Spell Points

Every spellcaster has a reserve of spell points based on class and level. Characters also gain bonus spell points from a high ability score (just as a normal spellcaster would gain bonus spells from a high ability score). These spell points provide the magical power behind the caster’s spells: He spends a number of spell points appropriate to the spell’s level to cast the spell. Once spent, spell points are expended until the caster has sufficient time to rest and prepare new spells.

The word "Spell" lost all meaning yet? Don't worry, it will do.

Spell Points
Of course, this change isn't without ramifications. The spell point system dramatically expands the versatility of a spellcaster. Since he’s no longer tied to using a specific number of spell slots, he can much more easily adapt to situations. In effect, spell points make all classes work more like the sorcerer, and make the sorcerer (or bard) work even more like the sorcerer. In general, spellcasters become more powerful—though they aren’t capable of casting any spell they couldn’t cast before, they are now capable of casting more high-level spells per day and more of whichever spells they need. If a 15th-level cleric needs to cast heal a dozen times during an adventure, he can do that (though not much else).

One balancing factor is the cost for casters to increase the damage dealt by their spells. This cost helps to maintain balance between spells of different level. If you didn’t have to pay more for a 9d6 lightning bolt than for a 5d6 lightning bolt (a 3rd-level spell costing 5 spell points), then the 9d6 lightning bolt would cost barely more than half as much as a 9d6 cone of cold (a 5th-level spell costing 9 spell points), even though both spells deal equal damage. You could argue that this is also an advantage however; in that it allows casters to 'hold back' and use less power for situations that don't require maximum force.

Preparing Spells
With this variant, spellcasters still prepare spells as normal (assuming they normally prepare spells). In effect, casters who prepare spells are setting their list of “spells known” for the day. They need not prepare multiple copies of the same spell, since they can cast any combination of their prepared spells each day (up to the limit of their spell points).

For example, Boredflank the 4th-level wizard has an Intelligence score of 16. When using the spell point system, he would prepare four 0-level spells, four 1st-level spells (three plus his bonus spell for high Int), and three 2nd-level spells (two plus his bonus spell for high Int). These spells make up his entire list of spells that he can cast during the day, though he can cast any combination of them, as long as he has sufficient spell points.

Committing Spell Points
Characters also have the option of 'Committing' spell points. This must be done at the same time as the character prepares spells. In addition to the more flexible option of paying spell points on the fly to cast a damaging spell, Non-spontaneous casters can commit to spells in advance, much like a traditional caster. Spontaneous casters instead commit to spell slots.

Preparing these spells requires the commitment of spell points there and then; these spell points cannot be reclaimed, recycled or otherwise recovered in any manner other than going through the process of preparing spells once more. The cost of these spells is the minimum required to cast that level of spell; thus a 9th level wizard preparing Fireball would commit five spell points, and have a single use of a 9d6 Fireball spell, or a 9th level Sorceror could commit 5 points and aquire a 3rd level spell slot for use as normal.

The limitation of this is that a character cannot commit more spells/spell slots in advance than a character with the same ability scores and class levels could under the traditional slot system. They have the option of using a higher-level slot for a lower-level spell, but must still pay the higher level cost.

This is intended to bring heavily damage-focused mages, such as the Magus, back into line with the rest of the spellcasting classes in terms of potential damage output.

Bonus Spell Points and Bonus Spells
Any spellcaster who would normally receive bonus spells for a high ability score receives bonus spell points instead. In effect, the character can simply cast more of his spells each day.

To determine the number of bonus spell points gained from a high ability score, first find the row for the character’s ability score on the table below. Use whichever ability score would normally award bonus spells for the character’s class (Wisdom for clerics and druids, Intelligence for wizards, and so forth).

Next, find the column for the highest level of spell the character is capable of casting based on his class level (even if he doesn’t have a high enough ability score to cast spells of that level). At the point where the row and column intersect, you find the bonus spell points the character gains. This value can change each time his ability score undergoes a permanent change (such from an ability score increase due to character level or one from a wish spell) and each time his level changes (ie, due to leveling up as normal).

