Old School Open Book Spellcasting

I actually enjoy Vancian magic. I don't prefer it in every fantasy role-playing game, but I find it effective, interesting, and fun when it is employed appropriately. That is not to say it can't be improved. The following is a house rule I intend to use the next time I run Swords & Wizardry or earlier editions of Dungeons & Dragons.

Open Book Spellcasting

As per established rules, a magic-user may memorize a certain number of spells of various spell levels according to their class level. These spells, once cast, are "erased" from the caster's memory, but may be re-memorized given time and access to the right spell book or scroll.

A magic-user may, however, choose to cast directly from the spell book or scroll without causing the written spell to disappear (which is what happens when non-magic-users are able to cast a spell from text). To do this, the magic-user must read directly from the open spell book or scroll and make an attack roll versus an armor class equal to 10 + the spell's level (using ascending armor class). The magic-user is, in a sense, attacking the difficulty of the spell through brute force of will. If the roll succeeds, the spell is cast. If the roll fails, the spell is not cast and each subsequent attempt to cast it raises its armor class by 1. Normal difficulty is restored the following day. If the magic-user fumbles by rolling a 1, no more attempts may be made to cast that spell until the following day and the spell, if already memorized, is instantly forgotten.

In retrospect, the house rule I described in "Time for Another Spellcasting House Rule" in which the cost of casting an unmemorized spell is 1 hit point per spell level should probably be a variant of open book spellcasting and likewise require the use of a spell book or scroll. One could use both variants in the same game: one requires a roll, the other requires a sacrifice of hit points, but both require the reading of the written spell.

Zombie Dice and All-Purpose Spellcasting

[The following rule utilizes the Zombie dice from Zombie Dice, a game published by Steve Jackson Games. Zombie dice, which will hereafter be referred to as dZ, have the following faces: brain, footprints, and shotgun blast (abbreviated here as simply blast). The distribution of faces varies by color. A green dZ has 3 brains, 2 footprints, and 1 blast. A yellow dZ has 2 brains, 2 footprints, and 2 blasts. A red dZ has 1 brain, 2 footprints, and 3 blasts.*]

Twelve years ago (!), I posted an article entitled "Zombie Dice and Spell Interruption." Today, I would like to offer another method of using Zombie dice with spellcasting.

Each time a spellcaster casts a spell, the caster must roll 1dZ. If the casting is not interrupted, the caster rolls a green dZ. If the casting is interrupted, the caster rolls a yellow dZ. If the casting is interrupted through injury to the caster, the caster rolls a red dZ. The result of the roll is compared to the table below:

dZ	Effect
brain	The spell is cast and retained.
footprints	The spell is cast and forgotten.
blast	The spell is disrupted and forgotten.

All of this presumes that the baseline magic system is Vancian, i.e. the caster may memorize a certain number of spells of each allowable spell level; once cast, a spell is forgotten and cannot be cast again until it is re-memorized. Contrarywise, with this rule, there is always a chance that a spell may be cast and retained in the memory, cast and forgotten normally, or disrupted and forgotten.

One could also give the caster the option to cast in standard Vancian fashion (spells cast are always forgotten, but never disrupted unless interrupted) or risk the Zombie dice method on a case by case basis.

* Standard six-sided dice may be substituted as follows:
"Green" d6: 1-3 = brain, 4-5 = footprints, 6 = blast.
"Yellow" d6: 1-2 = brain, 3-4 = footprints, 5-6 = blast.
"Red" d6: 1 = brain, 2-3 = footprints, 4-6 = blast.

Crawling Toward New Spellcasting Options

For those who are interested in alternative interpretations of magic in Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, Reverend Dak of Crawl! has posted Practicable Magic: Reliable Spell Casting for DCC RPG. I think it's worth a try.

Table: Variable Spellcasting System

The premise: Each time a spell is cast, roll on the table below to gauge its efficacy.

Variable Spellcasting System

Roll 1d12

The spell is cast successfully...

