Spellbooks as you've never seen them before

[Prime32]

Before the current age, a race of godlike beings inhabited the land. The only artefacts known to have survived are the tools they used to manipulate reality, the spellcrystals. While never intended for use by others, occasionally, for reasons none have been able to determine, one will respond to a member of the lesser races, giving them an opportunity to claim some of their power for their own. Such people are known as wizards.

A spellcrystal is, at its heart, an information engine, constantly recording details of its surroundings even without input. Ways to impose the user's will upon the world and random trivia both swirl within its depths. Even after it has opened to him, a spellcrystal user requires both intelligence and willpower to recognise the desired knowledge amid the flow and pull it out. A sufficiently skilled user can even cause it to bud lesser spellcrystals, simplified items encoded with a fraction of its power which others can use. If a wizard is lucky enough to encounter another spellcrystal then he may attempt to use its different powers or absorb it into his own, resulting in a crystal with the knowledge of both.

The process of preparing a spell bonds the crystal to the wizard's body as a suit of armor containing the required magical "circuitry", covering more of their body the more powerful the spell. The armor produced by each wizard/crystal bond is unique in appearance, and may shift over time as more spells are added to the crystal. This armor cannot be removed except by releasing the energy used in preparation, usually by casting the spell. Cantrips are an exception to this, being simple enough that the armor is not required to cast them; a wizard learns cantrips as a sorcerer and may cast them at will as long as the crystal is in his possession.

While preparing a 1st level spell results in only a minor jewel or trinket, the armor piece created by a spell of 2nd level is large enough to take up a body slot as a magic item (the exact slot is chosen at lv1 and cannot be changed). Each level of spells has a corresponding body slot - as long as the wizard has at least one spell of that level prepared, his armor takes up that slot and the slots of all lower levels. If a spell is prepared in a higher-level slot than required, it still counts as its original level for determining the extent of the wizard's armor (thus a wizard can hide his power by preparing only weak spells).
For each body slot taken up by the armor, the wizard gains a +1 armor bonus to AC, -1hp per highest-level spell prepared and a -1 penalty on Disguise checks; when the armor is removed the hp reduction converts to regular damage, which can be healed as normal. For example, consider the following armor:

Lv2: arms
Lv3: torso
Lv4: feet

A wizard with at least one 4th-level spell prepared would have armor covering his arms, torso and feet, granting +3 AC, -12hp (-4 x3) and a -3 penalty on Disguise checks.

The armor's lv2 slot item can be enchanted as a magic item, with the normal +50% cost for adding another effect to an existing item; the other slots cannot be enchanted.

Spellcrystal Weapon [Wizard]
Prerequisites: Ability to cast 2nd-level spells as a wizard.
Benefit: Select one body slot. While your spellcrystal armor covers that body slot you gain one natural weapon - damage dice given below are for Medium creatures. This natural weapon must be appropriate to the slot chosen.

• Bite (1d6): Head/Neck
  
• Claws (2x 1d4)/Talons (1d6): Feet/Hands/Ring
  
• Gore (1d6): Eyes/Head
  
• Slam (1d6): Arms/Feet/Hands
  
• Sting (1d6): Arms/Belt/Torso
  
• Tentacle (1d4): Any
  
• Wing Slap (2x 1d4): Armor/Cloak/Shoulders/Torso
  

Special: You may select this feat multiple times, choosing a different body slot and natural weapon each time. A wizard may select this feat as a bonus feat.

[Garryl]

For each body slot taken up by the armor, the wizard gains a +1 armor bonus to AC, -1hp per caster level and a -1 penalty on Disguise checks; when the armor is removed the hp reduction converts to regular damage, which can be healed as normal. The armor's lv2 slot item can be enchanted as a magic item, with the normal +50% cost for adding another effect to an existing item; the other slots cannot be enchanted.

That'll get vicious at higher levels. As in, 6th levels spells will knock you unconscious (assuming we're still talking about d4 HD Wizards) even with 14 Con, and 5th level spells will drop you to less than Commoner 1 hp (0.5 hp/level does not make for good longevity). This would be right around the time you get into magic item slot issues, so saving a slot for a +Con item will be a tough (but necessary) choice. Not that the hp will matter since there's no way you'll have enough to take even a single blow. On the up side, blasting is back as an effective caster killer. On the down side, Elves suck even more as wizards.

I pity the caster level loopers and spell level boosters. Anyone with a CL noticeably above their level will just die when preparing spells (I pity the Master Spellthief and the Ultimate Magus). Anyone with spells of higher levels than normal will just cringe faster (bad Earth Spell).

