What Your D&D Spellcasters are MISSING

Spellcasting in D&D doesn't often feel *magical* but this house rule will help keep the players excited without creating a bunch of work for the game master! ▶️ More below! ⏬
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#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #dccrpg

[@BobWorldBuilder]

💥 5e Lost City Campaign: www.patreon.com/bobworldbuilder ✅ Bob's Homebrew: www.patreon.com/bobworldbuilder/shop

[@cyntogia]

Dammit Bob! Those are some great ideas! I might use it with Shadowdark when it finally shows up!

[@Calarus1132]

I love that a lot of Bob's videos are just "DCC has some dope rules, maybe use them!", 100% here for it

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Not enough of my videos honestly haha

[@GrandNagusEli]

Heh. DCC is just dope, period.

[@andrewlustfield6079]

@@BobWorldBuilder Our group has taken inspiration from PDM from dungeon craft, where mages and priests have to roll against their spell craft/religion scores to successfully cast a spell and added a potential for critical miscasts. Believe it or not, this approach really make the magic much more magical--

[@CrizzyEyes]

There's a ton of systems that use spell checks and overcasting. I would say virtually every game that doesn't have a magic "resource" (like spell slots) to manage uses this. Not to shit on DCC, I think it's great that they have it. Just saying there's tons of sources of inspiration for this and people shouldn't treat it like it's some kind of super weird, super overpowered thing that will ruin their game. In reality this ends up with a lot of situations where the caster ends up doing _nothing_ due to a failed check. Or, you could be like my psyker in Dark Heresy and make a fight harder by accidentally reversing gravity. Which is fine, it just makes it a greater risk-reward type of system. I do think it's great that they have specific effects for overcasting though. In most rules, it's just "add one more target or add more range or add more damage."

[@GrandNagusEli]

@@CrizzyEyes This is true. It's not a unique mechanic to roll for spells. But DCC does slot fairly easily onto 5e in a way a lot of other games don't. ShadowDark even more so

[@JKevinCarrier]

I like presenting this as an option, rather than automatically having every spell work this way. I wouldn't use the DCC-style spells very often, since I have notoriously bad dice luck and it would probably backfire more often than not. But I know players who are big into taking crazy risks who would absolutely love this.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Bingo. One of my caster players isn't really interested (though I think part of that is because DCC doesn't have a lot of druid-like spells), so this works well for us

[@cyntogia]

I've a player who would just complain about never being able to cast a spell. Making it an option gives others the ability to use it instead.

[@johnnygreenface4195]

​@BobWorldBuilder I've homebrewed my own druid class and spells because I love them so much. Was way too much effort, but I'm starting a new campaign soon so it'll probably finally get use 😅

[@NemoOhd20]

Well, you forgot to add Lucky Dice from DM Scotty.

[@Calebgoblin]

Snakes for a mustache Snustache

[@InsightCheck]

I've always loved the idea of channeling some kind of additional power, almost "blood magic" style in order to power up a spell and this sounds like a great way to incorporate that. Great video as always :)

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Exactly! Casters being able to push themselves for power is a fun trope

[@CrizzyEyes]

You should look into the Dark Sun setting.

[@thekaxmax]

"Roll if you want to overcharge"

[@Telleryn]

Yeah, it seems like something a sorcerer should be able to do as part of their class, like if you homebrewed them to use CON instead of CHA (as their power is more of a manifestation of blood potency) and had their metamagic use hit dice instead of sorc points, but when they run out of hit dice start burning through their own hitpoints, or maybe warlocks, using the ideas of blood sacrifice for power (using CON as their spellcasting stat as their ability to channel their patron's power is limited by how much of that power their body can handle)

[@thekaxmax]

@@Telleryn Don't need to homebrew sorcerers if you use 4E. :P

[@johnhansen4794]

As a DM it is always important to remember whose fun you are trying to enable. If the folks at the table are digging it, that works. Try to notice when a player is slogging through rather than feeling engaged.

[@patcheskipp]

A was going to say this seems like it would make the casters, who already tend to our pace martials, even stronger, but at low levels its probably more balanced. As much fun as that would be I feel like if I was a martial I'd feel a bit bummed out if the casters could just wipe the bosses like that and I wasn't able to do much but escort the WMD around.

[@gibbousmoon35]

I agree. It might work better as an import to d&d if dome additional jeopardy is included. Maybe it's ancient magic that has an exhaustion penalty, or a longer casting time that requires a round or more of "charge-up".

[@RichWoods23]

WMD = Weapons of Monster Destruction?

[@greatclubsandwich5612]

Until they roll a 1 and lose the ability to cast that spell for the day and all of a sudden good ol' reliable sword and armour is looking pretty good to the guy dressed in a robe and sandals.

