07. Mana from Heaven

Types of Arcane Casters

There are three classes of casters in Aegyptvs, Sorcerors, Priests and Shamans. You may only belong to one of these, they are mutually exclusive.

Sorcerors.

Are casters who learn the ancient secrets of power and control that the gods used to create the world. Through research and testing and intellect they are able to replicate a small portion of the power the gods wielded in the beginning times, this power is called Mana. Mana is an invisible source of energy that permeates the world.

A sorcerers primary characteristic is Mind.

Priests.

Priests use the powers of their god by symbiotic ties, their faith and willpower bring them close to their god and grants them access to divine powers directly. The stronger their faith and the more focused their will the more powerful the magic they can perform.

A priests primary characteristic is Will

Shamans.

Are casters who derive their powers from the spirits and elemental forces that abound in the natural world. They become closer to the natural world, bonding with its innate forces to enact magical feats.

A shamans primary characteristic is Spirit.

The difference between the three traditions is simply the source and the characteristic that is used. All powers (spells) are the same for all traditions. The source however may impose some restrictions upon you due to their nature.

Sorcerers have the least restrictions and may freely cast any spell they are able to learn, but their access to new powers will be more difficult.

Priests have much easier access to powers but are limited to those that their god allows them to use, this is controlled through Domains. Each god has a group of 4 or 5 Domains where they are dominant, and these domains only are available to their priests.

Shamans are open to all powers, but need to find a spirit who will perform it for them. Shamans do not cast spells themselves but get spirits to do it for them.

Learning Spells

Each of the three types of casters learn new powers/spells in different ways. ...MORE

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Casting Spells

To cast a spell you must have a base Xposure of the appropriate casting type, which gives you the base 4d in casting skills. The base 4d are modified by the primary characteristic relevant to the casting class and any other modifiers from Xposures or Advantages.

Casting a spell takes time in the form of Action Dice (most spells have a speed of 2), and Drain - the expenditure of Ranks (Physical or Mental).

A single success is all that is generally required to enact the basic properties of the spell, with further successes adding extra benefits.

With a single success you get a spell that will drain you of 1 Mental or Physical Rank. This cost cannot be removed, it can only be recovered after the fact.

Extra casting successes from the casting pool roll can be used to modify the parameters of the spell,

To generate extra successes a caster can optionally draw 'ranks', either from the physical or the mental domain, at their choice. As this is a mainly one way journey (depleting their ranks) there needs to be a way to either regenerate ranks (healing) or some method to avoid rank loss. This can be done by using time, the longer you spend preparing a spell the easier it will be to avoid drain. As always the first Rank lost can become a Stun unless you are already Stunned, in which case the spell has failed.

When you begin casting a spell you need simply specify which spell it is. When you decie to roll your casting pool you must specify all the parameters of the spell you are attempting: target, range, modifiers. If your casting roll does not generate enough successes to meet your needs you must either allocate extra drain to make up the difference, or the spell fails. If the spell fails you still lose one Rank to drain.

For 1 action dice of effort you get to roll your spell pool. One success from your spell pool roll will give you the basic spell, and it will drain you of one rank of physical or mental (or optionally inflict Stun).

To increase the properties of the spell you are required to gain extra successes on the casting roll. Extra successes can be gained by increasing the dice in your spell pool and getting more successes or by expending Ranks.

Each extra Rank drained (allocated) to the spell will generate 1 success. This is the expensive way but gets the result if you need it. Drain of ranks can be implemented at anytime during the casting of the spell, as long as you have Ranks to lose.

Extra action dice can be used to increase the size of your spell pool on a 1 for 1 basis. As your turn comes up you simply discard your action dice (showing 2 or more) and add 2d to your spell pool. The spell takes longer to produce, takes extra actions, but you gain a larger spell pool to roll to gain successes. Each extra success after the first can be used to generate extra effects.

Only 1 Action Dice can normally be spent at a time, each time you come up in the order of actions. Dice used for spell casting are simply added to your spell pool until the spell casting occurs. Any dice can be used to satisfy this EXCEPT a 1, so in effect spells have a casting speed of 2.

