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. Every spellcaster has an anima pool, which is the amount of magical energy they have to 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).
Use /magic to see your current anima pool.
Examples of a cast and miscast:
Casting & Miscasting
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, where you lose half the anima cost of the spell and it does not take effect.
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.
Use /cast [spell] to cast a spell and automatically roll for it. The command for each spell is listed in the Grimoire.
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.
If you don't have enough anima, using /cast [spell] will warn you before you overcast. It will automatically roll the 1d6 after the overcast.
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• On a 1 (severe):
Your character is left with a permenant scar on their hands or arms that looks like a branching lightning bolt.
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• On a 2 (severe):
Your character is blown to the ground, struggles to stand and has a headache and nausea for the next day.
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• On a 3 (moderate):
Your character is stuck by temporary blindness lasting the next hour. If your character is already blind, they become deafened as well.
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• On a 4 (moderate):
Your character is struck by weakness, feeling lethargic and tired for the next several hours.
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• On a 5 (mild):
Your character is struck by a ringing in their ears that makes it difficult to hear for the next hour.
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• On a 6 (mild):
Your character's hands become charred and numb as if burned, before healing after an hour.
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Patrons & Progression
Every mage in the world of Avalore derives their power from a patron. These 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. 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 patron 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 mythical feats) that they could have otherwise used. Continuing to grow your power involves further sacrifice, and stronger mages must take Hindrances as they progress, and consume 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.
For a list of all available Hindrances, view the Feats Index. For the levels of mage & anima progression, see below:
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Non-mage 0 spells  |
Mage I (8 Anima) 4 spells | -14 XP  |
Mage II (12 Anima) 8 spells | -20 XP  |
Mage III (20 Anima) 12 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 mage 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 2 weeks before it can be swapped out for another, if the mage wishes.
Mages also have two cantrips, which cannot be changed once a pact is made. The first of these two cantrips is chosen from the general list in the Grimoire, and the other is chosen from their patron's unique cantrip list.
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 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 prone to consequences. - Artifice
The magic of constructing familiars, golems, magical creatures. 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, earth, energy and magnetism: the weight 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 a +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.
Using /grimoire will let you learn and swap spells.