[@PokeRedstone]

I'm loving your writing lately. It's witty, but still concise and informative. Jokes are great, but always add to the topic or at least don't overstay their welcome. In particular I love how you organized this video. Opening with two concrete examples, one of how D&D works and one of how the house rule works, to really set the stage as to why this house rule makes sense was great. I know you would probably more like to see feedback on your RPG takes, but your writing is a breath of fresh air in the sea of AI KZbin.

[@MemphiStig]

Agreed. On technical merit alone, this channel's got their act together. Quality over quantity for the win!

[@doublekrpg]

Wait, is this Bob *THE* World Builder? 😮

[@BobWorldBuilder]

The very same!

[@mofumyon]

I like the part where Bob says "it's building time" and builds a whole world

[@benmorgan4790]

So for better d&d just play dungeon crawl classics😂 I approve 👌 👏 🎉

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That works too!

[@pyrix137]

Did i spy a fancy new Runehammer Hero Coin?! Sweet!

[@shasta_creates]

Pretty cool! Good call on swapping level vs proficiency bonus as the modifier. I'd wager that for 5e, the proficiency bonus is what you want in general. Definitely going to see what my players think of this; I'd love to give it a whirl!

[@AFK0099]

Interesting, I would also add an HP cost and/or a an exhaustion cost, to the spell burn check.

[@dittrich04]

Love the DCC stuff. How about a video on wizard battles from DCC? I love that fantasy but had 0 idea how to understand those rules. I'd love to port something like that into 5e to replace/adjust counterspell.

[@johnnygreenface4195]

Just a few days ago I had a wild occurrence with a spell duel between a wizard NPC and a high level Wizard. They rolled so high it caused a disturbance, doubling the spell effect and sending it wild. So a swarm of 16 magic missiles firing every which way completely shifted the encounter💀

[@keyanblyler04]

I love this and I love DCC here is my own homebrew rules for my spellburn inspired mechanics. Madness in Willoss: some things and creatures may inflict Sanity Damage on you such as demons, aberrations, fey, and celestials, certain events such as witnessing maddening hallucinations, touching an ancient artifact, being in the presence of higher beings or different planes of existence, certain spells, taking critical psychic damage or critical failing saves versus psychic damage. It will be a Wis. , Cha. Or Int. save. Upon success nothing happens. If failed you take sanity damage. For our campaign, each player starts with a set of 10 sanity points (SP) plus int bonus and wis. Or cha. bonus plus character level (10 + Int. + Wis./Cha. + Character Level). When taking sanity damage you subtract it from your SP. Sanity Points can be recovered 1 x level per long rest or on short rests expending hit dice where 1 hit die equals 1 point of sanity recovered. Bardic inspiration and song of rest also heal sanity. Bardic inspiration can be expended to heal 1 Sanity point and song of rest heals each party member by 1 Sanity. When you take Sanity Damage you will make a sanity save a fail will result in rolling on the Madness tables. SP 10+ : no side effects SP 9: save versus short term madness. SP 8: save versus long term madness SP 7: same as above, except -1 to Wis. checks and saves. SP 6: same as above except -2. SP 5: same as above except -3. SP 4: same as above except -4. SP 3: Save versus indefinite madness and disadvantage on Wis. and Int. checks and saves SP 2-: Gain Indefinite madness if not already mad indefinitely. Sanity Burn: at the sake of your sanity you may boost your spell attack, spell save dc, spell damage or boost your save from an opponent's spell by willingly sacrificing sanity points, you will then get a bonus equal to the sanity points sacrificed. You can also recover spell slots by sacrificing 2 x the spell's level of sanity points. After choosing one of these options you must make a DC (10 + spell level) Int. or Wis. Check or suffer madness rolled on the respective madness table.

[@generalmayhem8318]

Heard that you met Matt Mercer and he knew your channel. So cool man

[@billdefranza4927]

I love the old windows desktop landscape! Lol

[@trollsmyth]

Ha! And I was going to ask if you'd incorporated my favorite DCC combat rule. Very cool. Also, so is the shirt.

[@markmontag162]

I just want to add to the torrent of love for DCC. Thanks for introducing me to it, it continues to be a breath of fresh air!

[@GryphonDes]

Good stuff as usual -- the DCC influence is getting wider and I am so delighted to see it!

[@TCC180]

I've never watched Acquisitions Inc. but have seen "Jim's Magic Missile" around when I look at online tables of wizard spells. I like this naming convention. it's similar to how other spells tend to be named for the wizard who created them, and gives the impression that there is some lore behind it. just a suggestion, but you could probably do something similar with the DCC spells, making the altered versions associated with some mage or another to make them a little more unique, and immersive.

[@TwinSteel]

Especially good editing on this on, Bob

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thank you!

