Magic and Spells

AS AN ARCANE SPELLCASTER IN AN AETALTIS adventure, your spells give you access to incredible power. There are also a variety of natural phenomena in the world you can take advantage of to increase your power, such as essence crystals, essence wells, and ley lines. You’ll have fantastic flexibility in what spells are available to you and gain new options in how you use that magic.

Of course, there’s a catch. Casting arcane spells on Aetaltis requires both skill and talent. Cast a spell improperly and you waste your limited pool of arcane energy, a power called essence. Make a catastrophic mistake, and you could lose control of the spell, causing untold damage to yourself, your surroundings, and the people around you. This is why arcane casters on Aetaltis are both respected and feared.

Overview of Aetaltan Magic
Magic on Aetaltis, especially arcane magic, works in a slightly different fashion than in other Fifth Edition set- tings. The fundamentals are the same, and the spells found in your Fifth Edition sourcebooks are fully compatible, but we’ve made some additions to the magic system to better reflect the nature of Aetaltan magic. It’s a system you can easily layer on top of the basic Fifth Edition magic rules.

Arcane magic in Aetaltis uses a spell point system. Every character has a store of personal essence, and those characters with the talent and skill to manipulate that essence can use it to cast spells. Once a spellcaster’s personal essence is expended, they must wait for the ambient essence around



them to restore their supply of personal essence before they can cast more spells.

To cast a spell, an arcane spellcaster spends the appropriate number of essence points and then makes a spellcasting roll. On a success, the spell goes off. On a failure, it doesn’t. On a critical failure, however, a catastrophic spell failure occurs leading to a variety of potentially dangerous out- comes. Divine magic, on the other hand, works as written in the basic Fifth Edition rules. It’s safe, straightforward, and reliable, if a bit restrictive.

We won’t go into a lot of detail about the setting aspects of magic, such as the metaphysics of how spells work or
the origins of magic.



Impact of the Ritual of Limitation
The Ritual of Limitation, fundamentally changed the way magic worked on Aetaltis. The following guidelines will help you to determine how (or if ) a particular spell, magic item, or power from another Fifth Edition book will work in Aetaltis. The gamemaster makes the final determination about whether a magical effect still works in their campaign.

No Teleportation
Spells that move people, objects, or creatures from place to place without passing through physical space do not work on Aetaltis. This includes moving yourself, moving others, or bringing objects to you. Examples include the teleport and dimension door spells. People on Aetaltis still know how to cast these spells, but the spells just don’t work.

No Summoning
You cannot summon creatures or objects from other planes to Aetaltis. Similarly, spells that banish creatures do not work since it is impossible to send a creature away from the Physical Plane. A notable fantasy gaming exception are elementals. Elementals exist in the World of Aetaltis and you can summon them, but they are not extra-dimensional beings.

No Gates or Dimension Travel
Spells that open gates to other dimensions or transport you to other planes do not work. This applies to even minor spells like dimension door. The exception is travel to the Essential Plane, since it is not actually a different plane but is rather an unseen aspect of the Physical Plane.

No Long-distance Communication
Spells that allow person-to-person communication or remote perception still work but are limited to line of sight or the spell’s range, whichever is shorter. If the target of a communications spell is hidden or beyond line of sight, it doesn’t work.

Limited Detection
If the maximum range for a detection spell is greater than 60 feet, treat the spell as if it has a 60 foot range. When detecting a target within range and line of sight, the spell works as written. When detecting a target within range but not visible (such as using detect magic when a magic item is in a chest), the spell reveals that a target exists somewhere within 60 feet, but no additional information is provided. Normal rules for material that blocks these types of spells still apply.

New Attribute: Essence Points
Every living thing on Aetaltis, sentient or not, spellcaster or otherwise, has an essence point (EP) score. This score rep- resents the living thing’s store of personal essence. If you are an arcane spellcaster, you may expend these points to cast spells using the glyph magic rules. The table below shows your maximum essence points, your rate of essence point recovery, and the maximum spell level you can safely cast if you are an arcane spellcaster.
• Level/Hit Dice An individual’s or character’s level or hit dice.
• Maximum Essence Points The maximum number of essence points the subject can have at any time.
• Rate of Recovery The rate at which the subject’s ex- pended essence points return.
• Maximum Safe Spell Level The maximum level of spell an arcane spellcaster can safely cast at this level.

Recovering Essence Points
You recover a number of essence points each hour (in game time, not real-world play hours) based on your level as shown in the Essence Points, Recovery, and Safe Spell Level table. This recovery is automatic, ongoing, and does not require a rest.



Arcane Spellcasting:Glyph Magic
Glyph magic is a point based magic system for Fifth Edi- tion designed for the World of Aetaltis. It replaces some of the standard Fifth Edition arcane spellcasting rules. If a rule here contradicts the Fifth Edition core rules, these rules take precedence. If something isn’t covered here, use the standard Fifth Edition rules.

Spellcasting Checks
Casting a spell with glyph magic requires you to build an essence form called a glyph. When additional essence is direct- ed through this glyph, the glyph’s form shapes the essence, thereby creating a magical effect. Learning to successfully create glyphs and direct essence through them requires a natural affinity for sensing essence and years of intense training.

Each time you use glyph magic to cast a spell, you must make a spellcasting check.

Spellcasting DC = 10 + Unmodified Essence Point Cost of the Spell

Make the check at the end of the spell’s casting time. On



a success, the spell is cast and takes effect normally. On a failure, the spell fizzles and the attempt is wasted. Either way, reduce your essence points by the essence point cost of the spell.

Spellcasting Check Modifiers
Your bonus when making a spellcasting check equals your spellcasting ability modifier + your proficiency bonus if applicable for your class. Wizards gain the proficiency bonus, but not all classes that cast arcane spells gain their proficiency bonus on spellcasting checks. The Aetaltis rules for spellcasting classes will describe which ability to use and which classes may add their proficiency modifier to spellcasting checks.

ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE ON SPELLCASTING CHECKS
With the GM’s permission, positive circumstances might provide advantage when casting a spell. Examples include:
1. Referencing your spellbook while casting the spell.
2. Using particularly rare or especially high-quality material components.
3. Doubling the time required to cast the spell.

