 60 at 20th...by 20th level, unless you put alot into your mental stats...you have no mp, not even enough to cast a single 9th level spell. (I don't know how familiar you are with psionics or spell point system but) spells cost this much at this level. 1 - 1 6 - 11 2 - 3 7 - 13 3 - 5 8 - 15 4 - 7 9 - 17 5 - 9 What if we did it like this (here me out)...Int * Wis * Cha, but limited by 3*HD so a first level character will have 3 points (you don't multiply 0's or lower) and a max of 60 by 20th level. Which means you can't cast anymore than 3 9th level spells...Now thats fair. Plus you would have to have like an 18 in all 3 stats to be able to have 60 mp. (4*4*4=64, but maxed at 60) This way, your garenteed to gain mp every level, but not much. Typical stats are going to probably look more like this (6*3*2=32) or (5*3*3=45). :confused: Well, on second thought this might not work so good. :weep: hmmm...we need something real simple (i'm trying to keep the whole thing simple and balanced). what if you do this...Cha * 1/2 HD... On average someone who has a cha of 20 by 20th level (typical for someone not focused too much into it) would have 50 mp...(thats 2 9th lv spells) or someone who really specialises (e.g. pald, sor) with a Cha of 30 would have 100 mp, and thats still only 5 9th level spells/day. Of course that serious specialization (a wish, tome, and then some). Of course only permanent stats apply Monsters could use materia too if they have the Cha and the proper feat. I'm thinking like a monsterous materia feat that allows monster HD to count towards materia. Now...Caster Level. Should that too just be HD, or is that too much? To make the system simpler i would do it like this. Masterwork automatically gives you 1 linked slot. This can be used for two seperate ones or an "active" materia and a "support" materia. Basically you might have a Fire materia linked to a Mass materia that would increase area of effect. You could also add a Power materia that raises effective CL of effect and you could maybe even have a support materia that lowers MP cost, etc. support materia would work just like MM, if you linked max materia with fire materia you could only cast up to 6th level spells by 18th level Maxed if you wanted to (no extra time). or should it just make it all around more expensive. so you could cast 9th maxed, it would just cost 23 mp. (a 12th level spell, yes thats epic) A few changes to your materia plan...what do you think? Fire 1,500gp This materia glows like there is a fire raging deep inside of it. Attack Bonus: Extra fire damage on melee attacks with weapon equal to 1/2 /CL. Defence Bonus: Fire resistance equal to 1/2 /CL. Spells: Flare, Burning Hands, Produce Flame, Fireball, Wall Of Fire, Fire Shield, Fire Seeds, Fire Storm, Incendiary Cloud, Elemental Swarm *it needs a 0 level spell, and i thought the damage & resistance was just too high...it doesn't need to follow the domains exactly. It just could model them.
hiryuu 10-03-05, 01:14 PM	I do like the idea of like ion stones, but you equip them to things. However (if you saw the Advent Children movie)...they put them in their arms. It kinda absorbs into them. Then they can do kewl things. I want something like that, but balanced...so far what i've got is: You shouldn't oughta be ABLE TO EQUIP MATERIA LIKE THAT. It was supposed to be a disturbing and confusing moment. Materia in the game was obviously tied to equipment and gear.
FlameLover 10-03-05, 07:49 PM	ok...so I do agree that it should be Cha based (especially after talking it over with one of friends who is a longtime player). I do admit, that 11 9th level spells is a bit much (even if it is possable through specialization). However, what I dont like about it is that yeah...max 3 at 1st - 60 at 20th...by 20th level, unless you put alot into your mental stats...you have no mp, not even enough to cast a single 9th level spell. (I don't know how familiar you are with psionics or spell point system but) spells cost this much at this level. I'm not greatly familiar with the spell point system but i am familiar with psionics. But if that is the costs you are using then my system still "holds up" i think, although i think the cap should be raised abit. What if we did it like this (here me out)...Int * Wis * Cha, but limited by 3*HD so a first level character will have 3 points (you don't multiply 0's or lower) and a max of 60 by 20th level. Which means you can't cast anymore than 3 9th level spells...Now thats fair. Plus you would have to have like an 18 in all 3 stats to be able to have 60 mp. (4*4*4=64, but maxed at 60) This way, your garenteed to gain mp every level, but not much. Typical stats are going to probably look more like this (6*3*2=32) or (5*3*3=45). Well, on second thought this might not work so good. hmmm...we need something real simple (i'm trying to keep the whole thing simple and balanced). what if you do this...Cha * 1/2 HD... On average someone who has a cha of 20 by 20th level (typical for someone not focused too much into it) would have 50 mp...