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I was skimming through Spheres of Power yesterday (I still haven't read it thoroughly yet), and a thought for a campaign world came up: What if everyone in the world had Spheres of Power-style magic? And I mean every sapient being has at least a little bit of magic, and other styles of magic/spellcasting aren't available.
Would one be able to make pretty much general PC character type with just the eleven base classes in the book?
I'm a bit concerned about skill-heavy characters, or if concepts like "raging" or "nature warrior" are covered, or even if they are necessary. But, like I said, I've only skimmed the book. Maybe all the needed stuff is there. It might even be covered in the "Using This Book" section. [I do know about the conversion archetypes, but I'd prefer to avoid those, if possible.]
I'd probably want to make an NPC class (or three—commoner, expert, adept). Other than that, what might be needed? What might be useful? I'm sure some of you are far more familiar with Spheres of Power than I am.
If there seems to be enough interest, I might do some sort of play-by-post here using the idea.
And this, folks, is what a negative Charisma modifier looks like. :-(
For most of the NPC classes, I'd probably just give them Basic Magical Training as a bonus feat. Adepts I'd probably treat as a Mid-Caster with one new talent every 2 class levels. They could choose between Int/Wis/Cha for their casting ability modifier.
Any comments?
The Mageknight has Barbarian Rage as one of its Mystic Combat abilities. While you don't gain Rage Powers, it doesn't matter as it only lasts for as many rounds as your casting ability modifier and you can use it as long as you have the Spell Points for it.
You can build an Arcane Trickster type of character from level 1 using just the base Rogue and a couple feats. You can create a Bloodrager or a Paladin with the same class (Mageknight). With a couple feats, you can take the base Fighter from the Core Rulebook and grant him a caster level and a bit of magic ability. With the Shifter you have your dedicated Wild Shape Druid. Add on the Conjuration Sphere, Boon Companion, and Lingering Companion and you have an animal companion that you don't have to spend money on. The Incanter can replicate a Wizard, Cleric, Sorcerer, or Arcanist.
Using Quicken Spell, you can make a completely mobile warrior with the ability to teleport into battle on a whim. At level 1. Your Incanter can throw as many Fireballs in a day at level 1 as they have Spell Points.
You can fly at level 1. Or Detect Invisibility. Or grant your enemies something particularly powerful: negative levels. At level 1.
I'd be interested to see what you come up with.
I don't have the book in front of me but I know Nature Warrior is doable with the classes in the book. I'm not sure if raging is covered but I know it can be simulated although you'd have to homebrew a tradition.
Basically if someone rages they use the enhancement sphere with the tradition that while it's active you can't use Int or Cha skills and you get tired when you end it.
Personally I'd limit everyone to one sphere as a half caster with one talent every two levels and use Anachronistic Adventures. If you use NPC classes I'd make up my own because the NPC classes are far from equal. Nobody in their right mind is going to go commoner unless its the only one that gets to be a full spherecaster.
Here's one thought. Have you read the The Darksword Trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman? In there each person had a specific realm of magic they could cast. Imagine everyone is born with a single sphere that leads to expectations and stigmas throughout the setting. War Spherecasters are desired for the battlefield but generally are treated as either heroes or thugs. Death mages are feared and shunned until one needs to talk to a recently deceased loved one. Bonus, since EVERYONE has a sphere they are inept at everything else. i.e. nobody bothers to learn how to craft because creation mages make everything. Nobody bothers to learn agriculture because nature mages coax things into growing. There is literally no technology, even wheels or torches because of items and services from someone from one of the spheres doing it already.
And I'm not kidding about the no wheels part. In the Darksword setting sticking a stick is under a rock to lever the rock away is grounds for execution because it's considered necromancy. (You gave life to the stick which gave life to the rock. This is obviously death magic. Also: You murdered a tree to make a chair!!! Why didn't you just make one out of magic? Or use magic to ask the tree for a chair? You're a sicko.)
Everyone is a full caster with their birth sphere and half caster with every other sphere and gets a new talent every level they don't gain a feat. Otherwise they are an expert with Fort, Ref and Will set to scale with 1/2 level.
