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Freeing The Magic

or; how to lose a party to a gang of rampaging sweet rolls

The door is locked. There is no other way in, and there is no way out. Our intrepid Warlock places her hand over the wrought-iron keyhole and bows her head in concentration. She conceives of the tumblers, the pins. Where they are, and where they ought to be.

There is a click.

Here is something I am trying out in our campaign to spice things up a bit. The decisions made here are motivated by a couple of things:

  1. 5th Edition as written seems to have a pretty dim view of magic users. Neither the Wizard class portion of the Players' Handbook, nor the entire section on Spells, even mention the concept of spell creation. Designing custom spells is mentioned in the Dungeon Masters' Guide, but only from a DM's perspective1. In general spellcasters aren't even allowed to try causing magical effects unless they have found out the entire process from someone else and practised to a fine art. By contrast the 3.5e Players' Handbook had an entire section on how players would go about creating spells from nothing (though the rules were demanding).

  2. Our campaign is very story-driven and not beholden to things like "balance" and "mechanics". None of us are optimal players, nor are we trying to win. We want to see cool stuff happen.

  3. The lines between schools are clear. The lines between classes are anything but. Given that some classes can just pick and choose whichever spells they like, and pretty much every spell can be found written down on a scroll, there seems to be no strong lore reasons for the spell lists as written.2

  4. The Wild Mage archetype is AWESOME.

As a result, we are playing with a body of rules which basically boil down to one single idea:

Anybody can attempt to cast any spell.

how it works

A character may, at any time, attempt to cast any spell, which they do not currently have prepared and which they do not currently have a sufficient spell slot for. If so, they invoke the Free Magic rules as described below.

Free Magic

The caster declares the level of spell slot which they are intending to use3. The spell slot is expended4. The caster should make a check with their spellcasting ability against the Free Magic DC (as determined below). On a successful cast, the spell is produced as normal. Otherwise the spell goes wrong.

Difficulty Class

The DC for a Free Magic check is determined as follows:

  1. The base DC is 14.
  2. The DC increases by +4 for every level above the chosen slot's level.
  3. The DC is reduced by the maximum amount allowed by the table below, representing the caster's experience with the spell.
  4. If the spell is NOT on the class's own spell list, the DC increases by +2.
  5. Add any additional modifiers as are situationally relevant (see here).
Experience Modifier
- DC
The caster has seen the spell cast. DC - 2
The caster has cast the spell. DC - 3
The caster has prepared5 the spell. DC - 4
The caster has prepared and cast the spell. DC - 5
Example
A Warlock tries to cast Knock (a 2nd-level Transmutation) as a Cantrip. She has seen the spell cast before but never tried or prepared it.
The DC is 14 + 4*2 [from level differential] - 2 [from experience] + 2 [not a native Warlock spell] = 22.

Example
A Bard learned about the spell Detect Thoughts (2nd-level Divination) but has never seen or cast it. They only have a first-level slot remaining, which is expended by the casting.
The DC is 14 + 4 [level differential] = 18.

Failure

Failing on a Free Magic check means that the caster has attempted to directly modify the Weave of Magic, and has not done it well. Roll on the Wild Surge table6. The caster must then succeed on a DC10 spellcasting saving throw.

Saving Throw Consequence
Success Take d6 psychic damage.
Failure Roll on the Short-Term Madness table7.
Critical Failure Roll on the Long-Term Madness table instead.


Material Cost

If the caster is trying to cast a spell which has a material cost, but does not have the materials to lose, the result is undefined. Perhaps all their valuable posessions are lost to the Weave8. Maybe the spell just refuses to be cast outright (automatic failure). Be creative.

Casting Time

Some spell effects traditionally have a very long casting time. For example, Simulacrum has a casting time of 12 hours. Free Magics are cast as an action by default. It's at the DMs discretion to ask how long the caster is concentrating for. If the caster concentrates for as long as the spell normally takes to cast, there is no additional penalty. If the casting fails, the failure is noticed by the caster about halfway through the casting time. Trying to cast a "long-cast" spell as an action with Free Magic may have undefined effects, but will probably result in a weaker or different version of the intended spell effect.

