Elemental Family

Elemental magic is the magic of the physical world. The most well-known types of elemental magic are air, fire, earth, and water, but lightning and ice mages are also common, as are types of magic which most people wouldn’t consider elements but which seem to fit better in the elemental category than any other, such as force. Elemental mages are the most common kind of mage by a long way, maybe more common than both of the other families put together.

Out of all the families, elemental mages are the best at directly affecting physical reality – they’re the artisans, engineers, and soldiers of the magical world, and it’s rare for them to come up against a physical problem they can’t solve. That said, their way of solving that problem is unlikely to be subtle. Elemental magic is usually  very  obvious and attracts a lot of attention. Keep getting straight flushes in a poker game and you’ll get some funny looks, but most people won’t think you’re using magic – they’ll think you’re cheating. Go flying down the high street and you’ll get quite a different reaction.

Elemental magic tends to be well-suited to combat. All elemental mages have at least some natural ability to hurt people and break things, even if it’s not what they specialise in. More importantly they can use shields, which give them a good natural defence against magic (and against most other things too). As a result, most battle-mages are elemental mages.

Common types of Elemental Magic
 * Air Magic
 * Earth Magic
 * Fire Magic
 * Force Magic
 * Ice Magic
 * Lightning Magic
 * Water Magic

Air Sample Spells
Air Blades  Action: Instant or aimed  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect The Air mage manifests blades of hardened air, projecting them towards his target hoping to cut them up. This attack deals 1 point of lethal damage per success and is kinetic. The attack has a range of 20 meters.

Hurricane blast  Action: Instant or aimed  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  This spell allows the mage to batter a foe with a raw blast of air, crushing bone and muscle. This attack deals 1 point of bashing damage per success and is Kinetic. This attack has a 20 meter range.

Hardened Air  Action: Instant  Duration: Maintenance  Effect The air mage is a feared assassin for the simple reason, that this spell exists. It allows the mage to harden air and grip it to be used as an impossibly sharp or pointy knife. This weapon can only be wielded by the mage and has an armor penetration of 1.

Implosion  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect: The mage is capable of producing a vacuum of air at a specific point, thus causing the surrounding air to rush to fill this vacuum pulling anything in the immediate vicinity along with it in a violent burst. All creatures within a 3 meters radius that is hit takes 1 point of bashing damage per success and must succeed at a Strength + Stamina roll DC +1 or be pulled to the epicenter of the explosion, possibly suffering more damage as he collides with other objects or people. If the target is already at the center of the blast, he must further pass a Stamina roll or suffer the deafened condition, as his ear drums pop.

Flight  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect The caster gains the ability of flight, this grants him a speed of 3 meters per potency.

Whispering Wind  Action: Instant  Duration: Concentration Effect The air mage can send his words upon the winds, letting it carry to anyone within his perception and for as long as he concentrates they can carry on a conversation over the distance. The conversation is near inaudible to anyone but the intended recipients or the air mage himself.

Swift as the wind  Action: Instant  Duration: Maintenance  Effect  The caster is capable of bending air currents in such a way that they aid his movements, allowing for incredible speed. This spell increases his speed by +5, and grants him +1 dice to melee attacks due to his incredibly fast attacks.  

Earth Sample Spells
Wall of Stone  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect The Earth mage with this spell is capable of pulling up minerals from the surrounding landscapes to form a wall of stone. this wall is 1 meter wide, 50 centimeters tall Success as well as having 3 health per success.

Caltrops  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  This one of the most basic Earth mage combat spells, in spite of it’s name it doesn’t actually conjure caltrops as much as it conjures spikey protrusions up from the earth to hinder and slow opponents, or blow the tires on a car. Each success, allows the mage to cover a 1m2area with spikes, these half enemy movement should they move over them, as the spikes rip and tear into their feet.

Reinforcement  Action: Instant  Duration: Scene 2, 2  Effect The earth mage is capable of imbuing himself with unnatural hardness and strength, by accepting the properties of stone and granite. This grants the Earth mage a bonus on Strength equal to the number of successes rolled as well as 1 armor for ever 2 success however he also becomes exceedingly hard to move, without his say, he receives a +1 bonus dice per success on all resistances towards being forcefully.

