Spell and Contraption Descriptors
The following describe how the majority of spells and contraptions are detailed and handled. Each Spell and Contraption will be constructed out of a number of keywords, each with a specific and clearly defined meaning. For spells, unless specified elsewhere, the attacker begins a Willpower vs. Willpower Contest against the targeted defenders or any targets within the selected area. If the target of a Spell or Contraption wins a Contest caused by being subject to an AOE, they can choose to freely move to the nearest open space outside of the AOE, or as close to it as possible.
Target
- Self: Targets the user/caster.
- Touch: Targets adjacent.
- Ranged: Targets any within the listed range.
- AOE: The origin of the AOE.
- Sphere (#) Filled sphere with radius #.
- Surround (#) Hollow sphere with outer radius #.
- Line (#*3) 1 x 1 x (#*3) line.
- Cone (#) Flat cone extending # paces.
Duration
- Instant: The effect is resolved when it is cast and ends when the turn does.
- Persist (#): The effect lasts until the # of rounds have passed.
- (ie, Persist (1) means the effect lasts until the end of the current round.)
- Persist applied to an AOE causes the AOE itself to Persist, not the effect applied by it. An AOE applied to a living target ends when they win a Contest against the source at the end of the round.
- Persist applied to specific targets causes the effect to be reapplied at the end of the round if the target fails the Contest again.
Trigger
- Trip (#): Before entering the # radius, the target rolls the Trigger’s Save (Always 10+Willpower vs. Willpower). If they fail, resolve the effect. If they succeed, they know that movement will cause something to happen, but not what, and can choose to rescind their movement.
- Fuse (#): When set, this will wait a # of your turns, reducing by 1 at the end of your turn and activating when it is reduced to 0.
Effect(s)
- Push (#): Move the target away from the source by the listed #.
- Pull (#): Move the target towards the source by the listed #.
- Terrain, Hardness (#): Creates a wall approximately two fingers wide out of a chosen material of the appropriate Hardness (#). If from a spell, this terrain crumbles rapidly upon its ending, returning to the Key or Gate after turning to a very fine dust. If not, it persists until destroyed.
Thaumaturgy
A thaumaturgist reaches directly through a Gate, armed with knowledge they’ve gleaned from their glimpses of the seat of a god, and the Equivalency gained by their sacrifices, they allow the rules of one world to bleed into another.
A thaumaturgist can create a total number of spells equal to their Willpower Ability Score.
When selecting a Wound for Equivalency (I-V), the Overkill amount is 5 for Surface, 10 for Aggravated, 11 for Traumatic, and 16 for Lethal.
Mana
As a thaumaturgist makes a sacrifice, leaving a piece of them on the other side of their gate, they create their original Equivalency. Their Equivalency allows them to recycle their sacrifice back and forth and is measured in mana. Mana dictates the difficulty and scale of individual spells you can create and the amount that is cast at once.
You may cast any number of spells in a round up to your maximum Mana. Any spells that Persist (#) count towards this limit if they continue to be active at any point during the caster’s turn.
For example, if your total mana is 10, you can cast a single spell in a turn that costs 10 mana to create, or multiple spells that combine up to that limit.
Theurgy
A theurgist calls into their Gates, symbols of thresholds specially created in order to attune themselves with the Entity of their choosing. They have been trained in the tongue of their gods, colloquially known as ‘Voidtongue’, in order to summon their power. Voidtongue sounds differently depending on the clergy or spell being requested, sometimes raspy, silken, or even akin to baying. The precise nature and translation of these invocations are lost and unknown even to those that make them and written forms of it are purely phonetic.
The length and difficulty to cast a Theurgist’s spell is measured by its Complexity.
Pure understanding and ability to pronounce an invocation is not enough for a miracle to take place. Theurgists must maintain good standing by sacrificing to their Gate in order to gain Favor.
A theurgist may hold Favor with a number of Entities equal to their Willpower Ability Score.
Complexity
The Voidtongue is a difficult, bizarre language that bears no resemblance to any other in the world, and oftentimes it even lacks a resemblance to itself.
Each invocation is measured by its Complexity. Each Complexity (#) requires the user to speak 5 words to complete the invocation.
For example, casting a Complexity (1) and a Complexity (3) spell would require 20 words. A Complexity (5) spell would require 25 words and prevent the caster from speaking more without expending AP, and effectively preventing them from casting more spells.
Favor
The Entities the world communes with are fickle beings, ones that must be assured of your devotion through offerings passed through Gates that are engraved for them.
Rather than having an innate pool of Mana, a Theurgist expends Favor which they accrue by making consistent sacrifices to their chosen Entities.
The exact nature and ‘worth’ of these sacrifices are detailed alongside the Entities in the Acts of Favor section. Let it be known that nothing is ever free.