Negative circumstances that might cause you to have disadvantage when casting a spell include:
1. Casting without your arcane focus.
2. Casting a spell while adjacent to an enemy.
3. Casting a spell while mounted or on a moving platform.
4. Using substandard, damaged, or inappropriate substances as material components.
5. Casting a spell when you don’t have enough essence points to cover the cost.
6. Casting a spell that is higher level than your maximum safe spell level.

Other Spellcasting Checks
Other circumstances beyond casting spells might cause the gamemaster to ask for a spellcasting check. Unless the gamemaster says otherwise, the same conditions described above can modify those checks.

Critical Success and Critical Failure
If you roll a 20 on your spellcasting check, it is a critical success. If you roll a 1, it is a critical failure. When you roll a critical success to cast a spell, the essence point cost for the spell is halved (round down). If you roll a critical failure when casting a spell, you pay the standard essence point cost, then roll on the Spell Mishaps table.

When a spell mishap occurs, roll 1d100 and add the modified essence point cost of the spell to the roll. This means that if you had cast a spell in a way that cost twice the normal number of essence points, add the doubled value to your roll. Check the table to determine the effect of your mishap.

If no duration is listed for a mishap, the effect is permanent. A remove curse or dispel magic spell might remove the effect with the gamemaster’s permission. Be warned that many permanent spell mishap effects are not curses or ongoing magical effects, but rather represent changes the fundamental nature of reality. In that case, the effect is well and truly permanent.







Attack Rolls
Some spells require you to make a successful attack roll to hit the target. When using glyph magic, your spellcasting roll doubles as your attack roll. Therefore, to hit a target with a spell that requires an attack roll, your spellcasting check must meet or exceed both the spellcasting DC and your target’s AC.

Essence Point Cost of Spells
A glyph is formed from a bit of your core essence, but to create a spell effect, you must harness a far greater amount of essence. The more powerful the spell, the more essence required. This is reflected in the essence point cost of the spell. The unmodified essence point cost to cast a spell is based on its level, as shown in the table below.



ESSENCE POINT COST MODIFIERS
Certain conditions may modify the actual cost of the spell. The cost listed in the Spell Essence Point Cost table is called the unmodifified cost. This is the base cost to cast a spell of that level.

Variable Level Spells
Some Fifth Edition spells allow you to choose the level at which you are casting a spell. Magic missile is one such spell. When casting a spell of this type, use the essence point cost for the level at which you are casting the spell.

Forced Casting: Casting When You're Out of Essence Points
If the essence point cost of the spell will reduce your essence points below zero, you can still cast the spell, but you must force it. When you force a spell, you reduce your essence points to zero and then take hit points of damage equal to the number of points you are short. You are, in effffect, siphoning off the core essence that makes up your living spirit.
The following are the rules for forcing a spell:
1. You have disadvantage on your spellcasting check.
2. You take a number of hit points of damage equal to the number of points you are short.
3. All normal game effects from taking damage apply, including the rules for dropping to 0 hit points.

INVOLUNTARY FORCED CASTING
If circumstances (such as a spell mishap result) increase the essence point cost of a spell to where the essence point cost is greater than your available essence points, pay the cost as if you had forced the spell.

Overcasting: Casting Spells Beyond Your Safe Level
You may attempt to cast spells that are higher than your maximum safe spell level. Your safe level is based on your spellcasting class level as shown on the Essence Points, Recovery, and Safe Spell Level table. When casting a spell of a level higher than your safe spell level the following rules apply:
1. You must have learned the spell and have it copied into your spellbook.
2. You must have your spellbook out for reference. This is a requirement, and it does not provide advantage as it normally does.
3. You have disadvantage on the spellcasting check.
4. The essence point cost of the spell is doubled, although you still use the unmodified cost to determine the spellcasting DC.
5. If a spell mishap doubles or triples the essence point cost, multiply the modified essence point cost.
6. For each level of difference between the level of spell you can safely cast and the level of the spell you are casting, increase the critical failure range by 1.

EXAMPLE OF CASTING A SPELL BEYOND YOUR SAFE LEVEL

Wisik the wizard and his friends are racing to escape a mob of pursuing orc hunters. Dashing through a door- way and down a side corridor, they turn to lock the door behind them, only to realize there is no way to secure it.

Although Wisik is only a 1st level wizard, he learned the 2nd level arcane lock spell on their last adventure. He can cast only 1st level spells safely, but this seems like enough of an emergency to accept the risk of trying something more difficult.

The DC for the spellcasting check is determined normally (10 + 3 Essence Point Cost = DC 13), but he has disadvantage on his check. He also needs to get his spellbook out for reference.

Since arcane lock is one level higher than Wisik can safely cast, the critical failure range is increased by the difference between the level he can safely cast (1st) and the level of arcane lock (2nd). Since the difference is 1, that is added to the range for critical failure, meaning a roll of 1 or 2 is a critical failure.

Normally the essence point cost to cast a 2nd level spell is 3 essence points, but since arcane lock is beyond what Wisik can safely cast, the spell costs 6 essence points (double the normal cost).

Wisik is currently at his maximum number of essence points, but at 1st level he only has 4 essence points. This means he’s also forcing the spell and will take 2 points of damage to make up for the shortfall. Fortunately, he still has 3 hit points, so this wouldn’t drop him to 0 hit points.

With orcs bearing down, Wisik pulls out his spell- book, takes a deep breath, and begins casting.

Essence Sense and Essence Sight
This section describes the rules used to interact with the Essential Plane and to discover things about magic that are hidden when on the Physical Plane.

Essence Sense
Not everyone on Aetaltis has the ability to use essence sense. All fairies have it, and characters that select a spell- caster class at 1st level are assumed to have been born with it. Other characters may acquire it by taking the Essence Sense feat.

Essence sense is the most common way to detect things on the Essential Plane. It allows you to sense essence forms such as spell glyphs, magic item patterns, and the essence patterns of living creatures. You can also use essence sense to detect essence anomalies, like essence wells, essence voids, and ley lines.

When using essence sense, you don’t truly see the essence forms of objects. Rather, you get an intuitive sense of their presence, an instinctual assessment of their nature, and a gut feeling about the attributes or power of the thing. Using essence sense is as much about natural talent as it is a learned skill, and can be performed either intuitively or actively.

Intuitive use of essence sense involves the instinctive use of the ability as part of an action (such as glyph magic) or passively perceiving magical phenomena (as when a spellcaster gets a chance to notice they’ve entered an essence well).

