Beyond Vancian Magic: The Magic of Poetry

A late second entry for Beyond Vancian Magic, that came to me while sick and watching kids movies.

Freeform casting. That's not unique. But how about... you can cast anything you like. But you have to be able to express it in rhyming couplets.

Maximum number of syllables per line is equal to your casting ability – level, or something else, as you see fit. Interpretation up to the referee, who should be consistent with the player's intent and their power levels. More able casters should be able to use their increased number of syllables to create more powerful or more precise effects.

At second level, Be gone/Long one will dispel a snake. Lightning, thunder, all around/Soon the rain will hit the ground may summon a thunderstorm, but needs a powerful magician.

And portable illumination at first level? That needs imagination. The obvious one is.... Rather scatological.

1d6 Celestial Phenomena

Eldritch Fields requested 1d6 celestial phenomena for the OSR Discord's 2024 Secret Santicorn¹. Also, the Goblette (Goblina?) has reminded me that it was, in fact, her idea that the Christmas elves should form a trade union. So whoever's drawn that one... the credit is not due to me.

1. All three moons - the Red, White, and Black - are full.

All that stuff that happens on a full moon? It happens eightfold. The tides are so high that ships are sailing on the market square. All wolves are werewolves, and all men bitten are turned. All emotions are heightened (roll 1d12 instead of 2d6 for reactions and morale). Wilderness encounters at night have a 50% chance of being rolled on the table for daylight.

2. Meteor storm.

The emphasis here is on storm. The sky burns bright with bolides. Find cover, and quickly; it'll sound like a cross between hailstones the size of grapefruits, and the biggest thunderstorm you've ever heard. Find cover quickly. Soft objects - livestock, crops, wooden boats, the cheaper sort of house - will be destroyed over the course of a bombardment that lasts 1d6 hours. If caught outside, save vs. breath or take 1d6 damage per turn until you find protection. Your shield counts - once. 

3. Eclipse.

The sun is blotted out. Total darkness reigns for 2d4 minutes. During this time, any food prepared is poisonous (save vs. death or suffer consequences). All creatures aligned to Chaos have advantage on their rolls; all creatures aligned to Order have disadvantage. Rituals to summon demons etc. automatically succeed.

4. The Killing Star

A bizarre, polychromatic star is visible in the sky for 1d12 hours. 50/50 chance whether it rises at dusk or sets at dawn. Either way, anyone looking at it must save vs. death or be driven into a murderous rage. until the star is no longer visible. When in this state, they are overcome by bloodlust and cannot rest while any creature within sight remains alive.

5. Lights in the Sky

The heavens are illuminated with the shimmering lights of the heavens in motion as the spirits of the deceased dance overhead. Divine spells cast during this time are treated as though the caster were one level higher than their actual level. Prayers made have a 1% chance per level of being granted. Any character raised from the dead does not suffer from weakness, but has vivid recollections of the joyous time spent among their ancestors and experiences a longing to return to them.

6. A Child Is Born.

A great comet appears in the sky, its tail pointing the way toward the place of the Chosen One. Unfortunately, sages are divided on what, exactly, the One was Chosen for. Those seeking them should beware false prophets, inflated profits, and very naughty boys. Should they be found, it's sure that they'll be in need of an entourage.

Beyond Vancian Magic: Skills for the Magic-User

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been messing around with the Thief. Actually, I've been thinking about character classes generally, and that includes the Magic-User. Magician. Mage. Wizard. Whatever you like to call them.

Which ties neatly in with the December RPG Blog Carnival theme, Beyond Vancian Magic.

I'll be honest, I actually quite like Vancian magic on magic-users¹, although I do still need to read some actual Vance to fully appreciate the nuances. But the classic old-school D&D magic-user suffers a little, in my view, from trying to make everything a spell.

Why is that a problem?

Well, when everything is a spell, everything depends on being able to cast spells. Hence the question of what use a Magic-User is without any spell slots. Later editions of the game solve this with zero-level spells that don't require any resources. That's certainly one way to solve the problem. Not necessarily a good way, but definitely a way.

Another is to have the Magic-User do useful but non-magical, as suggested on I Cast Light! several years ago. And I'm sure by countless people who didn't have blogs over the preceding forty-plus years. Which is, again, perfectly viable. And whilst spell scrolls contribute, they don't entirely solve the problem.

But there are a couple of things that Magic-Users probably ought to be able to do, which most OSR games require a spell for, or just don't permit.

Read Magic

Seriously, what use is a magic-user who can't read magic? How are they learning spells, deciphering inscriptions, and so forth otherwise? Just give it to them as a free ability. Level 1, straight out of the gates, no resource required.

Yeah, there's a risk that they can cast their one freaking spell and then move onto scrolls at Level 1. The great thing about scrolls? They're one and done. If it's a problem, stop leaving so many scrolls lying around in your dungeons.

Detect Magic

This one needs a bit more care. It's a bit more powerful than read magic, but it still feels like something that a magic-user should just be able to do. I'm on the fence about whether this should just work, or require a roll. My instinct is that it just works, but it takes an entire exploration turn. Instead of searching for traps, or listening at a door, the magic-user can attune to the ambient magical field to find any magic items within 60 feet.

