Thia Halmades
Nov 13th, '06, 07:01 PM
On request, I'm posting this for general consumption. Please remember that this is unedited, and is likely missing a vast amount of information, and lastly, it's a work in progress. The system is ripped largely from d20, and is designed to create a low/middle magick system, NOT recreate the 'High Magic' of the d20 system.
Wizardry/Magery - Ars Arcanum
The Wizardry system is designed around an IVPP - an InVariable Power Pool; the caps for power are generally set by the DM, but a rough guage follows the pattern set by Killer Shrike on his website. However, one of the keys to this design is the X/X*2 Active Cap limit.
My vision here was, instead of having a '60 point cap' to instead have, say, a 30 point cap with an extra thirty points for modifiers; this is done largely to encourage people from taking their 2d6 RKA/6d6 EB and think more outside the box. That isn't set in stone, but to keep the feel of the system and to in part mimic d20, you rarely see an Xd6 damage spell that doesn't have an additional effect - Line, AOE, Explosion, and so on.
Second, the Spells are slotted within the VPP and take the limitation "Must be prepared in advance, -1/2," "Only spells known, -1/2," "All Spells Require a Skill Roll (-1/2)" and so on, see Killer Shrike's site for more details, but you get the gist. I am not using his '1 charge' system since it isn't quite what I wanted and makes the spells WAY too cheap, however, his point there was that the Charge simulates stocking the spell and then expending it; I'm not sure if this should be done with Charges, or if "Must be prepared in advance" handles this.
The structure for the system hinges on the Skill Rolls, which replace the Saving Throws required in the d20 system. The system is broken into 9 schools (8 core schools, or Arcanum). They are:
Major: Evocation, Conjuration, Alteration
Lesser: Illusion, Enchantment/Charm, Abjuration
Minor: Divination, Necromancy
The 9th Arcana, 'Universal' cannot be taken as a barred school, and is not categorized. Keeping with the d20 theme, a Wizard may take a barred school as a Physical limitation; Major is 15 points, Lesser is 10, and Minor is worth 5.
It's also important to note that Active Caps for the Pool should not be the absolute guide to active caps for the spells - if you don't want 30 AP force fields flying around, then cap those (in d20, your average Mage Armor is worth a Chain Shirt - DEF 4).
Now, that we've gone over Arcana, the next big thing is that each Arcana requires a Skill Roll whenver you attempt to cast a spell - so if you're going to fire off a 45 AP Fireball, that Requires a Skill Roll (Evocation). All Spell Skills (regardless of school) are purchased as 3:2 skills, and for Wizards, all are based on INT. You cannot cast a spell Untrained.
Learning New Spells: Again, this simply requires a skill roll, and then additional time (usually 1 hour: 10 Active Points in study to learn, understand and scribe the spell).
Common limitations are Gestures, Incants, Foci, Extra Time, and the other classics. A variation on this system is the Extra Phase rule; for every 10 AP, the spell takes one extra phase to prepare (Incantations Throughout, Concentration, and so on). This is an additional level of 'pucker factor' and an additional control to keep wizards in check. People will think twice before committing to five phases to cast a 55 AP spell. This is not in my current design, but it's something I've strongly considered adopting.
Now soliciting comments and quesitons. The more you ask, the more I can refine the design.
Wizardry/Magery - Ars Arcanum
The Wizardry system is designed around an IVPP - an InVariable Power Pool; the caps for power are generally set by the DM, but a rough guage follows the pattern set by Killer Shrike on his website. However, one of the keys to this design is the X/X*2 Active Cap limit.
My vision here was, instead of having a '60 point cap' to instead have, say, a 30 point cap with an extra thirty points for modifiers; this is done largely to encourage people from taking their 2d6 RKA/6d6 EB and think more outside the box. That isn't set in stone, but to keep the feel of the system and to in part mimic d20, you rarely see an Xd6 damage spell that doesn't have an additional effect - Line, AOE, Explosion, and so on.
Second, the Spells are slotted within the VPP and take the limitation "Must be prepared in advance, -1/2," "Only spells known, -1/2," "All Spells Require a Skill Roll (-1/2)" and so on, see Killer Shrike's site for more details, but you get the gist. I am not using his '1 charge' system since it isn't quite what I wanted and makes the spells WAY too cheap, however, his point there was that the Charge simulates stocking the spell and then expending it; I'm not sure if this should be done with Charges, or if "Must be prepared in advance" handles this.
The structure for the system hinges on the Skill Rolls, which replace the Saving Throws required in the d20 system. The system is broken into 9 schools (8 core schools, or Arcanum). They are:
Major: Evocation, Conjuration, Alteration
Lesser: Illusion, Enchantment/Charm, Abjuration
Minor: Divination, Necromancy
The 9th Arcana, 'Universal' cannot be taken as a barred school, and is not categorized. Keeping with the d20 theme, a Wizard may take a barred school as a Physical limitation; Major is 15 points, Lesser is 10, and Minor is worth 5.
It's also important to note that Active Caps for the Pool should not be the absolute guide to active caps for the spells - if you don't want 30 AP force fields flying around, then cap those (in d20, your average Mage Armor is worth a Chain Shirt - DEF 4).
Now, that we've gone over Arcana, the next big thing is that each Arcana requires a Skill Roll whenver you attempt to cast a spell - so if you're going to fire off a 45 AP Fireball, that Requires a Skill Roll (Evocation). All Spell Skills (regardless of school) are purchased as 3:2 skills, and for Wizards, all are based on INT. You cannot cast a spell Untrained.
Learning New Spells: Again, this simply requires a skill roll, and then additional time (usually 1 hour: 10 Active Points in study to learn, understand and scribe the spell).
Common limitations are Gestures, Incants, Foci, Extra Time, and the other classics. A variation on this system is the Extra Phase rule; for every 10 AP, the spell takes one extra phase to prepare (Incantations Throughout, Concentration, and so on). This is an additional level of 'pucker factor' and an additional control to keep wizards in check. People will think twice before committing to five phases to cast a 55 AP spell. This is not in my current design, but it's something I've strongly considered adopting.
Now soliciting comments and quesitons. The more you ask, the more I can refine the design.