Magic Traditions

Main > Magic Traditions

Bardic

Performer: You must create your magic through singing, playing music or oratory.

You must succeed at a Perform skill check to use any sphere ability. The DC of this skill check is 15 + the ability’s caster level. For every 2 points by which this skill check falls short of this DC, the ability manifests at -1 caster level. If this reduces the ability to a caster level below 0, the manifested ability fails and any spell points used are lost.

Your magic takes longer to use than normal. When using an ability gained from a sphere or talent, increase the casting time by one step: swift actions become move actions, move actions become standard actions, standard actions become full-round actions, full-round actions take 1 full round to complete, and 1-round actions take 1 minute to compete.

Emotional Casting: Your magic requires heightened emotional states of mind to use. When subject to a non-harmless magical effect that invokes an emotion (such as fear effects, spells with the (emotion) descriptor, or charms such as Fear or Hostility) you are unable to use magic.

Discrete: There are no tell-tale signs that you are performing magic when you perform your performances, though onlookers who suspect that it might be magical may attempt a Spellcraft check against your Performance check or the normal DC (whichever is higher) to identify the magic. If they fail their check by 5 or more, they interpret your casting as nonmagical activity, though they may still catch on if the effect of the performance is obviously magical.

Also, your performance must always be audible. You cannot cast in an area of magical silence, and mental effects can not affect creatures which cannot hear you.

Arcane Spell Failure: When creating the diagram you cannot wear armor heavier than light without incurring a chance of arcane spell failure.

🛈 Admin Notes

Bonus Spell Points: +1, +1 per 1.5 levels in a casting class (2, 3, 5, 6, etc.) Components: Emotional Casting, Extended Casting, Skilled Casting. Verbal Casting, Virtuoso

Circle Magic

Diagrams: In order to perform any magical effect, either you or your target must be entirely contained within the boundaries of a special diagram. Creating this diagram requires a full-round action for every 5 ft. square contained within the diagram and requires that you to have at least 1 hand unoccupied.

Once the circle has been drawn, make a spellcraft check as part of the full-round action to draw the final part of the circle against DC 15 + the maximum caster level of any effect to be performed within the circle to determine if it was done correctly. You may take 10 on this check even if in combat or stressed.

You can increase the speed at which you draw the diagram but at greater risk of making a mistake. For every step by which you reduce the time required to draw the diagram, increase the spellcraft DC by +5 to a maximum of +20 to draw the circle as a free action, but doing so prevents you from taking 10 on the check.

Magical Signs: When performing magic using the diagram it flares brightly with the magical energies, throwing dim light out to 5 feet per caster level of the effect, and bright light for half that distance.

Arcane Spell Failure: When creating the diagram you cannot wear armor heavier than light without incurring a chance of arcane spell failure.

Before making your spellcraft skill check to finish the diagram, roll for your arcane spell failure (if any). On arcane spell failure the creation of the circle fails. You need make no arcane spell failure checks when casting spells if the diagram was successfully completed.

🛈 Admin Notes

Bonus Spell Points: +1, +1 per 1.5 levels in a casting class (2, 3, 5, 6, etc.) Components: Diagram Magic, Somatic and Magical Signs

High Patron

Petitioner: You beseech your patron to perform magical effects on your behalf.

You must succeed at a Profession(petitioner) skill check to use any sphere ability. The DC of this skill check is 15 + the ability’s caster level. For every 2 points by which this skill check falls short of this DC, the ability manifests at -1 caster level. If this reduces the ability to a caster level below 0, the manifested ability fails and any spell points used are lost.

Proselytizing: If you during the casting of a sphere ability make it clear through speech or action that you (or rather your deity) is responsible for the effect, the DC of your skill check is reduced by 5 points (to 10 + the ability’s caster level).

Spiritual Connection: Your magic requires you to have a focus that is not always possible to achieve. You normally have focus, but lose it whenever you fail a save versus mind-affecting magic, have a critical hit confirmed on you, or a condition causes you to lose the ability to concentrate (such as being nauseated or helpless or failing an enforced concentration check such as from being entangled).

Using magic without your mental focus requires you to make a concentration check (DC 20 + 1/2 caster level) to produce the desired effect. Failure means time (and any spell points) are spent, but no effect happens.

If focus is lost, the caster can refocus by meditating as a compromising full-round action. If you possess a symbol of your faith, you can regain your focus as a standard action.

🛈 Admin Notes

Bonus Spell Points: +1, +1 per 3 levels in a casting class

Components: Mental Focus, Skilled Casting

Proselytizing is kinda like a voluntary Verbal component, but reduces DC rather than grant Bonus Spell Points.

Low Patron

Spiritual Connection: Your magic requires you to have a focus that is not always possible to achieve. You normally have focus, but lose it whenever you fail a save versus mind-affecting magic, have a critical hit confirmed on you, or a condition causes you to lose the ability to concentrate (such as being nauseated or helpless or failing an enforced concentration check such as from being entangled).

Using magic without your mental focus requires you to make a concentration check (DC 20 + 1/2 caster level) to produce the desired effect. Failure means time (and any spell points) are spent, but no effect happens.

If focus is lost, the caster can refocus by meditating as a compromising full-round action. If you possess a symbol of your faith, you can regain your focus as a standard action.

Lesser Power: Your patron struggles to gather the magic for your miracles. You can not spend more than 1 spell point from your spell pool per round, and never as part of an immediate action. You can still use an ability that requires multiple spell points by voluntarily increasing the casting time to a number of rounds equal to the cost in spell points.

🛈 Admin Notes

Bonus Spell Points: +1, +1 per 3 levels in a casting class Components: Mental Focus, Strenuous

Wild Magic

Wild Magic: You have a base wild magic chance of 10%. Wild magic chance is the likelihood of a wild magic event occurring and can be increased or decreased by a variety of sources, such as class abilities, feats, boons, and drawbacks.

Improvisational Casting: You must speak in a loud, clear voice and perform complicated gestures to cast spells — a process that requires you to have at least 1 hand unoccupied. Using magic alerts all nearby hearing creatures to your presence and location, effectively breaking stealth. You cannot cast in an area of magical silence, or in any other situation where you are unable to speak clearly. When using magic, you cannot wear any armor or use a shield without incurring a chance of arcane spell failure.

Your magic requires intense amounts of concentration to use. When making a concentration check (such as to cast defensively or while taking damage), the DC increases by +10. You may increase the casting time by one step to take extra time focusing and negate this penalty.

Wild Surge: As a free action, you may gain a +2 bonus to caster level to the next sphere effect you cast before the start of your next turn by increasing your wild magic chance by 100% for the same period.

Magical Signs: Small archs of lightning, twinkling lights and mysterious glows surround you when you gather your magical energies. It is obvious to anyone when you are casting a spell.

Miscast: If you fail a concentration check or arcane spell failure check, you automatically trigger a wild magic event.

🛈 Admin Notes

Bonus Spell Points: +1 per level in a casting class

Components: Magical Signs, Rigorous Concentration, Somatic Casting x2, Verbal Casting, Wild Magic Variant, Wild Surge

Added special component: Wild Magic consequence to failing concentration checks