Sample Magic Systems

On this page, several magic systems are described, along with the intent behind their design, to give some ideas on design "how-to".

• "Classic" Fantasy I - the D&D magic system.
• "Classic" Fantasy II - the magic system from my own "Gothick Empires" game.
• Voodoo on the high seas - magic from Tim Powers' "On Stranger Tides".
• Feng Shui - a setting for Geomantic magic.
• Under the Gaze of the Inquisition - a magic system for a game with a "medieval" setting.
• Unspeakable Powers from Beyond Time and Space - a Lovecraftian setting.

The D&D Magic setting

The D&D magic system has been described as "Vancian" after the magic used in some of Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" stories, which any aspiring GM should read, along with his "Lyonesse" series. The basic principle in these stories was that the mage impressed his trained mind with mystic symbols of power, which once used, had to be reacquired at a later date. While D&D has departed from this to some extent, the ancestry of the system is still visible.

D&D spell casters are thus characterised by the following features - generally they have a hodgepodge of spells, which they can use once and which are then not available again until they have rested and studied for some hours. Spells can be - and often are - powerful and flashy, but they are also predictable. Magic users in D&D treat their spells like any other tool, and tend to play the role of mobile weapons platforms, since they have a degree of firepower not available to other characters. This is balanced to some extent by an inability to use arms and armour efficiently. Finally, spells tend to be standardised, and acquired (usually at great cost in lives lost) rather than developed, and are inscribed in spell-books. If these are lost, the caster cannot regain his spells.

This magic system is most easily simulated in the following way:

Magic users have a Variable Power Pool with the following limitations:

• Can only change powers after several hours of study and rereading of spellbooks (-1/2)
• Limited powers (spells acquired, -1/4)
• Requires free movement (not bound, no armour, etc., -1/4)
• 1 recoverable charge (-11/2). Note that although all spells may have only one use, it is permissible to have the same spell within the pool several times to allow multiple uses of it. In other words, if the mage wants two fireball spells for one day and "Fireball, 1 use" costs 10 points, the mage cannot add a power to his pool "Fireball, two uses" for 11 points. He must buy "Fireball, one use", twice within the pool. It is however, permissible for some spells to have 1 use, lasts X phases/minutes/etc. to simulate spells with prolonged effects

The spells generally also have limitations such as Gestures and Incantations, and somatic component (OAF), which would reduce their cost, but not all spells have these, so they cannot be used to limit the control cost of the pool.

This system is easy to run, for both players and GM. The GM needs to set up a spellbook of "known" spells which the players can acquire in the course of their adventuring, which have all the limitations (such as gestures, incantations and extra time) and the real cost, noted. Limitations such as Activation Roll or Requires a Skill Roll are not appropriate in most cases. In this game setting, magic is restricted in some ways, but it is absolutely reliable. The player needs to keep track of those spells which he has acquired, and since the cost is set, can easily swap them in and out of his pool by studying. Once they're used, the spells must be relearnt (i.e., the spell charge recovered).

This approach also mimics the D&D approach in another regard. Variable Power pools cannot contain powers (spells) larger than the pool, and they are a relatively expensive way to buy powerful spells since the cost of the pool cannot be limited. To cast a 60 point fireball spell (6d6 EB, area affect) the mage character would have had to had spent at least 69 points on his power pool. If he wants a lot of spells in addition he'd have to spend more. This means that mages will tend to be specialists - since they will probably want to pour as many points as possible into their pool, thus limiting their interest in spending points on physical prowess and combat abilities. However, they will be very powerful since they can (in theory) have access to any power and are relatively unrestricted in their use.

Here's a sample character using this system: Nasrehyu the Mage

Gothick Empires

For Gothick Empires, my own fantasy game, I wanted powerful mages and amazing effects like flying ships. But I didn't want all adventures to degenerate into magical firefights. I wanted skillful thieves and sturdy fighters to be able to share the limelight with mages.

Since I've never had any patience with kludgy approaches like "NPC mages can have these powers, but player character mages cannot" (after all, WHY can't they?) that meant I had to risk making magic powerful, without allowing it to overpower the game. I did this by requiring limitations on all spells that restricted their combat effectiveness. These "laws of magic" apply to all spellcasters: NPC and PC alike, at all times and reflect the way magic works in the Gothick Empires universe. The system has served me well for more than 10 years and is detailed here. There are many magic-using NPCs built using this system here.

