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 often 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 Morality) 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 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, to vary, to widen.

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 jumble, to mess, to mismanage, to muddle, to overturn, to overwhelm, to randomize, to ruin, to sabotage, to scatter, to scramble, to shatter, to spoil, to spring, to tangle, to undermine, to unleash, to unravel, to upend, to upset, to wreak, 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 shade, to suspend, 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 systematize, to tailor, to tie, to uniform, to unify, to uphold.

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, to ventilate.

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 make hoarfrost, 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 caster declares the dominant word of the spell between the two: this word is the reference in all spellcasting checks.

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 dominant word.

The Feature of Spell target (or ST) can be referred to:

• an area; it can vary from 10cm. up to 1km. of diameter or it can be ‘Any at sight’ (i.e. the caster can freely choose anything in his sight).

• an item; it can vary from 100gr. up to 1ton. of weight or it can be ‘Any at sight’ (i.e. the caster can freely choose anything in his sight).

• 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).

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 dominant 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 max damage is the Spell cost (including magnitude multiplier).

• The GM determines the exact amount: rolling 2 dice where the SC is the max value, e.g. if the SC is 11, it’s 2d6 rounded up for a ‘default’ magnitude; 1d6 only for a low magnitude or 4d6 for a high magnitude.

• The player defines which kind of damage the spell does (i.e. the affected US/KS) based on the effect he has described.

• The GM can apply further modifiers or effects to the damage based on context (and not referred to the spell itself).

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 KS and US, the caster will suffer 1d10 damage of backfire on ERU/IN. The GM applies 2d10 damage if the difference is double or greater than the sum of KS and US.

The backfire damage can be recovered according to the normal rules of recovery (see Healing) 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 Action; a cast lasts according to its Spell cost (including magnitude multiplier):

• Spell cost 3-6: 1 turn

• Spell cost 7-15: 2 turns

• Spell cost 16-27: 3 turns

• Spell cost 28+: Special; in case of SC higher than 27, 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 can have effect if the counterspell word belongs to the same Path of the spell’s dominant word.

An ARCT on the ES SS of the counterspell word is required with a threshold equal to the spell’s one (see SS Spellcasting). 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 SS Spellcasting), 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 obtain a part of his power to channel it in the form of magic. A CC is the effect of a prayer addressed to the Patron. Each patron allows his 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 a restricted access. A channeling caster learns and casts CC aligned only to the Path of his Patron 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 CC Spellcasting). The caster is able to select any effect available up to his 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 SS Spellcasting).

• 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 SS Spellcasting).

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 (in advance) creature regardless of its location; the spell lasts 1 turns more than usual (see SS Spellcasting).

• ES 8-10: the caster teleports an aligned and known (in advance) creature at his presence; the spell lasts 1 turns more than usual (see SS Spellcasting).

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/crypted 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 by the spell and this grants a temporary +1 modifier on a stat defined by the caster.

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 that will pass through that window activates a noise loud enough to be heard anywhere in 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 States).

• 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 his sight.

• ES 5-7: the target knows one stat (any but US) 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 any negative effect that reduces or impairs the soul (i.e. Morality or SOM).

• ES 5-7: as above except that the effect is on the body (i.e. BU or CO)

• ES 8-10: as above except that the 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 resets from the target 1 point per turn of positive modifier in his SOM up to the baseline value of EM.

• ES 8-10: the caster resets from the target 1 point per turn of positive modifier in his 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 KS/US 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 shield or armor.

• ES 5-7: the target gets a +1 modifier on the level of the weapon.

• 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 by 1 point of stat lost to illness per turn; the disease requires all lost points to be recovered to be fully removed (see Other cases).

• 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 KS and US (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 resets from the target 1 negative status (any but those that are directly tied to KS/US decrease) per turn.

• ES 5-7: the caster resets from the target 1 point per turn of negative modifier in SOM up to the current score.

• ES 8-10: the caster resets from the target 1 point per turn of negative modifier in Morality up to the current score.

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 speak while the spell is active.

• ES 8-10: the target is not able to 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 on 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 Injuries); until the spell is active, any state where a KS 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 his 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 his 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 Clerical Canons).

The CC caster must succeed an ARCT on the ES CC. The threshold is equal to the SC with the caster’s Morality Index as a modifier as follows:

KS + US + ES Adj > Spell Cost – Morality Index

The higher the caster’s Morality, thus the Patron’s alignment, the lower the threshold, hence the easier the spell to cast.

The CC caster suffers 1d10 damage in case the SC is higher than the sum of the KS and US of the caster, exactly like for SS.

The time required to cast a CC follows the same rule of SS (see SS Spellcasting), as well as the damage of a CC (see SS Spellcasting) 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 Secret Sorcery.

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 CC Spellcasting). Like for CC casting, the threshold is affected by the modifier of the Morality Index (same formula of CC Spellcasting applies). In case of success, the effect of the spell 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.