Magic

[Phoenixguard09]

Another placeholder, this thread is intended to explain how magic works in the system, and also to serve as a collation point for the Miscast Charts.

Arcane Magic:

Black Magic:

Spirit Magic:

Blood Magic:

Lore Magic:

Miscast Charts:

Minor Miscast Chart
00-05 Witchery: Within 10 yards of the caster food spoils, wine goes sour and milk curdles. The caster has a -10 to Charisma for D10 hours as there is a pervading feeling of wrongness around them. They do gain a +10 bonus to Intimidation for the same duration.
06-10 Rupture: The caster's nose starts to bleed and continues to do so until the caster makes a successful Toughness Check. For every minute the effects of Rupture continue, the caster loses a single Health point.
11-15 Witch Eyes: The caster's eyes turn bright red and glow in darkness. The effects last for D10 hours.
16-20 Breath of Winter: A cold and unnatural wind blows through the immediate area.
21-30 Pitch Black: For a single Round, the area within d100 yards of the caster is plunged into darkness equivalent to a moonless night.
31-40 Unnatural Wind: The caster's hair shifts as if it is blowing in a strong breeze for D10 Rounds.
41-50 Wyrdlight: The caster glows with unnatural light for D10 Rounds.
51-60 Unnatural Aura: Creatures within 10 yards of the caster must pass a Fear Check or immediately attempt to flee the caster. If they cannot do so, they must attack the caster. The creature may be restrained with a successful Animal Training Check.
61-65 Silenced: The caster is unable to vocalise anything for D10 hours.
66-70 Overload: The caster is overwhelmed with magical energy and is stunned for a single round.
71-75 Haunted: Ghostly voices fill the air around the caster for D10 hours.
76-80 Aethyric Shock: The magical energy coursing through the caster causes them to lose a single Health point, ignoring Toughness and armour.
81-90 Mental Block: The caster attempts to channel too much energy and finds their soulfire conduit is now unable to function properly. The caster loses a Magic level for D5 hours.
91-95 Aethyric Attack: Magical energy burns through the caster's body. The caster loses D10 Health points, ignoring armour, but not Toughness.
96-99 Well, armadillo: Roll on the next table.

Moderate Miscast Chart
00-10 Unwanted Guest: A daemonic entity (level 1) enters the material world and attacks anyone in the vicinity. 
11-20 Natural Protest: The earth shakes under the caster's feet. The caster and anyone within 5d10 yards must make an Agility Check or be knocked over. Natural Protest incurs a Structural Fortitude Check on structures within that radius too.
21-30 Chaos Foreseen: The caster gains a glimpse of the Otherworld. The caster gains an Insanity point, but may now purchase the Common Knowledge (Otherworld) Skill if they wish.
31-35 Concussive Force: The caster and everyone within 3d10 yards must make a Toughness Check or be Stunned for a Round.
36-40 Leeching: Every living creature within 3d10 yards of the caster loses D5 Soulfire. If this would cause them to drop beneath 0 Soulfire, they take 1 Damage, ignoring Toughness and Armour. The caster gains +1 Soulfire for every creature drained in this way. Every point above the caster's maximum inflicts 1 Damage, ignoring armour.
41-50 Bainsidhe Howl: Everyone within 5d10 yards of the caster is deafened, Perception decreased by 20 for d10 minutes. Any glass in the radius is shattered by the howl.
51-60 Aethyric Attack: Magical energy burns through the caster's body. The caster loses D10 Health points, ignoring armour, but not Toughness.
61-70 Enfeeblement: Chaotic magical energy wracks the caster's body. The caster's Toughness is reduced by 10 points for D10 Rounds.
71-80 Mindnumb: The caster attempts to draw on too much magical power and their soulfire conduit no longer functions properly. Their Magic level is reduced by 1 for D5 days.
81-90 Daemonic Possession: The caster is possessed by a powerful daemon for D10 Rounds. The GM controls the caster for this period of time. The caster will have no memory of what occurred in this time period, but will gain an Insanity Point.
91-95 Wild Magic: The caster loses control of the spell completely. The caster and everyone within twenty yards of the caster lose D5 Health points, ignoring Toughness and armour. 
96-99 Trick of Fate: Roll on the next table.

Major Miscast Chart
00-05 Wild Magic: The caster loses control of the spell completely. The caster and everyone within twenty yards of the caster lose D5 Health points, ignoring Toughness and armour.
06-10 Bloodied Eyes: The caster's eyes start pouring blood. The caster's Perception is decreased by 30 points for D10 hours and loses D5 Health points, ignoring Toughness and armour.
11-20 The Withering Eye: The caster's Toughness and Strength are decreased by 20 points for D10 hours.
21-25 Foul Sleep: Magical power overwhelms the caster, knocking them unconscious for D10 minutes. When they awaken, they must pass a Willpower Check or gain an Insanity Point.
26-30 Unnatural Decay: All plantlife and any animals of the Tiny size category or smaller within 3d10 yards of the caster withers and dies.
31-40 Aethyric Assault: Magical energy lashes at the caster. The caster loses D10 Health points, ignoring armour and Toughness.
41-50 Nightmare Visions: A powerful daemonic entity shows the caster horrific visions of the Otherworld. The caster gains D10 Insanity Points, but may purchase the Common Knowledge (Otherworld) and Common Knowledge (Daemons) Skills if they wish.
51-60 Mindeaten: The caster's conduit to their soulfire is horribly damaged. The ability to use magic is burnt out of them. Their Magic level is reduced to 0. For each full day which passes, their Magic level increases by 1 until it is returns to full strength.
61-70 Uninvited Company: D10 daemonic entities (level 3) enter the material world and attack anyone in the vicinity. 
71-80 Dark Sacrifice: The caster loses D10+6 Health points, ignoring armour.
81-90 Howling Nightmares: All living creatures within 2d10 yards of the caster must make an immediate Terror Check or flee directly away from the caster. 
91-94 Hordes of Hell: 2D10 daemonic entities (level 4) enter the material world and attack anyone in the vicinity.
95-97 Your Soul is Mine: The caster's soul is ensnared by a powerful daemonic entity. GM's discretion on how this actually affects the character. May be best played out as a whole session where the party ventures into the Otherworld to retrieve their companion's soul.
98-99 Called to the Void: The caster disappears in a maelstrom of blinding magic. Time to roll a new character.

[Jubal]

Hm, interesting. Strikes me that some of those higher level "GM picks" type things put a lot of pressure on the GM, especially given a bunch of those (depending on the situation) I can imagine being effective or actual death sentences for a character, and I can imagine it would feel much worse for a player to have the GM kill their character or not on a simple matter of choice. If the GM then does kill their character (or put them in a situation where they die), the caster's player then knows it was the GM's decision which feels a lot worse than it being a random table. If the GM gives them one of the less bad options, the player might feel that the GM was going easy on them which is also non-ideal. Unless the GM does all the miscast rolls behind a screen I guess? But then the "GM picks" are less relevant because if you're rolling behind a screen but have a specific effect you want, you can just say you rolled that anyway.

[Phoenixguard09]

You raise some good points. The Miscast chart itself has, in practice so far been held by the GM behind the screen, but the player rolls. As it is so far, I've been slowly adding new results and phasing old ones out as I think of good results. I think I shall add those results to the list of phase outs.

Cheers man,

[Jubal]

One fun idea I heard recently for a miscast is that it ends up doing a cancellation effect - creating a certain radius in which all enchantments, magic, are unuseable (possibly wearing off over the course of a few days subsequently). This can really flip a battle - your magic is suddenly gone, but so is that of anyone you're fighting.

The funny example story that went with this is where someone accidentally more or less ended the world with this effect, by accidentally causing a magic shutdown in a magical city full of wizards, which turned out to have been put there because the wizards had to keep a giant magical bottle-stopper on the prison of a Tarrasque. 

[Phoenixguard09]

That exact effect is actually on my 'to-do' list man. I'm just trying to figure out where it comes in.