Embedded Files
Magic in the Point System Game is focused on versatility but also recognizes that some players do not have the time, desire, or focus to master the magic system. For the latter group, a robust list of stock spells is provided for download, which is also used by NPC spell casters the GM controls. Those who want to design and create their own spells/rituals can use the following tables and guidelines to make that possible. Designing spells is not required but often desired by players who want to make a memorable spellcaster. These concepts are discussed in the PSG-Magic Document, which can be downloaded.
Standard Magical Concepts
Standard Magical Concepts
Magical Energy Concepts: Before we begin designing spells, we must explore some spell-casting fundamentals. The best way to start is by discussing the concept of magical energy.
Unlike other forces of nature, Magic is a Finite one. Free-floating magical energy is called Ambient Magical Energy. In worlds where ambient magical energy is not plentiful, the process of refilling ambient magical energy in a depleted area could take hours, days, and even years. Sometimes, the amount of ambient magical energy in a given world is so low that magic dead areas exist.
Arcane spell casting manipulates, consumes, and redirects ambient magical energy. Divine spell casting works differently. While mages deal with the natural forces of nature, one of which is ambient magical energy, priests use a different type of magical energy to fuel their spells. The magical force used by priests comes from belief, better described as faith in a given set of ideals. This force of faith, when multiplied by thousands or even millions of followers, becomes just as powerful as ambient magical energy. The priest is then the vessel that touches this faith energy, collects it, and reshapes it to produce magical effects. Though the end result of arcane and divine spell casting is almost indistinguishable, the process and their ‘fuel’ sources are quite different.
Impulse Casting vs Formula Based Casting
Impulse Casting vs Formula Based Casting
Impulse casting allows the mage the most freedom in putting together magical concepts (usually from varied schools), collecting ambient magical energy, shaping it, and projecting it on the fly. Formula Based Casting focuses on testing and practicing magical formulas that produce the same or almost the same magical effects each time they are cast. They lack the flexibility impulse casing offers but gain a reduction in difficulty because practice makes perfect. Impulse casting is primal, while formula-based casting is more ordered. Formalized institutions, although they teach both forms, favor formula-based casting.
Magic is simple on the surface but quite complex as one delves into the inner workings of spellcasting. The magic system presented here focuses on formula-based casting because it's quicker and easier to understand. A host of spell formulas are available for download, and these spells should be used as guidelines for further development of formula-based spells that players have researched. Almost in every case, formula-based spell casting is easier (lower TDs to cast) than Impulse casting. Thus, novices start out learning formulas in the early stages, progressing to impulse casting as they become more proficient. Those in the middle ranges of skill often use a combination.
Impulse casting makes casting spells on the fly difficult. The mage must access his knowledge, gather magical energy, shape/form it, and project it quickly without a pre-learned formula. Other than the standard +4 to TD for casting such spells, the mage may have to contend with unforeseen circumstances when a fumble (snake-eyes) is rolled. The chart below details possible outcomes (the GM can and should modify the chart as needed).
It should be noted that impulse casting, due to its higher TDs, has a greater chance of failure. The base TD to cast an impulse spell = 4 + total ranks in schools used. Thus, a Dimension & Distance-2, Power/Forces-3 spell that projects fire would have an Impulse Casting TD of 5+4 or a 9. Impulse spells cannot contain advantages/disadvantages to augment TD rating like formula (stock/researched) spells. Impulse casting does receive the benefit (-1 to TD) if it falls into the school of affinity for a mage.
Divine Impulse Casting (optional rule): because most religions have some organization, especially the lawful faiths, impulse casting is only permitted with priestly (faith school) spells. Thus, a priest, regardless of his power or wisdom, cannot cast an impulse spell outside of the faith school. However, Spells with a faith/dark faith component are fair game for impulse casting.
Magical Structure
Magical Structure
Spell casting does not normally require materials components. Rituals, on the other hand, always require material components. Rituals, which will be covered later, must be researched and cannot be cast in the free-form style. The operative base skill for preparing and casting rituals is Spellcraft. Some rituals will also require the use, and possibly roll, of other skills as prescribed in the ritual description. Both spells and rituals are ranked in power based on a 1-7 Tier rating (sometimes called school ranks). Lower-tiered magic is less powerful but easier to cast.
