Medieval Magic

This is a magic system for Fate Core that intends to introduce a style of magic that is similar to what was believed about magic during the European Middle Ages, particularly the Late Middle Ages, when grimoires began to be widely distributed.

The system here described introduces supernatural interaction options that are fundamentally different from what is found in most roleplaying games. These spells are time consuming and limited, and suited to a setting where "magic", so to speak, is extremely contained. This could be considered an "extreme" low magic system.

# OCCULTISM

All spells presented here depend on a new skill, called "Occultism". This is the study of the hidden forces in the world and how they interact with everyday life. Occultism can be considered a specialization of "Lore", and although characters with "Lore" might know about occult theory, the crafting of spells, amulets, and proper conjurations needs the more in-depth study that goes into this skill.

Each level a character has in "Occultism" allows the selection of one magical "tradition". There are 13 magical traditions and each one relate to a different way of invoking and commanding the occult forces. Upon selecting a magical tradition, all of the options listed in their descriptions are open to the character.

## MAGICAL ASPECTS

Some magical traditions act by creating new aspects in people, objects or places. These are called "magical aspects" and must be noted with an associated number, called the spell's "strength". For example: "Enchanted to fall in love with So-and-so (3)". This number represents the success shifts from the occultism check that created the aspect, and is important in determining the opposition it offers to other magical influences. A magical aspect can be compelled or invoked like any other. However, both the occultist who created the spell and the person who asked for it can compel that aspect without spending their fate points, instead lowering the magical aspect's strength by 1 point with each compulsion.

A target can only be under the influence of one magical aspect at a time. If a character wishes to create a magical aspect on a target that is already under the influence of another magical aspect, the success shifts for creating the new aspect must exceed the old one's spell strength.

## RITUALS AND ASSISTANTS

Many of the spells that can be performed rely on complex and time-consuming rituals. In these cases, the occultist is, evidently, the one who coordinates the ritual and who can manipulate its outcome. However, many times the occultist is not performing a ritual for themselves, but at someone else's request. In these cases, the rituals may be performed by the occultist and one other assistant, and both may interact with the ritual's outcome. This is especially true in conjuring rituals. Typically, the rite's assistant is the person who asked for it to be performed.

To be considered an assistant in a magical ritual, one must participate in its entire preparation process. The assistant doesn't need to have any level in occultism.

## MAGICAL TRADITIONS

The following are the magical traditions and their mechanics:

### EXORCISM

The most common and well-accepted use of the occult ability is to banish and expel evil spirits (which some people call demons) from other people or places. An exorcist knows not only how to banish such spirits, but also diagnose, case by case, the presence of an evil spirit. Often, what appears to be a serious illness, or a mental problem, or a streak of bad luck, is actually the effect of the presence of an evil spirit acting on the target.
A typical exorcism takes a few hours and must be performed in the presence of the target believed to be possessed. The exorcist must construct a customized exorcism ritual for each situation, so that no two exorcisms are ever the same. The exorcist makes an "occultism" roll against an opposition equal to the "Will" of the spirit being banished. Only one test is allowed. If the exorcist fails, they are simply not able to banish this spirit. If they succeed, that spirit can never possess that target again. The player can spend fate points to improve this test. Typically, an exorcism never has an opposition lower than 2, and rarely has an opposition greater than 5.
An exorcism can also be performed to banish magical emanations, and thus undo other spell effects. In these cases, the roll's opposition equals the number of success shifts of the original spell. Exorcists also learn to diagnose the presence of other spells in people, objects or places.
Some exorcisms, especially those performed against very strong opposition, can take much longer than two hours, up to several days.
### ENCHANTMENTS AND BINDINGS

