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Skip Navigation LinksHigh Fantasy HERO>Content>Magic>Magic Systems>Loremastery
FROM: Warhammer FRPG 2nd Edition
TO: HERO System 5th Edition
NOTE: Some rudimentary knowledge of the HERO System rules is necessary to understand this conversion document.
Types of Magic General Spellcasting Mechanics Other Considerations Converting Spells

WARHAMMER MAGIC SYSTEM CONVERSION
The following document details a Magic System for the HERO System that will closely model the new Warhammer FRPG 2e Magic System.
It is worth noting that the material provided herein is fully functional as a standalone Magic System. If doing so, I posit calling them "Loremasters", in reference to the segregation of the practitioners by Lore Talents.
GM Notes on Loremastery
THE WINDS OF MAGIC (AKA LOREMASTERY)
The new Warhammer FRPG Magic System is based in part on the Magic System in use in the table top wargame version of Warhammer, borrowing heavily on the concept of the Eight Winds of Magic, Necromancy, Chaos Sorcery, and Divine Magic. Functionally it revolves around the concept of "Lore Talents" that give monogamous access to specific types of Magic.
Individual Spellcasters have a great deal of latitude within their Lore, being able to cast any spell therein so long as they are able to generate a large enough result by rolling one or more "Magic" dice and comparing their total to a target number. However, this flexibility within their Lore is countered by the inability to ever learn another Lore.
TYPES OF MAGIC
Spells are broken down into categories, with Petty Magic at the bottom as the principal "gateway" access that all Spellcasters have in common, and giving way to higher level access abilities in the form of various "Lore" groups, Arcane, Dark, and Divine that are each further differentiated into types. The type of Lore one knows determines what kind of spells the character has available to them.
ARCANE MAGIC
Arcane Magic is divided into the eight Winds of Magic, with each "Wind" having a different symbolic color and focusing on various sorts of magic. Each Wind has a separate Arcane Magic Talent associated with it, and a given character can only ever know one of them. The eight Winds are:
  1. Light (White): Light Magic
  2. Celestial (Blue): Divination Magic
  3. Gold (Yellow): Metal Magic
  4. Jade (Green): Life Magic
  5. Amber (Brown): Animal Magic
  6. Bright (Red): Fire Magic
  7. Shadow (Gray): Illusion and Shadow Magic
  8. Amethyst (Purple): Death Magic
DIVINE MAGIC
Divine Magic is specific to various patron deities; Divine Spellcasters are servants and followers of a particular deity, who in turn invests them with the ability to work magic on their behalf. Each deity has a corresponding Divine Magic Talent associated with it, and a given character can only ever know one of them. Common deities that grant Divine Magic are:
  • Grungni
  • Manaan
  • Morr
  • Myrmidia
  • Ranald
  • Sigmar
  • Shallya
  • Taal and Rhya
  • Ulric
  • Varena
DARK MAGIC
Dark Magic is evil, dangerous, and/or otherwise not well accepted in civilized lands. Working with darker forces grants greater power more easily, but also is generally far less forgiving. Each type of Dark Magic has a separate Dark Magic Talent associated with it, and a given character can only ever know one of them. The types of Dark Magic are:
  • Necromancy
  • Chaos
GENERAL SPELLCASTING
The specific mechanical details of how to convert Warhammer FRPG 2e Magic into the HERO System are provided below, but this section gives a brief overview of how Magic works in the source material.
SPELL ACCESS AND TARGET NUMBERS
Each type of Lore gives access to a variety of spells of that type, and an individual Spellcaster can attempt to cast any spells of that type at will. However, each spell has a target number that the Spellcaster must achieve by rolling their Magic dice. The number of Magic dice available to a Spellcaster is determined by their Magic Rating, and is the true measure of a Spellcaster's potency; the more dice they can roll the more likely they will succeed when casting spells. A Spellcaster can theoretically attempt to cast any spell within their Lore, but some spells have sufficiently high target numbers that they are effectively impossible to cast unless a character has multiple Magic dice.
CURSE OF TZEENTCH
As an interesting twist however, rolling more dice also incurs more danger in the source material due to a feature of the game called "The Curse of Tzeentch", which basically indicates that any time two or more Magic dice roll the same number some side effect occurs. The nature of the side effect ranges from an annoyance for a pair to catastrophic with five or more matches. The more dice one rolls, the more likely some unforeseen side effect will result; this adds an interesting dynamic tension to every single Magic roll, and means a Spellcaster is always in the horns of dilemma to cast or not to cast, and how many dice to roll if they do. It is important to note that if the target number of the spell is reached, it is still successfully cast even if the Curse of Tzeentch is invoked.
NOTE: This reminds me a lot of the use of Arete and the risk of "botching" in MAGE: The Ascenscion, except only 1's mattered in that game, whereas in the new Warhammer FRPG Magic System any value can cause a match.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
In addition to having a Lore, Spellcasters must also know an Arcane Language, with the exception of those who have the Hedge Magic ability (but they suffer a serious penalty until they acquire an Arcane Language).
Finally, a Spellcaster must also know the Channeling Skill, but this is an arbitrary restriction since spells can be cast without the use of Channeling.
MECHANICS
The following section details how to model the Warhammer Magic System described above in the HERO System.
ARCANE LANGUAGE
All Spellcasters must know the "Arcane Language", which  in the HERO System can be treated as a 3 point language with literacy included.
ARCANE LANGUAGE
Arcane Language (fluent conversation; literate);
Real Cost: 3 points
MAGIC RATING
To map the concept of the Magic System as closely as possible, each point of Magic a Warhammer character has is translated into a single die of a special form of the Luck Power. This form of Luck is not used in either the normal fashion of Luck in the HERO System or any of the optional uses.
Instead, whenever a Spellcaster wants to cast a spell they must roll one or more of their "Magic" Luck dice and add the face of the dice together. If the total equals or exceeds the Active Points divided by 3 (AP/3) of the spell being cast. then they successfully cast the spell; if not then they fail to cast the spell.
There is no limit per day on how often a Spellcaster may use their "Magic" Luck dice in this fashion, but they may not use it for any other purpose.
The number of "Magic" Luck dice a Spellcasters can have is directly constrained by the size of their Magic VPP as described below, but in summary a character with a Magic Rating 1 VPP must have exactly 1d6 "Magic" Luck (no more, no less), while a character with a Magic Rating 3 VPP must have exactly 3d6 "Magic" Luck, and so on.
MAGIC DIE
Magic Die: 1d6 "Magic" Luck ; Partially Limited (Suffers -1 per 2 DEF of Armor Currently Worn, (- 1/2))
Real Cost: 3.33 points per d6
Example: Kerahl the Bright Wizard has a Magic Rating of 3 in Warhammer. When converted into the HERO System he gets 3d6 "Magic" Luck as defined above for 10 Real Points.
Suffers -1 per 2 DEF of Armor Currently Worn
As indicated, when a Spellcaster is wearing Armor, it is much more difficult to work Magic. When they roll their "Magic" Luck dice, a Spellcaster must subtract one (-1) from the face of each die rolled for every 2 DEF of Armor they are wearing (rounded in their favor).
This is where the Armored Casting ability comes in handy. Defined as Penalty Skill Levels to Offset Armor Casting Penalty for All Spells at the 3 points per +1 level, the ability can be purchased multiple times. However, while the penalty is applied to each die, the PSL's are not; they are applied one for one to individual penalties. Thus if a character is suffering -2 to each die for wearing DEF 4 Armor and had +2 PSL vs Armor Casting Penalty, then they would essentially ignore the penalty altogether on one of the dice they roll.