On Stranger Tides

Tim Powers' wonderful book "On Stranger Tides" mixes the Spanish Main, buccaneers, voodoo magic and the Fountain of Youth into a roaring adventure yarn. I mentioned his book here because the magic in it is memorable and distinctive. Basically, sorcerers (at least the ones encountered in this tale) gain power by mastering - or appeasing - spirits and tapping their power. The more spirits a sorcerer can call on and the more powerful they are, the more power the sorcerer has. These spirits have certain areas in which their power operates - so Maître Carrefourre (Mate Care-for in buccaneer slang) is a protective spirit and can turn aside bullets, and other forms of harm, for example, while Baron Samedi, the Lord of the Cemeteries, can heal injuries and raise the dead. Using these powers, sorcerers can become virtually invulnerable, fly, foresee the future and so on. Magic also seems to use the principle of contagion - to talk to a dead spirit you need to be at his grave. To resurrect a dead person, you need their body - or at least a piece of it. To talk to Maître Carrefourre (the lord of the crossroads) you had best go to a crossroads - and so on. The second thing that magic needs is "hot" or "live" iron - the kind in blood or in meteorites. Blood however, is far easier to get than glowing meteorites, so you can guess what sorcerers mostly use.

However, there is a catch. Cold or "dead" iron (particularly in its pure form) is antithetical to magic - it drains the life out of it and magic-use in turn heats up cold iron. Thus magic is fading away before the Enlightenment and the industrial age. In European countries, the air and soil is impregnated with tiny specks of iron from forges and furnaces, from plows and swords, in all but the most remote areas and magic is weak or nonexistent. In the 18th century, when the story is set, magic survives only in fringe areas - like the Americas - where industrialisation and iron are rare, and even there magic is easier at sea - away from the land and its iron.

In addition, spell-use drains the caster, making him weak for long periods of time. Meat - especially the hot iron-rich blood - can restore some of the energy lost, but powerful spellcasters have to avoid iron, or their power gradually fades, so meat can't be cooked in an iron pot, or cut with iron knives or even killed with an iron-containing weapon. They therefore tend to become anemic. Moreover, if one knows something about magic, one can protect oneself against it by making a link between cold iron and the "hot" iron in the blood - forming a link through which the magic can be "grounded" rather like an electric charge. This could be done by stabbing an iron needle into a vein, for example (although if this heats up, in the presence of magic, it could be a problem....) and linking it by touching to a larger piece of iron.

Finally in this world, magic seems to be discreet - when a mage want to kill a foe, he summons a dead man to do it, casts a muscle-cramping spell, or uses a sword - not a lightning bolt. Moreover, it is not always plain when magic is being used - except for the smell of red-hot iron...

Because of these limitations, magic is rare and in this world few people believe in it. The sight of something obviously magical almost always causes a panic among normal people.

There are several ways to simulate this style of magic. The first, is simply to assign the various powers areas of influence and allow a sorcerer to use spells in those areas if he has bound the appropriate spirit. More fun, however - and truer to the spirit of the book - is to make sorcerers bargain with the spirits (Loas) for the powers they want, or - if they are powerful enough - trap and threaten them. The GM will have to specify which spirits are around and what their area of interest is. It would also be useful to define their powers, since it is not impossible that any player mages will have to fight a loa from time to time. Spirits of the dead can also become loas, getting more powerful as they grow older, and they also can grant powers - though smaller and weaker than the great loas from long ago.

A sample loa (Grandpére Ubu) is here.

Thus, the first spell any aspiring wizard (Bocor) has to learn is summoning - a long and complex ritual. Many of the pirates in the book knew small - but nevertheless useful - magics. Presumably they only summoned small loas. More powerful bocors can summon greater loas (i.e.: they have more points invested in Summoning). A reasonable way of dealing with this is to assume that a loa can teach any spell it knows, and loas are not subject to the rules on spells given for mortal mages below. On the other hand, loas are not something you deal with casually - they can be vindictive and cruel. They may attack the summoner or attempt to possess him if they are feeling angry or if they decide they are not being treated with sufficient respect, or if they are unsatisfied with the sacrifices offered. And there is always the possibility that the loa you get may not be the one you asked for....

The summoning spell itself therefore looks like this:

Power: Summon (Loas, Limited group, +1/4), points of summoned creature will be defined by the points invested).