[@TwinSteel]

@@BobWorldBuilder you’re very welcome - really appreciate the transitions, especially the stand-hat-fall-off - good work

[@gryphon7675]

Hey Bob! Love this video and your work! I wanted to point you in the direction of a niche little RPG that I stumbled on in a book store while on a vacation. The game is called Symbaroum and it has some REALLY interesting magic mechanics and an even more interesting setting. I ran the introductory module for my D&D group and it made for a really intereting, atmospheric couple of sessions and gave me some great ideas for homebrew in other games. Hope you'll give it a look!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

The name rings a bell! Free League I think? Thanks for the testimonial

[@n4tune8]

You do know that they made a 5e version called Ruins of Symbaroum, right? Same setting, same adventures, but uses 5e core rules. Casters are still subject to corruption.

[@donclemson8959]

Great vid. I use a very similar set up in my low 5e game for spell checks to keep it simple and our players love it, more so with mishaps. Roll a d20 + Proficiency Bonus + Spellcasting Modifier. Spells require a successful spellcasting check with a DC of 10 + Spell Level. Failures use a very simplified arcane mishap table, same w crits. Saw it on HouseDM and that one just seemed to work well for our group so we adopted it. Keep cranking out the vids! They are amazing!

[@TheUglyGoblin]

You beat me to it you genius you! I looove DCC and particularly Adore the magic system. I wanted to convert this system to my own world but you've done it FAR better that I ever could and it's so Clean! I also love your suggestions of adding it slowly through scrolls and books :3 so cool. In my homebrew world, most of the time spent studying magic is learning all of these "safty precautions" so that spells don't go Wild, like they used to in the past. DCC's magic rules are what I imagine magic being like in my world years ago. Looove the idea of old spellbooks showing people how to cast spells "The Old Fashioned Way"! So excited to add this into my games! You legend uwu

[@willschoonover8654]

I've had a long discussion about meta-gaming a friend of mine, and perfect knowledge about how every spell works was at the heart of it. Unfortunately, I doubt many of my players would like the randomness that spicing up the spellcasting in D&D would bring.

[@FablesD20]

great video Bob! for some reason, im always writing a video and when i take a break and look online, i see a new video dropped by someone i admire that his the same topic... thanks for making me question myself lol jk. more like inspire me and point out that the idea should be shared

[@calebwidogussy452]

Another one hit out of the park by Bob. This video is filled with excellence. Thanks Bob!!

[@thiseffingm]

This is the first video I have seen of yours. Entertaining! And classic DCC

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@keithcurtis]

Sneople! The enemies of the Diamond Authority!

[@kongu12395]

Bob, you mentioned using DCC spells in your low level game a while back and just last session I let the Sorcerer learn three DCC spells as a form of ancient magic. I haven’t implemented Spellburn but I probably should, my favorite bit of DCC is what happens when you roll a 1 though. Wish you’d have focused on the silliness that is the misfire and corruption tables.

[@zakronthesheep]

I'm gonna do some tinkering and work this into my 3.5 game, it seems really cool!

[@liamcage7208]

I used to just have the Wizard roll a Spell Check where on a nat 2 the spell just fizzles out and a nat 1 has a crit fail effect of some kind. A nat 20 gave the spell a double damage or double duration effect. No modifiers applied to the roll. So with a 5% chance of critical boon and a 10% chance of spell failure the party's wizard complained a lot. I think a crit fail only happened once the entire campaign. The Wizard complained a lot.

[@DMDude2000]

Just added DCC to Xmas list!

[@LukeYoungBass]

LOL got me good with "Sneeple". Sensible chuckle

[@joes3722]

I love the video! If the rules work for you that is great. I am just SO hesitant to take away things from classes that are OFFICIAL in D&D. If I am a wizard, I may be the greatest wizard in all of the land, I ROLL a nat 1 on this "Spell check" and I fumble a spell. Well, now my entire jist is taken away.

[@dittrich04]

That is a great point. A rule like this is best pitched at a session 0. This way you can play up the fun of doing something different. If the players reject it, that's ok, but maybe they'll love it!

[@mattlazer902]

This thing happens to the greatest swordsmen in the land all the time lol.

[@joes3722]

I do totally agree with that, the only problem is that the greatest swordsmen in the land is trying to attack an opponenet with an armor class that is actively trying not to get stabbed. This just makes the wizard mess up the spells they have cast a million times. @@mattlazer902

[@joes3722]

I agree, this is absolutely a session zero rule. @@dittrich04

[@francescocasto6672]

I use mercurial magic rules from DCC in my D&D homebrew rules campaign. And it is a lot of fun.😊

[@ChadHensley]

Thanks for sharing how you use the DCC spells in 5E! I have been dying to play DCC since I got the quickstart guide at the 2019 RPG Day but haven't gotten the chance. I do think some of my current players would enjoy DCC and this might be a way to get them more interested.

[@Fro609]

wow perfect timing on this video! You just gave me the greatest idea to throw into my Icewind Dale Rime of the Frostmaiden game! I'm prepping to run that and these types of spells would make for perfect netherese spell scrolls or spells for my PCs to learn.

[@TowelBoyCSGO]

Bob I will watch All of your dcc videos. I just really like when you cover their stuff and other lesser known ttrpg’s

[@VonSkulltaker]

So good

[@joyg2526]

My rolls are always so bad I hardly ever manage to roll high enough to hit anything with a ranged attack spell. No magical guns for me.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Then being able to sacrifice points and automatically increase rolls might be helpful!

[@TheNehebkau]

I would love to have these, except that my casters already wreck encounters. Even using re-invisioned monster resistances, paragon defences for bosses, A5e martial buffs, casters already just shut down most battles.

[@Midrealm_DM]

Are you using casters on the NPC side as well? +Illusions - Players blast the illusion or phantasms with their high level spells +Counterspell - players lose their high level spell as it is countered +Invisibility - invisible NPC approaches and ambushes caster +Wall of XXX - caster is encircled with a wall preventing them from seeing the battle

[@CrizzyEyes]

This is arguably a nerf to casters. At the very least, certain encounters will allow the other players to shine, because casters will fail their checks sometimes. Consistency is the main reason why magic is so strong in D&D. Firebolt is a great example of the problem. It's a 1d10 + spellcasting modifier (with Evocation I think) free attack, with a ton of range, that never runs dry, and it scales every 5 levels.

[@TheNehebkau]

​@@CrizzyEyes Not sure how this would be a nerf, he himself says that the players make use of this maybe once per session. I interpret this as players, playing smart. So maybe once per session the caster wants to bust out the big nova DCC spell, burn a few relatively inconsequential points from their dump stats of Str or Dex and just do even more damage then they normally do. Your argument that this is a nerf because they might sometimes fail on something with massive upsides if they succeed, is kind of like saying giving a caster a higher level spell scroll would be a nerf to them, because they *might* fail the ability check, or that sharpshooter is a nerf cause the player might miss with the -5 to hit penalty. I introduce this mechanic, my players will have it relatively optimized in a minute, risking little for a massive boon.

[@TheNehebkau]

@@Midrealm_DM So your saying this wouldn't nerf martials because the NPC casters would be even more powerful??? My NPC casters already dominate the battlefield, and overshadow the NPC martials.

[@CrizzyEyes]

@@TheNehebkau I haven't really used the system as it manifests in DCC, but it clearly has misfires and several negative effects just by attempting to cast the spell. The players had to literally pool resources (the hero coins) just to get one natural 20 for the spell caster to invoke this insane overcast effect. You're ignoring the 95% of the time when the caster isn't doing that, rolling to cast, and possibly failing or worse. There are many similar systems such as in Shadowrun, Dark Heresy, WHFRP, etc.

[@brentnorton1602]

We use room DC from ICRPG and the spells from Shadowdark, and the spell failure charts from Deathbringer. Clerics and Druids also have spell failure charts as well. Watching casters slowly mutate to spiders because they always rolled a 1 for spider climb, a Cleric desperately trying to heal a npc while rolling a 1 and a watching his own bodily fluids replace the wounds of the near deceased npc, and a Druid veins pour out from his body to form limbs and branches as he solidifies into a small tree. Priceless. Using the DCC spells as magic scrolls is a really good idea.

[@jf649]

I love this. Have the DCC book in my shelf since ages as my group is purely playing DnD (25 years now with an all time DM). We recently moved to fill gaps with One Shots, when some of our players can‘t make it. But I kept struggling moving the crew to trying out a new system (and my prep time reasonable, as I‘d had be the DM in that case). This sounds as an absolute easy an fun way to do so. I had a similar idea once of moving my own party (my DM used to play a shadow sorcerer 5E in this) into a new realm to switch partwise to the DCC mechanics but never came to do so before the said character turned evil through a grimoire and run from the party …presumably now becoming my new BBEG lich.

[@probablythedm1669]

IDK, the martial vs. caster divide is already large enough that my mostly martial group would just go fully into "The bard is not bringing a team, they're bringing their audience, on this adventure." if I let casters have even more power. Basically, I'd need something like this for martials before I'd use it for casters. Or a all caster group, so no one gets left out of the fun.

[@alanleckert1]

I played a DCC lvl 5 wizard in a comiccon game and absolutely loved it!

[@Calebgoblin]

Personally what I think they are missing is a big ol nerf in comparison to martial classes, but I will hear you out

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Fair haha

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Oh and be sure to check out the video linked on the endscreen about a great buff for D&D martials from DCC!