Example: Kerahl the Bright Wizard is wearing Leather Armor (DEF 3) and tries to cast Fire Ball, a 30 Active Point spell with a target number of 10 (30/3). Kerahl has three "Magic" Luck dice at his disposal and decides to roll all three. They come up 6,4,2 for a total of 12. Normally Kerahl would have succeeded, but since he is wearing DEF 3 armor each die suffers a -1, which means he only rolled a 9 and thus the spell fails. If Kerahl had the Armored Casting ability he would have offset two points of the penalty for a total of 11 and thus succeeded.
ARMORED CASTING
Armored Casting: +2 Penalty Skill Levels to Offset Armor Casting Penalty
Real Cost: 6 Points
LORE TALENTS
Each type of Lore requires a Custom Talent which costs 5 points, with the exception of Hedge Wizardry which only costs 1 point. These Talents are shown on the Ability Conversion table here. Possession of such a Talent allows a character to purchase and use a Variable Power Pool that has "Cosmic" (i.e. 0 Phase Change, No Skill Roll Required) access to spells of that type of Magic. This is described in depth below.
NOTE: By default and in keeping with the source material a character may only ever have Petty Magic and one other Lore Talent. However, individual GM's could waive that restriction for a broader Magic System. This isn't worth any points if enforced; it's simply a Campaign Groundrule.
LORE VPP
The size of a character's VPP is directly analogous to their Magic rating in Warhammer; the higher their Magic Rating in Warhammer, the larger their VPP in the HERO System. The following depicts the write ups for Magic ratings 1 thru 5; the progression should be clear from this, but basically every +1 Magic rating adds 10 Pool to the VPP.
A character must have a number of "Magic" Luck dice equal to the rating of their VPP. Thus a character with a Rating 4 VPP must have exactly 4d6 "Magic" Luck dice.
As a character gains Experience Points and advances their Variable Power Pool, they can put points into it as they like, but they can't use more Pool than their current rating until they have completely paid off the next rating and also bought another "Magic" Luck die. Effectively the next level of VPP and it's corresponding "Magic" Luck die is on lay away until the character can completely pay for them.
Example: The Wizard Verakin has a Rating 2 Magic VPP and 2d6 Magic Luck. As time passes Verakin's player puts points into the VPP, growing it from 45 Real Cost to 60 Real Cost. However during this time Verakin can only use the 30 Pool his Rating 2 allows him. Finally, 18 experience points later, Verakin's player pays off both the 15 points to get from 30 Pool to 40 Pool, and 3 points to buy another die of Magic Luck. Verakin immediately has 3d6 "Magic" Luck and 40 Pool available to him, allowing him to cast more powerful spells.
MAGIC POOLS BY RATING
MAGIC RATING 1 POOL
Magic Rating 1: Variable Power Pool 20 Pool; No Skill Roll Required to Change Powers (+1), 0 Phase Change (+1); Incantations (-1/4), RSR: Requires "Magic" Luck Roll (Dice Total vs AP/3 Target Number;-3/4), SE: Suffer SE equal to -1/4 per Matching Die Of Luck Roll (-3/4), Must Have Appropriate Lore Talents (-1/4);
Real Cost: 30 points
MAGIC RATING 2 POOL
Magic Rating 2: Increase Variable Power Pool to 30 Pool
Real Cost: +15 points (45 points total)
MAGIC RATING 3 POOL
Magic Rating 3: Increase Variable Power Pool to 40 Pool
Real Cost: +15 points (60 points total)
MAGIC RATING 4 POOL
Magic Rating 4: Increase Variable Power Pool to 50 Pool
Real Cost: +15 points (75 points total)
MAGIC RATING 5 POOL
Magic Rating 5: Increase Variable Power Pool to 60 Pool
Real Cost: +15 points (90 points total)
Incantations
This Limitation must be taken on individual spells.
All Warhammer Spells require Incantations in the "Arcane Language", except for those cast by Hedge Wizards who use made up phrases or snippets of true Arcane phrases (and they suffer for the lack). At least -1/4 worth of Incantations must be taken on every spell.
Requires "Magic" Luck Roll
This Limitation affects the VPP directly and is not taken on individual spells.
