Spellcasting

Spells

A spell is a mystical arcane effect produced by the power of the caster; typically, this power is drawn from the underlying Aether of the universe and comes from either an outside source, like a god or legendary creature, or their own knowledge, amassed from years of study of Aether and its workings. Spells can also be cast by enchanted items, and in such cases follow their own special rules covered here. Spells typically produce some sort of visible and immediately noticeable effect, though this is not always the case.

Spellcasting

When casting a spell, the caster must do 2 things: the first is physically gesticulate, typically performing a sort of somatic allegory for what the spell is doing, e.g. when casting the spell Burst the caster might forcefully push their hands out in a mimicry of what the spell is doing, or the caster might use their hands to wind back the arms of a spectral clock when casting Rewind; the second requirement is for the caster to create the sounds required for the spell to be cast - the sounds themselves are widely varied and take a variety of forms, from spoken incantations to musical notes to other, more inhuman noises. If the caster cannot perform either of these requirements, then they cannot cast their desired spell unless otherwise indicated by a special exception, such as a class feature or natural ability. Generally speaking, armor that grants disadvantage on DEX checks (including Medium or Large shields) will prevent the casting of spells that cost >1 Mana (though 1-Mana spells can still be modified at the caster's discretion). Finally, casting spells with a range other than Touch or Self will provoke an Attack of Opportunity if the caster is in melee range of an enemy combatant.

Perceiving a Spell Being Cast

Because of the movements and sounds required when casting spells, anyone who can see or hear the caster while they're casting knows that they're casting a spell, though unless they are a spellcaster themselves, they will need to pass an Arcana check to know what spell it is that is being cast. The DR for this check is ultimately up to the GM, but will generally be higher the more powerful and/or complicated the spell. To mask the movements of the spell, the caster can perform a Sleight of Hand check against the perceiver's Perception or Arcana check; to mask the sounds, they must make a Beguilement check.

Spell Traits

Every spell has a collection of traits which detail specific and important aspects of the spell: Mana Cost, Casting Time, Range, Damage, Save, Duration, Area of Effect, Element, Notable Effects, and Modifications.

Mana Cost (M.C.). The amount of Mana the caster must expend to unleash the spell’s power; the caster’s maximum Mana must be > the Mana Cost of a spell for them to be able to cast it at all. When casting a spell, the caster must subtract the Mana Cost of the spell from their remaining Mana; if the M.C. of the spell is > their remaining Mana, they can still cast it, however their Mana will be reduced to 0 and their current Health will be depleted by twice the remaining difference. Additionally, a spell's M.C. can be reduced by 1 by doubling the casting time; the formula to determine the casting time of a spell whose M.C. you are reducing in this way is x(2^y), where x is the spell's original casting time and y is the amount you want to reduce the M.C. by.

Casting Time (C.T.). How long it takes for the spell to be cast, assuming the caster's DEX is <1. If a spell has a casting time, then the caster cannot take any other actions while casting or the casting will fail, however they can re-aim the spell at any point during the casting. Until the casting is complete, the caster is considered to be concentrating (see Duration below) on the spell.

Range (Rng.). How far away from the caster’s current position the origin point of the spell can be placed/the target(s) can be; the caster must have line of sight on the origin point/target(s) in order to cast the spell. If the caster has line of sight but cannot actually see the origin point/target(s), then any damage caused by the spell must be rolled with disadvantage, or if the spell requires a save, the target makes it with advantage. Casting spells with a range other than Touch or Self will provoke an Attack of Opportunity if the caster is in melee range of another combatant.

Damage (Dmg.). Whether or not a spell deals damage, and if it does, its amount and/or type. If the Damage part of a spell's description specifies an amount of damage, e.g. 1d6, then it deals exactly that amount of damage (plus the caster's spellcasting ability) unless it can be modified otherwise. If it only gives a damage type or "Variable", then it is assumed to deal 1d6 base damage scaled to the caster's Arcane Power proficiency (unless the description says otherwise), with a bonus equal to the caster's spellcasting ability. For example, if a spell says it deals burn damage, the caster has 3 Arcane Power proficiency, and their spellcasting ability is INT, then the spell deals 3d6 + their INT burn damage, likely reduced by the target's R-DEF. Unless otherwise specified, assume a spell's damage is reduced by the R-DEF of the target(s) or those caught within the Area of Effect. If a spell's effects say its damage is reduced only by a creature's Natural Armor, then it may also be reduced by the Armor Bonus granted by their Helmet, Boots, or Gauntlets, depending on how the creature is interacting with the spell. A creature can take damage from a spell only once per turn, even if the source of the damage could theoretically be applied multiple times in a single turn.

Save. What type of save, if any, is needed; saves are always made against the caster's Arcane Save DR. If more than one type of save is listed (e.g. Fort./Ref.), the target decides which save they make. The effects of failing the save will be described in Notable Effects. If a spell requires repeated saves, such as at the start or end of the target's turns, and the Modifications allow the caster to impose disadvantage on the save, then that disadvantage applies only to the initial save made by the target.

Duration (Dur.). How long the spell can last. Spells with the Concentration (C) tag as part of their duration require the caster’s constant focus, and being attacked can cause the caster to lose focus, ending the spell prematurely. If the caster takes damage while casting a spell with the Concentration (C) tag, they must make a Willpower save against twice the final damage dealt; on a failure, the spell ends. A caster can only sustain one Concentration-tagged spell at a time, but they can cast other non-Concentration spells while they do so.

Area of Effect (AoE). Detailed below.

Element (Elm). Which element, sub-element, and/or pseudo-element, if any, the spell belongs to.

Notable Effects (Efcs.). What will happen inside the spell’s AoE/to its targets. The format of the Notable Effects section is a brief amount of flavor text with no mechanical bearing in paragraph form, followed by the mechanical effects of the spell in bullet-point form.

Modifications (Mods.) How the spell can be modified, if at all, and the cost for doing so. Any modifications made to a spell must be made and declared at the time the spell is cast unless the modification explicitly says otherwise; additionally, Mana spent modifying a spell in one way does not count towards Mana spent to modify it in another way.

Areas of Effect

A spell’s Area of Effect (AoE) gives the shape of the spell, as well as the dimensions of that shape. Each shape has a point of origin, or a spot from which the spell’s power and energy erupt. The direction into which it erupts is usually up to the caster, though some spells default to the direction the caster is facing.

The shape and dimensions of a spell’s AoE is specified in its description, and the different possible shapes (and their respective points of origin) are given here:

• A cone spell gives the length and width and the point of origin is at the tip;
• A cube spell gives the length of the faces and the point of origin is in the middle of one face;
• A cylinder spell gives diameter and length and the point of origin is on one face;
• A line spell gives length (and sometimes height), is assumed to be 1 meter wide, and the point of origin is at one end;
• And a sphere spell gives diameter and the point of origin is in the exact center.

Instead of a shape, a spell may specify a number of targets for the spell to affect. In this case, the spell’s description will specify what the targets must be and how many of them there can be. A creature will usually not know it has been targeted unless the spell produces some sort of perceivable effect, though some spells, such as Read Thoughts, are not typically perceivable (after being cast) unless the spell’s description says otherwise.

Spell Traps

Any spell that does not have the "Concentration" tag and does not have a range of "Self" can be set as a trap. When it is, the spell becomes a glyph, or a circular collection of arcane runes, symbols, and energy that faintly glow with the spell’s power and which must be 15cm - 1m in diameter. A glyph cannot be disarmed ordinary means, though when set off, the energy of the glyph is expended and it disappears; alternatively, the Dispel Arcane spell will dissipate the glyph and render it inert if Dispel Arcane is cast with >1/2 the Mana the glyph was created with. If a spell set as a trap has a range, it targets itself; if it requires a target to be selected, the target is who/whatever triggered the glyph; and if it has a direction for the AoE, that direction is the direction the glyph is facing.

There are 4 steps to setting a spell as a trap:

1. The caster casts the spell as normal;
2. They designate a surface or small object that they can touch to embed the power and effects of the spell into;
3. They spend the casting time of the spell imbuing the spell’s power into that surface or object;
4. They set the conditions for the spell trap to trigger, e.g. touching the spell glyph, moving the object the glyph is placed on, opening the book the glyph was placed in, etc. All spell traps have following conditions: 1. if the glyph is moved 3m from where it was placed, the spell goes off, and 2. the glyph lasts 6 days by default, but its lifespan can be extended by 1 day for every extra Mana spent on it at the time it was created.

To spot a glyph - assuming its presence isn't obvious - a creature can make an Arcana or Perception check against what the caster’s Arcane Save DR was at the time they made the glyph. To determine what spell the glyph contains, the perceiver must succeed on an Arcana check against what the caster’s Arcane Save DR was at the time they set the trap.

Portal Familiarity

When casting the Portal spell, refer to the following table when determining whether your portal opens where you intended; roll a d100 to determine if your portal opens on target, using the value ranges appropriate to your level of familiarity with the target location. If your portal does not open on target, then it opens at a random distance and direction away based on the distances given in the Distance From Target column. For clarity, each level of familiarity is described briefly here.

Very Familiar. You have spent an extended amount of time in the target location, such as having stayed there for at least a few weeks or visited it multiple times. You are easily able to recall what it looks, sounds, and smells like from memory.

Somewhat Familiar. You have visited the target location a couple of times or otherwise spent a minor amount of time there; alternatively, you may have researched it extensively, possibly having read a great deal about it and could easily locate it on a map. If a place you would be Very Familiar with has changed significantly since you were last there, use this level of familiarity.

Casually Familiar. You may have been to the target location once or twice, possibly passing through before or having visited it a few years ago; alternatively, you may have done some inexhaustive research on it, having been told about it a bit by a trusted source, reading a passage or two about it in a book, or maybe you've seen a couple of accurate pictures of it. With a bit of time and effort, you could find it on a map, or at least know its general area. If a place you would be Somewhat Familiar with has changed significantly since you were last there, use this level of familiarity.

Hardly Familiar. At best, you visited the target location many years ago, but only briefly and without taking the time or effort to familiarize yourself with it. Otherwise, you may have read a bit about it, but whatever information you could find was sparse or outdated, or you may have seen a somewhat-accurate picture of it. If a place you would be Casually Familiar with has changed significantly since you were last there, use this level of familiarity.

Not Familiar. You have heard about the target location in passing, but have never been there nor have you looked into it to any noteworthy degree. You might have some slight idea of what it looks like or the general region that it is in, but nothing more.

Familiarity	On Target	Distance From Target
Very Familiar	01-100	--
Somewhat Familiar	01-75 + Arcanist level	2d10km
Casually Familiar	01-50 + Arcanist level	5d10km
Hardly Familiar	01-25 + Arcanist level	10d10km
Not Familiar	01-05 + Arcanist level	20d10km

Creating Spells

The spells any given caster has access to are many and varied. However, the imaginations of players are infinite, and it is almost certain that you or another player may want to cast a spell that is not listed. While the various aspects of the spell may be easy to come up with, determining the Mana Cost of a new spell may seem like a strange and esoteric practice; thankfully, however, this is not the truth. Determining a spell's Mana Cost is (mostly) quite easy and can be done by following this table; assume the cost of the spell starts at 0.

Spell Aspect	M.C. Alteration
Range
<50m	+0
50m - 250m	+1
250m - ½km	+2
½km - 1km	+3
>1km	+4
Damage
Default	+0
Each extra d6	+1
Sustained damage	+1
Less or no damage	-1
Save
Any save required	+1
Duration
Instant	+0
1-9 minutes	+1
10-59 minutes	+2
1-11 hours	+3
12-23 hours	+4
> 1 day	+5

Spell Aspect	M.C. Alteration
AoE
Cone	+1 for every 1-6m
Cube	+1 for every 1-8m
Cylinder	+1 for every 1-4m of diameter, +1 for every 1-10m of length
Line	+1 for every 1-5m of height, +1 for every 1-10m of length
Sphere	+1 for every 1-10m of diameter
Targets	+1 for every 1-3, not counting the first
Notable Effects
Highly variable, may increase or decrease the spell's cost.	+/- Varies

The table given here should mostly be used as a guideline to give you a foundation to start with, rather than an absolute. If you believe your spell should cost a little bit more or less than the value you arrived at, then feel free to adjust it as you feel is necessary, just be certain to clear the spell with your GM.

Spell Misfires

At certain times or under certain conditions - some examples of which are given below - spells might misfire, causing strange and random effects. If, how, and when misfires occur is largely up to your GM, and here are a few situations in which they might occur:

• Spells have a percent chance to misfire equal to some value times their Mana Cost (good for "corrupted" or otherwise compromised areas/enchanted items);
• Spells might misfire if their casting is interrupted;
• Spells might misfire if the Counterspell spell is used on them.

If an effect says the caster or the target is affected, there is a 50% chance which it is. Additionally, if an effect says it applies to the target, it applies to all of the chosen targets of the spell unless it would not make sense to do so. If the effect is a spell that requires a save, use the caster's Arcane Save DR.