Art Magic

Art Magic is a variant of the standard Sorcery mechanics presented

in the Burning Wheel. This system does not use a set spell list.
Instead, the sorcerer gathers his art, skill and inspiration together
and calls upon the eldritch powers to obey his will and aid him as
he requires.

This art cant recreate all of the effects of standard Sorcery. We

have omitted certain big effects, and its not nearly as destructive
as Sorcery. However, it is more versatile.

This system is challenging to use. The sorcerer player must think

of the outcome of his spell before he can cast. He must envision the
result, not only in terms of eldritch and arcana, but in the form of
a game-mechanical effect. This takes some practice, but once the
player masters it, he may never want to leave the warm embrace
of Art Magic.

Sorcerers Use Sorcery

To build a spell using Art Magic, the sorcerer player must first
choose the effect, breadth and duration for the spell. Once those
facets are chosen, determine if his school of magic applies. Next, the
player must either name the spell or speak a bit of the incantation.
These steps determine the obstacle for the spell and any advantage
dice available. Test Sorcery plus the advantage dice against the
obstacle. If the test is successful, then the spell has its intended
effect. If failed, the GM may choose the consequences.

Sorcery, not Sorcery

Art Magic is accessed through the standard Sorcery skill. When
using Art Magic, the rules for standard Sorcery are replaced with
these rules. Do not use any of the rules in the standard Sorcery
chapter unless otherwise instructed to do so in this chapter.

We strongly recommend against having Art Magic and Sorcery in

your game at the same time.

Gifted
Characters must be Gifted to use Art Magic.

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Effects
What does the sorcerer want his spell to do? There are nine effects
to choose from in Art Magic: Hinder, Advantage, Arcane Knowledge,
Sorcerous Weapon, Destroy with Sorcerous Fire, Evoke, Arcane Action,
Illusion and Trait. Multiple effects can be combined in a single spell.

Hinder
The magician may hinder one or more of the targets abilities. When
using this effect, the player must name which specific ability (or
abilities, depending on the breadth of the spell) he is targeting.

Hindrance can manifest as commanding branches to entangle,

conjuring illusions to blind, or casting diseases or afflictions on your
target.

Hinder Effect Casting Obstacle

+1 Ob Ob 2
+2 Ob Ob 3
+3 Ob Ob 5

Advantage
The sorcerer may use his art to grant himself and his allies aid. Using
this effect, he may add advantage dice to stats, skills, Steel, Resources,
Circles or stride (stride is increased by 1 per advantage die added).
Multiple abilities may be targeted using the breadth modifier.

Advantage can manifest as a favorable wind in the sails, a burst of

strength, a flash of insight, a quickening of the pulse or the blessing of
spirits and gods.

Advantage Effect Casting Obstacle

+1D Ob 2
+2D Ob 3
+3D Ob4

Recursive Curse
A Sorcerer may not directly or indirectly give advantage dice to
Sorcery, Enchanting, Summoning, Spirit Binding, Death Art or any
other similar spellcasting art.

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Arcane Knowledge

Art Magic
The sorcerer may plumb the wells of magic in his search for knowledge.
To use the Arcane Knowledge effect, test Sorcery. In this case, Sorcery
counts as a proxy for any academic skill in the skill list. The obstacle
for the effect is the same as the skill test obstacle for the academic skill,
plus breadth and duration.

Sorcerous Weapon
The sorcerer may summon forth an eldritch weapon to wield against his
enemies! He may call forth the sorcerous equivalent of a sword, spear,
axe or mace. This may be wielded in Fight like a normal weaponit
requires use of a weapon skill or Beginners Luck. Rather than using
Power as a base for the weapon damage, use the sorcerers Will exponent.
Add the weapon power from the appropriate conjured weapon. Also, use
the weapons length, speed, Add and VA categories for the appropriate
weapon type.

Burning Spear of Arcane Fury

With an Ob 1 Sorcery test, the wizard may conjure to his hand an
eldritch (but run of the mill) spear, sword or mace ringed in arcane
fire. The player must choose which weapon he desires before the spell
is cast. To make the weapon superior quality, increase the obstacle by
+2 Ob. The weapon may also be conjured as a spirit weapon. To do
so, increase the casting obstacle by +2 Ob.