As discussed previously above, each time a Spellcaster attempts to cast a spell they must roll one or more "Magic" Luck dice, and compare the total to the Active Points of the spell divided by 3 (AP/3). If the total does not at least equal the AP/3 of the spell, then it's casting fails.
Suffer Side Effects and the Curse of Tzeentch
This Limitation affects the VPP directly and is not taken on individual spells.
This is the "Curse of Tzeentch" equivalent in the HERO System. For each matching die rolled with Magic "Luck", the spell suffers -1/4 worth of a random Side Effect as per the Power Limitation Side Effect. Thus if doubles are rolled, then the spell has a "Minor Side Effect", which is worth -1/4. If triples are rolled, then the spell has a "Major Side Effect", which is worth -1/2. If quadruples are rolled, then the spell has a "Major Side Effect" that also affects the character and the environment , which is worth -3/4. If quintuplets are rolled, then the spell has an "Extreme Side Effect", which is worth -1. And so on and so forth.
The actual effect that a given Side Effect takes is up to the GM. Some GM's might want to model individual occurrences listed in the source material in HERO System terms, while others might want to play it more by ear, and still other more diabolical GM's might devise their own Curse of Tzeentch effects.
When all else fails or in a pinch a GM can always fall back on a number of dice of Unluck with a cost equivalent to the Active Points indicated by the Side Effect. Thus if a 40 Active Point spell causes a Minor Side Effect, then the GM could reasonably just roll 3d6 of Unluck (15 points worth of Unluck proxying for the 15 Active Points of the Minor Side Effect) against the character and let that be his guide for how severe to make the Side Effect.
Whichever way a GM decides to handle it, they should be aware that the Curse will occur a lot, and the nuances of how the GM handles it will have a big impact on the performance of Magic and how it is perceived by the players. If the GM is heavy handed with the Curse, few will be eager to play a Spellcaster, those that do will cast few spells, and the working of Magic will be seen as very dangerous thing to be around even for bystanders. If the GM is lenient, then Spellcasters will be much more common and spells will be cast more often. Either way or something in between, the GM should be sure that they are sending the message they want to send to portray Spellcasting as they think appropriate to the kind of story they are trying to tell.
Must Have Appropriate Lore Talents
This Limitation affects the VPP directly and is not taken on individual spells.
This Limitation is analogous to "Magic Only" or some other light restriction. It basically just means that a person with the Arcane Lore (Amber) Talent can't cast spells from the Dark Magic (Necromancy) category, etc. Essentially this Limitation simply means that while the VPP is functionally Cosmic, the selection of individual effects is still restricted.
The Lesser Magic Talent is a minor exception to this as described later.
Other Limitations
Because the VPP is effectively Cosmic, and spells can be brought in and out as needed, there isn't a large need to apply further Limitations to individual spells. Primarily such Limitations should be applied to appropriately model effects rather than to lower the Real Cost. One benefit of applying Limitations however is so that constant spell effects can be maintained over time while still allowing active spell casting.
An important caveat to applying other Limitations should be made regarding "Material Components", i.e. Expendable Foci. That situation is handled in a different fashion as indicated below under "Material Components", and the Foci Limitation should not be applied directly to individual spells.
CHANNELING
Channeling is the means by which a Spellcaster focuses their minds and draws more deeply upon the Winds of Magic. When casting a spell, a Spellcaster may take a 1/2 Phase  action to make a Channeling Skill Roll. If the roll succeeds, they may roll an extra "Magic" Luck die to determine if they successfully cast the spell. This die does count for purposes of resolving the Curse of Tzeentch, so this process is not without danger.
To model this in the HERO System, all Spellcasters must also take the following two abilities together when they get their first "Magic" Luck die.
CHANNELING POWER SKILL
Channeling: Channeling Power Skill (EGO) + 1
Real Cost 5 points
CHANNELING DIE
Channeling Die: +1d6 "Magic" Luck ; RSR: Channeling (- 1/2)
Real Cost 3 points
MATERIAL COMPONENTS
In the source material Spellcasters don't have to use "Material Components" to cast their spells, but if they have some available that are appropriate to the spell they are trying to cast they get to roll an extra Magic die.