1. If the caster makes an oath never to cast it again.
2. But the caster lapses into a state of suspended animation for 1d30 days.
3. But the caster will be unable to use magic for 24 hours.
4. But requires the promise of a favor to a higher power.
5. But the caster's current health is diminished by 50%.
6. But requires a sacrifice of material value.
7. But is forgotten and may be rememorized later.*
8. And with panache, raising the morale of allies whilst lowering that of foes.
9. And is increased in potency.
10. And is doubled in efficacy with regard to range, duration, or area of effect.
11. And is tripled in efficacy with regard to range, duration, or area of effect.
12. And is retained in memory for future casting.**

Note that this system assumes the use of a "Vancian" magic system in which spells are considered to be successfully cast unless countered or disrupted. Magic systems that require skill rolls for spellcasting may use the table above if a spell is successfully cast.

* Alternatively: But the casting time is doubled.
** Alternatively: And the casting time is halved, permitting another action.

Cast at What Cost?

I was ruminating on the subject of Vancian magic and how it relates to Dungeons & Dragons* — spells are memorized; they are forgotten when cast; they may be transcribed from a scroll to one's spellbook or cast directly from a scroll, but vanish from the scroll when so used — when it struck me: in a world where a spell disappears if it is cast from the page instead of memorized, spells would become scarce quickly if they ever fell into the hands of those who had not been properly trained in the magical arts. A wise spellcaster would know never to cast a spell directly from a spellbook or a scroll if that spell were not already recorded elsewhere. Magic is the greatest treasure to a wizard, to be preserved at any cost, so there will be no casting from scrolls unless the wizard created the scroll for that purpose or found a scroll containing a redundant spell. The only ones foolish enough to cast spells directly from their source without a copy in safe storage would be disobedient apprentices and non-spellcasters. In D&D, that means thieves, although logically it would mean anyone. (The nonsense of thieves having a special affinity for magic owes more to crafting a Grey Mouser class than creating a credible thief class, but the implications remain the same regardless.) Just imagine the chaos of common rabble using spells indiscriminately, rejoicing in their fleeting power, unaware or unconcerned that this may be the last time a given spell is ever cast, for it may be the last written record of that spell. Perhaps this is the reason so much arcane knowledge has been lost (presuming there was an earlier era of higher magic). The written spell, evaporating from the page as it is incanted, disappearing forever from potentiality, living on only in tales. It is a melancholy fate for magic, like the loss of ancient literature or music. Every age is a post-apocalyptic age of one sort or another.

* OD&D, AD&D, and certain other editions/versions.

DCC RPG Thought of the Day 2020-11-30

As much as I enjoy playing and judging Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, I wish it had just a little more in common with B/X D&D. Specifically, I wish the spell descriptions were shorter and simpler. Spells in D&D (and, to a lesser extent, AD&D) are a pleasure to write. They're even more fun to cast. Deciding what to do when casting a spell ought to be a simple matter of choosing a spell, aiming for a level of potency, deciding whether to spellburn, and rolling for the effect. The problem is wading through dense paragraphs of possible effects, which can slow down play if the player hasn't already memorized every possible result of every spell in his or her repertoire. If the spell tables could be simplified, or possibly even unified to a degree, it could both speed play and encourage more spell creation. It's an idea I keep thinking about, and someday I just might design a few B/X-inspired spells and playtest them.

Time for Another Spellcasting House Rule

Eventually, I will decide exactly how I want to handle spells in my Swords & Wizardry White Box games. The number of spells that can be cast per day are so scanty at low levels that it's a wonder anyone ever wants to be a spellcaster, especially since magic-users in particular are ineffective at anything other than spellcasting. My last house rule has been unsatisfying (unmemorized spells can be cast, but the casting time is extended to a turn and the caster must make a saving throw or suffer a temporary loss of strength). The casting may or may not have consequences, and even if it does, the cost is negligible. For my next house rule on the subject, I think I'll let unmemorized spells be cast at a cost of 1 hit point per spell level. This is an idea inspired by Microlite20, although in those rules it's the default method for all spellcasting. In Microlite20, the hit point cost is 1 plus double the spell level, but hit points spent in this manner are recovered after eight hours of rest. In my house rule, the hit point cost is lower, but the hit points spent are actual damage and are recovered in the same manner as other wounds (1 hit point per day of rest). This makes it simpler, but it makes the consequences of casting unmemorized spells greater, thus preserving the importance of wisely choosing which spells to memorize. I'll probably also add the Holmes rule for creating spell scrolls. Will any of this work or will I be trying another house rule in the near future? We shall see...

