Magic makes the worlds go round. Magic is an integral part of the world of Mistrunner. There are seven primary schools of magic in Mistrunner. Each has its own specialized forms. These magical schools are just like skills in many ways, but magic is much broader in scope than ordinary skills. While Mistrunning and Runes are considered magical skills, they are not one of the primary schools. They are both covered in their own sections.
The seven primary schools of magic are made up of different aspects of the magical energies that are part of the Realms.
Control magic bestows the power to command animals and even people. You can also moves things, using forms such as telekinesis, with this magical power.
Creation magic delivers the power to construct items from nothing. Creation magic is the bringing of dreams to reality. These creations are the perfect image of the item desired. The more complex the item conjured, the more difficult the casting.
Divine magic is perhaps the most diverse. A user of divine magic relies upon their faith and the goodwill of their deity. All spells are granted by a deity in prayer. Healing, divination, and commune spells are all a part of the divine magic.
Druidic magic is harnessing the power of nature. Druids are defenders of nature and will not use their power if it will cause harm to the natural balance, unless the circumstances truly merit such an action.
Elemental magic is the conjuration and control of the forces of nature. The powers that make up all things is the source for elemental magic. This school of magic is divided into four parts, one for each element: fire, earth, air, and water.
Enchantment magic is the imbuing of animate or inanimate objects with special magical properties. The creation of all spell components, fetishes, and magical items fall into this school of magic.
Necromancy is the magic of the dead. Speaking with and animating the dead are the results of this black art. It is the rarest and least accepted magical form.
Rune Magic deals with binding magical energies with arcane script. While not considered one of the seven schools of magic, it nonetheless has impressive results.
There are two different types of spells available to magicians. The first, and most common, type of spell are instantaneous. Instantaneous spells have no format and are the easiest to cast. But, instantaneous spells are the hardest to predict and control. In order to cast an instantaneous spell the caster combines on the spot gestures, commands, and components that they believe will achieve the desired affect.
Formula spells are the second type of spell that magicians can cast. Formula spells are those that have been prepared ahead of time. They are more difficult to cast, but are more predictable than instantaneous spells. Formula spells are also inflexible. There is no margin for change or error in a formula spell. Formula spells are also more powerful than spontaneous ones.
When casting spells, the player makes a magic skill roll. The game master determines how difficult a spell is and assigns a target number. Instantaneous spells are always easier to cast than formula spells, and therefore have a lower target number. A instantaneous spell is also cast very quickly as opposed to formula spells. Formula spells must be recited and performed exactly as planned or they won't work, or worse, they will work in a way that the caster never imagined. Because of the extra work involved in casting formula spells, the target number is increased by 1 and the casting time is doubled. But a formula spell will generally yield better results than a instantaneous spell, most spell effects are doubled when the spell cast is a formula spell unless otherwise stated.
The target of a spell always gets to make a resistance roll. If the target possesses the same magical skill, they get to make a skill roll to resist the effects. If they get a higher total than the caster, the spell fails. If the target does not possess the same skill, they get a simple resistance save, a die roll based upon their essence attribute. Again, if they get a higher total than the caster, the spell fails.
Pa is the source of a spellcaster's magical energies. Pa is an essence pool of a sort. The amount of Pa that a caster has is 50 points plus 10 times their Essence score. Thus, an Essence score of +1 would give the character 60 points of Pa, and an Essence score of -2 would give 30 points of Pa.
Whenever a spell is cast, the caster loses Pa. The amount of Pa lost is equal to the spell's target number. For every point rolled over the target number, the loss of Pa is reduced by one; but for every point below the target number, the loss of Pa is increased by one. For example, Morris decides to use his Control magic to lift a weight, target number 7. Morris rolls a 9 on his skill roll, and so would lose 5 (7 - 2) Pa upon casting the spell. Once a caster's Pa reaches zero or lower they can no longer cast spells for that day. Pa resets after each full day as long as the caster rests properly.
Raw magic is that which has been summoned but not channeled directly into the form of a spell. Raw magic is called upon to strengthen the power of a spell, such as when a caster wishes to reduce the chances of resistance. When raw magic is summoned for this purpose the caster needs to make an extra skill roll. This skill roll is handled just like the casting of a spell. The number of points above the target number equals the amount of raw magic summoned. This is then added to the casters dice pool for the spell they wish to cast. The caster can summon raw magic equal to 5 plus their Essence rating each day. Summoning raw magic has a target number of 6 and takes one full round to accomplish. If unused, raw magic will dissipate after three rounds.
Raw magic can also be summoned by the use of a magical skill and then stored in an item for later use. This is done by making a magical skill roll at a base target number of 6. The amount of stored raw magic is equal to the number of points above the target number. This stored raw magic acts just like normal raw magic that is summoned on the spot, except it doesn't need to be used right away or all at once. Once the item is used though, it is destroyed. Any item can be imbued with raw magic, but it must be purified first. This requires an Enchantment skill roll at a base target of 6. Once purified, the item is ready to act as a vessel for raw magic. If an item that possess raw magic is destroyed, it deals an amount of damage equal to twice the levels of raw magic stored in it. This damage is dealt to anything within 10 meters of the object.
Components are the physical ingredients used to make a spell. They can be almost anything from plants and roots, to crushed stones and gems. Not every spell will have a material component as part of its casting, but many do. Most formula spells have physical components but instantaneous ones usually do not. A caster can try to cast a spell without the components or with slightly different ones, but there is a high chance the spell will not work or will even backfire. Components are destroyed upon the casting of a spell, consumed by the magical energies involved.
Fetishes are items that have been permanently enchanted with raw magic. These fetishes can be one of many different things. Special components can be turned into a fetish, thus allowing it to be used over and over again. Other fetishes could be wands that help to focus and channel magical energy more easily and efficiently. Creating fetishes is only possible to an enchanter and it takes much time and work. The item must be purified as does any item receiving raw magic. However this purification takes longer and is more difficult. The difficulty depends on the item to be enchanted and the type of enchantment placed on it. Much like items that store raw magic, the destruction of a fetish deals damage to anything within 10 meters. The damage, however, is triple the level of raw magic stored in the fetish. It takes a full day for a magical fetish to replenish its raw magic.
A spell user can attempt to identify the type of spell that is being cast by another. This can only be done if the caster is familiar with the magical skill being used. A magical skill roll is required, this is an average task, but it may be modified depending upon the rarity and difficulty of the spell. A wizard from a different school cannot recognize another schools spells because of the varying gestures, components, and styles of magic.
A caster can try to counter an existing spell. They can either deactivate the spell for a short time or dispel it all together. Countering a spell is much like a resistance roll. The caster must make a magical roll and exceed the power of the existing spell. The spell's power is equal to the original caster's success. By equaling the spell's power the caster deactivates the spell for one round. If the roll exceeds the original caster's total the spell is destroyed. A mage can only attempt to counter spells from schools he is skilled in, although he may find a way to use his own magic to protect him from a spell's effects. There may be creative ways to trigger or disarm some magical effects with conflicting schools of magic.
Below are some sample spells for each magical college. The format is broken down into the level of the spell or its target number, the range, duration, and casting time. A small description follows the format to identify the spell further. Unless otherwise stated, these spells can be either formula or instantaneous, depending upon how the character casts them.