Active use of essence sense involves reaching out to discover and analyze essence forms within range. Once an essence form is sensed, concentrating on the essence form (see Detecting, Identifying, and Analyzing Magic below) may reveal additional information about the subject—for instance, the arcane school of a glyph or the power level of an essence well. Detection spells, like detect magic may enhance or emulate essence sense.

Essence Sight
Essence sight is a rare gift, and few people are born with it. You may gain essence sight by taking the Essence Sight feat. The Aetaltis spell essence sight also emulates the ability.

Essence sight lets you shift your perception to see the Essential Plane, the source of essence, instead of the Physical Plane, the plane in which you and I exist. Where essence sense typically requires effort, essence sight allows you to



immediately see all the essence forms around you. When using essence sight, you remain on the Physical Plane. Only your perception shifts to the Essential Plane.

Skill and experience are still required to identify and analyze what you’re seeing, but unless an essence form is masked or blocked from sight by another living or magical essence form, spotting it is usually automatic. This means that a person hiding behind a curtain is easy to spot on the Essential Plane, spellcasting in your presence is detected as soon as the spellcaster begins, and you immediately detect the presence of magic items since they glow like lit lanterns on the Essential Plane.

Blocking Essence Sense and Essence Sight
Non-magical and non-living objects have only shadow forms on the Essential Plane. They appear as dark, blurry shapes but they can block your ability to see or sense other essence forms. Essence sense and essence sight penetrate most non-living and non-magical barriers, but the shadow forms from 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of dirt or non-living wood will hide any essence forms behind them. Other materials obscure essence forms behind them, but cannot completely block them from view.

The essence forms of living creatures, enchanted items, and magical phenomena block line of sight when using essence sight. The exception is the heightened ambient essence of essence wells, which brightens the Essential Plane but does not block essence sight.

Detecting, Identifying, and Analyzing Magic
Detecting, identifying, and analyzing essence forms applies specifically to arcane casters using glyph magic. Divine spellcasters use the spells and methods described in the standard Fifth Edition rules.

Sensing Magic
Sometimes it’s easy to spot the effects of magic. For instance, if a person is floating in the middle of the room, there is a good chance there’s magic at work. However, not all magic is so obvious. Furthermore, even if you are aware magic is in use, you still must detect the essence forms that make the magic possible if you wish to analyze it.

The following rules describe how you might sense the presence of a spell, magical effect, magic item, or other magical phenomenon.

PASSIVE PERCEPTION
If you have the essence sense ability, the gamemaster may allow you a chance to automatically notice an ongoing enchantment, magic item, magical effect, or magical phenomenon within range of your senses. The gamemaster secretly checks your passive Wisdom (Perception). A successful check reveals the presence, but not the positions, of essence forms you have a chance to intuitively sense. To determine where the essence form is, you must use active perception.

ACTIVE PERCEPTION
If you have the essence sense ability and you passively de- tected an essence form, or you simply think an ongoing enchantment, magic item, magical effect, or magical phenom- enon is within the range of your senses but haven’t detected it, you may make a Wisdom (Perception) check to try to sense it. You have advantage on this check if you focus on a single person or item while also touching the subject.

A successful check reveals the presence and position of any essence forms in the area whose DC you met. If you fo- cus on a specific person or item, it only reveals the presence of essence forms related to the target.

In either case, after perceiving, you must analyze an essence form to learn more about it.

DIFFICULTY CLASS
Unless the description of a spell, item, or magical phenomenon includes a DC for sensing its presence, the DC to sense magic depends on how powerful it is. The more powerful the magical effect, the more likely you are to sense it.

The base difficulty is DC 20. This DC is reduced by the unmodified essence point cost of the spell. If the effect isn’t created by a spell and the description of the item, creature, or effect doesn’t provide a DC for sensing it, the gamemaster should assign the DC using a spell with a similar effect.



SENSING ILLUSIONS
Essence forms that create illusory effects are designed
to avoid easy detection. Attempts to passively detect the essence forms for illusions are made at disadvantage. This increases the DC by 5 for passive Wisdom (Perception) checks.

The DC to sense the essence form related to an illusory effect is the spellcasting result from when the spell was cast or the caster’s standard spell DC, whichever is greater. The better the result, the more difficult it is to notice the spell’s essence form.

SENSING WITH ESSENCE SIGHT
When using essence sight, you automatically see essence forms within range.

DETECT MAGIC SPELL
The standard Fifth Edition detect magic spell works as writ- ten except there is no faint aura or glow. You simply sense that an essence form is related to the target. A successful casting of detect magic automatically reveals the presence and position of any essence forms within range. No roll is needed beyond the spellcasting roll. The spell also reveals the school of magic without additional analysis.

Analyzing Essence Forms
Sensing the presence of an essence form doesn’t mean that you know what the magic is or what it is doing. To learn this, you must make a successful analysis check to analyze an essence form you’ve discovered. The following rules apply to this check:
• Awareness You must successfully detect, sense, or see the essence form before you can analyze it. (See Sensing Magic above.)
• Time The time it takes to analyze an essence form is dependent on its complexity. The more powerful it is, the longer it takes to analyze. Analysis time is a number of minutes equal to 10 x the unmodified essence point cost of the spell that created the effect. If the effect is unrelated to a particular spell and the effect’s description doesn’t provide a time for analysis, the GM determines time using a spell with a similar effect.
• Difficulty Class The DC of the analysis check is based on the level of the spell used to create the effect. The more powerful the magic, the more difficult it is to understand. The DC to analyze an essence form is equal to 10 + the unmodified essence point cost of the spell that created it. If the effect isn’t created by a spell and the description of the item, creature, or effect doesn’t provide a DC for sensing, the gamemaster assigns the
DC using a spell with a similar effect.
• Arcana Check The check itself is an Intelligence (Arcana) check. If you’ve learned the spell, have experience with the type of magic involved, or otherwise have knowledge that may help in the analysis, the game- master may give you advantage on the roll. Likewise, if the magic is particularly unusual, alien, or ancient, the gamemaster may give you disadvantage on the roll.

