Magic is a powerful force that can be manipulated with skills called spells. By casting spells, a wizard can direct magical energy – known as mana – to produce almost any effect. This is a mysterious art in some settings, a precise science in others.
Although hundreds of spells exist, each has a unique effect. Finding the right spell for a given task can be a painstaking process. Very experienced wizards can strike out into new territory, creating new spells for new tasks, but magical experimentation is not for the novice or the faint of heart.
The best wizards have an inborn ability to learn and use magic, called Magery. Anyone with any degree of Magery is called a mage. In many game worlds, only mages can use magic. In all worlds, they are better with magic than nonmages.
Mana is the ambient energy that empowers magic. Magic will work only if the mana level of the game world or specific area allows it, as follows:
Very High Mana: Anyone who knows spells can cast them. A mage who spends FP to cast a spell on his turn gets those FP back at the start of his next turn. However, all failures are treated as critical failures – and actual critical failures produce spectacular disasters! Very high mana is extremely rare in most settings.
High Mana: Anyone who knows spells can cast them. This mana level is rare in most worlds, but some game worlds have high mana throughout.
Normal Mana: Only mages can cast spells. These spells work normally, according to all rules given in this chapter. This is the default mana level in most fantasy settings: mages use magic, others don’t.
Low Mana: Only mages can cast spells, and all spells perform at -5 to skill, for all purposes. (Magic items are similarly affected; see Power of a Magic Item, p. 17.) However, critical failures have mild effects or no effect at all.
No Mana: No one can use magic at all. Enchantments and permanent magic effects are suspended and do not function while within a no-mana zone, but resume when taken to an area with mana. Temporary and lasting spells (p. 10) are dispelled when they enter a no-mana zone. This mana level occurs in isolated spots in magical worlds. Some entire game worlds can lack mana, making magic use impossible.
In most regions, mana is uniform and static. However, in some locations mana may favor certain types of magic, or fluctuate over time. Some powerful spells can even change the mana level of an area (p. 127). GURPS Fantasy discusses more possibilities for the magical properties of a world.
Mages cannot automatically sense the mana level of an area, but they may sense the change when they cross a boundary between levels. When a mage crosses such a boundary, roll vs. Perception + Magery-3. Add 3 to the roll if the mage was explicitly searching for the boundary.
Anyone can learn most spells – although in some worlds, you must be a mage to use the spells you know. Some spells specify a particular level of Magery as a prerequisite: if you lack the required Magery level, you cannot learn the spell.
Each magic spell is a separate skill, learned just like any other skill. Most spells are IQ/Hard skills, but a few potent spells are IQ/Very Hard. Spells have no default – you can only cast spells you know.
Add your Magery to IQ when you learn spells. For instance, if you have IQ 12 and Magery 3, you learn spells as if you had IQ 15. In addition, reduce the time required to learn spells (but not the point cost) by 10% per Magery level, to a minimum of 60% the usual time at Magery 4; e.g., Magery 3 would let you learn spells in 70% the usual time.
The maximum level of Magery available in your world is up to the GM. Most GMs will want to limit PCs to Magery 3 or 4.
If you know more than a few spells, you may wish to make a “grimoire.” This is a list of the spells you know and your skill with each, along with the energy cost, time to cast, duration, etc. for each spell. This will save a lot of reference time in play!
The difficulty of learning magic depends largely on the role of magic in a setting – and especially on its prevalence. In a world where magic is common, wizardry is likely a trade like any other, learned through apprenticeships or in schools. If magic is rare, on the other hand, prospective teachers may be cloistered in far-off monasteries or isolated towers. If magic is illegal, those mentors will be in hiding.
Once the would-be wizard finds a teacher, he must convince the teacher to take him on as a student. Some teachers give lessons for a fee; others demand service in exchange for training. Still others ask for nothing in advance, but expect their students to know their duty when the need arises.
If no instructor is available, an aspiring wizard may study magic without a teacher, like any other intellectual skill. However, lone study demands that the wizard has access to good texts on magic, in a language he can read. Even then, his progress is only half as fast as it would be with a mentor, taking 400 hours for every character point of progress (though Magery will offset some of this). What’s more, finding those texts may be just as hard as finding a teacher.
In a world with improvised magic (p. 201), there may be no magic teachers at all; wizards might learn by experimentation and lots of hard knocks.
All but the most basic spells have one or more prerequisites: requirements you must meet in order to learn the spell. If the prerequisite is another spell, you must have at least one point in the prerequisite spell before you can study the advanced spell. Not all prerequisites are spells. Some spells require a minimum Magery level; for instance, “Magery 2” means you must have Magery 2 or more to learn the spell. A few spells require a minimum basic attribute score, an advantage, or even a mundane skill.
You must know a spell in order to cast it, unless you possess a magic item that lets you cast it (see Chapter 2). Tell the GM what spell you are casting, then take Concentrate maneuvers for the requisite number of turns (see Time Required, below). At the end of the last second of concentration, make a success roll for the spell. Casting a spell works like any other use of a skill: roll 3d and compare the total to your effective skill (your base skill with the spell adjusted by any applicable modifiers). Modifiers depend on the class of spell (see Spell Classes, p. 11). If your roll is less than or equal to your effective skill, the spell works. If it is greater than your effective skill, the spell fails. On a success, mark off the spell’s energy cost against your FP or HP (see Energy Cost, p. 8). Its effects take place immediately. On a critical success, the spell works especially well. Details are up to the GM, who should be both generous and creative. Whatever else occurs, there is never an energy cost if you get a critical success when you cast a spell. On a failure, the spell does not work. If success would have cost energy, you lose one energy point; otherwise, you lose nothing. (Exception: You must pay the full energy cost for an Information spell even on a failure; see Information Spells, p. 13.) On a critical failure, you must spend the full energy cost and the spell fails badly! The GM may use the Critical Spell Failure Table or improvise some other “backfire” he finds amusing.
Roll 3d on the table below. If the result is inappropriate – or if it is the result that the caster intended – roll again. The GM is free to improvise instead of using the table.
Improvisations should be appropriate to the spell and the situation, and should never kill the caster outright.
3 – Spell fails entirely. Caster takes 1d of injury.
4 – Spell is cast on caster (if harmful) or on a random nearby foe (if beneficial).
5-6 – Spell is cast on one of the caster’s companions (if harmful) or on a random nearby foe (if beneficial).
7 – Spell affects someone or something other than its intended target – friend, foe, or random object. Roll randomly or make an interesting choice.
8 – Spell fails entirely. Caster takes 1 point of injury.
9 – Spell fails entirely. Caster is stunned (IQ roll to recover).
10-11 – Spell produces nothing but a loud noise, bright flash of light, awful odor, etc.
12 – Spell produces a weak and useless shadow of the intended effect.
13 – Spell produces the reverse of the intended effect.
14 – Spell seems to work, but it is only a useless illusion. The GM should do his best to convince the wizard and his companions that the spell did work!
15-16 – Spell has the reverse of the intended effect, on the wrong target. Roll randomly.
17 – Spell fails entirely. Caster temporarily forgets the spell. Make an IQ roll after a week, and again each following week, until he remembers.
18 – Spell fails entirely. A demon or other malign entity appropriate to the setting appears and attacks the caster. (The GM may waive this result if, in his opinion, caster and spell were both lily-white, pure good in intent.)
If you use an active defense against an attack, or are knocked back, knocked down, injured, grappled, or otherwise distracted while concentrating, make a Will roll at -3 to continue casting your spell. On a failure, your spell is spoiled and you must start over.
If you are stunned while concentrating, your spell is automatically spoiled.
If you are injured but not stunned while concentrating, and succeed on the roll to avoid distraction, you may cast your spell. However, the shock penalty for your injury will reduce your effective skill. See Shock (p. B419) for details on shock.
The “caster” of a spell is the person who is attempting to cast it.
The “subject” of a spell is the person, place, or thing upon which the spell is cast. If you are casting a spell on yourself, you are both caster and subject. The subject can also be another being, an inanimate object, or even a patch of ground. If the subject is a place, the caster can “touch” it by extending a hand over it or touching the ground, as appropriate for the spell.
Most spells take one second to cast. Take the Concentrate maneuver for one turn and attempt your skill roll at the end of your turn. If you succeed, the spell takes effect instantly. Whether you succeed or fail, your turn ends as soon as you roll the dice. No one can interrupt a one-second spell unless he took the Wait maneuver on his own turn before the caster began concentrating.
Example: Patrick wants to cast Create Fire, a one-second spell. On his turn, Patrick says, “I’m concentrating on Create Fire.” This uses his entire turn. He then rolls the dice for his spell. If he succeeds, he creates fire – but either way, Patrick’s turn ends. Aidan, standing next to him, cannot try to disrupt the spell unless he took the Wait maneuver before Patrick’s turn began.
Some spells take more than one second to cast. This requires multiple, consecutive Concentrate maneuvers in combat. Make the skill roll at the end of the last turn of concentration. You may “abort” an unfinished spell before it is cast, at no penalty, but you must start over if you wish to try again.
Example: If a spell takes three seconds to cast, you must spend three turns doing nothing but concentrating. You roll the dice at the end of your third turn.
Blocking spells may be cast without concentrating, during a foe’s turn, to defend against an attack. See Blocking Spells (pp. 12-13).
Each spell has an energy cost. When you cast the spell, you must pay this cost in either FP or HP. The better you know the spell, the less energy you need to cast it. If you know it well enough, you can cast it at no cost.
Exception: Never reduce the cost of a Blocking spell; see Blocking Spells (pp. 12-13).
If your base skill with a spell – modified only by the -5 for low mana, if applicable – is 15 or more, reduce the cost to cast the spell by 1. If you have skill 20 or more, reduce cost by 2. Cost continues to decrease by 1 per full five skill levels beyond skill 20. Apply the same reduction to the cost to maintain a spell. Calculate the entire cost for a spell (for instance, by multiplying cost for the size of the subject or the area affected) before applying energy cost reductions for high skill. Energy is still going into the spell, but your skill lets you draw it from the surrounding mana instead of supplying it yourself!
You normally pay the energy cost of a spell in FP. You can recover lost FP by resting. A mage with the Recover Energy spell (p. 89) recovers FP faster than normal.
You may also expend life energy to pay the cost of a spell. Mark off some or all of the cost against HP instead of FP – the spell is actually harming you! You are at -1 on your spell roll per HP used. This is instead of the usual shock penalty for injury, and High Pain Threshold has no effect.
Using HP to power spells is dangerous, but it may be necessary if you are badly fatigued and must cast another spell. You may “burn” HP until you fall unconscious. Should a failed HT roll indicate that you have died, you do not actually spend the HP. Instead, you fall unconscious.
Treat HP lost this way just like any other injury.
To cast a spell, you must usually perform a ritual that involves gestures and speech. If you can’t perform the ritual, you can’t cast the spell! For instance, if the ritual for a spell requires you to speak, you cannot cast the spell if you are gagged or under a spell of silence.
The higher your skill with a spell, the easier it is to cast. It takes less time, requires less energy, and has less stringent ritual requirements. See the list below for details. In all cases, “skill” refers to base skill, not effective skill.
The only modifier that matters here is the -5 for low mana, if applicable.
Skill 9 or less – Ritual: You must have both hands and both feet free for elaborate ritual movements, and you must speak certain words of power in a firm voice. Time: Doubled. Cost: As listed.
Skill 10-14 – Ritual: You must speak a few quiet words and make a gesture. Time: As listed. Cost: As listed.
Skill 15-19 – Ritual: You must speak a word or two or make a small gesture (a couple of fingers are enough), but not necessarily both. You are allowed to move one yard per second while taking the Concentrate maneuver. Time: As listed. Cost: Reduced by 1.
Skill 20-24 – Ritual: None! You simply stare into space as you concentrate. Time: Halved (round fractions up to the next second). Minimum casting time is still one second. Cost: Reduced by 2.
Skill 25-29 – Ritual: None. Time: Divided by 4 (round up). Cost: Reduced by 3.
Skill 30 or more – As above, but for every five levels of skill beyond skill 25 (that is, at levels 30, 35, 40, etc.), halve casting time again (always rounding up) and reduce energy cost by one more point.
Certain spells always require a specific ritual. Such requirements override the rules above. For instance, high skill has no effect on the cost to cast Blocking spells (pp. 12-13) or the time to cast Missile spells (p. 12).
Here is an alternative way to handle the rituals required for spells. It gives wizards more flexibility in the way they cast their spells, but denies powerful wizards the ability to forget about ritual entirely.
By default, all spells require two-handed gestures, subtle foot motions like dance steps, and a clearly spoken incantation. However, any wizard may choose to omit parts of the ritual by accepting a penalty to skill. Omitting the foot movements requires a -2 penalty. Gestures with only one hand require a -2 penalty, while casting with no hand gestures at all requires a -4 penalty. Softly spoken incantations demand a -2 penalty, and no incantation requires a -4 penalty.
If, on the other hand, a wizard has time to be especially precise with his movements and speaks the incantation loudly and articulately, doubling the casting time, he gets +1 to his effective skill.
The effects of many spells vary with the energy spent. For instance, a healing spell might heal 1 HP per energy point, or a combat spell might inflict 1d damage per point.
If the spell description sets no upper limit, then you may spend as much energy as you can afford! The more you spend, the greater the effect. If the spell specifies a finite range of effects and associated energy costs, though, you cannot exceed the upper limit without a high level of Magery (see below).
If either type of variable spell is cast on the same subject more than once, only the spell with the most powerful effects counts – multiple instances of a given spell do not “stack” or add in any way. Spells that heal, damage, or otherwise permanently affect the subject are an exception: you may cast such spells repeatedly, healing or damaging the subject by the full amount each time.
Talented mages may exceed the usual limits for spells that allow a finite number of “levels of effect” (dice of damage, bonuses to skill, etc.). The upper limit is the higher of the standard number of levels or the caster’s Magery level.
Example: Major Healing (p. 91) allows you to spend 1, 2, 3, or 4 energy points to heal 2, 4, 6, or 8 HP. It has four levels of effect. Magery 10 would let you revise this limit to 10 levels of effect – you could spend 1-10 energy points to heal 2-20 HP!
The GM is free not to use this rule if he thinks it would be unbalanced. Of course, if he puts a limit on the highest level of Magery available, this will not be a problem!
It is rarely clear what spell a wizard is casting while he’s casting it – especially if he knows it well enough to cast it silently! In general, if a spell has no obvious visible effect (unlike Fireball), it can be kept a secret. This can make magical battles much more interesting, when only the GM knows exactly what spells are in effect and on whom. Even if the spell is audible, observers may have to make a Thaumatology roll to recognize a spell they do not themselves know. Observers without Thaumatology are completely out of luck!
Some spells produce an instantaneous effect when cast and then end immediately. Other spells last for a fixed “duration” (given for the particular spell, but most often one minute) and then wear off – unless you maintain them.
If you can maintain a spell, the energy cost to do so appears alongside the cost to cast. When the spell reaches the end of its duration, you may continue the spell by paying its maintenance cost. If you do, the spell endures for another interval equal to its duration. This takes no time and requires no skill roll. Distance is not a factor.
Example: The Light spell (p. 110) notes “Duration: 1 minute” and “Cost: 1 to cast; 1 to maintain.” It ends after a minute unless, at the end of that minute, you spend one more energy point to maintain it. If you do, it lasts another minute.
