Magic in the Fantasy Game World
Natural Magic
Magic in this game system exists as an extension of the natural world.
Spells serve as concentrated manifestations of natural power: bending nature, but never abrogating its laws.
When considering what is possible in the game world, the gamemaster should ask himself or herself “Is this possible, if not highly improbable?”
Magic in this game is treated as uncanny.
It’s very unlikely that someone could close his or her eyes, take a few deep breaths, and after a moment know—or say that he or she knows—if the innkeeper is telling the truth. But if others witness this, it doesn’t clash with the sense of natural order that exists within the game world.
Likewise, it’s uncanny that a magician seems to always get out of harm’s way just at the last moment. But any observers can’t tell if it’s just luck or some extraordinary power.
Magic and nature are one in the same.
The magician interrupts the typical flow of natural energies to create a peculiar event. But then, the natural order resumes just as it would have without the interruption.
Magic can do anything that is possible, even if those possibilities are highly unlikely to occur on their own.
How Many People Can Use Magic?
Magic is a rare occurrence. Few people, perhaps as few as 1 in 100,000, know how to use it.
Thus, in a large kingdom of 5 million people, as few as 25 people may know how to use magic to some degree.
Those that do know it tend to fall on the lower end of the power distribution.
| Total Combined Magic Skill Levels | Population of Magicians |
| 1 to 4 | 40% |
| 5 to 9 | 30% |
| 10 to 14 | 20% |
| 15 to 18 | 10% |
In our prior example 25 magicians, ten magicians might have total Magic Group Skill Levels between 1 and 4, eight magicians might have total Levels between 5 and 9, five magicians might have total Levels between 10 and 14, and two magicians would have total Levels between 15 and 18.
How Do People Learn Magic?
The use of magic is an innate ability.
A person cannot learn, later in life, how to use it. Someone is either born with the ability to access magic power or not.
Most often, a child is identified as having magical abilities between the ages of 4 and 10. The child may show minor indications of this through his or her uncanny predictive abilities, strangely fast recovery from injury or illness (especially when it would be fatal to anyone else), or prodigious skill with games, toys, hand tools, or other implements.
Unassisted, a child may develop 1 Magic Skill Level on his or her own by age 15.
If a magically inclined person is taught by a mentor, he or she will learn much more quickly.
The mentor will instruct the student in harnessing the natural powers of magic, new Spells, resisting the effects of magic cast upon him or her, reading magic incantations, and more.
What Do People Believe About Magic?
Because it is so rare, most people don’t believe that magic exists.
Views on magic vary widely from place to place.
Where magic is part of a religious tradition, it is generally viewed positively. Magicians very easily become priests and use their magic powers to display their deities’ strength and to protect the followers of the religion.
When magic is kept only to those who know it, usually in the form of secret cabals or lone hermits isolated in self-study, it is generally viewed as suspicious, if not nefarious. In these instances, magicians may be persecuted—if detected—by wider society.
Either way, the magic balance of this game is such that disbelief in magic—even when others witness fantastical magic events—will not break a worldview in which magic doesn’t exist.
Magic, along with belief or disbelief in magic, can all exist simultaneously.
What Do Magicians Believe About Themselves?
Magicians come in two general stripes: naturalists and religionists.
Naturalists believe that their powers are connected to the natural world. They believe that they exercise the power of nature, altering the flow of natural events for a specific purpose and then returning the flow of magical energies to their normal state.
Religionists believe that their powers are granted from their deities. These magicians serve as priests in the religious orders and cults that worship divine beings. They worship these deities as part of a bargain to serve the deity in exchange for access to magic energy.
Sometimes, these two ideas are merged. A magician’s belief about his or her own abilities exist along a continuum between these two conceptions.
How Do Magicians Live?
In places where magic is viewed positively, such as part of a religion or when a magician serves in the court of a leader, magicians live comfortably.
Some magicians of great renown are also wealthy landholders and nobles. Typically, these magicians grow up from a low-class background, their magic powers are discovered, and a monarch gives the magician land and riches in exchange for continued service.
In places where magic is viewed negatively, magicians must live in hiding.
Solitary magicians or small enclaves may live in remote wildernesses. These magicians will keep to themselves and may live decades without encountering anyone else.
Exiled magicians devote their time to honing their craft and to push the known boundaries of magic power.
Magic Skills
Magic use is divided into three separate Skills:
| Magic Skill | Domain |
| Alchemy | Crafting of magic objects and the changing of the properties of matter. |
| Sorcery | Shaping of the physical world via illusions and the evocation of magical forces. |
| Weirding | Gleaning information from the world via magical means. Seeing things as they truly are. |
A magician’s proficiency in any one of these Skills can be rated by his or her current Level in that Skill:
| Magic Skill Level | Proficiency |
| 1 | Novice |
| 2 | Apprentice |
| 3 | Journeyman |
| 4 | Master |
| 5 | Grand Master |
| 6 | Arch Master |
Learning Spells
A magician starts the game knowing a certain number of Spells and can learn more during the campaign.
