D&D Magic Supercharger

Earlier I wrote about applying Into the Odd's Decisive Combat to D&D 5e, so it's only fair that magic gets the same treatment.

Art by Luka Rejec

Into the Odd has Arcana/Oddities in place of Spells, but they fill the same niche. Weird powers that break the rules. They have a few major differences, though.

• They're tied to items.
• No level/class restrictions for use.
• They're often unlimited in use.
• Usually their effects "just happen" rather than calling for a Save. 

5e's Spells are pretty tame by comparison, but rather than a total rewrite you could focus on the final bullet point and make everything feel a bit more impactful.

Spell Supercharger

• Any spell that allows a Save to completely negate its effect now automatically succeeds. 
• If there's a complication (typically something that gives the target Advantage on their Save) the target gets to make their Save as normal. 
• Saves that allow the target to "shake off" the effect afterwards are applied as normal.

Balance

• Accept that this a super dirty solution and is going to mess up the careful balance of spell levels. 
• Cantrips are the real danger here, but I don't think it would be a massive issue at the table. The mild-option here is to keep Cantrips are they are but I can't bring myself to recommend that. 
• If you're worried about the boost in spellcasting power, remember it works for enemy casters too. 

Examples

Charm Person now automatically charms somebody as long as you're not already hostile towards them. The more interesting payoff here is that the target still knows they were Charmed by you, so you've got to brace yourself for the consequences of Charming a powerful individual.

Fear this works, because they still get their Save to shake it off when they get to safety, after which they're presumably coming for you.

Acid Splash d6 damage to two nearby targets isn't all that bad, smart opponents will break formation.

Unaffected Spell Examples

Sleep is based off hp, so no change here. There's still the chance that nothing happens here, but it's relatively low if you plan correctly.

Grease is an interesting one, because its primary effect is to coat the ground in grease, with the DEX Saves for anybody passing through happening as a result of that. I'd leave it untouched, as even if nobody falls over, your Grease spell has still had some impact on the world.

Finger of Death for cases like this where the Save is to avoid half the damage, just leave it as-is. It's a bit weird when you've got other spells causing auto damage, but this whole thing was always going to screw with balance.

D&D Combat Supercharger

So you want to use Into the Odd’s ultra-fast Decisive Combat, where every attack causes Damage, but you want to stick with your more traditional flavour of D&D, say 5e or LotFP?

But Why?

• Missing with an attack is a lame way to spend your turn.
• Hitting and then rolling 1 damage is potentially even lamer.
• Combat just takes so long!

We can make this happen. Let's use 5e as a benchmark.

Decisive Combat for D&D

Roll to hit as normal:

• Natural 1 is a Miss, no damage.
• Miss becomes a Glance: Cause the minimum damage for the attack, but this cannot take the target below 1hp. 
• Hit: Cause the maximum damage for the attack
• Critical Hit (usually a natural 20) causes a Glance followed by a Hit. 

Notes

• Secondary Effects like Sneak Attack Damage, Poison, Grappling etc only take effect on a Hit and they roll damage as normal if needed. 
• Resistance, Vulnerability, and Damage Reduction are also applied as normal. 
• Breath attacks and other attacks that do not roll to hit are handled as per the normal rules. 

Example
An Orc attacking with a Greataxe (1d12+3) causes 4 damage on a Glance, and 15 damage on a Hit. On a Critical Hit it causes 4 damage followed by 15 damage.

Resting Changes

• To account for the higher amount of damage flying around, you do not roll your Hit Dice when taking Short Rests, instead taking the maximum possible roll on that die. 
• A Long Rest restores all Hit Dice. 
• Other types of Healing function as normal. 

Example

A Level 3 Fighter with 3d10 Hit Dice and +2 CON Bonus recovers 12HP whenever they spend a Hit Die during a Short Rest. They recover all of their HP and Hit Die with a Long Rest.

Preparing your Notes
Write attacks with their Glance Damage followed by their Hit Damage, so instead of 1d12+3 you’d write 4/15.

Missing Damage Rolls?
If a Feat or other special ability relies on the Damage Roll (such as letting you reroll 1s) then the GM either:

• Applies the benefit to the Attack Roll, if it’s a good fit.
• Presents an alternative.

This is Too Fast, I Want to Get Off!
If you want a milder effect, have a Hit cause Average Damage rather than Maximum, then have Critical Hits cause Maximum Damage. Who wants things to be mild, though? I warned you this is a Supercharger!

A Note on Magic

This all boosts regular combat in comparison to spell effects that grant a Save, so my next plan is to suggest a way to make Spell effects equally decisive.

Of course, it makes Monsters more dangerous in return, so don't you Fighters be feeling too comfortable.

Now all you have to do is decide how to spend all that time you've regained from drawn-out combats. 

D&D 5e to Into the Odd Conversion Guide

Ever an opportunist, here's how to convert D&D 5e Monsters to your Into the Odd game.

HP: 1hp per HD. Maximum of 30.
Armour: Noted Armour grants Armour 1, and any extra noted extreme resilience boosts this to 2. Being Large adds a further point of Armour, being Huge adds two, to a maximum of 3.
STR and DEX: These scores are directly transferable. Maximum of 20.
WIL: Use CHA. Maximum 20.
Attacks: Start at d6. Increase by 1 die for each size category above medium and a further step if they wield a heavy weapon. For example, a large creature with a heavy weapon gets 2 increases, from d6 to d8 to d10. No multi-attacks.

Replace Advantage/Disadvantage and Vulnerability/Resistance with Enhance/Impair respectively. Abilities that grant extra damage or protection also use these two qualities as appropriate.

Advantage/Disadvantages on certain saving throws (e.g. Dwarfs vs Poison) can grant more interesting, outright immunities, or generally just be handled in a better way (e.g. Dwarfs are immune to natural poison, or only feel minor versions of the effects on a failed Save).

Make their description scarier.

Example (trimmed down from the full MM entry to the stuff we need)

D&D 5e Adult White Dragon
Huge Dragon
Armor Class 18 (natural armour)
Hit Points 200 (16d12 + 96)
Speed 40ft
Str 22 Dex 10 Con 22
Int 8 Wis 12 Cha 12

Ice Walk: The dragon takes no penalty to speed while traversing ice or snow.
Immunities: Cold.
Bite: +11 to hit (reach 10 ft.; one creature). Hit: (2d10 + 6) piercing plus 1d8 cold damage.
Frightful Presence: All within 120 Feet. DC14 WIS Save or be Frightened for 1 Minute.
Cold Breath (recharge 5-6): 60ft Cone. 12d8 Damage. DC19 CON Save for half damage. 

Into the Odd Adult White Dragon
STR 20, DEX 10, WIL 12. 16hp, Armour 3, Bite (1d12).
Wants to hunt big prey, and keep its lair hidden from greedy explorers. Effortlessly crosses ice and snow. Breathes freezing cold for d10 Damage to all in the blast, freezing any liquids and creating an icy surface.

Want to convert Into the Odd monsters over to your D&D 5e game? Clearly there's been a mistake. Give it some more thought while you run another Into the Odd game.