Spell Potential
Spell potential is granted by a variety of spell components and adds a way to further customize the strengths of a spell.
Specifically, the number demonstrates a spell’s potential to have increased damage, pushing power, defensive capabilities, or accuracy.
When you want to know how strong your hand of kinetic energy is, how much damage your fireball can do, or how difficult your lightning bolt is to avoid, simply add up the Spell Potential from the components in the spell and spend them on the table below to amplify the spell.
As always, the use of Spell Potential must be justifiable by the spell itself.
All potentially damaging spells have a base damage of 1|3 that can be bashing or severe, and directed against mental or physical health; justified by the context of the spell. Likewise, all spells have a base strength score equal to the caster’s strength. (A kinetic hand can lift as much as the caster, or more if they use the spell’s potential to increase its strength)
| Cost | Effect |
| Offensive: | |
| 1 | Increase the high or low damage of the spell by 1. (stackable) |
| 1 | Armor Piercing: Damage ignores 1 point of armor (stackable) |
| 2 | Increase the spell Avoid DC by 1 (to a max of 3) |
| Defensive | |
| 1 | +1 to armor against physical or mental damage (stackable)** |
| 2 | +1 towards defensive Ability Checks (stackable) |
| 2 | +1 armor applicable to a specific kind of energy or damage type.** |
| Other | |
| 1 | Create 1 Ammo which can be used when making Ranged Combat attacks. |
| 1 | Strength +1 |
| 1 | Increase a construct’s creation points by 2. |
** Some damage may ignore normal armor. Burning and electrical damage are two common examples.
Enchanting
Enchanting is the process of storing a spell for later use or creating a permanent magical effect. They use the caster’s own invested Mana for a prolonged or delayed effect. Investing 1 Mana into the spell so that it can maintain itself. A mage can freely switch concentration to an enchantment to take active control of the effect.
Enchantment Anchors: When a mage casts a spell, they themselves act as the conduit for the magic. However, when creating an enchantment, a mage must select an organic anchor point to hold the invested Mana and act as the conduit instead. This anchor also acts as the location from which the range is determined.
To end an enchantment early, the spell’s caster must touch the enchantment anchor and simply choose for it to end. Alternatively, an enchantment ends if the anchor is destroyed or altered so strongly as to be something entirely different. Once an enchantment ends the caster may recover the invested Mana after an 8-hour rest. If the caster ends a stored spell before it activates the Mana is instantly returned.
Permanent Enchantments are simply spells with a permanent duration. Permanent Enchantments may utilize the Influence metaspell component to bestow the spell’s effect on an area around the anchor or to those touching it.
Stored Enchantments are one-use spells inscribed in runes. Once the runes are broken, the spell is cast. This rule means anyone can set a stored enchantment off by breaking the runes.. Runes range from 1-2 inches in size and must have a closed shape inscribed in them. They are considered broken when the shape is made open. Complex spell combinations can be cast by simultaneously breaking several runes at once.
Any actor may activate a stored spell by breaking its rune. Normally, the actor which breaks the rune may choose a target, as long as that target is within the spell’s range and area constraints. If a stored enchantment contains a splice, a mage can avoid the risk by reabsorbing the spell before it goes off (ending the enchantment).
Blood Runes: Mages may attempt to make the runes of a stored enchantment themselves the target of an enchantment. To do so requires writing in an organic substance, such as blood, and as such they are often called blood runes. By storing a spell in organic runes, a mage may place the runes onto non-organic substances. Unfortunately, such enchantments rarely last longer than half an hour unless there is enough substance to make a large rune, over 1ft in diameter. Blood runes are inherently fragile and activate if the object they are written on takes any damage.
Magical Constructs
Whether creating necromantic undead, golems of mud, crawling vines, or fiery elementals, mages all follow the same rules to determine the stats of their constructs. Except for spirit mages…
Control:
A Control component must be used in the spell for the mage to control the construct. If the construct has sentience (either through the Mind or Spirit Arcana) or a drive (such as hunger with the Life Arcana), then it can control its own body and act on its own (played by the player of the caster). Otherwise the caster must command the construct’s actions as with a puppet.
For permanent (enchanted) constructs, a mage can take an action to take control of any number of their own constructs, but they must maintain concentration on the constructs while actively commanding them.
Construct Creation Points:
All constructs are given a pool of points based on their complexity, determined by the number of effective hits required to cast the spell creating the construct. These points can be used to flesh out the stats of the construct. Furthermore, all constructs start with a simplified skill describing what they are. This skill’s base level is also determined by the spell’s complexity.
Simple Construct: Spell needs 4 or Fewer Dice/Glances: 6 Creation Points and a level 1 simplified skill (aka: “zombie”)
Complex Construct: Spell needs 5 or More Dice/Glances: 16 Creation Points and a level 3 simplified skill (aka “fast zombie”)
Health: 1 Creation point can grant either a box of Stress or Physical Health.
Note: Remember to justify the point expenditure. A tiny construct might have more mental health than physical health, or might be surprisingly tough because of the material they are made of.
Skills: 1 Creation point can grant an additional skill or skill level. However, simple constructs cannot have any skill above level 2. Complex constructs have a maximum skill level of 5.
Strength and Damage: A Construct’s base strength and damage is the same as a normal spell’s, with a base damage of 1|3 and base strength equal to the caster’s. These can be increased by spending spell potential as per a normal spell.
Spirit Exceptions: The Ephemeral section details how to create a spirit. A spirit’s abilities are entirely reliant on its rank.