It is up to the GM as to what qualifies as a suitable item, but as a general rule of thumb since the Material Component is expended by the casting the GM should be careful to not allow players to get a free "disintegrate" effect out of the bargain.
NOTE: The acquisition of suitable Material Components can be an endless font of adventuring, as anyone that has ever played Ars Magica is well aware. However not all players, in fact few players, really enjoy having to quest for every hair of newt and eye of dog. It's one of those tropes that is great with certain players and groups, and a major drag for others. It's up to individual GM's how available individual Material Components are, but it is important for the GM to be consistent. If yesterday the GM hand waived away a Material Component for a spell, and today is getting anal about the same Material Component on the same spell it sends a mixed message and is pure concentrated unfun for the players.
To model this in the HERO System, all Spellcasters must also take the following ability when they get their first "Magic" Luck die.
COMPONENT DIE
Component Die: +1d6 "Magic" Luck ; OIF Expendable Spell Component (- 3/4)
Real Cost 2 points
EXTRA DICE FROM CHANNELING AND MATERIAL COMPONENTS
The math savvy have probably already figured out that if a Spellcaster is always trying to cast spells with the maximum amount of Active Points available to their rating then they will always be a little behind the power curve, however for the non math heads this state of affairs is explicitly called out here.
At Magic Rating 1 a spell caster's VPP is 20 Active Points, and they have 1d6 "Magic" Luck available to them. Considering the AP/3 target number requirement against the maximum AP of 20, it breaks down as 20/3 = 6.667, which rounds to 7. Thus it is impossible for the Spellcaster to successfully cast a spell with the full 20 AP in their Magic Rating 1 VPP with their lone 1d6 "Magic" Luck die. It's also pretty unlikely that they'll succeed at casting anything with more than 13 Active Points with any kind of consistency since (14/3) = 5, which is not reliably acheivable on 1d6.
As the spell caster's VPP goes up in 10 point increments per Magic Rating, the spellcaster only get one more d6 of "Magic" Luck to roll against a maximum target number that has gone up (10/3) = 3.33 points, and the average on 1d6 = 3.5. Thus while Spellcasters do gain some ground every 10 Pool, it's not enough to change the fact that they are always lagging behind. They will always be grasping at straws when they try to cast spells at the top of their range.
It is important to understand that this situation is by design. Magic is supposed to be risky and difficult in Warhammer, and this is reinforced by making sure that if a character wants to push their limits and cast magic at the outer edge of their capacity, then they are going to have to work for it.
This is where Channeling and Material Components come into play. Having just one more d6 of "Magic" Luck can make all the difference to a Spellcaster, turning the nearly impossible to fairly good odds.
Consider the Spellcaster with 30 Pool trying to cast a 30 AP spell with 2d6 vs a target number of (30/3) = 10. Normally they would need a really good roll on 2d6 to get a 10 or better. If the Spellcaster can make a Channeling Roll first or has an appropriate Material Component however, that extra d6 changes the odds significantly; instead of making the roll very rarely, they will make the roll on average. This progression of one extra dice shifting a roll from difficult to average continues all the way through 60 AP and 5d6 (60/3 = 20, 5*3.5 = 17.5, 6*3.5 = 21), though it is less marked.
In short, Spellcasters will need to use Channeling and/or Material Components to reliably use their Magic at its fullest potential, particularly in the lower Magic Ratings. Also, note that neither die has the Armor Casting Limitation on them; they are not effected by wearing Armor. Finally, a Spellcaster must always roll at least one die of normal "Magic" Luck dice in conjunction with their Material Component or Channeling die.
DARK LORE
As noted previously Dark Lore is easier to work than normal Magic, but also more dangerous. Effectively it grants one more "Magic" Luck die, but this die must always be rolled. The character must then drop the lowest die for purposes of determining if the target number was reached, but all dice rolled count for purposes of determining the Curse of Tzeentch. Any character with a Dark Lore Talent must also take this ability.
