Magic rules (Updated)

 

Version: 0.9 (2023-10-18)

MAGIC

Spellcasting is based on 2ed, but there are significant changes. MR is retained but only as a limit to what spells you can cast. Actual spellcasting is based on skills, using standard skill tests to check for success.

Types of Magic

Magic is either arcane (including hedge magic) or divine.

All spells are ultimately powered by Chaos, but arcane and divine magic is treated differently regarding fumbles: Arcane casters suffer the Curse of Tzeentch, while divine casters the Wrath of God (see below).

The latter is usually less severe, although there are instances where your god could take away all your spellcasting abilities, so it’s no joke. Priests typically have lower MRs than wizards (but better profiles overall), so it balances out.

Winds of Magic

Every spell cast draws upon one (or sometimes more for complex spells) of the 8 winds of magic. Which color (s) usually isn’t important. Petty magic, for example, draws a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Color magic draws almost exclusively from one color, but again, this isn’t terribly important.

Magic Rating

To cast a spell, you must have at least MR 1.

MR 0 characters: Initiates start with MR 0, meaning they cannot actually cast any spells until they’ve purchased a single advance in MR (can oc be purchased with starting XP).

Each spell has a minimum (from 1 to 5—or more for some ritual magic) Magic Rating (MR) required to cast it (see spell descriptions).

Spellcasting careers allow characters to purchase Magic Rating as talents:

·         MR 1: 0 XP (Apprentice Wizard, Hedge Wizard), 100 XP (Initiate)

·         MR 2: 200 XP (Apprentice Wizard, Hedge Wizard, Priest)

·         MR 3: 300 XP (Wizard, Anointed Priest)

·         MR 4: 400 XP (Master Wizard, High Priest)

·         MR 5: 500 XP (Wizard Lord)

Boosting MR

The listed MR is the minimum effective MR, not your base MR. You can't cast the spell if you don’t have a high enough effective MR.

MR can be boosted by 1 using up to TWO of these  techniques (beyond 2, there is no benefit):

·         Artifacts

·         Intervention (Divine or daemonic)

·         Ley lines

·         Overchanneling

·         Sacrifices

·         Warpstone

It’s harder to cast spells you’re not qualified for using barely controllable energies: Increase the difficulty level of the spell test by 1 and increase the severity of any Curse/Wrath effect by a number of steps equal to the effective MR used to cast the spell.

High MR: Many spells scale with MR, so boosting your MR beyond what the spell requires can be a good idea. If you’re willing to pay the price and live with the risks.

Artifacts

Certain rare artifacts, such as a potent holy symbol, archdruid’s staff, or ring of power, can boost MR.

The most “common” type is probably the high regalia of the Masters of the Colleges of Magic. Each set provides +1MR to one particular color lore.

Drawbacks: Some artifacts allow you to choose NOT to use the bonus for lesser magic, which reduces difficulty and risk. Others require you to ALWAYS use the bonus.

Wigmar: The Crook and Flail, when held, provide +1 MR to spells of Flail and Light, respectively.

Intervention

A god (or daemon) grants you extra power. All you must do is gain the favor of said entity and draw its attention to you when you’re casting the spell.

Drawbacks: Most entities will want worship and sacrifices in return. Withhold it at your peril. It’s also hard to call a God and request an intervention (Daemons are more accessible, but this gives you CP).

Ley lines

Requires you to locate a ley line or ley nexus, stand on/near it, figure out how to tap into its energies, and use a type or color of magic appropriate to that ley line/nexus.

Drawbacks: Takes preparation, is localized, and only some magic is affected.

Overchanneling

You draw heavily upon the Winds of Magic, drawing in far more power than you need—and can control. This is by far the most common way of boosting MR, but it is not without risk.

Drawbacks: Double the casting time of your spell (Half action becomes Full action, obviously). You suffer 1 Fatigued condition (which can only be removed by a Long rest) and suffer Wounds equal to the effective MR (cannot be healed using any form of magic).

Sacrifices

You sacrifice blood and souls in an amount relative to the power of the spell being cast. This technique is used mainly for ritual magic since dragging around a bunch of people to use as sacrifices is kind of impractical. That said, there are ways (known to dark sorcerers and their ilk) to make the sacrifices in advance).

Drawbacks: Murder (and kidnapping) is usually illegal—and morally reprehensible (you’ll also get some CP).

Warpstone

Either consume warpstone dust—or wave around a bigger chunk. At any rate, a volume of warpstone is used up depending on the MR of the spell being cast—and then you gain CP = MR. Unless you have an exceptionally high tolerance for mutation, this is a very short-sighted way to boost your spells. Even Skaven can’t go bonkers with it.

Drawbacks: You gain a LOT of CP. Even Chaos sorcerers use it only sparingly (unless they are going straight for the Chaos Spawn career).

Arcane Languages

Spellcasting is usually done using an arcane language; you must typically chant something incomprehensible in this language for the duration of the spell’s casting.

Instead of all casters using Arcane Language (Magic), pick one that fits your character when you first learn it.

Magick: The most common arcane language is magick, the language created by Teclis for humans. This language is a bastardized form of Classical mixed with elvish. It is used almost exclusively by College-trained wizards (who often—and erroneously—assume everyone else must be doing the same).

Other arcane languages: Elven mages use a variant of elvish, the sorcerer-priests of Ankh use the old form of Nehekharan, while chaos cultists resort to this or that dark tongue.

Divine magic: Priests often use a form of Classical, heavily laden with religious meanings and parables, missed in with the chanting of hymns, to cast their spells. This is by no means universal; a priest of Ulric could favor an old Teutogen dialect, for example.

Petty magic: Can be cast with or without a proper arcane language. Hedge wizards and witches may have entirely mage-up languages effectively used only by themselves. If such characters later learn proper magic, they must adopt an arcane language.

Casting a spell

To cast a spell, spend the requisite number of actions and select a legal target with range. Then, make a magic test using the appropriate channeling skill.

·         Very Easy +40: Do you really need to make a Test?

·         Easy +20

·         Simple +10: MR 1 average difficulty

·         Average +0: MR 2 average difficulty

·         Challenging -10: MR 3 average difficulty

·         Difficult -20: MR 4 average difficulty

·         Hard -40: MR 5 average difficulty

·         Very Hard -60

·         Impossible -100 (or more): Just don’t

The magic test (and the MR requirement) is instead of rolling a bunch of d10s and tallying together!!!

Channeling Skills

Each Lore and type of Petty Magic (Arcane, Divine, and Hedge) is a separate Channelling skill that must be bought with XP as any other skill.

Skill advances: If a career lists Channelling as a skill, you can purchase it once for each Channelling skill you have.

Example: A wizard could learn his first Lore as an apprentice (+0), and when he’s a Wizard Lord, it’ll max out at +30. But if he picks up a new lore as a Wizard lord, he can never advance that Lore beyond +0 (not without switching careers, anyway).

Example: Wigmar’s first Lore can go up to +30, the second to +20, the third to +10, and the fourth to +0. If he later switches to Wizard, he could advance those skills further.

Lesser Magic: These spells are cast using a Petty Magic skill of your choice.

Spell Ingredients

Spellcasting invariably involves using an arcane language (already described) and making some gestures. In addition, a spellcaster MAY utilize special physical ingredients to gain a bonus on the spell test.

Each spell has components (if any) listed. More powerful spells typically have more exotic ingredients that give bigger bonuses. The casting consumes ingredients marked with an asterisk (most ingredients are reusable).

Note: The ingredient rule applies to any and all spellcasters, be they priests, wizards, witches, Chaos sorcerers, or whatever.

Curse of Tzeentch (Arcane/Hedge)

The Curse of Tzeentch applies to all arcane spells, including hedge and color magic.

Doubles: When rolling a double on the spell test (11, 22, etc.), the caster suffers 1 Fatigued condition (can be removed as normal with a Short rest).

Botch: If the spell fails AND there is a double, you get the fatigue AND must roll on the appropriate Chaos Manifestation Table:

·         MR 1: Minor

·         MR 2: Major

·         MR 3: Catastrophic

·         MR 4: Catastrophic +10

·         MR 5: Catastrophic +20

·         Etc.

Since high-MR spells typically are more difficult to cast, the risk of failure/curse is much higher.

Color magic: Users of color magic have a reduced chance of incurring the Curse; this is a big part of why the elves taught men to use magic this way.

Reduce the severity of the mishap by 1 step if using Color magic. If reduced below minor, nothing happens.

Magic focus: Using a specially prepared magic focus, such as a Wizard’s staff, is another way of reducing the risk of the Curse.

Reduce the severity of the mishap by 1 step. If reduced below minor, nothing happens.

 

Wrath of God (Divine)

Divine spellcasters do not incur the Curse but may end up angering their God instead.

Fatigue: As the Curse.

Botch: Using the following rules instead.

·         MR 1: Wrath

·         MR 2: Wrath +10

·         MR 3: Wrath +20

·         MR 4: Wrath +30

·         MR 5: Wrath +40

·         Etc.

Divine grace: If casting the spell would further the cause of your God or help one or more of his followers in some significant, reduce the severity by 1 step. If reduced below simple Wrath, nothing happens.

Conversely, if the spellcaster is using magic for his own gain or for frivolous reasons, the GM might increase the severity by +10 or more!

Divine vestments: If you cast your divine spells openly displaying your holy sympols and vocally calling upoin the favor of your God, reduce the severity by 1 step. If reduced below simple Wrath, nothing happens.

Conversely, if you’re trying to using divine magic but is unwilling to do som openly, regardless of circumstance, your God might take offense and the GM is free to increase the severity by +10 or more.

Learning spells

Here follows rules for learning spells.

Petty magic

Any career that grants MR will give access to MR number of spells (so when your MR increases, so does the number of Petty spells you know) of the associated category:

·         Arcane: College-trained wizards and the like.

·         Divine: Ppriests and other servants of the gods.

·         Hedge: Hedge wizards, witches, and the like.

Additional Petty spells can be purchased for 100XP each.

Lesser Magic

These are individual spells that can be learned by any spellcaster, regardless of type, but each spell must be learned (100XP times the spell’s MR rating) separately.

Lore magic

Wizard careers (real wizards, not hedge wizards) give access to 1 Lore starting at MR 1.

Base spells: For each lore you know, you automatically learn 2 spells of your choice for each MR you have.

Note: This allows the GM to add more interesting spells without resorting to other limitations, such as creating sub-lists like those found in Realms for Sorcery.

Extra spells: Extra spells can be learned, costing 100XP times the spell’s MR rating.

Additional Lores: Wizards can learn 1 additional lore for each point of MR beyond 1, so a MR 3 Master Wizard could know 3 lores. These could be lores of any kind, including dark lores.

Not everyone opts to branch out; many stick to their main lore and pour all their energy into mastering it. Truth be told, this is probably the quick path to more power, but knowing more lores provides additional flexibility.

Priests CAN learn additional lores in the same manner, provided their God has multiple lores (Ulric has two lores, for example).

Learning additional lores have an XP cost:

·         2nd lore: 200 XP

·         3rd lore: 300 XP

·         4th lore: 400 XP

·         Etc.

You get base spells for the new lore for free.

The most common lores are the eight lores of Color Magic taught to Empire wizards and the divine lores:

·         Color: The 8 disciplines taught to Empire wizards.

·         Divine: The various divine blessings wielded by the priests of each god (Chaos gods grant Chaos lores instead, see below).

Other lores include (but are not limited to):

·         Damsel: The magic wielded by the Damsels of the Lady of the Lake.

·         Elemental: The magic wielded by the druids of the Old Faith. Very rare.

·         Illusion: Some overlap with the Lore of Shadow, but this is an older form of magic not taught in Altdorf.

Dark Lores

Dark lores work the same as other lores. Learn/use only if you crave corruption and like meeting witch-hunters:

·         Daemonology: Summoning and controlling daemons of Chaos. Dark stuff.

·         Necromancy: Creating and controlling the undead (some overlap with Amethyst, but not evil).

·         Chaos: Each Chaos god (except Khorne) has one (or more) lores they can grant to their followers.

High Magic

High magic is available only to elven wizards (or so they say). Its basic form is indistinguishable from color magic, but advanced users can “mix” colors to create unique spells. High Magic isn’t inherently more powerful. It just seems that way when you meet a 500-year-old elf wizard who’s mastered every color and casts a bunch of spells you’ve never even heard of.

Wigmar’s Magic

Wigmar uses the Old Magic of Nehekhara, which has more in common with Color Magic than other Divine lores, but follows all the rules for divine magic, not arcane.

As long as Wigmar is Ankh’s Chosen he has a permanent +1 bonus to MR. If he ever falls out of favor (or Ankh is destroyed) he would probably lose all spellcasting ability.

The Crook and Flail can further boost this when held, but only for Death/Light (see above). Persumably there are two additional artifacts that would make a full set of Ankh-Akh’s regalia.