Yarivandel's Wondrous Journeys

AD&D 2e - Magic system

The downsides of Vancian magic have been discussed to and fro so I would only want to point out that it does bother me in terms of making spellcaster nearly unplayable on the lower levels and seriously overpowered on the higher ones.

Magic is a force to be reckoned with. It is the essence of Fantasy settings. It is one of the coolest things in rpgs. Unless you're playing Warhammer that is.

But the utility belt system introduced in the D&D franchise is just too "boardgamey" for my taste. And kills some serious fun out of playing mages. So how could be improve it without drifting away too far from the original game core?

To be honest, not all of the proposed solutions have been my invention. To be even more sincere, most of the material is taken from one existing source or another. However, the compilation and its final form is original.

The main principle of this update is to lean heavily on the core books and game content, so that just a bit of new concepts needed to be memorised. I wanted to use the spell books and spell lists provided generously by TSR. I wanted to be able to use every single handbook and manual I own to relish the quality of the game, but still make it better somehow. Did I manage to achieve the goal? You tell me.

An alternate magic system for Wizards in AD&D 2E game

Mana

Every Wizard possesses a defined amount of spell points (Mana) which he may use to cast spells. Every spell costs a defined amount of spells points which a Wizard needs to spend in order to cast it.

The amount of Mana that a Wizard can manage increases with each level. On the first lvl a wizard gets 4 Mana. On each subsequent level a wizard rolls an additional 2d4 and adds to his Mana. Starting with the level 10 every subsequent level grants him only 4 additional Mana. Specialist Wizards get ½ of their Mana increase as specialist Mana that can only be used to cast spells from their school.

Wizard lvl	Mana	Average
1	4	4
2	4+2d4	9
3	4+4d4	14
4	4+6d4	17
5	4+8d4	24
6	4+10d4	29
7	4+12d4	34
8	4+14d4	39
9	4+16d4	44
10	4+18d4	49
11+	4+18d4+4/lvl	53

The amount of Mana a spell costs depends on its level. First level spells cost 1 Mana, then each subsequent spell level costs extra 2 Mana.

Spell lvl	Mana
1	1
2	3
3	5
4	7
5	9
6	11
7	13
8	15
9	17

An exceptionally bright individual gets bonus spell points per level. The bonus calculated respectively as if [Intelligence] was [Constitution] and Mana was Hp.

Intelligence	Mana bonus / lvl
15	+1
16	+2
17	+3
18	+4
19	+5

Fixed magic and Free magic

To designate a maximum spell level a Wizard can learn we use Table 21 PHB.

Wizard lvl					Spell lvl
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	4	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	4	2	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-
8	4	3	3	2	-	-	-	-	-
9	4	3	3	2	1	-	-	-	-
10	4	4	3	2	2	-	-	-	-
11	4	4	4	3	3	-	-	-	-
12	4	4	4	4	4	1	-	-	-
13	5	5	4	4	4	2	-	-	-
14	5	5	5	5	4	2	1	-	-
15	5	5	5	5	5	2	1	-	-
16	5	5	5	5	5	3	2	1	-
17	5	5	5	5	5	3	3	2	-
18	5	5	5	5	5	3	3	2	1
19	5	5	5	5	5	3	3	3	1
20	5	5	5	5	5	4	3	3	2

However the limit of spell per level refers to the amount of spells the Wizard can attune to. The spell that a Wizard is attuned to does not disappear from his mind. He can cast it any amount of times as long as he possesses sufficient Mana. This is called Fixed magick.

This does not mean however that a Wizard cannot access the other spells he’s learned and keeps in his spellbook. All spells the Wizard knows and are recorded in his spellbook can be cast anytime, but due to the fact the Wizard is not attuned to them he musts use twice the amount of Mana. So if a 3^rd level spell normally costs 5 mana, using it as a free magic would cost 10 Mana. This is called Free magick.

A Wizard can re-attune his mind to any other spell. This requires a Wizard to be full rested (8 hours) and takes 15 minutes per spell level.

