Magic

Magic skills represent a character having such a detailed understanding of something that they can exert influence over it, using power drawn from within and an appropriate focus (a wand, staff, or other item). A focus is attuned to one or more tasks (spells) and will be covered in runes that glow when it's used.

Normal magical effects are either instantaneous or last for only a few minutes (usually one minute plus another minute for every point by which the check beats the TS), more complex or long lasting effects require the of a ritual. Any character with the mage edge can perform several basic rituals as long as they have a little time and some basic materials. There are also more complex rituals that can be learnt or discovered by characters that provide even grater power.

Limitations

Magic skills let characters perform significantly more powerful actions than they can achieve with other skills. In order to achieve this, the character must be using an appropriate "tool" such as a wand or staff that's been engraved with one more more (very obvious - they glow when used) runes that related to the spell being used. In the pact cities around Jali the sale of such wands and staffs is monitored, and using an unsanctioned / unregistered magical focus is a serious offence.

In most cases, a character has to be able to see clearly whatever they want to magic and be within 10m of it, and can't magic anything that's bigger and heavier than they are. Bigger OR heavier is fine, both isn't, and a character can use a ritual to increase the size impacted.

Quick Magic - Combat applications

Magic skills can be used quickly, both in and out of combat. In both cases the caster must be free to concentrate for a few moments to achieve the desired effect, as well as having an appropriate focus, such as a wand or staff, to hand. In combat, magic skills require an action to use offensively but might be used defensively as a reaction. Magic effects, descriptions and TS are written assuming they are used quickly.

Many magic skills can be used in combat to either harm or disadvantage one or more opponents. In general, disadvantaging an opponent for 1 round has a TS of 9, three opponents is TS 12 and more than three is 15. Serious successes cause the disadvantage to linger until the end of combat instead of for a round.

Slow Magic - Rituals and Wards

Out of combat, characters with the appropriate knowledge can use rituals to aid or enhance their magic skill checks. This allows casters to achieve much greater effects that they otherwise could. Each ritual takes a certain amount of time to perform, during which the caster needs to be free from significant interruptions such as combat, other spellcasting or anything that would require more than a few moments of attention to deal with. A character can apply multiple ritual effects to the same check. This takes as long as it would to perform each ritual in sequence. If a ritual is interrupted part way through it must be restarted from the beginning.

Basic rituals let a caster boost the impact of a magic skill check out of combat. They each require about 5 minutes and usually the ability to make basic marks on a surface to complete. It is possible to apply multiple basic rituals to the same check.

Basic Precision: Carefully marking out the intended effect reduces the overall difficulty of the check by 3.
Basic Expansion: Area or volume affected is doubled.
Basic Extension: Duration increased from minutes to hours.

Advanced rituals let a caster boost the impact of a skill check out of combat. They each require a significant amount of time, materials and usually the ability to make basic marks on a surface to complete. It is possible to apply multiple advanced rituals to the same check. Advanced rituals draw some of their power from the caster but the majority of their power comes from the consumption of external materials, usually precious metals - This means that the majority of rituals can be powered with actual money.

Advanced Precision: Carefully marking out the intended effect reduces the overall difficulty of the check by 3 and adds +3 to the check. Consumes 25pr of materials.
Advanced Expansion: Area or volume affected is increased tenfold. Consumes 50pr of materials.
Advanced Extension: Duration increased from minutes to days. Consumes 50pr of materials.

Warding rituals let a caster protect others from harmful magics. They're available to casters who can perform the relevant types of ritual, and can be enhanced with the rituals above.

Basic Warding: You ward an individual or item against one or more schools of magic in which you are trained for 1 min + 1 min for every point by which you beat the check result. The individual, or wearer/wielder of the item is considered trained when defending against any direct magical effect from the chosen schools.
Advanced Warding: You can ward up to twelve items or individuals one or more schools of magic in which you are trained for 1 hour + 1 hour for every point by which you beat the check result. The individual, or wearer/wielder of the item is considered trained when defending against any direct magical effect from the chosen schools. Consumes 25PR of materials

Spells

Each branch of magic has a number of tasks that it can be used to complete. These spells are split into two general categories: basic and advanced. Each spell is a word of power that must be spoken out loud by the caster, while visualising the details of how the spell will take shape. Any item with a spell on it is inscribed with a rune that imparts a basic idea of what it does to anyone who holds it and focuses, but a you need the relevant skill to use it.

Basic spells are commonly available and if a character has, finds or purchases a wand or staff relating to a particular branch of magic it will have all the basic spells for that branch on it. In Jali and the surrounding pact cities these wands are available for sale but such sales are recorded and tracked.

Advanced spells are harder to get hold of and to use. Advanced spells are not as readily available as the basic ones and need to be either purchased for a significant sum of money or sourced through some other means.

A wand can store all the basic and two advanced spells for a single branch of magic, a staff can store any number of spells. Other items such as weapons, amulets or shields can be enchanted to store a single spell. Some of these restrictions are physical (a spell must be inscribed on a rigid surface of sufficient size) and some are not (the authorities don't like the idea of swords that can also cast nine kinds of spell). Writing a spell to an item is a task only a skilled and trained specialist can perform.

Skills

Skill	Description
Air	This skill can be used to move and control air. Basic Spells: Move: Move a volume of air from one place to another, creating a breeze or gust. Hold: Increase the resistance the air provides, softening a fall, impeding a projectile or providing a surface that can be quickly traversed. Advanced spells: Crystalise: Lock a sheet of air briefly into a solid state, creating a barrier or bridge
Anima	This skill can be used to impart false life to an object, allowing it to bend or move itself in a way that it could be bent or moved by an external force. Animated objects make checks using their animators' Anima skill in most situations. Basic Spells: Animate: Impart false life to a touched object, allowing it to bend or move itself in a way that it could be bent or moved by an external force. As objects increase in size and complexity they become harder to animate. Instruct: Once an object has been animated it can be given simple verbal instructions (attack, come here, open that door) by it's animator as long as animator and object are in reasonable proximity. Animated objects will continue to perform their most recent instruction as long as it's possible to. Animated objects which are attacking don't defend themselves unless you spend a reaction to tell them to. Advanced spells: Teach: Provide a more complicated set of instructions that can include sequences or decision making. For example "If there are dirty dishes on the table take them to the sink and wash them up but if anyone not wearing an amulet that bears this crest enters the room, attack them until they stop fighting back"
Body	This skill represents the user's mastery over their own body, allowing them to fight disease, fix wounds and heighten reflexes. At it's most basic level it lets the user heal faster or fight disease. Skilled individuals can go further, altering their appearance, height or weight. This skill also lets a user temporarily boost their awareness and reflexes, allowing it to be used defensively in combat. Basic Spells: Purify: Attempt to cleanse a toxin or disease from your character's system Stabilise: Treat a wound your character is suffering from, as if someone had made a successful medicine check Mend: Enter into a restorative trance, for every hour spent in this state 1d6 day's healing happens. Makes the caster really, really hungry. Survive: Briefly heightens reflexes, allowing the caster to use a reaction to avoid an incoming attack. Change: Temporarily alter your character's hair, eye or skin colour. Advanced Spells: Transform: Make a significant physical change such as adjusting height or facial structure, adapting to breathe water as well as air or growing armour plating.
Distance	This skill lets the user bend the world, drawing other places closer to them so that they can be easily travelled to. To an external observer it appears that the user has taken a step and disappeared from one place and reappeared in another, but to the user it appears that their destination has been drawn towards them and they have merely stepped to it. This skill also allows the user to sense, locate and step through "twist points" - areas where the world is weak and it's possible to step into the void beyond. Once on the other side the user can then find and use another twist point to step back into the world, potentially many hundreds of miles from where they left. Basic Spells: Farstep: Travel a short distance instantly. The further your character travels the harder the check and they can't travel through solid objects. This can also be used as a reaction to avoid range attacks. Void Twist: At a location where the world is weak, activate a twist point taking your character and everyone within 2m of them to or from the void. A character is either transported entirely or not at all if they're at the boundary.of this effect. Advanced Spells: Voidstep: Travel to or from the void without using a twist point.
Earth	This skill draws on the user's understanding of earth and stone, able to make plants grow and bind objects to the ground. While not the most spectacular of studies, a skilled practitioner can turn barren land fertile or mire whole (albeit fairly small) armies. Basic Spells: Mire: Soften earth or stone, making movement difficult and disadvantaging anyone in the area. Grow: Shape or speed the growth of plants. This may be used to entangle people in combat. Plants grown quickly die soon after. Nurture: Encourage the natural growth of plants to their maximum potential. Advanced spells: Ground: Change the weight of an item or individual to make them either much heavier or much lighter.
Fire	This skill allows a caster to create or control fire. Fire a caster is currently controlling doesn't burn them, although failed checks can be potentially painful. Fire that is being controlled can be thrown in combat. Any fire created requires and consumes some kind of fuel, although the fire can be created and maintained away from the fuel. Basic Spells: Ignite: Cause a fuel source to catch fire. Shape: Change the shape of a fire, or move it away from it's fuel source (the fuel is still consumed). This can be used to move or throw the fire in combat. Dampen: Extinguish or reduce an existing fire. Advanced spells: Heat: Consume a fuel source to directly heat a non-combustible object.
Light	This skill can be used to create, control or dim lights and illusions. Illusions can be created in a place or tied to an object. Illusions add appearance but can't take it away, so a dagger can be made to look like a sword but not the other way around. Illusions don't have any physical presence so physical interaction will often reveal their nature. Basic Spells: Light: Create a source of light at a point you touch. The light may be emitted in all directions or only in the directions the caster chooses. Darkness: Lower light in an area around a touched point or object. Illusion: Create an intangible image either at a point or tied to an object you touch for the duration. The image may perform one simple action repeatedly for it's duration. For example an image of a globe may spin continuously, or an image of a guard may occasionally shift position. An existing illusion can be updated by the caster with an additional check, for example the guard illusion could be made to walk away from it's post. More complex or large illusions are harder to create. Advanced Spells: Teach: A more advanced illusion that can react to circumstances and events ways set out by the caster. For example an illusion of a guard could be taught to fall over if struck in combat, although an assailant may well realise something is odd when their weapon passes through the illusion with no resistance.
Mind	This skill lets a character understand and briefly alter they way people think or feel. While longer changes are possible via rituals persuading people to stay still for that long is often a challenge. This skill can also be used to revisit memories and for skilled practitioners to share information. If a target is aware that the caster is attempting to influence them and is actively resisting the target may make an opposed check with advantage to resist the effect. Basic Spells: Emotional Manipulation: Increase or decrease the effect of a specific emotion a willing or unknowing target is feeling or change one emotion to another. Share: Send a thought, idea or emotion to someone you're touching. If they don't know what's happening they may not realise it's not their own. Once you've shared with a target the link persists for a short while (1 min + 1 min per success) allowing you to continue to send to them. Advanced Spells: Forget: Remove one or more memories from a target. Removing older memories or memories covering greater periods of time is more difficult. Remember: Sift through the memories of a willing subject, allowing the caster and subject to review them in far greater detail than casual recollection. Can also be used to reverse Forget.
Sound	This skill represents a character's understanding of sound and noise. A character with this skill can create and project a range of sounds, or quieten or silence completely existing ones. This skill can be used in combination with light to create more convincing illusions. Basic Spells: Create: Create a sound that emanates from a point in line of sight. Louder and more complex sounds are harder to create. Dampen: quieten or remove completely noise made by the target or in the target area. Advanced Spells: Shatter: Use exactly the right kind of sound to break or weaken a solid object. Crystalline objects are easier to affect.
Time	This skill represents a character's understanding of the passage of time. A character with this skill can see possible futures and likely pasts. A character with this skill can also move themselves through time slightly faster or slower than usual which can be used to gain advantage / setup other skills where faster is better. There are limits to how fast characters can push themselves faster through time as only they move faster, so the faster they go the more things like air resistance kick in making action increasingly difficult. When looking forward in time, people have free will and generate uncertainty, which generates many possible futures, so a look forward in time shows a possible future. Most future readings involve a random sample of possible futures to try and guess as to what is likely. Predictions can be narrowed by providing fixed assumptions, and only tracing forward futures where those criteria are met. Basic spells: Faster: Accelerate yourself through time. Can be used to move further or avoid an attack. Predict: Review one or more possible futures to get an idea of what might happen. Looking further ahead is much harder and less reliable. Advanced spells: Undo: Step back a few moments along your timeline, reversing the last thing that happened to you, essentially allowing you to reroll a check. Doing this repeatedly in a short timeframe gets progressively harder. Regardless of success or failure this always adds a level of fatigue.
Transmutation	This skill lets the user change the basic properties or shape of a single item. Nullsteel and items that have been treated alchemically to be resistant to magic cannot be transmuted. Basic spells: Soften: Target object becomes malleable or flexible for the duration Harden: Target object becomes harder or more brittle for the duration Recolour: Target object becomes the colour (or colours) if your choice for the duration Retexture: Target object’s surface changes to rough or smooth as you desire, can be used to put an edge on a weapon Advanced spells: Reshape: Target object can be subjected to any simple effect for the duration Deconstruct: Target object breaks apart / becomes useless. Permanent
Water	This skill represents a character's understanding and mastery of water. A character with this skill can change water into ice or disperse it into fog, and can shape it. Water can also be shaped or moved, allowing a character to create currents in larger bodies of water or make it easier or much, much harder for people or objects to stay afloat. Basic spells: Shape: Force a volume of water to take a specific shape. For the duration it can be reshaped while it's in line of sight. Swimming, wading or sailing through shaped water is easier or harder at the caster's choice. Freeze: Freeze water or melt ice. The water stays frozen or melted for the duration after which it is affected by temperature normally. Water frozen into sharp icicles can be thrown or used in melee as an attack with this skill. Fog: Vaporise volume of water into fog, which you can then reshape and move up to 10m a round for the duration. A litre of water fills 9 squares (6m by 6m by 2m). A breeze will move the fog and a strong wind will disperse it. Advanced spells: Steam: Create a small volume of scalding steam from an available source of water. It can be shaped or projected up to 10m as an attack but cools rapidly, condensing to fog after a round.

