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View Full Version : [3.5 Modification] Modifying Mages for a Dragon Age Setting



Titanium Fox
2011-04-01, 08:51 AM
Alright, so next year I'm running a D&D campaign set in Ferelden. I've already re-statted Half-Orcs so that instead Qunari are a default playable race, and I've done out stat bonuses based on background (Circle Mage, Dalish Elf, City Elf, etc.)

However, I've decided that I want to bring mages a little closer to how they work in game as well, and wanted opinions on how this sounds or any tweaks that should be done. I really think it will balence them better anyways, but... Here goes.

So basically, you get your main stat as your "Mana". So say you're a Sorcerer with 18 Charisma, you have 18 Mana at the start. You can get items that buff your mana pool without buffing the stat, I'm working on homebrewing those as well.

Everyone becomes a spontaneous caster, however your class dictates your background (Circle Mage = Wizard, Apostate = Sorcerer), etc.

You gain access to however many learned spells that your class normally would. Except for the identical case of the Wizard versus the Sorcerer, I treat classes here like the talent trees. Each spell costs its spell level in Mana. So a 9th level spell would cost 9 mana. Mana regenerates at half your modifier every two rounds, minimum 1 (In the case of the Sorcerer, 2 mana back every two rounds), and restores to full after every battle.

I'm debating also making rods easier to find so that mages will have some basic attacks when their mana pool is dry.

So, thoughts?

Lord Vukodlak
2011-04-01, 08:56 AM
I suggest you check the SRD's unearthed arcana sections spell point section.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/spellPoints.htm

The-Mage-King
2011-04-01, 10:02 AM
I suggest you check the SRD's unearthed arcana sections spell point section.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/spellPoints.htm

Toss in giving them unlimited use of their known cantrips, and you're golden.

In fact, you can just leave the caster class as only Sorc. It won't be that unbalanced, and if someone wants a more intellectual character, you can always trade their Cha based casting for Int based.

Epsilon Rose
2011-04-01, 10:20 AM
There's a mana casting variant rule with a bit of regen that you could beef up if you wanted (I'd recommend this over the UA variant)
http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Mana-Based_Spellcasting_(3.5e_Variant_Rule)
You also might want to play with the various planar spells. Otherwise you might end up with a party that decides to plane-shift into the fade and explore the black city (of course that could also be fun).

Edit: also, perhaps consider finding some generic or variant classes to replace cleric and wiz/sor (the other casting classes should be fine as is since they are purposely more specialized, though you might want to make some non-casting variants available to rangers if they are so inclined). since DA doesn't seem to distinguish between divine and arcane magic and all mages (to my knowledge) can heal.

Mewtarthio
2011-04-01, 11:09 AM
You also might want to play with the various planar spells. Otherwise you might end up with a party that decides to plane-shift into the fade and explore the black city (of course that could also be fun).

If he's trying to match the DA fluff, then any interplanar travel, teleportation, and resurrection has to be banned outright, since those three feats are explicitly called out as impossible (though Tevinter managed the first of those by spending a truly insane amount of magical energy. It ended... poorly). Also, mind control requires blood magic.

Titanium Fox
2011-04-01, 11:53 AM
I'm actually just debating spending my summer to draft up an entirely new class system; one that would be based significantly more heavily on the Dragon Age Universe at this point; where each specialization that exists in DA II is a different class you can take, adapted to the d20 system.

Epsilon Rose
2011-04-01, 12:04 PM
I'm actually just debating spending my summer to draft up an entirely new class system; one that would be based significantly more heavily on the Dragon Age Universe at this point; where each specialization that exists in DA II is a different class you can take, adapted to the d20 system.

Is it ironic that I use a mod to play as a warlock in DA?
On a related note, with all of the supplements and home brew available I'm not sure how useful that would be. Your time might be better spent selecting a few classes and PrCs that you like and using those instead of the more traditional stuff like wizard. Or, and I'm loath to say this, 4E might be more what you're looking for than 3.5.