Magic

Effect: Array (varies)

Action: Standard (active)

Range: Ranged

Duration: Instant

Saving Throw: See description

Cost: 2 points per rank

You are a sorcerer, witch, or wizard, able to cast a variety of magical spells. Choose one of the sample spells below or any other power with a total cost of (power rank x 2) points. You can acquire others as Alternate Power feats. All powers obtained using Magic have the magic descriptor applied to them. So a magical flame blast is both fire and magical in nature. Magic can counter other magical effects (see Countering Powers, M&M, page 70).

COUNTERING

Magic can counter (and be countered by) other magical effects, representing a sorcerer’s ability to “undo” the spells of others.

• Countering vs. Nullify Magic: Given the breadth of magical effects, Gamemasters can consider Magic’s ability to counter them similar to a 1-point Nullify effect (see Nullify, page 68), able to counter any one magical power at a time. For a more comprehensive ability to counter all magical effects at once, see the Dispel Magic spell in the following section, the equivalent of a 2-point Nullify effect, and the Nullify effect description in general.

• Countering Other Descriptors: At the GM’s discretion, spells with additional descriptors may also be able to counter certain other effects, as appropriate. For example, a fiery Mystic Blast spell (with the fire descriptor in addition to the magic descriptor) could potentially counter (and be countered by) cold, ice, or

water effects. The GM should handle these matters on a case-by-case basis.

SAMPLE SPELLS

The following are some suitable spells (Alternate Powers) for a Magic Array, although by no means the only effects suited to Magic. The exact spells suited to a particular Magic Array depends on the magician’s style and the power’s other descriptors (e.g. nature magic, voodoo, techno-magic, etc .).

• Charm: This spell changes the subject’s attitude towards you, like the love effect of Emotion Control at your Magic power rank. Subjects become friendly toward you, their attitude improving to helpful if the Will save fails by 5 or more, and fanatical if it fails by 10 or more.

• Concealment: A spell of concealment hides things from the perceptions of others. A typical example is invisibility, a Visual Concealment effect (requiring 8 points, or 4 ranks of Magic, to cast). Affects Others and Area are common extras. Magicians also typically use spells like ESP Concealment to hide from the scrying spells of mystic foes. Each type or combination of Concealment effects is a separate spell.

• Dazzle: The typical version of this spell releases a blinding beam or pattern of light as a Visual Dazzle effect at your Magic rank. A similar spell Dazzles mental senses, “blinding” abilities like Magical Awareness or ESP for a time.

• Dimensional Gate: You open a portal into another dimension, through which anyone can move (as a move action). This is a Super-Movement (dimensional) effect with the Portal modifier, for a cost of 12 power points (6 ranks of Magic required to cast).

• Dispel Magic: This spell counters all magical effects within (Magic rank x 5 feet) of you, a Touch Range Burst Area Nullify Magic effect with. An alternate version targets a specific character, countering all magical effects on or by that character at normal range (a standard Ranged Nullify Magic effect).

• Elemental Control: Magicians—particularly druids, witches, and other “nature magicians”—can cast spells to control the elements. The powers of Air Control, Earth Control, Fire Control, Plant Control, Water Control, and Weather Control—and all of their Alternate Powers—are available as individual Magic spells.

• Fog of Forgetfulness: Swirling mists rise up around the target and blank out a particular memory if the target fails a Will saving throw (DC 10 + two-thirds

Magic rank) against the Area Mental Transform effect. Good magicians typically use this spell to protect innocents from truths too terrible or dangerous for them to know while evil magicians use it to cover their tracks.

• Glamour: You can fool the senses to create figments and phantasms: the Illusion effect at half your Magic rank, affecting all senses, with the Selective Attack

and Phantasm modifiers (see Illusion for details).

• Light of Truth: A beam of blazing light radiates from the magician’s outstretched hand, Nullifying any Concealment, Illusion, or Obscure effects it touches. This Nullify effect differs from normal Magic countering since it works on non-magical effects as well.