OUTCOME OF ANALYSIS
What you learn from your analysis depends on how well you rolled.
• Success You learn the name of the spell or effect. This reveals the level of the spell, school of magic, and other pertinent details provided in the rules for that spell. If the subject isn’t a spell, you learn the general details of the effect and how it impacts its subject and/or your character. The gamemaster may also share any additional relevant information.
• Critical Success In addition to information learned on a success, the gamemaster might provide less obvious information. Examples include a command word to activate or deactivate the item, a hint about the effect’s creator, or advantage on efforts to dispel it.
• Failure You fail to learn anything about the essence form, but you may try again after a long rest.
• Critical Failure Something about this essence form is out of sync with your understanding of magic. You fail to learn anything about it and may not try again.

IDENTIFY SPELL AND ANALYSIS
Successfully casting the identify spell reveals the same results as a successful analysis check. You must still succeed at the spellcasting check to cast the identify spell. Treat a critical success on the spellcasting roll to cast identify like a critical success on an analysis check.

Identifying Magic Items
Identifying a magic item in Aetaltis games is handled using the rules provided above. Under the Aetaltis rules, only characters with the essence sense or essence sight feature can determine if an item is magical and what sort of powers it has, and only if they succeed at the necessary checks.

ANALYZING MAGIC ITEMS
On a successful analysis of a magic item, the character learns what powers the item has, how many charges it has, if any, and how to use the item. If the item has an activation word, the character must either achieve a critical success on their analysis or research the word the old-fashioned way: visiting libraries, asking the person who made the item, seeking out hidden lore, trying out different words, and the like.

IDENTIFY SPELL
The identify spell automatically reveals what powers a magic item has and how to use it (with the exception of activation words) without any additional analysis. You must, however, still succeed at the spellcasting roll to cast the spell. A critical success on the spellcasting roll to cast identify also reveals any activation words needed to use the item.

Counterspelling
If a spellcaster using glyph magic recognizes that another arcane spellcaster is casting a spell using glyph magic, they may have a chance to counter it.

Disruption
The most common way to counter an enemy spell is to disrupt it. Disruption involves channeling essence into the other caster’s glyph to shatter it. The following are the rules for disrupting a spell:
• Aware You must know the enemy is there and know they are casting a spell. Using verbal, somatic, or material components are enough to indicate that a spell is being cast. Alternatively, the GM may allow a passive Wisdom (Perception) check to notice the casting.
• Ready You must have a readied action to disrupt the spell. If you don’t have a readied action, you can’t react fast enough to stop the casting.
• Announce You must announce that you are coun- terspelling before the enemy spellcaster makes their spellcasting check. You cannot announce an attempt to counterspell after the roll.
• Opposed Spellcasting Check Make an opposed spell- casting check against the result of the enemy caster’s spellcasting check to cast their spell.

OUTCOME OF DISRUPTION CHECK
The following are the possible outcomes of the disruption spellcasting check:
• Critical Success If you win with a critical success (by rolling a 20 on the die), the caster’s spellcasting check is treated as a critical failure, no matter what they rolled. Their critical failure is resolved normally and you spend essence points equal to half (rounded down) the number of essence points the enemy caster’s spell required (minimum of 1). The exception to this rule is when the target also rolled a critical success to cast the spell, in which case treat the outcome as a success as described below.
• Success If you win, the caster’s spellcasting check is treated as a failure. Their failure is resolved normally and you spend essence points equal to half (rounded down) the number of essence points the enemy caster’s spell required (minimum of 1).
• Failure If you lose the opposed check, their spellcasting is resolved normally and you spend essence points equal to half (rounded down) the number the enemy caster’s spell required (minimum of 1).
• Critical Failure If you critically fail on your attempt to disrupt the spell (by rolling a 1 on the die), you suffer
a magical backlash. The enemy spellcasting check is resolved normally, you spend essence points equal to the number of essence points the enemy caster’s spell required (minimum of 1), and you suffer a spell mishap modified by the essence points you spent.

Dispelling
You may use glyph magic to end an ongoing, non-permanent arcane spell by deconstructing the magic’s essence form. In this way, the glyph caster can dispel a magical effect created by another arcane caster. With the gamemaster’s permission, this technique may also be used to temporarily disrupt a natural or permanent magical effect.
The following rules apply when attempting to dispel a magical effect:
• Time It takes twice as long to dispel a magical effect as it took to cast it originally.
• Sense You must be able to see or sense the spell’s essence form. Seeing the spell’s effect in the Physical Plane is not enough. (See the Essence Sense and Essence Sight rules above.)
• Knowledge You must know what spell you are dispelling (see Detecting, Identifying, and Analyzing Magic above). If the spell is not one you’ve learned or is not based on a particular spell, the check to dispel it is made at disadvantage.
• Spellcasting Check To deconstruct the essence form, make a spellcasting check with a DC equal to the result of the original caster’s check to cast the spell.

OUTCOME OF DISPEL CHECK
The following are the possible outcomes of the dispel spell- casting check:
• Critical Success If the target was a spell, you deconstruct the essence form, ending the spell. It does not cost you any essence points. If the target was a natural or permanent effect, the effect is dispelled as long as you maintain concentration and there is no essence point cost to you.
• Success You deconstruct the essence form, but must expend a number of essence points equal to half (round down) the original unmodified cost of the spell. This ends the spell effect. If the target was a natural or permanent effect, the essence point cost is the same as described, but the effect is only dispelled as long as you maintain concentration.
• Failure You fail to deconstruct the essence form, and you must expend a number of essence points equal to half (round down) the original unmodified cost of the spell.
• Critical Failure You fail to deconstruct the essence form, must expend a number of essence points equal to half (round down) the original unmodified cost of the spell, and suffer a spell mishap modified by the number of essence points you spent.

Spellbooks and Learning Spells
Under the glyph magic rules, spellbooks aren’t required to cast spells at or below your safe spellcasting level. Once you’ve learned a spell, you always know it. That said, most arcane spellcasters find spellbooks useful, and in some cases, such as casting spells of a level above your safe spellcasting level, they are required.

What is a Spellbook?
A spellbook is a collection of notes, diagrams, guidelines, instructions, and tricks for casting spells. Spellbooks are a mix of specific spell instructions, general theory, and personal research. Most spellcasters, when learning a new spell, copy information about the spell into their spellbook as part of the learning process.

Learning a New Spell
The follows rules and requirements apply when learning a new spell.
• Copy of the New Spell To learn a new spell you either need a complete copy of the spell, a spellbook with the spell inscribed in it, a magical library, or the time of another person who already learned the spell.
• Gold Piece Cost Learning a new spell requires re- peated trials, the creation of magical inscriptions, and a supply of magical materials. To learn a new spell, the caster must have magical materials with a value of 50 sp/level of the spell you are learning. If the spell requires material components, you must also have and use enough of that component to cast the spell once.
• Spellbook Pages If you are copying the spell into your spellbook, the spell takes up a number of pages in your spellbook equal to the unmodified essence point cost of the spell with a minimum of 1.
• Time It takes a full day of study per level of the spell to learn a spell. Any interruption in this process requires you to start over and wastes an amount of materials in proportion to the amount of study time you already completed.
• Spellcasting Check At the end of the period of study, make a spellcasting check with the same DC as if you were casting the spell.

OUTCOME OF A SPELL LEARNING CHECK
The following are the possible outcomes of the spellcasting check to learn a new spell.
• Critical Success On a critical success, you learn the spell. You may cast the spell at will using the glyph magic rules. If you have a spellbook, the spell is copied into it. You also recover 50 sp of materials that you can use when learning spells in the future.
• Success On a success you learn the spell. You may now cast the spell at will using the glyph magic rules. If you have a spellbook, the spell is copied into it.
• Failure On a failed check, you fail to learn the spell. The materials are wasted and if you wish to learn the spell, you must repeat the process (including the costs) and make another attempt.
• Critical Failure A critical failure means that something about the spell just doesn’t make sense to you. Treat this as a failure, but any repeated effort to learn the spell requires twice as much time as normal.

COPYING A SPELL WITHOUT LEARNING IT
It’s possible to copy a spell into your spellbook without learning it as long as you have a spellbook, ink, and writing instruments. Doing so takes half the time required to learn the spell and does not require a spellcasting check or magical materials. If you later decide to learn the spell, having it copied does not reduce the amount of time needed to learn it, but you can use the copy you made as the source for learning the spell.

Casting Unlearned Spells
Glyph magic allows you to cast spells you have not learned, as long as you have a spellbook with the spell in it. The spell is cast as per the normal glyph magic spellcasting rules with the following changes:
• Study You must spend one hour studying the spell in the spellbook per level of the spell before you may attempt to cast it.
• Spellbook In Hand You must have the spellbook in front of you when you attempt to cast the spell. This does not provide advantage on the spellcasting check.
• Time It takes twice as long as normal to cast a spell in this fashion.
• Disadvantage You have disadvantage on your spell- casting check.
• Double Essence Point Cost The essence point cost for the spell is doubled.
• Critical Failure If you critically fail at the spellcasting check, not only do you suffer a spell mishap, but the spellbook pages that contain the spell are destroyed by the essence you summoned to cast the spell.



Essence Wells, Essence Voids and Ley Lines
Ambient essence is the raw magical energy that permeates Aetaltis. The density of ambient essence is relatively uniform, but there are exceptions. Two well-known phenomena are essence wells and essence voids. Ley lines also crisscross the world, providing yet another means to access additional essence. You can locate and analyze these power sources using essence sense or essence sight.

Size and Shape
Most essence wells and essence voids have a spherical area of effect with a diameter of ten to one-hundred yards. In game terms, treat this as a hard edge, but for story purposes the change in essence is a gradual shift with the power rising toward the center of the well. A few essence wells have
greater areas of effect (as much as a few miles) while others have much smaller areas of effect (just a few feet across.) There are also reports of wells and voids that change in size over time.

Ley lines are different. They run like rivers of essence through the Essential Plane. Ley lines are roughly cylindrical with a diameter of one to ten yards. For game purposes, treat this area as having a hard edge, but for story purposes the change in essence is typically a gradual shift. Ley lines run for many miles, often twisting and sometimes branch- ing off into lower-powered lines.

Detecting Essence Wells and Voids
A character with the essence sense ability may notice an essence well or void when they enter its area of effect with a successful passive Wisdom (Perception) check. A character may also choose to make an active Wisdom (Perception) check to sense an essence well or essence void if they believe they are within its area of effect. The DC for the check is 15 minus the power level of the essence well or void. The more powerful the void or well, the easier it is to detect.

On a success, you sense the presence of the well or void and its type. On a critical success, you also identify its power level. A successful analysis will also reveal its power level. The detect magic spell reveals the presence and power level of essence wells and voids within the spell’s range.

DETECTING ESSENCE WELLS AND VOIDS WITH ESSENCE SIGHT
Essence wells and voids are easily visible with essence sight. Using essence sight, you can see and identify the type and power level of any essence well or essence void you can see without a check. On the Essential Plane, the essence well’s area of effect is bathed in golden light, while essence voids appear as areas of utter darkness. When using essence sight inside an essence void, you suffer from the blinded condition.

Detecting Ley Lines
A character with essence sense may notice a ley line if they pass within 60 feet of it with a successful passive Wisdom (Perception) check. A character with essence sense may also choose to make an active Wisdom (Perception) check to detect a ley line. In either case, add the power level of the ley line to the result. The DC for the check is 15 minus the power level of the ley line. The more powerful the line, the easier it is to detect.

On a success, you sense the presence of the ley line and its type. On a critical success, you also identify its power level. A successful analysis of a detected ley line also reveals its power level. The detect magic spell also reveals the presence of ley lines within the spell’s range and identifies their power levels.

DETECTING LEY LINES WITH ESSENCE SIGHT
Ley lines are immediately visible on the Essential Plane. If you travel to the Essential Plane or use essence sight, you can see and identify the type and power level of ley lines within line of sight without a check. To those that can see them, ley lines appear as glowing, patterned tunnels of multi-colored light flowing like magical rivers. The more powerful the line, the brighter its glow and more intricate the patterns.

Essence Wells
Essence wells are places where the ambient essence levels are higher than normal. Most essence wells are natural features of the world’s magical topography. Each essence well has a power level ranked from 1 to 10. Essence wells are indicated by listing the essence well type followed by the power level in parentheses, like this: Lesser Essence Well (2).

TYPES
When a spellcaster on Aetaltis talks about an essence well, they refer to it by type rather than a power level number. The power level is a game mechanic.

ESSENCE WELL GAME EFFECTS
Essence wells have the following game effects on characters and objects inside the well’s area of effect:
• Increased Essence Recovery You receive a bonus to essence recovery each hour equal to the essence well’s power level.
• Spell Cost Reduction The essence point cost of spells is reduced by the power level of the essence well with a minimum of zero. You still use the spell’s unmodified essence point cost to determine the DC for spellcasting checks.
• Essence Stone Recovery Essence stones left in an essence well’s area of effect recover a number of essence points per day equal to the well’s power level.
• Increased Spell Mishap Effect Add the essence well’s power level to any rolls on the spell mishap table.
• Concentration Spells Any checks to maintain a spell with a duration based off of concentration are made at advantage.
• Continuous Duration For spells with a duration greater than instant, if the unmodified cost of the spell is less than or equal to the power level of the essence well, the spell continues until ended by the caster or dispelled. This includes spells with a duration of concentration, eliminating the need to concentrate to maintain the spell. You must still concentrate, however, when making changes to the spell’s effect.



Essence Voids
Essence voids are places with lower than normal levels of ambient essence. Usually this is the result of a magical ca- tastrophe, although some occur naturally. Each essence void has a power level ranked from 1 to 10. Essence voids are indicated in Aetaltis books by listing the essence void type followed by the power level in parentheses, like this: Lesser Essence Void (2).

TYPES
When a spellcaster on Aetaltis talks about an essence void, they refer to it by type rather than a power level number.

ESSENCE VOID GAME EFFECTS
Essence voids have the following game effects on characters and objects inside the void’s area of effect:
• Decreased Essence Recovery Characters do not recover essence naturally while they are in an essence void of any power level.
• Essence Drain For every hour that you spend in an essence void you lose a number of points of personal essence equal to the void’s power level. Essence stones are drained in the same fashion.
• Spell Difficulty All spellcasting checks rolled while in an essence void have disadvantage.
• Life Drain For each full hour a living creature spends in a Legendary Essence Void (10), their current and maximum hit points are temporarily reduced by 1 point. This is a cumulative effect and the damage cannot be healed until it leaves the essence void. If the living creature’s maximum hit points are reduced to 0 they die. In addition, their spirit is obliterated and they cannot be brought back from the dead. Ghosts, constructs, or other magically animated beings are similarly destroyed by the drain.
• Reduced Spell Mishap Effect Subtract the essence void’s power level from any rolls on the spell mishap table.
• Magic Item, Scroll, Spell, Potion,and Magical Ability Failure Magic items, scrolls, potions, spells, and magical abilities that replicate spell effects might not function in an essence void. If a spell or the spell a magical effect is based on has an unmodified essence point cost less than or equal to the void’s power level, it will not function inside the void’s area of effect.
• Difficult Concentration Any checks to maintain spells with a duration of concentration are made at disadvantage.

ESSENCE VOID EXAMPLE

You foolishly enter a Lesser Essence Void (3) in pursuit of a band of goblins. When you confront the goblins, you pull out your acid arrow scroll and try to cast, but nothing happens. This is because acid arrow is a 2nd level spell which normally costs 3 EP to cast. Since the void’s power level is 3, the scroll has become a mundane sheet of parchment with a bit of ink splattered on it. Once you leave the void, the scroll’s magical power will return.



Ley Lines
Ley lines are similar to essence wells in that they represent a place where more essence is available than normal. Where essence wells are a stationary area of increased ambient essence, ley lines are like rivers of essence flowing through the Essential Plane. This instability makes ley lines more difficult to find, and it requires extra effort to tap their power. Making the spellcaster’s task even more challenging, ley lines may change their course.

Each ley line has a power level from 1 to 10 that indicates its strength. Ley lines are indicated in Aetaltis products by giving the ley line type followed by the power level in paren- theses, like this: Lesser Ley Line (2).

TYPES
As with essence wells and voids, spellcasters on Aetaltis refer to ley lines by their type, not a power level value.

SHIFTING COURSES
Some ley lines have reliable courses, but many change their paths over time. The speed of shift depends on the potential power of the line. The more powerful the line, the slower it changes course. For instance, a greater ley line might change its course almost imperceptibly over the course of a year, while a minor ley line might suddenly shift to a position miles away with little or no warning.

INACCESSIBLE PATHS
Not all ley lines run conveniently along the ground where spellcasters can easily access them. The line may follow paths high in the sky, dive beneath the earth, tunnel through a mountain, or plunge beneath the sea.

VARYING LEVELS OF POWER
The power of ley lines wax and wane based on a variety
of triggers. The most common triggers are the phases of Numos, the moon. Planetary alignment, comets, meteor showers, and other celestial phenomenons are also known to cause changes in the power levels of ley lines. If the pow- er level drops enough, the line may disappear completely for a period of time.

LEY LINE CONJUNCTIONS
Ley lines branch but seldom cross. When they do, the pow- er of the ley lines intensifies at the conjunction. The power level where two ley lines cross is equal to half the weakest line’s current power level (rounded up) added to the current power level of the strongest line. If more than two lines cross, add half the power level of any weaker lines (rounded up) to the strongest line’s level.

On the first full moon of the year, a Lesser Ley Line (2) and a Minor Ley Line (1) cross above a waterfall in the deep woods outside of Thornwall. During the conjunction, both lines are at their maximum power level. Adding 2 (the more powerful line’s power) to 1 (half of the weaker line’s power level of 1, rounded up) we know that the conjunction has a power level of 3.

Ley line conjunctions are locations of great significance to Aetaltans. This is especially true if the conjunction is persistent rather than migrating or when one can reliably predict the time and place of the conjunction. It is said that the tower of Winterkeep is built on a particularly powerful stationary conjunction, where two greater ley lines and a lesser ley line cross.



USING LEY LINES
To use a ley line, you must attune to it. To do so, you must sense the ley line and then place yourself directly in its path. If both these requirements are met, make a spellcasting check against DC 15 + the ley line’s power level.

On a success, you attune to the line and gain the game effects for ley lines described below. You can also see the ley line, even on the Physical Plane, for as long as you remain attuned to it.

Attuning to a ley line conjunction is handled the same way, but the full power of the conjunction modifies the DC. Only a single check is necessary to attune to the conjunction. Once attuned, you can see on the Physical Plane all the ley lines in the conjunction for as long as you remain attuned to it.

BREAKING THE CONNECTION
You may only attune to one ley line or ley line conjunc- tion at a time. Attuning to a different line or conjunction immediately breaks the earlier attunement. If you move out of the path of the ley line or conjunction, you lose your attunement.

If you take damage while attuned to a ley line, you must succeed at a Constitution saving throw to maintain your connection. The DC is 10 or a number equal to half the damage you took, whichever is higher. If you take damage from multiple sources, such as an arrow and a dragon’s breath, you make a separate saving throw for each source of damage.

If your attunement is broken, all game effects from the ley line end immediately.

LEY LINE GAME EFFECTS
Ley lines have the following game effects for attuned char- acters:
• Essence Recovery Apply a bonus to essence recovery equal to the ley line’s power level.
• Spell Cost Reduction The essence point cost for spells is reduced by the power level of the ley line, to a minimum of zero.
• Automatic Concentration Spells You do not need to maintain concentration on spells that require concentration to maintain. As long as you are attuned, the spell effect continues. You may cast multiple concentration spells in this fashion and have them all active simultaneously. As soon as you end your attunement, spells maintained in this fashion end.

ATTUNING SPELLS TO A LEY LINE
Arcane spellcasters can attune a spell with a duration longer than instantaneous to a ley line. Once the attunement is complete, the ley line powers the spell. The spell continues to operate for as long as the attunement continues with no action on the part of the spellcaster. A spell attuned in this way remains attuned, even if the spellcaster is no longer attuned to the ley line.

To attune a spell to a ley line, the caster must:
1. Find a ley line with a power level equal to or greater than the unmodified essence point cost of the spell.
2. Successfully attune to the ley line.
3. Successfully cast the spell using the normal rules for casting that spell.
4. Succeed at an additional spellcasting check with a DC equal to 15 + the modified essence point cost of the spell. On a success, the spell is attuned to the ley line. A critical failure triggers a spell mishap, adding the un- modified essence point cost of the spell and the power level of the ley line to the mishap roll.

After the attunement is complete, the spellcaster can leave the area and the spell will remain in effect. The spell- caster has no direct agency over the spell attuned in this fashion and cannot change, alter, or control it.

The spell effect continues until one of the following occurs:
• A spellcaster dispels the spell.
• The ley line’s power level drops below the unmodified essence point cost of the spell.
• The ley line moves, or in the case of a conjunction, if any of the ley lines in the conjunction move.

If any of these things happen, the spell immediately ends.



Essence Stones
Essence stones are enchanted crystals that store essence. Arcane spellcasters can draw essence from the stones to power their spells instead of using their personal essence.

Types
Each stone has a maximum capacity. This represents the maximum number of essence points the stone can hold. Spellcasters refer to essence stones by their type, not the capacity value.



Using Essence Stones
To use the points stored in an essence stone, a spellcaster must commit to how many points they’ll draw out before they make their spellcasting roll. If they draw points from more than one source (for example, a pair of essence stones or an essence stone and personal essence) the spellcasting roll is made at disadvantage. If a condition such as a spell mishap increased the cost of the spell, the additional essence points are drawn first from the stone or stones, then from the spellcaster's personal essence, and finally from their hit points (as described in the rules for forced casting).

Charging Essence Stones
Since essence stones aren't alive, they do not recover essence points naturally the way a spellcaster does. They must be charged. There are three ways to charge an essence stone:

METHOD 1: MANUAL CHARGING
As their sole activity during a short rest, a spellcaster can transfer a number of points of their personal essence into an essence stone, up to the bonus of their spellcasting ability (minimum of 1). The spellcaster may not transfer more points than the stone’s maximum or more points than they have available in their personal essence. They may only transfer points they already have, not points they recover during the short rest.

METHOD 2: LEY LINE ATTUNEMENT
A spellcaster may attune an essence stone to a ley line as
an action by making a spellcasting check against DC 15 + power level of the ley line. Each hour that a stone remains attuned to the ley line, it recovers a number of essence points equal to the ley line’s power level up to the stone’s maximum capacity. The stone must remain in the ley line’s area of effect for the entire period. If the stone is moved out of the area of effect the attunement is broken.

METHOD 3: ESSENCE WELLS
When an essence stone is inside the area of effect of an essence well, it automatically recovers a number of points per hour equal to the essence well’s power level, up to its maximum capacity.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS: ESSENCE VOIDS
When inside the area of effect of an essence void, essence stones lose a number of points per hour equal to the essence void’s power level.

Wands, Staffs, Rods, and Spell Scrolls
The rules for arcane wands, staffs, and scrolls in Aetaltis are slightly different from standard Fifth Edition rules. Note that these rules do not apply to magic items created by divine spellcasters and emulating divine magical effects. Those items follow standard Fifth Edition rules with some minor modifications as described in the sidebar below.

Wands
In an Aetaltis game, wands act as a permanent glyph that allows a spellcaster to cast a spell they may or may not know without making a spellcasting check. The following rules apply to wands in an Aetaltis game.
• Essence Sense Only characters with the essence sense ability may activate a wand.
• Readied The wand must be in hand and readied for use.
• Action Activating a wand is an action.
• Essence Cost The character using the wand must spend a number of essence points equal to the unmodified essence point cost of the spell to activate it.
• Integrity Check Each time you use a wand, make an integrity check. Roll d20 against a DC equal to the level of the spell the wand casts. On a success, the wand is fine. On a failure, the wand loses integrity, crumbles to ash, and is destroyed. A roll of 1 always results in a loss of integrity.

Wands with Essence Stones
Some wands have essence stones mounted on them. These wands draw essence from the stone first, and then from the person using the wand. The wand’s stone can be recharged



like any other essence stone, only no attunement to it is required.

The essence stone is permanently bonded to the wand. The essence it contains can only be used when activating the wand. If the wand loses integrity, the stone is destroyed as well.

UNIDENTIFIED WANDS
One way to identify a wand is to activate it and see what happens. When activating a wand that you have not identified, use all the rules described here for using wands. The difference is that you won’t know what spell you’re casting and you won’t know how much essence the wand is going to drain. In this case, if the spell costs more essence points than you have personal essence, pay the essence point cost as for a forced casting.

Once you’ve used a wand in this way, you will only know what you can observe: the essence point cost to activate it and the magic effect you saw. It is possible, depending on the spell effect, to activate a wand, pay the essence points, and still not know what it did if the effect didn’t apply in that situation or wasn’t visible.

Staffs and Rods
In Aetaltis, magic staffs and rods work almost exactly as described in the standard Fifth Edition rules. Charges are handled as per the standard rules. Staffs and rods do not re- quire an expenditure of essence points to activate. The only difference is that in an Aetaltis game, only a character with essence sense can activate the powers of a staff or rod.



Arcane Spell Scrolls
The rules for arcane spell scrolls in an Aetaltis adventure are similar to those described in the standard Fifth Edition rules, with the following exceptions.
• Essence Sense Only a character with the essence sense ability can activate an arcane spell scroll.
• Essence Point Cost The character using the spell scroll must pay the unmodified essence point cost of the spell based on the spell level. If the character does not have enough essence points to cover the cost, they cannot use the scroll.
• Not a Copy of the Spell You cannot learn a spell
from a consumable arcane spell scroll. The glyph that causes the magical effect is embedded in the scroll, and the writing on the scroll are a set of instructions that activate the glyph. The instructions do not explain how to create the glyph.

New Spells

Animate Plants
5th–level transmutation
Casting Time 1 action
Range 120 feet
Components V, S
Duration Concentration, up to 1 minute

Plants come to life at your command. Choose up to ten nonsentient plants or fungi within range. Medium targets count as two objects, Large targets count as four objects, Huge targets count as eight objects. You can’t animate any target larger than huge. Each target animates and becomes a plant creature under your control until the spell ends or until reduced to 0 hit points

As a bonus action, you can mentally command any plant creature you made with this spell if they are within 500 feet of you (if you control multiple plant creatures, you can command any or all of them at the same time, issuing the same command to each one). You decide what action the plant creature will take and where it will move during its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a particular chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the plant creature only defends itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the plant creature continues to follow it until the task is complete.

An animated plant is a plant type creature with AC, hit points, attacks, Strength, and Dexterity determined by its size. Its Constitution is 10 and its Intelligence and Wisdom are 3, and its Charisma is 1. Its speed is 30 feet. It has blindsight with a radius of 30 feet and its blind beyond that distance. When the animated plant drops to 0 hit points, it reverts to its normal plant form, and any remaining damage carries over to its original plant form.



If you command a plant to attack, it can make a single melee attack against a creature within 5 feet of it. It makes a slam attack with an attack bonus and bludgeoning damage determined by its size. The GM might rule that a specific plant inflicts slashing or piercing damage based on its form.

At Higher Levels If you cast this spell as 6th level spell or higher, you can animate two additional targets for each spell level above 5th.

Essence Sight
3rd–level divination
Casting Time 1 action
Range Self
Components V, S, M (an ounce of essence crystal oil)
Duration 10 minutes

For the duration you gain the essence sight ability, shifting your vision from seeing the Physical Plane to seeing the Essential Plane. The spell lasts 10 minutes or until you choose to end it.

Purification, Greater
5th–level abjuration (ritual only)
Casting Time 1 week
Range 30 feet
Components V, S, M (see below)
Duration Instantaneous

This spell functions exactly like the lesser purification spell with the following differences:
• Wisdom Ability Check The DC for the Wisdom ability check is 8 + target’s Corruption score.
• Critical Success A critical success on the Wisdom ability check reduces the target’s corruption score by 2d6 + caster’s spell- casting ability score bonus.
• Success A success on the Wisdom ability check reduces the target’s Corruption score by 1d6 + caster’s spellcasting ability score bonus.

Purification, Lesser
3rd–level abjuration (ritual only)
Casting Time 1 week
Range 30 feet
Components V, S, M (see below) Duration Instantaneous

This complex and powerful ritual is used by clerics to remove corruption from those who have come into contact with the power of darkness. It may only be cast as a ritual, and it requires a week of focused effort by both the caster and the target. During that period, the caster and target must remain in the temple or shrine, and may only participate in the ritual process or attend to personal needs, such as eating or sleeping. Any other activity by either party disrupts the ritual, wastes the material components, and causes the spell to fail.

The spell must be cast in a temple or shrine, and the caster must have access to a written copy of the ritual instructions (250 sp to purchase a copy, although most temples have a copy on hand). In addition, the spell requires 50 sp worth of rare incense, 50 sp worth of purified wax candles, and 50 sp worth of holy unguents and oils. The incense, candles, unguents, and oils are all consumed during the ritual. The ritual itself consists of a series of specialized prayers, guided meditations, and both physical and spiritual cleansings.

At the end of the ritual period the caster makes a Wisdom ability check against DC 10 + Target’s Corruption score.
• Critical Success Reduce the target’s Corruption score by 2d4 + caster’s spellcasting ability score bonus.
• Success Reduce the target’s Corruption score by 1d4 + caster’s spellcasting ability score bonus.
• Failure The materials are consumed, but there is no effect.
• Critical Failure The materials are consumed, there is no effect on the target, and the caster gains a point of corruption.

The ritual may also be performed for an inanimate object. The requirements for the caster remain the same, and the target of the spell must remain within 30 feet of the caster at all times.

Ward of Alantra
5th–level abjuration (ritual only)
Casting Time 1 hour
Range Touch
Components V, S, M (see below)
Duration Instantaneous

This spell allows the caster to raise, lower, create, or restore a Ward of Alantra. The spell must be cast on an appropriate physical barrier. The barrier must be 10-feet high, 10-feet wide, and 1-foot thick. The entire barrier must be formed from a single, unbroken piece of naturally occurring material. A massive slab of stone, for instance, would work, but a massive slab of hardened plaster would not. The material may be carved, decorated, or otherwise worked as long as it remains in a single, unbroken piece.

The caster must have access to a written copy of the ritual instructions (300 sp to purchase a copy if the caster’s lyceum does not provide one). To raise or lower an intact, existing ward, no ma- terial components are necessary. At the end of the casting period the ward is either raised or lowered as per the caster’s wishes.

To create a new ward, the spell requires 50 sp worth of silver paint with which to mark the barrier with the appropriate sigils and a diamond worth at least 200 sp. All material components are consumed upon completion of the spell. Restoring a weakened or failing ward only requires the silver paint.

Water Jet
Evocation cantrip
Casting Time 1 action
Range 60 feet
Components V, S, M (a pint of water each time you cast the spell)
Duration Instantaneous

You send a thin, powerful jet of water streaking toward a creature within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, it takes 1d8 bludgeoning damage.

The spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you’re at 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).