There are a total of 10 Schools of Magic, and each school has 7 ranks of knowledge. Each school has its own focus and deals with knowledge, progressing difficulty, and magical function. Each school is separate and apart from the other schools, yet knowledge can be combined from different schools to achieve different magical results.
The School of Faith (sometimes called Sphere of Faith) is only available to priest spellcasters (which also includes druids, rangers, paladins, and other religious-based spell casters). Spells that contain the School of Faith, even at the lowest ranks, are considered Divine spell casting. Mages and other Arcane-based spell casters are barred from accessing the School of Faith. Priestly magic (Divine) will be detailed later. Both Arcane and Divine spellcasters gain access to base school ranks based on their vocation (see Vocation Enhancements for details) at the start of the game.
Spell casting skills for both Arcane and Divine spells are called Mana Magic Manipulation (MMM for short). This rating determines actual spell-casting skill, not necessarily actual magical knowledge. Magical knowledge is represented by ranks in a given school of magic, where rank-3 access to a given school provides less knowledge than rank-7 access to the same school. However, knowledge alone is not sufficient to actually cast magic. MMM is the operative skill that allows the spellcaster to draw, shape, and expel magical energy.
Each school of magic is also associated with a given stat and a color. The stat is paired with MMM when casting magic to signify the natural talent of the individual casting the magic. Thus, a wizard casting a spell in the Earth school would roll his MMM + Strength Stat Dice to actually cast a spell. Strength is the stat dice associated with the School of Earth. The target difficult (TD) to achieve success would vary based on the complexity (tier/rank) of knowledge needed to understand the magical energies involved. Thus, knowledge provides the “How” to cast spells, and the MMM + Stat allows the actual “Execution” of that knowledge. The color of magic is also specific to school and this is used by spellcaster to decipher the magical schools woven into a given spell or ritual. When magic is detected on an active spell or ritual, the GM may provide a color code which allows the character to determine the schools of magic used in the construction of the magic he is detecting. Of course, the brighter the color the stronger the participation of a given school in a spell or ritual.
When a spell is cast the mage collects ambient magical energy in the surrounding area and focuses it, transforms it, and often redirects it. The amount of ambient energy that is needed is a function of the spell's potency or rather the highest school rank contained within the spell formula. Thus, a lightning bolt spell (Dim/Dis 3, Power/Forces 3, and Primal Essence 2) would have a potency rating of 3. Imagine an invisible sphere that surrounds the mage which not only extends into the air above the mage, but into the earth below the mage. The radius of the sphere is directly proportional to the potency of the spell (highest school rank).
The consumption process often occurs in a blink of an eye, and on standard or high magic worlds the depletion is rarely witnessed/felt. Casting powerful spells on low magic worlds, where the amount of ambient magical energy is lacking, can be noticed by even the untrained individuals. Often mages have to move from one location to another to cast successive spells as a result.
Magical Nodes & Lay-lines
Magical Nodes & Lay-lines
Magical Nodes are a concentration of magical energy – a wellspring of magical power that comes from deep within the core of the planet. Of course, worlds with a higher amount of ambient magical energy will have a greater number of nodes, often with greater intensity. Conversely, worlds with lower magical energy will have fewer nodes, often with minimal intensity. Some worlds, devoid of magical energy, may not contain any nodes at all. On the other hand, a few worlds, especially those of the outer planes, may have an overabundance of magical energy, resulting in spontaneous magical discharges.
All nodes vary in size, intensity, and resonance. Each node has a reason for existence in each location. Node creation often falls in the realm of immortal magic, as a colossal amount of magical energy is needed to establish a node. Though it occurs very rarely, groups of mortal spellcasters can also create nodes. These instances often require careful planning and take years to manifest any appreciable results.
Nodes are not always stationary and tend to shift and flow over time. This is a natural occurrence and is influenced by many factors such as lay-lines, catastrophic environmental events, natural variations in the core of the planet, or divine, and to a lesser degree, mortal intervention. Such shifts take a very long time to manifest. Often, the rapid depletion of magical energy within a node may also force a relocation change, which often manifests much quicker.