[Edit: After writing "Old School Open Book Spellcasting", I have decided that the house rule above should also require the use of a spell book or scroll containing the spell to be cast.]

We Are Sorry to Interrupt This Spell

I have come to the conclusion that spell interruption makes no sense in the context of Vancian spellcasting. In the Dying Earth stories by Jack Vance, it may take hours to memorize a few spells, but once a spell is in the magician's mind, coiled like a spring, all he or she needs to do is utter a few syllables to unleash it. I imagine the effect being as immediate as the killing words in Dune. Ritual spellcasting, on the other hand, is another matter. Spells cast ritually are not memorized (at least, not in the same manner), but the casting time is greatly extended, affording ample opportunity for interruption. Coupled with an additional cost (such as possible hit point loss or temporary attribute reduction), ritual spellcasting becomes a viable method of extending the spellcaster's usefulness without resorting to power inflation (in theory, I should add, as I am currently playtesting it with Swords & Wizardry White Box). Dispensing with the idea of spell interruption for memorized spells helps me in two other ways. First, since I am no longer using the complicated combat round sequence of post-OD&D, I no longer have to worry about requiring spellcasters to commit to a spell before initiative is rolled—they are as free to cast or not cast as anyone else who is free to use or not use a weapon. Why does this matter to me? It matters because the game flows better, and when the game flows better, my players and I enjoy it more. Second, it preserves the value of memorized spells in contrast to ritually cast spells. And since I'm using Brendan's Simplified Spell Progression (i.e., reduced spell capacity), it's all the more important that the memorized spells become the reliable ones.

(I probably ought to note here that I am not observing the variable casting times of certain editions of Dungeons & Dragons. In my campaigns, memorized spells are cast instantaneously, whereas ritually cast spells have a uniform casting time of one turn [ten minutes].)

Here, then, are my latest revised rules for ritual spellcasting...

Ritual Spellcasting Variant 3

The standard rules of normal spellcasting apply (verbal and/or somatic components only; casting time of 1 round; memorization of all spells in 1 hour after 8 hours of sleep), but spellcasters may also cast any currently unmemorized (or unprayed for) spell that they are qualified to cast (i.e., are of a high enough level to cast) with the following restrictions:

1. Casting time is increased to 1 turn, after which the spellcaster makes a saving throw vs. magic. If failed, the caster loses 1 point of strength per level of the spell. Strength lost in this manner is fully recovered after 8 hours of sleep.
2. The casting must be uninterrupted. If it is interrupted, the spell is disrupted, but the caster must still make a saving throw or lose strength as described above.
3. Material components must be used. Magic-users may use either a magic circle with candles or incense, or an alchemical catalyst to be imbibed, poured, or otherwise destroyed. Clerics may use items appropriate to their religion and culture such as censors, holy water sprinklers, bells, chimes, gongs, prayer wheels, candles, bonfires, etc.
4. For magic-users, the book containing the spell must be available to consult during the casting. For clerics, a holy symbol, holy book, or sacred object must be present.

Level Equals Spell Capacity

I am thinking about adopting Brendan's Simplified Spell Progression. I'll use it unmodified for both magic-users and clerics (I have always allowed clerics to have one 1st level spell at 1st level) and combine it with Ritual Spellcasting Variant 1 and 2. Spell memorization is thus simplified without sacrificing access to other spells (which may be cast ritually with a considerable increase in casting time).

One aspect of the simplified spell progression I really appreciate is the fact that it can be used to refer to a spellcaster's level in-character and actually be relevant in the game world. Depending on the setting, it may be common knowledge to everyone or possibly just to those with magical training that a spellcaster's level refers to how many spells can be held in the spellcaster's mind at one time. "She's a sorceress of the fifth level? Why, she can do five magical things every day with the snap of her fingers!" In my campaign, it will also be known that spellcasters commonly carry scrolls that enable them to cast even more spells (thanks to Holmes Basic), and that even without memorized spells and scrolls they can still use ritual magic. Some of Telecanter's Vancian Spell Ideas (namely #16) about magic items with their own spell slots that can be used by a magic-user to increase spell capacity is particularly useful here and fits in well with many fantasy settings in literature where objects often hold much of a spellcaster's power.

Overall, I think the combination of simplified Vancian magic and ritual magic will make magic-users more competent at low levels, less ultra-powerful at higher levels, and generally more enjoyable to play.

Ritual Spellcasting Variant 2

The Ritual Spellcasting Variant really only applies to magic-users, so here is the variant for clerics. As before, the standard rules of normal spellcasting in Basic/Expert D&D and Labyrinth Lord apply (verbal and somatic components only; casting time of 1 round; granting of spells with 1 hour of prayer after 8 hours of sleep), but clerics may also cast any currently unprayed for spells that they are qualified to cast with the follow restrictions:

1. Casting time is increased to 1 turn, after which the spellcaster makes a saving throw vs. magic. If failed, the casting time is increased by another turn, followed by another saving throw. Repeat until saving throw is successful or spellcasting attempt is abandoned.
   
2. The casting must be uninterrupted.
   
3. Material components must be used.
   
4. An appropriate holy book or sacred object must be present.
   

Clerics may use material components appropriate to their religion and culture such as censors, holy water sprinklers, bells, chimes, gongs, prayer wheels, candles, bonfires, etc. Rituals may also involve meditation, chanting, singing, bowing, dancing, acrobatics, theatre, or other activities appropriate to the cleric's religion. For the ritual to work, it must be something of a production and may or may not require participation by others.

This lends the cleric a little more versatility in fulfilling his or her duties, enables the creation of alternatives to the standard cleric (medicine men and women, witch doctors, shamans, and other practitioners of religion-based ritual magic), and allows for a style of spellcasting based on religious invocation familiar to many readers of fantasy literature.

[Edit: Casting time revised 5 June 2014.]

Zombie Dice and Spell Interruption

[The following rule utilizes the Zombie dice from Zombie Dice, a game published by Steve Jackson Games. Zombie dice, which will hereafter be referred to as dZ, have the following faces: brain, footprints, and shotgun blast (abbreviated here as simply blast). The distribution of faces varies by color. A green dZ has 3 brains, 2 footprints, and 1 blast. A yellow dZ has 2 brains, 2 footprints, and 2 blasts. A red dZ has 1 brain, 2 footprints, and 3 blasts.*]

When a spellcaster announces an intention to cast a spell and the casting is interrupted, the spell is disrupted and lost. It neither takes effect, nor can it be cast again until it is re-memorized. If, however, the caster decides to attempt to maintain concentration in spite of the interruption, there is a chance that the spell may still be successfully cast, but there is a chance for a mishap. The caster must roll 1dZ depending on the nature of the interruption. If the distraction is minor (the caster is jostled, asked questions, or briefly loses sight of a target), the caster must roll a green dZ. If the distraction is major and physical (the caster is physically injured or threatened with injury), the caster must roll a yellow dZ. If the distraction is major and mental (the caster is magically or psionically attacked) or the caster fails a saving throw, the caster must roll a red dZ. The result of the roll is compared to the table below:

dZ	Effect
brain	The spell is cast successfully.
footprints	The spell is disrupted and lost.
blast	Roll on the Spell Mishap table.

Spell Mishap

Roll 1d6

1. Stunning Blow. The spell fails and the caster is stunned for 2d12 rounds.
2. Reversal. The reverse of the spell is cast. If there is no reverse version, it backfires instead.
3. Backfire. If offensive, it affects the caster. If beneficial, it affects the opponent. If neither apply, then the result is concussion.
4. Concussion. The spell fails and the caster is rendered unconscious for 2d12 hours.
5. Memory Drain. The spell succeeds, but all memorized spells are forgotten in the effort to maintain concentration.
6. Explosion. The spell fails and the uncontrolled magical energy explodes causing 1d6 hit points of damage per level of the spell to all within a 10' radius.

