There are four types of Magical abilities in Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE:
- Innate Magic
- Hedge Magic
- Scholarly Magic
- Pagan Magic
- Divine Magic
- Alchemy
Innate Magic takes no study - it's a Gift you're born with, possibly
given to an entire race of beings, such as all Elves.
Pagan Magic is a gift from the Gods of Nature granted to its priests, bards and druids.
Hedge Magic and Scholarly Magic are both learned techniques, but their Talents are handled differently and are not interchangeable. Even though these skills are learned, not everyone has the ability to perform these types of magic - you have to have the Magical Talent Gift in order to perform magical feats of any type.
Divine Magic is actually performed by a deity through a member of its clergy.
Lastly, Alchemy is something that has to be studied and is more suitable for Non-Player Characters.
This type of magic may be appropriate for Faerie races, who have an inborn talent for magic that has nothing to do with the learned magic of human magicians. It's also possible to have a human character with Innate Magic, if the Storyteller permits.
Each Innate Magical power requires the Gift, Magical Talent: Innate. Each such Gift provides only one type of Innate Magic, taken from the list below.
- Dowsing: you can find water in the earth.
- Eagle Eyes: you can see things clearly at a great distance.
- Fire-Starter: you can create fire, though not control it. That is, you can cause something flammable to burst into flames (takes three combat rounds for small items), but can't make fireballs or direct the fire to spread in a given direction.
- Fortune Telling: you can see a possible future, as through a glass, darkly. This only works on others, and never on events which are important to you - your own future is always obscured.
- Green Thumb: plants respond extraordinarily well to you - increased growth.
- Healing Hands: you can heal one level of wounds with touch. This takes one minute and is fatiguing.
- Second Sight: you can see through illusions and "read" general personalities. You can't read minds or know any details of personality, but you'll know who to trust if you concentrate. (Note: this gift is different from the Second Sight Magical Talent listed below.)
- Shapeshifter: you can change into one Storyteller-approved animal or plant form. It takes three combat rounds to change fully, during which you are defenseless. [Costs two Gifts]
You don't need to spend any points on skills to have Innate Magic - you only have to buy the Gift. No skill roll is usually required - the talent is automatic, though may take time. Should it ever be an issue, each talent is known at a Great level.
...Some races, like dwarves and elves, could have Innate Magic as a racial gift... so all dwarven-forged weapons have a subtle magical quality, and elven runners are able to dance over snow without leaving footprints. It essentially turns a mundane character into a magical one, without conscious application of magic or study of wizardry. An elf might still study sorcery, allowing him to cast traditional spells of great efficacy while still keeping that subtle magical elvishness. A human wizard studies sorcery and can cast spells, but lacks that subtle everyday magic.
You are a practitioner of hedge magic, the subtle magic of wise-women, hedgerow witches and village wizards, most suited to keeping crops healthy and children snug, and to catching cryptic glimpses of the future. Hedge wizards are the keepers of ancient secrets: herbs that ease pain, forgotten words that can calm an angry beast, the nature of omens, and the language of the stars. Their powers are the powers of life and fate, concocting herbal potions, creating charms, nullifying (or, alas, casting) curses, etc.
The skill list for Hedge Magic follows, and is treated like any other skill group. Each skill is a mundane skill found in other skill groups - if you learn it in the Hedge Magic group, there is no need to learn it from another group. Hedge mages have a special gift, and special knowledge, that gives them understanding of the magic within their mundane skills. For example, a wise-woman seeking to ease the pain of a woman in labor can indeed remove her suffering entirely, but it will require a roll against her Physician skill. Success will result in the right soothing words, knowledge of which herbs might be required, knowledge of which members of the family should be allowed to stay in the room. The result will be a patient that is entirely free from the pain and possibly (with a separate roll against Psychology) even the anxiety of childbirth: a genuine miracle, but a subtle one.
You may use a mundane skill from this group without applying Hedge Magic. But if you use Hedge Magic, you can accomplish more than you could otherwise. Hedge Magic is not flashy magic - you'll never see major magical effects from it. It's nonetheless effective in what it tries to do. To put it another way: where an ordinary Physician can give you a root to ease your toothache, a wise-woman can give you a root, a chant, and a candle to remove your toothache entirely (and give you pleasant dreams). Where an ordinary Animal Handler can calm a wild horse, then take it home and break it and teach it to jump and canter, a hedge-wizard can calm a wild horse with an ancient word remembered only to horses, in such a way that the beast will follow the mage home, eager to be taught.
Hedge-magic is never a shortcut. In fact, such magic often requires more, in terms of tools, effort, and supplies, than mundane usage of the same skills (with an appropriately impresive results, on a successful roll). Hedge-magic failures are rarely any different from mundane ones. In many cultures, hedge-mages are essentially priets of a simple nature-faith that peasants practice alongside their more organized religion. In others, this advantage might represent the powers of any kind of holy man or subtle sorcerer.
Hedge Magic is fatiguing, however - your Health attribute drops one level, temporarily, for each use. If your Health level falls below Terrible, you are exhausted and collapse - treat as the fatigue equivalent of "Incapacitated." A level of fatigued Health is regained simply by resting 15 minutes. Another possible downside to Hedge Magic is that the results may be perceived as magical, which, depending on the situation, may get the caster in trouble.
Hedge Magic and "regular" scholarly Magic are two different ways of approaching the same thing. Spells like Analyze and Detect Magic will detect the results of hedge magic normally, and spells created with standard magic can be located and even dispelled by hedge magic (although, since hedge magic is the "weaker" form, dispelling a Curse spell might require many days of ritual, bargaining with spirits, and so on). scholarly Magic spells entirely outside of hedge magic's spheres of life and fate are detectable with the right rituals, but cannot be affected in any way... a wise woman can recognize an enchanted blade for what it is, but won't necessarily be able to identify the exact enchantment, and could never undo the magic without resorting to more formal sorceries, herself.
The following mundane skills are the only ones which may be enhanced by Hedge Magic, unless the Storyteller permits otherwise. Each Hedge Magic power requires the Gift, Magical Talent: Hedge Magic. Each such Gift provides only one type of Hedge Magic, taken from the list below.
- Agronomy: Spells used to protect, alter, or even harm fields of growing food are common; most are very slow and the more unusual ones often require regular, long-term attention on the part of the mage.
- Animal Handling: Actually holding a conversation with an animal is beyond the scope of hedge magic, but animals often reveal what they know in simple, abstract ways that a hedge mage can understand. Also, a hedge mage with this skill can sometimes dramatically alter the mood and tractability of animals.
