The Rising of Chaos Wiki      Magic      The Mechanics of Magic

The Weave is a powerful beast and it can be controlled by more than just words and a juggling routine.

mishomo krezami, Bladesinger INstructor

The principles of magic explain the tools that are used to make magic work and how they will impact the game as you use them. In this section the mechanics of magic will explain how to cast spells and the parameters that govern their usage. Transcendental and Combat Casting share several core attitudes to mechanics but vary when we reach implementation and backlash.

Timings

  • Casting a spell takes time to achieve and time to recover from
  • Combat Casting is quick, frantic and ordered whilst Transcendental Casting is slow, considered and Freeform.
  • A rule of thumb for Combat Casting can be considered as follows: 
    • Cast for approximately 6 seconds using your Realm Casting Brief for guidance
    • Before you cast again roleplaying a short experience of tiredness and slight weakness should happen for around a further 6 seconds. This is a roleplaying effect only and does not affect the mechanics of your game.
    • This means a new caster can throw out around five effects every minute of combat
  • A Rule of thumb for Transcendental Casting can be considered as follows
    • Cast for approximately 1 minute using your Realm Casting Brief for guidance
    • After casting you should roleplay the exertion of casting for approximately one minute per magnitude cast and not attempt to cast again until this time has passed.

The Rigours of Casting

  • As stated: Magic is an unordered thing and casting spells, by its nature, tries to bind and trap that magic.
  • This is what causes us to draw a Backlash card after we have performed any kind of casting.
  • Whether you are casting Combat or Transcendental there are two types of spell that you can cast:
    • Guided / Nestored- These spells are not known to the caster and represents efforts that require the guide to be present either physically in Transcendental or from within during combat.
    • Unguided / Buoyed – These spells are very familiar to the caster; their guide will not need to be present to cast these spells although they still carry a link to their power. If any of your spells are Unguided your will have been informed by the system.
  • When casting Transcendental any caster may cast any of their Unguided spells whenever they wish to and draw Backlash and use Defiance as appropriate in any scene.
  • They may attempt any Guided spell once and enjoy the same Backlash and  Defiance benefits in a scene.
  • If they attempt a second Guided spell they may only use defiance against backlash checks as their bodies tire
  • If they attempt three or more Guided spells they may use neither defiance nor backlash checks to negate their backlash.
  • When casting Combat any caster may cast any of their Unguided spells whenever they wish to and draw Backlash and use Defiance as appropriate in any scene.
  • They may attempt any Guided spell once and enjoy the same Backlash and  Defiance benefits in a combat.
  • If they attempt a second Guided spell they may only use defiance against backlash checks as their bodies tire
  • If they attempt a third Guided spell they may use neither defiance nor backlash checks to negate their backlash.
  • Any further attempts to cast Guided combat spells will cost the caster 2 Immediate Hits of damage.

The Backlash of Casting

  • Pulling a Backlash Card represents the outcome not of your spell or spells but instead the outcome of you channelling the chaos of magic into order in one place. 
  • One overall Backlash Check for Combat at the highest MAG cast, and One for EACH transcendental effect. This represents the effect that the Magic is having on the caster after their exertions.
  • When the Backlash Card is pulled and the effect for the appropriate MAG has been read the caster has three choices on how to proceed:
    • Accept the effect and carry on the game roleplaying with it.
    • Attempt to negate the effect using their Backlash Mastery skill
    • Spend one point of defiance to negate the effect completely.
  • If they chose to use their Backlash Mastery Skill they CANNOT then use Defiance to negate the effect.
  • A check called Backlash Mastery may be attempted along the following parameters:
    • Success – Negates the effect
    • Failure – Doubles the duration of the effect
    • Critically Failed – The effect now lasts all day.

Beginning your Career as a Caster

  • When you build your Caster you will begin with the REALM Word of your casting                                              
    • Wyld
    • Weave
    • Source
    • Focus
    • Psionic
  • This denotes what you can cast according to your casting brief transcendentally. For example Weave Magic would allow you to call upon inspirational moments through storytelling with some degree of ease but it would make using your mind to communicate with another very difficult.
  • From a combat perspective it denotes the prefix to any combat specific spells that might need identifying for example: Focus Dart.
  • Alongside the Realm Word you may select either one combat word that you have access to or one support word that you agree with your ref.
  • You begin your career with a selection of Unguided spells from the transcendental and combat realms that will be decided by you during character creation and your choices.

Casting Together

  • If you want to cast as a group this is achievable and anyone, from any realm, can come into a group and attempt the casting.
  • It is usually used when a single caster is unable to achieve a spell alone or does not believe that they can reduce the Magnitude of the spell to a level with a sustainable backlash for them.
  • This is not a small undertaking and will require a leader who MUST keep the traditions of the individual casting briefs alive.
  • The process of casting together follows a sequence:
    • Select a leader of the casting – You want this to be someone whose REALM Word is best suited to casting the thing so that the INITIAL MAGNITUDE  isn’t REALLY high.
    • The Leader summons their guide who will assist in overseeing the overall casting, other guides may be called upon and utilised if they arrive.
    • At this point working with your guide(s) should follow usual parameters.
    • At the end of casting all involved draw the same backlash
  • When you join a casting you WILL increase the INITIAL MAGNITUDE of the spell dependent on your ability with the spell being cast but you will be able to add your words to the casting pool to lower the MAG.
  • You will also be able to commune with the leader’s guide through interaction with the leader.

FAQ

  • If I cast one combat spell, and one Transcendental spell in the same scene can I apply my backlash check?
    • Yes
  • How much defiance can I use in one day?
    • Everything has a hard cap of 10
  • Do I need to draw Backlash for my guide? 
    • No – Your guide is a O MAG casting and requires no Backlash
  • If I cast spells from Multiple Realms, do I count each Realm separately for “The dangers of casting”?
    • No – You count the total number of spells, regardless of Realm
Last updated byHolly Goodall