Note: Editing in progress. Contents are under revision to fit the omniversal scope of various powers and make it more convenient to understand, while giving tools that any GM can use for their particular world.

Depending on the world your character comes from, the mystical arts might simply be a matter of fiction and fantasy, something restricted to only those with special advantages, or an accessible tool available to anyone with the appropriate skill set. Regardless of what the locals call it, we here will refer to this sort of thing as a Metapower - some sort of ability that is beyond normal human capabilities (regardless of whether you, personally, or your native species are inherently capable of it) that gives you the power to create a change in the physical world through some means other than normal physical action.

In worlds where 'magic' exists, typically there is some element of the world that makes it so - a level of 'mana' that allows magic to function, an alteration of the laws of physics that allows one's will to work on the world, and the ability of those with access to occult knowledge to utilize magic for their own purposes.

The advantages of magic include its ability to be triggered even by those who do not have an innate ability for it - even someone who doesn't have any magical prowess can successfully contain the evil of a magical book by saying the precise magical words. (Just remember, it has to be the exact words…) On the other hand, the fact that this information can be learned and used by the untrained means that people could theoretically be dabbling in very dark territory without any idea how to stop what they're about to unleash - which is how many good horror movies start.

In worlds where 'psionics' exists, there are those whose minds are so finely developed that they have the ability to manipulate the world through sheer force of will alone, whether by moving objects, changing temperatures, speaking into the minds of others, reading thoughts, or doing any other of a number of interesting and strange psychic phenomena.

Where magic is often an open book, psionics is frequently a closed casket, with training often difficult to impossible to receive in a normal environment. That said, some worlds thrive around making it as easy as an RNA cocktail injected into the arm to give you the power to move objects with your mind or summon a horde of angry bees from nowhere. They say that psionics are one of the possibilities of putting to use unexplored areas of the human mind, but what happens when that human mind is overworked?

Many creatures and entities have powers that just aren't explainable by normal science, yet aren't magical or a form of psionics. Note that many powers and abilities that are possessed by strange creatures and stranger monsters technically can be explained by science, like geckos that can climb glass surfaces – this is more the section we turn to when we're trying to justify the power scheme of Sewer Urchin's ability to fire toxic spines, for example.

Typically, genetic powers can't be 'learned' - you can't wake up one morning and start throwing spiderwebs, at least not unless you've been bitten by the right radioactive spider. However, those who have a Metahuman package of some sort can usually develop powers they already have or develop new ones appropriate to what they happen to be.

Your world is based in the 1980s, but you want a character who can come up with a laser pistol? Or perhaps your villian is bent on mutating the citizens of the town into zombies with tainted foodstuffs, or using a TV signal to control all the state's cars, or whathaveyou. You've got yourself a case of Weird Science on your hands – technology that is imbued with the ability to transcend its component capabilities, based on the genius of its creator.

The good news for humanity, fortunately, is that worlds that allow Weird Science experts to make their weird inventions and wacky one-offs also tend to make them things that work well once, and that have a number of drawbacks that would make them problematic if they were ever released into a market brimming with lawyers. (On the other hand, worlds where worker safety and consumer safety are entirely irrelevant may make vast scientific advances on the shoulders of Weird Science geniuses, just before the planet is enveloped in complete nuclear war.) That said, freedom of information and freedom of creativity often allow these ignored geniuses to blossom, even though their true genius is only realized well after their inventions are no longer 'futuristic'.

Depending on the world, your magic may not always work - or may not always completely work, and as a remedial magic teacher might say, not-right in magic is often not right.

In many worlds, magic has unintended consequences. A mispronounced word or a missed cue and the result may be the total opposite of what your character intended. But the real kicker - the thing that drives practitioners straight to over-consumption of ice cream goodies - is that even succeeding does not mean everything works perfectly.

In the hands of those with true power - Witches and Warlocks - magic can do almost anything its wielder desires. Spells can affect hundreds of people at once, reshape reality to suit the magician, and even bring back the dead. There is always a price, however, both for success and failure. You have been warned.

Magic is the supernatural power to make changes in the world through an act of will rather than physical action. In most worlds, magic predates even humanity itself, dating back through countless millenia, before recorded history. Many of the oldest magics are also the darkest, and some of these rites survive, preserved by sorcerers with more guts than good sense. Other magicks are more strictly the domain of humanity, powers of the Earth used by the Wise Ones - the Wicca - to heal and protect. The lines between dark and light powers are blurred in most worlds, however. The intent of the magic's wielder, her skill and strength of will, and plain dumb luck all seem to play a part in determining the difference between a spell that helps or heals, and one that corrupts and destroys.

Magic in CharLoft RPG works in a number of ways. This chapter will first delve into the 'standard' form of magic as set by Unisystem Lite, and will dabble in other systems of magic later.

Most commonly, spells and rituals are used to appeal to, or invoke, some supernatural entity (including spirits, gods and demons) to produce an effect. Powerful magicians (those with Sorcery; the witches, warlocks, and wizards of the world, for those in an alliterative mood), on the other hand, can use their own will to affect the world directly. Finally, there are objects - leftovers from the demon age, items created by powerful magicians, or artifacts from different dimensions - that hold great power.

Knowledge is all one really needs to perform magical feats in the CharLoft RPG. Rituals, incantations and old formulae have great power, should one dare to use them. It's like baking a cake - as long as you have the recipe and ingredients, you're all set, more or less. Skill and practice are important, too. Even with a recipe, an inexperienced cook can ruin the cake, and it's the same with magic. And of course, if your character screws up, he often gets something a lot worse than a face full of frosting. Using magic is always dangerous, and the wise only use it as a last resort.

Your character won't find true magic in the Mysticism section of the local chain bookstore or on the shelves of the Char Loft - that's for the wanna-blessed-bes. The real spells are usually found in ancient books, scrolls or stone tablets, often hidden for centuries by dark cults. Then again, the most amazing things are on eBay these days, and a few occult books have been scanned into computer databases (some with disastrous consequences).

Access to occult books is essential for a budding magician. Less fortunate magicians have to make do with a single book of spells. If the spell is not somewhere in her collection, the magician is out of luck, unless he wants to try and devise a spell on his own.

Creating new spells requires a lot of work and is risky. Re-treading all over the cooking analogy, it's basically like using a lot of recipes to make a new one. Your character might create something really good, or end up with the magical equivalent of chocolate-frosted stuffed-crust olive loaf.

Your character's best bet is to look up a previously developed spell. Most old spells are tried-and-true formulas, developed over centuries of trial and error (and when we say error, we're talking about the kind of error that leads to the sudden onset of galloping leprosy, spontaneous combustion, rains of toads and other fun stuff). The prudent magician goes for the tried-and-true ways. The daring magician risks making a mistake (which brings us back to the galloping leprosy and other nonsense).

True Witches and Warlocks (i.e., people with the Sorcery Quality) have an easier time improvising spells or casting them “on the fly,” but even they have to hit the books for the really impressive mojo. Characters who want to sling spells around need to have some level of the Occult Library Quality or know someone who does (this is where being best buds with an Occult Investigator really pays off). In the latter case, of course, access to the books is going to be limited; they are someone else's books, after all, and you know how people hate it when you borrow their books and don't return them. Now imagine if the book revealed how to make an inchworm the size of an SUV …

Once your character has found the right spell, whether motivated by desperate need or self-destructive whim or something in between (that's … desperate whim?), it's casting time. Most spells require a ritual of some sort. This can be as easy as reading or speaking the words of the spell, or as complicated as dancing for three hours under the full moon, wearing nothing but the fur of a freshly killed animal (can you say blech?). Most spells use ancient languages - Latin, Sumerian, Sanskrit, or even one of the languages that were old before men walked the earth. Your character needn't be fluent in the language in question, but if she stumbles and mispronounces a word, there's a chance that the spell might go bad - as in “no-longer-have-ears” bad or maybe even “release-a-scourge-across-the-land” bad.

Many rituals also require special ingredients or components (the ever popular eye of newt, or the dust of twenty-seven old vampires, or a mint copy of Superdude Comics #1). The items are usually destroyed or consumed during the ritual (the sacrifice needed to appease or pay off whatever Powers the sorcerer is invoking), so kiss that valuable Superdude comic goodbye. Also, more powerful spells often need rare and unique components (the horns of a demon lord or a supermodel without an eating disorder), so even if your character manages to learn the spell, she still may not be able to cast it.

Rituals usually take some time - no less than a few minutes, and often several hours, or even days. More powerful spells tend to require longer rituals, although the exact length can vary a lot. If the ritual is interrupted before it's completed, the spell will fizzle or worse, have some unexpected effect - sorcerers with weak bladders take note.

Once the ritual is complete, the magic happens. The effects may be subtle (the victim's personality changes over a few hours, for example) or spectacular (your basic rain of locusts, pillars of fire, explosions, or other FX-laden extravaganzas). Much of the time, the spell's effects won't be exactly what the caster had in mind. And even if they are, you can't discount the potential for nasty side effects later on. There's no such thing as a free lunch with magic. The fabric of reality cannot be altered cheaply, and there's always a price to pay. A spell could kill a targeted enemy, for example, but the forces invoked to do the deed may run rampant afterwards, killing indiscriminately. The more powerful the spell, the more likely that there will be unexpected occurrences.

So, despite all our doom and gloom, your character is ready, willing and able to use magic. What next? Spellcasting takes some preparation and some thought. Can't just start tossing fireballs left and right at the drop of a top hat, y'know.

Magical incantations and invocations have a few features that must be taken into account when using the art of mojo in the game. Each spell has a Power Level. This determines the overall strength of the spell - a spell that helps cure a toothache is less powerful than one that can transmogrify (as that old lady who turns into a cat likes to say) the population of a small city into barnyard animals, for example. The higher the Power Level of a spell, the more difficult it is to cast properly, and the more damaging the consequences of failure. Additionally, spells have Requirements - the ingredients or ritual components needed to attempt the magical endeavor. Finally, spells have an Effect. This is usually descriptive (“all the body hair is removed from the victim,” for example), but can also include rules concepts like damage inflicted, area affected, and duration.

First, your character needs to know what she wants to do. Okay, that's sort of a “duh” statement, but it's not as straightforward as it first sounds. With magic, being specific is key. If the caster's intentions are too vague, the powers invoked by the spell may “interpret” them as they wish, and that's rarely a good thing. “I want to make my ex-boyfriend's life miserable” sucks as a “mission statement.” Such a spell might do almost anything, including killing the caster herself (if her death would make the ex-boyfriend miserable), turning him into a demon (bad if he holds a grudge), or killing everybody he likes (which may include people the caster likes). “I want my ex-boyfriend's nose to spew a constant stream of mucus for five hours starting at 7pm next Saturday” is much better (pretty gross, granted, but better).

So, what can a magician wish for? In theory, anything; in practice, not so much. Magic can affect living and non-living things, can build and destroy, affect people's minds and manipulate matter and energy. There are limits, however. Making objects appear out of thin air is exceedingly difficult, for example. It is a great deal easier to transform or destroy something that already exists rather than create something out of nothing. Permanent effects are more difficult than temporary ones: your character may be able to turn lead into gold, but the gold reverts to lead a short while later. Healing some diseases may have unfortunate side effects - this is especially true of any problem affecting the patient's mind. The more ambitious the purpose, the harder it is to find a spell that can accomplish it. The best spells have simple and straightforward goals.

Finally, spells that squash enemies like bugs or overwhelm all challenges in the game are simply not going to be available for the most part (and when they are, they will exact a high price from those who use them). Other than being silly and rude to the GM who has worked so hard to entertain you, that's way too much of a cop out. Magic cannot solve all or even most problems by itself.

Alright, your character knows what she wants, and has formulated it with some specificity. Is she going to get it? That depends on how good her research is. This step is mostly under the GM's control. Once you decide what type of spell your character needs, the GM must decide two things: Is the spell available, and how difficult will it be to find?

The first part is the trickiest one; does the desired spell exist? Generally speaking, any reasonably effective spell should be available - if the spell works within the plot of the adventure, or at least doesn't get in the way. By the same token, once a spell is “discovered,” the characters will have continual access to it, so your GM must consider whether the spell in question is potentially unbalancing or inappropriate in the long term. Alternatively, the spell may exist, but it may require unique components. Of course, you will not know if the spell is available until your character spends some time looking for it (and how much time is up to the GM and your character's research skills).

If the spell exists, the spellcaster needs to find it. Research is mostly done “off camera” in the CharLoft RPG, so it should be solved with a couple of rolls in the game. Finding a spell takes one hour per Power Level of the spell, minus half an hour per Success Level in an Intelligence and Occultism roll, to a minimum of half an hour (multiple researchers can combine their Success Levels). Or your GM might just say, “you stay up until 6 AM and finally locate the proper incantation … oh, by the way, not too long ‘til class starts.”

In some cases, the spell may exist, but is not in your character's collection. In that case, finding the book (or scroll, or stone tablet or whatever) with the spell would be part of the adventure's plot.

Creating new spells works along the same lines. First, the GM decides if the right “raw materials” are available. If so, your wannabe spell-slinger can devise her own charms and enchantments. If they aren't, she is wasting her time (a kind GM might allow her to come up with something less effective than she hoped - and a less kind one might have her create a spell with some seriously unintended effects).

Characters created to be spell-casters might logically have a couple of spells under their belts when the game commences. If you can convince your GM of this, she might allow your character a number of spells equal to her Occultism skill. Your GM will choose the spells and might even include some of a higher-than-safe Power Level (dastardly, eh?).

In many games, magic is often used as a plot device. These spells are found just in time to save the day or start the trouble the characters have to deal with during an adventure. They are usually powerful, world-changing, and play a vital role in the storyline, be it good or evil. After playing that role, most of those spells disappear, never to be mentioned again.

Plot device spells should be given special consideration. Generally, they should be one-shot rituals: they can be used once, and cannot be repeated afterwards, for any number of reasons. Some possible explanations include special requirements (like needing an alignment of stars and planets that only happens once every 6,000 years, give or take), components (a unique item that can never be replaced after being consumed by the spell), or circumstances (the spell to summon one demon doesn't work for all demons, just that one). These special spells should not be too difficult to cast, either, so Success Level requirements can be waived or reduced - some spells just “want” to be cast, and anybody with a modicum of skill can use them (not necessarily a good thing).

Finally, plot device spells should be very rare - one or two per year are probably as common as they should be. If you player types start waiting for some mega-spell to save the day, your GM isn't doing it right.

Setting up the spell may require very little effort (cracking open a book and reading it, for example), but preparations often must be made beforehand. They include things like setting up a ritual site, finding all the ingredients to be used in the spell, or waiting for the right time (midnight, the full moon, a total solar eclipse, or a Jackson Five reunion). Common elements used in many spells include:

CANDLES: Electricity is for muggles - magic works best in flickering candlelight, just like grandma used to spellcast. Many rituals call for lighting a number of candles (four to thirteen, usually), generally arranged in a circle, square or pentagram.

ITEMS: Some spells need specific items to be effective. These objects have a special meaning or inherent trigger. They may be crucial to the ritual's success or they may simply make it easier.

MAGIC CIRCLE: Gather a few of your best friends in a circle, have them hold hands and chant and presto! - they'll definitely think you're insane. In many worlds, that's the way a lot of rituals work, though. Sometimes the circle is drawn on the ground, and if someone smudges or erases the lines, the spell fizzles - or does something unexpected (and keep in mind there are precious few good surprises when you're using magic).

OCCULT SYMBOLS: Some spells work better when you paint a few pretty pictures. You've got pentagrams, hexagrams, candygrams, runes, Sumerian cuneiform writing, and Amazon Indian pictographs. Stick figures might do it, but don't count on it.

These preparations are plot-driven, not rule-driven. Most of the time, setting up the spell is no big deal and is done largely off-camera. For minor spells, the prep work should be insignificant. If the preparations are important, then getting it done should be part of the adventure's plot or subplots. Fighting a pack of demons to obtain a mystic crystal, maxing out your credit card to buy that last fragment of the Scroll of Butt-Kicking, or making a pact with dark forces to get what's needed - these can all be possible plots and subplots dealing with the preparation of a spell. See Appendix II for some ideas for trappings.

Once everything is in place, casting a spell requires a Willpower and Occultism roll. Drama Points can be used normally to increase the spell's chance to succeed (but your GM may bar such use unless the need is dire and suitably Dramatic - spells to clean up after last night's party won't cut it, but a pitched battle in which people are falling all around you is). If the roll fails (i.e, the total is less than nine), the spell doesn't work - the ritual simply fails. Generally, there's no other down side here; your character just wasted some time, candlepower and pretty speechifying. Actually, it's when the roll succeeds that things get interesting … in the sense of the ancient Chinese curse “may you live in interesting times.”

The roll's Success Levels are compared to the spell's Power Level. If the number of Success Levels is less than the spell's Power Level, something magical happens - but it is rarely what the caster intended. The spell's intent may be twisted or perverted, and the caster may be injured - or even killed - as the magicks draw on her life force to fulfill their purpose. The Director can decide what happens, or she can roll on the Spell Side Effect Table below.

If the roll results in Success Levels greater than or equal to the spell's Power Level, the spell works perfectly. Unless, of course, it takes an unexpected turn no matter how many Success Levels were rolled. But no good and true GM would do something like that, now would she? Scratch that - in any world where magic is not unlimited, any frequent use of magic is going to go wrong at some point. Best to expect some nasty consequence with magic (regardless of the die rolling result), and plan accordingly.

Casting multiple spells without resting is very difficult, as the magician's will is sapped by the constant strain. Every successive spell cast without a significant period of rest (at least two hours per spell Power Level) suffers a cumulative -2 penalty. So, the second spell of the day is at -2, the third at -4, and so on. Only powerful Witches can cast multiple spells in a row, and even then they'll probably have to burn some Drama Points to keep it up. Even worse, using the same spell more than once adds an additional -1 to the penalties above.