- Architecture: This includes knowledge of the interrelationship between the homes and temples of mankind and the spirits that often dwell within them. Useful for ferreting out the hiding-places of haunts and house-spirits, and for designing homes that attract the good kind and make the bad kind uncomfortable.
- Astrology: Fortune telling for other folk - grants no inkling of your own future. Can be used to find the answers to many questions of long-term individual fate, and to reveal the nature of a stranger's personality.
- Camouflage: If you don't want to be seen, you're very hard to spot.
- Chirurgery: This skill includes knowledge of arcane and personal methods of healing, as well as more traditional means. Hedge-mages are consummate healers, and know to clean, plaster and bandage as well as any secular doctor - but much more. As a general rule, hedge magic can heal the sick or wounded two or three times as fast as mundane doctoring, but a good deal more effort is often required (both in terms of creating the right atmosphere for healing, and in terms of required medicines and treatments).
- Cooking: Tasty, nourishing, mildly healing. Often used in conjunction with Physician skill to make fortifying meals to speed along recovery from illness. Hedge wizards are also knowledgeable of the power of food to affect mood and outlook, and to distract people from their worries and disagreements.
- Counseling: Your sympathetic ear and wise advise can soothe troubled souls. Many of the ills of a village are rooted in fear. Ironically, the (benevolent) village wise-woman or hedge wizard is often a village's first line of defense against the dangers of superstition. This skill can be used with great effect to alter moods and to nudge people towards or away from a particular belief.
- Craft: Most of the craft skills, such as Pottery, Smithy, Tailor, etc., allow you to make superior quality items more quickly. These items are of exceptional quality, but are not really magic items... or are they?
- Detect Lies When used by a hedge mage, this skill often grants additional insight into a liar's motives or state of mind.
- Diagnosis: This skill can detect supernatural maladies as well as ordinary ones, ills that would flummox an ordinary doctor.
- First Aid: You can stop bleeding with a touch, and enable the severely injured to survive until appropriate care is available.
- Geology: Includes knowledge of what the stones and shapes of the land reveal, and how to make minor changes to the spiritual "character" of an area. The "outdoors" equivalent of Architecture's applications.
- Herb Lore: The archetypal hedge magic skill: preparation of magical concoctions. While not as potent as alchemical elixirs, they are quicker to make. Common potions include healing, sleep, love, charisma, strength, endurance, etc. - ask the Storyteller what's possible. Use Poisons for harmful potions.
- Poisons: Hedge magic won't make a deadly poison much deadlier, but the magic of plants and animals can often be used to create exotic poisons, such as those that cause only the semblance of death, or those that work sickness on the heart and mind instead of the body. They might also be faster acting, and harder to detect. Shame on you.
- Research: If the mage has an academic bent and tends to collect books and manuscripts, this skill will be useful for delving into them for hidden meaning or scraps of useful magic.
- Stealth: Quiet as a cat and with an uncanny ability to disappear into the shadows.
- Storytelling: You can enthrall an audience, and even sway their mood to your purposes.
- Tracking: You can use more than your eyesight for tracking purposes.
- Teaching: Can be used to pass on the arcane wisdom to a student, and to appraise a potential student's usefulness. An hour or two is often sufficient to pass on a simple, helpful trick. Years of apprenticeship are necessary to grant the Hedge Magic gift in it's entirety, though, unless the student is especially gifted with an open mind and a sense of wonder it will often be useless.
- Veterinarian: Expeditious and efficacious healing. For evil hedge witches, this is also the skill used to sicken animals, a common complaint in former days. (See Chirurgery for more ideas.)
- Weather Sense: Useful for reading portents in clouds and breezes, and for creating subtle changes in the weather itself. Dramatic changes are extremely difficult.
Naturalist: Possibly the most essential skill for the hedge wizard, since it provides knowledge of the magical properties of plants and animals, as well as a deep understanding of natural cycles and the relationships between all living things.
Any mundane skill can theoretically be turned into a Hedge Magic gift.
This is easily fine-tuned with "aspected" hedge magic; for example dwarven hedge magic might only apply to artifice and craft, while elvish hedge magic applies only to living things.
Mages can be gifted with second sight, a magically heightened perception, extending outward into the past and future. For some Magi, Magical Aptitude and "The Sight" are synonymous; only those so gifted can cast spells (see Pagan Magic, because only they can see the energies flowing around them. Second Sight, has its origins in folk-beliefs and is a reflection of the ties of fate that develop in the presence of magic.
Warning! With all of these abilities available in the campaign, wizards become very fearsome (with appropriate additional expense in creation points)! For example, Sense of Eyes and Feel for Treachery makes spying on a wizard, or even planning to, as good as
requesting his wrath.
Assume that second sight manifests differently according to both predisposition and training. Some mages, then, are greatly gifted, while others (perhaps the majority) have little Sight beyond their ability to detect enchantment.
Each Second Sight power requires the Gift, Magical Talent: Second Sight. Each such Gift provides only one type of Second Sight, taken from the list below.
Any living thing that is destined to die within an hour has a grey, hopeless pallor around them that is visible to the mage automatically. This pallor cannot be detected
with the Aura spell; only those with Death Sight will notice it. Those who are destined to have their lives threatened (with death a genuine possibility) have a cast of dim red instead of grey. The "red cast" is never visible on friends and loved ones, regardless of their fate. It can only be seen on strangers and casual accquaintences.
Of course, some people die without anyone, including the Storyteller, expecting it! If this happens, and a mage with Death Sight is present, the Storyteller should give the mage a single chance to act quickly to prevent it.
Attempts to thwart fate, on the other hand, should be countered at nearly every turn, by freak occurences if it's entertaining. Saving the doomed shouldn't be impossible, but it should be very difficult. If the mage does cheat the Grim Reaper, somebody dear to the mage will die, instead. If the mage has no friends, close relatives, or respected allies, the mage himself will die, a victim of his own compassion (a rare event; those with such potential for self-sacrifice usually have friends, unless they've recently lost all of them to tragedy). Even telling someone that they have one of the colors on them exacts a
price; the mage gains the Unlucky fault for the rest of the session.
For obvious reasons, elder magi do not teach the refinement of this Sight to
irresponsible youth, but some have it naturally.
The mage can sense treachery against him. Whenever anyone, anywhere discusses cheating, harming, lying to or inconveniencing the character, the mage will recieve a vague impression that somebody is plotting against him. This is automatic, and isn't traumatic enough to be distracting in any way. It doesn't include visions of any kind; it's just a tingle at the back of the neck, above the eyebrows, or something similar (the player should define the exact effect when designing the character).