* Standard six-sided dice may be substituted as follows:
"Green" d6: 1-3 = brain, 4-5 = footprints, 6 = blast.
"Yellow" d6: 1-2 = brain, 3-4 = footprints, 5-6 = blast.
"Red" d6: 1 = brain, 2-3 = footprints, 4-6 = blast.

Ritual Spellcasting Variant

I thought I would write up my house rules regarding spell memorization. The standard rules of normal spellcasting in Basic/Expert D&D and Labyrinth Lord apply (verbal and somatic components only; casting time of 1 round; memorization of all spells in 1 hour after 8 hours of sleep), but spellcasters may also cast any currently unmemorized spell in their spellbooks that they are qualified to cast (i.e., are of a high enough level to cast) with the following restrictions:

1. Casting time is increased to 1 turn, after which the spellcaster makes a saving throw vs. magic. If failed, the casting time is increased by another turn, followed by another saving throw. Repeat until saving throw is successful or spellcasting attempt is abandoned.
2. The casting must be uninterrupted.
3. Material components must be used.
4. The spellbook containing the spell must be available to consult during the casting.

Instead of burdening the system with specific material components for every spell, spellcasters may use a standard set-up for all spells such as a magic circle complete with candles and/or incense or a specially prepared potion used as a magical catalyst (and which cannot be made without access to a laboratory). Each vial of potion is good for one casting. The potion is used by drinking it, pouring it, or smashing its vial. Spellcasters may use either set-up at their convenience. The advantage of adding this method to the existing method is that spellcasters can continue to be useful even after they have used up their memorized spells (albeit at a considerable cost in time), it enables the creation of another type of spellcaster who is restricted to casting only unmemorized spells (witches, shamans, and other practioners of ritual magic), and it allows for a style of spellcasting more common in literature than the Vancian magic of the Dying Earth stories. I would use both methods in my game, but I can see using only the ritual method for campaigns meant to evoke a certain mood or flavor such as the fiction of Robert E. Howard or H.P. Lovecraft.

[See also Ritual Spellcasting Variant 2.]

[Edit: Casting time revised 5 June 2014.]

Liberated Clerical Spell Selection

I confess I'm not very familiar with editions of D&D past 1st edition AD&D, so the following may not be the first time this idea has been expressed. (I'm fairly certain it has already been expressed in some capacity, if not an official one, by someone. I'm just recording some thoughts on the subject.) It seems to me there ought to be more to differentiate clerical spells from magical spells than their source. I addressed the idea of changing the nature of verbal components to reflect the communicative role of clerics (spreading the faith), but I think the nature of spell selection lends itself to modification as well. If magical spells are selected and memorized as a matter of forethought and strategy (an intellectual exercise), perhaps clerical spells should be chosen only in times of need (an exercise in faith). Unlike magic-users, who owe their powers to academic study, clerics owe their powers to their deity and their faithfulness in serving that deity. (This is not to say that clerics do not engage in study, but that their study is of a theological nature rather than quasi-scientific inquiry.) A cleric should not have to guess which spell may or may not be useful in advancing his or her patron deity's divine plan. Rather, when the time comes for divine intervention through the agency of the cleric, the right spell within the cleric's capacity should be available for casting. In other words, a cleric prays daily for his or her due allotment of spells based on his or her level, not for specific spells. When the time comes to cast a spell, one spell slot of the appropriate spell level is marked as having been used for that day. If the cleric's mission necessitates that three cure light wounds be cast in a single day or one cure light wounds, one protection from evil, and one light, so be it. It is the deity's will. Clerical magic should, after all, be miraculous. It is a little less than miraculous for a cleric to be forced to admit, "Well, remove curse would have been useful, but I'm afraid I picked locate object instead. Sorry." Aside from falling short of inspiring awe, it doesn't even resemble how divine magic is presented in mythology or literature. The cleric's deity should either enable the clergy to predict which spells would be needed (in which case the referee is choosing the spells for the cleric each day), or the cleric should be able to invoke an available divine power when the need arises. The latter more accurately reflects a priest's decision of which prayer to say or which verse to read on a given occasion (and this ties into the idea of reciting an extemporaneous prayer when casting a spell). Does this unbalance the game? Does this flexibility make clerics too powerful? I haven't playtested this yet, but I think the fact that clerics must act strictly in accordance with their religion or lose their spellcasting ability is a strong limitation. Certain deities may even render the casting of a spell impossible on a case-by-case basis if it is judged to be a frivolous (or maybe selfish) use of divine power. Magic-users, of course, have no such restrictions.