Deaths Axe
This spell effect summons forth a shimmering silver black axe. The
obstacle is 4. Use the stats for the Sweet Axe. The weapon may also be
conjured as a spirit weapon at +2 Ob.

Destroy with Sorcerous Fire!

The sorcerer chants violent and profane syllables as white fire jets from
his fingertips! Base Ob 4. Must be combined with the One Test Duration
if being used to harm characters. Otherwise, any other duration
is applicable to set up walls of magic fire. May not be used on Self.
Damage as follows: Sorcerers Will as base Power, VA2, Die of Fate as
a bow. Successes may be used to increase damage (+1 Power per extra
success), increase the VA (two successes for +1 VA) or modify the Die
of Fate (one success for +1 DoF). Weapon Length: Longest. Range: as
hunting bow.

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Illusion
A sorcerer may use his magic to create illusions to confuse or deceive.
Make a versus test between Sorcery and the victims Perception (with
the attendant double obstacle penalty). Be sure to add obstacle penalties
to the Sorcery test for breadth and duration. If the sorcerer wins the
versus test, his victim believes the illusion to be true.

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This spell cannot be used to harm its victims or create perfect

Art Magic
simulacra. It may only be used to frighten, confuse, deceive, bamboozle
or otherwise fool them into thinking something is real when it is not.
Illusion costs three actions in Fight.

Evoke
Using the Evoke effect, the sorcerer can force a versus test between his
Sorcery skill and a targets physical stat, martial or physical skill or
the Health attribute. When using this effect, the sorcerer must declare
his intent to shove, grab, immobilize, knock down or similar. He may
not use this effect to directly injure the target. Any other effects of this
spell come from the results of the physical reaction of the targetif he
is pushed into a freezing pond, for example.

A wizard could use the Evoke effect to keep a team of Orcs from pulling up
a tree: Sorcery versus Tree Pulling. He could stop an enemy sorcerer from
being able to draw enough breath to cast a spell himself: Sorcery versus
Health. Or he could knock a bird off its perch: Sorcery versus Speed.
To cast the spell, make a versus test between Sorcery and the target. Be
sure to add the obstacle modifiers for breadth and duration.

Evoke spells cost two actions to perform in Fight.

Arcane Action
Using the Arcane Action effect, the sorcerer may overcome the material
world around him with his arcane power. Sorcery may be used to pass
any simple physical testpushing, leaping, grabbing, thrusting. The
obstacle for this effect is 1 plus the obstacle of the test at hand. Success
indicates that the wizard has passed the test as if he had been testing
the appropriate ability. Failure on the skill test also counts as a failed
spell!

Using this, the sorcerer may strike an unsuspecting opponent with a

sword or climb a wall.
Trait
Using this spell effect, the sorcerer may grant the target access to a trait
from the general Trait List in the Burning Wheel or the Monstrous Trait
List from this book. Ob 1 plus the trait point cost for a beneficial effect.
Ob 2 plus trait cost for a curse or detrimental effect. Unpriced lifepath
traits in the individual character stock chapters are Ob 4. Common
traits from the eight existing character stocks are Ob 5. Call-ons may

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not be so granted. Neither can you grant Gifted, Faithful, Loathsome

and Twisted, Essence of the Earth or any similar defining common
trait.

Transform
A wizard may transform himself into an animal. Obstacles are as
follows: Mundane, harmless creature (like a bird or a fish), Ob 3.
Mundane, effective or threatening creature (like a wolf or a bear), Ob4.
The wizard is completely transformed into that creature. He may not
cast other spells while so changed.

To transform another its Ob 1 plus the victims Forte, plus a +1 Ob

penalty per difference in stature from the original form to the new one.

Changing a Dragon (Gigantic Stature) to a bird (Small Stature) is a

base obstacle 13 (1 plus G10 Forte plus 2, assuming our wizard has black
shade Sorcery) plus four for the difference in stature: Ob 17, plus breadth
and duration. Good luck!

Breadth
Breadth describes how much the spell affects. Does it affect the caster,
or the whole town? Choose the breadth of your spell from the list below.