The mage will also (with a successful Spirit roll) be aware of the type of plotting: whether someone is trying to (for example) rob him, poison him, or humiliate him. The Sight never reveals who is plotting, but some divination type spells may be used to investigate the matter further, and any spells used for that purpose are cast at +1.
Furthermore, if the eyes of the mage ever meet the eyes of one of the conspirators, the mage will instinctively recognize him as such. Hiding such recognition requires an Acting roll on the part of the mage!
The discussion of treachery must mention the mage by name, but any kind of name (including nicknames and aliases) will suffice. The mage always knows the nicknames his is given. If his apprentice calls him "old stinky" around the kitchen staff, the mage will know it the first time it is spoken aloud. Many Paranoid mages believe that they have this kind of Sight. Some of them do; this gift can lead to acute Paranoia.
If the mage is present at the site of an event that will have dire consequences to something or somebody important to him, the Storyteller rolls a Spirit check to see if the Sight activates (for instance, if a close friend is about to meet a woman that would eventually marry and ruin him, or about to drink poisoned wine). If the roll succeeds, The mage gets a vision of the event and it's consequences just before the event occurs. If the mage acts without hesitation (assuming he is able to), he gets a single chance to intervene.
If the mage stumbles across such an event already in progress; he may still get a vision revealing its consequences, but will be given no special chance to intervene.
When a mage dies, part of his mind flows into the consciousness of every mage that will follow him. A record of the lives of past magi is inscribed on the fabric of the astral plane, accessible by the minds of modern magi. The brotherhood of the Craft is eternal, and the wisdom of past adepts can be drawn upon by the wizards of today. Many magical traditions include the "Magical Memory" as a fundamental principle.
Any question may be "asked" of the deceased adepts, but questions that are entirely contemporary are pointless. If the Storyteller decides that a mage, in years past, knew something germane to the character's question, he should secretly a Spirit check for the mage. On a Great or better result, the Storyteller should provide an answer, in the form of a "memory" of how the dead wizard in question saw things.
If the roll fails, the questioner recieves nothing. The Storyteller should fake a roll if he decides that no mages in the past had knowledge of the issue. The "memory" that the mage experiences will be the most recent applicable memory. Additional rolls (at one level higher per roll) are necessary to dig deeper.
The Storyteller should be creative in his delivery of the information. If a mage PC with this advantage is confronted with a two glowing gems floating in an ancient ruin, and questions their nature, he might recieve the memory of the last mage who found them. The PC will "remember" reaching for the gem on the right, and then remember being killed by it. The death was too rapid for the "memory" to provide any detail other than a sudden pain followed by oblivion. The PC-mage now has to work from that. Touching the gem on the right was bad, but maybe the dead mage simply didn't know the right ritual. The left gem is still a mystery, but at least the PC now knows who's skull he just stepped on.
Anytime the mage is secretly observed or listened to, he will sense it. The Storyteller rolls in secret against the mage's Spirit immediately, and again every 20 seconds at a cumulative bonus of one level per attempt, until the roll succeeds or the spy ceases spying.
If the roll succeeds, the mage becomes aware of the spy and (on another Spirit roll),
his exact location. Merely being watched will not trigger this; the observer must desire that the mage not notice his attention. Magical scrying can also be detected, but long-distance modifiers are applied to all Spirit rolls.
Like Shifts in the Balance, this gift relates directly to any dramatic conflict involving the mage. By taking 1O minutes to contemplate, and making a roll against Spirit, the mage can divine the ultimate role of any pawn in his conflict. If the pawn is due to die meaninglessly, or to live heroically, this contemplation will reveal it - with details! Details of the pawn's life after the conflict (if they get one) will not be revealed.
A pawn is any character that plays a role in the conflict without directing the action. In a major land-war, the soldiers are pawns. In a campaign focusing on political skullduggery, NPC spies and informants are pawns.
As with Death Sight, the mage will be largely powerless to prevent such visions from coming to pass (at least intentionally; the Fates - represented by the Storyteller - decide when they are bound by such things). At most, he can try to force two pawns to swap roles. Such tampering should exact a terrible price; double the personal grief and pain to the PC for each time he cheats fate.
If the mage mistakes a "mover and shaker" for a pawn, and attempts to see his fate, the Sight will fail, revealing the independent nature of the character. If the initial Spirit roll is failed, subsequent attempts to view the fate of the same pawn are at a cumulative -1 per attempt.
Whenever the "balance of power" shifts in a conflict the mage has a stake in, the mage will recieve a vision, instantly.
This requires careful judgement by the Storyteller. The rule is this: if either side in the conflict gains or loses something truly signifigant, a vision will be triggered. If the mage and his friends are seeking to unseat a murderous Duke, the death or capture of an allied spy would trigger a vision; the same spy simply getting in a fight would not. If the Duke's sorcerer has summoned up an ancient evil to serve his cause, a vision would be triggered the instant the summoning was complete. If the Duke purchased some new knives for his flunkies, no vision would result.
There is no time-delay; the visions occur in real time with the triggering event, and are detailed and accurate. If the mage is sleeping at the time, the vision will come as a dream, and the mage will waken instantly when the vision ends. The Storyteller should be as honest and detailed as possible while maintaining brevity and campaign balance.
These visions are painful, they completely cripple the mage for their duration, and cause fatigue. Visions (or the attendant pain) do not manifest when the wizard is actually present to witness an event!
If it has life, a mind, or a soul, the mage can see it, even if it is normally invisible to mortal eyes. This requires no concentration or die-roll. Ghosts, demons, and nature spirits will be as plainly visible as living mortals (although possibly translucent). In some worlds, such spirits (especially ghosts) are everywhere; mages presumably get used to it.
Those under the effects of the Invisibility spell (or a magic elixir or similar) are revealed only as a vague shimmer, giving away location but not identity or nature (you could tell an invisible giant from an invisible leprechaun, but not a human from a gargoyle). Attacks and defenses against such creatures are at -2. Objects without life, mind or soul are not made visible at all. Illusions affect the character normally.
You can't depend on it, but sometimes you get this prickly feeling right at the back of your neck, and you know something's wrong... In any situation involving an ambush, impending disaster, or similar hazard, you have the ability to be warned of the imminent danger. A successful Spirit roll reveals the existence of danger; a second roll lets the mage instantly visualize it, and know approximate direction and distance between he and it.
