Mage Rules

There have been an awful lot of Atlantises, will be quite a few more.

It’s just a symbol. A symbol of the art.

The True Atlantis is inside you, just as it’s inside all of us.

— Neil Gaiman, The Books of Magic

New Skill

Spellcraft (Spr)

You have learnt the art of spellcraft, allowing you to channel anima from the world around you to power your magic. You can use spellcraft channel mana passively or actively with either rote or ritual channelling.

In general terms, Spellcraft is used in checks specifically related to a mage's general skill with magic. All mages start with Apprentice Proficiency (+0) in Spellcraft. 

Channelling is tiring. A mage can channel a number of times equal to 3+their Proficiency Bonus in Spellcraft + their Spirit modifier. Each time you use Ritual Channelling after this limit, you gain 1 application of the Tapped Out condition. The number of times a mage may channel resets after a mage takes a Long Rest.

Counterspell (Reaction)

If you see a creature casting a spell, and you have knowledge of the spell, you can attempt to counter it. 

Expend an amount of Anima equal to the anima cost of the triggering spell. Make a Spellcraft check against the caster's Spellcraft DC (10 + their Spellcraft Proficiency + their Spirit Modifier). If you succeed, you prevent the triggering spell from activating. If you fail, the anima is wasted, and the opposing spell goes off as the caster intended.

Rote Channelling (1 Action)

Rote channelling is a simple action. Mages barely need to concentrate on gathering anima via rote channelling. When you use Rote channelling, you invest directly into the next spell you cast. So long as the action you take is to Cast a Spell, and that spell has an anima cost equal to or less than your Proficiency Bonus, this spell costs 0 anima. 

Ritual Channelling (3 Actions) 

Ritual channelling is far more complex than rote channelling, but it is useful if you want to work a powerful spell or a complex set of spells. Take 3 actions that provoke attacks of opportunity to make a Spellcraft check. The DC of this check is usually 15, though it can vary depending on circumstances, such as decreasing to 10 in a magical sanctum or prepared ritual site, or increasing to 20 in places where the Veil is particularly thick. 

Temporary Anima generated by Ritual Casting lasts a number of rounds equal to your Spirit Modifier. If you do not spend it to Cast a Spell by that point, it dissipates harmlessly. 

Tapped Out 

Repeated spellcasting attempts have begun to take a mental and physical toll. You take a -1 circumstance penalty to all Spellcraft checks and Defences. 

Multiple applications of Tapped Out increase the penalty. 

All applications of Tapped Out are removed after you take a long rest. 

Abilities

Spheres

One of the first things you learn as a mage is that "magic" is just a blanket term for a dizzying variety of strange powers and abilities. The steps you take to summon a lightning bolt from the heavens are completely different from the steps you take to heal a wound. 

Magic is broadly grouped into categories known as spheres. Spheres represent a particular way of working magic, involving similar occult symbols and rituals. 

Spheres are treated like skills, and have proficiency levels from Apprentice to Legendary. Every rank you buy in a Sphere costs a similar amount of experience as a skill does. 

You start with a number of points to invest in spheres of your choice, depending on your Tradition. You cannot start with a Sphere above Trained (+2).

• Hermetic Mages start with 8 Proficiency Ranks, which they can invest as they wish among any sphere. 

• Mesmers start with 6 Proficiency Ranks, which they can invest into the following spheres. Mesmers cannot select gain ranks in the following spheres: Artifice, Darkness, Entropy, Metal

• Nethermancers start with 6 Proficiency Ranks, which they can invest into the following spheres: curses, entropy and shadow. Nethermancers cannot select gain ranks in the following spheres:  Charms, Healing, Illusion, Trickery

• Shamans start with 6 Proficiency Ranks, which they can invest into the following spheres: animal, plant and healing. Shamans cannot gain ranks in the following spheres: Air, Earth, Fire, Water

• Technomancers start with 6 Proficiency Ranks, which they can invest into the following spheres: artifice, metal and scrying. Technomancers cannot gain ranks in the following spheres: Animals, Entropy, Healing, Plants 

No mage can gain ranks in Blood. 

Every Proficiency rank of a sphere you purchase allows you to add 2 spells of that sphere to your spellbook.

Focus

Spellcraft usually requires a specific focus to channel and direct magic. On character creation, you start with one Focus you use to direct your spellcasting. 

You can attune a new item to you as a focus through an 8-hour ritual. 

If you try to cast a spell without a proper focus, you must make a check with the appropriate sphere with a DC equal to 10+double the spell's level. You must be able to handle the focus to cast the spell, so this penalty applies if you are immobilized, paralyzed, or otherwise unable to wield your focus. 

Each sphere lists tools that are appropriate to it. 

Language of Magic 

Humans put a great deal of symbolic importance into words and phrases. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that language is often intrinsic to spellcraft. 

There is no "one, true language of magic," as much as the Enochian tradition would like to argue. Instead, magic relies more on the symbolic power of language than on the actual words being said. 

Upon character creation, a mage chooses a particular language that they deem to be "powerful" as their language of choice. Usually, this is an old or dead language, but, realistically, it can be anything. 

The most common languages chosen for spellcraft are Latin, Ancient Greek, Ancient Egyptian, Sanskrit, Ge'ez, Aramaic and Classical Chinese. 

Mage Sight  

The most basic spell a mage learns is how to open their third eye and detect the presence of the supernatural in the world around them. 

By taking 1 Action to spend 1 Anima, a mage can activate their Mage Sight. You detect the presence of all magical effects within 1 range of you. Once Mage Sight is active, you may spend 2 Actions to hone in and determine the spheres of magic present around you, or spend 3 Actions to get a general sense of the various magical effects.  

