Sycarion Diversions

Home of the Odd Duk

Tag: spellcasters (Page 4 of 5)

The Abandoned Study of Zhanguo Jee

March 15, 2014 /

I mentioned in a previous post about creating spells with a mechanical element (number crunching) and a narrative element. It occured to me at some point tonight that a narrative tag, which I call an emphasis, does not have to be a part of a spell, but can function as a material component or a spell focus.

Let's say that amongst a magic-user's emphases, he or she has string and knots. Instead of using strings and/or knots in the description of the spell (though that would be great) I could create an M-U that uses knots to cast any spell. To keep with Swords & Wizardry, a spell's level is an indicator of the complexity of the knot required to cast the spell. Going even further, the M-U doesn't need to study spells to re-cast them. He or she simply needs to make more knots. The time requirement is the same to keep from mucking about the mechanics, but instead of hours of study to keep a semi-alive magical thing trapped in the M-U's mind to be released as a spell, the M-U weaves magical energy into a beautiful and complex knot.

Here are some examples to ponder:

Keeping that in mind, let's create an NPC wizard with emphases on knots, things that take thread form, red, gold, knots, and two or three more. We'll call him Zhanguo Jee.

Fast forward a number of years to our party delving into a dungeon and tower that are the remnants of Zhanguo Jee's tower and lab. There would be encounters with all kinds of crossbred creatures, monsters taking refuge in the tower and dungeon, local dread of the place, and the promise of great reward.

Into this dungeon, we scatter a few knots here and there. Maybe we add in a mad mongerlman M-U that was Zhanguo's assistant. He goes around muttering gibberish about how it's all tied up and can't be untied. Throw in some spiders weaving really really weird webs. Use the M-U's emphases to create some variant creatures.

This may seem like uneccesary window dressing the the party, but if they find Zhanguo's spell book and/or scrolls, the party's M-U has some new spells and a few knots to be able to get started on casting them. The referee could rule that after some study, the party's M-U can add one or two emphases to be able to cast Zhanguo's spells. Of course, there would be slight variations as the party's M-U would not have the same emphases as Zhanguo did, but that's all the more fun for everyone.

I'll have to write this up someday.

Using Challenge Levels in Spells

June 5, 2013 /

In my early years of gaming, I used spreadsheets a lot. I had spreadsheets on Microsoft Multiplan 1.0 running on a TI-99/4A for my high school gaming group.

I love spreadsheets.

Nowadays, I enjoy using them as random generators, at least until my Python coding skills get a lot better.

Despite this, I have a heck of a time putting a lot of spell data into a spreadsheet because of tables in the spell description. Let's just say that LibreOffice Calc does not like nested tables inside a cell.

So, I rewrite spell descriptions to remove these tables. I know that this goes against the Old School within me that loves random tables.

But I love spreadsheets more. There I said it. No taking it back now.

So here is my rewrite of some of the Monster Summoning spells

Monster Summoning I

Spell Level: Magic-User, 3rd Level

Range: N/A

Duration: 6 rounds (minutes)

The caster summons allies, who serve him until slain (or until the duration of the spell expires). The allies do not appear immediately; there is a delay of 1 turn (10 minutes) before they appear. The total challenge levels of all allies summoned cannot exceed four. Treat Challenge Level A creatures as one-half of a challenge Level and Challenge Level B creatures as two-thirds of a challenge level for the purposes of calculating total challenge levels.

Monster Summoning II

Spell Level: Magic-User, 4th Level

Range: N/A

Duration: 6 rounds (minutes)

The caster summons allies, who serve him until slain (or until the duration of the spell expires). The allies do not appear immediately; there is a delay of 1 turn (10 minutes) before they appear. The total challenge levels of all allies summoned cannot exceed six. Treat Challenge Level A creatures as one-half of a challenge Level and Challenge Level B creatures as two-thirds of a challenge level for the purposes of calculating total challenge levels.

Monster Summoning III

Spell Level: Magic-User, 5th Level

Range: N/A

Duration: 6 rounds (minutes)

The caster summons allies, who serve him until slain (or until the duration of the spell expires). The allies do not appear immediately; there is a delay of 1 turn (10 minutes) before they appear. The total challenge levels of all allies summoned cannot exceed eight. Treat Challenge Level A creatures as one-half of a challenge Level and Challenge Level B creatures as two-thirds of a challenge level for the purposes of calculating total challenge levels.

