So, I'm doing some world building for my homebrew setting and I'm thinking about medical magic, specifically body modification. It seems to me that there's not really a RAW spell for permanently changing a person's body, save wish or maybe reincarnate I guess. There's spells to restore, but not to create something that was never there.
I don't mean growing third arms or anything like that. I'm thinking about a spell to give sight to a person who was born blind, or to help a person who was born infertile to be able to have children, or to affirm someone's gender. I think that in a society where magic is relatively common and used for the good of all, that sort of thing would probably be around. It's pretty classic fairytale magic, ya know?
My question is, what level would permanent body modification be? Would it be the equivalent of a fifth level spell like reincarnate or greater restoration, or do you think it'd be even higher than that? Maybe it'd be equivalent to regenerate? Or do you think that sort of thing ought to be in the ninth level, in the realm of wishes and miracles? What do you all think?
Also, how would you implement it? Do you think a person seeking this treatment would go to the cleric's clinic, or to the wizard's tower, or the druid's grove? I could see a good argument for any of them being the keepers of this ritual. It's miraculous, but it's also very polymorphy.
So, I'm doing some world building for my homebrew setting and I'm thinking about medical magic, specifically body modification. It seems to me that there's not really a RAW spell for permanently changing a person's body, save wish or maybe reincarnate I guess. There's spells to restore, but not to create something that was never there.
I don't mean growing third arms or anything like that. I'm thinking about a spell to give sight to a person who was born blind, or to help a person who was born infertile to be able to have children, or to affirm someone's gender. I think that in a society where magic is relatively common and used for the good of all, that sort of thing would probably be around. It's pretty classic fairytale magic, ya know?
My question is, what level would permanent body modification be? Would it be the equivalent of a fifth level spell like reincarnate or greater restoration, or do you think it'd be even higher than that? Maybe it'd be equivalent to regenerate? Or do you think that sort of thing ought to be in the ninth level, in the realm of wishes and miracles? What do you all think?
Also, how would you implement it? Do you think a person seeking this treatment would go to the cleric's clinic, or to the wizard's tower, or the druid's grove? I could see a good argument for any of them being the keepers of this ritual. It's miraculous, but it's also very polymorphy.
It really depends on the setting you're putting together how people could access this sort of magic. In a world like Eberron, where magic gets treated like a science, having high-level magic do those kinds of things makes sense. In more traditional fantasy settings, you might have to go to a hag coven or other powerful being of questionable motive and cut a deal to get magic that powerful performed on you
Either way, though, you don't have to make it an actual leveled spell. That really only matters if you want it to be accessible by PCs. If you're already thinking about it being a ritual, perhaps an elaborate one involving multiple casters, then just toss those considerations out the window -- it's powerful magic that people can only get at a significant cost, and you can treat it more like a boon than a spell
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I do agree it is entirely possible as gods and goddesses can change gender (Only know one b name tho) Eilistraee the good goddess of drow can change a male to a female through a ritual for other rituals or the final dance. And if wanted she can change them back.
With that said its not hard to imagine that mortals would do as mortals do, and try to simulate divinity and create a spell to swap gender.
I would think that would fall between level 4-6 spells depending on how effective it is. If it just makes you look like the opposite gender then 4. If it gives you new body parts but doesn't change genes 5. And if it outright swaps the gender then 6. Though you as the dm would be in charge of that
As for implementation. Stores near or in hospitals would do the trick. A doctor/mage specialized in this would be great
As someone with trans folk at my table, who do often play trans characters, we call them "Gender Wizards." The important thing to me when deciding how much it would cost was "is this a procedure that a commoner could reasonably save up money for in a semi reasonable amount of time?" I decided that that was more important to my worldbuilding than making the cost for the procedure appropriate for the amount of currency the party has access to. Mechanically, there was still a recovery period, and still limits, such as needing to take HRT potions for awhile before the procedure, but spells wise I handwaived away the precise details.
As someone else pointed out, unless you want to give the PCs access to this spell, assigning it mechanical specifics isn't really necessary. If you do, however, bear in mind that if you make it higher level, that means any NPCs who can do this likely have access to many other spells of that level, which begs the question of why they're in medicine rather than anything else, such as councilors to important people.
I agree that it really depends on the kind of accessibility you want it to have in-universe. If it's a world littered with magical medical schools, maybe it's inexpensive and/or a lower level spell. If it's a world where magic is rare or is a status symbol, maybe it's super pricy and requires powerful casters. Maybe the god of life/beauty/necessity is the only one who has authority over mortals' bodies. Maybe anyone can do it if they meditate at a mystical hotspring for a year.
