Tonics

How do we deal with players hoarding healing potions? I came up with a solution a few years back, but only barely touched on since it's inception- limited shelf life Tonics. Originally written up in the Dirt Simple Alchemy post, I wanted to revisit the concept after reading the Goblin Punch post here.

Tonics
You ever like how fantasy games have magic potions made out of like three mushroom caps, a handful of clay dirt, and a bat wing and yet they have this perfect bright red color and usually don't taste like absolute shit? That's part of the magic, actually.

When specific ingredients are mixed together in a cauldron and boiled, stirred with a wand, and readied by a skilled hedge mage or witch: a Tonic is created. The chunks of whatever is within the brew smooth out and disappear into a consistent glowing fluid, which can then be poured into an appropriate flask. It's like fantasy Gatorade. This is also the reason that healing potions (tonics) are all consistent despite being made with different batch sizes and with different qualities of ingredients and the like, it doesn't actually matter how big your cauldron is or the size of your vial, the magic is one "dose" no matter how you slice it. Once you fill a single vial with the brew, the rest of the cauldron turns back into gross dirty soup-water. This also gives a nice and easy way of knowing when the tonic has gone bad- just look at it. If it looks like a bunch of gross shit floating in a beaker, then you know it's gone off and isn't good anymore.

Once a tonic has been created, it has a shelf life of approximately one day, one week for traveling campaigns, or one season for more time-abstracted games. The time setting here is abstracted, but is in essence supposed to be for one session. At the end of the session, any tonics not used go bad and lose their magic. You can't hoard them.

Characters can make tonics if they want to and they have the skills and ingredients. This makes time very valuable when exploring, but spending a bunch of time gathering ingredients and brewing tonics always comes at a cost; random encounters and torchlight dwindling away must be considered against the value of brewing some more useful tonics for future encounters. The dry ingredients used to make tonics are also almost always cheaper and more light-weight then the tonics themselves (but you need a source of water, fire, and something to cook them in- if you lost your cauldron to the rust monster you might have to improvise with the shell of the massive turtle you killed earlier in the dungeon), giving an incentive to pack up tonic ingredients for longer exploration trips- because while you can make as many tonics as you want with time allowing, they will all go away at the end of the session.

You can also buy tonics from shop keepers and herbalists in villages. Because tonics only take about a turn (10 minutes) to make, you could also abstract this and let players buy as many tonics as they want from the local healer before going off into the dungeon. This is part of your preparation phase, without the inherent problem of players being able to hoard healing potions, just buy as many as you think you need. You can also get specific here, tonics don't just heal, they can do any effect really. Tonics can be antidotes, strength potions, "fire" potions that can cast light or make your weapons go inflamed for a damage boost, invisibility, freezing liquid, acid- whatever you want really. The idea here is to provide a use it or lose it tool that isn't as reliable and permanent as a spell or recharging magic item- because they have space and material limitations. You can only carry so many tonics, and they go away after your exploration.

Potions vs Tonics
Tonics are magic potions. The reason I'm calling them Tonics and not Potions is so people don't feel ripped off when they go bad and to separate them from capital P Potions that could act like magic items or treasures with a one time use. You could still call these potions if you really want, I just figured potions as something to hoard was so ingrained in the popular consciousness that a different name would help with this. This way, finding a Potion as a magic treasure can be considered a great find, same as a magic sword or spellbook. I'm imagining a Potion of Healing to be much like a Potion of Youth or a Potion of Gold or something similar- it probably fully heals you, restores all your limbs, removes your trauma and ability score damage, etc. etc.

Tonics in Gameplay
The main idea behind Tonics is to manipulate player psychology and provide an in-universe mechanic for more interesting healing and preparation for tabletop dungeon crawling. No longer is healing a class specific feature, anyone can order a village alchemist to make them some tonics to act as the mistake allowance and shared HP pool for the whole party. Not only this, tonics also discourage certain behaviors (overly risk averse), while encouraging other ones (experimentation and preparation). For example, the players know their special tonics will run out at the end of the session anyway, so why not experiment and see if healing potion is like acid for the undead? Why not pour some fire potion on a mushroom to see if it mutates into an exploding shroom? It also creates a certain amount of time pressure and scarcity inherent to the mechanics. 

Why doesn't everyone have access to magic healing in the fantasy world? That's simple- the resources and knowledge used to make tonics isn't unlimited, and the tonics themselves can't be hoarded. You can't assume every knight or soldier will be able to carry healing potions with them, or that the king has a supply of cure poison under his throne's pillow- you still need healers, magicians, or old wise men to actually work their craft. It creates a less gamified fantasy world and one that feels more believable and lived in, with the conveniences and mechanics that allow the dungeon crawling adventure fantasy to still work.

Of course, this doesn't actually solve some of the problems listed with Arnold's original post. How do you stop people from just bringing in unlimited healing? Well I'd do it by saying that potions are really heavy, being liquid, and also being something you can't really sneak around with since they, you know, glow in the dark and are carried in glass bottles. Plus the expense of buying them. Technically nothing stops you from having hirelings carry them, but nothing stops you from hiring a private army to do your dungeon delving for you- if you have enough resources. Personally, I think most players will be satisfied with just mentally calculating how much healing they think they may need, how many antidotes or resist fire potions or paralysis cures or sleeping draughts or whatever else they think they'll need, invest the gold at the start of a delve, and enjoy using the resources they have prepared for. Of course your players may be a bit too clever for that, in which case, you'll you have to come up with something better. I just wanted to share my version of potion-based-magic that I think works pretty well.

Cantrips Ain't Easy + Demon Summoning for Dummies

I've already talked about this concept before, both in the Magic Cards post, which was more based on a way to put magical one-time use spells into a fantasy world, and then in the Freeform Curse generator, which was a bit more folkloric and a way to make a fantasy world feel a bit more "mythological" in its moral landscape. A lot of people include within their fantasy settings the concept of magic being more common- including to the point of most (if not everyone) learning a few basic magic spells (cantrips) in order to help with daily life. The reasoning behind this being that if low level magicians can cast weak magic with relatively little investment; then it makes sense most people would want to learn at least some magic given the extreme utility of some of the weaker spells- even spells like Prestidigitation or Light would have a profound impact on any society, especially one stuck in a anachronistic medieval morass of development.

However, both of these posts above illustrate something I think is interesting; a typical inversion of the fantasy trope of magic being weak for beginners, and strong for experts. Of course, it makes logical sense that magic should operate this way; a master wizard can throw fireballs, while an apprentice can only conjure a candle flame. This is obvious even, a common trope. But it doesn't necessarily have to be the case; and even if it exists for some forms of magic, it doesn't have to be that way for all of them.

Remember; magic doesn't necessarily follow real world skills, nor do all skills directly follow this correlation of low skill = small & simple and big skill = big & complicated. While it makes sense that an amateur carpenter can build a birdhouse but not a human-sized house; I wouldn't trust an amateur surgeon to make a small and delicate incision as opposed to say, amputating a limb. I think the closest analogy to magic when it comes to mundane skills would be demolitions and pyrotechnics. Any idiot can blow the shit out of something, since they just pile on the TNT- but only a master can say launch a human out of a cannon. After all, too little and they won't fly, too much and they'll explode. Controlling arcane power could very well be the same.

This also goes hand in hand with the concept of amateur magic, magic backlash, or unintentional side effects of magic creating various monsters, curses, or negative magic effects in a setting. When old farmer willow asks you to bring his dead crops back and you say the words, you're also going to bring back the skeletons of ancient warriors buried deep beneath the farm as well. They can hear the words under the soil just as well as the dead plants can. The same applies to lighting a candle instead of blowing up half the inn- the portal you open to the elemental plane of fire isn't so easy to shrink to the exact right size- as such, a "cantrip" or minor trick of magic is actually much more difficult to learn and master then a big and powerful spell. Most magic users spend decades of their life perfecting this fine art of control. Amateur wizards blow themselves up all the time, because they don't have this level of control. Cantrips are the sign of a powerful magician; not an amateur.

But moving away from just "magic" in the arcane sense, the stuff that wizard's use, let's focus more on the folkloric style of magic. The above really gave me an idea for magic being a serious problem; not because it's hard, but because it's way too easy for someone to fuck everything up. Like for example- anyone can summon a demon. Naturally, demons like it this way. If it was too difficult or required some high-end rituals and powers to do so; it would be too rare an occurrence. Oh no, demons make it very easy to call them, and for this reason, people often oblige.

