Building Your Own Magic

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REIGN has all kinds of advice for building magic in homebrew settings, and it has a
starter kit of spells and systems for the default setting. But somewhere between doing it
all yourself and having it all done for you is a place for guided expansion of the setting.
That is where this article sits.

Spells in REIGN are defined by a few simple parameters, which are listed right in each
spell description. The Intensity indicates how difficult it is to cast and learn. Casting
Time is self-explanatory, as is Duration. Attunement just tells if the caster needs to be
aligned with the school’s occult framework.

The factors aren’t complicated, or at least they aren’t meant to be. The trick lies in
balancing them against one another. Otherwise spells which are vastly superior get all
the play while others molder on the page as unused wastes of ink.

How Are Spells Balanced?

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Spells are balanced with sweet, sweet math. Don’t worry, it’s just simple addition. First
you figure out what the spell targets. It’s harder to effect fifty swords than one,
reasonably enough. Next you gauge the cost of the effect, whether it’s very very mild
or cataclysmic. The duration, simple, how long the spell lasts. Then you just add
Extras and Flaws. Each factor increases or reduces a single sum. When you’re done?
That sum is the Intensity. No spell can have Intensity less than 1, no matter how
flawed it is.

This sounds very concrete and precise, and it certainly can be, but there are times it gets
a little mushy. Most significantly, there are lots -- lots -- of instances that aren’t covered
on the laundry lists below. It’s up to the GM to decide if that effect is Minor (raising the
spell’s Intensity by 1) or Major (+5 Intensity).

The other question that’s purely subjective is “Does the caster need to be attuned?”
That’s up to the GM. Totally up to her.
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Target

——————

What or whom does the spell target? Essentially, it’s either changing an entity, an object
or an area. Pick one and add the points.

Targeting Creatures Target Cost

Target Cost One item +1

Self +0 2-5 objects of the same type +2

One within 100 paces +1 6-20 objects of the same type +3

One within eyesight +2 6-20 objects of different types +4

2-10 within 100 feet +3 20-50 objects of the same type +4

10-20 within 500 feet +4 20-50 objects of different types +5

20-50 creatures within a mile +5 All of a type seen +6

50-100 within ten miles +6 All objects seen +7

Everyone seen +7

Targeting Objects Targeting Areas

This one has a bit of a caveat: ‘One item’ Target Cost

or ‘a series of objects’ is vague, terribly
vague. Is a catapult one item, or is it a Fist-sized or smaller +0
combination of objects, or should ‘very
A five foot radius +1
large objects’ be bumped up a category or
two? Up to you and/or your GM. These 5-50 foot radius +2
are guidelines. I pictured these ‘objects’
as something a person could pick up with Size of a large house +3
reasonable effort. For your game you
may want to define it precisely, or A square mile +4
evaluate on a case-by-case basis.
Ten mile diameter +5

As far as the eye can see +6

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Effect

——————

As mentioned above, a lot of this is going to be a GM judgment call, and that’s probably
a good thing. An effect that severs plots in one game can be fairly minor in another.
That said, here’s a big framework of common effects that might come up a lot. They’re
all specific examples of the General Effects. Just keep a close eye on spells that can alter
Company rolls or Qualities.

General Effects are best left as individual characterization

choices, but your games may differ
Effect Cost greatly.) If I did, though, here’s how
much they’d cost. They’re also good for
Nugatory +0 influencing animals. The automatic Eerie
check can be a lot of fun, too, I’ve used
Minor +1
that a couple times.
Significant +3
Effect Cost
Major +5
Someone automatically succeeds at an
Cataclysmic +7 Eerie check +0

Attunement Effects Morale Attack X +half X

Effect Cost +1 Threat (morale) +1

Ordinary, ‘vanilla’ attunement +3 Suppress a Mission +2

Attunement with physical Suppress a Craving +3

transformation +5
Suppress a Duty +3
Mental Effects
Add a Mission +4
I made this list back before I’d really Add a Craving +5
given a lot of thought to how much
mind-changing magic I wanted in the Add a Duty +5
game. I’m unlikely to put in any
canonical spells that ‘alter how people
feel’ including giving the morale bonus to
Threat. (I find that emotional reactions
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Protection Effects Skill / Stat Boosts

