Overview

Spellcasting & Anima

Every spell has three main features you need to know (aside from their effect, of course): their anima cost, the casting method and the time to cast. Each of these is listed with the spell in the Grimoire. If you are unable to achieve the casting method, then the spell cannot be cast—for example, if the method is “a snap of the fingers” and you are unable to snap, the spell can’t be cast.

Spells have a strictly defined mechanic effect paired with flavorful explanation how the effect manifests. The mechanics of a spell shouldn’t be changed aside from DM-dependent instances (for example, making a +1 modifier from a spell into a +2). However, spells may always be used for flavorful purposes within reason—if a spell to specifically create ice cubes doesn’t exist, a low-level spell that imparts a combat-based freezing effect could be cast to achieve the desired effect.

Once you become a mage, you may also flavor your RP with things such as special casting “tells,” aesthetic changes, and similarly minor, non-mechanical flares. An example could be theming your mage around fire, such that their eyes flare fiery orange anytime they cast, or emoting small growths of flowers and leaves on your Ichor mage that increase with their progression. If there is ever any doubt about what is acceptable and unacceptable flavor, do not hesitate to create a Lore ticket or ask a Lore member!

Every spellcaster has an anima pool, which is the amount of magical energy they may spend each day. In order to cast a spell safely, you must have at least as much anima as the spell costs to cast still remaining in your pool. If you do not have enough anima remaining to cast a spell you know, you can attempt to cast it anyway by Overcasting, which comes with serious consequences (see below).

Examples of a cast and miscast:

Casting & Miscasting

Casting is the act of using one’s anima to invoke a magical effect. The duration of a cast is the amount of time or actions the spell requires—for example, 10 minutes or 4 actions. Until that time or amount of actions has elapsed, the mage is considered to be actively casting. For spells that react to another spellcast, the initial spell is not considered “cast” until all required actions have been used. For many spells, an effect will linger or persist even after the casting actions have concluded—this does not count as actively casting.

When casting any spell except cantrips (which succeed automatically), the spellcaster rolls a 2d10 with their HAR: Arcana modifier. Unlike all other rolls, which have a difficulty check (DC) of 12, spell-casting only has a DC of 10. This means if you roll at or above a 10, you successfully cast the spell: if you roll below, then you miscast. A critical success — a roll of (10, 10) — means the cast succeeds without consuming any anima.

On a miscast, the spell does not take effect and half the anima is consumed. Some spells may even include Miscast Effects, special side-effects that occur only upon a miscast. When a mage is casting with their Primary branch, a miscast will not consume any anima, however any miscast effects will still apply.

Some spells have additional miscast penalties — these are listed with the spell description in the Grimoire.

Please note: the roll for casting is done on the first action of a spell, even if it takes more than one action to cast. This means if you miscast on your first action, the spell is cancelled and you can try to cast again if you have enough anima remaining.

Overcasting

If you know a spell that you could otherwise cast (i.e. the spell costs less than your maximum anima pool) but you don't have enough anima to currently cast it, you can attempt to cast anyway by overcasting. Be warned: attempting to overcast comes with a consequence.

If you successfully cast: you roll a 1d6 (unless you roll a critical 20 on your cast). You suffer a consequence listed below.

If you miscast: your character is knocked unconscious and your anima pool falls to 0.

Please note: you can only overcast once per day, whether you succeed or fail.

Cooperative Casting

When attempting spells that take 4 or more actions to cast, mages may Cooperative Cast. This allows multiple mages to contribute to the effort, allowing the spell to be cast quicker, but at a higher cost. To cooperative cast, all mages involved must know the spell and must cast it. Each mage spends the required anima for the spell, but reduces the actions required (two mages cast a spell in half the time, three mages in a third of the time, etc.).

For example, the spell Portal normally takes 10 actions (5 rounds). With two mages casting devoting themselves to the spell, it would only take 5 actions (2.5 rounds) in total, though both mages will use up these actions casting.