• Mesmerism: You can magically ensnare the wills of others, forcing them to do your bidding like the Hypnosis power at your Magic power rank.

• Mystic Blast: A glowing bolt of magical force strikes as a ranged attack, inflicting damage equal to your Magic power rank.

• Mystic Binding: Bands of magical energy entrap the target of this spell, like a Snare effect at your Magic power rank.

• Mystic Hand: Tendrils or a “hand” (or claw) of mystic force reaches out to move and manipulate objects like a Move Object effect at your Magic power rank.

• Mystic Passage: This spell teleports you across a distance, like a Teleport effect at your Magic rank. A common additional spell for magicians is a variation of Mystic Passage with the Portal modifier, functioning at half the magician’s Magic rank (but useful for transporting groups of people).

• Obscure: Mystics can often obscure the senses; common versions of this spell include Visual Obscure effects (swirling mists or conjured darkness) and Auditory Obscure effects like a “sphere of silence” no sound can penetrate (useful for silencing enemy magicians). An Obscure effect unique to Magic is an Obscure ESP spell used to “ward” an area against scrying (see the following).

• Scrying: You can see distant places as if actually present there, an ESP effect for all your senses, operating at half your Magic power rank (since full-sensory ESP costs twice as much as Magic). You can use mental effects via your scrying spell, but usually only if it and your other effect(s) are Dynamic, or the other effect(s) are acquired outside your Magic Array (see the Dynamic power feat for details).

• Summoning: Many magicians have the ability to summon demons, elementals, spirits, or other creatures to serve them. This is normally a Summon effect with a rank equal to your Magic. Some magicians may have multiple Summoning spells with various power feats and modifiers; a spell to summon a Horde of lesser creatures (demonic minions, for example) is common for evil sorcerers.

• Transformation: Magicians often have the ability to transform one thing into another: flesh into stone, humans into pigs, lead into gold, and so forth. Generally, each Spell of Transformation is an individual 3-point Transform effect, but some magicians may also have a more limited, but broad, spell to transform subjects (effectively a 5-point or even 6-point Transform effect as an Alternate Power).

POWER FEATS

In addition to power feats applied to specific spells, Magic often has one or more of the following power feats. These may be applied to the Magic Array itself as “floating” power feats rather than to any individual effect, if desired (see the Array structure description for details).

• Affects Insubstantial: Magic effects often have the ability to work on insubstantial (particularly incorporeal) subjects normally, applying 1 or 2 ranks of this power feat.

• Dimensional: Likewise, Magic often features the ability to reach into other dimensions (particularly mystical dimensions) and affect subjects there, usually in conjunction with a scrying spell of some sort. Two ranks of this power feat are generally appropriate.

• Subtle: Magic effects are generally not especially subtle, involving glowing streamers of energy, mystic symbols floating in the air, and so forth. However, some spells might have the first rank of this power feat, being only detectable by those able to sense magical forces at work (that is, having the Magical Awareness trait).

FLAWS

• Distracting: Using Magic may be Distracting, requiring exacting concentration. This flaw may explain why comic book magicians are often vulnerable to attack (losing their dodge bonus) while working their spells. If using the optional rules for attacks of opportunity (see Attacks of Opportunity, Mastermind’s Manual, page 109), this flaw may model how magic works in many fictional settings. If only changing a Magic Array’s configuration is distracting (but using its effects is not), apply a power drawback (see the Array power structure for details).

• Tiring: Individual Magic effects may be tiring, especially for taxing spells like transporting large numbers of people (helping balance out the additional cost of

such a spell). Novice magicians may have the Tiring flaw applied to their entire Magic power, perhaps removing the flaw by stages, reducing it to a partial flaw before eliminating it entirely as the character advances and learns.

DRAWBACKS

• Action: A Magic Array may have a drawback affecting the time required to change its configuration, perhaps needing particular rituals or time to consult mystic tomes (see the Array power structure for details).