Effect Cost What is a ‘rare Skill’ and what is a

‘frequent Skill’? That depends on
Armor X against a specific sort of whether your game focusses on skull-
damage* +X splitting axe attacks or side-splitting Jest
rolls.
Armor X against all damage, at one
location +X Effect Cost
Armor X against all physical +1d to a rare Skill +0
damage +2X
+1d to a frequent Skill +1
Spell set acts to gobble** a specific sort of
damage* +2 +MD to a rare skills +2

Spell set gobbles** all physical +1d to a Stat, with some form of
damage +4 restriction +2

Difficulty X against a specific +1d to a Stat +3

attack* +2+½ X
+ED to a frequent Skill +3
Difficulty X against all physical
attacks +X+2 Reallocate some or all stats in a
prearranged pattern*** +4
Armor X against all attacks and
dodgeable spells +3X Reallocate some or all stats at
will +5
Spell set gobbles** all attacks and
dodgeable spells +6 +ED to a Stat +5

+MD to a frequent Skill +5

*’Specific’ could mean “fire” or “swords” or alternately, “all temperature-based damage” or “all cutting wounds.”
Something that protects against all weapons equally is probably widespread enough to cost more than the cost for
‘specific’. If a spell is narrower in effect (protecting only against falling instead of all impact, for instance) you can
make it up with slightly greater duration (lasting for Height instead of Width in its duration category).

**Spells that gobble defensively can usually do so regardless of timing -- you get a 2x10 with a gobble spell, you can
still use it against a 4x2 to reduce it to a 2x2. But that’s also open to GM interpretation and fiat, depending on what
seems right and appropriate to the specific campaign.

***For example, ‘reduce Command by 2 and raise Body by 2’.

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Direct Damage Weapon Enhancement

This is what you use for your fireball, This is the chart for making magic
lightning bolt, withering limb type spells. swords, arrows or just making your kick
real strong. You shouldn’t use these to
Effect Cost beef up the effects from Direct Damage.

Width Shock +0 Effect Cost

Width Killing +1 +X Shock +X

Waste Shock +1 +X Killing +2X

Width+3 Shock +2 Waste Shock +3

Width+2 Killing +2 Waste Killing +4

Waste Killing +2 Ignores X Armor +2X

Width+2 Killing, Waste Shock +3

Width+2 Killing, Waste Killing +4 Group Damage

All locations fill with Killing
Effect Cost
damage +7
Area X Shock +½ X
Area X Shock attack +⅓ X
Area X Killing* +X
Area X Killing attack +½ X

*Don’t forget that free Morale Attack at half the value!

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Followers

How many creatures can be created or summoned? What’s their Threat level? To create
a number of Threat 2 unworthies equal to the Height of the casting roll, it’s a +3 effect.
These creatures do Width Shock and are susceptible to Morale Attacks, unless there’s a
balancing problem. For instance, followers that can only defend and not attack are
more balanced with Morale Attack protection. If you want beasties that can’t be scared
and do extra damage, you can pay more for them, bumping their cost up a few more
points.

Effect Cost

One Threat 1 +0

Width Threat 1 +1

One Threat 2 +1

Width Threat 2 +2

Height Threat 1 +2

One Threat 3 +2

Width Threat 3 +3

Height Threat 2 +3

One Threat 4 +3

Height Threat 3 +4

Width Threat 4 +4

Height Threat 4 +5
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Duration Fine Tuning

—————— ——————

Every spell has a duration, even those This is the section where you either jack
that are combative, eyeblink-instant up the spell’s Intensity by adding shiny
effects. True, that duration is “instant” extras, or reduce it by making it, in some
but it can really help with the book fashion or another, a pain to cast.
keeping. When there is a duration, it’s
typically Width or Height in the relevant Extras
time scale. GMs get to dial in the Effect Cost
specifics of those vague duration labels.
Of course, once you exceed 60 minutes Repeats effect next round +2
you have to pay for an hour and once
you exceed 24 hours you pay for days. Repeats effect for Width
rounds +3
Effect Cost
Repeats effects for Height
Instant +0 rounds +5