You can abandon the casting at anytime but all the pool dice are lost. An abandoned, or cancelled, spell does not drain any ranks, only if you make the casting roll do you lose ranks.

Extra time spent on casting can increase the casting pool dice by a maximum of the casters normal castign dice. So if the caster attempts a spell and would have 7d, then he can gain a maximum of 7 extra dice by using actions.

There is a minimum cost of 1 action dice and 1 Drain for each spell unless some other factor allows this to change (an Xposure). You cannot reduce the drain cost below 1 rank, so every casting will cause a Stun or drain a Rank.

Casting Modifiers:

4d base appropriate Xposure

+1,2,3d Controlling characteristic.

+1 or 2d Increased skill in appropriate Xposure

+1d Per action dice expended, upto the limit.

var Range modifiers, based on Thrown or Fired.

var Visibility modifiers, such as Cover or Thrown over obstacles

-1d Any of your targets are InContact, using Touch or Fired spells.

-2d Any of your targets are InContact, using BodyTouch or Thrown spells.

-2d One or more of your targets are InClose at the time the spell is cast but not with you.

-3d Spells cast whilst you are "InContact".

-4d Casting while you are "InClose".

var Elemental dominance or inferiority

Casting Restrictions:

Casting cannot be completed if it would drop either of your ranks to 0 (for NPCs), or to -3 Broken/Crushed for Heroic characters.

Casting cannot be started unless you have at least one positive Mental rank.

You cannot begin or continue a casting while you are Stunned, any existing spell pool would be lost.

Effects of Damage whilst Casting.

If a caster suffers damage whilst in the process of casting a spell then they must elect to take it as a Rank loss as a Stun result cancels the spell. They must then make an immediate raw casting (Xposure+characteristic) roll at -2d and get at least one success to maintain their existing spell pool. If they fail this roll then the spell fails immediately and all allocated dice are lost. If a spell is lost you do not have to pay any Rank cost. They must still make a final casting roll to get the spell to work.

If a Trauma or Massive damage result is inflicted then any casting is lost.

A caster is considered to be actively casting if they have any dice currently pooled for that purpose.

A caster may always abandon a casting at anytime. Action dice spent already would be lost, no Ranks are lost.

Targetting.

If you are casting a spell at another person who is not Bound to you then you may also have to make a successful attack. Targetting is included in the casting roll, so to successfully cast the spell you require one success, which allows Touch or BodyTouch attacks.

To make a spell ranged, either Thrown or Fired, requires 1 extra successes on your casting roll. One success casts the spell and the second success makes it ranged. The range at which you cast may reduce your casting pool as will be noted below. This means that spells cast at range are still likely to hit, but with less power.

There are several types of attack forms for spells as follows.

Touch:

The caster must make contact with the primary manipulative part (hands) of their body with any part of their opponent, either their body, their armour or some item in direct contact with their body (close proximity).

Most spells are essentially touch range. To effect another person you will need to touch them with a part of your body. The exceptions to this will be noted in the spell descriptions.

This touch aspect of magic is a reflection of the origin of the magic, the spirit of the caster. To work magic against another being requires that you attack their spirit and so the souls involved must come into contact.

BodyTouch:

Similar to a Touch attack but in this case the caster must make direct contact with the spirit of their opponent and for more than an instant, which is much harder. Contact with the target spirit does not require direct contact with skin, merely a very close and slightly longer form of contact to Touch. Full body armour does not prevent a BodyTouch success.

You can imagine a body to have a Karilian aura, BodyTouch requires your auras to overlap and remain in contact whilst the spell energy is transferred.

Thrown Spells:

A spell missile that must be thrown at the target and a successful targeting made. Thrown missiles can often be lobbed over the top of an intervening obstacle, this will be noted. Each obstacle or group lobbed over will reduce your casting pool by -1d, generally.

The range of a thrown missile in zones and appropriate modifiers, can be found from the following:

Fired Spells:

A spell missile that is fired at the target and a successful targeting made. Fired missiles are direct line of sight, they cannot be fired through or over any objects or creatures.

The range of a fired spell in zones (always round fractions down), and appropriate modifiers, can be found from the following:

Defence vs Spells.

