Basics

Magic comes from gods and demons who are capricious and unconcerned with your character’s flyspeck of a life. Those who would use magic are best served to always have a backup plan. Summoning magical energies is arduous, expensive, and dangerous. No wizard does it lightly. As a result, there are no mundane magics, no spells used simply to light a corridor, for example. Use a torch, fool; it is much safer!

Kinds of Magic

Wizards and clerics tap into different kinds of magic. Wizards specialize in the better-known fields of black magic, elemental magic, and enchantment. Clerics receive the direct assistance of their gods in a style of magic called idol magic, which may or may not be similar to the powers of wizards.

Black magic is learned from demons’ lips. It includes witchcraft, shamanism, and totems, as well as necromancy, diabolism, mind control, and other concentrations of negative energy. Black practitioners hold power over mortals but are slaves to their demonic masters. Cthulhu cults practice black magic, as do zombie masters, witches, and voodoo shamans. Binding and summoning are considered black magic. Elemental magic includes invocations relating to earth, air, fire, and water, including the energies and other forms associated with them (such as light, fog, flight, and other such things). Some elemental magics harness the purest form of an element, while others are based on pacts with mighty elemental lords.

Enchantment, also known as white magic, is the most mundane of the magics, as it is grounded in the overlap of the material plane of existence with other planes. White magicians manipulate the nature of things to conjure, divine, trick, and obfuscate. Astral projection, ethereal travel, and journeys to the lands of unnatural geometries are part of enchantment. Dwarves use runes to practice enchantment, and gypsies do it with entrails. The best alchemists often know a bit of minor enchantment. Astrologists practice a quotidian form of the extraplanar aspects of enchantment. Idol magic, or divine magic, is any magic granted by worship of a god or other higher power. Most clerics practice idol magic. Falling out of favor with one’s idol severs access to this kind of magic.

Spell Checks

When your character casts a spell, you roll 1d20 and add your caster level. This is called a spell check. You also add your Personality modifier if you are a cleric or your Intelligence modifier if you are a wizard. Wizards also apply modifiers for wearing bulky armor (see Table 3-3), and there may be other modifiers specific to certain situations. Compare the result to the casting table for that spell. In general, your spell succeeds if your spell check is equal to or higher than a base DC of 10 + (2x spell level). The higher you roll, the more extraordinary the result, according to the casting table.

Make the spell check when the spell is first cast, even if the casting time is more than one round. High results may reduce casting time.

A novice wizard cannot cast magic beyond his comprehension, but he may attempt to cast a spell of any level he has learned. This means he may attempt to cast spells where he suffers a significant chance of failure, based on his spell check modifier. If he judges the attempt worthwhile, so be it; but there are consequences to failure.

Criticals and fumbles: A spell check result of a natural 20 is a critical success. The caster receives an additional bonus to his check equal to his caster level. Compare to the casting table for that specific spell for the result. A spell check result of a natural 1 is always a failure. A result of 1 may also result in corruption or disapproval, as described below.

Concentration: Some spells require concentration. While concentrating, a wizard or cleric can take no action beyond walking at half speed. Combat damage, a fall, or other significant interruptions require the spellcaster to make a Will save against DC 11 or lose concentration.

Spell checks by other classes: Foolish warriors have been known to read magical scrolls in dangerous attempts to wield magic. A warrior, thief, or other character untrained in magic may attempt to cast a spell from magical instructions he encounters. A character from an untrained class rolls 1d10 for his spell check instead of 1d20. He does not add any modifier for an ability score or caster level. A trained thief may roll a higher die, as shown on Table 1-7: Thief.

Saving throws against spells: In general, a saving throw against a spell effect uses a DC equal to the spell check. For example, a color spray cast with a spell check result of 17 requires a Will save of 17 or higher to resist. If a spell does not specify a specific DC for a save, the save is made against the spell check result.

Reversing spells: Some spells can be reversed to perform the opposite function for which they were intended. For example, mending can be reversed to tear an object, or enlarge can be reversed to shrink an object. Although spell reversal sounds simple and straightforward as a concept, think about it in practical terms. It’s not that easy. To use an analogy, can you un-cook a chicken pot pie by following the instructions in reverse? No. Magic cannot be simply reversed.

To reflect the difficulty of reverse-spellcasting in practical terms, these simple rules apply:

• A wizard can learn a spell in one of its versions, normal or reversed. For example, he can learn mending as a spell slot, or he can learn tear as a spell slot. He casts either of these spells as normal.

• If the wizard attempts to cast the reverse of a spell in his repertoire, he makes the spell check at a reduced die type (based on the standard dice chain).

Regaining Spells

Spellcasting is draining. A spellcaster can exert himself a finite number of times in one day before he is exhausted and unable to cast another spell. Depending on the kind of magic, this can be a reflection of mental recall, godly favor, access to a demon’s plane, soul-drain, magical ingredients, or other factors.

Each spell’s casting table will indicate “lost” or “not lost” in each result entry. A result of “lost” means your character cannot cast that spell again in that day. “Not lost” means the character retains the use of that spell. Generally, only wizard spells are lost when a casting fails.

Clerics suffer a different difficulty. Each time a cleric fails to cast a spell, he suffers a cumulative increase to his natural disapproval range for the balance of the day. More information on this penalty can be found in the cleric class description. In general, spells are regained within a day of being lost. The exact trigger depends on the magic in question. White magic is regained at the next sunrise; black magic upon the moon crossing the sky in full; demon magic after a full eight hours of rest; divine magic after resting and praying to the cleric’s god; and so on, as agreed between player and judge based on the nature of the character’s magic.