Petrification  Action: Full round  Duration: Special  Effect Earth battlemages are often feared for their incredible sturdiness and strength, however many mages forget that they’re capable of much, much more terrifying feats of magic. Targets affected by this spell loses 1 point of dexterity per success, resisted by Stamina, as their bodies calcify and harden, should their dexterity be reduced to 0 by this spell then their body is completely turned to stone. They go unconscious and will no longer need to eat or breath to survive, they are effectively immortal as they’re stood there as statues. Only ‘very’ rare ritual magic can reverse complete petrification, however dexterity damage can be removed by another earth mage with this spell at the rate of one per success on an Intelligence + medicine roll.  

Fire Sample Spells
Blacklung  Action: Instant  Duration: Concentration  Effect The fire mage superheats the air in a victims lungs, causing it to ignite and thus suffocate the victim from the inside. Though they often tend to burn to death before that happens. Each success deals one point of bashing damage to the victim, as his lungs begin to slowly melt and he chokes. Furthermore the victim takes a -2 dice pool penalty in the following rounds, as the lack of oxygen causes the body to panic. Each round the fire mage can roll again to continue the terrible treatment, unless his concentration has been interrupted. If this spell ever deals just a single point of lethal damage to the target, it means the target has taken permanent damage to their lungs and might suffer breathing issues in the future.

Heatwave  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous, special (Read text)  Effect The mage heats an amount of air and sends it blasting outward, this attack blasts everyone in a 20m cone with soft air and heat causing them to grow extremely lethargic, resulting in a -2 on all dice pools for 1 round per success. Easily flammable objects like paper and hair, will singe or outright incinerate.

Thermal Lance  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous, special (Read text)  Effect The fire mage focuses all his power into a single 30ft beam of super heated plasma, this beam deals lethal damage with the 9 again trait and AP of 2. A Thermal Lance is so hot that it will given enough time melt through anything, such as steel walls and even the odd bank vault. Furthermore anyone hit, must succeed at a stamina roll or take the burning tilt at a 2 heat intensity.

Fireball   Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous, special (Read text)  Effect The quintessential fire spell. A fireball is a small bead of flame, launched towards a destination within a range of 100 meters. If it strikes anything along the way it erupts into a small inferno, burning anything within a 20ft radius dealing lethal damage. If anyone takes more damage than their Dexterity score, they take the burning tilt at a heat intensity at 1.

Fire blast   Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect A completely ordinary fire attack deals lethal damage. The mage can blast this out at a range of up to 20 meters, or keep the flame in his hand and deliver the spell a little more up close and personal. Easily flammable materials ignite, as a result of this attack.,

Explosion  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous,   Effect The mage conjures an extreme amount of heat immediately around himself, this sudden spike in temperature causes air to distort and expand creating an explosion of fire. This attack deals bashing damage though the real power lies in the kinetic burst, as everyone within 10ft of the caster, are pushed 5ft away from him per point of bashing damage they take. Colliding with physical objects, could increase this damage.

Wall of Fire  Action: Instant  Duration: Maintenance   Effect A wall of fire erupts into being, stretching 2 meters in length and half a meter tall per success on the activation roll. Passing through this wall-like inferno deals 2 points of lethal damage, as the super heated flame hungrily licks up at anyone so foolhardy.

Flame wings  Action: Instant  Duration: Maintenance  Effect This spell can only be enacted while a fire shield is already formed, once cast a might pair of flaming wings sprout from the mages back. These wings doesn't exactly allow him to fly, though he can jump three times his own height and hover in mid air thanks to the updraft created by the heat from the wings.

Inferno  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous,   Effect With a harsh gesture the mage can wash an area in a literal ocean of flames causing tremendous damage, these flames wash over a 3 meter wide and up to 30 meter long line dealing lethal damage to anything within. Anyone that takes more damage than their dexterity takes the burning tilt at a heat intensity of 2.

