Magic (gaming) - Spell Systems

Spell Systems

Characters within a game that includes rules for magic are commonly able to acquire the use of spells through some process. Usually this will either be a spell that the character has created; a spell gained from a book or other record; another in-game character that is willing to share the knowledge, or from a mysterious in-game source to whom the character has formed an allegiance. Again, that part has been streamlined in many action RPGs, and the player can pick new skills each time the character gains an experience level.

There are several common approaches for balancing and restricting the use of spells within a game system.

• Memorization — The game character must memorize a fixed number of spells from the list of all spells the character knows. This memorization can only occur once in a specified time period, usually a day, or it may require the character to rest for several hours. This system is sometimes called "Vancian" in the game designer community, since its first use, in Dungeons & Dragons, was inspired by the way magic works in Jack Vance's Dying Earth world.

• Point-based — The character has a limited number of points, often called mana (or spell points in MUDs), that can be spent to activate spells. Each spell the character knows has a point cost. The points are periodically renewed through some means; usually by the passage of time. This is also used in Dungeons & Dragons, but only for Psionic manifesters, and as a variant rule for spellcasters. Warhammer players must expend a number of dice when casting spells, and each die contributes 1-6 points to the spell's activation cost. The points usually represent some kind of magical energy, though they may also represent physical or mental fatigue caused by the exertion required to cast spells; some systems therefore deplete hit points (or the equivalent) rather than having a separate pool of magic points.

• Event-based — The character has a magic ability that can be used with limitations dictated by an event. This can be an event in time, or a situational event. One of the first popular uses of this system was in Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition, where spells are restricted to at-will, encounter, and daily event frames corresponding to 'at any time during a round', 'between the start and ending of an encounter', and 'at the beginning of the day until the beginning of the next day' respectively. Event based systems can have a great variety of events which both trigger the possibility of using a magic ability, or limits the instances a magic ability can be used during the course of an event.

• As Powers — The character has a magic ability that can be simply defined as a magic power, or as magical in origin. When a magical ability has no restrictions (no need for a skill, no need to spend power points, no need to memorize, etc.) or when it has a simple mechanic (ex: just roll to attack), it can be defined as a magic power. For example, if a character has the ability to breathe fire with no restrictions this ability can be called a Fire Breathing Power. This approach to magic is closest to comic book characters who don't seem to be restricted as much as classical fantasy characters.

• Skill-based — The character has a skill rating that defines the chance that a spell will be successfully activated. Failure has some type of consequence, such as personal injury or increased fatigue of the in-game character.

• Cost — Single-use reagents may be required, and casting the magic consumes the reagents. The reagents may or may not come in different qualities, and if they do, high-quality reagents will usually result in increased effect, or at least a lowered risk of failure. The reagents for the most powerful spells are usually hard to get, or even strictly limited.

There are also some game systems that provide greater flexibility in the use of magic. These include rules for producing spells that are made up as needed, subject to the game rules and limitations. Examples of such systems include Ars Magica, Mage: The Ascension and Mage: The Awakening.