True Power

This is a soft magic system for Fate Core. It introduces a freeform magic, which allows mages to perform virtually any supernatural effects, while at the same time attempting to limit the use of this power to levels befitting a setting where magic is not absolutely dominant. Wizards built with these rules feel like "Gandalf" from "The Lord of the Rings".

# WHO CAN CAST MAGIC

Mages are those who managed to get in touch with the primordial force of the universe, called "Mana". This usually requires study and discipline, although there are rare individuals who can discover magical secrets by intuition alone. Mage characters must explain the origin of their powers in one of their aspects.

To cast a spell, the mage must perform a test of a new skill called "Channeling". This is the ability a mage has to control the flow of mana.

## MAGIC POWER

Another relevant attribute for a mage is their "Power". A mage's "Power" measures how many spells they can cast each game session. These are "free" uses of magic. When a character has exhausted all of his uses of spell power, they are still able to cast more spells, but at the cost of 1 fate point per use. All mages have a "Power" value equal to their "Channeling" level.

The mage only consumes one of their spell usages per game session if the spell succeeds. If they fails the test, they can still try again. However, if the spell succeeds but is defended, countered or resisted, then the spell use is consumed.

## MAGIC BURN

Mages who use true power can do anything, however... only once. When casting a spell, the power that courses through the mage's metaphysical body is so great that it burns and damages its structure, preventing the mage from performing the same effect, in the same way, again.

Mages can only use every single "magical effect" once. A magical effect is a description of what is affected, and how it is affected. If a description of a spell was too close to another already performed by the mage, it cannot be done.

Examples:

* A mage summons an explosive fireball in order to burn all opponents in a conflict zone. Later, they want to project a jet of fire from their hands to burn some opponents. The second description is close enough to the first to be considered the same "effect": controlling fire to burn targets at a distance.
* The mage summons the power of stone to petrify a target for a scene. They later summon ice to transform a target into an ice statue for a scene. Although the mechanical effect is similar, the description of how this effect is obtained is different enough that these are two distinct magical effects.
* A mage summons and controls a flock of giant eagles to take a group of adventurers to the top of a volcano. This mage will no longer be able to summon giant eagles, either as a means of transport, as support in combat, or even to serve as paperweight. However, they could summon giant racing snails to do the same thing.

As mage characters performs spells during the game, the players must write down which spells were already used. During a game session or two, it may be possible to remember every spell that was cast. However, after five or six sessions, the list can become exceptionally long.

When determining spells and vessels, these are counted separately. In other words: a mage cannot use a magical effect twice regardless of the vessels used, nor can use a magical vessel repeatedly regardless of the magical effect associated with it.

At each **Major Milestone**, three of the spells already used by the character are "forgotten".

# DETERMINING A SPELL'S OPPOSITION

Determining a spell's opposition is a central aspect of these rules. Ahead, there are suggested oppositions to various magical effects. However, the **Opposition Ladder** should be used generically to determine the effect of each spell. Regardless of the suggestions below, the power level can be freely interpreted according to the scenario. For a certain setting, a "Great" spell might make a target float, while in another setting, it might be "Superb" or even "Fantastic".

Some specific and common cases should be better specified:

## ATTACK SPELLS

With so few spell uses per game session, using a spell to deal direct damage can be extremely counterproductive. However, there may be times when this option seems to be the best one.

An attack spell can affect any single target that is in the same zone, or in an adjacent zone, to the mage. Targets generally cannot defend themselves from an attacking spell. The damage dealt, in stress points, equals the spell check's success shifts. The mage determines whether the spell deals physical or mental damage, and what form it takes (a jet of fire, a bolt of lightning falling from the sky, etc.)

* If the spell affects more than one target, each extra target increases its opposition by 1 point.
* If the spell affects all targets in a single zone, increase its opposition by 3 points.
* If the spell can be defended with an Athletics or Fight check (using a shield), decrease its opposition by 2 (it can be negative).
* If the spell creates an effect that increases a target's ability to deal damage for a scene, increase its opposition by 2 points per point of damage.
* If the spell's damage takes place over multiple combat rounds, divide the damage dealt by the spell between the rounds in which it will take effect.

## DEFENSE SPELLS

Mages can create energy shields, physical barriers, harden armor, and various other forms of defense for a target. The effect of these spells lasts for one scene.

