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From Flexible Magic System

Note

This is a work in progress. The existing 3.5 OGL fantasy arcane spells are being converted to this system. Currently 0th and 1st level spells have been converted, and about 1/2 of the second level spells have also been converted. Once a couple of more levels of arcane spells are completed, divine spells will be converted. If you have praise or constructive criticism, please email fms at inkwellideas dot com.

Overview

The flexible magic system is a new spell system for your fantasy game, but to make it easier to learn it is built from the most familiar fantasy role-playing game spells. It is intended for 3rd edition open fantasy games and it should be adaptable to most open 3rd edition fantasy game derivatives.

The system uses spell points but it can also be adapted to continue to use spell levels. Read the full spell point rules. The system allows a spellcaster to alter the range, duration, area of effect, damage and other factors of base spells. Costs are assigned to these factors and they are multiplied to determine the spell’s point cost. Read the full spell customization rules.

The completed spell's point cost is then deducted from the caster’s daily spell point allotment. The new spell system will include changes for each spellcasting class (but currently only changes to the "Wizard" are posted so far) so each class is given a number of spell points per day based on the caster's level and ability modifier.

The spells used are familiar to most fantasy role-playing game players. Examples include mage armor, sleep, fireball and wall of force. Because many players already know these spells, the system is easier to master. For example, if a player wants to cast mage armor but he wants the spell to last an entire day he can just modify the duration of the spell and the spell’s cost will be appropriately more than the standard version of mage armor. See the current list of converted spells.

If players abuse certain spells because they think modifying a spell in a certain way is cheap, the game master can simply alter the cost of that spell’s factor(s) as needed at the next break point in the game. For example if a player is always enlarging a fireball’s area of effect, consider making fireball’s area of effect factors cost more. (However, in this particular example first make sure the opponents are spreading out appropriately when it makes sense for them to do so. Consider other non-rules fixes as well.)

Regarding Complexity

The “Flexible Magic System” adds some complexity to spellcasting. To add major flexibility to spellcasting and preserve game-balance, there is no way to avoid some complexity as a side effect. Still, if someone has constructive ideas to minimize the complexity, please send those ideas to fms at inkwellideas dot com and those ideas will be considered for future versions of the system.

Currently there are a couple of ways to minimize complexity:

• Have spellcasters predetermine the costs of their favorite spell factors for their most commonly used spells.
• Print the spells a character knows for easy reference. The player should then be able to easily find his spell and choose the factors matching how he wants to customize the spell and then multiply those factors together.

All things considered, most players need to look up the details of most of the spells they cast anyway. Changing this activity from “finding the range, area, damage, etc.” to choosing those factors and multiplying them together shouldn’t be too much of a burden for most players especially once they have used the system for a couple of game sessions.