8. Magic

Magic comes in five main forms, or Arts: Arcane, Divine, Shaman, Artificers and Alchemy. Each is a Gift that can be gained, and can be gained multiple times to gain stronger powers.

Arcane can be gained from most races and is the classic wizard type. Divine can only be gained from races that have a single monotheistic god, such as Humans. Shamans come from races that have spirits or pantheons of gods. Artificers are restricted to Dwarves. Alchemists are restricted to Humans.

Words of Power

When you gain a Gift of Magic you gain access to "Words of Power", the first Words being "Cast", "Effect" and "Target". You also gain a Magic Skill (Art) dice tier of 1 (1d4), with the controlling characteristic of Brainz.

Each time you 'Smelter' the Gift again you gain one of:

a dice tier of Magic potential
a new Word potential

Once you have a potential you can convert it into reality by expending Respect (qv).

Putting your words together allows you to cast a magical effect. The structure is:

I Cast [Modifiers...] Effect [Effect...] at Target1[Targeting],[Target2[Targeting]...] [Change]

The "Cast" ability is assumed to be at the front of all Magic, and the "Target" is assumed to be at the end. Targeting is an optional Word, such as Arm.

Effect Words are active magical elements, eg Fire, Water. These will be listed below but players can suggest new ones.

Modifiers are optional and can be used to manipulate the nature of the spell, such as the Area of Effect Word "Cone".

By combining the Words you can enact the effect you are after. A little liberty can be taken with the literal sentence structure, but it should be clear what is implied. Eg cast cone fire zombies = I cast a cone of fire at the zombies.

An active magical "element" is the Effect code for the spell, so when you say Fire it means fire in some form appears and generally burns or heats. A single word implies a potential of 1d3 of damage, but the word can be taken multiple times to increase the amount of damage by a dice type each, eg I cast fire-fire-fire at the zombies would inflict 1d6 damage. To use fire-fire-fire however would require 3 Words of ability AND Fire to have been taken 3 times (to gain the Fire Word three times). Having a Word only allows its use once in the spell, you need to take the Word multiple times to use it multiple times.

Modifiers are explained below.

Casting a Spell

Your Magic Skill - Spellz(Brainz), is used to cast a spell with. You can have an Spellz(Arcane) Magic Skill, a Spellz(Divine) Magic Skill and an Spellz(Alchemy) Magic Skill etc, one for each Art.

When you cast a spell the success target will be 4, for a base spell with 1 Word. The target is modified as follows:

Each Word after the first you add to the spell will add 1 to the required target number.
Each Target you add after the first will add 1 to the required target number.
Each level of Targeting, for each target, will add 1 to the required target number.

Eg: So a spell using 4 Words will require a Magic Skill or Brainz roll of 4+3=7.

A spell with 4 words and 3 targets will need: 4+3+2=9.

A spell using 4 Words and 2 targets, targeting the Head of each target will need: 4+3+1+2=10

A boosted success at casting will add one tier to the effect/damage dice per boost. So if your target is 4 and you roll 8 to gain 2 boosts you would convert a 1d4 damage roll into 1d8.

Failure to make the roll means the spell fails. A critical failure will mean that for each 2 rolled below the target number you will increase the failure damage roll by one level. See the System chapter for failure effects.

A caster may elect (optional) to modify target numbers by taking a +1 to the casting target before rolling. This will allow them to drop one target, such as a friend. Eg you roll 1d6 for target numbers in an AOE effect spell, you roll 6 and all even numbers are friends. If you take the +1 mod you can elect to drop the 3rd friend (6th) and only hit 5 targets. See below for why this happens.

Limits.

Using magic of any kind is draining and exhausting, this will be reflected in the loss of HPs each time you cast a spell. The number of Words used, less 1, in a spell is the tier of the dice used to suffer HPs. So if you cast a 4 Word spell, they would suffer a 3 tier dice (1d6) in HPs. A 1 Word spell simply inflicts 1 HP of damage. If you get powerful enough to exceed the tiers upper end simply add 1 for each extra Word. This damage is generic, but it is a damage event where that is noteworthy.

Optional: Skill can also be used as a limit to how powerful a single spell effect can be. Without limits you can end up with casters who have Spellz skill d4 and able to fire spells that do d12 damage. There are a number of ways you can control this. The easiest way is that the damage potential of a spell cannot exceed the users Spellz skill, so d8 skill means your spells are limited to d8. Probably a better method is to limit the number of Words you can use in a spell to the Tier of their skill level, or 2 times the tier etc. So a mage with skill of d8, tier 4, can use spells with 4 Words in them, or possibly 2 times, so 8 Words. Depends on how powerful you want your magic to be.

