Chapter Five -- Magic
Kingdoms and Honor is a fantasy game, and magic runs deep in its blood. But this is not traditional RPG magic -- don't expect Magic Missiles and Fireballs! Instead, magic will run through the stories you tell about your character, and it will rear up and bite you from behind when you least expect it!
Section One: Magic 101
The style of this game, generally speaking, is realistic high fantasy rather than heroic sword and sorcery. Magic is dangerous and mysterious, and it is not an exact science. Be forewarned: those who use magic will be changed by it, in ways they did not expect. This chapter does not include all the rules of magic, and in many cases there may be no hard and fast rule at all -- except to expect the unexpected.
Magic varies from place to place and from Land to Land. If your character travels, he may find that spells behave differently, that the power of magic changes with location.
Ways to cast magic
There are three kinds of human magic in K&H, and only two are commonly available to Player Characters.
The most powerful magic is Dark Magic, which is available only to those who have declared their allegience to certain utterly evil beings. To use this form of magic, the user must dedicate herself to such a being, who then directly grants the power to cast magical spells. These powers can only be advanced by usage, study and blessings by the evil sponsor. This magic requires lengthy worship, sacrifices, and horrors to celebrate the glory and power of evil. Think of the bad guy in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Player Characters are seldom allowed to begin play as Dark Mages.
The second form of magic is known as Neutral Magic. Neutral Magic is not derived from good or evil. It is learned by studying with books or a mentor. It requires much in the way of intricate incantation, complex arcana, many details, convoluted formulae, obscure and rare ingredients, and so on. This is the closest thing in K&H to traditional D&D-style magic.
Both Dark and Neutral Magic are inefficient and wasteful of magic energy. There exists a high level of ambient magical energy all about the K&H world, spill-over from Dark and Neutral Magic. This energy can be tapped through meditation and force of will. This Force Magic uses this ambient power to create magical effects. Force Magic, dependent as it is on the power of the inner mind, requires intense concentration, self-hypnosis, and will power. The outward signs, visible to watchers, might include meditative aids such as chants, meditation beads, physical exertion designed to focus concentration (like sitting in the Lotus position), hypnotic aids (like a droning sound or a spinning coin), and so on.
The what and how of magic
Magic in K&H can be described as the interaction of Realms and Schools. Realms tell what the magic affects; Schools tell how the magic takes place. A combination of one Realm and one School describes a single magic effect. Below are the Realms and Schools and the descriptions of each.
Realms
Body: The body is the physical aspects of a living being. One who knows the Realm of Body is in tune with fields such as anatomy and biology. This Realm is very difficult to learn and master as there are many different forms of life in the world, each with differing physical aspects. One using this Realm would have more difficulty with an unfamiliar creature than one that has been seen and studied. Includes: people, cats, beetles, trees, algae, etc.
Earth: This Realm is specifically oriented towards things that are non-living and non-breathing. This Realm includes the actual earth as well as water, weather, natural and crafted objects, and so on. Earth applies to real, substantive objects and masses. Includes: marble, gold, avalanches, clouds, doors, hats, ivory, wood, alcohol.
Energy: Energy is a very broad Realm with many subjects and topics of study. The Force Mage who follows this study will have much to learn and would benefit by studying one form of energy rather than many. Includes: fire, electricity, light, magnetism, radiation.
Spirit: The spirit is the life force of a being, its soul, which is the part of a creature that feels. This Realm would allow perception of spirit both before and after death. It includes summoning and binding a spirit to something, such as a skeleton or corpse. The Spirit realm is very dangerous and those that have an excellent knowledge have great respect for its limits. Includes: emotions, life detection, souls.
Mind: This Realm includes memory, thought detection, telepathy, and perception. For example, a mage could use the Mind Realm to make a person see and hear a large saber-tooth cat growling menacingly before him, when in reality the beast is just a small house cat. However, this viscous saber-tooth cat could not do physical damage to the victim, despite the mind's expectaion. Includes: reason, memory, thought.
Time: Time is one of the most powerful realms. It is intensely difficult to master, as there are many variables and obstacles that one most overcome. The alteration of time could change the entire course of history or the entire fate of a race. Includes: time travel, lost time, speeding up and down, time warps.
Schools
Control: This School allows the mage to take command of the target's action. It does not bestow any new ability, and the target can perform only as it normally would -- it could not make rain fall upward or a snake fly, for example, but it could make rain fall and a snake bite. This School can influence natural events, such as causing an earthquake along a natural fault line or causing a flame to burn more furiously and spread faster. And it can control a living creature's natural behavior.
Create/Destroy: This very powerful School causes something to be that did not exist before, or utterly destroys a thing so that it no longer exists. This could be used to create food, water, maybe a dagger if one finds him/herself unarmed. It can be used to disintegrate rock or stone. Only very advanced users can create or destroy things as complex as living creatures.
Heal/Harm: This School includes damaging the target or repairing it. This School cannot bestow capabilities inherently fundamental to the target -- it can heal, but it cannot bring the target above perfect health; it can mend a broken pot, but not make it stronger than it was. Similarly, it cannot remove capabilities inherently fundamental to the target -- it can wound, but it cannot kill; it can crack a pot or make it leaky, but not shatter it into shards or alter its fundamental "pot-ness." Healing cannot improve a target beyond its normal potential, nor can harming remove or destroy the target's innate characteristics.
Know: This School allows the student to learn that which is unknown. One could see things across great distances or learn the history of an object. One could examine a creature and learn of where it has been. This School includes communication and knowledge of languages.
Move: This School focuses on the moving of the target through space. One could cause the target to fly or even teleport great distances. This includes telekinesis.
Transform: This School changes the fundamental nature of the target. This adds to, removes, or replaces fundamental capabilities in the target. The further you transform something from its original state, the more difficult the transformation is.
Combining realms and schools
Any single spell or magic effect can be described by focussing a School on a Realm. For example, Heal Body, Know Mind, and Transform Energy would be used to repair a broken bone, read a person's thoughts, and make fire feel cold rather than hot, respectively.
Since there are six realms and six schools, there are 36 possible ways to generate magic. These are detailed in this list of realms and schools.
Magic as cooking
Some people are talented cookbook chefs -- so long as they have a recipe, the food is fine. They follow the instructions perfectly and create good food every time.
Other people are equally talented, but they are not tied to a recipe. They improvise, adding spices, varying amounts, and experimenting. Sometimes their dishes are not so tasty, but sometimes they are incredible! These chefs adapt some recipes, and sometimes they just taste a kind of food and then try to recreate the taste in their own kitchen.
Neutral Magic is Cookbook Magic. If you want to cast a spell that , here's the recipe. It doesn't matter if you are targetting one person or a dozen, 100 feet away or 100 yards away. Just follow the recipe. One size fits all. No choice.
Force Mages, on the other hand, have to be as efficient as possible to make the most of the "crumbs" of energy they gather. A smart Force Mage tailors each spell to maximize bang for the buck. They adapt, modify, and experiment on the fly. Sometimes a spell goes haywire (more often than for Neutral Mages), but sometimes the mage discovers a new technique and things work extra well.
For a Neutral Mage, the ability to cast one particular spell is a Skill. An experienced Neutral Mage might have a skill to Cast Heal Human Wounds (Heal Body), for example, which would be useless against disease, poison, or burns. The Mage might also have skills to Cast Electric Arc (Create Energy), Cast Run Fast Skill (Transform Body), Cast Inspire Fear (Control Mind), and possibly many more. Each Skill gives the Neutral Mage the ability to cast the named spell -- one spell per skill. And those spells may be entirely unrelated to each other.
Even though a Neutral Mage might know 10, 20, or even more spells, the Neutral Mage is inherently limited to the spells known -- no improvisation or alteration of spells is allowed. If a Neutral Mage wants to make a statue come to life and attack, he had better know a spell designed to do just that, because otherwise he must find a spell to accomplish the effect. Neutral Mages cannot research or improvise new spells.
A Force Mage probably has fewer magic Skills than a Neutral Mage, but those skills are more versatile. For example, a Force Mage might know just two Skills: Cast Heal/Harm Body Spells and Cast Transform Body Spells -- but with these few Skills the Force mage can improvise hundreds of magical effects. For example, such a Force Mage could heal wounds, disease, and poison; she could make herself very small to sneak into a tower, cripple her foe by severing the tendons in his ankle, then sprout wings to fly away. This mage improvises each spell at need.
However, Neutral Magic is much more potent than Force Magic -- it would take a powerful Force Mage to duplicate the effect of a particular spell cast by a novice Neutral Mage.
For example, say a Neutral Mage with Cast Heal Human Wounds and a Force Mage with Cast Heal/Harm Body Spells both wanted to heal friends who had suffered a sword slash. The Neutral Mage may have a Challenge Adjustment on the Act Roll of, say, -1, while the Force Mage might have a Challenge Adjustment of -10. That's because the Neutral Mage draws as much power as needed from outside the world to do the job, but the Force Mage has to improvise with very little energy. On the other hand, when the Neutral Mage's friend is bitten by a poisonous snake, the Neutral Mage is helpless to reverse or cure the poison, while the Force Mage has an honest chance at it, even if he never cast a Cure Poison spell in his life.
The trade off is versatility vs. power.
The laws of magical ingredients
One option that Creators can allow is the use of special ingredients, or components, in casting spells. The following gives ideas on how to do this. The general effect of such ingredients is to increase a mage's chance of success in spell casting.
The Law of Representation
To apply the Law of Representation, one must use a material component to represent the desired effect of the casting. Some examples include a feather for flight or a piece of wool to provide warmth from cold weather or a bit of sulfur to create fire.
The Law of Essence
To apply the Law of Essence, one must use a component that is an extract of the target or something that has personal value of some sort. Examples could include a lock of hair from the target, a ring given to the target by a lover, or a rock taken from a target building. The item must have been in the target's possession at some point for this law to be effective.
The Law of Task
The Law of Task would be the use of a component or object that the caster had to go through some sort of difficulties to obtain. This item does not have to be related to the spell or the target but should be outlined to utilize the spell. Some forms of magic have these items predetermined and some forms allow the caster to use any object for such spell.
Section Two: Mechanics, Skills, Resolution
Most importantly, the entire magic resolution mechanism is transparent to the Player. The Player writes a prose turn. The Creator uses the resolution mechanism as a skeleton to shape the results. The Creator writes the results. The Player never knows the actual roll, the modifiers, the numeric plusses and minuses. So the Player has no first-hand access to the numbers. We Creators use them in order to ensure fairness and even-handedness from Player to Player and from Creator to Creator. Players will know how the system works, so that they have confidence in its fairness, but they won't know particular adjustments or die rolls.
The following magic resolution system is designed for the Creators, not exactly for the Players. I don't expect each player to have a full set of charts and such for spells. A Player's duty is to describe what he/she has in mind for a spell and how he or she would go about casting such spell. In turn, the Creator's duty is to place a difficulty rating on this spell and use it in an Act roll.
Writing orders for spells
From the point of view of the Players, magic should be a part of the stories you tell about your Characters. As in all posts, be creative, use interesting strategy, and write well. For example:
Good
Gallan watches the faerie dragon that mocks him, darting about. The mage's eyes dart back and forth, keeping a steady lock on the small wyrm as he goes over the spell in his mind. The tendrils of magical force are within his grasp, filling his veins with the hum of power that each slender thread of magic adds to his casting. He pictures the spell flowing from his fingers as he speaks words of power, words that instruct the magic to wrap around the dragon's wings, paralyzing them. He decides to change the spell, changing its properties from a binding spell to more an energy incantation, freezing the wings into cold slabs of ice. Smiling he releases the power, letting the magic flow out, watching the invisible threads of power turning icy blue as they seek out his target...
Bad
Ok I'm a rank 4 body force mage. I'm going to attempt to cast a Create/Destroy Energy spell on the faerie dragon, targetting the smaller wings on its back to drop it.
Skills
For Neutral Mages, knowing how to cast a particular spell is an individual Skill -- one Skill per spell. Each of these Skills is a Narrow Scope Skill; its versatility may be more or less limited. For Force Mages, a single Skill allows the casting of a great many spells. Each of these Skills is a Broad Scope Skill.
The associated Trait for all Force Magic Skills is Psyche; for all Neutral Magic, it is Mind.
Skill availablity is dependent on the Creator -- Neutral Mages can only learn those spell Skills that are available to them in the K&H world. Force Mages are more flexible but less potent -- they can adapt their low-power spells to a wide range of circumstances, creating their own personal variations of spells.
Act Modifiers
The main idea is that the more powerful a spell is, the harder it is to cast. All the standard modifoers apply: skill, strategy, creativity, writing, and difficulty mods are applied to an Act roll to see if a spell is cast successfully.
But the difficulty modifiers can be complex. Here are a wide range of sample modifiers for Creators to use in setting difficulty mods (note that modifiers are cumulative, and that Force Mages use modifiers that are usually three times more difficult). These modifiers are guidelines only: Creators may deviate from them as desired in their own lands, although they should do so logically or at least consistently.
Except for fatigue and ingredient modifiers, Force Mages generally suffer triple the penalties given below.
Fatigue
| Modifier | Other spells cast |
|
|
no other spells cast today |
|
|
1-3 spell cast earlier today |
| -2 | 4-6 spells cast earlier today |
| -3 | 7-9 spells cast earlier today |
| -4 | 10-12 spells cast earlier today |
| etc |
| Modifier | Ingredient |
| +1 | ingredient fits one law (above) |
| +2 | ingredient fits two laws (above) |
| +3 | ingredient fits three laws (above) |
| Modifier | Size of Target/Group | Range |
| 0 | Dog | Touch |
| -1 | Human | Close - Fight range, up to 3 meters |
| -2 | Wagon or 2-4 Humans | Short - Throw range, up to 30 meters |
| -4 | Room or 5-10 Humans | Medium - Arrow range, up to 300 meters |
| -8 | Small Building or 11-30 Humans | Long - Line of Sight |
| -16 | Large Building or 31+ Humans | Extreme - Beyond Vision |
| Time Element | Difficulty Modifier | Time Element | Difficulty Modifier |
| 1 second | +1 | 5 hours | -10 |
| 5 seconds | 0 | 1 day | -12 |
| 25 seconds | -2 | 5 days | -14 |
| 2 minutes | -4 | 1 month | -16 |
| 10 minutes | -6 | 1 season | -18 |
| 1 hour | -8 | 1 year | -20 |
| Small | 0 to -1 | Great | -5 to -8 |
| Moderate | -2 | Superb | -9 to -15 |
| Good | -3 to -4 | Legendary | -16 + |
| Modifier | Spell Effect |
| 0 to -2 | Small |
| Control: Cause target to sneeze or itch. Make a slight breeze. | |
| Create/Destroy: Make a rock. Destroy a fly. Create a whisper. | |
| Harm/Heal: Relieve fatigue; cure bruises, scratches. Crack glass. Repair small breaks. | |
| Know: Provide information obtainable through simple observation. Empathy. | |
| Move: Lift small object, like an apple, through telekinesis. | |
| Transform: Alter nose shape, hair, eye color. Sharpen blade. |
| -3 to -5 | Fair |
| Control: Cause a cat to hunt a bird. Make a hero brave. | |
| Create/Destroy: Make a bright light. Add an extra 10 seconds to your personal time. | |
| Harm/Heal: Cure major infection or minor disease. Shatter glass, tear leather. | |
| Know: Provide information obtainable through mundane means. Understand unknown language. | |
| Move: Allow target to levitate. Have out of body experience. | |
| Transform: Let a human see in the dark. Slow target. |
| -6 to -8 | Good |
| Control: Make a little boy sit still. Summon moderate wind. | |
| Create/Destroy: Destroy some of a person's memories, create a jewel or sword. | |
| Harm/Heal: Cure insanity, compund fracture. Break wood door. Quench small fire. | |
| Know: Read surface thoughts. Speak another language well. See into near past. | |
| Move: Allow target to fly. Allow target to walk through walls. Travel a day forward in time. | |
| Transform: Give glass strength of stone. Double a man's size. Bend light around object (invisibility). |
| -9 to -11 | Great |
| Control: Control appetite. Make wakeful person sleep. Raise and lower temperature. | |
| Create/Destroy: Disintegrate body parts, stone. Create food, rainbow, wood. | |
| Harm/Heal: Cure deadly poison, reattach limbs. Crack stone. | |
| Know: Speak with animals. Sense spirits. Understand magic. | |
| Move: Teleport. Summon target. Travel a month forward in time. | |
| Transform: Change shape. Make fire burn cold. Change falling rain into strong acid. |
| -12 to -14 | Superb |
| Control: Make rainstorm in desert. Force dog to bite master. | |
| Create/Destroy: Create living plants. Destroy buildings. | |
| Harm/Heal: Regrow severed limbs. Shatter high quality steel. Restore from coma, brain death. | |
| Know: Read deep thoughts, memories. Speak with spirits. Predict future. | |
| Move: Travel back in time. | |
| Transform: Turn a man into living stone. |
| -15 + | Legendary |
| These spells are earth-shaking and rare. They destroy powerful entities, plague nations, sink cities, and unleash terrible evils on the world. |
Section Three: The Unknown
There are many aspects of magic left undescribed in these rules. Magical items, beasts, curses, and places are all enigmas to beginning Players. There is almost nothing in these rules about Dark Magic, and even less about Light Magic. There is enough here to get Players started, and they can discover more as they explore the game.