Minutes +0 Counterspell rolls against it are at X

Difficulty +X
Hours +1
Can’t be detected by Eerie sense +3
Days +2

Years +3

Forever +4

Slow Ratings: A Special Flaw

A Slow rating is a Flaw rated at -1, but the exact Slow rating varies. I like
having the Slow rating equal to its modified Intensity, with a minimum of
Slow 1 and a ceiling around Slow 3. This is a good place for the GM to
exercise some discretion, depending on how influential the spell seems. Not
all the spells in the book followed this guideline, but they all ‘feel right’.
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Flaws

Effect Cost

Casts in minutes* -2

Casts in hours* -3

Can be parried, if an attack spell -1

Can be dodged, if an attack spell -1

Must be cast after success with another skill -1

Must be a multiple action with another skill -2

Requires simple ingredients and preparation -1

Requires baroque ingredients and preparation -2

Kills the caster even if the casting roll fails -3

Does 1 Shock to each of the caster’s limbs** -1

Does 1 Killing to each of the caster’s limbs** -2

Can be blocked by armor -2

*The number of minutes or hours a spell takes to cast is equal to its unmodified level -- that is, the total of all the plus
factors before you take away the minus factors.

**Meaning, one each to head, torso, each arm and each leg.
 Spell Worksheet

Spell Name______________________________________________________________

School __________________________________________________________________

Requires Attunement? Yes No

Cost Factors Cost

Target _______________________________________________ ______

Effect _______________________________________________ ______

Additional Effect _____________________________________ ______

Additional Effect _____________________________________ ______

Additional Effect _____________________________________ ______

Duration ____________________________________________ ______

Extra or Flaw _________________________________________ ______

Extra or Flaw _________________________________________ ______

Extra or Flaw _________________________________________ ______

Extra or Flaw _________________________________________ ______

TOTAL (Intensity) ______

Note that all Italic entries are required. Every spell has them.

Final Description_________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

All rights reserved, copyright 2007 Greg Stolze. Permission to photocopy for personal use only.
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Example: Instead of just giving other
substances the qualities of metal, a GM
decides the Ironbone Priests should also have
spells that alter metal. Specifically, she wants
one that corrodes worked metal into dirt so
that it can nourish the land and, eventually,
I know no spells and will
learn naught of magic until I
meet the sage who can answer
the question “What is
magic?” with an answer that
is complete, concise,
comprehensible, and which
explains all its observed
functions. Until then, I have
neither time nor patience for it.
-Empress Mallard the
Forthright
return to its rightful place in nature.
Clearly, the target is one object (+1), and the
effect is corroding it away to dirt. How much
should the ability to destroy a single metal
object be worth? This is where the
subjectivity comes in. Knowing that this is
an Ironbone rune, the caster is going to have
to paint a symbol on the object. That
limitation doesn’t have a numerical cost
assigned, but we can factor it in to the effect.
Instead of “destroy a single metal object” it’s
now “destroy a single metal object that I can
paint a symbol on.” No one’s going to be
vaporizing swords and shields in the middle
of a brawl with this, but it’s still going to be
nice for dissolving manacles, ruining those
gold bars that are too heavy to escape with,
taking apart siege engines or getting through
metal defenses. Not quite minor, not hugely
significant. Looking at the +2 effects, this
seems about that useful. As for duration, the
metal stays transformed forever (which is
arguably a +4 effect) but since it’s not
changing into any useful form, I’m more
inclined to say this is an instant effect (+0).
(See how tricky this balancing can be?)
I could leave it right there as a Third
Intensity spell, nice and simple, but… there’s
the whole ‘rune drawing’ element. As
written, this is something that can be cast in
the time it takes Tud the Truil to swing his
club, and Ironbone spells have always been a
bit more deliberate. Picturing this as a quick
and dirty rune, let’s just give it a Slow rating
(-1) equal to its modified Intensity, (which,
after the Slow rating is factored in, is 2).
There’s a case to be made that, like most
Ironbone spells it requires a painting roll or
the like, but this doesn’t seem like it’s going to
be overpowering if it’s not hobbled like that.
It’s a simple shape. Leave it as is, at Second
Intensity. Now the only question is, is
Attunement required? I’m torn. On one
hand, this is a useful spell that lends itself to
all kinds of creative use (and possibly abuse at
the hands of rules lawyers). On the other, it’s
nice to have a few nifty spells that a non-
attuned sorcerer won’t use every day, but
which are very slick when they come up. I’d
say Attunement isn’t required, but I’d also
understand GMs who changed that.