One of the most popular uses of magic is the so-called "enchantments", also known today as "bindings". These are supernatural effects that alter the way a person thinks, in order to make them lean towards a certain type of attitude. This attitude can be the most varied: marrying someone, accepting a business proposal, leaving a city, fighting for an ideal, etc. The target of an enchantment is usually unaware of what is happening, and believes that those actions are rightfully theirs.
To perform an enchantment, the occultist needs an intimate object that belongs to the target. This could be a piece of underwear (which they wear often), a lock of hair, a piece of the fingernail, or even blood. The enchantment must be performed in the vicinity of the person that is to be influenced, or in the vicinity of their residence, and usually takes a whole night to perform. The opposition is equal to the target's "Will".
The result of an enchantment is to create a magical aspect on the target. This aspect can be undone by an exorcism or prevented by a protective amulet.
During the enchantment ritual, a physical object is used to represent the spell. Example: a ring made of branches tied on the finger of the person who asked for the enchantment, or: a wax doll representing the target of the enchantment. This object must be made of perishable and malleable material, such as: branches, wax, leaves, clay, paper, straw, etc. If this object is destroyed, the enchantment is lifted.
It is possible to perform enchantments using perennial objects such as metal plates or stone, but this requires that both the character casting the spell and the person that asked for the spell spend a fate point. If the occultist is casting a spell for themselves, they must spend two fate points.
### CURSES

These are the infamous spells created with the express intention of harming someone else, or a group of people. Curses are functionally identical to enchantments, but instead of creating magical aspects that change how the target behaves, they create aspects that interfere with things that happen to the target. Typical curses are: "Will never have children", "Will not find love in any woman's arms", or the widely known: "Your cows will not yield milk anymore".
All enchantment requirements and limitations apply equally to curses.
### GLAMOR

This is the tradition that alters people's perception of a target. A glamor is a spell that can disguise or hide a person or location. Glamor acts on perceptions, and has no real physical effect. The person or place being disguised doesn't "really" change, only what others perceive about it.
An occultist performs a glamor ritual in a few minutes, and its effect lasts for one scene. This ritual resembles a series of passes and verses spoken by the occultist. Every glamor requires 1 fate point to create, plus 1 point for each additional scene it is in action. If the occultism check fails, the fate point is not spent.
The occultist must perform the ritual in front of the target being disguised. The opposition of the test is related to how specific the disguise has to be:

 Target looks like some unspecified person
 The target looks like a specific person, similar to them
 The target looks like a specific person, quite different from them
 Anyone who sees the target will ignore them

Any character whose perceptions are affected by the glamor can make a "Notice" check to perceive the target for what they are. The opposition of this roll is equal to the spell's success shifts. However, if the disguised individual aids the spell with an actual disguise or acting skills, they can add the spell's success shifts to their "Deceive" checks. If an individual manages to penetrate the glamor once, that glamor no longer affects them.
In the case of a glamour that affects a location, 1 fate point is needed to disguise a house, 2 points disguise a mansion, 3 points disguise a castle, and 4 points disguise an entire city.
A character can create a permanent glamour on a person or location. To do so, in addition to spending 1 (or more) fate points, they must also reduce their "Recharge" value by the same amount. If they wish to cancel the glamour (or if it is undone by an exorcism), the spent "Recharge" value is regained at the start of the next game session.
### HEALING RITUALS

Occultists who know healing rituals are able to treat a variety of physical ailments, from common colds to birth defects, mend wounds, prevent infections, and aid the body's normal healing process. If this all sounds too much like "medicine", consider that "germs" can also be an occult force of nature.
Healing rituals can be used as a treatment to justify recovery from physical or mental consequences. The opposition to the roll is equal to the consequence value: 2 for mild consequences, 4 for moderate, and 6 for severe.
These rituals can also be used to treat, cure, or at least mitigate the effects of virtually any adverse physiological condition, be it an illness or poison. The opposition to the test depends on the type and progress of the illness:

 Diphtheria, Typhoid
 Cholera, Smallpox
 Syphilis, Meningitis
 Leprosy, Bubonic Plague
 Cancer, Birth defects

If the disease is in an advanced stage, increase opposition by 1 point. If in a terminal stage, increase by 2.
The entire use of a healing ritual depends on the expenditure of resources in the form of medicines and treatments. The time required for healing to take place depends on the type of ailment being cured, its severity, and the target's "Physique". It is possible to perform a ritual that immediately cures the target of a certain illness, but this requires a success shift of 3 or more (i.e.: a success with style). Even so, it is not possible to immediately heal a consequence, even on a success with style.
### AUGURIES

This is the ability to read the subtle signs of nature, and in doing so predict the future. Auguries can take many forms: reading animal entrails, analyzing tea leaves, staring into a crystal ball, interpreting dreams, etc. Often, the occultist is only able to interpret these signs, and doesn't have the option of choosing which element of the future to predict. However, very, very good occultists may be able to predict the future of certain specific situations.
This tradition can be used in-game to have the Storyteller deliver cryptic and obscure clues to the players, which are generally useless until they come to fruition. Occultists with this ability can also, once per game session, attempt to predict an event from an upcoming scene. The player must clearly establish what they are trying to predict, for example: "will our conversation with the mercenary leader result in a confrontation?", "will the prince believe that we are innocent of the murder of his bride?", etc. They make their occultism roll against an opposition of 4. The player must themselves say what was the result of their prediction. On a success, the character gains the option of, in the next scene, determining the result of a single dice roll, as long as that result moves the scene in the direction they predicted.
### ELEMENTAL CONJURATION

Also called "elementalism", this tradition allows its practitioners to control the elements, in limited ways. Elementalists cannot create any effects that go against the known laws of nature, but they can cause some natural phenomena to occur, even if these are unlikely. Typically, this manifests as the ability to control the weather.
An elemental ritual is time-consuming and complex, usually involving several ingredients that are consumed in performing the ritual. Consider the table below as a guide to possible effects, and their oppositions.

 Heavy rain, snow
 Summer storm, strong wind
 Thunderstorm, wind gale
 Lightning strikes at a specific location

The listed difficulty can be used for either casting or dispelling the appropriate effect. If the effect is being created in an extremely unlikely environment, such as "rain in the desert", or "snow during tropical summer", increase the opposition by 2.
When performing an elemental conjuration, the desired effect does not happen instantly, but takes a plausible minimum amount of time to start occurring. This is often just a few minutes, but if the character makes it snow in the desert, it can take up to a day for conditions to become favorable.
### MAGICAL PROTECTIONS, ABJURATIONS

Characters who know the tradition of abjurations can craft amulets that protect people or places from both supernatural influences and undesirable events. Crafting an amulet of protection requires resources, time, the presence of the person or place to be protected, and the expenditure of 1 fate point.
Each amulet of protection protects its target from any harmful magic (be it an enchantment, glamour, or curse). Additionally, it protects its target from a specific undesirable condition by creating a magical aspect on the target that represents the protected condition. Examples are: "protected against disease", "protected against accidents", "protected against defeat in battle", etc.
While the target is under the influence of a protective amulet, no harmful spells can affect it, regardless of their success shifts. However, if the harmful spell's success shifts exceed the amulet's strength, they wear away its magical protection, causing its magical strength to drop by 1 point. To be effective, an amulet must be in direct contact with the target. If it is removed, the target is no longer protected until they touch it again.
Each magic amulet is a custom effect created for a specific target. If a person obtains an amulet created for someone else, it will not provide them with any benefit.
### SPIRITUAL SUMMONING, NECROMANCY

Since people have been born and die, there have been those who try to overcome this last frontier and establish communication with the ones who have gone. In a way, Necromancy, the conjuring of the dead, is one of the oldest forms of magic.
Conjuring the spirit of the deceased is a complex and strenuous process, with the ritual itself taking a full day of preparation. The necromancer requires an intimate object that belonged to the person being conjured, must know their name, and the ritual must be performed in the place where they died, or in their residence, or in the place where they were born.
Only two people can "see" the conjured spirit, the necromancer and their assistant. The spirit appears very vaguely, more like a shape, and could be considered a collective hallucination, since the descriptions given by the people who participated in the ritual are not always identical.
Once cast, the spirit the dead person can answer questions about what they knew in life, but cannot answer anything about what happens after death. Spirits have a very difficult time transmitting names or numbers, so their answers tend to be descriptive rather than exact. Only the necromancer and their assistant can "hear" the spirit, and not with their physical ears, but as if the spirit talked directly into their minds.
A spiritual summonning can last up to an entire scene.
### DEMONIC SUMMONING, GOETIA

In the world of spirits, all kinds of beings can be found, from the most beneficial to the most evil. The latter receive, from religiously oriented people, the label of "demons", and the art of conjuring them is called "Goetia".
A demonic summoning is considerably easier than a normal spiritual summoning, and takes place over the course of an hour, or an entire scene of preparation. The occultist requires a private place and adequate equipment, but the rituals that conjure up all kinds of demons are well cataloged and formulated.
Despite the intrinsically malevolent nature of demonic beings, it is notorious that when they are conjured within a well-crafted ritual, their responses are remarkably truthful. The exception is questions about the future, which are always answered allegorically and cryptically.
When performing a demonic conjuration, the character makes an "occultism" check. They can "trade" their success shifts for questions or services provided by the demon. This ritual allows the presence of an assistant.

 1
 2
 2
 2
 3
 3
 4
 4

When answering questions, the character can only ask a question once. If they don't like the answer, or doesn't understand it, repeating the question will always yield the same answer, even if they talk to different demons.
Any demonic summoning requires a sacrifice. This may be paid for in blood, through the acquisition of a moderate physical consequence, or it may be paid for by the deterioration of the occultist's sanity, through the acquisition of a moderate mental consequence. This price may be paid by the occultist performing the ritual, or by the assistant.
### ANGELIC SUMMONING, THEURGY

The most difficult and complex of magical summonings is the summoning of beneficial spiritual beings, also called "angels". These spirits exist and act exclusively in the service of some superior being, and their interactions with the material world are always done in order to promote their particular missions. Despite being beneficial and kind, angels can be relentless in carrying out their orders. The most commonly conjured angelic spirit is called a person's "guardian angel", since they are always willing to help those they protect.
An angelic summoning takes no less than a week of intense preparation on the part of the occultist and the assistant.
Before performing the summoning, the occultist must determine beforehand what benefit is intended from the angel. This will determine the occult test's opposition. Every angelic summoning requires the expenditure of 1 fate point by the person who will benefit from it.

 Vital Rush: The target gains the option to restore all of someone's stress points, physical or mental, once.
 Divine Inspiration. The target gains the option to, once, grant anyone else the chance to use any existing stunt, determined at the time of its use. This lasts for one scene.
 Protective Blessing: Any harmful spell cast on the target takes a -2 penalty.
 The occultist or the assistant commune with a divine mind, experiencing an indescribable sense of pleasure that alters their own character and destiny. The affected person can change one of their aspects that is of a psychological or physical nature. This effect is instantaneous.
 A dead person comes back to life. They must not have died more than a month before the start of the ritual. The preparation of this ritual preserves her body. A target can only be resurrected once in their existence.

Many of these effects grant a target a chance to confer benefits on others, or gain permanent benefits. A target can only have one theurgic effect acting on them at a time.
The occultist who performs a theurgic effect makes their occultism check at the beginning of the process. On a success with style, the ritual takes 2 days instead of 1 week.
### FAMILIAR SPIRITS

Often, occultists wish to establish a relationship with a spirit that is more lasting than a simple conjuring ritual. When the spirit in question also shares the same desire, so-called "familiar spirits" can be created. Familiars are spirits that possess the bodies of domesticated animals, and whose presence can aid the occultist in their practices. By selecting this tradition, the occultist gains a familiar spirit with which they have made such a pact.
Familiar spirits always manifest by possessing the bodies of domesticated animals. Should the animal in question perish, the spirit will move on to possess another animal which will then seek out the occultist. The same spirit always has the same type of animal.
An occultist and their familiar always have an instinctive sense of where the other is, and each also knows whether the other is in danger or not. It is believed that occultists can talk to their familiar spirits, but this communication does not occur in words, but instead as a kind of innate understanding of what the other feels and needs. Therefore, an occultist need not verbalize their commands to the familiar.
Whenever an occultist is in direct contact with their familiar, they gain +1 on all occult checks to perform magical effects.
In addition, the occultist has the option of spending 1 fate point and reading their familiar's recent memory, thus "remembering" the past events they experienced as if they themselves were present.
### ASTROLOGY

Many occultists are competent astrologers, and manage to establish start charts that reveal much about the nature of people, places, and events. Occultists who have mastered the astrological tradition manage to do more than impress laypeople with vague details about their personalities. By calculating complex star charts and their transits, they can establish the best times or places for various types of activities.
In game terms, astrologers can spend a few minutes and calculate a star chart for whatever situation they know is about to happen. With this chart in hand, they create a generic "aspect" at the associated location or event, called a "Favourable Astral Chart". During such an event, they can invoke this aspect to grant +2 to any action that suits them.
For example: just before facing a group of bandits, Orlando the Occultist raises the astral map of this confrontation. Later, during the conflict, Orlando may, at any time, invoke this chart's aspect to grant +2 to his allies, or -2 to his opponents, on any roll. Each such invocation always requires the expenditure of 1 fate point. Star charts do not gain free invocations.
To draw an astral chart, the occultist needs two of the following three pieces of information:
1. Location of the event being charted.
2. Date and time the event will happen.
3. Full names of more than half of the event's participants.

## NEW OCCULTISM STUNTS

Below is a list of new stunts for the occultism skill:

* ***Adept Elementalist***: The spirits of nature recognize you as their master, and you have greater ease of enacting you will upon them. The opposition of elementalism checks are 1 point smaller for you.
* ***Artistic Glamourist***: You've taken the tradition of glamour to the state of true art. Glamour check oppositions are 1 point smaller for you.
* ***Demonic Negotiator***: You are an adept negotiator when it comes to dealing with demonic forces. When you perform a demonic summoning, you gain 1 more success shift to use as a bargaining chip with demonic beings.
* ***Divine Apotheosis***: You have received so many divine communions that the feeling of peace and serenity that they confer accompanies you almost permanently. You are able to sustain two theurgic effects simultaneously.
* ***Expert Necromancer***: You've conjured so many spirits of the dead that you've specialized in the summoning ritual. You are able to conjure the spirits of the dead with rituals that take just an hour instead of an entire day.
* ***Familiar Possession***: You and your familiar are so integrated that you are able, for the cost of 1 fate point, to possess the body of your animal familiar and control it remotely for a scene. For the duration of this effect, you have access to all of the animal's senses and can control its body normally, but your own body is rendered unconscious during the process.
* ***Holistic Astrologer***: Your astrological ability allows you to create astral charts that can serve as mystical correspondences between you and a target. Once per game session, you can cast one of the following spells on a target at a distance, using a target's astral chart. If the spell requires possession of an intimate object, you can rescind the need for that element as well: Enchantments, Curses, Healing, Glamour, Exorcisms.
* ***Improvised Bindings***: You are able to quickly improvise a binding, without having to perform the full ritual. This allows you to create bindings that only last for one scene, but it can be done in one turn of concentration. Improvised bindings must be made in the presence of the target being bound.
* ***Independent Curses***: Through sheer force of will, you are able to curse your targets without creating an object that represents your curse, just by speaking the curse aloud. These independent curses only last for one scene, and the cursed target must be able to hear them.
* ***Master Exorcist***: You specialize in the technique of banishing spirits and magical emanations. You gain a +2 to all your exorcism checks.
* ***Meticulous Augurist***: When performing a premonition, you can extract surprising details from it. Whenever you cast an augury, you have the option of using a fate point and thereby gaining one more use of your ability to determine the outcome of a dice roll during the scene that was the target of your augury.
* ***Occult Doctor***: Your occult skill is notorious. You may choose one more magical tradition than your levels in the "occult" skill allow.
* ***Versatile Abjurations***: You specialize in the creation of protective amulets, and are able to impart two aspects to your amulets, being able to protect your beneficiaries from two undesirable conditions at the same time.

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