T w e n t y S i d e d
WARNING: The following rule-change is heresy to most D&D players. These changes are radical and will drive purists nuts. You’ve been warned.
This PvP strip pretty much sums up life as a low-level wizard in D&D.
I really hate the “prepare spells” system that D&D uses. The minor issue I have with it is the “materials required” for casting. This is a lot of needless paperwork and resource-gathering, and doesn’t really add anything fun to the game. Making the wizard actually carry around a huge list of goofy stuff like eye of newt and batwing and grave ash and all of the other ingredients seems silly. Wizards would look like hobos with their shopping cart / wagon full of random nasty things. I guess a lot of people just ignore this aspect of the rules, which makes sense to me. You can drop this from the game and it doesn’t change the balance or affect gameplay. It just eliminates a bunch of paperwork and shopping.
But the major problem is that you must prepare spells at the beginning of the day, without having any knowledge of what spells you may actually NEED during your adventure. What happens is players will stack their prepared list with combat spells. There is just no reason to prepare “whispering wind” instead of (say) flaming sphere. You’re about 100 times more likely to need the flaming sphere, and even if you suspect that the chances are roughly even, its way better to be without a whispering wind spell when you need it than to be without a flaming sphere when you need one. Not having a whispering wind might make a quest or task more difficult. Not having enough combat magic can get you killed.
So a lot of useful spells never get prepared. If you find you need one of the more esoteric spells, you spend the time (usually an hour or so, in-game) and prepare it. This is annoying and again, it doesn’t add anything to the game. If the situation doesn’t allow some spell prep time, you go without. A lot of the most interesting spells in the game get overlooked or underused, and casters end up using their magic mostly for combat instead of problem-solving.
The final issue is the constant paperwork of writing down and erasing spells over and over can make a mess of your prepared spells list on a busy day. Yuck. And more importantly: why?
So, I came up with an enrgy-based magic system more or less like what you would find in any computer-based RPG. I’m sure I’m not the first person to do this, but here is my system:
Spells use “energy” (or mana, whatever) which is replenished by resting. A full night of rest will replenish all of a character’s energy. The energy required to cast a spell is the spell level+1. So, level 0 spells take 1 point, level 1 spells take 2, etc. Players can cast any spell they know, provided they have enough energy. To determine a character’s max energy, use the chart below.
The net effect of this system is that a character will be able to cast far fewer spells per day, but will be able to cast any spell they know. The system is obvious, easy, and lets caster use their full library of spells.
| Level | Max Spell Level | Base Energy (Ability Mod) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 |
| 3 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 |
| 4 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 |
| 5 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 20 |
| 6 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 23 |
| 7 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 26 |
| 8 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 30 |
| 9 | 5 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 30 | 33 |
| 10 | 5 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 30 | 33 | 37 |
| 11 | 6 | 23 | 26 | 30 | 33 | 37 | 40 |
| 12 | 6 | 26 | 30 | 33 | 37 | 40 | 44 |
| 13 | 7 | 30 | 33 | 37 | 40 | 44 | 48 |
| 14 | 7 | 33 | 37 | 40 | 44 | 48 | 53 |
| 15 | 8 | 37 | 40 | 44 | 48 | 53 | 57 |
| 16 | 8 | 40 | 44 | 48 | 53 | 57 | 66 |
| 17 | 9 | 44 | 48 | 53 | 57 | 66 | 75 |
| 18 | 9 | 48 | 53 | 57 | 66 | 75 | 84 |
| 19 | 9 | 53 | 57 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 93 |
| 20 | 9 | 57 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 93 | 102 |
For ability mod, you use the attribute linked to the caster’s magic. For Clerics this is WIS, for wizards, you use INT, etc. So, a level 1 cleric with a wisdom of 13 (a +1 ability mod) would have a base energy of 6.
This system removes the major differences between Wizards and Sorcerers. In terms of combat they are now the same. Their differences are now amore a question of style, culture, and background.