Using Words.

You may also use a 'Word' allotment to include more than one target. So if you had 3 Words, instead of "I cast fire-fire-fire at the Goblin" you can say "I Cast fire at Goblin1,Goblin2,Goblin3", doing 1d3 to each target, plus your skill level dice for each attack. ie if you had 1d6 Magic skill (Tier 3) and used one effect word against 3 goblins you would do a total of 1d6+1d3, to EACH goblin. You will note that a highly skilled caster will do more overall damage by multi-targeting.

Eg A caster with 5 Words can cast on a single target and do 1d10, an average of 5.5pts. They could cast on 5 targets doing 1d3 (1.5) to each, doing an average of 1.5 over 5 targets for a total of 7.5 damage. The important factor in this is Armour. If Armour works against the magic (and most of the time it will), then each point of Armour the multiple targets have reduces 5 times compared to 1. For this reason GMs should NOT allow Magic that by-passes Armour innately (such as a Force element), all Magic is a physical manifestation and will be stopped by Physical protection. What you should allow is Magic that wears away at the armour by attacking the armour, or Magic that targets unarmoured areas (Targeting).

Note that your targets are not Words, so you dont have to buy any specific target word (like Goblins). Who you cast at is free, but having more than one will use a Word for each. You might look at it as Target1 is free, Target2 costs a Word, Target3 costs a word etc.

The combination of words, such as Fire-Water, can create interesting effects, eg steam or fog. The player should simply outline what they would like to happen and the GM can advise if they see it as acceptable, or negotiate variations. In most cases the first Word should have a dominant effect on the nature of the spell, so in Fire-Water we are thinking more about HOT water than wet fire (wet fire could be acid by the way).

An effect word can be created by a player in consultation with the GM, but should reflect some existing effect within the game rules (like attacking HPs), try to avoid words that encompass great variation or wide spectrum interpretations. Do NOT allow effects that manipulate the minds of others, eg control person spells. In Gobbos this type of magic does not exist, nor does telepathy or other psychic type powers. Communication is possible but works by transporting sound from the talker to the ear of the target, not by telepathy. Control of another being could be done by physically controlling the movements of their body (Force would be good for this, enveloping thier body and forcing it to move as the caster wishes).

Targeting.

Words can also be used for Targeting, allowing the caster to strike a specific location on a body. The smaller the target the more Words it will use, via a zeroing in method. So one Word of Targeting will allow you to pick the first level of locations: Arms, Legs, Torso, Head. The next level of targeting will then move to a smaller region of those locations: eg Head-Eye, Arm-Hand, Torso-Heart(area). A third level can be used if such a pin-point level of accuracy is required - and this will usually be listed as a "Vulnerability". Eg the classic arrow to the unprotected section of a dragons belly would be classed as a strike against its "Vulnerability" and would require 3 Words of targeting, Torso-Heart-Vulnerability. Striking most areas will not normally inflict extra damage (although it may bypass protections), but it will provide you with options for special effects, such a Blinding, Deafening, Crippling, Dis-arming etc. Strikes to a Vulnerability often will provide extra damage effects and will be listed for each monster. The intent here is to provide better 'colour' to your game rather than providing bonus damage locations - see the Combat rules for details.

Further, Targeting Words are used against each target, eg I Cast Fire at Goblin1's Leg + Goblin2's Leg, is a 4 Word spell. One for Fire, one for G1's Leg, 1 for G2 and 1 for G2's Leg.

Targeting Words cannot be combined with an AOE Words.

Effect Targets: With area of effect (AOE) attacks, except Multi-target, every EVEN numbered target is assumed to be a friend or a miss by default. For each boost on your casting roll you may convert a friend/miss into an enemy, or it may be used to add an extra target (one only, if EVEN it will still be a friend/miss to start with). A target may only be hit once. An enemy target that is currently engaged will cause one of the engagers to be one of the targetted friends, where-ever possible.

eg: you cast a Blast effect and get a result of 6 targets (1d6 roll). Targets 1,3 and 5 are enemies. Targets 2,4 and 6 are friends or misses. Your casting roll has a single boost, so one target is converted from a friend/miss to an enemy.

Where-ever possible a friend target must be in the group of the last enemy target, or the nearest based on Zones (same Zone, one Zone, two Zones etc). Bearing in mind any restrictions due to the nature of the spell (Beams dont come backward) and range. So you may be able to contrive to control your spell targeting by who you select as enemies, making them misses rather than friendlies.