On an Earth-sized planet with an average level of magic, one could expect to find about a dozen naturally occurring magical nodes. Those planets that have a long history of magic may have a few additional ones that have been created by powerful magical guilds/cabals. Naturally occurring nodes are often spread out across the planet, with some occurring deep underground, on the ocean floor, or in rare cases floating in midair. All magical nodes are connected to one another in an intricate web of magical energy. These connections, which can sometimes be observed with magic detection spells, are called Lay-lines.
Lay-Lines:
Lay-lines vary in intensity as magical energy travels from one node to another, often over hundreds or thousands of miles. Further, Lay-lines tend to shift, bend, and flex along these distances, rarely forming a straight line. Many factors influence these curves. Typographical influences are the most common, and a Layline may follow a path along a coastline, mountain chain, underground river, or lava flow. Ocean depth, temperature changes (read as jet streams) in the atmosphere, and powerful storms can also alter, at least on a temporary basis, the flow and direction of Lay-lines. While nodes are relatively stationary, Lay-lines shift constantly. Due to the curvature of the globe, most Lay-lines are located deep underground or deep in the ocean, especially when nodes are separated by more than a few hundred miles. Closer to the actual nodes, Lay-lines are often visible to magical detections.
Lay-lines also serve an important function; they disburse magical energy into the world. Such disbursals can result in the growth of magical herbs, the creation of magical creatures, such as fairies, or the formation of portals (spiritual, temporal, wormholes, to name a few). Magic has a chaotic nature and often has unpredictable results, not all of which are negative in nature. Highly magical creatures such as unicorns, dragons, and fairies can often feel the presence of Lay-lines and tend to make their homes near or along Lay-lines.
Universal Magical Concepts (Stat to School Association)
Universal Magical Concepts (Stat to School Association)
As previously stated, each school has a color and a stat associated with it. In addition, in this section, we will develop the Spells Per Day formula, Controlling School Concepts, and School of Affinity. But first, we must briefly identify and define the 10 schools of magic. A more extensive review of the magical schools will follow later in this document.
Now that we have an overview, we can discuss the concept of the Controlling School. Most spells tap multiple schools of magic to perform their effects. Commonly, the highest circle requirement among these schools is referred to as the Controlling School. Sometimes, especially with the additional schools of Probability, Dimension and Distance, Time, or Faith, this is not always the case. These additional schools are often used to augment resistance rolls, range, duration, and potency and are not necessarily the focus school of the spell. Priest healing spells are a good example of this. When evaluating a spell, simply think of the primary way it is applied, not the way the spell is modified, to determine its Controlling School.
Every Arcane Spell caster has a School of Affinity, and Priests automatically have Faith or Dark Faith as their School of Affinity. The first school chosen by the mage when Arcane Training vocation is initially taken functions as his/her school of affinity. Although it is possible to have two schools of affinity, this is extremely rare and dependent upon the enhancements chosen. Priests cannot have any other school of affinity. All Spell casters receive a bonus +1 to Mana Magic Manipulation (MMM) spell-casting checks with their chosen school of affinity. For Arcane casters, once chosen, the school of affinity typically cannot be changed.
Spellcasters (both Arcane and Divine) have a limit on the number of spells they can cast in a 24-hour period (day). However, this should not be confused with preparing and enacting rituals. There is no limit to the number of rituals a spellcaster can enact in a single day. The number of spells a mage or priest can cast in a day is limited to one per circle rank in magic +1. Thus, if a mage possessed the 3rd circle in Power/Forces, the 2nd circle in Life, and the 1st circle in Earth, he could cast 7 spells per day. Some Talents and Enhancements can allow mages and/or priests to increase the number of spells they can cast per day. Cantrips, described later, are not counted against this total.
