I feel like there are some classic fantasy tropes that Genesys hasn't covered in terms of magic abilities. I've been given some thought to these, and have come up with a battlefield control spell, an enchantment spell (not totally satisfied with this one), and a necromancy spell. I've posted older versions of these elsewhere, but would love some feedback on them. I'd also like to see what other people are implementing. I still feel like we could use a concrete Illusion spell (maybe)--right now, I've added it as an Additional Effect on Conjuration that makes the spell easier to cast, rather than harder.

A note on Knowledge: my intention for my game is for any spell that refers to ranks in Knowledge to use ranks in the Knowledge skill associated with identifying your target, or somehow related to the effect. For example, if you're trying to affect humans, it would look at ranks of Knowledge (community), whereas if you were trying to mimic the claws of a bear (for Augment) it would be Knowledge (nature). My table will have probably 5 Knowledge skills, and I feel like this is a way to encourage spreading out investment, or ensuring that someone doesn't have the same power for all foes. In the cases where the spell is targeting a mix that would use different Knowledge skills, the caster would apply the ranks of the lower skill.

I would particularly welcome feedback or suggestions on power level and perceived usefulness of the spells and effects, as well as suggestions for magic school-restricted effects, such as (Arcane Only) or (Divine Only) as examples.

Fog

Base difficulty Easy (D): Create a thick fog, smoke, darkness, writhing vines, etc...that obscure sight in engaged range. This persists until the end of your next turn. Characters in the fog are considered to have two levels of concealment, imposing 2 Setback dice on checks they make that rely on sight (attacks, Perception, Vigilance, typically). The same is applied on characters outside of the affected zone against characters within.

Concentration: Yes

Additional Effects

+D Extend: The affected area increases by one range band. This may be added multiple times, increasing the range band each time.

+D Thicken: The effect becomes more dense, further hampering vision, and imposes an additional Setback on related checks. You may spend AA to add an additional Setback die.

+D Range: You may cause the effect to manifest at a desired location within short range instead of emanating from you. It still fills the engaged range band. This may be added multiple times, increasing the range band each time.

+DD Hinder: The effect restricts movement (the fog thickens, vines nettle, or become grasping, etc...) and is treated as being difficult terrain.

+DDD Noxious: The effect becomes poisonous, or otherwise harmful (smoke could become sickeningly thick, vines might sprout sharp thorns, etc...). Characters who end their turn within the area of the spell take Strain damage (ignoring soak) equal to your ranks in Knowledge.

Enchantment

Base difficulty Average (DD): This spell is used in place of a social skill check (Charm, Coercion, Deception, Leadership, Negotiation) against a target within short range, and can yield the same results as a successful check of that nature, declared when casting the spell, but the effects from a successful check end when the spell does, so a successful Charm check cannot produce a lasting helpful alliance or friendship, for example, and advantages cannot be used to affect other targets (see additional effects). Once the spell ends, affected targets are aware that they were acting unusually and may realize that they had been subject to some magical compulsion (they may react hostilely). Any abilities, talents, or items that affect incoming social skill checks (such as Nobody's Fool) affect this spell's check (like defensive abilities vs the Attack spell), but you cannot apply your own social skill bonuses.

Concentration: Yes

Additional Effects

+D Additional Target: May select additional targets to affect equal to your ranks in Knowledge. You may spend A to affect additional targets for A spent.

+D Range: Increase the range of the spell by one range band. This may be added multiple times, increasing the range band each time.

+D Emotion: Cause the target to experience a particular emotion, such as joy, fear, hunger, exhaustion, calm. This need not align with the sort of social check the spell is mimicking (you might ask someone to let you pass, because you're a good person, but they feel strangely afraid; whether of you, or something in particular, or in general).

+DD Easy Feeling: Affected targets no longer are aware that they acted strangely during the spell's duration (though may become suspicious still if they are made aware of their odd behavior).

+DDD Forgetfulness: After the spell ends, affected targets have no recollection of events that occurred during the spell's duration.

+DDD Suggestion: Affected target obeys all commands from the caster for the duration of the spell, going beyond what one could normally accomplish with a social skill check. Affected targets may attempt a Discipline vs Knowledge check as a maneuver on their turn to resist instructions, gaining one or more Boost dice to resist particularly onerous commands, or those contrary to their nature.

Conjure

Additional Effects

+Boost Boost (this spell is easier to cast, represented by gaining two boost dice, rather than an increased difficulty) Illusory Summons: Any creature or item you summon is an illusion (they aren't real). If you use Summon Ally or Grand Summon you may instead create an illusory object, or objects up to the Silhouette granted by those effects. Additional Summons instead renders one additional item or creature equal to your ranks in Knowledge, and you may spend AA to increase the number summoned by the same amount. You may spend additional successes to affect an additional sense (such as with noises or speech, smells, heat, or touch). You may spend a Triumph to create an illusion of up to Silhouette 4. Characters who interact with the illusions make an opposed Perception vs. Magic check to disbelieve.