A character who would normally receive bonus spells from a class feature (such as from wizard specialization or access to a domain) can instead prepare extra spells of the appropriate levels, domains, and/or schools. The character doesn’t get any extra spell points (and thus can’t cast any more spells than normal), but the added flexibility of being able to use the bonus spell more than once per day makes up for that.

For instance, a specialist wizard can prepare one extra spell from the chosen school of each spell level that he can cast. A cleric can prepare one domain spell (chosen from among his domain spells available) of each spell level that he can cast.

For class features that grant bonus spells of a nonfixed spell level (such as the dragon disciple’s bonus spells), the character instead gains a number of bonus spell points equal to twice the highest spell level he can cast, minus 1 (minimum 1 point) each time he gains a bonus spell. This is a fixed value—it doesn’t increase later as the character gains levels—though later rewards may be larger as appropriate to the character’s spellcasting ability.

For example, a 4th-level fighter/4th-level sorcerer who gains a level of dragon disciple gets a bonus spell. Since the character is capable of casting 2nd-level spells, he receives 3 bonus spell points (2 × 2 = 4, 4 - 1 = 3).

Spontaneous Spellcasting
Characters who cast all their spells spontaneously—such as bards and sorcerers—don’t have to prepare spells. They can cast any spell they know by spending the requisite number of spell points.

Characters with the ability to cast a limited number of spells spontaneously (such as druids, who can spontaneously cast a summon nature’s ally spell in place of another spell of the same level) are always treated as having those spells prepared, without spending any spell slots to do so. Thus, they can cast such spells any time they have sufficient spell points.

Regaining Spell Points
Spellcasters regain lost spell points whenever they could normally regain spells. Doing this requires the same amount of rest and preparation or concentration time as normal for the class. Without this period of rest and mental preparation, the caster’s mind isn’t ready to regain its power. Spell points are not divorced from the body; they are part of it. Using spell points is mentally tiring, and without the requisite period of rest, they do not regenerate. Any spell points spent within the last 8 hours count against a character’s daily limit and aren’t regained.

Casting Spells
Each spell costs a certain number of spell points to cast. The higher the level of the spell, the more points it costs. The table below describes each spell’s cost.

Spellcasters use their full normal caster level for determining the effects of their spells in this system, with one significant exception. Spells that deal a number of dice of damage based on caster level (such as magic missile, searing light, or lightning bolt) deal damage as if cast by a character of the minimum level of the class capable of casting the spell. Spells whose damage is partially based on caster level, but that don’t deal a number of dice of damage based on caster level (such as produce flame or an inflict spell) use the spellcaster’s normal caster level to determine damage. Use the character’s normal caster level for all other effects, including range and duration.

For example, a fireball deals a number of dice of damage based on the caster’s level, so when cast by a wizard using this system, it deals 5d6 points of damage (as if cast by a 5th-level wizard, which is the minimum level of wizard capable of casting fireball). A sorcerer who casts the same spell deals 6d6 points of damage, since the minimum level of sorcerer capable of casting fireball is 6th.

A character can pay additional spell points to increase the dice of damage dealt by a spell. Every 1 extra spell point spent at the time of casting increases the spell’s effective caster level by 1 for purposes of dealing damage. A character can’t increase a damage-dealing spell’s caster level above his own caster level, or above the normal maximum allowed by the spell.

For example, even at 7th level, Boredflank’s lightning bolts deal only 5d6 points of damage (just like a 5th-level wizard) unless he spends extra spell points. If he spends 1 extra spell point (making the lightning bolt cost 6 points rather than 5), the spell deals 6d6 points of damage. A second extra spell point would increase the damage to 7d6 points, but he can’t spend more points than this, since his caster level is only 7th. Were he 10th level or higher, he could spend a maximum of 5 extra spell points on this spell, raising the damage up to 10d6, the maximum allowed for a lightning bolt spell.

