Specifications for Power

Specifications for Power

You can use these specifications as a guide or to build your own character's power.

Types of Spells

Arcane: Includes all powers in the Arcane and Oriented Spell Books. All arcane are true magic, do magic damage if damaging, and can be resisted by MR (magic resistance).

Arcane

•  Abyssmancy (absorption, drains, expelling and engulfing voids, anti-factors, cold ice of space that can drain and absorb)
•  Dark Invocation (summon and invoke powers, curses, and creatures of lower kingdoms)
•  Divine Invocation (summon and invoke powers, blessings and creatures of upper kingdoms)
•  Enchantment (like lore, enchant items or subjects with powers through runes, glyphs, sigils which lock called powers and or elements and their command strings into an object or subject, sometimes using rituals.)
•  Necromancy (summon and raise the dead, decay, disease and decomposition and it's reversal, resurrection, undead and living dead creation, death)
•  Sorcery (combing various powers that harm, halt, confuse, act on contingencies, trap, arrest, defend, aid in travel, make invisible or most any condition useful in hostile or dangerous situations)
•  Wizardry (combining various powers to heal, purify, cure, augment and protect).

Oriented (Special) Paths
•  Acheron's Inner Sanctum
•  Bard Presence
•  Blood Magic
•  Blood Sorcery
•  Chaos Aspected
•  Path of Chaos (r-click to dl pdf)
•  Dead Realms Magic
•  Dead Realms Magic Limited
•  Lore and the Ancient Arcanum
•  Mind Walking

Does not include Elemental and Inborn Powers but does include some limited;

Limited Arcane Paths

•  Phantasmancy
•  Quantum Physiomancy
•  Shamanism
•  Witchcraft

Disease: Disease base damage is determined by level of disease and does a percentage of damage of 1%, +1% per ace rolled per turn (for rapid acting), per round (quick acting), or per day (gradual acting). Also staggers -1 AR for 1 turn, +1 turn per ace. Disease and Long term Disease must either be cured or suspended to deter permanent loss of health. Diseases can also have other affects other than or in addition to health loss, such as loss of checks, loss of skills from memory loss, loss of motor function or senses. Constitution or Health check vs. Disease level can be rolled to curtail disease damage during any damage cycle. Some Arcane diseases may require you first break down anti resistance.

Elemental: Elemental effects vary. Most any kind of element can also be shaped and Animated to create guardians and loyal plant elemental creatures at level equal to successes rolled. MR (magic resistance) does not resist elements.

  • Acid: damages and lowers fortitude and AC by power of roll.
  • Air: can pick up, drop, buffet and throw to damage and cripple on a crit for loss of -1 turn, -1 per ace.
  • Astral: stellar dust (burning particles),  meteor storm and comet area of effect attacks, gravity wells, and large scale asteroid and comet attacks, and stellar laser or broad beam light attacks. 
    • Divine - solar or stellar may be infused with divine to either inflict double damage to evil or repel evil.
    • Gravity Crushes - hold +1 turn, +1 per ace and damage each turn.
    • Stellar Light and Cosmic Fire - do full greater aggravated damage for +1 turn, +1 per ace, and get +1 to crit.
    • Gravity Well - can hold subject in place for up to +1 turn, +1 per ace.
    • Zero Gravity - can send subject floating off of surface by +10 yards, +1 yard per turn while power is maintained until another action is taken by Astromancer.
  • Earth: +1 to crit on stone attacks with concussive blunt damage of roll total and bruising half damage for +1, +1 turn per ace, and reduces AC and Fortitude -1, -1 per ace and also Stagger -1 AR per +1 turn, +1 turn per ace.
    • Duration - All lasting earth effects have duration of +1 turn, +1 per success.
    • Earthquakes - Stagger and do +1% per success Chance of Damage.
    • Sand and Dust Storm: large area of affect of up to +10 yards, +1 per success, normal Duration Damage.
    • Suffocating +1%, +1% per ace Damage Over Time if buried.
  • Electrical Effects: single or multiple targets with area of effect splash damage in up to 6ft, +1 foot per success, normal aggravated damage and stun for -1 AR, -1 AR per ace.

  • Fire Effects: full greater aggravated damage for +1 turn, +1 per ace, on all fire plus pain with -1, -1 per ace mental check loss per round. Doubles on eternal flame. Mental check losses end when  no longer affected by pain.

  • Ice and Freeze Effects: does aggravated damage and

    • -1 movement, stamina, and dexterity per ace,

    • 0 movement for 2 turns on a crit, and frozen for 2 turns if mvm reaches 0.

    • Those frozen take +5 additional damage per ace on weapons or impact because those frozen are brittle. Double Damage on a natural triple crit.

