Okay, so you're planning to make a spell (or, ICly, research a new spell from your library). There are a few considerations to keep in mind. Follow this lovely, step-by-step guide, and you'll be set.
1. Have a concept! Get a basic idea of what you want your spell to do. Keep in mind that anyone can design a spell. A player can OOCly design a spell for their character to then research, or a magic user can ICly design a spell for their own personal use. The former become public spells, researchable by anyone. The latter are private spells, as they were personally designed for use by the witch.
2. Participants. How many people do you need to cast the spell? Check against the following table:
| One caster only | No modifier |
| Two casters | -1 Power Level |
| 3-9 casters | -2 Power Level |
| 10+ casters | -3 Power Level |
| Additional Requirements of caster | -1 Power Level per Requirement |
3. Casting Time. How long does your spell take to cast? Check against the following table:
| Instant (cast by anyone instantly) | +2 Power Level |
| Recitation (couple minutes) | +1 Power Level |
| Ritual (5-30 minutes) | No modifier |
| Long Ritual (30 minutes to 6 hours) | -1 Power Level |
| Very Long Ritual (6 hours+) | -2 Power Level |
| Quick Cast (for Sorcery) | +1 Power Level |
| Magical Item (creates a one-shot item) | +1 Power Level |
| Uses per SL | +1 Power Level |
4. Scope. What's the area affected by the spell? Check against the following table:
| Minor (doesn't directly affect a person; up to 1 room) | No modifier |
| Noticeable (1 person, 1 object, target in the same room) | +1 Power Level |
| Severe (2-10 people, target in the same house, building) | +2 Power Level |
| Major (100 people, target in same building, neighborhood) | +4 Power Level |
| Awesome (Town or city) | +5 Power Level |
| Anything Bigger | +6 Power Level |
| Limited Target (only affects certain type of beings) | -1 Power Level |
5. Duration. How long does your spell last? Check the following table:
| 1 Turn per Success Level | -1 Power Level |
| 1 Minute per Success Level | No Modifier |
| 1 Hour per Success Level | +1 Power Level |
| 1 Week per Success Level | +2 Power Level |
| Permanent | +3 Power Level |
The table above is for non-damage, non-healing spells. For those, determine by how long it takes to do the damage or healing:
| Takes 1 minute to have full effect | -1 Power Level |
| Takes 1 hour to have full effect | -2 Power Level |
| Takes 1 day to have full effect | -3 Power Level |
6. Spell Requirement. Does your spell need weird things to work? Check the following table:
| No special requirement | No modifier |
| Unusual (hair/blood of target, rare herbs, rare book, etc) | -1 Power Level |
| Rare (human sacrifice, rare artifact, demon body part) | -2 Power Level |
| Very Rare (darn near unique item) | -3 Power Level |
| Restricted Use (Can only be cast once/twice a year) | -4 Power Level |
| Very Restricted Use (Cast once ever, pretty much) | -5 Power Level |
Unlike other tables, you should only pick the most severe from the above table.
7. Effects. The biggie. What does the spell DO? This is broken into power categories, as below:
| Minor Effect | No modifier |
| Noticeable Effect | +1 Power Level |
| Severe Effect | +2 Power Level |
| Major Effect | +3 Power Level |
| Awesome Effect | +5 Power Level |
Great, you say…but what constitutes a "severe" effect as opposed to a major effect? Fear not. Check below:
Minor: Causing momentary surge of emotion. Make a flash of light. Locate an object within a room. Unlock a lock. Anything that does not significantly alter or damage a subject. Inflict 1 pt. damage per Success Level. Give a rash. Impose a Strength 1 poison or disease.
Noticeable: Calm intense emotions. Create visual illusions. Start a fire. Locate an object within a building. Teleport an object within the same room to hand. Bend or dent hard materials. Inflict damage equal to Willpower per Success Level. Inflict a poison or disease up to Strength 3.
Severe: Change a person's feelings (love spell, Band Candy), summon beings from another dimension, raise a zombie, teleport object within a building to hand, shatter rock or metal. Inflict 2x Willpower damage per Success Level. Inflict poison or disease up to Strength 5. Make someone mute, blind, deaf. Reduce/raise an Attribute by 1 per Success Level.
Major: Enslave a person. Create perfect illusions. Summon a Little Bad. Locate object within a neighborhood. Change properties of a material; metal to mud, air to barrier. Inflict 3x Willpower per Success Level damage. Inflict poison or disease up to Strength 7. Reduce/raise Attribute by 2 per Success Level. Change people into frogs (or anything else).
Awesome: Rewrite memories of a lifetime. Summon a Big Bad. Teleport object within a city. Create impenetrable walls of force. Restore a soul. Raise the dead. Cause natural disasters. Do 5x Willpower damage per Success Level. Inflict poison or disease up to Strength 10. Raise/Lower Attributes by 4 per Success Level.
