5.14e Homebrew: Magic System

12 Aug, 2026

My view of Greyhawk has lower a lower abundance of magic vs. Forgotten Realms and other more High Fantasy settings. I want magic to be rare and a meaningful resource to track similar to arrows or rations.

Due to this, I've been working on a simple Cantrip Points system for my upcoming 5e Greyhawk game with the primary goal of giving Cantrips a mechanical downside by having them cost Points determined by Player Character statistics.

I imagine Magic Users to represent maybe 1% of the entire population of the setting of Greyhawk, with 0.1% of them being high end practitioners of the arts. The streets of Greyhawk, small towns and villages aren't lit with magic lights, littered with magic shops or potion vendors and acquiring these relics require delving dangerous dungeons or an elusive Sage's exchange. They'd be more common to find in either highly populated places like the City of Greyhawk itself or far in the wilderness where they erect their towers for solitude.

With these things in mind, I present my Cantrip system!

Cantrips and Spellcraft

Spellcasting classes (with the exception of the Warlock) must track the number of Spellcraft they possess in order to cast Cantrips or Level 0 Spells.

Spellcraft is determined by the sum of the Player Character's Proficiency Bonus and their Spellcasting Ability:

A 1st Level (+2) Wizard with 12 INT (+1) would have 3 total Spellcraft.

Player Characters do not prepare their Cantrips/Level 0 Spells in the fashion that you would 1st Level Spells or higher, they can be cast at will with the use of Spellcraft. One cast of a Cantrip is equal to 1 Spellcraft expended.

Leveled Spells and Spell Points

Spells must still be memorized as per the typical rules of spellcasters but instead of Spell Slots you have a pool of Spell Points to spend on casting.

Leveled Spells will operate under the Variant Rules that Appear in the 2014 DMG on Pg. 288-289. The Spell Points by Level table applies to bards, clerics, druids, sorcerers, and wizards. For a paladin / ranger (not my subclass, the actual class), halve the character's level in that class and then consult the table. For a fighter (Eldritch Knight) or rogue (Arcane Trickster), divide the character’s level in that class by three.

Spell Aquisition

Typically when playing 5e RAW, most spellcasting classes learn Spells automatically from level advancement, but with these rules this is not the case. When additional spells and cantrips become available from advancement, you may select the spells and cantrips you wish to acquire and they become available to the local perview to be either purchased from a Sage or found in a scroll/spellbook.

The Spells selected via this method require 50gp x Spell Level (The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it) and 1 Week of downtime. When concerning Cantrips, the cost is 25gp worth of supplies and 1 day of downtime to acquire the spell.

When not selected via this method, the same costs and time are required, but these spells must be found from random treasure, random determined spells known by sages or any other possible options plausible.

Cantrips can be Ritual Cast with 10 minutes of concentration uninterrupted without consuming Spellcraft.

You restore all Spellcraft energy from taking Short Rests* as spellcasting classes.

*(typically 10 minutes, but is 8hr in my game)

Cantrip: Read Magic

Include this cantrip for all spellcasting Player Characters to learn:

Read Magic

• School: Divination
• Casting Time: 1 Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: V, S
• Duration: 10 minutes/level

By means of read magic, you can decipher magical inscriptions on objects—books, scrolls, weapons, and the like—that would otherwise be unintelligible. This deciphering does not normally invoke the magic contained in the writing, although it may do so in the case of a cursed scroll. Furthermore, once the spell is cast and you have read the magical inscription, you are thereafter able to read that particular writing without recourse to the use of read magic. You can read at the rate of one page (250 words) per minute.

This spell is primarily to offer Player Character's a method of deciphering magic script without Identify, as to determine the text of a scroll, a spellbook or sword to invoke their power. Read Magic doesn't show the history or specific details of statistical bonuses on enchanted items.

Weapon Proficiency

I believe with these harsh penalties to casting that there needs to be some other upside to even it out. Spellcasting classes that aren't already proficient gain proficiency in Darts, Light Crossbows and Spears if you're feeling especially kind to them.

Concerning Sorcerers

Sorcerers notably utilize Sorcery Points to augment and create spell points. They also can use Sorcery Points to create Spellcraft for Cantrips.

Consult the Flexible Casting Table on pg. 101 in the PHB and assume that Cantrip Spellcraft cost 1 Sorcery Point to generate.

Concerning Warlocks

I mentioned above briefly that Warlocks are excluded from tracking Spellcraft as their magic is given to them by a supernatural patron and Cantrip tier magic should be perpetually supplied. It makes extra sense when you understand that Warlocks get the least amount of cantrips per level in comparison to the rest of the cast. Their specific Eldritch Blast build would become incredibly nerfed with Spellcraft points as they barely get any Spell Slots either.

When Warlocks learn new cantrips and spells, they offer the same amount of GP and time as the other spellcasters, but it's in the form of offerings to their patron somewhat similar to a Cleric, Druid or Paladin's divine/pagan rituals.

Lastly, for Warlocks, they effectively already use Spell Points but their Spell Points are determined by their total Spell Slots and all their spells, regardless of level, cost 1 Spell Point.

Conclusion

I can't really think of anymore things I need to add or change. If I made collecting all of the specific material components to spells required it could be tedious to players, but it could also be fun and immersive so I may just ask the players to see what they think.

So enjoy the ideas. It's nothing too crazy, just Spellpoints for Cantrips, but I think it'll be really interesting to see how they Player Characters get around this downside.