Spell Modifiers
From FFa2Wiki
Modifiers adjust the Essence Cost and Difficulty of a Spell, but allow the player to fine tune exactly what it is the Spell is capable of. Once the player has decided what modifiers to use for the Spell, the Spell is finished and capable of being used.
All Spells has a minimum Essence Cost and Difficulty of 1.
Contents |
Affects Traits
The Spell is used to alter the Traits of a target, or to grant a Trait to something which would not normally have one. Some Schools already have rules for affecting Traits, and the rules in an individual School over-rule the mechanics presented here.
| Attribute | Cost | Difficulty | Effect |
| Dice (+ or -) | +2 | +2 | (Half Might) + Half Potency |
| Successes (+ or -) | +3 | +4 | Potency |
| Minimum Successes | +4 | +6 | Half Potency |
| Multiple Attributes | +1 | +2 | Per additional Attribute |
| Skills | Cost | Difficulty | Effect |
| Dice (+ or -) | +1 | +1 | Might + Potency |
| Successes (+ or -) | +2 | +3 | (Half Might) + Half Potency |
| Minimum Successes | +3 | +5 | Potency |
| Multiple Skills | +0 | +1 | Per additional Skill |
| Secondary (+ or -) | Cost | Difficulty | Effect |
| Resistance Traits | +1 | +1 | Half Might) + Half Potency |
| Essence | +2 | +3 | Potency |
| Health | +3 | +5 | Potency |
| Size | +1 | +1 | Potency |
| Soak | +1 | +2 | Potency |
| Other Secondary | +1 | +1 | Might + Potency |
| Bulk (+ or -) | +1 | +1 | Potency |
| Damage (+ or -) | +2 | +2 | Potency |
| Hardness (+ or -) | +2 | +1 | (Half Might) + Half Potency |
Casting Ease
Ease
A Spell which would normally cure or heal an individual can instead help ease the symptoms rather than cure the target. The Spell reduces the Potency of an affliction, or restores Health to a target, but only for the duration of the Spell. At the end of the duration, the wounds return, or the affliction is restored to normal Potency. If the target reduces the Potency of an affliction, or heals some, during the duration, the benefits of such remain even when the Spell wears off.
Non-Lethal
A Spell which inflicts injuries can be modified to ensure that the target is not slain by the effect. The Damage of the Spell is split into two values. The first value is actual Damage, which is reduced by up to (Half Might). The shock Damage is increased by the same value. The target resists the actual Damage, but the shock Damage is compared to the Trait to see if a Death Save is needed. If the target must make a Death Save, failure results in unconsciousness. If the actual Damage also results in a Death Save, the victim gains bonus dice equal to the amount the caster reduced the damage by. Evocation and Transmutation Spells have an increased Essence Cost Difficulty when being used for non-lethal Spells.
Willing Target
The Spell may only be cast upon a willing target. If the target is in any way coerced or unwilling, the Spell simply fails. An unconscious or sleeping target is considered willing for this Spell.
NOTE: If you are casting the spell on yourself you do not gain the benefits of willing target. Use Range: Self as the modifier instead.
| Modifier | Cost | Difficulty |
| Ease | -2 | -1 |
| Non-Lethal | -1 / +1 | -1 / +2 |
| Willing Target | -2 | -1 |
Area of Effect
The Spell being cast covers a region, rather than being cast on a specific target. The caster decides how much of an area they wish to be covered, up to the maximum listed below. Size is added to the character's Might for determining area of effect, with a minimum value of 1.
Phantasm, Restoration, and Evocation Spells require the target of the Spell to be visible to the caster for the Spell to affect them. If the target is behind cover, or even if they are invisible, a directed Area Effect Spell will not affect them. If the Spell is affecting the region and the targets are indirectly targeted, then the spell will still work on them.
Additional Targets allows the caster to cast the spell more than once at the same time, letting the caster release the spell at multiple targets. The caster may choose a number of targets up to their Might at one time. This can not be combined with another Area of Effect.
Contact Spells affect anyone who is touching the caster when the Spell goes into effect. This is useful for when a limited number of people need to be the subject of the Spell.
| Area (Radius) | Cost | Difficulty |
| Additional Target (per Target) | +1 | +1 |
| Contact (Touch) | +1 | +1 |
| Aura (Half Might Yards) | +2 | +2 |
| Limited (Half Might x 10 Yards) | +3 | +2 |
| Great (Half Might x 100 Yards) | +4 | +4 |
| Full (Half Might in Miles) | +5 | +4 |
Duration
The Spell lasts longer than an Instant, allowing the effect to be stretched out for a longer period of time. Concentration allows the caster to control the Spell for as long as they may hold concentration (see Concentration, later). A Spell which has a duration but which does not require Concentration is called a Sustained Spell.
While a Spell is active (either through Concentration or by being Sustained), the Essence invested into the Spell is committed. The character can not re-claim the Essence until the Spell's duration has ended. Once a Spell is rendered permanent, the Essence is released, allowing the character to reclaim it.
Evocation and Restoration Spells do not normally have a duration, nor do Harmful Transmutation Spells. For these Spells, use the Duration listed in the specific School section, which hold precedence over the following chart.
For spells which must influence an event in the future or in the past, use Duration to determine how far ahead or behind the spell can go. For example, detection spells to look at past events will use Duration to determine how far back they can look, while a spell which must trigger 'later' will use Duration to determine how far into the future it can wait. The Potency of the spell is multiplied by the time chosen, to create a maximum 'distance' in time.
| Duration | Cost | Difficulty |
| Concentration | +2 | +0 |
| (Half Might + Potency) Rounds | +1 | +1 |
| (Half Might + Potency) Minutes | +2 | +2 |
| (Half Might + Potency) Hours | +2 | +3 |
| (Half Might + Potency) Days | +3 | +4 |
| (Half Might + Potency) Weeks | +3 | +5 |
| Lasting | +5 | +3 |
| Permanent Requires Permanency Talent |
The 'lasting' modifier allows a spell's effects to remain once the spell duration has expired. The spell's effect must make sense for it to be allowed this modifier: creating a wall of stone out of the earth would qualify (the wall remains once the duration ends), but a wall of fire would not. A spell which causes a target to sleep 'until awakened' would apply, but creating a perpetual rain storm would not. A good measure of if it makes sense is 'could this be done without magic' if it can then you can probably apply the lasting modifier to it.
Multi-Casting
The caster releases multiple versions of the same Spell, choosing different targets or areas for the Spell to be cast. This is significantly different than the Area Effect version of multiple targets, and allows the caster to release multiple Area Effect effects at the same time. The Spell is considered a Passive Roll using the Difficulty modifiers.
Alternatively, the caster can release multiple Spells of different natures at the same time. The character must pay the Essence Cost for all Spells, and uses the highest Difficulty and Casting Time, then apply modifiers. The Spell is considered a Passive Roll using the Difficulty modifiers.
Someone caught in multiple Spells must accept the effects of each Spell. A caster can release a number of Spells equal to their Might.
| Modifier | Cost | Difficulty |
| Same Spell (per Spell) | +2 | +2 |
| Different Spell (per Spell) | +2 | +3 |
Range
Most Spells are cast at a target at range. The exception are most Restoration Spells, which are meant to be performed at close range. The Range chart for Restoration takes precedence over the chart below.
Touch Spells
When casting a touch spell, the caster can use a normal Skill for the Spell if the target is willing to be touched. If the target is unwilling, the caster must make a Passive Roll. The Successes of this roll are compared to the target's Defence (to see if the character succeeds in touching the opponent) and the proper Trait (to see if the defender resists the Spell's effects).
Line of Sight
The caster can see the target of the Spell. This may depend on conditions such as darkness, mist, or the target being behind cover. As long as the caster is capable of seeing the target clearly, the caster may use Line of Sight for casting the Spell.
Awareness
The caster can not see the target clearly, or must rely on other senses for casting the Spell. If the caster is capable of using another sense to detect the target, or is using Divination or some other method to detect the target remotely, then the caster may use the Spell upon the target.
Remote
The caster must be aware of who the target is, and must be reasonably familiar with them. If the caster does not meet these conditions, they must have a sympathetic link to the target of the Spell.
| Range | Cost | Difficulty |
| Self | -1 | -1 |
| Touch | -1 | +0 |
| Line of Sight | +0 | +1 |
| Awareness | +2 | +2 |
| Remote | +4 | +3 |
Sympathetic Links
A sympathetic link is a connection that is left from a person's ownership of an object, to a powerful emotional impression left behind from a person's actions in a location. A lock of hair has a sympathetic link to the person it was taken from, the doll owned by a child holds a sympathetic link to the child, and the site of a murder holds links to both the murderer and to the victim.
For sorcery, having a sympathetic link allows the caster to use Spells with a Remote range. Unfortunately, Spells have a sympathetic link to the caster, and any item or enchantment crafted by a sorcerer holds a sympathetic link to the owner and the person who crafted it.
To clear the sympathetic link of a Spell, enchantment, or item, the caster must roll Spiritual + Occultism with a Difficulty equal to the Potency for the Spell that was cast or the enchantment, or the Potency of the item crafted. If there is no Potency, then the Difficulty is equal to the Difficulty to craft the item.
The Successes of the roll increases the Difficulty of using the sympathetic link. A sympathetic link can never be truly removed, just weakened enough to make it harder to use. The Essence Cost of removing a sympathetic link is equal to the Might of the person it is connected to (in other words, usually the caster's Might). This Essence Cost can be lowered by extending the time it takes to clear the link. For each minute spent performing the task, the Essence Cost is reduced by one.
Difficulty
The base Difficulty of a Spell is equal to the type of Spell being cast. When casting a Spell against another, the minimum Difficulty is equal to the number presented. If the Trait used to resist is less than the number for a generic Spell, the numerical value is used instead. This base Difficulty is then increased or decreased by Spell modifiers, such as Area of Effect, Difficulty, and so on.
Example
A Harmful Transmutation which targets Essence has a Difficulty of '5 or Defence'. If the target's Defence is less than 5, the Base Difficulty becomes 5. If the target's Defence is higher than 5, the Base Difficulty is equal to the target's Defence.
Casting Time and Essence Cost
The base casting time of a Spell is in phases, and is equal to the Essence Cost of the Spell. When a character casts a Spell, their Initiative is reduced by the casting time. If this reduces the Initiative of the character to 0, the caster does not get to act further in the current Round. The remaining casting time is removed from the Initiative of the caster on the following Round, and the Spell is unleashed at that phase. If the caster is injured or interrupted at any time before the Spell is cast, they must make a concentration roll.
Reducing Casting Time
The caster may reduce the casting time by increasing the Spell's Difficulty. The casting time can be reduced a number of times equal to the caster's Might.
Reducing Essence Cost
The caster may reduce the Essence Cost of the Spell by increasing the casting time. The casting time may be increased a number of times equal to the caster's Might.
| Casting Time | Effect |
| +2 Casting Time | -1 Essence Cost |
| -2 Casting Time | +1 Difficulty, +1 Essence Cost |
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