Spellchamy Rules

If an attempt is made by multiple people to research a new spell, then first the participants must name a primary researcher.  The primary researcher will conduct research as per these rules, modified by how many successful assistants are helping.  Each assistant must roll occult against a fair (5) TN.  If successful they give a +1 bonus to the primary researcher.  If unsuccessful, then they cause a negative modifier.  A bust will lead the group down a dead end path and ruin this line of research.

Reliability

Magic is tempermental to say the least.  Any ritual has the inherent  chance to go awry.  Spells start with a base reliability of 10 and each raise on the research roll raises the base reliability by 1 per raise.  This base reliability will also be modified by the precision of the performance of the spell.  A spell that fails a reliability check (If the roll is equal to, or less than, the Reliability it works.  If the roll is greater than the Reliability, then the spell reacts in unpredictable ways.) will not work.  Most spells will fail, but in rare instances far worse things may come about.  Magic is a dangerous art.

Spell Failure Result

2d6 Roll   Result

2-5 Unpredictable Result

6-11     Complete Failure

12 Extremely Dangerous

Components

All spells contain an element of ritual and materials that invoke and direct power.  These materials and rituals must be invoke and presented in just the right way to perform the spell.  Researching magic is the art of identifying these components and putting them together is the right way.  As mankind has found, created, and lost these secrets over the millenia often times the true meaning behind such pieces is lost, and only half remembered lore remains.  Whatever the case, magic is the act of assembling these components for desired effect.

Once a successful piece of research has been completed it is time to size up what is needed.  Using the five card research hand as a guide, determine the components to the spell from the chart and descriptions below.  The value of the cards used in the hand determine the rarity of component needed and the suit determines the amount (Clubs = 1, Diamonds = 2, Hearts = 3, Spades = 4, cut to determine the suit for Jokers) 

Cards Components

2-7           Common

8-Queen Uncommon

King-Ace Rare

Joker Exotic

Components can come in several forms; mystic or sacred materials, time, location, preparations, or ritual objects.  A spell must contain components from at least three different categories. In addition each spell will contain a catalyst.  A catalyst is a mystic object or ritual that triggers the spell.  Enacting a catalyst is extremely draining and can leave a practitioner weak for several days.  Example components are shown below, and catalysts will be discussed in more detail during the description of casting.  

Mystic or Sacred Materials

Common: $1.00 per ounce

Uncommon: $5.00 per ounce

Rare: $10.00 per ounce

Exotic: $??? but, at a minimum, $100.00 per ounce and up

Time

Common: 5 minutes per increment (Simple chants or read passages, complex hand gestures, simple ritual or blood letting)

Uncommon: 10 minutes per increment (Longer chants or read passages, simple ceremonies, periods of wait, blood sacrifice, sex)

Rare: 1 hour per increment (Complex read chapters, elaborate song and chant, orgies, elaborate rituals)

Exotic: 1 day per increment (Massive rituals requiring multiple practitioners, devotion ceremonies, large amounts of repetition in ceremonial requirements)  

Location 

Common: A type of fairly common place (forest, in the dark, underground, etc.), a                 specific time of day such as day or night

Uncommon: A location of power found in multiple areas (a church, cemetery, old growth grove), a specific event of infrequent occurrence (full or new moon, the witching hour, high noon) 

Rare: A location of power that requires time and knowledge to locate (ley lines or nexis, ancient temples or medicine circles, sites of historic events) 

Exotic: Truly unique locations (a specific medicine circle, a specific site of power such as Stonehenge or The Devil’s Tower, the deck of a sunken ghost ship, the grave of a powerful mambo)

Preparations

Common: Require little skill -TN  3 (chalk “circle”, words scrawled on easy surfaces, items that require little assembly, herbs or animal parts easily found)

Uncommon: Require basic skill -TN  9 (basic circles drawn without gaps and actually round, words that must be of uniform hand and legible written of specific substances, crude carvings, herbs and animal parts more difficult to locate)

Rare: Require actual skill -TN 13 (complex circles with no mars in it at all or made of difficult materials such as gold and silver, written contracts in great detail and on specified materials, complex carvings , rare herbs and animal parts collected and stored under exacting manners)

Exotic: Require extreme skill -TN 13 with a number of raises required equal to the suit value (elaborate circles made of specific and hard to find materials such as human bone and treated blood, contracts tattooed on human skin and flayed from the bearer in one piece, elaborate carvings in exotic materials such as diamond or glacier ice, exotic herbs or animal parts collected and stored in an exacting and  often extreme manner)

Ritual Objects

(These items are exempt from the amount created by the suit of the card. They are a kind of “wild” in the spell creation”.  As such they may only be used as one component of the spell for each ritual object.)

Common: $50 - $200 An object prepared in a specific way and used only for spell work.   It must be reconsecrated yearly (athame, yew wand, diviners’ pendant, geomancy board)

Uncommon: $200 - $500  An object made of expensive materials with elaborate markings used only for spell work.  It must be consecrated monthly. (golden crown, bone and crystal goblet, clergy stole, sacred altar)

Rare: $700-$1000 An object of rarity and value that is almost irreplaceable. It must be stored and protected constantly. (book of shadows, talisman of power crafted by an ancient magus, crusaders’ sword from the first crusade, athame crafted from the bones of a witch and her lover) 

Exotic: ??? , but definitely thousands .  Be prepared to lie, cheat, murder, and steal to get one. These are irreplaceable and coveted by all practitioners. (dragon bone wand, lost gospel of Christ, angel’s feather, grimoire)

Investment

Even with the proper components assembled, spell work requires an investiture by the practitioner.  This investiture is an amount of will/spirit/life force from the caster into the spell to connect the desire with the ritual with the world at large.  Each spell will require some amount of investiture based on the difficulty of the spell.  This connection happens when the casting is attempted, and is given whether the casting is successful or not. There is no visual requirement, though one can be made.  Instead the practitioner releases some amount of their “essence” into the casting with a Fair (TN 5) Spirit roll.  This drains the practitioner of some small amount of vital energy (wind) that returns slowly with time (1/day, no rest required). (This cost is the amount of  philosophers stone used on the Elixir Chart)  

Putting it all Together

To finish researching the spell, finalize the needed components.  

