Warlords Of Kruhl 3e EN:Magic

Contents

All magic in Warlords Of Kruhl is either arcane or sacred. Spell casters do not have set spell lists: they can use a standard action to cast any appropriate spell if they have the power to fuel that spell, and if they succeed at their skill roll to cast it.

Arcane Casters

Arcane casters manipulate the raw essence of the universe through a combination of training, education, and inherent ability. The entire spectrum of magical practice is available to arcane casters, with one exception: restoration magic. Arcane casters can't use magic to heal or to restore lost attributes.

An arcane caster has Arcane Power, which is an expendable resource used to empower their spells. The character's maximum Arcane Power is equal to their Power Level ×2. The character regains all of their spent Arcane Power after a solid night's rest. They may also regain a partial amount by studying their magical texts and meditating. They may recover half of their spent Arcane Power (rounded up) by studying their magical texts and meditating for about an hour.

Sacred Casters

Unlike arcane casters, sacred casters do not rely on education or training. Sacred casters channel the power of their god or gods (or in the case of druids, the primal power of nature itself) to perform miracles. Sacred casters focus on the spheres of influence of their gods, and are not able to cast spells which would directly undermine their gods' authority or importance.

A sacred caster has Sacred Power, which is an expendable resource used to empower their spells. The character's maximum Sacred Power is equal to their Power Level ×2. The character regains all of their spent Sacred Power after a solid night's rest. They may also regain a partial amount by studying their religious texts and meditating. They may recover half of their spent Sacred Power (rounded up) by studying their religious texts and meditating for about an hour.

The Cost Of Magic

If the skill roll to cast a spell succeeds, the caster must pay the cost in Arcane Power or Sacred Power. The more complex the spell, the more it drains the caster's reserve of magical power. However, it is possible to reduce that cost, up to a point.

Spell Level

By default, a spell:

Requires a standard action to cast
Affects a single target, or less than a two meter diameter area
Can create an ordinary object of mediocre quality, up to 5 kg
Has a brief duration (less than a round for combat spells, less than an hour for noncombat spells)
Inflicts or restores at most 1 Endurance damage
Can move a 5 kg object up to 5 m (but not as an attack)
Protects against natural attacks (adds character's Power Level to their defense roll)
Has hand-to-hand range
Can cause a noise, odour, taste, image, or other simple sensory effect (but not as an attack)
Has a result that is found in nature
Has an otherwise ordinary effect that would take a person with proper tools and training up to an hour to accomplish

A spell of this kind is called "petty magic" or a "cantrip". Petty magic does not require a skill roll unless the target is a person or creature, and it does not cost Arcane Power or Sacred Power.

The more aspects a spell has, the greater its cost in Arcane Power or Sacred Power. The number of aspects a spell has is sometimes called its "circle" or "level". Each aspect increases the Arcane Power or Sacred Power cost by 1.

Area: The spell affects everything within an area (maximum area based on the caster's Power Level)
Creation: The spell creates an ordinary object of good quality (maximum mass based on the caster's Power Level)
Duration: The spell lasts beyond a single round (maximum duration equal to "general effect", based on the caster's Power Level; rounds for combat spells, hours for noncombat spells)
Information: The spell provides information about a person, place, or thing (maximum range based on the caster's Power Level)
Injury: The spell inflicts +1 Endurance damage
Motion: The spell moves an object to a location (maximum mass and range based on the caster's Power Level)
Perception: The spell allows the caster to perceive a person, place, or thing (maximum range based on the caster's Power Level)
Protection: The spell grants protection against both natural and unnatural attacks (adds character's Power Level to their defense roll)
Range: The spell has range beyond hand-to-hand (maximum range based on the caster's Power Level)
Salvo: The spell affects multiple people simultaneously (maximum number of targets equal to "general effect", based on the caster's Power Level)
Sensation: The spell creates a convincing illusion with all associated sensory effects (maximum area based on the caster's Power Level)
Summoning: The spell summons a creature to aid the caster (maximum attributes of creature equal to "general effect", based on the caster's Power Level)
Transformation: The spell changes a person, place, or thing into something else (maximum attributes of a creature is equal to "general effect", based on the caster's Power Level; if a transformed creature is reduced to 0 Endurance, the transformation ends)
Travel: The spell moves a person or creature to a location (maximum range based on the caster's Power Level)
Unnatural: The spell has a result that does not occur in nature
Utility: The spell has an otherwise ordinary effect that would take a person or persons with proper tools and training more than an hour to accomplish

Count the number of aspects the spell has: this is its level. Apply the spell level as a penalty to the character's Occult roll. If the roll is successful, deduct the spell level from the character's Power Pool.

