The previous rules (Improvised Spells) assume the most basic spellcasting aspects; that a spell’s subject is a single, touched individual, and the spell lasts for a short amount of time.
A mage can create an Imago, though, for a spell that affects an entire group of people, or an enchantment that lasts an entire day.
The elements of a spell — the size or number of subjects — are called spell factors, and the mage can increase them with increasingly difficult spell Imagos.
A mage can increase her spell’s various factors, though she does so at the cost of dice penalties. She can change a spell factor’s chart from Standard to Advanced with aReach.
All spells have a primary spell factor of either Potency or Duration. After penalties have been applied for the desired spell factors, the player may move the primary factor up its chart a number of steps equal to the character’s rating in the spell’s highest Arcanum minus one.
For example, a Forces spell with a primary spell factor of Duration would last for 5 turns when cast by a mage with her Forces Arcanum rated at 3 and a –2 penalty to her casting roll.
This advancement is voluntary — mages don’t always choose to cast at full power.
The primary spell factor can be changed with aReach.
Some spells may use a spell factor more than once — for example, a spell transforming a truck into an elephant must account for the Size of both. In these cases, use the largest penalty for each factor.
Standard Spell Factors
Potency
Potency is a measure of the spell’s power. It determines the extent of the effect of a spell. For example, attack spells use Potency for how much damage is applied.
Potency matters for spells that grant bonuses, impose penalties, or provide graduated levels of effects, such as dealing damage or increasing dot-ratings of traits. The effect of a spell’s Potency is described in the individual spell write-up — each level of Potency increases the spell’s main effect.
Each level of Potency beyond the first imposes a –2 penalty to the casting roll. Mages may spendReach to gain Advanced Potency, which increases the spell’s Withstand ability against dispellation by +2.
Duration
Duration is how long a spell lasts. Once the spell’s Duration elapses, the spell ends.
Duration is simply how long a spell lasts once cast. Standard spell Durations are measured in turns, while using aReach to use the Advanced Duration chart makes the spell last much longer.
If a spell would logically have an immediate effect but is cast with Advanced Duration, the effect recurs at every multiple of the character’s Gnosis-based ritual casting time, until the Duration runs out.
For example, a Gnosis 1 character’s healing spell with a Duration of a day heals its Potency in Health boxes every three hours. The highest level of the Advanced Duration chart is “indefinite,” meaning the spell lasts until dispelled or the caster cancels it.
Moving to indefinite requires a secondReach, and the caster must also spend a point of Mana.
Scale
Scale is a measure of how large a spell is. It determines how many subjects the spell can affect, the size of an area the spell encompasses, and the size of the largest subject.
The scale of a spell is how large the spell is. Mages must decide when casting whether they are targeting specific subjects or a blanket area of effect. Aimed spells (see below) must use area of effect, centred on wherever the mage aims.
If the mage uses Number of Subjects for Scale, the factor determines how many subjects may be affected and the Size of the largest subject. Once decided, a mage can affect fewer subjects than the scale of her spell permits.
If using Area of Effect for Scale, the factor instead determines how large the area covered by the spell is, applying the spell effect to anyone or anything within. A mage cannot single out specific subjects in the declared space unless she uses the spell Warding Gesture.
Range
Range is how far the spell can be cast. Spells either require the mage to touch her subject, or be in sensory Range of her subject to cast. Mages with two dots in Time or Space may use Attainments to cast on a subject’s past existence, or across the world via sympathetic ties.
Range determines if the spell requires the mage to touch her subject, or simply be in sensory range to create an effect. Range does not increase incrementally with penalties like other factors.
The standard Range factor for all spells is touch/self, meaning that the mage can cast the spell on herself or a subject she touches without any penalties. A mage can target an individual she cannot touch with a self/touch spell by succeeding on an Aimed Spell roll.
The Advanced Range factor is sensory, meaning that the mage must be able to directly see, hear, or sense her subject. Viewing a subject remotely but in real-time, whether by security camera or magic scrying window, requires an additionalReach.
A spell cast with sensory range cannot be dodged by the subject, and does not require an Aimed Spell roll. If the mage has the Space Attainment Sympathetic Range or the Time Attainment Temporal Sympathy, she can cast spells without the need to sense her subject.
Casting Time
Casting Time is how long it takes the mage to cast the spell. Mages may gain bonuses for taking longer to cast spells.
Casting time determines how long the mage takes to create her effect. Standard casting takes time, and all spells are ritually cast.
The time it takes to cast a ritual spell is determined by the caster’s Gnosis.
By taking extra time and extending his ritual, the caster may gain bonus dice — each full interval of casting time grants a die, to a maximum of +5 dice.
By using aReach, a caster may instead cast immediately, in a single turn. Immediate spells cannot gain extra dice from taking extra time, but may take several turns of preparation to use all the Yantras the caster wishes to include.
Ritual spells can benefit from teamwork, while an immediate spell cannot.
Spell Factor Tables
Duration Tables
Standard Duration ~ Transitory
| Duration | Dice Penalty |
|---|---|
| 1 turn | None (Basic Success) |
| 2 turns | -2 |
| 3 turns | -4 |
| 5 turns | -6 |
| 10 turns | -8 |
| (Add an additional -2 dice penalty per extra +10 turns) |
Advanced Duration ~ Prolonged
| Duration | Dice Penalty |
|---|---|
| One scene/hour | None (Basic Success) |
| One Day | -2 |
| One Week | -4 |
| One Month | -6 |
| One Year | -8 |
| Indefinite | -10 (Requires aReach and 1 Manana]]) |
Scale Tables
Standard Scale
| Number of Subjects | Size of largest Subject | Area of Effect | Dice Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| One Subject | 5 | Arm’s reach from a central point | None (Basic Success) |
| Two Subjects | 6 | A small room | -2 |
| Four Subjects | 7 | A large room | -4 |
| Eight Subjects | 8 | Several rooms, or a single floor of a house | -6 |
| Sixteen Subjects | 9 | A ballroom or a small house | -8 |
Advanced Scale
| Number of Subjects | Size of largest Subject | Area of Effect | Dice Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Subjects | 5 | A large house or building | None (Basic Success) |
| 10 Subjects | 10 | A small warehouse or parking lot | -2 |
| 20 Subjects | 15 | A large warehouse or supermarket | -4 |
| 40 Subjects | 20 | A small factory, or a shopping mall | -6 |
| 80 Subjects | 25 | A large factory, or a city block | -8 |
| 160 Subjects | 30 | A campus, or a small neighbourhood | -10 |
| (Add an additional -2 penalty for each extra 2 x subjects or +5 increase in Size of the subject. For example, a spell targeting 320 subjects, each up to size 35, would levy a -12 penalty. Area of effect cannot be increased further without extreme measures.) |