Terrin Magic Systems

Humans in the world of Terra have access to several distinct forms of magic. The narrative aspects of each of those forms are described in their respective pages, so the descriptions on this page will focus on their mechanical representations.

As a reminder, the forms of magic are divided into the primary magics of Sorcery, Seeing, and Enchanting - and the secondary magics of Alchemy and Ritual Magic.

Magic Listings

The listing for each of the five magics uses the following format:

Cost - one or more costs that must be paid during character creation (or later if your character picks up a secondary magic during play). The types of cost are:

• Refresh: reduce your starting Refresh by the given amount (so a cost of 1 Refresh means you start with 2 rather than 3)
• Stunt slots: reduce your starting Stunt slots by the given amount (so a cost of 2 stunt slots means you start with 1 slot rather than 3)
• Aspect: at least one of your character's Aspects must describe how your character learnt the form of magic, or how they feel about it

Benefit - one or more benefits which are listed on your character sheet, usually in the form of stunts or narrative permissions

Permission - one or more requirements that must be met to use your magic in a given scene

Afterwards there will be a detailed description of the magic and its usage, sometimes with separate descriptions for sub-powers if required.

Essence Aspects

Many forms of magic either require the presence of Essence or consume some Essence in order to function. Mechanically, the current level of Essence is measured through an Essence Aspect, which has a rating ranging from Fair (+2) to Legendary (+8).

If there would be two or more Essence Aspects in a scene, take the one with the highest rating. If there are two with the same rating, combine them into a new Aspect with a rating 2 higher than the originals - this can compound with itself, so two Fair (+2) Aspects can combine to create a Great (+4) Aspect, which then merge with an existing Great (+4) Aspect to create a Fantastic (+6) Aspect.

Common times of power and their Aspect ratings are:

• Fair (+2): twilight, half-moon nights
  
• Great (+4): lunar eclipse, summer solstice
• Fantastic (+6): Spring or Autumn equinox
• Legendary (+8): total solar eclipse, major comet

A few other sources of power include:

• A large fire - Fair (+2) if it's the size of a room; Great (+4) if it's at least the size of a city block
• Power of the masses - Fair (+2) if it's 100 people with a shared purpose or emotion; Great (+4) if it's at least 2000
  
• Ritual sacrifice - Fair (+2) if it's an animal, elemental, dream spirit, or memory spirit; Great (+4) if it's a human, nature spirit, or fey

Sorcery

Cost: 1 refresh, 1 stunt slot

Benefit: gain the Channel Essence and Essential Resonance stunts. Additionally, you may choose two of the manifestations listed on the Sorcery page to represent your character's existing skill in Sorcery.

• Channel Essence: As a Sorcerer, I can fill one Consequence with "Drained" to create an Essence Aspect of equal value.
• Essential Resonance:As a Sorcerer, my magic flares when Essence is high. When an Essence Aspect is placed on a scene, I get a number of Free Invokes equal to its value.

Permission: there must be an Essence Aspect on the scene, whether natural or artificial in origin.

Details

As long as you have access to an Essence Aspect, you may use any of your manifestations as described in each of their entries. If the action requires a roll, use the skill that would be used for attempting the closest non-magical analogue. For example, using the Water manifestation to shoot a shard of ice at a person would use Swashbuckle, while using it to make a bridge of ice across a river would use Jury Rig.

The stunts granted by your sorcery grant you the ability to create your own Essence Aspects on demand, though at a cost. At the end of the scene when you Channel Essence, remove the Essence Aspect you created, and rewrite the Consequence you drained to describe how your character was affected. The exhaustion could be physical, mental, or emotional.

Seeing

Cost: 1 refresh, 1 stunt slot

Benefit: gain the Hypersensitivity and Redirection Seer powers, and one additional power of your choice from the Seer power list.

Permission: varies by power

Details

Seer powers are varied in their nature. Some of them require an Essence Aspect of a certain rating, some require you to be in one of the Outer Realms, and others require other people or creatures to use their magic around you. See each power's description for its specifics.

Regardless of the power used, if an action requires a roll, use the skill that would be used for attempting the closest non-magical analogue. For example, using Spirit Control to destroy a spirit would use Swashbuckle, while using it to make a spirit aid you would use Parley.

Enchanting

Cost: 1 refresh, 1 stunt slot

Benefit: get the Empower Artifact stunt, and one free artifact

• Empower Artifact: as an Enchanter, I can briefly open up an artifact to the ambient Essence to boost its power. As long as there is an Essence Aspect in play, I may spend a Fate Point to add its rating to a roll that uses one or more artifacts in my possession. If I have free invokes on the Aspect, I may spend one of those instead.
  

Permissions: you must be in possession of an artifact in order to use it, though direct skin contact is not required. If you are also a Seer, being able to see the artifact is enough.

Special: if you are not an Enchanter yourself, you may take an artifact in place of a stunt. In this case you must have a character Aspect that either describes how you got an Enchanter to make it for you, or your relationship with that Enchanter. If you gain an artifact in this way, do not reduce your Refresh, and you do not gain the Empower Artifact stunt.

Details:

Artifacts are represented in the game as Extras, which means they are a small bundle of Aspects and stunts, much like a mini-character. Every artifact has the following features:

• Name: the artifact's name
  
• Function: an Aspect describing the artifact's core functionality
• Limitation: an Aspect describing a flaw in the artifact's design, or a limitation on its functionality
• Stunt: a stunt that describes a signature use of the artifact, typically following one of the standard stunt templates

Alchemy

Cost: 1 Aspect

Benefit: learn three alchemical formulae and gain the following Stunt:

• I made this last night! the real skill in alchemy is preparation, not execution. As such, once per session I may spend a Fate Point to gain a boost on any one of my known formulae. I can use the infusion once, then the boost vanishes.

Permission: there must be a natural time of power to create an infusion, and you must have a free invoke on an infusion to use it

Details

Define up to three alchemical formulae that you know. Each formula is made up of three components:

• Name: the infusion's name
• Function: an aspect defining the infusion's intended function
• Description: a visual description of the infusion
  
• Components: one or two objects or materials that are needed to create the infusion, feel free to be as creative and symbolic as you wish
  

Whenever there is a time of power and you have access to an a ritual circle and the Components, you can Create an Advantage on the formula's Function with Jury Rig, usually against a fair (+2) difficulty. If you roll a tie, treat it as a success. The resulting Aspect represents the outcome of the crafting attempt. You may use the infusion's Free Invokes as usual, gaining either a reroll or a +2 bonus for each of them, and you may spend Fate Points to invoke it extra times. Additionally, as long as you have at least one Free Invoke, you may use the infusion per its function aspect, within reason.

You may only attempt to create one infusion per time of power. Additionally, Essence leaks out of infusions over time, so can only maintain up to two active infusions at any given time (so you can't make a dozen infusions if there's a week of downtime).

You can learn more formulae throughout the game, though they take time and effort to develop on one's own. Most alchemists in the world don't bother creating their own formulae, instead learning them from published texts or from trading knowledge with other alchemists. Either way, learning a new formula should take at least one session and require a roll of at least great (+4) difficulty.

Ritual Magic

Cost: 1 Aspect

Benefit: can develop, prepare, and cast rituals

Permission: casting a ritual requires an Essence Aspect and up to 3 additional preparation aspects, see below

Details

To begin planning a ritual, define what you want it to do. Rituals can do almost anything you want, with the strongest of them being able to stretch the bounds of the rules of magic.

Depending on the desired effect, the GM will assign the ritual's rating:

• Fair (+2): minor instantaneous effects, like reshaping a rock, creating a gust of wind, or gaining a glimpse into a dream or memory
• Great (+4): minor effects lasting up to a day such as warding one's sleep against nightmares, ensuring a day of favourable winds, or making a barrier against spirits; alternatively, you can make effects akin to what a trained sorcerer or seer could perform, lasting up to a few minutes, such as pushing a heavy object, calling or controlling a minor spirit, or glimpsing at distant places on the planet
• Fantastic (+6): major effects like a Great ritual but with longer durations, typically lasting as long as the ritual circle remains unbroken or a focus crystal is intact. For example, binding a spirit for extended service, creating a semi-permanent ward around a building or individual, or sustaining a structure in the air indefinitely
• Legendary (+8): world-changing effects that bend or break the rules of magic. Complete transformation of living beings, manipulating a person's mind and soul, and nearly anything else is possible for those willing to pay the necessary price

With the rating in hand, the next step is to prepare the ritual. Ritual components are varied and often symbolic, so you don't always have to plan ahead of time how you want to prepare for the ritual. In any case, you need to gather a number of Preparation Aspects equal to half the ritual's rating (so one Aspect for a Fair ritual, two for a Great one, etc). Creating a Preparation Aspect requires beating a difficulty of at least the ritual's rating, but is otherwise a standard Create an Advantage action.

Once you have your preparation Preparation Aspects in place, you need an Essence Aspect with a rating equal to or greater than the ritual's rating (so a Fair ritual can be cast any day at twilight, while a Fantastic one usually requires an equinox or similarly powerful source).

 Finally, when all the preparations are in place and the Essence is flowing, you may complete the ritual. Performing a ritual is often the easiest part and it doesn't always even require a roll in and of itself, though if the ritual is opposes or is opposed by another character or Aspect, you may choose to use its rating instead of a relevant skill for your roll. For example, if you cast a Great (+4) ritual in an attempt to banish a hostile spirit, you may roll an attack with a +4 bonus instead of whatever skill would normally apply.