Touch and BodyTouch spells can only be defended against via Dodge.

Thrown spells may be dodged or blocked.

Fired spells may be dodged or blocked but at -2d as usual for fired missiles.

Once a spell attack has impacted on the target then the only thing that will stop it is Magic Resistance. There are no save throws, you have to prevent the magic from getting to you, or have a counter ready.

Spell Damage

Spells can do various kinds of damage, from direct damage in Ranks, to damage that reduces characteristics or modifies dice rolls etc. Direct damage spells will inflict damage in the same way that a sword does.

In nearly all cases a damage spell will start off inflicting 4d of damage from a single successful casting. The amount of damage inflicted can be increased by assigning extra successes. Each success allocated to damage will increase the damage dice by +2d against all targets.

Concentration can also be used to increase the damage of a spell, see the Powers chapter for details.

Spell Shapes, Sizes & Target Factors

Spells that have a physical manifestation will appear in various shapes and sizes. Most commonly they will effect a single target with Touch range. To improve the range of targets will make the spell more difficult to cast.

Target Factors.

A base level spell will target one single object with Touch or BodyTouch range. Touch and BodyTouch can only target a single opponent.

Extra successes can be used to modify the spell in various ways. The simplest form of modification is range, which costs an extra success. A ranged spell, successfully cast, always hits its targets. The targets can make attempts to avoid being hit by dodging etc.

Ranged targeting options and the costs in casting successes are as follows:

Eg2: (See image below) Caster A(Reddot) wants to cast a fireball spell at various enemies, as shown by the lines. To cast the spell costs 1 success (1), plus he wants to add 2d to the damage roll so another success is used (2). He makes the spell ranged-fired (3). He targets group 1 (4+5), then links (6) to A and targets him (7). He then links (8) to group 2 and targets them (9+10). Finally he links (11) to group 3 and targets them (12+13). He has not elected to protect his allies by excluding them which would have cost an extra dice per person.

This is an extreme example, 13 successes would require 39 dice on average, which is highly unlikely.

Spell Durations

There are several durations for magic spells in the game, as follows:

Instant:

The spell lasts (effective) only a very short time, such as fireballs and heals.

OneUse, TwoUse etc:

These spells are good for a number of uses, otherwise they last for the "event" unless otherwise specified. The spell of missile protection might be a OneUse spell and would then provide protection to the target for one missile attack, but would remain effective until that attack occurred.

Constant:

Some spells can be maintained CONSTANTLY. This can be done by reducing the Drain level to 0 by using extra time to cast the spell and then expending one Rank to keep it running. This reduction to 0 Drain cannot be done in combat as all spells there require a minimum of 1 Drain and 1 Time, so it can only be done outside an event where you have plenty of time and no interruptions.

This Rank lost cannot be a Stun as the effect is permanent until the spell is dropped, so you would be Stunned constantly. The Rank lost cannot be recovered, except maybe very briefly, as it is immediately expended the next time the caster has an action and they maintain it as Constant. Multiple spells can be maintained constantly, each requiring a Rank. See Spell Durations below.

The Ranks dedicated to the Constant spell are always expended, and cannot be ‘healed’ or ‘restored’ in any fashion whilst the spell is maintained.

If for any reason your (the casters) Rank total in the Domain used is reduced to less than zero then ALL CONSTANT spells using that Domain immediately fail, and no Ranks are recovered.

CONSTANT spells can be cancelled at anytime but Rank recovery can only be made via the normal methods, sleep, magic or rest.

CONSTANT spells can be maintained whilst the caster is asleep.

Damage suffered will not impact a CONSTANT spell, it is already effective, only active spells are at risk with interruption. Going to OoA or KIA however will cause all spells to fail. If the caster loses control of their mind (possession, charm etc) then all Constant spells are lost.

The target of a Constant spell must ALWAYS be targetable every round or the spell fails. In effect the spell is constantly targetted and renewed all the time, so all its requirements must be constant as well. If your target is out of sight then you cannot target it and the constant spell fails. Because of this Constant spells are mostly cast on the caster themselves.

A constant spell is constantly effective, so if you try to keep a fireball constant then it is constantly going off on you.

