Embracing 4th Edition's Rose Petals

In 4th Edition D&D The Rose Method will come in very handy to bring the game system to fit your game world... but as the game is shall we say "in a growth stage" it may also need flavor to give it the versatility that was wired in to version 3.x versions and earlier time will give the bloom more petals I am certian. House rules can be mechanically light...(dont majorly change the underlying mechanics) with significantly different visualizations...

Further the Awesomeness of 4e in the players handbook on page 54-55 it is suggested that players re-visualize there powers in what amounts to exactly the Rose Method!!!

Of Course it's Not a Magic Missle, pfah! - Wizards Community great examples which create many customization on the Wizards at-will powers.

Dynamic Visualization (Skinning on the Fly): Wonderfully its is more than magic that takes on player visualization, in 4e everybody carries the rose...shows the above with the basic fighter powers.(lots of my contributions - Garthanos)

Class Templates ie Kit Modding the Classes These methods were suggested by Wizards of the Coast themselves as the way for creating not yet available/published Classes for instance the Monk and Barbarian.

Lightning Lancer : subtly different than the Spellsword mentioned in the above. Take the swordmage and alter his powers with fire element to lightning.. change teleports and force attacks to imply "lightning fast" movements. We could even make the magics more dex derived... by finding where str is used to supplement the damage / area of effect and making that dex.... change the class to use dex as their secondary or tertiary ability in place of str. To really bring it that final shift of focus you change the weapon type to be a spear. For this one the Lightning lasso now involves throwing your spear at the target avoiding its return back towards you brings them closer to you... or it might catch on there gear (or skewer them) and pull them back

So who needs powers anyway. - Improvisation guidelines of D&D 4e are quite cool, absorb them and use them quite liberally not just once in a while... heck even when the rules do conver it...occasionally a nicely imaginative presentation of things covered by your powers can also be rewarded with an extra tid bit of functionality.

The rose method in action on Wyatts 4e house rules - there are at least a couple of house rules in there that are actually revisualizing what you already have.

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D&D 4e Rose Feats

These are homebrew feat ideas which make wizardry a touch more adaptable or variable. They can be visualized as the character being able to understand the inner workings of magic and adjust them or as having a larger spell repertoire.

Feat : Adaptive Caster
Prequisite: Arcane Caster, Wizdom 13
Bonus: By spending a minor action you may change an at-will spell you cast to deliver the damage type of any other at-will spell you know, that spell power is treated as having the new keyword in place of its own for the duration of its effect. Describe the adapted power appropriately.

Feat : Adaptive Mastery
Prerequisite: 11th level, Adaptive Caster
Benefit: Choose any encounter or daily you know, which uses one of the energy types acid cold, fire, lightning, or thunder that power and that energy type are now considered adaptable by the power Adaptive Caster (ie as though they were an at-will in your repertoire.)

This power may be taken more than once, by selecting a new Encounter or Daily.

Feat: Elemental Comprehension
Whenever preparing an encounter or daily spell from your spell book you are able to see beyond the surface of magics and adapt them to suit your needs, you may set the damage type to match any of your at-wills (or spells made adaptable through mastery).

Reworking Spell Names

When it gets down to it...if your gaming language is excessively generic, anachronistic or utilitarian, it can sap even the most imaginative of game elements of its spice and spell naming is a doubly fragile thing. Beginning with the Cantrip's and Orison's they can be stripped down to core effects and restyled to suit.. the game world, the mage and his style of magic may all influence this. If the names sound more melodramatic or flamboyant than their effect remember showmanship counts ;-)

Resistance = Basic Warding / Warding Circle
Call Instrument (Bardic) / Call Focus (Staff / Athame / Crystal / Goblet )
Ray of Frost = Elemental Ray (Frost) - Fenrir's breath
Chill Light = initiative penalty / loose an action
Acid Splash
Finger of Flame - Tendril of Fire - Word of Ignition.
Mage Fist - Mage Hand
Stun Stream, Shock bolt
Shout of Power
Basic Neural Strike
Mystic Bolts
Detect Magic = Removing the Harucenic Veil = Awakening the Third Eye.
Detect Poison
Daze / Befuddle / Mind Maze / Lesser Word of Stunning
Dancing Lights... Auroral Shimmers
Flare - Stellar Burst
Light - Shimmer Sphere - Spectral Radiance - Conjuring a Glow Globe
Dark - Etheric Miasma , Cloak of Shadows
Ghost Sound / Voices of another world./.Faerrie Music and various variations.
The Gift of Toungues.
Disrupt Undead Touch of Life, Vitalize
Touch of Fatigue, Sapping Vital forces, Touch of Lesser Death
Mending.
Breaking - Shatter Note
Message - Mind Speach - Wind Cast Words.
Open/Close.
Arcane Mark
Prestidigitation.
Sense Magic = Mystic Vision , Witchsight, Weavesight, Magesight
Read Magic = Arcane Cypering, Scriptural Clarity
Battle Sphere (normal combat actions entirely by magic... not dodge or parry or any of those things)

Latin Spell Names

Magic is very much about mystery and making your magic feel significant and mysterious... may be best accomplished by using a language which itself invokes it... perhaps even better than fantasy ones.. like Dragon there is Latin Names for D&D spells

A Tarot Set of Blessed Foci and Mystical Devices.

