Spell Creation

To create a spell a few of the moving parts must be in place. There are 4-5 basic things that each spell requires.

• Spell Name – It’s probably best practice to have the name reflect it’s effect.
• Cost – The cost is usually a base cost, plus additional cost for the bonus effects granted by higher Aura stat values. Some spells have small enough effects that they are only a base cost, or are only the Aura value assigned as it’s cast. A few spells are passive & require no MP.
• Range – The range can be anything from: “self” (meaning it applies to the caster), “Special”, the “Aura value” assigned to the spell as it is cast, a set distance like “20 tiles”, or even “line of sight”. Regardless, it should be defined.
• Effect – Each spell should have a description of what it does. Most spells will scale their effects based on the Aura value it is cast at. This is where the magic happens. Effects can turn the tide of battle. Damage as a free action can flip the script completely. My rule for creating spells is making it so choosing one is a difficult decision. If there is a spell that is obviously worthless when compared to the others available, why create it?
• Additional notes or examples to help further define details. This is where you tidy up any loose ends, place restrictions to reduce abuse, etc. It’s better to leave most of these details separate from the main effect. If someone likes the main effect, they’ll take the time to learn the details. But if they’re mixed in, it’s just a text wall.

Let’s roll through some examples. You should get the idea by the time we’re done. Magic is busted, overpowered, & terrifying. We will be using Fire Magic in our examples.

Magic [Fire]
– (assigned class)

(All things hot)
– (theme of class)

• Burn!
  – (Simple spell name.)
• cost: 10+ [Aura]
  – (This spell can be cast 1-2 times each day with a starting character & snowballs from there.)
• range: [Aura value]
  – (If the caster has a higher Aura stat, they can cast it further. If they choose to throttle the spell, the cost will lower. But so will the range.)
• effect: This spell cast at any level will apply the *burn status effect: dealing 1 damage to any flammable (commonly cloth or wood) object per round, reducing its Tier by 1 until it is repaired. When Burn! causes one flammable target to smolder, burn, or catch aflame; it remains for [Aura value] rounds & deals [Aura value] damage each round to any person wearing, carrying or holding the object. This damage ignores armor when cast on objects that are worn, carried or equipped.
  – (A gear destruction spell that deals damage to the wearer is what they would call, “rude”.)
• Notes: If the object is reduced to T0, it is destroyed. The *burn effect will end prematurely if the object is destroyed & the spell will stop dealing damage to the wearer of the destroyed remnants. Burn! cannot be cast on a material that would not easily burn in a fire. If Burn! is cast on a wood weapon or shield, it will apply the effect to them. However, it will only deal damage to the wearer for as long as they have it on their person. If they drop the object, the *burn effect remains for its duration, but no additional damage is applied to the person who previously held it. Additionally, this spell may also be used to light candles, cigarettes, lamps, dry tinder, etc. – this is a form of down-casting, where the spells effect is not in contact with a person & wouldn’t deal damage directly to them.
  – (This spell description if very lengthy. It lays out exactly what it does & how it does it. This particular spell has both combat & non-combat utility. Note that this spell has “[Aura value]” attached to it’s duration and damage. This means higher Aura stats will directly boost all of the effects greatly.)

Now let us look at a much more powerful spell in the Fire magic class.

• Nobel’s Prize
  – (A witty spell name with some historical reference.)
• cost: 20+ [Aura] + [Aura] +[Aura] +[Aura]
  – (Huge spell cost to reflect the actual impact the spell has on the battlefield. While the spell can be cast at game-start, the MP cost is great enough that it cannot be cast with full fiery fury. They would have to wait for several combat levels to cast it more than once.)
• range: [Aura value]
  – (Again, the range is tied to the Aura stat. It could have just as easily been a set distance, but the shorter range with this spell feels justified.)
• effect: causes an area to explode dealing [Aura value] x [Aura value] damage to all characters, in an area equal to [Aura value] deep, by [Aura value] wide, by [Aura value] high. Caster is not immune. Additionally, it deals [Aura value] damage to all gear, items, structures, treasure, etc. in the blast area. Damage is applied to characters after the damage to armor is applied. Does not “ignore armor”. Does not reduce the value of “natural armor”.
  – (This spell is a doozy! It has damage effects, sunder effects, destroy effects, and has an area of effect. Perhaps the spell cost might be too low still, but we’re rolling with it.)
• Example: an Aura: 10 casting of this spell has a 10 tile range & 10x10x10 area of effect. The closest edge of the area of effect of the spell must be at or within 10 tiles of the caster. Meaning they could hit someone up to 20 yards away if they cast it as far as allowed. It would reduce all armor, & shields (along with everything else) by 10 Tiers, then deal 100 damage to everyone occupying the effected area, friend & foe alike.
  – (This spell justifies an example. There is a lot going on here. The example should clarify any questions that people may have on how the spell is intended to function.)

Now let’s shift gears to a pure utility spell. And a passive one at that.

• Warmth
  – (Name suggests the effect clearly.)
• Cost: passive
  – (This spell costs 0 MP.)
• range: self
  – (This spell only effects the caster.)
• effect: a character with this spell on their spell list is immune to all spell effects, except damage, that is caused by Ice Magic or harsh environmental extremes. It reduces damage from any cold based sources by [Aura value]. Additionally, acts as clothing equal to Tier [Aura value] for cold environment mechanics.
  – (It’s like wearing extra insulation from all cold effects & weather wrapped into one permanent buff.)
• Note: A passive spell may be turned on or off at the will of the caster, at any time. The effect does not function when unconscious or dead (sleeping is not the same as “unconscious”. So feel free to take a nap in the snow).
  – (This is a great spell as a passive. Once it is on your spell list, you own it. It is free. It has high utility. It completely blocks weird status effects & reduces incoming damage. While it will rarely effect the outcome of battle, it still feels like a “must have” for your limited spell list.)

Now let’s see a Generic spell to mix things up. Generic spells are any spell that does not fit the theme of one of the main magic classes. Since there is no “food mage”, we’ll drop that spell right into Generic’s list.

• Create Food
  – (It does what it says.)
• Cost: 10+ [Aura]
  – (The cost is straight forward enough.)
• range: special(creation)
  – (It has a range. It’s just not in tiles or self. It’s fine, we made it work.)
• effect: when cast, Create Food will generate [Aura value] units of prepared food. The food forms directly from the palm of the spellcaster, out of thin air!
  – (Pure utility. Pure awesome.)
• Notes: For each daily unit of food created, it will take more time to generate. Taking about 1 minute to finish casting at the highest level(12). It comes generically as bread-bowls of warmed stew (it looks like just bread on creation, warm stew is found inside once you tear into it), but may be modified with GM approval. Food created this way spoils after 2 days & cannot be preserved with the Cooking skill.
  – (Find me one person who would not want this spell. Even with the stipulation that it expires prematurely to protect it from being abused. It means you don’t have to tap into your food stores as often & can save Daily Tasks for something other than another hunting or gathering trip.)

Now we just have to make this Generic spell have a Fire theme so it fits the character. For this one, I will amend the “Name” to “Create Food (Fire)”, & the “Notes” section to say, “While it is cast, a chef’s hat and apron will appear on the caster. They appear as glowing embers. They generate no light or heat.” — The description added to a spell should never give added effects to the spell. It’s a cheesy visual effect, but it will make an impression on other characters — This person is a fire mage. Do not fight them. They will burn you.