Fate Magic

A potential system for handling D&D still magic in Fate:

Skill

A new skill called Magic is available. This determines how much magic you can use (see below), serves as a Lore (Magic) skill for knowing things about magic, and is a skill for dispelling spells, or defending your spells against magic.

Stunt

If you want to cast spells, you need the skill and you need a new stunt called "Spellcaster".

Extra

If you take the stunt "spellcaster", then you get an extra "character" that represents you spell casting abilities. This new "character" gets a skill pyramid that follows the rules of a normal character. You get a skill at the level of your Magic skill and one skill at every level less than that. (eg. If your Magic skill on your character is 3, your skills for this "character" are: 1 skill at 3, 1 skill at 2, and 1 skill at 1).

These "skills" are your spells. You get to make up the spell name and what it does. This is a debate between you and the GM. Some of the things you spells can do:

    • It can duplicate a normal Fate skill (so Magic Missile is just a spell that duplicates what Shooting does)

    • It might work similar to a Stunt

    • It might do some other thing that is reasonable for the power level of the game (break rules, gain small advantages)

Example 1: Your Standard Wizard

Take Magic skill at 4. You get 4 spells, some examples:

4: Magic Missile (works just like a Shoot skill)

3: Magical Bonds (Create Advantage to Grapple a target)

2: Detect Magic (Like a stunt, allows you to see all magical auras in an area)

1: Deflection (Create Advantage to create a Shield protecting from range attacks)

Example 2: A Cleric

Take Magic skill at 3. You get 3 spells, some examples:

3: Cure Wounds (Like a stunt, allows you to attempt a Heal roll with a spell)

2: Bless Weapon (Create Advantage to make your Magic Weapon)

1: Bull's Strength (Create Advantage on another person for Extra Strength)

Example 3: A Monk with supernatural abilities

Take magic skill at a 2. You get 2 spells, some examples:

2: Spider Climb (Break a rule, you can move on walls)

1: Chi Focus (Create advantage to create Magical Hands)

Example 4: Just Some Examples for Other Type of Spells

Web: Create Advantage Entangled

Power Level

The power level of the game (Low Magic, Medium Magic, High Magic) determines what your spells can do. Again, it's a negotiation with the GM as to what is reasonable:

  • A "Fly" type spell in a low magic game might only allow levitating-level ability, in a medium game it might allow some clumsy level of flight, in a high magic game it might allow hummingbird-level flight.

  • A "Teleport" spell might not be allowed in a low level game, in a medium level game it might allow spontaneous teleports of up to 10 feet or a longer distance with more casting time, in a high level game you might be able to teleport yourself and the entire party across the planet.

Under-powered or Over-powered: Also, your skill level (1 to 4) is assumed to be appropriate for your game. If the opposition is higher than your game level (you are in a low level game but facing a dragon), the GM can rule that your "Magic Missile" is just not effective or might give you a -4 to your roll. Similarly, if your level is higher than the opposition (a medium level game but you're facing some lowly zombies), the the GM might rule that you simply wipe them out without rolling or might add +4 to your roll.

So for your Magic Missile spell (which just duplicates Shooting): In a low level game, the GM might rule that it is not powerful enough to harm a dragon. Similarly, in a medium level game, your Magic Missile probably lays waste

Special Stuff

    • You have to make a skill roll to "cast" your spell.

    • You can split the targets for a spell following normal rules for attacking more than 1 target at a time

    • When you take damage or roll a critical failure on a cast, you have to make a Will roll (making it Magic seems too easy) to maintain any spells you have going. This is difficulty 1 for stress or equal to the level of a consequence (2, 4, 6). If you take stress and consequence, the difficulty is the consequence level + 1. (?? Maybe needs tweak. What happens when the wizard makes the entire village fly? If this is all or nothing, then the player spends any fate chips to maintain all his spells. Maybe it should be a roll that gives a number of spells to maintain?)

    • Duration? If I cast Fly does it last all day long? Do the Create Advantage type spells last forever?

    • When your character advances, your spell casting "character" also advances. You can change the skills in your pyramid (your spells) following all the normal rules for skill advancement (balanced pyramid).

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Alternate Idea #1: You just have a new skill Magic with specialization - so Magic (Air), Magic (Fire), Magic (God of War),etc. You can then do as a spell whatever makes sense for your specialization (or maybe we even define these in advance). So:

Magic (Fire): Can shoot fire darts, create light, counter cold,

Magic (Air): Can fly/levitate, barrier versus arrows, clear poison gas, breath underwater

Magic (God of War): Heal, smite, bless weapon

Lots simpler. Sticks with the Fate idea of "you can do whatever you want as long as it makes sense". Probably charge a Stunt to be able to do this.