What All Magicians Can Do

Created by Brett Hegr
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These are all objects, spells, and/ or abilities that all magicians have the capacity to use/ create.

Aspects

An Aspect is gained by burning off P.P.E.^tm in exchange for special bonuses and abilities. See this file for more details.

Charm

P.P.E.^tm Cost to Create: 1d6 is permanently expended (whether by the caster or by a specific recipient).
P.P.E.^tm Cost to Activate: None
Time to Create: Varies - long enough to cover a target artifact in runes, etchings, symbols, etc.
Strength: Consider a Charm a level two enchantment with an indefinite duration.
Duration of Magic: Permanent
Duration of Activation: Constant
Spells Needed: Special
Physical Requirement: An object relevant to the bonuses or functions granted.
Cost in PFRPG Gold: 25,000-35,000 per +1 or +5%.
Cost in Rifts® Credits: About 30,000-50,000 per +1 or +5%.

Any magician of third level or greater can create a charm. This is all paraphrased from page 45 of Nightbane^tm World Book Three: Through the Glass Darkly. Any well made object can be charmed with either a +5% skill bonus or a +1 bonus on the roll of a 1d20. The bonus granted must be relevant to the object, so a sword couldn't grant save bonuses but would give a bonus to strike or parry. A rewired Nintendo Power Glove covered in runes could grant a +5% to a single computer skill. Multiple charms of the same type don't add up (use the biggest bonus), and cursed charms can be created to give a -1 or a -5%. Lastly, permanently expending another 2d4 P.P.E.^tm increases the bonus/ penalty to +2 or +10% (my own little rule).

Cleanser

P.P.E.^tm Cost to Create: 3 must be permanently sacrificed (only 1 if an Enchanter).
P.P.E.^tm Cost to Activate: None
Time to Create: 1d4+1 hours
Strength: Consider a Cleanser a level one enchantment with an indefinite duration.
Duration of Magic: Permanent
Duration of Activation: Constant
Spells Needed: None
Physical Requirement: A single object, specially decorated or of high quality.
Cost in PFRPG Gold: 1500
Cost in Rifts® Credits: 5000

Any magician of level five experience or more can create a Cleanser. A Cleanser is an object created to cause a -10% base -2% per level penalty on rolls on the table here. Basically, it disrupts weak P.P.E.^tm so that it doesn't hang around a magician or his laboratory and cause problems. This might be a permanent object such as a skull bookend (activated by burning a special kind of candle), a resident computer program (for preventing magic energy from interfering with a Cybermage's^tm work), a magic tuning fork (frequent use shatters weak P.P.E.^tm fragments), etc. Alternately a staff, ring, amulet, etc. could be used. Both the portable and permanent versions break up stray P.P.E.^tm hanging around a caster or area at the rate of 1 point per hour.

Scroll Conversion

All literate non-Mystic mages (nor Warlocks, Witches, Priests, or Mystics) can translate a scroll into a viable spell formula with a base skill of 10% plus the I.Q. attribute, +4% per each additional level of experience. However, a -2% penalty should be imposed per level of the spell in the scroll. If the conversion attempt fails, the translator is left with no scroll and an incomplete (and probably unstable) spell formula, the casting of which can have embarassing, destructive, inconvenient, or deadly side effects. Further research on the spell will be impossible until the character gains another experience level (or another 25,000 experience points, whichever comes first), at which point research into the spell can be resumed.

A successful scroll conversion results in a complete spell formula, a valuable asset in the complete understanding of the spell - add a +10% to +25% bonus to the success roll of figuring out the existing spell magic. If the spell formula is incomplete, the GM should give a -5% to a +15% bonus to the roll (depending on how botched the formula is). The spell formula will still have information useful in figuring out the spell, but it can't be used for a casting (much too dangerous). The mage can use a complete spell formula as directions to cast the spell, but must rely on a hardcopy of the formula to do so - until he learns it and knows it well enough to cast from memory.

Magical Investigation

Any magician can use his intellect, magic, and intuition to discover things about magical objects and creature. Some might take a walk in the forest and ask animals about it, others set up a ritual circle and spin magic at the object, some might read weird books or study far- out blueprints, etc. The means is usually unique to each magician, but the end result is the same.

To learn anything about an object the magician must spend 1d4 days examining it for a simple property, 2d4 days for a moderate one, and 3d4 days for a powerful and/or hidden one.

At the end of the period of study, the magician must make a successful Principles of Magic skill roll. If that skill is not possessed, instead roll less than or equal to the I.Q. attribute on 2d10. Success means the investigator learns one new thing about the object (could be something the GM tells the player to facilitate some question asking, something the player suspected and wanted to confirm, or maybe just a small secret that was yet undiscovered). If this study roll fails, the magician cannot learn anything more until another experience level or another 25,000 experience points are gained (whichever might come first).

The main limitation is this: The investigating mage must have some sort of knowledge basis in what is being researched. A Biowizard would be able to determine few things about a Techno- wizard^tm pistol. A Necromancer would be just as baffled when working with a Biowizard device - he could tell that it was an object of life and bio- energy and a couple other things. A Ley Line Walker wouldn't learn much about a necromancer's object either, unless that mage had knowledge of the Animate and Control Dead spell or a Create Zombie ritual. Examining a potion of magical poison might need an Impervious to Poison spell, Chemistry, or Toxicology.

Having a good knowledge basis for studying an object or device will provide bonuses. Multiple spells or skills (more than three total) will provide a +5% bonus to the Principles of Magic roll or a -1 on a roll under the I.Q. on 2d10. Many spells or skills (more than six total) will provide a +10% bonus or a -2 modifier to the success roll. If the character gets five successes when studying the object, add a +5% or -1 modifier for familiarity. Once the character gets ten successes, add a +10% or -2 modfier as a bonus for

Studying an object for 3d4 days will reveal the following: The general kind of properties the object possesses, possible ways to trigger or activate the properties, the limitations and general duration of the properties, a general identification of any powers lost or destroyed in the last month, the type of magic in the object and/or the O.C.C. of the creator (Enchanter, necromancer, Metamage, Ley Line Walker^tm, Cybermage^tm, etc.), an approximation of the object's age and composition, whether the object is under control of or is controlling another living creature(s) - the identity of such beings can't be determined and how much P.P.E.^tm was needed to create the object. After this initial study, the character can continue the investigation further.

Other bits of information that can be gained are the discovery of a single new power (takes 2 days per power), determine the exact nature (the statistics) of a power (2d4 days of study per power), determine exactly how to activate a power (1d4 days per power), visions of the creator(s) and important events involving the object (1d4 days per vision), possible ways to create a replica or kindred object (3d4 days of study needed), ways to negate the object's properties or prevent it from working (3d4 days), determine the alignment and I.Q. of the object if it is sentient (1d4 days), determine the age to within 5% error (1d4 days), and how to destroy the object (1d4 days for a simple one and 3d4 days for the most complex objects).

Anyone with the Magic skill of Mystic Investigation should go by the rules there instead.