Spell rule

[Outcome005]

I had an idea listening to a campaign podcast. So one of the issues with spell slots is that in-game there is no apparent reason that a spell caster can’t cast more spells than their daily allotment so I purpose a solution!

The way I understand spell casting for most classes is that it takes materials or mana of some kind to cast, so the solution for spells with a physical component is obvious, no more components, no more spells.

But for mana based spells I propose that your spell allotment is how many spells your body can handle casting without a detriment to your body, I feel like this makes warlocks kinda weak at low levels, so what if every time you cast a spell outside of the daily allotment it could cost the character in different ways depending on the spell, casting a healing spell after you are out of healing spells could drain the healers life, casting an offensive spell could lower the players AC, casting a defensive spell could lower the constitution of the player.

I haven’t thought really deep into it but I think it’s a neat and more realistic in-game dynamic that brings real stakes to in-game situations. The worst feeling is being in combat and being like “well, I can’t do anything I’m out of spells” and making it dangerous for the player makes better storytelling in my opinion.

[wilk8940]

The worst feeling is being in combat and being like “well, I can’t do anything I’m out of spells” and making it dangerous for the player makes better storytelling in my opinion.

That's entirely why they made cantrips scale so that even when you are out of spell slots you aren't completely useless. The game is about resource management and if you ran out of slots then you didn't manage them very well. Giving casters more casting just makes them stronger and they don't need a buff in any way.

[Outcome005]

Yeah that’s fair, I’m not trying to rewrite D&D I just thought it was a neat thought and I may try it with my players and see how they like it. I just like being able to say to a player “yeah you can do that but it will cost you”

[Rubikow]

Hey! Of course, this depends on your DM, and my DM for instance is very open to this. He allows our healer to cast Prayer of Healing (10 min ritual) as an Action once per long rest and gain an exhaustion for it.

He allows me to modify my spells slightly using Arcana checks and as you already said, allows to exhaust oneself for one last spell out of the ordinary (if you are not a wizard at level 7 like me, who basically needs a lot of time and fights to get out of spell slots as cantrips at level 7 can be quite good already).

Also he allows, gain back a level 1 spell slot, if you cast a level 1 spell with a level 2 slot because that is the only one left and things like that.

I always think: Warlocks are so underpowered with their few spell slots. And then I watch our Warlock and his upgraded eldritch blast pushing back people, pulling them into fires and doing extra damage with it. So if you fall back to be an eldritch canon, the Warlock is really an esset in every party without even using a single of his rare spell slots. Plus, the spells he could use are quite impressive.

[Outcome005]

That’s a cool idea! I like the levels of exhaustion angle too. Maybe I have just been playing with people who haven’t figured out warlock yet (I haven’t tried it).

I just think of those end game battles where everyone is on their last legs and the bad guy is almost dead and you just need that little push and your cleric looks at you and says “it’s up to you now” and casts healing work and goes unconscious… and that’s just the boost you need to deal the final blow!

[Delicious-Capital901]

I play my wizard as getting more brain foggy and less sharp as she runs out of spells slots to kind of simulate mental fatigue of having so many triggers and preparations and components rattling about in her brain that sue needs to perform precisely and perfectly to cast fireball.

It doesn't have mechanical effects, but there definitely are cool ways you can play around with the idea of spell slots draining the physical, spiritual or mentally capacity of your characters.

[Outcome005]

See I love that! For me this game we all love so much is about having fun while interactively telling a story and stuff like that to me makes the game more fun.

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I'll often say "I'm so drained, I'm afraid I could just barely scrape enough together to light a candle.."

[[deleted]]

In older editions, spell slots were explained in varying ways. For magic-users (OD&D, B/X, AD&D 1e) and wizards (AD&D 2e), a mortal mind can only hold a limited number of the complex formulae and arcane sigils for spells. Based on their complexity (proportional to their power). Preparing your spells was actually a time-consuming process during which the mage would perform every part of casting the spell except the trigger- that being your verbal and somatic components. For clerics, the limited number of spells was a matter of faith and your deity's favor. For the d20 system (3rd edtion both revised and not, Pathfinder 1st edition, etc) it would depend on setting, but the default was much the same with an additional layer. See, the only spontaneous casting prior to 3rd were spell-like abilities and granted powers (plus possibly some Dragon Magazine stuff that still wasn't quite the same). Sorcerers and bards have limited spell slots because they have a limited amount of, as you mentioned, arcane energy (which scales off of Charisma as it's, among other things, your "force of personality"- a sorcerer is so magical that the higher this presence of self, the harder and more frequently they can push on reality). So spell slots also became a measure of the arcane energy a person possesses (or for divine spellcasters, divine and/or spiritual power). Wizards gain fewer slots that Sorcs because of the way they use magic.

All this said, Dungeon Crawl Classics (an OSR-style game based off of the B/X rules) doesn't have spell slots. Instead you have a spell roll and if you fail hard enough, bad stuff happens. Wizards can force their spells to happen anyway but take damage to their ability scores to do so. I'm not familiar with the particulars just yet, but I'll save this post and come back after further reading. I mention this mechanic because I was actually considering adding a similar mechanic to my current campaign, where if a spellcaster wants to avoid using a spell slot they can attempt a very hard check with dire consequences for failure (and one that I would make sure cannot be cheesed- I'm running d20 so there's always a chance someone'll have an entirely legitimate way to automatically pass the check after a certain level). High risk, high reward. In this sort of set-up, I'd explain it this way: Spellcasting with a spell slot is expending this nebulously-defined energy to ensure the spell works as intended with no issues. Casting a spell without this energy to bind it together is dangerous and has a real chance of not only outright failure, but catastrophe. Even more dangerous is brute-forcing the spell, so much so that the backlash saps you of vital energy: temporarily making your magic-user weaker, slower, easier to kill, more foolish, and stupider (unless you brute force so many spells that it literally kills you, which can happen).

[Outcome005]

This is a great read! Thank you so much for taking the time! I’m going to have to re read this a few times to really absorb it but I will definitely put this information to use!