You may repeat this process for as long as you wish, provided you can supply the required energy. As long as you are conscious, you will know when one of your spells needs to be renewed. However, you cannot maintain a spell while you sleep, and you cannot “hand off” a spell to someone else so he can maintain it for you.
Sometimes, you may want to end a spell before its full duration is up. If you specify a shorter duration when you cast the spell, the spell lasts exactly the time desired. If you suddenly decide to “cancel” a spell before its time is up, though, you must pay one energy point (from FP or HP) to do so, regardless of the spell or your skill level.
High Skill and Cost to Maintain Energy cost reduction for high skill also applies to the cost to maintain a spell. This can reduce maintenance cost to 0. For instance, if you know a spell at skill 15-19, you may reduce its maintenance cost by 1; if this cost is 1 to begin with, you can maintain the spell indefinitely at no energy cost! Concentration and Maintenance You can maintain a spell without concentration unless the spell requires constant manipulation and change; e.g., to maneuver a levitating object. Spells like this require you to take the Concentrate maneuver only. If you are distracted, injured, or stunned, you must make a Will roll at -3. If you fail, the spell does not end, but it remains in precisely the state it had when you were distracted, and does not respond to change until you can concentrate on it again. On a critical failure, the spell ends. Casting another spell does not break concentration, but you suffer a skill penalty for doing two things at once (see Casting Spells While Maintaining Other Spells, below). Changing Maintained Spells A spell with a variable area of effect cannot be expanded after it has been cast. However, a wizard may choose to maintain only part of a spell’s area, paying the maintenance cost for only a portion of the original area affected. Duration Types There are five classes of duration for spells: instantaneous, temporary, lasting, permanent, and enchantment.
Instantaneous spells produce an instant effect when cast and then end immediately. Note that some instantaneous spells appear to last longer because they leave behind a persistent but nonmagical effect – Flesh to Stone, for example, instantly turns a living being to stone and ends, leaving behind a stone statue.
Temporary spells are spells that require the continuing expenditure of energy to maintain. If it has a cost to maintain, it is most likely a temporary spell. Only temporary spells count as spells “on” (see below).
Lasting spells do not require maintenance, but have a limited effective duration. Typically, they last until some event ends the spell. Bless is a good example; the spell lasts until the blessing is used.
Permanent spells create a magical effect that lasts indefinitely. Zombie is a good example: the magic force that animates the body persists until the body has been physically destroyed. A permanent spell, unlike temporary and lasting spells, does not end in a no-mana zone, but it is suspended until the subject leaves the zone. At that point the spell resumes.
Enchantments produce a still more enduring magical effect – usually one that generates other magical effects in turn. Enchantments are not dispelled by spells like Dispel Magic or Remove Curse. Like permanent spells, enchantments are suspended, not dispelled, by no-mana zones.
Spells usually resist other spells or attacks with the effective skill of the wizard who cast them. Some temporary and lasting spells, however, can be whittled away by repeated assaults.
Such spells are said to have Endurance. Like an enchantment’s Power, a spell’s Endurance at casting time is equal to its caster’s effective skill. However, it may be reduced by later events. A spell’s description always discusses whether the spell has Endurance and at what Endurance the spell fails and dissipates.
Some spells only provide a wizard with one chance. These spells note “One Try” in their descriptions. If such a spell fails, the caster (and any assistants) may not try that spell again on the same subject. Some spells permit only a single try within a given time period – “one try per week,” for example. In this case, the caster(s) may try again after the appropriate time has passed. If no time period is specified, the caster(s) may never try again.
You can only cast one new spell at a time. However, you can cast new spells before older ones end. Apply the following modifiers whenever you cast spells while you have other spells active:
-3 per spell you are concentrating on at the moment. See the individual spell descriptions to learn which spells require concentration.
-1 per other spell you have “on” at the moment. Only temporary spells carry this penalty.