Spells
Magic & Source Relics
Source Relics scattered throughout the world generate the magical potential that permeates everywhere. This potential can be channelled and focused into specific magical effects (i.e. spells) by skilled practitioners. Being in close proximity to a source relic is hazardous and contact is almost always lethal, since the concentrated potential emmanating from it can be enough to turn a person into dust in mere seconds.
Spells in Action
You can make an action roll, generally Attune, to cast simple spells. Some examples include:
- Shooting a bolt of ice
- Creating a small spark
- Sending a short telepathic message
- Identify a magical item, effect or spell
- Negate or supress a magical effect
Some special abilities are marked with a (S) to indicate they are spells. Using these special abilities generally requires pushing yourself. When you push yourself to use these abilities, you still get one of the normal benefits of pushing yourself (+1d, +1 effect, etc.) in addition to the spell's effect.
The Tier of a spell is equal to the Tier of its caster, unless the spell is being cast from a scroll, in which case it's equal to the Tier of the scroll. The area, duration or range of a spell's effect can be determined based on its Tier using the spell magnitude table. You can always choose to lower the Tier of a spell before casting it. All effects of the spell are based on the lowered Tier.
Casting a spell requires an action roll to determine how effective, accurate, etc. its effects are. Failure on the action roll does not neccessarily mean you fail to cast the spell, but rather that the spell did not have it's full intended effect.
Spell Magnitude
| Tier | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | A dozen paces | A stone's throw | Down the road | Several blocks away | Across a district | Across the city | Across the continent |
| Area | A single person | A closet | A small room | A large room | Several rooms | A small building | A large building |
| Duration | A few moments | A minute | A few minutes | An hour | A few hours | A day | Several days |
Spell Scrolls
Any spell can be inscribed into a scroll. You yourself can craft scrolls for any spells you know. Casting from a spell scroll works the same as casting spells normally except for two differences:
- It takes half the normal stress of casting the spell to use the scroll, though you still get the full benefits
- For example, if a spell requires you to push yourself to cast it, you only need to spend 1 stress when using a scroll but you still get the benefits of pushing yourself.
- The Tier of the spell is the same as the Tier or quality of the scroll, not your Tier.
Casting a spell scroll causes it to disintigrate, meaning it can't be used again.
Spell Abilities
Below is a list of all playbook special abilities that are spells: