Guidelines for spell creation

[Skyscraper]

Well, since someone else posted asking about guidelines for monster creation, I might as well share that I've been preparing my homebrew and imagining a patron or two for it. Now, I've decided to try my hand at actually putting one of them on paper. I should be finished by the end of 2012 I'm having fun, but man is it long. I thought I would do 3, I think I'll stick to one, and even then I won't do more than one level 1 patron spell for it, the rest will come if required.

Any thoughts on spell creation? I was doing a invoke patron spell for my patron, and scaling it is pretty hard for a beginner.

For example, what DCs should I use? I saw some higher spell check results in other spells required a DC 30 save to avoid. Where does that come from? Intuition? What is a DC 30 save vs a 30 spell check result, for example? Are we assuming that both follow each other more or less?

Do you ignore the possibility of spellburn when you design a spell, just assuming that spellburn is exceptional and higher results on the spellcheck should normally mean a higher level caster?

And then, effects and damage...

It's not coming with an original idea for a spell that's hard for me, it's scaling it across the different spell check results. Any tips would be helpful and appreciated.

Thanks!

Sky

[Vanguard]

The DC for most spells is equal to the result of the spellcheck. The levels of the effects should be broken down according to the spreads in the rule book. For example, a level 1 spell would be:

1
2-11
12-13
14-17
18-19
20-23
24-27
28-29
30-31
32+

Do not design with spellburn in mind. There is no way to ensure players will/won't use it. The only time it should be aconsideration is for a Necromantic spell. Every single one in the book requires spellburn.

Scaling really isn't too hard if you follow the examples set by the book. The minimum check should be very, very minor. For example, a 12-13 for a magic missile only does 1 point of damage. Granted, the attack automatically hits as well.

Increase the effects accordingly. The power level of a spell should jump a little extra when you hit 20 and 30, respectively.

[Skyscraper]

The DC for most spells is equal to the result of the spellcheck. The levels of the effects should be broken down according to the spreads in the rule book. For example, a level 1 spell would be:

1
2-11
12-13
14-17
18-19
20-23
24-27
28-29
30-31
32+

Do not design with spellburn in mind. There is no way to ensure players will/won't use it. The only time it should be aconsideration is for a Necromantic spell. Every single one in the book requires spellburn.

Scaling really isn't too hard if you follow the examples set by the book. The minimum check should be very, very minor. For example, a 12-13 for a magic missile only does 1 point of damage. Granted, the attack automatically hits as well.

Increase the effects accordingly. The power level of a spell should jump a little extra when you hit 20 and 30, respectively.

Thanks!