I'm trying to work on a simple magic fix for a campaign world in which the use of magic is widespread, but costly. I'd like for it to do damage to the caster every time, (possibly with a "roll Spellcraft for the spell to succeed" on top of that, but that's later).
Current possibilities:
- Spells do [Spell Level] lethal (nonlethal?) damage to the caster
- Spells do [Spell Level]^2 lethal (nonlethal?) damage to the caster
- ?
Are there other options I haven't thought of? Are there any that aren't terribly complicated? What should I watch out for?
Mandatory for the campaign setting:
- Healing does equal damage to caster as it heals the target
- There are no prepared casters, only spontaneous
- Campaign will not go beyond 7th level
Thanks in advance for any ideas y'all can come up with!
What I did for my own homebrew system was let wizards and sorcerers specifically use hit points to cast spells when out of spells for the day for that level. Wizards had to lose twice the spell level in hit points, sorcerers had to lose three times. It works out quite well in play, and reduces hording of spells.
Why not check out warhammer fantasy. In that world casting is infinite, but each time you cast there is a moderate chance you tend towards insanity. It's kinda like a firearm misfire, except that there is no quick-clear, and the forces of chaos WILL eventually possess you.
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You might look at the Overchannel psionic feat as well as the Psychic Enervation mechanics of the Wilder class for ideas.