Magic

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Disciplines
The eight magical disciplines count as skills, except that they are not related to an attribute. Your score in magic, therefore, is equal to your rank. However, you can use the general magical discipline of Arcanus to strengthen your specific magics. You may add your rank in Arcanus to your score in each other magical discipline, but as a result the score cannot be more than twice what it was originally.
Example, you have rank 5 in physical and 3 in arcanus. This gives you a score of 8 in physical. If your rank in physical were only two, the arcanus couldn't increase it further than 2.
Everybody can learn the disciplines, but only a specialist will be able to do much with them. When you create your character, your rank in each discipline cannot be higher than six. Dwarves and orcs, and certain other races, cannot use magic.

Using magic
To attempt to use magic you must concentrate for a full round; this is accompanied by a number of mystical gestures and incantations. It also costs one point of mana; you cannot attempt magic if you have no mana left (even if there is a chance that the spell wouldn't cost any mana). Tell the GM what you want to do, and make a test at the difficulty he indicates.
The spell works if you succeed in the test. Its base difficulty is 12, modified by the power of your spell. If you roll four or more points higher than you needed, the spell works so well that it doesn't cost you any mana. On the other hand, if you fail your roll by three or more points (this includes a fumble), something goes wrong, and the result is xaos (see below). A critical doesn't count for magical tests, it counts as a regular success; if your rank is 3 you can't succeed on a spell with difficuly 16 or up.
So, suppose the difficulty of the test is 12. You roll two dice and add your rank in creation (in this case). A result of 16 or up is a success and doesn't cost you any mana. 12-15 is a lesser success and still costs you one point of mana. A roll of 10-11 means the spell fails, a 9 resulst in xaos.

Duration
Some spells work instantaneously, some rare spells work permanently. Those that don't, last as long as the mage concentrates on it, plus three rounds (the first of which being the one in which the spell is cast). After this period, the mage must spend another point of mana to maintain the spell. He may also choose to make a new test; if he succeeds by four points again, his point of mana is returned. If he fails the test, the spell fades.
This upkeep test doesn't count as an action, and failures or fumbles have no additional or xaos effect. The test is made more difficult if the effect can no longer be perceived by the mage; other modifiers for range still count. By increasing the spell's difficulty, the period between tests can be increased. The easiest way to make a spell permanent, is to increase the period to, say, eight hours so that it costs you three poinst of mana per day; if you regain three or more mana per day, the spell can be kept up indefinitely.

Enhancing magic
Below is a number of examples of magical effects. You can always add or variate on these. Other than that it's possible to enhance effects, which makes the spell more difficult but also more spectacular.
Most spells have a single target or an area in which they work. If they have a target, you can add extra targets within range of yourself or a previous target. If the spell affects an area you can increase the area, or cause it to move at your command. Usually it will move as long as you concentrate on it, but you can make it move without concentration, or move real fast, or both.
Occasionally you can enhance magic by using other skills. For instance, a locksmith can create a working lock with greater ease, and somebody skilled in painting can make more believable illusions. An illusion of a dragon won't be really credible unless you've actually seen a dragon. Of course, maybe your victim has never seen one either.
When you're struck by a any damaging effect, you must test your concentration (or willpower if you don't have it) to keep concentrating on a spell. The difficulty for this test is the same as the spell's original difficulty. It's possible to do things while concentrating on a spell, but this counts as performing multiple actions, and you must test to maintain your concentration.
For example, it's easy to create a globe of flame (12). It can move while you concentrate on it. If you want to create a second globe while maintaining the first, its difficulty would be 13 or 14 (depending on if you succeed in your concentration test) for both creating the new one and maintaining the original.
Finally, you can force a spell, which means you add extra energy to ensure that it works. This gives you a +2 bonus on your magical test, but it will always cost two points of mana (which you can't get back no matter how well you roll), and automatically results in xaos if you fail. You cannot doubly force any spell.

Resisting magic
If any magic has direct influence on you, you can try to resist the effect. This is done by making a test on the relevant attribute, which depends on the discipline used to create the spell; see the table below.
Unless the test is made on anti-magic, add one to this test for each rank in anti-magic above six, or subtract one for each rank below four. If a spell uses multiple disciplines, make a test on the average of all relevant attributes, rounded up. It is possible to take a skill in avoiding certain types of magic.
To reduce the effect of a spell, you need a result of 14 or more; this halves most effects. To entirely resist the spell, you need a result of 18. If you roll a critical, the spell is automatically resisted.

