More OC stuff, this time two Yetis named Haze and Flurry, along with some concepts of a magic power Yetis naturally have in my head world called Ice Touch
I've been working on my own ttrpg game system for a while now and ive been pondering magic systems and what I don't like about the general trends of most magic systems that I've seen. Namely that most every game has every type of magic user abide by the exact same rules with different classes getting slightly different rule tweaks. The best example I can point to for this is 5e dnd. Everyone uses spell slots. Some classes restore spell slots on a short or long rest. Sorcerers get class features that let them alter the way they cast spells. Clerics get access to 'divine' magic. Warlocks get one kind of upgrading spell slot. Wizards get to know a ton of spells if the pay for them. Fundamentally, they all use the exact same system for casting spells as everyone else.
I don't understand why though, and narritively I don't really like it either.
The easy answer for why most systems work this way is simplicity. Magic isn't exactly a thing we have Irl, so keeping it simple makes it easier for people to pick up and use and even swap between classes. Thats cool and all, but it robs the game of the capacity to really tie the narritive to the mechanics of the game. It flattens every magic user class into "wizard but instead they do ____" and that sucks. Additionally, all games seem to be married to the concept of magic coming in a predetermined spell format that gets sorted based on the magic type or magic is this vague thing that you do with no real in-between. That also sucks. The spell format is very clear and concise, but its so constraining and honestly it makes the game feel like it was written by a wizard and fully centered around wizard based magic. And fully free magic with no rules are a bit too vague to be used for anything more than one off powers.
My idea for my own game system is to create different kinds of magic casting and then granting access to these types of magic casting based on the narrative of the class. I ask myself "Would it make sense for this type of magic use to use magic in this way?" If so, they get it, if not, they don't. No more "you get access to this spell list and these magic modification feats", no more "yes im a cleric/warlock but I don't have to actually interact with the thing ive dedicated my life to". In my system I want classes to have access to different types of magic and magic casting and then players can choose to invest into the kind of magic they feel best fits them.
This post is already getting long, so the details for my ideas are under the cut, but I'd love to hear what anyone who's read them thinks 💜
Rituals
A type of magic based on material sacrifice and impersonal/vague connection to an outsider or well of magic of some kind. Ritual magic takes a lot of time to prepare but once it is prepared you will get consistent results with room for upwards improvement based on ritual use situations and the materials sacrificed in the ritual. Ritual magic doesn't impose an energy cost on the user.
Examples: reviving someone who died, raising the dead, lasting shielding magic of an area
Used By: Clerics, Warlocks, and Druids. Learnable by Rangers, Wizards, and those with the wisdom to understand the ritualistic nature of magic.
Mechanics: players learn rituals that they can use at any time so long as they meet the conditions of the ritual and have the time to set up and perform the ritual. Rituals come with optional higher degrees of power that have a higher success dc and a greater situational requirement threshold. Players first determine how strong they want the ritual to be. Stronger rituals have a situational requirement threshold represented by a number. Players get points for meeting situational requirements; ritual performed at night +1 a full moon +2, performing on top of a mountain +3, target has natural white hair +5, caster has moon shaped scar +8 etc. When players have enough points to meet the situational requirement threshold they can then begin the ritual at that level. Players then decide on their material sacrifices and gain bonuses for them. Each ritual has a different bonus list but there are commonly accepted ritual components. After sacrifices are made the player then rolls against the difficulty of the ritual to determine if it succeeds or not. Players get bonuses to this roll based on materials sacrificed, the number of casters, time spent, and caster wisdom. Higher rolls over the dc don't grant additional effects, however, failure to meet or surpass the DC results in a failure and the destruction of sacrificed materials so its always better to over prepare.
Invocations
Magic requiring a sound, a gesture, or both. The caster channels their will into a type of physical movement or spoken word causing a magical effect to manifest. The results are quick and simple but cannot be altered. Invoked magic doesn't last more than a few seconds. Invoked magic is raw and chaotic with harmful but predictable effects. Invocation magic uses stamina and passion and so long as you have a will to fight you can keep using invocation magic.
Examples: a pladins divine smite, a damaging cantrip like fire bolt, bardic inspiration
Used By: Paladins and Bards. Learnable by Clerics, Sorcerers, and those with a strong will.
Mechanics: invocations are limited primarily by the characters ability to perform/speak to invoke their magic and secondly by their will to invoke it. Meaning that characters who are silenced, bound, demoralized, or feared cannot perform an invocation. Rallied, frenzying, or inspired characters double their invocation dice. Invocations are usually an additional die that is added to a following action. In the case of damaging magic your invocation die is your damage rolled for the attack.
Spells
A formulaic type of magic based on written or carved symbols that cause consistent and stable effects. Spells can be altered but require great expertise to do so properly. Casting time varies based on spell complexity. This type of magic requires set amounts of energy to properly function, this energy cost is written into the spell at the time it is inscribed. Spells must be kept in a physical format to be used and may only be used at a predetermined rank established in the spells creation. Spells can create long last magic.
