HACKSSENTIAL RULES ~ CHAPTER VII
VII. Magic
VII.1 Nature
Magic in this game has two forms. The first, Secret Sorcery, is Eldritch magic rooted in ancient symbols, names, and hidden truths. The caster draws power from forbidden or forgotten lore, via Words that shape reality.
The second is Clerical Canons: a form of Channeling magic that follows ancient rituals and invokes the powers granted by a Patron. The caster does not wield magic directly but becomes a conduit for their deity’s will. Canons involve structured prayer, sacred words, or hieratic gestures.
VII.2 Secret Sorcery
Secret Sorcery (or SS) is the way a spellcaster can make a spell out of the manipulation of the original essence of the ‘true names’. This kind of magic does not require the use of materials or ingredients.
An SS is based on two words: a concept (element) and an action (principle). The caster selects a couple of words (concept + action) and defines an effect. All magic words belong to one of these four groups:
Physical elements: The materials that make up the physical world.
Metaphysical elements: The non-physical things.
State principles: The state of things or their evolution.
Reaction principles: The way things react.
For each group there are 3 sub-groups of words called Magic Circles and each Magic Circle is tied with one of the Morality Paths (see II.2) because of an eschatological key that leads eldritch magic to these Paths:
The Magic Circles of the elements are: Liquid (Physical, Power), Gaseous (Physical, Destruction), Solid (Physical, Glory), Subconsciousness (Metaphysical, Power), Time (Metaphysical, Glory), Consciousness (Metaphysical, Sacrifice).
The Magic Circles of the principles are: Order (State, Sacrifice), Change (State, Destruction), Chaos (State, Power), Shape (Reaction, Glory), Energy (Reaction, Sacrifice), Temperature (Reaction, Destruction).
VII.3 SS Circles
This paragraph lists the Magic Circles, which are defined as follows:
Description: the nature of the words belonging to a Magic Circle
Words: a non-exhaustive list of words (which can be expanded by the GM, proposed by the player, or replaced with the ones of the game setting).
Change (State principle/Destruction)
Description: any word that is linked to the way something can be changed, altered, or transformed.
Words: to adapt, to adjust, to alter, to diminish, to divide, to evolve, to grow, to lengthen, to merge, to modify, to mutate, to reconfigure, to redefine, to reduce, to reform, to reframe, to regenerate, to renew, to reshape, to revamp, to revise, to shorten, to shrink, to stretch, to transmute, to turn, to update, to upgrade.
Chaos (State principle/Power)
Description: any word that is linked to the way something does not follow an order or the way in which anarchy permeates something.
Words: to absorb, to confuse, to disarray, to disjoint, to disrupt, to disturb, to forbid, to fracture, to fragment, to inhibit, to mess, to mismanage, to muddle, to overturn, to overwhelm, to ruin, to sabotage, to scatter, to scramble, to shatter, to spoil, to spring, to tangle, to undermine, to unleash, to upset, to wreck.
Consciousness (Metaphysical element/Sacrifice)
Description: any word that is a rational concept, linked to the mindfulness of a living being.
Words: attention, balance, clarity, concentration, freedom, harmony, idea, insight, intention, intuition, knowledge, light, meditation, motivation, mind, memory, patience, presence, reality, reflection, resilience, silence, space, sense, stillness, thought, transformation, trust, voice, wisdom.
Energy (Reaction principle/Sacrifice)
Description: any word that is linked to the way something reacts when its energy changes (either increasing or decreasing).
Words: to accelerate, to activate, to amplify, to appear, to augment, to blur, to boost, to contract, to deplete, to depress, to drain, to empower, to energize, to enervate, to enlighten, to escalate, to expand, to fall, to flash, to inflate, to intensify, to invigorate, to obscure, to regulate, to revitalize, to rise, to weaken.
Gaseous (Physical element/Destruction)
Description: any word related to a material which is in a gaseous state.
Words: air, atmosphere, blow, breath, bubble, cloud, exhaust, foam, fog, fumes, gas, haze, mist, plume, puff, smell, smoke, steam, vapor, whiff, wind.
Liquid (Physical element/Power)
Description: any word related to a material which is in a liquid state.
Words: blob, blood, drop, fluid, gel, juice, liquor, liquid, mixture, marsh, mud, ooze, oil, pool, resin, solution, solvent, spill, spray, stream, tear, water.
Order (State principle/Sacrifice)
Description: any word that is linked to the way something follows an order or the way in which a rule subordinates something.