EXAMPLUS TOTALUS: Ericka is trapped in a room. The door has several locks on it, and the walls are reinforced steel (although she doesn't know that). First she tries to unlock the door with a spell. It works, but only one of the locks is released. Frustrated, Ericka decides to try and blow out a portion of the wall. That spell suffers a -2 penalty given Ericka's fatigue. Reinforced steel says “no way”. Realizing now how strong the walls are, Ericka returns to the locked door. She attempts the unlock spell again. This time it suffers a -4 penalty due to fatigue, and -1 for repeated use - the total modifier is -5.

Spells that require multiple magicians don't require multiple rolls. The participant with the highest casting bonus (Willpower + Occultism + Sorcery [if any]) or Quick Sheet Magic Maneuver Score is called the primary caster. She does the rolling. The casting bonus of other participants is not used. When more than the required number of participants is available, the extra help comes in handy. Every magician above the minimum needed adds +1 for every Success Level she achieves on a separate casting roll. So, if a spell normally requires three casters and four Witches are around, the one with the lowest casting bonus adds +1 per Success Level to the primary caster's casting total. The bonus for a single helper may be small, but it could be the difference between arcane achievement and pain-inducing prestidigitation. Making magic with a full coven of 13 Witches can really put some mustard in the mojo. There is a downside though - each additional caster's failure subtracts two from the primary caster's final result. Regardless of the quality of the help though, the total bonus added by the additional magicians cannot exceed the primary caster's Willpower and Occultism (and Sorcery) bonus. In effect, the primary caster's bonuses can be doubled, but no more than that.

With the rise of the Internet, Technopagans, cybermages, and the like have developed rituals for combining computers and magic. The most common of these techniques is the virtual circle. If a character needs to perform a ritual that requires a number of participants, but doesn't have the proper number of magically inclined friends around, virtual magic can be a great way to go.

Everyone involved blesses her computer, burns incense and lights candles - to set the proper atmosphere. Then each participant types the various invocations instead of speaking them aloud. Non-wired magicians can help out but they must be close by the wired ones.

Spells cast using a virtual circle receive the usual “working together” benefits. Simply add the bonus from every additional magician involved in the ritual just as if everyone were performing the spell in the same place. On the other hand, virtual magic is slower than normal - all rituals so cast require twice as much time to perform. Also, the effect is centered around the person who leads the chant, which may not necessarily be the person with the strongest mojo (and therefore, the maximum benefit may be reduced.)

In your typical fantasy roleplaying game, magicians are walking artillery pieces, able to fire spells left and right and smite orcs and goblins by the cartload. In the mainstream system, only Witches and Warlocks can use magic effectively in combat, and even they can't just blast away at their enemies for very long. Magic is mostly the stuff of lengthy rituals and careful preparation, and a fistfight isn't the right place for it. Practitioners should do their spells before or after a fight.

Any spell that requires a ritual fails if the caster is attacked before the ritual is complete. Witches can use their speed-casting ability to invoke spells in combat, but even they are hindered by the roll penalties for multiple castings. Again, feel free to impose a magical downside even when combat spell-casting rolls succeed cleanly.

Most fantasy roleplaying games have powerful healing magicks - a cleric says a quick prayer, or a warrior chugs a potion, and presto: wounds disappear, and people are hale and hearty again (until the next time they get clobbered by orcs or what have you, that is). Magic in the mainstream doesn't work like that though. (Unless your GM says otherwise, of course…)

Undoing damage, curing disease and the like are not things that can be done lightly in this setting. At best, magic can accelerate the natural healing process, but trying to instantly cure someone is likely to have serious side effects - for example, a spell that regenerates a wound might also give the patient cancer, as cells start multiplying without rhyme or reason.

Since no healing spells have been used in the source material (remember, this system got its start with the Buffyverse, and thus reflects its style), this is open to interpretation of course. We suggest that healing spells, if any exist at all, speed up regular healing (doubling or tripling the normal rate, for example). If you want flashier “poof, you're all healed” magic, you can use the magic damage guidelines, and simply reverse them for healing effects. GMs should be aware, however, that such a spell will be used regularly and will radically alter the feel and tone of the campaign (unless frequent side effects are imposed). On the other hand, it will be very useful in combat, particularly for Mortals.

Finally, we get to the streams of pretty sparkles, big flashes of light, clouds of smoke, thunderous roars and other heady stuff that happens when a spell goes off. Most spell effects are pretty straightforward - somebody gets turned into a rat, a magical portal opens or closes, a spirit is summoned or exorcised. A few spells have variable effects - the duration or damage of the spell is determined by either the Success Levels of the casting roll or the magician's Willpower.

Summoning is a special category of magic. With very few exceptions, almost no summoning magics can be quick cast - calling gnarly creatures from the spirit world or one of the hundreds of demon dimensions takes time, especially if the caster wants to do it safely. If the caster's roll succeeds, but fails to achieve the spell's Power Level, something is always summoned. Often, it doesn't arrive immediately, so it can be doubly surprising when it finally shows up (see Summoning Spells Side Effect Table). For the most part though, succeeding in a summoning spell is not overly difficult.

Demons and spirits make their summoning spells particularly easy because that promotes mortal world tourism (a favorite demon vacation spot). They love to have a chance to cause trouble, break things, and maybe engage in an evisceration or two.

Summoning spells are also devised to be easy to perform accidentally. Most summoning spells require not much more than the creature's special symbol. There are far too many old, interesting-looking books (and more modern books copied from them) that contain these symbols. If someone draws a summoning symbol accidentally, she is halfway to completing the spell. The final component can easily be as simple as reading the caption of the old drawing out loud or spilling a single drop of blood. Most of the truly lame amateur magicians are summoners - it's just that easy and it impresses the locals (in the run-screaming kind of way). The real trick is learning how to survive the experience.

When someone intentionally summons a creature, she generally hopes to use it to perform some fairly difficult and nasty task. Otherwise, the caster would simply ask a good friend and not something with five horns, alligator scales, and bad breath. The problem is that almost no summoning spells are also binding spells, forcing the creature to do the caster's will. Demons and spirits hate those sorts of spells and do their best to kill anyone who uses them. In addition, binding spells are much tougher to cast.

Summoners with sense have prepared a binding circle. This precaution keeps the creature from immediately eating the summoner and heading out on the town. Even assuming that's successful, the caster must make a deal with the being. Sometimes this is easy - asking a demon to kill someone in particular doesn't take much convincing. Keeping that demon from killing or maiming one or two other people along the way is a bit more difficult. If the caster wants the critter to rob a bank for her, kill someone tough like a vampire or a witch, or do anything else fairly complicated, she needs to find something that likes to do what she wants - or she needs to do some fast talking.

Even creatures who like doing what the caster desires may want a token payment, like the caster's left eye or something equally icky. Avoiding this is going to take an offer of something equally desirable to the demon or spirit. Often, a magical item with a Power Level equal to that of the summoning spell is acceptable. Not that those things grow on trees, but it's better than one of the caster's body parts. Whether the creature takes the treasure and backs out of the deal is another story. Absent self sacrifice or objects, demon or spirit bargains tend to get ugly fast. Elaborate human sacrifices, the head of a demon hunter, and the heart of a virgin are only the beginning of the nastiness. The caster can walk this dark road but there will almost certainly be repercussions.

Anyone who doesn't want to become some sort of black magician had best leave demon summoning to someone else. Threats could also work. Hellgods or sufficiently kick-butt Witches can often simply tell the creature that if it doesn't do what she wants, she will stomp it into a pile of broken horns and green goo. On the other hand, if the caster has the juice to back up that threat, why summon the creature in the first place? Magicians can summon almost any demon or spirit imaginable. Most summoning spells are Power Level 3; powerful unique demons require level four spells; real nasties can bring the Power Level to five. Casting a summoning spell takes between ten minutes and a half an hour. (Dealing with the consequences usually takes much longer…)

Some spells have continuing effects (curses, for example) or may even be permanent (some transformation spells). Canceling their effects requires access to the spell itself (ideally taking it directly from the magician's own books) and a spellcasting roll as above with the effective Power Level of the spell reduced by one (it's easier to undo a spell and return nature to its natural state). There is another way to stop an ongoing magic effect - find the caster and get them to stop the spell (through polite negotation or by simply bludgeoning or otherwise killing them until the spell stops.) Either way, continuing spells stop working, but permanent ones may or may not. For this reason, and others, wholesale slaughter is discouraged - killing the only one who can easily undo the spell that causes the Apocalypse can really put a damper on your life.

Once a spell effect is out there, players are going to want to use it again. And again. And a few times more after that. If the spell in question creates some light, it's not a big deal. If it is something a little more serious like an “Instant Bad Guy Kill in a Bottle” spell, you've got a problem. Still, this is easily handled as long as you act fast.

Mega-powerful spells should require special “ingredients” that cannot be found easily (and often can only be found once, period), or require a special time and place. Spells that are not too overpowering don't need much in the way of control, and occult-oriented characters should be able to use them as often as they need. If it turns out later that the spell is ruining too many stories by making them too easy, you can render it inert or adjust the requirements. Magic is nothing if not unpredictable.

Anyone can use magic, but Witches and Warlocks live, drink and breathe magic. They are the pros of the magic biz. In the mainstream worlds, these powerful humans are able to apply their will directly on reality. They can skip some or even all of the ritual steps and components, at least for the simpler magicks. It's not clear whether this is an inherited trait, but it does seem to run strong in some families. The power can be awakened by exposure to the supernatural - usually (but not necessarily) by studying and practicing magic. A Witch who has mastered her powers can be the match of a werewolf or a powerful vampire. Of course, getting to that level isn't easy, or pain-free.

Witches and Warlocks must have at least one level of the Sorcery Quality. A beginner Witch has one or two Sorcery levels. A powerful Witch may have five or more levels. Sorcery goes beyond mere spellcraft, and provides a number of special abilities for those who can wield it. Either through practice or because or some inherent power, Witches can use magic more easily than your average student of the mystical arts. In the end, none of these abilities take the danger out of magic. Any regular use is going to lead to problems.

So what can your character do with all those shiny levels of Sorcery? Among other things, Sorcery helps her improve spell casting, use magic more quickly and efficiently, move objects without casting spells, and, for those of you in the Buffyverse or variants thereof, gives her that cool solid-black-eyes look that helps make friends and influence people (okay, that last part isn't always a perk).

Characters add their Sorcery level to any spellcasting roll, to a maximum bonus of +5. After that, additional levels of Sorcery stop adding to any one spellcasting roll. Still, levels over five do help with the repeat casting penalties (the decreases can be absorbed by levels of Sorcery above five, thus leaving the full, allowable +5 bonus intact). Thus, Witches can cast high-power spells with a better chance of success than your typical bookreading spell-flinger. This can come in handy when the final showdown with a Big Bad is at hand.

Most spells require the caster to recite a formula or incantation out loud, or perform some type of ritual. All of that mystical nonsense takes time. Witches can cast some spells almost instantly, with only a single word or phrase, or even just a simple gesture. This won't work on spells that require a very specific ritual and cannot be sped up, but some can be cast in a few seconds (as an action in a Turn). Whether a spell can be quick cast is indicated in that spell's description. At your GM's option, spells that feature a decreased Power Level due to special ingredients lose that benefit when quick cast. This not only makes sense (can't be futzing with demon's blood when whipping off spells) but it reigns in the casters a bit.

These rules on telekinesis (whether sorcerous or psychic) clarify and enhance those abilities. Use them to give a little oomph to your player's Witches and psychics. When tossing people around using telekinesis, the Bash damage is two times the Success Levels. The telekinetic Strength (the Success Levels in the Willpower and Sorcery/Telekinesis roll) must be sufficient to lift the person off the floor, though. Precise tasks (guiding a key into a keyhole, manipulating a keyboard) require a Perception and Sorcery/Telekinesis roll (with appropriate Success Levels as you demand).

Attacks use Dexterity or Perception (player's choice) and an appropriate Skill (staking the vamp would use Getting Medieval, firing a gun would use Gun Fu). All remote tasks suffer a -1 penalty because the telekinetic manipulates the object at a distance. Damage is a function of the Strength of the effect. Tossing small objects at someone requires only a Willpower and Sorcery/Telekinesis roll, and must overcome the target's defense roll. The damage value of such an attack is two times the Success Levels rolled. Finally, rather than forcing a reroll as time passes, a sufficiently experienced magician or psychic could choose to keep the previous roll and simply apply a -2 penalty. This would kick in with four or more levels of Sorcery or Telekinesis. Say, a character with Willpower 4 and Sorcery 4 remotely swings a large axe. If she rolls an eight, she uses it with Strength 4 (4 + 4 + 8 = 16; four Success Levels). After the applicable time period expires, she could reroll or simply assume a 14 total (16 - 2 = 14). For the next time period, she keeps the same roll, subtracts two, and has three Success Levels or a Strength 3.

Sometimes a magician knows that she simply doesn't have the stuff for a big magical battle or intensive power draining event. In such situations, the tough and canny (and sometimes evil) magician looks for a little extra juice. We present here four methods of power boosting - from Magic Pushers, from the Boost Power spell, from other magicians, or from draining powerful enchanted items.

Whatever the source, the mechanics are the same. Power boosting grants the recipient additional levels of the Sorcery Quality. These bonuses add to both telekinesis and casting rolls (and ignore the normal +5 maximum for Sorcery bonuses). This enhanced power can be used on a number of spells or uses of telekinesis equal to the amount of the boost. After that, the extra power vanishes, leaving the person utterly exhausted. Reduce the magician's Strength, Constitution, Willpower, and Life Points by half (round up) until she both eats a meal and sleeps at least eight hours. With such rest and replenishment, all lost Attributes are fully recovered.

The boost is not without worries. The nature of the boost's source can influence the character. Being given power by a coven of loving and honorable Witches is very different from draining power from a vile enchanted blade that centuries worth of cultists have used to sacrifice innocent victims. Whenever a magician uses a power boost, she must make a Willpower (not doubled) roll to retain control (anyone addicted to magic automatically fails this roll). If the additional Sorcery levels gained are less than or equal to the character's Willpower, only a single Success Level is required. If the amount of the boost is greater than her Willpower but not over two times that Attribute, she must roll three Success Levels. A power boost equal or greater than twice the character's Willpower allows the character no control roll. Casters who succeed may act normally. Casters who don't are temporarily overcome by the emotions connected to the source of the power boost.

Draining power from a item used by generations of magicians sworn to selflessly protect all innocents from harm, and then failing the control roll would cause the boostee to be filled with compassion and urges towards self-sacrifice. In contrast, gaining power from a group of demonic cultists would fill a person with hatred and the overwhelming desire to do evil. Someone beholden to a Magic Pusher would simply be filled with mind-numbing ecstasy. The exact effect on the character is dictated by the circumstances, but it may involve the GM taking over for a time (no doubt one of those Drama Point award deals). These feelings persist until the character uses up the entire power boost.

Characters who accept a power boost greater than twice their Willpower may retain the boost's influence. You could allow the character a Willpower (not doubled) roll to shake off these effects, or you could just impose them automatically. An otherwise good person who used a demonic source of power might gain the Cruel or Covetous Drawback. Someone who was normally selfish and cruel who used a more holy source might gain one or more points of the Honorable Drawback. Thus, there's grave risk involved in attempting to destroy an evil artifact by magically draining it. It'd be a kick in the pants if neutralizing the item caused the characters to assume the very traits they sought to extinguish. No good deed goes unpunished.

Magic Pushers are more than willing to give power. The boost is normally between +4 and +8, depending upon the power of the pusher. Pushers can give power to characters who do not have the Sorcery Quality. For the duration of the boost, the person is able to cast spells as if they had the Sorcery Quality.

This spell is the easiest and safest way of enhancing power, but it requires a group of 13 magicians to cast. The effects of this boost depend upon exactly who is providing it. The spell can give power to characters who do not have the Sorcery Quality. For the duration of the boost, the person is able to cast spells as if they had the Sorcery Quality.

For those with little compunction about personal space or dignity, sucking the Sorcery levels out of a magician is a quick way to more power. A character must have seven or more levels of Sorcery to be a sucker, and the victim must have one or more levels of Sorcery to be a suckee. Each level drained adds one to the magician's Sorcery and subtracts one from the victim. As you can imagine, being drained is very debilitating - victims lose one point of Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution (to a minimum of one) for each level of Sorcery lost. Lost levels and Attributes are not restored until the boost is used up.

This source is even more risky given the extreme personal nature of the power absorbed. Retaining control requires double the normal number of Success Levels required on the Willpower (not doubled) roll. Even when control is retained, the shards of personality absorbed are highly disturbing. It's a method reserved for only the most desperate or deranged.

Only those with the Sorcery Quality can drain power from enchanted items. The process is quite simple - the character touches the item or items, and makes a Willpower and Occultism and Sorcery roll. If she gains four or more Success Levels, she succeeds. The character receives a power boost equal to the total Power Level of all enchanted items she is touching. At the same time, every one of these items is permanently drained of all magical power.

Using this type of Power Boosting is relatively easy and potent, but few magicians can afford to permanently destroy entire shelves of enchanted items. Also, if the boostee doesn't know the history and associations of an item, she could wind up temporarily overcome with an overwhelming desire to do great evil. Using this method of boosting is definitely a 'buyer beware' sort of deal.

Magic is heavy stuff - a powerful Witch can teleport, toss knives and soda machines, rodenticize, and exfoliate at the drop of a hat. The simple fact is that magic can be used to do whatever the magician desires. This is quite the mind-warping trip.

More than one magician has lost her perspective, has gotten caught up in using magic to fulfill her every whim and fantasy. This sort of power can easily become psychologically addictive, especially in the hands of the teenage and college-age misfits who are typically drawn to the occult. Still, a darker and more insidious type of addiction takes over Witches and Warlocks who consistently push the limits of their power. The act of magic itself can produce a profound feeling of ecstasy. This ground shaking joy leaves a void when it dissipates and the magician usually wants more. Such a person is well on her way to magic addiction. Ordinary magicians rarely suffer from this sort of addiction - they simply cannot work with enough power to obtain the needed “rush.” True spellcasters (those with high levels of Sorcery) regularly work with dangerous levels of magical energy. Those are the folks who often succumb.