(thats 2 9th lv spells) or someone who really specialises (e.g. pald, sor) with a Cha of 30 would have 100 mp, and thats still only 5 9th level spells/day. Of course that serious specialization (a wish, tome, and then some). Of course only permanent stats apply First thing i wish to point out is i didn't mean bonus+bonus+bonus i meant score+score+score. So you'd have 60mp at level 20 with only a 20 in each stat. The reason for this is that if you're only counting permanent mental stats most people will be martially based so i'm assuming even by level 20 no one is going to have 20 in all three mental stats. It's possible though, and that's why i'm thinking of raising the cap to 30 on all mental stats. That means a theoretical maxiumum of 90mp (which is plenty) although even Joe Barbarian should have an average 6 in each mental stat giving him 18mp by level 20. Works for me, but it's still not optimum. Monsters could use materia too if they have the Cha and the proper feat. I'm thinking like a monsterous materia feat that allows monster HD to count towards materia. Yeah, making some sort of monstrous feat to allow them to use materia would be cool. Make it require about 15 CON and CHA and maybe make them take damage every round for using it? I'm not too familiar with how this worked in FFVII but it should be... discouraged to not use it in the equipment. A few changes to your materia plan...what do you think? Fire 1,500gp This materia glows like there is a fire raging deep inside of it. Attack Bonus: Extra fire damage on melee attacks with weapon equal to 1/2 /CL. Defence Bonus: Fire resistance equal to 1/2 /CL. Spells: Flare, Burning Hands, Produce Flame, Fireball, Wall Of Fire, Fire Shield, Fire Seeds, Fire Storm, Incendiary Cloud, Elemental Swarm *it needs a 0 level spell, and i thought the damage & resistance was just too high...it doesn't need to follow the domains exactly. It just could model them. Yeah it was a bit overpowered before. That looks much better :) Here is naother one (basically just a variation on the fire one): Water 1,500gp This materia looks like there is a tide inside of it. Attack Bonus: Extra cold damage on melee attacks with weapon equal to 1per 2 CL. Defence Bonus: Cold resistance equal to 1 per 2 CL. Spells: ?, Obscuring Mist, Fog Cloud, Water Breathing, Control Water, Ice Storm, Cone of Cold, Acid Fog, Horrid Wilting, Elemental Swarm The problem is that there aren't enough spells for this to work all that well. What about if every materia had 4 levels of power? Like you'd get 4 different "spells" but they would be made from the ground-up for this system and would be more inline with the one from FF7. You'd get access to them like 1-5/6-10/11-15/16-20. So you might get 2 attack, one defence and one support spell for the various levels. Here is the fire one as an example: Fire 1,500gp This materia glows like there is a fire raging deep inside of it. Attack Bonus: Extra fire damage on melee attacks with weapon equal to 1/2 /CL. Defence Bonus: Fire resistance equal to 1/2 /CL. Power Level 1: Deal 1d4/2mp fire damage in a 10ft area (Reflex 15 for half damage); range is 30ft. Power Level 2: Gain a bonus on damage equal to MP spent for one round. Power Level 3: ? Power Level 4: Deal 1d4/mp fire damage on next attack and set victim on fire. So yeah, you get the general idea there (although that is VERY rough and probably overpowered). And i'm thinking to work out mp it should be probably level X CHA bonus. That way by level 20 the pure casters would have maybe 100mp while the melee builds would have only about 20-40.
Verelor 10-03-05, 07:58 PM	Try this... http://boards.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=6985564#post6985564 Besides a fully-done materia and magic and summoning system, it converts basically EVERYTHIGN else Final Fantasy related, and it's on full-color PDF!
DragonBringerX 10-03-05, 09:13 PM	I haven't looked through it yet...but i am absolutly speechless...If i don't like this materia system however...I'm using the one i've got going here. I think what we've got is good...I'll guess i'll just have to c.
DragonBringerX 10-03-05, 09:23 PM	ok...now that i've fliped through it, i realize that even though it's 3.5, it is NOT basic d&d (anotherwords) a whole new spell system new damage system new elemental system ...this is fundamentaly not what i'm looking for. but it's a good start. I'm not looking for a completly (different) campaing change, just a new item sorry... :rolleyes:
Xeviat-DM 10-04-05, 12:33 AM	Wow, this requires a lot of conversions. I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned these points; if they did, consider them to be reiterations. Firstly, everyone needs MP. I suggest using a system where all classes have a Mana Die, and pick an ability score that all characters will use to gain MP. I suggest the following, which I'm using in my games right now. Bonus MP is gained by Wisdom, just like bonus HP is gained by Constitution. Saving throw DCs are set by Charisma for all characters. Simple enough. Then, Materia costs: I think Spell level X Spell level X 1,000 is a good point to start with. Spells cost a number of mana equal to their caster level squared, then subtract 1 (just like psionics), but you'll need to institute an augment style system (in my opinion) to get it to work well. I have one posted on this board, please join the thread. Then you have to consider that certain materia affect character statistics. I'm really unsure how to do that. Also, character's magic rating (probably caster level) affects materia power when cast, but the materia itself also affects it; again I'm not sure how to do it. But you are going to have to make sure that the "caster class" has a reason to be a caster; they've either got to be able to equip more materia, or they have to have a higher magic rating (caster level) than the other characters. Not sure if I helped.
