Rough Magic 3e EN:Magic
Avenues Of Magic
The Société Impériale de Thaumaturgie divides magic into five approved "avenues", or categories: Alteration (changing one type of matter or energy to another type of matter or energy), Conjuration (creating matter or energy from nothing), Divination (perceiving through time, space, or both), Enchantment (influencing the minds of others), and Illusion (creating images without substance).
- Alteration is concerned with the magician's ability to change, often radically, the structure and composition of any object. Alteration may change one form of matter or energy to another form of matter or energy.
- Conjuration is concerned with the magician's ability to create matter or energy out of nothing. In truth, creating something from nothing is impossible, even for a magician, but the actual source is somewhere far enough away that it makes no difference.
- Divination is concerned with obtaining information through magical means. Divination can find hidden things, reveal the truth behind deceptive magic, and see into the future or the past.
- Enchantment is concerned with beguiling and controlling the minds of others. Enchantment can make someone see something that no one else can see, can influence someone's behaviour, or even alter their memories.
- Illusion is concerned with appearances. Illusion spells can be used to camouflage, illuminate, or obscure something without changing its structure or fundamental nature.
There are two additional avenues which the SIT has prohibited, and which carry a harsh sentence for those convicted of using them: Diabolism (communing with entities beyond the mortal world) and Necromancy (manipulating the forces of death and undeath).
Casting Spells
The core game mechanic for casting spells is the same as for any other action: 2d6 + the character's action value versus 8 + the difficulty value of the task. For example, straightforward combat spells which inflict levels of endurance damage, an attacker's attack value (AV) would be equal to their Power + the rank of any equipment that aids in magical combat (wands, rods, and staves are the most common), and a defender's defense value (DV) would be equal to their Will + the rank the rank of any equipment that aids in magical combat (such equipment is useful for both attack and defense, but it is useless for anything other than magical combat). The number if endurance levels lost by the defender is based on how well the attacker rolled, as usual.
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Mage Sight
Any character with at least one rank in Power has the gift the Société Impériale de Thaumaturgie calls "mage sight". Mage sight is equal parts clairvoyance, telepathy, and good old-fashioned intuition. A person with mage sight can tell if a person is lying, hiding something, or simply misguided. A person's general character could be discerned with mage sight, as well as their motivations or basic personality traits. The person with mage sight may have a sense for the "rightness" or "wrongness" of a situation, even if she does not consciously recognize what makes her feel this way.
In game terms, a character with mage sight may add their Power to their Will or Perception when making a roll to understand another person's motivation or state of mind, or to assess the safety of their current surroundings. Mage sight is not directly useful for making Manipulation or Social rolls to influence other people's behaviour, but it might provide the magician with an insight that helps them focus their efforts in a useful direction.
Mage sight has other uses, as well. For example, if a character with mage sight is being spied upon using Divination, they may attempt a frustrating (difficulty 9) Perception + Power roll to notice the fact. If they achieve an extreme success on this roll, they also notice whether the person spying on them is in the past, present, or future.
Two things mage sight does not do are detect magic in a general sense, and detect if another person is themselves a magician or supernatural creature. Obtaining that kind of information requires the use of Divination magic.