[@Calebgoblin]

@@BobWorldBuilder oh shoot yeah I'm on it boss 🏃💨

[@morrigankasa570]

Sounds like basic meathead being jealous. Martials need some buffs, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN NERFING MAGIC-USERS! Nerfing things in general in any game is the wrong thing to do. Yes; streamlining things can be fine if done right. For videogame examples: Skyrim compared to Oblivion the changes that streamlined the game was good. BUT, an example where it was bad streamlining. Dragon Age Inquisition compared to Dragon Age Origins. Finally; for D&D they just need to add more Spells, Weapons, Armors, and possibilities in general in official sources.

[@Merilirem]

@@morrigankasa570 Skyrim took out spellcrafting and even mods couldn't fix that mistake.

[@raykendo]

I've been working on creating scrolls from DCC spells since I first heard you mention this idea. It looks like a fun idea. I like how Sleep can knock out the whole town, possibly.

[@_fedmar_]

I have an idea: what if, instead of adding DCC spells straight out of the book, you made a mechanic that allowed casters to cast ANY spell using the DCC rules? It could add a risk/reward system to spells, which makes for awesome moments where, say, "the wizard has 1 turn left before the ritual completes, so he makes a Spell Check to potentially increase his spell's effect!"

[@kongu12395]

Only problem with that is that the GM would have to make tables for every 5e spell their players could cast, since DCC is not comprehensive. But a cool idea, maybe you could earmark the spells that could be cast in this way and let the party do that?

[@_fedmar_]

@@kongu12395 You don't need a different table for each spell, just one for each spell school.

[@asolanara]

Love this! I love the idea that a caster could potentially cast a more powerful version of their spell. What thoughts would you have to the caster spending one of their hit die, rolling said die to add to their spell check, at the cost of them temporary removing 2 from Str, Dex, or Con?

[@pawibus]

I'm happy DCC is your jam, but I'm trying to get my players' heads up and out of reference material. It seems to me that DCC ties spell casters to the book with all the information there is for each spell.

[@n4tune8]

Yup, you have put your finger on DCC's weakness: dependency on tables. This is why the book is so thick despite basic rules being quite simple.

[@4thelols606]

I’m actually using this in my Lost City play through and my players love it so far. Using d20+mod+proficiency bonus. And cantrips are the only thing you can get to work automatically and only once your mod and bonus gets past 8 so level 4-5ish. Every leveled spell still requires a roll and you can ritual cast to drop the spell check roll. It was a learning curve for them but they are wondering why D&D didn’t do this originally.

[@str8shot216]

Even Magic Missile ? It's better than firebolt because of kind of damage and mutiple hits from one spell

[@4thelols606]

@@str8shot216 well magic missile is a leveled spell so it should be stronger. And the way I do things firebolt can become an auto successful cast but magic missile can’t.

[@4thelols606]

@@str8shot216 well magic missile is a leveled spell so it should be stronger. And the way I do things firebolt can become an auto successful cast but magic missile can’t.

[@ADT1995]

I used a couple of houserules on one of my PCs, (this was in coordination with the DM, and it was intended that NPCs get these too, but my character was a blood mage and the DM wanted to make something of that, since we are both forever DMs he and I coordinated how that looked like) 1. Overcasting: I could draw on my own vitality to deal maximum spell damage, I would roll damage as normal and then take that damage for myself, this damage could not be mitigated or negated in any way (although it was flavored as necrotic) 2. Blood Battery: I could sacrifice hit dice to recharge spell slots at a 1:1 ratio, if I had no hit dice left I would reduce my hit point maximum by the max result of a hit die roll+constitution mod (so I was a wizard with 12 constitution so that was a 7 for me) 3. Modification: I could slightly modify a spell by reducing either my constitution score or my casting stat (intelligence) by an amount determined by the DM. This might be something simple like metamagic for a sorcerer (usually if that was the case I drained my abilities by an amount equal to the metamagic dice cost), or it might be more complex, the more I changed the more I drained my abilities. I could also use it to break action economy and use a bonus action spell and an action spell on the same turn or gain a second reaction (though this was always a 6 point drain) I regained 2 of my lost ability points on a long rest, so if I wasn't cautious it could take me several long rests to recover. It was a blast, my goal was always to find a way to deal more damage to myself than the DM did. Although it was really scary when we would occasionally fight enemy blood mages. It was very powerful and I wouldn't recommend it to all groups, we ran about 4-5 encounters per long rest so it balanced itself great for our campaign, but if you only run 1 fight per rest it would have been insanely op.

[@mattlazer902]

This is great! I've been looking into creating or adopting a "spell check" or roll-to-cast system into my own game for a while now. I think it would help to solve a lot of 5e's magic vs martial imbalance and make magic feel more profound and dangerous at the same time.

