Spellcasting

Spells

A spell is a special arcane effect produced by the inherent power of the casting Elemancer, or of the power imbued into whatever enchanted item the caster is wielding. Spells usually produce some sort of visible and immediately noticeable effect, though this is not always the case.

Perceiving a Spell Being Cast

All spells require movement of some kind, usually some sort of somatic allegory for what the spell is trying to do, e.g. when casting the spell Burst an Aeromancer might forcefully push their hands out in a mimicry of what the spell is doing, or a Tempomancer might use their hands to wind back the arms of a spectral clock when casting Rewind. Because of these movements, an Elemancer cannot cast spells while wearing Medium or Heavy armor or Medium or Large shields. If an Elemancer wishes to cast a spell subtly so as not to be noticed doing so, they can make a Sleight of Hand check contested against the other party’s Perception check.

Spell Traits

Every spell has a collection of traits which detail specific and important aspects of the spell: Mana Cost, Casting Time, Range, Damage, Save, Duration, Area of Effect, and Notable Effects.

Mana Cost (M.C.). The amount of Mana the caster must expend to unleash the spell’s power; the caster’s maximum Mana must be > to the Mana Cost of a spell for them to be able to cast it at all. When casting a spell, the caster must subtract the Mana Cost of the spell from their remaining Mana; if the M.C. of the spell is > their remaining Mana, they can still cast it, however their Mana will be reduced to 0 and their current Health will be depleted by 5 times the remaining difference. Additionally, a spell's M.C. can be reduced by 1 by doubling the casting time; to determine the casting time of a spell whose M.C. you are reducing in this way, you need only use the formula x(2^y), where x is the spell's original casting time and y is the amount you want to reduce the M.C. by.

Casting Time (C.T.). How long it takes for the spell to be cast, assuming the caster's DEX is <2. If a spell has a casting time, then the caster cannot take any other actions while casting or the casting will fail, however they can re-aim the spell at any point during the casting. Until the casting is complete, the caster is considered to be concentrating (see Duration below) on the spell.

Range (Rng.). How far away from the caster’s current position the origin point of the spell can be placed/the target(s) can be; the caster must have line of sight on the origin point/target in order to cast the spell. If the caster has line of sight but cannot actually see the origin point/target, then the damage of the spell may be rolled with disadvantage, or if the spell requires a save, the target can make it with advantage.

Damage (Dam.). The type of damage (if any) a spell deals; spells deal 1d8 base damage and scale to the caster's Elemancy proficiency, with a bonus equal to the caster's INT, WIS, or CHA (chosen at the time they become an Elemancer). For example, if a spell says it deals burn damage and the caster has 3 Elemancy proficiency and uses their INT for bonus damage, then the caster rolls 3d8 + their INT and measures that against the target's M-/R-DEF. Elemancers are immune to damage from their own spells, however the wielders of spellcasting items are not. Additionally, just because you might be immune to damage from your own spells, that does not mean your equipment is as well

Save. What type of save, if any, is needed; saves are always made against the caster's Elemancy Save DR. If more than one type of save is listed (e.g. Fort./Ref.), the caster decides which save the target makes. The effects of failing the save will be given in Notable Effects.

Duration (Dur.). How long the spell can last. Spells with the Concentration (C) tag as part of their duration require the caster’s constant focus, and being attacked can cause the caster to lose focus, ending the spell prematurely. If the caster takes damage while casting a spell with the Concentration (C) tag, they must make a Willpower save against twice the final damage dealt; on a failure, the spell ends. A caster can have only one Concentration-tagged spell going at a time.

Area of Effect (AoE). Detailed below.

Notable Effects (Efcs.). What will happen inside the spell’s AoE/to its targets. The format of the Notable Effects section is a brief amount of flavor text with no mechanical bearing in paragraph form, followed by the mechanical effects of the spell in bullet-point form. Unless stated otherwise, Elemancers are immune to the Effects of their own spells, however the wielders of spellcasting items are not.

Areas of Effect

A spell’s Area of Effect (AoE) gives the shape of the spell, as well as the dimensions of that shape. Each shape has a point of origin, or a spot from which the spell’s power and energy erupts. The direction into which it erupts is usually up to the caster, though some spells default to the direction the caster is facing.

The shape and dimensions of a spell’s AoE is specified in its description, and the different possible shapes (and their respective points of origin) are given here:

• A cone has length and width and the point of origin is at the tip;
• A cube has the length of the faces and the point of origin is in the middle of one face;
• A cylinder has diameter and length and the point of origin is on one face;
• A line has length (and sometimes height), is assumed to be 1 meter wide, and the point of origin is at one end;
• And a sphere has diameter and the point of origin is in the exact center.

Instead of a shape, a spell may specify a number of targets for the spell to affect. In this case, the spell’s description will specify what the targets must be and how many of them there can be. A creature will usually not know it has been targeted unless the spell produces some sort of perceivable effect, though some spells, such as an Animancer’s Read Thoughts, are not typically perceivable unless the spell’s description says otherwise.

Improving Spells

Spells can be improved at the cost of additional Mana: typically, a spell’s Range, Damage, Duration, and AoE are what can be improved. Some spells are exceptions to the guidelines given here and will specify in their descriptions if that is the case. The amount of extra Mana the caster can spend to improve a spell is equal their Elemancer level, e.g. a 3rd level Luxomancer can only spend up to 3 Mana improving the Fireball spell.

Range. If a spell does not have a range of “Touch” or “Self”, then its range can be extended by 3 meters for every 1 extra Mana spent.