Techniques

Each technique used reduces the cost of the spell by 1 Arcane Power or Sacred Power. The cost in Arcane Power or Sacred Power can be reduced by up to half (rounded in the character's favour, to a minimum of 1).

Contagion: The caster has an item important to the target, or a part of the target itself
Focus: The caster holds a wand, staff, amulet, holy symbol, or other obvious object
Invocation: The caster makes elaborate gestures and recites magic phrases
Ritual: The caster spends 2d6 * 10 minutes to cast the spell
Sacrifice: The caster ceremoniously kills something... an animal, let's say
Material: The caster uses materials one does not normally have at hand, which are consumed by the casting of the spell

Rolling Dice

If the aspect of a spell is greater than 0, or the target is a person or creature, the spell requires a skill roll to cast. The caster rolls Occult (Presence) and subtracts the effective aspect of the spell (after any reductions for technique) from their roll. For example, if the aspect of the spell were 2, and the arcane caster used the focus technique to reduce the effective aspect to 1, they would roll Occult (Presence) and subtract 1 from their roll.

If the spell is a natural attack, then the caster may add their Power Level to their Occult (Presence) roll.

The spell is either resisted by the intended target, or it is a remarkably difficult (DV 6) task when the target is not a person or creature.

Magic In Combat

Each attack spell is either natural or unnatural.

Spells which create or redirect natural forces, such as fire, water, darkness, and light, are natural attacks. Conventional armor (or a spell which serves a similar purpose) is effective against natural attacks. To make a natural attack with a spell, the caster rolls Occult (Presence) and adds their Power level to their roll. Natural attacks are usually opposed with a Hand-to-hand Combat (Brawn) roll or a Ranged Combat (Agility) roll, and the defender may add the rating of their conventional defenses to their roll.

Unnatural attacks are those which affect the target's mind directly, which transform the target in some way, or which affect one of the target's attributes other than Endurance. Conventional defenses are not effective against unnatural attacks: only Magic Resistance (or a spell which serves a similar purpose) is effective against unnatural attacks. To make an unnatural attack with a spell, the caster rolls Occult (Presence); the caster does not add their Power Level to their roll. Unnatural attacks are usually opposed with a Magic Resistance (Presence) roll; the defender does not add the rating of their conventional defenses to their roll.

Recovering From A Magical Attack

If the spell is a natural attack, then it inflicts Endurance damage, just like any other attack. The target then heals that damage as they would damage from any other attack.

If the spell is an unnatural attack -- beguiling them or turning them into a toad, for example -- then the target uses a quick action on each of their turns to attempt a Magic Resistance (Presence) roll to break free of the spell. The difficulty value of this roll is the roll the magician made when they cast the spell, and the Magic Resistance roll ignores the usual roll modifiers, such as being prone or distracted. For example, if a magician cast a spell turning the target into stone, and they rolled a total of 15, then the petrified character may use a quick action on each of their turns to make an unmodified Magic Resistance (Presence) roll. The petrified character uses their original, pre-petrified Presence for this roll.

If the unnatural attack affects the target mentally in some way, by beguiling them or altering their perceptions, for example, the spell ends if the target is successfully attacked. The target will be aware of what actually happened once the spell ends.

If the unnatural attack transforms the target physically, or it affects one of the target's attributes other than Endurance, the transformation ends if the transformed creature is reduced to 0 Endurance. The target's Endurance returns to its pre-transformation value, and any damage taken while physically transformed is ignored. (This assumes that the transformation is against the will of the character. If the caster is using transformation magic to try and make their warrior friend immune to damage, it won't work, and it may backfire horribly. The gods are cruel to people who try to find loopholes in the laws of magic.)

Defensive Magic

In the event magic is used defensively, the caster must first cast the spell successfully. Like all unopposed spells, the caster must succeed at a remarkably difficult (DV 6) Occult (Presence) roll, and spend the appropriate amount of Arcane Power or Sacred Power. For the duration of the spell, the caster adds their Power level to their relevant defense rolls.