Spells and Magic

Only heroes with points in the Magic skill can cast spells. Starting Mana equals the hero's Magic skill level. Spells are grouped into Circles of Magic, with higher Circles being more pooweful and challenging to use or learn. Casting a spell costs Mana equal to its Circle, deducted regardless of success.

For Example: Zoltan the Warlock has Excellent Magic (Rank 7). He starts with 7 Mana. He can cast and learn spells of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Circle.

Cantrips

Requires the caster to have Poor (1) Magic or higher and 1 Mana or more left to cast. Basic (Difficulty Number 4)

If the spell is being cast on creature (or their carried equipment) the Difficulty Number is 4+ the target creature's Magic Resistance.

1st Circle of Magic

Requires the caster to have Basic (2) Magic or higher and 1 Mana or more left to cast.

Spells cost 1 Mana to cast. Simple (Difficulty Number 6) to cast sucessfully.

If the spell is being cast on creature (or their carried equipment) the Difficulty Number is 6+ the target creature's Magic Resistance.

2nd Circle of Magic

Requires the caster to have Competent (4) Magic or higher and 2 Mana or more left to cast.

Spells cost 2 Mana to cast. Easy (Difficulty Number 8)

If the spell is being cast on creature (or their carried equipment) the Difficulty Number is 8+ the target creature's Magic Resistance.

3rd Circle of Magic

Requires the caster to have Good (6)  Magic or higher and 3 Mana or more left to cast.

Spells cost 3 Mana to cast. Moderate (Difficulty Number 10)

If the spell is being cast on creature (or their carried equipment) the Difficulty Number is 10+ the target creature's Magic Resistance.

4th  Circle of Magic

Requires the caster to have Remarkable (8) Magic or higher and 4 Mana or more left to cast.

Spells cost 4 Mana to cast. Difficult (Difficulty Number 12)

If the spell is being cast on creature (or their carried equipment) the Difficulty Number is 12+ the target creature's Magic Resistance.

5th Circle of Magic

Requires the caster to have Incredible (10) Magic or higher and 5 Mana or more left to cast.

Spells cost 5 Mana to cast. Very Difficult (Difficulty Number 14)

If the spell is being cast on creature (or their carried equipment) the Difficulty Number is 14+ the target creature's Magic Resistance.

The caster must choose one of the spells that he knows. The caster may not cast a spell if his Mana will be reduced to below zero. 

If the Spell is being cast on a creature (or their possessions) then the caster makes a HEROIC ROLL based on their Magic Skill. The Target Number is equal to the target creature's Magic Resistance Skill +7. The GM may determine that the Difficulty Number is higher if the Hero is under duress, impeded or currently in combat.

​If the Spell is not being cast on a creature (or the creature's possessions), the caster needs to successfully pass a HEROIC ROLL, with GM comparing the caster's Magic Skill versus a Difficulty Number from the table below. The GM may determine that the Difficulty Number is higher if the Hero is under duress, impeded or currently in combat.

Magic Casting Difficulty

Circle of Magic      Difficulty

Cantrip                    Basic (Difficulty Number 4)

1st                           Simple (Difficulty Number 6)

2nd                          Easy (Difficulty Number 8)

3rd                           Moderate (Difficulty Number 10)

4th                           Difficult (Difficulty Number 12)

5th                           Very Difficult (Difficulty Number 14) 

Either way, on a failed roll, the Spell fizzles out and fails to work and the Mana of the Spell is deducted from the Hero's current Mana. GMs and Heroes note the roll of a Fumble (double one) on a HEROIC ROLL to cast a Spell is an automatic failure and the caster must roll on the Spell Miscast Table below.

Spell Casting Conditions

Condition                 Modifier to SpellCasters Skill

Moved                      -1 to Skill

Under Attack             -2 to Skill

Peaceful Situation    +1 to Skill

Messing with the chaotic and unpredictable energies of the arcane and divine can sometimes have some halarious and dangerous consequenses. The GM can use this table as guidline, or create their own for use when a Hero rolls a Critical Failure on their spell-casting roll.