Modifiers.

Modifiers can be used to adjust the starting properties of a spell, such as the area it effects (AOE), its duration, its range and its attention span (Concentration). Each is a Word and must be gained to be used.

AOE modifiers allow you to target over an area, hitting more than one target without having to specify the targets other than a single one from which the AOE applies, or yourself in some cases (Cone). AOE Mods cannot be combined with a Targeting Word. The effects of an AOE Mod are listed in the Combat Rules.

Blast effect. 1 Group or 1d3 targets (whichever is greater). Range 1. Grouped. A Blast spell is like a grenade, it can be dropped on a spot upto the range limit of the spell. Generally you drop it on a target and then determine other targets from there. At all times when anyone in a group is selected then all of the group is included upto the limit of the number of targets before you can select another target. The targets must all be in the same Line if the Blast Word is used only once. Each extra time it is used it allows you to use another adjacent Line as a potential target source.

Sweep effect: 1d3 targets (engaged). Must always target those engaged with you. Extra targets are simply lost. You cannot use Range with this Word.

Cone effect: 1 group or 1d3 targets (whichever is greater). Range 1 Line. Must always begin from you. A Cone arcs out from you in a single direction, either down the Line (the Line you are in), or outward in one direction to an adjacent line. It may target one group OR 1d3 individual targets, but not both, per Word. If ranged then it can reach further but still eminates from you.

Ricochet effect: 1d3 targets. Range 2. Must always begin from you. The spell hits a single target, then moves to another single target, then another single target like a lightning strike. It may strike back and forth freely within the allowed by its range

Beam effect: 1d3 targets. Range 2. Must always begin from you. A narrow straight line with targets being selected closest first and then going outward. Once you move to a new Line you cannot come back.

In the picture we can see a stylised 5 Line battle zone, Smiley Faces vs Big X's. The orange line represents a Beam attack with range 3 Zones. The purple area is a Blast effect covering 2 Zonesand if cast by the X in Line 4 would have a Range of 2 Zones and would have required 2 Blast Words as it covers 2 Zones The lightning bolts are a Richocet effect with 3 targets over 3 Zones. The Black Cone is targeting the engaged Green group, with a range of 1 Line. The Red circle is an engaged group, as is the Green circle.

Note that the spacing and positioning of the individuals is only important when they are engaged, and thus grouped together. The actual position of an individual, or a group, is fluid and adapts to the circumstances of the current action. There is nothing stopping the Beam caster from moving figures around to conform to his line of attack as he chooses. The only limit is that a group must be moved as a group.

The Beam could have been fired into the Green Group and hit all of them. then passed into the next line and hit the SmileyFaces there if it had enough target capacity. Do not equate the Beams straight line nature with the actual position of the figures, they are assumed to all be moving around, and the Beams gets to target by capturing a specific instant in all that movement where all of the targets are in Line.

Of course the enemies/friends/misses rules have not been considered in this visual example.

Walls are barrier of elemental power that block or deter an enemy from moving or attacking through it. Walls are created either between Zones or across Zones, but never through a group. A single Wall drawn between Zones covers the entire length (an imaginary value anyway) of the Lines. A Wall drawn across a Line breaks the Line into sections, and movement through the Wall entails facing its effect. Walls cannot pass through any part of a group, and a group cannot form around a Wall in any way. Walls can be solid physical barriers or barriers that inflict damage, fire vs earth. Walls are self supporting and ignore the normal physicals laws for their duration. The barrier rating of a solid wall (earth or ice) will be the damage value of it had it been a damaging wall (fire) , so a Wall of Ice created with 3 Ice Words at tier 3, would have a barrier rating of 1d6+1d6+1d6+skill. This score would then have to be inflicted or overcome to smash the Wall. For a damaging Wall that amount would be done in damage to anyone passing through it. Removing a fire wall would need some effort, such as a matching water wall, you can't hit a fire wall per se.

Auras are an effect that surrounds the target and mostly emanates away from that target effecting the immediate vicinity surrounding it. Auras can be damaging, such as a fire aura, they can be protective (ice) or they can be disruptive (air).

Duration is how many rounds the spell will last for, with all spells beginning with an "Instant" Duration by default. By applying a Duration Mod you can increase the time a spell remains in effect based on the number of Duration Words used. The first makes the spell last 2 rounds (the round you cast on and to the end of your next action in the following round). Each extra Duration used increases the spell one extra round. By default a spell with Duration has an Attention setting of Concentration.