• Power Loss: A common Power Loss drawback for Magic is the requirement to speak and gesture freely to cast spells; a character unable to do so cannot use Magic at all. Other Power Loss drawbacks for Magic include things like contact with certain substances like cold iron or magical herbs (like moly or wolfsbane),

which block the spell-caster’s powers.

ASSOCIATED EFFECTS

The following powers are commonly associated with Magic and magicians:

• Astral Form: Many magicians have the ability to separate their astral form from their physical body, roaming the world (and often worlds beyond) in astral form. A magician’s sensory effects still work in astral form and the GM may permit Affects Corporeal powers to do so as well (see the Astral Form power and the Affects Corporeal extra for more information).

• Devices: Many sorcerers augment their powers with various magical Devices; some may even derive some or all of their Magic power ranks from such a Device, like a wand, amulet, crown, or helmet. For example, a character might have Magic 5 on his own, but Magic 11 with a Device (with the additional

6 ranks of Magic acquired as a trait of the Device). Magical Devices also typically provide supplementary powers—such as Flight, Immunity, or Protection—freeing up the magician’s Magic for other things.

• Flight: Mystics commonly have the power of flight, or at least levitation (allowing them to hover in the lotus position while meditating, for example). Magical flight is usually not particularly fast (no more than 3 ranks or so); for quick transportation magicians tend to teleport instead.

• Immunity: The “spells of protection” known to many magicians often include abilities like life support with a sustained duration, allowing the spellcaster to survive hostile environments like those encountered in certain other dimensions. Additionally, some magicians may be immortal, undead, or otherwise immune to ordinary concerns. They have appropriate ranks of permanent Immunity as well, notably Immunity to Fortitude effects and critical hits.

• Mystic Shield: Most magicians can whip up a magical “shield of protection,” giving them the Force Field power. Mystic shields sometimes take the form of glowing disks or literal shields of light rather than protective auras, but the effect is essentially the same. This power tends to be independent of the Magic

Array so it is always at the magician’s disposal.

• Super-Senses: Magical Awareness is all but required of a mystic, although some may lack an innate sense of the mystical. Detect Magic is also common, often with Acute and Analytical to sense details about a phenomenon. Most other Super-Senses tend to show up as specific spells of the Magic power, usually

power stunts acquired as they are needed.

UNDER THE HOOD: MAGIC

The Magic power has considerable breadth, “magic” being a suitable explanation for a great many powers. It’s also tailor-made for extra effort and power stunts to acquire a variety of one-time effects as obscure spells the character can improvise but doesn’t use very often. However, Magic shouldn’t be considered carte blanche for acquiring any effect a player might want, and the Gamemaster should consider Magic Alternate Powers (both purchased and temporary) carefully before allowing them.

In particular, consider the “theme” or additional descriptors a magician character might have. The magical style of a witch isn’t necessarily the same as an evil necromancer or an Egyptian mystic (see Styles of Magic, following). Some effects suit certain styles and not others, and you should feel free to restrict or ban problematic effects, declaring them “forbidden” spells usable only by evil magicians. Summoning is a particular example; villainous magicians use it all the time, but heroic ones rarely, if ever, do so.

MAGIC AND HEALING

Comic book magicians generally seem to lack the ability to cast Healing spells (since they almost never do so for themselves or others). The magical power to heal generally appears independent of spellcasting and arcane knowledge, as a form of “empathy” or a “healer’s touch,” often with the Empathic flaw (see the Healing effect, page 55). Gamemaster’s looking to duplicate the style of magic in the comics may wish to disallow Healing as a Magic spell.

SPELLCASTING AND CONDITION BONUSES

If you’re looking to encourage players to roleplay their magician characters’ spells (reciting suitably mystic-sounding things like “By the Shining Suns of Sirrion!”), consider granting bonuses for doing so, either a +2 bonus to a related die roll for “positive conditions” (see Condition Modifiers, M&M, page 10) or even granting a free use of extra effort or a hero point for the spell for a particularly clever or effective spellcasting.