You have a "feeling" for people. When you first meet someone, or when you are reunited after an absence, you may request the Storyteller to roll against your Spirit. He will then tell you how you "feel" about that person. This gift, when it works, is excellent for spotting imposters, ghostly possession, etc., and determining the true loyalties of people. You can also use it to tell whether someone is lying... not what the truth really is, but just whether they are being honest with you.
A successful Spirit roll gives an impression of the character's nature. A second roll, if successful, grants a vision of a recent incident that reinforces the impression. A person that the mage feels is violent and quick-tempered might be seen striking someone or breaking something in a fit of anger, for instance. The details of these visions will sometimes provide clues, and can be used as leverage in dialogue to impress on people.
You usually guess right. When you are faced with a number of alternatives, and no logical way to choose between them, you can use your intuition as follows: The Storyteller rolls a Spirit check for your character, modified by the number of "right" and "wrong" choices. A successful roll means that he steers you to a good choice; another successful roll grants an impression (sometimes visual, but not always) of why Choice B was such a poor choice compared to Choice A, giving the mage an idea of what he's avoiding.
Any of the advantages introduced here may be taken by Blind characters; some fantasy wizards see only what can bee seen through their Gift, and not through mortal eyes at all! For instance, a Blind mage might see ghosts moving around him in a field of featureless color or darkness, without seeing the world of ordinary matter. His only visual images of the normal world would be in the flashes and visions provided by other aspects of his Sight.
A mage may also be created with magical blindness; he has no physical eyes, but can see the world plainly through second sight, perhaps as patterns of force or stark outlines. In game terms, the mage is treated as an ordinary sighted character with the Dark Vision gift (the no-colors version) and Color Blind fault. Of course, he will still recieve a reaction bonus in any society with sympathy for the blind, and cannot be physically blinded (he may be in trouble in no-mana zones though). The net cost is 2 Gifts. If the mage can also see colors, it won't matter whether it's dark; the cost increases to 4 Gifts.
Scholarly Magic is the "upper class" version of magic: sorcerers in towers poring over ancient tomes, wizards roaming the world seeking out spell-crafters and new sources of power, colleges of magicians teaching apprentices while debating amongst themselves the merits of this spell or that, etc.
Magical Talent: Scholarly Magic
The Gift, Magical Talent: Scholarly Magic: (specific Art of Magic), is required to learn arts in this system. Your Spirit stat supplies the necessary Mana to use the arts to cast spells at the following rates:
- Spirit
- Legendary = 8 Mana
- Superb = 7 Mana
- Great = 6 Mana
- Good = 5 Mana
- Fair = 4 Mana
- Mediocre = 3 Mana
- Poor = 2 Mana
- Terrible = 1 Mana
- Infamous = 0 Mana
The Five Techniques
- Create: Enhance, Heal, Enlarge, Repair and Sharpen
This technique allows you to produce objects from nothing. It Turns dreams into reality. When using a Create spell, you enter a momentary state of transcendent meditation and contact the realm of Elements, in which all the objects that ever were and ever could be exist as perfect ideas. Your magic finds the proper Element and impresses it on the real world, creating an expression of it. Object created this way are closer to the world of Elements than normal objects, so they are always perfect and flawless. You can also use the Technique of Creation to perfect things that have deteriorated from their ideal nature, such as to heal a broken arm or to mend a broken vase.
A Create spell might grow back a severed hand or create a bird, but it cannot grow wings on a person (that would be a Transform spell). Things created are either independent or a natural part of a larger being or object. Independent objects usually appear in your hand or directly in front of you.
You cannot create things inside of people to harm or kill them, nor can you perform other tricky maneuvers unless a spell specifies that you can. Nothing created by magic is ever permanent unless raw mana is used to extend the duration of the spell.
- Destroy: Diminish, Injure, Reduce, Break and Dull
The one trait held in common by all objects and creatures in the temporal world is that some day, inevitably, they will cease to exist. The magus who understands the technique of Destroying knows this, and uses magic to control the universal process whereby things are destroyed. Aging, disease, decay, and dissolution are all properties inherent to objects and living things and can be drawn out through this technique.
Most Destroy spells affect their targets directly, using no intervening medium. Therefore, targeting rolls are rarely needed. Destroy spells with the duration momentary destroy something in a moment. The duration does not describe how long the object is destroyed, as the effects of the destruction last until the target regenerates itself (which could very well be never).
- Sense: Read, Seek, Inform, Determine and Understand
Sensing is the technique of perception. All things in the world are connected to each other, and Sense allows magi the ability to see, read, and learn from those connections.
Sense lets you perceive things or see through them. A Sense Earth spell, for instance, can let you see through walls. Sense cannot affect the subject of its spells (the person you are watching), save that those who are sensitive to magic (for example, those with magic resistance) might realize they are being spied on with it. Sense spells are always of limited duration, even when extended with raw mana.
- Control: Hold, Command, Direct and Dictate
The technique of Control allows a magus to regulate matter or compel the actions of living things. One kind of Control spell might lift someone into the air, and another might make a person act in a certain way.
A control spell does not change the target, it merely moves or controls it. For instance, you can slam someone into a wall with a Control spell. The easiest way to move things is to move the whole object evenly. To spin the object or to move just part of it is usually more difficult.
- Transform: Shape, Form, Transmutation and Change
This is the technique of transformation and transmutation. Through this technique, magi can direct and control the essential mechanisms of change itself. A transformation is easiest when there is a strong connection between the original object and that resulting from the transformation: for example, it is relatively easy to turn a leaf into an apple. However, turning a leaf (living, flexible, and vegetable) into a sword (inert, unyielding, and mineral) is quite difficult.
There are two types of Transform spells, those that change the shape of an object and those that change the substance of an object. Although Transform spells are normally of limited duration when raw mana is not used, the shape of an object may be permanently changed if the substance is altered, because although the original substance eventually returns, the shape may not. For example, a Transform Earth spell can be cast to change a stone wall into dirt, which falls to the ground. The dirt eventually becomes stone again, but it is now a pile of stone, instead of the wall it once was.
Transform spells that change the size or weight of a target cannot be used multiple times in order to cause the target to continue to change. A spell that doubles a creature's size, for instance, doubles its normal size, not its current size. To triple a creature's size, a more powerful spell is needed.
The Five Elements
- Earth: Body, Shapes, Physical Health and Needs
Earth Magic is the magic not only of soil, metal, rock and other solid material with no mind, but also of the physical body of both sentient beings and animals, of plants, and of health and physical needs. Any attempt to reshape a body (live or dead), directly alter health for good or ill, grow or kill plants, and so on is Earth Magic.