Patrons & Progression

Every mage in the world of Avalore derives their power from a patron. Patrons vary wildly in form and power, and include both ancient sorcerers who know of forgotten magic, fey creatures who take delight in fussing about in mortal affairs, and other creatures of a strange nature that defy explanation. Their retinues extend their reach, acting as proxy to initiate and progress other mages.

A list of current patrons that frequent the Southern Reach can be found here.

Starting Off & Progression

For an aspiring mage to begin their journey, they must seek out a member of a patron's retinue and form a pact. The exact process varies on the patron, but it usually involves agreeing to do certain tasks or fulfill general missions of the patron in exchange for power: once forged, the mage becomes partially linked to their patron, able to draw on their power to learn new spells and, assuming they stay in their good graces, grow their anima pool.

The life of a mage is not without sacrifice. Devoting oneself to the fickle and unstable energies of the arcane requires focus that could have gone elsewhere, and so as a mage grows their anima pool, they lose Feat slots (both for normal feats and Fable feats) that they could have otherwise used. Continuing to grow your power involves further sacrifice, and stronger mages must take Arcane Hindrances as they progress along with consuming some amount of XP for each level they advance.

The exact method of progressing to a more dedicated mage varies per patron and is listed on the patron's page. Generally the process involves a certain amount of time at a mage's current level, and fulfilling requests of their patron. It's important to remember that mages don't have to progress to the highest levels: staying with a relatively small anima pool and training in other areas as well is entirely feasible.

To apply for magic, players may submit an application here.

For a list of all available Arcane Hindrances, view the Feats Index. For the levels of mage & anima progression, see below:

Non-mage 0 spells	Mage I (8 Anima) 6 spells | -14 XP	Mage II (14 Anima) 10 spells | -20 XP	Mage III (20 Anima) 14 spells | -26 XP	Mage IV (30 Anima) 20 spells | -30 XP

The Magic Wheel

of the Six Disciplines of Magic

Learning Spells

At each level of a mage's progression, they have a certain amount of spells they can harness the power of, derived from their pact with a patron. Once learned, a spell must remain known for 1 week before it can be swapped out for another, if the mage wishes. Additionally, every mage inherently knows their Primary discipline's Capstone spell, a unique, discipline-defining effect that represents the upper echelon of Arcane power.

Mages also have three cantrips, which cannot be changed once a pact is made. The first of these is chosen from the general list in the Grimoire; the second is chosen from their patron's unique cantrip list; and the third is the inherent cantrip for their primary branch, found in the Grimoire.

When first forming a pact with a patron, a mage must choose a primary discipline from the six disciplines of magic:

• Ichor
  The magic of life's essence, including the ability to shape flesh, heal wounds, perform necromancy & hemomancy and affect the health of both flora and fauna.
• Cursesmithy
  The magic of hexes, curses, befuddling minds and cloaking information. Contrary to the name, not all of these magics are used for harms — useful enchantments and magical blessings can also be found here.
• Ether
  The magic of the void, of the space between stars. Includes meta-magic (e.g. detecting magic) and magic that warps reality itself. The most unstable magic, and the most prone to consequences.
• Artifice
  The magic of imparting enchantments and constructing familiars, golems, and other magical creation. Imbuing a sort of 'life' into inanimate objects falls here.
• Force
  The magic of forces and movement. Involves mostly gesture-based magic, this is the stuff of magical duelists or acrobats.
• Tellurgy
  The magic of stone, fire, ice, and magnetism, and more: supreme command over the elements of the world. Includes transmutation and heat-based magics.

The six disciplines are organized into the magic wheel, viewed on the right. Each discipline has an opposite, connected by a line.

All spells in a mage's primary discipline are cast with an additional +1 modifier, but a mage cannot learn spells from the opposite discipline on the magic wheel. For instance, a mage whose primary discipline is Tellurgy cannot learn any Ether spells. Outside of this restriction, a mage can learn any spell from the other five disciplines, so long as they meet the requirements of the spell, if any.