Spells! | RPG Mainframe 

Trophy is a TTRPG that has an easy to use magic system. Short list of spells, that give you a short sentence about its possible use. Glamour for example makes you more charming and attractive. That’s it. It’s up to the players to decide how the spell works beyond the simple description, which leads to a lot of creative thinking.

Its nice to see these troves of knowledge being uploaded to RU-vid for all to partake

For evocative spells I would highly recommend Exalted 2nd edition. There's only a handfull of spells in the core book, but a supplement, the Black and White Treatises, has about a hundred. They're excellent in that they drip flavor and a bit of weird; and many of them are tied into the setting in interesting ways. For example, instead of "fireball" you have "Flight of the Brilliant Raptor", which takes the form of a Garda Bird, an actual fire elemental creature like a phoenix that you can encounter in setting as an ally or enemy. Even when it's doing fireball, it's in an evocative way.

For my home game, I use a version of formless magic based on keywords. Every spellcaster has a keyword that their magic adheres to, e.g. flame, frost, death, plants, beasts, demons, etc. Spellcasters can cast any spell they can dream of, as long as it is within their keyword. Spells typically either do damage or heal an amount based on the level of the spellcaster, and do one “additional thing”, like knocking prone, shoving, Damage Over Time, etc. The result is a system that’s fast, fun, and dramatic.

For anyone interested in different magic systems, my current favorite is from Tierras Quebradas (Spanish only though). After listening to Brandish I've realized it's inspired in the Ars Magica (which now I'll have to read). Spells are listed by spheres (fire, wind, order, chaos, etc.) and verbs (augment, reduce, control, etc.), and magic users train some of those same abilities. They can cast spells from [pick X spheres and Y verbs], but not the other verbs for the same sphere, or other spheres for the same verb (unless they train them in the future). It's a roll-to-cast system, and the modifier comes from combining your ability with the verb and sphere, so you might be better at controlling flames than destroying them, or incredible at creating them but unable to control them. Strongly recommended!

The hack I have been working on is a formless system, but it’s a dice building system. The magic user needs to create the spells away from the table (1 point for added damage, 1 point for more range, 1 point for added effect)- so it builds the experience of being a studying wizard … I hope :-)

Hi Hank Enjoyed this topic. I have been mulling this subject area over for years now. Never felt that the way D&D used Vancian magic felt very organic or chaotic , which is to me how magic should be. I still loved D&D , but I always thought there could be a better way. I have been considering a system where the level of the Magic User determines the power of the spell , with the power of the spell relating to the following quantitative measures : 1) Number of objects/subjects affected 2) Range of Effects 3) Duration of effects 4) Power of Effects ( Measured in hit dice - offensively or defensively ) 5) Size of Effect Also I believe magic should be cast at the peril of all ( including the caster ) I use a Casting Attempt DR of 2D6 , with a "2" result being disastrous. I also believe magic should require power from some source , and while ages ago our group experimented with spell points , I have come to have a casting effect require expenditure of 1 Hit Point. Normal casting permits 1 attempt per day , but more casting can be attempted at greater risk each time ( cumulative ) , additional Hit Point Cost. Any how , we are still experimenting. Thanks for the vid.

This was dope! Put on my headphones, closed my eyes and was transported away! More please and thank you!

Game Systems Mentioned: 22:10 Symbaroum 22:40 Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) [Core Rules FREE] 23:23 Dungeon World 23:58 Burning Wheel 24:42 Ars Magica 26:28 Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (D&D 5e) Extra Systems: the Goblin Laws of Gaming(the GLOG) Wizards [FREE]: Add Casting Dice for stronger spells, but watch out for doubles & triples! TORG Asyle: Literally has a section in the book called "The Theory of Magic" which presents the magic system thru an in-universe lecture. Unknown Armies: Essentially, you need to have a very atypical world view & very ritualistic behavior to perform magic. Savage Worlds: General spells that are meant to modified & flavored to a player's desire. Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition (D&D 4e): Very mechanically focused, but Powers are meant to be streamlined & have tiered usage of "At-Will", "Encounter", & "Daily". Spheres of Power [for Pathfinder]: Build-a-Caster; meant to be a "concept first" approach to creating a magical character. Edit: Reduced descriptions to single sentences & mentioned more systems.

Art Magic all the way! That’s the best magic system I’ve played so far. Then the wizard character wrote beliefs about learning the more powerful spells in the book like White Fire.

Thanks for the chat, this is right up my alley.

Great video mate, I listen to you on my drive home from work...have done for years! Keep em coming....regards from sunny Yorkshire, England 👍

More of these videos/podcasts please!

Fantastic video! Loved the music vibes of the introduction and how the video was sectioned into chunks of information to feast on.

good stuff, couldn’t agree more

There's a TTRPG that Jim Murphy (the Game Methuselah) is developing called Enlightened that has a magic system very much like the way you're describing the magic system in your video. Here's the link to the playtest (it's 45 pages and written in a way that's easier for dyslexics to read): d9-games.itch.io/enlightened-playtest

One of the best videos I’ve seen on magic if not the best.

THAT... WAS... AMAZING

Not being able to create permanent effects without vis in Ars Magica is a nice way to prevent magic from breaking resource management. I like making any hit points in a standard rpg after first level into "lucky" points, which refresh on resting, while hit points are a slow to recover thing, and magic to heal would require vis. Vis of course is super expensive, so characters are highly motivated to not get damaged past their "lucky" points.

I’d actually like a mainframe on silliness

Don't get mad; get evil!

Brilliant as always

WOAH!

I love these videos

I always was interested in the idea of magic working with either extremely vague to zero formulas. Plus Ars Magica is what I wanted. My group just didn't have enough want to be storytellers to make that system rock!

Thank you, good Podcast!

The Spell List should be another Trap :)

SPELLS ARE OPPRESSIVE. thanks for this so easy to manage approach. I want know how I'm playing, not look up how I'm playing.

Loving these 😊

Loving this format.

What happened... Where am i

You mentioned Druid as needing to be simple, and you're right its the MOST complicated spellcaster in DnD 5e. So many new players love the aesthetic and concept of a Druid but its so complicated that its a terrible introductory class. The formless magic you mentioned is a great concept, but it hurts non-spellcasters in games like DnD where it starts to feel like the casters can do everything. I think that is why Ars Magica works so well, its because everyone is a caster. Great stuff as usual.

Man, this is the thesis!

I am all about a cast on silliness. I kind of feel magic has to have limits or else it just ends up making the story have "dream logic." What magic cannot do is more interesting than what it can.

ANY Spell, should have the name of the Sorcerer/Wizard that created or discovered it. Can't come up with one, the spell doesn't exist, BAG IT as you said!

Burning Wheel Art Magic is pretty much formless magic.

Number two 😂

What happened to ICRPG: Magic? The book, I mean. I can't find it for sale anywhere. Not even in .pdf.

Can we peep those 5e 2d6 free form magic rules doh?!

Six enemas?

Brandish? 😄

ICRPG Spells are soooo easy. Bam 💥 spell done