Table of contents

Mist and magic

The mist itself is magic, and because of that, the spellcasters in the fog have control over the arcane like nowhere else. As a result, while making a Spell check in the mist, players roll 2D10 and choose the higher result from the dice. This makes their spells much more powerful, however, there can be grave consequences, as the nature of the mist is ever-changing and unpredictable. If a player rolls a double on Spell check in the fog, they experience the effects from the Table of magic misconduct (as seen bellow). Note that the modifiers that could mitigate the spellcasting failure don’t apply here. 

The magic can either enhance or destroy the magic user, making casting spells in the mist a great gamble and for that reason mages are strongly discouraged from trying their luck. Additionally, in the mist, casters cannot summon permanent and temporary structures, including houses, circles, walls, and magic shields. The magic that holds them together is quickly washed out from the objects, making them stay up for just a moment (1xMag turns).

Table of magic misconduct
1 – GM decides what happens. The effect should be on par with the other effects.
2 – Spell is successful, but the player’s soul is reaped out of their body for D10 + Magic turns. In that time they see everything from the bird’s view including their body that is possessed by a demon for the duration of this time. GM controls the demon’s actions.
3- Spell fails and player is knocked unconscious for Mag + D10 turns.
4- Spell fails and player starts to levitate for D10 + Mag turns. At the end of that time they quickly fall down receiving substantial damage (GM decides depending on the height of the fall)
5 – Spell is successful but it gets out of control and affects everyone in the surrounding area (Far range of a spell).
6 – Spell fails and player receives damage equal to half of the failed Spell check difficulty. Additionally they gain +5 to Magic for D10 turns.
7- Spell is successful but energy used to cast this spell came from the body of the spellcaster, dealing half of the Spell check difficulty as damage to the player.
8 – Spell is successful but its effect has an X value of 1.
9 – Spell is successful but momentarily mist in radius of X yards (meters) around the player disappears.
10 – Spell is successful and the value of X in that spell is doubled.

Spell check

If a player wishes to be a spellcaster, they must have at least one of the magical development trees and at least 1 point in Magic attribute. The second requirement indicates a connection to the magical realm, as having a Magic attribute score of 0 means a complete separation from it. Magic is perceived as an everpresent force almost everywhere, but to a much stronger degree in the mist. Magical creatures can sense that energy and use it to some degree. It is also an invisible “layer” inside every magical creature. If magic impacts the body or senses of a creature it affects that layer. If a creature lacks this magical layer, strictly magical effects and attacks have no effect on it. The same applies to magical damage and enchantments, as additional magical enchantments on a regular blade cause damage to the magical layer of the target.

However, this doesn’t mean that magical attacks cannot harm non-magical creatures. For instance, if a boulder is launched at an enemy, the danger arises from the rock itself and its speed, not from the magic that moved it. Spells that do not work on non-magical creatures are in the Domain Magica.

Players who don’t have magical development trees can still learn singular spells. In those cases every single spell costs 2 experience points and it has to be taught by a character who already knows that spell. The maximum number of spells a character can know is equal to the Magic attribute of that character. 

Spell difficulty

Spells follow the formula of a number + X or number times X. The value of X is chosen by the spellcaster and cannot be higher than their Magic attribute. For example, consider the ‘Magic Arrow’ spell, which can only damage magical creatures. If a player has a Magic Attribute score of 3, they can choose to cast the spell with an X value of 1, 2, or 3. If the spell is cast with an X value of 2, the difficulty of that spell is 8 (as the formula for magic arrow spell is 4X). The spell “Icy beam” has the formula of 4 + 2X. This means that with an X value of 3, the difficulty would be 10 (4 + 2×3).

Some spells such as “Counterspell” or “Restration” have just “A” as the formula. In those cases the player can choose whatever value they want or the GM dictates it to them depending on the wording of a spell.

If the player fails to cast a spell, it means they were unable to control the magic. In such cases, they roll on a Table of Spellcasting Failures as seen below. It’s important to note that in the development trees of Wizard and Mage, there’s a possibility to mitigate the effects of a failed Spell check. However, whenever a 1 is rolled on the dice, the penalty cannot be mitigated and the GM decides on the effect.

