No More Magic-Users: Magical Foci
You know, these guys.
In an ongoing basic DND game I play in the referee or a player opined that they would like to play a game where there was one class, and that class was fighting man. I can't remember what stuck in my head about that but it triggered a set of considerations for me. The first was that my experience in that game is that a great deal of the fun of the game comes from finding strange objects (magical or mundane) and leveraging them to overcome strange mechanisms, entities and obstacles. Magic spells feel like another part of this. To me then, the next stage was not a magic-less approach to B/X D&D, but one where magic is peeled away from class (and race as class). This was my first attempt to preserve the fun and flexibility of magic, while turning it into a magic item for the party to use.
I am currently testing this system in my ongoing OSE game in the Hot Springs Island setting. So far the players have not recovered any of the magical focuses (more on that soon) that are the center of the system.
Magical Foci
A simple staff can carry immense power.
Foci, singular focus, are somewhat like rechargeable rods, staves and wands. They usually recover their charges daily (although powerful foci might have a different recovery rate) and they give access to a small boutique list of spells. They recover more charges when bonded to someone with a high casting requisite and/or level and have activation conditions that must be discovered by experimentation.
With that overview laid out here are the rules procedures.
Number of Charges: The number of charges in the item is equal to the base charges plus the modifier of the casting requisite plus one half of the character's level rounded down. Each spell costs a number of charges to use equal to the spell level.
Casting Requisite: The attribute which determines the number of bonus charges. Typically Intelligence for arcane, Wisdom for druidic or divine magics, and Charisma for illusions or enchantments. Some rare foci might have other casting requisites.
Refresh: How often the charges recover. For many foci this will be all/day, mirroring the function of typical spellcasting classes in other versions. For others (especially more powerful ones) it may be 1/day, all/week, all at the new moon. For some, they may recover at unusual or esoteric times or events (1/human sacrifice or all/dragon slain).
Spells: The spells the focus is able to cast, this is a focused list of spells that can be cast.
Creation: Magic items may be converted into foci by ritual efforts by knowledgeable specialists or wizards. Existing foci could be enhanced under a similar process to add additional spells or increase the number of charges. This process requires expensive and rare reagents, comparable to the creation of other magic items.
Cost: It would be more than possible to assign a generic cost to these, formed of some combination of their spell list, charges, and refresh rate. Surely they should be much more expensive than scrolls if they can be assigned a monetary value at all. Perhaps I will provide this, but magic item "value" is not important in my games in this way.
Elves: Elves, and other intrinsically magical types, might receive extra charges to use certain types of foci. Good for them.
And that's the basic idea. But let's see some practical examples.
With that overview laid out here are the rules procedures.
Number of Charges: The number of charges in the item is equal to the base charges plus the modifier of the casting requisite plus one half of the character's level rounded down. Each spell costs a number of charges to use equal to the spell level.
Casting Requisite: The attribute which determines the number of bonus charges. Typically Intelligence for arcane, Wisdom for druidic or divine magics, and Charisma for illusions or enchantments. Some rare foci might have other casting requisites.
Refresh: How often the charges recover. For many foci this will be all/day, mirroring the function of typical spellcasting classes in other versions. For others (especially more powerful ones) it may be 1/day, all/week, all at the new moon. For some, they may recover at unusual or esoteric times or events (1/human sacrifice or all/dragon slain).
Spells: The spells the focus is able to cast, this is a focused list of spells that can be cast.
Creation: Magic items may be converted into foci by ritual efforts by knowledgeable specialists or wizards. Existing foci could be enhanced under a similar process to add additional spells or increase the number of charges. This process requires expensive and rare reagents, comparable to the creation of other magic items.
Cost: It would be more than possible to assign a generic cost to these, formed of some combination of their spell list, charges, and refresh rate. Surely they should be much more expensive than scrolls if they can be assigned a monetary value at all. Perhaps I will provide this, but magic item "value" is not important in my games in this way.
Elves: Elves, and other intrinsically magical types, might receive extra charges to use certain types of foci. Good for them.
And that's the basic idea. But let's see some practical examples.
Witch's Pearl
Casting Requisite: Wisdom
Recharge: All/Week (requires conducting an ecstatic ritual of dance with at least three other participants)
Spells: 1st - Detect Magic, Cause Fear, Charm Person, Darkness 2nd - ESP, Witch Lock
Covens of witches among the Altrine mountain range are known for their ability to produce witch pearls, accretions of magical energy in the form of small pearls that grow over time as additional rituals are performed. This is an example of the pearl used by a typical coven, often held by the most senior witch (although not always). It is activated silently, by means of simple gestures that are often enshrined in local superstition.
Apprentice's Glimmer:
Recharge: All/Week (requires conducting an ecstatic ritual of dance with at least three other participants)
Spells: 1st - Detect Magic, Cause Fear, Charm Person, Darkness 2nd - ESP, Witch Lock
Covens of witches among the Altrine mountain range are known for their ability to produce witch pearls, accretions of magical energy in the form of small pearls that grow over time as additional rituals are performed. This is an example of the pearl used by a typical coven, often held by the most senior witch (although not always). It is activated silently, by means of simple gestures that are often enshrined in local superstition.
Apprentice's Glimmer:
Base Charges: -1
Casting Requisite: Intelligence
Recharge: 1/hour
Spells: 1st - Light, 2nd - Levitate
The University of Astrologhasts in Deodell test potential apprentices with one of these - a trio of ancient sextants made by the founder of their school. It is unusual among foci that it activates when touched, casting the highest level spell it can on whoever touches it. When this is used by children or most adults it functions as a test of their aptitude for the arcane magic performed by the Astrologhasts.
Oleander's Thorn:
Base Charges: 10
Casting Requisite: Charisma
Recharge: 1/1000 gold coins stolen
Spells: 1st - Sleep, Ventriloquism 2nd - Invisibility, Knock
Oleander was a hobbit of great renown as a thief who had a specialist create this particular dagger for him. For reasons which may be esoteric to the reader, it grew attached to him, and ceased to recharge as normal, instead only satisfied when its thirst was slated by greater and greater thefts. When it is found, in the hands of the dead Oleander, it is likely empty of charges.
Casting Requisite: Intelligence
Recharge: 1/hour
Spells: 1st - Light, 2nd - Levitate
The University of Astrologhasts in Deodell test potential apprentices with one of these - a trio of ancient sextants made by the founder of their school. It is unusual among foci that it activates when touched, casting the highest level spell it can on whoever touches it. When this is used by children or most adults it functions as a test of their aptitude for the arcane magic performed by the Astrologhasts.
Oleander's Thorn:
Base Charges: 10
Casting Requisite: Charisma
Recharge: 1/1000 gold coins stolen
Spells: 1st - Sleep, Ventriloquism 2nd - Invisibility, Knock
Oleander was a hobbit of great renown as a thief who had a specialist create this particular dagger for him. For reasons which may be esoteric to the reader, it grew attached to him, and ceased to recharge as normal, instead only satisfied when its thirst was slated by greater and greater thefts. When it is found, in the hands of the dead Oleander, it is likely empty of charges.
Hopes For This System
As I begin to play Hot Springs Island I am already impressed with my players capacity to surprise me and to use what they have been given. I want to give them more niche tools, where the application is more focused and less clear. I think these produce more fun outcomes. It maintains the fantasy of a wizard with his staff, wand or orb better even than standard basic D&D but also allows for some additional fun along the lines of intelligent sword powers. As it plays out we will see how the players take to it, and I will do my best to update again here.
Comments
Post a Comment