Thanks ! OK, let's go !
Skills
So, you have several magic skills. Which one ? It depends on your setting, the origin of magic, and so on. For example :
* Arcane magic : air, animal, body, water, enchantment, electricity, fire, force, ice, light, mind, metamagic, morphing, death, time, earth, flora. [you can even reduce these skills, for example with a "elements" skill instead of air, electricity, fire... and a nature one instead of animal and flora]
* Miracles : the magic comes from the gods. Here are the skills, only for the Spheres of influence of the god. Destruction, Summon, Creation, Protection, Perception, Binding, Translation, Transmutation, Speak
* Psychic powers : Clairvoyance, Telepathy, Telekinesis, Body, Metapsychism.
You spend your skill points between the skills you've chosen. Now, how to use it ? With this table :
Difficulty table
Cast. : casting time (I use a different initiative system)
Range : time and space
Duration : obvious
Zone : area of effect, roughly speaking
Charac : if the spell must overcome one of its target characteristic (or you can use a characteristic roll to simulate target resistance)
Bon : bonus, if the spell purpose is to enhance a characteristic, x5 for a skill bonus
Diff : the difficulty of each parameter.
Magic point cost ? 1/10 the final difficulty.
[NB : you can change the value of the first line to 0, instead of +1
Examples
1) I want to turn this ugly goblin, there, into ashes. I will burn him with my famous fireball :
- Casting time 1 round (I'm not in a hurry) :+20
- Range : 10 meters : +15
- Duration Instantaneous, +1
- Target 1, +5
- Damages 2d8+1 (enough for a goblin) +20.
20+15+1+5+20 : 61. I roll my Fire skill with -61%, I spend 6 mp.
2) As a priest of Asclepios, I must heal my faithful friend, who is badly injured after a terrible battle :
Casting time : 1 tr, +15
Range : 0 (I touch him) +1
Duration : instantaneous +1
Heal : 3d6+1, +25
I roll my Creation (Heal) skill with -42%, and I spend 4 mp.
3) The governor of Olympia III require my help to discover the assassin of General Kur'tho, killed 5 days ago in his own spaceship. I will use my well known psychic powers, especially Clairvoyance (combining all perception and divination powers). I enter his cabin, and :
Casting time : 1 hour (I'm always cautious) +1
Range : 0, +1
Range : 5 days, +20
Duration : 1 hr, +25
I roll my Clairvoyance skill with -47%, I spend 5 mp, and if I don't fail, I will see what happened in this room, 5 days ago, during one hour.
Options
How to reduce difficulty ?
Several ways :
- spending more mp : for each mp added to the cost of the spell, reduce the difficulty by 5%.
- using material components : depending the value of the component
- creating a ritual : casting time becomes irrelevant. You cast your spell using a complex a very long ritual, the more longer, the more the difficulty is reduced.
- benefit of a "normal" skill : for instance, I want to cast an animal language spell, using my "animal" magical skill. But i have also a "handling animal" skill, 80%. I have a bonus of 1/4, so +20%.
Opposing 2 spells
Simply compares the roll quality, or the margin of success.
Other options
Well, much to long to translate, maybe later if you want : creating magic objects, summoning creatures, building creatures (golem, undead...), memorizing spells, writing scrolls...
Hoping my English is understandable...
I'm waiting for your opinions.
Ayelin