Discipline:	Resisted by:
Arcanus	Intelligence
Creation	Reflex
Dimension	Anti-magic
Energy	Endurance
Physical	Anti-magic
Illusion	Perception
Kinetics	Strength
Mental	Willpower

Foci
By using a focus (plural: foci) you can cast more difficult spells, or replenish your mana at a faster rate. A focus might be a short wooden staff with a crystal at the end, but this depends on who made the focus. No matter what, the focus must contain a gem to capture the stream of aether in a single point (hence the name, focus). Most foci have a certain capacity for mana, which replenishes in the same way your own mana would. As long as you hold the focus you can use this mana to fuel your spells. Also, holding the focus gives you a bonus to magical tests, and some foci absorb xaos effects. Capacity and strength vary. Your character won't start with a focus but might find one.
In certain areas, the aether flows strongly. These areas, known as nodes, count as foci - it's easier to use magic while in the node, and your mana recharges more rapidly. Near a node one can often find materials that are usable for creating magical items, potions, or focus crystals. The bad part is that nodes tend to attract xaos effects and magical monsters.
The opposite of nodes, null zones are areas in which the aether is weak or even non-existent. While in a null zone your mana increases slowly or not at all (it might even decrease), xaos is rare or non-existent, and using spells is more difficult or even impossible.

Xaos
This is the result of a spell failing for whatever reason, when the mage is unable to block out the mana and stop the spell's effects. A xaos (pronounced 'khay-os) can have nearly any result, from logical to ridiculous and from a relief to disaster. The effect is randomly chosen from the table of xaos effects, and is usually centered on the spell's intended target, its caster, or both. The force of a xaos depends on the power of the spell intended - the stronger the spell, the greater the potential disaster.
The discipline of Arcanus can be used to control or reduce xaos. For now a xaos table has not been included, you can use any random effects table from other RPGs until I've added one (real soon now).

Magical disciplines

• Creation works directly with matter, to be precise with creating it. One skilled in this discipline never needs bring much equipment, because he can create whatever he lacks out of thin air. Creating a boulder above an opponent's head is also a useful spell.
  It is more difficult to create objects with specific properties, such as the key to a certain lock, or a cloud of poison gas. Precision is an art. Creation magics are never permanent.
• Dimension is one of the most difficult branches of magic; it directly manipulates the four dimensions, space and time. Clairvoyance, teleportation, speeding up and slowing down the flow of time are all applications of Dimension. The experienced dimensionalist can temporarily put walls out of dimension in order to walk through, transport himself and others in the blink of an eye, and move at awe-inspiring speeds by slowing his time. It's possible to summon or gate in other creatures by using teleportation, but you'd have to know their location first, for instance through clairvoyance searching.
• Energy is the oldest and most elementary discipline; it works by gathering energy and focusing it on a chosen target. The result is often spectacular and seldom anything but destructive. A standard energy-attack fills an area with raw or elemental energy, such as water (cold, ice), earth (dirt, rocks), air (wind gusts, lightning) or fire (heat, flames).
  It is possible to put an energetic aura around for instance a sword (or even your own body) without harming said object. The aura then harms anything else touching it. Energetic damage is not affected by adrenalin or absorption.
• Physical commands matter, together with creation. This time it's about shaping matter, for instance by turning lead to gold or foes to frogs. A large part of physical magic directly influences the human or animal body; living matter can certainly be shaped. Such live shapings are not permanent, though - the being has a physical pattern to which it will fall back given time.
• Illusion is the magic of deception. This subtle but useful discipline can influence the stream of light and sound. By strengthening or weakening impressions, an area can be brightened or darkened, filled with noise or dampened quiet. It's also possible to create 'real' illusions, such as a flying bird. If an illusion is made semi-intelligent it'll behave just like the real thing, even if the mage leaves.
  Defense against all this is done by perception; if somebody reduces an illusion's effect, he'll see through it as soon as he gets a hint (such as a lack of smell). If he fails the resistance, he will keep believing it until things get way obvious.
• Kinetics is another discipline that works with energy, but in a less direct way. By manipulating streams of energy, the kinetist can move and manipulate objects from a distance, and put protective forcefields around himself or others. Advanced kinetists can fly by moving themself around, stop enemies in their tracks by countering their every movement, and create impregnable forcefields. One can also throw knives or boulders at opponents by using kinetics; defense against this is done with reflex.
• Mental: just like the body, the mind can be influenced by magic. One skilled in this discipline can detect, read and even modify the thought patterns of those around him. Enemies can be made friendly, sleepy or even terrified with a mental spell.
  As with physical magic, mental magic isn't permanent - but it's possible to weaken somebody's mental resistance so that he will believe whatever you tell him, and when the spell ends he will still believe them until proven otherwise. This is like heating a metal bar with magic, then using physical force to bend it - when the magic ends, the bar can't be bent any further, but nor can it be bent back.
• Arcanus is the final discipline (or the first, according to some), and works with magic itself and with raw aether. Detecting magical auras is easy; if you pass the test by two or more, you can tell to which discipline the aura belongs. Modifying, strengthening, weakening or eliminating other magic is also a possibility. For instance, you can create a magical aura around a non-magical object, or hide an existing aura.
  You can transfer mana to and absorb mana from other people. The maximum amount of mana you can move is equal to the amount by which you pass your test. Mana with nowhere to go manifests as xaos, for instance if you draw five mana from someone but can only hold three more yourself.
  Arcanus gives you power over xaos. Creating one is an easy task, but will always cost a point of mana no matter how well you pass your test. You can create a shield to protect someone or something from the effects of xaos, or fill an area with xaos energy (known as a xaos field).
  Another trick is to absorb or deflect enemy spells, to cancel existing spells or to block out all magic in an area (in effect creating a null zone). You can resist somebody canceling your spells by making an intelligence test; a weakened effect means your spell is weakened or canceled for a short while, if you resist the cancellation, your spell remains in full effect (see the section on resisting magic).
  Next, you can cloak a spell, which means you can cast it without using gestures or speech, in effect casting it on sheer willpower. You do this by casting the cloak simultaneously with the other spell. This does not count as two simultaneous actions, but if the cloak fails, so does the other spell. Finally you can delay your own spells, or make them permanent. A delayed spell remains in the air but won't activate until you so indicate; using this works similar to cloaking spells. A permanent effect requires some research, because you need a special focus to keep it in. Permanent effects can only be cancelled by a permanent cancellation.