[@jessedotson5998]

Shadowdark also has a great spell check system, I recommend checking out their free pdf

[@teambellavsteamalice]

If you like houserules that add a bit of randomness, use my modified weapon damage. Every die is an exploding die. If you roll the max number, you add a die minus one. If max again, add again. The average is only a half point higher than a normal die, so a d6 is 4, d8 5 etc. It works nicely with DR houserules. Like 1-3 DR for light, medium and heavy armor.

[@stianthijsen4784]

very similar rules i invented for my game 20 years+ ago. also they had spellpoints they could add to make the spell more powerfull and the spellcaster had to do a spell-check to see how successfull and powerfull his magic turned out or if it even failed... so way more chaotic and surprising use of magic!

[@XenoByte]

Yo was that Soul Sacrifice art in the thumbnail? 👀

[@BerlinTrainStation1]

I have that exact bayonet! Found it in my grandmother's stuff when she passed away.

[@Mattucker67]

Cool idea. I'd love to see more videos implimenting DCC concepts/rules to 5e.

[@gendissaray]

My game is currently at 18/19. The sorcerer and wizard (who dipped fighter) are nearly impossible to manage 😅

[@BobWorldBuilder]

My heart goes out to you lol

[@mke3053]

I learned, playing Solasta, the full strenght of ligth and the "you see" requirement of most spells. Use fog/darkness/hiding places/rogues/... also combat fire with fire. And dont forget of friendly fire caused by AoE spells. Also my high level players are usualy curse or debilitaded in some way. The last hag curse was a test to the optional gritty realism optional rest rule of the DMG. The monk/wiz must rest for a week to count as a long rest. Also, use that house rule that long rest requires a safe place. You dont need to say it aloud, just show it. Next rest, they awake and take action that disqualifies that rest (combat is easy exemple). No spells next morning. But melee combatents are mostly unaffected. Its the other side of nerfing spellcasters.

[@i.cs.zamodits]

I just want to mention, if you are interested in a TTRPG with a very soft magic system, what isn't completly focused on that (like MtA or Ars Magica) and is relatively rules light I could recommend looking at the system of Talislanta/Atlantis the Second Age.

[@12ori12]

Hi Bob! I really love your videos ❤ Something I had noticed lately is that your closed captions are a bit off from what you actually say. I'm sure that it's just the script that you used, and while filming you vamped a little - which is good - but then you have that discrepency between what is written and what is said. I have been working with closed captions and subtitles for about 6 months now, and if you would like, I would be happy to help with fixing the subtitles, and I'm sure it'll benefit a lot of your fans that watch your videos 😁

[@DM-Timothy]

Great video, with an interesting concept and idea! Curious as to how your martial players feel about the adjustments made to, potentially, add oomph to the wizard? Your example of the death of the Sneeples for instance, and everyone wanting to do cool stuff like that... But a good portion of the party being told "sorry, kid, go learn magic"? How does/did that play out in your experience?

[@c.d.dailey8013]

I heard of this rule. I even have the DCC rule book. Personally I am not a fan of this rule. I prefer less randomness. The most frustrating thing for me is bad luck. So I would rather move away from that. Ideally I would have spells and weapon attacks have perfect accuracy. I would also have a mana pool being used as a magic resource. Having some kind of cost is a great way to limit magic so it doesn't break the game. I do like the idea of incorporating rules from other TTRPGs into DND. So keep it up. One mechanic I like is the action economy in Pathfinder. It is more streamlined than DND. It cuts down on confusion and speeds up combat. This is a great candidate for a mechanic to incorporate into DND. This makes me think on how to handle action economy in games that I make.

[@kamikeserpentail3778]

The idea of an anime character in a desperate moment unleashing a powerful reckless attack they couldn't do before inspired me to work on a system that has spirit points as a means to enhance abilities, or use ones that normally can't be. But a quick and easy translation of it is a bit like sacrificing ability points. I'd probably go with exhaustion, since almost nothing uses that, and probably the simplified One D&D version of exhaustion, but doing that to upcast a spell at a higher level than the slots a character has, or even abilities they won't get for a couple levels like a multi-attack at level 4 could create some interesting situations.

[@matthewpletsch7523]

Dude, sick Soul Sacrifice art.

[@marchoshes6912]

A lot of gms lack That Flavor full imagination when it comes to tabletop because that's what tabletop games are all about in every way.qnd your ideas are really good and awesome

[@pandoraeeris7860]

I replaced spell slots with an Arcana check every time a Wizard casts a spell (DC 10 + spell level + circumstantial penalties vs. Arcana Proficiency bonus + Int Modifier + circumstantial bonuses). Failure means she forgets how to cast that spell. Success means they don't forget it and may cast it again...until they eventually forget it. Spells can rememorized, of course, during rests...1 hr per spell level (cantrips are never forgotten). So during an 8 hr long rest, a Wizard can memorize 1 8th level spell, 2 4th level spells, etc. As long as they continue passing the Arcana check when they cast a spell, they'll never run out of opportunities to cast it. I also removed "attack" cantrips since level 1 spells can now be cast far more often. What this does is force Wizards to be more strategic about what spells they memorize, as inevitably they will forget how to cast a spell sooner or later, and possibly at an inopportune moment. Being prepared with a "backup plan" (i.e. other spells) is crucial. They cannot rely on the same strategy every time simply by counting their spell casting resource. They might lose the ability to cast Magic Missile in the middle of a battle, so having a backup offensive spell in case that happens is important. Also, the more powerful they become, the less likely it is that they will forget lower level spells, but the frequency of casting higher level spells (unless they are insanely lucky) will always be lower as they will inevitably fail an Arcana check sooner or later. It forces Wizards to improv a lot more while giving them the possibility of using the same spell many more times than the original rules might allow, and gives the DM the opportunity to introduce items that directly enhance/degrade a Wizards memory (or even new enchantment spells that can cause Wizards to forget spells).

[@Death_Wish]

I need to see more of Dumbledolf

[@albanmahoudeau1779]

SPIRITED AWAY.

[@JasonCrosen]

Dang. They one shotted the boss encounter. But had to use up all their special resources to do it. That’s freaking awesome

[@nicememes7570]

What if when out of spell slots you could use (or just roll without ‘using’) a hit die per level of the spell you want to cast, adding a little bit of randomness to it

[@Plasmagon99]

Doesn't the Pistol also get the Dex modifier added? And when we start to scale it, a Pistol goes from 1d10+3 to 1d10+10. Add in a +5 for an artifact-level item, 1d10+15. Double the dice amount, 2d10+15 (avg of 26 percing damage per attack) While Firebolt is 4d10+10 (if a evo wiz) (avg of 32 fire damage, once a turn unless quicked by metamagic for a bonus action) Or Firebolt (non evo wiz) 4d10 (avg of 22 fire damage)

[@gmjaken]

Sorry, how are you getting +10 modifiers? Short of tomes and boons, players cap out at +5.

[@Plasmagon99]

@gmjaken by taking into account the maximum potential of the system

[@DahLekKnight]

“Heh, that Kobold stopped running.”

[@DeltaDemon1]

Over the past 35 years, I've tried many many many variations on this idea with some being quite similar. It never caught on with me or my players because we like the established system. However, I have tried some specific spells with similar side effects and those are sometimes popular, if cast sparingly. So, mixing systems is the way to go with how much of one system or the other depending on the players.

[@PuppetSquid]

I like this, but I think martials should absolutely be allowed spell burn. If you have a scroll in your bag and the casters are down this might just be your blaze of glory as you try to pour the universe through your fingers.

[@arkham97j20]

How would you go about creating tables for current dnd spells?

[@SavantApostle]

The dm guide describes the spell slot system as a gun and bullet metaphor which is actually how old school magic is (vancian). I thought it was a terrible way to theach you can cast any spell level 3 or under with a third level slot but 3 level one slots dont make a level 3 slot. And it describes vancian magic perfectly.

[@loopgru]

For someone who hasn't read DCC, how would you compare this to PF2's 4 degrees of success on spells? It sounds pretty similar, though I do like the self-sacrifice and at will with a risk concepts.

[@Lyjacxz]

love the sortiara thumbnail

[@M.rasmodius]

i like you bob, your a good man

[@partyfrogmarkle2743]

Bob, may we please get the "Bang' " Firebolt." As an mp3 on the patrion or patron discord? I must have it for my text notification sound. 😅 Please?👀

[@nightsage217]

homebrew seems to be the way. satisfaction is a great factor too. for example, summoning has too much restriction. especially planar binding. Just make it forever, and I can RP a devil as well. last time we did it, the wizard has a homebrew amount of spirit of dead flying around him, the devil is mildly glad.

[@Supsupwassupshorty]

I just wished DCC was easy to get physically my part of the globe.... not to mention the dice

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Yeah they don't have the easy global reach of Hasbro, but PDFs are easy at least

[@Supsupwassupshorty]

@@BobWorldBuilder Best place to get the PDF?

[@typolet6883]

I appreciate using the image of a sorcerer from soul sacrifice lol

[@robbert2308]

I replaced spell slots with a DC roll to cast. A failed DC results in losing the spell until completing a long rest. Roll a nat 1 roll on my spell mishap table. Roll a nat 20 double a numerical value of the spell. Spend 2+ turns casting a spell (roll successfully on each turn) and increase the spells power. Now casters can be insanely powerful, but may explode, or lose their healing spell, or roll a nat 1 and heal the big bad buy mistake. I also beefed up melee classes to suit

[@richardmiller9883]

Kind of unclear with Magic Missile as your example, does this replace to hit or saving throws?