Casting Spells Differently

In classic Dungeons & Dragons, magic is "Vancian" regardless of the spellcaster's class. Magic-users memorize mystical formulae and clerics pray for them (coincidentally for the same length of time), but spells always boil down to words that are charged with energy from the Positive or Negative Material Plane, which, when activated, are promptly erased from the spellcaster's memory. To be regained, the magic-user must memorize them again and the cleric must pray for them again. I recall reading somewhere that the magically charged words of a spell (or verbal components if you prefer) are impossible to understand or remember for anyone who happens to hear a spellcaster utter them. These words are more than words. They are the essence of primordial power. Not even another spellcaster can recall the words of a spell by hearing them. They must be committed to memory by a period of study lasting no less than one hour (in Basic/Expert D&D) or 15 minutes per level per spell (in AD&D). This is all well and good and I have no problem with any of it as it applies to magic-users, but there's something a little wonky as it applies to clerics. I have no problem with clerics sharing the same limitation of a certain number of spells per level, nor with clerics having to pray to regain spells, but I do have a problem with the words. That is, I do not like the verbal components of clerical spells to be identical in nature to magical spells, i.e. impossible to understand; impossible to remember. Clerics, as priests, are in the business of communication. They study the message of their faith, whether it involves interpreting scripture, interpreting omens, or speaking with spirits. They disseminate the message by preaching to congregations or spreading their faith as missionaries. Clerics communicate. Now, certain religions may indulge in a fair amount of obfuscation for various reasons (such as the use of secret symbolism to protect them from persecution if they are oppressed, or the use of complicated rituals and hierarchical structures to maintain power), but one thing most religions are not shy about is communication. It therefore stands to reason that the "spells" for which a cleric prays are not the arcane formulae memorized by magic-users, destined to fade from memory within seconds, unable to be understood even for a second by the uninitiated. On the contrary, clerical spells are words of power that manifest divine will through the agency of the cleric, and those words are a message that can be understood by anyone.* As the power to cast a spell is granted by a cleric's deity (or, in some cases, the deity's divine servants), the essence of the spell is not a formula to be understood by the cleric, but a message to be conveyed by the cleric. I would go so far as to say that any player character wishing to cast a spell as a cleric must state what his or her character is saying in order to make the spell work. This needn't be a formally composed invocation, but rather a statement of the cleric's faith and a supplication to his or her deity to enact the desired effects of the spell. This works best if it is stated in character in the player's own words. The same words are not required whenever the same spell is cast. In fact, it probably serves the game better if the words are personalized to reflect a given subject, situation, or location. The words chosen would certainly vary dramatically depending on the cleric's patron deity or sect. Each spell that is cast becomes both an affirmation and an act of proselytization (and it makes playing clerics more enjoyable, too). I should add that the words themselves, in a clerical spell of this type, do not trigger a spell's effects. It is the cleric's entreaty, the cleric's expression of desired intent, that enables him or her to become the vessel of divine will. The words alone do nothing if they are not accompanied by the cleric's faith and piety. I think this makes clerical spellcasting significantly different in flavor (and more interesting) without the fuss of new mechanical rules. * Even in a game world with multiple spoken languages, I think I would rule that the clerical spell as uttered would be miraculously comprehensible to anyone regardless of their familiarity with the cleric's language.