"Ritual" magic in most TTRPGs tends to be a high end thing, often reserved for the Wizard or magic using class, due to being good set dressing to powerful and unique magic effects. However, the entire concept of a "ritual" is to be a set of steps and procedures that can be followed time and time again. This is the exact type of magic that is most likely to be spread far and wide, in shadowy alehouse corners and campfire conversations.
"If you sacrifice a living thing- like a chicken or a goat- and invoke the powers of darkness, you can make a demon come to you. They will serve your command or grant you a wish."
"Aren't demons dangerous?"
"Yeah- that's why you draw a circle of chalk at your feet. That means they can't hurt you- at least until you leave the circle..."

Demon Summoning for Dummies
In order to summon a demon, you need only know the steps. Different cultures and races may have their own steps or their very own demons they deal with- but for humans, this is the most common one.

Note: These steps are listed in this way so they can easily be disrupted. If a dark presence has formed- casting a Light spell can banish it and disrupt the ritual, so can coming in loudly and screaming into battle, or obviously saving the sacrifice before it or they are killed, etc.

1. It must be at night, or in a very dark place. Candles are used during rituals so as to not produce too much light.
   
2. A living thing is sacrificed and its blood is run over the ground or on an altar.
3. While the animal or person is bleeding out- the one who killed them must speak aloud and speak the name of a spirit to call them. For the sake of demons, simply saying "I call upon the darkness" is enough to call a random demon.
   
4. Everyone must be then be quiet and wait for a dark presence to form and speak.
   

Once these steps have been completed, a dark presence will appear. This presence will typically be a mass of shadows in the corner, or appear in a mirror or reflective pool of water. The presence is the spiritual form of the demon, which has not yet manifest fully into the living world. However, it can communicate and speak- its voice often carried by the rustle of wind in the trees or a groaning beneath the earth. Typically, the demon will ask what is willed of it- and several things can happen.

If the demon is significantly stronger then the individuals summoning it and it is being bid to do something very difficult, impossible, or against its nature- it will manifest and attack. Use HD or level of the caster x2 vs the demon's HD. If the demon's is still twice as high, it's just going to kill them for the arrogance for disturbing it. If the summoner is standing in a chalk or salt circle, the demon cannot attack them, but will still destroy or attack anyone else nearby out of spite.

If the demon is significantly stronger then the individuals summoning it, and is being bid to do something evil, malicious, or well within its purview of interest- then it will oblige the request. Demons are tricky, and prefer to leave the world a much worse place then they found it. Whatever request was given to them will be twisted and exaggerated to cause as much chaos and misery as possible. Often, demons will make the situation worse in an attempt to get the individuals to call them back again to continue the cycle.

If the demon is roughly equivalent then the individuals trying to summon it- it will listen to the request fairly and fulfill it or decline if it is too difficult. The demon is unlikely to want to get on the summoners bad side, but will absolutely still take advantage of any weakness or opportunity it can sense. This is still the most "fair" demonic interaction.

If the demon is significantly weaker then the individuals summoning it, and is being bid to do something very difficult, impossible, or against its nature- the demon will lie and make excuses, demanding more sacrifices or proclaiming itself to be the lord of hell itself, insulting the summoners and threatening them with their destruction, etc. The demon will lash out via curses or possessing nearby objects to fly, control nearby animals to attack, and so on.

If the demon is significantly weaker then the individuals summoning it, and is being bid to do something evil, malicious, or well within its purview of interest- the demon will be forced to manifest and become the servant & familiar of the person who summoned it. It is still not likely enough to be powerful enough to fulfill the request on its own and will assist the summoner as the "devil on their shoulder".

While the "strength" of the summoners could be literally based on the HD or level of the characters, there's also a greater component of spiritual strength. For example, an anointed priest could call upon a more powerful demon then a layman and have more guaranteed protection given their status. Human nobles with no special skills or powers are also likely considering "greater" then an average outlaw to the demonic forces due to their position in society- but this could just as easily be flipped on its head for calling upon spiritual forces like jaguar demons from the depths of the jungle hells- an entity like that would consider a fellow hunter or outdoorsman a far more equal to itself then a city slicker regardless of their wealth or social connections. Following these mechanics; a Cleric or Paladin should count as a level or two higher when compared to the HD of the demon. In addition, if your game has skills, then every rank or two of Arcana or Demonology should also count as a bonus +1 to your HD when summoning a devil. Your character may be a withered old man but if he has memorized the names and guises of a hundred dark ones you can bet he can command some sick ass demons.

Once a demon has "manifested", it has the appearance and powers of its statblock. Typically demons can do things like travel long distances quickly, transform, turn invisible, cast spells and curses, etc. It will use its abilities to fulfill requests as well as attack any foolish summoners who anger it.

It should also be noted that these mechanics, while known to you, are not necessarily known to the people of the setting. Only the ritual steps, and even those may be incomplete or rife with misinformation. As such, demonolgists and sorcerers can summon demons much more reliably and safely by calling upon demons who fit what they need for a given curse or summoning and that they can control. It's also pretty much designed to cause as much chaos as possible for weaker beings who use this ritual; which is the point. The more desperate and lowly something is, the more demonic forces can take advantage of it for their own ends. This also leads directly to fun story moments; bandits accidentally summoning an demonic prince of hell and getting gutted, or a powerful necromancer now having an annoying imp following them because they wanted to "gain more knowledge" and the idiotic thing just keeps stealing books for him and piling them on his bedsheets every night.

You might also ask, "why the hell would anyone summon a demon in the first place?!" and that's a good question. There are actually a lot of reasons why. I dislike settings or cosmologies that have "deals with the devil" being a literal component of the world or setting- not only is it incredibly cliche at this point, but it doesn't make logical sense. Selling you soul to the devil is not always literal thing, it's a metaphor meaning doing evil or violating your own moral compass to accomplish something or take advantage of someone. Demons don't need you to hand over your soul to get one over on you, just summoning one and sacrificing a living thing and also fulfilling whatever crass or selfish desire or petty plan for revenge is enough to damn you anyway.

There are also a lot of situations where one would be desperate enough to summon a demon. Here's twenty examples.

Desperate Demonology Table - Roll 1d20
[1] Group of bandits are held up in a fort. They're under siege by the local lord's forces and are running out of food. They take the last scrawny chicken from the courtyard's coop and perform a ritual to try and negotiate a way out of here.

[2] An older prostitute in a city has lost much of her beauty over the last few years- and will soon not be able to attract enough clients to make her living. Instead of become destitute, she nabs an orphan off the street and is getting ready to sacrifice him in exchange for returning her youth.

[3] Someone in your family is going blind. The local healers cannot help, and the evil-racist church refuses due to their status as a mixed breed person. You decide to spite the church since they won't help you anyway- and slit the throat of a goat to see if darker forces can heal the ailment.

[4] Group of musicians performing at a local fair were stopped by a young and arrogant nobleman's son. He ordered all their instruments broken and laughed at them. Because of their status as lowly travellers, and the young son being out of reach for the law- the musicians circled their wagons and are now performing a ritual to get revenge on the arrogant noble.

[5] Pirates stuck at sea within a dead zone- no wind or currents. Totally unable to move for multiple days, they will surely die unless they do something. They pick the youngest cabin boy and move to have him drowned in the ocean at midnight to call upon the devils of the deep to let their ship sail again.

[6] Proactive village elders, disillusioned by their years or peace and prosperity under the local nature spirits who have protected them, are concerned about recent pillaging and bandit attacks. In order to protect their village; they perform a sacrifice of a pig to their local shrine- not realizing they've called something else this time; pretending to be the deity they've relied on for so long.

[7] Lazy, ignorant farmer's back is acting up again. He's not gonna take it this year. Takes his old horse out back with a knife and wants to sacrifice a demon of sloth to harvest and mill his grain for him.

[8] Kids at an orphanage have an extremely cruel and strict mistress who they can't stand anymore. They find an alleycat and decide to sacrifice it to call upon a demon to rid themselves of their mistress once and for all. Bonus points if the party stumbles onto the ritual and the kids falsely assume they are the demon sent to take care of the problem before the real demon shows up. Yes this is literally just copying the Skyrim quest, I still think it's pretty good.

[9] Blacksmith's son ran away from home, went missing, presumed dead and eaten by something in the mountain. The blacksmith is a patient and faithful man; but can't stand the loss anymore and decides to sacrifice an animal and call a demon to find or bring their son back. The blacksmith is aiming for a very powerful demon to accomplish this goal, and (correctly) believes he can control it by twisting its nose with his tongs. But he also (incorrectly) assumes the demon can actually bring his son back, and not just a revived soulless husk.

[10] Clever merchant has his grip on every local townshed and tradesman, gaining half his money through bonds and loans he's given without lifting a finger himself. Excessively greedy- the merchant buys a slave girl to sacrifice to summon a demon. Not for a favor, but to get some insider tips from his own kind.