DARK MAGIC DIE
Dark Magic Die: +1d6 "Magic" Luck ; Must Be Rolled Whenever "Magic" Luck Dice Are Rolled (- 1/4), Lowest Die Must Be Dropped From Total (-1/4)
Real Cost 3 points
Example: Gorgios the Necromancer has a Magic Rating of 2 and a 30 Pool VPP. He is trying to cast Call of Vanhel, which has 30 AP and a target number of 10. Gorgios is determined to cast this spell, so he takes a 1/2 Phase Action to Channel and is successful;  he gets to roll his Channeling die. He also decides to roll both of his normal "Magic" Luck dice. Thus he rolls a total of 4 dice, composed of his 2 normal "Magic" Luck dice, his Channeling die, and his mandatory Dark Magic die. He rolls 3,3,4,5; normally he would total all four, but Dark Magic causes the lowest die to drop for purposes of determining the total (one of the 3's in this case). The total is therefore 12; a success. However all four dice count for determining the Curse of Tzeentch, so Gorgios suffers a Minor Side Effect due to the matching 3's.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Following are some final issues and considerations applicable to this style of Magic.
LESSER MAGIC
The Lesser Magic Talents simply allow Spellcasters access to one extra generic spell each. For purposes of this Magic System, this Talent has the net affect of allowing the Spellcaster to use an equivalent of the same spell in their Magic VPP. Simply extend an individual Spellcasters allowed spell list to include their Lore as normal, plus whatever spells they have a Lesser Magic Talent for.
HEDGE WIZARDS
Hedge Wizards are untrained Spellcasters that are able to fuddle along, but at great risk Having the Hedge Wizard Talent allows a character to cast Petty Magic spells, but inefficiently. If the character also has Arcane Language Magic, then they cast Petty Magic essentially just like a character that only has the Petty Magic Talent. However if they don't have the Arcane Language ability then every time the character casts a spell they must roll an extra Magic "Luck" die which does not count towards the required target number of (AP/3), but does count for determining the Curse of Tzeentch.
As an aside, this ability exists only to allow conversions from Warhammer. It is highly unlikely that any new character made in the HERO System would ever take this ability instead of just going the standard route, since it is largely useless and is actually more of a hindrance than an actual ability.
DISLIKED
Magic users are not generally liked in the source material, and in fact occasionally suffer problems with groups like Witch Hunters and other such intolerant folk. Due to this it is appropriate for Arcane Spellcasters to take the following limitation.
SOCIAL LIMITATION
Social Limitation: Magic User (Occasionally 8-, Major)
Disadvantage Value:  -10 points
DARK LORE
Spell casters that use one of the Dark Lores have it even worse than that. They may take the above Disadvantage at the Extreme level, indicating that if it is discovered that they dabble in the Dark Arts there will literally be hell to pay if the Witch Hunters and other dangerous folk have anything to say about it.
SOCIAL LIMITATION
Social Limitation: Dark Magic User (Occasionally 8-, Extreme); -15 points
Disadvantage Value:  -15 points
ENDURANCE
Endurance is not of any special significance to this style of Magic. Individual spells may or may not cost END depending on their design and particulars. A Spellcaster may not buy an Endurance Reserve for their Spellcasting however.
CHARGES
Due to the Cosmic nature of the VPP used by this style of Magic, spells may not be on Charges.
CONVERTING SPELLS
Converting Warhammer spells into the HERO System is usually pretty easy to do. Simply consider what a particular spell is trying to accomplish and then design an affect that basically models that in the HERO System.
As a general rule of thumb you can use the Casting Number in the source material as a guideline for how many Active Points the spell should have in the HERO System via the following formula, which gives a ballpark figure.
NOTE: Both formula give the same result; one is the full calculation to go from a d10 to a d6, and then multiply by 3 due to the (AP/3) model being used by this Magic System. The short version just shortcuts this full calculation.