Words: to align, to arrange, to assimilate, to categorize, to command, to comply, to control, to conform, to compose, to coordinate, to discipline, to enforce, to follow, to form, to govern, to guide, to harmonize, to integrate, to monitor, to obey, to organize, to prescribe, to purify, to sequence, to standardize, to stiffen, to structure, to supervise, to synchronize, to tailor, to tie, to uniform, to unify.
Shape (Reaction principle/Glory)
Description: any word that is linked to the way something transforms its state into another.
Words: to condense, to convert, to diffuse, to disperse, to drip, to evaporate, to exchange, to exhale, to flow, to fluctuate, to interchange, to metamorphose, to melt, to molten, to morph, to pass, to pour, to shift, to solidify, to spin, to splash, to spread, to sublimate, to sway, to transfigure, to transform, to translate.
Solid (Physical element/Glory)
Description: any word related to a material which is in a solid state.
Words: alloy, ash, bone, clay, crystal, dust, earth, glass, gravel, ice, metal (iron, lead, copper, and so forth), mineral (salt, coal, quartz, and so forth), rock, sand, shell, snow, stone, wood.
Subconsciousness (Metaphysical element/Power)
Description: any word that is an irrational concept, linked to the subconscious of a living being.
Words: angst, anxiety, belief, compulsion, dread, dream, envy, fixation, guilt, havoc, hope, hysteria, impulse, insecurity, mania, melancholy, mirage, nightmare, nostalgia, panic, paranoia, passion, phobia, persuasion, regret, sleep, suspicion, temptation, vice, vision, yearning, worry.
Temperature (Reaction principle/Destruction)
Description: any word that is linked to the way something reacts by producing either hot or cold.
Words: to boil, to burn, to chill, to cool, to excite, to freeze, to frost, to grill, to heat, to ignite, to incinerate, to refresh, to scorch, to sear, to stimulate, to warm.
Time (Metaphysical element/Glory)
Description: any word that is linked to the flow of the time and the development of events.
Words: age, beginnings, chronology, continuity, cycle, deferral, destiny, duration, evolution, flashback, flux, frequency, future, growth, history, infinity, moment, occurrence, omen, past, progress, quest, recurrence, succession, suspension, transition, trend, velocity, vortex.
VII.4 SS Spellcasting
Eldritch spellcasting is free form, there are neither predetermined spells nor limits in the number of spell cast.
The spellcaster uses two words: one element and one principle (concept + action) and declares the effect he wants to obtain by brewing the two words together in a spell.
The word with the lowest ES score is considered the ‘leading word’ in the spell: this is going to be the reference in all spellcasting checks for that spell. When both magic words have the same score, the caster can define the leading word.
Casting a SS is an action which requires at least the use of the voice and concentration for the duration of the casting, otherwise the spell has no effect. With reference to the concentration, the caster cannot be targeted with actions that may disrupt concentration (e.g., being hit).
Spell definition
The SS caster defines the following features:
Spell duration (or SD)
Spell range (or SR)
Spell target (or ST)
Each spell feature follows the tables below which show a corresponding Spell addend (or SA) for any duration, range, and target.
There is a constraint in the definition of a SS: any SA cannot be higher than the ES score of the leading word.
In the above table, the Feature of Spell target (or ST) can be referred to one of the following:
an area; it can vary from 10cm. up to 1km. of diameter.
an item; it can vary from 100gr. up to 1ton. of weight.
a being; the creature be either voluntary (i.e., the creature accepts to be the target) or ‘opponent’ (i.e., not willing, or unaware targets). In addition, the creature can be single or multiple and can be targeted in 3 ways: with a hit (i.e. an attack either melee – ARC ES Brawl with a weapon level 0 – or ranged – ARC ES Throwing Weapons with a weapon level 0); with a magic ray (i.e. it always hit, no ARC required); with a mental attack (i.e. it works regardless to target’s position, thus even not in sight, however the caster must know the target). In case of a spell targeted with a hit, the defense options of the target are the same as for ranged combat, be it either a touch or a ranged spell.
The maximum number of creatures for a single spell is defined according to the score in IN of the caster as follows:
Magical, extraplanar, mythological: 2 (fixed)
Humans: IN x 1
Animals: IN x 2
Plants: IN x 3
Spell cost
The SS caster performs an ARCT on the ES Secret Sorcery of the leading word he has chosen; the GM defines the threshold starting from the ‘default’ SC of the spell:
‘Default’ Spell cost = sum of the 3 addends
‘Default’ SC = SD + SR + ST
In case of success the spell is cast, in case of failure the spell does not take place. The spell threshold definition is up to the GM, and it is based on the magnitude of the spell the player wants to achieve in the described effect:
Spell Magnitude Low: SC/2
Spell Magnitude ‘default’: SC
Spell Magnitude High: SCx2
The baseline is the ‘default’ magnitude and from that, the GM may half the threshold when the required effect is fainter than the standard or double it in case of an oversized outcome.
Spell damage
The damage of a SS spell is up to the GM evaluation; however, it should be defined according to the following constraints:
The player defines which kind of damage the spell does (i.e., the affected CS) based on the effect he has described.
The max damage is the Spell cost (rounded, including magnitude multiplier).
The GM determines the exact amount: rolling 1 die where the SC is the max value, e.g., if the SC is 11, it is 1d12 for a ‘default’ magnitude; halved, 1d6 for a low magnitude, or doubled (2d12-1) for a high magnitude: in the VI·VIII·X Ref sheets the full table of damages is present.
The GM can apply further modifiers or effects to the damage based on context.
The spell, whether it succeeds or not, can have consequences on the caster: if the SC is higher than the sum of the caster’s (CS + MI + character’s level), the caster will suffer straight 1d6 damage of backfire on IN (with no buffer granted by character’s level as in the standard injuries rule, see VIII.2). The GM applies 2d4 damage if the difference is double or greater than the sum of (CS + MI + character’s level).
The backfire damage can be recovered according to the normal rules of recovery (see VIII.3) or 1 point per hour with meditation (i.e. a silent and quiet place, complete immobility and no interruptions whatsoever).
Casting time
The casting time does not follow the standard rule for an action in V.6; a cast lasts according to its Spell cost (including magnitude multiplier):
Spell cost 3-6: 1 turn
Spell cost 7-12: 2 turns
Spell cost 13-20: 3 turns
Spell cost 21+: Special*
* In case of SC higher than 21, the most powerful spells in the game should be cast with a timing defined on a case-by-case evaluation of the GM.
VII.5 SS Counterspell
A SS can be countered with an action of counterspell by another eldritch caster. The countercaster selects one word as the counterspell word with no need to use the same word or to define SD, SR, ST. The counterspell has effect if the counterspell word belongs to the same Path of the spell’s leading word.
An ARCT on the ES SS of the counterspell word is required with a threshold equal to the spell’s one (see VII.4). If the check succeeds, the effect of the spell does not take place, or it stops if it was cast beforehand (and is still having effect). The counterspell action always lasts 1 turn.
A caster can counterspell with no chance of error with a successful ARCT on ES Lore SS where the threshold is equal to the spell’s one (see VII.4), so that the Magic Circle and Path of the spell’s word is detected. The check on ES Lore for this purpose lasts 1 turn.
VII.6 Clerical Canons
Channeling spells are called Clerical Canons (or CC), and they are tied to a divine entity (called Patron). By the intercession of the Patron, the CC caster obtains a part of their power to channel it in the form of magic. A CC is the effect of a prayer addressed to the Patron. Each patron allows their adepts to use predefined CC to produce an effect based on the knowledge of the caster (i.e., the ES score). A CC is a spell which has effects on living beings only.
Any CC belongs to one or more Paths; some CC are open to all Paths, while others have restrictions. A channeling caster learns and casts CC aligned only to their Patron’s Path since patron’s and worshiper’s Paths must be the same.
VII.7 CC Prayers
The following paragraph lists all the Clerical Canons of the game. Every CC effect is detailed by ES 1-4, 5-7, 8-10 which is the caster’s score in that CC (for details, see VII.8). The caster is able to select any effect available up to their ES score in that CC. Every CC shows in brackets the Paths which grant access.
Baleful Eye, Laud of (Path of Power, Destruction)
ES 1-4: the caster detects any misaligned (i.e., opposite Path) creature.
ES 5-7: as above and in addition the caster makes the misaligned creatures flee; the spell lasts 1 turns more than usual (see VII.4).
ES 8-10: as above and in addition the spell deals 1d10 damage on a misaligned creature; the spell lasts 1 turns more than usual (see VII.4).
Benevolent Gaze, Laud of (Path of Glory, Sacrifice)
ES 1-4: the caster detects any aligned (i.e., same Path) creature.
ES 5-7: the caster scries an aligned and known creature regardless of its location; the spell lasts 1 turns more than usual (see VII.4).
ES 8-10: the caster teleports an aligned and known creature to the caster’s location; the spell lasts 1 turns more than usual (see VII.4).
Control, Litany of (Path of Power, Destruction)
ES 1-4: the caster mentally gives a simple order to an animal, and it will execute it in the next turn; the order is mental (no communication needed).
ES 5-7: as above except that the target is a human.
ES 8-10: as above to any possible living target.
Discernment, Invocation of Major (any Path)
ES 1-4: the target understands and communicates with animals; one spell works for one kind of creature.
ES 5-7: as above except for the fact that the target understands and communicates with magical/mythological beasts.
ES 8-10: as above except for the fact that the target understands and communicates with any being like extraplanar or undead.
Discernment, Invocation of Minor (any Path)
ES 1-4: the target understands and speaks one human language.
ES 5-7: as above and the target also reads and writes.
ES 8-10: the target understands, speaks, reads, and writes one secret/encrypted human language (i.e., a cant or similar).
Enlightenment, Canticle of (Path of Glory, Sacrifice)
ES 1-4: the target of this CC is surrounded by an aura of inspiration and gets a +2 modifier on any ARC related to a single ES.
ES 5-7: the target receives an inner force which makes any decrease in SOM impossible or any other effect of fear during the spell.
ES 8-10: the target is blessed, and this grants a +1 modifier on a stat defined by the caster or removes a curse from the target.
Fortification, Hymn of (any Path)
ES 1-4: the target has a +1 modifier on any ARCO/ARCT from Martial ES.
ES 5-7: as above with a +2 modifier.
ES 8-10: as above with a +3 modifier.
Glyph, Prayer of the (any Path)
ES 1-4: the caster creates a glyph of warding, sets its activation condition and its effect; the condition is always a direct action of a living being and the effect is never harmful (e.g., ‘any creature passing through that window activates a noise loud enough to be heard in all the castle’).
ES 5-7: the caster creates a glyph of confusion; as above except for the effect: the creature which activates it is stunned (see VIII.4).
ES 8-10: the caster creates a glyph of weakness; as above except for the effect: the creature which activates it gets a malus (up to -3) in a stat.
Inner Sight, Psalm of (any Path)
ES 1-4: the target understands the intentions of one creature in their sight.
ES 5-7: the target knows one stat (any but MI) of a creature.
ES 8-10: the target knows the level or one power (if any) of a creature.
Liberty, Panegyrize of (any Path)
ES 1-4: the target is immune to negative magic effects on the body (i.e., BU or CO).
ES 5-7: as above except that the magic effect is on the soul (i.e., Morality or SOM).
ES 8-10: as above except that the magic effect is on the mind (i.e., IN or EM).
Obliteration, Entreaty of (Path of Power, Destruction)
ES 1-4: the caster resets from the target 1 positive status per turn.
ES 5-7: the caster drains from the target 1 point per turn of SOM up to the score of 1.
ES 8-10: the caster drains from the target 1 point per turn of Morality up to the baseline value of [2,2].
Pain, Anthem of (Path of Power, Destruction)
ES 1-4: the target suffers 1 damage per turn in the CS set by the caster.
ES 5-7: as above except that the damage is 2 per turn.
ES 8-10: as above except that the damage is 3 per turn.
Patron, Glory of the (any Path)
ES 1-4: the target gets a +1 modifier on the level of the weapon.
ES 5-7: the target gets a +1 modifier on the level of the shield or armor.
ES 8-10: the target gets a +1 modifier on both shield, armor, and weapon.
Purification, Carol of (Path of Glory, Sacrifice)
ES 1-4: the target heals 1 point of stat lost to illness per turn; removing the disease requires all lost points to be recovered (see VIII.5).
ES 5-7: the target is purified by 1 point lost due to poisoning per turn.
ES 8-10: the target is cleansed by 1 point lost due to any negative effect (also alchemical or magical) per turn.
Relief, Anthem of (Path of Glory, Sacrifice)
ES 1-4: the target regains 1 point per turn to a chosen CS (up to its original value).
ES 5-7: as above except that the rate is 2 points per turn.
ES 8-10: as above except that the rate is 3 points per turn.
Renewal, Entreaty of (Path of Glory, Sacrifice)
ES 1-4: the caster removes 1 negative status from the target (any but those that are directly tied to CS decrease) per turn.