Delayed:

A delayed spell is simply one that you have achieved sufficient action dice to cast but you choose not to cast it at this time. Everytime you are eligible to act and you choose not to cast the spell you must discard a dice to continue the spell. You cannot do any other actions whilst you do this.

If time and situation permit a caster can enter an event with a spell delayed, ready to cast (they are assumed to have a full spell pool, having prepared it before entering the encounter).

Event:

The spell lasts for the current event, or encounter. An event is a specific period of time defined by the event occurring during that scene. This is at the discretion of the GM, who controls the flow of the events within their story. An event is usually around 5 to 10 minutes, but may vary at the discretion of the GM. There is usually a break between each event where players will revert to a higher time scale.

An event could also happen within and event, depending on the spell. One Use type spells are often used within an event, but may be an event in themselves. Basically once a spell has done what is meant to do then it will expire.

There is actually only a few minor differences between a CONSTANT and an EVENT spell. With a CONSTANT spell you cannot recover the Ranks, whereas with an EVENT spell you could (if you had the means too). GMs may allow an EVENT based spell to be cast as a CONSTANT spell if it seems appropriate and the caster wishes to do so. The spell is cast as one of the other however.

Multi-Event:

The spell is the same as an Event based spell but is considered to last several hours, AND that the two events are occurring within that time frame. Generally there should not be more than one hour between the events. The GM should make it clear to players when time periods lapse, it is not intended to be used as a method to surprise them.

A Multi-Event2 would last for 2 events, MultiEvent3 for 3 events etc etc.

Day, Weeks, Month etc:

Some spells may be cast to last extended periods of time. This depends on the spell, the caster and their successes, and your GM. An event spell could be considered to have a duration of one hour, a multi-event of several hours. Moving up the time line we would have spell dirations of the following:

Half Day - Day - Several Days(3-4) - Week - Several weeks (2-3) - Month - Season - Half year - Year.

Session:

The spell lasts for the duration of the session, unless a 'downtime' period is declared.

Episode:

The spell lasts for the entire story episode as designated by the GM. An episode may last weeks or even months, as long as it involves only a single story event. Where several stories are being run concurrently then the GM will have to decide where the breaks occur that define each episode. Any downtime counts as a break.

Adventure:

The spell lasts for the entire adventure, which may include downtimes. Usually there will be a focus or target for each adventure and once completed the GM moves to a new storyline. In games where you run multiple themes you will have to decide where to create breaks and declare such spells as expired.

Downtime:

This is a time of resting, recovery, learning, training etc. Basically where the GM and the players stop interacting and do bookkeeping. Such times are self evident.

Binding.

One of the most important spells, and one that needs some pre-explanation, is the BINDING spell. This is a spell that is cast to bind together a group of people so that magic will be easier to throw on those involved, plus some other advantages.

The normal version of the spell has the following effects:

• A bound group counts as being in touch (or bodytouch) at all times, as long as the caster can see the target/s, allowing one to cast on all without needing to make actual contact.
• You gain +1d to your casting target when casting solely onto OTHER bound members.
• Magic Resistance does not work against spells cast by bound members on other members.
• A caster who can make actual physical contact with another bound individual can draw Ranks from that person to cast spells with. This effect can be extended to anyone the caster can reach by a chain of physical contacts, as long as all are bound to each other. The caster may NOT drain anothers Ranks below 1.

Binding is a voluntary action only, you cannot be bound against your will.

Speed Modifiers.

Regardless of its final casting time/speed, you may only cast one spell per action, unless a specific effect is in place that says otherwise (like FastCast spells).

The following speed reductions (not Drain) will stack with any other reduction.

• Spells cast solely on OTHER members of a bound group (they are the only effective targets) take 1d less, due to the close attunement of their spirits. So a spell that would take 4 initiative dice will take only 3d. A minimum of 1d always applies.
• Spells cast solely on oneself (you are the only effective target) take 1d less. So a spell that would take 4d would only take 3d. A minimum of 1d always applies.

Spell speed reductions NEVER stack, with the exceptions noted above, only ever use the single largest/best modifier. Unless you are using the option "Fast Cast" spell rule, then no spell casting time can drop below 1d to cast.

