Houserule variant to Spell Slots

[Kobold-Bard]

Don't know if this has been suggested before. If it has and it's better than mine let me know where it is.


Anyway, the basic idea is the normal Spell Slots system, but modified because I don't like it.

1. Every caster has a pool of Spell Levels similar to a Psion's Power Points. These levels are equal the the amount of spell levels the caster would normally get according to the book that they appear in.

eg. A lvl 4 Wizard would normally prepare each day three lvl 1 spells and two lvl 2 spells. This comes to a total of seven Spell Levels available.

2. The caster then spends from this pool of levels when casting spells.

eg. The Wizard from the above example could cast three lvl 2 spells and a single lvl 1 spell instead of the allotment usually given by the PHB.

3. Casters who normally prepare spells (Wizards, Cleric, Druids) must assign their Spell Levels whenever they would normally prepare spells, assigning additional Levels for things such as metamagic feats. These spells are then fixed as normal, unless they have a spontaneous casting ability such as the Druid's Summon Nature's Ally ability.

4. Casters who cast spontaneously (Sorcerers, Favoured Soul, Warmage) work mechanically similarly to Psions and Wilders; taking the necessary Spell Levels from their available pool as and when they cast the spell, ajusting the levels required for things like metamagic.

5. Casters who an cast certain spells spontaneously (Cleric's Cure or Inflict spells) work the same way as they do in the PHB, trading a pepared spell for the appropriate one. However this system allows higher level casters to avoid preparing lesser spells, so if a Cleric of Kord wants to cast a Cure Light Wounds spell, but hasn't prepared any lvl 1 spells to convert, he must instead sacrifice a higher spell and cast an equivalently greater healing spell in exchange.


I realise that this system increases the already immense power of spellcasters, but I am planning to balance this with a system similar to the casting fatigue rules of True 20.

Comments will be appreciated, but feel free not to.
Also apologies for the rambling nature of the post, I'm terrible at putting ides down in an acceptable order.

[Kylarra]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/spellPoints.htm ?

Other points of contention.

You've not addressed 0th level spells.
Being able to convert spell levels directly is crazy overpowered.
Balance can't really be commented on in a vacuum since you're talking about a schrodinger's drawback currently.

[Kobold-Bard]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/spellPoints.htm ?

Other points of contention.

You've not addressed 0th level spells.
Being able to convert spell levels directly is crazy overpowered.
Balance can't really be commented on in a vacuum since you're talking about a schrodinger's drawback currently.

I know about Spell Points, it just seemed a bit underwhelming. Especially with regard to Evocation spells.

Cantrips and Orisons would work just as they do now. They have no market value as Spell Levels.

Shroedinger's drawback? I know it, but don't understand it in this context. Please explain.

[lesser_minion]

Even if you hate spell points, I'd suggest still using it as a starting point - it takes scaling spells into account as well as giving wizards/sorcerers and so on a reduced number of spell points to account for the increase in power they gain from being able to convert weaker spell slots into stronger ones.

For your system, I'd suggest in the very least only taking a selection of the character's highest spells into account for spell point purposes. Even if you are planning on adding more restrictions to wizards - I'm pretty certain that the designers assumed that most characters would only ever use their ten best spell slots in any event.

[Kylarra]

If they have no value as spell levels, then you apply arbitrarily high number of cure minor wounds spells as prepped each day...


Schrodinger's drawback - we don't know what exists or doesn't, so as far as balance is concerned, it can't be determined.

[lesser_minion]

Pathfinder addressed that when they decided that it was OK to at-will cantrips. Basically, you change Cure Minor Wounds so that it doesn't heal any hitpoints, it merely cures bleeding and 'injuries' like caltrop wounds and other DC15 Heal check stuff.

Inflict Minor Wounds has no effect on undead.

[Kobold-Bard]

Thanks both of you. I'll look at it and may post again with a version 2 if it warrants it.

[Kylarra]

Pathfinder addressed that when they decided that it was OK to at-will cantrips. Basically, you change Cure Minor Wounds so that it doesn't heal any hitpoints, it merely cures bleeding and 'injuries' like caltrop wounds and other DC15 Heal check stuff.

Inflict Minor Wounds has no effect on undead.

I largely pretend pathfinder doesn't exist to be honest, but even if they've addressed it, it doesn't mean this homebrew does until explicitly stated, much like how the spellpoint system addresses certain balance issues, but he's working on his own system.

That said, it seems like a reasonable fix i suppose. What did they do about the d3 ranged touch attack spells?

[lesser_minion]

Pathfinder does some things that are rather problematic - but there are a few worthwhile changes around. Basically, it's like 3.5 - fixes some errors, introduces others.

[Jack_Simth]

I largely pretend pathfinder doesn't exist to be honest, but even if they've addressed it, it doesn't mean this homebrew does until explicitly stated, much like how the spellpoint system addresses certain balance issues, but he's working on his own system.

That said, it seems like a reasonable fix i suppose. What did they do about the d3 ranged touch attack spells?

Why bother worrying about it? So you take a standard action to do d3 damage. That's... kinda underwhelming. At high levels, it's a wasted action in a battle. At low levels, you've probably got about the nearly the same odds of hitting with a light crossbow, and for a lot more damage. Okay, the Wizard-1/Rogue-X can make use out of it... but again, he could instead be doing iterative attacks with a shortbow. Out of combat, Hardness still applies against Frost and Acid, so the only objects that will damage are ones you could take apart with your dagger anyway. Try breaking Acid Splash or Ray of Frost by making it at-will.

Cure Minor Wounds is problematical in that it's unlimited out of combat healing. The Fighter rests up for a few minutes between fights while the Cleric fixes him up - in an endurance run against mooks, this makes the Fighter one of the most useful characters in the game ... if he's got the band-aid cleric there. As it really only helps with one highly specialized circumstance, and the classes it aids are the classes that are at the low-end of the power spectrum anyway, even that's not really all that much of a problem.

[Kylarra]

It was just curiosity since I have neither the pathfinder material nor the inclination to obtain it. Otherwise I would've mentioned it in my initial query.

OTOH, E-sub(fire) and go to town you crazy pyro you. (Yes I realize E-sub (fire) is a complete waste of a feat)

I really don't think that "auto full HP" after each fight is as minor, yes I went there, a deal as you portray it to be.

[Jack_Simth]

I really don't think that "auto full HP" after each fight is as minor, yes I went there, a deal as you portray it to be.

It... saves you from stocking up on wands of Cure Light Wounds or Lesser Vigor. After about fifth level, that's pretty much the only mechanical impact it has on the game. It makes the skillmonkey and meatshield (who's endurance is primarily limited by their HP pool) a little more viable. That's all.