Modifiers: Extra time (5 minutes, -2), OAF (-1 1/2, bulky and expendable: powders and rare herbs, firepot and sacrifices), Side effect (-1, summoning of another loa - note that this side effect can always be more active points than the attempted summoning, but will never be less. And if the wrong loa turns up and doesn't like the sacrifices, it might be angry...)

So, a bocor who wants a spell (having saved up the experience points to pay for it) performs the ritual for summoning the appropriate loa and if it appears, offers the appropriate offerings - blood, alcohol and candy all seem to be good choices - and asks. He may get the power, he may not. He may get possessed by the loa or attacked if it is angry. But if all goes well, he gets a spell, which he can thereafter use - unless he offends the loa in some way, in which case the powers it gave are withdrawn. The spells all have the following limitations:

• Invisible effects (to sight group, +1/2). As mentioned above, magic use is essentially invisible (although its effects need not be) except for the smell of hot iron.
• Causes long term END loss (-1/4) Spell-use wears the caster out - not just at the time, but for some time after. See the full description here for this limitation.
• Side Effect (+1). Drain versus power (up to full points in the power). The way this works is that the Side effect is automatically invoked by the presence of iron on the caster or his target - or anything in between. The side effect is a drain versus the spell being used (1d6 drain points maximum for every 10 points in the spell, so given time the drain will soak up all the energy in the spell), but it requires a kilogram of metal for every d6. Thus a cutlass that weighed 3 kilos would automatically protect its wielder to the extent of a 3d6 drain on the power being used. The metal thus affected soaks up the magic and begins to heat up - becoming red hot (and inflicting 1d6 killing damage where it contacts unprotected skin) in a turn or so. If there is enough metal, then the magic rapidly becomes ineffective, and if there is a lot of iron, the metal-heating effect might be barely noticeable unless very powerful magic was being used. Two final notes - if a link can be made between cold metal and the blood, then the blood can be counted into the weight (an average adult holds about 8 litres or so of blood, for an 8d6 drain). Secondly, land always holds some iron, although it is normally very dilute. Spells always take a 1d6 drain on land in addition to any other iron - which is why important magic is performed at sea. In areas where people have lived and worked with iron for very long, the very soil is permeated with small flecks of it - so there is always as much iron as needed to invoke the full side effect. That means magic won't work for long or at all in such areas.
• Concentration (throughout, 1/2 DCV, -1/4). Magical powers in this setting require constant attention. A forcefield provided by Mate Care-For can turn aside a musket ball - but only if you ask him to. He's not watching out specifically for you - and so there are no powers which can be activated and left to run under their own power (like magical armour, for example). This means sorcery in a combat setting is a difficult thing to manage.
• Gestures (-1/4). As noted above, magic is an active process - the spell caster needs to point at his target, and spells can be "batted away" by protective magic - but only if the caster is capable of reacting appropriately.

Finally, remember, when magic is uncommon, its power is magnified. For a setting such as this where magical knowledge is limited, I would suggest disallowing power frameworks and requiring each spell to be bought straight. While limitations such as Focus (IAF -1/2, representing fetishes and charms, or Blackbeard's slow matches), Extra Time or Incantations are not required, they certainly seem seem to fit the milieu and others can be added to reduce the cost of individual spells. A full list of appropriate limitations is provided on another page. In addition, the wise bocor will spend some points on magical lore KS:s - it never hurts to know about the unseen world so that you can talk correctly to someone (or something) unexpected that answered your summoning....

Feng Shui

There are many fantasy worlds in which magic really exists in the modern world. One thing all of these stories have in common is the fact that magic is uncommon and covert. After all, if magic was common, then the story would no longer be set in a recognisable modern world. There are many ways of doing this, and the different ways of making magic rare are discussed in Designing Magical Worlds. One way used in the very popular "Feng Shui" roleplaying game was to postulate that all magic requires the manipulation of Chi energy. Chi energy is normally too diffuse to do serious magic with, but there are some places where it is concentrated - places with strong Feng Shui. Feng Shui concentration depends on precise geometric and geographical alignment, so it is very difficult to create sites with strong Feng Shui. That means that those sites which do exist, are created accidentally and are thus very rare. This accounts both for the rarity of magic, and its covert nature. Magicians keep a low profile, since the fierce competition of other mages for the existing Feng Shui sites makes maintaining a high profile hazardous to your health. Not only that, if someone discovers a mage's Feng Shui site they hold his power in their hands. Not all sites are of equivalent value. The stronger they are, the more prized - and the better guarded - they are likely to be.