- Water: Soul, Spirit, Empathy and Auras
Water Magic is the magic not only of water and other simple fluids, but of the soul and spirit. That which normally inhabits and animates a body, or that which no longer inhabits a body, or that which unnaturally inhabits a body or other dwelling (undead, etc.). Spells that contact the soul and see it's state (revealing auras), and spells that summon and direct spirits, are Water Magic. Most weather magic is either Air and Water.
- Air: Mind, Thoughts, Intellect, Technology and Design
Air Magic is the magic not only of wind and lightning, but of the intellect and its creations and manipulations of the physical world. Spells involving electricity, technology, and intelligence are all Air Magic, as are magics related to mind control, contact, and reading. Illusions and phantasms that affects the senses, not matter. Any form of sensory or mental illusions, images, sounds, etc.
- Fire: Emotion, Passion, Inspiration and Creation
Fire Magic is the magic of flames, heat and cold, and of darkness and light, but is also the magic of emotion, passion, inspiration and creativity. While Air is the magic of design, Fire is the magic of creation... A painting is subject to fire magic; blueprints are subject to Air. Fire magic can inspire deep emotion.
- Ether: Time, Dimensions, Raw Magic and Magical Power
Ether is the element of mystery, time, and magic itself. Magic that changes the perceptions or positions in time, space, or planar dimensions are Ethereal magic. This includes astral travel, divination, demon summoning, teleporation, and the creation of pocket realities. Spells involving raw magical force - mana, or the manipulation of other spells are also Ethereal. Demons and other magical beings are affected by Ethereal magic.
Specialists
Of course, it's usually wise to have at least some knowledge of all five elements, just to cover all the bases. There is, however, some minor benefit to ignoring elements. Magi with no skill in Fire recieve a +1 bonus to their Water arts, and vice-versa. The same holds true for Earth and Air. Magi with no Ether arts, but arts from the other four elements, recieve a +1 bonus to each of the other elements. This bonus is lost when the missing element(s) are finally learned.
The 25 Arts of Magic
Each Scholarly Magic spell (art) requires the Gift, Magical Talent: Scholarly Magic. Each such Gift provides only one type of spell combination, taken from the list below.
- Create Earth
- Destroy Earth
- Sense Earth
- Control Earth
- Transform Earth
- Create Water
- Destroy Water
- Sense with Water
- Control Water
- Transform Water
- Create Air
- Destroy Air
- Sense with Air
- Control Air
- Transform Air
- Create Fire
- Destroy Fire
- Sense Fire
- Control Fire
- Transform Fire
- Create Ether
- Destroy Ether
- Sense Ether
- Control Ether
- Transform Ether
There is no separate spell-casting skill in this system - each art contains the ability to cast the spells inherent in it.
Spell Potencies
Mediocre Potency Spells include things that don't seem like magic to most people, but are nonetheless caused by a magician. Some sample Mediocre arts' effects include:
- Create Earth:
- Destroy Earth:
- Sense Earth:
- Control Earth:
- Transform Earth:
- Create Water:
- Destroy Water:
- Sense with Water:
- Control Water:
- Transform Water:
- Create Air:
- Destroy Air:
- Sense with Air:
- Control Air:
- Transform Air:
- Create Fire:
- Destroy Fire:
- Sense Fire:
- Control Fire:
- Transform Fire:
- Create Ether:
- Destroy Ether:
- Sense Ether:
- Control Ether:
- Transform Ether:
Fair Potency Spells include things that don't seem like magic to most people, but are nonetheless caused by a magician. Some sample Fair spells include:
- Create Earth:
- Destroy Earth:
- Sense Earth:
- Control Earth:
- Transform Earth:
- Create Water:
- Destroy Water:
- Sense with Water:
- Control Water:
- Transform Water:
- Create Air:
- Destroy Air:
- Sense with Air:
- Control Air:
- Transform Air:
- Create Fire:
- Destroy Fire:
- Sense Fire:
- Control Fire:
- Transform Fire:
- Create Ether:
- Destroy Ether:
- Sense Ether:
- Control Ether:
- Transform Ether:
Good Potency Spells include still normal events, but those which happen at strange times. Some sample Good spells include:
- Create Earth:
- Destroy Earth:
- Sense Earth:
- Control Earth:
- Transform Earth:
- Create Water:
- Destroy Water:
- Sense with Water:
- Control Water:
- Transform Water:
- Create Air:
- Destroy Air:
- Sense with Air:
- Control Air:
- Transform Air:
- Create Fire:
- Destroy Fire:
- Sense Fire:
- Control Fire:
- Transform Fire:
- Create Ether:
- Destroy Ether:
- Sense Ether:
- Control Ether:
- Transform Ether:
Great Potency Spells include things that most people will acknowledge to be magic - things that go beyond the natural. These are still relatively minor effects, however. Some sample Great spells include:
- Create Earth:
- Destroy Earth:
- Sense Earth:
- Control Earth:
- Transform Earth:
- Create Water:
- Destroy Water:
- Sense with Water:
- Control Water:
- Transform Water:
- Create Air:
- Destroy Air:
- Sense with Air:
- Control Air:
- Transform Air:
- Create Fire:
- Destroy Fire:
- Sense Fire:
- Control Fire:
- Transform Fire:
- Create Ether:
- Destroy Ether:
- Sense Ether:
- Control Ether:
- Transform Ether:
Superb Potency Spells include things that everyone will admit is major magic. Some sample Superb spells include:
- Create Earth:
- Destroy Earth:
- Sense Earth:
- Control Earth:
- Transform Earth:
- Create Water:
- Destroy Water:
- Sense with Water:
- Control Water:
- Transform Water:
- Create Air:
- Destroy Air:
- Sense with Air:
- Control Air:
- Transform Air:
- Create Fire:
- Destroy Fire:
- Sense Fire:
- Control Fire:
- Transform Fire:
- Create Ether:
- Destroy Ether:
- Sense Ether:
- Control Ether:
- Transform Ether:
Legendary Potency Spells are earth-shaking and rare. They destroy powerful entities, wreck nations, sink continents, and unleash terrible evils on the world. Some sample Legendary spells include:
- Create Earth:
- Destroy Earth:
- Sense Earth:
- Control Earth:
- Transform Earth:
- Create Water:
- Destroy Water:
- Sense with Water:
- Control Water:
- Transform Water:
- Create Air:
- Destroy Air:
- Sense with Air:
- Control Air:
- Transform Air:
- Create Fire:
- Destroy Fire:
- Sense Fire:
- Control Fire:
- Transform Fire:
- Create Ether:
- Destroy Ether:
- Sense Ether:
- Control Ether:
- Transform Ether:
Spirit and Mana
Spirit is a Mana attribute with a numerical value that represents the amount of mana the character has available at one time (excluding magical devices). The character's mana
is used up as he casts spells, and it recovers at a moderate rate. (In most cases, a wizard who exhausted his mana supply would recover it in a matter of minutes.) Terrible Spirit = 1 mana and Superb Spirit = 7 mana, with a recovery rate of 1 mana
every 25 seconds (5 combat rounds).
