Any supplements/charts for a Chaotic/Wild magic area?

[NewJeffCT]

The players in my campaign may be headed for a brief excursion to an area where magic does not function normally - I was thinking some sort of wild magic/chaos magic type of area.

I'm looking mostly for flavor so they get the feel they are in an alien environment ("you cast your magic missile, and bolts of green, blue, black, pink and orange shoot forth from your fingers"), though I do want some effects that are both positive & negative: a roll of 1 indicates a spell is minimized (all 1s on a d6 or d8), while a roll of 20 indicates it is maximized (all 6s on a d6 or d8) and maybe an area effect spell has a larger or smaller area.

This is a fairly high level 3.5E campaign and the group features 3 "spell" casters in a sorcerer, cleric and a psion. The effects would take place on a failed concentration check, though the flavor effects could occur anytime, ("Your energy ball explodes in a bright purple colored flame...")

Are there any books or charts that would deal with chaotic magic/wild magic?

Thanks

 

[freyar]

The 3e FRCS has a wild magic table that might be what you're looking for, at least a bit, if you have it. I also know that the much maligned Avatar series modules from early 2e FR have wild magic tables, probably fairly similar to the above, if you have a way to get hold of them.

 

[Shemeska]

Sean K Reynolds released a rather large wild magic table several years ago on his website, and I've used it a number of times in my own games.

There was also something of a wild magic table (the random effects of so-called anarchic fonts) in a piece of mine in Pathfinder #22 that gave an ecology of the proteans, Golarion's CN outsiders.

 

[Thanael]

This is SKR's page on Wild Magic: http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/prestige/wildmagic_open.html

Complete Mage has the Wild Mage PrC of course

There have of course been a few d20 Wild Magic books out there. There's Wild Spellcraft from Mystic Eye Games and Encyclopedia Arcane: Chaos Magic - Wild Sorcery from Mongoose. Both present alternate systems to the WoTc Wild Mage.

 

[Tuft]

There are scores of "random magic effects" tables out there... Just google it: http://www.google.se/search?q=random+magical+effects

If I may come with a suggestion: don't just apply a new random effect every time a caster uses a spell - let each effect keep appearing for a little longer, adding both the fun of anticipation and trying to figure out the effect.

For example, if you have the effect of a spell always hitting the next target clockwise from the one you aimed at, the players get the fun of figuring out that effect, and trying to compensate for it in each successive spell. If you have the effect of changing a random person's hair color, you have the anticipation of seeing whom this effect will afflict next, and the caster trying to determine if casting the spell is worth it. Let effects last for an encounter, or something like 2d4 rounds before changing them.

 

[NewJeffCT]

This is SKR's page on Wild Magic: http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/prestige/wildmagic_open.html

Complete Mage has the Wild Mage PrC of course

There have of course been a few d20 Wild Magic books out there. There's Wild Spellcraft from Mystic Eye Games and Encyclopedia Arcane: Chaos Magic - Wild Sorcery from Mongoose. Both present alternate systems to the WoTc Wild Mage.

Thanks - much appreciated.

 

[NewJeffCT]

There are scores of "random magic effects" tables out there... Just google it: random magical effects - Google-sökning

If I may come with a suggestion: don't just apply a new random effect every time a caster uses a spell - let each effect keep appearing for a little longer, adding both the fun of anticipation and trying to figure out the effect.

For example, if you have the effect of a spell always hitting the next target clockwise from the one you aimed at, the players get the fun of figuring out that effect, and trying to compensate for it in each successive spell. If you have the effect of changing a random person's hair color, you have the anticipation of seeing whom this effect will afflict next, and the caster trying to determine if casting the spell is worth it. Let effects last for an encounter, or something like 2d4 rounds before changing them.

Thanks - good ideas.

 

[The_Warlock]

I always just wing it after a little die rolling on a chart of mine own:

1-2____Poof! Nada. Zip. Zilch.
3-4____Choke! 1/4 power, looks weird.
5-6____Hack! 1/2 power, looks funky.
7______Hey! It worked! Cool. Cosmetic side effect.
8-9____Generally useless effect. Have I involved hamsters yet, this adventure?
10-11__Mistarget Friendly, roll again for effect. If 10-15, chain effect, DM Choice.
12-13__Mistarget Enemy, roll again for effect. If 10-15, chain effect, DM Choice.
14-15__Mistarget Other, roll again for effect. If 10-15, chain effect, DM Choice.
14-15__Huh? Random lower level spell/power, any source.
16-17__What? Random + or - 1 level spell power, any source.
18_____WHOA! Random higher level spell/power, any source.
19_____Ow! Ow! Ow! Physical or terrain effect against whole encounter area.
20_____BOOM! Boy does it suck being at ground zero. Everything in line of effect reduced to 1/5 current hp. Carry on.


Did I mention I can be a tich brutal?

 

[NewJeffCT]

I always just wing it after a little die rolling on a chart of mine own:

1-2____Poof! Nada. Zip. Zilch.
3-4____Choke! 1/4 power, looks weird.
5-6____Hack! 1/2 power, looks funky.
7______Hey! It worked! Cool. Cosmetic side effect.
8-9____Generally useless effect. Have I involved hamsters yet, this adventure?
10-11__Mistarget Friendly, roll again for effect. If 10-15, chain effect, DM Choice.
12-13__Mistarget Enemy, roll again for effect. If 10-15, chain effect, DM Choice.
14-15__Mistarget Other, roll again for effect. If 10-15, chain effect, DM Choice.
14-15__Huh? Random lower level spell/power, any source.
16-17__What? Random + or - 1 level spell power, any source.
18_____WHOA! Random higher level spell/power, any source.
19_____Ow! Ow! Ow! Physical or terrain effect against whole encounter area.
20_____BOOM! Boy does it suck being at ground zero. Everything in line of effect reduced to 1/5 current hp. Carry on.


Did I mention I can be a tich brutal?

pretty good ideas, though I'm not quite that brutal.

 

[The_Warlock]

pretty good ideas, though I'm not quite that brutal.

Understood. My brutality comes from having spent many years DMing double-wide parties (6 to 9 players) which gives them A LOT of bacon saving abilities. So I tend to give them lots of bacon saving opportunities.