Necromancy

Base difficulty Easy (D): Select one corpse of Silhouette 1 or less that you're engaged with. On a successful check it rises as a zombie minion under your control until the end of your next turn. You may spend a maneuver on your turn to direct the action and maneuver of any undead you have animated, and they act immediately after your turn.

Additional Effects

+D Additional Minions: Increase the number of minions animated by ranks in Knowledge. You may spend AA to increase the number of minions animated by the same number for each AA spent.

+D Enhance: Corpses animated gain +1 Brawn (increasing wounds and soak). You may spend AAA or a Triumph to reduce the Critical rating on their attacks by 1 (minimum 1).

+D Range: Increase the range at which you may initially animate a corpse by one range band. This may be added multiple times, increasing the range band each time.

+DD Haste: Animated Corpses can always perform a second maneuver during their turn, and without spending strain.

+DD Armored (Arcane only): Animated corpses gain melee and ranged defense equal to your ranks in Knowledge.

+DD Vigor (Divine only): Animated corpses recover a number of wounds equal to ranks in Knowledge at the start of your turn.

+DDD Champion: May target a corpse of up to Silhouette 2 to animate as a rival. May spend AA to increase the Silhouette you're able to target.

2 hours ago, yeti1069 said:

Fog

• Additional Sense[+1]: An additional Sense is impaired by the fog. (eg. Hearing, Smelling, Dark Vision, Infravision, Ultravision) You may spend AA to add an additional sense.
• Hinder[+1]: The fog impedes movement, and is treated as difficult terrain. OR this could give the fog Ensnare 2. You may spend AA to increase this effect.
• Burn[+2]: The fog sears the lungs, causing Strain equal to ranks in Knowledge at the start of each character's turn.
• Lightning[+1]: The affected area gains the Stun quality with a rating equal to the character’s ranks in Knowledge.
• Holy/Unholy (Divine only)[+1]: When targets in the area take damage that the GM determines are the antithesis of the character’s faith or deity (such as a priest of a god of life attacking an undead zombie),each success deals +2 damage instead of +1.
• Manipulative (Arcana only)[+1]: The character may spend a manoeuvre to move the obfuscated area one range band in any direction.
• Sleep (Primal Only)[+1]: The area gains the Stun quality, and deals strain equal to the character’s ranks in Knowledge
• One Way[+2]: The shrouded area is transparent from outside, and opaque from inside, or vice versa
• Illusion[-1]: The fog is an Illusion.
  

2 hours ago, yeti1069 said:

Enchantment

• Terrify[+1]: The target will flee directly away from the spellcaster as long as doing so would not cause knowingly harm itself.
  The creatures will continue to flee for one round after the concentration has ended or it has left the spells range.
  May spend A to send the target fleeing an additional range band or round.

2 hours ago, yeti1069 said:

Conjure

• Necromancy[-1]: Use a corpse or skeleton within the range of the spell and raise it as a mindless undead minion instead of conjuring a creature from the aether.

2 hours ago, yeti1069 said:

Necromancy

• Additional Summon[+1]: The spell summons one additional rival type undead. You may spend AA or 1 Wound to summon one additional rival (multiple times).
• Medium Summon[+1]: The character may summon a rival type undead no larger than silhouette 1.
• Grand Summon[+2]: The character may summon a rival type undead of up to silhouette 3.
• Bolster Undead[+1]: Undead you raise add damage to their attacks equal to your ranks in Knowledge, and improve their Crit rating by 1, to a minimum of 1.
  Affects one target of the spell. You may pay AA or 1 Wound to affect an additional target up to the number of raised undead, or your Wound threshold.
• Drain Life[+2]: If you select this Additional Effect when casting Necromancy, you first suffer 2 strain, and make an attack against a living creature at Short or Engaged range.
  If the check is successful, it deals damage equal to your casting characteristic plus any uncancelled S.
  You may treat the damage dealt after soak as Wounds for the purpose of paying for the basic spell and any additional effects of the spell.