You can only detect the presence of magics from the illusion sphere if your ranks in Spellcraft outrank the caster's ranks in Illusion. 

Once you have identified a particular source of magic, you may attempt to use your Mage Site to scrutinize it. 

Mage Sight lasts for as long as you Concentrate on it. 

Scrutinize Magic (3 Actions)

While your Mage Sight is active, you may spend 1 Anima and 3 actions to make a Spellcraft check against a DC equal to the 10+the caster's Proficiency Bonus in the sphere associated with the spell. If you succeed, you gain one of the following pieces of information:

• What created the magical effect (was it another mage, a supernatural being, an artifact or talisman, etc.)

• How old is the magical effect

• How long is the effect likely to last (what is its remaining duration)

• How powerful was the individual who created the effect

• Is this effect related to one of the Supernal Realms

Casting Spells 

For most individuals, spells usually involve complex rituals to cast. However, mages, having dedicated themselves to the occult arts, have learnt to cast a limited number of spells every day as Rote Spells. 

Unless otherwise noted in a spell's description, a rote spell can be cast as a 2 actions. Rote spells draw anima from the caster's Anima Pool. If a mage has used Spellcraft to Channel Anima, the anima for rote spells comes from the caster's temporary Anima points first. 

After every Long Rest, a Mage may spend 15 minutes meditating, reviewing their spellbook, and communing with the flows of magic to designate a number of spells in their Spellbook equal to 3+their Proficiency Bonus in Spellcraft + their Spirit Modifier as Rote spells. You may purchase additional Rote Spells each day with the Additional Rote Spells feat. All other spells in a mage's spellbook, or that a mage encounters in the wild, are considered Ritual Spells. A mage denied this opportunity to refocus retains the same list of rote spells until they have an opportunity to take a long rest again.

Spellbook 

Every mage has a spellbook where they store their spells. A mage is unable to cast their spells without a spellbook. 

Spellbooks don't necessarily have to be a "book," just any physical medium that can carry instructions and mnemonic devices to help the mage remember how to work their rituals. These could be carved staves, beaded blankets, a bundle of scrolls, or a cloud database accessible from a smartphone. Each spellbook is unique to the mage who created it, and attempting to cast a spell out of another mage's spellbook requires a spellcraft check equal to 20+twice the spell's rank. 

Every time you gain a Proficiency Rank in a Sphere of Magic, you add 2 spells from that sphere to your spellbook. You may also spend your downtime to Learn a Spell from a resource such as an ancient tome, another mage's spellbook, an occult library, or another source of magical knowledge.

Learn a Spell (1-6 Hours) 

Spend 1 hour per Spell Rank of the Spell you are trying to learn to transcribe the spell into your spellbook. Then, make 2 checks to see if you can transcribe the spell successfully: the first is a wealth check to see if you can collect the resources needed to experiment with the spell and transcribe it properly in your own words into your spellbook, and the second is a Spellcraft check that determines if you were successful in your transcription.

The DC is dependent on spell rank, and is as follows:

• 1st: Wealth DC 8, Spellcraft DC 15

• 2nd: Wealth DC 10, Spellcraft DC 18

• 3rd: Wealth DC 13, Spellcraft DC 20

• 4th: Wealth DC 16, Spellcraft DC 23

• 5th: Wealth DC 18, Spellcraft DC 26

• 6th: Wealth DC 21, Spellcraft DC 28
  
  

Tradition Skills

Magic is an esoteric art that requires a breadth of experience. Your training as a mage has gifted you with knowledge in several skills. On character creation, pick two of the following skills associated with your Tradition. You gain a +2 origin bonus with those skills.

• Hermeticism: Investigation, Occult Lore, or Resolve

• Mesmerism: Acrobatics, Composure or Deception

• Nethermancy: Intimidate, Shadow, or Resolve

• Shamanism: Athletics, Diplomacy, or Endurance

• Technomancy: Computer Science, Dodge, or Technical Science

Tradition Abilities 

Specific traditions grant their disciples unique powers when compared to the typical mage who follows the Hermetic tradition.

Mesmerism

Select one Fey Masque. At the start of every day, you invest your Anima in that Glamour as if you were a fey. 

You can buy additional Masques as if you were a fey. 

Nethermancy

You have awakened your Shadow as a Beast. You gain a Terror pool. You can use Spellcraft to channel Terror instead of Anima. You can also recover your Terror pool as a horror, and you must manage the Hunger and Satiety or risk losing control to the Beast. 

You cannot use Spellcraft to Ritual Cast. Instead, you may use Spellcraft to Drain Terror as if it were the Shroud skill of a horror. 

You have a Monstrous Form. This is identical to a horror's monstrous form. 

You can shift from your human form into your monstrous form by spending 3 actions and 1 Terror. You can still cast spells as a mage while in your monstrous form. 

You start the game with 1 Nightmare that can be manifested in either your human or monstrous form. You can buy additional Nightmares as if you were a horror. Use your Spellcraft Proficiency Ranks in lieu of Shroud Proficiency Ranks for skills that are dependent on Shroud Proficiency Ranks. 

Shamanism

You have formed a bond with a spirit. You can summon that spirit at the start of the day. This spirit has one domain. You can utilize that spirit's domain manifestations by spending Anima. You can use Spellcraft to supply the anima needed for these manifestations.

You can gain an additional spirit through the Additional Pact feat. You can only be bound to one spirit at a time. Changing spirits is a ritual that requires at least 1 hour of focus.

Technomancy

You have learnt how to hack magic. You start the game with two Technomancy Hacks. You can purchase additional hacks through the Additional Hack feat.