If that's a bit too powerful, you could make it require a roll - on my 2d6 system, an ability of +3 in Detect Magic, modified by Intelligence, feels appropriate. Alternatively, rule that if any spell is actually cast within 60 feet of the magic-user, the disruption to the local magical field is so intense that the ability is temporarily ineffective. The magic-user might even be rendered incapable through the magical backlash.

Counter Spell

This is, unaccountably, entirely missing from the OD&D and B/X magic-user, yet feels like a core part of the fantasy archetype. A magic-user ought to be able to (or at least have a chance to) prevent the casting of a spell by an opponent. Fortunately, Chainmail² does have such rules. And with a little tweaking, they work quite well.

When in combat, a magic-user may name a target, and declare that they are going to attempt to counter its spell, rather than cast one of their own. A Counter Spell roll is then called for, with a skill at 1st level of +3. Modifiers to be applied are

• The counterspelling magic-user's Wisdom modifier. Yes, Wisdom.³ 
• ±1 for each level by which the magic-user's level is above or below the target's level.

This roll takes place regardless of which side wins initiative. There's therefore a risk/reward calculation: the player will certainly be unable to take any other action, but has a chance (and likely not a bad one) of preventing their opponent from acting.

Spell Casting

One of the innovations from 5e that's actually quite elegant is the concept of 'upcasting'. Rather than the power of a spell such as fire ball being determined by the level of the magic-user, it is instead determined by the level of the spell slot employed.

For the purposes of adapting to OSR rulesets, I'd suggest determining spell effects as at the lowest possible level (e.g. a 5d6 fire ball), then increasing the effects by two levels' worth for each level of upcasting. This probably needs adjusted with playtesting.

Employed alongside traditional Vancian spell preparation, this weakens the magic-user somewhat at higher levels by directly reducing the power of low-level spells, and increasing competition for higher-level slots. 

If you wanted to chuck on some minor magical effects, I don't see why you couldn't. Cantrips with appreciable mechanical effects undermine the resource management aspects of the game. A magic-user should be appreciably less effective once they're out of spells. But something like 'heat a bowl of soup to a pleasant warmth' or 'create a dim glow, similar to a lit match' isn't game breaking.

Oh, and you can't move and cast a spell on the same turn.⁴ All the gesticulating, you see.

Spell Recovery

There's still the problem of magic-users getting back their spells far too quickly compared to hit point recovery. Allowing one spell to be regained per night's rest works out about right; the magic-user will regain all their spells more quickly than the fighter regains their hit points, but only by a factor of two or so. Here, I'd say that spell recovery should generally respect level progression, with lower-level spells recovered before higher-level ones.

More Linear?

Taken together, I think this gives a magic-user that better embodies the fantasy at low levels, through the Read Magic, Detect Magic, and Counter Spell abilities. The power is reined in slightly at higher levels, resulting in magic-users who are slightly less world-changing.

Yes, it's still basically Vancian. Which feels like a bit of a cop-out. But the flavour of the classic magic-user feels basically just right - just a dash of seasoning and a little garnish needed to make the dish what it needs to be.

¹: Clerics are another (more complicated) matter.

²: The counterspell mechanics from newer editions are either uselessly clunky (3.5e) or too powerful (5e).

³: Or Will, when I get around to my take on ability scores.

⁴: Getting the impression I'm B/Xifying Chainmail and OD&D yet?

Thoughts on a Skill System

 As is tradition, I've been redesigning the Thief¹. Probably nothing novel, I may or may not post it the end.

But I'm drawn to a 2d6 skill system. Why? Partly because of the pleasing bell curve effect - a novice might succeed, a master will almost always succeed. And that eases itself into allowing some advanced thief abilities, i.e. the notorious 'climbing upside down and horizontally, voice skills such as mimicry and ventriloquism, and other skills of deception'. Yes, I have thoughts in that direction.

But there's another reason. Building on Dyson's d6 and 2d6 Thiefin' for Basic Dungeons & Dragons, the 2d6 range lends itself to adding ability modifiers to the roll. Specifically, for a roll-high 2d6 system:

• A 1-in-6 chance requires a roll of 10 or higher
• 2-in-6 requires 9 or higher
• 3-in-6 requires a 7 or 8 - there's no clean way to get a 50/50 outcome on 2d6
• 4-in-6 requires a 6 or higher
• 5-in-6 requires 5 or higher

Why are those numbers important?

Well, if one uses the B/X ability score modifiers, the maximum modifier applied is ±3. Which means, if trying to roll a 1-in-6 chance, even a particularly inept character (with -2 in the relevant ability) can succeed on a natural 12. And if trying to roll against a 5-in-6 chance, a particularly adept character (with a +3 in the ability) is guaranteed to succeed.

Placing success at a modified roll of 10 or more works pretty well with Dyson's table - converting his target numbers to skill modifiers - and also with Open Doors as a skill modified by Strength. Those who are foolish brave enough to delve in dungeons will tend to have some aptitude in this region - a +2 works out about right.

This means that while ability scores are helpful, skill matters more. Even a particularly inept 1st-level Thief, with a +5 to Climb Sheer Surfaces but a -3 to Strength²has a +2 - i.e. about a 3-in-6 chance - of success. They may be feeble, but they know some tricks. 

Yes, I know that skill systems create all sorts of issues. We'll get there. But B/X has a skill system anyway. It just doesn't tell you about it. If you're going to have a Thief, you need to address those issues. We shall get there.