Putting the Spell Together
A basic spell has close range, does zero damage or some other minor effect,
affects one man-sized target or one cubic meter of material, takes five seconds
to cast, lasts for five seconds (if appropriate), costs zero mana, has a
Difficulty of Fair, and requires the caster to make magical gestures or
incantations.
Once the Storyteller determines the basic cost for a desired effect, see the Modifiers table to refine the cost, duration, exact spell effect, etc. of a specific spell.
Modifiers
(add all that apply to specific spell's mana cost)
Change the number of targets or area covered:
- -1 Small -- a bread box
- +0 One -- one person
- +1 Few -- 2-4 people, a closet-sized space
- +2 Several -- 5-10 people, a whole room
- +4 Many -- a small crowd, a small building
- +8 Great -- large crowd, a large building (or more)
Note: A spell that affects multiple targets should not be selective; it affects
everyone in the area in which it is cast. In other words, the mage shouldn't get to selectively shoot multiple targets for +1 mana to avoid casting the spell once for each target.
- Change the range:
- -1 Touch -- must touch target, requires to-hit roll
- +0 Close -- in close fighting range
- +1 Short -- within thrown weapon range
- +2 Long -- within sight or powered weapon range
- +4 Extreme -- out of sight of the caster (or more)
- +2 damage: +1 mana
- +1 defense: +1 mana
- Has no mundane defense (armor, etc. doesn't stop the damage or effect): +2 mana
- Heal all wounds by 1 level: +2 mana
- Each level of Health sacrificed: -2 mana
- Increase Duration one level on Time Chart (see below): +1 mana
- -1 level Difficulty: +2 mana, or increase Casting Time level on Time Chart (see below)
- +1 level Difficulty: -2 mana, or decrease Casting Time level on Time Chart (see below)
- Using appropriate props: An appropriate decrease in mana cost Not using gestures or incantations: Double mana cost (after all other bonuses and penalties to mana cost)
Time Chart
Each level of the Time Chart is a rough approximation of five times the previous level. Use this chart to determine time modifiers both for spell duration and casting time.
1 level = 2 mana or 1 Difficulty Level.
- 1 Second
- 5 Seconds (one combat round)
- 25 Seconds (five combat rounds)
- 2 Minutes
- 10 Minutes
- 1 Hour
- 5 Hours
- 1 Day
- 1 Week
- 1 Month
- 1 Season
- 1 Year
Extending the duration of a spell is at the GM's option; some spells are too powerful or make no sense if they last longer than a moment.
Props
Props are things the mage does or uses to help make the spell work. Props may take the form of rituals, invocations, and gestures; or they may be physical props that apply the magical laws of Similarity, Contact, or Sacrifice to provide the caster with mana bonuses.
Physical props are normally consumed in the casting of the spell. To create a prop that is not consumed by the casting, the mage must enchant it. (See Making Sources of Power and other Wizard Tools.)
Rituals, Invocations, and Gestures
A ritual is something the caster does to cast the spell before he actually begins casting. Sample portions of rituals include fasting, special cleansing or confession, performing a special service or quest, praying at a specific location, etc. A simple ritual grants the mage a +1 mana bonus. The more involved and inconvenient the ritual, the greater the bonus the Storyteller should award.
Invocations are magical words or prayers spoken aloud during casting. Gestures are magical signs or motions made by the caster with his hands or body during casting. To cast a spell with neither gestures nor invocations doubles the mana cost. (Casting a spell with both provides no bonus.)
Magical Laws and Physical Props
The mana cost of a spell can be paid for, in part or whole, by applying the Laws of Similarity, Contact, and Sacrifice. The Law of Similarity says that similar things affect each other, like produces like, or effect resembles cause. The Law of Contact says that things once in contact with each other still have an effect on each other when they are separated. The Law of Sacrifice says that giving up something of value to the caster or the target makes the magic more likely.
The Law of Similarity
To apply the Law of Similarity, one must use material components that are similar to the desired effect. Examples are a feather for a flight spell, a bit of sulfur for create flame, a drawing of a wolf to summon a real wolf, a twig to be broken during casting for a spell that breaks down the wooden castle gate, etc.
The Law of Similarity depends completely on world-view. If the mage does not view a particular item as being relevant to his spell, then that item is not Similar, regardless of the knowledge the player has. For instance, the player may know that sulfur burns readily, but if his character knows nothing of this, a pinch of sulfur will do nothing for his flame spells.
The Law of Contact
To apply the Law of Contact, one must use material components that have once been in contact with the target of the spell; the longer or more personal the contact, the better. Examples are the victim's hair and nail parings used in a death spell, a piece of jewelry worn by an enemy in a spell of defense to protect the mage from that enemy, a piece of the castle gate to be broken with a spell, etc.
The Law of Sacrifice
To apply the Law of Sacrifice, the component must be of personal value to either the caster or the target of the spell and fulfill one of the other Laws. Examples are a family ring, a lover's lock of hair, the tooth of a dragon, etc. (A dragon's tooth is valuable to the caster if he had to go to great pains to get it. It is hardly valuable if he walked down to the corner store and picked one out of a bowl full of them.)
Determining Bonuses of Physical Props
The same object may meet the requirements of both of the first Laws, such as hair clippings used on a voodoo doll. The hair of the victim fulfills the Law of Contact while the doll itself fulfills the Law of Similarity. Using props will provide extra mana for the spell. The caster may use as many different props as the Storyteller feels reasonable, but duplicates (props that serve identical functions) are generally disallowed.