[ThisGuy01]

That'll get vicious at higher levels. As in, 6th levels spells will knock you unconscious (assuming we're still talking about d4 HD Wizards) even with 14 Con, and 5th level spells will drop you to less than Commoner 1 hp (0.5 hp/level does not make for good longevity). This would be right around the time you get into magic item slot issues, so saving a slot for a +Con item will be a tough (but necessary) choice. Not that the hp will matter since there's no way you'll have enough to take even a single blow. On the up side, blasting is back as an effective caster killer. On the down side, Elves suck even more as wizards.

I totally agree.  I could live with something like "-1 hp per highest spell level prepared" so with 6th level spells you'd have -36 hp (-5 hp 6 times).  which still seems really harsh.  But yeah...I like everything but that.

[Bauglir]

Hm, the wording implies that each level is bound to a particular body slot, but there's nothing elsewhere that enumerates what this mapping would be. Is the caster free to choose? If so, you might change the wording to a simpler, "The armor generated by a spellcrystal occupies one body slot of the wearer's choice per level of the highest spell prepared."

I like this idea a lot, by the way. With the HP decrease tweaked a bit to more feasible levels, I'd totally use this. It'd make some sort of prepared Duskblade variant quite interesting, I think, although it'd require a very careful construction to make something that doesn't just die the first time it steps into enemy range.

[Prime32]

Fixed the HP formula.

Hm, the wording implies that each level is bound to a particular body slot, but there's nothing elsewhere that enumerates what this mapping would be. Is the caster free to choose? If so, you might change the wording to a simpler, "The armor generated by a spellcrystal occupies one body slot of the wearer's choice per level of the highest spell prepared."

the exact slot is chosen at lv1 and cannot be changed

You might have
Lv2: arms
Lv3: torso
Lv4: feet

In which case as long as you have at least one lv4 spell prepared your armor takes up your arms, torso and feet. Once you run out of lv4 spells, the feet section vanishes.

[oslecamo]

This looks quite interesting, but how exactly do you get the crystal? Is it an item? Feat? ACF?

Select one body slot. While your spellcrystal armor covers that body slot you gain one natural weapon dealing damage appropriate to your size.

I would like to point out there's no such thing as "damage apropriate to your size". A troll's claws deal 1d6 base damage. A large half-dragon deals 1d4 base damage. A pit fiend has some nasty 2d8 claws. You may want to include base damage values.

[Bauglir]

Oh, huh, I missed that. Carry on, then!

[Prime32]

This looks quite interesting, but how exactly do you get the crystal? Is it an item? Feat? ACF?

Spellbooks Spellcrystals

A wizard must study her spellbook spellcrystal each day to prepare her spells. She cannot prepare any spell not recorded in her spellbook spellcrystal, except for read magic, which all wizards can prepare from memory.

A wizard begins play with a spellbook spellcrystal containing all 0-level wizard spells (except those from her prohibited school or schools, if any; see School Specialization, below) plus three 1st-level spells of your choice. For each point of Intelligence bonus the wizard has, the spellbook spellcrystal holds one additional 1st-level spell of your choice. At each new wizard level, she gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new wizard level) for her spellbookspellbooks spellcrystals to her own.

Everything except the armor+cantrips (which is mostly a nerf) is refluffing.

The original users were all hathrans who enchanted their crystals as acorns of far travel, btw.

Select one body slot. While your spellcrystal armor covers that body slot you gain one natural weapon dealing damage appropriate to your size.

I would like to point out there's no such thing as "damage apropriate to your size". A troll's claws deal 1d6 base damage. A large half-dragon deals 1d4 base damage. A pit fiend has some nasty 2d8 claws. You may want to include base damage values.

There are standard values... 1d4 for paired attacks, 1d6 for singular attacks.

[Garryl]

Select one body slot. While your spellcrystal armor covers that body slot you gain one natural weapon dealing damage appropriate to your size.

I would like to point out there's no such thing as "damage apropriate to your size". A troll's claws deal 1d6 base damage. A large half-dragon deals 1d4 base damage. A pit fiend has some nasty 2d8 claws. You may want to include base damage values.

There are standard values... 1d4 for paired attacks, 1d6 for singular attacks.

Where? I'm not familiar with that rule.

[Prime32]

...

*edits*

[Flay Crimsonwind]

...... So, what happens with level 5+?

So, as I understand it:
By preparing your spell slots with a crystal, you get armor and natural weapons.

[Garryl]

...... So, what happens with level 5+?

So, as I understand it:
By preparing your spell slots with a crystal, you get armor and natural weapons.

And in exchange, all you have to give up is a lot of hp (up to 72 points for 9th level spells) and the ability to use more than a few magic items at once (each spell level above 1st eats up a magic item slot, but you can get the 2nd level slot back at +50% cost).