Witches and Warlocks who regularly cast spells with Power Levels equal to or greater than their Willpower Attribute are at risk. Performing more than ten spells in a month triggers a Willpower (doubled) roll at the end of that time. If the caster rolls a number of Success Levels equal to or greater than the number of high level spells over ten previously cast, she fights off the burgeoning need. Even so, if she repeats the risky behavior the next month, her Willpower roll to maintain control suffers a -1 penalty. This penalty accumulates each month that she overuses magic, and decreases by one each month she refrains from using high power magic.

Should the character fail her addiction Willpower roll, she gains a 3-point Addiction (Magic) Drawback. The magician must cast a spell at least once every other day, and must cast a spell with a Power Level above her Willpower at least once a week. If she fails to do so, she enters Withdrawal. While in Withdrawal, she feels emotionally uneasy and may even develop physical side effects (shaking, nausea, chills). She also must perform a weekly Willpower (doubled) roll and gain a number of Success Levels equal to (5 - the number of weeks since he character last used magic). If not, she relapses and must use magic. At the end of five magic-free weeks, the character finally kicks her addiction. Still, for the next six months she must make an addiction Willpower roll if she casts more than three spells with Power Levels greater than her Willpower in a month (requiring Success Levels equal to the number of such spells cast over three).

Magic addicted characters often gravitate toward power boosting, which only deepens their problems.

Addiction adds to the already considerable dark side of magic and may not be desirable for every group. Consider carefully before including these rules in your campaign. The rules presented here assume that the cause of magic addiction is the rush experienced from using powers that are almost beyond the character's control. This is only one option available.

You could just as easily rule that magic is addictive solely because all power is addictive if overused. Magic allows a person to do whatever she wants, regardless of the wishes of others - that's bound to mess with your mind in time. Alternately, you might well rule that magic is only potentially addictive if it is not being used for good or altruistic purposes. This sets “white magic” as not addictive. That requires a careful review of how and why magic is being used. Remember, however you play it, someone's bound to get hurt … which is par for the course in a Darker Universe.

Some practitioners or creatures have the ability to power boost magicians. While most simply sell their services to Witches and Warlocks in search of more wherewithal, some find the lure of power too great. These weak-willed become Magic Pushers. Since most pushers lack the discipline or power to be potent magicians in their own right, they use another's power to work their will.

As stated, anyone who receives a power boost may be overwhelmed by the emotions and energies associated with the source of the magic. If the character is already addicted to magic, she automatically fails this control roll.

Such a failure allows the Magic Pusher to freely make use of the power of the person boosted. For the next hour, the Magic Pusher can use the magician's new Sorcery levels for telekinesis purposes, and new casting bonus to perform any spell the magician knows. The enraptured character cannot resist this control. After “crashing,” the magician only half-remembers this lack of control and any spells that might have been cast.

Anyone who loses control during more than two power boosts a month must check for magic addiction (needing Success Levels equal to double the number of times over two that they lost control). Anyone can experience the rush of a power boost, even those who do not possess the Sorcery Quality. They too may become addicted to magic. Those who lack the Sorcery Quality can only avoid Withdrawal through additional power boosts - these wretches typically frequent magic pushers several times a week and are often willing to do anything to obtain their next fix.

Certain ingredients are needed for certain spells. If you ain't got the goods (or something like them), you ain't got the mojo. But what if you've got something better?

Using a potent magical ingredient in a ritual makes casting much easier - a bonus is granted to the casting roll equal to twice the magical object's Power Level. For example, if the spell calls for the crushing of an ordinary emerald into powder and the enchanted emerald of ValZan (Power Level 3) is used instead, the casting total gains a +6 bonus.

Unfortunately, this bonus only arises if the item is actually destroyed in the ritual. Sacrificing an enchanted object in this fashion is more effective than draining it for power boosting, but the power gained is only useful in a single spell. Few people are willing to destroy magic items to cast one spell.

Magicians can sacrifice their own life force to aid in their casting. Every five Life Points a caster voluntarily loses during a ritual adds a +1 bonus to the casting total. No single caster can gain a sacrifice bonus greater than her Willpower, but a strong-willed, weak-bodied magician could do herself serious damage to ensure that she successfully casts a potent spell.

Unlike the other bonuses, a Life Point sacrifice bonus can be added after the die has been rolled. Boosting magic in this fashion does not require any actions on the caster's part - glowing magical energies simply suck the life out of her body. Afterwards, the caster suffers nosebleeds, severe headaches, and in extreme cases internal bleeding or deep bruises. Magic cannot be used to heal sacrifice injuries - they must be allowed to heal normally.

Multiple magicians can donate life force to a single spell, but each one must suffer at least five Life Points of damage. A lesser sacrifice just is not potent enough to affect the magical energies. On rare occasions, magicians have given their lives to ensure that a spell succeeds.

Causing ritual damage to others works the same way. This, of course, is strictly the province of the vilest of Adversaries. Anyone engaging in that sort of activity performs the blackest sort of magic and permanently allies themselves with the powers of darkness. Redemption from such deeds may be possible, but it's not likely.

Many demons enjoy working with humans, especially with powerful human magicians. A normal person can potentially cause a lot more harm than a demon, simply because the monsters have trouble walking the streets without attracting notice. Furthermore, by working through an agent, demons remain safe from retaliation.

A magical pact governs most demon-human relations. These pacts (usually signed in blood) bind the demon to perform certain services for the human. In return, the human promises to do things for the demon. Since people have souls, compelling them to keep the entire bargain is quite difficult. Still, signing a pact with a demon means that the signer cannot attack the demon in any way. If she tries, all of her attacks miss and any hostile spells she uses against the demon automatically fail. Moreover, a pact insures that the demon cannot be separated from the signer. Even if the signer enters an area that's completely warded against all demons, the wards do not keep out the pact-ed demon as long as the signer remains inside this area.

In short, signing a pact with a demon means that the character has no protection against the demon and the demon is completely protected from the character - definitely a bad deal for the character, but then again dealing with demons usually is. In most cases, it doesn't matter what the signer thinks she had agreed to do for the demon. Once the contract is signed, the demon is free to attempt to intimidate and terrorize the signer until she agrees to do its bidding.

Naturally, demons write these contracts so that they promise to do as little as possible for the signer. Also, demons are under no obligation to accurately describe the details of the contract, to have it printed in a language the character can read, or even to reveal their demonic nature. The human must sign voluntarily but may be tricked into doing so.

We've all heard talk about black magic and black magicians, and occasionally about white magic and white magicians. Unfortunately, the reality is a whole lot less simple. Some magicians use their powers for selfish and harmful purposes. Even they are not all darkness though. Other spellcasters do their best to fight evil and save innocent lives. These worthies sometimes find it hard to avoid the occasional bit of selfish or even harmful casting though.

They don't call them the dark arts for nothing. People can mess themselves up pretty seriously with magic. Even if a magician is careful, lucky, and never accidentally substitutes mugwort for mandrake root, she can get herself in trouble if she frequently uses magic for selfish and hurtful purposes.

In and of itself, magic is fairly neutral. On the other hand, some demons can sense and use it as easily as you can walk and chew gum at the same time (or maybe more easily than that …). Also, magic creates connections between the multiverse of dimensions out there. If a Witch uses magic to protect others or for other positive purposes, whether she is casting spells to heal her best friend's broken arm, or to save the world from demonic invasion, she is building ties with the positive dimensions that some people call the heavens. If this same Witch is instead using spells to kill her enemies, get rich, or force people to fall in love with her, she is building equally strong ties with some of the nastier demon dimensions. Doing a little bit of both mostly cancels everything out. It's really tough for a magician to untangle herself from the ties she creates when she uses magic to commit cold-blooded murder or similarly heinous acts. However, using magic to help others most of the time, while occasionally using it for slightly selfish reason like cleaning her room or keeping her teachers from realizing she didn't get her paper done on time, is basically a wash. The Witch gets neither benefits nor penalties.

The first bad thing about ties to demon dimensions is that demons tend to notice the character. If a Witch does something particularly impressive, she may even have a demon show up and try to recruit her, perhaps as a Vengeance Demon or maybe as an assistant torturer in some hell dimension. While these demons sometimes take no for an answer, other times they don't. Also, whether coercive or not, having one show up in her room tends to scare friends and family. Not to mention that it's a definite sign that the character has been into some radically nasty stuff.

That's also only the beginning - the consequences of some actions never go away, no matter how much good a person does. If a Cast Member engages in enough evil, eventually demons may start showing up on their own “just to hang.” If she has turned the corner and is trying to work with the good guys, having something with scales and sulfur-y BO drop by to party significantly raises the suspicion factor.

When a character takes a serious turn to the dark side of the street, add three to her rolls on all Spell Side Effects Tables. This modification is imposed only if she has been doing the majority of her magics for selfish and hurtful purposes, or if she has committed at least one truly heinous act like summoning a demon to kill an innocent.

On the other side of the coin, using the forces of magic for unselfish purposes can be extremely rewarding. White practitioners do everything they can to avoid killing defeated enemies - instead sending their human enemies to jail and banishing their demonic foes. With a rep like that, a demon summoned to kill such a magician might simply warn her that someone is calling nasties to hunt her down. It's impossible to count on this sort of thing, but it's not uncommon for good Witches to enjoy a number of allies, including a few who have way too many legs.

Also, magic tends to affect such people less seriously. Witches with ties to positive dimensions subtract three from all rolls on Spell Side Effects Table. This subtraction is only made if they have never used their magic to do anything truly nasty, and if they almost always use their magic to help others and for other unselfish purposes like saving the world.

Magic can be a lot like trying to juggle eggs - if a magician makes a mistake there's going to be a big mess somewhere. Several things should be kept in mind when a character makes a magical mistake. First off, how important was the spell to the plot? If the character is simply casting a spell to blast a nameless vampire or to locate a minor demon that has run off, allowing the side effect cards to fall where they may (using the tables below) is fine.

On the other hand, some spells are crucial to the plot. When these sorts of big and important spells go wrong, random rolls can be unsatisfying. It's probably better to look at the sort of spell being cast and the way it fits into the plot, and decide what goes wrong. A D10 roll can still be helpful to give you an idea of just how bad the screw up was - a one result reveals that only minor problems arose; a ten result means that some seriously bad mojo is about to go down. The way the spell goes wrong works as a logical extension of both the spell that was cast and the reason it was cast.

Even more care must be taken with a misspell that could totally screw up the plot and kill off the entire party. In this case, you could always just end that game and start anew, but that tends to toss away a good deal of time and effort. We suggest that you let the spell work anyway, but exact a heavy price. Having magical feedback injure or even kill (if you roll a 10 when checking to see how bad the spell went wrong) one of the characters is tragic, but it doesn't end the game. In fact, the rest of the party survives, the world is saved, and the magician dies a hero. Not a bad way to go out at all …

Alternately, if a character is casting dark magics and things go wrong, giving her some comeuppance is usually the order of the day. Side effects for a good person casting a selfish and harmful spell should follow the model of the punishment fitting the crime. If your players are up for talking about metagame issues, you might even ask them what the character should have to pay for casting that sort of spell. Of course, you don't have to use their suggestions …

Finally, it's worth looking at the Power Level of the spell. If the character has cast spells of that Power Level or higher before - especially if she has cast this same spell before - she likely made only a minor error and the consequences shouldn't be too bad. Everyone has an off day sometimes. A character who has never cast a spell of that power before is usually skating on thin ice and should suffer the consequences of her arrogance. These issues are dealt with in the Spell Side Effects Modifiers Table, but are important to keep in mind even if you are not using that table.

The first time a character tries to cast a Power Level 5 or 6 spell is always a big deal, and if she tries the spell and makes a mistake, big stuff should happen. You might also want to tell her that until she either gets some advice from more experienced magician or raises her Sorcery Quality or Occultism Skill, she has no chance of successfully casting that particular spell again.

Alternately, if the character frequently tries to cast spells that she is unlikely to succeed in casting correctly, you could bar her from casting any spells of that Power Level or higher until she either get some advice or learns more about magic.

Different types of spells can go wrong in different ways and certain types of magical energies are more dangerous than others. The following tables take these differences into account as well as adding in additional modifiers that can affect how badly the spell goes wrong. In each case, roll a die and add the spell's Power Level and any other modifiers. Consult the most appropriate table for the spell being cast and apply the result there.

The Spell Side Effects Modifiers Table accounts for special circumstances when a spell goes wrong. All modifiers are cumulative - casting a brand new ritual in the back of a moving SUV while really angry is a good way to bring the bad.

Quick casting releases a great deal of magical energy all at once. The results of mistakes tend to be fast and extremely dramatic. The one advantage with quick casting missteps is that the magical energy is often visible. If the spell goes wrong the character should get some idea where the energy went - the massive nosebleed and whamming headache are solid clues.

When a quick cast spell goes wrong, the caster can make a Perception and Occultism roll. Two or more Success Levels gives some clue toward exactly what went wrong. Such a successful roll won't reveal all the details, but it could indicate that the spell was actually reversed or that it struck someone else.

If a character casts a spell designed to help someone or aid a situation, magical mistakes tend to be somewhat less painful. Many Wiccans talk about Karma, the concept that all good done by a person is returned in kind. Less positively inclined magicians believe that any magic not designed to help them or to smite their enemies is weak and unimportant, and so naturally, the consequences of miscasting such inferior spells are less severe. Regardless of the reasons they give, most experienced magicians are aware of this effect.

Evil magicians tend to be the sort of people who consider the side effect risk a natural consequence of the fact that dark magics are simply more powerful than less nasty spells. When practicing black magic, only the strong and the lucky survive.

Points of damage per Power Level of the spell. |

the lucky recipient). If the spell was meant to aid the caster or one of her allies in a harmful purpose, the affects are reversed (a spell to heal the caster or make her grow younger instead harms her or makes her grow older). |

of the spell to the caster and to everyone in the same room. These rogue energies also set fire to nearby flammable objects, knock things off of shelves, and generally cause enough random destruction that the room looks like it has just endured a moderate earthquake. |

physical damage to the area or summoning dangerous entities from beyond our reality. This can also happen if the spell is disrupted during a critical point before it is completed. |

Summoning spells call things to our reality. When they go wrong, they almost always call up something; the question is what do they call and where to they call it.

choosing (ideally, a dramatically appropriate time). |

in the character's parent's bedroom. |

creature is the same power level, but any control efforts or precautions fail or are weakened. |

Also, the creature does not appear instantly - it arrives a short while later at some location near where the spell was cast. The caster may not know until much later (when the dead bodies start showing up or the demon arrives looking for a “ride” back home) that she summoned this creature. |

caster or even everyone present could be pulled through the gateway, or something could come through from the other side. This gateway can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 days. |

The spell list in this chapter is quite extensive. Players are greedy little cusses though (we mean that in the nicest possible way) and no doubt will want more, particularly those really powerful ones. In most cases, the character scours all her books and any books she can beg, borrow, or steal looking for a spell that does what she wants. Even if she finds it, the text might be in ancient Sumerian - that sucks if she doesn't speak ancient Sumerian. Making a character find a translator or translation for a spell book she bought or found adds a wrinkle to the process of finding a new spell. It's particularly poignant if the person who sold her the book said it contained a spell for slaying vampires and the translator tells her she is the proud owner of a Sumerian recipe for party-rocking sheep dip.

Remember that you are under no obligation to let the character find the Spell of Massive Monster Killing or whatever. Also, if they don't have the spell in their spell book, you can take this wonderful opportunity to create an adventure out of locating the proper casting. Maybe the character and her friends need to do a favor for a powerful magician, or perhaps they have to steal the spell book from the lair of a three-hundred-year-old vampire. Even if the character has friends who are magicians, they may want a favor in return for letting her borrow their rare and precious spell book.

Determine the Power Level of any new spell by referencing the various aspects below. Each aspect generates a Power Level modifier. Add those all together (with a minimum of one) and voila - the final Power Level of the spell.

Remember that combining effects is difficult but may be done. Each added effect of the same or lower power level increases the effect level by one. For example, working magic on both body and mind (turning someone into a demon but keeping their mind and soul intact is more difficult than just turning somebody into a demon with all natural demon thought processes) accounts for two Major-level effects and suffers an Awesome- level modifier. Combining Awesome-level effects is asking for trouble, if it's even possible. No such spell should go off without some dire repercussions - some things you just don't mess with. The suggestions for Power Levels are just that. Your GM may decide to bump up a spell's Power Level (either at the start or later once the full effects can be seen).

DUAL CASTERS: The spell requires two people to cast properly. -1 Power Level.

MULTIPLE CASTERS: The spell requires three to nine magicians working together. -2 Power Level.

GROUP CASTINGS: The spell demands ten or more casters to complete. -3 Power Level.

CASTER REQUIREMENTS: If the primary or additional casters must have certain requirements, the Power Level is decreased by one per requirement. Thus, if a spell requires three participants and each one must have Sorcery and be devoted to Ra, the Power Level decreases by four (to a minimum of one as usual).

INSTANT: The spell may be quick cast by anyone, even those without Sorcery. +2 Power Levels.

RECITATION: The spell may be cast in a couple minutes or less. +1 Power Level.

RITUAL: The spell requires a ritual lasting more than a few minutes, but less than half an hour. No modifier.

LENGTHY RITUAL: The spell needs a ritual lasting from half an hour to several hours. -1 Power Level.

VERY LENGTHY RITUAL: The spell needs a ritual lasting more than several hours. -2 Power Levels.

QUICK CAST: Those with Sorcery can cast the spell quickly. +1 Power Level.

MAGICAL ITEM: The spell creates a one-shot item that stores the effect in some manner until triggered, used, or exhausted. +1 Power Level.

MINOR: The spell does not directly affect a person or object, and only covers a small area (room). No modifier.

NOTICEABLE: Affects one being, one small hard object (book or table), one human-sized soft object (sofa), a target in the same room (or nearby), or an area the size of a small house. +1 Power Level.

SEVERE: Affects two to ten beings, one human-sized hard object (refrigerator), a target in the same small house (or similar distance), or an area the size of a large building. +2 Power Levels.

MAJOR: Affects up to 100 beings, a huge large object (car), a target in the same large building (or similar distance), or an area the size of a neighborhood. +3 Power Levels.