Damage. A spell’s damage can be improved at the cost of 1 Mana per additional d8.

Duration. When extending a spell's duration, the caster can expend 1 Mana at the end of the spell to keep the spell going for half of the original duration, e.g. at the end of a 1 minute spell, the caster can spend 1 Mana to keep the spell going for another 30 seconds. This applies to all durations except "Instant", which cannot be extended at all.

Area of Effect. To extend a spell’s AoE by 1 meter in a single dimension (such as making a cone 1m wider or a line 1m longer) costs 1 Mana. For target spells, additional targets can be selected at the cost of 2 Mana per target.

Creating Spells

The spells any given Elemancer has access to are many and varied. However, the imaginations of players are infinite, and it is almost certain that you or another player may want to cast a spell that is not listed. While the various aspects of the spell may be easy to come up with, determining the Mana Cost of a new spell may seem like a strange and esoteric practice; thankfully, however, this is not the truth. Determining a spell's Mana Cost is (mostly) quite easy and can be done by following this table (assume the cost of the spell starts at 0):

Spell Aspect	M.C. Alteration
Range
< 50m	+0
50m - 250m	+1
250m - ½km	+2
½km - 1km	+3
> 1km	+4
Damage
Default	+0
Each extra d8	+1
Sustained damage	+1
Less or no damage	-1
Save
Any save required	+1
Duration
Instant	+0
1-9 minutes	+1
10-59 minutes	+2
1-11 hours	+3
12-23 hours	+4
> 1 day	+5

Spell Aspect	M.C. Alteration
AoE
Cone	+1 for every 1-6m
Cube	+1 for every 1-8m
Cylinder	+1 for every 1-4m of diameter, +1 for every 1-10m of length
Line	+1 for every 1-5m of height, +1 for every 1-10m of length
Sphere	+1 for every 1-10m of diameter
Targets	+1 for every 1-3, not counting the first
Notable Effects
Highly variable, may increase or decrease the spell's cost.	+/- Varies

The table given here should mostly be used as a guideline to give you a foundation to start with, rather than an absolute. If you believe your spell should cost a little bit more or less than the value you arrived at, then feel free to adjust it as you feel is necessary, just be certain to clear the spell with your GM.

Spell Traps

Any spell that does not have the "Concentration" tag and does not have a range of "Self" can be set as a trap. When it is, the spell becomes a glyph, or a circular collection of arcane runes, symbols, and energy that faintly glow with the spell’s power and which must be 15cm - 1m in diameter. A glyph cannot be disarmed or dispelled by any ordinary means, though when set off, the energy of the glyph is expended and it disappears. If a spell set as a trap has a range, it targets itself; if it requires a target to be selected, the target is whoever triggered the glyph; and if it has a direction for the AoE, that direction is the direction the glyph is facing.

There are 4 steps to setting a spell as a trap:

1. The caster casts the spell as normal;
2. They designate a surface or small object that they can touch to embed the power and effects of the spell into;
3. They spend the casting time of the spell imbuing the spell’s power into that surface or object;
4. They set the conditions for the spell trap to trigger, e.g. touching the spell glyph, moving the object the glyph is placed on, opening the book the glyph was placed in, etc. All spell traps have the following conditions: 1. if the glyph is moved 3m from where it was placed, the spell goes off, and 2. the glyph lasts 6 days by default, but its lifespan can be extended by 6 days for every 2 extra Mana spent on it at the time it was created.

To spot a glyph, a creature can make an Arcana or Perception check against what the caster’s Elemancy Save DR was at the time they made the glyph, and to determine what spell the glyph contains, the creature can either be the same type of Elemancer as the one who set the trap or succeed on an Arcana check against what the caster’s Elemancy Save DR was at the time they set the trap.

Otherworldly Spellcasting

The vast majority of spellcasting in Iron & Aether is done by either Elemancers or enchanted items; however, there exists in the I&A ruleset extradimensional and otherworldly forces, and it is not unheard of for these forces, these beings, these Others, to find their way into an I&A-based world. These Others bring with them their own arcane abilities and powers, and while they would typically operate by different rules, by simply existing within an I&A-borne world, the machinations of their arcana alter to reflect the nature of the universe they have found themselves in.

Given here is a list of spells that these Others might be capable of casting, at the GM's discretion (most Others would also likely be able to cast various Elemancer spells as well). Nearly all Sentients would absolutely not have the ability to cast these spells on their own, though Otherian enchanted items can provide a limited means of access to them.

Otherworldly Spells

It is worth noting that all Otherworldly spells require the caster to speak and gesticulate in order to command and direct the power of the spell; in the case of Sentients using enchanted items, assume that the item itself transfers the knowledge of the words and movements necessary to the user at the time of attunement.

Optional Rule: Spell Misfires

As the GM, if you feel so inclined, you can implement spell misfires, which are strange and random effects that occur when a casting goes wrong. When, how, and if you implement them is up to you, but here are a few suggestions:

• Spells have a percent chance to misfire equal to 5 times their Mana Cost (good for "corrupted" or otherwise compromised areas/enchanted items);
• Spells have a percent chance to misfire equal to their Mana Cost;
• Spells might misfire if their casting is interrupted;
• Spells might misfire if the Counterspell spell is used on them.

If an effect says the caster or the target is affected, there is a 50% chance which it is. Additionally, if an effect says it applies to a target, it applies to all the chosen targets of the spell unless it would not make sense to do so. If the effect is a spell that requires a save, use the caster's Elemancy Save DR.