Magic in Tales of Future Past has 3 main rules.
- Magic works differently for everyone.
- Magic can replicate absolutely.
- Magic affects what exists, not what is presumed to exist.
I'll describe these rules in more details, and then give a list of sample skills a character could have pertaining to magic.
1. Magic works differently for everyone.
Magic is sometimes a complicated process. It, for many different people, could involve casting dice into the air, hour-long chants in a forgotten language, sacrifices to burning gods, or weeks of calculations drawing towards the final draft. On the other hand, magic can be as simple as waving your hand, speaking a phrase, or a stern glance in someone's direction. Magic works in many ways, and not one way is specific.
The way this manifests in game is completely up to the player. Their magic can be ancient Norse ritual, chanting in Nahualt, or mysterious potions with hard-to-find ingredients. The fact is, that once you get down to it, magic will produce the same output, no matter the input. Scientists and archmagi from the highest schools of though have puzzled over this, and no real answer has be found. It's theorized that intent to do magic is enough for magic to occur, but it's yet to be proven. Even so, some sort of action must be performed for magic to appear. Players are encouraged to puzzle over how they think their magic will manifest, or they may consult with the GM for his input.
2. Magic can replicate absolutely.
It's been proven that a mage can always cast a spell they've cast before. It seems that once they channel the magic through their body with rituals, they tend to stay open. As such, mages tend to favor some spells over others. One might have perfected his control over electricity, while one can bend minds to his will. Some mages only know one spell, never experimenting. These mages are some of the most powerful, but are far from universal in their talents.
When a mage casts a spell for the first time, write down the specifics (Attribute, skill, equipment, etc.). The next time the mage casts that spell, they can add one die. Every 50 times the mage casts that spell, they may add another die.
3. Magic affects what exists, not what is presumed to exist.
Magic cannot bring someone back to life. It cannot drain someone of life either. It cannot be used to travel in time, and it cannot affect the 'soul'. To magic, these things do not exist. Magic sees no difference between life and death, then and now, or souled and unsouled. These things are not real.
In game terms, magic cannot bring somebody back to life, kill them outright, travel through time, steal souls, return souls, vist planes of existence other than our own, or anything theoretical. Magic deals with the real, and only the real.
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Sample 1-point Skills: Magic, Sorcery, Witchcraft, Chicaney, Cantrips, Spells, Arcane Power, Miracles, Alchemy.
Sample 2-point Skills: Fire Magic, Ice Magic, Travel Magic, Divination, Mind Control, Artifact Channeling, Gravity Control, Telekenesis, Shaping, Illusions, Shapeshifting.
Sample 3-point Skills: Scrying, Weather-changing, lifting small obejcts from a mile away, empathic connections, fire breath, teleporting, flying, laser beams, turning children into kittens.
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Next up is a combat primer, and all the important stuff I missed in my chargen thing.
