Magic Systems

There are several ways to use magic in this world. One of them, and only ONE, is available to ALL characters, be they PC or NPC, regardless of Aspects or Stunts. Sorcery is potent and can do almost anything, but it has a cost that weighs on a person's soul if it is used. The more it is used, the more it weighs on the user. There are other systems, explained below, and I'm willing to entertain other systems you might wish to use. I am a "Yes, and/but..." style GM. However, that system has to have a cost, it can't just be "free magic" You'll note the three initial systems I lay out below are all less powerful than Sorcery and have some drawbacks. Vancian magic is limited in power and how often it can be used. Alchemy requires prep work and only creates Temporary Aspects. Animism requires negotiating with spirits and making deals. And those spirits are limited in their power by their nature. A tree spirit can't cast a fireball to help you in battle, but it could lift you up to a better vantage point.

Sorcery

Every character has a Corruption Stress track with five boxes. Anytime you need to do something magical you state what you want to do, the Narrator will tell you what you need to do, and tell you to mark a point of Corruption. The requirements will always be something reasonable that your character can accomplish, it will depend on what you are trying to do. If it is a relatively small effect, then you might take some stress, or a Minor Consequence. Your character might lose access to a resource through sacrifice, such as breaking a valuable item or losing a treasured memory. You might even be required to be taken out of the scene. The end result will be a change to the narrative, both in the way you desire, and in a way you probably won’t like.

The problem with Corruption is it is it acts like a Trouble Aspect. The narrator can compel you to act on your most base nature and commit the sins you usually shudder to think about. When the Narrator offers these compels, and you follow them, you gain a Fate Point as usual. However, refusing a Compel of your Corruption costs a number of Fate Points equal to how many boxes you have checked off. You can clear one box of Corruption when you achieve a Major Milestone

---

Stunts related to Sorcery…

Familiar - You have bound a creature to your will. This creature is a loyal non-combatant NPC. The creature must be small. Many people like to bind animals that are commonly seen as pets, like cats, rats, frogs or birds. Basically any creature can serve as a Familiar, but domesticated animals are best. Once bound the Familiar gains three boxes of Corruption. The master may divert a point of Corruption they would suffer to their Familiar, saving themselves from the effect. The Familiar is intensely loyal to their Master and is immune to being Compelled by the Narrator. If a Familiar has all three Corruption boxes filled, it dies before the end of the scene. A Master can bond with a new familiar at the rise of the next New or Full moon (whichever is first) and succeeds at a Mediocre (+0) Rapport Roll.

Vancian Magic


***REQUIREMENT - Take the Stunt: Vancian Magic ***

Vancian Magic is a school of thought and practice that turns the energies used in Sorcery into safe, rote spells that require the memorization of formula and incantation. It takes years to master the art, and few people have the patience to master it, given how easy Sorcery is to use. Not to mention you can achieve a lot more with Sorcery than you ever could with Vancian Magic.

If you take this stunt, you know how to cast a few low power spells every day without taking on Corruption. To do so you must prepare your spells after getting a good night’s rest (or the equivalent if you are the night owl type). Spend a Fate point and roll +Lore vs. a Mediocre (+0) difficulty. If you succeed you may memorise a number of spells equal to your Lore skill for the day. When you decide to cast the spell, it is wiped from your memory until you memorize it again after resting. If you succeed with style, you may choose an additional two spells to memorize for the day.

A spell can be any minor effect you might imagine. All casting it really does is give you permission to affect the world in a way that you normally could not. You might use Lore to Attack an area with a burst of fire, or gain the ability to fly allowing you to use Athletics to perform otherwise impossible stunts for the rest of the scene.

***GM's Note***
In the back of my head I harbor the delusion that I might turn this into and actual setting book and try to sell it someday. For that reason I am making this note here and not in what might be my game text. I don't know what kind of licences would be required to even reference D&D so I don't mention it above.

This system is inspired by old school D&D spells. So if you make use of it you can look to 2nd and 3/3.5 edition of D&D to figure out what spells you can cast. 0 through 4th level spells are all appropriate. 5th level and above are more in the realm of Sorcery...though someone using Sorcery to simply replicate a 5th level spell might be paying to high a price...but we shall see.

If there is a spell you want, we can always discuss it.