* If the spell increases a target's stress slots, each extra slots increases the opposition by 1 point. The desired level of increase must be declared before the spell is cast.
* If the spell affects more than one target, each extra target increases its opposition by 1 point.
* If the spell affects all targets in a single zone, increase its opposition by 3 points.
* If the spell causes a penalty to certain attack rolls, each -1 penalty increases the opposition by 2 points. The mage must define a specific type of attack being defended. Examples: Physical magical attacks, metal weapon attacks, spiritual attacks, detection spells, etc.
* To heal a target's stress slots, +1 opposition per stress slot recovered.

## DETECTING AND COUNTERATTACKING SPELLS

Mages can use the Power to perceive any other magical effect. This allows them to get a mental sense of the presence and type of a magical power surrounding a target that is in the same zone as them. Spells are detected on a simple check, unless they have been deliberately "hidden" by the use of another spell. In this case, the detection must overcome the resistance of the spell that concealed the target.

* To "see" magical emanations with your own eyes, increase the opposition by 1 point.
* To keep a magical detection active for an entire scene, increase the opposition by 1 point.
* To receive a full breakdown of the magic being detected, increase the opposition by 2 points.

To counterattack a spell, the mage must be in the same combat zone as it is, and beat its opposition with their own test.

## TRANSFORMATION SPELLS

Various spells transform the targets' bodies, either through physical shapeshifting, or simply increasing their strength, lowering their perception, etc.

Such magical effects alter the target's skill points, increasing or decreasing them. Each skill point changed increases the spell opposition by 1 point. The same goes for changes in a target's stress layers. Some additional effects, which don't translate to skill points, can also be created. Some examples:

* ***Wings***: +1 opposition.
* ***Magic Attack***: Purchase as a new skill.
* ***Area Attack***: Purchase as a new skill +1 opposition.
* ***Extra attack per turn***: +2 opposition.
* ***A stunt***: +1 opposition per stunt.
* ***The target becomes a swarm*** (any damage only removes the lowest stress slot) : +3 opposition.

To create spells that completely transform the target into animals, the opposition is only equal to the final layers of physical stress the animal has, which depends on the animal's size: 1 for small animals (cats, mice, frogs, owls), 2 for close to human-sized animals (horses, tigers, zebras), 3 for large animals (bears, rhinos), 4 for huge animals (elephants, blue whales). The "Physique" skill bonus applies as normal. In these spells, the mage can rearrange the target's physical abilities as he sees fit, without violating the campaign's current limit. The physical abilities are: *Fight, Shoot, Notice, Athletics, Physique, Stealth, Burglary and Crafts*.

## GENERIC EFFECTS

For other magical effects, the opposition can be determined at the time of casting the spell. Spells that are related to creating a boost have as opposition of 1, and if they are related to creating an aspect, they have an opposition of 2.

If the spell creates an extreme effect, capable of mmediately removing a character from a conflict, increase the opposition by 4. Extreme events would be: blinding a target, petrifying a target, turning the target into a toad, etc.

If a spell kills a target instantly, increase the opposition by 6.

Spells usually last for an entire scene and affect a single target that is in the same zone as the mage. This duration and the number of targets can be changed for higher oppositions.

## SPELL RESISTANCE

Spells that affect a target directly can always be resisted with Physique or Will. The spell's description determines which ability can be used to resist it.

If the spell affects the target's physical body in any way, it is resisted with "Physique", if it affects their mind, spirit, or magical creations, it is resisted with "Will". The target makes their test with the ability associated with the resistance, and the result, if positive, is added to the opposition of the offending spell.

Spells that are resisted do not count as having been cast by the mage. However, once a target resists a mage's spell, it will always resist the same spell from that same mage, without the need for a future resistance roll.

### SPELL DURATION

If the mage wishes to cast a spell that lasts longer than a scene, they must increase its opposition:
* If the spell lasts for 1 day: +1 opposition.
* If the spell lasts for 1 month: +2 opposition.
* If the spell lasts for 1 year: +3 opposition.
* If the spell is permanent: +4 opposition and 1 fate point. Any permanent spells must contain a condition that counters them. This condition must be achievable, even if unlikely. If a condition becomes impossible, or so improbable as to be effectively impossible, the spell ends. For example: “*Petrified until kissed by a virgin*”, “*Will fumble in combat until he saves the life of a princess*”, “*Will see the spirit world as long as the caster lives* ”. Very, very unlikely conditions are not allowed. For example: “*Turned into a skunk until a meteorite lands on his head*”. While this is in theory possible, it is so, so unlikely that it may be declared, in practice, impossible.

### SPELL TARGETS

Mages can also create spells that affect more than a single target.
* If the spell affects a small group of people (up to 3): +1 opposition.
* If the spell affects all targets in a medium group or everyone in a single combat zone: +2 opposition.
* If the spell affects everyone in a building or in a large group (a military detachment, around 20 people): +3 opposition.
* If the spell affects a large group of people in a single category: +4 opposition and 1 fate point. Examples of categories are: "a target and all his family members", "all people who walk along this road", "all residents of a certain small village", etc.

### CONTINGENT SPELLS

Eventually, mages will want to cast spells whose effect does not occur immediately, but only when a specific condition occurs. These are contingent spells. A contingent spell has no additional difficulty. Any spell can be cast with a contingency, and it can wait for the contingency to trigger until the end of its normal duration. Instant (attack) spells can wait for a contingency to happen for one scene.
The mage may wish to increase the time the contingency will wait to trigger before considering the duration of the spell. In this case, increase the duration of the contingency the same way you increase the duration of a spell.
### MAGIC EFFECTS AND OPPOSITIONS

The following is a suggestion of how many points of opposition some more common magical effects should cost. This suggestion has in mind a scenario where magic is rare but common enough to be encountered by general adventurers.

## MAGIC SIGNATURE

A spell is more than a bunch of parameters, a opposition value, and a dice roll. Each mage can, and should, describe their spells in a completely personalized way. For one mage, a ball of fire can come out blue, for another, they always turn into animals that have a white streak, for another, all their spells come out with orchestral chords. Exactly how a spell is manifested is left entirely up to the player, and this is called its spell "signature".

The spell signature is not a purely cosmetic effect. One mage might cast a physical attack spell as if it were a spear of ice, while another might cast the same spell as a ray of sunlight falling from above. In the first case, this effect can also be used to create a cold-related aspect on your targets, and in the second case, it can be determined that the sun's ray burns not only the target but any nearby vegetation and flammable objects.

Understand the spell signature as an integral part of magic and of the way it alters reality. Although it does not change its parameters, it can be decisive in determining the consequences of the spell.

## MAGIC VESSEL

As important as the effect of a spell is the means by which it manifests itself, its so-called "vessel". A spell's vessel is relevant because, like its effect, it cannot be repeated.

If a mage shoots lightning from his hands, his hands are the vessel. If he talks to the rock so that it breaks, his voice is the vessel. If he bangs his staff on the ground to make it rain, his staff is the vessel. Each time a mage casts a spell, he must use a different vessel.

A spell's vessel is tied to its effect, such that when a used spell effect is "cleasned" from the caster, so it can be used again, its magical vessel is cleared as well.

### EXAMPLES OF MAGIC VESSELS

During a conflict, Masters the mage casts a ball of fire from his hands. The vessel of this magic was his hands. Later in the same combat, he wants to attack an enemy with a lightning bolt. Since he has already used his hands, so he decides to speak a magic word that causes a bolt of lightning to fall on the enemy's head. At this point, he has already used his hands and his voice as vessels. Later, he wishes to heal a colleague's injuries. Since he cannot repeat any vessels, he decides to blow on his ally's wounds to heal them. Therefore, as long as he doesn't repeat any vessels, he can continue to cast spells unrestrictedly.

# DETERMINING WHEN A SPELL HAS ALREADY BEEN USED

A magic effect is a specific distribution of parameters plus a vehicle. If a mage chants a word that petrifies all targets in a zone for one scene (opposition 6) this is different from a spell that petrifies a single target for a month (which also has opposition 6) when the mage touches it. However, an attack spell that affects three different targets (opposition 3) is always the same, be it a shower of meteors that emanate from the mage or lightning arcs that dance between one target and another.

It is recommended that, as a player's character performs spells during the game, they write down which spells they have already used. During a game session or two, it may be possible to remember all the spells and vessels that were used. However, after five or six sessions, the list can get exceptionally long. Remember that at every **Major Milestone**, the spells and vessels already used by the character are all "cleansed".

When determining spells and vessels, these are counted separately. That is: a mage cannot use a magic effect twice regardless of the vessel used, nor can they use a magic vessel repeatedly regardless of the magic effect associated with it.

# ITEMS OF POWER

The ability to channel Power also gives mages the option of infusing objects with this Power in order to make them permanently magical, creating "objects of power", also called "enchanted items".

Creating an object of power is a task that requires time and sacrifice from the mage.

The time required to infuse Power into an object is the same time it would take the mage to create it with their own hands. If the mage is actually crafting the object they are going to infuse, they can use the time from the crafting process as the time needed to infuse power into the object.

The required sacrifice is a part of the mage's very nature. They must put something of themselves into the object, and the more they put, the greater the power of the created object. When creating an object of Power, the mage must permanently reduce one or more levels of their skills. For each skill level that is sacrificed, they gain +2 to the object's final power.

The magic power to be infused into the object must be created like a normal spell. However, there is no Channeling test required to infuse an object with Power. Instead, the player counts how much Power they chose to infuse into the object based on the sacrificed skill points, and this value serves as the final value of the Channeling test. You cannot infuse more power into an object than the character's Channeling +8.

## DURATION OF AN ENCHANTED EFFECT

If the magic that was infused into the object has a duration of one scene, the object's power can be activated for one scene per game session. The mage may put one more activation per game session at the cost of +1 to the enchanted effect's opposition. If the mage chooses to increase the object's opposition by +2, they can create an object whose effect is always active.

## USES OF INSTANT EFFECTS

When infusing an object with instantaneous magical effects, such as attack spells, these can be used 3 times per game session, plus 3 times for an increase of +1 opposition. If the mage increases the opposition by +2, they can create an object with unlimited uses of its effect.

## RESISTANCE TO ENCHANTED EFFECTS

If a magical effect enchanted on an object requires a target to make a resistance check, the test is made against Physique or Will, as usual. On a single success, the target resists the effect. However, the mage can increase the object's power arbitrarily, in order to give the item a greater chance of breaking through the targets' resistance.

## EXAMPLES OF ITEMS OF POWER

* ***The Flaming Sword:*** A sword that is coursed by flames whenever wielded. Enchanted effect: +1 damage, unlimited uses +2. Final opposition: 4. Creating this object of power requires sacrificing 2 skill points.

* ***The Spectacles of Subtle Truth:*** A pair of glasses that allow the wearer to visualize magical emanations. Enchanted Effect: Magic Perception +1, See Spells +1, lasts for the entire scene +1, unlimited uses +2. Final opposition: 5. Creating this object of power requires sacrificing 3 skill points.

* ***Ring of Invisibility:*** Whoever wears this ring becomes invisible. Enchanted effect: Invisibility (extreme effect) +4, unlimited uses +2. Final opposition: 6. Creating this object of power requires sacrificing 3 skill points.

* ***Conductor of Storms:*** A magic wand that allows you to control the weather as if it were an orchestra. Enchanted Effect: Weather Control (Exceptional) +5, 2 uses per session: +1. Final opposition: 6. Creating this object of power requires sacrificing 3 skill points.

* ***Medusa's Bow:*** A bow that petrifies for one scene anyone hit by its arrows. Enchanted Effect: Petrification +4, unlimited uses +2, resistance +2. Final opposition: 8. Creating this object of power requires sacrificing 4 skill points. Targets resist at -2 Stamina.

# NEW STUNTS

Here's a list of new stunts that may be available to mages using True Power:

* ***Artificer***: You specialize in creating magic items. Whenever you are enchanting an item, if you craftes the item with your own hands, you gain a free +2 to the object's power. You are still required to sacrifice at least 1 skill point whenever you create an item of power.

* ***Magical Harmony***: Magic flows freely through you, and you have an easier time shrugging off the consequences of using the Power. At every Major Milestone, you forget 5 spells already cast, instead of 3. This stunt can be chosen more than once. Each time, it grants 2 more "forgotten" spells.

* ***Magical Prodigy***: You learned magic for yourself, or perhaps you developed the Power after a traumatic event. You have 2 more "Power" points. This stunt can be chosen more than once. Each time, it confers 2 more Power points.

* ***Penetrating Magic***: You specialize in overcoming your targets' resistances. All of your resisted spells impose a -1 modifier to your targets' resistance rolls. This stunt can be chosen more than once. Each time, it increases the resistance penalty by 1 point.

* ***Spell Focus***: You have developed your magical skill through the constant use of some object: a staff, a wand, a spell book, etc... and now you need to handle this object whenever you cast your spells. This gives you a +1 bonus to all your Channeling tests, but in return, if you are separated from your spell focus, all your spell tests suffer a -2 penalty.

* There is a **portuguese version** of this document.