Legacy Magick
Magick in Amar RPG is a powerful and complex force. Spells are unique possessions - each spell exists as a specific instance of Magick that a character owns, and can be given to others through rituals.
Contents
The Spell System
Each spell is described with specific properties that define how it works:
- Name
- The spell's name
- Encumbrance
- The magical "weight" of the spell - how much it burdens the caster's mind
- Cooldown
- How long before the spell can be cast again after use
- Casting Requirements
- Casting Time (CT): How long it takes to cast
- Active/Passive (A/P): Whether the caster must actively focus on the spell while it lasts
- Restrictions: Special conditions (e.g., "Can only be cast at midnight")
- DR(s): Difficulty Rating(s) - can require multiple skill rolls
- Cost
- What casting consumes - typically Mental Fortitude, but can include Fortitude, special plants, gems, corpses, etc.
- Attributes
- Distance: Range (fixed or flexible - modified by Range skill under SPIRIT → Casting)
- Duration: How long effects last (fixed or flexible - modified by Duration skill)
- Weight/Targets/AoE: Number of targets or area affected (fixed or flexible - modified by Weight, Number of Targets, or Area of Effect skills)
- Effects
- The actual effects of the spell
- Transfer Requirements
- Receiving: What the recipient needs in order to receive this spell
- Giving: What the giver must do to transfer the spell (ritual duration, etc.)
Spell Ownership and Transfer
Spells are owned by individual magicians. Key principles:
- Each spell is given to a magician who then owns it
- A spell owned can be given to another through a ritual (usually taking two weeks)
- A spell can be put into a book - the first person who reads it gets that spell
- The spell is then lost by the person when writing the book (usually takes a month to write)
- Spells are the base currency of Fenimaal - highly valuable
- Upon death, Kraagh collects the spells and returns them to the God of the spell's domain (default to Fenimaal)
Active Spell Capacity
A character can only have a certain number of spells active at any given moment. The number of active spells is limited by:
- Total Encumbrance Capacity: Determined by Mental Fortitude (MIND → Willpower → Mental Fortitude)
- Each spell has an Encumbrance value - the total of all active spells cannot exceed the character's capacity
- Inactive spells are "memorized" but not ready for immediate casting
- Activating/deactivating spells requires concentration and time (typically 10 minutes per spell)
Casting Spells
To cast a spell, the character must:
- Meet Requirements: SPIRIT characteristic ≥ 2 AND total Casting (SPIRIT + Casting attribute) ≥ 5
- Have Spell Active: The spell must be in the character's active spell pool
- Meet Casting Requirements: Fulfill any restrictions, have casting time available
- Make Skill Roll(s): Roll O6 + total skill vs DR
- Typically uses Attunement skills (SPIRIT → Attunement → specific element/domain)
- Some spells require multiple rolls
- Pay Cost: Expend Mental Fortitude or other resources
- Apply Cooldown: Spell cannot be cast again until cooldown expires
Casting Roll Formula
O6 + (SPIRIT + Attunement + Domain Skill) vs DR
Example: Casting a Fire spell with SPIRIT 2, Attunement 3, Fire 4:
- Roll O6: 6, 5, 2 = 7
- Total: 7 + 2 (SPIRIT) + 3 (Attunement) + 4 (Fire) = 16
- If DR is 10, spell succeeds with margin of 6
Flexible Spell Attributes
Some spell attributes are flexible and can be modified by Casting skills:
- Range skill (SPIRIT → Casting → Range): Increases or decreases spell distance
- Duration skill (SPIRIT → Casting → Duration): Extends or shortens spell duration
- Area of Effect skill: Expands spell area
- Weight skill: Allows spell to affect heavier objects
- Number of Targets skill: Allows spell to affect more targets
Spell Domains
Spells are organized by domain, corresponding to Attunement skills:
- Fire - Flame, heat, destruction
- Water - Ice, liquid, purification
- Air - Wind, lightning, flight
- Earth - Stone, metal, growth
- Life - Healing, enhancement, protection
- Death - Necromancy, decay, shadow
- Self - Personal enhancement, meditation
- Others - God-specific domains, unique magicks
Each domain has associated spells that require the corresponding Attunement skill.
Learning New Spells
Characters acquire spells through:
- Direct Gift: Another magician performs a ritual (usually 2 weeks) to transfer ownership
- Reading Spell Books: First reader gains the spell, book becomes blank
- Divine Grant: Gods may grant spells to worshippers (see Worship under SPIRIT)
- Discovery: Rare - finding ancient spell scrolls or artifacts
The recipient must meet the spell's Receiving Requirements (typically minimum Attunement in the spell's domain).
Mental Fortitude and Spell Cost
Mental Fortitude (MIND → Willpower → Mental Fortitude) serves as the primary resource for spellcasting:
- Each spell cast consumes Mental Fortitude points (specified in spell cost)
- When Mental Fortitude reaches 0, the character cannot cast spells until recovery
- Mental Fortitude recovers with rest (typically 1 point per hour of rest, full recovery after 8 hours sleep)
- Some powerful spells may also cost physical Fortitude, special components, or other sacrifices
Spell Examples
Fire Domain
Spark
- Encumbrance: 1, Cooldown: 1 hour
- CT: 1 round, Active, DR: 5
- Cost: 1 Mental Fortitude
- Distance: 10m, Duration: Instant, AoE: Single target
- Effects: O6-2 fire damage
- Receiving: Fire Attunement 1, Giving: Ritual 1 week
Fireball
- Encumbrance: 5, Cooldown: 6 hours
- CT: 2 rounds, Active, DR: 10
- Cost: 3 Mental Fortitude
- Distance: 50m, Duration: Instant, AoE: 3m radius
- Effects: O6+2 fire damage to all in area
- Receiving: Fire Attunement 3, Giving: Ritual 2 weeks
Water Domain
Water Breathing
- Encumbrance: 3, Cooldown: 2 hours
- CT: 1 round, Active, Restriction: Must be near water, DR: 8
- Cost: 2 Mental Fortitude
- Distance: Touch, Duration: 1 hour, AoE: Single target
- Effects: Target can breathe underwater
- Receiving: Water Attunement 2, Giving: Ritual 2 weeks
See Also
- Legacy_Magick - The legacy magick system
- Legacy_Incantation_Magic - Legacy freeform spellcasting system
- The_Character - Character creation with SPIRIT characteristic
- - Complete spell list
- - Divine spell domains