I hate Spell Lists

Ok, maybe that's too much. I have, as a player, loved looking through spell lists to find the weird and wonderful things that I can do. However, in attempting to write a super simple dungeoncrawl style game I have run into the problem of spells. It suddenly balloons the rule document, and makes it look large and intimidating. I already think five pages of rules is too many, so adding a detailed spell list is beyond the pale. 

So, here is my idea for a magic system that works with my simple rules and the two magic classes I have: Wizards and Bards.

WIZARD MAGIC

Wizard magic is about manipulating the fabric of nature, reshaping thigs at a fundamental level. Of course many wizards say that they are merely speaking to the elements in the language that they understand, but they are probably just trying to make it seem like they have better interpersonal skills than they really do.

At every level you pick a new element to cast spells over. To cast a spell you roll a twenty sided dice and as many six sided dice as you are putting magic points into it, plus your intelligence bonus, plus your level. The number to hit is up to the GM, and dependent on the rules system you are using. In my system a first level wizard using one die and having no smarts at all would average about 15, and the highest possible number a maximum level and big brained character could get would be 95. 

Every element has a thing it wants to do: water wants to flow, fire wants to burn fuel, and rocks want to fall towards earth's core. Anything you want to command an element to do becomes harder to achieve the further away it gets from an element's nature. So, starting a fire going with dry tinder, wood, and a spark from flint and steel requires no magic as really, anyone who knows how to make fire can do it. Diverting water to flow uphill would be more difficult, but possible with the right engineering or a bit of a magical boost. Causing a rock to levitate is right against its nature, and so would require a massive amount of magic... however it would require less magic to ask the winds to lift a rock for you (still a lot, as powerful winds generally don't come from nowhere localized entirely around one rock.

Unrelated note: How Great Is Heroquest

Elemental Effects

1. Natural, but convenient. A fire grows rapidly 

2. Unlikely, but still within the realms of possibility. An unstable hillside collaspses just when needed, and a bouncing rock sails away conveniently striking your foe.

3. Improbable! A once in a lifetime fluke. A small whirlwind appears from nowhere powerful enough to floor a single target then vanishes.

4. Impossible. A fire starts underwater.

5. Allegorical. An aspect of the element is infused into something else, and you can begin to levitate as the wind, or your skin becomes stone, or any other number of improbable things.

If what you are trying to do is cause damage it's an easier metric. A higher number hits harder. Increase dice type and number with the difficulty.

Distances

Distance also factors into things, the further away you want to affect, the more power you will have to push into the thing.

1. Touch: Yourself or right next to you. Magic's like electricity in that regard and it is easier to move it with a conducting connection

2. Near: In the room with you, or as far as you could throw a rock

3. Far: Within the same level of the dungeon, or if outside as far a distance as you could yell and still be understood. Maybe as far as a trebuchet could hurl a stone

4. Wherever You Are: Does what it says on the tin, inside a dungeon can affect anything within the complex. As far as you could see outside. Requires precise knowledge of the target, so somewhere you have been and know is easy to teleport to but launching a fireball anywhere on the planet might require "scry and die" tactics. This might be a bit more of a exponential increase in required power based on what sort of thing you're trying to do over a great distance.

Types of Element

So there are prescribed element types which you can hold mastery over, with some restrictions on the complexity of what you can manage.

Basic Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water classical elements can be learned in any order

Advanced Elements need two other elements to be known already: Ice (Water, Earth), Metal (Earth, Fire), Sound (Air, Water), Lightning (Fire, Air)

Final Elements only can be learned when all other elements are mastered: Gravity (Earth, Air) Light (Fire, Water) 

Scrolls, Books, and other Magic Spells

So, part of the fun of being a Wizard is to be able to find magic spells, look around in old tomes and find a thing to do. Now, I like these. It is pretty cool, and it's on to the aspects about Spell Lists I actually do like. So my answer is: don't list them. If you have a spell in your spell book it takes a certain number of dice (aka spell level) to cast. You load a spell up in the morning and go. This way if you want to use spells from some standard spell list for another game you just have to determine how powerful it is. Since these are ritualized and formalized and always do pretty much the same thing, they're more energy efficient (in a magical way), and so knowing the spell "fireball" is always going to cost less magical energy than creating the same effect but with mastery over the element (ie: Wait, you know how to create water by summoning it from an elemental plane? That's so much easier than individually combining ambient hydrogen and oxygen!).