Alchemic Magic - ***Borrowed from the Loose Threads book.***

***REQUIREMENT - Take the Stunt: Alchemy ***

Alchemy is a lot like Vancian magic, in that it requires long hours of study to master, though it could be seen as less intensive because you can follow recipes in the comfort of your own home/lab/workshop.
Alchemy includes potions, charms, and talismans. With Alchemy you can create advantages that can be used to benefit or hinder other people. You cannot, however, use Alchemy to affect yourself or the environment. Providing you have the ingredients and means to carry them, you can create items well in advance of needing them.
With Lore, you can roll to create a magical object. When you make one, write down its effect: perhaps it makes the target Frozen In Place or Notice Nothing Unusual. Also, write down the difficulty needed to overcome the object’s effect, referencing the table below. This difficulty depends on your Lore skill rating and whether you succeeded or succeeded with style when making the object

Difficulty to Overcome Alchemy Magic
Lore Skill Rating | Succeed | Succeed w/ Style
Superb (+5) +4 +5
Great (+4) +3 +4
Good (+3) +2 +3
Fair (+2) +1 +2
Average (+1) +0 +1

When you use the potion on someone, they gain the effect as an aspect. To use the alchemical object, you must roll to attach the aspect to them. If you succeed on an attachment, you gain 1 free invoke. If you succeed with style, you gain 2 free invokes. You might attach the aspect to a target using Shoot (throwing it at them), Stealth (sneaking it into their drink, attaching it to their clothes), or Rapport (convincing them to take it). If you fail this roll, the object might break, get attached to the wrong person, or contain something the target is allergic to.
You may give an alchemical object to an ally to use on a third party, but the ally still must roll to attach it. If you want to use the object on your ally, then roll Rapport or Shoot to hand or toss it over to them. Two rolls are always necessary: one to create the alchemical object and one to attach it. Someone affected by an Alchemy aspect can try to remove it on their turn by overcoming with Will against the difficulty written down when it was made.

Animism

***REQUIREMENT - Take the Stunt: Animist ***

Animism is the belief that all plants, animals, and natural phenomena possess a spirit that can be called forth and communed with. The science is still out on that assertion. The most common theory one heats from skeptics is that somehow the human mind is projecting itself outward and using some sort of magical echo to represent the spirit. But those skeptics can’t deny that practitioners of Animism can accomplish some amazing things and don’t seem to suffer the ill effects of Sorcery. Many major religions condemn the practise of Animism because the most powerful Animists can conjure and commune with what appear to be human spirits, or ghosts. Souls that should have moved on to the afterlife.

To call forth a spirit and make use of its power, the Animist must succeed at a series of rolls over a number of turns. First, as an action, a successful Rapport roll is needed to coax the spirit into manifesting. The difficulty of this roll is determined by the type of spirit the Animist wants to communicate with. The more stable and unmoving, or ‘mindless’ a spirit is, the easier it is to convince them to speak to you...until you get to those of human level intelligence. The spirits of rocks, earth and minerals require only a Mediocre (+0) result. Plants have an Average (+1) and Animals a Fair (+2). Transient natural phenomena, those that don’t last long, like a storm or a fire can require a Good(+3) or Great(+4) result. Spirits of human intelligence range all over the place, from Mediocre (+0) to Superb (+5) depending on how much they want to talk to the Animist.

Once called, a Spirit must be convinced to help the Animist. This is a simple social challenge that requires three success before three failure. An Animist may use any social skill they wish, Empathy, Rapport, Provoke, or Will to convince the spirit to help. This challenge is like having a conversation, so a character can do other things while speaking to the spirit, only the initial calling requires a full action.

If the Animist succeeds, the spirit will act on their behalf in a manner that makes sense for the natural phenomena they represent. Rocks might fling themselves at an enemy, or roll into position to hinder movement. Plants can rapidly grow to provide a way to climb a wall. A forest fire could be encouraged to turn in a certain direction maybe, but not to put itself out. Animals could manifest and attack or lend you their traits for a time.

The Animist uses their skills to roll, but gain the ability to effect the world in vastly different ways depending on what they ask of their spirit allies. Once that particular task is complete, the spirit will remain for a moment, and can be convinced to act on the Animist’s behalf again with a single successful social challenge roll. But if the Animist fails or call on another Spirit, the first one will return to their normal realm.