This could be used as the basis for types of mages or skills and spells Call/Conjure/Manifest (Focus)
associated with each of the these foci. Their connection to classic Tarot suits could be coincidence.... but

Staves/Rods/Wands Rune Staff / Living Staff
dagger/swords - Blessed Athame / Spirit Blades / Conjurers Sword / Rune Swords
crystals/gems/spheres - Witch Stone / Soul Stone / Psi Crystal
cup/goblet/cauldrons/vats Holy Cup / Witches Cauldron

Multiple or combinational styled foci are possible. An Athame and Holy Cup or combined a Cup of Living Wood.

Personal Foci

Foci bound mages often find working magic impossible without their personal foci. The game world affect is common lore about how to disable/disarm a mage.

Rune Foci

A step further than personal foci. Basic Rune Foci may appear as normal items of their kind with patterns of magical writings on them. Some even appear to be completely normal until awakened
Mystic Vision reveals rune foci as manifistestions of power rather than physical items.. some truly powerful runed items only appear somewhat normal to the magic blind for everyone else there is something wierd about them no doubt about it.

Differentiating Types of Magic or Not Differentiating them...

Many variant magic systems seem inclined to ditch the priest/cleric/holy miracle worker and keep the sorceror... real life evidence would indicate they have it all backwards. This idea casts a very different flavor on your magic.

Historically and overly simply put "one man's mage/witch or sorceror was another's miracle working holy figure". Judaic traditions are very interesting in this regard and their laws include a fairly complex set of measures to determine whether an individuals actions were magic / witchcraft and forbidden or personal rites between the practicioner and the one true god or basically harmless illusions. This historic ambiguity is part of the reason that characters like Gandalf seen by most as the archetypical mage... was in fact a lesser divine being.

Language of Magic should equate with that of the Holy Miracle Works... Channeling / Miracle Working /Invoking the Divine. A priest does not cast spells he works miracles or even better requests succor of the divine(magics with little personal control?) or channels the might of the eternal (this latter can give him higher control at a cost)... he uses sacrements, rites, ritual, divine symbols, holy words, ullulations, prayers, attonements and supplication he seeks, compliance with divine will and purposes, understanding of the divine, in some religions he seeks assention to the divine and/or oneness with it.... this is not percieved by him as spells, components, incantations, foci and gestures.. And magic is definitely not intrinsically harmful and healing is a normal magic like all other effects.

If the most fundamental division of magic presented in D&D ie Divine versus Arcane is ambigous or just plain wrong headed other methods of differentiated types of mages become far more vital. Wheel of time shows very good examples of alternated differentiation and the rose methods.

Deriving from the Wheel of Time magics...

The Wheel of Time world has Channellers some of these are called Aes-Sedai. Aes Sedai are a good example of this merger of types they evoke both Mage Witch and Holy Figure stereotypes. They have Weaves which correspond to holy rites/spells. They Channel a source they call the one power...with two halves a masculine and femine.. like many eastern sects... but which has individual threads/components akin to the elements . They have Oaths which they are mystically bound by and which put strong constraints on how they use their power. (In the d20 game these are an element assumed by prestige class) . Wheel of Time differentiates channelers as male versus female ones and innate (wilders) versus trained (initiates). This system already has a very nice feel to it in general terminology is very good..channelling weaves holding them. tying them off, over channelling, weave sight etc very nice.. It really only needs a few touches..... one of which is removal of the artifical feeling spell slots which cant even be properly named using terminology from the world.

The most obvious way of removing the spell slots are via spell points aka mana. Some of the rules from Wheel of Time d20 need adjusted if we are going this route. Over channelling is one of the rules which needs adjusted. Overchannelling when you are out of power completely could be re-worked as the Vitalization option which allows you to spend hitpoints both lethal and non-lethal equal to the level of the spell ... to cast beyond your available spell points. Note this does allow you to cast a large number of zero level magics and actually simulates how a concentration check of DC15 becomes trivial for a higher level Aes Sedai.

The base line differentiation of males and females should be changed quite simply put... Female channelers gain extra spell points representing more control and Male channellers gain increased damage and a penalty to resistance rolls against there weaves much as though there spells were of higher level, this would give a sense of balance and would represent the fact that the Ashaman have to be more cautious about contacting their source but when they do.. it packs more whallop

Note instead of two separate types of mages... it might be handy to differentiate a weaves using the male side is to haive a backlash on concentration check failure along side a bonus on penetration and potence when using elements associated with the male side of the force and a smaller mana cost for the light/female side. This keeps the affect but when you want gender to be specific to the spell rather than the caster such as for worlds other than the Wheel of Time universe this will be much more versatile

Recasting Psionics as Mysticism.

