M20 Spell Casting

[Cyragia]

Hello,
First I'd like to say I'm new to RPG's, I've read some rulebooks, but never played actually played a game.
I'm considering playing Basic Fantasy, but I find that 'preparing' magic spells constrains the abilities of the magic user. I really like the system Microlite20 uses: you can cast any spell without preparing but you take damage relative to the spells level (assuming you're level is high enough to cast the spell), that way the magic user still has considerable downsides when casting spells, but more choice what to cast.
Would this be good to houserule into BF, or will it break certain aspects of the game ? Would there be disadvantages if I use this method ?

[SmootRK]

Hello,
First I'd like to say I'm new to RPG's, I've read some rulebooks, but never played actually played a game.
I'm considering playing Basic Fantasy, but I find that 'preparing' magic spells constrains the abilities of the magic user. I really like the system Microlite20 uses: you can cast any spell without preparing but you take damage relative to the spells level (assuming you're level is high enough to cast the spell), that way the magic user still has considerable downsides when casting spells, but more choice what to cast.
Would this be good to houserule into BF, or will it break certain aspects of the game ? Would there be disadvantages if I use this method ?

I have never heard of this sort of houserule (and I have never really given microlite20 much of a look). It does sound interesting to me, as I wrote an alternate take the Sorcerer sort of caster called the Fey Mage that uses alternate mechanisms for casting.

If I were going to try something like this (and it sounds certainly doable and even fairly balanced approach), I would perhaps declare that their are "other sorts of casters" out there than the standard MU (but I would not eliminate the standard MU either). I would probably go ahead and call them Sorcerers, which has become in effect the standard nomenclature in rpgs for spontaneous casters. I would modify the spell list to give them a bit more of their own sort of flavor.

Another thing to look at is that this sort of caster (and player) will not focus on intelligence like the standard MU. If you want them to be studious wizardly types, then you have to figure out some way to steer intelligence back into the process (perhaps by severely limiting spell selection and the Intelligence bonus become the principle way of expanding their repertoire).

Because HP becomes a feature tied to spell casting, this caster will abnormally gravitate to CON and HP in general. Another aspect of this, is a tertiary co-dependence upon clerics or other healing means. Ready access to extra means of healing will empower this sort of caster in unpredictable ways. Instead of actual HP, perhaps this sort of caster would need a separate pool of "spell points" (same value as the max HP of the character). When a spell is cast, both the HP and the SP are reduced by one per spell-level, but healing effects only restore actual Hit Points. The spell Points are only restored through normal rest (and then only up to the HP value of the caster at the beginning of the day (if complete healing was not accomplished))... anyway, more thought might be needed here for balance.

So, there ya go... some quickie input on your idea. I think it has merits, but might need some thought and testing, probably as a sort of alternate-class.

[SmootRK]

And... welcome. Always nice to see a fresh face, especially one that likes to try things out (like BFRPG).

[Dimirag]

Welcome! There is no big change besides the vibe of the classic magic user. Two things to consider:
First your mu will need a litle more hp (on m20 they use d6). If you give them a higher hd rule that any hp used for magic cam only be regained by resting. Otherwise it can go out of hand... or give some magic hp per level instead of making them harder.
The other thing is to calculate the cost. The spell power does not increase linearly so higher spells should cost much more tha lower ones.
Using the spells per day to limit wich spells can be casted is a good way to prevent mu becoming superhero like characters

[Cyragia]

I like your idea of spell points, to limit the use of spells, and make them not as dependant on healing. Maybe you could just use spell points and forget about taking damage when casting a spell. But then you don't have a disadvantage anymore... Maybe you could let the spell points influence the AC of the mu.

To get intelligence back in the picture you could make it determine how much HP/spell points a spell uses, along with the spell's level. Maybe something like this: 1 + 2*spell level - INT bonus (with a minimum cost of 1). M20 uses 1 + 2*spell level
You could also let the intelligence determine the failure rate (DC) of the spell. ( Can spells even fail in standard BFRPG ? )

[Dimirag]

Spells are used. They can be lessended or resisted but there is no failure. Intelligence does not have any spell modifier quality so theres no need in changing that unless you really want it

[Cyragia]

Intelligence does not have any spell modifier quality so theres no need in changing that unless you really want it

What do you mean with this sentence ?

[Dimirag]

I mean that under the bfrpg system intelligence does not give extra spell or other spell modifications so you dont need to include the int bonus or value into your magic rules.

[dymondy2k]

I came into BFRPG from Microlite and one of my favorite things about ML was the spellcasting. With the low HP of starting casters though.. this could be a dangerous proposition in BFRPG.

[Cyragia]

So maybe I should just use a spell point system, like I mentioned above.
Does Intelligence do anything besides determining the amount of languages someone can know ?