Powers
Power scrolls
Power scrolls are precious artifacts holding ancient and powerful magic. They come in two types: sacred and profane.
Characters with the religion or sorcery skill can invoke powers from sacred and profane power scrolls respectively. They must hold the power scroll while reading it out loud, just memorising the incantations isn’t enough.
Knowledge on how to craft power scrolls has been long forgotten. Simply transcribing the incantations on parchment doesn’t work. The Church toils to collect and hoard sacred scrolls, and to burn and destroy profane scrolls.
Invoking sacred powers
Invoking a sacred power takes a full stretch. The invoker must roll higher than their current corruption on a d12 for the power to work, otherwise nothing happens. Each character can only make a single attempt at invoking a sacred power per watch.
Example
Invoking profane powers
Invoking a profane power only takes a few seconds (a main action in combat). The invoker must spend 1 mana to cast the power. If they have no mana left, they suffer 2 corruption instead.
Profane powers are cast at most at a level equal to the invoker’s current mana (before spending it). The maximum level can be increased by 1 either by spending a full stretch to invoke the power (instead of a few seconds), or by suffering 2 corruption.
Powers cast as described have level 0. Applying the following generic enhancements, or any specific enhancement in the power description, increases the level by the indicated amount. The same enhancement can be applied multiple times.
Level+1 — Target a small zone, affecting all valid targets within it or on its borders.
Level+1 — Double the number of targets or targeted zones.
Level+1 — Improve range by one category.
Level+1 — Invoke the power silently, without pronouncing incantations.
Level+1 — Ignore the effects of the magic shield skill.
Level+2 — Improve duration by one category.
Example
Philippa has the sorcery skill and two power scrolls recording the eldritch blast and miasma of chaos spells. She currently has 2 mana, meaning she can cast two spells safely.
She first casts eldritch blast at power level 2 (her current mana). She chooses to increase range by a category and to target a small zone instead of an individual character. The power takes effect and her mana is reduced to 1.
Later she casts eldritch blast again, this time at level 1. She decides to suffer 2 corruption to increase the level to 2 and apply the same enhancements as before. Luckily she suffers no soulblight, the power works, and her mana is reduced to 0.
Later she casts miasma of chaos. Since she has no mana left, she suffers 2 corruption, increasing the total to 4. Since her mana is 0, the power is cast at level 0. She could choose to increase the level to 1 by suffering more corruption or taking longer to cast, but decides against it. Again she suffers no soulblight and the power works as intended.
Power range
Personal. The power exclusively affects the invoker.
Near. Targets must be nearby the invoker.
Sight. Targets must be visible and within range 8 of the invoker.
Connection. Targets can be anywhere as long as the invoker has an arcane connection to them. An arcane connection is formed through an object which is closely related to the target (a lock of hair, a personal possession, etc), which is destroyed after invoking the power.
Powers can always be cast at a worse range: for example, a power with connection range can be cast with sight range, and all powers can be cast with personal range.
Power duration
Stretch. The power lasts until the end of the stretch.
Watch. The power lasts until the end of the watch.
Lingering. The power lasts indefinitely.
Some powers might end prematurely based on particular conditions. Upon casting, the invoker may also choose a trigger which can end the power prematurely (a word, a gesture, an event…).
Ongoing profane powers can additionally be dispelled by casting the exact same power on the same target. The base level of a power invoked to dispel another power depends on the duration of the dispelled power: 0 if stretch, 2 if watch, 4 if lingering.
Reacting to powers
The target of a profane power can react by countering the invoker as if it were an attack. Conversely, profane powers can be invoked as a counter to an attack. The power is handled as a non-lethal attack if it doesn’t inflict damage, otherwise it is handled as a normal attack. It isn’t possible to dodge a power unless otherwise specified.
Sacred powers take a full stretch to invoke, so they can’t be used to react or reacted to.
Magic corruption and miscasts
As previously mentioned, it is possible to invoke a profane power with no mana left and/or at 1 level higher than normally allowed by suffering 2 corruption. If both conditions hold true, the invoker suffers 4 corruption at once and only checks for soulblight once.
