User:Guy/Design Guide

Design Note: Unfinished

This page offers guidance on creating spells and item rarity within PSR.

Defeat. The threat of defeat should always feel real, but in practice be very unlikely. In 5e, for a 5th level party even "deadly" encounters are extremely unlikely to result in TPK against a prepared party in neutral terrain, and this only becomes more true as levels increase further. Though PSR remixes 5e, this core principle still remains true.

Power Spikes

Power spikes are a subtle force permeating design of classes, spells, items, and even monster CR. Power spikes are in part a necessity of design but also provide a satisfying capstone (and a satisfying carrot to chase), beyond mere level increases. They're almost like levels of levels.

A protag's power is intended to spike upon reaching 5th level, the "middle levels," and 17th level. As a rough guideline, offensive output approximately doubles at each of these thresholds. If everything was distilled to raw damage output, this would effectively be Damage×1 at 1st level, Damage×2 at 5th level, Damage×4 at "middle levels," and Damage×8 at 17th level. This over-simplification omits many other factors though, such as increasing accuracy, increasing AoE, magic items, and so on, all of which contribute to this doubling of offensive putput.

5th Level. The 5th-level power spike is the most notable, due to of doubling of offensive output. The first three or four levels are meant to set up to a "complete" class, which comes together with (often) the first real feat choice at 4th level, and a major class feature at 5th level. At 5th level, PB increases for the first time, and many classes become able to take an extra action per turn or gain access to a big power increase with 3rd-level spells. Every class should feature a power spell at this level. If using the rare trading variant rule, this also becomes the level where protags can easily choose from many different rare items to buy.

Middle Levels. Power spiking in the "middle levels" is significant but more spread out and less consistent. In PSR, PB increases again at 7th, 9th, and 11th level, then finalizes to +6 upon reaching 13th levels—and casting classes gain new spell levels at each of these thresholds. Mono-classed characters gain a powerful "capstone" feature at 12th level. Many 5e campaigns peter out in the middle levels, and PSR embraces this while also providing a little bit of incentive to freshen up the experience and keep going. Ending a class at 12th level provides a satisfying capstone (and also a little bit of a carrot to push past 10th and 11th levels), but also offers a breath of fresh air that encourages continued play by multiclassing into an entirely new class, potentially including prestige classes at 13th level. (The more consistent XP-to-next-level thresholds in PSR are also intended to keep these levels from dragging out as they were meant to in 5e originally.)

17th Level. The 17th-level power spike overlaps a bit with 16th level. At 16th level protags potentially gain access to their first legendary feat (and perhaps the equivalent of a 9th-level spell). At 17th level, a strictly two-class character gains the powerful 5th-level spike of their second class. Although not required, it is recommended for protags to encounter several legendary items at this level if they haven't yet.

Spell Design Guide

Derived from 5e Spell Design Guide

The main differences are different guidance for mental saving throws, and standardized threshold for the damage table.

Whenever possible, look for an existing spell to use as a guideline. Chances are there is at least one spell that has something in common with what you have in mind.

Simple is a Virtue

When feasible, it's better for a spell to be simple and succinct. A spell with a simpler effect is easier to remember without reference and is generally easier to use. Complex spells sometimes still have their place, but complexity for the sake of complexity is usually undesirable.

Saving Throws and Attack Rolls

Buffing or nonharmful spells like cure wounds and greater invisibility don't call for saving throws. By contrast, almost every single harmful spell either requires an attack roll to have any effect or allows a saving throw to negate or mitigate the effect. The few that are harmful but always have an effect are usually damage spells, like magic missile, or aren't really all that harmful. The following sections list each type of attack roll or saving throw; for your harmful homebrew spell consider which of these best suits the spell you are creating.

Attack rolls

Any spell with an attack roll (as opposed to a saving throw) can normally score a critical hit, potentially doubling the damage it deals. As such, any spell which doesn't deal damage should probably impose a saving throw instead of an attack roll, and virtually any spell that calls for an attack roll should deal damage.

Saves are Stronger Than Attacks (Usually). In 5e, high-level monsters are much more likely to have high AC than high saving throws, so most high-level and thus high-value spells call for saving throws instead of attack rolls. Spell attack rolls are typically reserved for low-level spells like cantrips. There are few official spells which call for attack rolls at higher levels, and those which do—from the 2nd-level scorching ray to the 9th-level blade of disaster—spread the spell's effect across multiple attack rolls instead of a single hit-or-miss attack. Almost all high-level damaging spells call for a saving throw instead.

Even with consistent advantage, attack rolls are likely to be less accurate against dragons and late-game monsters. In PSR the intent is to have greater distributions of traits like magic resistance or strong saving throws, but most likely this would only narrow the gap instead of close it.

Ranged Spell Attacks. Remember that these attack rolls have disadvantage if the caster is Threatened. If the projectile explodes or otherwise covers an area, it should generally call for a Dexterity saving throw instead of a ranged attack. Fewer dice rolls.

Saving Throws

Strength. A Strength save is made to oppose an effect that physically shoves, restrains, or binds you—like being Grappled.

Dexterity. A Dexterity save is made to dodge out of harm's way, take better cover against a fiery explosion, or maintain balance in a slippery situation.

Constitution. A Constitution save is made to prevent disease, poison, exhaustion, or another hazard that would sap your vitality or test your bodily endurance.

Knowledge. A Knowledge save is made to discern illusions, and to resist trickery or mental assaults that can be refuted with logic or memory.

Perception. A Perception save is made to:

• Notice hidden creatures and objects upon entering a new area, especially creatures who have used the Hide action.
• Defend against spells and other threats that can be thwarted with sharp senses or intuition, such as a sneaky pickpocket or a hidden trap.
• Decide turn order at the outbreak of an encounter, if turn order would otherwise be uncertain.

Willpower. A Will save is made to resist losing self-control and to repel effects that would otherwise suppress your personality. This often includes charm or other mind control, fear, ghostly possession, many thought-affecting spells, and unwanted social pressure. If a mind-affecting spell doesn't involve illusions or deception, this is probably the correct saving throw to impose.

Spell Balancing

The most fundamental aspect of balancing a spell is determining an appropriate level. You never want to make a spell so good that someone would be a fool to not learn it over other options.

For example, if you want to create a spell that changes the appearance of any willing creature, it should probably be higher in level than disguise self and alter self. These spells can only affect you, the caster, and can change your appearance. A spell that could change the appearance of any willing creature for a similar duration is inherently more useful than either of these spells. Thus, it should probably be a higher level or have some kind of drawback, so it isn't always an inherently better option than either of those spells.

Spell Damage

Spell Level	One Target Save Negates	One Target Save Halves	Several Targets Save Negates	Several Targets Save Halves	One Target No Save	"Smite"
Cantrip	40.5 ½ (1d8)	—	30.5 ½ (1d6) within 5 feet 20.5 ½ (1d4) beyond 5 feet	—	—	—
1st	13 (2d12)	11 (2d10)	9 (2d8)	7 (2d6)	6 (2d4 + 1)	9' (2d8)
2nd	26 (4d12)	22 (4d10)	18 (4d8)	14 (4d6)	12 (4d4 + 2)	130.5 ½ (3d8)
3rd	39 (6d12)	33 (6d10)	27 (6d8)	21 (6d6)	18 (6d4 + 3)	18 (4d8)
4th	52 (8d12)*	44 (8d10)	36 (8d6)	28 (8d6)	24 (8d4 + 4)	220.5 ½ (5d8)
5th	65 (10d12)*	55 (10d10)	45 (10d6)	35 (10d6)	30 (10d4 + 5)	27 (6d8)
6th	78 (12d12)*	66 (12d10)*	54 (12d8)*	42 (12d6)*	30 (15d4 + 10)	310.5 ½ (7d8)

The adjacent table is derived mostly from material in the Dungeon Master's Guide. If a spell has a cast time of "1 action" and a duration of Instantaneous, it should generally do damage according to its level according to the adjacent table. A spell with significant drawbacks can get away with doing a little more than the recommended damage, whereas one with powerful effects in addition to damage should probably deal less damage.

For each damage column, the first value represents the ideal average damage for a spell of the given level. The value in parenthesis shows damage dice that, on average, will be equal or nearly equal to the first value. You can generally substitute any damage dice that will yield a similar average without significantly changing the spell's balance.

At higher levels the sheer abundance of dice can be a detriment. Eventually it's better to omit some dice rolls for static numbers. Instead of rolling 12d6 for example, a spell might call for 9d6 + 10. This is especially true for larger dice, such as d12s.

Cantrips

PB	Dice
+2	1d8
+3	2d8
+4	3d8
+5	4d8

The damage value for single-target cantrips assume they will virtually always have a secondary effect. Any cantrip that deals more than d8 damage should have drawbacks or restrictions. A d10 cantrip for example might require the user to wield a specific item as its material component, and a d12 cantrip might have a risk of damaging the user.

Damage over time

There are spells that can deal damage once every turn for a number of turns, and these can come in one of several different varieties. The damage dealt by these spells is still based on the damage table above.

• Stationary hazard. With this kind of spell, you create a cloud or other hazard that is fixed in space. An example of this is wall of fire. Usually these spells require concentration. An important aspect of this spell is that it is fixed in space, so a creature will only be subject to the damage again if it doesn't remove itself from the hazard. Generally, this type of spell should use the same damage as an instantaneous spell. A hazard that covers a large area or a very nuanced area might be better dealing a little less damage.

