My take on fantasy D6

[Kytross]

Here's what I have for the Magic system so far. It's just an outline, and subject to change, but I'd love some feedback.

Unfortunately the formatting didn't carry over from my word processing program.

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Channelling
- Channelling supplies the magical power of a spell.
- Channelling is an attribute with no skills.
- In the same way the attribute Strength is used to determine melee damage, Channelling is used to determine the power of magic spells.
- By not allowing skills under this attribute, balance is maintained between melee and magic.

Casting
- Spells must all be cast in one round. Both the casting roll and the channelling roll must be completed in the same round. Multiple Action Penalties (MAPs) apply
- Most Spells and Channelling are cast at -1D because of MAPs.
- If one person is casting and someone else is channelling then each person is only doing one action, and there is no multiple actions to penalize.
- Multiple people can channel into a caster for more powerful spells.
- The wild die applies for each person’s individual roll.
- A character can cast and channel in a single round (with MAPs applying) and other people can channel into the caster to boost the magic power.
- An Imbued Gem can be used to power a spell.
- Using an Imbued Gem counts as an action
- The spell is cast at -1D, MAPs
- The amount of power the Imbued Gem supplies is not affected by MAPs, so no penalty applies to the Imbued Gem’s die roll.
- Casting a spell, channelling magic power for the spell, and using an Imbued Gem would be three actions.
- Casting would be at -2D
- Channelling would be at -2D
- The Imbued Gem would contribute all of its magical power without penalty.
- Do the math. If the Imbued Gem isn’t contributing more than 2D of magic power than it isn’t worth using it.

Spells are a mix between regular skills and advanced skills.
- At Character Creation when you learn a spell it is treated as a regular skill.
- Casting is 3D, you learn Fireball, Fireball starts at 4D
- Like advanced skills, Spells cost twice as much to advance as regular skills do.
- You can advance an entire family of spells by +1 if you pay twice the cost of the highest spell in that family.
- That’s x4 the die code of your highest spell in that family.
- Each spell is it’s own skill under Casting.
- Fireball is a separate skill than Lightning Bolt or Levitate
- Enchant: Metal is a separate spell from Enchant: Animal, or Enchant: Wood, etc
- Spells can have specializations
- A specialization for Enchant: Wood could be Enchant: Wand
- A specialization for Levitate could be telekinetic push
- A specialization for the Boost spells would be a specific skill.
- When you learn a new spell you learn it at your Casting attribute +1, just like any other skill.
- Spells must be learned through study and practice, they can’t be ‘discovered’ in the middle of combat.
- You can learn from a teacher.
- You can learn from a scroll/book
- You can do research and create your own spells.
- This is done with the Research skill (Knowledge)
- This takes time and generally research at a library or a similar repository for knowledge of magic.
- The GM decides how long you have to research and then has you roll your Research skill (Knowledge) to determine if you’ve successfully created a spell.
- Spells in the same family are easier to research. If you already know Boost Strength and you want to research Boost Dexterity, it would be easier than teaching yourself Fireball.
- There is definitely a time component to learning a new spell, but I haven’t decided what it is.

Spell Concepts

Damage
- Direct Damage is fairly simple.
- The spell’s accuracy is based on the spell’s die code, the damage is based on the channelling roll.
- The resist type needs to be decided when you learn the spell.
- Fire, frost, lightning, poison, etc

There is room for different spell effects.
- Area of Effect would do damage to everything in the area, but at a negative modifier to the damage roll. Maybe -1D. So you'd roll your channelling at -1D to decide damage.
- Direct damage that does a secondary effect would also be rolled at -1D.
- So if you want a frost spell that reduces movement, or a lightning spell that ignores armor, damage would be channelling -1D.
- A spell that is AoE and has a secondary effect would be rolled at Channelling -2D.
- Each additional effect would reduce damage by an addition -1D. A spell with 3 effects would roll at -3D damage. A spell with 4 effects would roll at -4D damage, and so on.
- If you have a group channelling for the magic power of a spell with multiple effects, the GM rolls the dice for the effects and it is subtracted from the group’s total.
- The wild die does not apply to the GM’s effect roll, but it does apply to each person’s channelling roll.

A direct Damage Stun spell should be added to the list, using standard stun rules.

Illusion
- The spell roll is rolled against the target’s perception
- The more complicated the illusion, the more difficult the roll. Or in other words, the more complicated the spell the bigger the modifier the target gets for their roll to see through the illusion
- The channelling roll determines how many rounds the spell lasts, like a static buff.
- This is making a hologram, or creating a sound effect or a particular smell. This is not mental magic
- Illusion, Blind/Deafen/Flashbang, and Glow are all in the same spell family.

Blind/Deafen/Flashbang
- The spell roll would not only be a to-hit, but also a roll to see if you don’t affect yourself and your party.
- Very Easy to hit one target
- Easy to hit multiple targets
- Moderate to hit multiple targets and not hit yourself
- Difficult to hit your targets and not hit your party
- Roll your channelling against their perception for ‘damage’
- Whatever you beat their perception by is how many rounds they are blinded/deafened
- Example: You roll 3D and get a 15, they roll 2D and get an 8. They are blind/deaf for (15 - 8 = 7) seven additional rounds
- If the spell lands you always hit for at least the round the spell was cast in. If the spell lands, the target is always blinded/deafened for at least one round, even if you don’t beat their perception with your channelling roll.
- For Flashbang, which is both Blind and Deafen in one spell, so increase the to hit difficulty by one level.

Flight and Levitate/Telekinesis
- These are in the same family of spells, along with Walk on Air/Float and Walk on Water. All of them are about defying Gravity
- Flight allows you and your party to fly
- Levitate/Telekineses allows you to move objects with your magic.

Flight is moving yourself, and others, through the air.
- Your spell roll determines if you go where you want to go, your channelling determines your speed.
- Each person involved increases the difficulty of both the spell roll and the channelling roll by one difficulty level.

- Telekinesis/Levitate is moving an object. Your spell roll determines accuracy, your channelling determines whether or not you can move it.
- Example: You try and lift a house and throw it. You roll a 12 for accuracy, the house will go in the general direction you want it to go. You roll a 5 for channelling, you’re not even lifting the house off the ground.
- Those same rolls for a baseball would have much better results.
- You can specialize in pushing with telekinesis, like a direct damage attack.
- A telekinetic push would not do damage, but would be able to knock someone back or down.
- Effectively, this is like hitting someone with a directed gush of wind
They would roll dexterity to resist
- To do direct damage with Telekinesis/Levitate, throw something at the target. Like a rock or a knife.

- Telekinesis can be used to manipulate objects at a distance, like using keys to open a door.
- Your spell roll for doing a skill with telekinesis is ½ your skill die code, rounded down, plus your telekinesis roll.
- Example: Your character wants to pick a lock. Your security is 5D, your Telekinesis is 2D. ½ of 5D, rounded down, is 2D+1. So you roll 2D+1 Security plus 2D of Telekinesis for a total of 4D+1.
- Telekinesis could make you better at a skill than doing it normally. If your Security was 2D, then you would roll 1D of security plus 2D of Telekinesis for a total of 3D.
- Channelling determines if you can lift the object you’re manipulating, like normal.

Buffs
- A buff (or debuff) is a spell that temporarily changes the target.
- There are 2 types of buffs: Dynamic Buffs and Static Buffs.
- The effect of a dynamic buff changes based on how well the character rolls. Example: Boost Strength
- The effect of a Static Buff stays the same regardless of how you roll.
Example: Breathe Water

- The power of a dynamic buff spell is based on your channelling die roll.
- So something like Boost Strength increases the target’s strength based on the channelling roll.
- If you roll 4D and only get a 5, 1-5 is a very easy roll, so the target gets +1D to strength
- If you roll 4D and get a 22, 21-25 is a very difficult roll, so the target gets a +5D to strength
- For Boost Move, Very Easy increases the target’s Move by ¼, Easy by ½, Moderate x2, Difficult x3, Very Difficult x4, Heroic x5
- Try not to think about what this would do for a Centaur.
- Specializations for Boosts are the individual skills under the corresponding attribute.
- Boost Sneak would be a specialization under Boost Perception
- Under Boost Strength you can specialize in Boost Damage, or Boost Resist Damage.
- Duration for dynamic buff spells should be set, something like five or ten rounds of combat. I’m leaning toward five.

- Like all skill checks, Static Buffs have a difficulty rating you have to beat to cast.
- The Duration of a Static Buff spell is based on your roll. The higher the roll the longer the buff lasts.
- I’m thinking it should last as many minutes as the result of the channelling roll.
- If you want to cast Breathe Water, make your skill check and roll 2D Channelling and get a 10, then the target can breathe water for 10 minutes.

Enchants
- Enchants are spells that make permanent changes to something.
- Enchants take time to cast and cannot be cast in combat.
- Enchanting can be used to create charms, wands, and staves to do magic without spellcasting.
- Enchants can be used increase the stats of an object or being. Or decrease them.
- Enchants can be used to transform something into something else.
- This is how people are turned into frogs and apples and such.
- All the races were enchanted from their original human form into their current form.
- Creating hybrid creatures like Manticores and Sphinxes would be an enchantment.
- You could grant a creature permanent ability, like Breathe Water.
- Adding to a creature beyond their normal capacity leads to banes.
- Enchanting a person to 4D strength would not lead to a Bane, as 4D is maximum human strength.
- Enchanting a person to 6D strength would lead to a bane, 6D is beyond maximum human strength.
- To avoid banes, skilled mages balance out their enchantments.
- Dwarves have a maximum of 6D strength and no banes. But they pay for that immense strength with much lower stats in Perception, Knowledge, and a reduced move rate

Gems can be imbued with magical power as a sort of battery.
- Gems can be added to a charm or wand to power the spell, for a one-use charm.
- Gems can be used by a mage to power a spell they are casting, or add to the magic power of a spell they are casting.
- Recharging a Gem (Imbue Gem) is a very easy spell, but it takes time and cannot be cast during combat.

Healing
- Your spell roll determines whether or not you cast the spell properly.
- Channelling determines how effective the healing.
- Healing can be used to remove diseases and poisons.
- Healing yourself is one difficulty level higher than healing someone else, so an Easy roll.
- You must be in polearm range to heal someone. (Moderate)
- Being in melee range reduces difficulty by one level. (Easy)
- Being in physical contact reduces difficulty by another level. (Very Easy)
- Channelling determines how effective the healing is.
- An Easy roll can remove stuns and wake the incapacitated, but does not improve a status level.
- A moderate roll increases your damage status by one level.
- A difficult roll increases your damage status by 2 levels.
- A very difficult roll increases your damage status by 3 levels.
- A heroic roll increases your damage status by 4 levels.
- Any roll over 40 heals the target completely.
- A Healing roll of 50 or more will restore your body to its peak of vitality (Roughly 25 years old for a human).
- This is not common knowledge, it would require someone to make a heroic Arcane Lore roll to know this
- Healing is generally done by casters working in concert.
- One healer casting the spell and the others channelling to increase the power of the spell.
- Healing Spells instantly undo Necromancy Spells.
- Healing is the one bane all Undead share.
- A roll of 1 on a healing spell will end any Undead creature.
- If a place has had Healing spells cast there repeatedly over the years it sanctifies the place and makes it Holy Ground without needing to cast Consecration.
- Undead spells come apart on Holy Ground

Remove Hinderance
- Negative Dynamic Buffs are called Hinders (the opposite of Boosts)
- They are temporary, probably 5 rounds of combat or so.
- They can be removed by casting the opposite Boost or with Remove Hinderance.
- Your to-hit is your spell roll against the die code of the most powerful hinder
- You have a Remove Hinder of 3D and the target has a -2D to Strength as their highest Hinder. You roll 3D against the Hinder’s 2D to hit.
- Your channelling roll determines how many Hinders are removed at once.
- Very Easy removes one Hinder
- Easy removes 2 Hinders, etc
- This spell can be cast in combat.

Restore/Remove Negative Enchant
- Enchants can be negative. This spell removes all your enchants and restores you to the baseline of your race.
- This spell cannot be used to revert someone from an Ogre to a Human, or a Dwarf to a Human, etc
- This spell can be used to return someone who has been turned into a frog, or something similar.
- This is an out of combat spell that takes time to cast

Consecration is a spell that makes the area around the caster Holy Ground.
- Consecration is a rare spell that most Casters have never heard of.
- It takes a Difficult Arcane Lore Roll to have heard of it
- This is modified by backstory. A character that served as an Elven Hospitaler is most likely to actually know the spell at character creation.
- A character must have Healing of at least 5D before they can learn Consecration.
- On Holy Ground all Healing Spells get +1D to both casting and channelling.
- This spell can be cast in combat, though it rarely is.
- Consecration is a Very Easy spell. Anything higher than a 1 is a success.
- Channelling determines how large of an area is consecrated.
- Very Easy will Consecrate everything within Brawling range
- Easy will Consecrate everything within Melee range
- Moderate will Consecrate everything within Polearm range
- Difficult will Consecrate everything within 100 feet
- Very difficult will Consecrate everything within 1000 feet
- For every additional ten you roll over the max very difficult roll, the range is increased by a factor of ten.
- 31 = 10,000 feet
- 41 = 100,000 feet
- 51 = 1,000,000 feet
- Clearly, having multiple casters channelling for this spell can have a huge impact.


Note: Healing Spells and Necromancy Spells are mutually exclusive.
- A character can’t cast both Healing and Necromancy spells, they have to choose one or the other.
- It would take a worldview change, a decision to change their entire life, and prove their devotion to this new worldview.
- A caster cannot cast from one school until at least one year from the last time they cast from the other school. A GM can make it longer, but not shorter.
- If you cast a healing spell and decide to become a necromancer you must wait at least a year from the last time you cast a healing spell to start casting necromancy spells.
- There are likely some amazing redemption and corruption storylines that will come out of this. Happy Gaming!



Necromancy

Talk to the Dead is a spell that allows you to converse with the dead.
- It is a prerequisite for Command the Dead
- The dead do not need a jaw to converse with you.
- The dead do not need to be raised to converse with them.
- The difficulty is determined by a number of factors
- If you are within Polearm range of the corpse, it is a Very Easy roll
- This includes the risen dead
- If you have a personal item of theirs within polearm range, it is an Easy roll.
- It gets more difficult the farther you are from the corpse, though there are tales of Necromancers who can talk to the dead buried across the world.
- Since the entire corpse is not needed to raise the dead, it is a common trick among necromancers to keep a lock of hair, or a bone chip from the corpse, so the necromancer can stay in constant communication with their servants.
- Channelling determines how long the dead can talk, like a static buff.

Restore Undead is a spell used to Heal Undead.
- It’s similar to the spell Healing, but for Undead.
- Restore Undead is a prerequisite for Raise the Dead

Command Undead allows the caster to command the Undead
- Talk to the Dead is a prerequisite for Command the Dead
- Command Undead is rolled against the target’s Willpower.
- If the caster beats the Willpower roll, the Undead must obey.
- The Undead will carry out the command to the best of their ability
- A smarter Undead will do a better job of carrying out the necromancer’s command, but are harder to command.
- A smart Undead will follow the letter of the command, but not necessarily the spirit of the command.
- Zombies have zero Willpower and will always obey a Necromancer. They also have no Knowledge and can only succeed in simple tasks.
- Command Undead is modified by distance.
- The ‘lock of hair’ trick used for Talk to the Dead can be used for Command the Dead as well.
- Channelling determines how long the Undead will obey your command.

Raise Undead is the spell that allows you to animate the Undead.
- Restore Undead is a prerequisite to Raise Undead
- You need at least 20% of a body to Raise Undead
- A list of the Casting and Channelling requirements for raising the dead by type
- Zombies: Casting - 11, Channelling - 21
- Skeletons: Casting - 16, Channelling - 21
- Revenants: Casting - 21, Channelling - 26
- Trolls: Casting - 21, Channelling - 21
- Vampires: Casting - 26, Channelling - 31
- Mummies: Casting - 31, Channelling - 41
- Liches: Casting - 41, Channelling - 51

Steal Heath allows a Necromancer to take someone else’s health to improve their own.
- Cast Steal Health to hit, like other direct damages.
- Think of it like firing a fire bolt, or lightning bolt.
- Roll Channelling against the target’s Strength and armor.
- If the Necromancer does enough damage to wound the target, the target is wounded and the Necromancer goes up one damage level
- If the Necromancer does enough damage to incapacitate, the target is incapacitated and the Necromancer goes up two damage levels.
- If the Necromancer kills the target, the target dies and the Necromancer goes up three damage levels.
- The target may decide not to resist Steal Health
- This could be one of the Necromancer’s devoted fanatical followers.
- Command Undead can be used to force and Undead minion to not resist.
Zombies are particularly useful for this.