Samantha's Magic

[samantha_grey]

The following applies to Samantha's canonical powers only

In the interests of clarity for those curious, and in making sure that players understand roughly what the 'balance' of Samantha's magical prowess is, I've decided to give a slightly more "Mechanical" explanation, rather than the flavor of her magic as described ICly in her posts.

Samantha is, for those familiar with Pathfinder or D&D, roughly based upon that system mechanically. This is not because she is a D&D character, but because Pathfinder serves as a good 'baseline' for levels of effects for spells without crafting a fluid and dynamic system myself. I use its system to balance her abilities. She is basically an Arcane Trickster and Illusionist with Rogue levels and small amount of Mythic power.

Her Canon Progression - (Magic is rated from Level 0-9)
At Canon Point - "Animositas," where Samantha's mother is killed and she is released into the world, she has just gained her first Mythic Tier and access to Level 3 Magic.
During Canon Point - "Avaritia," where Samantha is trapped in Viper's Colosseum, Samantha begins at Tier 1 Mythic with access to Level 4 magic, and reaches Level 5 at the very end of the event.
At Canon Point - "Luxus," where she rescues the soul of Dusk from Hell: She has 2 Mythic tiers and access to level 5 Magic. (This is her canon point at the start of Asgard Eventide)
At Canon Point - "Industria," where her father Valefar is defeated, Samantha has stolen the Flame of Uriel and Diffido rises to take Valefar's place, she has access to 3 Mythic Tiers and Level 6 Magic. (This is her canon point for Midnight Syndicate)
Future Canon Points - are not developed enough at this time to permit a canon update. She reaches Master-Level magic at some point in the years after her father's death and begins to master the use of the Flame of Uriel.

Midnight Syndicate level - Samantha is considered an experienced intermediate level of spellcaster.

What does the whole Rogue Side of her mean? -
-She's sneaky, can hit vital points with solid training, fights like an assassin with mostly self-taught style, skilled at B&E, pickpocketing and the like, and good at making potions/poisons/medicines.

About those Potions...
For more info on what she makes, go to her shop. In canon, she makes a lot of varied potions. In game, for balance purposes and so everyone gets to have their fun, I prefer to keep this to a limited stock of different things. Usually never more than 8-10 types of potions by game's end is my current plan.

How does Samantha cast spells -
She must have a verbal/spoken component and a somatic/gestured component when casting. She usually uses prayers or invocations of the Tuatha de Danaan and other celtic gods. She does not need these for Frostfire and Invisibility. About three times a day, she has enough force to cast a spell without words or gestures, because she is a sneaky git like that, but only that often. The rest? As normal.

What is the source of her magic - Internal.
Her magical power comes from a mixture of bloodline (Demon, daughter of a druid) and having a connection to an eldritch power source her father stole (The Flame of Uriel, used to raise her until the end of Industria, when she stole it herself as he died.). She draws directly from herself when casting, and so has a limited reserve of magical power.

While she speaks the names of her gods, she does not draw her power from them. It just helps her focus.

Does she need to Memorize Spells like a Wizard in Pathfinder - No.
One, I hate that system. It's irritating. Two, that was her first Mythic ability derived from the Flame of Uriel. her spellbook is in her head. She does need to 'prepare' her chosen spells ahead of time, but this is generally handwaved.

What are the kinds of spells she knows?
Ok, we're going to skip the flavor this time and get to the brass tacks of what levels of magic mean for Samantha. This list isn't 100% exhaustive, but gives you the idea of what her spells usually do.

Note: All of her spells can be resisted to some extent or another - be it dodging an attack partially or fully, resisting a mental effect, disbelieving an illusion. Her Intermediary magic is harder to resist than her Basic obviously, and her illusions are harder to resist than other spells, but Samantha is no archmage. Whatever power she has, there are limits.

Universal "Sam" Magical Tricks -
Frostfire - Blue flames that freeze. With effort they can even harm those resistant to the cold, though not as much. Wreathing her hands or firing a short burst of flame is child's play and automatic. Prolonged cones, walls and such count as Lower Intermediate Magic
Invisibility - She goes invisible. This covers sight alone normally. This illusion is second nature to Samantha, and she can usually act while invisible, though violent actions sometimes break the spell. it is a Basic level spell that she knows by heart. If she pulls on her Wild Magic (see below), she can spoof all five senses and some magical detection.
Telekinesis - 5 Pounds, no more, can't be magical, range is about thirty feet. She can pick pockets at range sometimes. Automatic, done anytime.
Wild Magic - Samantha can, around four or five times a day, grab raw magical energy from inside herself and tell it to do something she couldn't usually do. This is always risky. I flip a coin on a random number generator (or go with what we wanted ahead of time). Failure, and it's chaotic and out of her control. It's still never more 'powerful' than she can produce.

