Magic/Rules/Casting Spells

Distances
Many spells and some class features use the terms close, medium and long as indicators for range. Some class features may use class levels or hit die in place of BCB to determine the power of an ability.

Aiming a Spell
A creature must choose the targets of a spell to affect or where an effect is to originate, depending on a spell’s type. These decisions must be made before the spell is finished casting. Each spell defines the spell’s target (or targets), its effect, or its area, as appropriate.

Targeted Spells
Some spells have a single target or multiple targets. These spells are cast on individual creatures or objects, as defined by the spell itself. The caster must be able to see the target and have line of effect to the target.

Spells cast by a caster with a target of “you” or cast on themselves ignore any saving throws or spell resistance of the spell if the spell would normally have one.

Some spells are restricted to willing targets only. A creature may declare themselves as a willing target at any time and does not take an action. Unconscious creatures are automatically considered willing as they are unable to resist a spell; a creature who is conscious but immobile or helpless (such as one who is bound, cowering, grappling, paralyzed, pinned, or stunned) is not automatically willing as they are still generally aware.

Melee Touch Spells
If a spell has a range of touch, they are cast and then must touch the subject. If within the same round the spell was cast you may touch the target as a free action, allowing for the caster to take another action in-between the action of casting and touching. If the caster does not deliver the spell within the same round it is cast they must use a 3 AP action to make a touch attack to deliver the spell on the subsequent round.

A spell that has been cast is charged and automatically affects the next valid target the creature touches; but until it is discharged it lasts indefinitely. Failure to touch a target does not discharge a spell, allowing for multiple attempts to deliver the spell’s charge. If another spell before the charge is delivered the spell harmlessly dissipates. A creature may always willingly dismiss the spell harmlessly as a free action on their turn if they do not wish to continue holding the charge.

A spell charge may be delivered with an unarmed strike or natural weapon possesed by the caster, but must be made as a separate action and not as the free action normally allowed for delivering a touch spell.

Ranged Touch Spells
A ranged touch attack is made as part of casting a spell rather than as a separate action. Unlike melee touch spells a ranged touch spell cannot be held until a later turn and is fired as part of the spell. Unlike ranged weapons spells do not have range increments and thus ranged touch attacks simply travel up to the maximum distance listed for the spell required to hit their target.

Area Spells
Some spells affect an area rather than a specific creature. Below are some of the different types of area spells. Regardless of the shape of the area, the caster selects the point where the spell originates, but otherwise usually cannot control which specific creatures or objects the spell affects in the area.

Radius
Some spells affect a radius. This usually an area is a sphere-shaped area that expands from its point of origin to fill the area both across the ground and vertically. The point of origin of a radius spell is a grid intersection from which the spell is then measured out from. When determining whether a given creature is within the area of a spell, count out the distance from the point of origin in squares just as you do when moving a character or when determining the range for a ranged attack. The only difference is that instead of counting from the center of one square to the center of the next, you count from intersection to intersection.

As normal for movement diagonals count every second diagonal counts as 2 squares of distance. If the far edge of a square is within the spell’s area, anything within that square is within the spell’s area.

Cylinder
A spell that affects an area of a Cylinder behaves similarly to a radius in that it affects an intersection. From here instead of a sphere the spell affects the area on the ground of its radius from the intersection, but then extends upwards a specified distance in the air as described for the spell.

Line
A line-shaped spell shoots away from the caster in a line in the direction designated. The spell starts from any corner of the caster’s square and extends to the limit of its range or until it strikes a barrier or obstacle that would block the line of effect of the spell. A line-shaped spell affects creatures in the squares through which the line passes.

Cone
A cone-shaped spell shoots away from the caster in a quarter-circle (90 degree angle) in the direction designated. It starts from any corner of the caster’s square and widens out as it goes, measuring up to its maximum distance listed. As with all other measurements diagonal distances are measured as 2 squares for every other diagonal square in the area.

Burst
Similar to area spells, a burst spell affects an area counted out from the point of origin in squares; but rather than an intersection a burst spell usually uses the casting creature as the point of origin rather than a square intersection. This is counted out from the creature’s edge and outwards from there, as a result a 5 foot burst spell may affect a different area for a medium creature than it would for a large creature casting the same spell.

Line of Effect
A line of effect is a straight, unblocked path that indicates what a spell can affect. A line of effect is canceled by a solid barrier. It’s like line of sight for ranged weapons, except that it’s not blocked by fog, darkness, and other factors that limit normal sight; though spells that target a specific creature usually require sight in addition to line of effect.

The caster must have a clear line of effect to any target  of a spell on or to any space in which to create the spell’s effect. The caster must have a clear line of effect to the point of origin of any spell cast.

Spells that affect an area must have line of effect from their point of origin and thus may have a portion of their area blocked should a barrier interrupt the line of effect from the origin point of the spell.

An otherwise solid barrier with a hole of at least 1 square foot through it does not block a spell’s line of effect. Such an opening means that the 5-foot length of wall containing the hole is no longer considered a barrier for purposes of a spell’s line of effect.

Spell Durations
A spell’s duration entry details how long the magical energy of the spell lasts.

Timed Durations
Many durations are measured in rounds, minutes, hours, or other increments. When the time is up, the magic goes away and the spell ends. If a spell’s duration would be a variable roll, the duration is rolled secretly by the GM, obscuring the duration from the caster. Many spell durations are measured based on the user’s BCB such as rounds or minutes per BCB.

Instantaneous
An instantaneous spell is no longer considered magical after it is made and is not sustained by magic. Such effects cannot be dispelled after it has been cast and resolved. This can mean a object in flight (such as throwing a ball of fire) could be affected still by areas of anti-magic that it passes through, but once it has dealt its damage is unable to be affected (unless a duration is specified, catching fire for example would not be something dispellable unless the spell had a duration longer than instantaneous usually indicating the lingering fire effect is fueled by a spell).

Unless otherwise specified instantaneous effects dissipate once they have resolved, though some instantaneous spells may leave other conditions beyond it such as a spell causing objects to catch fire.

If the duration is not specified the spell is to be assumed to have a duration of instantaneous.

Permanent
A permanent spell is an effect or something else that remains permanently and is not susceptible to dispelling attempts or anti-magic.

Permanent(Dispellable)
Similar to permanent duration spells, the spell is vulnerable to dispelling magic and anti-magic, but otherwise will last until affected by such things.

Concentration
A concentration spell is one that lasts as long as the caster concentrates on it. Concentrating to maintain a spell is a 3 AP action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Anything that could interrupt a caster’s concentration when casting a spell can also break their concentration while maintaining one, causing the spell to end. Unless otherwise specified a creature cannot concentrate on more than one spell at a time even if they would have enough AP to concentrate on multiple at once.

If a spell with a duration of concentration allows the caster to spend a spell point to allow it to continue without concentration, they may decide to do so as a free action at the start of their turn rather than spending the action required to concentrate.

Some spells may have a limited amount of time the spell can be concentrated on, but otherwise most spells have no limit to how long a caster may choose to concentrate on them.

Dismissible Spells
Some spells can be dismissed at will. The caster must be within range of the spell’s effect and must be able to speak words of dismissal, which are usually a modified form of the spell’s verbal component. If the spell has no verbal component, the caster can dismiss the effect with a gesture. Dismissing a spell is a 3 AP action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. A spell that depends on concentration is dismissible by its very nature, and dismissing it does not take an action, since the caster only needs to stop concentrating on the spell.

Unless otherwise specified most spells may not be inherently dismissable by the caster, and require either dispelling or their duration to run their course.

Combining Magic Effects
Spells and effects usually work as described, no matter how many other spells or magical effects happen to be operating in the same area or on the same recipient. Whenever a spell or keyword has a specific effect on other spells, the spell description explains that effect. Several other general rules apply when spells or magical effects operate in the same place:

Stacking Effects
Spells that provide bonuses or penalties on attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and other attributes usually do not stack with themselves. More generally, two bonuses of the same type don’t stack even if they come from different spells.

Same Effect More than Once in Different Strengths
In cases when two or more identical spells are operating in the same area or on the same target, but at different strengths, only the one with the highest strength applies.

Same Effect with Differing Results
The same spell can sometimes produce varying effects if applied to the same recipient more than once. Usually the last spell in the series trumps the others. None of the previous spells are actually removed or dispelled, but their effects become irrelevant while the final spell in the series lasts. This includes spells that offer different effects depending on the talents applied; for the purposes of this if the spell itself does not specify its ability to be stacked you cannot cast the base spell with different talents applied to stack its various different effects.

One Effect Makes Another Irrelevant
Sometimes, one spell can render a later spell irrelevant. Both spells are still active, but one has rendered the other useless in some fashion.

Multiple Mental Control Effects
Sometimes magical effects that establish mental control render each other irrelevant, such as spells that remove the subject’s ability to act. Mental controls that don’t remove the recipient’s ability to act usually do not interfere with each other. If a creature is under the mental control of two or more creatures, it tends to obey each to the best of its ability, and to the extent of the control each effect allows. If the controlled creature receives conflicting orders simultaneously, the competing controllers must make opposed Charisma checks to determine which one the creature obeys.

Spells with Opposite Effects
Spells with opposite effects apply normally, with all bonuses, penalties, or changes accruing in the order that they apply. Some spells negate or counter each other. This is a special effect that is noted in a spell’s description.

Verbal Components
All spells have a verbal component unless otherwise specified requiring a caster to be able to speak to cast a spell. Certain abilities such as silent spell may allow a caster to cast without speaking the incantation for the spell. A caster may attempt to cast a spell without a verbal component by making a DC 20+the spell’s BCB concentration check.