Magic in my 5e Campaign: Breaking it Down

     Magic is chaotic and horrific in my setting. It's nothing a simpleton tampers with. Wizards call upon The Void for their powers, components are an afterthought for them; however, casting takes more time than other classes since they have to flip through their treasured books. Warlocks are all about chance, essentially testing their luck with their chosen patron each time they cast (there are no nice patrons, they all want to toy with mortals), sorcerers are Blood Mages that can only cast if they harm another living thing directly, and Druids sap the life force off of anything living around them to cast their spells, much like a Blood Mage but indirectly. Divine magic is essentially the same, however, you can over cast and choose to Cast the Bones. I equate this to the Divine caster dipping into the Arcane realm for their magic once their Divine magic is depleted. 

Breakdown of the Systems

Blood Mage

Basic thing to know about blood magic is, you don't memorize spells, and they trade blood with The Void for their magical powers. Blood magic is related to fey, therefore Elves, which is one of the reasons they're ostracized in my setting. Determining their pool of magic and how to cast • Blood Mages have the same spell progression as Sorcerers. • To cast a spell, a Blood Mage must physically harm a living creature. This cannot be done with a spell. It must be a melee or ranged weapon. Choking the life out of something counts too. Don't fuck with constructs or undead, cause it won't work. 1st level spells cost 1 HP, 2nd costs 2 HP, and so on... Where you get the HP from is up to you, a cage full of canaries, the neighborhood cat, etc... fyi, small creatures are worth less than 1 HP. That being said, you can't squeeze blood from a turnip. Some things have less HP than you deal, so with some quick subtraction, the referee will tell you how many points you acquired. Ex: If you want to cast a 6th level spell, and you just did 8 damage, but the mongoloid had 4 HP left, you only have enough for a 4th level spell. This is because 8-4=4 which isn't equal to your 6 spell points you're trying to acquire. • If you don't have any spell points, or you go over the amount you can cast, you can either sacrifice 1d4 hp on the spot as a bonus action, or you can cast the bones. Having components will give you bonuses to that Bones roll.

• Casting the same spell multiple times a day increases the amount its worth by 1 HP per cast. The Void is greedy.

• The limit to the pool of spell points you have available to you is equal to 2 x your charisma modifier + the spell level a Sorcerer could normally cast. Minimum of 1 spell point. Ex: A 3rd level Blood Mage with a charisma score of 14 can have 6 spell points. That's 2 x 2 + 2. Note: you can dump your whole pool into one spell up to its max level. Want to cast magic missile at 3rd level instead of 1st? Dump in 2 more spell points.
• Spell points and the cumulative effects of casting the same spell over and over again reset every dawn. • Using your wild mage powers will cause you to roll a Conduit of the Cosmos roll. Regardless of if it says, it will always succeed. Depending on how well or poorly you roll, tells what happens. You can add in additional spell points and/or use components to give yourself bonuses to your roll. • Sacrificing innocence people will refill your spell points completely. The Void wants fresh souls who had potential in life.

Warlock

The Warlock has 1 free spell per long rest, this increases by +1 free spell every 6 levels. There are no rolls needed. Beyond that first spell, things get a little hairy. To cast a spell after that initial one, the Warlock must first Save vs Magic, meeting or exceeding a roll of a 3 on 2d20. You account for each d20 individually. Both have to fail for a mishap unless a natural 1 is rolled. No spell slots are needed using this system. Whatever spells they know, they can cast as much as they want. However, each time they cast, the save increases by +3 for anything 1st level and above. Cantrips are exempt, they act normally. Both Fail- Conduit of the Cosmos, take a penalty for the variance of the roll. If you fail by 2, you take a -2 to the roll. Single Natural 20- The spells power is maximized, if applicable. Double Natural 20's- Next spell is free, the save reverts back to 1 for their Save vs Magic roll, and as above. Critical Fumble on 1 The referee will Cast the Bones. The spell automatically fails regardless of what the bones say, further to that, figure how far above or below your second d20 is to your spell save. Ex: You roll a 1 and an 12. Your spell save is 6. That means you get a +6 on your bones roll. If you were negative the other way, you'd take a -6. Done fucked up, 2 Critical Fumbles- That Which Should Not Be will automatically be rolled. Schrodingers Cat, 1 and a 20- Demands of The Void will be rolled and the spell is maximized. Furthermore, during a short rest, the warlock must roll a 2d4 to see how much he reduces his save by.

