[FOCI]
Early Access
You have a book of various spells and can change which ones you have ready to cast each day—blasts of energy, summoning monsters, magical flight, teleportation, and copying cyphers can all be part of your repertoire.
Character abilities from the Casts Spells focus are magical spells or rituals. Your character has to use specific magic words and gestures to activate them, and they may require tiny amounts of strange ingredients like spider eyes and powdered gemstones. These are just story and flavor requirements; in terms of game mechanics, these abilities work just like abilities from other foci and from various types.
If this is your starting focus, choose one of the following connections.
Esoteric robes, quill and ink bottle, spellbook, staff (light or medium weapon), notes taken from another caster's spellbook you've yet to decipher, and 100 crowns.
Your spell hazes the target's vision with a magic glow so that all tasks it attempts on its next action are modified by one step to its detriment.
A pulse of arcane energy removes the target from reality for a brief period. When the target reappears a couple of rounds later, no time has passed for it. Casts Spells GM Intrusions: A spell in your spellbook is defaced and ruined. A summoned creature turns on you regardless of precautions. A rival spellcaster tries to steal your spellbook. A Fire Bloom Spell goes awry and catches one or more allies in its area.
Sorcerer or wizard (fantasy), magician (real world with magic and/or horror), master of the mystic arts (superhero)
You emit a short-range blast of energy inflicting 4 damage on a target with a successful attack roll. Work with the GM to determine the type of energy comprising your blast.
In addition, you could tune the effect to make it hot enough to slice through material of up to level 5 that's no more than 1 foot (30 cm) thick if given a few rounds to concentrate on doing so.
Effort: Gain fine control over the effect until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, varying the intensity as you wish within immediate range; for instance, you could use it to warm the area, cook food without burning it, provide bright light in the area, and so on. Increase the maximum level of material that you can cut through by 1.
You can change the name of this ability so it relates to the kind of energy you create, such as Blast of Fire, or something more evocative suggesting the name of the spellcaster who created it, such as Malhavoc’s Destructive Blast.
Alternatively, if you have another damaging attack ability (from this focus or your type), you can use Blast to augment that ability, increasing its damage by 1.
Action to attack; Last Action to initiate fine control; Enabler to augment another attack ability.
You can perform small tricks: temporarily change the color or basic appearance of a small object, cause small objects to float through the air, clean a small area, mend a broken object, prepare (but not create) food, and so on. You can't use Hedge Magic to harm another creature or object.
Each day you can pick a different magical effect and cast it as a spell. Choose a low-power manifest cypher. You gain that cypher's effect as a spell (a character special ability) after spending ten minutes preparing. You can cast that spell as an action, costing 2 Intellect. This spell does not count toward your cypher limit. Unlike when using a cypher, you do not lose this spell after casting it.
Whenever you make a ten-hour recovery, you can change which cypher you've taken as a spell.
At tier 3, you can use this ability to choose a low-or medium-power cypher as a spell. You can cast a medium-power cypher spell as an action, costing 4 Intellect.
At tier 6, you can use this ability to choose a low-, mid-, or advanced-power cypher as a spell. You can cast an advanced-power cypher spell as an action, costing 6 Intellect.
You can select this ability up to three times (allowing you to choose one, two, or three cyphers each day as spells).
Ten minutes to complete preparing a cypher as a spell; action to cast a cypher as a spell.
If there is magic of any kind at work within short range, you are aware of that fact (but not the specifics).
You project a grey beam of disruptive mental energy at a creature within short range. Make an Intellect attack against your foe; success means you deal 1 damage (ignores Armor) and their tasks are hindered until your next turn.
You imbue a weapon, tool, or other usable item with magic that enhances its performance, lasting until you (or the user of the object) use a ten-minute or longer recovery. At any point while the ability is active, the creature using the object gains an asset to one action requiring the object. You decide if the object looks the same, glows like a candle, or gains a magical rune for the duration of the spell.
You float slowly into the air. If you concentrate, you can control your movement to remain motionless in the air or float up to a short distance as your action; otherwise, you drift with the wind or with any momentum you have gained. This effect lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.
Action to initiate.
You can float and fly through the air at your normal land speed until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. In terms of overland movement, a flying creature moves about 20 miles (32 km) per hour and is not affected by terrain.
Arcane Flight is better than Hover, so if you have both, you can exchange Hover for another tier 2 or lower ability from the Casts Spells focus.
Action to initiate.
Effort: Affect one additional touched creature of your size or smaller; you direct their movement and they must remain within sight of you or they fall.
You create a burst of fire within long range, filling an immediate area. Roll against each creature in the area; you inflict 3 damage on a success, or 1 damage on a failure. Flammable objects may catch fire. Each level of Effort applied to increase damage adds 2 damage to each target (instead of 3).
If you have sensed magic using the tier 1 ability, you can gain more specifics about what you sense: the level of the magic, the source of the magic (a spellcaster, a magical creature, an ongoing magical effect, or an enchanted object), and the general effects of the magic at play.
You conjure a giant spider, which appears within immediate range. The spider acts according to its nature, attacking a nearby creature that looks like suitable prey. The spider remains until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, then fades away.
Action to initiate.
Effort: Make the spider understand you and obey your verbal instructions.
You instantly teleport to any location within a short distance that you can see.
Effort: Increase your range by a short distance. Teleport to a location you can't see. Bring one creature (of your size or smaller) with you.
At tier 5, if you spend 5 Intellect, your base distance and distance increment for Effort increase to long range, and each level of Effort applied lets you bring two people with you.
At tier 6, if you spend 6 Intellect, your base distance increases to anywhere on the same planet, and each level of Effort used lets you bring three people with you.
You attempt to learn secret information about a foe that you can use against them. Make an Intellect attack against a creature within long range. Success means you learn their level, basic abilities, and obvious weaknesses (such as a vulnerability to fire or silver), as well as their mannerisms and personal qualities that you could discover by conversing with them for an extended time. For the next few months, your actions against them are eased.
You contact a powerful entity (such as a deity, demon lord, or creature from a dimension of knowledge), ask one question, and get a general answer. The GM assigns a level to the question, so the more obscure the answer, the more difficult the task. Generally, knowledge that you could find by looking somewhere other than your current location is level 1, obscure knowledge of the past is level 7, and specific knowledge of future events beyond the next few minutes is impossible.
You create a level 5 granite wall within short range. The wall is four 10-foot by 10-foot (3.5 m by 3.5 m) squares, arranged as you wish. The wall lasts until you use a one- hour or longer recovery, after which it crumbles to dust.
Effort: Increase the duration until you make a ten-hour recovery. Make the duration permanent (this requires three levels of Effort).
A supernatural creature from another dimension such as an angel, demon, or elemental manifests in a physical form within immediate range. The creature acts according to its nature, usually by attacking a nearby foe that is opposed to its own ethos (an angel would attack a demon or necromancer, a demon would attack an innocent or a holy priest, and an elemental would attack a creature of the opposing element). The creature remains until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, then fades away (although a demon or elemental might remain for a while to cause trouble).
Action to initiate.
Angel: level 5; health 15; physical, magical, or energy attack inflicts 6 damage; flies a short distance each round] short distance each round]
Demon: level 5; health 25; physical, magical, or energy attack inflicts 6 damage; flies a short distance each round]
Elemental: level 5; health 25; physical or energy attack inflicts 5 damage; amorphous form can pass through spaces as small as 1 foot (30 cm); air elemental flies a long distance each round; earth elemental has Armor 3; fire elemental has Armor 10 against fire; water elemental swims a long distance each round]
Effort: Make the supernatural creature understand you and obey your verbal instructions.
You speak a magic word so potent that it can instantly kill a foe. Make an Intellect attack against a foe within short range. If you succeed, you inflict 10 damage.