I'm breaking up with Vancian magic. We're still friends, but I've realized monogamy isn't for me. Which is to say, I've realized I no longer like the idea of having a default magic system baked into a game that isn't tied directly into a specific setting. The way magic works in a given world should be deeply tied into the particular theming and feel of that world, it should say something about what power looks like and where it comes from in that world. Vancian magic works great for the Dying Earth, and it's very gameable, but I no longer think OSR games that purport to be setting-neutral should present it as the standard. I think creating a magic system should be part of setting-building, not part of choosing a base ruleset.
With that in mind, I've gone and rebuilt the magic system for my own setting from the ground up.
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| This isn't really all that relevant, but it's some sick art. |
Tuning
Tuning is the art of manipulating Dust to perform wondrous feats. Its secrets are hoarded jealously by the ruling class of Halas; most commonfolk understand little or nothing of it, referring to it simply as magic, sorcery, or the power of the gods. Practitioners are properly called tuners, although even among those in the know, those who devote their lives to mastering the art are often called sorcerers or wizards as a term of respect.
To manipulate Dust, a tuner must first ingest it somehow. Swallowing it works, but inhaling it through a specially designed mask is preferred; injecting it directly into the bloodstream is even more effective, but can be more dangerous. Once the Dust is ingested, the tuner uses precise movements, incantations, and mental exercises to stimulate specific nerve impulses that transmit a desired command to it—the tuning process for which the art is named. The Dust is then released, or “cast,” to work the desired effect on the tuner’s body or the world around them.
The nerve impulses necessary to produce a useful effect from Dust are so specific that quick improvisation is all but impossible; tuners rely on set patterns, known as spells, developed through careful research and found to produce a consistent effect. While the tuners of Halas have developed some common knowledge and language over generations, every tuner’s nervous system is different, and each tunes in slightly different ways; furthermore, many similar effects can be achieved by wildly different tuning methods. As a result, no two tuners’ spells are exactly alike. While every tuner seeks to learn from others (often by stealing their competitors’ closely guarded secrets), it is never a simple matter of copying what another tuner does, as every spell must be adapted to the learner’s own personal methods.
Spells are grouped into “circles” of increasing complexity and power, from first to fifth. Higher spells are harder to learn, take more Dust to cast, and are more difficult to cast properly. Trying to cast spells beyond one’s skill level can have disastrous consequences. If not cast properly, excess Dust lingers in the body, causing a potentially fatal necrotic sickness called Dustburn and sometimes strange mutations. Even if the Dust is purged from the body successfully, errors in tuning can dramatically change a spell’s effects, with unpredictable and often disastrous results. Many reckless apprentices destroy themselves or others in pursuit of power.
(Note on mechanics: the basic rolling system in my newest rules is d6 dicepool take-the-highest, 4+ unopposed or highest opposed roll succeeds. Pools are based on skill level: 1d6 for unskilled, 2d6 for skilled, 3d6 for an expert, 4d6 for a master.)
Becoming a Tuner
To become a tuner, a character must first undergo the Assimilation, the process of introducing Dust into their body for the first time. This is a dangerous affair. Most aspiring tuners prepare for years under an experienced master, often beginning as children, conditioning their bodies, developing control of their nervous systems, and eating small amounts of Dust as part of their diets to build tolerance. Such training allows a character to become skilled in tuning before attempting the Assimilation, though they can’t progress any further without completing the process.
Whether skilled or not, a character can attempt the Assimilation by ingesting at least 10 Đ. Roll 3d6 secretly on the following table to determine whether the process succeeds.
The character then makes a tuning skill roll on each of the following tables to determine the side effects.
No matter how successful, the Assimilation is always intensely painful. Assuming the character survives, they don’t know automatically whether their Assimilation succeeded. To find out, they can have a tuner cast Sense the Divine Gift or a similar spell on them. Masters normally do this for their apprentices; those who are found to have failed are usually dismissed, as there’s no way to know if they experienced a severe rejection of the Dust and are certain to die if they try again. Failing the Assimilation is a source of shame among the nobility, a sign of the gods’ disapproval; scions who suffer this fate are sometimes disowned, especially if they suffered mutations. Even among those who succeed, mutation is disgraceful. Those who can hide it are expected to for the sake of their family’s reputation and their own; where this is impossible, some families will go so far as to fake the new tuner’s death while keeping them around in secret, as few are willing to discard a tuner entirely.
In the absence of a master or another tuner who can determine the Assimilation’s success, the character can simply try to learn a spell and see if they’re able to cast it.
Dust Pool, Exposure, and Tolerance
Once a character becomes a tuner, they gain a Dust Tolerance, or ÐT, according to their tuning skill. This is the amount of Dust they can safely take in a day to power their spells.
When a tuner consumes Dust, it goes into their Dust pool. Every mote of Dust a tuner takes in a day also adds to their Dust exposure for that day. When a tuner’s Dust pool or Dust exposure exceeds their ÐT, they suffer Dustburn.
When a tuner takes Dust that brings their pool over their ÐT, they immediately take Dustburn according to the number of steps their pool exceeds their ÐT (1 step per skill level above theirs).
When a tuner’s Dust exposure exceeds their ÐT, they take 1 Dustburn damage per multiple of their ÐT they exceed their ÐT by, rounding up.
