Optional Magic Rules

An alternative system for magic for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition by Pierre G [@pierre.g]
and edited by Adam Lowe [@adambeyoncelowe].
Special thanks to all the proofreaders — especially Jay H.
These alternative magic rules take a fresh look at the Channelling and Overcast rules, to speed up and strengthen your magic, while
retaining that Grim and Perilous energy!

Channelling
On his next turn, he rolls +2 SLs, so has enough SLs to cast the spell
It's no secret that Channelling has some problems. The biggest one
on his next turn. He rolls and he succeeds on his Language (Magick)
is that for a risk-reward mechanic, there's much more risk than
Test, so the spell is successfully cast.
reward. It takes time to Channel, you're more likely to roll a
Miscast, and by the time the best spells are ready, the fight is already
Rushed Channelling
over. In the end, players may avoid it altogether and spam Dart or
Bolt, even at higher tiers.
Sometimes, you want to play fast and dangerous — you're willing to
take greater risks to reap greater rewards. Rushed Channelling
The rules I offer here aim to address some of these issues by
allows you to channel and cast during the same turn, but at the risk
providing you with a toolkit of optional rules you can use and
of failing both Tests. Instead of an Extended Test over two Rounds,
modify for your own table.
you effectively make two Tests simultaneously and add the results
together. To do so requires using both your Action and Move but
The first rule that I propose is to alter Channelling to allow players
also triggers a Test against a Minor Corrupting Influence.
to do two kinds: Full and Rushed Channelling. These replace the
usual methods of Channelling. (Those two are my favourites)
Before attempting to cast a spell, you must declare that you want to
use Rushed Channelling. You then make a Channelling Test,
Full Channelling
followed immediately by a Language (Magick) Test. Combine the
SLs of the two Tests and compare them to the Casting Number of
With Full Channelling, you may use your Action to pull the
the spell. Unlike Full Channelling, however, you are not immune
Winds of Magic around you and increase your power as usual.
to Negative SLs. If your combined SLs fail to reach the CN of the
Ordinarily, this takes a lot of time and is high-risk for low reward.
spell, the spell fizzles.
So, I suggest an additional incentive: because you are using a whole
turn to Channel, you may ignore any Negative SLs on the
This significantly decreases the time required to cast — but if you
Channelling Test. If your result would be negative, it’s considered
fail the Channelling Test, you must still make your Casting Test. It's
+0 SL instead. This takes some of the sting out of Channelling as an
therefore possible to roll two Miscasts in one turn if you're
Extended Test.
particularly unlucky. You can still spend Fortune to offset some of
the risk, which makes this a solid choice if you really want to deliver
If the result is a Fumble, roll for a Major Miscast, as usual.
in half the time.

Ex: Hans the Hedge Witch wants to cast Magic Shield. He has
Ex: Hans thinks he is lucky today. He decides to cast Magic Shield
Language (Magick) 55 and Channelling 50, and decides that he
in one turn. For that, he will have to do a Rushed Channelling
wants to use Full Channelling for his Action. He rolls 23, so
Test. He rolls 32, and gains +2 SLs. Now he makes a Language
scores +3 SLs — almost enough to cast Magic Shield. Hans needs to
(Magick) Test. He rolls 75 and fails. Hans isn't ready to fail,
spend another turn Channelling if he wants to complete the spell.
however, so he uses a Fortune Point, and the rerolled result is 17 —
a success with +4 SLs. He now has enough SLs to cast Magic
This time, he rolls 86 and fails. Ordinarily, he would score -3 SLs,
Shield and he also has +2 SLs, granting him an Overcast.
robbing him of his previous success. But under the rules for Full
Channelling, he scores +0 SL instead, meaning he still keeps the
+3 SLs from the previous Test.
If you like this rule, you should also take a look at Quick Casting
below, for a slightly different take.
Additional Rules for Channelling
Complete Focus
If you prefer giving magic your undivided attention, your GM
might allow you to forgo your Move to boost your chances on the
Channelling Test. The GM might give you a +10 or even a +20
bonus, provided you retain your concentration throughout the
Channelling attempt.
This rule is powerful, but it allows spellcasters to stay back from
the battle and sling spells like the (Chaos) Gods intended. For added
bite, your GM might rule that any Channelling Test that succeeds
only because of the bonus also incurs a Minor Miscast.
Bonus SLs gained with Channelling
Dangerous Channeling (Other method)
Okay, this method is a bit special, because it requires the use of
another supplement (Tzeentch’s Curse for WHFR 4e homebrew,
by Killer GM) :
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/449846068356710412/
769553235932741642/Homebrew__Tzeentchs_Curse_for_WF
RP4e.pdf )
What I do, for Dangerous Channeling, is proposing a player to
Channel without restraint, thus, if he has to roll on the Tzeentch’s
Curse tables, he add another 1d6, for a +10 to his Channeling test,
2d6 for a +20, to a maximum of a +30 for 3d6, very risky, yet very
rewarding.
Some GMs can find this far too powerful (like me) so, to
counter-balance that, you must roll on the Tzeentch’s Curse tables.
No matter the spell type, no matter the dice results, if you channel
Dangerously, you will have to roll on the tables. And also, I cap this
rule at 3d6 to avoid shenanigans.