A large percentage of people in a town (everyone downtown, for example), a target in the same neighborhood (or similar distance), or the area the size of ward or district: +4 Power Levels.

AWESOME: An entire town or city. +5 Power Levels. Anything bigger. +6 Power Levels.

LIMITED TARGET SELECTION: The spell only affects a specific subset of beings - vampires, demons of a given subspecies, Slayers, redheads, etc. -1 Power Level.

For spells that create an on-going effect, like breathing underwater, a glowing light, or disguising a person's appearance, the following aspects are used.

SHORT: One Turn per Success Level. -1 Power Level.

MEDIUM: One minute per Success Level. No modifier.

LONG: One hour per Success Level. +1 Power Levels.

VERY LONG: One day or longer per Success Level. +2 Power Levels.

PERMANENT (OR UNTIL DISPELLED OR CANCELLED): +3 Power Levels.

For damage-causing or healing spells, the duration is usually instantaneous. It happens and it's over. Such an effect works no modification on the Power Level. If the damage or healing is spread out over time though, the Power Level decreases.

SLOW: Effect spread out equally over a minute. -1 Power Level.

SLOWER: Effect spread out equally over an hour. -2 Power Level.

SLOWEST: Effect spread out equally over a day. -3 Power Level.

So a spell that normally does 15 points of damage instantly would have a -2 Power Level if it inflicted one point every four minutes for an hour. Imposing the full amount of damage over a longer period of time requires repeated castings. Thus, a spell doing 15 points of damage each Turn for five successive Turns is simply an instantaneous 15-point damage spell cast five times in a row. That's a bunch of damage but something is bound to go wrong at some point.

The more complex the requirements of the spell, the lower the Power Level. That means that some very powerful spells can be cast fairly easily - as long as all the ingredients and requirements are in place.

NO SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Just recite a few magic words, and perhaps use some simple ingredients (candles, herbs and spices, last week's copy of TV Guide), and you're all set. No modifier.

UNUSUAL INGREDIENTS/DIFFICULT USE: Atypical materials or specific ongoing actions by casters. Examples: hair, blood, or other artifact specific to the target; rare herbs; mundane but not commonly found object; obscure or ancient text; continual chanting. -1 Power Level.

RARE INGREDIENTS: The spell requires some hard-to-find materials. Examples: human sacrifice; a rare magical artifact; a body part of a specific demon (most demons are really uncooperative about giving up body parts). -2 Power Levels.

WAY-RARE INGREDIENTS: This requirement is not unique, but it's close. There won't be many on any given continent, if not dimension. Examples: the feathers from an endangered species of bird; ancient relics found only in museums or really good occult collections. -3 Power Levels.

RESTRICTED USE: The spell can only be cast under very specific conditions. This limit should prevent the spell from being cast more often than once or twice a year. -4 Power Levels.

WAY-RESTRICTED USE: The spell can only be used once, or once every several years (at least five years, and it could be centuries or millennia). This effectively allows one chance to cast the spell for the entire Series. Alternatively, the spell needs a one-of-a-kind ingredient. Once it gets used, the spell can never be cast again. Use it wisely, ‘cause you'll only get to try it once. -5 Power Levels.

Only the highest level requirement applies. If a spell can only be cast once a year (restricted use) and uses demon blood (rare ingredients), the Power Level modifier is simply -4.

The following lists cover various forms of spell effects. Pick the one that most applicable.

MINOR: Inflicting one point of damage per Success Level; breaking a nearby fragile object; causing an unsightly skin rash; imposing a Strength 1 poison or disease on a person. No modifier.

NOTICEABLE: Inflicting damage equal to the magician's Willpower for every Success Level on the roll; shattering all the glass or other fragile objects in an area the size of a room or a small house; imposing a poison or disease with a Strength level equal to the Success Levels (max three). +1 Power Level.

SEVERE: Inflicting damage in the amount of Willpower doubled per Success Level; striking somebody blind, deaf, or mute; imposing a poison or disease with a Strength level equal to double the Success Levels (max five); enfeebling a victim (reduce one Attribute by one per Success Level); shattering or molding rock or metal. +2 Power Levels.

MAJOR: Inflicting damage at a rate of three times Willpower points of damage per Success Level; imposing a poison or disease with a Strength level equal to triple the Success Levels (max seven); seriously enfeebling a victim (reduce one Attribute by two per Success Level, or two Attributes by one per Success Level). +3 Power Levels.

AWESOME: Inflicting five times Willpower points of damage per Success Level; imposing a poison or disease with a Strength level equal to five times the Success Levels (max 10); incapacitating a victim (reduce one Attribute by four per Success Level, or two Attributes by two per Success Level, or four Attributes by one per Success Level). +5 Power Levels.

With spells causing poison or disease damage, the harm is instantaneous and finished. If it's drawn out, apply the “damage over time” rules in Duration above.

MINOR: Causing momentary joy, sadness, or anger; creating a flash of light. No modifier.

NOTICEABLE: Calming intense emotions; creating visual illusion. +1 Power Level.

SEVERE: Changing a person's feelings (a love spell, or turning grown people into teenagers); creating illusions that fool at least three senses. +2 Power Levels.

MAJOR: Turning a person into a willing slave; creating illusion indistinguishable from reality. +3 Power Levels.

AWESOME: Rewriting memories over an entire lifetime. +5 Power Levels.

MINOR: Creating a small globe of light; locating a familiar object in the same room. No modifier.

NOTICEABLE: Creating strobing or moving light; starting a large fire; locating a familiar object in the same small building; bringing a familiar object from the same room to your hand. +1 Power Level.

SEVERE: Summoning beings from other dimensions; raising a zombie; locating a familiar object in the same large building; bringing a familiar object from the same small building to your hand. +2 Power Levels.

MAJOR: Summoning a dangerous spirit entity or a powerful demon (not quite Big Bad level, but lieutenant-chief henchman types); locating a familiar object in the same neighborhood; bringing a familiar object from the same large building to your hand. +3 Power Levels.

AWESOME: Summoning a Big Bad-level creature; locating a familiar object in the same continent; bringing a familiar object from the same city to your hand. +5 Power Levels.

Spells which summon a force or being which is not under the caster's control decrease the spell's Power Level by one. This sort of effect just runs rampant once it's invoked, with little or no regard for the desires of the person who actually did the invoking.

Manipulating/Transforming

MINOR: Unlocking simple locks; marking materials with design or coating. No modifier.

NOTICEABLE: Sliding a deadbolt; bending or denting hard materials (rock or metal); breaking or molding fragile materials. +1 Power Level.

SEVERE: Opening large or complex locks; shattering or molding rock or metal. +2 Power Levels.

MAJOR: Changing the properties of a material - turning metal as soft as mud, or “hardening” air into a barrier. +3 Power Levels.

AWESOME: Creating impenetrable walls of force. +5 Power Levels.

Summary Effect Strength

For those that don't want to work through all those prior lists (face it, sometimes lots of detail is just … too much detail), here's a handy one-stop shopping effect strength summary.

MINOR: Anything that does not significantly alter or damage the subject. The spell may annoy or amuse, or create momentary effects. No modifier.

NOTICEABLE: The effect is strong enough to injure people, break things, and produce impressive lightshows. Objects (and living beings) cannot be transformed (either physically, mentally or spiritually). +1 Power Level.

SEVERE: The effect can alter a person's emotions and senses, inflict severe injuries, and reshape (but not transform) matter. +2 Power Levels.

MAJOR: The spell can transform living beings and objects, reshaping their very essence, properties, or soul. +3 Power Levels.

AWESOME: The spell can do incredible things, like restore a vampire's soul, return life, reshape areas or populations, blast objects or people, or cause earthquakes. +5 Power Levels.

Bolt of Apollo

Alright, let's take the spell creation rules for a spin. Say your character is a hotshot Witch and she wants to find a spell that lets her blast vampires. “Slayers have stakes. I want to have a cool ‘blast vampires' spell.” Your Director says, “Not unreasonable.” Besides, she knows that you get cranky when she says no.

Your Director decides that the spell is about as damaging as a regular weapon, with a few extra whistles, and should not be too unbalancing. Your Witch won't be able to cast it a lot, not without using lots of Drama Points, and it could make a neat “signature move” for the character.

“Make an Intelligence and Occultism roll to see how long it takes you to find the spell,” she says. Then you and she start going down the checklist. For people affected, you pick “one” - the spell can affect one vamp at a time. That gives the spell a base Power Level 1. On the other hand, only vampires are affected, so the Limited Target Selection modifier applies, bringing it back down to zero. Next you turn to Spell Effect. It seems to be Severe - it does a base damage Willpower doubled (eight points in this Witch's case) per Success Level. So, if the roll gives your character three Success Levels, the spell inflicts 24 points of damage to the vamp, and the spell is especially damaging to vampires. Your Director decides it acts as fire, making the damage hard to heal.

Severe Effects increase the Power Level by two; since an additional feature of the same level (lasting damage) is added, this raises the effect level to Major, for a total of +3 to the Power Level.

Duration is meaningless - the spell strikes, does damage, and it's over, and no Requirements apply either, so the base Power Level plus modifiers is three. “The spell is called the Bolt of Apollo,” your Director explains when you are done rolling for research. “When you cast it, you can throw a piece of sunlight that will toast vampire flesh.”

For you budding-but-still-somewhat ignorant casters out there, we have run down examples of many spells - these are based off of the Buffy, Angel, and similar games, though there's no reason you can't modify them a little and use them elsewhere. In film, spells are used as dramatic aids - some aspects are discussed, some are only mentioned. To make the spells more playable and to settle Power Level questions, we've filled in duration, area of effect, and other aspects where necessary. Also, limits have been placed on various spells and items to allow their use without overpowering the characters or storyline. These additions or limits do not contradict anything in the actual show - they are merely extrapolations designed to provide maximum fun. The aspect analysis at the end of each spell makes all its features clear. Adjusting these aspects and the Power Level to better suit your storyline is simplicity itself.

As Playing with Primal Forces mentions, dispelling effects requires access to the spell and a casting roll at one less Power Level. Counterspells (like Break the Wards of Magic, see p. 97) on the other hand, are different evocations that reverse effects. These spells do not enjoy that Power Level decrease.

SPELL LIST

AESCULUS'S DIVINE FAVOR

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: A bunch of healing herbs like echinacea or goldenseal and a half-hour ritual. The ritual produces a poultice or potion that the caster must rub on the patient or get them to drink.

EFFECT: This spell allows a patient to heal any injury ten times faster than normal. It even works on most diseases - the patient recovers from a ten-day head cold in one day. Care must be taken with health problems that do not normally get better over time. A broken arm heals faster; cancer, AIDS, or even bacterial infections will simply get worse faster. The spell also doesn't do anything for arthritis, allergies, or the like, since these problems are chronic. The moral of the story is that magic is pretty fly, but it ain't all that.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), creates magical item (+1), instant duration (+0), severe effect (+2).

AIR BECOME FIST*

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must punch her fist in the direction she wants the attack to go and shout “Air Become Fist!” in Russian. Non-Witches are much less dramatic, taking several minutes.

EFFECT: This spell delivers a punch to the target. While it only inflicts Willpower (doubled) points of damage per Success Level, it also throws a human-sized target back a number of yards equal to the caster's Willpower times the Success Levels. This should keep even the toughest demon off the caster's back for a while. It can also be used to move a car or something similarly large one yard per Success Level, assuming the caster doesn't mind major dentage on the vehicle. If used with the right timing (Resisted Dexterity (doubled) roll), the spell can even push a car that is speeding directly towards the caster into another lane, or at least far enough so that it misses. If this spell is used on a breakable object like a large mirror or window, it shatters into hundreds of sharp pieces.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (several minutes) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), major scope (one huge object) (+3), instant duration (+0), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 7

REQUIREMENTS: A short phrase invoking the power of Hecate.

EFFECT: The victim is transformed into a rat, with normal rat intelligence and instincts. The victim's Life Point pool is reduced to 1/3 normal and her behavior has to be ratty-like (i.e., care only about finding food, mating with other rats, and hiding from cats and exterminators). The spell remains in effect until reversed or dispelled. This effect only works on humans, not on vampires, demons and assorted non-humans.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must continuously recite in ancient Sumerian. Once she stops, the effect ceases.

EFFECT: This spell can protect anyone the caster chooses from all direct magical effects, as long as all the people designated are within ten yards of the caster. The caster can do nothing other than stand or walk while reciting a complex magical formula over and over again. Also, this spell does not protect the caster from nonmagic damage like that caused by falling roofs or a kick in the teeth (which could be aided by magic). A caster can chant for a number of hours equal to the Success Levels of a Constitution and Languages roll.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (+1), severe scope (ten yard radius) (+2), difficult use (must keep chanting) (-1), major effect (+3).

Power Level: 3+

Requirements: The caster must be able to see the moon (as the spell draws upon the power of the lunar cycle) and speak a Latin incantation. The caster must also pick a Power Level for the spell.

Effect: This spell dismisses mystical barriers. As the spell is cast, lightning appears over the barrier and a distorted blue light shines for a few seconds. If the difference between the chosen Power Level of the spell and its base level (2) is equal to or greater than the Success Levels of the barrier casting, the barrier falls when the light fades away. Insufficiently powered dismissal spells can have no effect, or may trigger a roll on the Spell Side Effect Table. If the spell is cast during the new moon the Power Level increases by one; if cast during the full moon, it is decreased by one.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: A doll with some personal effect of the victim attached to it and an hour-long ritual where the caster ties a gag around the doll's mouth.

EFFECT: This spell renders the target mute by removing her mouth. In addition to being unable to speak, the target also dies of thirst or hunger unless given medical attention. The target's mouth can only be restored if the spell is reversed, countered, or dispelled. This spell only works on humans - it does not work on vampires or other demons.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Lengthy ritual (one hour) (+1), noticeable scope (one target) (+1), only affects humans (-1), permanent duration (+3), unusual ingredients (-1), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: A personal effect of the victim, a lengthy ritual (about an hour's worth).

EFFECT: This spell eventually kills the victim, draining her of one Constitution level every hour. When Constitution is reduced below zero, the victim dies. At first, the victim appears to have had a bit too much joy juice to drink (as in a gallon or two too much). Then her immune system shuts down, and she becomes weak and feverish. If the spell is reversed before death, the victim returns to normal in a matter of seconds.

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: Witches need only shout “Dissolvo.” Other magicians must meditate for a minute.

EFFECT: A ball of light shoots from the caster's hand and shoves the target Willpower feet per Success Level rolled. This spell could knock a person down or push her free from someone who was holding her. The spell normally causes no damage, but if the target is shoved into a wall or some other hard surface, she takes two times the Success Levels in damage.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (a minute) (+1), can be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), instant duration (+0), noticeable effect (+1).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: A group of thirteen or more Witches or Warlocks must work together, performing a lengthy chant that lasts an hour. The person being boosted must be present when the spell is cast.

EFFECT: The target borrows power from the magicians who cast this spell. She gains one level of the Sorcery Quality from every participating Witch. Those without the Sorcery Quality cannot assist in performing the spell, but can be the target. Until the target has entirely used up this power boost, everyone who donated power to the target halves her Sorcery Quality.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Multiple casters (-2), lengthy ritual (an hour) (-1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), permanent duration (+3), awesome effect (+5).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 7

REQUIREMENTS: A purple magical powder is sprinkled directly on the magical wards. Creating the powder takes thirty minutes or so and requires some sage, lavender, and powdered moonstone. Using the powder takes only a few seconds.

EFFECT: This counterspell instantly cancels any type of magical ward of equal or lower Power Level. The ward glows briefly, outlining the protected area, and then vanishes. This spell is the quickest and safest way to get rid of a magical barrier. Since this powder remains good for one full lunar month, many magicians keep some around for emergencies.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (magical ward) (+0), creates magical item (+1), permanent duration (+3), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: This spell must be performed in a graveyard with a lit candle with a Latin or Aramaic invocation of approximately twenty minutes.

EFFECT: This spell causes the secretive and mystical Spirit Guides to appear. The guides are extremely wise and have access to all knowledge of the past, present, and future. When this spell is performed, they appear as ghostly apparitions and talk with the caster. Unfortunately, in addition to being highly cryptic and mysterious in their statements, the Spirit Guides are deeply concerned with cosmic balance and with the consequences of their actions. They make certain that nothing they do negatively influences the cosmos or disrupts the “greater” plan. As a result, they rarely divulge information, especially if the need is exceptionally great.

While many desperate magicians have summoned the Spirit Guides, only a few have ever received useful information from them. Some magicians attempt to use threats or magic to coerce the Spirit Guides. The guides are immune to all such dangers - if the caster attempts to harm them, all attacks rebound and affect her instead.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), severe scope (more than one being) (+2), medium duration (one minute per Success Level) (+0), usual ingredients (-1), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must draw a large and complex circle on the floor. If any portion of the circle is broken or smudged, the spell fails. This drawing takes twenty minutes and can be no more than thirteen feet in diameter.

EFFECT: This circle cannot be crossed by any ghost or demon whose Willpower is less than twice the Success Levels of the casting roll. While drawing a complex circle around a dangerous creature is rarely easy, it is possible to draw all parts of the circle except for one tiny final line, entice the nasty inside, and then complete it, trapping the demon inside. This usually requires that the circle be hidden under a rug or drop cloth, since few creatures freely walk into uncompleted circles. The target cannot leave the circle as long as it is intact, and is magically prevented from affecting it in any way. Magicians, ordinary mortals, and even vampires are unaffected by the circle, and can mar it with nothing more than a penknife, some paint remover, or even the scuff of a shoe. Trapped creatures use all their wiles to either trick or bribe a human into breaking it deliberately. Circles of binding can also be used as places of refuge from demons. Some Watchers maintain almost completed circles in their libraries or homes in case their Slayers ever face a threat that they cannot handle. Unfortunately, monsters can use weapons like guns or bows to simply shoot the people inside. Good thing few demons use guns.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (twenty minutes) (+0), minor scope (small area) (+0), only affects spirits or demons (-1), permanent duration (+3), unusual requirements (circle cannot be broken) (-1), awesome effect (+5).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 7

REQUIREMENTS: This spell requires at least six casters who know the demon's name and location, and have some form of connection to it. A fragment of a horn, the blood of a victim it killed by hand, or performing the ritual on-line for a demon that is possessing the internet are all suitable connections. The casters must light some candles and chant for an hour. This spell can be performed using a specially prepared binding object, but does not require one.

EFFECT: This spell has been used to bind demons throughout history. Most casters prefer to keep the demon in a book or other object rather than sending it back to its hell dimension, since as long as the binding object is kept safe, the demon is effectively neutralized. To bind the demon into a specific object, the binding object must be purified for one full month by keeping it in total darkness and anointing it daily. If a demon is bound using the Circle of Kayless, all attempts to summon it automatically fail. Once the demon is bound into the object, it is covered in text. The demon is freed instantly if the entirety of this text is ever read, transcribed by a single individual, or even electronically scanned. If the book or statue is destroyed, the demon is banished from our world, but it can be summoned normally. If the caster doesn't have time to prepare a suitable binding object, or if she does not know how to prepare the binding object, the demon is merely forced out of its current habitation - a person, a building, or even the Internet. If the demon has formed its own physical body, this body is dispersed. Without a specified binding object, the demon is free to choose an object to move into. This can be any object that the demon is touching or otherwise connected to at the instant that the ritual is completed - if it has no place to move, it is destroyed.During the last five minutes of the ritual, the demon can feel what is happening and can either attempt to disrupt the ritual or make certain to be in contact with someone or something that it wants to possess. Once the demon has entered its new habitation, it cannot leave on its own. Most often, the demon chooses something mobile and useful to possess, like a suit of armor, a robot body, or the body of one of its enemies. The demon is banished if its new home is destroyed or killed. The Circle of Kayless can be used multiple times to force the demon out of an undesirable binding object.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Multiple casters (-2), lengthy ritual (one hour) (-1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), awesome scope (area of entire city) (+5), permanent duration (+3), rare ingredients (-2), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 8

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must look directly at her victim, point at her, and say a short incantation to the demon prince Corsheth.

EFFECT: The target of this spell is instantly transformed into magical energy and stored inside an object that the caster must have designated earlier by anointing it with dragon-blood oil. While stored in this fashion, the target is awake and aware, but cannot use magic or do anything other than helplessly observe the world around her. Most victims of this spell go mad after several months in this state. Breaking the object instantly frees the victim. The one danger of this spell is that it affects whoever the magician is looking at in the instant the power is released. A well-timed shove could result in the caster imprisoning one of her allies instead of her enemy. Even worse, she could end up in statuesville herself (as long as there's a mirror handy).

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), may be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one target) (+1), permanent duration (+3), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: Powder made from amber, mandrake root, and demon blood. The caster blows the powder into the area with the targets and says a several minute incantation to the blind goddess Cadria.

EFFECT: This spell causes the targets to be completely unable to see or hear any form of demon. Even if the demon is standing right in front of them, or striking them with a sword, the folks affected are unable to perceive the demon. The targets can hear, smell, and feel what the demon is doing and can see the results of its actions, but they cannot actually see it. This spell lasts for 24 hours or until a counter spell is cast.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (several minutes) (+0), may be Quick Cast (+1), severe scope (up to ten beings) (+2), long duration (+1), unusual ingredients (-1), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: A several-minute chant to the blind goddess Cadria.

EFFECT: This spell instantly reverses the effects of Demonic Blindness, allowing all of those who were affected to once again clearly see any demons that aren't invisible.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (several minutes) (+0), may be Quick Cast (+1), severe scope (up to ten beings) (+2), instant duration (+0), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: A small amount of powder or pill containing mandrake root and several other rare herbs. The caster must empower this powder or pill during a three hour ritual that invokes the power of Proteus, the god of change. To cause the spell to take effect, the powder or pill must be eaten or drunk by the target. Since mandrake tastes really nasty, the caster must conceal the pill in a glass of scotch, pot of chili or a banana-strawberry Go-Gurt (for the health conscious).

EFFECT: This spell transforms the target into a demon specified by the caster when the powder is created. Unlike purely illusory transformations, the target doesn't just look like a demon, she actually becomes a demon. She can only speak demonic languages. Her personality takes longer to change than her body. Still, within six or nine hours, she is going to be thinking just like a demon - including all that desire for violence, human hearts, and other sorts of nastiness. After the target has been a demon for three hours, she must succeed at a Willpower (doubled) roll to resist giving into her demonic nature. Another roll, with a cumulative -1 penalty, is required every three hours after that. After 15 hours as a demon, the rolls cease becoming more difficult (-5 penalty max).

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Very lengthy ritual (three hours) (-2), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), permanent duration (+3), unusual ingredients (-1), major effect (+3).

Power Level: 6

Requirements: First, the caster must discover the precise location of the damage to the dimensional walls. The ritual involves throwing a specially prepared powder at the place where the damage is, followed by a small incantation in a demonic language.

Effect: This spell repairs any damage that has been caused to the dimensional walls, closing any rifts through them. Lightning is created as the powder reacts with the tear in reality. Then it's sucked into the tear, repairing the dimensional fabric.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must meditate for several minutes next to the body of the sleeping person whose dreams she wishes to enter.

EFFECT: The magician can project her consciousness into the mind of someone who is dreaming. The caster can communicate with the target and can affect her dreams in the same way that she can affect the waking world, by picking up and moving objects, opening doors, or talking to the dreamer. If desired, the caster need not appear in the dream at all and can simply watch, or she can take on the appearance of anyone she desires, effectively impersonating someone else in the dream. While this spell can be used to help someone who is having nightmares or other similar problems, it is most often used to spy on the target's inner thoughts, or to attempt to discreetly influence her by either delivering messages or by impersonating someone (and having that person say or do something fairly dramatic). The caster can also ask the dreamer questions that she would not normally answer while awake. While the dreamer does not believe that the created or altered dreams are anything unusual, they are always vivid and exceptionally easy to remember. Most people do not base their attitudes about people upon events in dreams, but a consistent series of dreams where a friend does or says lots of mean and horrible things should cause some loyalty doubts.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (several minutes) (+0), severe scope (two beings) (+2), long duration (+1), noticeable effect (+1).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must draw a line of symbols in colored sand all around the area being protected and then say a short incantation.

EFFECT: This spell warns anyone inside the protected area if any hellgod or exceptionally powerful demon comes within 100 feet. The spell is good for one warning. This warning is quite loud and wakes everyone inside the area, even if they are quite soundly asleep. Also, the spell only warns of the approach of extremely powerful demons. It does not react to the approach of vampires or other ordinary demons. The spell remains in place until it is either banished or triggered. Once the spell is cast, the sand need not stay in place; the effect remains even if the sand is disturbed or swept up.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (less than a few minutes) (+1), noticeable scope (one room) (+1), permanent duration (+3), minor effect (+0).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 7

REQUIREMENTS: Two or more Witches need only chant, “Enemies, fly and fall … circling arms, raise a wall!” Everyone else needs to spend several hours drawing a fancy circle around the protected area in colored chalk.

EFFECT: An invisible energy barrier springs up around the caster. It can be a small as desired or as large as 99 feet in diameter. The barrier is pretty much impassible - enemies can't get through and neither can any weapons they use. The barrier lets air though, but stops any poison gas the caster's enemies try to send her way - magic is handy like that. The caster can open or close a temporary gate in the barrier and dissolve the entire barrier at will. It naturally disburses in Success Levels x 4 hours.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Dual casters (-1), lengthy ritual (several hours) (-1), can be Quick Cast (+1), severe scope (100 feet) (+2), long duration (+1), awesome effect (+5).

Power Level: 5/6

Requirements: A lengthy ritual in Latin. Must be performed within the area that is to be surrounded by the energy barrier.

Effect: This spell seals off an area with an energy barrier so no one can enter or leave. The barrier only affects living or undead beings-objects may be tossed through the barrier walls. It is possible to add a small portal in the barrier to allow those with a special password to pass through. This must be specified as the ritual is cast and it adds one to the Power Level.

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must touch two people, envision a type of energy, and recite a several minute incantation.

EFFECT: This spell transfers mystical energy between two individuals. The caster can either give or receive energy, or she can merely serve as a conduit between two other people. The spell is often used to steal energy from another Witch, to both weaken them and temporarily strengthen the caster. If used this way, the target's Sorcery level is reduced by half (round down) for the next hour, while the caster temporarily gains a number of Sorcery levels equal to the number the target lost. This bonus can only be used on the next spell or telekinesis attempt that the caster performs. Once this spell has been cast, no further bonus is gained. The spell can also be used to reverse the effects of energy draining abilities, or spells like Steal Strength. This potent spell can actually steal energy from vastly powerful beings like True Demons or hellgods.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (several minutes) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), severe scope (two beings) (+2), instant duration (+0), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: Two Witches, candles, a pot of herbs for anointing the participants, and a personal item of the person being scanned.

EFFECT: One Witch sends her consciousness into the nether realms, while the other acts as an anchor, keeping her soul from becoming lost. While in the nether realms, the Witch can perceive any ongoing mystical effects in the vicinity of the person being scanned, including possession, curses, or magical transformations.

This is a highly dangerous spell - a mistake most likely results in the projecting character becoming lost and unable to return to her body. In this case, the body becomes an immobile, soulless husk that must be fed and given water. Even worse, the body dies within a month unless the Witch finds her way home. While no safer, the easiest way to help a lost Witch find her way home is for another pair of Witches to perform this spell using an item belonging to the lost Witch. The projecting Witch must then go into the nether realms, locate the lost Witch's spirit, and guide it home. Then again, if this second spell goes awry, two Witches are lost in the nether realms.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Dual casters (-1), casters must have Sorcery (-1), recitation (couple of minutes) (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), medium duration (one minute per Success Level) (+0), major effect (+3).

Power Level: 3

Requirements: A binding powder is spread around the target, and crosses, holy water, and a Latin supplication are used to hold the demon in place while the exorcism begins. The caster thrusts a cross in the possessed 's face and begins the Latin liturgy.

Effect: Upon a successful casting, a contest of wills begins between the caster and the possessing entity. The caster makes a Willpower (doubled) roll, adds the Success Levels of the exorcism ritual, and compares the result to the Brains Score of the possessor. If the caster has a higher result, the entity is cast out of its host body. How the nasty reacts to this varies depending on the creature. A vampire can perform this ritual, but suffers a -5 penalty on all rolls while holding the cross. Using something to wrap around the cross or his hand lowers the penalty to -2.

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: Witches and Warlocks need only make a gesture of handing over the expected object while whispering a few magical words. Ordinary magicians must perform the same gestures preceded by a five minute ritual.

EFFECT: The caster creates the illusion of a small object that a single target expects to see. This is the perfect spell for creating a fake ID or an overdue term paper. Everyone other than the target sees the magician handing her target empty air, so this spell is best done without bystanders. The illusion looks, sounds, and feels just like the real thing to the target, but vanishes as soon the target puts it down or looks away from it.

Fortunately, the impression remains that the item was exactly what was expected; most targets assume they simply lost the item and not that they were handed an illusion.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (five minutes) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), short duration (-1), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: A photograph of the person the caster wishes to raise, the egg of a Ghora demon, and a short ritual.

EFFECT: This spell raises the target from the dead. This is not one of the most powerful resurrection spells though, and the results are somewhat incomplete. All of the target's injuries are healed, but her soul and mind are gone and she retains only fragments of her memories. The target's Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution are unchanged, but her Intelligence, Willpower, and Perception are all reduced to one. At best, the person can still recognize her loved ones and engage in extremely simple, halting conversations. Many magicians are extremely displeased by the result of this spell - fortunately, it is extremely easy to reverse. If the photograph used in the casting of this spell is ever ripped in half or otherwise destroyed, the target instantly returns to their grave. A few seriously nasty Witches and Warlocks use this spell to turn their dead enemies into helpless slaves - that's about all it is good for.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), permanent duration (+3), rare ingredients (-2), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: Two witches and a representation of the item that was lost. The caster also needs a large handful of pure sacred sand and must make a supplication to Eyrishon, the endless one. One of the casters also needs to know exactly where and when the item was lost. The ritual only requires about ten minutes.

EFFECT: This spell reaches though time and even the barriers between parallel worlds to recover lost or destroyed items. If used on an object that has merely been lost or stolen, the spell can actually cause more than one copy of the object to exist in the same world. During the ritual, both casters see flashes of the events that led up to the object being lost or destroyed. When the spell goes awry, it can bring back people who have died or vanished into another dimension. Unfortunately, it cannot be used to do this deliberately - it can only be purposefully used to find inanimate objects. Also, it cannot be used to bring the dead back to life. At best, this spell can accidentally summon a version of someone who died from a dimension where she survived, causing all manner of confusion for everyone involved. This spell can be cast in reverse to return the item back to where it originally came from.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Dual casters (-1), ritual (ten minutes) (-1), noticeable scope (one object) (+1), permanent duration (+3), rare ingredients (-2), awesome effect (+5).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: Witches need merely say a few words and point their hands in the desired direction. Non-Witches need only chant for a minute or two and let the magic happen.

EFFECT: A white fog billows from the caster's hands. The fog dissipates quickly, but anyone else who is touched by it is rendered completely senseless and somewhat dizzy for a minute. This spell produces enough fog to affect one person (or demon), two if they are close together. This effect doesn't last very long, but it can allow the caster to duck around a corner or into a closet. That should give a bit of a breather from whatever nasty thing is chasing her.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (less than a couple minutes) (+1), may be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (nearby target) (+1), short duration (one Turn per Success Level) (-1), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 6-8

REQUIREMENTS: To alter one person's memory, the caster only need recite a simple spell while holding a lethe's bramble. To affect multiple targets or more extensive memories, the caster also needs a pure quartz crystal. She must burn a fire around the crystal. The crystal gradually turns jet black - when it is fully black, the spell is in effect.

EFFECT: When cast in its simplest form, this spell removes a single memory from the target's mind. This covers one discrete incident - a lovers' fight, a serious fright, viewing The Postman. The caster need only state the memory to be removed, cast the spell, and it is gone. Add one to the Power Level to affect the memories of up to ten people; add one to the Power Level to affect more than a single memory. When cast in this expanded manner though, the spell is unstable. If the black crystal is broken or destroyed, the spell is instantly broken and all lost memories return.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), permanent duration (+3), noticeable effect (+1).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must have an image of what she wants the subject to look like - a retouched image of the subject's face or an image of someone else's face. She must burn this image in a brass bowl. While the image in burning, the caster chants an incantation to Janus and the subject must inhale the fumes.

EFFECT: Glamours are simple illusions that can be used to do anything from hiding blemishes and bruises to making the subject look more or less attractive to disguising the subject completely. A glamour can add or subtract up to four points of Attractiveness. In addition, the glamour can change the subject's face, hair, eyes, and general skin tone enough to disguise them as someone they look vaguely like. The magician can cast a glamour on herself or on anyone else who is present during the ritual. It is impossible to use this spell to disguise someone beyond what normal makeup and lots of theatrical experience could manage. This spell also doesn't make the subject act any more like the person, nor does it change any of his Attributes. It is also instantly canceled if the subject ever gets a significant amount of water in her face.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (ten minutes) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), very long duration (+2), noticeable effect (+1).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 8

REQUIREMENTS: Training by a gypsy Sorcerer (and they won't train just anybody).

EFFECT: The shape-shifter transforms into another form. The exact form varies depending on the training and inclinations of the magic user. The shape-shifter retains her own thoughts, personality, skills and abilities - she just embodies a different form. The exact effects of the new shape vary, and should be devised in consultation with the player. At Power Level 8, the spell grants one possible new form. Each additional shape adds one to the Power Level. Thus, with three potential shapes, Dracula's Gypsy Shape-shifting spell is base Power Level 10. Given their demonic nature, vamps (and certain other types at your discretion) are closer to the supernatural. For them, the Power Level of this spell is halved (round up) when considering the Success Levels necessary for casting. The shape to be taken must be specified when the spell is cast. The new form lasts until the spell is cast again to adopt another, or to return the character's “normal” shape. While only one shape is taken per casting, the Power Level remains the same throughout-it is defined when the spell is learned and is determined by the number of shapes that are possible for the caster.

Adding another shape to the spell requires research, training, and study. Once this process is completed, the spell base Power Level increases by one immediately and it becomes a bit harder to cast successfully.

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: Witches simply incant and gesture at their target or targets. Other magicians must also meditate for several minutes.

EFFECT: This spell causes the air around the target to solidify. The target can breathe normally, but she is stopped in her tracks. Since this spell prevents all gestures, most forms of magic are impossible, but psychic powers can be used normally. If not dispelled, the binding naturally fades in one Turn per Success Level.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (several minutes) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), short duration (-1), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: Khul's Amulet, a Sobekian Bloodstone, a large container of ceramic or stone, and a snake of the kind specified by the bloodstone. Place the snake and the bloodstone in the container and chant an incantation while holding Khul's Amulet and chanting in Arabic over the mouth of the container.

EFFECT: This spell transmogrifies a specific type of snake into a large demonic servant. The snake demon is completely loyal to its creator (as long as the caster doesn't mess up the ritual - if she screws up, the snake likely tries to eat her) and possesses keen supernatural senses. These snakes can sense and locate supernatural manifestation unfindable by other means. The only limit on this spell is that a given bloodstone can be used only once, and these bloodstones are quite rare - Egyptian priests skilled in dark magics inscribed them all long ago.

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: Witches and Warlocks need only shout “Ignis Incende.” Other magicians must also meditate for three minutes.

EFFECT: This spell ignites any flammable object up to the size of a large fireplace full of thick logs. The caster must be within two yards of the target. If used to light an enemy's clothes, it does three times Success levels damage to the target, doubled against vampires or other especially flammable creatures.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (few minutes) (+1), may be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one being/object) (+1), instant duration (+0), noticeable effect (+1).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: A dolls-eye crystal and a ten-minute incantation to the elements.