Fuel for the Fire  Action: Instant  Duration: Concentration  Effect The mage is capable of encouraging flames to burn with higher intensity and spread more aggressively. As long as the fire mage concentrates, fire can burn without additional fuel, though if fuel is available it will spread a lot faster. Up to 1 time faster per success on the activation roll, so a mage collecting three successes will see the given fire spread 3 times as fast.

Force Sample Spells
Force Wall  Action: Instant  Duration: Maintenance  Effect This wall isn't dissimilar to that of an Earth mages wall of stone however it functions differently, this wall is made of pure force and directs all momentum to the surface on which it’s anchored. This means that it can only resist attacks for as long as the material it is anchored to can, however this is only a concern with kinetic attacks as energy attacks carry little momentum. This wall is 1 meter wide, half a meter tall per success rolled

Momentum  Action: Free action  Duration: Instant  Effect The Force mage is capable of enhancing his body with increased momentum, thus allowing him to perform extraordinary feats of strength and speed. For each success rolled, his speed increases by 3 and adds a an extra meter to distance jumping or half a meter to height. This spell is often used in conjunction with Force weaponry, allowing the mage to produce truly devastating charge attacks at the Storytellers discretion.

Ice Sample Spells
Deep Freeze  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous. Special  Effect One of their most fearsome abilities, Deep freeze causes the air around a target to dip to super cooled temperatures. This freezes the moisture, causing it to cling to the target. This spell deals 1 point of lethal damage per success. If this spell deals more lethal damage than the target has Strength, the left over is subtracted from the targets Dexterity score. Sample being, you deal 3 points of lethal damage and the target has 2 strength. The target then reduces his dexterity by 1. Should a targets dexterity ever be reduced to 0 by this spell, the target will be fully encased in ice. Lost dexterity heal back at a rate of 1 per 10 minutes.

Freeze  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect This is usually the first spell learned by most Ice mages, as it embodies the most basic tenant of their craft. It allows the mage to lower the temperature of an object touched, to such a degree that it freezes. Each success freezes one cubic feet of liquid or 1/3rd of that in matter. If a living being is touched, the target takes 1 bashing damage per success.

Lightning Sample Spells
Lightning Jump  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect The lightning mage assumes the shape and mass of a lightning bolt himself, using the speed and power of electricity he can launch himself through the air, allowing him to effectively fly for the short distance. He can jump 1 meter per success rolled. Taking the form of lightning makes the character nearly intangible, allowing him to move through people and most objects, though due to the high focus on speed the bolt deals no damage.

Lightning Bolt  Action: Instant  Duration: Scene  Effect The mage can conjure up a bolt of electricity which he then subsequently launches at a target, dealing 1 bashing damage per success. If the Bolt deals more damage than the targets Stamina score, the target takes the Stunned tilt for one round.

Water Sample Spells
Disintegrate  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect Water is an exceedingly ful solvent; it is often underestimated when it comes to its capabilities of eroding matter. However, this specifically serves to give water-battle mages their reputation as exceedingly dangerous. The mage, or in extremely rare cases adept, with this spell can harness the erosive properties of water and disintegrate their opponents. The spell deals 1 lethal damage per success and completely ignores any kind of kinetic defense, save those provided by other elemental shields, as it simply breaks it down upon touch. If the caster has Potency 7 or above, the damage can be aggravated at his choice. Targets killed by this spell are reduced to dust, as is any part of their bodies touched by it. This spell can further more create massive holes in structures and objects, by simply reducing the subject matter to dust.

Water skates  Action: Instant  Duration: Scene or Maintenance  Effect This spell is also sometimes known as slipstream, but essentially, they do the same thing. It allows the mage to make use of water's effect on cohesion, causing his feet or shoes to be slippery on any surface where they’d normally stick. To an experienced user this can speed up their overland movement quite conveniently, as they skate across any surface at rather extraordinary speed. This use of the ability increases the mages base speed by 5 and lasts for a scene.