Optional Casting

This rule was put into place to explain what happens when your spellcaster OOM's [out of mana] in the middle of that big fight or simply wants to cast a heal without draining their mana pool needlessly.  The goal of the mana system was to minimize down time due to resting every 5 minutes and thusly having to roll annoying random encounters while making the casting system more free-form and intuitive rather than the tedious measure of writing down your chosen spells available for the day.  Refer to the below for your respective class regarding casting without mana.
*Cleric
**If you are a Cleric, you may cast without spending mana by the use of what we refer to as Prayer Casting.  In this method, your character may pray directly to your deity for the power to cast a spell instead of drawing from your own religious influence [your Divine Points].  If you choose or are forced to cast in this method, then the casting time of the spell is equal to the total adjusted level of the spell.  For example, if you are wanting to cast a Cure Moderate Wounds spell  with Prayer Casting as a Cleric the base casting time for the spell is 2 full rounds with the spell transpiring at the end of the 2nd round.  However, if you apply a meta-magic feat that increases the level of the spell the casting time will increase.  If the same Cleric used an Empower Spell feat on their casting of Cure Moderate Wounds, the casting time would be 3 full rounds instead of 2 since Empower Spell increases the level of the spell by 1.
*Druid
**The method Druids use for Optional Casting is the same as that of the Cleric only instead of being dubbed Prayer Casting, is referred to as Channeled Casting as you are channelling the power of nature around you to fuel your spells.
*Wizard
**Wizards also use this same type of rule for Optional casting.  However, since they draw their spell power and knowledge from their Spellbooks [or Tomes] it is referred to as Tome Casting.
*Sorceror
**Sorcerors work differently than Clerics, Druids, and Wizards in that their power comes from within rather than from some outside source.  To reflect this, Sorcerors cannot activate Optional Casting unless they are actually OOM.  When a Sorceror does run out of Magic Points, they may still cast spells.  Unlike Clerics and Wizards, the spells will maintain their normal casting times [in other words there is no increase in casting time].  This, however, comes at a price.  Each time a Sorceror casts while OOM, she will take an amount of non-lethal damage equal to the adjusted level of the spell.  This does calculate the same as other casting classes.  If the Sorceror casts until she is at 0, she falls unconcious.  This ability IS affected by Diehard only if the same Sorceror pushes past 0 the damage changes from non-lethal to lethal.  If they push to a fatal hit point amount, they fall dead from burning out their arcance spark.  If the Sorceror is raised afterward, they cannot again cast spells for a period of 1 week.  A Sorceror's Optional Casting is referred to as Inner Fire.
*Bard
**With other House Rules, Bards channel their spells as songs which is why they are allowed to cast while in a Bard performance.  As such, Bards cannot use Optional Casting until they are actually OOM.  However, they can still cast after they are out of mana in the same manner of Clerics, Druids and Wizards.  This is referred to as Song Casting
*Oracle
**Oracles use Optional Casting in a similar method as Sorcerors.  Their Optional Casting is referred to as Soul Channelling instead.
*Witch
**Witches draw their knowledge from their familiars in a similar way a Wizard draws his knowledge from his Tome.  A Witch may use Optional Casting as a Wizard with one difference.  Their familiar must be in an adjacent or shared square so that the Witch may commune with the familiar for the casting.  A Witch's Optional Casting is referred to as Spirit Casting.
*Summoner
**Summoner's draw power from Spellbooks just like Wizards do.  Because of this, Summoners follow the same guidelines for Optional Casting that Wizards do.  As with Wizards, their Optional Casting is referred to as Tome Casting.
*Magus
**The Magus is also a Spellbook caster and so also follows the Wizard's guidelines for Tome Casting.
*Inquisitor
**Inquistors channel spells from their chosen patron Deity just as Clerics do.  Because of this, Inquisitors also follow the Prayer Casting guidelines of Clerics.
*Rangers & Paladins
**Rangers and Paladins cast in the same manner as their parent class.  Rangers mimic Druids in that they draw their power from the natural world and so also follow the guidelines for Chanelled Casting.  Paladins, similarly, draw their power from Deity just like a Cleric and follow the guidelines for Prayer Casting.
Tatashi (talk) 01:00, August 18, 2013 (UTC)