Spells
Not all Domains provide access to spells, but those that do follow these shared rules. Spells are written as cards, just like Feature Cards: short enough to fit on a card and clear enough to use without looking anything else up.
Who Can Cast What (Spell Access)
| Spell list | Main source | How you know spells |
|---|---|---|
| Arcane | Thaumaturge | A spellbook: inscribe spells, prepare some each Full Rest (see the Thaumaturge Base Card). |
| Divine | Theurgy (Prayers Core Feature) | Know 1 + Theurgy Tier spells. |
| Nature | Warden (Old Ways), Beastbond (Call of the Green) | Know 1 + that Domain’s Tier spells. |
Other routes: the species trait Innate Magic (two spells of Action Cost 1 or less), Thaumaturge Theoretical Universalist and Total Spell Theory, and Maker Spell Engine (stores a spell someone else casts).
Rules for casters who “know” spells (everyone except the Thaumaturge’s spellbook):
- You may know spells whose Tier is no higher than your Tier in the granting Domain (cantrips are Tier 0 and always allowed).
- You change one known spell for another after a Full Rest spent in prayer, study, or the wild.
- There are no spell slots. You can cast any spell you know whenever you can pay its Action Cost (and any Stress it names). Big spells are limited by Action Load, not by a daily count.
Casting a Spell
- Roll: spells and magical Features always roll the caster’s Domain Aspect (the Aspect of the Domain that granted the spell).
- Resistance: an Aspect named on a spell (e.g. “Reflex Resistance”) is the target’s Aspect. The target rolls it against your casting roll; it never changes which Aspect you roll.
- Attacks: a spell marked “Attack” works like a weapon attack: your Domain Aspect dice plus the spell’s damage dice, minus the target’s Evasion, compared to its Damage Thresholds (see Damage).
- Resisted damage: for a spell with a Resistance, a target that fails takes the spell’s damage dice compared to its Damage Thresholds (Evasion doesn’t apply); a success halves the dice total.
- Can I cast it? The usual rule: you can if (Aspect − current Action Load) ≥ the spell’s Action Cost.
- Sustained spells: a spell with “sustain: 1 AL per turn” lasts while you add 1 Action Load at the start of each of your turns (up to its listed duration). It ends if you stop paying, drop to 0 HP, or are Stunned. This is not Concentration; only the Thaumaturge’s Arcane Reservoir uses Concentration.
- Damage types: there is no Force damage. Old “force” effects deal magical Bludgeoning. Divine damage is Radiant.
Spell Card Template
Every spell uses this layout (blank version on the Card Template page):
### Spell Name
Tier: Cantrip (Tier 0) / Tier 1–4
Tags: Source (Arcane, Divine, or Nature), then any of Evocation, Illusion, Healing, Movement, Ritual, Reaction…
Roll: Attack (your Domain Aspect vs. Evasion), a target’s Resistance (e.g. Reflex Resistance), or None
Range: Self / Touch / distance
Target: who or what
Duration: Instant / rounds / minutes / sustain
Action Cost: the required Action Load only (plus any required Stress)
Effect text: one short paragraph.
Enhancements: optional extra Action Load, Stress, or Tier upgrades, one per line.
- Optional costs never appear on the Action Cost line; only required costs do.
- Upcast lines say how the spell grows with the caster’s Tier or extra Action Load.
Ritual: may be cast in 10 minutes for no Action Load when time and tools permit.Reaction: may be cast off-turn on its trigger; it still costs Action Load like any Reaction (see Reactions).
Cantrips
Cantrips (Tier 0) cost little and can be cast as often as Action Load allows. Damage cantrips grow by +1 die per caster Tier above 1 (max 4 dice).
Spell Counts
The lists are starting libraries, not complete grimoires. GMs and Thaumaturges may add spells using the template.
- Arcane: 20 spells (5 cantrips, 6 Tier 1, 4 Tier 2, 3 Tier 3, 2 Tier 4)
- Divine: 15 spells (4 cantrips, 5 Tier 1, 3 Tier 2, 2 Tier 3, 1 Tier 4)
- Nature: 14 spells (3 cantrips, 5 Tier 1, 3 Tier 2, 2 Tier 3, 1 Tier 4)
Designer note: D&D familiarity. Many spells fill the same job as well-known D&D spells but use this game’s names, Action Load, and Advantage rules. Where it helps, a spell page includes a short D&D players: tip (for example Benediction is like Bless). The system does not use D&D spell levels or concentration; see Action Load and Domains.