Magic in Shadowrun
- Thread starter was
- Start date
Falling Icicle
Adventurer
IMO, Shadowrun's magic system is the most "realistic" of any I've ever seen ("realistic" meaning I could actually imagine magic working that way if it were real). Shadowrun's magic system is very different from spells per day or spell-point systems. There is no set limit on how many spells you can cast. Instead, whenever you cast a spell, you must roll to resist "drain". Drain causes stun damage, which is basically fatigue. The more powerful or complex spell you cast, the greater the potential drain. It is possible to entirely resist the drain from a spell with a good roll. It's also possible to cast spells that exceed your normal limitations. In that case, the drain causes physical injury instead of stun damage. A mage can, in fact, kill himself by trying to cast a spell too far above his limits.
Enforcer
Explorer
Also, depending on your magical tradition (hermetic vs. shaman), you resist drain with a different Attribute (Logic vs. Charisma in the latest edition). There's also a Magic Attribute, which can be increased through a process called Initiation and the spending of Karma (Shadowrun's XP is spent to directly improve Attributes and Skills). Magic can also be decreased through the acquisition of cyberware.
You can even cast multiple spells in a round, though not as well. Shadowrun is a dice pool style game and you have to split your pool up.
You can even cast multiple spells in a round, though not as well. Shadowrun is a dice pool style game and you have to split your pool up.
Jeff Carlsen
Adventurer
Basic spellcasting works like this:
1. Pick your spell.
2. Choose the force of the spell. The higher the force, the greater the potential effect, but also the higher the drain you have to resist.
3. Roll Spellcasting dice to determine the effectiveness of the spell.
4. Resist drain.
5. Take damage from leftover drain.
Like many things in Shadowrun, it's a matter of weighing risk versus reward. By choosing the force of a spell, you can either play it save, or take a greater risk for a chance that the spell is more effective.
There's no limit to how many spells you can cast. If you're willing to split your dice pool, you can even cast two spells at once (though you have to resist drain from both). Keep casting, though, and you'll fail to resist enough drain to knock yourself unconscious or even kill yourself.
1. Pick your spell.
2. Choose the force of the spell. The higher the force, the greater the potential effect, but also the higher the drain you have to resist.
3. Roll Spellcasting dice to determine the effectiveness of the spell.
4. Resist drain.
5. Take damage from leftover drain.
Like many things in Shadowrun, it's a matter of weighing risk versus reward. By choosing the force of a spell, you can either play it save, or take a greater risk for a chance that the spell is more effective.
There's no limit to how many spells you can cast. If you're willing to split your dice pool, you can even cast two spells at once (though you have to resist drain from both). Keep casting, though, and you'll fail to resist enough drain to knock yourself unconscious or even kill yourself.
Mustrum_Ridcully
Legend
My first roleplaying game was SHadowrun, and when I got my first taste of D&D (3E back then), D&D magic totally did not make sense and was the worst magic system I could imagine to ever play with.
I've grown to like Vancian magic, but I still really love the Shadowrun approach.
Shadowrun spells in my opinion are a bit... bland. You have spells like Manabolt, Fireball or Levitate, but there is no Otiluke's Resilient Sphere or Mordekainen's Magnificant Mansion. That's the aspect I like more about D&D / Vancian type magic.
But the way of casting spells.. I rather like the idea of magic causing mental and physical stress (drain) on the caster.
I've grown to like Vancian magic, but I still really love the Shadowrun approach.
Shadowrun spells in my opinion are a bit... bland. You have spells like Manabolt, Fireball or Levitate, but there is no Otiluke's Resilient Sphere or Mordekainen's Magnificant Mansion. That's the aspect I like more about D&D / Vancian type magic.
But the way of casting spells.. I rather like the idea of magic causing mental and physical stress (drain) on the caster.
Yeah. the Shadowrun spell names lack the flavor that D&D's spells have. But, honestly, you can name your spell whatever you want. You can have "Kellan's Ganger-Melting Blast" and have it just work the same as a Fireball.
One of my favorites was from the 4E Street Magic book. I'm unsure if this existed before then, but it's possible, as no one in my group made a magician before 4E. it was called Hot Potato. It was an illusion spell that caused the targets in the AoE to believe that all metal in contact with their bodies was white-hot. So, they'd drop guns and such because, to them, it was just too hot to touch. But the kicker was it also made cyberware feel hot. So, anyone with cyber who failed the resistance test suddenly felt as if their insides were burning.
Yeah. That was my favorite spell on my mage. And I loved the name for it. So ... understating.
One of my favorites was from the 4E Street Magic book. I'm unsure if this existed before then, but it's possible, as no one in my group made a magician before 4E. it was called Hot Potato. It was an illusion spell that caused the targets in the AoE to believe that all metal in contact with their bodies was white-hot. So, they'd drop guns and such because, to them, it was just too hot to touch. But the kicker was it also made cyberware feel hot. So, anyone with cyber who failed the resistance test suddenly felt as if their insides were burning.
Yeah. That was my favorite spell on my mage. And I loved the name for it. So ... understating.
Similar Threads