As far as conflicting spell flavour to elemental mastery goes I think it's more fun (and easier) not to worry about it. You don't need to say "You can't cast breathe water! You only have earth and fire as elements you know!" It's easier to think of the elemental mastery as being fluent in the language of that element, whereas a spell is wrote learning a single phrase in a language you have otherwise now clue about. Allons y! Je ne parle pas Français!

BARD MAGIC

Bard magic is more about secret knowledge and techniques. It's about rumours, and knacks, and secrets picked up on travel. It's why part of the Bard's magic is healing (as many healing points as level plus charm bonus every day). In addition to this, Bards have one point of magic per level every day to spend on their more weird and wonderful things, although each magic point can be converted into their charm bonus in healing points at a pinch.

There are two broad effects of Bard magic: Talking and Enchanting. Every time you take a level, including at first level, you get to learn a new knack of Talking or Enchanting. If you know how to talk to something it confers no further benefit other than understanding it; it doesn't make the creature your friend, or even make it interested in talking to you, or guarantee that it has anything interesting to say (most non sentient animals aren't interested in much beyond food, mating, and avoiding being eaten) however it is a first step. 

If you can talk to a type of creature, you can track and heal them too. Healing points are spent as normal from your pool, although tracking takes a magic point, and you must roll a twenty sided dice, plus your charm bonus, plus a six sided dice for every magic point spent on tracking. 

Once you know how to talk to an order of creatures you will be able to learn how to enchant them, so to learn to enchant beasts you would need to be at level 2. It takes a magic point to cast an enchantment on a creature, and it can take two forms. The first is that the creature is immediately friendly towards you. This isn't mind control and will end if you ask the creature to do something really stupid ("Jump into the fire", "Stand perfectly still while these guys hit you with swords") but will be willing to do favours for you within reason. This enchantment will last for a few minutes if the creature has reason to dislike you (a hungry tiger might remember that it wants to eat you, or an enemy guard might remember that you are a hated outsider), but otherwise the impression will continue indefinitely if you continue to act in a cordial way to the creature (ie if you don't take advantage, you just made a new friend by magic/being charming). To enchant a creature in this fashion roll bard level and charm modifier, plus a six sided dice for every magic point spent on enchanting them, things which are aggressive, or even actively attacking you will be more resistant (although things that are scared of you may be less so).

You can also use your skill of enchantment to add a six sided dice to their roll to attack or attempt a skill. This simply requires the Bard to declare it and can be done after the roll is made (this could represent the Bard remembering a neat little trick they once learned and yelling the advice, or even performing a full NFL style cheer routine to inspire them to greater heights). However, if this is attempted in combat it will also rob the bard of their next action as they spend it concentrating on the enchantment instead.

All Bards automatically already know Talking and Enchanting of humans at first level.

What can you talk to?

The basic set of talk-toable things can be learned in any order. A slight caveat in that some things cannot communicate, as they do not communicate within their own kind. So you cannot communicate with an amoeba (even if you could see it) but you can talk with a whole mess of bees or ants. Trees and plants are the exception, as it is just cool to talk to plants. All of the examples listed here are mundane type animals.

1 Beasts (Bears, Cats, Dogs, Horses, things that walk around on land)

2 Birds (Eagles, Chickens, Ducks, Bats, Dinosaurs, things that go in the sky or in the water)

3 Bushes (Plants, trees, large banks of seaweed)

This, but like...good

Advanced Talking Skills

In order to learn to talk to other orders of creature, you must first master all the arts of enchanting the other forms of life. So the earliest one could learn to talk to Bugbears would be at level seven.

4 Bugbears 

This doesn't mean just this kind of bugbear (I just wanted to stick with the "B" theme I had going) it means anything which is a magical or fantastical monster, but which is essentially a physical thing. This means manticores, chimerae, krakens, giant ants, all sorts of things within the realm of the physically monstrous.

5 Boogums 

Precautions recommended

Boogums are outsider things: angels, demons, elder gods, spirits, ghosts, undead, and anything far too powerful to otherwise be enchanted. Talking to Boogums can only be learned after learning to enchant Bugbears.

It's not who gets there first, it's who gets back alive...

"As every student of exploration knows, the prize goes not to the explorer who first sets foot upon the virgin soil but to the one who gets that foot home first. If it is still attached to his leg, this is a bonus."

-Terry Pratchett, Jingo

If you go through the history of Dungeons and Dragons to some of the earliest game design, you can see that the incentive was not only to go into the depths of underground catacombs, but to get all that sweet loot out again. This is the point of calculating coin weights, the existence of Tenser's Floating Disc, and the DM dick move of making all the Dragon's hoard in Copper Pieces; the gold doesn't matter if you can't get it back to somewhere you can spend it. It also requires you to find a large enough economy in which you can convert your treasures into more usable coin. You can't just get to the local one horse, three pig, nowheresville and expect the local tavern owner to have enough money to give market value for the emerald encrusted idol of the elephant god (although it could make a very nice addition to the common room, maybe bring in some of that noble trade... something to think about). 

"You only get XP for the gold you get back to town" is a pretty standard practice, and I don't think I am breaking any new ground in suggesting it. However, I am suggesting one step further; killing the Beast of Gévaudan doesn't matter if no-one ever hears that it was you that did it.

You only get XP for monsters you have defeated if you get to tell the tale. This is distinct from getting to a town with gold (although you can certainly roll them both into one), but even if you get to a lone trading post, out of the way inn, or meet a travelling singer on the road as long as you get the stories of your adventures told that is when you get the XP.

It requires a little extra bookeeping, but a little that can easily be handed off to the players! After all, it is they who are telling the story. If they keep a tally of all the things they have killed, all the monsters defeated, and have to retell the stories of (or at least relist) the adversaries they fought to the audience they are telling the tale to then you can be sure they will be doing this for XP.

If you use this format as the only way to get XP, you can probably use the standard formula for the system. However, if you are using it as a sort of bonus (ie: in conjunction with rules that allow a bonus for gold brought back to town such as carousing/philanthropy) then you can probably stand to modify the calculus somewhat. Only one XP dip for each type of enemy per story (unless there's a particularly cool kill, or story about tricking or otherwise defeating them), and maybe an exponential increase in XP based on hit dice (incentivizing hunting the biggest monsters for the best stories). 

Alternative XP mechanic: XP as Class

This is a mechanic to incentivize particular behavior for particular classes. A rogue wants to steal gold and treasures, a fighter wants to fight the strongest opponents, and a wizard wants weird magical crap.

So, in this XP is as normal, however bonus XP depends on class (figured as Fighter, Thief and Wizard). The fighter gets bonus XP for every creature fought and successfully bragged about. This incentivizes the fighter to fight things and to throw their lives away in death or glory charges. Alternatively, if using the unique creature limit and exponential hit dice increase, it makes fighters into dragon hunters wanting to find the biggest coolest nastiest thing to kill. You of course need to find an audience for this, so you need to find somewhere with a tavern, and preferably a bard to whip your story up into something really cool. 

You only get the bonus for treasure brought back to town if you are a thief. You have to fence the treasures through the local mob syndicate or thieves guild or what have you, so you need to find a town which can support such an economy. It also means you want to hoard and transport wealth, every single copper is a bonus bit of kudos with your fellows. Probably best that the fenced loot can be converted into goods and services as well (it's not the miser class after all), but it does mean you don't want to waste money throwing it away on tacky shows of ostentation in the boonies.

So where does this leave our poor Wizard, sitting out in the cold with no bonus XP to warm them? Well, there are a couple of possibilities: firstly, you could leave around Wizard Rare Candies that immediately grant a level (such as the Treasures in Lair of the Lamb), or determine that Wizards get the gold value XP of any magical items found lying around. However, both of these depend a little too much on GM fiat, tend to seesaw more extremely than the above two, and don't require the loot be taken anywhere. 

An alternative is: no cost for spell scribing. You just need to get a spellbook or scroll to a scriptorium, or lab, or other reasonable studio and you have that spell! It means that Wizards will be even more eager to seek out spellbooks and scrolls, and happy to trawl around the lairs of evil liches looking for somewhere with a bench and some writing implements. If you have a standard medieval fantasy world, you can make the places where you can set up to write even more idiosyncratic than the locations for fighters and thieves! This also levels out the XP progression for Wizards against thieves and fighters, if they are getting bonus stuff more often, but bonus XP less.

You could expand this to other classes based on what you think they should be incentivized to do. Clerics getting XP for conversion and healing for example, but only when they return to a temple of their god. Mixed classes getting half the bonus for a mix of tasks such as Bards getting half the rogue XP for treasure back in town, and half fighter XP for monster hunting stories spread.

XP as Class: Hard Mode

Bascially, as above, but it is the only way to get any XP is for the actions of your class. It might be an idea to nix the "take it somewhere" element of the above. It also makes characters much more in competition and uneasy allegiance, so it may not work too well. However, it does lead to definite character incentives linked to their archetypes.

However, this in conjunction with the Wizard's spell copying means that Wizards would not get any XP. Which, in this instance: Wizards do not level. Instead, they can always cast all of the spells they know, all the time. As soon as you find a new spell, it's yours and you know it. It makes Wizards glass cannons even more so, as they never move beyond the "get one-shotted by a goblin" stage. If you need to limit this, you could say that every spell gets a "once per day" fire and forget, or you could say that Wizards level up by number of spells known. However, this would really drive the magic users to be looking out for sites of ancient mystery and forgotten lore.

Anyway, that's my alternate XP system. Mybe there's something useful in there, let me know if you think you could use any ideas from it.

When you hit zero

So, I recently wrote up a very simple system in order to introduce people to roleplaying, specifically to the OSR style. Now, I'm still refining the rules, as I think they are still too bloated (they run to five pages! Five!!) but to that end I'm putting some rules up here as I think of them so that I can copy them into the master document later. To that end, here's my rules about death and dismemberment (I may make a bigger table later, but for now this is it).

When You Hit Zero

No-one likes to get one-shotted, even at first level, so here are the rules that mean you don't die immediately in combat. 

As is traditional...

When you hit zero you pass out and begin to bleed out. Three rounds later you have succumbed to your wounds, but within this time a friend can spend an action to save you. You do not regain consciousness until after the fight has ended (if there is a fight), or until you regain HP from healing. Either way, if you have fallen below zero you must roll on the table below.

1	Come on, you’re fine. I barely touched you, just walk it off you faker.
2-3	You suffer no ongoing problems, but you get a cool scar to carry with you for the rest of your life (choose as appropriate to the injury)
4-5	Your injuries will need time to heal. You take four or five points (depending on roll) from any of your stats which will heal at a rate of one per day, or after one day of convalescence with healers (ie go to a Hospital), and you will carry scars from this encounter.
6-7	Your injuries are severe enough to require a great deal of recuperation. You take six or seven points (depending on roll) from any of your stats will heal at a rate of one per day, or after one day of convalescence with healers (ie go to a Hospital), and you will carry scars from this encounter. In addition to this, you lose your class bonus to all actions until you have taken a day’s rest.
8	The savage nature of your injuries has debilitated you permanently. You lose two points of either strength or dexterity and have an “old war wound” that aches in bad weather.
9	You have taken extreme damage to the brink of death. You permanently lose four points from either strength or dexterity, or loose a limb (with concomitant effects). The scars you carry from this injury are noticeable for all, and cause people to often ask the story behind them.
10	You have suffered from a debilitating injury from which there is no return. You can move under your own power, but your strength, dexterity, and health points have fallen to 1. You could continue to live a regular life, but your adventuring days are over.

There are two exceptions to these rules: 

If you get damaged to -10 HP (by being hit by a big explosion or something), you do get one-shotted. Don't poke the dragon. 

Also Barbarians, as they get a powerup when they hit zero HP but die immediately at -10. A Barbarian does "roll" on the wounds table every time they drop below zero, but always get the result of "cool scars".

Time

It is always important to know the calendar, not only is timekeeping important, but there are festivals to observe and cultural connotations to the different months. As is only right and sensible, the year is divided up into ten months, which are as follows:

The Ten Months

March
The beginning of the year, the start of the campaigning season and sacred to Mars the God of War. 
Contains the unspeakable Ides. A month for war, sacrifice, and the slaughter. An auspicious month for great undertakings, the beginning of epic works, or to try and murder a god. Under the laws of heraldry this is the only acceptable month to declare war, and ongoing conflicts are often marked with the traditional rites of throwing a javelin into enemy territory (or more often a symbolic representation thereof).

The Zodiac of this month is Pisces

Aphril
The flowering month, sacred to Venus. A month of growth and new birth, also one of vengeance and the rites of combat. An auspicious moth for dueling (especially for love), marriages, and general affairs of the heart. It is also traditionally the month for ewes to lamb (however sheep do not care overmuch for tradition). The rite of flowers is often performed in this month.

The Zodiac of this month is Aries

Maia
Sacred to Bona Dea and an auspicious month to give birth. A snow white bull and a coal black bull are both slaughtered on the steps of the Capitoline Temple in Old Rhomarth and the organs inspected by the haruspices.* Newborn children are brought up to be anointed with the viscera to bring them fortune and guidance in their lives.

The Zodiac of this month is Taurus

June
Sacred to Juno, Queen of the Gods. Time of the Summer Solstice, the sun is high, the days are long, the trees are fruiting. Although this is a time of much agricultural work, in the cities it is often a time of revelry and masques. In the cities of Vincenzia and Saint Basil's Folly this month holds the nights of a thousand faces. A full week of festivals where all citizens wear elaborate masks that cover their identities at all times. The Great Masque is held at the end of the month, when all these vizards are removed at midnight. This festival forms the basis of many plays both farcical and tragic. If one wished to visit Zirkusburg at this time, it might be almost deserted.

The Zodiac of this month is Gemini

July
Sacred to the divine Julius. This month is auspicious for coronations to occur, and traditionally regnal years begin and end in this month. The festival of the Divine Julius is celebrated across many different lands, where it is traditional to drink wine, read poetry, and make promises and resolutions to be fulfilled before the next festival. It is also a time to deliver secret love notes and romantic gifts.

The Zodiac of this month is Leo

August
Sacred to the divine Augustus. This month is of great importance to the legal fraternity, a good time for new laws to be passed, for legal practitioners to become qualified, and for magistrates to take their offices. Most major polities still celebrate the festival of the divine Augustus as a rite of civic pride and an opportunity to retell the history of the city. Generally a dull affair interesting only to historians and self important civic officials.

The Zodiac of this month is Cancer

Tiber
Sacred to father Tiber and to the divine Tiberius. The great festival of the grain harvest falls in this month, a feast to celebrate the hard work done in the fields. Much beer is drunk and celebratory loaves are baked and eaten. Apples are dried, and vegetables are pickled often with accompanying fairs delivering prizes. This is also the time to pray for protection against floods, and for dykes, dams, levees, and other waterworks to be inspected and repaired.

The Zodiac of this month is Libra

Geist
The haunted month, the setting in of winter. The festival of ghosts and demons is held in this month to protect against their influences throughout the year. This is a time when the dead come forth from their graves, when the influence of witches is most potent, and when the powers of the supernatural are at their most puissant. It is a good time to attempt to commune with the dead, or to have a curse tablet made against your enemies. It is said in Old Rhomarth there is still yet a shadow cult that holds rites to the shade of the long forgotten Emperor for whom the month is named.

The Zodiac of this month is Virgo

Claudio
Sacred to the divine Claudius. A month of judgement and an auspicious time to have a legal case heard. The month begins with All Saint's Day and the cannon law courts hear the largest and most important cases in this month (before closing until the following year). This is an auspicious month to slaughter a hog, and a good time to cure bacon. In the northern parts of the Holy Empire the festival of Hogswatch takes place with a great feast of pork, ham, sausage, bacon, and bloodmeal.

The Zodiac of this month is Scorpio

Nero
The dead month, a time of burning and of the winter solstice and the end of the year. Sacred to the divine Nero. The major celebrations take decidedly different qualities. The rite of fires (seen as burning the poor fortune and sins of the past year) is in equal parts sombre and savage, great fires are lit and the graves of ancestors are visited; this happens on the date of the winter solstice. A week later comes Saurnalia and the Lord of Misrule; a chaotic celebration lasting anywhere between a day and two weeks (depending on social standing). Drunken debauchery, communal singing, and large scale pranks are regular occurrences.  Gift giving amongst families, especially to children, is common.

The Zodiac of this month is Sagittarius

Intercalary Months

There are also two months that do not belong to the year, but are still observed. Superstition holds that children born in these months are likely to be werewolves, be stolen by the fair folk, or harbour a desire to overthrow the state.

January
Sacred to Ianus the two faced God of Borders of endings and beginnings. The festivals of Ianus are necessary to separate one year from the next. Contracts are often signed and sealed this month, and plans and businesses agreed upon. The boundary stones are counted and measured in this month, as well as many polities taking a census of their citizens. Frost fairs and markets are held upon frozen rivers, and due to being not upon the land are by tradition are free of taxes and duties.

The Zodiac of this month is Capricorn

February
A time of festivals, the festival of Februum necessary to begin the new year in the coming month of March. Also contains the festivals of Lupercalia, Quirinalia, Feralia, Caristia, and Terminalia. Traditionally a month with little to no work and much rejoicing. This is an auspicious month to found a city, and the birth dates of cities are traditionally counted in this month.

The Zodiac of this month is Aquarius

*The continuation of this and other ancient pagan traditions is brought up in support of the removal of the Papacy from Rhomarth to Stonechurch. The ancient priesthoods and colleges of soothsayers are very much alive, although often sheltered by the aegis a cult of one Saint or other.