Spellcasting 101
Magic's a big topic. There's a lot that goes into it, a lot that comes out of it, and a lot of ways to get from that first thing to that second thing. Once you get used to it, it's all very intuitive. Until that point, it can be a little daunting, so we thought it'd be valuable to explain that various mechanics of magic in a neat, (hopefully) easily digestible format, uncluttered by class mechanics and effect rules. With that in mind:
Spell Pool
"Pool" is a term suffering from overuse - we acknowledge that - but it's not all that complicated. If you have "Spell Pool" available as a class skill, it works like this:
Every rank of Spell Pool gets you 25 points of damage or healing - the specifics depend on your class. Mages can use either, Paladins can only use Healing, Spellblades can only use damage.
You can throw those points as damage or healing at a one-to-one ratio. 20 points of pool gets you 20 points of damage. It's packet-delivered, like most magic, and called as "Magic X <damage flavor>" or "Magic X <healing>". You can't throw more than your Spell Cap at any one time. This starts at 10 points for Spell Pool 1 and goes up with every subsequent purchase of spell pool. In addition, modifiers exist and they'll explain themselves when they show up. You have to throw it in increments of 5, because I am not trying to add 1+13+26+5+4+19 at the speed those packets come out. No one is.
Spell Pool is "magic" for vector interaction purposes. It can be resisted with Resist Magic, it flattens out against targets that are immune to magic (I know, believe me, but they're out there and I can't get rid of them). When some outside force changes the vector, it will also change the call, to let people know that this 20-point burst is Elemental and has to be handled as such.
Spell Pool is unlike other magic in that it's easy to reload. Once you've exhausted your Spell Pool (a process taking about three and a half seconds if you're under stress), you can refill it by taking three minutes to relax. Generally, this means you can refresh your spell pool in between encounters on a module. This requires Concentration if done during a prolonged combat.
Spells and Mana
Spell Pool is great for what it does, but it only does one thing and only goes so far doing that. If you were only allowed Spell Pool, you'd be a kind of second-rate Ranger and no one signed up for that. Classic spellcasting is where the Mage class earns its living. Other spellcasting classes use magic in more specialized niches.
If you're going to cast a spell, you'll need a couple of things:
You'll have to know the spell. You can learn spells from scrolls, or instructors, or teach yourself for a nominal cost in Skill Points.
You'll need an incant. The rules for these are laid out in the Spells page.
You'll need a packet. Rules for those are laid out in Weapon Construction but the upshot is that it's a small bundle of cloth with a big spoon or so of birdseed wrapped up in it.
Finally, you'll need enough available Mana to fuel the spell. Spells cost an amount of mana equal to their spell level. If you'd like to cast Light, you'll have to spend one mana. If someone you like dies, you'll need to spend 9 mana to cast Life. Your total store of Mana is commonly referred to you as your "Mana Pool". (I know, it's confusing against Spell Pool, but if you're playing a caster you'll get comfortable with it pretty quickly.) Mana, unlike Spell Pool, only refreshes when you reset your character.
If you have all those things, the rest is easy:
- Recite your incant. All of it. The whole thing. Yes, Tom, that includes the complete verbal and yes, Tom, every time. It may be short and that's okay, but it all has to be voiced before we move on to step two. Battlefields are loud places and no one expects that you'll manage to roar so loud everyone knows you're throwing. You just need to use enough volume that your target could have heard you, absent all the damage calls and defense calls.
- After you've finished your incant, throw your packet at your target.
- If it misses, your mana is expended but the spell has no effect.
- If it hits, you've delivered your spell to your target successfully and now your target has some problems to solve.
- Packet hits, unlike melee swings, do take effect if they bounce off your target's head. People move around a lot and it's impossible to promise you'll never bonk someone on the head. Do your best - don't make a habit of head shots - and aim for center of mass. It's harder to dodge anyway.
That's it. Grab your next packet, run through your next incant, and repeat until the mana is gone - this occurs much more quickly than you would like. Tactics are out of scope here, but Magic is a resource management exercise. Your mana pool is never as deep as you'd like. Targets are vulnerable or immune to various spells. The art of playing a Mage is knowing what to throw and when to throw it.
Metamagic
The worlds are home to all sorts of nonsense that complicates your spellcasting life. Fae by and large just ignore your spells. Deep Elves can stack Resist Magic so thick you lose even if you win - yeah, the elf is down but he took half your Mana Pool down with him. For those cases, you can use Metamagic to modify your spells. These are also called "Ley Skills", after the fuel used to power them.
Most Metamagic doesn't have an incant of its own. What metamagic does is alter another spell. If, for example, you have a fae in front of you and have to kill it (I sympathize), you know you can't just Implode it and run off with its treasure. What you can do, instead, is use Metamagic to alter your Implosion so it becomes an Elemental effect, rather than a magical one. This changes the incant from whatever you normally use to "Elemental Implosion" and suddenly the goofy little glitter jerk is in real trouble - he's immune to Magic but has to use wholesome, honest defenses against Elemental rather than riding his nepo immunity.
If you're going to use Metamagic, you follow the usual spellcasting rules, but adjust your incant to whatever your Metamagic uses. Doing this costs you 1 or more Ley Points on top of the Mana Cost for the spell. Ley Points are less plentiful than Mana; they cost more and you aren't allowed to have as many overall points. Metamagic effects are described in their entirety where they appear; they're more specific than magic and rely less on general rules. The crucial bits to remember are that they modify spells and cost Ley Points.