    • Death blows have a 50% chance of skipping off of ice because of force behind blow.

  • Abyssal Ice damages but also drains -

    • -1 stam, mvm, dex and health, -1 per ace,

    • frozen for 0 mvm for 3 turns on a crit,

    • does +10 damage per ace, double the damage on a crit, and triple the damage on a triple crit with

    • Ice has 60% chance of deflecting death blows.

  • Light: cauterized wounds do no aggravated or over time damage but cuts through Armour, stone and fortified flesh, all damage to abyssal or shadow evil doubled and repulses dark aligned evil. 

         Solar light adds Damage over Time radiation damage of +1%, +1% per ace.

  • Morphing: swaps out target element with a called element usually of same approximate size. Can control advantages and disadvantages.
  • Purification: cleanses an element of called impurities or else cleanses target of called elements.

  • Shadow: conceals, grants +1 hit or crit coming out of shadows

    • Bolts damage with aggravated damage

    • Tears do continuous damage over time (using shadow gates to transport two different parts of body to two locations).

    • Death Blow Tears kill on successful natural triple crit.

  • Spirit or Spectral: damage injures HP but as vital energy or soul.

    • Spectral Death Blow: If soul is destroyed (crit, natural crit vs PC) or removed body remains as a zombie.

    • Summon and command spirit types, see bestiary.

    • Take Spirit Forms to bypass damage and Chill (-1 stamina and movement, mild 50% dmg per hit) by touch or by passing through target. See other spirit types for greater spirit forms to take.

  • Verdure: many effects can be commanded through plants
    • Tangle to hold, choke, or crush
    • Trip to stagger
    • Tap to Poison or Cure as called and by amounts level with allow.
    • Animate to create guardians and loyal plant elemental creatures.
  • Water: water effects can -
    • Suffocate for Damage over Time of +1% per success, and lower levels -1 per turn (oxygen deprivation) until countered.
    • When submerged movement is lowered by 50%.
    • Water Pressure can crush for continuous damage each turn until crushing pressure ends.
    • Water Impact causes damage = to roll total with aggravated damage.
    • Creatures of the Sea (or Fresh Water) can be called as allies, see bestiary for Types.

Feats: feats are similar to inborn and are innate but neither inborn or learned, but gained by various means such as through blessings, interaction with powerful lore, being infused by certain powers or beings, or even by being possessed or cursed.

Inborn: Powers that are not magic but supernatural traits of a creature. All Inborn Powers have a single level as one level per inborn path must be purchased at the same time to level inborn powers up.

Innate Power: Learned by successful practice, each spell mastered when used successfully in an active situation.

Invoke or Invocation: A vocal command string often but not always used in ritual that summons spirits or creatures and or the elemental or arcane powers they command.

Lore and Enchantment: the power of lore or enchantments is any power captured into an object through the use of runes, glyphs or sigils carved on and into various surfaces. Lore can only be broken by destroying the sigils, glyphs or runes scribed into an object or surface.

  • Soft Lore is scribed in easily disturbed but often hard to find surfaces such as sand, dirt, clay, snow or ice. This lore is easily erased if located. Often used for campsites or quickly raising powers.
  • Transient Lore is scribed onto or into more lasting surfaces or items such as paper, leather, soft woods, or baked clay.
  • Hard Lore is scribed on and into hard surfaces such as metal, stone, minerals, bone and hardwoods.

Pain: attacks or torture which focus on pain do normal or minimal damage as stated each round until attack ends but also result in loss of mental and physical checks, by -1, -1 per ace per turn until attack ends. Victim must have trait of courage to roll willpower vs pain to mitigate the losses if they succeed against level of pain being rolled. Roll each round with courage bonus until willpower falls too low.

Poisons: poisons vary from straight damage, to aggravated damage to the highest level progressive damage. Level of poison determines its base damage if not preset and it's roll determines total damage before aggravated or progressive damage kick in if any.

Progressive Damage: damage roll or set damage does full aggravated damage per turn or per round as stated until counteracted, and damage increases by +1-10 as stated per turn or round. Poisons often do progressive damage but so do some powers. Some rare Diseases can do progressive percentage damage each turn, round, or say as stated with increases of +1%-10% each interim.

Psymantic: Powers which influence the mind, including but not limited to dementia, domination and presence.

Ritual Practices: rituals using seals, lore or circles to call up power, favors, or blessings from called beings or areas or to summon specific called entities to obey a single command.

Quantum: Powers which alter reality; including but not limited to illusory, phantasmancy and quantum projection paths. Related to Psyonic/Psymantic. 