EFFECT: This spell ionizes the air in a one-block radius. Within this area, static cling is seriously harsh and all forms of TV, radio, and cell phone communications are cut off. The effect is stronger in the immediate vicinity of the spell, and everyone within a few yards of where it is cast winds up with a serious bad hair day until the spell is over. This spell only lasts for about an hour, but during that time it is a truly awesome way to keep someone with a cell phone from calling for help, or to really annoy someone who wanted to watch the big game.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (ten minutes) (+0), major scope (neighborhood) (+3), long duration (+1), minor effect (+0).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: Witches need only shout “Incindere.” Other magicians must meditate for a few minutes.

EFFECT: A gout of flame shoots from the caster's hand. The flame is five yards long and does Willpower times Success Levels in damage to whatever it hits (double against vampires and other particularly flammable creatures). The spell also ignites flammable objects.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (a few minutes) (+1), may be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), instant duration (+0), noticeable effect (+1).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: Several minutes of incantation.

EFFECT: This spell allows the caster to float in the air or even to fly slowly. The spell lasts Success Level hours as long as the caster concentrates on it and does nothing else (including casting other spells). If Quick Cast, a Witch who falls off of a tall building can float gently and safely to the ground. Alternately, a Witch can use this spell to fly from the ground to the top of a twenty story building. The pace is not terribly rapid - a caster can't fly any faster than she can run.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (several minutes) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), long duration (+1), noticeable effect (+1).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: Prior to using, the caster must mix wolfsbane, satyrion root, a toadstone, and some pure water in a bottle. To use the spell, the caster must say a short incantation in German and throw the bottle at the feet of the target.

EFFECT: When the bottle breaks, fumes rise up and instantly banish all illusions. This spell does not affect Power Level 6 or greater spells or illusions produced by very powerful entities, like hellgods. It does reveal the truth behind all other demonic and magical illusions. It causes someone who has used a spell to make herself invisible or to disguise her true appearance to revert to her true form. Demons who hide in human form must also take on their true visage, and vampires must assume their “game face.” The spell does not cause werewolves to revert to human form; both forms are equally real to a shape-shifter. Those affected cannot use another spell to disguise her appearance for at least one hour.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), may be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), creates magical item (+1), long duration (+1), unusual ingredients (-1), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: Witches only need to say a quick incantation. Everyone else must light a candle and chant for five minutes.

EFFECT: As soon as this spell is cast a tiny light as bright as a small flashlight appears. The caster can ask the light to lead her to anyone or anyplace she knows sufficiently well. It leads her towards this destination, moving a few feet ahead of her, regardless of whether she is walking or running. If the caster keeps changing her mind about where she wants to go or who she wants to find, she may end up with half a dozen little lights playing Christmas tree every which way around her face.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (five minutes) (+0), may be Quick Cast (+1), severe scope (area of a large building) (+2), medium duration (one minute per Success Level) (+0), minor effect (+0).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: Access to the book of Darkest Magick. Half an hour's worth of casting; for Witches or Warlocks, a mere gesture.

EFFECT: Lightning strikes the victim (who can be anywhere in line of sight of the caster), inflicting five times Willpower points of damage per Success Level. This powerful spell is one of the flashier magicks available. Unfortunately for the forces of goodness and light, it is not easy to cast, and requires access to the book of Darkest Magick, which can't exactly be found at your local Barnes & Noble, or even your typical witch's library.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 7

REQUIREMENTS: Various herbs and potions, as well as a picture of the caster's lover or ex-lover. To complete the spell, the caster must burn the lover's picture. Only someone who once had a strong positive emotional connection with the target can cast this spell.

EFFECT: This is the standard curse used by jilted lovers, angry business partners, or anyone else who believes someone has betrayed them. While the caster is no doubt convinced that her victim is getting what she deserves, this spell is not about justice - it smacks the target with the angry hand of vengeance. Once cast, the target finds that everyone who previously loved her now hates her. Lovers and ex-lovers that the target cares about tend to die messily and pretty much anyone or anything else the target loves falls apart or turns against them. Like many of the seriously dark spells, this one also tends to have a nasty twist. If the target still loves the caster, the caster might end up messily dead, ensuring that both she and the target come to grief over this spell. As a final kicker, the spell imposes bad luck on the target. She gains five points of the Bad Luck Quality. The spell itself doesn't cause the target harm, but the bad luck might, as might the badness happening to those around her.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (couple of minutes) (+1), caster must have strong connection to target (-1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), very long duration (+2), unusual ingredients (-1), awesome effect (+5).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: Witches need only shout “Obfuscate.” Other magicians must meditate for a few minutes.

EFFECT: A gray blob appears in the caster's hand. When thrown, it unerringly aims for a nearby target's face. There, it transforms into a mass of sticky goo that covers the target's eyes. The blob temporarily blinds the target (-4 to all actions requiring sight). The goo is extremely sticky and the target must pull at it for two times Success Levels Turns to remove it (otherwise it lasts for one minute per Success Level). The target can do nothing else during any Turn that she attempts to remove it.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (a few minutes) (+1), may be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), minor effect (+0).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must recite a short incantation for approximately one minute.

EFFECT: This spell disguises the target as someone or something else - from an elderly dwarf to an eight-foot tall demon with wings and horns. The target's Attributes and capabilities remain the same though. Also, the spell does not change the caster's clothing or accessories. The spell lasts for two hours per Success Level. The caster can use this spell on herself or on anyone she touches.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (one minute) (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), long duration (+1), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 7

REQUIREMENTS: Repeatedly draw a circle around the protected area with a special wand and chant for fifteen minutes.

EFFECT: This spell creates a barrier around an item that can only be pierced by someone who helped cast it. The protected space is only a yard or so in diameter. The barrier protects the item from all harm and keeps all from touching it. One good counterspell is Break the Wards of Magic (see above).

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (fifteen minutes) (+0), noticeable scope (one object) (+1), permanent duration (+3), major effect (+3).

Power Level: 6

Requirements: These spells vary depending on the entity involved. For a Thesulac demon, an Orb of Ramjarin, some sacred herbs, and divining powder are needed. For a demon like Sahjhan, darker magic must be used, involving a pentagram and human blood.

Effect: Several kinds of entities are incorporeal in this world, but all can be made corporeal through magic. The exact ritual is slightly different as no two entities are the same. Further, the specifics of the entity 's corporeal form (physical Attributes and attacks) vary. As a default, equate Strength with Intelligence, Dexterity with Perception, and Constitution with Willpower. Life Points, Scores, and attack damages are derived from those. Of course, these defaults can be changed as the plotline demands. Also, the entity may have supernatural powers when corporeal that it does not possess normally.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 1

REQUIREMENTS: One magician must chant this exorcism where the supernatural manifestation is the strongest, while three assistants perform similar chants and light candles in a triangle that encloses the haunted area. The entire procedure only takes five minutes once everyone is in place.

EFFECT: This spell banishes ghosts - cast it and they return to wherever ghosts go so that they never trouble any living person again. Unfortunately, this spell does not work on the most powerful and angry ghosts. If the ghost is too buff, it laughs off the exorcism and keeps right on haunting. Still, the exorcism is easy to pull off and only takes five minutes, so many magicians try it before they move on to tougher (and riskier) magic.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Multiple casters (-2), ritual (five minutes) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), limited scope (less powerful ghosts) (-1), instant duration (+0), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must look at and whisper the name of up to ten people she wishes to “speak with,” and perform a ritual to Mercury.

EFFECT: Until the sun next crosses the horizon, the caster can mentally communicate with everyone she designated, as long as she can see the person (even if only as a small dot in the distance or by using camera or other visual link). This spell does not allow the caster to read the target's mind, merely to communicate silently with people. Telepaths (see p 36) can overhear these mental conversations. Many folks find this spell somewhat disconcerting since the caster's voice comes directly into the target's head and is not heard with the target's ears. The target does not need to be able to see the caster to respond. The caster can make these mental messages public, so that they can be heard by everyone she named when she cast the spell, or each message can be sent to specific persons.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (several minutes) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), major scope (up to ten people in sight) (+3), long duration (+1), minor effect (+0).

Power Level: 8

Requirements: Three or more casters get together and perform a mysterious ritual that takes a great deal of time to complete. The spell can be cast from one location to any other within the same city (at least).

Effect: Successful completion of the spell causes a barrier to permeate the area targeted by the spell, providing a nigh unbreakable force field to anyone within the building. The barrier blasts any hostile being attempting to harm someone inside the area of effect, inflicting damage equal to three times the caster's Willpower per Success Level of the initial casting. The original spell only affected demon violence, but a later variation provided the same effect against human violence as well (add one to Power Level). The barrier proved ineffective against a grenade tossed in from outside its effect though.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: An hour-long ritual performed by three magicians starting at noon. The casters must have a map and a drawing (or photo) of the destination, and some item associated with that location.

EFFECT: This ritual opens a round gateway to another location on Earth. The portal remains open only a short time, but it allows up to two-dozen people or a dozen riders through. Due to the powerful energies involved, electronics and delicate machined tools do not survive transport intact. Modern vehicles or firearms are instantly transformed into useless pieces of junk. Thus, horses and melee weapons are the preferred accoutrements of gateway travelers. This spell always opens a portal to the location in the photo. If the photo, map, and item do not match up properly for some reason, the spell automatically fails and side effects are generated.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Multiple casters (-2), lengthy ritual (one hour) (-1), major scope (over ten people) (+1), awesome scope (the world) (+6), medium duration (+0), unusual ingredients (-1), awesome effect (+3).

PARALYSIS

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 2

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must spend five Turns chanting an invocation to Medusa and the Gorgons. Then, she must touch the target with her left hand.

EFFECT: This spell completely immobilizes the target for a number of Turns equal to the Success Levels gained. This spell is also most dangerous. Since the caster must be close to the target and loads of brightly glowing magical energy surrounds her, she makes a dandy target. During the time she is chanting, if anyone kills the caster, knocks her unconscious, or even interrupts her chanting by tossing her against a wall or slapping a big piece of duct tape over her mouth, the spell automatically fails. Even so, the caster must roll for magical side effects. This spell is the ideal method for paralyzing critters too nasty for even a Promised One to easily defeat. Still, those are exactly the sorts of monsters who can easily smash a Witch to a pulp before she can finish this spell.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (five Turns) (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), short duration (-1), unusual requirements (must touch) (-1), severe effect (+2).

PASSION OF THE HUNTRESS

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: A personal object of the target, a large symbol representing the sex of the target in red chalk, a candle with the target's name written on it, a boiling cauldron (or beaker) with herbs, a picture of the target, and a fifteen-minute ritual that calls upon Diana, the goddess of the hunt.

EFFECT: All of the books on magic label this a love spell, but it's best not to believe everything written in books. After all, it calls upon the power of Diana the huntress, not Venus, the goddess of love. More than a few Witches have cast this spell on someone as a curse. Regardless of why the spell is cast, over the course of the next day or two, the target becomes increasingly infatuated with the recipient, and incredibly jealous of anyone else the recipient sees. She happily stalks the recipient and may even attempt to kill him if she becomes convinced that her love is not returned. This spell normally lasts for at least several months, but usually folks dispel the effects long before this. Lots of Witches have gotten more money or favors by offering to remove this spell than by casting it in the first place. Dispelling won't remove the target's memory of being madly infatuated, and she often blames the person she was infatuated with. Love spells are bad news all around.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (fifteen minutes) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), very long duration (several months) (+2), unusual ingredients (-1), severe effect (+3).

PORTAL SPELL

Power Level: 5

Requirements: Find a location with a suitable amount of mojo and recite the appropriate incantation to unlock the potential energy, rending the barriers between dimensions. The exact requirements for and effects of the portal spell vary depending on the destination (and starting) dimensions. You should apply bonuses or penalties to the casting roll based on how “flexible” or “rigid” the walls are between dimensions. this explains why it was so hard to get to Quar'toth and so easy (or easier) to get to Pylea.

Effect: A successful casting opens a portal to another dimension, as dictated by the incantation. A metal “box” of some manner-such as a car-is required to keep a group of beings together after entering the portal, at least en route to Pylea. Miscasting is bad-as usual-but even success usually brings trouble. The portal in Caritas brought a Drokken through for no apparent reason-it's pretty clear the creature wasn't much in the brains department. When Landok returned to his dimension in the same place, Cordelia got sucked through the portal. When Angel found a way to access Quor'toth, he got Connor … and a kicker. Feel free to add similar extras to any attempt to mess with dimensional borders. That's just the way it works sometimes.

QUENCHING LUST'S FIRES/REKINDLE LOVE'S FLAME

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 5/6

REQUIREMENTS: Boil skink root, essence of rose thorns, and raven feathers (or canary feathers to rekindle love) in a pot, and chant an invocation.

EFFECTS: Everyone who breathes the fumes from the pot while the invocation is chanted is instantly freed from any infatuations or lusts that afflict her. This spell cannot interfere with the course of true love, but handily removes any inopportune romantic or lustful feelings. Using the converse spell to rekindle an old love only works if both parties were once truly in love and still retain at least some vestige of feeling for each other. Both people must breathe the fumes of this spell while the invocation is chanted (Power Level increases by one). Since this spell is often used on someone involuntarily, the boiling pot can be disguised with herbs (to seem like an oddly fragrant potpourri) and the invocation can be whispered. Under either version of the spell, the effects only last one lunar month. However, if love has truly been rekindled during this time, it continues to grow normally.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), very long duration (+2), severe effect (+2).

QUICK ILLUSION

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 1

REQUIREMENTS: This spell can only be used by Witches and involves a short incantation, generally only a word or two.

EFFECT: This spell creates minor illusions. Whether the caster is changing her jeans into a sparking ball gown or decorating a room with ribbons and tiny glowing lights, almost any type of minor illusion can be produced. The spell cannot harm anyone and the caster must be no more than three yards away from the object she is changing. Furthermore, the illusions are completely insubstantial and fade in Success Level hours.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Caster must have Sorcery (-1), can be Quick Cast (+1), long duration (+1), minor effect (+0).

THE RAISING

Power Level: 6

Requirements: A wooden cage, anointed with oil and human blood, is placed on consecrated ground. Five vampires are chained up near the cage and an incantation is invoked from the Scroll of Aberjian.

Effect: At the conclusion of the spell, a wind arises, dusts the five vampire sacrifices, and carries their ashes to the cage. Light explodes from the cage and the vampire that the casters attempted to summon appears, undusted-restored back to life as a human.

RAISING ACATHLA

QUICK CAST: Heck no!

POWER LEVEL: Not high enough!

REQUIREMENTS: Are you nuts? What makes you think we're going to provide the specs on a spell to destroy the world? Not much point in involving the actual completion of this spell in most typical games. Okay, maybe you make it your Big Bad's goal, but a successful casting by anyone (particularly a Cast Member) is going to put your world in a world of hurt. Post-apocalyptic settings are all well and good, but this one is just plain game suicide! Raising Acathla is exactly the kind of plot device spell that we already said we ain't touchin'. You're on your own here, bucko.

REMOVE BONDS

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: Witches say “Exegete” and gesture at their target or targets. Other magicians must also meditate for five minutes.

EFFECT: This spell removes bonds from any target within five yards. The bonds instantly vanish in a flash of light. This spell works on ropes, handcuffs, or silk scarves (don't ask), but does not open locked doors.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (five minutes) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), minor scope (one binding) (+0), instant duration (+0), severe effect (+2).

RESTORE THE UNDEAD

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must have the Du Lac Cross or another similarly powerful and blasphemously blessed item. The vampire being restored must be tied on an altar with her sire, and the caster must stab a knife through both of their hands while saying an invocation to the demon-lord Eligor. If the two vampires are separated, the spell ends before the subject is fully healed

EFFECT: This spell can restore a badly injured vampire to full health. In addition to rapidly healing fire damage, it can even remove lingering injuries caused by magic or long-term exposure to crosses or others items that are similarly harmful to vampires. This spell drains “life” from the sire into the injured vampire. If used on a very badly damaged vampire the spell may kill the sire. If the spell is ended early, the subject will be at least partially healed, which may allow her to recover more rapidly from the remainder of her injuries. Ending the spell early also ensures that the sire will survive. He will be weakened by any use of this spell, but will recover fully in a day or two if the spell is ended prematurely.

RESTORE SOUL

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must light candles and perform an incantation lasting approximately ten minutes. The caster also needs a bit of hair, blood, toenail, or some other fragment of the body of either the demon who is stealing the soul or the person whose soul is being stolen (but not both).

EFFECT: The instant this counterspell is completed, the target's soul is returned and cannot be stolen again for the next three hours. The spell aids any being with a soul, but will not work if the target's soul has been banished by a spell like Soul Reave.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), permanent duration (+3), unusual ingredients (-1), major effect (+3).

RESURRECTION OF OSIRIS

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: A priceless Urn of Osiris, a chant, a group of four in a circle with candles above the one to be raised, blood from an animal sacrifice.

EFFECT: This spell quite literally raises the dead. It grows new flesh around the subject's corpse and then restores her life, her soul, and her memories. The ritual is a difficult one and even if the spell is completely successful, the caster takes five Life Points of damage and is totally exhausted from the strain of performing the it.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Multiple casters (-2), ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), permanent duration (+3), way-rare ingredients (-3), awesome effect (+5).

RETRIEVAL SPELL

Power Level: 8

Requirements: A pentagram within a circle drawn in black, five black candles (each placed on a point of the pentagram), and spell components by three of the candles (a horn, some black stones, and some fur). A small pile of stones is placed in the middle of the pentagram.

Effect: The spell brings back something that has been lost-it may be a thing the caster misplaced or a person that has left him. If the spell is successful, the thing retrieved replaces the pile of stones in the middle of the pentagram. If not, something particularly nasty could show up. Whether the spell works for stolen as well as misplaced items is for you to decide.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must perform a complex and difficult invocation in front of an Orb of Thesulah. These orbs are fairly common, but the text of the spell is exceedingly rare. Each orb may be used only once - if the ritual succeeds, the Orb crumbles to dust. This ritual takes about a half an hour to perform.

