Streamlined 5e: Spell Points

Spell slots have been in D&D since the beginning. They've calcified into the game as part of what allegedly makes D&D what it is. I've always found that line of thinking to be odd. There's nothing about spell slots that's innate to the concept of fantasy roleplaying.

Spell slots do offer one, important benefit. They regulate how often you can use your most powerful abilities. That would be useful if it was easy for DMs to mandate how much adventuring characters had to experience before they could regain resources. Practically speaking, that's another area where DMs need to put a lot of work into managing the game and designing adventures around the mechanics rather than with them.

In streamlining 5e, I'm going with a blended approach. Casters have spell points that they can use for spells up to 5th level. A spell's point cost equals its level.

For 6th level and higher spells, casters prepare specific spells that they can cast once each, effectively mimicking the mechanics of earlier editions. The hope is that asking players to commit to certain spells makes things easier on a DM. You have some idea of which spells are in play, hopefully making the game easier to run.

That design approach brings out one of my philosophies. When in doubt, err on the side of making things clearer and easier to plan around for the DM. As I said earlier, I want the game to be a tool that enables DM creativity rather than an obstacle course that DMs need to navigate to create adventures.

Practically speaking, this approach means that casters reach a cap of about 50 spell points. That number feels manageable enough at the table. It also means that class features like channel divinity can draw on spell points, with casters getting a few extra points to compensate. I'm not a fan of how 5e sprawls recharge mechanics across a bunch of different features, each with a separate cool down timer.

Cantrips Revisited

I wanted to revisit the cantrips from earlier this week and use one of them as an example of how design evolves over time. Here's one of the cantrips I showed off. I have some design commentary on it called out using Patreon's quote format.

Mystic Barrier

Abjuration Cantrip (Wizard)

Casting Time: Action

Range: 120 feet

Targets: Up to two cubes that each fill a 5-foot-by-5-foot space

This was danger spot number one. I wanted a control spell that let the caster carve out parts of an encounter area. I also like the non-combat utility of blocking spaces. However, putting a spell that could block two or more squares at cantrip power level is both too powerful and too complex.

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

In thinking about it some more, I think that a cantrip should avoid a duration longer than 1 round unless it is a summons. A control cantrip has an action cost, requiring you to cast it again and again to maintain it.

You shape force energy into shimmering, transparent cubes that foil your enemies and lend protection to your allies.

You create an arcane construct that fills the target area. The cubes block movement.

When you cast the spell, and as a magic action while the spell lists, you can cause the cubes to emit force energy. For each cube, choose up to one creature within 15 feet of it. The chosen creature must make a Strength saving throw or take 1d6 force damage and be moved up to 10 feet horizontally. If the creature is flying, you can move it both vertically and horizontally.

Resolve the effects of one cube before moving on to the next one. You can choose a creature more than once, but it can only take damage from this spell once per turn.

This is way too much for a cantrip. You're asking the player to execute a script over and over again, and some strange interactions can arise from it. Getting something wrong here could also lead to some steep game play imbalances. Simpler design is often robust in that if a player does it wrong, it doesn't break the game. This one has plenty of opportunities for stuff to go very bad. If you miss that the cantrip can only damage a creature once per turn, it becomes wildly broken.

You can choose to forgo inflicting damage with this spell each time you pick one of the following options.

The sentence above is a typo, a piece left over from an older, more complex version.

Cantrip Upgrade. This cantrip's targets and damage increase at higher levels according to the table below.

Level 5: Up to 3 cubes, 2d6 damage.

Level 11: Up to 4 cubes, 3d6 damage.

Level 17: Up to 5 cubes, 4d6 damage.

This is where I should have hit the breaks. This spell gains better damage and covers more area. That's a double dip in powering up, which is never a great idea and a really bad one as a cantrip.

Here's a revised version. The key changes:

• Reduced the area to one square or one target

• Had the construct last until your next turn

• Did allow the spell to grow in size, mainly to handle the game's tendency to introduce larger foes at higher levels. I capped it at two to keep things reasonable.

Force Sphere

Abjuration Cantrip (Wizard)

Casting Time: Action

Range: 120 feet

Target: One creature or an unoccupied cube 5 feet on each side

Components: V, S

Duration: 1 round

You hurl a pebble-sized sphere of shimmering, blue force at a foe. On impact, it bursts into the size of a small boulder, sending the target flying back and blocking your enemies’ progress.

If you target a creature, you make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 force damage and you move it up 10 feet horizontally. You may then place a Medium force construct in a space the target occupied before you moved it, if applicable. The construct has AC 15, 10 + your level hit points, blocks movement into the space it occupies, and provides three-quarters cover against ranged attacks. It remains in place until the start of your next turn.

When you cast this spell, you can choose to reduce the damage it inflicts to 0, instead only gaining the movement effect on a hit.

If you target an empty space, you place a Medium force construct in that space as described above.

Cantrip Upgrade. This damage increases by 1d10 when you reach levels 5 (2d10), 11 (3d10), and 17 (4d11). Starting at level 11, you can create up to two force constructs that each occupy a space the target occupied before you moved it.