Using this rule, you can conserve any SLs gained from Channelling
for up to WPB Rounds during combat. This means that, with some
Combined Casting
preemptive Channelling, you can cast bigger and better spells when
you need them. Outside of combat, the GM may allow you to keep Combined Casting allows you to use your Move and Action to
these SLs for a number of minutes equal to your WPB, provided both Channel and Cast a spell in a single turn, but at the cost of
you are able to meditate and are not distracted during this time. testing against a Moderate Corrupting Influence as you channel vast
quantities of the Winds of Magic through you to power your spell.
Ex: Hans is preparing an ambush upon a hated enemy. He prepares Instead of rolling twice, like Rushed Casting, you make a single
by Channelling in the Surprise Round and manages to score +3 Combined Channelling and Language (Magick) Test (see page
SLs. His WPB is 5, so Hans can conserve these Bonus SLs for up to 155). If you pass both Tests, add the SLs together to determine if
5 Rounds before letting loose. He may use these Bonus SLs on the you have met the Casting Number of the spell.
next Language (Magick) Test he makes within that time.
If you fail the Channelling Test, any Negative SLs will deduct from
those of your Language (Magick) Test. If you fail the Language
Dangerous Channelling (Magick) Test, the spell also fails, unless you scored a Critical on
your Channelling Test (see page 234 for Critical Casting).
Sometimes, you absolutely have to succeed at Channelling. By
Channelling without restraint, you gain a +20 bonus on the Ex: Hans has Channelling 63 and Language (Magick) 55. He
Channelling Test, but — and here's the dangerous part — the
decides that he doesn’t have time to Channel and Cast on separate
chance of a Miscast increases too: Dangerous Channelling always
turns, so he declares that he will use his Action and Move to
counts as if under Malignant Influences (see page 236).
perform a Combined Channelling/ Language (Magick) Test
(see page 155). He rolls 02 — a success on both counts! He scores
Ex: Hans decides that he needs to Channel at any cost, so he
+6 SLs on his Channelling Test and +5 on his Language (Magick)
performs a Dangerous Channelling Test. With his +20 bonus, he
Test. Now he has a combined total of +11 SLs for the spell.
now has Channelling 70. He rolls 28 and so succeeds with +5 SLs.
However, as he also rolled an '8' on the units die, he must roll for a
This rule completely changes the way magic works. I really like it
Minor Miscast, too.
because it rewards players for rolling low without worrying about
the need to roll low on two consecutive Tests. There is still a risk,
though: because you only roll once, a very high Fumble is likely to
cause you to Miscast on both Tests; and the Test against a
Overcasting
Moderate Corrupting Influence means that it'll be time to pay the
Another issue that's frequently aired is the cost of Overcasting.
piper in the end.
Overcasts have a flat cost of +2 SLs, despite sometimes giving very
powerful effects. In a system where Channelling is meek and Bonus
Channelling Bonus
SLs are unlikely to occur often, this is probably okay. But
Channelling shouldn't be a trap (see above), and if we make it more
This rule is a little different from the others, but is inspired by the powerful, we probably need to think about Overcasting too.
same impetus as Complete Focus. It rewards players for taking a
turn to Channel by granting a +20 bonus on their next Language You could balance Overcasts by giving different costs for different
(Magick) Test. This removes the risk of Channelling well only to spells (some spells already have unique Overcast effects listed), but
fail at the last hurdle. that would take a lot of time and energy. Instead, I've opted for a
hard limit on the number of Overcasts you can purchase, to at least
Astounding Casting curb the greatest excesses (though, admittedly, this does nothing for
underpowered Overcasts).
This optional rule extends Critical Casting (see page 234) to cover
any Channelling Test or Language (Magick) Test that scores either My house rule: you are limited to a total number of Overcasts equal
an Astounding Success or a Critical. to your Willpower Bonus. So, if you have WPB 5, you can only
purchase 5 Overcasts. Period. You can score +100 SLs, but it doesn't
matter; you will only ever get WPB Overcasts.
Astounding Casting (V2)

This optional rule takes the concept of Critical Casting (see page Special Rule
234) to apply to Channeling Test that scores either an Astounding
Success or a Critical but with a different powerful effect. Unspoken Casting (Still in test)
Overpower : You count now as under Malignant Influences.
If you try to cast a spell, but are unable to speak the words of a
(see page 236). You also provoke a Minor Miscast. Also, the Swirling Language (Magic) Test (you are underwater, gagged, choking,
Winds are weakened by one step for any other magic user than you. tongue ripped out, etc), you can try to Draw from the Ruinous
The good side however, is now that the next spell you will cast will Powers for help.
see his CN reduced by half rounded up. This rule makes it different
from regular Critical Casting and allows magic users to access a rush If you wish, and the GM allows, you can take one or two
of potential power to unleash on their unfortunate foes. Corruption points in exchange for a boost to your Language
(Magick) Test.
Conclusions for Channelling
For one Corruption point, you make your Language (Magick) Test
as normal. If you fail, the spell is not cast. Whatever happens,
At the heart of Channelling is the idea of balancing risk and reward. though, an additional Minor Miscast will occur.
This means that taking a little longer to cast your magic should give
you greater power, or that wielding greater power should come with For two Corruption points, you make your Language (Magick) Test
greater risk. and, whatever the results, the spell is cast — but an additional
Minor Miscast will occur for every -2 SLs scored. For every three
By offering these new options and possibilities, I hope that GMs Minor Miscasts rolled, replace them with one Major Miscast.
and players alike will find it easier to Channel, in particular. You can
also use these rules as the inspiration to create your own. The more No ingredients may be used to lessen this added risk, save for
Witches, who may use theirs as normal to avoid additional
new and unique optional rules the better !
Corruption.