Dust in a tuner’s pool doesn’t leave until they spend it to cast spells. When a tuner starts a day with more Dust in their pool than their ÐT, they take 1 Dustburn damage per multiple of their ÐT they exceed their ÐT by, rounding up.
A full night’s sleep with a safe amount of Dust in their pool resets a tuner’s Dust exposure to 0 plus their current pool.
Dustburn
Wounds from Dustburn take the form of necrosis, causing flesh to blacken and rot and organs to fail. It feels different for every tuner, but most describe it as like fire burning from within, hence the name. Though it kills slowly at all but the most severe levels, it is also extremely difficult to treat.
Normal medicine can’t do anything for Dustburn wounds. Light Dustburn wounds heal normally. Moderate wounds heal at the normal rate without requiring treatment first, but have a 1-in-6 chance to cause a random mutation in the process. Serious Dustburn incapacitates a tuner immediately and has a 50% chance to kill them in 10 minutes. If it doesn’t, it begins to heal as if it were treated, but has a 50% chance of causing a random mutation, otherwise leaving scars like any serious wound (Dustburn scars resemble burn scars from fire, but following the paths of blood vessels).
Most healing magic does nothing for Dustburn. However, certain rare and powerful spells may heal it.
Learning Spells
Tuners can learn spells from other tuners, spellbooks, and items called vessels that are enchanted to store the effect of a spell for a single casting. Learning from a teacher is the easiest way, taking 1 week of uninterrupted instruction per circle of the spell. Few tuners will share their arts without a heavy price.
Learning a spell from a spellbook requires a number of successful tuning rolls equal to the circle of the spell, with each roll taking 1 week of uninterrupted study. (Breaks can be taken between each roll.) Learning from a vessel first requires a successful tuning roll to identify the stored spell, then works like learning from a spellbook, but with any failed roll destroying the vessel.
Casting Spells
A tuner can cast any spell they know by expending Dust equal to its cost and making a successful tuning roll. The cost of a spell is based on its circle.
Casting spells requires a free hand and the ability to talk. Any damage taken or other significant disruption during the casting ruins the attempt.
A roll of 1 when casting a spell is a miscast. Roll 1d6 on the miscast table below.
Tuners can also cast spells from vessels they’ve identified with a successful tuning roll. This depletes the spell from the vessel, but casts it automatically, with no casting roll required and no Dust cost.
Developing New Spells
Skilled tuners can develop their own spells with time and intensive research. If a character wants to develop a spell, work with them to determine the details of what it should do and what circle it should be, using existing spells as guidelines. The tuner must then make a number of successful tuning rolls equal to the circle of the new spell, with each roll taking a month of uninterrupted study and costing 10 Ð times the spell’s casting cost.
Spells as Attacks
Most spells that inflict harm or debility can be evaded with a suitable roll, if it makes sense that the target could evade the effect in the way described. For some spells, especially those that deal damage, a successful evasion only halves the damage instead of avoiding it completely, unless the target has some special defense that allows them to totally ignore the effect.
Sample Spells
Cure Light Wounds
1st Circle
Casting Time: 1 Round
Duration: Instant
Heals a touched lightly wounded creature instantly.
Magic Missile
1st Circle
Casting Time: 1 Combat Action
Duration: Instant
Launches a bolt of harmful energy at a target within throwing distance, striking unerringly for 1d6 damage.
Sense the Divine Gift
1st Circle
Casting Time: 1 Round
Duration: 10 Minutes
Allows you to sense whether any creature you can see has tuning abilities and, if so, roughly how much Dust it has in its pool.
Invisibility
2nd Circle
Casting Time: 1 Round
Duration: 10 Minutes
Makes a creature or object you can see of up to human size invisible by wrapping them in an optical glamour. If cast on a creature, anything they’re wearing or holding is also hidden. The illusion is fragile; any sudden motion, like attacking, sprinting, or casting a spell, ends the effect.
Dispel Magic
3rd Circle
Casting Time: 1 Round
Duration: Instant
Ends active spell effects in an area up to the size of a small room, centered on a point you can see. This spell can’t fail or miscast, but for each effect to be dispelled, its original caster can oppose your casting roll; if they win, the effect persists.
Pyrokinesis
4th Circle
Casting Time: 1 Round
Duration: Concentration
Allows you to conjure, manipulate, and douse flames anywhere you can see, up to the area of a large room. You can ignite flammable material, cause existing flames to surge and billow as if in a strong wind, or snuff an already burning blaze. Burnt creatures take up to 3d6 damage at the center of an inferno, halved with a successful evasion. If your concentration is broken, you lose control over the flames; they keep burning normally if they have sufficient fuel.
Teleport
5th Circle
Casting Time: 1 Round
Duration: Instant
Transports you and 1 passenger per additional successful casting check to any place you know and can visualize clearly, by folding space to bring the destination only a step away. Miscasts affect each traveler separately. On a “wrong target” result, the traveler arrives 1d6×10 miles off-target in a random direction. On a “wrong effect” result, the traveler takes 1d6 damage from spatial compression.
These are, of course, mostly your typical B/X-style spells. The five circles correspond to spell levels 1 through 5. If and when I run some of this stuff, I expect to use the standard spells as a base, but you should be able to throw in pretty much whatever fairly easily.