As for implementation, it might be fun to have it vary. Clerics and wizards could have totally different approaches or services. Maybe getting medical magic from licensed spellcasters is cost-prohibitive for normal people, and a system of black market street doctors has arisen in response - they're cheaper, but they're riskier. Maybe there's a hierarchy - divine casters can provide true miracles, alchemists can provide successful gene therapies over time, and wizards can do less extensive transmutations right away.
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So, I'm doing some world building for my homebrew setting and I'm thinking about medical magic, specifically body modification. It seems to me that there's not really a RAW spell for permanently changing a person's body, save wish or maybe reincarnate I guess. There's spells to restore, but not to create something that was never there.
I don't mean growing third arms or anything like that. I'm thinking about a spell to give sight to a person who was born blind, or to help a person who was born infertile to be able to have children, or to affirm someone's gender. I think that in a society where magic is relatively common and used for the good of all, that sort of thing would probably be around. It's pretty classic fairytale magic, ya know?
My question is, what level would permanent body modification be? Would it be the equivalent of a fifth level spell like reincarnate or greater restoration, or do you think it'd be even higher than that? Maybe it'd be equivalent to regenerate? Or do you think that sort of thing ought to be in the ninth level, in the realm of wishes and miracles? What do you all think?
Also, how would you implement it? Do you think a person seeking this treatment would go to the cleric's clinic, or to the wizard's tower, or the druid's grove? I could see a good argument for any of them being the keepers of this ritual. It's miraculous, but it's also very polymorphy.
It really depends on the setting you're putting together how people could access this sort of magic. In a world like Eberron, where magic gets treated like a science, having high-level magic do those kinds of things makes sense. In more traditional fantasy settings, you might have to go to a hag coven or other powerful being of questionable motive and cut a deal to get magic that powerful performed on you
Either way, though, you don't have to make it an actual leveled spell. That really only matters if you want it to be accessible by PCs. If you're already thinking about it being a ritual, perhaps an elaborate one involving multiple casters, then just toss those considerations out the window -- it's powerful magic that people can only get at a significant cost, and you can treat it more like a boon than a spell
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I do agree it is entirely possible as gods and goddesses can change gender (Only know one b name tho) Eilistraee the good goddess of drow can change a male to a female through a ritual for other rituals or the final dance. And if wanted she can change them back.
With that said its not hard to imagine that mortals would do as mortals do, and try to simulate divinity and create a spell to swap gender.
I would think that would fall between level 4-6 spells depending on how effective it is. If it just makes you look like the opposite gender then 4. If it gives you new body parts but doesn't change genes 5. And if it outright swaps the gender then 6. Though you as the dm would be in charge of that
As for implementation. Stores near or in hospitals would do the trick. A doctor/mage specialized in this would be great
As someone with trans folk at my table, who do often play trans characters, we call them "Gender Wizards." The important thing to me when deciding how much it would cost was "is this a procedure that a commoner could reasonably save up money for in a semi reasonable amount of time?" I decided that that was more important to my worldbuilding than making the cost for the procedure appropriate for the amount of currency the party has access to. Mechanically, there was still a recovery period, and still limits, such as needing to take HRT potions for awhile before the procedure, but spells wise I handwaived away the precise details.
As someone else pointed out, unless you want to give the PCs access to this spell, assigning it mechanical specifics isn't really necessary. If you do, however, bear in mind that if you make it higher level, that means any NPCs who can do this likely have access to many other spells of that level, which begs the question of why they're in medicine rather than anything else, such as councilors to important people.
I agree that it really depends on the kind of accessibility you want it to have in-universe. If it's a world littered with magical medical schools, maybe it's inexpensive and/or a lower level spell. If it's a world where magic is rare or is a status symbol, maybe it's super pricy and requires powerful casters. Maybe the god of life/beauty/necessity is the only one who has authority over mortals' bodies. Maybe anyone can do it if they meditate at a mystical hotspring for a year.
As for implementation, it might be fun to have it vary. Clerics and wizards could have totally different approaches or services. Maybe getting medical magic from licensed spellcasters is cost-prohibitive for normal people, and a system of black market street doctors has arisen in response - they're cheaper, but they're riskier. Maybe there's a hierarchy - divine casters can provide true miracles, alchemists can provide successful gene therapies over time, and wizards can do less extensive transmutations right away.