Using magic is similar to any other action and is resolved by an action roll using the magical ability.
Unlike other abilities, casting spells always requires a path of magic to be used. You can only cast spells that are covered by the Magic Paths that your character knows.
As with other actions, you state what you intend to accomplish with your magic, then make an action roll and check the outcome and effect.
The casting action requires the full concentration of the caster and at least a few seconds of time for the speaking of some magic words or a quick prayer, the waving of a wand, the movement of appropriate gestures or what ever else the casters Sources and Concepts > Source requires.
In general, it is obvious to anyone looking what the caster is doing. Mundane witnesses will not understand what exactly is going on, but will know or at least strongly suspect that the caster is "doing magic".
If the caster cannot freely speak and move about, his position will be desperate.
When necessary, a caster can try to hide what he is doing, either by doing it covertly or by trying to hide it under seemingly innocent actions. Being spotted doing magic is a consequence and as such can be resisted with Resistance Rolls using an appropriate ability (typically mental), and the stress cost representing the additional effort the covert casting requires.
The standard effect of magic spells is roughly equivalent to something that an ordinary person could accomplish with a successful action roll on a mundane ability. That means you can move items that an ordinary person could move without magic, an attack with a spell does the same damage as an attack with a weapon, etc.
This in itself can be useful sometimes, especially since magic allows you to do these things at a distance.
More powerful spells can be accomplished by increasing the effect. This can be done the same way as in other action rolls (see Position & Effect) by:
additionally, for magic spells through one or more of the following:
Note that a partial success can reduce the effect in addition to causing Mana Burnout, especially if the position is desperate. A bad outcome will always reduce the effect.
The various Magic Paths give examples of what higher levels of effect mean.
In general, a higher effect can be:
In general, you can choose what to use effect for. You can also trade effects for each other, see Range, Targets, Area, Duration, etc..
As with all action rolls, the player and GM discuss the exact intended effect of the spell and what reduced or increase effect would mean, before rolling the dice.
| Effect | General Magic Power Guideline |
|---|---|
| Zero | nothing at all happens (note that mana burnout and other consequences are still applied) |
| Limited | minor effect, a single target, for a few seconds |
| Standard | equivalent to what an ordinary person could accomplish with a successful action roll, a single target, for a combat round. |
| Great | something that if done mundanely would require an expert or a few people, affecting a small group of people or animals or a small area, duration of a short scene |
| Extreme | outside of what could be achieved with mundane means, large area of effect, a long scene |
The ability of a mage, wizard, witch, priest or other magic user is not unlimited and not as reliable as more mundane powers. Even the spellcaster himself is never sure when exactly he is tapped out.
| Highest Die | Mana Cost |
|---|---|
| 6 | none |
| 2-5 | 1 mana |
| 1 | 2 mana |
Whenever your magic roll is not a critical or full success, i.e. when the result is not a 6, mark one mana burnout box. If you roll a critical failure, mark two boxes.
This happens independent of the outcome and effect of the spell.
If there are no more free marks on the mana burnout bar when this happens, take one point of lesser harm instead and lose the ability to cast magic until you have recovered at least one free mana burnout mark. This harm cannot be resisted in any way.
Mana burnout is recovered through the recharge downtime activity, either during downtime or when taking an interlude.
When the casting roll results in less than a full success, Consequences similar to Action Rolls occur. For partial success this will usually be a reduced effect.
But for a bad outcome or a terrible outcome, the magic goes wild and backfires. Magic backlash represents this magic going out of control and causing all kinds of effects around the caster. Magic backlash explains how all these consequences can occur to the caster.
A magic attack can backfire on the caster and cause harm as a consequence, even if his target is at a distance and the target itself could not cause the caster harm in the way that a bad outcome in melee means that target countered and hit the character.
The typical backlash will hit the caster with the same effect that he intended to do upon someone else, sometimes twisted. Backlash is always harmful. So a healing spell could be twisted into a harm spell, a mind control spell result in confusion, etc.