Corruption is inflicted before the power takes effect. The power has no effect if the invoker is killed or incapacitated due to soulblight. If they suffer soulblight but are still alive and conscious, the power works but they must roll on the Miscast table.
Example
Philippa attempts to cast a eldritch blast while having 0 mana and 4 corruption. Her corruption increases to 6 and she rolls 3 on a d12, causing soulblight! Her corruption is reduced to 3 and her health is reduced from 8 to 5, so she is still conscious. The power works, but Philippa must roll on the miscast table. She rolls a 8, meaning the eldritch blast has an alternative effect. The GM rules that the power heals the target instead of damaging them!
Later, Philippa casts eldritch blast again, this time at level 1, therefore suffering 4 corruption at once since her mana is still 0. Her total corruption increases to 7 and she rolls a 4 on a d12, meaning she suffers soulblight again! This time her health is reduced from 5 to 1, so she suffers critical damage: she is incapacitated and suffers a mutation. Since she was incapacitated, the power has no effect.
| D12 | Miscast |
|---|---|
1 | The power actually doesn’t work, but there are no other penalties. |
2 | A minor eldritch event happens around the invoker: plants wither, blood rains from the sky, the air becomes unnaturally cold, etc. This might spook other people but otherwise has no significant consequences. |
3 | Thick magical darkness shrouds all zones within range 1 of the invoker until the end of the watch. It’s impossible to see through it and light cannot penetrate it in any way. |
4 | The power scroll crumbles to dust and is permanently destroyed. |
5 | The floor, walls, and air around the invoker twirl and change in chaotic patterns. All other characters within range 1 of the invoker suffer 2 corruption. |
6 | Black flames burst from the invoker. All other characters within range 1 of the invoker suffer d6 fire damage. They can attempt to dodge. |
7 | The power hits the wrong targets, in a way which is disadvantageous for the invoker. Reroll if this doesn’t make sense. |
8 | The power has an alternative effect which is disadvantageous for the invoker, typically the exact opposite of what it was intended to do. Reroll if this doesn’t make sense. |
9 | The invoker and all creatures within range 1 are exposed to the ‘demon pox’ disease (see Disease). |
10 | The invoker suffers a random mutation (roll on the Mutations table). |
11 | A demon enters the world nearby the invoker. It isn’t necessarily hostile, but its presence will surely spell trouble. |
12 | The invoker is possessed by a demon. The GM makes a secret d12 roll for them at the start of each day. If they roll equal or lower than their corruption, the GM can take control of the character for a whole stretch at any point during the day, making them do the demon’s bidding. Characters who are possessed a second time succumb to the demon’s power, who takes full control of their body. |
Sacred powers
Rite of bane. Near, watch. Target an item. It burns demons and undead touching it. If it’s a weapon or a shield, it inflicts enhanced damage against them. If it’s armour or a shield, demons and undead attacking the wearer and not overcoming their armour value suffer direct damage equal to what they rolled.
Rite of blessing. Near, lingering. Target 2 bottles filled with clean, pure water. They are turned into blessed water.
Rite of courage. Near, watch. Target a character with human intelligence. The target emanates an aura which fills their allies with confidence and calm. The target and all nearby allies are immune to fear and treat terror as fear.
Rite of healing. Near. Target a creature. The target heals damage equal to half their STR.
Rite of judgement. Sight. Target a creature with human intelligence and accuse them of a grave injustice. The target is engulfed by flames: they are reduced to ashes if guilty, but left unharmed if innocent. This power doesn’t work with minor accusations of little significance.
Rite of martyrdom. Near, watch. Target two creatures. When one of the two targets suffer damage, half of it is suffered by the other target instead.
Rite of preservation. Near, lingering. Target a corpse. It can’t be affected by profane powers and doesn’t show signs of decay.
Rite of protection. Near, watch. Target a character. The target’s armour value increases by 1, but only if they don’t wear armour. They must show their faith in divine protection! Shields are allowed.
Rite of purging. Near. Target a demon, an undead, a character who has suffered mutations, or an item which has was tampered with profane magic. The target must remain within range for the whole time required to invoke the power. If successful, the target is destroyed.
Rite of purification. Near. Target a creature. The target heals 1 corruption.