I wouldn't use the Darksword trilogy to try to explain Spheres of Power. There is no Catalyst class, for one, and no way to create one without making the player that took it feel like a lead anchor around your casters' necks. And necromancers became exceedingly rare almost to the point of non-existence, not because nobody wanted to do it, but because almost nobody had been born to it.
It sounds like I can get away with just using the 11 base classes from Spheres of Power. Good.
I wasn't planning on having PCs use NPC classes; but since everyone has magic, the NPC classes would need magic, too.
Now I have to think about what "everybody has a little bit of magic" would mean for the game world... [I haven't read the Darksword Trilogy; I may need to look it up. But, as described, it sounds too restrictive for the game I'd want to run.]
Interestingly, my own world functions on the same sort of principle. Basically everyone, every creature possesses at least the talent and some minor ability with magic (outside a few extremely rare exceptions around a certain land). The magic is also tied to the elements, but I think you could adjust it easily enough for your concept.
The way I do this is I give every single creature what is essentially a mini template that has two main bonuses, resistance and thaumaturgy:
Thaumaturgy: You gain the ability to manifest your power to produce small tricks and effects related to your affinity. This effect is varied, but basically includes prestidigitation/cantrip-like magic effects. For example, a fire affinity character could produce a spark, heat an object in his hands, shape an existing flame into a little dancing figure, and so on. These may be used at will and require little effort, including no somatic or verbal components.
It's enough for your basic npc to have a little talent, but nothing that impacts the CR system while fitting your concept. You could also just ditch the resistance portion (or leave it at /5) and you end up with the same theme and something that works. Everyone has -some- magic but perhaps only those with the time, talent, and training available can develop it.
A belated thanks for the suggestion, Aleron.
I've still been thinking about this idea. I went over the 20 spheres, asking myself what sort of changes in society might happen because everyone has (at least) basic access to one sphere. Here's what I've come up with:
General comment: At least 6 of the 20 spheres give you an attack (directly or indirectly) that does at least 1d6 non-lethal damage. Outlawing weapons, as some societies have done, might be kind of pointless. Of course, since a club is a 1d6-damage weapon that nearly everyone is proficient with and is free, the game rules seem to support that kind of thing already. The worst damage is either two primary attacks for 1d4 each, or one primary and one secondary for 1d6 each; I haven't run the numbers to see which one might be worse.
A lot of the spheres don't do much other than give slight bonuses in combat; I don't see those having a wide-scale impact, especially if both sides in a fight have the same abilities.
Specific spheres:
- Alteration: Amazing disguises; could be trouble. But see Divination.
- Creation: Can destroy objects, regardless of hardness, given time.
- Divination: Helps detect those pesky Alteration/Illusion/Mind users.
- Fate: Not so much for the specific abilities, but what would society make of them? Could be interesting to explore.
- Illusion: Communication, minor disguise, and fake walls/boxes/etc. Could be trouble. Divination helps again. Could also be entertainers.
- Life: Limited hp cures. Probably not a societal game changer, though.
- Mind: Charms---yikes. Even lesser charms, used correctly, can do a lot. It might be too much, but then again those Divination users come in handy.
- Nature: Lots of effects; the biggest impact on society might be food. 1 spell point a day to feed 3 people? Sounds pretty good to me.
- Telekinesis: Could have a big impact on general society. Moving things 20 feet through dangerous territory, or straight up, has lots of uses.
- War: I imagine War users would be wanted by every military out there.
- Warp: Yikes, again. Is there any way of stopping this? Infiltration, escape. If someone is manacled and teleports, do the manacles come along?
- Weather: Unless you have a bunch of these folks working in shifts, this shouldn't cause any long-term changes.
Those are my thoughts, anyway. Anything I missed? Anything I misunderstood? Any other thoughts?
That's awesome!
This conversation happened months ago it seems, but I would be interested to hear what the world looks like now. How has it shaped up according to the stated design principle?
Everyone is magic!
Everything is eldritch when you're part of a team!
Everyone is magic,
When you're playing RPGs...
I haven't done much with it. I've been ... distracted. If Divination is pretty common, Mind is rare, and Warp very rare (or can be stopped by common materials), it should work out.