What Are Your Magic-User House Rules?

[theancient]

Sadly ANY D&D system was never built to quantify magic (a point system) so you have to add to thee game mechanics, either power, spell points, or some stat to reflect The quantity of power available to the "character". I will go into this further if asked, my game isn't like most of the games out there since I see magic as a "living" thing that the MU either knows how to tap into, manipulate, summon, create, or what have you or another analogy would be like a computer program the MU hits the "enter" key and sets the program in motion. level reflects sophosication (sorry if misspelled) of said program.

[Sir Bedivere]

Lots of great ideas! Thanks guys.

Magic users always have an innate magic attack, an Arcane Bolt that they need to succeed with a ranged attack with and it does 1d4 damage.

What about just giving the target a save vs. spell?

Something to consider is allowing them to "Master" a spell to the point they no longer need to memorize it from their spell books. A small thing, but it can be situationally handy.

There's even a precedent for that. MUs can cast Read Magic w/o memorizing it for that very reason. (Plus, that neatly resolves the logical problem of having to cast Read Magic to memorize Read Magic, though not for apprentices.)

Anyway, I wonder what the dynamic would be. Maybe when the MU can cast spells X levels higher? So, e.g., when a MU can cast 4th level spells he has mastered 1st level spells? Or is it on a spell by spell case?

[Sir Bedivere]

All the talk about Arcane Bolt and different energy effects reminded me of a supplement I worked up more than a year ago but eventually abandoned here. I'll use it if I ever run BF again (my gaming group fell apart about the same last year and I haven't found another, alas), but it didn't seem to fit BF too well at the time.

Just for the sake of conversation, here it is.

[Metroknight]

Looks interesting. It seems similar to the sorcerer supplement.

[Joe the Rat]

A similar idea, in some ways. The mercurial system gives magic-users the ability to whip up minor magics on the spot.

Rather than drawing in and storing power (prepping spells, refreshing spell slots/points), they are grabbing the raw energy around them and shaping a minor effect. Flickum biccus. A similar rule, though not a system, was suggested in the Sword & Board house rules.

Out of curiosity, did you decide on "Mercurial" to contrast the "Hermetic" formula system?

[Solomoriah]

Let me remind everyone here that "memorization" is not a BFRPG rule. Spells are prepared, that is, cast in nearly complete form, then held by the caster; the prepared spell is released with the last few words and gestures. The knowledge of the spell is not lost when the spell is cast, but rather the energy of the casting.

I really hate to see that word used on these forums at all, even more than I hate to see post-2000 commercial fantasy RPG games mentioned.

[Orpheo]

Lots of great ideas! Thanks guys.

Magic users always have an innate magic attack, an Arcane Bolt that they need to succeed with a ranged attack with and it does 1d4 damage.

What about just giving the target a save vs. spell?

I see that passive. Because that puts the onus on the target to defend; it is less powerful if the MU has to make a ranged attack. Also that makes it a magic missile with a save, this way differentiates a little. It literally is only there as a magic attack of last resort to replace the crossbow wizard, it simply ensures that the MU always has a magic attack. It is more useful at low level, once the MU gets to higher levels and has juicier spells the Arcane Bolt becomes less attractive and literally is the attack of last resort. I would be reluctant to scale the damage from it as the MU increases level. At the moment it is a bonus, over and above what the RAW MU gets, I see no reason to make that bonus better as the MU gets higher.

[Sir Bedivere]

Looks interesting. It seems similar to the sorcerer supplement.

Yeah, the spontaneous casting is there, but no points or slots or other similar limits. If I ever wrote my own sorcerer class, it might be based on this, though it would have to be extended quite a bit. The MU spell list really isn't amenable to this kind of casting, so it'd have to be an all-new system, I think. (Although, I like Smoot's work on the Fey Mage class, which is a kind of sorcerer.)

Out of curiosity, did you decide on "Mercurial" to contrast the "Hermetic" formula system?

Yeah, though it wasn't a reference to Ars Magica (which I've never played) or any other specific Hermetic system. I was just looking for a word that I liked that also described the system I was creating. The word 'mercurial,' according to dictionary.com, means:

1. changeable; volatile; fickle; flighty; erratic: a mercurial nature.
2. animated; lively; sprightly; quick-witted.
3. pertaining to, containing, or caused by the metal mercury.
4. ( initial capital letter ) of or pertaining to the god Mercury.
5. ( initial capital letter ) of or pertaining to the planet Mercury.

Mercury in the Roman myths is Hermes in the Greek, so there is a touch of connection there, but Hermetic magic actually refers to Hermes Trismegistus, an ancient writer (or, at least, an alleged writer).

And: Flickum biccus

[Sir Bedivere]

Let me remind everyone here that "memorization" is not a BFRPG rule. Spells are prepared ...

Gads. I knew that. I just kept thinking in the old terminology.

[Sir Bedivere]

On Arcane Bolt:

What about just giving the target a save vs. spell?

I see that passive. Because that puts the onus on the target to defend; it is less powerful if the MU has to make a ranged attack. Also that makes it a magic missile with a save, this way differentiates a little.

An attack roll is made against AC, which is also the target's ability to defend. Also, rolling to hit for a magical ability strikes me as wandering across class lanes; it's too much like a fighter. One way to keep it entirely on the caster would be to have the caster make a save vs. spells to successfully cast it. Of course, this is all just splitting hairs, I suppose.

Which, by the way, do you make it just like a missile attack? Does the target's armor matter, and does the caster's DEX bonus apply?

I would be reluctant to scale the damage from it as the MU increases level. At the moment it is a bonus, over and above what the RAW MU gets, I see no reason to make that bonus better as the MU gets higher.

I agree. I think the main points for Arcane Bolt is that it makes the low-level MU a bit more capable, and it is an alternative to a MU that's better at physical combat.