Known Spells are recorded on the magician’s character sheet in the space provided.
At Character Creation
A magician knows 1 Spell for each Skill Level he or she possesses in each Magic Group Skill.
For instance, if the magician has Alchemy 2 and Sorcery 1, he or she starts the campaign knowing 2 Alchemy Spells and 1 Sorcery Spell.
At the time of character creation, a character may begin knowing fewer than this allotment of Spells.
During the Campaign
Magicians can add to their Spell repertoire.
The magician must pay Experience Points equal to twice the Spell’s Level:
| New Spell Level | Experience Point Cost |
| 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 6 | 12 |
Spell Level Limits
A magician can only learn a new Spell if that Spell’s Level is equal to or less than his or her Magic Skill Level for that Spell.
| Example: Bertoz wants to learn the Enchant Spell.
Bertoz has Sorcery 3. Enchant is a Level 4 Sorcery. Bertoz cannot learn the Enchant Spell because his Sorcery Level (3) is less than the Spell’s Level (4). |
Casting Spells
To cast a Spell, the character must first know the Spell.
If the Spell is known by the magician, he or she may cast the Spell provided that the Spell’s Level + the magician’s current Spell Burn is equal to or less than the magician’s Magic Skill Level for the Spell.
| Example: Bertoz has Alchemy 4 and no Spell Burn.
Bertoz casts the Animal Form Spell (a Level 2 Alchemy Spell). After casting the Spell, Bertoz gains 1 Spell Burn. He now has a total of 1 Spell Burn. Bertoz later casts the Cure Spell (a Level 3 Alchemy Spell). After casting the Spell, Bertoz gains 1 Spell Burn. He now has a total of 2 Spell Burn. Bertoz then wishes to cast the Shape Metal Spell (a Level 3 Alchemy Spell) but can’t: The Spell’s Level (3) + Bertoz’s current Spell Burn (2) > Bertoz’s Alchemy Skill Level (4). |
If the magician cannot meet this requirement, he or she cannot cast the Spell.
If this requirement is met, the Spell manifests successfully as described by the Spell’s description.
Any choices that must be made by the magician—such as targets, range, or optional effects—must be made before the Spell’s effects take place as part of the casting process.
After the Spell is cast, these factors cannot be altered unless the Spell specifically states that they can be.
Spell Descriptions
Each Spell description (found later in this section), contains the following standard information.
Level
The Level for the Spell when determining if the magician can learn or cast it.
Skill
The Magic Skill used by the magician when determining if the magician can learn or cast the Spell.
Time
This is the amount of time the magician must spend dedicated to the casting of the Spell.
For time longer than a listed number of hours (i.e. days, weeks, months, etc.), the magician must spend at least eight hours each day dedicated to the casting of the Spell and nothing else over the prescribed casting time.
For time listed in increments of actions, rounds, minutes, or hours, the magician must spend absolutely all the listed time dedicated to casting of the Spell and nothing else.
If, for any reason, the magician fails to fully concentrate on the casting of the Spell over the course of the prescribed casting time, the attempt automatically fails, and the Spell is not cast.
Range
Spells have a range of effect.
This range may be listed as follows:
| Range | Distance |
| Self | Only the magician himself or herself. |
| Touch | Any target the magician touches. |
| Personal | Within 5 yards per governing Magic Skill Level. |
| Sight | Any target the magician can see. |
| See below | Refer to the individual Spell’s description. |
Most Spells affect a single target, chosen by the magician at the time the Spell is cast.
Some Spells may affect an area or several targets.
If a Spell has more than one potential target, the Spell’s description will state so.
Spell Burn
Spell Burn represents an exhaustion of a magician’s ability to access his or her powers.
When casting a Spell, the magician’s current Spell Burn total is added to the Spell’s Level to determine if the Spell can be cast.
To cast a Spell, the Spell’s Level + the magician’s Spell Burn must be equal to or less than the governing Magic Skill Level.
Gaining Spell Burn
Each time the magician casts a Spell, he or she gains 1 point of Spell Burn.
When Spell Burn is gained, the magician records this on the character sheet by filling in the next available (empty) box.
Some Spells require the magician to gain more than 1 point of Spell Burn as part of their effects.
Removing Spell Burn
Spell Burn is removed through purposeful meditation.
Only at sunrise or sunset, a magician may spend a full hour in dedicated quiet.
During this time, the magician cannot undertake any other activity including speaking, reading, writing, travel, Skill rolls, or casting Spells.
After this meditation, the magician’s Spell Burn is reduced to half its current Level, rounded down.
| Example: Bertoz has 5 points of Spell Burn.
He spends a full hour meditating under a tree as the sun rises. At the end of that hour, his Spell Burn is reduced to 2. 5 / 2 = 2 (rounded down) |
Miracles
Some Spells have a Miracle description.
Miracles are more powerful versions of the same Spell that have an Action Point cost associated with them.
If the magician wishes to cast a Miracle version of a Spell he or she knows, the player must state the intention to do so at the time the Spell is cast and expend the require Action Points at that time.