SPELL CONVERSION CASTING NUMBER TO ACTIVE POINTS
Formula: ((WH Casting Number * .625) * 3) = Active Points
Short Formula: (WH Casting Number * 1.875) = Active Points
Example 1: The spell Starshine, which has a casting number of 22 in the source material should have somewhere around 40 Active Points in the HERO System.
Example 2: The spell Claws of Fury has a casting number of 8 in the source material, and thus should have somewhere around 15 Active Points in the HERO System.
It is important to note that due to differences in the game systems, not all abilities will map cleanly in this fashion; some abilities in Warhammer may require significantly more Active Points to properly model in the HERO System than this simple formula can account for.

Example Magic Use
Gabor the Amber Wizard has a Magic Rating of 3 and thus has a VPP with 40 Pool and 3d6 "Magic" Luck, +1d6 when Channeling, and +1d6 when using an appropriate expendable Material Component.
He may, at will, attempt to cast any spell he wishes from the Amber Lore of Arcane Magic. Whenever he attempts to do this, he rolls one or more of his "Magic" Luck dice, plus the Channeling die and/or the Material Component die when appropriate.
He could, for example, cast Calm the Wild Beast one Phase, Form of the Soaring Raven the next, and The Beast Unleashed the Phase after that. The only caveats being that the spells must be from the Amber Lore, he must equal or exceed the (AP/3) of the spell on his "Magic" Luck dice, and he must be able to fit the spell's Active Points and Real Cost into his VPP's currently available Pool.
ILL MET IN OLDE WORLDE FOREST
One day Gabor is walking through a dark forest and is beset by a group of three Bandits who waylay him on the path and demand a toll. Having none of that, Gabor attempts to cast Crow's Feast to summon a swarm of mystic crows to teach them the error of their ways.
CROWS FEAST SPELL
Crows Feast: Killing Attack - Ranged 1d6 (vs. PD), Penetrating (+1/2), Area Of Effect Nonselective (2" Radius; +3/4) (34 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Incantations (-1/4);
[3 END]; Target Number: 11
Phase 12
Crow's Feast takes a full Phase to cast, so Gabor likely wouldn't get a chance to Channel without tipping his hand, but luckily he happens to have a caged crow hanging from his walking stick, which is the necessary Material Component for this spell.
Going all in, Gabor's player rolls all 3d6 of his "Magic" Luck dice +1d6 for having the necessary material component and deciding to use it. The dice come up 1,4,4, and a 5 on his Material Component die, which adds up to 14. Gabor is wearing Leather Armor (DEF 3), so he must subtract 1 from each of his 3d6 "Magic" Luck dice, for a net of -3. However Gabor has 2 PSL's to offset Armor Casting penalties and thus subtracts 1 for a total of 13. Crow's Feast has a target number of 11, so Gabor has successfully cast the spell. Success!
Unfortunately Gabor has also invoked the Curse of Tzeentch at the "Minor Side Effect" level due to the double fours. The GM is using a version of the Chaos Manifestation charts from the source material and rolls for a Minor Manifestation. The dice indicate Aytheric Shock, so the GM tells the player to take 1 BODY and rolls a STUN Multiple of 4, inflicting 4 STUN on Gabor as well, with no defenses applied.
Normally the spell would target a hex at DCV 3, but since the "Nonselective" modifier is taken on the AoE, instead Gabor also has to roll to hit each opponent separately with his normal OCV plus any applicable Combat Levels he has. In this case Gabor has an OCV of 5 and 2 All Combat Levels that he chooses to apply for a DCV of 7.
He easily hits his target hex, getting all three Bandits in the spells radius while keeping himself out of it. The Bandits have DCV's of 4, 6, and 9 respectively. The GM decides that the Bandits didn't expect the harmless looking mark to whip out a major spell, and thus don't think to Dive for Cover. Gabor rolls three Attack Rolls and manages to hit all three.