[11] The local priest is preparing a sacrifice of an all white lamb to summon a powerful demon. The reason? To beat the shit out of him and get back the souls of some of his flock, who recently died in a plague, before they could be well enough to give their final confessions and cleanse themselves of sin.

[12] Insane wildwoman kills people in the woods and whispers dark names she learned as a child when she fell into a cave for three whole days and went insane and nearly died. The catch is every demon she summons is instead set loose- she doesn't ask any favors of them, merely creates them and moves on- reveling in spreading out the great darkness she once knew. 

[13] Dumbass wizard apprentice at wizard collage wants to summon a demon to punish fellow classmates for insulting and bullying him. The demons are very resentful as he doesn't allow them to kill his classmates- merely pranks and humiliates them before dispelling the demons before they can have any real fun. With his knowledge he can summon up to three demons before he conjures up something WAY too big for him to handle.

[14] The Storm King can create tornadoes and zephyrs at his will; such is his brightright of the divine desert royal bloodline. But in recent years, this gift has been fading in each successor to the throne until him, barely able to conjure a dust devil. Fearing his future son will not have this power at all and will become dethroned as a result; the king orders a dozen palace servants sacrificed in a bloody ritual to call upon all the hells for a worthy mate. The succubus he summons up will be the mother of the antichrist.

[15] Scholar, obsessed with completing his works on ancient history, wants to call up spirits of the dead to get first hand accounts of his lore. Sadly, demons catch wind of his bloodletting divination tricks and whisper to him in his sleep to sacrifice a life, his old messenger owl, so they have a gateway into our world.

[16] Cruel and paranoid warlord who managed to conquer four cities now obsessed with his three lieutenants, each in charge of another city, who may betray him at any moment and try to unite to rise up against him. He kills a captive soldier and summons a demon to spy on them and rely information; but with each day his paranoia only grows as the demons feed him lie after lie.

[17] Beggars in the city grate are usually content with their lot; but one night when the snow and rain got too much for them, they decided to take shelter in a storm drain. Their, they found dark writings on the wall and, putting their heads together to make out what they mean, they could only piece together the steps of a ritual to "grant happiness", but not actually what that means. They've tied the tails of seven rats together, and will crush them all with a great mallet tonight- summoning something far worse.

[18] Constantly ill and bedridden young lady, obsessed with romance novels and living in her own fantasy world. Needing a friend more then ever, she kills one of her songbirds and drizzles a ritual circle on her bedside table- hoping to get a "friendly" imp familiar as a companion.

[19] Temple priestess of the heathen "foreigner" religion is an expert at summoning up devils and creatures from other worlds from her many daily sacrifices and captives from slaver parties. However, one week from now is the equinox where she will have her heart removed to please the God of the sun and return the light back to the world. Until then, she is trying hard to secretly gain power over the many devils and demons the temple summons to fight her way out.

[20] Horrible, wealthy old man desires a young and beautiful bride- but she continually refuses his advances. One night, he pays local thugs to capture her and bring her back to his mansion- but not for what you think. He's going to kill her, summon a demon with her sacrifice, and demand the demon drag her soul straight to hell for slighting him.

The First Eight Spells

In the beginning, all magic was natural and instinctual. The first beings who wandered the world; the ancient hyborean great ancestors to mankind, the first highest of all high elves, the lizard-men of the most ancient humid days just after the end of Primordis; whoever they be, magic came easy. It was not formula, but as per intention and imagination.

But something changed; perhaps the old bloodlines grew weaker as they were distanced from creation's womb. Perhaps logical thinking and language took over the earliest societies- and this too shaped minds from flowing with pure sensation and instinct into logical and analytical. Something given a name is forever changed by it; more reliably and knowable, but not more powerful.

The first eight spells were created by the first great sorcerer; an ancient shaman who grasped the mysteries with his boney old hands. He was killed by a jealous rival, who drank from his skull and diluted the first great mysteries as their blood mingled together. But these first eight spells are pure. Perhaps in your setting, these are the only spells that exist at all; magic can still exist outside of spells, but these spells are their own "thing" in the wider world of magic.

All of the spells below are powerful, primordial, and flexible. Any magic user or sage who wishes to learn them must embark on a vision quest and connect with the cosmos to learn them. Once learned, they can be cast whenever you wish- expending mana points/spell slots as per GM discretion to whatever end or level of power the spell is trying to achieve. There are no spell levels. The effects of these spells are spontaneous and flexible; these first spells are infinitely more restrictive then the flexible magic before words; but are still rooted strongly in the ancient past of experience over understanding.

The First Eight Spells

[1] The Creation of Flames
With this knowledge, the caster can create fire. Fire requires something to burn; wood or linen for small flames. To burn a living things requires an amount of strength and malice out of proportion with those who first crafted this discipline. While these are the first eight spells, this itself is the ancestor to all of them. This is the first spell, most simple and pure of them all.

The type and shape of the fire is determined by its maker. Originally, simply lighting a small fire to survive the night is enough. With enough focus, the fire can be created in air, shaped into a ball or blasting wall that moves forward to consume. All fire created from this magic is "real", not magic, it burns as the elemental flame. Anything it warms or cooks is as warmed or cooked as it would from a natural wildfire, lit by a strike of lightning.

Simple strikes with this spell of conjured bolts or jets of flame deal 1d6 fire damage to anyone within a stone's throw. The number of dice increases to the number of targets; a bigger conflagration is also hotter and more intense by its design. The ultimate pyromancy would be to be consumed with ones own flame; Hit Points may be added freely to the damage of your magic blast at a ratio of 1:1 for increased damage and strength.

[2] The Calling of Beings from Other Realities
To summon a being from another realm; one requires the correct portal or threshold from which to call them. To summon a creature from the depths from the sea, one must stand on the shore. To call the spirit of the dead, one must stand at the threshold of a cave or great hole in the earth; of where the dead go. More arcane beings require more arcane mediums with which to appear; a smoke black mirror or a creation and graph of numbers to commune with beings from the realm of pure logic.

The beings from other realities operate under their own morality and have their own goals; they may not answer a call. The only way to ensure they come is to have a connection; the descendant by blood of the ghost you wish to speak to. Sacrifices of blood or treasure may appease or excite one entity, while it will disgust and repel another. Once the threshold and lure have been completed; the being will come when called by its name.

As has been known since the dawn of time; to simply call something does not mean one has any control over it. Any caster of this spell can safely call upon a being of HD equal or less to the caster's own. Otherwise, you have the means to call them, but not the means to force them back from whence they came.

[3] The Guise of Invisibility
Pull over oneself a cloak. It can be seen thru in all directions; you have become invisible to the naked eye. This spell grants the gift of the night. Putting this spell on makes the caster and all they immediately carry invisible in all directions, though no other senses are yet fooled. Footsteps still crunch against the snow, and anything new that falls onto their unseen body remains visible. Leaves, paint, or water all collect on their shoulders and frame, revealing where they are.

This spell fools only the eyes; but how the eyes see varies. Those of exceptional vision may be able to see the slight ripple of dust and air around the otherwise invisible figure. Certain other methods may be able to counter the effect, such as a silvered mirror or looking through a hole in a standing stone, which are known to allow those of normal sight to see the invisible. It is not only the spellcaster who can be put under this spell however; an object or even location can be masked in this way, disappearing from sight.

The only limitation of this spell is time and number. Someone who pushes the limits may be able to cast their glamor over several people who are touching them when the spell is first cast. The spell will last a number of turns equal to the level of the caster, or a number of days for a stationary, nonliving object or place. Parts of a larger thing could also be hidden away; a single door on the side of the tower, or the caster's own hand, pretending it was cut off in a fierce battle.

[4] The Gift of False Life
Life is a gift. Living things grow and change, where as the inanimate does not. It can only act when acted upon; life and the spirit are one in the same. But what of those things with life and motion, but no soul? With this spell; the caster may imbue life within a nonliving thing. Objects given life in this way are unnatural, they move and bend as best they can, obeying only the commands of their creator. The price of false life is true life; ones own life force or the life force of a sacrifice must always been given up in exchange to give false life where there is none. Every Hit Point drained from the caster or a living sacrifice is granted to the false life of the subject of the spell; or one day of deep, true exhaustion to equal one hit point.

Larger objects take more life to animate. Animated things have stats abilities equal to what they would be if they were alive; along with the properties of their inherent material. Things more in line with a living shape, and things with material more similar to living material, are easier to animate. For this reason, the bones of a long dead person are very easy to animate into a skeletal servant. Random familiar objects; tomes which scramble their own letters and broomsticks that fly, can be animate for a larger cost, but may remain animate forever as long as they aren't destroyed.

It should be written here that using the life force of an animal, plants, or a living person as a sacrifice is one method of powering this ancient magic. But be warned; those who go unwillingly into the item will make the item also unwilling; a glowering hatred forms when one steals a life to create their own, trapping it into a prison for their own purposes.

[5] The Journeying between Distant Places
Before any map was drawn, places where only known by their direction and the landmarks that led there. To the north was snow and ice, far beyond the mountains of the spine. For one to reach a distant place in a moment, this spell was created.

This spell allows the caster to travel alone or with a group and everything they carry along a distant horizon. Perhaps a small trip of a day's worth of travel would allow a whole army to travel in an instant with a powerful magician, but any farther or faster and the spell will only take a small handful of people along with the magician.

However, as with the ancient people's knowledge of the world, the caster can only travel to places they have knowledge of. They must either have been there before, or know it well enough for some other means for them to create a pathway that allows for the instant transmission of their bodies.

[6] The Swaying of Lesser Intelligences
The ability to control minds. To magically enhance ones words and actions to impress your will on a lesser will. This power works on living beings, such as animals, as well as other people. Supernatural beings, who may have lived for eternities and whose minds are alien to your own, are naturally immune to this spell; and require more spiritual methods of binding.

The caster's own intellect is used as the fulcrum for this spell. As long as they are smarter and have a higher Intelligence then the target's own Wisdom, they can sway their mind and point of view towards the caster's own. For each point higher, the caster can slightly bend their opinion, emotion, or mind towards doing what the caster wishes them to do.

The power to sway is a great one, but is limited by time and place. One of the most ancient magics is speech; the ability to take a sound or thing and put it into words. When separated and with enough time passing, the swaying wears away, and those tricked by this spell are seldom to risk getting tricked again. To stuff ones ears full of cotton may be the second ever conceived counter to magic; with the first being to simply not anger the mage in the first place.

[7] The Foretelling of Future Events
Telling the future and divining the fate of men is one of the first magical powers the first mage sought. From telling the weather to knowing the eventual destiny of any living thing; the signs of what has already been decided are present everywhere is one has the skill and nerve to look.

The future is always divined with a tool and a method. Rolling the bones, examining the entrails of birds, or the study of a fire when a question is asked. Even if you know how to cast this spell; the skill of divining the future properly is a discipline all on its own.

In game terms; prophecy is hard. For each "thing" you want to learn from this spell, a keyword is locked to a Hunch roll. (Hunch Roll = roll a d20 and save the number for later). You can use these hunch rolls in place of your own rolls, or the rolls of another being as long as the keyword is relevant to the roll.

[8] The Sealing and Binding of Ancient Forces
Even the first men, greater then we, and the first magician, stronger then all other men, did not stand alone in the world. Greater beings existing since before time began, beings beyond mortal comprehension or reach. The ability to lock away such horrors, or bid their attention, was one of the first wishes of mankind. This spell helps bind and control magical creatures. Devils, Fae, Angels, Spirits of Nature, and all other souls and beings not tied that are beyond the mortal realm. It can either seal these spirits away in an object or place (preventing them from manifesting) or bind them to the control of the spellcaster. The former is far more reliable then the latter, but both require great skill and magical might to accomplish.

To Seal an Ancient Force away, one must prepare a vessel whose ritual adornments or material is equal to 500c per HD of the spirit. Then, the spirit must be called or confronted, and trapped within; the sorcerer needing to be defended and survive as the spirit fights back against its enslavement. To Bind an Ancient Force, one must call or confront the spirit, and make it an offer that it accepts.

Even the first ancient men knew how dangerous the primordial forces of nature and the spirit were to them; and even though it was the last of the first spells, its power is still revered even to this day.

Damn you! (Freeform Curse Magic)

To say the name of a thing is the same as bringing the thing to you- which is why you never speak the name of a dreaded creature. To speak of something that can go wrong, then it will happen. This is a common superstition, as words have power. The most venomous use of words can be a curse- a curse inflicted by words.

To wish ill on someone directly is to curse them. All you have to do is speak; to tell them they will fail, their children will go blind, their crops will wither; anything can be a curse if spoken with conviction and malice. "May your genitals rot and fall off!" is as valid a magical attack as any fireball or magic missile.

Also; the referee gets to decide how the curse is actually implemented. The curse may be a subtle, fate-altering sort of thing where you question if it even exists, a sort of lingering sickness or malaise that permeates the cursed beings or place, or it could be a visible streak of glowing magical power that brands its victims with its effects like ghostly glowing tattoos that are bound to their skin. You could also have the curse's level of supernatural effect (in terms of aesthetics; the rules are the same) to be based on the power level of its caster.

Speaking Curses
To cast a curse, the curser must simply speak out load and wish ill upon someone. Saying this directly to their face is many times more powerful then saying it alone, but curses can be cast even when the victim of the curse is nowhere present. Typically, in these curses, a proxy or voodoo doll is used to cast the curse. Or the curse is put in place through written text or symbols; nailing a severed chicken head on a neighbor's door is an example. Witches are quite skilled in this.

The real terror of curses though is that anyone can do them. It's not just witches or sorcerers or those with magical powers. I really like the idea of some random beggar the PC's harass and rob can curse them with horrible misfortune.

There are two kinds of curses. Spiteful Curses and Vengeful Curses.

Spiteful Curses are curses cast by evil or cruel beings. They are often associated with brigands, goblins, demons, sailors, and witches of all kinds. Spiteful curses are differentiated by being purely based on spite and malice- the curser is simply wishing ill on another person through their words. Clerics/Paladins/Holy Men are immune to the effects of spiteful curses. They are protected from evil by their gods- no matter how much a witch screams, the paladin is in the right for burning her at the stake.

Vengeful curses are the much more powerful type of curse. These curses are cast in retaliation; they can be cast by anyone of any alignment. Divine protection does not apply to these kinds of curses, as they are a punishment for sins.

Whenever a character casts a curse, write down the wording of the curse. More vague curses can manifest in more ways, but will be noticed as being part of the curse less often. Something as simple as "misfortune befall you!" is still a curse but could be basically anything, where as "you will transform into a mindless beast on your wedding night and slay your bride!" is much more specific. The words spoken at the time of the curse will determine how the curse manifests, if at all.

Finally, curses don't stack. You can only be affected by one curse at a time, though if a new curse comes around that is similar or eerily related, it can add to the original curse's power.

Spiteful Curses happen in a 1 in 6 chance, where as Vengeful Curse have a 4 in 6 chance of happening. If the curser died just after speaking the curse, then add +1 to the 1 in 6 chance for the curse to happen. If you get cursed by multiple people at once, add another +1.

Curse Mechanics
Once a curse "sticks", the characters suffering from the curse (all present or guilty of the crime that caused the curse in the first place) will now be haunted by it. Whenever a situation or event presents itself that mimics the words of the curse, once per session, the DM can manifest the curse.

For broad curses without a specific "activation"; such as being cursed with bad luck, give a percentage chance of the curse occurring each time it could manifest. Very vague or broad curses could be given 10%, where as something broad but more specific (such as "the spirits of the dead shall drag you to your doom!") could activate whenever the character goes near a pit, tar pit, or patch of quicksand, giving it a 30% chance to activate, etc. In these situations, the characters noticing or calling attention to the fact a curse just happened gives it strength- increase it's chance of manifesting by +5 or +10 percent.

For specific curses ("If you burn my sacred tree I swear you will not live to see the dawn!"), the curse always manifests once it has stuck to the party members.

Whenever the curse manifests the DM/GM must pick one of the following options.

• Put a bearer of the curse into a bad situation that requires a saving throw
  
• They are inflicted by a minor disease, gain a level of level-drain, or take 1d4 damage. (Damage from Curses is inflicted as Terror damage, by the way.)
  
• Summon forth a wandering encounter, or a spookily fitting monster. Monsters should still reasonably be able to appear in a normal wandering encounter roll.
• Cause a morale check in a retainer or animal companion of the cursed
• An item is lost, misplaced, or damaged. Useful or valuable items are destroyed, critical items are merely inconvenienced. (Lantern is knocked to the floor vs jeweled dagger falls into a ravine)
  
• Ominous Portent. Nothing happens- the DM gets a +1 to the next roll relating to the curse. This can only happen twice before the third must manifest another option- as per the magical rule of threes.

Curse-Breaking
Spiteful curses are simple to fix; they require magical aide. Lucky charms, prayers and ablutions at temple allow the individual a saving throw to remove the curse instantly.

Vengeful Curses have more staying power, and are more personal. The cursed can  seek forgiveness from the curser- either through a direct and sincere apology or from performing actions opposite what got them into this mess in the first place to prove they have changed or feel guilt sufficient to be released from the grip of the curse. The magic of a Remove Curse spell has a 1 in 6 chance to succeed; if it fails, then this curse cannot be removed via magic and only divine intervention or reconciliation can end it now.

