Dice-Free Magic

Requires MWSE 2. 1+

A small lua mod with big changes to spellcasting.

As you well know, every spell in Morrowind has a chance to fail or succeed, from 0 to 100. Why do I think it is a bad design?

• []It encourages save scumming.

  []It creates frustrating scenarios when you fail your expensive, 95% chance spell twice and are left out of mana.

  []For some spells (like Open), success chance is not overly important.

  This mod changes this, in a hopefully balanced way.

  If you have a 60% chance to cast a spell or higher, you are guaranteed to cast it.

  Otherwise, you are guaranteed to fail.

  How balanced is it?

  I'd actually say it actually makes the game harder for non-mage and hybrid characters, while making magic gameplay slightly easier. For example:

  • []No longer you can spam that 15% chance "Open 100" spell, you need to actually invest into Alteration.

    []Mark, Recall and Intervention spells got the same treatment, making scrolls more viable. You better invest into Mysticism if you want to travel around the map for free.

    []At the same time, playing as a dedicated mage hopefully will be less frustrating. Having a spell with 90% success chance always succeed will make you slightly stronger compared to Vanilla.

    What about Fatigue? / What's the difference between 70% success and 100% success with this mod?

    Fatigue still counts. If you have a 70% chance to cast a spell at a full fatigue, you will always succeed. But if you have a 50% chance to cast it at low fatigue, it will always fail. So don't be overly reliant on your 70% success chance spells, they work for as long as you have high fatigue. Getting hit by a sound spell matters too.

    Compatibility:

    Works with everything that does not mess with cast chance in lua. Like Staff Casting, or my newer mod, Magicka of the Third Era.

    Mods that edit how much magic effects cost might make the game too easy/difficult.

    Recommended mods:

    Magicka Expanded - in particular, my mod makes teleportation spells from ME less OP. A little bit less.

    BTB's Game Improvements - Spells - a spell overhaul I've used with this mod. Some changes are a bit restrictive, but overall I recommend this for more balanced experience (e.g. harder to get "unlock 100" spell).

    Notes:

    Magicka of the Third Era is my magic overhaul which features this as a default option and is balanced around it. It also has many other features, some of which are customizable. Check it out!