Chi energy is not just valuable to mages, however, although they are most adept in its use. Anyone who owns a Feng Shui site will benefit from the good Feng Shui it generates. Thus, in this game world, the only way to buy "powers" - whether spells or mystic abilities - is to psychically "own" a Feng Shui site. This is done by expelling anybody else who has a claim.

So, all powers in such a game must be bought with the limitations:

• IIF, Immobile (-11/4). This reflects the fact that the powers gained if one owns a Feng Shui site are not obvious - except to those who can detect such things. Obviously a site cannot be moved or altered, so it counts as an immobile focus.
• Powers cannot be greater than the Feng Shui of the site (-1/4). This means that the GM must define the points available through the site. If Old Lo's Mansion is a weak Feng Shui site it may be rated as a 10 point site - so no powers greater than 10 active points can be powered by that site. If the owner of Old Lo's Mansion later acquires the Blue Jade garden - a 20 point site, he can now use 30 active point powers. If he later loses Old Lo's Mansion, he can only use spells or powers of up to 20 active points.

However, these are the only required Limitations. Spells in the Feng Shui universe can be (and often are) flashy. Gestures and incantations are suitable limitations for spell casting but other mystical powers may or may not have other limitations. In such a game world magic is not inobvious - it is merely hidden.

This approach can be used in any "modern magic" game. The source of power need not be Feng Shui sites - it could be ley lines, or ancient faery mounds or even mobile power sources (such as gems, for example). Anything would serve, as long as it is a limiting resource.

Medieval Magic

A common theme in many fantasy novels, which is rarely used in games, is the persecution of magic-users by the authorities. This theme echoes that of our own history with the pursuit of dabblers in forbidden knowledge by the inquisition. It is rarely used in games because there magic is normally regarded as a useful tool, but it offers interesting possibilities for gaming nonetheless.

To make a viable game setting from this, two question must be answered. The first is: "Why are magic-users persecuted?" The second is "How are the persecutors able to successfully challenge magic users?"

The first question may have many answers. In our own world, the church regarded any enquiry outside the bounds it had set as potentially heretical, and enquiries into magic simply fell within the scope of this proscription. The inquisition was able to get away with persecuting would-be magic-users for the simple reason that magic - in our world - doesn't work. The first answer would work well enough in a fantasy setting, but the second one is not going to be much fun.

However, there are other answers to the first question. Magic may be proscribed because it is evil, or it may be regarded as simply too dangerous. The authorities may ban it simply because of the potentially destabilising effects of magic on the status quo. The idea of magic as dangerous or evil, is explored in more detail in Designing Magical Worlds. The second question is addressed below.

If you assume that magic-users are persecuted, one must also assume some sort of persecutors. It is possible that magic use is not actually forbidden, but regarded as unwholesome. In this case, persecution is carried out by "ordinary folk". People suspected as being mages are shunned, can't get service in inns, get stones thrown at them in town and so on. While viable, this approach presents some problems if one assumes that magic does work and is capable of doing useful things. People are unlikely to throw stones at someone who can throw fireballs (more than once anyway!), and nobles are unlikely to sneer too long at someone who can cure their ills, or help against their enemies - unless there is a very strong reason to do so. And if there is a strong reason to fear magic use and magic-users, it would seem likely that some form of inquisition is not too far behind. If magic-use is actually forbidden, it is even more likely that there are people devoted to stamping it out.

This brings us to the core of the second question. If magic use is capable of the feats we associate with it in fantasy games and novels, how do the inquisitors bring down their prey. Mages are dangerous foes - they can kill at a distance, fly, pass through walls, or turn invisible. The inquisition will either have to be very highly trained - or use magic itself. Presumably the inquisition could only use magic, if the source was not too corrupt. If that is not the case - if magic is regarded as "Dark Knowledge", then the inquisitors will have to be very skilled individuals indeed. Below is a game setting based on that concept.