 

Magic Specifications - MA Specs

Use these guidelines unless a power states otherwise. Specs are listed in alphabetical order.

Action Rate (AR) and Defense: if AR runs out on defense, checks and defensive abilities such as dodge use no AR. AR is for MA and PA rolls only and determines how many actions can be taken in a single turn. These mad at 6 without bonuses and at 8 with bonuses.

Aggravated Damage: does normal damage and lasts 1 turn, +1 per ace. Aggravated damage is normal damage which continues after a hit, such as wounding, poison, fire, ice, acid and electrical effects inflict.

Anti-Factors: Power of roll = power of anti-factor or the power a factor is reduced by.

Area or Area of Effect (AoE): Affects a called radius or area around target center in radius of up to +2 yards +1 foot per success for targeted powers, or for wards up to 10 square yards, +10 per success. Numbers double on a crit and either triple on a triple crit of natural 20, or cover miles per success on owned or controlled areas.
Area or Range Undefined: Up to +1 yard per success. Long ranged powers or weapons set at +10 feet per success.

Artifacts: MA roll = Level of Power. Artifacts are sentient and must have at least one penalty for their use, such as; drain and emulate willpower. Artifacts have HP vs damage and their own willpower based on power of roll.

Base or Character Level: Add all highest levels together leaving out any newly learned paths unless all are new and divide by number of paths added together to determine Base or Character Level. This level can be rolled for any power, ability or skill except for those much lower level new abilities that were left off.


Boost Levels: +1, +1 per ace for brief durations.

Boost or Bestow Resistance: +1% per success, +2% with improved power.

Bypasses: when bypassing immunities, wards, or resistance, reduce resistance or immunity by power of Roll. Immunities=200% resistance.

Chance Rolls: use these dice to determine anything that is a matter of chance or to determine something quickly.

     Set chance at 1-99 on a 1 d100, as 1-5 on 1 d6, as 1-19 on a 1 d20; figuring spread and difficulty of chance. Use for chance of encountering an enemy or ally, for chance of something failing or succeeding, for chance of intervention, for any chance occurance, or use to determine any random Level of Difficulty (LoD), or NPC level to roll against.    

     Player can call for a chance roll once during an encounter at any time during a game. GM can also permit one chance roll per round or call for chance rolls at any given time.

Checks Modified or Set: use random check rolls in Game Guide, or for checks set by MA, roll stamina used = # d6 check roll.

Check Gains or Losses: of up to +1, +1 per ace, no mental or ethical check loss can drop below 5.

Deadly Assault or Death Blow (MA/PA): inflict death on single hit vs PC but must be called and a triple crit of a natural 20 must be rolled for one shot death to succeed. Any defense must be valid and roll either a triple crit or above 20 with bonuses to succeed. One Shot Deaths can only be called twice a day against PCs with one Death Blow per round. Can be called once per round vs NPCs.

Direct: Any power which affects Target directly without being ranged, missiled or an area of effect. Includes many Arcane and Limited Powers.

Divination Powers: gain +1 knowledge per ace. Knowledge can be anything off of a character sheet or in a GM's quest guide, or can determine something which lies ahead in a game if a GM consents to it.

Draining Powers: drains -1 check as specified per ace. Duration depends on level used or specs of power used. Most common are drain stamina, drain health (HP), drain Willpower and Drain Strength.


Draining Effects: drain -1 called check, combat, or power level, -1 per ace. Duration depends on level used or specs of a draining power. Power and skills are actually knowledge drains. Drained check levels can be restored by restoration powers while knowledge loss can only be restored by those who restore memories (mission or quest required).

 

Duration: Use for time and permanency affects, or any duration roll as needed. Durations can be changed by altering a condition. Suggested levels establish what duration a power can last unless otherwise stated.

  • Brief Durations: last up to 1 turn, +1 turn per ace. {levels 1-8}
  • Temporary Durations: lasts up to 1 hour, +1 hour per ace. {levels 9-16}
  • Lasting Durations: last up to +1 day per success, or +1 week per success on a crit. {levels 17-24}
  • Long Term Durations: last up to +1 month per success, or +1 year per success on a crit. {Levels 25-32}
  • Called Durations: can last any duration called up to Total Roll=Years or be called as permanent. {Levels 33-40}

 

Enhance: raise a level by +1.

 

Fortify: restore or increase fortitude or AC by +1, +1 per ace.

 

Freeze: aggravated damage and -1 movement, stamina, and dexterity per ace, 0 movement for 2 turns on a crit, and frozen for 2 turns if mvm reaches 0. Those frozen take +5 additional damage per ace on weapons because those frozen are brittle. Double Damage on a natural triple crit. Death blows have a 50% chance of skipping off of ice because of force behind blow.

