SAWN-OFF: Spells

I write spells as tools, like a tinderbox or a shovel. They give players access to more approaches and effects that can't be accessed through mundane fantasy technology. I prefer specific gameable effects to magic words systems; having constraints on the effects the spells can produce lets players use them in more creative ways that I can adjudicate faster than abilities that work directly on the narrative. Similarly, I want everyone to have access to magic, because it makes up so much of the system's content (a whole page!). So that's what I've done - no longer is casting the exclusive provence of the casting classes; they're part of everyone's toolbox. Of course, this doesn't make it easy - or safe.

SPELLS
Anyone can cast spells. Characters start with 0 Magic Dice and 1 Focus. Spend and roll any number of your Magic Dice, up to your Focus, to see how effective the spell is: dice is the number of Magic Dice rolled, sum is their total value. Return spent dice that roll 1-3 to your pool. If you roll doubles while casting, a random Mishap occurs. If you roll triples, the next Doom occurs. Regain all spent Magic Dice after a daily rest.

If you have even a single magic die and a spell, you can cast. Specifically magic classes gain innate Magic Dice and Focus as they level up; everyone else has to make do with finding items that give them Magic Dice and maybe the occasional temporary point of Focus.

Mishaps
1. Take 1d6 damage
2. Can’t cast the same spell until next daily rest
3. Invert spell effect on target
4. Randomize spell targets
5.  Magic Dice return on 1-2 (or 1 if you'd rolled this already, or don’t return at all on a third result) until end of day.
6. Temporary Scar related to the spell’s effect for sum days.

Dooms
1. Drop to 0 Health and gain a temporary Scar.
2. Gain a permanent Scar.
3. Lose your magic forever.

Experimentation. Modify spell effects by taking penalties, either at random or of the GM's choice. This can: maximize one instance of [sum] in a spell, increase or decrease the number of targets, allow you to pull off the weird wording trick you just thought of, combine a spell with another spell that's being cast...
1. Step down the Magic Dice to d4s (return on 1-2).
2. Guaranteed Mishap.
3. Spent dice don’t return,
4. Costs 1 (or more) Health for each Magic Die.
5. Sacrifice a specific item or reagent.
6. Displease a Power.

Some guidelines if you’re eyeballing effects: 1 foot is ~1/3 of a meter, 10 ft is ~across a room, 100 ft is ~down a hallway, 1000 ft is ~across a dungeon. A cubic foot is ~size of a head; 10 ft3 is ~the size of a mattress, 100 ft3 is ~size of a bedroom. For anything that refers to objects as having hit dice, find the higher of its value in gold and size in ft3. 1 gold or less is 1 hit die, 10 gold is 2, 100 gold is 3, etc. and the same for size in ft3. Make rulings quickly and consistently.

These 6-spell lists are like wizard schools. Write longer ones, borrow existing ones, expand the ones I've provided. I've cut the spell descriptions to absolute barebones, moving the classic GLOG range/duration/target specifications into the body of the spell text because I think it looks better and it's far more forgiving to format.

Orthodox Spells
1. Animate Object – Animate up to dice hit dice of objects for sum*10 minutes or up to sum hit dice of objects for dice rounds.
2. Illusion – Create an illusion affecting dice senses in a sum*dice*10 ft3 volume. Lasts sum*10 minutes. One illusion per volume.
3. Invisibility – dice targets are invisible for sum*10 minutes or sum targets are invisible for sum rounds. Can still be heard.
4. Knock/Lock – Force something open for sum rounds or lock something shut (Strength check must beat sum+10 to open) for dice*10 minutes.
5. Levitate – Lift 10^dice pounds and move it around for sum combat turns
6. Light/Darkness – Illuminate/darken a sum*10^dice’ radius for sum*10 minutes

Elemental Spells (pick the element when you learn the spell)
1. Elemental Bolt – Deal sum elemental damage to a target in line of sight. May have it explode in a sum*dice ft radius.
2. Elemental Cloud – Summon a sum*dice*10 ft3 volume cloud of the element. Lasts dice*10 minutes. If damaging, deals dice damage/turn.
3. Elemental Wall – Raise a sum*dice*10 ft long wall of element that’s up to dice ft thick. Lasts dice*10 minutes. If damaging, deals dice damage/turn.
4. Protection from Element – Up to dice targets can’t be damaged by the element for sum*10 minutes. Prevents all negative effects.
5. Shape Element – Shape a sum*dice ft3 mass of the element to a form of your choice. New form lasts dice*10 minutes. Recast to reshape.
6. Transmute Element to Element – Turn a sum*dice ft3 mass of the first element into the second or vice versa. Lasts dice*10 minutes.

