New approach to spells

[iago]

"New" is a relative term, my friend (with, of course, my help) invented this some time ago, but I had completely forgotten it until just now. 

Every spellcaster has an attribute called "power".  It's based on IQ and Willpower, or something. 

A spellcaster can cast ANY spell he's learned (no spell levels!).  Before he casts it, he declares what level he wants to cast it at.  Higher levels = more powerful. 

Then, the spell's base power is multiplied with the level he casts it at, and his power is reduced by that (like MP).  He then rolls 2 dice (doubles add rolls over), adds his current power attribute, and has to beat a certain number based on the level he's casting it at (20 for level 1, 30 for level 2, 40 for level 3, etc).  If he succeeds, the spell is cast. 

What that basically means is that there is no concept of spell level, as long as you can afford the power cost and are still able to make the roll.  I'd even let you go to negative power if you really wanted, it would just be impossible to cast a spell until you rest *shrug*

There are 3 majors kinds of spells:
- Cantrips that do something easy and simple, and always do something easy and simple.  Like "Light".  It costs 5 power to cast, and always will. 
- Spells that scale up; for example, Firebolt does (level)d6 damage, and costs 5 power.  So you can cast it at level 10, doing 10d6 damage, and using 50 power.  If you want, you can cast it at level 1, level 5, or level 1000.  As long as you can afford 5, 25, or 5000 power. 
- Spells that are just powerful; for example, Summon Demon summons a demon, and costs 120 power. So you can cast it at level 1, using 120 power, and it is quite powerful, or you can cast it at level 2, using 240 power, and having an even more powerful one.  Unless you botch the roll, in which case the demon attacks you, because demons are evil, but that's not important. 

Just thought I'd explain spellcasting a bit. :)

[Sidoh]

Hmm... I actually really like this idea.  I don't know if it would work very well in all situations, though.  It seems that some spells would get too overpowered with it, but maybe that's just me.  You're the GM!

Sounds great to me.  :)

[iago]

Well, you probaby won't have more than 200 points, ever.  And for 200, you can cause a meteor to hit somebody on the head, killing them instantly (without bothering to roll damage), or you can cast a level 40 fireball, doing 40d6 (160 damage, probably) -- which is about enough to kill somebody.  But either way, it won't be until a very high level, you start with around 30 power. 

According to the original rules (by us), there are max levels for each spell.  But I'm not going to enforce that, unless/until we have a problem. 

[Sidoh]

Well, you probaby won't have more than 200 points, ever.  And for 200, you can cause a meteor to hit somebody on the head, killing them instantly (without bothering to roll damage), or you can cast a level 40 fireball, doing 40d6 (160 damage, probably) -- which is about enough to kill somebody.  But either way, it won't be until a very high level, you start with around 30 power. 

According to the original rules (by us), there are max levels for each spell.  But I'm not going to enforce that, unless/until we have a problem. 

Alright, in that case it all sounds great! :)

[rabbit]

That's sort of the way GURPS' system works.  You choose a spell you know, and decide to cast it at a level (I forget how max is determined), and then you cast it in level * 2 - (level/5)d6 turns (for some spells!).

[Newby]

I like this idea. :)

[Towelie]

how many d6's do you roll. Its really tough to roll so high on 2d6, as seen by your calculations ealier :-)

[iago]

You roll 2d6, doubles-add-roll-over, and add your current power. 

Say you have 38 power (power = magic points), and want to cast a level 2 TTYF. 

1. You subtract the cost for the spell, giving you 38 - (2 * 6) power, or 26. 
2. Roll 2d6 DARO, and add 26.  If it's over 30, it goes off. 

It's easy to cast when you have high power. 

Then you want to cast it again.  You have 26 - 12, or 18 power.  You need to roll 12 on 2 dice to cast it.  The odds of that aren't horrible (it's not actually 1/36, because of rerolling doubles), but they aren't great either.