Magic in the Fallen Empire

==General Information==
In the Fallen Empire setting, an untrained mage cannot have Magery higher than level 0. As the mage is trained the talent can strengthen. Once a mage has at least 10 points in spells he can then buy his magery talent up to level 1. At this point his apprenticeship is done. He is now a journeyman, or more often called a Magician. The premise of this graduation is that magic works much like a muscle. The more you work it the stronger it becomes.
Once the mage has at least 20 points in spells he can purchase Magery 2. The progression is just that simple. Theoretically there is no upper limit to the level of Magery a character can purchase. This means that Mages can become very powerful. This same rule applies to Priests and Necromancers as well.
In the Fallen Empire particularly powerful Wizards (and Priests and Necromancers) can sometimes just do things without casting a spell, or are granted special powers by their god. To reflect this they are able to purchase a Power (or powers) with a total cost of no more than 10 points times their Magery (or Power Investiture) level. Usually this power is defensive or non-combative in nature. For example a Priest might take the ability to "Lay on Hands", or gain the strength of his god. A wizard might gain magic resistance or DR. And a Necromancer might take Darkvision, or buy several advantages that portray his conversion to an undead creature.
In addition, each type of magic wielder has their own rules as to which type of spells they can use and how they gain additional mana.
Demons worry when the wizard is near
==Mages==
As an apprentice a mage must learn, in addition to spells, the following skills:
*Thaumatology IQ+Magery/Very Hard
*Draw HT+Magery/Hard
*One of Magic Jet or Magic Missile DX/Easy - not required if he has no combat spells.
They may use powerstones, and additionally may purchase extra levels of Mana:
Extra Mana = Extra Fatigue 2 points/level (to power Spells Only -10%, Slow recharge 1 point/hour -20%) Note this cost does not count toward the 10 points per level of magery allowed. Although the maximum extra mana is limited to 10/level of magery.
===Spell Colleges===
Access to all except the Necromantic, and Technological spells.
===Draw===
In order to gain the mana required to cast some of the more powerful spells a mage can concentrate and draw mana in from around himself. Think of it as a deep breath, but instead of drawing in air he draws in mana. This process takes two seconds. During the first second he must concentrate and can take no action, not even an active defense. If he aborts to an active defense the draw attempt is spoiled with no ill effects. During the 2nd second he then chooses how many fatigue points he will spend. If the number of fatigue points spent exceeds his magery level the excess is the penalty to the draw skill. If the mage is struck during this round the damage taken is also applied as a penalty to the draw skill. At the end of the round the mage rolls vs his Draw skill. The amount the roll succeeds by is multiplied by half the number of fatigue points spent. This number is how many dice are then rolled to determine how much extra mana is drawn in. A critical success doubles the dice rolled, and the mage rerolls any die that is lower than his magery level. A critical failure causes a roll on the critical spell failure table.
For example: Jon has magery 2 and a draw skill of 14. He really wants to draw a lot of mana so he spends 4 fatigue points. This exceeds his magery level 2 by 2 points so he rolls at draw skill -2, or 12. He rolls the dice and they come up 9. 9 is 3 points under his target number of 12 so he gets 3 x 2 = 6 dice to roll for extra mana. Not bad.
The extra mana from draw fades at the rate of 1 point per minute. So use it while you can, cause it don't last long.
===Sensing Draw===
The down side of drawing is that anyone with magery (or power investiture) can sense a draw, so can many monsters and demons. Don't forget that when you draw you're probably going to alert someone to your presence. The chance to sense a draw is their IQ+Magery+the number of dice you drew - (range/10) modifiers. In other words 100 yards counts as 10 yards for the purpose of sensing draw. Always roll, and if they make their roll by more than 2 it will be "loud" enough to wake even the deepest sleeper.
===Recovery===
Fatigue from draw doesn't recover normally. It is similar to fatigue from missed sleep (Basic Set page 427). A mage recovers fatigue from draw at the rate of 1 point per hour spent resting. This means nothing more strenuous than quiet discussion or lifting a tankard of ale. A mage recovers fatigue from draw at the rate of 2 points per hour spent asleep. Fractional hours are dropped, so don't be surprised if the mage gets a bit cranky if you wake him early.
===Powers===
Often mages will buy such abilities as:
*DR = 2.5 points/level (5/level, only vs Fire -40%, magical -10%)
*Magic Resistance = 5 points/level (2/level, doesn't interfere with one's own magic +150%)
*Raise Strength = 2.5 points/level (10/level, costs 1 fatigue lasts 1 minute -5%, emergencies only -30%, limited use 4/day -20%, takes 2 minutes to recharge -10%, magical -10%) for those mages that also fancy themselves as warriors.
==Necromancers==
As an apprentice a necromancer must learn, in addition to spells, the following skills:
*Thanatology IQ+Magery/Very Hard
*Thaumatology IQ+Magery/Very Hard
*One of Magic Jet or Magic Missile DX/Easy - not required if he has no combat spells.
They may not use powerstones, but they can use necromantic talismans. These are essentially the same as powerstones but only work for necromancers. These talismans are quite rare and will usually have to be created by the necromancer himself. Additionally they may purchase extra levels of Mana:
Extra Mana = Extra Fatigue 2 points/level (to power Spells Only -10%, Slow recharge 1 point/hour -20%) Note this cost does not count toward the 10 points per level of magery allowed. Although the maximum extra mana is limited to 10/level of magery.
===Spell Colleges===
No Animal, Illusion and Creation, Plant, or Technology spells.
===Death Drain===
Whenever anyone is injured in the presence of the necromancer he gains mana points equal to one third of the damage done to the person, minus the standard range modifier, to a maximum of mana equal to the person's Health. If not spent this extra mana fades upon the next sunrise.
===Powers===
Necromancers will often buy such abilities as:
*DR = 2.5 points/level (5/level, only vs Steel -40%, magical -10%)
*Dark Vision = 15 points (25, limited use 2/day -30%, magical -10%)
*Sense the Dead = 5 points (increased range (x2) +10%, magical -10%)
==Priests==
A priest must have True Faith (15 points), and also a Code of honor or Vow appropriate to his god (-10), for a grand total of 5 points. As an acolyte a priest must learn, in addition to spells, the following skills:
*Theology IQ+Power Investiture/Hard
*Religious Ritual (must specialize in his own religion) IQ/Hard
*One of Magic Jet or Magic Missile DX/Easy - not required if he has no combat spells.
They may not use powerstones, but they may use relics of their religion. These are essentially the same as powerstones but only work for priests of that specific religion. Additionally they may purchase extra levels of Mana:
Extra Mana = Extra Fatigue 2 points/level (to power Spells Only -10%, Slow recharge 1 point/hour -20%) Note this cost does not count toward the 10 points per level of magery allowed. Although the maximum extra mana is limited to 10/level of power investiture.
===Spell Colleges===
Whichever spell colleges the god grants.
===Holy Favor===
Whenever a priest does his daily ritual (usually in the morning) he receives 1 point of mana. This point will last until his god's next holy day, or no longer than one year. When a priest conducts worship services on these seasonal holidays he rolls vs his religious ritual skill and gains 2 mana per point of success, double that if a critical success. There is no penalty for failing the roll (except gaining zero mana) unless the priest critically fails. The results of such critical failures are best left to the imagination until they happen to you. If a priest spends a lot of time preaching the faith he can typically gain an additional point per week. If the priest actually converts someone to the religion he immediately gains a number of mana equal to 10% of the persons character point value. A priest will also gain a large chunk of mana for successfully completing quests for the religion or building a church or temple.
===Powers===
Priests will often buy such abilities as:
*DR = 4 points/level (5/level, pact with diety -10%)
*Healing = 12 points (30, on others only -10%, limited use 2/day -30%, takes 5 seconds to recharge -10%, pact with diety -10%)
*High Pain Threshold = 7 points (10, area of effect 4 yard radius +100%, selective area +20%, costs 1 fatigue point per minute -5%, limited use 2/day -30%, takes 2 minutes to recharge -10%, pact with deity -10%)
==Hot Spots==
Otherwise known as areas of High Mana. These areas vary depending on the type of caster. For a mage it might be a special place near a hillside. And you wondered why mages always build those creepy towers out in the middle of nowhere. A hotspot for a necromancer might be an ancient battlefield or a large cemetary. For a priest it will be a holy site concecrated to his religion, a large temple, or especially devout church. Such hotspots may also be aspected toward a certain college of magic.
==Other situations==
There are a few other house rules for magic in the realm of the Fallen Empire.
Magic uses the range/speed table instead of the standard -1 per hex. Spells that use the long distance modifiers are not affected by this.
Area affect spells automatically affect the megahex for free.
Category:Setting Concepts
Category:Settings
Category:Magic Concepts