  • Abyss ice does triple damage on a natural triple crit and drains -1 stam, mvm, dex and health,-1 per ace, frozen with 0 mvm for 3 turns on crit, and 60% chance of deflecting death blow.

 

Haste: Combat does not add to movement check, it adjusts HB to +1 per ace; with an AR bonus of +1 AR per ace. HB does not stack with normal HB but AR bonus does stack with normal AR. If normal HB is higher then do not adjust HB for Haste. Haste adds +1 per success to normal movement for contests of speed.

Holding Spells: these spell types are dispelled on a hit unless it guards from attacks.

Layered and Weaved Effects: up to +1 effect per AR used, +1 AR to layer effects, per spell.

Missiled and Ranged: Projectile such bolts or arrows, or a channeled stream of power directed at target center such as fireballs, lightning bolts, arcane globes of power, shadow bolts, laser beams, elemental streams, etc. Range is usually up to 6ft, +1 foot per success. Range doubles on crits and triples on triple crits of natural 20.

Multiple Targets: +1, +1 per ace

NPC Start Levels: of invoked or created creatures is up to +1 per stamina level used, +1 per ace unless otherwise stated by a power.

Path of Chaos Bonuses: +1 HB all on spells and targeting per pentacle mastered. +1 on saves per pentacle mastered. +1 d6 on all paths per pentacle mastered.

 Permanency: Makes temporary durations or powers permanent on a crit until permanency factor or condition is broken. Power vs. Base Level for free saves.

Perpetuated or Streamed Effects: Last until another spell is cast or up to +1 turn, +1 per ace as called.


Power of Artifacts and Magical Items: MA roll=Power. Level used to create magical, enchanted, sentient, or elemental items defines the level of the item. This level is used for all rolls that the power of the item does not cover.

Power vs. Character Base Level: Use this spec whenever a power affects another character's fate, overall form, or their levels.

Power vs. Checks: Power vs. Check, and if power succeeds against level check, but fails against opposing check, Checks can be used to boost magic when opposing checks. Adjust HB to +1 HB per five check levels, or add +1 d6 per five check levels to magic roll. Check bonus HB do not stack with normal HB.

  • Arcane, Elemental and Limited Magic: Intelligence check
  • Domination and Dementia: Willpower check
  • Quantum and Illusory: Logic Check
  • Bard, Presence, and Story Telling: Charisma Check.
  • Power Improved: +1 d6 to any roll.
  • Power and LoD: MA roll = Power or LoD of aspects.

Power vs. Power: This applies whenever a power opposes another power. if an effect is not valid against a power, counters fail. for example, lightning cannot counteract fire, but water can.

Seals, Marks, and Signatures: Must be dismantled before a spell can be broken.

Shielding Spells: these spell types are dispelled when the one shielded attacks.

Spell Book: All followers and priests of chaos have a spell book which they record formulated spells in which they have perfected. Gods and Hierophants of chaos surpass the need for their spell book.

Spell Formulation: fails with 0 aces as well as normal failures. Name path and effect of spell, level being rolled, and specs of spell. Death spells follow same rules as all death blows.

Stamina Costs:

  • -1 stamina per AR spent on all physical actions (PA)
  • -1 stamina per 3 levels of magic on magic actions (MA)
  • -1 stamina per 5 levels of magic at levels 31+
  • Defensive rolls do not use stamina unless a counter attack.

Stat Rolls: can be used in place of most any other rolls.

  • Roll a d100 and add skill, ability, power, or check level, add hit bonus vs. opposing defense, skill, power, LoD or check level. Highest roll succeeds. Roll of 1-2 always fails, do not add hit bonuses.
  • For damage or power on success, roll +1d100 per ten levels, add level used (limit of 4 d100 if GM calls limit).
  • Then Roll d20 for Type of Damage Done:
    • 1, botch and normal backlash damage to self
    • 2-9 half damage.
    • 10-15 normal damage,
    • 16-20 critical double damage, natural
    • 20 triple critical triple damage, or
    • 20+ triple critical triple damage does not include death blows.

Weaver Penalties: All weaver powers require a Hit Roll which when failed have a backlash penalty of full damage when they either botch with roll of 1 or fail. Damage doubles on a botch. Damage does not include the actual effect of a power but just it's raw power.

 

If in Doubt?

Use this guide as a standard when in doubt of a roll. All kinds of things can come up in RP and if this guide does not cover it? Improvise a simple roll and balanced it with the situation at hand as well are you are able. Chance and Skill Rolls can decide many things as well. Submit any questions you have about rolls and GM will respond to query and add relevent Q&A to Specifications page.