Range is how far you can cast the spell in Zones (see Combat). The default Range is 1 Zone, so anything in your Zones or any adjacent Zone. Each extra use of a Range Word increases the range by 1 Zone. If used with an AOE Mod it extends the starting/target point of the effect of the spell, which has no effect on an AOE like Cone or Sweep which must start from you.

Change is a Word you may add to a spell that has a Duration such that it is still running. Change is applied at the start of each of your rounds and allows you to re-define the currently active spell as follows:

You may reselect your targets and keep or drop any Targeting associated with them, this will not change the original Word count even if you reduce targets.
You may Change one Word of the existing spell with the exception of the first Effect Word, so once you send Fire it remains Fire.

So Change is added to a existing spell when used. Using Change counts as a Casting action for the round and will require a new casting skill roll to enact (using the original spell values plus the addition of the Change Word), and as it is an extra Word the target is one higher. Using Change is an extra Word, and you must have sufficient Words, so the original spell would have to have been one Word below you limit. Each use of Change is a new action, so the Change Words do not accumulate, ie if you use Change several times it only counts as one Word each time, previous uses are ignored.

Attention is a Word that allows you to NOT need to focus on your existing spell, and allows you to cast another spell. The default Attention of a spell is Concentration, ie you can maintain a Duration by Concentrating solely on that spell. If you add in Attention at the time of casting then the spell requires only the simplest of efforts to maintain, allowing you to do something else including casting a new spell. However once a spell uses the Attention Word you can only use a Change Word on it by paying full attention to that spell for that round, so basically the Change Word is your rounds action.

Component allows you to use Magical Components to aid the casting of your spell. Components are in Packs, eg Arcane Pack, and cause one expenditure per use. The use of the Component Word uses one of your allowed Words, uses one charge of your Pack and gives you +2 (normally) to your casting roll. You may only ever use one Component Word per spell. It is possible for you to find rare component packs that give better than +2 benefits, but they will generally be linked to specific Effect Words.

Remove allows you to dispel ongoing magic Words from a target. There are a few options that you may consider here. The first is that casters can only Remove magic that they can cast and that the Remove Word is actually Remove(Arcane Word) or Remove(Divine Word) etc. The next option is that it includes a Word and the caster must know the Word to Remove it, eg Remove(Bless). This option is very restrictive in accessability but more powerful in its ability to remove a whole spell. The final option is to leave it completely open and base the removal on some sequence criteria, like it removes Words from the last spell cast (youngest) and works it way back through them. If the Word isn't specified you then need to decide which Word is removed? The easiest way to control this is to limit removal to "Effect" Words, and specifically to each Effect Word. Eg Remove-Bless+Bless+Bless. If you used a single Remove-Bless it would reduce the ongoing effect of the spell by one Bless.

My suggestion: use the Remove(Arcane/Divine etc) option and automatically target the last Effect Word on the youngest spell and work back from there. Allow Spell Targeting to target specific known spells (but only those of the allowed types).

The use of Remove vs an ongoing spell will be an Active vs Passive Skill Challenge, so casting numbers may need to be recorded. If you find this to be too much book keeping then do it as a Contested roll each time it is attempted.

Spell Descriptors.

The following terms will be used with spells and this is what they mean.

chooseable - target may elect to use the power or not.
expended - the power is fully expended when used
[damage type] - select a damage type: fire, water, earth, air, melee, missile, magic arcane, magic divine, magic artificer, dwarves, humans
stackable - the Words can be repeated to give increasing effect, eg Fire+Fire+Fire = 1d6.
unique - only one version of a Word can be in effect at one time on the one target, so you cannot stack two copies of the same spell, and you could not use multiple Bless spells.

COMMON MODIFIER WORDS

Blast effect: 1group or 1d3 targets, Range 1 Line, Grouped.
Sweep effect: 1d3 targets (engaged), must always target those engaged with you.
Cone effect: 1 group or 1d3 individuals. Range 1 Line. Must always begin from you.
- Ricochet effect: 1d3* targets. Range 2 Line. Must always begin from you.
Beam effect: 1d3, Range 2. Must always begin from you.
Wall.
Aura.
Attention.
Duration.
Range.
Change.
Component.
Remove(Type/Word).

*Area of effect (AOE) rules are detailed in the Combat section. They cannot be used with a Targeting Word.

COMMON TARGETING WORDS.