Breadth of Target Obstacle Modifier

Self (One Ability)
Single Target, One Person (One Ability) +1 Ob
Group, Handful, Two Abilities +3 Ob
Crowd, Copse, Cluster, Three Abilities +4 Ob
Village, Pond, Four Abilities +6 Ob
Town, Countryside, Castle, Five Abilities +7 Ob
City, Forest, Six Abilities + 8 Ob
Mountain, Plain, All Abilities +9 Ob
Sky, Ocean +10 Ob

The parenthetical (One Ability) listed with Self and One Person
indicates you can affect one ability on yourself for no penalty or one
ability on another character for +1 Ob. If youre affecting an object, use
the Single Target breadth.

Breadth is cumulative. If you wanted to affect the Faith and Will of an

entire city, it would be Two Abilities +3 Ob of a City +8 Ob = 11 Ob.

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Duration of Spell

Art Magic
There are five possible durations for an Art Magic spell: one test,
conflict, session, adventure and campaign. Choose the duration for your
intended effect from the list below.

Duration Obstacle Modifier

One Test (according to Let It Ride)
Conflict (Range and Cover, Fight or Duel of Wits) +1 Ob
Session +2 Ob
Adventure +3 Ob
Campaign +4 Ob

A one test duration indicates the effect lasts for a single roll or a series
of rolls as per the Let It Ride ruleanything short of a conflict like
Fight, Range and Cover or Duel of Wits. One goal, no change of venue,
no introduction of new problems.

A conflict duration indicates the effect lasts for one Fight, Range and
Cover, Duel of Wits, Pursuit or Chase. This is a nice hefty duration,
because those mechanics indicate that the character is doing something
important.

A session duration is the simplest to measure. The effect lasts until the
end of the session. Thats it.

The adventure duration remains in effect until the group has completed
some agreed-upon future goalslay the dragon, rescue the princess,
break into the bank.

Campaign durations usually last until the group has accomplished a

great goal and then drifts off into retirement. Its not much of a limit at
all. Typically the games over at the end of the campaign. But campaign
duration does have a cool flavor, especially if you end up coming back to
the game later and pulling those characters out of retirement.

Lasting Effects
The effect may last beyond the duration of the spell if the spell changed
the environment in some way. For example, you may conjure a scourging
fire to burn a forest. After one scene, the fire is gone, but the forest
remains burnt.

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Casting Time
The casting time for a spell is a number of actions equal to its obstacle.
Spells that cause versus tests have their own rules: Evoke costs two
actions to cast, Illusion costs three.

In Fight, use the Cast Spell action. In Range and Cover, A sorcerer
may cast up to 20 actions of one spell during one volley instead of
performing one of the standard actions. Dangerous!

Casting Under Pressure

A sorcerer must complete a spell uninterrupted and unimpeded.
Therefore, a sorcerer may not be locked, injured, knocked off his feet
or fail a Steel test while casting. If interrupted, the spell automatically
fails at the full margin of failure (and note that tax at this level can
possibly kill the sorcerer, so these are serious consequences).

A sorcerer may cast a spell while otherwise on the move, in a fight or

argument.

Schools of Magic
Using Art Magic, sorcerers are trained at various schools and taught to
favor one form of magic over another. To form your school, select three
effects of the nine offered. For example, evocation, illusion and arcane
knowledge. These are the areas in which you specialize.

Name your school. Call it something esoteric and wizardly.

Take the six remaining effects and order them from 1 to 6from
most desired to least desired. These are the magical arts outside of
your ability. You may cast spells outside of your school, but the order
indicates the obstacle penalty added on top of the spells obstaclefrom
+1 to +6 Ob.

Joining Schools of Magic in Play

To join a school of magic during the course of a game, a player must find
a member of the school who is willing to instruct him on its theories and
methods. To learn from this teacher, the student must forge a mystical
connection with him: The student must pass a Will test with an obstacle
equal to 10 minus the teachers Will. If this test is passed, the sorcerer
player learns one effect from his mentors school and now may cast

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it without obstacle penalty. Do not reorder or reshuffle the remaining

Art Magic
unlearned effects. You can only know a number of effects equal to or
less than your current Sorcery skill exponent.

If you fail this test, you cannot learn this art magic effect. Ever.

Founding a New School of Magic

A sorcerer may found his own school of magic. This requires a year of
time and an Ob 5 Research test. Symbology, Astrology and Obscure
History are acceptable FoRKs.

If you pass the test, after the time allotted, the sorcerer founds a new
school of magic and may remove the obstacle penalty from one effect
outside of his current school.

If you fail the test, the sorcerer has founded a corrupted or distorted
version of the school. All spells in that school are cast at an obstacle
penalty equal to the margin of failure of the Research test.

For example, if youre trying to found the School of Brilliant Oratical

Techniques and you fail your Research test by two, all advantage effects
cast in that school suffer a +2 Ob on top of the penalty for their being
outside of your starting school.
Once a school is founded, all appropriate spells must be cast through
that school, even if they come at a penalty.

Incantation
If the sorcerer player names his spell with an appropriately florid name
or offers a bit of chant or verse for the spell, then he gains +1D to cast
the spell.

Consequences
Art Magic has five possible prices that can be paid for each spell. If
the sorcerer fails to properly cast an Art Magic spell, he suffers one of
the following consequences: Tax, Hindrance, Enmity, Infamy or an
Unintended Effect.

The GM applies the consequences of the Sorcery based on the margin

of failure and his judgement of the situation.

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Tax
If the spell is failed, the GM may call for a tax test (as per the standard
rules). The sorcerer must pass a Forte test with an obstacle equal to
the obstacle of the spell. Margin of failure temporarily reduces Forte.
If Forte is reduced to zero, the character is incapacitated. If Forte is
reduced below zero, the character suffers a wound equal to the obstacle
multiplied by each die below zero. Sorcerers recover taxed Forte the
rules described in the Sorcery chapter of the Burning Wheel.

Hindrance
The GM may apply an obstacle penalty equal to the margin of failure.
The hindrance has the same duration and breadth as the intended spell.

Enmity and Infamy

A spell gone awry causes friends to become enemies! When using this
failure condition, the GM must describe how the casting goes wrong.
The spell has an effect, but its not exactly what was planned.

The GM may change a relationship or named Circle on the sorcerer

characters sheet from favorable to hateful or rivalrous. This invokes the
Enmity Clause conditions for Duel of Wits! If no relationship is present,
the GM may assign one. Failure by one success indicates a minor
relationship. Failure by two or three successes indicates an important
relationship. Failure by four or more indicates a powerful relationship.

Alternately, the sorcerer can gain an infamous reputation among people,

spirits or animals. If the spell is failed by one to three successes, the GM
may assign the character an infamous reputation of a value equal to
or less than the margin of failure in an appropriate sphere of the GMs
choice (people, spirits or animals). The GM can also compound any
existing infamous reputations or even turn a positive reputation to one
of infamy due to the failed spell.

Even the birds have heard about what a bastard you are.
Unintended Effect
The GM twist the intent of the spell so that it has an unintended (and
unhappy) effect. The unintended effect could be that the original effect
is not what was planned for, or the original spell doesnt activate at all.
Instead birds fly from your mouth, or devils peel themselves from the
walls or the house catches fire, etc. The only limit here is how evil your
GM feels in the moment.

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Weaving Magic into the

Art Magic
FiberofMy Being
Using this mechanic, a Sorcerer may eventually weave the fabric of
spells and incantations into his very being. If he casts a spell successfully
a number of times equal to 10 minus his Will, he has woven the spell.
Thereafter, the player gains an additional +1D when casting the spell.
This is in addition to other advantages like +1D for the Incantation
rule. Any obstacle penalties for using a particular effect remain.

This rule is optional for Art Magic. Its beneficial to the sorcerer player,
but it requires that he do a substantial amount of bookkeepinghe
must track the spells hes cast and the number of times hes cast them.
If the player doesnt want to do that, dont use this rule!

Versus Sorcery
The GM can call for Art Magic tests to be resolved using simple versus
tests. The sorcerer player states the spell hes casting and declares his
intent, then he makes the versus test. If he succeeds, he may describe
how his magics have overcome his opponents.

This process mirrors the one described on page 425 of the Burning Wheel.

Bloody Sorcery
Sorcery can also be substituted for a martial skill in the Bloody Versus
test described on pages 426-427 of the Burning Wheel. Sorcerer counts
as a longer length weapon and a shield.

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