Metamagics: A Second Look
By John Grigsby, Staff Reviewer
One of the things I really like about GURPS (Generic Universal Role-Playing System) from Steve Jackson Games is the magic system. Spells are learned individually, and the skill level with a particular spell determines how easy it is to cast. For example, knowing a spell at a skill level of 11 requires that the wizard have both hands and feet free to cast, speak certain words of power, and requires twice the normal amount of time because the spell is not yet fully known and understood. On the other hand, knowing a spell at level 15 allows you to cast it with a quick gesture and a single word or two, and by level 21, you don't need to move or speak and can even cast a spell while doing something else such as fighting or speaking!
Back in the days of 2nd edition, I actually toyed with the idea of (and even ran a single adventure using) the GURPS rules for magic as a replacement for the AD&D magic rules. It worked pretty well, but there were some balance issues and I had to come up with a few rules to make the two systems mesh. More recently, we've been alternating our D&D sessions with a GURPS fantasy campaign, and I've gotten interested once more in the idea of adapting the GURPS rules to D&D.
Metamagic feats, in a way, duplicate some of the things that the GURPS system allows. By making a spell a higher slot, you can cast it silently, without somatic gestures, or enlarge the effects. The problem is, for wizards and clerics, this requires planning ahead of time, and for bards and sorcerers, metamagics are almost completely useless. I don't know of any bards or sorcerers that make regular use of metamagic feats, and I know of relatively few wizards that bother with them. My solution to this follows.
First, casting a spell now requires a Spellcraft check. This means that anyone who desires to cast spells will need to have at least one level of Spellcraft (because it can't be used untrained). The DC to simply cast a spell, regardless of the spell level, is 0. In other words, so long as the caster has at least one level of Spellcraft, they will fail only on a roll of 1. Wizards and clerics must still prepare their spells ahead of time, as usual, and bards and sorcerers receive their usual assortment of spell slots.
At the time of casting, a caster can choose to apply a metamagic effect (these are no longer feats) to a spell. Doing so ups the ante somewhat. The base DC to cast a spell affected by metamagic is 15. For each spell slot (including the first) above the normal allotment dictated by the feat, add 5 to the DC. For the core metamagics, the breakdown follows.
Empower Spell, two spell slots, DC 25
Enlarge Spell, one spell slot, DC 20
Extend Spell, one spell slot, DC 20
Maximize Spell, three spell slots, DC 30
Quicken Spell, four spell slots, DC 35
Silent Spell, one spell slot, DC 20
Still Spell, one spell slot, DC 20
Widen Spell, three spell slots, DC 30
If you wish to apply more than one metamagic effect to a spell, it's a simple matter of adding the extra slots together and multiplying by 5, then adding that to the base DC. For example, if you wanted to cast a stilled, silent spell, the DC would be 25 (one slot each for Still Spell and Silent Spell). For the Heightened Spell feat, the DC cost is calculated by adding up the number of slots above the actual level of the spell. If, for example, you wanted to cast a fireball as a 9th-level spell, the DC would be 45 (six slots above normal; 6 x 5 = 30, DC 15 plus 30 = DC 45). If a metamagic feat does not normally take up any extra slots (such as Insidious Magic from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting), the DC is a flat 15.
If you are applying a metamagic effect to a spell and the Spellcraft roll fails, the spell fizzles and the slot is expended as normal. This may seem harsh, but it is the way the GURPS system works and I feel it's a bit more realistic and will prevent casters from wantonly applying metamagic effects on a whim. If they don't have a decent chance of success and know that failure means the spell is ruined, they will be less likely to attempt it.
The charm of this system is that it free up casters to take more useful feats, but still captures the effects of metamagics. Low-level casters will be able (on a lucky roll) to draw on the effects of the lower-level metamagics, but it will take a skilled caster to use some of the more powerful effects. Of course, it is possible to take 10 or 20 on a Spellcraft check, and the appropriate time penalties apply. Hey, if you're willing to spend an extra 20 rounds casting a fireball, then go right ahead and maximize it.
NOTE: Innate Spell, from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is unique. This becomes a general feat with a prerequisite of Spellcraft 20 ranks. The feat is otherwise unchanged, including the requirement of the sacrifice of a spell slot eight levels higher than the innate spell.
Clerics and Spontaneous Casting
While we're on the subject, another house rules I use reflects a change to spontaneous casting for clerics. Because I have added a variant of the healer class (from the Miniatures Handbook) to my campaign, I have decided to alter the spontaneous casting ability of clerics. Clerics no longer have the ability to spontaneously cast healing spells and no longer gain an extra slot for a domain spell.
Instead, a cleric can spontaneously cast either (or any, if permitted more than two domains) of his or her domain spells by sacrificing a prepared spell of the appropriate level. This makes much more sense to me than simply being able to spontaneously generate healing or harming magic. Yes, this means that those clerics with the Healing domain become much more valuable. It's a good thing, trust me.
Re: Metamagics: A Second Look
No offense taken. Empower Spell, as a feat, fills a spell slot two levels above the normal spell level. Therefore, using the standard d20 System, a wizard would have to be at least 5th level (able to cast 3rd level spells) to get any usefulness from it. Using my system, if a wizard acrues maximum ranks in Spellcraft to 5th level (8 ranks), he still has a flat 20% chance of succeeding (assuming a 13 Intelligence, the minimum required to cast 3rd level spells). If his Intelligence is 18, this rises to a 35% chance.
I realize that this failure percentage is high, but I think that the flexibility the system grants is a fair exchange. After all, you now have the option of using any metamagic effect with any spell you have prepared (or in your repertoire, for sorcerers and bards), instead of being limited to one specific effect that you have to prepare ahead of time. If it helps, consider that a fighter with the Improved Critical feat only scores a critical hit 15% of the time, on average. Your odds are still better than that.
One way to tone down the effects would be to rule that a spell still succeeds even if the DC for a metamagic effect was not met, unless a natural 1 is rolled. In other words, the spell simply works normally instead of having the metamagic effect applied. This isn't in the spirit of the GURPS system, which I was trying to mimic, but it's not quite so bad as risking all for a spell that may fail entirely. Then again, if you weren't applying a metamagic effect, you wouldn't have to worry about it.
One other thing you can do; if you use Action Points in your game, consider allowing characters to spend APs to apply a metamagic effect without a chance for error. It costs one Action Point for each "slot" the effect would normally require. Thus, one AP to cast a silenced or stilled spell, two APs to cast an empowered spell, etc. The DC for the spell is reduced to 0 (i.e., it still fails on a natural 1), but if the Spellcraft check succeeds, the metamagic effect is applied normally.
Re: Metamagics: A Second Look
I have toyed with something similiar, though I never played GURPS. My idea was to have each school of magic as it's own skill. There would be 9 schools, excluding Universal. I was going to split spells dealing with healing & postive energy into a new school of Biomancy. I would have 3 schools with INT as prime stat, 3 with CHA, & 3 with WIS. This would show that some magic is easier to use to some than others & have a kinda built in specialization.
Re: Metamagics: A Second Look
Hi John,
A good article. Let me state: Have never used GURPS, but love the sound of what they do.
I think your article provides creative thoughts that can certainly add to the spell system of d20. I too have seen little use of metamagic feats, simply b/c there are few spells of lower level that are as useful when metamagicked as a standard spell of the level they are being bumped up to.
We have also tinkered with the system in two ways.
1st: Allow casters to laden spells instead of upping their level. So the metamagic feat is still needed and with a feat that has +1 level to spell, you simply use an extra slot of the same level. If this was +3 then the metamagicked spell requires 4 spells from the same level. (At this stage we let the player decide which way to go). Using this laden idea the caster can do so spontaneously too. Simply cross off the required amount of spells from other prepared spells or use that many slots for the day.
Another idea we incorporate uses your idea of making a check to cast a spell. We have a spell check. This is much like an attack roll. To cast a spell you must pass a DC of 10 + level of spell. A spellcaster uses their caster level + relevant spellcasting stat for this. Much like a fighter using level (base att) and Str.
A fail means spell didn;t go off, but is not wasted - much like a missed attack in combat. However there are criticals involved, both fumbles and hits ;) The results are slightly different with arcane and divine spells.
Could just as easily paste house rules here. We also use material component rules where a DM can grant bonuses or penalties to these checks depending upon the component used to full the spell.
Anyway, I like the article. One that grants ideas for a more creative magic system is interesting.
Connors
Re: Metamagics: A Second Look
I admit I had not considered the effects of higher-level characters simply because my player's characters are low-level. I had also forgotten that with skills, a 20 is not an automatic success and a 1 is not automatic failure. With those points in mind, the system can use some revision.
I'll mull it over and see what I can do to fix these problems. I appreciate the insight.
Re: Metamagics: A Second Look
Connors,
I suspect that my system may yet be salvagable by incorporating a few of your ideas. I'll see what I can come up with. Thanks for the suggestions.
John
Re: Metamagics: A Second Look
I have a question for the author regarding the base DC 15 Spellcraft check. During your playtesting, have you found the resulting DC 25 or 30 checks--for example for Empower Spell or Maximize Spell--to be within the ken of the non-epic spellcasting characters? My point is simply, for a player's character to have a flat 50% chance of succeeding at casting an Empowered spell (DC 25), he/she would need to have a +14 Spellcraft skill modifier. Assuming this spellcaster had an 18 Intelligence (granting a +4 ability modifier), this would would require the character to be 7th-level (in order to have the requisite 10 ranks in Spellcraft). As mentioned above, this is still only a flat 50-50 chance, a metaphorical flip-of-the-coin. If our spellcaster were not so mentally buff or perhaps decided to multiclass (thereby, not having 10 ranks in Spellcraft by 7th-level), then our spellcaster would need to be even higher level. Please do not take this comment as criticism, I also have been searching for the 'holy grail' fix for the d20 spellcasting system. This article seems to be an innovative approach for dealing with the almost never used set of metamagic feats. Thank you for your ideas.