Torso > Heart, Lung, Stomach
Leg > Foot, Knee
Arm > Hand, Elbow
Head > Eye, Nose, Ear, Mouth, Skull, Horn
Limb > part of limb
Tentacle > part of tentacle
Tail > part of Tail
Wing > part of Wing
Large item (sword or larger) > small weapon (dagger)
Spell (target a specific known spell)

ARCANE EFFECT WORDS.

Arcane casters are classic wizards, masters of the elemental forces and various other related areas.

Fire - heat or flame
Water - normal water or vapour
Earth - normal earth or rock
Air - normal air or wind
Force - barriers and effort, flying, jumping, levitating.
Stun - non-damaging
Life-tap - drain HPs from target
Animate - animate an object with false life.
Control - damage vs Brainz roll to control the movements of the target.
Communicate - transport words

DIVINE EFFECT WORDS

Divine casters are priests of Major Gods - major gods are always monotheistic, ie there is only one god. That faith allows the Divine casters to manifest their powers, which are mostly related to aiding or helping the flock, whoever they are. Gobbo's who become Divine casters may face a problem with a conflict in their faith toward their kindred and the flock of the God. Once you take a Divine gift you can only take that same gods gift in future. So if you take a Human priests Divine Gift you will become restricted to gaining new gifts from other human donors (or maybe those who have been converted?).

Banish -send creatures back to their home plane
Heal - heal self or others.
Burn - holy fire vs evil or abominations
Test - the victim is tested
Reveal - the truth, uncover illusion, reveal the hidden.
Protect - protect from various attacks, +1 armour vs [damage type], stackable, expended, unique
Bless - good fortune and luck, +1 to chosen dice roll, stackable, chooseable, unique, expended
Bind - place binds to enforce service
Summon - to summon a creature from another place

SHAMAN EFFECT WORDS.

Shamans are masters of the spirit world and the various domains that they inhabit.

Bind - force a spirit to service
Bond - negotiate a spirits service
Summon - summon a spirit of your dominion.
Power - use a bound spirits power.
Drain - drain the energy of a bound spirit (heals)
Unleash - send a spirit forth to attack

ARTIFICER EFFECT WORDS.

Artificers construct devices using Black Powder, a mysterious substance known only to Dwarves, or Gobbos who can harvest a Dwarf who has the Gift. Amongst dwarves it is a rare gift, and most Artificers are heavily protected, but they do break free now and then. So dont expect this Gift to be readily available. Black Powder (as its called) is a secret of the Artificier, most dwarves do not know its source, which is blood. The blood of any gifted creature (nearly all but the simplest) can be extracted and refined to produce the explosive Black Powder, which can then be used to power various devices, explosive devices. Artificers are also skilled armsmen and can make pistols and rifles and muskets etc to use with the Black Powder. Gobbo's have a natural talent for picking up such skills but in this case they will need a single example of each device that they can study and learn from, and which they can improve on as well. Some items, like Bombs, are quite simple and will be available freely. Detailed descriptions of the various devices can be found in the Equipment section.

Make - make Black Powder from blood.
Invention - invent an object to use - gun, rifle, blunderbus, bomb, mortar, mine, trap.
Construct - make one of your inventions.
Reload a re-usable invention.
Use an invention (set, place, prime, shoot)

ALCHEMICAL WORDS

Harvest
Make
Combine
Preserve

OTHER WORDS.

The powers of creatures (see Ratz chapter) are Giftz and can thus be harvested. These Giftz can be translated into Words for use in spells, and thus gives you ideas for Words. A demon with a fire aura obviously has Fire and Aura as Giftz, and thus as Words.

Magic User Templates.

Most of the creatures you encounter can be defined via templates, following stereotypical formats. This allows easier and quicker setup times which is always a big plus. Following are some examples you can use:

Fire Wizard.

Human (4/4/4/4). [Default d6][Arcane Spellz d8]

Gift - Magic Arcane.

Words (8): Cone, Wall, Aura, Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire, Range.

Healer.

Dwarf (5/4/5/4). [Default d6][Divine Spellz d8]

Gift - Magic Divine.

Words (8):

EFFECT COMBINATIONS

Fire-Water: steam or fog
Water-Fire: acid
Fire-Earth: lava
Earth-Fire: burning rocks
Fire-Air: ash or soot
Air-Fire: lightning
Water-Air: breathable
Air-Water: rain
Water-Earth: mud
Earth-Water: mud
Earth-Air: dust, sand, gravel
Air-Earth: toxic gas

Rituals

Rituals are used to magnify a Modifier, increases its basic property to a higher level. eg Duration from Rounds to Hours to Days to Weeks.

Rituals take considerably longer periods of time to perform, without interruption.

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