Druidic Magic(Rangers too)

Pulling a little from Dark Sun, Druids in this setting use magic by stealing the life force of living things around them. They're not necessarily tree hugging hippies as they're depicted in the PHB, they only keep life around them for necessity. This includes how Rangers cast spells as well. • To cast a spell, a druid must be around living things: vegetation, humanoids, mold in dungeons, extremophiles in volcanos, etc...
• Casting a spell kills vegitation within 5 foot per spell level cast. One must move to cast again. *Ex: A druid casting a 3rd level spell kills 15ft worth of vegetation in the area. • Further to that, any living creatures within the radius takes 1 point of HP damage per spell level, excluding the druid.

Wizards

I've adapted the Last Gasp rules for Wizards in 5e

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Thing to know: Spell levels are used to account for spell points spent. So a 9th level spell costs 9 points. A wizard can cast whatever level is in his spellbook. Magic is chaotic, you never know what you're gonna get... jenny

• You can pick any spells, 1st thru 9th, at 1st level. You're only limits are the 6 spells that wizards are given at the beginning. Keep in mind, some spells are harder to cast than others.

• There are no spells known or spells memorized. What you have in your book is ready to go. Also, cantrips are gone. This isn't to say wizards can't do little tricks that mimic what you find in the cantrip spell list. Only limitation I'd put on the players truly, is no damaging cantrips.

• Determining Cataclysm Pool: Each long rest the Wizard must beat a DC 17 to feel the magical energies of the void. Every 4 levels, the save reduces by 2, to a minimum save of 4. On a successful save, you roll your cataclysm yourself- 1d6 per level a Wizard could normally cast. Failing, the referee rolls for you- 1d6-1 per level a Wizard could normally cast. So, there's a chance the Wizard could have no cataclysm until the next long rest. If you go over your spell limit, you must Cast the Bones.

Note: Portent and other forms of Divination magic never work with your Save vs Magic. The Void is much too chaotic for you to foresee that part of your future.

• If you go over your spell limit, the referee makes a secret Save vs Magic roll for you. If you succeed, the referee will inform you that something isn't right. If the referee fails the secret roll, see above.

• There is no automatically learning spells, they must either be discovered naturally, or researched. You can research any spell on the list, or make up your own spells. Discovering spellbooks has their own perils.

• When casting, the Wizard must declare the spell he wishes to cast. Doing so incurs a -10 to initiative. You can attempt to cast from memory instead taking no penalty to initiative. However, doing so will cause the referee to roll a Conduit of the Cosmos, taking a penalty per spell level. Further to that, taking damage while you're casting will cause a Cast the Bones roll. This represents you flipping to that treasured spot in your Spellbook.

• Creative Casting: The wizard isn't confined to what the typical formula is to a spell. If the wizard changes the fundamentals of a spell he wishes to cast, the referee will roll a Conduit of the Cosmos. Adding any bonuses or penalties to the roll. The stronger the change, the more the penalties stack up. If you have components, it may give you bonuses. Further to that, exhausting more cataclysm will also give you bonuses to the roll.

     So, that's it. That's how I run magic in my campaign. I'm probably gonna change things around eventually. I may add or take away things, find ways to streamline stuff. But, for the most part, this is it. Hope you enjoy and get some inspiration off of it!

Both Classes must save vs magic for their Cataclysm like a Wizard!!! On a fail, I roll for you.

Eldritch Knights

• No cantrips as per the wizard

• d4 cataclysm per level an EK could normally cast.

• Instead of normal War Magic at 7th level, you instead get Improved War Caster. I'll work on a capstone for 18th eventually.

Arcane Tricksters

• No cantrips as per the wizard

• d4 cataclysm per level an Arcane Trickster could cast

• You just have a mage hand when you get Mage Hand Ledgerman.