Next Gabor's player rolls the damage, in this case 1d6 Killing. The roll comes up as a 3 for damage and a STUN Multiple of 4. This damage is applied equally to all three Bandits. Normally 3 BODY would not be enough to get through the Bandit's Leather Armor (DEF 3), but because the spell is Penetrating the Bandits each take 1 BODY regardless. They also each take 12 STUN - 3 PD and however much PD they have individually.
Gabor's player notes on his character sheet that Gabor has spent 3 END, and also marks off the Caged Crow Material Component he expended to cast the spell.
In game, Gabor shouts out the words of Power, calling crows from the very Aethyr to swarm down upon his foes, while reaching up to release the catch on the caged rook dangling from his walking stick. With a shrieking caw the crow takes flight, and from seemingly nowhere a horde of bloody winged and iron beaked birds of dark aspect descend upon the Bandits standing astride Gabor's trail to peck at their heads and exposed flesh. However, crackling blue sparks pop and hiss around the Wizard, singeing his hair and flesh.
Finally Gabor's player decided to follow-up his attack with a Presence Attack (they're an action that takes no time). The GM decides that any Bandit that the Presence Attack achieves +10 effect against will bolt -- they're fairly cowardly after all.
Tossing his head back imperiously, Gabor shouts, "FOOLS! You dare extort a WIZARD? Flee now or DIE!!!!"
Gabor has a 16 PRE for 3d6, and the GM determines that the roll will be modified as so: +2d6 for Extremely Violent Action, +1d6 for a Good Soliloquy, +1d6 for the fear ignorant people have for magic users, and -1d6 for In Combat, for a total of 6d6. Gabor's player rolls and comes up with a 21. This is compared to the better of each Bandit's EGO and PRE to determine the effect as normal for Presence Attacks. One of the Bandits only has an EGO and PRE of 10, and runs screaming into the forest. They other two are steadier, but still are impressed by Gabor's might.
On their action both remaining Bandits, who already have their swords drawn, 1/2 Phase Move and 1/2 Phase Attack Gabor. Gabor's DCV is a base of 5, +1 DCV level for a total of 6. The two Bandits have OCV's of 4 and 9; making Attack Rolls the first bandit needs a 9-, while the other needs a 14- to hit Gabor. Unsurprisingly the OCV 4 Bandit misses and the OCV 9 Bandit hits.
The Bandit does 2d6+1 damage with his sword and STR, and rolls 7 BODY and a STUN Multiple of 3. Gabor subtracts his 3 DEF from the BODY and thus takes 4 BODY. He has a base PD of 4, and thus subtracts 7 from the 21 STUN the attack inflicted, taking 14 STUN. Luckily Gabor has a 15 CON and isn't stunned, or else he would likely never recover.
In game the two Bandits, bleeding from scratches about their face and arms, dash in to strike at Gabor. One clumsily misses, but the other scores a brutal strike across Gabor's arm, sending a gout of blood flying.
Post Segment 12 Recovery
Gabor gets to apply his 5 REC to the 18 STUN he suffered last TURN to the Curse of Tzeentch and the Bandits, as well as the 3 END he spent on his spell. The Bandits each get their Recovery as well.
Segment 4
Both Gabor and the Bandit with OCV 9 go in this Phase, but the Bandit has a better DEX. Fortunately for Gabor he has enough Lightning Reflexes to go first any way, and realizing that he is unlikely to win this battle he casts Form of the Soaring Raven to change into a raven and fly away.
FORM OF THE SOARING RAVEN SPELL
Form of the Soaring Raven: Multiform (50 Character Points in the most expensive form), Reversion (+1/4) (12 Active Points); Incantations (-1/4)
[0 END]; Target Number: 4
Gabor decides to not take any chances and rolls all three of his "Magic" Luck dice. They come up 2, 3, and 5 for a total of 10, -3 for wearing Armor, and offset by 2 with PSL's vs Armored Casting for a total of 9. Luckily, no Curse of Tzeentch this time around.
Gabor intones another word of Power, shifts into the form of a raven, and flies away from the befuddled Bandits. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.