Some additional notes on Free Magic
  1. Attempting to control raw magic requires a working knowledge of how to create a spell effect. A character attempting to use Free Magic must have the ability to cast one spell outside of these rules.
  2. Free Magic checks can benefit from both Inspiration and Bardic Inspiration.
  3. Free Magic checks cannot be given Advantage or Disadvantage.
  4. The DC is not reduced by 4 per level if you use a higher-level slot to cast a spell; though a successful cast may operate at a higher power level as determined by the spell's text.
  5. If the chosen slot's level is below the spell's minimum level, a successful cast is at the minimum level.
  6. If you know the spell (and have it prepared, for classes which prepare spells), you can only cast it as a Free Magic if you have no remaining spell slots of at least the spell's minimum level.
  7. A Natural 1 is an automatic failure. A Natural 20 is not an automatic success.
  8. Proficiency bonus is not generally added to the roll (but ability modifier is).

let's go wild

The Wild Magic Surge table is great and all, but there's something ever so slightly more fun. That thing is the Net Libram of Random Magical Effects. It is a 10,000-element list of possible Wild Magic Surges. Most of them are more benign or unnoticeable than those found in the original WMS table. However, the number of possibilities is just so staggeringly huge that if the party cannot work out what's happened straight away, there's a possibility that they never actually will9. For us this is far more interesting. However there is a chance that the entire party explodes, or someone becomes Level 20 or Level 1, every single time someone fails a Free Magic check. Make sure your party is up for it before you try this out!

more what you'd call guidelines

Most importantly of all, this type of magic doesn't work without strong DM participation. The powers afforded by Free Magic are many. It is far, far too easy to abuse. The DM has to role-play as something which is inherently fickle and near-impossible to harness. In other words, something un-mechanical; something which defies mechanics. Here are some examples of how the DM can improve the experience of Free Magic.

Example
A Warlock tries to cast Prayer of Healing. The DM warns the Warlock that, as an unholy character, the DC for casting Prayer of Healing will be increased (but does not say how much). They increase the DC by 5.
Example
A Paladin, in a desperate attempt to save an ally from an oncoming blast of dragonfire, calls on all of their magic. The DM decides that this constitutes a casting of Protection from Energy (3rd Level Abjuration) cast remotely rather than in touch range10. As this is a selfless and good act in line with the Paladin's holy beliefs, the DM silently reduces the DC by 1.

In the words of the Players' Handbook11, which is normally pretty quiet on these matters:

The worlds within the D&D multiverse are magical places. All existence is suffused with magical power, and potential energy lies untapped in every rock, stream, and living creature, and even in the air itself. Raw magic is the stuff of creation, the mute and mindless will of existence, permeating every bit of matter and present in every manifestation of energy throughout the multiverse.

Well put. I hope you enjoy Free Magic, because we sure are.

  1. Which, to be fair, is what it is for.©

  2. Not strictly true. There is a clear difference between arcane magicks, those employed by Warlocks, Wizards, Bards and the like, and divine magicks which are the domains of eg. druids, clerics and paladins. The former group manipulate the Weave of Magic directly, while the latter group get the Gods to do it for them. The PHB covers this on page 205.©

  3. This may include 0th-level "cantrip" slots.©

  4. Casting a Free Magic as a Cantrip doesn't expend any slots.©

  5. For classes which do not "prepare" spells, ask whether the spell has ever been "known" by the caster.©

  6. PHB, p.104 Wild Magic Surge.©

  7. https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Madness©

  8. Done this one.©

  9. Until they come across the next river on their journey, which is running with blood instead of water.©

  10. Note that because only the effect is specified and not the exact spell, it is not confined by the exact wordings as specified in the spell text. The DM need not reveal which spell was actually cast, or whether there was a corresponding spell at all.©

  11. PHB, p.205 The Weave of Magic.©

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