Here's my homebrew spellcasting rules inspired by Touhou Project.
Attacking spells are written on paper pre-battle and don't need material components, but deal 1.5x damage if used (no alts like arcane focus) Non-attacking spells still need material components, or an alternative (arcane focus) Success on save DC will negate ALL damage, and every number below that does increasing damage to max (Nat 1 does double damage) (DC 17 7d6, 17 = 0, 16 = 1d6, 15 = 2d6, 14 = 3d6, 10 = 7d6, 5 = 7d6, 1 = 2[7d6]) if the total dice is greater than 10, then increment it by 2, and increment it by 3 for over 20, etc. Also, I'm using the mana system.
One issue I could see right away is that if you Fireballed 8 creatures, you'd potentially need to do 8 different damage rolls depending on their various saves.
This is a pretty hard nerf on damage spells in general; I'm doubtful the 1.5x makes up for that.
I don't understand the component thing. Writing spells on paper seems an awful lot like the paper is a material component for the spell. Is this just to match the flavor of your inspiration?
I dunno. If my DM announced this for their next campaign, I'd probably just play a martial character or an EB warlock or something. Just seems overly complicated and potentially very disappointing when your fireball does 3 damage. Or none!
1. Well, one solution would be to order the dice rolls and add up how many dice would be needed for each creature starting from the first die.
2. I asked someone else what they thought about this, and they felt that material component bonuses dealing double damage were a problem, so I nerfed it to 1.5x. Do you think that should be 2x, or do I need to do something else to fix that? (their argument was something about Save DCs becoming dangerous with 2x damage, i.e. a 16d6 fireball or a 20d6+40 Disintegrate)
3. Yeah, I guess the paper does count as a material component. That part was so the players don't have to keep track of material components unless they wanted more damage.
I don't mean to come across as overly negative. If the point is for it to feel more like Touhou Project, then that may be worth the added complexity for your group.
I guess my primary issue is that this really amplifies the impact of RNG in a given spell. Usually with something like fireball, you can cast knowing that you'll do at least 10-12 damage to creatures even if they save, and maybe 25-30 if they don't. This mechanic turns that two-tier system into a full, even spectrum that goes from 0 to 42 average damage. It's going to make magic feel a lot more volatile, which reduces its dependability when you're working out tactics. Basically, it's harder to plan and coordinate what you're going to do when the outcome is so unpredictable.
If that's something you're looking for, then I think you have a system ready for playtesting. You'll just have to see how it works and tweak it as you go. It seems solid enough on paper.
Here's my homebrew spellcasting rules inspired by Touhou Project.
Attacking spells are written on paper pre-battle and don't need material components, but deal 1.5x damage if used (no alts like arcane focus)
Non-attacking spells still need material components, or an alternative (arcane focus)
Success on save DC will negate ALL damage, and every number below that does increasing damage to max (Nat 1 does double damage)
(DC 17 7d6, 17 = 0, 16 = 1d6, 15 = 2d6, 14 = 3d6, 10 = 7d6, 5 = 7d6, 1 = 2[7d6])
if the total dice is greater than 10, then increment it by 2, and increment it by 3 for over 20, etc.
Also, I'm using the mana system.
What do you think?
One issue I could see right away is that if you Fireballed 8 creatures, you'd potentially need to do 8 different damage rolls depending on their various saves.
This is a pretty hard nerf on damage spells in general; I'm doubtful the 1.5x makes up for that.
I don't understand the component thing. Writing spells on paper seems an awful lot like the paper is a material component for the spell. Is this just to match the flavor of your inspiration?
I dunno. If my DM announced this for their next campaign, I'd probably just play a martial character or an EB warlock or something. Just seems overly complicated and potentially very disappointing when your fireball does 3 damage. Or none!
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
1. Well, one solution would be to order the dice rolls and add up how many dice would be needed for each creature starting from the first die.
2. I asked someone else what they thought about this, and they felt that material component bonuses dealing double damage were a problem, so I nerfed it to 1.5x. Do you think that should be 2x, or do I need to do something else to fix that? (their argument was something about Save DCs becoming dangerous with 2x damage, i.e. a 16d6 fireball or a 20d6+40 Disintegrate)
3. Yeah, I guess the paper does count as a material component. That part was so the players don't have to keep track of material components unless they wanted more damage.
I don't mean to come across as overly negative. If the point is for it to feel more like Touhou Project, then that may be worth the added complexity for your group.
I guess my primary issue is that this really amplifies the impact of RNG in a given spell. Usually with something like fireball, you can cast knowing that you'll do at least 10-12 damage to creatures even if they save, and maybe 25-30 if they don't. This mechanic turns that two-tier system into a full, even spectrum that goes from 0 to 42 average damage. It's going to make magic feel a lot more volatile, which reduces its dependability when you're working out tactics. Basically, it's harder to plan and coordinate what you're going to do when the outcome is so unpredictable.
If that's something you're looking for, then I think you have a system ready for playtesting. You'll just have to see how it works and tweak it as you go. It seems solid enough on paper.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm