Shadowrun RPG Magic Page

Spells By Tradition

Traditions have access to the tradition spells for 5 xp and at the base difficulty. If its not part of your tradition you double the cost of the spell and upgrade the difficulty of the check by your magic rating. Note - Upgrading the check means that you turn any purple dice (Difficulty) to red dice (Challenge), where as increasing the difficulty adds more purple dice (Difficulty).

Upgrade options of spells also cost 5 xp, unless it is traditon specific which increases the cost by 5 xp. Like with spells, using a upgrade option not part of your tradition doubles the cost of the upgrade and increases the diffculty of the check by your magic rating.

Traditions of Shadowrun

Alchemy Tradition – The tradition is slightly different than others as you make your magic in vials, balms and bombs. Preparation of the spell requires an alchemists kit.

Arcana Tradition – The traditional wizard who casts spells using ritual and formula.

Divine Tradition – The traditional priest who casts spells using powers gained from an entity in another plane of existence.

Primal Tradition – This tradition shaman who casts spells based on their connections with nature.

Rune Tradition – Your casting of magic generally requires a rune to be involved in the casting of the spell.

Verse Tradition – Your casting is through song, so more like a bard or rocker and requires some form of instrument to be involved in the spell.

Magic vs Resonance – Magic affects the living, and the spirit (astral) world, where Resonance affects technology and the digital (matrix) world.

Casting a Spell

Over-Casting a spell (Or casting while sustaining a spell) – When over-casting a spell you use the magic tradition as the skill with matching attribute and add Force/Corruption (White) dice equal to your magic to roll. A player can choose the life path or the power path when rolling the white dice, choosing life before rolling can be changed to power after the roll, but choosing power cannot be switch back to life as power has a cost. Life casting is more difficult, while power casting leads to corruption. Note - You can sustain spells without overcasting using the sustain talent.

Choosing life path
• One White Marker - additional Success or Advantage.
• Two White Markers - reduce your corruption score by 1.
• Three White Markers - can be used to trigger a Triump.
• Triumph - increase the magic rating of the spell.
• One Black Marker - additional Failure or Threat.
• Two Black Markers - can be used to trigger a Despair.
• Despair - reduce the magic rating of the spell, and if reduced to zero rating, the spell fails.
• Note - Any black markers rolled are added to your corruption score, and then a corruption check is rolled.

Choosing power path
• One White Marker - additional Advantage.
• One Black Marker - additional Success.
• Three White or Black Markers - can be used to trigger a Triump.
• Triumph - increase the magic rating of the spell.
• Note - Any black markers rolled and any white markers used are then added to your corruption score, and then a corruption check is rolled.

What is a corruption check – This is your percentage chance of drawing the attention of the Horrors, or having your spell misfire in certain circumstances such as casting spell in toxic magic areas. Roll a percentage dice, and see if it is equal or less than your current corruption score. Effects of Corruption up to the GM but can be seen as a critical injury that cannot be healed. Counting as a critical injury in all forms and can be rolled on the chart.

Maintaining a spell – Costs a manoeuvre on the casters next turn and a strain per spell maintained in this way. If they take damage, then they need to make a Discipline (two purple) with one Setback (Black) dice per spell maintained check or loose all maintained spells. A character can gain the sustain talent to maintain a spell wkthout having to spend a manoeuvre or the strain, but would still need to make the Discipline check if they sustain damage.

Spell Effects that Reference Knowledge – I have changed this to the skill used to cast the spell to link your ability with the magic tradition directly to the power of the effects you can create, the other option is to associated it with the Magic Rating attribute which I think is a smarter shift.

Penalties when casting spells –
• One Setback (Black) dice for not having at least one hand free
• Two Setback (Black) dice for being unable to speak (due to gaged, silenced or other reasons.
• One Setback (Black) dice for armour that provides +2 soak or more.
• One Setback (Black) dice for each reduction in Strain by cyberware on yourself as well as on your target.
• One or more upgrades for environmental effects, such as targeting someone other than the person your engaged in combat with.

Penalties when casting spells
• Any remaining threat can be taken as 2 Strain and 1 Damage, and any remaing Despair is considered a critical injury on the caster. Threat can be spent in the following manner.
• One Threat or Despair (These options can only be taken once per casting)
  • Minor Magic Backlash - The magical energies exhaust the character, and they suffer 2 strain or 1 wound. (Casters choice)
  • Magic Eddy - The character and all allied spellcasters in the encounter add a Setback (Black) dice to any attempts to cast spells until the end of the characters next turn.
• Two Threat or One Despair (These options can only be taken once per casting)
  • Magic Backlash - The magical energies exhaust the character, and they suffer 4 strain or 2 wounds. (Casters choice)
  • Spell Delay - The spell doesn’t take effect until the start of the next round, or after a minute in narrative gameplay.
  • Implement misfire - If the character is using a magical item, it becomes damaged on step.
  • Magic Attractor - Until the end of the encounter, enemy spellcasters add a Boost (Blue) dice per magic rating of the character when casting spells targeting this character.
• Three Threat or One Despair (These options can only be taken once per casting)
  • Major Magic Backlash - The magical energies exhaust the character, and they suffer 6 strain or 4 wounds. (Casters choice)
  • Additional Target - The spell is slightly more powerful than expected. One character per magic rating of the GM’s choice is targeted or otherwise affected by the spell as well.
  • Beacon - All other spellcasters and creature attuned to magical energies within a day’s travel per magic rating become aware of the character (and depending on their disposition, maybe very interested in finding them and doing them harm.)
• One Despair (These options can only be taken once per casting)
  • Severe Magic Backlash - The magical energies exhaust the character, and they suffer all remaining strain and 1 wounds per magic point.
  • Caster Exhaustion - The character overexerts themselves or loses their magical connection and is unable to cast spells for the rest of the encounter or scene.
  • Wrong Target - The GM picks the target of the character’s spell. If the caster is an NPC, the controlling player picks the target of the spell instead.
• Two Despair (These options can only be taken once per casting)
  • Caster Burnout - Reduce the magic rating of the character by 1. This cannot be healed by known means. If the casters magic rating ever falls to 0 then they are no longer magically active.
  • Miscast - The character completely looses control of their magical energies or draws the ire of their deity, suffering one Critical Injury (or at the GM’s discretion, this may instead take the form of some terrible or hilarious misfortune, such as temporarily being turned into a small woodland creature, bring struck by lightning on a clear day, swapping bodies with someone else in the encounter for the remainder of the day, or summoning an avatar of divine or infernal wrath).
  • Total Item Destruction - If the character is using a magical item, it is completely destroyed

Magical Implements

Holy Icon – Damage +0 – Enc 0 – Price 250 cr – Rarity 4
When your character casts a spell while using a holy icon, adding any Divine Only effects increases the spell’s difficulty one less than they would normally. In addition, when your character casts a Heal spell, the number of wounds healed increases by two.

Magic Sceptre – Damage +2 – Enc 1 – Price 350 cr – Rarity 5
When your character casts a spell while using a magic sceptre, add a Boost (Blue) dice to the check and adding the Close Combat effect does not increase the difficulty. In addition, Attack spells cast by your character increase their base damage by two.

Magic Staff – Damage +4 – Enc 2 – Price 400 cr – Rarity 6
When your character casts a spell while using a magic staff, the first Range effect added to the spell does not increase the spell’s difficulty. In addition, Attack spells cast by your character increase their base damage by four.

Magic Tome – Damage +0 – Enc 1 – Price 750 cr – Rarity 7
When your character makes or obtains a tome, your GM determines up to two effects that the tome lets your character add to any appropriate spell without increasing the spell’s difficulty. The effects your GM chooses should normally (without the tome) only increase the difficulty of a spell by a total of three.

Magic Wand – Damage +3 – Enc 1 – Price 400 cr – Rarity 7
When your character makes or obtains a wand, your GM determines one effect that the wand lets your character add to any appropriate spell without increasing the spell’s difficulty. Without a wand, the effect your GM chooses should only increase the difficulty of a spell by one. Attack spells cast by your character increase their base damage by three.

Musical Instrument – Damage +0 – Enc 1 – Price 200 cr – Rarity 4
When your character casts a spell using the Verse skill while using a musical instrument, adding the Additional Target effect does not increase its difficulty.

Implement Materials

Bone – Cost x 1/2 – Rarity +2
When your character successfully casts an Attack or Curse spell, they heal 1 wound.

Oak – Cost no change – Rarity no change
This is the base item type.

Hazel – Cost x 1/2 – Rarity +1
When your character generates Triumph while casting a spell with this implement, you may roll a Boost (Blue) dice and add it to the results, in addition to spending the Triumph normally.

Willow – Cost x 2 – Rarity +2
When your character successfully casts a spell using a willow implement, you may add a Advantage to the results.

Yew – Cost x 1/2 – Rarity +1
When your character successfully casts an Augment, Barrier, or Heal spell using this implement, they heal 1 strain.

Magic Runes

These are rare and dangerous items that can be worth.

Genesys Base Rules

This is the base spell per tradition from the book.

• Arcane Bolt Rune (ter118)
• Blasting Rune (ter118)
• Ice Storm Rune (ter118)
• Immolation Rune (ter118)
• Lesser Rune (ter119)
• Lightning Strike Rune (ter119)
• Rune of Collection (ter119)
• Rune of Fate (ter119)
• Rune of Misery (ter120)
• Soulstone Rune (ter120)
• Stasis Rune (ter120)
• Sunburst Rune (ter121)
• Teleportation Rune (ter121)
• Terror Rune (ter121)
• Vision Rune (ter121)
• Wanderer’s Stone (ter121)
• Ynfernael Rune (ter121)