Spell Slots 5e
I always like having more customization options, and I know some people miss the true Vancian magic from older editions, so I thought I'd try to whip up some alternative styles of casting spells.
Vancian Magic
When you prepare your spells, you prepare exactly one spell for each of your spell slots. You may then cast that spell once using that spell slot. If you wish to cast a spell more than once, you must prepare it using multiple spell slots. If you wish to cast a spell at a higher level, you must prepare it using a higher level spell slot. You regain expended spell slots at the end of a long rest and may prepare a new set of spells.
Vancian spellcasters have more spell slots than most spellcasters. Once you gain spell slots of a particular level, you have one extra spell slot of that level. You also have extra spell slots based on your spellcasting ability score modifier, with one extra spell slot for each spell level less than or equal to your spellcasting ability score modifier. For example, if you are a Vancian wizard with an Intelligence of 16 (and thus a +3 modifier), then you would have one extra spell slot for each of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level. These spell slots are available from 1st level.
A classical Vancian caster could easily be reflavored as a someone who needs to cast their spells from scrolls. They can't cast spells on-demand, but given time to prepare can scribe a certain number of scrolls during a long rest. For some reason, they can't save unused scrolls, maybe because they're only carrying a limited number of them in the first place, but the scrolls aren't consumed on casting, merely erased.
Post Vancian Magic
The default spellcasting. You prepare a list of spells, and may cast any prepared spell as many times as you like as long as you have spell slots of the appropriate level remaining.
Spell Points
For lack of a better name. Found on pages 288-289 of the DMG. You prepare your spells as normal, and have a pool of spell points you can spend to cast spells. Spells of higher levels cost more spell points.
Wild Magic
You prepare your spells as normal, but you don't cast them using spell slots. Instead, to cast a spell of 1st level or higher, you must make a special spellcasting check. For this check, you roll 1 to 4 dice and add the results together, and must beat a DC of 3 * the spell's level in order to successfully cast the spell. You don't add your proficiency bonus or spellcasting modifier to this check. Starting at 1st level, you use d6s for spellcasting checks, and these dice increase to d8s at 5th level, d10s at 11th level, and d12s at 17th level.
If you roll doubles, triples, or quadruples, you trigger a wild magic surge. This is independent of whether you successfully cast the spell or not. Rolling doubles causes a minor wild magic surge, which typically results in inconvenient but temporary effects. Rolling triples causes a major wild magic surge, which can result in harmful and permanent effects. Rolling quadruples results in a catastrophic wild magic surge, which can result in instant death. If you want to avoid wild magic surges, you can choose to only roll one die for your spellcasting check, but this makes it harder to successfully cast your spells.
This one was inspired by the system used in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. In that game you could cast as many spells as you wanted, but each casting carried a big risk.
Blood Magic
You prepare your spells as normal, but you don't cast them using spell slots. Instead, you spend hit points equal to 4 * the spell's level for each spell you cast of 1st level and higher. Casting spells this way bypasses temporary hit points, and if you cast a spell that restores hit points, you can't restore more hit points than the cost of the spell.
Alternatively, the hit point cost can be determined by rolling a number of d6s equal to the level of the spell being cast.
This would work great with a class that used CON as its spellcasting ability score.
Greed Magic
You prepare your spells as normal, but you don't cast them using spell slots. Instead, you spend gold to cast each spell of 1st level and higher. The base cost for each spell is 2 raised to the power of 1 + the level of the spell. The total cost is the base cost + your character level in gold. You must be carrying this gold on your person.
This one was somewhat inspired by the Yojimbo summon from Final Fantasy X. I'm really shaky on what the gold cost for spells should be, and I feel like the cost should increase as you level up, as being a higher level makes it exponentially easier to get gold (meaning you can cast loads more spells), justified by making whatever entities that grant you your spellcasting demand a higher price when they know you can afford to pay. Also, I feel like it's easily abuseable, as you can get theoretically infinite spellcasting by having a theoretically infinite amount of gold. It's nice and flavorful for dragon spellcasters, though.
Death Magic
Pact magic alternative. Instead of regaining spell slots after a short rest, you regain one expended spell slot by killing a sapient creature. You can also regain expended spell slots by finishing a long rest.
Anyway, what are some alternative magic systems you've thought of?
Alternate Spell Slots Dmg 5e 2
I'm not a fan of the spell slot system and would prefer a mana point system instead. The concept is fairly straight forward and would be fairly easy to convert spell slots into mana points. 1 spell slot x spell slot level = mana points. When you cast a spell, the spell level = the number of mana points used. The Wizard table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your wizard spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. You prepare the list. Mar 08, 2015 The spell point system replaces spell slots with a pool of spell points. A spell costs between 2 and 13 spell points to cast depending on its level: 2 for a 1st level spells, 3 for a second, and 5 for a third. The other alternative that presents itself is the 5e monk ki-for-spells rates, where the cost is spell level + 1. Which is very nice and simple, and makes a 9th-level spell equal to only five 1st-level spells. If you are a spellcaster holding the rod, you can convert energy stored in it into Spell Slots to cast Spells you have prepared or know. You can create Spell Slots only of a level equal to or lower than your own Spell Slots, up to a maximum of 5th Level. You use the stored levels in place of your slots, but otherwise cast the spell as normal. Alternative to spell slots? There is a Spell Point variant rule in the DMG that is exactly like mana. Though spell slots are not at all confusing to keep track of. Just write it like this: (this is for a lv4 caster as example). A free 109 page 5E adventure: we'd love if you could download The Legend of the Mist Flowers and give us.
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