• Repeating action. This kind of spell lets you use your action to deal damage on your turn when you cast it, and lets you repeat that action on subsequent turns for the duration. Usually these spells require concentration. This kind of spell should deal ¾ as much damage as a spell for its level (below 3rd level) or ⅔ as much for its level (at 3rd level and above), according to the Damage Table.

• Repeating bonus action. This kind of spell is similar to repeating action, but on subsequent turns only requires a bonus action to use the effect again. Some examples include the spells arcane sword and flaming sphere. This kind of spell should deal 0.5 ½ as much damage as a spell for its level, according to the Damage Table.

• Automatic damage. A more powerful damage-over-time spell involves an action to cast the spell, and only requires concentration to deal damage on subsequent turns. Generally this kind of spell should deal 0.5 ½ as much damage on the first action, with subsequent turns being either a single damage die (for spells below 3rd level) or 0.5 ¼ damage (at 3rd level and above), according to the Damage Table.

Hit point restoration

The damage table isn't as fine-tuned for this purpose, but you can use it as a rough estimate of how many hit points should be restored by a healing spell. Healing spells towards the lower end should restore a little bit less than the table suggests (see cure wounds), while those towards the high end should restore a little bit more (see heal).

If a cantrip or ritual spell offers healing, it should be limited in nature. For example, once a creature is affected by the spell, it can't be affected by that spell again until it finishes camping.

Effect duration

As a general guideline, the longer a spell's effect lasts, the weaker the effect should be.

This is most notable with spells that impose debilitating conditions, such as poisoned or stunned. Almost every spell that imposes disadvantage on attack rolls, or advantage on attack rolls against the target (or a condition that does so) affords the target creature a saving throw on each of its turns to end the effect.

In PSR, there should be virtually no ongoing spell which requires an action from the target to end it or attempt to end it, such as entangle. Either the spell affords a new saving throw each turn, or the spell effect can't be ended by the target without breaking the caster's Concentration.

Concentration. Far more often than not, a spell with a duration of more than instantaneous calls for Concentration. "Debuffing" spells, in particular, should virtually always call for concentration.

Duration increments

Almost every spell that isn't instant lasts for one of the following time periods:

• round (until the start of your next turn)
• minute (one encounter)
• phase (one exploration period potentially including one encounter)
• until you next finish camping
• permanent

There are very few reasons to make a spell with a lasting effect that doesn't fall into one of these periods of time. Using a different increment of time will generally make the spell more difficult to remember accurately, and thus more difficult to use.

For "permanent" spells in particular, these should generally still afford the caster a way to end the spell, such as by using an action.

Components

Generally speaking, components play a very small role in the balance of spells, but here are some notable considerations. Virtually every spell should be "V,S" unless there's a significant reason not to be.

Spells that require a verbal component (V) can't be cast if the caster is prevented from speaking, typically by another spell such as the silence spell. Therefore, spells that don't require a verbal component are harder to prevent a caster from using.

Spells that require a somatic component (S) can't be cast if the caster doesn't have a free hand. Verbal-only spells like vicious mockery can be used even if the caster's hands are bound.

Material components (M) require a specific item. In PSR there are no "trifling" material components; every material component has a specific cost or purpose and can't be ignored by items or features (except for magic items which cast the relevant spell directly). A spell which involves or transforms a specific item should employ that material component, and some powerful spells should consume a material component as part of their cost—especially those which undo defeat in some capacity. Dubious spells which are perhaps too powerful or undesirable for a given campaign, such as identify, should call for a rare item as a material component—so such spells can be kept out of adventures where they would ruin the fun. Any spell which undoes defeat in some capacity should consume an expensive component, so as to not make defeat feel trifling and thus decrease the weight of decisions. Otherwise powerful spells might require expensive components to increase the sense of their impact.

Casting ability

Ideally, every spell uses a casting ability in one subtle but important way. As a general guideline, it should be less vital than an ability score for weapon attacks. An attack with a longsword, for example, adds Strength to both the attack roll and the damage roll. By contrast, an attack with a fire bolt spell only adds casting ability to the attack roll.

Avoid overusing the casting ability. If a spell imposes a spell attack or a saving throw, then the casting ability has already been used once. It shouldn't be added again, such as to the spell's damage. Casting ability should never be so vital that it could alter the appropriate level of a spell; for example shield of faith uses a flat +2 bonus because the difference between a +0 and a +5 bonus to AC is far too large.

