Mana System for D&D3.5

vstraydogstrutv
vstraydogstrutv
edited September 2010 in General Discussion
Hi all. Well it's been a long time now since I've trolled the forums and thought I'd share the mana system I threw together for my campaign. So far, the PC's have really liked it, and it's made magic using PC's feel like they're really contributing to the group as with the system they're much MUCH more flexible. Try it out and tell me what you think, if you'd like!

"Mana System":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/the-serpent-kingdoms/wikis/mana-system

Comments

  • vstraydogstrutv
    vstraydogstrutv
    Posts: 209
    Wow not a person is interested? Sheesh :(
  • RaseCidraen
    RaseCidraen
    Posts: 890 edited September 2010
    I totally checked it out! I made a comment on your wiki, but I guess that didn't take either. I think the idea is really clever, but I was just worried about the Sorc/Wizard dichotomy. Unless the Known spells remains the same, the sorc has a tremendous advantage.

    Also, how do you deal with Metamagic? Just bump up the comparative spell level?
    Post edited by RaseCidraen on
  • vstraydogstrutv
    vstraydogstrutv
    Posts: 209 edited September 2010
    You did! I commented back, but I guess it didn't notify or anything. The system's still in the early stages, I hadn't even gave metamagic feats a thought as we hardly ever use them. But yeah, it's really solely for the use of actually casting the spells. Still the same spell lists and rules for spells known and the like. The cleric is the only one that's affected as it includes the mana to cast the domain spell, but there's no real mechanic to keep him from casting multiples of said domain spell. I guess that would really boil down to DM's discretion.

    As for metamagic, I'll have to give it some thought. I think maybe take the appropriate spell slot's mana cost: Fireball, 3rd level spell, costs 8 mana to cast; Maximized would be spell slot 3 levels higher so 6th level which is 64 mana to cast. Can't cast 6th level spells until 12th level (as a sorcerer for this demonstration), which gives you a base mana of 602 anyway. I think that might work for metamagic.
    Post edited by vstraydogstrutv on
  • RaseCidraen
    RaseCidraen
    Posts: 890
    I think that might work... so you'd actually be able to cast 8 or so max fireballs at Level 12, but not anything else (if you went that route). It provides the sorc with... quite a lot of bang, when metamagic is considered in this way, actually. Hmm. I wish I knew Magic a bit more than I actually do. It's always been a source of trouble for me as a DM.
  • quigley007
    Posts: 2
    Unless I missed it, you don't mention spell level caps. Is that intentional? Can a first level caster cast second level spells if they have enough mana?

    Seems like they will have access to pretty much unlimited lower level spells once the mana levels get up there.

    Are you going to have a re-charge rate for mana, or go with the 8 hour rest rule? I toy with recharge rate in my mind. Not so much a boon to the casters that have to memorize spells, but it might give the spontaneous casters a bit of a boost.

    I like the flexibility, but It might need some tweaking?
  • vstraydogstrutv
    vstraydogstrutv
    Posts: 209
    Indeed it does. Like I said, this system really allows for some hardcore flexibility for magic users. If you're wanting to run a balls-to-the-wall rulemongering campaign you definitely wouldn't want to use it. But if you like the excitement of epic battles and spellcasting it might be right up your alley. If you're concerned about the effects that such power would excise over your game, you may want to consider penalties for casting such massive spells.

    For instance:
    Maybe you can only cast a certain number of metamagic spells per day.
    Maybe summoning all of this arcane power leaves the PC drained (as when a barbarian loses his rage).
    Maybe mana takes longer to refill once these metamagic spells have been used (as it is now, mana refills at the beginning of every day, but if you used a metamagic spell the mana used takes x amount of hours the next day to refill based on the how many spell slots higher were used). IE 3 extra hours to refill for maximized fireball.
  • vstraydogstrutv
    vstraydogstrutv
    Posts: 209 edited September 2010
    Quigley: The level caps are the same as they would be per level. The system is really for the actual CASTING of the spells, replacing spells per day with mana. They're still restricted to casting from the appropriate levels. And yes, that means that they'll have a super crazy amount of low-level spells.

    These are all good points and questions so far, and that's the exact reason I posted up here. Once I get a lot of stuff addressed I'll update the wiki appropriately.
    Post edited by vstraydogstrutv on
  • quigley007
    Posts: 2
    oooh I just thought of something.

    Mana Potions/Fountain/Etc...
    *drooool*

    Yes I am easlily entertained ...
  • vstraydogstrutv
    vstraydogstrutv
    Posts: 209 edited September 2010
    Haha indeed. New spells, new magical devices. We decided that if a spell raised your stats enough to get more spells per day you would gain that subsequent mana as well!
    Post edited by vstraydogstrutv on
  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425
    Looks interesting, I would have to play test it to really comment further, but I really like that high level casters can basically summon up low level spells without thinking about it. I have messed around with spell points (or mana) in the past. I feel like there's pros and cons for each, so I don't have much of a preference, sometimes I let the players decide what system they'd like to use. Thanks for sharing v-dog.
  • Bagel
    Bagel
    Posts: 11
    I like this. Wizards, Sorcerers and other full casters have always been underpowered in 3.5, especially compared to twink classes like the Fighter (come on, _11_ bonus feats?!). It is good to see any attempt to give these poor classes more options and power.
  • vstraydogstrutv
    vstraydogstrutv
    Posts: 209
    Alright, I've updated the wiki a bit to include the questions addressed here. Keep'em coming, and let me know if you've playtested the system at all, and how it's worked for you.
  • Alatheon
    Alatheon
    Posts: 35
    Given that Psionics are basically a mana driven spell system, this seems a little like reinventing the wheel. That said, this does provide an alternative for those who prefer to use the traditional spells.

    Without having playtested it, it does seem that depending on how one builds encounters, this could lead to really supercharged mages. Like psionics, unless you keep the party fighting without a rest for a long time the wizard or sorc could dominate by using nothing but the big guns and not really need to worry about running out.
  • vstraydogstrutv
    vstraydogstrutv
    Posts: 209
    Ah we have never really played with psionics at all, so I never gave them much thought. As I've said, so far everyone seems to really enjoy the flexibility of it, but it definitely leads to some heavy damage after damage. Though once they've run out of mana, that's it for the day. So if you're running through two or three encounters you have to really worry about your mana consumption. We've implemented mana potions that share the same stats as healing potions when it comes to replenishing on the fly; but once it's gone, it's gone. That helps to balance the fact that players may be using all of their heavy hitters out front.

    A lot of my mechanics ideas for this system has stemmed from playing a priest in WoW. As healers, their mana consumption can be quite substantial, so I've spent a lot of time fine-tuning my character to balance my most useful spells with a minimal amount of mana.

    So when I decided to start this, I tried to keep that in mind on how quickly mana would be used and what would make the casters feel like they were a more integral part of combat. Being that I've played a lot of casters, I know my biggest gripe has always been that my highest level spells I could only cast one or two max in a day. Knowing this, I would have to decide when the best time to use that spell was and I would either miss that chance (and the spell would go to waste), not get that chance (and the spell would go to waste) or use it in one encounter only to discover it would've been much more handy in the next.

    I understand that that's the strategy of playing a caster, but when everyone else around me is afforded encounter-based feats like cleave, manyshot, etc. and so on, it feels as if I was getting the shit-end of the stick. Once my spells were gone, I'd be sending low-lev spells dealing 1-4 damage to a creature that had 80-90 hp -- or worse yet -- attacking them with a freaking quarterstaff >.
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