One of the more commonly presented ideas for an alternate magic system for D&D is to take psionics and recast them as magic. This could be seen as a primary example of the rose method though there are actually two things going on here...yes this means there is some hardware in psionics that make them work/feel better for some than the current Vancianesque system the other is a dissatisfaction with how "Psionics" flavor fit with the rest of the D&D world. In other words the rose has been named Magnoliopsida Rosales.

A Mystic is a great renaming for the Psion/Psychic it appeals to both the above issues by presenting Psionics as Mystical Forces which gives it a swing back towards the magical rather than scientific... yet keeps the sense of the invisible world behind the eyes where the soul, spirit and mind all dwell not quite ameniable to reason. It can underpine other magics if we want it to because what is more Arcane(or hidden) than the workings of inner self. Bringing the outer world to reflect the inner is one of the precepts of magic and we can make Magic and Sorcery and yes certainly Divine Channeling as extensions of Mysticism. Meditation is a fundamental skill of Mysticism and so... transcendental meditiaon / trance should be basic to the mystic skill list.

Extending the UA Spell Point System : Mana System.

This is a solid idea but is not fully elaborated on. In some ways this could take more work than a psionic derivation however there are elements presented here which are very nice which pulling back into the psionics derived mysticism which could be very rewarding. Interestingly my favorite element presented in unearthed arcanas spell point system was in one of the Vitalising variants in some ways it is allowed as a free Feat because mages are generally deficient in Vitality/Hitpoints and it reinforces that difficulty for them.

In some incarnations this might be called over channeling or burning life force, it might even be an inherent danger of magic in some perceptions.

Over Channeling / Burning Life Force

Normally manna allows mages to cast their magics without real implications. However unsafe use of power is always an option and is easily balanced by its dangers and repercussions. Basically you take vitality damage/non-lethal damage to your self instead of or in addition to spell points this will normally occur only when you are otherwise out of spell points and still wish to work a magic

Vitality "may" also be spent when you are enhancing a magic to achieve greater effect via MetaMagic Feats of various kinds doing so may cause a magic to require a concentration check if it doesnt require one already or make the difficulty of the check greater by 5.

Workers of Divine Miracles unless of Chaotic or Evil deities may not have this option but mayhaps there are those who channel divine forces without having a fully compatible essence or channel too great amounts for their nature and may experience these effects as well. For instance My knowledge (Religion allows me to work this miraculous effect) but my faith is insufficient and we really need it.

Doing this requires a concentration check of DC20 + amount of vitality lost and each point lost allows you to work the magic as though you had 2 more manna than actually you do Or instead of the effect failing I drain an extra point of vitality for each 2 points I fail the control check by. If you fail by more than a certain amount the spell fails anyway.

Accidental Harmful Only

This option takes it a step farther and is tie this to any failed concentration checks while casting spells... you may take spirit burn. Over channelling becomes simply an option listed under the Concentrate skill and damage becomes a standard effect of concentration check failure while working an empowered effect .... this is particularly useful if you enable partial spell failures or marginal successes... a roll which is within 5 points of succeeding on a concenttration check is a marginal success

Always Harmful

Some magics may have this as a feature you can never control them completely/sufficiently and they always strain your life force. This might include inherently chaotic magics.

Painful Magics

Practictioners of some darker magics do something similar at any time by inflicting painful wounds on themselves. This is literally a price of power concept and seems less natural than other forms but is interesting never the less.
In D&D Psionics there is a related psionic feat that which allows one to excede ones limits on manifesting psionic effects damage incurred is physical attribute damage since it damages 3 attributes this is umm severe.
In veteran of the psychic wars blue oyster cult refers to eating our brains and/or the shakes either could be int or dex loss one might expect from screwing over ones nervous system over in Psychic battle.

Custom Fitting Magic and D&D to a Game World

It isn't just the magic system which can (and perhaps must) be fitted to ones personal game world but magic is a core element of fantasy so if it doesn't fit no parring or adding of races, classes, monsters or any other customization will make it feel truly it's own place. Many of the customizations are just about adding New Feats for characters either those who use magic like Sensing Magic is Fundamental or like Common Resistance adding a feat to most characters some like Universal Resistance are more of a world wide change. The customizations applied have implications and interactions some are obvious others less so.

Common Resistance

In the world of Eya spell resistance (in a couple of forms) is a common feature to humans the most common of sentient beings this creates implications and makes the arts of penetration and warding more significant than normal. It also means without other adjustments combat spells are far less useful than in the basic system. Improving the number of spells castable could be used to compensate for the increased spell failure ... but not all spells are resistable.