Neophyte Type Spells (These are Level 0s) - Can be cast at will without draining her.
-Flash: Creates a sudden, blinding flash of light.
-Daze: Often included with a clawed swipe, causes three seconds' pause in a person's motion as they're disoriented.
-Ghost Sounds: Creates small illusory sounds at a short distance to confuse people. She sometimes uses this to speak to people a short distance away without others hearing. This can be up to a half-mile away, but that kind of range is taxing, and she has to know the person well.
-Mending: Repairs mundane objects that are still repairable.
-Detect Magic: Study and see magical auras to identify their purpose.
-Prestidigitation: Cheap parlor tricks. Obviously magical. Lasts an hour. Just for fun.

Basic Magic (These are Levels 1-2) - Samantha has a broad pool of power for this magic. She could cast these spells about Fifteen times in a day.
-Magic Armor and Magic Shield: Invisible fields of force that protect her for several hours. They can be penetrated by attacks, but make it harder to hurt her significantly.
-Knock: Unlocks a locked door. No frills here.
-Grease: Makes grease get everywhere. Ewww, it's slimy and flammable and slippery.
-Web: Boom, magical spider webs. Either small bindings or blast everywhere. Also flammable.
-Ray of Enfeeblement: A hex. It reduces the physical strength of someone temporarily. This is gone within an hour if the beam hits. Normally, it makes someone weak and sluggish compared to normal. If she augments it as an Intermediary version, it can bring a normal person to their knees and an Athlete to normal levels. Kiiiind of useless on its own against superhuman strength, though it can stack with other effects.
-Friend: Lasts about an hour, as long as she does nothing outright harmful to the person, and makes them more positively disposed to her.
-Shocking Grasp: Her only non-frostfire attack spells are electric in nature. It takes less effort to put electricity in her palm than a bolt of lightning.
-Corpse Preservation: Just what the spell says. Lasts a while, has to be recast every few days or so to keep it up.
-Illusions: Most of her spells are illusions.
Basic magic illusions include the following -
Invisibility, Mirror images of Samantha wandering around, static illusions that encompass one sense and are about the size of an elephant. Magical disguises, short range hypnotic sprays that temporarily blind or daze a single person. Most effects last for a few minutes.

Lower Intermediary Magic (These are the Level 3-4) - This magic is still not that taxing to her, and she can pull off about 10-12 castings of these magics in a day.
-Lightning Bolt: Like the Shocking Grasp, but ranged and generally with a thunderclap effect. Usually hits one, maybe two people at most if they're real close together. (Yes, I know it's level 3. Shush. This isn't actually D&D)
-Dimension Door: Her "Barrow Gate." Range is two-football fields away. She can take up to two people she's physically in contact with. She doesn't need to see the destination, but there has to be space for it to work. Magical barriers not put up by her block it.
-Arcane Sight: More aggressive magical detection. Her eyes glow blue when using it. It tells her more as she studies magical auras.
-Dispel Magic: She can get into a contest of will against an active spell. It's basically a 'who's the more potent caster' moment, though sometimes she gets a surge or they get lucky, so if they're close to the same level who knows? I generally flip a coin if there's risk and assume she can't break down Master wizards' magic.
-Hexes: Debilitating but temporary effects that can last for a day or two. They may drain a person's strength, their will, their stamina. They might make you fumble fingers, or turn your food to taste like ash. They're basically curses, and she can usually put no more than two on a character at a time. (Unlike Pathfinder, while they can be broken, they are not permanent because that's just cheap. 1-2 days, tops.)
-Illusions: Intermediate Illusions
Her intermediate illusions are less about ornateness and more about direct effect. Hypnotic patterns that can mesmerize multiple people. Glittering dust that can reveal invisible and hidden things. A vicious illusion that can create a person's greatest fears, causing short-term harm or heart palpitations in the weak-willed. Her basic illusions are still about the size of a car/elephant here at most, but can encompass all senses. By putting extra effort in and making it a higher intermediate, thus taxing her, these can spoof some magical detection but not all. most effects are instantaneous and done, or last several minutes to an hour.

Higher Intermediary Magic (Levels 5-6) - This magic is extremely taxing. Between all of these, she can manage perhaps 8 castings total.
-Baleful Polymorph/Polymorph: Screw you. I'm turning you into a newt. What? It's a traditional witch spell guys. But it's also taxing. She can shrink herself too this way.
-Secret Chest: Hammer Space. It is a literal coffin she stores in the ethereal plan (the space between spaces). It holds what an actual coffin would safely. Casting the spell summons it in front of her and sends it away a minute or less later.
-Passwall: She can pass through solid walls that are not magically warded and no thicker than she could hold her breath by passing through. This has no defensive properties, just helps getting to places.
-Eyebite: Her eyes go red and black, and if she looks at you and you see her eyes, waves of nausea overwhelm you. For weaker souls this can cause them to panic or even go unconscious. For most 'hero types' this just freaks them out and weakens them for no more than an hour. Her eyes stay like this for a couple minutes and can effect multiple people as a result.
-Illusions: Greater Intermediate Illusions
Already able to produce illusions of some skill these are now pre-prepared and planned, turning on at a pre-set condition. They can spoof attempts to magically spy on a site, or sneak a peak. They can last longer closer to a full day in length. These illusions can be large enough to encompass about 1,000 square feet, but if interacting with them would put a person in harm (making it look like there's not a cliff there), it's easier to resist them.