Table of Spellcasting Failures
1* – Always when 1 is rolled on the dice MG decides what happens. The effect should be on par with the other effects but can extend to other characters.
2- Spell fails and player loses consciousness. They lose all life points and when they wake up they cannot cast spells until the next sunrise.
3- Spell fails, player loses the ability to cast spells until the next sunrise and receives damage equal to the level of failed Spell check.
4- Spell fails and player’s soul is reaped out of their body for D10\2 turns. In that time they see everything from the bird’s view, including their body lying on the ground.
5- Spell fails and player receives D10 + Magic damage. Additionally they lose 2 Magic attributes until the next sunrise.
6 – Spell fails and player revives damage equal to half of the failed Spell check difficulty. Additionally they lose 1 Magic attribute until the next sunrise.
7 – Spell fails and player gets knocked to the ground. Additionally they lose 1 Magic attribute until the next sunrise.
8 – Spell fails and player loses 1 Magic attribute until the next sunrise.
9 – Spell fails and the player feels disoriented. They receive 1 fatigue point for D10\3 turns.
10 and more – Spell fails and player is able to redirect the energy away from themself.

Channeling

The energy of a crystal can be used not only to power hex machines and contraptions but also to empower spellcasters with magical energy. To draw power from a crystal, characters must hold it in their hand, and while casting spells, they roll for a Channeling check. The points gained through this process are added to the spell check performed afterward. The difficulty for this check is 5 plus the clarity of the crystal. If the check is successful, we can draw points, up to the maximum of their Magic attribute. If we have 3 in Magic attribute we can draw 1, 2 or 3 magic points. If we fail, we cannot draw power from the crystal. If the failed roll is more than 5 points away from the Channeling check value, the crystal explodes.

With each successful Channeling action, the crystal loses the amount of points drawn plus the clarity of the crystal. For instance, if a crystal has a Volume of 10 (10 points) and Clarity of 3, and we draw 2 points of power, the crystal will lose 5 points (2 for powering the Spell and 3 from its Clarity).

Magic shields

Magical Shield is one of the very basic and first spells that adepts of magic learn at the academy. The barrier can take the form of either a small wall the size of a shield or a thin layer over the magic user. It protects the user behind it from every form of magic, blocking both the physical and non-physical effects. When a magical barrier is in place, magic from other sources is dispersed by the caster’s will. If placed over the caster, it unfortunately forces them to remove every form of aura and enchantment, with the exception of buffs gained from objects. If a player has a magical shield over them, every effect is blocked, including both harm and healing.

Whenever a spell comes in contact with any kind of magical barrier, both the shield maker and the attacking spellcaster make opposing Willpower checks. The defending caster can strengthen the shield by increasing the power of the spell while casting it. The X value of the shield becomes a bonus to their Willpower check. The attacking caster can also increase the difficulty of their spells to try to destroy the shield. When casting a spell, we can add points to the difficulty, up to their Magic attribute level, to increase our chance of breaking the magical barrier. Each point added transfers to a +1 bonus to the Willpower check for destroying the shield. Maximal number of points that player can add is equal to ther Magic Attribute.

For example, if we attack a magical barrier with the ‘Magic Arrow’ spell, and we have a Magic Attribute score of 3, casting the spell with X equal to 1 would make the spell’s base difficulty 4. However, knowing that we are targeting a magical barrier, we want to add the maximum of 3 to the difficulty for the bonus to destroying the magical shield. In this case, the difficulty of the check would be 7 (4 for the spell and 3 added to destroy the barrier). When the spell makes contact with the magical shield, our attacker rolls with a +3 bonus to their Willpower.

Counter spells

In Haze you can dispel any spell, including a magical barrier. When you want to dispel a spell, you decide on the difficulty (the counter spell difficulty is A, set by the caster), and this is compared to the difficulty of the spell to be dispersed. If your chosen difficulty is equal to or higher than the difficulty of the spell, and you succeed, the spell is dispelled. If you set the difficulty of the counter spell too low, then even when you pass the check, the spell will not be dispersed. If a player has a delayed action and decides to counter an incoming spell, they must first succeed on a Speed check before casting the counter spell. If players declare to delay their action to counter other casters’ spells, they gain a +3 bonus to the Speed check.