Paying more to improve penetration

Basically by spending more manna than the base cost you are able to overcome resistance

Universal Resistance

This is a step further than resistance being common as basically the whole universe gets a resistance check... overcoming the resistance of reality becomes an element of successfully working a magic. Can be combined with Common Resistance

Reality resists greater magics more than lesser
This means increasing the difficulty check for your magic for higher level spells and effects --- NOTE :this is implied in the spell point system by having higher spell point costs for mightier magics and and in the Recharge system by having longer recovery time for slots.

Fundamental Magics

Many of the cantrips/orizons's are so basic to the working and learning of magic that treating them as spells that must be prepared or even "cast" just feels wrong ..

The most obvious pair being. Read Magic and Detect Magic however others might well be treated as skills or spell like abilities depending on your perception of them or the style of magic.

Sensing Magic is Fundamental

Essential the ability to sense the forces you manipulate and form is so obviously fundamental that requiring even a basic spell seems rediculous... If it were affected by a basic spell the basic spell should simply enhance what the mage is already able to accomplish (Revealing light of Cauruscel) or confer the ability on a non-mage(Awakening the Third Eye).

The Revealing light of Cauruscel
This spell generates an otherworldly light which temporarily improves a mages ability to sense magic in a focused area reducing the dificulty class of sensing weaker magics and magic at greater ranges and/or in its passive or obsfucated forms.

Awakening the third eye.
Three quarters of the worlds humans can already sense subliminally magic but only a fraction of them are trained and able to sense it actively... .the remaining quarter are considered blind to magic. This magic will normally temporarily grant mystic vision to the three quarters who have atleast the subliminal sense. Occasionally this perception is awakened permanently. For those blind to magic it takes a far greater magic to give eyes to those who cannot see.

Reading Magic is Fundamental

for some mages reading is the very core of how they learn magic... but for others its unnecessary or takes on strikingly different forms which are often skill based as well.

For some Mages reading is the core basis of learning (this might be called Hermetic mages) amongst such read magic as a spell you cast is silly this ability should be based on an actual language skill or even just subsumed in the spellcraft skill. Thre is often a dominant language of magic for a given tradition of mages and it is more interesting to require learning a language to tap into another traditions lore. Historically there were indeed many more oral lore traditions for whom the concept of a spell book or scroll is rediculous. In a fantasy context a tradition may use mystic crystals as vessels to store lore in... such a memory crystal might be readable via the use magic item skill.

A Spell Matrix / Mystic Rune Pattern is as an alternative visualization of a scroll or spell book and can be theoretically put on any object.
These runes may be embedded in a foci and become unnaligned or burnt out when over/poorly used.

Magic is Wierd / Unpredictable

Magic doesnt allways create the effect intended marginal failures may at the DM's discretion create strange unpredictable effects.

Magic is Hard to Control

Magic is difficult to target - mages actually have a harder time targetting their magics than mundane.. a demon doesnt do what you expect or tell it to do.

Removing Artificial Mechanics (Spell Slots)

Often a good sign of a game mechanic which will feel artificial to quite a few people is one that really can't be voiced well in terms of the game world D&D Spell Slots being a case in point

... spell preparation is not intrinsically the problem though some see spell preparation as not simulating well the mages of myth legend or fantasy (That is a separate issue).

In this case the mechanics of spell slots ie the limitation of casting a specific number of spells of each level known each day. There is no game world explanation just a "game" reason, additionally since spell slots increase bookkeeping (compared to mana which involves tracking one number.. .you choose and track anywhere from 6 to 60 things) that gives us another reason to swap them out. Mana (spiritual energy) less vividly called spell points are a notable fix but certainly not the only one most of the other fixes could be generalised as usage repercussions. Since we are discussing removing spell slots we should examine what purpose they achieve in the basic system. One thing spell slots achieve is requiring mages to use some lower level magics instead of always firing off the big guns they also prevent someone using only lower level magics. In particular mana systems enable either effect.

Non absolute limits/probabalistic cost for Magic?

If there is a progressively increasing chance of repercussions when working magics with a gain in chance of failure based on power of the effect this can discourage casting too much magic and if this chance of repercussions fades over time.... rather than suddenly poof returning after rest... well then this encourages casting lesser magics with appropriate wait times in between. This does not enforce a particular behavior on the mage but rather influences them towards a desired style of use while allowing the mage to have his own degree of courage or caution.

Since we are talking a "possibility" of repercussions either we are talking making a spellcraft skill roll/concentration skill roll or will save on each casting with some negative tied to the result. possible repercussions

non-lethal damage

lethal damage

attribute damage --- attribute damage of any kind might be possible but it is particularly nasty if the will /cha or int is affected and future saves or skill rolls are impeded.