Casting Spells
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When a player casts a spell, they describe the effects they would like it to have. Nothing is impossible. As a spell is described, the GM will produce a DC for it, and decide which discipline(s) it falls under. Some effects may be achieved by a number of different disciplines - Flight, for example, can be achieved in numerous ways.
Contents
Casting
When the DC is exceeded by five points or more, the spell costs no Capacity. If you exceed by fewer than five, the spell costs the difference in Capacity. For example, if the DC for a spell is 25 and you roll a 30, the spell costs nothing, whereas if you roll a 27, it costs three Capacity. If you succeed in casting a spell but do not have sufficient capacity to cast it, the cost is deducted as 4 times the difference in HP (unless otherwise mentioned).
Failure
Spells that fail do nothing. No matter what, the Capacity is spent. For example, a spell with a DC of 25 failed with a roll of 20 costs 10 capacity.
Determining DC, etc
See: Developing Spells
Casting Time
Spells usually cost 4 AP to cast, but there may be exceptions. Mixed spells or particularly powerful spells may cost 6 (or potentially more), though not always.
Mixed Spells
While most effects can be cast using only one discipline of magic, in some cases desired effects may only be achieved by combining two or more disciplines into a single spell.
The one big rule of making mixed spells is that you cannot use them to combine two discrete spells, and thereby reduce casting time. You cannot get away with casting a single spell that gives you flight and lets you shoot a fireball, but you can make a spell where you fly by shooting fire out of your feet.
To cast a Mixed Spell, the GM determines a DC for each discipline involved. This may be the same DC but often will not be. The caster then makes a check for each DC, succeeding or failing and spending Capacity as per the rules listed above.
If all checks are successful, the spell is cast. If all of them fail, the spell fails as above.
If only part of the spell fails, there is a 50% chance that the successful check(s) will carry through, often with unintended results. For example, perhaps one is casting a Flesh/Earth spell to make one's skin into stone. If the Flesh check is failed and the Earth check is successful, the caster's skin may turn to stone without having the flexibility granted by the flesh portion, and so they may be immobilized.
Sustaining Spells
Spells whose effects last longer than a single round must be sustained by setting aside some capacity specifically for the spell. This reduces the total amount of capacity a caster has access to.
The sustain cost for spells costs is generally half of the cost it took to cast the spell (round up). If a caster is trying to sustain a spell that is normally instantaneous (such as spells that cause damage), the sustain cost equals the amount of capacity it took to cast the spell. If a caster is trying to sustain a spell beyond its normal duration (see Developing Spells), the sustain cost increases by 100% of its original value for every additional duration length the spell is sustained.
- For example: Agatha casts a Resist Cold spell, which has a DC of 28. She rolls a 31, and thus the spell costs 2 capacity. Additionally, 1 point of capacity is reserved as a sustain cost for the spell. After the spell's two hour duration, Agatha wants to sustain the spell further, and the sustain cost of the spell goes up to 2 points of capacity.
- If a caster is using his capacity to sustain spells and the capacity cost of a new spell costs more than his free capacity, sustained spells get dropped, starting with the newest sustained spell.
- If a spell's casting cost is 0, then its initial sustain cost is also 0. If the spell is sustained beyond it's normal duration, the sustain cost increases by 1 for every additional duration length the spell is extended.