Customisations

Customisation	Requirements	Description
Animal Companion	Mind skill	You have forged a long lasting mental link with an animal. You can issue simple commands to it mentally as long as it's within ten meters of you. It can communicate simple concepts to you, like safe, danger, hungry, bored.
Blink Strike	Distance Skill	If you would get advantage from having an unspent reaction you can instead choose to use the distance skill to farstep somewhere within 10m as a quick action. If you move next to an enemy they must spend a reaction or be unable to defend against the next attack you make against them this turn.
Distracting	Light or Sound skill	If you would get advantage from having an unspent reaction you can instead choose a target within your range of influence and force them to spend a reaction. If they cannot they are disadvantaged until the end of your next turn.
Focused Mind	Mage	You can perform any basic ritual in one fifth the normal time (1 minute instead of 5) and without drawing on anything.
Illusory Defence	Distracting	You can use light magic to defend against ranged and melee attacks by making it hard to determine exactly where you are.
Mage	None	You know and can perform all the basic rituals listed above, including basic wardings.
Mechanical Companion	Anima Skill	You have spent a significant amount of time and effort preparing a construct that's ideally suited for animating, and are very familiar with it's use. You can animate and instruct this companion as a swift action in combat, and without making anima checks unless you're making it do something particularly complex. You can include a number of tools or weapons as part of it's construction but it can only use one at a time.
Precise Mind	Mage	You get +1 on any checks made as part of a ritual, stacking with the bonus from the ritual of presicision.
Ritualist	Mage	You know and can perform all the advanced rituals listed above.
Windwalker	Air skill	You can take part or all of your move along the air without making a skill check, as long as you start and finish on a solid surface and don't end up more than 2m higher than when you started.

Items

Item	Cost)	Description
Advanced Spell	100	The spellrune for an advanced spell. The price is the cost to have it inscribed on an existing staff, wand or item.
Boots of Sprinting	500	These boots are enchanted with distance and time magic, and when worn allow the wearer to move 20% faster than usual. For every round the wearer spends moving in the same direction they move another 20% faster until they're going twice as fast.
Chameleon Cloth	250 per square meter	This cloth has been imbued with transmutation magic and can change colour and pattern on command.
Cloak of Falling	1500	This cloak is enchanted with air magic, allowing the wearer to land a fall of any height without hurting themselves. Additionally, while falling the wearer can move sideways 2m for every 1m dropped.
Firestarter	50	This fancy looking stick has been enchanted so that any flammable item that it's tip is held next to for ten seconds will catch light. It comes with a non-flammable case.
Gloves of Cacophony	750	These gloves are enchanted with sound magic, and when clapped together as an action make a very, very loud bang, inflicting partial deafness (can't hear clearly, disadvantaged in combat) on anyone nearby apart from the wearer for 1d6 minutes. Additionally, if the wearer cups their hands around their mouth and speaks their voice is amplified to five times it's usual volume.
Major Rune of Warding	500 per spell school	This rune of warding is attuned to one or more schools of magic and is inscribed onto a necklace, broach, headband, weapon or shield. When worn (or wielded) so it can be seen it allows the wearer to automatically succeed any defence against any effects from the attuned schools of magic.
Minor Rune of Warding	100 per spell school	This rune of warding is attuned to one or more schools of magic and is inscribed onto a necklace, broach, headband, weapon or shield. When worn (or wielded) so it can be seen it allows the wearer to defend against any effects from the attuned schools of magic as if they were fully trained.
Simple Wand	75	A 3-5cm thick, 30cm long length of wood or metal that has been inscribed with all the basic spell runes for a single school of magic.
Spellstaff	50 per spell school	A spellstaff is a long length of wood inscribed with all the basic spells for one or more schools of magic. It can also be used in combat as a regular staff.