Monster Summoning IV

Spell Level: Magic-User, 6th Level

Range: N/A

Duration: 6 rounds (minutes)

The caster summons allies, who serve him until slain (or until the duration of the spell expires). The allies do not appear immediately; there is a delay of 1 turn (10 minutes) before they appear. The total challenge levels of all allies summoned cannot exceed twelve. Treat Challenge Level A creatures as one-half of a challenge Level and Challenge Level B creatures as two-thirds of a challenge level for the purposes of calculating total challenge levels.

You get the idea. Here is a table to show all the Monster Summoning spells:

Spell Total Challenge Levels
Monster Summoning I four
Monster Summoning II six
Monster Summoning III eight
Monster Summoning IV twelve
Monster Summoning V sixteen
Monster Summoning VI twenty
Monster Summoning VII twenty-four

This still allows an 18th level Magic-User to summon a Titan, but also allows him or her to summon 48 kobolds or 36 orcs.  It covers everything in whatever monster book I have handy. The greatest benefit to me is that it allows the PCs to summon things without me having to update the tables in the spell descriptions.

Then, of course, is the fact that I can put my revised descriptions inside a spreadsheet.

Ah spreadsheets...

There are other rules for specialized versions of the Monster Summoning spells. In essence, if you narrow the scope of your summoning or conjuration, you can double the total challenge levels. So, for example, you want to specialize in conjuring elementals. A Conjuration of Elementals I spell will allow the caster to conjure a 7HD Elemental.

In an ideal world, I'd have just one Monster Summoning spell that varied the Total Challenge Levels by level of the magic-user casting the spell. Every attempt to do that either made lower level magic-users too powerful (summoning young dragons by a 7th level M-U) or higher level magic-users too weak (18th level M-U unable to summon any of the creatures listed in the original Monster Summoning VII spell). Until I make my own game, I can live with what I have.

In addition to gaining the ability to put Monster Summoning spells into spreadsheets, setting up these guidelines allows me to generate an interesting spellcaster class that focuses on Conjuring/Summoning. They have a host of spells based on generic monster summoning (Monster Summoning I - VII) as well as specific monsters (Conjuration of Elementals, Conjuration of Oozes, Slimes and Puddings). I'd also throw in the ability to conjure the elements and add spells like Affect Normal Fires, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, etc.

A true conjurer, though, would also be able to conjure objects. In my next post, I'll talk about borrowing the Purchase DC mechanic for d20 modern to cover this.

Om Magike for M20-ish

November 28, 2011 /

I had mentioned Om Magike as a project for Andras previously. I have since found that doing the crunchy stuff in Microlite format helps me get to the point and stop writing a bunch of flowery prose that can't be used in a game.

Why M20-ish? Because it uses my d20+d10 mechanic. I've called it M2010 in other places, but will call it M200 for this point on. The 200 is what rolling a 30 will look like. Two hundred is also the number of possible die rolls using d20+d10. As mentioned previously, rolling d20+d10 provides an interesting bell curve as well as other possibilities in opposed rolls.

One last thing to mention: the text of the post is alpha. The downloadable pdf will have been edited. Today is the grand theory of magic and some crunch for the various classes. The next post will have examples.

Overview of Magic

The use of magic exists along a continuum. At one extreme, there is an intuitive understanding of the essence of magic. The force of magic in the universe is an organic part of the universe and exists inside everything. In this extreme, magic is a relationship between the spellcaster and the universe. The nuts and bolts of how magic works remains an awe-inspiring mystery. Practitioners of this type of magic are called Thaumaturges. At the opposite extreme, magic is a force to be wielded. Magic is controlled by precise ritual. These rituals are discovered through careful study and exacting experimentation. For spellcasters in this end of the continuum, magic is a skill in the same way that working leather is a skill. Practitioners of this form of magic are called Arcanists. Near the middle of this continuum are Wizards. They have the trappings of the Arcanists, specifically books with arcane formulae, various experiment, long hours of study and the like, paired with the outlook of the Thaumaturges. In other words, Magic is seen as a force that is barely understood. It is not controlled, but can only guided through a relationship with the force of magic itself.