Mind Spells
1. Alter Perceptions – For dice*10 minutes, invent or conceal up to dice features of the party. For each feature, modify reaction rolls accordingly.
2. Enrage – Target gets +dice actions each round, can make dice extra attacks, must attack each round, and gets -dice armor. Lasts for sum rounds.
3. Intrusion – Implant an intrusive thought in target's mind of sum or fewer words. At the end of dice*10 minutes it goes away. They know you did it.
4. Message – Send a telepathic sum-word message to up to dice people you know or can see (or dice word to sum people).
5. Read Mind – Ask dice questions about someone's mental state that can be answered with yes, no, or a snapshot of memory. GM must answer truthfully.
6. Sleep – dice hit dice of creatures fall asleep for sum rounds or sum hit dice of creatures fall asleep for dice rounds. They sleep lightly.

Flesh Spells
1. Alter Form – When you learn this spell pick a creature, element, etc. Gain dice of its features for sum*10 minutes or sum features for sum rounds.
2. Cure/Blight – Heal sum Health with a touch, incurring a debt that negates the next sum+dice points healing of target gets. You may have it just cause debt.
3. Enlarge/Shrink – Increase or decrease a touched target's size by dice+1 times. Lasts for sum*10 minutes.
4. Fuse – Combine two touching things with (5-dice) similarities into one for sum rounds. If both have minds, make opposed rolls for control each round.
5. Mend/Shatter – Restore pieces of a broken thing with hit dice ≤ dice into a seamless whole, or split unliving object with hit dice ≤ dice into sum pieces.
6. Raise Dead – Animate up to dice hit dice of corpses for sum*10 minutes or sum hit dice for dice*10 minutes. Corpses retain dice qualities they had in life. May split corpses into multiple creatures.

Spatial Spells
1. Alter Gravity – Change the direction of gravity in a sum*dice*10 ft3 volume for sum*10 minutes. Can alter strength by +/- dice Gs (9.8m/s2)
2. Haste/Hold – dice targets get +/- dice actions/round for sum rounds.
3. Scry – Remotely view a location within dice hexes for sum*10 minutes. Must be able to describe the location’s physical features first.
4. Step Between – Choose two objects you can see with (5-dice) similarities. You can treat those two objects as adjacent for sum rounds.
5. Summon – Choose an object or creature to bind when you learn this spell. Casting summons the bound target for dice rounds if dice is less than the hit dice of the summon, or otherwise for sum*10 minutes.
6. Teleport – Instantly transport dice targets sum*10’ within line of sight or create a portal with dice uses (1 use can transport the whole party, if they're all in contact) to a location you’ve been before.

Metamagic Spells
1. Empower/Dispel – Increase or reduce a target spell’s sum effects by sum and dice effects by dice. Can cast as a reaction to the target being cast.
2. Identify Magic – Ask dice questions about the qualities of a magical object or effect. The GM must answer truthfully.
3. Permanency – Target spell lasts dice+1 times longer. At 4 dice, you can make it permanent.
4. Mutate Spell – Experiment with a target spell. Make dice alterations.
5. Spellify – Turn target object or creature with dice or fewer hit dice into a spell and put it in your brain. You can cast it like a spell. If you hang onto it for more than sum*10 minutes, it’ll get pissy and start trying to break free.
6. Spell Glyph – Inscribe another spell you know on a surface with values of sum and dice and set a condition under which its cast. Spent dice don’t return until it’s cast.

 

MAGIC ITEMS

These are merely sample lists. Write your own to expand upon them. They make far better rewards than any mundane gold, and but one or two rumored in the depths of a dungeon are worth an expedition (and perhaps some hapless hirelings' unfortunately truncated lives).