EFFECT: This spell suppresses the demon spirit that inhabits all vampires and installs the soul that the body had when it was alive. The vampire's superhuman abilities remain but the monstrous urges are no longer in complete control. Gypsies created this spell as a curse and it is truly a dark one. The person is forever haunted by memories of all of the dark deeds that she did while she was a normal vampire. In addition, she instantly loses her soul once again is she ever becomes truly happy. Fortunately, such happiness is quite rare and generally only comes when someone finds a true and enduring love. Doomed to never find a true and lasting love, haunted by memories of murder and death, and still forced to shun the daylight and drink blood, a person affected by this spell bears a terrible burden. Still, in some ways, it is perhaps a less horrific fate than being a normal, demonic vampire.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), limited scope (soulless vampire) (-1), permanent duration (+3), rare ingredients (-2), awesome effect (+5).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 8

REQUIREMENTS: Read a short but exceedingly difficult to find incantation.

EFFECT: This spell reverses the effects of any transformation spell, including powerful spells like Ratification. Unlike other reversing transformations, this spell can even reverse transformations performed by another magician even if the caster does not know the original spell.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (few moments) (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), permanent duration (+3), rare ingredients (-2), awesome effect (+5).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: Eye of newt, boiling water in a cauldron or pot, and a personal object that belongs to the target. Ritual takes about twenty minutes; halfway through, the target knows that this spell is being cast and roughly where the caster is.

EFFECT: This spell immediately cancels all ongoing spells cast by a particular Witch, Warlock, or other magician. It has no effect on spells cast by demons or gods. It also cannot cancel spells cast by multiple Witches or Warlocks unless the caster knows who all of the casters are and has a personal item from each of them. Also, if the targeted Witch healed someone with magic, the person who was healed won't suddenly have her wound reopen; someone killed by a curse won't suddenly hop out of the grave if the caster uses this spell on his killer.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), major scope (all ongoing spells) (+3), unusual ingredients (-1), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: Moss herbs (burned during the ritual), some holy water, crosses, and a Latin incantation rescinding the invitation.

EFFECT: Say, for one odd reason or another, you invite a vampire into your home. This can lead to no end of trouble. In those cases, this spell fixes your mistake and prevents that particular bloodsucker from darkening (or at least moving beyond) your doorstep again. Once successfully cast, the vamp is again incapable of entering your dwelling. Of course, another invite undoes the whole thing, and you are back at mistake one.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: Essence of toad, three pieces of gold, a bundle of twice-blessed sage, a ritual cauldron on a pedestal, an incense called Breath of the Atropyx, and a ritual lasting thirty minutes. Even using the cheapest toad essence around, the caster needs to spend several hundred dollars to purchase all these items. To cast the spell, the magician lights a fire in the cauldron using the various special ingredients and then drops the item being destroyed into the burning cauldron.

EFFECT: Most things can be destroyed with a sledgehammer or a can of gasoline. The most powerful magical items and other similarly tough things require a bit more - say … magic. When the living flame of this spell consumes an item, not even ashes remain. The same spell can also be used to destroy a powerful demon, but the only problem is that the demon must remain still (in a magic circle?) for the entire duration of the ritual. And if the caster can do that to a demon, she likely doesn't need this ritual to get rid of it. Oh, and the Finding the Lost spell cannot bring a destroyed item back.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one being/item) (+1), instant duration (+0), unusual ingredients (-1), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: This ritual can only be performed when the victim is sleeping. The caster must pour a small amount of blood down the person's throat, drop poisonous insects or draw symbols on her skin, and whisper an incantation that lasts half an hour.

EFFECT: The ritual gives the target exceptionally vivid and disturbing dreams while it removes a portion of her soul. The soul bit is absorbed by the caster. Each night that the ritual is repeated, a little more soul is transferred. Since certain detection and protection spells only work on beings without souls, having a soul can be quite useful. This spell can only be used on humans and other creatures that naturally have souls. It cannot be used to temporarily remove the soul from vampires or other demons who have found a way to gain or regain their soul. This spell may be exclusive knowledge of the Mok'tagar demons or it may be more widely known.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), permanent duration (+3), unusual ingredients (-1), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must make a small bundle of herbs and other components, including both iron nails and sulfur. To be effective, the scapula must be worn around the neck.

EFFECT: This simple but effective spell repels most varieties of ghosts. Unless the haunting is particularly strong, ghosts cannot approach within one yard of a scapula. A ghost can scare or throw something at the charm wearer, but cannot possess her or directly harm her. Unfortunately, a scapula doesn't protect the wearer from the most powerful ghosts. Also, it only protects the wearer for a single night.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (several minutes) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), creates magical item (+1), long duration (+1), minor effect (+0).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: Varies

REQUIREMENTS: Whatever the magician decides at the time of casting

EFFECT: This creates a minor to spectacular light show and other very showy but otherwise meaningless effects. The caster sets the Power Level at the time of casting. The higher the Power Level set, the more impressive the pyrotechnics and other showy effects. Won't get you a bunch of respect among true Witches and Warlocks, but it sure does impress the rubes.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: A large amount of food. The caster makes a series of incantations over the food and touches each item.

EFFECT: Any adult who eats any of this food thinks and acts like a particularly irresponsible teenager for the next half day or so. Those affected ignore responsibilities they dislike and may even engage in petty theft, vandalism, and other forms of rebellion. Teens and children who eat this food are unaffected. The food remains enchanted for the next full lunar month.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (more than a few minutes) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), limited scope (only adults) (-1), creates magical item (+1), long duration (+1), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: Witches (with Sorcery 5 or better) need merely say “Solid.” Other magicians must sit and recite a lengthy chant over and over again for nearly twenty minutes.

EFFECT: This spell makes a ghost or other insubstantial creature solid for the next hour. In this state, the creature can interact physically with the world and be attacked with ordinary physical weapons - often a great boon when fighting certain types of creatures. Creatures made solid by this spell also become fully visible. When solidified, a ghost has Life Points equal to three times its Brains Score.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), long duration (+1), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 10

REQUIREMENTS: A ritual involving blood and an Arabic incantation

EFFECT: Once a chalice of blood is splashed on the victim of this spell and an Arabic phrase is spoken, the victim's soul is torn from her body. This is extremely painful: the victim suffers a -10 penalty to all her actions during this time. The length of time that this takes is a number of Turns equal to the Power Level of the Spell minus the Success Levels over ten (minimum of two Turns). When the spell is completed, the victim no longer possesses her soul. If this is done to an ensouled vampire, it reverts to its old mean and vicious self. If this is done to a human, she gains a new mean and vicious self. If the magician really doesn't want to remove a person's soul after all, the whole thing could be faked with a glamour spell and some acting.

Power Level: 3

Requirements: The caster must first locate a place where a Loa resides-they are generally embodied in a statue. The caster must then spread powder in front of it as an offering, followed by an incantation and the ritualistic phrase “accept this offering and open the gates of truth.”

Effect: As the spell is cast, the Loa manifests in the statue-animating it during the conversation. Loa possess great knowledge and the caster may ask a number of questions equal to the Success Levels of the casting. Even so, the Loa resents being queried and can be very abrupt. Also, it seldom provides a straight answer to any question. Instead, its answers are cryptic and leave the caster much room for interpretation. If the Loa is called several times in short succession, there could be severe repercussions.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: A doll with some personal effect of the victim attached to it, and a lengthy ritual (about an hour long).

EFFECT: The victim is blinded until the spell is reversed or dispelled. Neat way to get back at people you don't like, or want to put out of commission for some reason (it can be a really, really weak reason, depending on who you are).

SPELL OF LOCATION

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: The caster needs a special magical disk inscribed with many concentric magical symbols. While these disks are not enchanted items in their own right, they are difficult to create and most magicians purchase or steal already existing disks. The caster must tie the disk to a string and sprinkle it with a special purple powder that can easily be made with any good chemistry set. Next, the caster must spread out a map of the area being searched and light a red candle

EFFECT: This spell can be used to locate any person or object the caster knows about. When the spell is cast, a beam of purple light shoots out from the candle, passes through the disk, and strikes the map at the place where the person or item is located. Naturally, the smaller the area covered by a map, the more exact the location shown but the greater the potential for no result to occur (as the subject is not in the map area). This spell may need to be recast several times to narrow the search. Oh, and a fireproof map is recommended as the beam of purple light ignites ordinary paper within 15 or 20 seconds (this feature is not commonly known nor is it explained in many spell books). Fortunately, observant magicians should be able to note the target's location well before the map bursts into flame.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (few moments) (+1), awesome scope (map area) (+5), rare ingredients (-2), minor effect (+0).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 1

REQUIREMENTS: Three witches, a U-shaped mystical symbol, herbs, liquids, candles, and chanting. Also, the recipient of the protection spell can't know about it or the spell is instantly broken. This spell can only be cast on the Spring Equinox.

EFFECT: The next time the target is hit by an attack that would either kill her or do half or more of her Life Points in one blow, the attack miraculously does no damage. This protection lasts until it is used, or until the target finds out that the spell has been cast on her.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Multiple casters (-2), ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), permanent duration (+3), restricted use (-4), major effect (+3).

Power Level: 2

Requirements: Hawthorn berries, lungwort, and stones are placed in a binding circle. Bile is also used in some indeterminate manner. The person who the ghost has been in contact with stands in the circle while the caster reads a Latin incantation. At the conclusion of the incantation, the contactee strikes at the center of the circle, which is supposed to reveal the ghost's “center.”

Effect: If the spell is successfully cast, the ghost's “center,” or the trauma that has bound it to Earth, is revealed. This strips the ghost of all its power and gives its victim the ability to send it to its resting place.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: Three magicians, a table draped in a red cloth, several candles. Everyone joins hands and after a short invocation, the spirit or spirits appear.

EFFECT: This spell can be used to summon anything from a single ghost to a vast accumulation of poltergeist energy. It can also be used to communicate with a spirit that is willing and able to talk. Although the spell need not be cast on the haunted site, at least one of the magicians must have been to that site. Once the spell is cast, the spirit shows up, and while it is present, it does not notice events occurring in the area it normally haunts. The problem is that the spell does not compel the spirit to remain. Once it shows up, it is up to the caster and the other people present to keep it engaged. If the caster has something to offer the spirit, she might be able to keep it around. She might even be able to deal with the problem that is causing it to hang around the world of the living. If the caster doesn't have anything that the spirit wants or if the spirit is merely an accumulation of energy and not an actual ghost, it generally sticks around for only five or ten minutes. Also, if someone at the site of the haunting does something that directly threatens the spirit, it notices the attempt and instantly pops back to the place it haunts, unless the caster offers it something very desirable. The spell can only cause a spirit to appear visibly and to become audible, it cannot force a spirit to take solid form - this is not a means to physically attack an otherwise immaterial spirit.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Multiple casters (-2), recitation (couple minutes) (+1), severe scope (up to ten spirits) (+2), instant duration (+0), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 6

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must touch two people (one of which may be herself) and incant for five minutes.

EFFECT: The caster can temporarily steal someone's strength and either take it for herself, or give it to someone else. Successfully casting this spell reduces the target's Strength and increases the recipient's Strength by one point per Success Level. The duration of this transfer is one hour per Success Level; Strength levels are restored in full once the spell dissipates. The spell can only be used to transfer Strength from a stronger person. It can't take strength from an average person and give it to the Hunter. Also, it can't reduce a target below a Strength 1.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (five minutes) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), severe scope (two beings) (+2), long duration (+1), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: Powdered phoenix egg, a shed snakeskin, and two Witch casters.

EFFECT: This spell is used to summon a draconian katra from the distant demon dimension in which they are found. Katra appear as glowing gemstones of various colors. All of these stones are small, flat, and fit easily within a human (or demonic) hand. A draconian katra is a one-shot mystical item that can switch the caster's mind with that of someone else. The caster need only arrange to hold the katra and touch it to the target's hand and whisper a short incantation. In an instant, the caster's finds herself inhabiting the target's body and vice versa. Both parties retain all of their skills and mental Attributes, as well as any mental or magical traits like Emotional Problems or Psychic Visions. Their physical Attributes and traits like Jock, Werewolf, Hunter, or even Vampire remain with their bodies. The transformation may only be reversed by summoning another katra. The caster can only use this spell to switch targets who have some connection to humanity - hell gods, demons, or other completely inhuman creatures are immune.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Dual casters (-1), casters must have Sorcery (-1), ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one item) (+1), creates magical item (+1), permanent duration (+3), rare ingredients (-2), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: Draw the hellhound-summoning symbol in blood and have at least one fairly fresh brain ready for it. Omitting this last detail causes the hellhound to attempt to eat the summoner's brain. This ritual can only be performed at night.

EFFECT: This ritual summons a single hellhound, but it may be repeated as needed. Once summoned, the hellhound spends five or ten minutes devouring the brain and ignoring everything else. During that time, the summoner can either cast some control spell on the creature or he can simply place the brain in a large cage and close the door before the hellhound finishes. Hellhounds are easy to train as long as they are well fed.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (several minutes) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: A sharp blade, a statue of Janus (male on one side and female on the other), and any number of masks and costumes dedicated to Janus are needed (dedicating a mask or costume requires a simple ritual that takes less than five minutes). The day before Halloween, the caster must make a small cut in the palm of her hand and ask Janus' blessing. On Halloween (and Halloween only), she must chant an invocation to Janus.

EFFECT: This spell makes masks real. Anyone wearing a dedicated mask or costume transforms both mentally and physically into the person or creature represented by the costume. The person can be transformed into a ghost, demon, soldier, or even animal - toy guns become real and glowing plastic magic swords become infused with supernatural power. Because people become the characters their costumes represent, they forget who they are until the spell ends. The spell ends at sunrise, when the statue of Janus is destroyed, or when the caster asks Janus to depart.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Very lengthy ritual (couple minutes over course of two days) (-2), awesome scope (entire town) (+5), very long duration (+2), restricted use ingredients (-4), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 2

REQUIREMENTS: The target must be tattooed with the Mark of Eyghon and must be asleep, unconscious, or in a drugged stupor. The caster performs a complex invocation while assisted by at least two other magicians. Eyghon arrives by possessing the target.

EFFECT: Eyghon's possession causes a euphoric feeling in the target. This possession normally lasts for only Success Level hours. If the spellcasting roll result is over nine but fails to gain the proper Success Levels, the possession is permanent. In that case, the only way to depossess the target in that case is to entice Eyghon into another dead or sleeping target, or to slowly kill the target and hope that Eyghon departs before she is dead.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Multiple casters (-2), ritual (half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 5

REQUIREMENTS: A short incantation and a gesture to indicate where the serpents should appear. Those without Sorcery must also perform a ten-minute ritual.

EFFECT: The caster summons a number of highly poisonous snakes to the indicated location. These serpents are typically enraged by the summoning spell and attack anyone who is nearby, except the caster. The caster's friends and foes within reach are all fair game. The number of snakes and the Strength of their debilitating venom (see p. 63) equal the Success Levels. If bitten, the victim must roll against poison every minute for ten minutes. This spell is only a temporary summoning and with another gesture and a short incantation, the caster can end the spell and instantly return the serpents to their home dimension. Although the serpents depart, any damage they cause remains, allowing them to be used as a highly discreet and untraceable form of attack. If the caster does not bid the serpents to depart, they vanish in one hour.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (ten minutes) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (several snakes) (+1), long duration (+1), severe effect (+2).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 8

REQUIREMENTS: Witches need only say “Revealed.” Other magicians must sit and meditate for nearly twenty minutes.

EFFECT: This powerful spell can summon any small item the caster can imagine (except enchanted or superscience objects). The item summoned must be something that can easily be held in one hand, like a piece of paper, a baseball, or a banana. The summoned item must also already exist - it is not created by the spell.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (twenty minutes) (+0), noticeable scope (one item) (+1), awesome scope (the globe) (+6), instant duration (+0), noticeable effect (+1).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 7

REQUIREMENTS: A powder made from silver, mandrake root, and vervaine must be thrown over the target by two magicians simultaneously. Unless the caster is a Witch or Warlock, this spell also requires a five-minute ritual involving extensive chanting.

EFFECT: The target is instantly teleported up to 100 miles away from the caster. If the caster scores one Success Level more than is necessary to cast the spell, she can determine roughly where the target ends up. However, such statements must be fairly vague, like 100 miles straight up, 100 miles south, somewhere in downtown San Diego (assuming downtown SD is approximately 100 miles away). If the caster rolls two or more Success Levels above what is necessary and has a map handy, she can determine more precisely where the target arrives. The spell isn't exact, but if cast in this fashion, she can send someone to the top floor of a skyscraper 20 miles away, or onto the deck of an oil tanker 90 miles offshore. If desired, the caster can teleport either herself or the magician she is working with instead of another target. While the target can be made to appear in midair, she will not appear inside a solid object, underwater, or in any other position that results in instant death. On the other hand, while appearing several miles above the ground might not kill the target, the long fall likely will.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Dual casters (-1), ritual (five minutes) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), awesome scope (100 miles) (+5), unusual ingredients (-1), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: Four crystals and some string to define a square representing the area to be searched, two casters, some sand blown into the square.

EFFECT: The sand will turn different colors, indicating different species of demons in the area. The spell can locate all demons in an area as large as a small town or several city blocks. Unfortunately, the spell has a very short duration, so the caster knows where the demons are at the moment the spell is cast, not where they will be later on.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: Three magicians must sit in a triangle of red chalk. The primary caster burns a piece of paper bearing the goal of the spell inscribed in Latin, then recites opus orbit est, et ea in medio, tempus ad calcem intendit (the work is a circle, and she is in the middle, the time stretches out).

EFFECT: This spell places one target within sight in a time loop, repeating a short segment of time over and over again until some predetermined condition is met. This condition must be possible for the target to fulfill - selling someone a shirt or throwing a ball through a hoop are both reasonable conditions; successfully putting together a puzzle with half the pieces missing is not. Whenever the target fails to complete the task or even when she gives up, the time loop resets and she is once again back at the beginning. The casters and the target remember the events that occurred before this reset, but no one else does.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Multiple casters (-2), recitation (few minutes) (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), long duration (+1), major effect (+3).

TIRER LA COUTURE (PULL THE CURTAIN BACK)*

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 3

REQUIREMENTS: The caster must draw a circle in blessed sand around herself and light some incense.

