Mastery (All-Spontaneous) Magic Variant

[toyrobots]

DISCLAIMER: If you are going to defend the conventional system or make snide remarks about 4e-ism, I direct you to the word "Variant" in the thread's title. If you think everyone should play the game the same way, you're as bad as... whoever you think is bad.

I'd like to create a variant rule that does the following:

Eliminate the "Vancian" atmosphere of magic, that is "memorizing" spells and "forgetting" them once cast, and replacing it with the perfectly good fantasy trope that magic is simply the learned ability to manipulate mystical forces.

Eliminate the "Daily Spell List", that is, a caster who knows a certain spell one day ought to know the same spell the next day.

Retain a high level of compatibility with the conventional system. Various magic point systems have a hard time doing this. Conversion and reselection of spells should be kept to an absolute minimum.

Retain a "classic" feel, not replacing the spell as the basic unit, not changing the schools or way that spells interact.

Maintain the feel of the Sorcerer/Wizard dichotomy, that is Sorcerers know fewer spells but cast more, wizards cast less but know more.

Bring the Infinite Spell Lists under regulation, so that Clerics, Druids, and rich Wizards are still utilitarian but not to the point of outperforming other classes in their own niche.

You'll notice already that some of these goals contradict each other.

Mastery Magic Variant
Sorcerers, Bards, and all other spontaneous casters are unchanged. Clerics, Druids, Paladins, Rangers, and Druids retain their current Spells-Per-Day tables, but do not prepare spells in advance. The prepared casters have an extended spell list that requires a Concentration (Spellcraft) check to access, and a small "Mastered" spell list that does not require a check.

A spellcaster learns one mastered spell per caster level. Selection of the Spell Mastery feat allows any spellcaster to increase their number of mastered spells.

The extended spell list contains all mastered spells by default. More spells can be added to the list by research or ritual with a value of 100gp x (Spell Level)².

The GM may mandate access to materials or tutoring in order to acquire the spell.

Non-monetary efforts may substitute for the GP expense in the form of proselytizing, constructing an edifice of worship, ritual sacrifices, or independent magical research. These alternate means must be judged of equal value to the GP cost by the GM.

The GM may also choose to "anchor" the extended spells in an item, such as a spellbook or holy item, that must be in hand in order to access the extended spell list.

Casting a spell from the extended list is a Full-Round action that expends a spell slot for the day equal to the spells level. The caster must make a Concentration (Spellcraft) roll with a DC equal to 10 + (2 x Spell Level), or the spell is lost. A roll of a 1 results in a scroll mishap.

[Quentyn]

Well, as far as the skill check goes, this does introduce a special rule - an automatic failure on a “1" for a skill check - as well as quickly becoming a near-automatic success if the caster either achieves high level or finds a way to boost his or her spellcraft skill. I suspect that you’d quickly find that all utility spells get put on the extended list, while only those spells likely to be needed in combat go on the “mastered” list.

Secondarily, a 20'th level Sorcerer will automatically have “mastered” more spells than a 20'th level Wizard - unless the Wizard uses Feats (Three of them with a +5 Int Bonus). Minor spellcasters may know almost as many spells as a Wizard does even presuming that they start mastering spells only when they acquire the ability to cast them.

This really isn’t going to be back-compatible - you’ll need to be reselecting feats and rewriting spell lists anyway - and if its not, why not just go with one of the skill-based systems or smaller-number-of-very-flexible-spells or other variant systems out there?