STYLES OF MAGIC

While “magic” and “spell-casting” can be suitable descriptors for the Magic power in and of themselves, some players and Gamemasters may want additional ways to differentiate various styles of magic, particularly in a magic-heavy game, where such distinctions can be important in the way those powers interact. The following are some possible styles of magic to include as descriptors in your setting:

• Axiomatic: This is the magic of Order and Law, often focused on restoring things to their proper form and balance as well as protecting against the forces of chaos.

• Chaotic: Chaotic magic tends to be wild and unpredictable, associated with transformation and often destruction. In the comics, it’s virtually synonymous with evil, although that doesn’t have to be the case. In more recent years, chaotic magic has been portrayed as having an unfair reputation, although it remains an unpredictable force.

• Divine: Divine magic is granted by a higher moral power, generally an omnipotent good deity or the representatives of one (like angels). It may also originate solely from the faith of the user, depending on the cosmology of the setting. Divine magic is strongly opposed to evil and infernal magic, and often to “earthy” powers like nature magic, voodoo, and witchcraft. • Hermetic: Also “scholastic” or “ritual” magic, usually involving extensive references, diagrams, and complex chants or rituals. Hermetic magic was the province of medieval wizards and sages, and it may call for Action modifiers for long ritual times (although such things can be reserved to rites conducted via the Ritualist feat).

• Infernal: Infernal magic is the opposite of divine magic (previously), magical power granted by infernal supernatural beings like demons or devils, or even a supreme evil being (if one exists in the setting). Infernal magic tends towards effects like those of Hellfire Control and is strongly opposed to divine and good magic.

• Moral: Moral magic is innately aligned with a particular moral allegiance, usually good or evil. Good magic is typically referred to as white, order, or light magic while evil magic is often called black, chaos, or dark magic. Good magic tends to be creative and protective, while evil magic is destructive and offensive. Unlike divine and infernal magic, moral magic doesn’t necessarily come from a higher (or lower) power; it is more a matter of the magician’s intentions. In the comic books the difference between good and evil magic (and magicians) is often fairly cosmetic, primarily an issue of descriptor and (sometimes) choice of effects.

• Nature: Nature magic is associated with the natural world and therefore often with cultures that worship nature in one form or another, such as druidry, paganism, or many Native American traditions. Nature magic tends to focus on effects involving natural forces, particularly plants and animals and elements like air, earth, fire, water, and the weather.

• Preternatural: Preternatural magic is “alien” or anathema to the “natural” world. It is often associated with strange alien entities, possibly worshipped as gods or demons. At the GM’s discretion, preternatural forces may be sufficiently alien to not count as “magic” at all where descriptors are concerned, meaning ordinary magicians are at something of a disadvantage dealing with preternatural sorcerers (and vice versa, unless the preternatural sorcerer has a specific Nullify Magic effect or the like).

• Technomancy: Technomancy or techno-magic is a post-modern style blending magic with technology. Techomages tend to have effects involving control over or use of technology: conjuring technological devices, animating machines, controlling computers and electronics, and so forth. It is the only magical style where powers like Datalink and Machine Animation are particularly appropriate.

• Voodoo: Voodoo in the comic books tends toward urban myth and pop culture, with things like “voodoo dolls” (trappings for Perception Range effects targeted with Mental ESP that requires a something belonging to the target like a lock of hair) and zombies (either Mind Control or Summon Zombie, depending on whether the effect works on the living or the dead).

• Witchcraft: Like Voodoo, comic book witchcraft tends toward the sensational and the mythic, particularly charms (mental sensory effects) and alteration effects (notably Transform). Witchcraft trappings include things like flying brooms, cauldrons of noxious potions, and shape-changing familiars.