I was wondering if anyone has a homebrew caster that doesn't cast using spell slots? I kind of have an idea, but wanted to see if anyone else already made it, or if they ran into a roadblock.
The games not really built for another spellcasting system. Definitely would not be able to implement it on DnDB. Although there is a variant rule for spell points instead of spell slots which give you a pool of spell points and instead of having x amount of lvl 1 spells and x amount of lvl 2 spells that you can cast, each spell level has a specific value that consumes a given amount of spell points. gives a little more freedom.
Other than that, the Mystic was a class that had psionics and other 'spellcasting' features that did not use spell slots. I honestly don't know much about it as I never used previous editions (and started after the mystic was archived in 5e).
the only other official method would be The monk subclass Way of the four elements which have spells that consume ki points. This is actually very similar to how the spell point system works now that I think about it.
A sorcerer who transforms all spell slots into sorcery points and then create spell slots out of that pool is the closest to a non-vancian caster we have right now
I'll have to check the DMG again. I don't remember a spell points section.
I was thinking of having spells cost 2x Spell Level and having the caster make an Arcana Check. I was thinking maybe 10+ Spell Level for the DC. On a success, spend the points and the spell goes off. Fail and you choose to fail the casting and keep the points, or spend 3x Spell Level and force the spell to into existence.
In this case, the Arcana Check would double as the range spell attack (if the spell has one) so you're not rolling twice for the same spell.
One of my personal daydreams is porting (after a sense) the Cipher class from Pillars of Eternity to D&D.
Ciphers are psionic casters who fuel their spells by siphoning power from their enemies via a 'Soul Whip' - an augment of their weapon that drains the target of mental strength as they attack. Effectively, a Cipher could cast infinitely (unlike regular casters who are EXTREMELY limited in Pillars games), but she needed to attack to fuel her casting. it's a pretty cool system, and also I love Ciphers so much oh my GOD I want to play one in D&D sometime Q_Q
They're utterly impossible to implement in DDB, though. Not as a class, not as a subclass, not no where not no how. Just can't do it. Sadness.
One of the subclass ideas I had was something like a defiler-type class that would regain spell points by sucking the life out of the environment, then eventually people if nothing else was left.
I mean you can definitely homebrew a spell or cantrip or (sub)class feature. You can have it base off of character level (if cantrip) or the target's hit dice (like you can't regain a 9th level spell slot from a 1d4 hp kobold) -- make the spell slot level relevant to how many hit dice and which hit dice they have. Or do a once (or based off spellcasting modifier) a short rest/long rest
Hiya.
I was wondering if anyone has a homebrew caster that doesn't cast using spell slots? I kind of have an idea, but wanted to see if anyone else already made it, or if they ran into a roadblock.
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew
The games not really built for another spellcasting system. Definitely would not be able to implement it on DnDB. Although there is a variant rule for spell points instead of spell slots which give you a pool of spell points and instead of having x amount of lvl 1 spells and x amount of lvl 2 spells that you can cast, each spell level has a specific value that consumes a given amount of spell points. gives a little more freedom.
Other than that, the Mystic was a class that had psionics and other 'spellcasting' features that did not use spell slots. I honestly don't know much about it as I never used previous editions (and started after the mystic was archived in 5e).
the only other official method would be The monk subclass Way of the four elements which have spells that consume ki points. This is actually very similar to how the spell point system works now that I think about it.
What other type of system were you considering?
A sorcerer who transforms all spell slots into sorcery points and then create spell slots out of that pool is the closest to a non-vancian caster we have right now
I'll have to check the DMG again. I don't remember a spell points section.
I was thinking of having spells cost 2x Spell Level and having the caster make an Arcana Check. I was thinking maybe 10+ Spell Level for the DC. On a success, spend the points and the spell goes off. Fail and you choose to fail the casting and keep the points, or spend 3x Spell Level and force the spell to into existence.
In this case, the Arcana Check would double as the range spell attack (if the spell has one) so you're not rolling twice for the same spell.
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew
One of my personal daydreams is porting (after a sense) the Cipher class from Pillars of Eternity to D&D.
Ciphers are psionic casters who fuel their spells by siphoning power from their enemies via a 'Soul Whip' - an augment of their weapon that drains the target of mental strength as they attack. Effectively, a Cipher could cast infinitely (unlike regular casters who are EXTREMELY limited in Pillars games), but she needed to attack to fuel her casting. it's a pretty cool system, and also I love Ciphers so much oh my GOD I want to play one in D&D sometime Q_Q
They're utterly impossible to implement in DDB, though. Not as a class, not as a subclass, not no where not no how. Just can't do it. Sadness.
Please do not contact or message me.
Yeah, this would have been a definite HOMEbrew.
One of the subclass ideas I had was something like a defiler-type class that would regain spell points by sucking the life out of the environment, then eventually people if nothing else was left.
Gnome Armorist - Artificer Subclass Homebrew
I mean you can definitely homebrew a spell or cantrip or (sub)class feature. You can have it base off of character level (if cantrip) or the target's hit dice (like you can't regain a 9th level spell slot from a 1d4 hp kobold) -- make the spell slot level relevant to how many hit dice and which hit dice they have. Or do a once (or based off spellcasting modifier) a short rest/long rest
Pages 288 and 289 of the DMG.
Also here:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dmg/dungeon-masters-workshop#CombatOptions
You will have to scroll down a ways, but that’s the chapter. It’s after the Creating/Modifying Races/Subraces, and just before Creating a Background.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting