Hacking SIFRP: Arcane and Divine Magic, Part 3 3


I’ve posted several times in the past about a nebulous homebrewed setting and my ongoing work hacking the SIFRP rules to include PC spellcasting of some kind. The current working title of the setting is Aurikesh, and during a recent business trip I found some time to scribble out maps and brainstorm names. I’ll post more about the setting once I’ve gotten the map into a more complete form. I’ve also created a thus-far-small spell list, as I think there’s a reasonable chance I’ll get to run this as my traditional Christmas one-shot game. Creating even this short list has led me to create a few additional keywords, which I’ll also explain. Once again I want to mention the many indispensable contributions of Wombat Warlord that made this possible; the Spell Types in particular are his sole creation, though I’m using the types he identified more as categories than as spell seeds.

These spells are more samples of things I could do with the magic system, rather than any kind of comprehensive list of what’s available. Damage values on spells are multiplied with extra Wizardry successes just like weapon damage. Any casting time that is not one Lesser Action will be noted in the spell’s Effect.

Arcane Spells


Mystic Dawn

Type: Thorn

Difficulty: 4

Range: Self (portable) or Close (fixed)

Cost: 2 Composure

Effect: Provides light equal to a torch; under most circumstances this will not blind enemies, but may dazzle them (-1 to opponent’s next test) at the GM’s discretion. The light lasts for a number of minutes equal to the caster’s Cunning.

Forgeheart’s Armor

Type: Boon

Difficulty: 9

Range: Self

Cost: 4 Composure

Effect: The caster gains an armor value up to his Cunning score. As long as this effect is active, the caster takes a penalty to Intrigue Defense equal to the chosen armor value minus 2. If the caster sets the armor value to 1, he instead gains 1 point of Intrigue Defense; likewise, setting the armor value to 0 grants 2 points of Intrigue Defense. This armor stacks with existing armor.

Piercing Glare of the Silver Eye

Type: Wrack

Difficulty: Target’s Combat Defense

Range: Close

Cost: 4 Composure

Effect: The target takes damage equal to the caster’s Cunning -1. This effect has the Piercing 1 quality (ignoring one point of armor value).
Fulmination of the Purifier
Type: Wrack
Difficulty: Target’s Combat Defense
Range: Close
Cost: 4 Composure
Effect: The target takes damage equal to the caster’s Cunning -2. This effect has the Explosive quality. (A spell with this quality spreads its effect over a larger area, including all targets that are adjacent (within five yards) to the primary one as designated during the casting of the spell. The test result made to cast the spell is applied to all targets within the area of effect to determine degrees of success.)

Arcane Tempering
Type: Boon
Difficulty: 9
Range: Touch
Cost: 1 Strain
Effect: The caster touches one weapon to cast this spell. That weapon gains the Magical property (allowing it to injure certain magical creatures, and possibly other things I haven’t designed yet).
The Wayfarer’s Treacherous Touch
Type: Bane
Difficulty: Target’s Intrigue Defense
Range: Close
Cost: 6 Composure
Effect: The target takes Composure damage equal to the caster’s Cunning.
The Malice of Sechir
Type: Bane
Difficulty: Target’s Intrigue Defense
Range: Close
Cost: 8 Composure
Effect: The target takes 1d6-3 Strain (minimum 1).
Least Conjuration of Forgeheart
Type: Conjuration
Difficulty: 9, or named demon’s Intrigue Defense
Range: Close
Cost: 6 Composure or 1 Strain
Effect: A random minor demon appears; its initial disposition toward the caster is neutral, but this can be improved through roleplay or an Intrigue challenge. Alternately, the caster can conjure a specific minor or moderate demon by invoking its truename. This spell’s base duration is a number of rounds equal to the caster’s Cunning, but the caster can extend this to one day at the cost of one Strain. (I haven’t established anything about demons yet, but the setting probably doesn’t treat this spell as being demon summoning, even though it technically is.)
Memory of the Silver Eye
Type: Divination
Difficulty: 4
Range: Close
Cost: 2 Composure
Effect: This spell grants the caster mystical insight. On one or two successes, the caster can sense magical auras. With three or more successes, the caster gains further information, such as any planetary or sacred sympathies that the magical aura may possess, its effect, and so on. This spell lasts a number of rounds equal to the caster’s Cunning.
The Skyguard’s Sanctum Ward
Type: Thorn
Difficulty: 9
Range: Touch
Cost: 6 Composure
Effect: The caster targets a physically defined and delineated area of up to an acre in size. The caster becomes immediately aware of any sentient creatures or large animals that intrude upon this area during the spell’s duration. The caster is aware that intrusion has occurred and the particular part of the defined area in which the initial intrusion occurs. This spell lasts for a day.
The Inferno of the Forgeheart
Type: Wrack
Difficulty: Target’s Combat Defense
Range: Long
Cost: 8 Composure
Effect: The target takes damage equal to the caster’s Cunning +1. This effect has the Piercing 1 quality.
Honeyed Words of the Wayfarer
Type: Boon
Difficulty: 9
Range: Touch
Cost: 6 Composure
Effect: The target gains a number of bonus dice equal to the caster’s Cunning (multiplied with extra successes) to spread over any number of rolls in an Intrigue. This spell lasts until all bonus dice are spent. If a character already affected by this spell receives a second casting, the effects do not stack.
Divine Spells


Mystic Dawn (repeated from above)
Hauberk of Talend
Type: Blessing
Difficulty: 9
Range: Self
Cost: 3 Health
Effect: The caster gains an armor value up to her Will score. As long as this effect is active, the caster takes a penalty to Intrigue Defense equal to the chosen armor value minus 2. If the caster sets the armor value to 1, he instead gains 1 point of Intrigue Defense; likewise, setting the armor value to 0 grants 2 points of Intrigue Defense. This armor stacks with existing armor.
Tura Keshik’s Breath
Type: Purification
Difficulty: 9
Range: Close
Cost: 3 Health
Effect: The caster restores an amount of Health to the target equal to the caster’s Will -1 (multiplied with extra successes). The caster cannot be the target of this spell.
Tura Keshik’s Balm
Type: Purification
Difficulty: 9
Range: Close
Cost: 0*
Effect: The caster transfers 1d6-3 Injuries (minimum 1) from the target to herself.
Ychirra’s Poisonous Gift
Type: Affliction
Difficulty: Target’s Combat Defense
Range: Touch
Cost: 5 Health
Effect: The caster transfers 1d6-3 Injuries (minimum 1) from herself to the target. She cannot transfer more Injuries than she has.
Fiery Vengeance of Talend
Type: Wrath
Difficulty: Target’s Combat Defense
Range: Long
Cost: 7 Health
Effect: The target suffers fire damage equal to the caster’s Will +1.
Coronation of the Warrior-King
Type: Blessing
Difficulty: 9
Range: Touch
Cost: 5 Health
Effect: The target gains a number of bonus dice equal to the caster’s Will (multiplied with extra successes) to spread over any number of Warfare rolls. This effect lasts until all bonus dice have been spent. If a character already affected by this spell receives a second casting, the effects do not stack.
Sioctana’s Guardianship of Innocents
Type: Blessing
Difficulty: 9
Range: Self
Cost: 3 Health
Effect: The caster’s fist attacks deal damage equal to her Will -1. This spell lasts for a number of minutes equal to her Will.
Tura Keshik’s Grace
Type: Purification
Difficulty: Special
Range: Touch
Cost: 3 Health
Effect: This spell’s Difficulty equals the Diagnosis difficulty of any poison in the target’s system, or 9, whichever is higher. The caster’s Piety test replaces the target’s Endurance or Will test if it is higher. This effect lasts until the poison runs its course.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but I’ll post more new ideas as I come up with them.


Leave a Reply to Shieldhaven Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

3 thoughts on “Hacking SIFRP: Arcane and Divine Magic, Part 3

  • Kainenchen

    I am interested in the Demon Summoning aspect, and how that's going to work. I also like that there's a way to heal in divine that also works well with inflicting badness on others. I approve.

  • Shieldhaven

    Demon summoning might become a future post, if I have cool ideas for it at some point.

    Since health is mana for priesty-types, I haven't figured out a decent way to let them cast health-draining spells yet; while I'm sure players would love to use enemies as a freebie source of both health and mana, I don't feel that the cause of game balance would be well-served here. I may discover that what I've done with Injuries is as bad or worse, but my idea was that you have to be in pretty bad shape to get much mileage out of this, so you're running relatively close to collapse, and you're taking a big penalty to your casting roll. (On the other hand, a successful casting does you a world of good.)

  • Kainenchen

    My thought was more like, "Okay, transfer a bunch of injuries to myself with Tura Keshik's Balm, then unload the hell out of them onto bad guy with Ychirra's Poisonous Gift. I don't have a problem with this _not_ being a direct _drain health_ deal. I think the breakpoint is potentially kind of cool, but the combination of these spells makes me kind of want to play a divine caster.