The Hero rolls 2d6

2 - Spell fizzles, the caster's Mana is reduced to zero
3 - Spell fizzles, deduct double the Mana Cost
4 - Spell fizzles, deduct the Mana Cost
5 - Spell fizzles, deduct the Mana Cost and roll on the Cantrip Miscast Table
6 - Spell affects caster’s companion(s) instead of enemies (or visa-versa)
7 - Spell unexpectantly affects another creature (or the caster)
8 - Spell is reversed (light-darkness)
9 - Caster ages 4d6 years
10 - Caster turns into a toad (mouse, bird, cat, seagull, etc) For (roll d6) 1-2 = d6 Hours, 3-4 d6 Days 5-6 Permanently!
11 - A very annoyed Greater Demon appears in front of caster, ready to take vengance for being summoned to this plane.
12 - Caster disappears in a cloud of fragrant, multi-coloured smoke! (GM decides what happens next)

The total Mana cost of a starting Hero's initial starting Spells must not exceed their Mana Score. The Hero must choose spells from the limitations of what Circles of Magic they can cast. The spell casting Hero may also select a number of Cantrips that they know equal to their Magic Skill Level.

For Example: Zoltan the Warlock has Excellent Magic (Rank 7). He has 7 Mana. He can cast and learn spells of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Circle.

For his starting spell selection Zoltan could choose seven different 1st Circle Spells, or two 3rd Circle spells and one 1st Circle Spell, or some other similar combination.

Also Zoltan may select 7 cantrips that he knows.

A spell-caster can only learn Spells from within the same Circles of Magic that they can cast.

New spells may be gained in four different ways: Scribing spell scrolls, Studying Spell Books, Spell Tuition, Creating New Spells.

SPELL SCROLLS

Only Heroes who have at least Poor (1) Magic or higher may use Spell-Scrolls. When a spell-caster obtains a Spell-Scroll they may use it in one of two ways. 

READING A SPELL SCROLL

When a Spell-Scroll is read out aloud the Spell on the Spell-Scroll is cast as if the reader had just cast it, even if the caster can not normally cast the spell (it is of a higher Circle of Magic). It does not consume any of the reader`s Mana as the magical energy is stored in the Spell-Scroll. The Spell-Scroll is destroyed during this process. The 

SCRIBING SPELL SCROLLS

A spell-caster may Scribe a Spell-Scroll if they can cast spells of the same Circle of magic or higher. The process takes one hour per Mana cost of the spell. Then they have to make a Magic skill check modified by the Circle of Magic the spell belongs to (just like casting a spell, see table above). On a Crit the scroll is not destroyed, on a Fumble the scroll is destroyed they did not learn the spell and then they must then roll on the Miscast Table. On successful Heroic Roll the Scroll is destroyed during the process, but the spell caster now understands and is able to cast the spell and noted the new Spell in their List of Spells (see Hero Sheet).

STUDYING SPELL BOOKS

Each spell (page) in the Spell Book functions exactly like a Spell Scroll - follow the guidelines above for using and Scribing Spell Scrolls.

MAGIC TUITION

A spell caster may learn a new Spell from another spell caster (usually from the Wizards Guild) at the cost of 500 GP per Mana cost of the Spell. The teacher must know and be able to cast the Spell and the student`s must be able to cast spells from the same Circle of Magic of the Spell being taught. The process will take a number of weeks equal to the Spell`s Circle of Magic.

The players and the GM should work together to create new spells. The player should decide on the name of the spell and write a description of what the spell does. The GM may modify this and then convert it into the game mechanics. The GM then decides on the Circle of Magic it belongs to. If the GM feels that the spell is too powerful and will unbalance gameplay then he may not allow the new spell in their games. The new spell will take time and money and may not always be successful. The new spell will require the hero to study and research the spell over a period equal to one day per Mana cost of the new spell. Expenses in spell components, research material, and other items will cost 200 times the Mana cost of the new spell in gold coins. Once all this is completed the hero has to make a HEROIC ROLL with a Difficulty Number modified by the Circle of Magic the spell belongs to (see table above). On a successful Heroic roll they have succeeded, on a Fumble the attempt was a failure and he must then roll on the Spell Miscast Table. If they fail, they can try to create the new spell again by spending the same amount of time and money before attempting another HEROIC ROLL.

With this alternate Magic System the Players and GM no longer need to track or use MANA.

When the Hero attempts to cast a spell. Use the same process as listed above. However if the caster fails, the Spell fizzles out and fails to work. GMs and Heroes note the roll of a Fumble (double one) on a HEROIC ROLL to cast a Spell is an automatic failure and the caster must roll on the Spell Miscast Table below.

The player marks an X next to the spell on their hero sheet. The Hero may not cast this spell again until they have rested for 8 hours.