In this game world (not too different from our medieval one), magic is performed by tapping the powers of the cosmic entities which are associated with the planets and stars - the spirit of Gaia (earth) for magic associated with the flesh, or the spirit of Mars for combat-related spells. While magic is not specifically evil, some of these powers (the spirit of Nemesis, for example) are specifically unfriendly to humans. However, none of these powers are subservient to, or friendly to, humans. What makes magic banned by the authorities is thus the possibility of accidentally releasing some of this power. It doesn't matter if all you want to do is warm yourself on a cold night if you release a fire elemental when trying it. Thus, magic - despite its power and potential benefits - is banned. Sorcerers who are caught are tried and executed - they are considered simply too dangerous to let roam free or even to hold in prison. Even to talk with them is considered dangerous unless you are pure in heart - after all, who knows whether it is even a human spirit lurking behind those eyes...

To perform this dangerous but necessary task, the church employs an order of highly trained witchfinders - paladins of a sort. They offer no mercy to spellcasters - even if the mage himself intends only good, the powers he evokes are too potent for safety. Such people must be eliminated for the good of all.

These wizard-hunters have a fighting chance because magic requires the invocation of the planetary spirit. Mages simply do not dare to have spells active at all times - the powers they deal with are simply too dangerous. The magic in this world is (deliberately) based on a loose synthesis of common ideas of medieval European magic, thus, all spells must take the following limitations:

• Incantations (to start, -1/4). This is the invocation of the planetary spirit
• OAF ( -1). This represents material components, which must be related to the particular spell being invoked. In many cases, these may be mundane - such as earth for Gaia - or expensive and difficult to obtain such as star of mercury for the planetary spirit of Mercury (in which case the expendable limit (-1/4 to -1) could be added). See also the note on foci below.
• Requires a skill roll (-1/2). magic is a difficult art and one only perfected by years of study! In addition, this roll is the mechanism by which the side effect is invoked. The caster can always take extra time to make the roll safer, and can get bonuses for tools and environment (see the HSR rules on skills for precise bonuses) which is why most magicians aspire to laboratories well-stocked with magical paraphernalia.
• Side Effect (-1, caused by failing skill roll) This summoning will be of an entity related to the power being invoked. The summoning will be the same number of points as the spell cast - or a minimum of 60 points. This will summon a creature of at least 150 points. Of course, if the GM is feeling cruel, it might be very much more powerful.
• Affected by astrological opposition and conjunction (+/-0). This means that the casting of spells is affected by the star signs of the planetary spirit. The spirits have an elemental nature, and if summoned in an hour or period when the opposing spirit is ascendant, then the skill roll takes a -2 for each opposing factor. However, the spell takes a +2 for each factor of the same element. This is explained more fully below.

• Spells which have a duration (i.e.: constant or continuous powers) must take the limitation "Requires a skill roll for each time interval", for a further -1/2. This reflects the fact that the planetary spirits must be continuously held in check - thus, after the initial skill roll has been successful, the caster must make another after 1 turn, 5 turns, 5 minutes, 1 hour, etc. If they do nothing else, they can use the extra time to get the extra time bonus on their skill roll, thus making the power progressively easier to subdue, but it will never be without risk.

As always, mages can have other limitations on spells to reflect their style of magic, and to reduce the cost. Since mages will be few and far between in this world, their spells will be proportionately more powerful, so one possibility is that mages buy spells straight and do not use power frameworks. Alternatively, one could require them to buy power pools - into which they could only add spells that they had learned. In this latter case, the GM should keep track of which spells have been penned into the mage's grimoires, since this will define the spells he can use. In this case, the pool will look like this:

Power pool: X points

Control cost: (X points/2) limited by Requires a skill roll, OAF, Incantations, Side effect, and limited powers (learned spells) for a total of -3.

Planetary spirit	Star Sign**	Dates	Hours	Element	Metal	Sphere of Influence
Sun	Leo	Jul 21 - Aug 21	8-9	Fire	Gold	Wordly power, Justice
Mercury	Gemini	May 21 - Jun 20	6-7	Air	Mercury	Communications, Knowledge, Hidden things
Venus	Libra	Sep 23 - Oct 22	10-11	Earth	Copper	Love, Sex, Languages
Earth	Taurus	Apr 21 - May 20	5-6	Earth	Brass	Health, Endurance
Moon	Cancer	Jun 21 - Jul 20	7-8	Air	Silver	Fortune, Madness, Inspiration
Nemesis*	Virgo	Aug 22 - Sep 22	9-10	Water	Adamant	War, Vengeance Evil Deeds
Mars	Aries	Mar 21 - Apr 20	4-5	Fire	Iron	Combat, Strength, Bravery
Jupiter	Sagittarius	Nov 23 - Dec 20	12-1	Fire	Tin	Teaching, Necromancy, Defence
Saturn	Capricorn	Dec 21 - Jan 19	1-2	Earth	Lead	Peace, Commerce, Organisation
Uranus	Aquarius	Jan 20 - Feb 18	2-3	Air	Platinum	Magic, Treasure-finding, Friendship
Neptune	Pisces	Feb 19 - Mar 20	3-4	Water	Bronze	Mysticism, Treachery, Travel
Pluto	Scorpio	Oct 23 - Nov 22	11-12	Water	Electrum	Death, Aging, Destruction

*Nemesis is a legendary planet in the same orbit as the earth - and which has a matching periodicity. Since it is opposed to the earth in its orbit, the sun is always between the two, and thus you cannot see one from the other. Nemesis is supposedly a place of evil, the home of devils, and it is decidedly a malign spirit to summon.
** I've taken a few liberties here, messing up genuine medieval superstition, the muddled version of it derived by Crowley and his contemporaries, and my own invention. Don't let it bother you. :-)

Here's an example to show how the system works.

Mercutio of Padua, a wealthy and respected merchant, is also a mage and a member of a coven. He is planning to cast a spell to grant luck to a new ship of his due to sail the next day, since it is early march, and the weather is still unsettled.

He thus goes to the ship, has all the crew leave on the excuse of doing an accounting on its goods, and prepares to cast the spell down in the hold out of sight. He has two choices - he could invoke Luna, the spirit of the moon and ask for fortune (a luck spell) or he could invoke Neptune and ask for fast passage to his ship (Aid to movement - in this case swimming). Since it is a ship, and Mercutio will be surrounded by water, Neptune - a water spirit, seems safest. Moreover, in early march, Pisces (Neptune's house of the heavens) is ascendant. So, Mercutio decides that a water-spirit spell would be most efficacious. He takes the necessary focus with him - a small bronze jug (bronze being Neptune's metal) filled with water and prepares to cast the spell.

The spell is The Emperor of the Seas (In game terms, 3d6 Aid to swimming, 1 charge that lasts a month (+3/4), usable by one other (+1/4) for an active cost of 30 points) which gives him a -3 to his spellcasting roll. He is casting the spell under a favourable astrological sign (+2 to the skill roll) and has chosen to cast the spell at 3 p.m. - Neptune's hour (for a further +2 to the skill roll). Finally, he is surrounded by water Neptune's element (for a further +2) Thus he can cast the spell at a total of +3 to the spell roll. This is important to Mercutio because the spell will last a month, and he will have to make the roll multiple times during the course of the next month to keep the power he is invoking under control (remember the note above about continuous or constant powers). He plans to stay on the ship doing nothing but binding the power for 5 hours -thus allowing him to make all the initial rolls under favourable conditions - thereafter he will only have to take time to keep the spell potent at one day, 5 days, 1 week and a month, which he is sure he can manage.

Unfortunately, Mercutio has been observed by Father Mordeus of the Church Militant, who suspects him of being a warlock. The priest thus gathers several stout followers armed with swords and they follow Mercutio stealthily to the docks. Creeping aboard the ship they hear the spell being cast and rush downstairs, bursting in on Mercutio. Realising that he cannot tackle such a number of armed foes, Mercutio opts to cast his most devastating spell, The Skein of Sizzling Flesh, which makes its target's flesh burst into flames. He figures that if he can fell the leader of the group, the others will flee.

The Skein of Sizzling Flesh is a simple 3d6 RKA, continuous (+1) for 90 active points. It is a fire spell, so requires fire as a focus. Mercutio was casting his spell in the dim light of the hold, as he has no lamp (he didn't want fire to interfere with casting a water spell - if he had bought a lamp the opposing element (fire) would have canceled the +2 bonus he got for the presence of water around him). However, Mercutio is prepared for emergencies - he has a small glass sphere in his pouch containing a fire sprite he summoned and trapped some time ago (in game terms, a small Summon spell already cast with a trigger - break glass sphere). He casts this to the deck - releasing the fire sprite - and incidentally giving himself some fire to act as a focus. As the witch-hunters batter down the door, Mercutio shouts out his spell, summons the power of Mars and casts The Skein of Sizzling Flesh. The +2 bonus he gets from the flames the fire sprite is raising on the wood of the hold is canceled out by the fact that he is surrounded by water (opposing element -2). In addition, it is an hour and astrological period dominated by Neptune - a water spirit. That gives Mercutio a -4 on his roll - in addition to the -9 for the spell itself. Mercutio has no extra time to waste, and not surprisingly, with a -13 on his roll, he fails the spell. A gate is torn open in the dimensions and something - a black, smoking, flaming horror - slips through (the summoning side effect). The combination of Mars, the spirit of war and fire is almost always a bad one. The witch-hunters turn and flee in terror. The summoned fire spirit alas, is between Mercutio and the door, so when the witch-hunters gain the safety of the dock there is no sign of the warlock and the ship is already strongly aflame. In moments the ship is gutted and sinks - with a dreadful howling as the water rushes into the hold. The priest kneels and crosses himself, saying a quick Ave for their lucky escape and the sorcerer's demise. Then one of his followers shouts and points to where the water is starting to bulge upwards most strangely.

Remember the The Emperor of the Seas spell Mercutio cast? The next time period (1 minute) is up, and he is not around to make the skill roll to keep it under control.....

This has been (deliberately) a fairly complicated example, but it gives a good idea of how the system would work - and shows how constructing the magic system with its own internal logic forces magic users to behave in a way that is consistent with the original intent of the game. In such a game world, spellcasters would be well advised to spend plenty of points on their magic skill rolls. They would also do well to spend points on astrology, and talents like absolute time sense, plus have KS:s relating to elemental magic, so that they know what they can and cannot expect of the powers. It is recommended that the GM allow these other magical knowledge skills to act as complementary rolls to the magic skill roll, where appropriate.

Lovecraft's Magic

While the typical worlds of HP Lovecraft (and his collaborators, such as Robert Bloch) are rich in magic, they tend to be poor in human magic users - indeed, in most stories nothing resembling magic users in classical fantasy exist. The vast majority of characters in these stories face magic with nothing but conventional weapons and - occasionally - a little occult knowledge. Magical powers are primarily the domain of creatures from beyond normal space and time, and the powers wielded by human mages merely reflect their ability to summon or banish such creatures. For a game like this, therefore most powers are not permitted.

What is permitted are the spells which allow summoning, banishment and control of these creatures, and spells giving access to other dimensions (whether physically, or merely for observation). This limited range of powers still gives a would-be sorcerer many powers - speedy transport across the world can be gained by summoning and binding a Shantak, a foe disposed of by summoning any one of a number of gruesome beasts, and secret knowledge acquired by summoning and putting the question to things best not named....

The problem, of course, is doing all this and keeping one's sanity. Even spells of banishment and protection (for example, Dispel summoning or Forcewall - only against extraplanar entities, respectively) expose the sorcerer to forces which can warp the soul. Likewise, spells of mind control (only permitted against summoned creatures, to reflect the binding of a creature to task) have the same effect. Most of all,any spell which involves the summoning of things from beyond the ken of man, or any spells which allow the caster to look into, or even enter, other dimensions are fraught with peril. All of these spells seem to involve a great deal of ritual, so they have the usual sorcerous limitations:

• Incantations (-1/4)
• Gestures (-1/4)
• Foci (OAF - magical or magico-technical paraphernalia, blasphemous books of lore, strangely carven star-shaped stones, etc.)
• Magical skill roll
• Side Effect (-1/2). Minor transformation, cumulative - sane person into insane person, triggered by unsuccessful use of a spell.

The side effect is (as noted above) is triggered by an unsuccessful casting of a spell. it should be noted that many of the creatures of Lovecraftian legend - and even some inanimate sites or objects - are so repugnant to human senses that they can have the same effect - a 2d6 (or even more) cumulative transformation attack. Thus, even a successful summoning can cause insanity, due to the effect of the summoned creature! Too much exposure over a short period of time leads rapidly to insanity - and to any character so exposed, becoming a lunatic NPC. Mages in this world will have to have good skills and (perhaps) some power defence built up by exposure to such things over time. The GM will have to limit the amount of power defence characters can buy to keep this game setting atmospheric (no more than 5-10 points at a maximum is suggested)

Return to Designing magical worlds

Return to the Grimoire