39 minutes ago, Terefang said:

• Additional Sense[+1]: An additional Sense is impaired by the fog. (eg. Hearing, Smelling, Dark Vision, Infravision, Ultravision) You may spend AA to add an additional sense.
• Hinder[+1]: The fog impedes movement, and is treated as difficult terrain. OR this could give the fog Ensnare 2. You may spend AA to increase this effect.
• Burn[+2]: The fog sears the lungs, causing Strain equal to ranks in Knowledge at the start of each character's turn.
• Lightning[+1]: The affected area gains the Stun quality with a rating equal to the character’s ranks in Knowledge.
• Holy/Unholy (Divine only)[+1]: When targets in the area take damage that the GM determines are the antithesis of the character’s faith or deity (such as a priest of a god of life attacking an undead zombie),each success deals +2 damage instead of +1.
• Manipulative (Arcana only)[+1]: The character may spend a manoeuvre to move the obfuscated area one range band in any direction.
• Sleep (Primal Only)[+1]: The area gains the Stun quality, and deals strain equal to the character’s ranks in Knowledge
• One Way[+2]: The shrouded area is transparent from outside, and opaque from inside, or vice versa
• Illusion[-1]: The fog is an Illusion.
  

I really like most of these! Additional sense is really interesting.

I had been considering Ensnare for Hinder as well, but figured it might be too strong? Would a single activation affect everyone within the fog? Otherwise it's probably too expensive to activate. Lightning (stun) I was thinking was in the same boat.

Holy/Unholy looks great, as does Manupulative!

Sleep seems problematic.

One Way is cool, and reminds me I had intended to have an exclusion option that makes one target, +1/A spent immune to the effects therein.

Illusion...I'm not sure what the functional difference would be.

Thank you!

42 minutes ago, Terefang said:

• Terrify[+1]: The target will flee directly away from the spellcaster as long as doing so would not cause knowingly harm itself.
  The creatures will continue to flee for one round after the concentration has ended or it has left the spells range.
  May spend A to send the target fleeing an additional range band or round.

Yes!

39 minutes ago, Terefang said:

• Necromancy[-1]: Use a corpse or skeleton within the range of the spell and raise it as a mindless undead minion instead of conjuring a creature from the aether.

I don't know that summoning an undead is necessarily weaker than summoning something else to justify it being easier to perform, which is part of the reason I made it its own separate spell.

33 minutes ago, Terefang said:

• Additional Summon[+1]: The spell summons one additional rival type undead. You may spend AA or 1 Wound to summon one additional rival (multiple times).
• Medium Summon[+1]: The character may summon a rival type undead no larger than silhouette 1.
• Grand Summon[+2]: The character may summon a rival type undead of up to silhouette 3.
• Bolster Undead[+1]: Undead you raise add damage to their attacks equal to your ranks in Knowledge, and improve their Crit rating by 1, to a minimum of 1.
  Affects one target of the spell. You may pay AA or 1 Wound to affect an additional target up to the number of raised undead, or your Wound threshold.
• Drain Life[+2]: If you select this Additional Effect when casting Necromancy, you first suffer 2 strain, and make an attack against a living creature at Short or Engaged range.
  If the check is successful, it deals damage equal to your casting characteristic plus any uncancelled S.
  You may treat the damage dealt after soak as Wounds for the purpose of paying for the basic spell and any additional effects of the spell.

Oh, yeah, should have had additional summon.

Bolster makes more sense than the +1 Brawn I had.

I had considered something like drain life, but I feel like that treads too heavily on Attack's toes. There is probably an extra effect there for Attack (although there are Runeshards that confer that benefit, I think).

On 12/17/2018 at 12:04 AM, yeti1069 said:

Illusion...I'm not sure what the functional difference would be.

illusion effect can be noticed using Perception/Vigilance rolls.

On 12/17/2018 at 12:12 AM, yeti1069 said:

I don't know that summoning an undead is necessarily weaker than summoning something else to justify it being easier to perform, which is part of the reason I made it its own separate spell.

because you have to have a dead body available for the spell to work

i used it also as a placeholder for summoning disembodied spirits

On 12/17/2018 at 12:12 AM, yeti1069 said:

I had considered something like drain life, but I feel like that treads too heavily on Attack's toes. There is probably an extra effect there for Attack (although there are Runeshards that confer that benefit, I think).

this makes the case, if the actual attack action might not be available to a Necromancer, whereas a Nethermancer would attack with conjuring negative energy (also no attack action)

New Spell Types ideas:

Aport

Concentration: Yes

Skills: Arcane, Primal, Runes

Aport spells allows a character to move objects, people, or creatures (silhouette 0) within Short range. If the check is successful, the target is moved one range band (horizontal or vertical) or held in one spot, although the caster may continue to use this effect each further round by using the concentration maneuver. If the target falls after this duration, use the rules for Falling Damage on page 112.

Aport Additional Effects

• Range[+1]: The character may effect targets at longer range.
  This may be added multiple times, increasing the range band by one each time.
• Silhouette[+1]: The character may affect larger objects or creatures, increasing the maximum Silhouette by 1 each for each +1 Difficulty.
• Additional Target [+1]: One additional target may be affected each time this is added.
• Unwilling Target[+2]: If the target does not want to be moved, this effect applies. This covers not only
  unwilling living subjects, but also strongly secured inanimate objects (a locked gate, a rooted tree,
  a sword in an enemy's hand). Most living creatures who are not allies should be considered unwilling.
  Unsecured inanimate objects are considered willing.
• Manipulation[+1]: This allows for fine manipulation of objects at range, or allows the character to attempt
  to seize a carried (but not worn) target item (disarming an enemy of their weapon).
• Hurl[+1]: The character may fling the target at another target. This is treated as an attack, using the
  character's magic skill instead of a combat skill, with the Inaccurate 1 quality. If the silhouette of the hurled
  target is equal to or greater than the silhouette of the second target, the attack gains the Knockdown quality.
  The damage of the attack equals the characteristic linked to the caster's magic skill + the silhouette of the
  hurled target. If the hurled target is a weapon, use the weapon's base damage instead of its silhouette.
• Speed[+1]: Increase a targeted object’s movement speed by one band.
• Teleport (Arcane Only) [+1]: The target is instantly teleported across the required distance rather than moved there. This allows a caster to overcome intervening barriers or walls. If the location is not known, such as teleporting past a solid wall, increase the Difficulty by a further +1.
• Wild Step (Primal only) [+1]: Caster may travel through natural terrain such as trees or the earth itself, and so cannot be affected by any other targets while this spell is in effect, nor can they affect other targets.

39 minutes ago, Justindoodler said:

Force

Manipulation (ie. Telekinesis)

• Concentration: Yes
• Skills: Arcana, Primal, Runes
• Base Difficulty: Easy(1)

Actions

Manipulation magic allows a character to move objects, people, or creatures (silhouette 0), and manipulate items
remotely as if they were using their hands within Short range. If the check is successful, the target is moved
(or manipulated) as the casting character desires. The effect ends when the target reaches its intended destination,
although the caster may continue manipulating the target by using the concentration maneuver.
If the target falls, use the rules for Falling Damage on page 112.

Additional Effects

• Range[+1]: The character may manipulate targets at longer range, or increase the distance a target is moved.
  This may be added multiple times, increasing the range band by one range band each time.
• Silhouette[+1]: The character may affect larger objects or creatures. This may be added multiple times,
  allowing for one larger silhouette to be affected each time.
• Unwilling Target[+2]: If the target does not want to be moved, this effect applies. This covers not only
  unwilling living subjects, but also strongly secured inanimate objects (a locked gate, a rooted tree,
  a sword in an enemy's hand). Most living creatures who are not allies should be considered unwilling.
  Unsecured inanimate objects are considered willing.
• Control/Finesse[+1]: This allows for fine manipulation of objects at range, or allows the character to attempt
  to seize a carried (but not worn) target item (disarming an enemy of their weapon).
• Hurl[+1]: The character may fling the target at another target. This is treated as an attack, using the
  character's magic skill instead of a combat skill, with the Inaccurate 1 quality. If the silhouette of the hurled
  target is equal to or greater than the silhouette of the second target, the attack gains the Knockdown quality.
  The damage of the attack equals the characteristic linked to the caster's magic skill + the silhouette of the
  hurled target. If the hurled target is a weapon, use the weapon's base damage instead of its silhouette.
• Speed[+1]: Increase a targeted object’s movement speed by one band.

Nice although I would keep the names similar to the Genesys rulebook (Attack, Barrier, Augment, Conjure, Curse, Dispel, Heal, Utility), hence I prefer Force. I possibly Aport!

Thinking about these things, perhaps these kind of effects can be replicate withe the existing spell types :

Fog sounds like a Curse to me, just with additional targets. Misfortune could easily simulate blindness - after all thats just setback dice

Necromancer, as explained in Terrinoth is not a type of spell. More a thematic element. So it would incorporate other Arcane effects (ie Attack to drain life, Conjure to raise the dead etc)

Utility would be good for minor illusions, such as altering your face to look like someone, or creating a temporary pile of gold. However effects that actually control others or cause fear could be reflected by Curse (they even mention this under Curse) handled like a Fear check with the spell difficulty setting the difficulty of resisting its effects to anyone who could see it.

Levitating and telekinesis like effects could easily be handled with Conjure, with some of the modifiers listed above. Whether that's to summon a portal to beyond or conjuring force and gravity to manipulate others.

I think gms should always be able to create new modifiers as necessary, adding a suitable Difficulty increase, based on what the players want to do with a spell, using these suggestions as a guide.

Just wanted to drop a note here to thank you folks for the Aport spell type discussion. I will be using it, albeit with modifications, because I have to tinker with everything. At some point I'll post my handbook in the settings section, but it's not nearly ready for public consumption.