  Josh decides he wants to create a simple hex to irk Mike Dunn. This is a minor effect that will give Mike a -1 to his Spirit checks for a few hours as he is constantly sure he left the stove on. An effect of this level requires a hand of Pair or Better. First Josh must research the spell.  He rolls his Occult 5d12 (yes...I am this awesome) and gets a 7. This means Josh will draw five cards, plus one for researching in the Garden Home.  Josh draws a 2 of Spades, a 10 of Diamonds, an Ace of Hearts, an Ace of Diamonds, a Jack of Hearts, and a 7 of Clubs.  Assembling that into a five card hand, Josh keeps the 2, 7, 10, and pair of Aces.  This hand meets the minimum requirement for a basic hex spell and, with his Occult roll of 7, has a Reliability of 10. If the research had not been successful, then Josh would have spent a full day (since the research time is only 10-60 minutes, and the minimum time for a failed spell is a full day) before he realized that his research was going in the wrong direction.  With the spell successfully researched Josh moves on to the next part, deciding on the components. 

Staring with the 2 of spades, Josh needs 4 units (determined by the spades suit) of a common component.  Josh decides that he will need to make eye contact (this is a preparation component that will need a skill roll to complete.  In this case Josh will use Persuasion with a TN 3 since it is a common component).  This will need to happen 4 times (because of the 4 “unit” requirement).  Next, for the 7 of clubs Josh decides on having a time component.  This will be common and take 5 minutes since he only needs one “unit” for a club.  In this case Josh will need to chant a simple rhyme over a candle several times. The 10 of diamonds requires two “units” of an uncommon  component.  For this Josh decides to have another time component.  This is the most allowed, as spells cannot contain more than two of the same type of component, with the exception of ritual objects, which can only be used once each.  In this case Josh decides he would like the second time component to be the burning of a candle for twenty minutes.  For the Ace of diamonds Josh wants some kind of connection represented.  This isn’t mandatory, but feels right for this kind of spell.   To represent this connection he decides to have another preparation component.  This time it will be stealing three hairs from Mike’s head.  This will use Filchin’ with a TN 13 and must be done three times.  For the final component, Josh will use a Ritual Object.  These are a kind of “wild card” component that may only be used once per spell.  They have no “amount” and instead fill a component slot of the appropriate value.  Since the last card is an Ace of Hearts, Josh needs a rare Ritual object.  Josh will perform the spell using a Black Mirror he stole from the haunted lair of a mad conjurer. 

Now Josh will submit his ideas to the  Marshall along with a brief description of the spell he wishes to create.  If the Marshall agrees with the choices the Marshall will decide on a duration and OK the spell. 

Evil Eye Hex - Reliability: 10  Investment: 1d4

The caster will implant a sense of unease into the victim.  The spell will cause the victim to suffer a -1 to Spirit rolls until the next sunrise. To cast the practitioner must build a connection with their intended victim.  This is established my meeting the victims eyes directly once for each of the four elements.  Next, to bind the magic to the victim, three hairs must be stolen, live, from the victims head without being noticed(Filchin TN 13).  These hairs must be bound around a white candle half the width of the practitioner’s pinkie from the top.  This candle must be placed on stone before a consecrated black mirror and lit with a taper held in the left hand.  As it burns the practitioner must recite a beseechment to each element.  Then the practitioner must conjure the image of the victim in their mind and hold it as the candle burns down enough to consume the hairs. Once this is done, the candle may be snuffed and the spell is complete.

Assuming this meets the approval of the Marshall, Josh now has a complete spell.  Poor Mike.

Casting the Spell 

Once the practitioner has successfully researched a spell it may be recorded and performed. First the practitioner must gather the components. Once they have them they can pay the investiture and  make a Practitioner roll against a TN determined by the difficulty of the spell.  If successful, they roll Reliability on a d20 against the spell’s Reliability.  If the roll is equal to, or less than, the Reliability it works.  If the roll is greater than the Reliability, then the spell reacts in unpredictable ways.  If the roll is unsuccessful, then the spell fails, but the components are still used and the investiture is still paid.

Spell Reliability Chart

2d6 Roll Mishap

2 - 5 Major Mishap

6 - 10 Spell Failure

11 - 12 Catastrophic Mishap

Major Mishaps often cause spells to backlash onto the practitioner, or other unintended consequences.  Catastrophic Mishaps are at the Marshall’s fiat.  Anything goes.

Perfecting Spells

A practitioner may seek to refine and perfect spells.  Often the first version researched will be difficult to perform, be very risky, or have rare and hard to get components.  If this is the case, the practitioner can continue to research other versions.  Each new Occult roll for research gets +1 for each successful version created before it.

Other People’s Spells

Casting other practitioners’ spells is common.  To do so requires studying the spell for an amount of time equal to the “brewing time” on the Elixir Table. After the required amount of study, the practitioner makes an Occult roll against the casting difficulty of the spell.  If the roll succeeds the caster understands the spell and principles enough to attempt casting.  If the roll fails, the practitioner will need to study the spell again for an appropriate amount of time, and then roll again.  If the practitioner botches a roll in studying the spell, then the concepts illude the practitioner and always will.