ES 5-7: the caster raises the SOM of the target by 1 point per turn up to their actual score (if positive, otherwise to the baseline).
ES 8-10: the caster raises the Morality of the target by 1 point per turn up to their actual score (if positive, otherwise to the baseline).
Senses, Carol of (Path of Power, Destruction)
ES 1-4: the target is not able to hear while the spell is active.
ES 5-7: the target is not able to hear and speak while the spell is active.
ES 8-10: the target is not able to hear, speak nor see while the spell is active.
Shield, Chant of (any Path)
ES 1-4: the caster creates a magical barrier which prevents any physical contact between the target and any being with opposite Path; in case the target is not the caster, he must have the same Path of the caster.
ES 5-7: as above except that the target can have any but the opposite Path to the caster’s one.
ES 8-10: as above but not limited to the target; the barrier works on a sphere with a radius of 3m centered on the target.
Sorrow, Canticle of (Path of Power, Destruction)
ES 1-4: the target has a -1 modifier on any check related to a single ES.
ES 5-7: the target is imbued of horror and loses 1 point of SOM per minute.
ES 8-10: the caster bestows a curse on the target, granting an overall -1 modifier which ends either at the end of the spell or upon accomplishing a request within the curse (i.e., a condition set by the caster).
Truth, Psalter of (any Path)
ES 1-4: the target detects any physical and non-magical illusion or disguise and realizes without error the truth hidden by the deceiver.
ES 5-7: as above targeting any deception in verbal or non-verbal language.
ES 8-10: as above targeting any magic mystification.
Twilight, Litany of the (Path of Glory, Sacrifice)
ES 1-4: the target is granted a stop in the fatality countdown (see VIII.2); as long as the spell is active, any state where a CS is 0 is not permanent.
ES 5-7: as above except that the target can act as if he had a score of 1 instead of 0 or negative (i.e., the target is active).
ES 8-10: as above, in addition the target is seen by no one but the caster.
Universe, Song of the (any Path)
ES 1-4: the caster identifies a creature (i.e., knows everything but the stats) as if he has studied it from a book.
ES 5-7: the caster banishes a creature to its plane of origin; the creature disappears in 1d4 turns. The creature has to be identified in advance.
ES 8-10: the caster summons from its original plane a creature in 1d4 turns. The creature has to be identified in advance.
VII.8 CC Spellcasting
The caster intones a litany to the patron to gain their divine favor as CC magic. Casting a CC requires the use of voice and concentration for the casting time. The spellcasting is a prayer: the character is granted the invoked magic and once channeled, it is sufficient to keep on praying to extend the effect without concentration (whereas the SS requires it).
The caster’s score in the ES CC defines the maximum effect of the spell: the caster is free to select any effect of the spell allowed by their ES score.
The CC caster is called to define the spell according to duration (or SD), range (or SR) and target (or ST). In this sense, the tables with Spell addends and Spell costs defined for SS are valid with two exceptions:
in the SD concentration is replaced by prayer’s persistence (i.e., the interruption of the prayer is like the loss of concentration in SS);
the target table for the CC refers only to creatures (area and item are not applicable for CC, as defined in VII.6).
The CC caster must succeed an ARCT on the ES CC. The threshold is the SC. No magnitude effect applies for CC.
In case the SC is lower than the sum of (CS + MI + character’s level) of the caster, he gains 1d6 temporary points that stack with the character’s level for the injuries calculation (see VIII.2). The temporary points last as the cast spell. When the SC is higher than (CS + MI + character’s level) nothing happens.
The time required to cast a CC follows the same rule of SS (see VII.4), as well as the damage of a CC (see VII.4) if not defined in the description.
VII.9 CC Counterspell
A CC can be countered with an action of counterspell by another channeling caster. The countercaster selects the same CC as the one to be countered (level of ES knowledge, duration, range, and target need not to be defined). In addition, the counterspell has effect if the countercaster’s Path is not opposite to the caster’s Path like the same pattern in VII.2.
In case of match between CC prayers and non-opposition between the Paths, the character needs to succeed an ARCT on the ES CC. The threshold is the same needed to cast the CC (see VII.8). In case of success, the spell effect does not take place, or it stops if it was cast beforehand (and is having a prolonged effect). The counterspell action lasts 1 turn.
A caster who wants to counterspell with no chance of error can perform an ARCT on ES Lore Clerical Canon with the same threshold of the spell to be countered to understand that prayer. The action lasts 1 turn.