Through the Veil

Introduction

PCs are magicians charged with loose oversight of the lands of a disintegrated empire. They are few in number, relatively speaking, and wander where they will. During those travels, they will take steps to right wrongs, restore the law to lawless areas, and mend the very fabric of their broken world. However, reality will resist all attempts to introduce change -- the Veils are not easily parted. 

Magicians are able to channel these fickle forces, but are otherwise unremarkable beings. As a result of this, they will have to rely upon their magic in order to complete most tasks. There are very few tasks that magic can’t solve (or at least attempt to).

Magicians work their magic by using powers and affinities to alter the world in some fashion to work magic. They draw on their powers and affinities to work out a casting, then release it into existence. Even casting simple spells may end up quickly spiraling out of control due to the unpredictable and wild nature of magic. However, the majority of play revolves around using magic to create vast changes in the world for better or worse, if the Veil allows it.

Gameplay is divided into two main phases. In the Wander phase, magicians (unsurprisingly) wander through the torn lands trying to help bring the world back from the precipice of annihilation by using their many powers and shaping the world in a manner that they see as beneficial. In the Wait [something more evocative sounding] phase, magicians go into a period of hibernation to recharge and regenerate their Psyche while the world continues to change and resonate from their recent actions. During this time they can ______ as well as change _______. After a set amount of time, they emerge from their slumber to Wander once more. 

In order to play you’ll need a group of 2-5 players and a few six sided dice. One of you will assume the role of the GM while the rest of you will take up the mantle of powerful magicians. 

Character Creation

Every Magician needs a name and title.

[Example names]
[Example titles]

Magicians then decide their Powers. The powers are rated on a scale of 1 to 5. Each magician begins with a base rating of 1 in each power, then has three rating points to distribute. No power may begin with a rating of more than 3. 

Powers

The magician’s powers determine how well they can manipulate the world around them. There are five powers. Each has the ability to bring the shattered world ever closer but also to break it apart even more. Each power has a positive outcome and a negative outcome (in parenthesis). When a player chooses a die result for their spell, it manifests its positive aspect on a roll of a 4-6. Likewise, it manifests its negative aspect on a roll of a 1-3. Keep in mind that a negative aspect is not necessarily a “failure”. For example, there may be some instances where a player may wish to manifest aspects of Destruction instead of Creation.

	- Creation (& Destruction)
	- Preservation (& Transformation)
	- Adjuration (& Abjuration)
	- Divination (& Obscuration)
- Restoration (& Ruination)

After deciding on the ratings of their Powers, magicians then describe and define their Affinities.

Affinities

Magicians also develop affinities for working with varied parts of the world with their powers. Affinities provide flavor and context for spells but they are also vital in determining whether a spell would actually be able to accomplish a magician’s intent.There are a great many possible affinities that can be developed. Affinities determine the form and manifestation of a magician's magic. They should reflect the personality and preferences of the magician. Choose 6 affinities and assign them each to a number (1-6). For example, if a player chooses a 3 and their 3 is tied to their Fire affinity, the spell must manifest this affinity in one form or another. Whether you end up using a positive or negative aspect of your Powers you must always tell us how your affinity is able to solve the challenge that you’re trying to tackle. [Needs uniform paragraph structure]

Some examples of affinities include:

Insects
Fire
Bones
Shadow
[A few more examples]

You can change Affinities whenever you…

Casting a Spell

When you cast a spell, declare your intent; the ideal outcome of your casting. You must also declare the Power that you will use to fulfill this intended outcome. For example, you might say “I intend to shield myself from the raging manastorm” or “I intend to raise this sunken city from the ocean”. The more extreme and drastic magic you wish the work, the more Psyche it will cost you to start the casting. Working a casting involves the manipulation of the energies *and* overcoming the resistance of the Veil.

After you declare your intent, the GM will assign a Veil rating on a scale of 1-5 based on how strong the world resists the magical effort. The higher the Veil rating the more difficult the task at hand.

You roll a 1d6 for each point you have in that Power keeping the single die of your choice (as long as it has not been negated by resistance from the Veil). On a roll of a 4-6, the spell manifests positively with it’s corresponding Affinity. On a roll of a 1-3 the spell manifests negatively with the corresponding affinity (1-4, 2-5, 3-6). If the player’s spell manifests the opposite positive/negative aspect than their stated intent, the spell still manifests with just as much force and potency, just in the opposite direction. Magic will allow players to do almost anything, but it is in a magician’s best interest to always weigh the risks vs. the rewards. Cautious mages may choose to work smaller spells towards a single goal while the more reckless amongst them may simply let it ride on one working.

Example of Play

[Name] stumbles upon a collection of ruined tomes, lost to entropic forces. [Name] declares that they will weave a spell to Restore these tomes to a readable state once again. The GM assesses the situation and determines that while there is mild resistance from the Veil, it is by no means overwhelming and assigns a rating of 1. Likewise, the books are damaged but still within the realm of restoration, so it will only cost [Name] X Psyche to attempt the working. [Name] rolls 1d6 for each point they have in Restoration/Ruination.

Resistance of the Veil

The Veil of Reality presents a challenge to those who would work to alter it. It resists attempts to change reality for the better (or worse). This resistance can vary from place to place and from task to task. Magicians may find that even complex spells may provide little resistance in certain circumstances -- and vice versa. At times, the resistance can not only ruin or alter an intended working, it can damage the magician’s psyche.

Any attempt to work magic will result in at least some resistance from the Veil. This can vary from 1 to 4. A Veil rating of 1 provides very little resistance to casting efforts, while a Veil rating of 5 presents a great deal of challenge. The GM rolls a 1d6 (Veil Die) for each Veil point present in the casting. 

Player attempts to work a casting and rolls a 2, 4, and 5 against a Veil rating of 2. The GM rolls 2 Veil Dice coming up with a 2 and 5. The matching sets are removed from the player’s dice pool leaving them with only one option forward to completing their magic (which they of course must go through with). 

If the resistance of the Veil ever completely neutralizes a working (leaving the player no dice left in their pool) then the spell is considered a failure and the magician takes psyche damage equal to [?]

Each Veil Die may only remove one corresponding die from the player’s pool. For example, in order to neutralize a player’s pool containing 4 and 4 the GM will have needed to roll two 4s with their Veil Dice.

Summoning up a basic ball of fire on the end of a torch will invite little resistance, for example. Summoning a ball of fire and holding it floating in air, adding to its volume, increasing its temperature, and then sending it skittering down a hallway at some bad guys is a much more involved working and as a result of that will incur more resistance from the Veil.

If all of the dice are resisted by the Veil, the magician suffers Psyche damage. This is problematic, not just because it can lead to insanity, because magicians draw on their Psyche to power castings.

Characters are generally able to work castings without failure, with the variability being the amount of resistance offered by the Veil and the applicability of their affinities.

[More emphasis on the veil/more veil related mechanics]

Powering Castings

A magician draws on his or her Psyche to power castings. A magician uses the power of Psyche to pierce the Veil with the workings, and each casting will require points of Psyche be dedicated to the effort. The psychic load depends on how great an effect is being worked.

The magician may increase the psychic load in an attempt to speed the working process. This may backfire, as it also increases the chances of abject failure by adding both an additional effort dies to the roll plus a resisted die to the effort. E.g., the player rolls 5 dice normally, increases the psychic load by one, and then rolls a 6th die

Resolution Summary

Player declares intent and Power
GM sets Veil rating
Player rolls 1d6 equal to their chosen Power, GM rolls 1d6 equal to the Veil rating
Dice which rolled the same number are paired off and removed from the pool
Player selects a die of their choice from their remainder (if able) and the magic manifests
or
If there are no remaining dice in their pool to choose from the working has failed

If the majority of a player’s dice were neutralized by the Veil…
If the majority of a player’s dice were not neutralized by the Veil…