Reversible Spells.

Some spells can be cast to aid or to hamper the victim, they are reversible in nature. If this is so than the reverse effect of the spell will be shown.

Multiple Spells (Very Important!).

Where a spell already exists (is still effective) on a creature of a certain type (say Fear), and another Fear spell is cast at them then the highest level of the two spells will apply and the other is forgotten.

If the same 'effect' is created by a magical casting then always use the best result, DO NOT accumulate them. Thus a spell that gave you +1 to hit and another that gave you +2 to hit, would only give you +2 to hit, not +3. This applies even if parts of spells overlap, always use the best bonus, or best negative, of those applying. Positive bonuses are different to negative ones, thus a +2 to hit with a -1 to hit are two different effects and would result in +1 to hit.

If the same spell is cast again then it will simply extend the duration appropriately if successful. If different parameters are involved then the new spell will be dominant over the old. So if an existing +2 spell has a +1 version of it cast over the top then the +1 will cancel the old +2 spell.

In this case the reverse of a spell is considered a different spell. An active spell (not yet effective) is not yet in existence.

FastCast Spells (Optional)

If a spells casting cost in time and drain, due to modifiers, is reduced to 0 or less then it is a FastCast spell. A FastCast may be cast as a free action. Eg: a rank 1 spell, costing 1 dice and 1 drain, could be made FastCast by expending 2d from your skill.

Casting from Books or Scrolls.

The above casting styles assume a casting source of the casters own memory. Other sources of casting knowledge exist in the form of Books and Scrolls. In general there is no casting modifier for casting a spell from such a source, however the casting speed is greater.

In all cases the base casting time is doubled, so Rank x2, then apply any reductions.

When cast from a Book or Scroll none of the casting styles (noted below) apply, the style is Reading.

Wands, Staves and Rods.

Mages commonly use various devices, particularly Wands, Staves and Rods. To reflect this the following rules can be applied.

• Wands: Do not count as a weapon but do modify all To Hit rolls via Touch attacks by 1d to the better. If any 1’s are rolled on a miss attack the wand is broken. The wand acts as an extension of the casters body for all purposes related to spell casting.
• Rods: Count as Light Maces if used as a weapon. Has all the benefits of a wand. It breaks as a normal weapon. Rods can be used to Touch (but not BodyTouch) a friend from outside melee, without having to go InContact.
• Staves: Counts as a quarterstaff or short spear. Gains all the benefits of a Rod.

Rod, Wands and Staves are all created via Enchantment spells.

Triggers & Spell Nature.

A large number of spells in Swift Swords allow the caster to apply one or more triggers that can be used to determine when the spell will take effect. There are also specific spells that allow for the inclusion of triggers. The fact that a spell can be aware of its environment and able to respond to events is a reflection on the nature of magic and how spells are created.

Whenever a spell is created, mana is drawn from a source and channeled through the caster, transformed into a pseudo elemental life form which is programmed to the effect required and then used. The spell creature is fully aware and committed to the task assigned it. It is able to see into the mortal plane as well, and has perception equivalent to the caster. The creature can also trigger the spell on any plane it can see into, so sneaking up on it via the mana plane wont work.

The GM has two choices here. You can take the assumption that these creatures are so temporary as to ignore them for game effects, and just say that is the nature of things. Or you can say they are a valid component of magic and therefor a target that can be used to avoid or bypass it as the players determine. This second option will cause you trouble and should only be used by experienced GMs. As a non-corporeal element life form they would be difficult to hurt, but magic weapons are one way, assuming you can get to it on the Astral Plane. They will not have a material form (other than the spell effect itself) and cannot be harmed from the material plane at all.

Spell forms being visible on the astral plane (possibly require a perception roll as they will tend to blend in with the mana clouds present) would be one way of detecting a normally invisible spell effect, such as an illusion spell. The illusion spell form would exist as a sort of cloud over the area of effect (possibly a ghostly image of the illusion it is creating on the material plane), and would have no effect on those on the astral plane (the illusion being on the material plane). Illusions have no effect on the astral plane.

Spirits.

The Elements

There are four elements in the world, each has an opposing element.