Exceeding the spell level limit

A wizard can learn spells from levels higher than his limit on the Table 21 PHB. However the learn spell chance is halved for a spell 1 level higher than his limit and divided by 10 for a spell 2 levels higher than his limit.

Casting Spells for greater effect

A Wizard can invest additional Mana to boost a fixed spell (only) he is casting. By paying an increase of 50% Mana he casts the spell as if he was 1 level higher. A Wizard can only increase his casting level by 4 thus adding 200% of the original Mana cost.

Reducing Mana cost

A Wizard can reduce the Mana cost of a fixed spell by 25% choosing a spell limitation. Up to to limitations can be chosen, thus up to 50% of Mana can be saved.

1) Reduced spell power – for all level based variables the caster’s level is divided by 4.

2) Prolonged casting time – Casting time shorter than 1 round is now multiplied by rounds. I.e. Casting time of 3 now indicates 3 full rounds to prepare before a spell can be cast.

3) Special casting conditions – a Wizard can draw magical energy from the environment and circumstances. This one is up to the Wizards creativity (e.g. use fireplace or campfire to cast a fire based spell).

Recovering spell points

A Wizards recovers his Mana using Table 20 of PO: Spells and Magic.

Physical activity	Mana recovered
Hard exertion	None
Walking, riding	2 per hour, or 2% of Total (whichever greater)
Sitting, resting	4 per hour, or 5% of Total (whichever greater)
Sleeping	8 per hour, or 10% of Total (whichever greater)

Fatigue

Every spell a Wizard casts fatigues him physically and mentally. To represent that the Fatigue system is introduced as per TSR PO: Spell and Magic.

For every casted spell consult the Table 21 PO: Spell and Magic and determine casters fatigue level.

Wizard lvl			Fatigue caused
	Light	Moderate	Heavy	Severe	Mortal
1-2	-	Cantrip	1^st	2^nd	3^rd +
3-4	Cantrip	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th +
5-6	Cantrip	1^st, 2^nd	3^rd	4^th	5^th+
7-8	1^st	2^nd, 3^rd	4^th	5^th	6^th +
9-11	2^nd -	3^rd, 4^th	5^th	6^th	7^th +
12-13	3^rd -	4^th, 5^th	6^th	7^th	8^th +
14-15	4^th -	5^th, 6^th	7^th	8^th	9^th +
16-17	5^th -	6^th, 7^th	8^th	9^th	-
18-19	5^th -	6^th, 7^th	8^th, 9^th	-	-
20-22	5^th -	6^th - 8^th	9^th	-	-
23-25	6^th -	7^th, 8^th	9^th	-	-
26+	6^th -	7^th – 9^th	-	-	-

The following modificators apply:

1) Existing fatigue – if the caster is already fatigued increase the next spell fatigue category

a. By 1 if already moderately fatigued

b. By 2 if already heavily fatigued

c. By 3 if already severely fatigued

2) Loss of Hit points – if the caster is reduced in hit points

a. To 50% of his Hp – fatigue category increases by 1

b. To 25% of his Hp – fatigue category increases by 2

Effects of Fatigue

Fatigue level	Effects
Light	¾ mov rate (headache, weariness)
Moderate	-1 attack rolls, ½ mov rate (headache, hazy vision, muscle aches)
Heavy	-2 attack rolls, DC +1, ¼ mov rate (exhaustion, pains and nose bleeds)
Severe	-4 attack rolls, DC +3, mov rate 1 (poor balance and vision, ears ringing)
Mortal	Collapse, roll Save vs Paralyzation – fail=death, pass=1d6 rounds out & severe fatigue

Recovering from fatigue

Fatigue level	Recovery
Light, moderate	Save vs. Paralyzation / each round resting
Heavy	Save vs. Paralyzation / each turn resting
Severe	Save vs. Paralyzation / each hour resting

Conclusion

Now, I hope this will be helpful to anyone an appetite for more depth in spellcasting.

It applies to Wizards only.

It does not really make sense to me to apply a similar solution for Priests since their power is drawn from their gods and the prayer system does make more sense to me.

Should I however come up with a smart way to reinvent the Cleric, it will surely land among this blog's pages.