Spell difficulty, base = 12

	Range
-2	Target is the mage itself
-2	Target touched (test needed!)
0	Target within 5 meters
+1	Quadruple range (20,80,240,960)
	Effect
-3	Effect of a one-foot globe
0	Effect of a one-meter globe, one person
+3	Triple effect (3, 9, 27, 81)
	Moving the area
0	Walking speed while concentrating
+2	Running speed with, or walking speed without concentrating
+5	Running speed without concentrating
	Time between test
-2	Instant effect
0	3 rounds (15 seconds)
+1	Double duration (30,1 min,2,4,8)
	Arcanus
-1	Aura detection
0	Xaos, delaying a spell
+2	Aura creation, mana transfer, xaos shield
+4	Spell cloak, cancellation, block out magic
+5	Mana extraction, aura cloak, xaos field, magic absorption
+7	Magic deflection, permanency
	Creation
-3	Gaseous
0	Liquid
+6	Solid
+3	Complex / specific property
	Dimension
+2	Clairvoyance
+7	Teleport, open gate
+6	Infinite range
+9	Other dimension, or astral plane
+3	Past (one day) or future (one hour)
+1	Triple time reach
+5	Stepping out of dimension
+3	Speed up or slow down time (2x)
+3	Per factor (3x, 4x, 5x)
	Energy (element of choice)
-1	1 damage per round
+1	1d3 damage per round
+3	More damage (2d4, 3d6, 7d6, 11d8)
+4	Protective field
	Physical
0	Organic material
+1	Mineral or stone
+3	Metal
+1	Living creature
	Strengthen/weaken
+2	Per point of strength/agility/absorption
+10	Disintegrate
	Shapechange
0	Standard (hand, foot)
+2	Complex (eye, gills)
+5	New body, same size
+1	Per 10% change in size
	Transmute
+2	Standard
+2	Class change
+2	Phase change
	Illusion
-2	Static illusion
0	Dynamic while concentrating
+2	Dynamic without concentration
+5	Semi-intelligent illusion
+1	Per extra sense, other than touch
+2	Invisibility
-4	Weakened or strengthened impression
+3	Overwhelming or no impression
	Kinetics
-2	Moving 1/4 kilo (1/2 pound)
+1	Double weight (1/2,1,2,4,8,16,32)
+5	Abrupt ballistic attack
+6	Semi-intelligent animation
-3	Stopping motion
+2	Protective force field
+7	Impregnable force field
	Mental
-2	Sending thoughts
0	Communicate telepathically
+1	Sense emotion
+3	Strengthen, weaken or induce emotion; induce confusion
+6	Read or block thoughts
+8	Conviction
+9	Mental domination
+2	Concentration
+5	Double thought pattern
+8	Going out

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Simplex