Wizarding
Wizarding is a game about a world of magic that’s hidden beneath the everyday world. The players take on the role of wizard apprentices attending the Institute of Magic. The game focuses on mysteries and capers. Through those, players discover and characters evolve the nature and desire of their characters.  

Developing the Institute
As a group the players and GM should discuss what kind of Institute they want to play in. Decide on the general theme: something ala Hogwarts? a medieval academy out of Ars Magica? Or anime-ish like The Irregular at Magic High School? You can use this time to answer some questions about the setting:

*What era is it?
*Is magic hidden or out in the open?
*Is the school unique or one among many?
*How large is it?
*How old are the students?
*What are punishments like?

Once these have been decided, give each player the chance to establish one detail or feature about the school. This could be a place, a person, kinds of classes, student organizations, etc. Go around until each player has created two. The GM should record these on a master sheet.

The Nature of Magic
How magic operates says a good deal about the world. By default, Wizarding assumes that several “branches” of magic exist. Each branch has certain aspects associated with it. 

For example, you might have a system of Colors of Magic:
•	Green (affecting living things)
•	Purple (affecting inanimate things)
•	Silver (performing neutral magic)
•	Gold (performing helpful magic).

Or you might want to use terminology from another game (Abjuration, Summoning), descriptors (Druidic, Sorcerous), or totemic (flowers, gemstones). Ideally you should have 4-6 branches. More may exist outside of these, but might be forbidden or restricted to more advanced students. These decisions can be made by the GM alone or in collaboration with the players. 

Make Characters
Each player makes a character. To do so, the player imagines the apprentice they’d like to play. They then spend points on Abilities and Magic.

All player-characters begin as first year apprentices at the Institute. They’ll be the youngest age you’ve decided for students and they can work magic. Each player should come up with three words or short phrases to describe their character, called “Traits”. These can represent ambitions, quirks, passions, appearance. For example: leader, lonely, popular, timid, overly energetic, famous parents, etc. Traits help everyone gain a sense of the character and serve as a hook to hang troubles later.   

As well, each character has a Strangeness: a unique power, special destiny or a supernatural heritage. This can be used to support or justify actions during play. Players share what they’ve picked and can modify their choices to ensure that everyone has something different. If there’s any question, the GM determines what counts as a Strangeness.

Abilities: Characters have four abilities, used to determine the dice rolled for actions. 

•	Charm (likeability/persuasiveness)
•	Cleverness (intelligence/cunning)
•	Constitution (health/physicality)
•	Confidence (self-esteem/courage).

Each ability starts at 1. To spend points, players divide four points between these. 

Next players spend points on their magics. Players have a number of points to spend equal to the number of branches of magic. Magics start at 0. Score in magic can be used to add dice to action attempts. 
	
General Play
Wizarding plays out a story, broken up into scenes (see below for a typical story structure). Each scene the player tries to play their character in a consistent and compelling way.

At the start of each session, players write down two things they want to show or get across about their character. The GM collects these, writes them anonymously on a single sheet & numbers them. This numbered list is shown to the group. This sheet can be set aside, but players may reference during play.  

At the end of the session, the players will try to match up those ideas with character names. Everyone lists the characterization goals by their number and writes down beside each item who they think came up with that (skipping their own). The GM then goes through the list to see how well the guesses match up. 

For each player, 

•	If everyone picked your items correctly, you get an XP. You may also change a trait if you wish. 
•	If half or more of your items were picked correctly, you get two XP. 
•	If less than half of your items were picked correctly, you may declare a change in your character. This should relate to the items you listed. If you do so you may either gain an XP or add a new trait. Characters may have a maximum of five traits. Optionally you can skip making a change. 

Spend XP
At the end of each session the players can spend any XP that they’ve earned. It costs a number of XP equal to the current level of an Ability or Color to improve it.

Resolution
A player says what their character does. Sometimes, they’ll need to roll dice to determine the outcome of their actions.

Handle Dice Rolls
A player makes a roll whenever they do something that might get their character into trouble. Players declare what they wish to do and the GM states if this will potentially lead to trouble. Players may opt to withdraw or modify their action. GMs should use this opportunity to taunt and lure players. 

Working magic always counts as risking trouble, unless under the supervision of one of the teachers at the Institute.

The action undertaken determines the Ability used. 
Roll dice equal to the most relevant Ability. If working magic, the player may roll additional dice equal to their score in that magic. Players should describe how that magic assists. Roll different color dice for the ability pool and the magic pool.  

At first, all players roll d12’s to resolve actions. Each time a character gets into trouble, the die type used by the whole group goes down by one size (down to a d4). Whenever a particular bit of trouble would reduce the die from d4, a Chapter ends.

Interpret Rolls
If the majority of the dice a player rolls come up 1’s, the character gets into trouble (something bad happens). The character may gain something, but at a major cost. Partial success in this case might be a piece of information, clearing a path, or letting their fellow students escape unharmed. The GM assigns punishments, restrictions, and ongoing problems based on the trouble. 

If all the dice a player rolls come up 1’s, the character gets into trouble without any benefit.

Otherwise, the character succeeds at the task they were trying to accomplish. 

If the player gets the maximum result on an ability die, something cool happens. The more dice that come up with the maximum value, the cooler the result.

As well, if any magic dice in a roll show the maximum die value, the magic goes out of control. The extent of this problem is the the number of magic dice with scores exceeding the character’s Confidence. In this case, the player succeeds but creates a problem for later. The GM marks down the number of out of control dice. 

On a later die roll, the GM may declare that this problem has returned to roost. They may force a player to reroll a number of dice equal to the earlier out of control score. The GM should describe how the magic returns to cause problems.   

Burning a Trait
Players may “burn a trait,” representing them either overcoming their personality or giving in to it. After they roll, a player may mark off one or more of their traits and then reroll a number of dice equal to the number of marked off traits. This may be done once per roll. Describe how overcoming the limitation or invoking that positive distinction helps. 

Players may also burn a trait to add a die to another player’s dice before rolling. There’s no limit to this, but only one die’s added per trait burned.    

Finally, players may burn a trait to take control of their trouble. They may narrate what bad things occur and/or what benefits arise. This should be connected to the trait they’ve marked off. 

Burning traits offers players a way to reemphasize their character’s wants and needs. 

Earn Tokens
When a player gets their character into trouble, they get a token. Tokens determine what happens at the end of each Chapter or Book. Use these to help resolve the “Confrontation.” Confrontations represent the character facing a major obstacle or adversary. Chapters should end with this. Even if they don’t face the final foe, the characters should have the opportunity to make significant progress. The “Acting Character” for these scenes should be the one who has not acted for the longest time. 

Tokens come in 3 colors: Black, Red and White. If the action that earned the token was selfish a Black Token is gained. If the action was selfless a White Token is gained. If the action was emotional, they gain a Red Token.

Endings
Before you go into a Confrontation, describe the general set up and the nature of the adversary. Then look at the acting character’s tokens:
•	If balanced, that character does something brilliant to get everyone out of trouble. Ask them what that thing is. Whatever they say happens.
•	If they have more Black, however the character may normally act, they’ll have to do something awful to get the group out of trouble. Ask them what that thing is. Whatever they say happens.
•	If they have more Red, a random event or action, a force of nature or the behavior of another character saves the group from the trouble they’re in. Ask them what that thing is. The GM may add on or elaborate this. 
•	If they have more White, the power of magic itself comes and rescues the characters from their troubles. This may be a figure representing magic, like an instructor. The GM explains what happens.

GM Actions
Track Time
A game consists of Scenes, Chapters, Books and Series as well as Sessions. The GM keeps track of these units. The system determines when things change from one to another.

Create a Mystery
Books are about a mystery at the Institute, created by the GM. This mystery and the stakes involved should make use of the tone and set up collaboratively created at the beginning. Initial mysteries should begin at the school itself. Later ones may go further afield. 

Describe the World
Each scene the GM will describe what’s happening, explaining what things look like and what the characters and the creatures in the world are doing. Build on the material established by the players. If players establish facts about the world during play, make sure to note those and bring them back. 

Drive the Story Forward
The GM decides when to begin and end scenes and where scenes begin, what NPCs populate them, etc…

Each Chapter the GM will have a different goal during each Scene, as follows:

1.	Establish the characters, the school and the NPCs.
2.	Bring the characters together.
3.	Establish adversity at the school. Reinforces PC connections.
4.	Introduce the mystery. Get the characters interested in it.
5.	Reinforce the need to solve the mystery. Increase the danger and the stakes the characters have in it.
6.	Drop clues that bring the nature of the mystery to light.*
7.	Address the possible outcomes of the mystery. Eliminate all but one possibility.
8.	Put the group in situations that winnow their numbers and separate them, so that only one character is remaining.**
9.	Resolve the mystery. Have the character confront the perpetrator(s). Make the confrontation as climatic as possible.

*If Chapter 5 ends without enough clues to move forward. Have additional Chapter ‘5’s’ until there are enough clues.
** During this Chapter, any character that leaves the group can give Tokens they’ve acquired to the remaining characters. You may need to have multiple Chapter ‘7’s’ in order to isolate a single character.

Classroom Scenes
The GM should keep in mind the elements of this genre. Consider breaking the mid-point of a session with a class. Set up the atmosphere, establish the teacher, and give a brief lecture on the topic at hand. This has several uses:
1. The opportunity to round out the world. What kinds of classes are taught says a lot. 
2. The chance to establish themes or specific details you or the players can call back to later. Consider how Harry Potter puts both exposition and foreshadowing here.
3. You can have the instructor ask questions of the PCs. This gives them a chance to showcase their character’s personality and perhaps establish new details about the world.