[@URGrandmaPlayz]

10/10

[@Dagglestone]

Use the psyker mishap charts from dark heresy/40k roleplay. That’ll teach’m to play a wizard

[@ThievingDuo]

SNEOPLE I LOST IT

[@shanecoffey8314]

So, the thesis was that 5E magic is too predictable, but in the example story we see a DIFFERENT house rule used to buy off the DCC unpredictability, so the result is, instead, a caster going god mode (or more-godly mode, depending on one's opinion of baseline caster power). Still awaiting the anecdotes that support the original premise...

[@mke3053]

Campaigns I play usualy go up to lv 18-20. Besides 3.5e, this went up to epic lvs.

[@Zeno11Salazar]

Was spell modifier plus proficiency supposed to mean spell attack bonus?

[@duncanwalla7014]

I have a few spells in the list for my game that are wacky. I like having the wackiness be ability based rather than spell based.

[@robinthrush9672]

I'm amused by the bayonette for some reason.

[@BenjaminMarra]

I agree 100% with implementing the DCC mechanics for magic into D&D games. To paraphrase Professor DM, it doesn't make much sense that swinging a sword would be subject to chance while casting a spell, bending and sometimes breaking the laws of physics and reality, would yield an automatic success.

[@rybiryj]

Come on. Magic missile is an outlier in this regard. Most spells require a save or an attack roll.

[@Merilirem]

Except the one swinging swords isn't failing the swing. If you fail from the start you are just bad at it. So many spells already have failure chances and variable results.

[@philopharynx7910]

You could also import the 4 degrees of success from Pathfinder 2e. The "basic save" is that a save failed by 10 points does double damage; a save failed by 9 or less is full damage; a save made by 9 or less is half damage; and a save made by 10 or more is no damage. Please note that I'm not saying that 5e is bad. If that's what you like, have fun. This is just a rule that's pretty easy to add.

[@keit99]

Don't get me started on incapacitation. Oh you now automatically get a degree of success lower because this creature is 1 Level outside the Level Ränge for this spell. Also PF2 is missing an opportunity for casters to Focus on save spells or to Hit spells with the whole casters can never reach highest spellcasting Proficiency

[@philopharynx7910]

@@keit99 Having the big bad go down because of one failed save is a bad idea. 5e used legendary resistance, which only applies to certain monsters and basically is a spell tax. incap allows some effect on a crappy save and scales to different monsters as you level up. I prefer the PF2 way to go about it.

[@keit99]

@@philopharynx7910 I would've done it with a sliding Bonus (instead of automatically 1 degree better) you get a Bonus (CL-SL)/2 so it's significantly easier to down a lv 5 Monster with an lv 1 spell than a lv 20 Monster. But still Harder to Do than without it.

[@philopharynx7910]

@@keit99 1) that's a sliding scale where you have to pause during a fight to do a calculation. 2) it' changes the odds but still doesn't stop the binary effect of 5e spells. P2e incap spells often have an effect even if they make the save. It's just not an "end the combat" effect. 3) when casters choose spells, they know which ones are incap. Some people will simply avoid them. Others will use them on non-boss monsters. And some will use them expecting less but hoping for a nat 1.

[@keit99]

@@philopharynx7910 I meant the sliding scale paired with PF2 degrees of success.

[@ConnorSinclairCavin]

I don’t have DCC, however i have long allowed groups to vote if they want spells to work with some quite similar rules like i use, with Every spell having a check you must make, with a low DC based on the spell level, with different levels of success allowing for weaker or stronger casting variants to occur. however, each time you cast a spell you take one away from that spell level’s spell counter (like spell slots, but… can go negative); or, if they are using spell points, until they start hitting negatives on said points; and those negatives start boosting the DC higher. Failing a spell not only burns the slot uselessly, but can start to hit you with spell backlash, dealing max HP damage you cannot avoid and which makes further spell casting even harder (although stronger since the manaburnt flesh and bone conduct spells better). This damage cannot be restored by magic, and, should your entire HP bar be reduced to zero from this you become more or less a wild elemental spirit of raw magic, an NPC that is very dangerous to all around, who’s stats are based upon how powerful a caster formed it.

[@BLasherman]

The spells in DCC are funny, if you like that sort of thing. But they are like a page long each, they usually aren't helpful, so if you want a not fun campaign for a magic user who already sucks at low level anyway, I guess it's a way to go.

[@darthdadt]

I find that DCC magic actually delivers on the fantasy of playing a regular person that is toying with eldritch powers beyond their comprehension.