Races for Magic Using Classes

Thaumaturges are rarely human or dwarvish. Most are elves and other fey creatures. Human spellcasters tend to be Arcanists. Dwarves, Gnomes and Halflings can also be Arcanists. Exiled Elves can also be Arcanists; details about Exiled Elves will be provided in more detail elsewhere. Wizards are always human or half-human, but uncommon. Wizardry was discovered/invented by a human many generations ago. Its usage has a relatively short history as compared to Arcany and Thaumaturgy. Powerful Wizards are greatly feared as their power has the potential to exceed that of the eldest Elven thaumatuges. Despite this, Wizards are sneered as either too sloppy in research or killing the beauty of magic through that same tortuous research.

Miracles or Divine Magic

The working of miracles also exists along a continuum. Priests align themselves with a chosen deity or pantheon and draw power from this relationship to work miracles. Purists (called Psions by Priests) search for power within the Soul and draw power from it to manipulate the universe. Purists do not believe that they are performing miracles, but to common folk, the distinction between a Priest and a Purist is minimal. Both spend time in meditation to recharge their ability to work wonders. Between the two extremes are the non-human shamans. Shamans gain power from many different places, including primal forces of nature, deceased ancestors, collective consciousness, unique landmarks, and more.

Shamans are differentiated from Priests and Purists by their ability to invoke the sources of their power directly. Their invocation usually takes the form of hours-long rituals, using rare materials and a vast number of songs. These powerful invocations have been known to make entire villages disappear or cause the ground to roil beneath an invading army's feet.

Thaumaturgy

Thaumaturges are able to use magic governed by their Magnitude and Mana. Magnitude is a measure of the character's level of power and the potency of magic. Mana is the character's reservoir of metaphysical energy and the Thaumaturge's connection to the source of magic.

Magnitude influences both the spell levels that can be cast and the spell's casting cost in Mana.

Starting Mana is Magnitude + MIND Stat. At each level, the Thaumaturge adds their MIND bonus to their Mana.

The cost for casting a spell is Magnitude + the Level of the spell.

FULL CASTING

Full Casting is when a character unleashes a spell with her full capacity. The amount of Mana required is equal to her Magnitude + Spell's Level.

For example, a 5th level Thaumaturge casting Magic Missile with this method allows the spell to function normally. The character's level determines its range and other bonuses. It would cost 4 Mana (3 for her Magnitude and 1 for the spell's level) to cast the spell.

DEMI-CASTING

Demi-Casting can be used when a character is trying to conserve Mana, or only needs less than the full mana required to cast a spell. The Thaumaturge may selectively reduce his or her Magnitude, as long as it is not lower than the Spell's Level. The benefit is that the Mana required is less than normal. However, the drawback is that the spell is considered casted at 2 levels lower for each 1 point of reduction in Magnitude.

For example, if a 7th level Thaumaturge casts Magic Missile uses full casting, the spell to functions normally. The spell is cast using 7th level to determine range and other bonuses. It would cost 5 Mana (4 for her Magnitude and 1 for the spell's level) to cast the spell. To cast it with less Mana, using only 4 Mana, the effective casting level would be 5h level. Using only 3 Mana, the effective casting level would be 3rd level.

Demi-casting is also used for spells that do not have level-based effects. Knock is always cast as if the Thaumaturge lowering their magnitude to 2. For all Thaumatureges, casting Knock always costs 4 Mana (2 Magnitude plus 2 for the level of the spell.)

Periapts

Thaumaturges are able to create a periapt that can store Mana. A Thaumaturge can create a periapt that stores up to the thaumaturge's Magnitude in Mana. Thaumaturges can use any periapt with stored Mana, even if the amount of stored Mana exceeds their Magnitude.

Arcanist

Arcanists has a new skill called Spellcraft. When attempting to roll under the target number given for a spell, the Spellcraft rank can be added to the target number.

GMs Note: This requires that all spells have a difficulty rating. Using the Spell Creation system, spells may vary in difficulty ratings, including numbers over 30 and less than 2. In general, use the table below to assign difficulty ratings to spells:

Spell Level Difficulty Rating
1st 30
2nd 25
3rd 20
4th 15
5th 10
6th 5
7th 0
8th -5
9th -10

Arcanists take subdural hit point damage per standard M20 rules when successfully casting a spell. When a spell fails, the Arcanist loses 1 hit point and may attempt the spell again.

Optionally, an Arcanist can also use the Mana rules like a Thaumaturge. Arcanists, however, cannot create periapts to store mana.

Wizards

As per standard M20 rules.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Sycarion Diversions

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