Base value:
Similar prop (Law of Similarity): +1 mana
Contagious prop (Law of Contact): +2 mana
Value multiplier (multiply by base value):
Worthless: x 1 (the feather of a sparrow)
Minor value: x 2 (the feather of an eagle)
Major value: x 3 (the feather of a gryphon)
Priceless: x 4 (the feather of unique creature)
Personal meaning bonus (add to multiplier):
Meaningless to owner: +0 (hair clippings)
Minor meaning to owner: +1 (a ring)
Major meaning to owner: +2 (a ring given by a lover)
Priceless to owner: +3 (a hand, severed)
Example: Using a gold chain stolen from the target, given to him by his wife on their wedding night, a mage casts a spell of Binding (mind control) on his target. Since the mage is binding (chaining) the target to his will, the chain is Similar (+1); since the target wore it, it is Contagious (+2). The chain is of minor value but has major meaning to the owner (x 4). The total value of the chain is 3 x 4 = 12 (the amount of mana it contributes to the spell -- a powerful prop!). If the chain has been enchanted properly, it can be used more than once; otherwise it is destroyed (or made magically
worthless).
Example: As previously stated, Baldor needs 9 mana to cast his Fireball spell,
but he has only 6. Luckily, he has with him a supply of small balls of bat guano mixed with sulfur, made just for this purpose. These are Similar (they burn readily) and gain him +1 mana. But he is still 2 mana short and cannot cast the spell without finding another source of mana. Fortunately for Baldor, he has a 2-point mana stone (see Making Sources of Power, p. 93) to make up the difference.
Casting the Spell
To begin casting a spell, the mage must have the desired components at hand, be able to recite or perform any incantations or gestures, and have the necessary mana available.
Once he has started casting the spell, an unintentional interruption of the spell results in failure as though he had failed his skill roll. If the mage is wounded, he should make a Cool check to avoid interruption (wound penalties apply; -1 for Hurt, -2 for Very Hurt). The mage may voluntarily release the spell at any time before actually finishing it at no penalty. The source of mana -- whether the mage himself or some other source -- does not recover mana while casting a spell. When the spell is complete, the player must make a skill check against the Difficulty of the spell for the spell to succeed.
Once cast, the mage may "hold" the spell and not release it right away. It costs 1 mana every five combat rounds to hold a spell, during which time the mage may cast no other spells and he, or any device providing him mana, regains no mana.
Spells normally do not require a to-hit roll and get no bonuses to damage for relative degree of success, that being the nature of magic. A spell either does its damage or it does not. If the Storyteller desires, she may require to-hit rolls for all targeted spells and may allow increased damage based on the relative degree.
If a spell may have an extended duration, the mage may continue to maintain that spell at a cost of one mana per base time unit of the spell. The base time unit is the amount of time the spell was set to last when cast. There is no limit to the number of spells a mage can maintain except his available mana. The mage does recover mana while maintaining spells.
Spell Failure
- Missed by one level:
No effect. The spell dies harmlessly.
- Missed by two levels:
The spell misfires mildly, creating an effect similar to the one intended, but which differs in some irritating and undesired way.
- Missed by three levels:
The spell misfires seriously, creating a nasty and potentially harmful effect which might bear little resemblance to the desired spell.
- Missed by four or more levels:
The spell misfires dramatically, creating an effect which might be entirely unrelated to the desired spell. Lethal consequences are possible.
Defense Against Spells
A character gets no defensive roll against a spell; whether or not he gets hit is a function of the mage's success at casting it. A character may take multiple levels of the gift Magic Resistance, which acts like armor against magical damage and reduces the effects of other magic at the GM's discretion. (For certain spells, each level of the Magic Resistance gift will add one level to the difficulty of the spell.)
Creating Magic Items
This magic item creation system is simply a suggestion. The Storyteller is encouraged
to modify or replace the system as necessary to adapt it to her own campaign and personal preferences.
To create a magic item, the mage must perform lengthy rituals involving the Colleges and Realms necessary for the effects he wants the item to have. For instance, to create a sword that increases the wielder's skill would require Enhancement and Body.
A good guideline for item creation time is to take the mana cost of the desired spell and square it. The mana needed at the end of creation is the mana cost of the spell doubled. (If the final mana cost of the desired spell is 5, it would take 25 days to create a magic item that could cast that spell and would cost 10 mana.) This produces a magical item that allows a person to cast the item's spell at the same casting time, mana cost, and other requirements as normal. Essentially, it grants the user the ability to cast that particular spell as if he were a mage with the proper skills, even if he isn't. To create an item that requires no mana, double the creation time.
To create an item that requires no skill roll, double it again. If the player suggests limitations on the item, such as single-use, the Storyteller is encouraged to reduce the creation time and mana requirements.
When the character has reached the end of the creation period, the chance of successfully finishing the item is the same for successfully casting the basic spell. If the item has more than one spell, roll for each spell as it is enchanted into the item. To increase the chance of success, the caster can modify the casting cost of the creation in the same ways as an ordinary spell.
Making Sources of Power and Other Wizard Tools
Mana stones and other items that store mana are important tools. They provide the mana necessary to cast large spells, or to cast a large number of spells in a short time. The suggested average for a mana stone is three mana.
Creating a mana stone usable with any form of magic requires Control and Magic for a Bind Mana spell. The more mana the stone can hold, the more mana the Bind Mana spell will require. To create a mana stone that works with a specific kind of magic require s only that particular College or Realm. (Thus a character with only Plant and Animal magic could create a "mana stone" useable only with the Plant and Animal Realms.)
A mana stone recharges at the same rate as the caster's personal mana. A character may carry any number of mana stones, but can use only one at a time. The user will recover all of his mana before any of his stones recharge, and when in close proximity to other stones, only one mana stone will recharge at a time, largest to smallest.
Another important tool is the item which reduces the mana cost of every spell of a specific type. Generally, these are enchanted props. Their mana value is calculated as normal for a prop, but being enchanted they are not consumed in the casting of the spell. Enchanted props are made in the same way mana stones are, but enchanted props do not contain mana; they reduce the mana cost of any spell they apply to.
To create a mana stone or enchanted prop requires a number of days equal to the mana bonus plus one for every College or Realm it can be used with, doubled. The mana cost of the enchantment is equal to the number of days required to cast it. Sample Spells All sample spells have a base Difficulty of Fair. Most of them are low in detail; it's up to the Storyteller to decide exactly what happens. Remember that props are always consumed unless they have been enchanted.
The Gift Divine Favor is required to use Clerical Magic. It's possible to play a priest without Divine Favor - simply choose the Professional skill Counseling and assemble an appropriate set of skills. But such a priest has no ability to use Clerical Magic. Note also that you don't have to be an ordained priest in any religion
to have Divine Favor.
A character with Divine Favor may petition a miracle at any time. However, some deities do not like to be disturbed for trivial matters, and may ignore requests when it is obvious the character hasn't even tried to help himself.
The petition for a miracle should be precisely worded. Rather than a simple, "Please help me," the character should focus the plea: "We are starving, please feed us," or, "My friend is dying, please heal him." A holy character can petition for any miraculous result desired, there is no established list of miracles.
