Magic

Astral Energy (AE)

All magically talented creatures are filled with another power source beside the life energy. This reservoir is called the power of magic of simply astral energy (AE). Whenever a spell is cast or a ritual is invoked, the magician looses some of her astral energy. This is called losing astral points (ASP).

The power is needed to transform the omnipotent forces of the spheres into something more ordered patterns, the spell. A big order needs a huge amount of this astral energy.

The very number of astral points (ASP) a spell employs is written down in their description. If the magic test does not work out well, only half of this energy is transformed into some pattern that might vanish immediately or fall back onto the magician. If a magician does not have enough astral points left to cast the spell nothing happens, the spheres do not react to her despair.

The astral points, however, are not lost forever. Magicians and elves may regain their amount of astral energy as they regain astral energy during a quiet night. Whereas other heroes may only roll 1D6 during the nocturnal recovery to add them to their life energy, magically talented heroes may roll 2D6. The lower number they roll is added to their astral energy reservoir, the higher to their life energy.

Magic talents (MTaP)

More than 200 spell are known throughout the whole of the continent. We only present the 26 most commonly known spells. But even from this restricted point of view you will realize that every magically talented character has other preferences than the other and may only be talented to learn specific ones. Therefore every spell is connected to a magical talent value (MTaP), who will tell you how well a single character knows the specific spell.

Additionally, the hero will have to show his special virtues that belong to every spell, so an elf will more easily recognize the feelings of another one if he has already developed the virtues WISDOM, INTUITION and CHARISMA. The spell is only an interweaving of all these virtues and combining it with a magical power source. All of these virtues and values must be regarded to perform a spell correctly.

Magic Test

If a hero starts to cast a spell, it will not automatically succeed. The result is determined by a magic test. As you might have noticed by the overview in the previous passage, magical talents are in essence the same as talents and so the test is also similar.

You will roll the dice for the 3 different virtues and may correct them with the magical talent points (MTaP). You might as well look it up more detailed in the talent test description.

However, here is an example: The sorceress Rhenaya (WI: 14, DE: 12) tries to break a lock via the spell FORAMEN FORAMINOR (she is talented with MTaP "FORAMEN" 6 points).

Rhenaya’s player rolls WI:18, DE:11, DE:13. The first WISDOM test failed by 4 points (18-14=4), so she uses 4 of her 6 talent points, the second test succeeds, but her DEXTERITY roll is again 1 point too high, i.e. she uses another of her 2 (6-4) talent points that were left after the WISDOM tests. She has still got 1 point at the end. The overall test succeeds.

The gamemaster will now decide how many astral points (ASP) she has to spend. Since the lock is average, the gamemaster requires 5 ASP. If the test had failed, she would only loose 3 ASP.

Automatic success and automatic failure are still valid for magic tests, only blunders are much more various and should be determined by the master and described in detail, that keeps players from trying the impossible in situations that are far from being dangerous. Magic tests can also be harder or simpler tests, spells that are cast against somebody’s magical resistance (MR) will always be like that, i.e. the magical resistance will work as as the additive for the harder test.

Option: The Magical Resistance (MR)

The optional rules comprise the feature of the resistance to magic of any kind of creature. The according value is called magical resistance (MR) and is calculated by:

MR=(CO+WI+Level)/3-2xSU(perstition)

i.e. you add COURAGE, WISDOM and Level to a sum, divide this sum by 3 and subtract twice the superstition from it.

Every lifeform in Arkania has got something like a subconscious resistance to magic. This subconscious defence mechanism is improved in intelligent lifeforms by their conscious resistance evoked by COURAGE, WISDOM and experience (Level) and even more by magically talented creatures who see the world with different eyes, not coloured by a common SUPERSTITION. They build up something like a permanent antimagical shield that has to be broken first by a magician to get through to their sensitive areas. Now, this formula might seem difficult on first view, but magic is nothing for people with WI:7, so we are on solid ground.

The value for new and freshly baked heroes will be around 0 and changes, of course, with level, COURAGE, WISDOM and SUPERSTITION. So never forget to raise your value after each level improvement, if you do not want her to end up as a toy for some obsessed magician.

You will probably know that dwarves are particularly stubborn and that seaman as those from Thorwal are especially superstitious. Such traits are also noted by magical resistance and written down as modificators to the value calculated by the upper formula in the following table. So after calculating the basic MR, do not forget to add or subtract the value according to your type of character.

• Elf: +3
• Magician: +2
• Novadi: -1
• Thief: +2
• Thorwaler: -2
• Dwarf: +2

The magical resistance will always be of interest, when the free will of a creature is restricted by a spell, so nearly every control spell (BANNBALADIN or HORRIPHOBUS), when reading thoughts, or when trying to transform a creature into another.

In these cases the magic test becomes a harder test with the additive of the magical resistance of the target creature. Whether or not the MR is evoked is featured in the description of the individual spells.

An example: The fearsome black magician Kromo is faced by two heroes, who want to hinder him from enforcing his dark plan. Before they can react the heroes are faced with a HORRIPHOBUS each. Warrioress Doriana (CO:13, WI:10, Level:5, SU: 5) has a MR of -1, the elf Startracer (CO:11, WI:13, Level:2, SU:3) has a MR of 5.

Koromo’s (CO:12, WI: 14, CH:14) not so fearsome knowledge of HORRIPHOBUS is MTaP 5. He rolls the dice 16, 8, 16. This is enough to let Doriana look for escape, but Startracer is not effected by the spell, so he himself casts a FULMINICTUS…

It is not only intelligent life that creates an MR defence, the values of some typical monsters and animals may be looked up in the chapter Arkanian animals and monsters in the single features.

Level Improvement for Spellcasters

Every time your magician or elf reaches a new level, you can improve the talent points (TaP) as well as the magical talent points (MTaP). The improvement is the same for both, i.e. you roll 2D6 (or 3D6, if the MTaP-value is higher than 10) and you have to roll a higher value than your instantaneous one.

The magician has 15 attempts to do so, the elf only 10. Additionally, the magician may reduce his talent improvement attempts by 5 and raise his number of attempts for the improvement of magical talents by 5. And he may reduce his attempts for magic talent improvement and raise his astral energy (AE) instead by 1D6+2.

Of course, there are restriction to how much you may improve your individual magical talents per level. These are very simple, a magician may improve each spell by 2 points per level if it is a magician’s spell and by 1 point only if it is an elf’s spell, the elf may raise an elf’s spell by 2 and a magician’s spell by 1, thus the other way round. Additionally a magician may choose his very particular spell (which can be a magician’s or elf’s spell) and raise this every level by up to 3 points.

And we will not forget what we said in the beginning of this second rule book, i.e. magicians and elves may, naturally, raise astral energy and life energy. Magicians roll 1D6 and split it up between the two values, elves roll 1D6+2 and split up the points as they wish.

Starting Spell Values