EFFECT: This spell allows the caster to see all magic around her. Even the most powerful illusions appear false and transparent, and the reality underneath them is apparent. Curses and boons on people or places appear as swirls of malevolent or benevolent light and take on an appearance similar to their effect. A spell that is being used to spy on a location might appear as a large floating eye, while a curse would be seen as a horridly twisted parasite feeding on its victim. This spell continues as long as the caster maintains her concentration, providing she succeeds at a Willpower (not doubled) roll once per minute. This spell demands serious concentration and the caster can't enter combat, engage in intense conversation, safely drive a car, or perform any other focused activity.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (a couple minutes) (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), noticeable effect (+1).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 7

REQUIREMENTS: The caster decides on the particular transformation she wishes to occur and conducts a ten minute ritual.

EFFECT: This is a generic illusion spell. It can be used to do anything from changing clothes to reforming someone as a large animate strawberry. At the caster's whim, those in the area may notice the odd events or simply believe that it's perfectly natural for a guy to be dancing in a cage while wearing a loincloth. The effects are really nothing more than powerful illusions that fade in Success Level hours. Also, the changes do not affect either the target's Attributes or abilities. To end this spell, the caster need only successfully perform a Power Level 1 spell and say “Return.” Anyone else attempting to reverse this spell needs to roll a number of Success Levels above those achieved by the caster. The caster can decide if those affected remember any of the changes. Anyone who remembers suddenly being, or even seeing, a large animate strawberry will almost certainly assume that someone slipped her a powerful hallucinogen.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (ten minutes) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), severe scope (area of a large building) (+2), long duration (+1), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: A raised hand and a short invocation to Tyr for Witches. Add a five-minute ritual for others.

EFFECT: The caster holds up her hand in front of her to ward off damage. Bullets and magical effects automatically miss the caster and anyone standing behind her. Fists, swords, and other implements of destruction bounce off empty air. The spell only keeps working as long as the caster keeps her arm up. Worse, the spell only protects the front of the caster. If she is trapped between a vampire and a mucus demon, either fangs or slime are getting through.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (five minutes) (+0), can be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), difficult use (arm forward; only front protection) (-1), major effect (+3).

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 7

REQUIREMENTS: The remains of a vampire with the Revivability Quality, a bit of ritual, and the blood sacrifice of those near her when she died.

EFFECT: The relatively intact remains of a slain vampire are laid out and soaked in the blood of those who were near the vampire when she died. This can be done by hanging the victims upside down over the bones and slitting their throats (yuk!). When the ritual is finished, the blood of those witnesses to the vampire's death allows her to form a new body and rise up again.

Power Level: 3

Requirements: The caster “simply” removes a vampire 's heart while filling its body with mystical potions through an IV.

Effect: Successful completion results in the vampire's existence being sustained without a heart. He becomes completely invulnerable, immune to stakes, sunlight, holy water and crosses-even decapitation. The spell ends after six hours, however, and the vampire promptly turns to dust. This appears beneficial only for vampires with a last ditch suicide mission to perform.

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 1

REQUIREMENTS: A relatively intact murder victim that has been dead no more than one month. The corpse must be placed inside a large pentacle with a black candle at each point. This spell can only be cast during the three days of the new moon.

EFFECT: This spell allows the caster to speak to the spirit of a recently deceased person. The corpse's spirit cannot volunteer information and need not provide accurate answers. However, most spirits are quite eager to aid someone in avenging their murder - asking questions about the spirit's death generally provides a wealth of information. Of course, this doesn't help much if the spirit did not see its attacker. Also, a magician who does nothing to help quiet the ghost may find themselves haunted (represented by levels of Bad Luck or other not-so-pleasant stuff). The spell lasts one minute per Success Level.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (several minutes) (+0), noticeable scope (one being) (+1), medium duration (+0), somewhat restricted use (once a month) (-2), severe effect (+2).

WEAKEN

QUICK CAST: Yes

POWER LEVEL: 4

REQUIREMENTS: Witches need only shout “Fragile.” Other magicians must meditate for a few minutes.

EFFECT: A ball of light shoots from the caster's hand and strikes a nearby object no larger than a baseball bat or a rifle. The object is severely weakened - next time it is used it harmlessly falls to pieces. This spell is typically used to destroy weapons and works exceedingly well on guns, clubs, and swords. It does not work on enchanted or superscience items.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Recitation (a few minutes) (+1), may be Quick Cast (+1), noticeable scope (one object) (+1), noticeable effect (+1).

WITCHFINDING

QUICK CAST: No

POWER LEVEL: 1

REQUIREMENTS: Some of the witch's hair, a little quicksilver, aqua fortis (nitric acid), some eye of newt. Heat the ingredients together and apply to witch's skin.

EFFECT: The spell produces a liquid. If spilled on a Witch who has cast a spell in the previous 48 hours, the liquid turns her skin blue - it looks like a bright turquoise pen exploded on the Witch. This spell only affects Witches and Warlocks. Once made, anyone can apply the liquid to the suspected Witch. However, the liquid only remains good for seven hours after it is made.

ASPECT ANALYSIS: Ritual (less than half an hour) (+0), noticeable scope (one target) (+1), only affects those with Sorcery (-1), creates magical item (+1), long duration (+1), unusual ingredients (-1), minor effect (+0).

Borrowed from All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Metaphysics are the special Powers that the Inspired and certain supernatural beings can wield. The only Metaphysics available to Cast Members at this point is the power of Inspiration.

Inspiration

This is the power of pure unbridled faith – the belief in a Greater Power and the will to perform great works in the name of that Power. Its wielders claim to serve the Creator directly. Detractors claim the powers are within the faithful themselves, and have no external source. Whatever the truth is, the Inspired can perform incredible feats, called Miracles. These Miracles are special abilities gained through mystical revelation.

The Inspired have access to an assortment of abilities allegedly derived from the connection of the character to the Creating Agency. Some occultists claim that these powers come from inside the Inspired, and are nothing more than the channeling of their own Essence to fuel their religious fanaticism. No matter who is right, without their Faith, the Inspired would not be able to perform their incredible feats. To use a Miracle, the character must firmly believe that he is fighting the forces of evil in the name of his God. Otherwise, he will be left with nothing but his own meager strength.

Acquiring Miracles

Miracles are learned through mystical revelation by the Inspired. To acquire Miracles, the character must first buy the Inspiration Quality. Miracles cost 5 character points each during character creation, and 10 points apiece afterward. Additionally, the Inspired often have a large Essence Pool as a result of their connection to the Creator.

Using Miracles

The Inspired use Miracles by channeling Essence into the effects they desire. The Inspired can use up his entire Essence Pool in one Miracle if it seems necessary. Essence is regained at the rate of 1 point per Willpower level every 5 minutes.

Miracles cannot be used at the whim of their wielder. Only extreme situations, where lives are at stake or supernatural powers have manifested openly, warrant the use of Miracles. An Inspired who tries to call upon the Strength of Ten to win a bar fight will fail; even worse, the blasphemy of trying to use God’s powers to do profane work may cost the Inspired his powers, perhaps permanently! In most cases, the Inspired must try to solve their problems through mundane means. Only when confronting beings who are clearly agents of an unnatural powers will using one’s abilities be justified. Even trying to fight mundane evil may not warrant using Miracles.

Within these parameters, the use of Miracles is relatively easy. If enough Essence is available to power the Miracle, it automatically manifests itself. Some Miracles need additional Tests or Tasks to fulfill the intended goal, but there are no Miracle-related skills.

The Denial

In addition to their repertoire of Miracles, all the Inspired can use their Essence to neutralize any supernatural power that uses Essence. The Denial (as this power is called) consists of projecting Essence against the supernatural being using the special power. If the Inspired used up more Essence than the target did, the power fails.

When Miracles Clash

What happens when the Inspired of two different religions run up against each other? In the past, such individuals might face off, each confident of being the servant of the one True God. Even then, however, more often than not, Miracles of either side would not work against another Inspired, regardless of their religious persuasion. In recent times, this is almost always the case.

It may appear (and many Inspired believe this) that the members of every monotheistic religion are worshipping the same Deity, and that their differences are meaningless in His/Her/Its Eyes. Inspired who have publicly said such things, however, have often found themselves excommunicated or shunned as a result.

Tests of Faith

Inspired Miracles can be lost at any moment. Should the character lose his Faith, his powers become nothing but memories. Falling from Grace is a terrible tragedy for the Inspired, and in the strange and vicious worlds of All Flesh Must Be Eaten, it is easy to do so. Pride (which “Goeth before the Fall”), temptation, greed, lust and cynicism are among the many pitfalls that await the Inspired in their war against the forces of darkness. Some beings – not all zombies are mindless – take a perverse delight in tricking the Inspired into making that fatal mistake which costs them their state of Grace.

Sometimes the moral dilemmas are truly harrowing. Should the Inspired save an innocent or take the opportunity to destroy a being that, left to its own devices, will surely kill again? Should the character break his word if given to a supernatural monster, even if the monster seeks to twist the meaning of the promise? Is accepting a reward for one’s actions a sign of greed, or is turning it down one of pride? The Inspired have to come up with the right answer or risk losing it all. Zombie Masters should throw these and similar quandaries in the path of Inspired characters, although they should take care not to purposefully trip up the characters. The temptation of the Inspired can make for powerful Story devices, but try not to be too cruel implementing them. Touching up on a few books on philosophy and morality might not be a bad idea so as to prepare interesting and devious tricks.

Miracles

These are some of the most common Miracles among the Inspired. Additional Miracles will be published in subsequent All Flesh Must Be Eaten books, and may be devised by creative Zombie Masters and players.

Blessing

Essence can be used to alter probability or imbue certain items with special abilities. When providing Luck, each 3 Essence spent grants the Cast Member a +1 bonus to any one Test or Task. The bonuses remain until used and may be used all on the same Test/Task or spread among separate ones. Note that the bonuses are only effective if used for a Test/Task that advances the Lord’s causes, or helps preserve the Inspired’s existence. Essence spent in this manner may not be regained until the Blessing benefits end. For example, an Inspired who gives himself a +5 Luck bonus has his own Essence Pool depleted by 15 points until the bonuses are used up.

When used to empower objects, 10 Essence is spent to change the very character of the item. Particularly large items may require more Essence to bless (in the Zombie Master’s discretion). The actual effects of a blessed object vary by world, but some zombies are particularly susceptible to blessed items (see Chapter Five: Anatomy of A Zombie, p. 149).

The Binding

This is the power to restrain zombies and other supernatural beings, at least temporarily, by using Essence. The Inspired orders the creature to halt in the name of his God. This power is used to prevent monsters from attacking or fleeing while the Inspired metes out justice. The Binding only works against supernatural creatures, not other Inspired. This Miracle costs 2 Essence Points per Strength and Willpower level of the supernatural creature (or Essence equal to one half the Power Level if available). The Inspired may not know how much Essence is necessary. If he does not have enough, his Essence Pool is drained and the Miracle does not take place. In addition to the Essence cost, the Inspired must win a Resisted Test involving Simple Willpower rolls from both the Inspired and the creature. If the being is not truly evil (as determined by the Inspired’s religion or the Zombie Master), it gains a bonus of +2 to +5 in the Resisted Test. If the Inspired wins, the creature is bound in place for 1 Turn per Success Level on the Willpower Test; during that time, the creature may not attack or defend itself, and is rooted in place.

Divine Sight

This Miracle allows the Inspired to find the Truth in everything he sees. Although this ability is very useful in uncovering the presence of the supernatural, the Divine Sight sometimes shines a light on some unwanted truths as well. While the Miracle is activated, the Inspired can not only see invisible spiritual entities and the strange auras of supernatural beings, but it also shows the true nature of human beings. In a world of hypocrisy and lies, this ability often shows taint among pillars of the community, respected leaders of Church and State, and other seemingly benign and honest people. Inspired with the ability to invoke the Divine Sight sometimes remove themselves from their original Church, unable to deal with the complacency and greed that can mar such institutions. Many start to develop a cynicism that clashes badly with the Faith necessary to carry on the good fight.

Activating this Miracle costs 5 Essence Points, and it lasts 10 minutes. Unless the creature or person is protected from scrying or mental probing (and such protection will be perceived by the Divine Sight), his nature, personality and goals will be clearly seen by the Inspired.

The Touch of Healing

This is the ability to cure wounds, disease and disabilities. In the past, most Inspired people were healers; now far too many are warriors. The Miracle costs 1 Essence Point to heal D4(2) points of damage. Mild diseases cost 2 points, Moderate ones 5 points, Serious diseases cost 15 points, and the cost is 25 points for a Terminal disease (see Disease, p. 108). The Touch of Healing may only be used under extraordinary circumstances, and is generally used only on the faithful. The Inspired may elect to make exceptions for non-believers who are nonetheless fighting the good fight (interestingly enough, some among the Inspired are actually a lot more tolerant than the mundane leaders of many Churches).

Holy Fire

This powerful Miracle calls down divine retribution upon the forces of evil. This retribution comes in the form of a blast of blinding white flames, or a bolt of lightning striking from above. This attack can only be attempted on supernatural beings. Sometimes, if the being in question is not truly evil or is somehow part of the mysterious ways of the Deity, the blast will not inflict full damage, or will inflict no damage at all. Such an event clearly demonstrates that the Inspired is not meant to destroy the creature – for the time being, at least. This power costs 20 Essence Points and inflicts D8(4) points of regular damage times twice the Willpower of the Inspired. For example, an Inspired with a Willpower of 4 inflicts D8 x 8(32) points of damage. Any being within line of sight can be targeted. No attack roll is necessary; the power zeroes in on the selected target. Mundane body armor will not protect against this attack, but supernatural protective powers may.

Strength of Ten

This is the ability that allows the Inspired, when confronted with evil, to summon the strength of the righteous, temporarily transforming him into a nearly unstoppable warrior of vengeance. The Inspired becomes inured to pain and fatigue, gains inhuman levels of strength, and can fight until killed. This display of power is only possible under the most extreme situations, however. To try to invoke it when there are any other options is considered sinful. Only when facing overwhelming odds should the Strength of Ten be summoned.

This Miracle costs 15 Essence Points. The Inspired gains +5 to Strength (which also raises his Life Points by 20 points), and is immune to shock and pain until the battle is over. This means the character can keep fighting even when reduced to 0 Life Points or below (he still needs to pass Survival Tests after reaching -10 Life Points to stay alive, however). Once invoked, the power lasts until the threat is gone or until the Inspired succeeds in martyring himself.

Visions

Through this Miracle, the Inspired opens himself to the Deity for guidance and advice. The Inspired is often visited by flashes of insight about places and people; these insights may come in the form of dreams or sudden visions that may strike at any time or without warning. Sometimes, the Inspired will pray for guidance and be rewarded with a Sign of some kind. Most of the time, the visions are ambiguous and need interpretation. For example, the Inspired might see the face of a man, a famous politician. Is the man a tool of evil, or is he being threatened by the forces of evil? The Inspired would have to find out somehow.

This ability costs 5 Essence Points when the Inspired actively seeks guidance. The Inspired’s prayers may not be answered, depending on what the Zombie Master feels is appropriate to the moment, although such attempts should usually be successful – provided the Inspired is appropriately humble in his petitions. When the Zombie Master sees fit to visit a spontaneous Vision upon a character, there should be no Essence Point cost. The actual details of the visions will vary widely. Some may be a single image, while others may give more clues as to places, people, and circumstances. The nature of visions should always be determined by the needs of the Story.

Prayers

In some of the worlds of All Flesh Must Be Eaten, a simple prayer has more power than most scoffers could imagine. As a focus of the faith and willpower of a person, Prayers can be used to help convert Essence into Miracles, and even to gather Essence. Norms and Survivors with enough piety and strength of will (one will not work without the other) can also make use of Prayers to focus some of their Essence into actual defenses or even attacks against supernatural horrors. Prayers only have an effect if the character’s life shows enough devotion and respect to his religion. Most people only pay lip service to their beliefs; that will not do at all. In the course of a game, however, a character might “discover religion” as part of the often traumatic events that make up most Stories. A character undergoing such a revelation might be able to make use of Prayers.

Inspired and Prayers

The Inspired may find additional strength through Prayers. If the character spends at least an hour in deep prayer and meditation, he may find himself replenishing Essence at double the normal rate. The use of prayers in the course of a Miracle is considered to be part and parcel of such a Miracle. A Christian Inspired would be expected to quote from the Bible, just as a Muslim one might recite a line from the Qur’am. This conveys no special bonuses or penalties, beyond the increased Essence recovery.

Norms, survivors and Prayers

Norms and Survivors are the main beneficiaries of the power of Prayer. The ancient chants of religious scriptures hold a great deal of power for those who truly Believe. A faithful character who prays may gain unexpected strength in his time of need. In game terms, treat this as a Task using Willpower and Humanities (Theology) or Rituals. Modifiers for the character’s piety range from -10 (for a foxhole convert who is just trying to save his skin) to +10 (for a truly saintly individual, very rare in today’s world). Each level of success in the Task releases a point of Essence from the character’s Essence Pool. Each Essence Point released confers a +1 bonus to any Test or Task that contributes to the survival or advancement of the faithful. Alternatively, each Essence Point grants a +2 bonus on any Resisted Task or Test against a supernatural or mystical ability of any kind.

Holy Symbols

From the legends of antiquity to Hollywood movies, the power of holy symbols is part and parcel of many stories about the supernatural. The myth goes that anybody with a cross has nothing to fear from a vampire, or that by wielding the right holy symbol a righteous man can banish demons and scare off spirits. There is a grain of truth in such tales, but only a grain. The power lies not in the symbol, but within its wielder. A character using a holy symbol (be it a Cross, an Ankh or any similar object) to protect himself must pass a Simple Willpower Test, with the same modifiers used in Prayer Tasks (see above). Each Success Level allows the character to focus 1 Essence Point through the holy symbol. Supernatural beings confronting the charged holy symbol must make a Difficult Willpower Test, at -1 per Essence Point focused through the symbol, or feel pain and fear when faced with it. The creatures will hesitate to come near the wielder, let alone attack him; even if the monster does not flee the symbol, all its actions will be at a -4 penalty.