Examples: a wizards spell book, a scroll of fireball, a warding sigil etched into armor, a spell caster covered in runic spell scars
Used By: Wizards and Bards. Learnable by those with a high intelligence and formal magical training.
Mechanics: plain and simple these guys use a spell slot system with spells that have ser spell slot costs. With downtime players can create modified versions of spells that use higher slots for more damage or different effects. Casters must keep their spells in a physical format on their person at all times or they lose access to their spells.
Attunements
Your character has mystically merged with a well of magic or type of magical energy that grants them highly flexible control over their attuned domain. Your degrees of attunement grant you ways of manipulating this energy that can be combined into various effects that are shaped by the casters emotions and feelings. Attunement requires the use of mana to propel this shaping of this magic energy. Mana can be drawn from similar sources of energy to your attunement source or in more dire straits it can be taken from the blood and body of the caster to the point of death. Attunement magic effects are often quick to act but generally aren't long lasting. Attunement magic works best when the caster channels their mana through a conduit tied to their attunement. Their magic is also generally stronger in situations favorable to the exsistance of their attunement, as well as just being around non-magical forms of their attunements domain/type.
Examples: sorcerers using their draconic blood ties to manipulate fire and harden their skin into protective scales, a mountain dwelling monk granting their cold immunity to their allies.
Used by: Sorcerers and Monks. Learnable by anyone who can forge a physical, mystical, and emotional connection to a non sentient well of magic.
Mechanics: Casters determine the source of their attunement on picking up this magic and recieve words describing actions based on their attunements domain. When a character wants to use an attunement they select a word they have access to, a feeling/emotion to further define the magic's behavior, and then they give a sentence about what they want the magic to do. The dm assigns a difficulty to this based on the power required to shift energy into this effect and gives the player a situational modifier to their roll. -4 for ice magic being cast in a volcano, +3 to wind magic cast on top of a mountain. The player rolls 1d10 plus their situational bonuses, casting conduit bonus, and +1 for each mana spent. Treat the result of the roll as a % of success. A 10 = 100% success and the effect happens exactly as imagined or as close to imagined as fairly possible. Over 10 grants additional benefits, under 10 means varying degrees of failure. Damaging effects deal a number of damage dice equal to the success %. Rolling under 10 does that number in damage. Over 10 means players roll a number of d4's for the damage dealt. At higher levels of magic master casters can use multiple words in a casting for additional damage/utility.
Bonds
Your character is contractually or metaphysically bound to a sentient extraplanar entity that grants them magic in exchange for fulfilling their contractual obligations. By performing certain deeds or daily actions pledged to your bond you gain varying types of magic based on your bond and your relationship to them. Bond magic is subject to the details of the contract but when used by a caster it will always occur as written without failure.
Examples: a warlock with a deep sea bond expends some favor on a benefit of their contract causing all their present enemies to drop to their hands and knees as they feel their lungs filling with sea water. A servant of a fey trickster exchanges four childrens teeth for some luck for the next four days.
Used By: Warlocks and some Paladins and Clerics. Learnable by those who have enough charisma to convince an extra planar entity to grant you their magic.
Mechanics: Characters pick an entity to be bonded to and recieve a list of contractual obligations, benefits, and anathemas. By performing obligations characters recieve favor that accumulates as points in a pool. When your favor pool hits a certain number your favor rating with your patron increases. Favor points can be spent on benefits and spending favor usually won't lower your favor rating with a few exceptions. Spending half your available pool and spending your entire favor pool in a set amount of time incurs a whim check that if failled will drop your favor by 1 degree. Favor lowered in this way will never cause your relationship to drop out of the positive threshold. When spending favor on benefits player roll a whim check adding bonuses for their overall favor rating and charisma. A high whim roll reflects your bonds interest in your well being and you get more from your benefit than usual. Low whim means you get the bare minimum with potential petty side effects. Partaking in an anathema lowers your favor rating potentially into the negatives given the severity. At higher levels players can get clauses that add new obligations and benefits or players can get addendums with more strict anathemas and obligations and stronger benefits.
Sometimes I like to think about how much I popped off with the magic system for an oc I have who has the powers of an oracle, which the whole seeing the future thing is always hard for me to pin down in relation to the concept of being able to choose your own fate/rebel against fate which I really like but this one is my favorite.
Essentially the system works that each person is in full control of their own fate. They make their own choices they can choose their own paths, no persons fate is ever set in stone. However. If a person goes to someone with the power to look into the future, and asks a question of their fate, the response of fate is to choose a set future for them, one that now cannot be changed by any power and will always come to pass.
tldr to directly request a set future of fate is to conform to fate, to give up your opportunity to rebel against it. The ability to change your future is an inherent right of your existence, until the moment you surrender it to the whims of fate.
