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Arcane Spontaneous Casters have a mental fatigue tracker. After receiving the effects of resting for 8 hours, the DC is set at 0. Every time a spell caster casts a spell, the DC increases by the spell level of the spell just cast. Once the spell is complete, the caster must make a Will save equal to the mental fatigue DC; the caster cannot fumble this check and does not need to roll is the DC is equal to her Will save+1. If the caster fails this save, she gains the condition "Mentally Fatigued". If the caster already has the Mentally Fatigued condition and fails this Will save again after continuing to cast, the caster gains the "Mentally Exhausted" condition. Should the caster continue to cast from this point and fails her Will save a third time, the caster falls unconscious until her DC reaches 0 again. For every minute the caster goes without casting or concentrating on a spell, the DC lowers by 1 to a minimum of 0; once the DC reaches 0, the mentally Fatigued and Exhausted Conditions are removed.
New Conditions:
1. Mentally Fatigued: A character who is mentally fatigued takes all the penalties of being fatigued and has to make a concentration check DC=10+Spell Level or lose the action, but not the spell.
2. Mentally Exhausted: A Character who becomes mentally exhausted takes all the penalties of the exhausted condition and has to make a concentration check DC=15+Double Spell Level or lose the action and spell slot.
New Feats:
1. Mental Endurance: (Prerequisites: CL1) The caster gains a +2 bonus on the Mental Fatigue Will save.
2. Mental Endurance, Improved: (Prereq: CL 7; Mental Endurance; INT, WIS, or CHA 16) The caster gains an additional +4 on the Mental Fatigue Will Save and a +2 on concentration checks made as part of the Mentally Fatigued or Exhausted conditions.
3. Mental Endurance, Greater: (Prereq: CL 15; Mental Endurance, Improved; INT, WIS, or CHA 19) The caster gains an additional +4 on the Mental fatigue will save, an additional +2 on concentration checks made as part of the Mentally Fatigued or Exhausted conditions and while Mentally Exhausted only suffers the effects of Mentally Fatigued. When the caster would normally fall unconscious from failure of a third Mental Fatigue save, the caster instead suffers the effects of the Mentally Exhausted condition.
4. Mental Tenacity: (Prereq: CL7) When the caster would lose a spell for failing a Mentally Exhausted concentration check, she has a 25% of not losing the spell.
My main questions are
- Should it be extended to all arcane, if so all Divine as well?
- The intent is to discourage spell slinging and to encourage expanding the amount of time between each spell casted (although not changing the action itself); how well would the mechanic achieve this goal?
- Do the numerical bonuses in the feats seem fair for relative feat power?
- I am also open to any other questions or suggestions.
I given some thought to a mechanic like this in the past, but you have taken it a lot further than I ever did. After reviewing it, I want to suggest that rolling the separate Will save and concentration check into a single concentration check. There would obviously need to to be checks and balances like you have already begun. For the feats I would simplify it to a flat +4, much like combat casting.
One think I have always wanted to do it to take the fatigued and exhausted conditions and apply them to all game aspects, not just strength and dexterity based ones. For example, if you are exhausted, isn't it harder to remember things? I think the language used in these revised conditions should be similar to that used in what a negative level does. Maybe instead of those conditions, you instead get a fatigue rating. At first you just get a -1 to attacks, saves, skill checks, ability checks, etc, but it continues going up after that if things start going poorly for you. Maybe as standard action you can reduce it somehow.
I given some thought to a mechanic like this in the past, but you have taken it a lot further than I ever did. After reviewing it, I want to suggest that rolling the separate Will save and concentration check into a single concentration check. There would obviously need to to be checks and balances like you have already begun. For the feats I would simplify it to a flat +4, much like combat casting.
Would take some reworking, not to much but still some heavy considerations. The issue of concept would be if it extends to Divine casters, where to draw the bonus for the concentration check Divine casters (aside from Oracle, since their lore to me implied that their casting invoked powers within themselves instead of granted by a patron) since the divine casters would have gotten a high wisdom save bonus (or paladin would get a high CHA bonus instead); as well as where to start making them fatigued off of a single check.
One think I have always wanted to do it to take the fatigued and exhausted conditions and apply them to all game aspects, not just strength and dexterity based ones. For example, if you are exhausted, isn't it harder to remember things? I think the language used in these revised conditions should be similar to that used in what a negative level does. Maybe instead of those conditions, you instead get a fatigue rating. At first you just get a -1 to attacks, saves, skill checks, ability checks, etc, but it continues going up after that if things start going poorly for you. Maybe as standard action you can reduce it somehow.
So like pushing them down a step in the Wound threshold rule? That's a good idea for fatigue in general imo (and as such it would extend into here). Maybe an ally can give you "magic" smelling salts or something as a standard action along with a heal check to suppress the penalties by a step?