Prerequisite: Magery 0
Choose a spell that has no other spells as prerequisites. Your skill level with this spell and any whose prerequisites can be traced back to it (and in addition, Recover Energy) is based on Will in place of IQ (if higher), with a maximum of IQ+6. If you have other forms of Magery, they do not stack for the purpose of spell skill levels. However, your understanding of these spells is innate, idiosyncratic, and crude, so you can only spend one point on each spell you learn in this way.
Your effective Magery is equal to half the difference between your IQ and your Will (round down), but do not add this to spell skill levels. It applies to prerequisites, spell effects, magic sense rolls, and progress toward learning new spells.
For your Sorcery spells, your spellcasting ritual never requires you to draw symbols or make gestures, always requires a softly spoken word, and always has an obviously supernatural effect on your appearance (such as glowing eyes). Time and cost are reduced based on skill level as normal. You are still limited by Controlling Skills, but not Symbol Drawing.
Critical Spell Failure
- 3 – Spell fails entirely. Caster takes 1d of injury.
- 4 – Spell is cast on caster (if harmful) or on a random nearby foe (if beneficial).
- 5-6 – Spell is cast on one of the caster’s companions (if harmful) or on a random nearby foe (if beneficial).
- 7 – Spell affects someone or something other than its intended target – friend, foe, or random object. Roll randomly or make an interesting choice.
- 8 – Spell fails entirely. Caster takes 1 point of injury.
- 9 – Spell fails entirely. Caster is stunned (IQ roll to recover).
- 10-11 – Spell produces nothing but a loud noise, bright flash of light, awful odor, etc.
- 12 – Spell produces a weak and useless shadow of the intended effect.
- 13 – Spell produces the reverse of the intended effect.
- 14 – Spell seems to work, but it is only a useless illusion. The GM should do his best to convince the wizard and his companions that the spell did work!
- 15-16 – Spell has the reverse of the intended effect, on the wrong target. Roll randomly.
- 17 – Spell fails entirely. Caster temporarily forgets the spell. Make an IQ roll after a week, and again each following week, until he remembers.
- 18 – Spell fails entirely. A demon or other malign entity appropriate to the setting appears and attacks the caster. (The GM may waive this result if, in his opinion, caster and spell were both lily-white, pure good in intent.)