Rite of restoration. Near. Target a creature who is sick or affected by poison. Poison is neutralised, and sick targets gain a success towards recovering.
Rite of warding. Near, watch. You erect an anti-magic field covering all zones within range 1 of your current position. Within the area, profane powers have no effect and demons and undead suffer d4 direct damage per round. The field is fixed and doesn’t move with you.
Profane powers
Animal shape. Personal, stretch. Target a creature, who turns into a medium-sized animal of your choice. You must carry the skin, feathers, scales, or shell of the chosen animal, which envelop and merge with the target during the transformation and returns to its previous state when the spell ends. The target keeps WIT and intelligence level, but can’t speak. The spell doesn’t influence the target’s equipment, which simply falls to the ground.
Level+2 — Turn into a small or large animal. By applying this enhancement twice, you can turn into a tiny or massive animal.
Arcane lock. Near, stretch. Target an item which can be opened and closed, such as a door, a box, or a bottle. The target can only be opened by a trigger of your choice (a password, a gesture, contact with a specific item, etc.
Level+1 — The target emits a loud sound if someone attempts to open it without using the proper method.
Bewitch. Near, stretch. Target a creature. The target attitude towards you improves by a step: hostile to unfriendly, unfriendly to neutral, neutral to friendly, friendly to infatuated (see the Encounters chapter).
Level+1 — Improve the attitude by an additional step
Level+1 — Target another creature, who replaces you as the one towards whom attitude is improved.
Burning vengeance. Near, stretch. Target a creature with human intelligence. Name a person they know and remind how they have been wronged by them, no matter if by a small or a big matter. The target becomes obsessed with an irrational desire to take revenge by killing the named person and they will fully devote themselves to this end.
Eldritch blast. Near. Target a character or an item. The target is hit by a force blast, which works as a melee attack inflicting d10 damage (impaired against items). If you enhance the power to sight range, it works as a ranged attack instead. All skills and rules concerning attacks apply, and the attack can be dodged or countered as usual. If you enhance the power to connection range, the blast is conjured on top of the target and your skills don’t apply any longer, but the target can still dodge.
Level+1 — The power inflicts fire, lightning, cold, or heat damage.
False death. Near, stretch. Target a creature. The target falls like a string-less puppet and appears dead, even upon close examination. However, they are still very much alive: they can perceive their surroundings and must breathe, eat, and drink to survive.
Fiery taste. Near, stretch. Target up to 4 rations and/or alcoholic drinks. Rations become extremely spicy: those who consume must pass a STR save or succumb to a terrible stomachache and be incapacitated until the end of the stretch. Alcoholic drinks become extremely potent: drinking one counts as drinking two. Characters with the fire eating skill aren’t affected.
Flawed resurrection. Near, lingering. Target the lifeless heart of a creature who died no longer than a stretch ago. A new body forms around the heart and the target’s spirit is called back to inhabit it, effectively resurrecting them. The regeneration process takes a day and the new body is different from the original both in appearance and capabilities. STR and AGI are equal to the average (8 for humans, what’s indicated in their profile for other creatures) minus d3. WIT, skills, intelligence, and personality don’t change. Once the resurrection is complete, the target immediately suffers 4 corruption.
Level+2 — Accelerate the regeneration process: from a day to a watch, then from a watch to a stretch.
Level+2 — Target a creature who died longer than a stretch ago: from a stretch to a watch, from a watch to a day.
Gift of speech. Near, stretch. Target a creature with animal intelligence or human intelligence. The target gains the ability to speak your language.
Golden transmogrification. Personal, stretch. This power can only ever target the invoker and requires the sacrifice of a gold jewel. Choose a body part: an arm, a leg, the head, or the torso. The body part is replaced by one which appears to be made of pure gold. It works perfectly, even better than the original one. You can even replace missing body parts. An ability score is permanently increased, even above the usual limits (but never more than 19), depending on the chosen body part: +1 STR for an arm, +1 AGI for a leg, +1 WIT for the head or torso.
Hold secret. Near, stretch. Target a creature of human intelligence and name a topic. The target is physically unable to talk about the topic, and if forced to they will compulsively lie.
Illusion. Near, stretch. Target a small zone. You can create an illusion within its boundaries. The illusion can affect sight, hearing, and smell, but not touch. While you are within range, you can concentrate on the illusion to change it or animate it. While you aren’t concentrating the illusion remains frozen in the state you left it, and only disappears when the power ends.
Joyous appearance. Near, stretch. Target a creature. The target’s appearance becomes perfect and free of any blemish. Signs of disease, affliction, old age, and mutation completely disappear. The appearance might in fact be too perfect, almost uncanny (the skin is too smooth, the cheeks are too rosy…). The change in appearance is real, not an illusion, but any underlying illness or problem isn’t cured and still has effect.
Levitation. Near, stretch. Target a creature. The target temporarily gains the landing flyer trait.
Level+1 — Improve flying by a category: landing flyer to swooping flyer, swooping flyer to hovering flyer.
Miasma of chaos. Near, stretch. Target a small zone. The area is filled with red mist flowing from the ground. Characters entering or starting their turn in the affected area suffer 1 corruption. The mist blocks visibility through it, but it still possible to see nearby characters within it.
Level+1 — Double the amount of corruption.
Level+1 — The mist covers all zones within range 1 of the targeted one. Enhance again to double the range.
Occult consultation. Near, stretch. Target the corpse of a creature who has died no longer than a stretch ago and whose spirit is still lingering in the area. You may ask the spirit one question, but they aren’t forced to answer truthfully, or at all. If you enhance the power range to connection, you may contact the spirit of a long dead person, but they can only answer by knocking on the door to the underworld: their answer can only be a number, yes, or no.
Plague vessel. Near, stretch. Target a sick creature. You absorb the disease from the target, who is instantly healed. You carry the disease in your body without suffering its effect. You can attempt to discharge it by touching another creature before the power ends. The target can resist the infection with a STR save. If they resist, the disease stays in your body, and you can attempt to discharge it again later. If the power ends before you discharge the disease, you are infected by it yourself, without chance of a save.
Level+1 — Target another creature, who replaces you as the carrier of the disease.
Purifying flame. Near, stretch. Target an unlit light source, such as a candle, an oil lamp, a torch, or a bonfire. It is instantly lit with a bright white flame. All creatures illuminated by it are immune to poison and disease. If they are already poisoned, the poison isn’t neutralised but its effect is suspended while under the light. If they are already sick, they aren’t healed but don’t suffer negative effects if they fail a recovery roll while under the light.
Radiant honesty. Near, stretch. Target a creature of human intelligence. The target is unable to lie, but also exudes trustworthiness and reduces the difficulty of persuasion attempts.
Reanimate corpse. Near, stretch. Target the corpse of a medium-sized (or smaller) creature. It is raised as a reanimated corpse under your control (see the Bestiary chapter for relevant stats and rules).
Level+2 — Increase the maximum size category of the targeted corpse by one step.
Silence. Near, stretch. Target a zone. No sound can be produced or heard within it. Among other things, it isn’t possible to invoke powers while inside the zone, but spells can still be cast from outside into it.
Star sign. Sight, stretch. Target a celestial body (the Sun, the Moon, a planet, a star…) at any range. You can alter its appearance in a subtle way (make it slightly larger, smaller, brighter, darker…). You can keep altering appearance as long as you concentrate, otherwise it remains as you left it until the spell is over. Characters with the erudition skill can tell something is different, even if subtle. It is said that some wizards use this spell to encode messages in the stars.
Level+2 — You can alter target’s appearance in a rather evident way, so that pretty much everyone can see the difference and not just erudite characters.
Summon demon. Near, stretch. Target a zone and invoke the true name of a demon. The veil between reality and chaos is torn and the demon steps into this world. The demon isn’t under the caster’s control and behaves according to its own desire.
Level+2 — The demon must fulfil a demand when summoned, after which it’s free. It can still refused to obey, in which case it is paralysed as if bound by invisible chains. You can attempt to bargain and change the request.
Water breathing. Near, stretch. Target a creature. Gills and fins appear on the target’s body and their hands, feet, or paws become palmate. The target can breathe under water and can swim at full speed.
Wood shape. Near, stretch. Target a creature. The target turns into a tree. They are still able to perceive their surroundings.