A Fist Full of Magic: Variant Magic System for D&D (1st Draft)

A FIST FULL OF MAGIC: 

VARIANT MAGIC SYSTEM FOR D&D

When Magic-Users (including Clerics, Druids and Rangers) cast spells they call out to the winds of magic and use it to power their spells. The level of the spell caster determines the amount of power they can harness. This is measured in power dice (d6).

Power Dice per Level (Middle or High Magic Campaigns)

Class	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th
Magic-user	1	2	4	5	7	8	10	12
Cleric	0	1	2	3	4	6	8	10
Druid	1	3	4	5	6	7	9	10
Ranger	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Class	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th
Magic-user	13	15	18	21	25	26	28	30
Cleric	13	15	18	21	24	27	30	0
Druid	12	14	17	22	27	28	29	1
Ranger	1	3	4	6	8	10	11	13

• Magic-users with an Intelligence of 13+ gain 1 extra power dice.

• Druids & Clerics with Wisdom of 13+ gain 1 extra power dice.

Power Dice per Level (Low Magic Campaigns)

Class	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th
Magic-user	1	2	3	3	3	3	3	3
Cleric	0	1	2	2	2	2	2	3
Druid	1	2	2	2	3	3	3	3
Ranger	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Class	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th
Magic-user	3	4	4	4	5	5	5	6
Cleric	3	3	4	4	5	5	6	6
Druid	3	4	4	4	5	5	5	6
Ranger	1	2	2	3	3	4	4	4

• Magic-users with an Intelligence of 16+ gain 1 extra power dice.

• Druids & Clerics with Wisdom of 16+ gain 1 extra power dice.

All Power Dice are (re)generated after 8 full hours of sleep. If a full 8 hours of rest is impossible, then 1 Power Dice is regenerated for every two hours of full rest. There are potions that can grant additional power dice. There are also magic items that can grant additional power dice for casting certain types of spells.

Middle or High Magic Campaigns: In dire circumstances, a caster can convert one point of Wisdom into 3 Power Dice. This can only be done once per spell. The Wisdom lost is temporary and is recovered at the rate of 1 Point per week.

Low Magic Campaigns:  In dire circumstances, a caster can convert one point of Wisdom into 3 Power Dice. This can only be done once per spell. The Wisdom lost is permanent, but can be restored using certain magic.

Spell Casting

Each Spell has a Target Number that must be rolled in order for the spell to be successful cast. The number of power dice that the caster devotes to each spell is deducted from his pool of power dice.

• High Magic Campaigns: Max Power Dice 5 per Spell

• Mid-Level Magic Campaign: Max Power Dice 4 per Spell

• Low Magic Campaigns:  Max Power Dice: 4 per Spell

Standard Spell System

Spell Level	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th
Target #	4+	5+	6+	7+	8+	9+	10+	11+

Winds of Magic System

Spell Level	Petty	Minor	Major	Greater	Exalted
Target #	4+	6+	8+	12+	16+

A spellcaster declares what spell he is casting and how many power dice they are using for the spell. They then roll the power dice. If the total rolled is higher than the target number of the spell, it is successful cast. If it is less than target number the spell fails. The target number can be lowered by using rare spell components or certain magic items.

Absolute Power: If rolling more than two dice and all 6’s are rolled the spell is cast with absolute power and cannot be counter spelled.

Optional Rule: If spell causes damage or heals, it does the maximum.

Critical Failure: If rolling more than two dice and all 1’s are rolled the spell is failure. The DM then needs to roll on the Critical Failure Table.

 

Critical Failure Table

Roll 2d6	Normal Campaign		Roll 2d6	Dark Campaign
2-3	No Effect		2	Spell Fails
4-6	Lose  Additional 1 PD		3-4	Lose 2 PD
7-9	Lose Additional 2 PD		5-6	Lose 4 PD
			7-8	Lose All PD
10-11	Lose Additional 3 PD		9-10	Lose 1 Point Wisdom**
			11	Suffer A Random Mutation***
12	Lose 1 Point Wisdom*		12	Void Vortex Opens

* This is a temporary loss

** This is a permanent loss

Void Vortex – The spellcaster has torn a whole in the fabric of reality and a swirl vortex has appeared sucking the spellcaster and everything within 20 feet of him into the Void where they die horribly, there is no save for this.

Random Mutation – The spellcaster’s body is corrupted by the magic he has failed to control. Mutation will be DM’s preference; I am using the Mutation table from http://talesofthegrotesqueanddungeonesque.blogspot.com/2012/03/random-magical-mutations-table.html

Counter Spelling

All spellcaster have the ability to counter another spell casters spell. All casters have a number of Depower Dice equal to their level/3 (round up) + INT (M-U)/WIS (Cleric) Bonus. This pool of dice refreshes at the end of an encounter. 

How to Counter Spell

When a spell is cast and the power dice are rolled note the score rolled. This is the number to beat to counter the spell. The counter-caster if he has not performed an action this round may declare an attempt to counter the spell and can use up to 3 Counter Dice per Spell.

How to use a Counter Spell Scroll

These special magical scrolls have a 1-in-3 chance of countering any spell cast. These are highly sought after.