Taharjin's Flame was developed creatively apart from any roleplaying system - but because roleplaying is a lovely tool to flesh out a world, I've cooked up a few adaptations for one system, which just happens to be
5th Edition D&D.
Everything here is a sketch slated for refinement with playtesting time. For now, most mods are omissions rather than inventive additions, as I've sliced and diced the PHB to conform with a more restrictive fantasy setting. The plan is to add unique Races and Classes and all that good stuff back, as time permits.
Available Races
Humans,
Elves (rare, restricted to Gnosit),
Half-Elves (rare),
Half-Orcs (Gorog) (ultra-rare, restricted to
Myrod).
NEW!: The Speakers, Half-Dead (Thaowon) ,
Iazog.
Available Classes
Barbarian, Druid (elf only), Fighter, Monk, Paladin*, Ranger, Rogue, Wizard**
NEW!: Soulfinder
*The Paladin Class is reimagined in the article,
Order of the Razor.
**Wizards, being heartier than other humans by virtue of the Gift, have a base d10 Hit Die.
NO CLERICS?
The gods of Taharjin's Flame are elusive. Cases of intercession are rare enough that their existence remains plausibly deniable, a fact at odds with the daily renewable powers counted on by the Cleric class. Militant branches of faith exist, but their members do not possess magic except when one is born with the Gift and learns to develop it in some way, as mages do. In any case, much of the cleric's public limelight is stolen by mages, who tend to be regarded by mundane populations as Divine in nature. In
Rela, for instance, mages are addressed with the term "Reshai", meaning "Favoured", the implication being "of the gods".
Healing - which Clerics (and Paladins) are famous for - also works differently in this world. Healing magic was designed by
Exiled mages of the south to escape a horrible curse there, known as
The Wrack. Its authors are largely evil or insane, and no healing spell yet has been proven to work without some dire and unforeseen consequence. A black market has emerged for the trade of magical healing as there is clearly a need for it nevertheless. Adventuring is obviously much more deadly given these circumstances, so would-be heroes must exercise all the more caution, skill, and intelligence to stay alive.
Ability Score: Magic
Characters in Taharjin's Flame are created with a seventh ability score,
Magic. This score importantly determines how many points a magic-user has to spend on spellcasting, but also measures "how magical" a character is in a general sense, as this quality can bear on certain spells, effects, and situations. Casting classes
must hold a positive score in Magic; non-casters may or may not, depending on their character concept. Statistically, 1 in 20 people in the world are born with the Gift (i.e. a positive Magic score) but only 1 in 1000 develop their talent into usable skill, a process which takes about 10 years, and being innately magical can be either a good thing or a bad thing. Things to keep in mind before selecting this trait.
Following the methods in the PHB (p.13), one can generate this stat in one of three ways:
1) Roll 4d6 and subtract the lowest number, but 7 times instead of 6.
2) Assign the 7 pre-generated scores: 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, and 8.
3) Invest 32 points in the point-buy method. If a player opts for a Magic score of zero, scores are generated as per standard PHB guidelines.
Magic points are regenerated by spending a Hit Die during a short or long rest. (This game uses the Optional Rule for
Slow Natural Healing, DMG 267, so Hit Die are always the source of regained HP.) Points gained through spent Hit Die can be put towards replenishing either HP or Magic - a disadvantage casters have compared with non-magical classes. The increased natural toughness of mages tends to offset these costs.
Otherwise, the recovery of Magic points is governed by regionally specific rules. See
Magic Zones for details.
Spell Lists
Spells listed in the PHB are grouped according to which of the world's four major Traditions they align with, rather than by spell school:
The Berythian Tradition is defined by Elemental mastery;
The Nurhetic Tradition by dreams, illusions, and the mind;
The Aurimbic Tradition by divination and metamagic; and
The Exiled Tradition by its practice of "Necromancy" (considered a pejorative term by its adherents).
For the full list, see
5E Spell Groupings by Tradition.
Spell Techniques
Additional Spell Techniques can be learned during the course of play that permit a caster to channel one or more Magic points into a spell for a variety of effects, such as increased damage, range, etc. Typically, Spell Techniques are gained using the optional Feats rule, at levels where a class grants Ability Score Improvements.
No Magic Items!?
Item enchantment is very difficult as the working involved requires vast reservoirs of magical energy. High in the north it is said to be possible; however, magical energy cannot dwell in a non-living vehicle for long. A magical item carries a charge that may last a month or slightly more - barely enough time to travel south of the tundra - so it is difficult to verify the rumours. Now and then, an unusually sharp sword or ultra-durable armour of arcane make finds its way into the hands of heroes, but there is little motivation to produce such baubles as the impermanence of their magic makes the few rich enough to afford them reluctant to spend their coin that way, while mages care too little for material rewards for such an exchange to be found equitable to the time they'd lose in study. One very narrow class of objects, held to be artifacts from the mythic empire of
Devokan, presents evidence that very powerful and apparently ancient magical devices can exist, although examples are exceedingly rare. But the general rule is that magic emanates strictly from mages, who hold elite status in the world precisely because they are the sole wielders of an idiosyncratic form of technology. As with the lack of healing magic in the game, the virtual nonexistence of magic items is an intentional feature meant to stress playstyles based on caution and cunning, rather than the acquisition of bigger and better "ammo".
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