Similarly, his magic missile spell only shoots one missile unless he spends extra spell points. An extra 2 spell points increases the caster level from 1st to 3rd, granting his one additional missile. He can spend a maximum of 6 additional spell points in this manner, increasing his effective caster level to 7th for damage purposes and granting his a total of four missiles. If he were 9th level or higher, he could spend a maximum of 8 extra spell points, granting his five missiles (just like a 9th-level caster).

Metamagic and Spell Points
As with many aspects of the Spell Point system, casters need not specially prepare metamagic versions of their spells—they can simply choose to apply the metamagic effect at the time of casting. Doing this does not increase the spell’s casting time.

There are a few methods to take care of this, and I'm going for simply applying an additional spell point cost to any spell cast with a metamagic feat. This option allows a character maximum flexibility in his choice of spellcasting. Effectively, the character must pay for the spell as if it were a higher-level spell, based on the adjustment from the metamagic feat. If the metamagic effect(s) would increase the spell’s effective level above what he is capable of casting, he can’t cast the spell in that way.

For example, at 7th level Boredflak is capable of casting 4th-level spells. He could empower a 2nd-level spell, or still a 3rd-level spell, or empower and still a 1st-level spell. He couldn’t empower a 3rd-level spell or still a 4th-level spell (since doing either of those things would raise either spell’s effective spell level to 5th).

The spell’s caster level for purposes of damage-dealing effects (see above) doesn’t change, even if the metamagic effect increases the minimum caster level of that spell. For instance, a quickened fireball still deals damage as if cast by a 5th-level caster unless the caster chooses to pay additional spell points to increase the caster level.

For example, if Boredflank empowered his magic missile, it would cost his 5 spell points (as if it were a 3rd-level spell) but would shoot only one missile and deal (1d4+1 × 1.5) points of damage.

If he spent an additional 6 spell points (for a total of 11), the caster level of the magic missile would increase to 7th, and the spell would shoot four missiles dealing a total of (4d4+4 × 1.5) points of damage.

Multiclass Spellcasters
A character with nonstacking spellcasting ability from multiple classes (such as a cleric/wizard) has a separate pool of spell points for each spellcasting class. Such characters may only spend spell points on spells granted by that class. Bonus spell points from a high ability score apply to each pool separately, even if the same ability score is tied to more than one spellcasting class. In the rare situations when a character has prepared or knows the same spell in two different slots (such as a druid/ranger preparing delay poison as both a 2nd-level druid spell and a 1st-level ranger spell), the character can cast the spell using either pool of spell points, but the spell is treated as being cast by a caster of the level of the class from which the spell points are drawn.

For example, a 5th-level cleric/2nd-level bard has 15 spell points (plus bonus spell points for high Wisdom) for his cleric spells and 0 spell points (plus bonus spell points for high Charisma) for his bard spells. When he casts cure moderate wounds, the points for that spell must be drawn from his pool of cleric spell points. If he knows cure light wounds as a bard spell and has also prepared it as a cleric spell, he may cast it either as a cleric or as a bard. As a cleric spell, the spell is cast at 5th level and heals 1d8+5 points of damage; as a bard spell, it is cast at 2nd level and heals 1d8+2 points of damage.

Miscellaneous Issues
When a character would lose a spell slot (such as from gaining a negative level), he instead loses the number of spell points required to cast his highest-level spell.

Spells that allow a character to recall or recast a spell don’t function in this system. (It doesn’t make any sense to have a spell that gives you more spell points, since you’re either paying more than you get, getting nothing, or getting more than you paid.) Items that function similarly can work, but differently— they restore a number of spell points required to cast a spell of that level. A pearl of power for 3rd-level spells, for instance, would restore 5 spell points to a character’s pool of available points when activated.