DragonBringerX 10-05-05, 01:27 AM	Firstly, everyone needs MP. I suggest using a system where all classes have a Mana Die, and pick an ability score that all characters will use to gain MP. I suggest the following, which I'm using in my games right now. Bonus MP is gained by Wisdom, just like bonus HP is gained by Constitution. Saving throw DCs are set by Charisma for all characters. Then, Materia costs: I think Spell level X Spell level X 1,000 is a good point to start with. Spells cost a number of mana equal to their caster level squared, then subtract 1 (just like psionics), but you'll need to institute an augment style system (in my opinion) to get it to work well. I have one posted on this board, please join the thread. Also, character's magic rating (probably caster level) affects materia power when cast, but the materia itself also affects it; again I'm not sure how to do it. about Mana...i agree. Thats why were trying to devolpe a method of how to do this. The die idea isn't bad, but we're suggesting things like cha mod * 1/2 hit die round up. as for the cost...i do think that it might be a bit cheap, but the problem is that each materia stores multipule spells. I think we just need to rate the power and how common each materia is, then price them expodentialy. 1000 gp 4000 gp 9000 gp 16000 gp 25000 gp... and i'm still not sure how to do caster level. I'm not sure if it should just be equal to your hit die, or less than, or what! but you were a help...
Xeviat-DM 10-05-05, 06:20 PM	about Mana...i agree. Thats why were trying to devolpe a method of how to do this. The die idea isn't bad, but we're suggesting things like cha mod * 1/2 hit die round up. as for the cost...i do think that it might be a bit cheap, but the problem is that each materia stores multipule spells. I think we just need to rate the power and how common each materia is, then price them expodentialy. 1000 gp 4000 gp 9000 gp 16000 gp 25000 gp... and i'm still not sure how to do caster level. I'm not sure if it should just be equal to your hit die, or less than, or what! but you were a help... Problem is that you're wanting to do this with minimal change to the spell system. You're going to need to reduce things to Fire 1, Fire 2, Fire 3, Fire 4 if you want to get anywhere. For example, it could go like this: Fire 1 is single target, Fire 2 is 5 ft. burst, Fire 3 is 20 ft. burst, Fire 4 is 40 ft. burst. Each does 1d6/mp spent, but each one has a minimum MP cost. Materia should require XP to gain levels as well, but I don't think it should take away from the character. I forgot about the offensive and defensive benefits of them too. One would need to work on that as well. Those would greatly add to the cost, so you'd have to be careful to price them accordingly. Each one, I think, should have a +X equivalent weapon and armor ability, where X is equal to the level of the materia. As for materia level, I think you could base the quality of the spells off of 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level spells. Materia spell level would be equal to the level of the materia squared, minus 1 (1 = 1; 2 = 3; 3 = 5; ...). They could remove the need for magic weapons and armor, as the items only become magical when a materia is attached to them. Or, weapons and armor could have materia slots equal to the level of the weapon or armor's enhancement (so as not to hurt characters who use small weapons).
DragonBringerX 10-06-05, 07:54 PM	ok...i've been thinking about this (alot), and i think i've got a system here. This has taken quite some time here. ok, here goes: There are 4 types of materia: Spell, Support, Ability, and Summon There are 3 levels of materia: Weak - price 4,000 (+or-) Medium - price 16,000 (+or-) Strong - price 36,000 (+or-) Different materia require different amounts of materia experience points (mxp) in order to level and get more powerful. (when you have materia equiped you get 1/10th the amount of xp in mxp. so if you get 1000 xp, you also get 100 xp) MXP chart [m=mastered. once mastered, you get a second materia w/ 0 mxp] lv mxp required weak 1 0 2 1000 3 2000 4 4000 m 5000 medium 1 0 2 2000 3 4000 4 8000 m 10000 strong 1 2000 2 4000 3 8000 4 16000 m 20000 every character has a number of materia points (mp) = cha mod * 1/2 character lv round down. min of 1. A spell, or ability cost a number of mp to use = (it's spell level * 2) - 1. e.g. 1=1, 2=3, 3=5, --9=17. there are 3 types of frequencies amongst materia: common + 0 gp uncommon + 3000 gp rare + 9000 gp here is an example of the same materia at different levels. Fire 1 (weak) (common) Market Price = 4000 Weapon = + 1d6 fire damage Armor = + 5 fire resistance Lv 1: Flare, Burning Hands Lv 2: Produce flame Lv 3: Fireball Lv 4: Wall of Fire ____ Fire 2 (medium) (common) Market Price = 16000 Weapon = + 2d6 fire damage Armor = + 10 fire resistance Lv 1: Wall of Fire Lv 2: Fire Sheild Lv 3: Fire Seeds Lv 4: Fire Storm ___ Fire 3 (Strong) (common) Market Price = 36000 Weapon = + 2d6 fire damage + flaming burst Armor = + 15 fire resistance Lv 1: Fire Storm Lv 2: Incendiary Cloud Lv 3: Elemental Swarm Lv 4: Meter Swarm Here are some spell materia elements and there frequency Fire - common Ice - common Lightning - common Wind - common Earth - common Force - uncommon Cure - common Inflict - common Space - rare Time - rare Gravity - uncommon Holy - uncommon Unholy - uncommon Law - uncommon Chaos - uncommon Life - rare Death - rare Poison - common Shadow - common