Spellbooks
1. Grimoire. d3 spells from the same list. 1 inventory slot per spell.
2. Notes. d2 spells from different lists. 1 inventory slot per spell.
3. Scroll. 1 spell, consumed on use. Takes 4 hours to replicate, with appropriate tools, training, and materials.
4. Contract. 2 spells, brokered with a specific Power. If you break the terms of the contract, you're Cursed and the contract turns to ash.
5. Tattoo. 1 spell. Can only cast if uncovered. 0 slots.
6. Powdered Spell. Snort the powder and instantly cast the spell at 1 magic die (expires at end of day). The spell boils out of your eyes and nose and mouth.

Foci
1. Clouded Orb. Name a spell at the start of the day. +1 Focus for that spell.
2. Fake Math. A sheaf of foolish calculations. +1 Focus to a specific spell school, works once before disproving itself and vanishing in a puff of illogic. Creating it requires skill with the occult, esoteric inks, and too much free time.
3. Mantra. +1 Focus if you have time to perfectly recite it from memory. Usually about a page of text or a few-minute song. Learned, not created.
4. Precision-Machined Staff. +1 Focus while calibrated. Takes a few hours to calibrate to a new location (roughly, a new hex or a new dungeon level).
5. Someone's blood, hair, finger, etc. +1 Focus on spells targeting that person. Consumed when used (the spell eats it).
6. Wizard Robe. +1 Focus if you're wearing it clearly and openly. Can't be worn with armor (it distorts the thaumic resonance), thick and difficult to move in. Enemies are smart, and will follow the eternal adage of "geek the mage first".

Talismans
1. Bottled Fire. +1 Magic Die, open and release the fire to expend it to get an additional Magic Die (both dice then expire at end of day).
2. Heavy Crystal. It's pretty and shiny. +1 Magic Die, but needs to charge in sunlight to regain die after it's expended.
3. Puzzle Box. +1 Magic Die when open. Takes an hour or a successful Intelligence test to solve. Closes itself when left to its own devices.
4. Scrimshaw Bone. +1 Magic Die. Rattles loudly, wants to be reunited with the corpse it came from.
5. Witch's Wort. +1 Magic Die, needs daily watering. Hope you have a green thumb.
6. Wizard Teeth. Crush and snort to gain 1 Magic Die until end of day.

Magic Weapons 

1. A Tempered Legacy

2. An Illustrious Intelligent Sword

3. +1.5 Magic Weapon

4. One of the Twenty-Three Blades

5. A Sword, or perhaps a Not-Sword

6. A Living Weapon

Minor Items
1. Bag of Swallowing. 4 extra inventory slots; take 1 damage when retrieving item unless you have a minute to carefully avoid the bag's teeth.
2. Flask of Vigor. Rapidly ferments liquid you fill it with (if possible). Holds 6 shots. Liquid un-ferments if removed without being drunk.
3. Hungry Rope. Feed it a ration for +50' of rope until end of day. If cut, both parts lose their magic.
4. Lazy Shield. Floats around on its own; don't need a hand for it. Only provides damage resistance on 50% of attacks.
5. Magebane Lantern. Reveals magical effects and invisible creatures. Runs on equal parts blood and oil.
6. Sorcerer's Chalk. Can draw in 3 dimensions; doesn't need a surface.

Major Items
1. Empowered Armor. +2 Armor, takes up 4 inventory slots. May spend and roll Magic Dice to add to Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution rolls.
2. Eye Stone. Can see through this as if it was another eye. Orbits your head; can be moved telepathically at walking speed if you focus.
3. Familiar Orb. Holds a small, smart, magical creature. It's loyal to you so long as you take good care of it. It has 1 magic die and knows 1 spell.
4. Featherfall Charm. Whatever (or whomever) it's attached to has a terminal velocity of walking speed.
5. Gloves of Elemental Molding. Can work the chosen element like clay.
6. Universal Solvent. Dissolves anything but silk, gold, and bone. Bone and silk flask holds 3 shots.