Finally; the wording of some curses  means they have a set ending. To say that "I will have my revenge on the seventh day!" means that that day has to be where the curse occurs, otherwise it is dispelled and gone forever. In such cases, these curses are more powerful, and the DM may pick three of the options on the above list to happen to the victim(s) of the curse.

Curse Example #1- Blindness

Your party finishes a job of killing a bunch of hobgoblins living in an blind old crone's garden in exchange for some gold. She reveals she lied and only had about half the amount she promised, as she is a poor old woman. Outraged, your barbarian pushes her down and she hits her head on the table, dying. In her last breath she curses you to be blinded by your greed. The DM decides this is enough of a justification for a Vengeful Curse.

In this scenario; the event was morally ambiguous with all parties at fault. If the party members give the old woman a proper burial and if the barbarian feels at least a shed of guilt over what happened; the curse won't happen.

In the event the party raids the old woman's house and spits on her corpse for crossing them, the curse will happen.

Later, a PC slays an acid slime. The DM rules some of the ichor splashes into their eyes and makes them partially blind for the rest of the dungeon, granting a -2 on To-Hit rolls. The next session, another PC is struck with an arrow. The DM rules it is an ominous portent, which barely glanced the side of their skull. The next roll, it is the barbarian who is in a tight spot against an evil sorcerer. The sorcerer casts a flame spell and managed to sear the eyes of the barbarian out of his skull, permanently blinding him just as the old woman warned. With the main victim of the curse punished; the curse is now complete.

Curse Example #2- Dead Mans' Gulch

An old prospector knows of the treasure in Dead Man's Gulch, but refuses to go in their as he doesn't trust anyone else and he can't risk fighting the monsters there himself. When he sees the PCs about to sneak in, he spits and curses at them from above the canyon at a safe distance, saying they will meet their death in the canyon. The DM rolls this for a spiteful curse- the curser is still alive and is acting out of selfish reasons; as such the Paladin in the party is immune to this curse, as they go with God.

The DM rolls the curse to happen. The other party members are effected by the curse. Halfway through, a fight breaks out. The DM rolls a percentile roll to see if anything happens; and it does. The DM rules that a character who failed the surprise roll has to make a save or twist their ankle among the stones, becoming dead weight and making escaping the canyon while monsters pour down to attack more challenging. The party hightails it out of the canyon when they realize it will be tougher then they thought; ending the effects of the curse. In this situation, the party may be immune to any further curses by the prospector, as they already defeated "his curse" the first time.

Curse Example #3- Pharaoh's Curse

The party raids an ancient temple and finds a sarcophagus. The wizard can read the writing on the side to see that it is cursed; anyone within is fated to die from their own hand. You could say that the curse never activates if they never read the warning, or it would happen either way. The wizard begs the party not to open it, but they do anyway for the promise of riches. Black smoke issues from the cistern. Because this is vengeful curse and is applied by an ancient mummy, the DM rules it is quite strong and all who breathe the smoke are cursed with a level of level drain.

Later in the temple, the thief fails a roll and dies to a trap from their reduced saving throw bonus after having a level drained. The fighter is also killed in a fight. The wizard remains and, taking it upon himself to break the curse, returns all the treasure to the sarcophagus and severs his own hand. As the blood soaks the stone, the debt of the curse is repaid and the temple releases its grip on him, letting him leave with his life.

Curse Example #4- Curse of the Shewolf

The party fights a group of wolves in self defense. As the wolves flee, the alpha bitch of the pack reveals she is a magical forest spirit- and curses the party to die in winter. While a spiteful curse, this curse is rolled and activates.

Every time something happens or is found in the woods- a corpse here, sudden snowstorm rolled on a weather table, etc. The party members start to accuse and believe that every event is the result of the curse, giving it more power. The next two times the curse manifests, the DM just creates another portent. Finally, when the party is forced to return to town during a blizzard, the DM rolls on an encounter table with +2 from the portents, calling a group of evil white wolf spirits to attack. The party, low on supplies and health, is wiped from the encounter and the curse of the shewolf is considered ended.

Proscribed Gestures

Not since the rise of the Hylemxylem has gestural combat been so forwardly pronounced by all warriors and glove-lathers alike. While the dark minions of Gibby shall make use of these techniques, those who watch the televisions and learn the proscribed gestures, while equipped with the proper handware, can too make use of their ancient and forgotten majesty.

In order to perform a gesture, you must first be trained in the arts of gesture based combat. Once you learn the art you shall know the gestures of Snap and Slap freely, but most learn the others by seeking the ancient monitors. All gestures have a range of about within throwing distance, though you must be able to see and concentrate on your target for a combat round. The time it takes to cast a gesture is less then a spell, but longer then an attack. In order to perform a gesture one must be wearing the proper hand attire. Magic gloves or gauntlets of +1 or better in power will work, as well as gloves made from the leather of any 6 HD creature or higher can work. Purple Worm leather is exceedingly popular for its colored aesthetic as well as comfort.

Additionally; once you learn the basics of gestural combat, you gain a new resource called Will. Everyone starts with 3 points of maximum Will. You can regain Will by slapping bugs (from another dimension) or drinking their inner juices, cultivated by juice ranchers. If you slap your glove against someone (off your hand- like a gentleman) you will gain 1 bonus point of Will to be spent in the first round of combat- this is the proto gesture known as the “Slap”. It may also be possible to permanently increase one's maximum Will- though it will require rare treasures such as PAPER CUPS and associated COOLERS.

[1] Snap – No Will Cost

The most basic gesture. It requires no Will, and can be done by simply snapping your finger at a target. The target takes a hit of concussive force that rips them internally- a small but effective burst of damage. It deals 1d6 + POW damage.

[2] Dissolution – 1 Will

Breaks down the target's structure. This gesture has two effects. First, it begins to liquidate the target and deals 1d4 damage per round. Second, all of the target's attacks deal a die size less in damage- this gesture weakens the opponent so their attacks and gestures are less effective. So a 1d6 damage attack turns into a 1d4 damage attack, and so on. This gesture's effects last for three rounds.

[3] Foam Armor – 2 Will

Probably one of the most powerful gestures. It is defensive and cast upon your allies or yourself. When used, the target is covered in a layer of foam. This gesture restores 3d6 + POW hit points to the target AND covers them in foam. The foam prevents them from both bleeding and being lit on fire while it is stuck to them. The foam armor lasts for three combat rounds.

[4] Lightning – 1 Will

This gesture releases deadly lightning from the hand. When cast, this powerful gesture deals 1d8 + double your POW in damage. However, it stuns the user for one round after it is used.

[5] Wave Artifice – 3 Will

This precise and exacting gesture is costly for your Will, but powerful in its use. This gesture conjures a wave of created matter to pound your opponents. It hits all opponents within its distance, but the conjured objects are low to the ground and could be flown over by flying opponents. It deals 1d6 + half of your POW to all opponents.

[6] Poromer Bleb – 1 Will

When cast on yourself or an ally; recovers 1d6 hit points and ends bleeding effects- your body is patched up. Additionally, the bleb grants the target of this gesture some additional protection. They count as “Defended”. When defended, the next attack OR spell that hits them deals the minimum possible roll of damage. So a 3d6 Fireball will deal 3 damage to them.

[7] Soul Crisper – 2 Will

Lights the enemy on fire. Flaming enemies recover their flesh at half the rate they would normally- healing is reduced when it comes to burning. Deals 1d6 damage per round and halves healing, lasts for three rounds.

[8] Fate Sandbox – 2 Will

Select an ally or yourself. It creates an invisible screen of gesturing force that makes them immune to all negative status effects. Leaking, vulnerability, poison, lagginess, all protected from. Lasts for three rounds or for three status effects deflected- whichever comes first.

[9] Link Mollusc – 3 Will

This gesture must be cast with the proper skill. When motioned; this gesture spreads whatever status effect is harming the user to all opponents within range. For instance, if the user is afflicted with a spell or poison, then all the opponents will be afflicted by the same spell or poison. These are not merely copies of the first status effects; they are new. If the gesturer then clears their own status effects, the enemies remain as they have already been mirrored over.

[10] Teledenuate – 2 Will

This gesture can be cast on allies or enemies. When used, the target loses all negative status effects if they are allied to the gesturer or loses all positive status effects if they are an opponent. Because of the selective nature of this gesture, it is thought to be an advanced technique.

[11] Charge-Up – 1 Will

The user of this gesture becomes temporarily empowered. They gain +1d4 points of POW, which are expended the very next time they use a gesture. Charge Up is unique, in that it empowers some gestures in additional ways, but this can only be done by a gesturers specialty. For example, if a gesture user has specialized in Foam Armor, then all of their allies are affected by the Foam if they use it when charged up. Characters may only specialize in a single gesture.

Charged up is unique because the actual power for the charge comes from a location- the Television Temple, which may not even exist in your home dimension. By taking antennae to the temple and allowing the monitor priests to install them, you can increase the power of Charge Up- simply increase the size of the die rolled to determine Charge Up's temporary POW bonus.

[12] Bombo - Genesis – All Will

The forbidden gesture. This gesture is a secret, lost long ago after the great accretion. Only those who prove themselves to the Sages by recovering their Sage Tokens and staring into the hidden terminal can learn the secrets of Bombo – Genesis.

In order to use Bombo – Genesis, you must be charged up. Then, all of your Will is expended. You deal Xd10 damage to all opponents in a massive blast, with X being your POW + Your total expended Will.

Familiars = Stands

I was watching Jojo's Bizzare Adventure recently. This came to mind.

Art @Rowena Morill

Familiars = Stands

Sometimes, Wizards bind their souls to demons. Perhaps in this hypothetical setting, magic can only be cast by supernatural beings, and as such it is required to have a familiar to cast spells. Maybe the magic of a familiar spirit is the only kind of magic that is available to humans, beyond pesudo-works such as Alchemy. Perhaps Wizards don't have familiars, but you decree that your Warlocks do instead. Perhaps Wizards don't need familiars, but having one is a seductive power boost.

When a Magician binds a demon to themselves; it appears to them. Only those with familiars can see other familiars. Familiars can only be damaged by other familiars, or by “magic” weapons. Familiars can be Turned, but only if the Cleric knows one is present. To those not with a familiar spirit, the demon is invisible. The “attacks” of the familiar appear as spontaneous wounds on the victim's flesh, but it is truly the work of the demon perched invisibly on the Wizards shoulder.

Finally; nobody can get rid of a familiar, and everyone can only have one. Once you have it, you have it, and that's that. The familiar is banished if the user dies, except in the cases of suicide. Exceptionally forceful or ambitious demons will sometimes manipulate fate to make their user kill themselves, so they can be free, but by doing so lose access to the mental and spiritual energy that allowed them to manifest. As such, they trick their user only to kill themselves with a cursed blade they can reside in, or within a circle of standing stones that become their home, and so on. 

Familiar Stats

• All Familiars start with AC 10 and a To-Hit bonus of +0
• Any damage taken to the familiar go to its user.
• Familiars can move or pick up small objects, like books or keys. What most people believe a levitation or floating spell is actually a familiar carrying the object to its master
• Familiars cannot be seen except with True Sight or by anyone else with a Familiar
• Familiars can only be harmed by magic weapons
• Familiars feed off their user's mental strength and are primarily manifested by it. Add the user's Intelligence modifier to the Familiars To-Hit and AC
• Familiars are demons; they can be Turned.
• Familiars have a maximum range from their user, which is based on their power level.

Familiar Power Levels

Not all familiars are equal. Each familiar has a different level of power, represented by their size.

Imps are about as big as housecats to small dogs, and are the weakest and most common type of familiar. They deal 1d4 damage on a hit. Their maximum range is equal to a whole valley. Those with imp familiars often send them to spy on foes, or to deliver secret messages.

Devils are about as big as a human. They deal 1d6 damage on a hit. These include the ranks of succubi and incubi. Their maximum range is within a few rooms or a small forest clearing.

Danavas are about as big as an ogre. They deal 1d8 damage on a hit, and have a maximum range of one pace away from their user. Mostly, this means the master has to touch a target to harm them.

Familiar Powers

Familiars may have special powers. These are like signature spells, and if luck would have it the Wizard's new free magical ability could give them a serious edge over the competition, those once again it is the familiar doing the work.

In order to generate a familiar power, roll on the Cavegirl Gifted tables. Once for Aspect and once for Methods. Then, roll a 1d12 to see its damage/effect die size and then another 1d12 on the range if applicable. This isn't a perfect method but could get you close to something a random stand-power generator might be.

Side Notes

You could easily fit this concept of Familiars or “stands” into your game as a supplemental magic system. If you're one of those people with a hypothetical “you don't level up but get more powerful by stuff in the world” sort of guys, then this concept would work well as a side method of advancement for Wizardly characters. I would probably say getting bound to a familiar means you get +1d6 hit points, since Familiars are just an extra target for you to take damage from.

The Lost Mystique of the MU, and How to Fix It (Long Rant)

I once made up a dumb quote. It went like this; “Fantasy is just retrofuturism for the Pre-Sciences.” It's pretty dumb, I know, but I think it has a lot of merit. Fantasy worlds and media tends to focus on the beliefs of ancient peoples, and then show those beliefs as being how the world actually works in the body of fiction. Gods are real and grant blessings or curses. Secret knowledge can cure diseases, or create energy or matter from nothing.

Side note: I began writing up  this "rant" several months ago, and lo and behold Goblin Punch had to write an article about this very thing I'm complaining about and beat me to it.

This is a short essay about magic users, why I'm upset with them, and why I changed them into something else. I've marked this as a 'rant', which is a tag I usually use for long rambling nonsense like this, so feel free to skip it if it isn't your thing.

Art @Sarunas Macijauskas

PART 1: WHY MAGIC EXISTS (in games)

Note- This isn't talking about Magical or “Supernatural” elements as a whole, but specifically the type of “Magic” that spellcasters can use. Witches, Sorcerers, etc. Casting spells and making charms are both common things in fantasy media. Having a role dedicated to the pursuit of magic is sensible, logical, and fits in perfectly with a game about loose archetypes. The Fighter. The Magic-User. The Holy Man. The Elf. These are classic classes which the original game of D&D was built around. Over time, these roles changed to be less thematic and more practical, though paradoxically some of the implied coverages of the classes (the Fighter, specifically) was reduced to give rise to extra bonus classes like the Barbarian and Ranger. Please note, I am not actually a D&D historian, so any of all of this could be wrong, but it's right for my essay.

While some worlds feature wild magic, natural magic, or supernatural elements, this is distinct from the concept of “Magic” as a craft or profession. Magic is a force that can be manipulated in the form of spells, items, incantations and so on. The idea behind giving magic a purpose and a use in a game is extremely simple. For one, it gives a use for “smart” characters. While in real life smarts is obviously really good, you need something in a “game” where the players control the character using their real life intelligence. Obviously in real life being smart is extremely beneficial as it comes with the ability to create plans or understand the natural world better, but in a fantasy game? Players already do that. Player characters instead need a vector to be smart, and in a world without computers to hack or technology to build and repair, making smarts central the “magic class” makes perfect sense. Wizard means Wise Man after all.

We can see this role personified in fantasy media as the Wizard. This is a catch all category, including Sorcerers, Half-Magic Gish types, Evil Witches, Druids to an extent. Putting this role in a game to play makes sense. Plus, magic systems are some of the easiest things to tweak and hack, and making up new spells and magic unique stuff is both easy, rewarding, and lets you flex creativity.

"Pig in Time" @Andrea Radeck

PART 2: FANTASY MAGIC =/= GAME MAGIC

However, there is a problem. Fantasy Magic as we see in media doesn't exactly match the magic we see in games. This is a general rule, not based on the specific games people play. While Vancian magic isn't common outside of Dying Earth and D&D material, it has all the trappings of standard pop culture and fantasy magic. Spells to turn people into animals? Easy. Spells to control weather? Sensible. Spells to summon beings from other worlds? Control minds? Cast wishes? Etc.

These have the surface level of magic being the same, but the magic we want to see and enjoy conceptually doesn't really work in game rules. Now this isn't to say there aren't some games with better magic systems then others mechanically or flavorwise, but most games there is a disconnect between magic and fantasy magic. It's gameified for use in the game, but cannot be specific enough to allow for all the cool interactions we'd like to see and give each spell a high fantasy/mythological feel. It also can't be general enough to let the players run amok with it, as they would quickly find a way to break the system. Even with the best possible group and DM, I struggle to think of a way to put magic into a game that would be as cool or flexible as the magic we see in books and TV.

This disconnect is the same as the one in video games. In a video game, your character might be a Wizard with a few select powers and spells, but you'll get quests where you need to find a specific item for a specific NPC to cast a specific ritualized spell that you simply don't have access to. Why? Obviously it's the limitations of the medium, but tabletop games still have this issue. Your Wizards can't suddenly put two and two together and think of how to end the evil rampaging spell by mixing a few magical reagents and using their knowledge to know it will be strongest when cast on the full moon. This shit isn't in any game books and has to be made up by the spots, which hey isn't that bad and I want to do it, but you can't make a rule to do it.

Art @ThemeFinland

PART 3: MAGIC SUCKS

Magic in games sucks. I hate it. Reading spell lists got boring after my first game. I want too much out of it, I'm not even saying it's objectively bad. I just don't like it. If spells are too orderly and procedural, like having ice, fire, and lightning balls all listed out with the same mana cost and damage but just with different elements, I'm bored. If you have D&D of a few basic attack spells but in different intensities and forms; Shocking Grasp, Burning Hands, Cone of Cold. All different forms of attack but all doing the same basic thing, which is more interesting but doesn't feel complete enough.

Like I said, I'm enormously picky. I want myth and legend, or more accurately, my shitty pop culture understanding and personal feelings of it, to be codified into game rules. Thus losing their 'magic' no matter how good it is.

I feel like games can do a lot better. Some of this discussion is spurred on by balance, but it's not an exclusive issue. Magic is something I've thought about a lot, even on this blog. I've read many rulebooks exclusively for their magic content, and have had many online discussions about magic. As such, I feel as though my homebrew can be put to end this entirely self centered problem, though I am by no means claiming to be the absolute most expert in this topic. It took a long time, but I think I have finally found the solution.

The problem is the archetypal Wizard.

The Wizard doesn't exist in mythology, really. It does, but not the fireball slinging Wizard of D&D fame. As many have stated before, the “self learned scholar who learns magical power” isn't much of a thing in traditional fantasy. Almost all Wizards are Gods, angels, or supernatural innately. Magic tends not to be the province of humans, except for the real life magic of folklore. Things like drawing a talisman to ward off evil or creating a curse tablet to spurn the lover who left you. We can see here that the type of magic avaliable to the “player characters” would be more subtle stuff- based on Fate, the supplication of the spirits, alchemy (to explain their limited understanding of chemistry), and so forth. This is the way these people thought the world actually worked. It's retrofuturism of prescience.

The other problem is that this type of magic that isn't really present in myth and legend, it is also too exclusive. The idea that magic items are “enchanted” by a Wizard to give them power is one of the most cancerous ideas ever. I despise this concept. Ancient blades of power are forged through secrets that blacksmiths know, not some arcane mana-points Wizards put into it. Anyone can pray to the Gods for guidance and a blessing against the forces of evil, not just a specific class or feature.

Art @pita

PART 4: WIZARDS ARE COOL THO

But magic is cool! People like the Wizard. I like the Wizard. They are the perfect self insert for the “nerd” type of stereotype, using intelligence and cleverness. To possess forces beyond the physical body. It's extremely interesting, both to imagine and use in a game, to have these types of powers. It's not even exclusively a power fantasy either, it makes for interesting gameplay. What other character type can reasonably have abilities this powerful? If you gave it something like super heroes, they'd be too powerful conceptually to exist in these kinds of worlds because they'd just always have access to these powers. But by putting it into magic, he can give it rules and restrictions. Checks and balances.

Magic is also extremely easy to build for. Entire magic systems, fictional or otherwise, inspire entire ideas out of them. How settings work. How empires and warfare would work with access to powers like this. I've created entire backwards ideas just for this- Gold and gems are among the few things magic can't duplicate. It has “antimagical” properties innately. That's why Kings and Queens wear crowns and jewelry on their heads and bodies. It's a great little idea that nestles in your head. Not just that, but magic systems almost by themselves define the fictional world they are in. I've created what feels like dozens of magic systems myself for this exact reason.

The best magic systems are, in my opinion, either closely tied to the setting they come from, or things so tightly interwoven with a class or identity they become indistinguishable. This faerie class by ATWC is still one of my absolute favorite “casters” I've ever seen, it's at the very least the best Elf-as-class expy I've ever seen. But I have a problem with these solutions. I don't have a super specific setting, I'm not Tolkien. I want gameplay classes that can fit into many different settings or campaign types. As generalist as possible, lacking flavor, but having flavor on the back end. Of course, this entire rant can just be ignored if you like making classes based on thematic concepts. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just not something I'm personally doing. Hence the issue.

On top of all that, giving spells to people is one of the only ways to get the fantasy game out of its rut of human-capability. You can also offer things like superhuman races or mutations, magic items, and other powers that the DM rules in stead of a set spell or magic system, but those alone won't work alongside the abilities of player character needing a “magic expert”. The Wizard doesn't fit into what I consider the gameplay loop, not just of my pseudo-OSR standard D&D homebrewing, but into most games. Creating classes based on gameplay needs is superior to creating one on a thematic basis, because it the gameplay centric classes, like the “tank” or “healer” if you want to use video game terminology, can be directly interfaced into gameplay.

But there's a problem with all of this. This is invented. It wasn't wholly invented by D&D of course, but it partially was; you can see its influence in early video games. If it wasn't Gygax somebody else would have probably capitalized on the Gandalf/Odin symbolism and make something popular. Once again, I want to stress that I'm not saying Wizards only came from this; there are Conan's rival sorcerers, Lovecraft's occultists calling upon the power of the old gods, and other examples. But the countless video games, movies, newer fantasy books and so on, in my opinion, have been tainted. Magic is a force to be manipulated, not the way the fantasy world works at its core.

Art @Christina Kraus

PART 5: THE FANTASY SPACE

The Fantasy World isn't the real world. This is my biggest problem with magic users and magic since I started this hobby. It took me a long time to start understanding it, but I think I am ready to explain it. The problem is people can't throw away their understanding of our world, taught to you in schools and based on scientific learning. You can't immerse yourself in a culture that is objectively wrong. But you can, because in the fantasy world, they are right. Another great resources to help me understand this better was this blogpost by Skerples, which is highly recommended for reading this essay. His writings on Medieval culture and beliefs are extremely helpful for anyone who wants to better make or break fantasy worlds. Another is this excellent summary from darkshire.net

In the fantasy world, dragons do not fly because they have some special magically force that uplifts them. Nor do they need (though many have) some lighter then air gas-sac to explain this issue away. They fly because the God of Fire created them to serve as his messengers. The normal human weaknesses we understand innately do not exist in the fantasy space unless you chose them to be there. People in real life come back from long military campaigns with injuries and wear that makes them permanently crippled for life. In the fantasy world, fighting hard and surviving literally let you cultivate your life force and make you more powerful. Diseases are caused by foul smelling vapors and miasma, and fate is determined by the motions of the stars.

Of course, I'm not decrying sci-fi depictions of fantasy or more realistic, grounded campaigns. I'm just saying that they existing as this sort of “norm” is a problem. Magic Users are not necessarily the only people using magic. In fact, making a 'magic expert' a class at all presents the issue where they must be the best at magic, but since magic can do anything, and you put that magic in the control of the players and give them the direction, and pretty soon it is a toolbox. It's not mythical, it's not special, and it doesn't give the same "feeling" of what I'm after.

Meanwhile, mythology is rife with warrior-wizards. Some dude who kills hundreds of enemies, by himself, is not “mundane”. And you may say that those characters are Gods or blessed by a God- but neither are Wizards just “normal people” either. But yet you want high fantasy Wizards with low fantasy, “mundane” warriors? It's nonsensical. Also, I don't want to derail this too much into a hypothetical discussion about class balance, it isn't just about warriors vs wizards. My problem is farther reaching then that.

So I don't want these systems. I don't want magic in neat little spells, I want magic that everyone can use and profit from, something that makes the world of fantasy feel fantastic. I like Wizards, but I don't like them at the same time. Making rules for players to use magic that ticks all of my boxes is either impossible or so out of my reach as a designer I simply can't. Does that mean that magic should only be in the DM's toolbox as a Deus Ex Machina? Probably not- but can you do something close, while giving the players some fun enjoyment to be had? I don't see why not. I think you can do it, and if you can, then we can try to make it.

Of course, the problem then becomes, how do you gamify this?

Art @Vlad Tesoff (NSFW)

PART 6: THE NEEDS OF A GAME

So here's where all this comes from. I started playing tabletop games about 8 odd years or so ago, though I technically started much earlier then that playing “Adventurers” with whichever of my friends on campouts would tolerate playing pretend. And I guess what I did with the extra tent pole? It was a Wizard staff, you bet your ass it was. I remember learning about tabletop games like D&D and was mystified. In truth, most people learn D&D as their first game, but I kind of had an outsider perspective. I never knew exactly how D&D worked, how rolls and stats worked, what HD and AC and all that was until many years later. Instead, I read the monster manuals on the computer, or read the rulebooks for other games I found online like Ars Magica and Unknown Armies. I scoured the White Wolf wikis for every scrap of lore I could learn about Vampire, Werewolf, Wraith, Changeling, and Mage. And in short? I was really, really interested in the magic systems.

But enough of a history lesson. Why am I telling you this? So I can say my next bit with authority. The Wizard isn't a role. It's a thematic role, not a real one. Games are based on gameplay and game mechanics. Roles are based on those mechanics. The idea behind a game (and the game-world you want to present to be as logically consistent with the game as possible, but that's a topic for another day) is that the characters and archetypes for a group are all doing something central and important for the game. There is no practical difference between a character who has an unlimited use magical ranged blast power and a Fighter with a bow. Hanging up these classes and archetypes on the symbols and aesthetics instead of the practical terms isn't in my opinion great game design.

But then there's the other problem, what is great game design?

In my opinion then, the best games are designed with the core gameplay in mind. I've kind of fallen out of favor of calling myself an “OSR” blogger because my stuff is more DIY. It's idea vomit, not based on old D&D manuals and not necessarily trying to replicate the gameplay and experiences of those people. And I want to mention I understand people who only want that kind of experience. Actual OSR gameplay is very much like historical reenactment in a way, it's like somebody bringing foam swords to a reenactment battle so they can have more fun when hitting each other. It's not the point of the exercise, even if it appears similar at a distance. So then, what is the core gameplay? What archetypes or classes are central to the core gameplay loop?

Well, in my opinion, the core gameplay elements are Fighting, Bypassing Obstacles, and Resource Management. Other elements of the game such as mapping is a mostly meta-game outside of the game (so you don't need a cartographer class), or things like social mechanics (which are mostly roleplayed and can be done by any character, dragging a diplomat along with your party wouldn't be fun in most games about dungeon exploration and high fantasy exploration, but they could be in say, a long distance silk road style game). Exploration and wonderment is also core to the game, but is something everyone is doing when they play, there's no real room for an 'explorer' class unless you're adding these thematic roles I talked about. This would mean if we were going to be “good” designers and cut down the classes or roles of the player characters to just those three tenants. Fighting. Bypass. Resources.

Well, what fantasy archetypes fit those closest? That would be Fighter, the Rogue, and then a Healer or support. This is an opinion of course; some could say the oldschool games with just Fighter, MU, and Cleric fit this description, but I personally prefer the whole “creative solutions” is better then a spell to handle things. It just fits anyway; the Rogue is more common of an archetype then a problem-solving Wizard who isn't a magical demigod. But I've ranted about this enough.

PART 7: THE SAGE SOLUTION

I ended up thinking long and hard about what kind of magic system I wanted in my game, and I decided that for the sake of my game's world, balance, and so forth- I wanted a support. I was done with the spell mastering, generic MU. Now I went through several steps- from imagining the fantasy class incarnations of the MU as more specific, interesting, and evocative. I thought of creating a unique magic words magic system, the second draft of with will probably never see the light of day. I instead thought of changing my class dynamic entirely. I went from mentally removing the concept of the Cleric (for the simple 3 class system of Fighter, Rogue, Magic-User that you see a lot in pop culture and I personally enjoy), to basically getting rid of the MU and putting the Cleric back in. But the problem persisted. I still like the aesthetics of a magic using robe guy. I still like the squishy guy in the backline. I still like the scholar and clever Wizard dude who mixes potions. I just don't like his artificial place of importance, his spells with no seeming guiding principle.

Eventually, I settled on creating a white magic user. Something that had a strict role in the party; as a support. The original idea was simple, a “class” that had the same weaknesses as a Wizard, but with the Cleric spell list. I really liked this idea at first, and after experimenting with the 2d6 rolls to cast spells vs a contested opponent I shamelessly stole from another blog, This was the original draft of the Sage class, which I fortunately already found the perfect name for. This later was changed again when I realized that the magic was unnecessary too. I want to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the old fashioned “keep everything as grounded/boring as possible to make the more magical parts stand out!” even though that's basically what I ended up doing. But it's because, in my opinion, I hope to have created a new movement or paradigm shift. You can think that is hyperbole for what I have created, and you might be right, but I sincerely think what I ended up settling on is pretty good.

And that is the Sage. The non-magical variety. It has everything you could want in the archetypal MU, but none of the issues that come with it.

The Sage is a guide. The Wise-Man. They value Intelligence (for knowledge and magic) and Wisdom (for healing). Their healing is their primary 'combat' or game mechanic ability, but in universe they're all about knowledge and learning. They'll be the most literate characters in settings where that's an issue. They'll probably know the most languages, they can decipher the ancient runes. They have everything the MU has, in a nice and easily digested package. They fit into basically every setting- it's much more sensible to imagine a temple priest or old wise man from the woods as a Sage then a magical MU with this many spells and components. They also fit into basically every society too, no longer do you have to either handwave the issue of powerful entities with mind controlling, transmuting, teleporting, or other potentially setting-breaking spells. Not saying this is an inherent problem for everyone who runs a D&D game; any DM can create good reasons or sufficiently explain away this issue. They also fit, in my mind, on my imaginary list of armor classes and HD rolls- I never liked Clerics being stronger then Rogues. Now its goes Sage, Rogue, Fighter in combat strength and armor. Sages just do all of this for me in a way that I like. They fit the last checkbox on my list of checkboxes.

The best part about all of this is, as a DM, my control over the game means I can still have what I want. You can still insert all your favorite magic system ideas. The whole idea of forcing spirits to due your bidding? Magic is exclusively down through alchemy? Magical words have power if learned and spoken in the right order? All of it still works in the game with the Sage. You can slap on the Sage with some bonuses to this to make them more 'magic' focused but it probably isn't required. I want the Fighter to learn a magic word to improve his swordplay. I want the Rogue to drink a potion that lets her talk to birds so she can spy on people. This is fantasy. You don't even really sacrifice powerful end game things like high level spells and magic item crafting; the players can still get the magical stuff at the “late game” to make the game world more convenient. Instead of a flying spell, grant them a flying carpet. Like I said earlier, I think finding a way to climb out of a pit is more interesting then the MU burning a single spell to accomplish it, but with high character levels or campaigns that can scale on many different vector, the ability to make certain things trivial (usually with magic user spells in other games) can still be done. The Sage also looks and feels like a Wizard in play, squishy, all about dem' artifacts. Still a keeper of knowledge, but more about the healing art. Maybe for the pseudo-intellectuals in your group, they can pride themselves on playing the “most complex class” which is normally a MU, but in this game it's still the Sage. So this imaginary strawman I just made up can be smug and eltist about being a support class, which is a perfect solution- take that, imaginary strawman. Plus, you can do one better and make everyone capable of doing magic with the systems above. It's all based on your in game knowledge, resources, and character level or stats. How much your willing to sacrifice, or what spirits owe you a favor? This is magic in its best form.

I haven't even sacrificed the aesthetics. Sages still carry books and bags filled with stuff. They're still everything a scholarly, somewhat magical inclined character would want. Plus, you can even keep their combat abilities similar too. I have recently fallen in love with this idea; “arcane” to hit rolls modified by Intelligence and magic “weapons” in the form of wands and staves. Normally in games these are magical artifacts in and of themselves, you find a rod of fireballs. Instead, here, they're relatively common weapons for the bright and gifted. You can tell the Sage he's still a Wizard, just wave a wand and blast some energy at an enemy. It's not nearly as powerful as a Sleep spell, but hey, it's aesthetically close without having this song and dance about resource management vs impact vs cost of replacing the resources in the resource-management minigame AND much less of a hassle to balance encounters around. Plus, you can take it away; it's not that annoying problem of Wizards being at full power regardless of their situation as long as they have spells prepared. If you're separated from your stuff, you're just as toast as everyone else. You still keep resource management not based around combat with other in game items. Good players know how to use things like marbles, chalk, ropes and such to their advantage in a dungeon. These resources still run out. Using a more complex first aid system; those items run out. Create a game where they're scrambling to collect, carry, and use these over spell slots and I think you have a more interesting and engaging game environment. For everyone- the players and DM included.

AFTERWORD

This rant began as a explanation over why I became invested in creating the concept behind the “Sage” class and why I truly enjoy it so much, despite it going through several, sometimes contradictory, iterations and levels. It quickly ballooned out into this massive history lesson.

Secondly, I want to state that this does not mean I am done writing spell lists, classes that use spells, or new magic systems. I enjoy these things very much, this is simply my way of finally expressing a long, complex process of figuring out what I like in fantasy, and how I solved a 'problem'. I truly believe that many people who have problems with roleplaying games, finding them meaningful or lacking in that creative spark, that this very well could be your solution. I sincerely believe in what I write here, and you, dear reader, are to be the judge of it. Thank you for reading.