so here’s a rundown of that system for reference and also because i am real happy with it and this thread is still a good motivator for me to work on rules-documentation:
#SPELL LEVEL
Every spell has a “base level” which is the Arcana level you need to be at in that school in order to learn it. You can’t cast a spell below its base level, but any spell can be cast above its level if you want to make it stronger (in spell descriptions, the casting level you choose is represented as X).
#AP
You have 2 * your Arcana level (which goes up to 10, as with every other stat!). Every time you cast a spell, you spend an amount of AP equal to the level you cast it at. It’s like MP in an RPG except you can keep casting after you run out if you have a deathwish~
#CASTING ROLLS
All spells are cast with a flat 2d10 roll. Your “target number” you want to roll above when casting a spell is 8 when you’re casting at a spell level equal to your level in that school. The target number is influenced by the following factors:
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LEVEL SCALING: For every level you’re casting above or below your level in that school, add or subtract 2 from the target number respectively. So if you have 1 Arcana and you’re casting a spell at level 1, the target number is 8, but if you’re casting it at level 2 then the target number is 10.
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RUNNING OUT OF JUICE: For every point of AP casting the spell would bring you below zero, add 1 to the target number. E.g. if you have -3 AP after casting the spell, add 3 to the target number.
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REPITITION: If you’re casting the spell multiple times in the same day, add 2 each time.
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MULTISCHOOL: Every spell belongs to a magic school, but some spells have levels in other schools. If you have no levels in that school, each of the multischool levels you don’t have is a +6 penalty. Otherwise, if you have at least one level in the secondary school, then any levels you’re missing beyond that are just +2.
and that’s it! it sounds like a lot but it’s not too bad, and it’s a lot less to keep track of than …shudder… spell slots would be
#MISCASTING
###If you rolled below the target number, then you know what time it is, baby:
Each of these categories is a separate rollable table. Minor miscasts usually only affect the caster or their surroundings; severe miscasts are usually permanent and nasty; “misheard effects” are stupid puns that are unique to each spell and have a completely unrelated effect; “inverse effects” do exactly the opposite of what you wanted the spell to do;
that which should not be is, uh… well, it was nice knowing you!
a couple of fun severe miscasts that have become infamous/changed the course of the campaign:
#ARCANA SCHOOLS
##Stellar/light magic
###Associated with Aurora. low levels are mostly support/clerical magic, higher levels focus on seer/psion/summoner stuff
##Lunar/dark magic
###Associated with Bellatrix. Based around debuffs/curses/etc, every spell has a unique ritual required to learn it and an associated permanent effect on the caster as a result of the ritual.
##Earth magic
###Druidic. In addition to obvious spells like Last Airbender-style tremorsense, most spells focus on self-modification: shapeshifting, walking through walls, pretending to be a statue (lol), etc.
##Fire magic
###Most spells blend into other schools, especially Light and Dark. Fire mages get a little bit from every archetype, they’re like finaly fantasy red mages except not garbage
##Wind magic
###Almost all spells are built around incredible feats of acrobatics and dexterity; the school of swordsmen, rogues, dancers, messengers, sailors, and performers (dude have you seen a wind mage play four flutes at once? you gotta it’s amazing)
####(uhh it will have more than a handful of spells eventually oops!!!)
##Water magic
###This school has more directly damaging spells than any other because why not, fuck it
##Aether magic
###The “magic as science” school. i tried to write every other school to be as intuitive as possible and this school to be a horrifying mess that, you know, you might actually have to attend Mage College to understand. it has all the miscellaneous wizard-type spells: teleportation, counterspells, artificing, etc. i love it a lot.
###example of just how ridiculous one spell can get:
####excerpt from the Teleportation Mishap table (i think these two are from Ten Foot Polemic which is a real good blog)