Mana Magic Manipulation (Spell Casting Skill)
Mana Magic Manipulation (Spell Casting Skill)
It is important to note two distinct aspects of spellcasting. Most spellcasters seek a balance between these aspects, obtaining knowledge in close proximity to their casting ability. Exceptions to this rule include scholars or academicians who focus on knowledge and are not interested in actual spellcasting. These individuals can prepare and cast rituals but rarely do so. They are a great source of information and can teach magical knowledge at institutions. At the other spectrum, wild wizards excel in magical casting skills and dislike preparing and enacting rituals. These wizards often do not know the pitfalls and dangers associated with casting powerful spells. They draw energy from varied sources, including themselves, to power their spellcasting. Some that consume to much personal magical energy can cause harm or even death to themselves in this process.
Magical Knowledge – defined as the amount of information, knowledge, and understanding in a given magical concept (school). Knowledge ranks, or tiers are expressed in numbers from 1 to 7, where the lower end provides limited insight and the upper-end vast amounts of information. It should be noted that mortals only have the capacity to learn magical knowledge to rank/tier-7. Immortals (often called gods) can learn magical knowledge to rank/tier-10. In game terms, mortals, often due to a short life span and limited mental capacity, cannot bridge this barrier without the use of immortal-level aid.
Magical Knowledge is expressed in ranks/tiers within a school of magic. Each successive tier effectively doubles the amount of knowledge a spellcaster possesses in a given school. Thus, a tier-7 grandmaster has 64 times the knowledge compared to a tier-1 spellcaster in a given school. Magical knowledge allows a spellcaster to know how to cast spells, where the magical energy will come from, how it should be manipulated, and how it should be projected. It does not provide the actual skill to accomplish this, however – that skill is known as Mana Magic Manipulation (MMM).
Magical Casting Skill – defined as the actual ability to touch, draw, manipulate, and project magical energy. This is called the Mana Magic Manipulation (MMM). While magical knowledge provides the blueprints for spellcasting, MMM provides the “muscle” to actually accomplish the task. MMM is a skill (tier-7) like any other skill, and it is reflected in 5 levels of power (D4 through D12). Magical Ability is ranked as follows.
Common Magic Formulas
Common Magic Formulas
Casting TD = 2 + Total ranks used in the casting of the Spell
Start New School Exps Cost = (Number of Schools known +1) x 250
Boost Existing School Exps Cost = (Number of Ranks Possessed +1) x 200
Starting Magical Schools
Starting Magical Schools
Unless starting Talents/Enhancements are taken to increase the starting magical schools/ranks, a mage starts the game with 5 ranks in magic, which can be placed into schools desired. Only the school of affinity can be at Rank-2, with all other schools at Rank-1. The mage MUST declare his school of affinity during character creation. Once chosen, no other school can exceed the School of Affinity in rank potency. Thus, if a mage chooses Earth as the school of affinity, no other school can EXCEED his rank of knowledge on Earth.
Priest automatically have their Faith/Dark Faith school as their School of Affinity. Priests start out with 3 magical ranks to place in the desired schools. A priest cannot possess any school prohibited by the faith. Further, they cannot place ranks in MINOR schools of the faith at character generation without GM approval. Priests can start the game with their faith school at rank 2 if they so choose.
Magical Knowledge & Magic Training
Magical Knowledge & Magic Training
Unless otherwise noted, training in magical knowledge requires a trainer who already possesses the knowledge. Training time commonly takes 1 week per 100 exps expended – this applies to both Arcane and Diving spell casters. Sometimes, however, trainers are unavailable; in these cases, there are alternatives. Mages can often learn from books/tomes specifically designed to convey such knowledge. Priests can meditate within a church in front of an altar to gain the required knowledge directly from divine sources.
Failing those approaches, both Arcane & Divine casters can increase their knowledge by self-teaching. Self-teaching requires access to magical lore (library) focused on magic. Self-teaching takes 3-4 times the normal duration (1 week per 25-50 exps expended). At the conclusion of the training period, a Spellcraft + Intelligence check is required to determine if Self-teaching was successful. The base Roll = 10 + Rank to be learned). Thus, a mage self-teaching a school to Rank-5 would have a base 10+5 or 15 TD on his Spellcraft + Intelligence roll. Failure indicates that more training time is required, and success grants access to the new rank of knowledge.
Magic Trainers:
Varied sources exist that can qualify as magical trainers. The most common are humanoids that already possess the knowledge desired. For mages, this often focuses on the Master/Apprentice structure. For priests, a similar structure exists, though multiple higher-ranked priests can fill the role of the ‘Master’. Creatures that are more magical in nature, such as fairies or dragons, can also fill the role of a teacher. Other outworldly creatures such as demons, devils, imps, angels, and the like can also function as a trainer – such creatures often require some type of ‘payment’ for the knowledge provided. Payment can take the form of materials or, more commonly, services, quests, or pacts.
Though it is possible for a Mage to teach a Priest and vice versa, this is not common practice, especially in the higher (4+ ranks) in a given school of magic. Such training requires GM approval and may well take longer time to accomplish.
Controlling School
Controlling School
Controlling School – the school associated with a given spell where the chief focus of the spell affects the core concepts of a given school of magic. Each spell and ritual will have only ONE controlling school even if the spell/ritual does multiple things.
Cantrips
Cantrips
Option 1 (Mages) – High Magic Worlds: Any spell the character can cast without rolling the MMM + Stat dice because that value is equal to or greater than the spell TD on a minimal roll. Thus, a person with an MMM of D6+3 + Stat dice would roll a minimum of 5 on any roll. Therefore, all spells that fall under ALL the schools he knows that have a TD of 5 or lower would be considered cantrips from that mage. The number of cantrips varies from one mage to another and becomes more as the mage advances in skill. Most spells at Tier-0 and sometimes 1 are considered cantrips for this reason. Tier-2 and Higher spells are NOT considered cantrips, even if the above rule applies.
Option 2 (Mages) – Standard Magic Worlds: A mage can cast all Tier-0 spells in his SCHOOL of AFFINITY as cantrips. If a mage possesses Two schools of affinity (due to talents or enhancements), both schools contribute to the number of cantrips possessed. As additional magical school knowledge is added, the mage can choose ONE Tier-0 cantrip from the new school to add to his cantrip list. This option is suggested for standard campaigns.
Option 3 (Mages) – Low Magic Worlds: A mage can select ONE Tier-0 spell from his chosen school(s) of affinity. This spell then becomes his only cantrip.
Option 4 (Priests) – Gods are Attentive: Regardless of the morality or ethics of the pantheon, the gods have a vested interest in their religion and, by association, place a greater interest in their priests. Priest automatically gains Tier-0 Orisons in the Faith (or Dark Faith) school. In addition, they can gain all the Tier-0 Orisons in associated NON-MINOR schools. Minor or forbidden school Tier-0 Orisons are never granted. Priests are always granted other innate special abilities of a given faith with this option. These special abilities are detailed under the specific faith worshiped by the priest. Nearly all priests of a given faith are able to cast spells.
Option 5 (Priests) – Gods are Observant: Regardless of the morality or ethics of the pantheon, the gods do not involve themselves with the direct intervention of mortals. This is a staple in most pantheons and the standard for most games. Priest automatically gains Tier-0 Orisons in the Faith (or Dark Faith) school. No other Orisons are gained. Priest MAY be granted one or at most two special abilities based on the faith worshiped. Once an ordained priest attains the title of High Priest, a host of additional special abilities are granted. It is common for priests of a given faith to lack actual spellcasting ability. These non-ordained priests often hold power and sway in church politics.
Option 6 (Priests) – Gods are Distant and/or Uncaring: No orisons or special abilities are granted. The number of non-spell-casting priests outnumbers the spellcasting ones. Often, the non-spellcasting priests determine faith policy.
Spells Resistance
Spells Resistance
A good number of spells must overcome the target’s natural resistance rating to accomplish their magic. Often, this is detailed in the spell description; however, sometimes, this general rule applies. The TD to resist a spell is equal to DOUBLE the Tier Rank of the spell. Thus, resisting a Tier-3 spell would require at TD of 6, and a Tier-7 spell would require an almost impossible roll of 14 to resist. Adding primal essence or probability can increase a base resistance even more.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse