Rules / Magic / Casting a Spell
Casting a Spell
Make a Mysticism (Channeling) check against:
Spell DC = 10 + the spell's total Strain cost
Total Strain = base Strain + delivery Strain + modifier Strain ± component/delivery-limit adjustments.
| Result | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Critical Success | Spell works, with any critical-success benefits it lists. No Strain. Roll 2d8 on the positive (right) side of the school's Wild Surge table; you may ignore the result. |
| Success | Spell works as intended. No Strain. |
| Failure | Spell still works, but triggers a Wild Surge: roll 1d30 on the school's table. Take its Strain. |
| Critical Failure | Spell fails. You still take its Strain, and roll 2d8 on the negative (left) side of the school's Wild Surge table; you must apply it. |
The extra Strain from a Push or a Quick Cast is the price of the faster action, so you pay it whatever the result.
Resolving Targets
- Each target makes its own save, opposed by your Channeling check result for that casting.
- Area deliveries affect everything in the area, perceived or not, unless the spell says otherwise.
Damage
- Damage type comes from Trappings; Resistance halves and Vulnerability doubles as normal.
- Soak reduces spell damage normally unless stated otherwise (Persistent Damage follows its own rules and ignores Soak).
- A spell hitting several targets at once rolls damage once and applies it to each.
- A spell producing several separate hits (multiple bolts or rays) resolves each separately, with its own save and damage roll.
Critical Results on Saves
- If the spell lists a Critical Failure effect, apply it when a target critically fails its save.
- If a damaging spell lists no Critical Failure effect, a target that critically fails takes double damage.
- If your Channeling check critically succeeds and a target critically fails, apply both. When doubling, double the final damage after all other increases.
Conditions from Spells
Spells apply conditions exactly as written. Lingering conditions can be shaken off with the normal Lingering recovery rules. If the spell gives the condition a duration, it also ends when that duration expires.
Group Casting
With GM approval, other casters can feed a main caster extra power. Each assistant rolls a DC 10 Mysticism check; for every 2 points by which they beat the DC, they may spend 1 Strain to give the main caster 1 Strain toward a spell cast that round. In combat, donated Strain must be used before the end of the current round; outside combat everyone simply acts together.
Delivery
Delivery defines how a spell reaches its targets and adds to its total Strain. Deliveries with the AOE trait affect multiple targets without per-target cost, but hit everything in the area (allies included) unless you use Selective Shape. Some spells impose delivery restrictions (e.g. doubled cost for AOE) listed in their entries.
| Delivery | Base Strain | Area / Target | Scaling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura (AOE) | 2 | 10-ft-radius emanation centered on you | +1 per +5 ft radius |
| Cone (AOE) | 2 | 15-ft cone from you | +2 per additional 5 ft length |
| Cube (AOE) | 1 | 5-ft cube in a space you can see | +4 per additional 5-ft cube |
| Glyph | 2 | 5-ft-square glyph on a surface/object you can see; no other glyph within Close. You choose when it releases as a 5-ft cube centered on it, then it vanishes. | No scaling |
| Imbue | 0 | A weapon held by a willing creature in range. On its next hit, spend 1 Strain to release the spell on the struck target as if by Touch, with no action. | +2 per additional target |
| Line (AOE) | 2 | 5 ft wide, 30 ft long, 10 ft tall | +1 per +10 ft length; +5 ft width or up to +10 ft height doubles the delivery cost |
| Remote | 0 | One creature within 30 ft | +1 per additional 30-ft increment beyond the first; +1 per additional target |
| Sphere (AOE) | 2 | 5-ft-radius sphere at a point you can see | +1 per +5 ft radius |
| Touch | 0 | One target within reach, or yourself | No scaling |
Casting Time and Duration
| Category | Casting Time | Duration Unit | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invocation | Encounter action (usually 2 AP, marked ➁) | Rounds | Most combat spells; many can be sustained |
| Chant | 1 minute | Stretches (10 minutes) | Short exploration magic |
| Ritual | 10 minutes | Hours (usually ≤ 12) | Most exploration spells |
| Seance | 1 hour | Hours (usually ≤ 1 day) | Travel magic |
Sustaining and Ending Spells
- Any spell lasting longer than 1 round can be sustained unless it says otherwise. Instant spells can't be sustained.
- When the duration would end, you may extend it by one more interval of the same length.
- In an encounter, sustaining costs 2 Reaction Points.
- Sustaining works like casting the spell again with the same delivery and modifiers: make a new Mysticism (Channeling) check against the same DC and use the Casting a Spell results. On a success the spell continues and costs no Strain. On a failure it continues, you take its total Strain and you trigger a Wild Surge. On a critical failure the spell ends, and you take its Strain and roll the negative Wild Surge.
- Sustain (X) trait: the sustain check is against DC 10 + X, and a failure costs X Strain instead of the spell's total.
- Unless a spell says otherwise, you can end one of your spells early for 1 RP.
Concentration
Spells with the Concentration trait end if you lose Concentration. A Concentration spell may also have a Sustain cost. You may drop Concentration at any time (no action). Moving and attacking don't break it. You lose Concentration when:
- You cast another Concentration spell (only one at a time).
- You take damage and fail a Mysticism (Channeling) check with DC = 10 + half the damage taken (after Soak and Resistance). Roll separately for each damage source.
- You become incapacitated or die.
The GM may also require a DC 10 Channeling check under extreme conditions (e.g. a storm-tossed boat).
Invested Spells
Some long-lasting spells draw continuously on the Aether. While an Invested spell is active, your maximum Strain is reduced by the spell's Strain cost; it returns to normal when the spell ends. Invested spells may or may not also require Concentration.