There are five spell-casting classes: Priest, Mage, Monk, Warlock, and Druid. These correspond to the five types of magic: Holy, Arcane, Primal, Infernal, and Nature. Most of the abilities of these classes are spells (using PRE for their rolls unless stated otherwise), with the effects of each spell listed on the appropriate character sheet. The abilities of other classes are not spells, even if they are magical.
All magic is controlled and manifested through the use of rhythmic patterns of words, either spoken, chanted, or sung. Spells are cast in one of the five magical languages: runic (the language of arcane magic, mages, alchemy, and air/water elementals), draconic (the language of primal magic, monks, dragons, and fire/earth elementals), chthonic (the language of infernal magic, warlocks, demons, and the undead), angelic (the language of holy magic, priests, angels, and the church), and sylvan (the language of nature magic, druids, intelligent animals, and intelligent plants).
| Class | Magic Type | Language |
|---|---|---|
| Priest | Holy | Angelic |
| Mage | Arcane | Runic |
| Monk | Primal | Draconic |
| Warlock | Infernal | Chthonic |
| Druid | Nature | Sylvan |
Spells require the caster to be able to use their voice clearly at a normal speaking volume. Casting at a lower volume can be done, but the roll is disadvantaged. Spell casting without audible words is not possible. Gestures are not required for spell casting, except as needed to designate a target, direction, etc. (if needed and not possible, the casting roll is disadvantaged). Spells that require touch can be performed through a held object if desired.
Casting a spell that requires an exclusive action gives any enemies in the region an immediate opportunity attack, and the caster can only use a basic defense with a disadvantaged roll. If the caster takes any damage from these attacks, the spell fails and their turn is over.
MAGIC SENSE: Learning one the magical languages gives you the ability to sense that kind of magical energy (with a perception roll). Sounds emanate from any active spell or effect, varying by the type of magic (such as angelic voices, chthonic whispers, draconic chants, runic tones, sylvan melodies). While a spell is actively being cast, it is obvious what type of magic is being used, even to those who do not know the language.
THE COMMON LANGUAGE: All intelligent humanoids speak a single language, which is just referred to as “common”. This language is derived from the five magical languages (and simplified). Mathematical and alchemy terms come from runic. Many words of command and status come from draconic. Many curse-words and insults come from chthonic. Blessings and many cheerful sayings come from angelic. Most plant and animal names are from sylvan. Normal people are generally not fluent in the magical languages, as they are very difficult to learn. Written common borrows from the written forms of the magical languages, but has been simplified and changed substantially.
Priests, Mages, Monks, Warlocks, and Druids can perform elaborate magical rituals that can have much more powerful effects than normal spells. Rituals are categorized by magic type and rank, and can only be performed by a character of the appropriate class for the magic type and of the appropriate rank. Rituals usually take around 5 to 10 minutes for a first rank ritual, 15 to 30 minutes for a second rank ritual, one to two hours for a third rank ritual, and four hours or more for a fourth rank ritual. How effective a ritual is should be based on the caster's PRE roll (MPs can be used to improve rolls) and how well the ritual is role-played. Any die rolled for a ritual’s effects (damage done, for example) are determined by the GM, but should usually not be a larger die than the die rolled for the ritual.
Rituals never fail in the normal sense (unless they are interrupted or fumbled), but low rolls get poor results while high rolls get good results (as determined by the GM). Rolls of 1 or 2 mean the ritual goes very, very badly (the demon you summoned possesses you, the person you resurrected is the wrong soul, the food you created is rotten, etc.). Rolls of 5 to 8 generally work out fine, while rolls of 10 or more work much better than expected (the demon is actually friendly, the resurrected person is years younger, the food substitutes for a full night's sleep, etc.).
Each magic type has a list of sample rituals, but players are highly encouraged to come up with new rituals whenever they want. Rituals are more of an artistic performance than a set recipe, and anything is possible as long as it makes sense for a given type of magic. Inventiveness and good role-playing matter a lot here, and the GM can put restrictions on how a ritual must work as they deem appropriate (some rituals might need multiple assistants to perform, some might need a special component, some might need to be performed during a thunderstorm, etc.). Uninspired rituals with no interesting role-playing or restrictions should be rolled with disadvantage.
Performing a ritual will subtly alter the flow of magic and can make future castings of the same type of ritual harder. Repeated performances of the same ritual or even rituals of the same type of magic should be rolled with one or more levels of disadvantange if done either in the same location, against the same target, or when not enough time has passed (at least a dozen times longer than the ritual takes to perform).
A ritual that targets a distant person/place, or is otherwise attempting to affect something not in clear view of the caster, will be disadvantaged. This penalty can be avoided if the caster has something to tie the ritual to the target (a lock of hair, some earth from the location, etc.).
The ability to perform rituals of a particular type can be taken as an elective ability (if a character is allowed to take elective abilities from the class in question), but to do so a character must also know the appropriate magical language for that type of ritual.