When feasible, you should also avoid under-using the casting ability. A Wisdom-based spell should be at least a little better if you cast it with 20 Wisdom instead of 7 Wisdom. Cure wounds doesn't have an attack roll or a saving throw, but it still makes use of casting ability in a way that is significant to that spell. It isn't always feasible to implement casting ability in a way that works well, however; this is especially true for nonharmful, nonhealing spells like mage armor and lesser restoration. It's better to not use a casting ability than to use it poorly.

Item Rarity Design Guide

Note that this guidance is not foolproof. It is best if you first come up with an effect, then assign an appropriate rarity. These tools are not meant to be given to players to design their own magic items.

While designing items is intuitive enough, the difficult part is assigning an appropriate rarity and cost. In PSR, each item has a rarity ranging from 1 (common) to 6 (rare), with rare items being more powerful. An item's rarity of 1 through 6 roughly corresponds to spell ranks 1st through 6th. Spell ranks are relatively codified and even more codified if you're based.

During downtime trading, you can buy or sell an item if its rarity doesn't exceed your PB. In Shatterspark, some specific items must also be earned — such as earning affinity with a specific faction — before they can be bought during downtime, in addition to having a sufficiently high PB.

Rarity	Spell Rank	Consumable	Permanent	Bonus	Mark	SetScore	5e Equivalent
1	1st	50 gp	500 gp	-	12	-	Common
2	2nd	100 gp	1000 gp	+1	13	13	Uncommon
3	3rd	200 gp	2000 gp	+1	14	15	Uncommon
4	4th	400 gp	4000 gp	+2	15	17	Rare
5	5th	800 gp	8000 gp	+2	16	19	Rare
6	6th	1600 gp	16,000 gp	+3	17	21	Very Rare

Consumable Items

A potion or other effect which can emulate a 1st level spell effect only once costs 50 gp. This baseline cost but can be as much as halved for weaker effects, and as much as doubled for stronger effects.

Each spell levels above 1st doubles this baseline, up to 6th level, as shown in the adjacent table.

If the spell's effect is permanent, then this consumable is instead priced as a permanent item.

Permanent Items

Permanent items either give a benefit constantly, or give multiple uses per day with little risk of destroying the item. Permanent items have 10 times the cost of comparable consumable items.

Any permanent item that doesn't need to be wielded (in a hand) or worn (in an attire slot) should generally require attunement. Exceptions can be made for effects in a narrow niche that comes up rarely. Particularly impactful weapons and attire should require attunement anyway.

Charges. As a rough guideline, a permanent item that can be used multiple times per day should offer 3 charges per day. This is enough to be useful in 3 different turns, 3 encounters, or 3 different phases. Broadly this is enough to provide ample uses without being so excessive that the effect loses its impact. More than 5 charges for anything should be rare, but still have their place. If a certain effect is important to an adventure, it might be a good idea for the narrator to provide an item with more charges, or infinite charges within a specific area or time period.

Bonus. When an item's effect grants a permanent +1 to attack and damage rolls, to defense, or to "all saving throws" and no other significant effect, the item has a rarity equal to double the bonus. This is shown in the adjacent table.

Mark. If an item imposes a saving throw, it's ideal to employ the user's ability mark. If for some reason this is undesirable, the save mark for an item should generally equal 11 + rarity, as shown in the adjacent table.

Set Score. If a permanent item's only effect is to set one of the user's ability scores to a specific amount (as amulet of health or belt of giant strength), the item's rarity equals the ability modifier of that ability score + 1. This is shown in the adjacent table. Such an item should always require attunement.

Limits

Arguably, 6th level spells push the limits of what should be commodities. Some 6th level spells should not be represented with items that can be easily bought or sold, and at this threshold it's best for the narrator to arbitrate what is and isn't within reason. This becomes exponentially more true with each spell level after 6th. Consider spells which teleport over any distance, spells that create clones and armies, and even spells which grant wishes, all potentially multiple times per day.

"Epic" or "mythic" are terms often ascribed to late levels of an RPG where power exceeds the intended scope, and by necessity the nature of the game changes. In PSR, this begins upon reaching 13th level and potentially gaining access to 6th rank spells.

Breaking the Limits

Shatterspark has two extra tiers of rarity called "risky" and "legendary," neither of which can be bought or sold during downtime trading.

Risky items can only be acquired by chance, not bought or sold, and often have curses or other drawbacks, but can potentially be even stronger than rarity 6 items. Any merchant with enough experience to identify one of these items and enough gold to offer a fair price is also wise enough to not trust any item with a risky aura. While there might be a merchant out there crazy enough to buy a risky item, they can't be found during downtime trading.

Legendary items are each a one-of-a-kind artifact with lore and sometimes even a specific location or character association, and can be so powerful they can alter the course of the campaign. While it might not be possible to find someone willing to buy a legendary item, these are priceless. Exchanging any legendary item for mere gold is almost always a mistake.