Holy characters without Divine Favor have a Petitioning skill of Poor. Those with one or more gifts of Divine Favor have a Petitioning skill of Fair. The Petitioning skill can not be raised, it is however modified when requesting a miracle.
To resolve a petition, make an Petitioning skill roll. Each gift of Divine Favor grants the holy character a re-roll of all four dice, in a petition to his deity. A character with one gift may re-roll once. The last rolled result is always final and a result of Good or better is needed for the petition to be granted by the deity.
The higher the result the better the miracle. A Fair or Mediocre result is a failure, but the deity is not annoyed by the petitioner. A Poor result or worse results in an upset deity, which given his personality can be rather bad...
Modifiers to the Petitioning Skill
- The petitioner's behavior has been strictly in accordance with the deity's desires: +1
- The petitioner's behavior has not been in accordance with the deity's desires: -1
- The petition will further the deity's desires: +1
- The petition goes against the deity's desires: -1 (or more)
- The petition involves the deity's sphere of influence: +1
- The petition involves an element antagonistic to the deity: -1 (or more)
- The petition is phrased too generally: -1 (or more)
- The petitioner has not tried to help himself first: -1 (or more)
- The petition is too trivial to bother the deity with: -1 (or more)
- The petition is a simple, but important, request: +1, provided the petitioner has exhausted his own abilities to accomplish the given task.
- The last petition was a Poor or worse result: -1
- The deity feels the petitioner is calling for help too frequently: -1 (or more)
The nature magic of Druids, Fili, and Bards.
coming soon
The art of mixing balms, draughts, elixirs, nostrums, ointments, philters, potions, powders, salves, tinctures, tonics, and more, with varying magical effects. Non-mages can have knowledge of the processes and ingredients and final products of alchemy, but are not able to create magical substances themselves; see the Alchemy (Knowledge) skill.
Alchemical processes take a lot of time and materials to prepare. A fully equipped alchemical laboratory requires great wealth, which means either a high status or a patron to support them. Each alchemical concoction takes weeks or months to prepare, with a high rate of failure, and rare materials that render mass-production impractical (and are thus very expensive). Player character alchemists are not likely to prepare many alchemical substances, simply because of the time and effort involved.
In short, while the PCs may encounter elixirs, they probably won't be making any. Nonetheless, a PC who learns the alchemy skill, with a Gift of Magical Talent: Scholarly is capable of making elixirs, given enough time and materials. Those with the skill but without the Gift can identify elixirs, and determine dosages, but can't prepare them.
Given all that, the Storyteller can have elixirs in the game which produce any magical effect he wants.
Restrictions: The Game Master may require an alchemist to also have a Magic or Knowledge Skill appropriate to the alchemical effect desired. For example, a potion of healing may require skill in Herb Lore, Medicine, or First Aid; or even the equivalent Hedge Magic skills, hence requiring a Magical Talent: Hedge Magic Gift as well.
The use of arcane symbols to cast spells and enchant items. Rune magic isn't so much a "flavor" of magic itself, as it is an aid to performing magical feats. Runes are symbols that are inherently pre-disposed to attracting mana and shaping magical power toward a desired end. When incorporating Runes into a ritual to perform a magical feat, the mage rolls against the feat's difficulty level twice: once using the Rune skill and again using the appropriate magic type's skill. A successful use of the Rune skill in
a ritual adds +1 to the mage's skill roll in actually performing the magical
feat.
The appropriate Rune must be carefully and correctly drawn for Rune magic to provide any bonuses to a magic ritual. Simple Runes may be traced in the air or on the ground with a finger; more complex Runes may require the mage to draw them in blood on a ritually prepared skin, or painstakingly create them in colored sands on a flat, swept surface. Generally, the more complex the magical feat being attempted, the more complex the Rune required to aid the mage, hence the more time required in applying the Rune.
Except when used simply to recognize a known Rune or arcane symbol, Rune magic is performed in conjunction with other Scholarly Magic skills. Successful use of the Rune skill grants +1 to the other Magic skill rolls required to perform the magical feat. Legendary success grants a +2 bonus to the other Magic skill rolls. Infamous failure indicates the Rune was drawn incorrectly (or the wrong Rune was used). The Storyteller may simply have the magical feat fail, or may substitute an unexpected alteration to the feat's outcome. It is possible to combine Runes and Wizardry in the same ritual, thereby doubling potential bonuses, but if either the Rune or Wizardry skill roll fails, the magical feat will fail as well.
The "Wise Arts." The most scholarly of Scholarly Magic, Wizardry concerns itself with the laws of magic, the flow of mana, and the underlying structures of spells, incantations, and enchantments. Wizards know many ways to gather Magical Power, and how to use it most efficiently.
Like Rune magic, Wizardry isn't so much a way to perform magical feats as it is a collection of knowledge that can be applied to enhance the performance of any magical feat. When applying Wizardry to a ritual to perform a magical feat, the mage rolls against the feat's difficulty level twice: once using the Wizardry skill and again using the appropriate magic type's skill. A successful use of the Wizardry skill in a ritual adds +1 to the mage's skill roll in actually performing the magical feat.
A Wizard must take some time considering the exact nature of the desired magical effect, and possible circumstances present at the time of casting that could affect the outcome including difficulty, mana use, time to cast, and so on.
Wizardry is performed in conjunction with other Scholarly Magic skills. Successful use of the Wizardry skill grants +1 to the other Magic skill rolls required to perform the magical feat. Legendary success grants a +2 bonus to the other Magic skill rolls. Infamous failure indicates the Wizard missjudged the circumstances at work entirely. The GM may simply have the magical feat fail, or may It is possible to combine Wizardry and Runes in the same ritual, thereby doubling potential bonuses, but if either the Wizardry or Rune skill roll fails, the magical feat will fail as well.
All spells are assumed to have some sort of side effect - a pretty trail of sparkles from caster to subject, a blue ray, a shimmering light, a strange smell, weird music, or whatever. Some spells have only visual effects, some have only sounds; most have both. Spells with either sights or sounds already implied in the effect, are the only exceptions, the sigil is then slightly subdued.
The general nature of ANY visual effects varies with the mage; it's a side-effect of the "aura" of the wizard's personality. Some wizards might have spells that are all one color, or always heralded by electric crackling noises. It's up to every mage-player to describe, in general terms, the nature of the sounds and sights that accompanies his magic. Sensory side effects may be "muffled" for 1 point of spell power, when necessary for stealth reasons.