My conversion of the Savage Worlds magic system for use with Cortex rpg....
Savage Worlds Magic for Cortex 1. Arcane Backgrounds cost d2+ 2. Each Arcane Background gives you 2+ Power Points for casting spells. 3. There is a new Asset called “Power Points” which grants you d2+ extra Power Points. 4. You can learn 1 spell per die step of Arcane Background. 5. Casting spells uses a “Spell‐casting” skill roll + Willpower, and requires an EASY success out of combat, and a REGULAR success in combat (under stress). Each ongoing spell counts as a Multiple Action (Hence, you can have up to 3 spells going, but if you do, you can’t take any other actions). This “Spellcasting” roll counts as the attack roll. Determine BASIC damage as per normal. 6. Extraordinary Successes achieve the same effect as getting a Raise in Savage Worlds. 7. Damage dice are converted as follows: 2d6: d2W, 3d6: d4W, 2d10: d6W 8. Healing will heal like BASIC damage, with a target number based on EASY (not in combat) to REGULAR (in combat). Example: Rolling a 10, in combat, will heal 2 SHOCK and 1 WOUND. 9. Most of the spells that produce 2 effect, or 4 with a raise, I would leave the same, such as Armor and Smite. I would treat Bolt as 3 actions with no multi‐action penalty (since it does not have one in SW). 10. Resistance rolls are based on the number the spell caster rolled on his Spell‐casting dice. NOT on a normal degree of success roll. 11. The spell‐casting general skill can have specialties for each spell in it. Example: A magician can have Spell‐ Casting d6, with a d8 specialty in Armor and a d10 specialty in Bolt. Armor Power Points: 2 Range: Touch Duration: 3 (1/round) Grants 2 points of Armor, 4 points with an Extraordinary Success. Barrier Power Points: 1/section Range: Intelligence Duration: 3 (1 per section, per round) Creates a one hex wide wall with 20 Life Points, or 30 Life Points with an Extraordinary Success. Hitting the wall is automatic, but Extraordinary Successes do not do anything special. Beast Friend Power Points: 3+1 per 100 pounds of body weight Range: Intelligence*100 yards Duration: 10 minutes Speak with and guide the actions of nature’s beasts. Works only on creatures of animal intelligence. Blast Power Points: 2 to 6 Range: 24 Duration: Instant D2W damage in a Medium Burst Template for 2 Power Points. Extraordinary successes do nothing special. For 4 Power Points the blast effects a Large Burst Template or does d4W. For 6 Power Points it does both. A Hard Agility + Athletics/Dodge roll can be made to resist the effects of the blast, and if successful damage is converted to Stun. Bolt Power Points: 1 to 6 Range: 12 Duration: Instant For 1 Power Point, shoot 1 bolt that does d2W. Can cast up to three bolts in a single turn, each one requires its own casting roll, but does NOT incur multiple action penalties. May be cast at multiple targets. For 2 Power Points each, the bolts do d4W, so to cast 3 of the increased damage bolts costs 6 Power Points total. These may be dodged or use Passive Defense.
Boost/Lower Trait Power Points: 3 Range: Intelligence Duration: 3 (1/round) May increase a target’s trait by 1 die step, or 2 with an Extraordinary Success. May lower a target’s trait similarly, but is resisted by target’s Vitality + Willpower. A trait may not be lowered below a d2. Multiple castings stack, but keep up with when each one expires. Burrow Power Points: 3 Range: Intelligence x2 Duration: 3 (2/round) Move anywhere in range through the earth. Burst Power Points: 2 Range: Flame Template Duration: Instant Targets suffer d6W versus their Agility + Athletics/Dodge roll. Targets have a 1 in 6 chance of catching on fire. Deflection Power Points: 2 Range: Touch Duration: 3 (1/round) Attackers lose 2 die steps on attack rolls versus the target, or 4 die steps with an Extraordinary Success. This also counts as 2 (or 4) points of Armor against Area Effect attacks. Detect/Conceal Aura Power Points: 2 Range: Sight Duration: Detect: 3 (1/round) or Conceal: 1 hour (1/hour) Sense supernatural persons, object or effects. Dispel Power Points: 3 Range: Intelligence Duration: Instant Negate enemy spells, miracles, mad science, super powers, etc. Can cancel ongoing spells or, if waiting, can negate an opponent’s spell as he casts it. Elemental Manipulation Power Points: 1 Range: Intelligence x2 Duration: Instant Perform basic tricks with (pick on) Air, Earth, Fire, Water Entangle Power Points: 2 to 4 Range: Intelligence Duration: Special Opposed by Target’s Agility + Athletics/Dodge. Success means partially entangled, Extraordinary Success means fully entangled. Partially entangled people are half movement, and 2 penalty die steps to anything involving Strength or Agility. A fully entangled character cannot do anything involving Strength or Agility and cannot move. An Entangled character may make a (normal difficulty) Strength + Weight Lifting roll to break out. For 2 Power Points this works on a single character, for 4 Power Points it is a Medium Burst Template. Environmental Protection Power Points: 2 Range: Touch Duration: 1 hour (1/hour) Protects target from the effects of an environmental hazard, such as being underwater, in Zero G or a vacuum, exposed to great heat or cold. With an Extraordinary Success, the cost of maintaining this spell becomes 1 for 2 hours.
Fear Power Points: 2 Range: Intelligence x2 Duration: Instant This power causes overwhelming dread and horror in a Large Burst Template. Every creature under the template must make a contested Willpower + Discipline/Morale or Resistance roll. An Extraordinary success gives a ‐2 die step to the target’s Willpower for this roll. If they fail, they flee in the most direct route available. Fly Power Points: 3/6 Range: Touch Duration: 3 (1/round) Fly equal to basic pace, with a climb equal to half that. Pace is doubled for twice the power points. Greater Healing Power Points: 10/20 Range: Touch Duration: Instant This power heals wounds more than 1 hour old, and works like Healing, except it costs 10 power points. A casting roll with an Easy (out of combat) or Regular (in combat) difficulty heals a BASIC amount of damage. Greater Healing will also heal nonpermanent Crippling injuries at a ‐4 die step casting roll, with 1d6 hours of time and 20 power points. Healing Power Points: 3 Range: Touch Duration: Instant Healing heals recent bodily damage, taken within the past hour. It heals a BASIC amount of damage, based on an Easy (out of combat) or Regular (in combat) difficulty roll. Healing will also cure poison and disease if used within 10 minutes of the event. Invisibility Power Points: 5 Range: Self Duration: 3 (1/round) With a success the character is transparent with a vague outline. A character may detect the invisible presence if he has a reason to look and makes a Alertness + Perception/Sight roll at +4 difficulty versus the targets Agility + Covert/Stealth. Once detected, he may attack the foe at +4 difficulty also. With an Extraordinary Success, the character is completely invisible and the penalty raises to +6 difficulty. Light Power Points: 1 Range: Touch Duration: 10 minutes (1/minute) Provides light as bright as a torch in a Large Burst Template area. Obscure Power Points: 2 Range: Intelligence Duration: 3 (1/round) Creates an area of obscurement in a Large Burst Template area. Attacks into, out of, or through the area of effect suffer the standard penalty for pitch darkness of +6 difficulty. Puppet Power Points: 3 Range: Intelligence Duration: 3 (1/round) Takes control of a target. Resisted by Vitality + Willpower versus the casting roll. Attacking friends or committing suicide allows another roll to resist.
Quickness Power Points: 4 Range: Touch Duration: 3 (2/round) Allows the target to take an additional action per round with no multi‐action penalties. An Extraordinary Success also adds a 2 step bonus to the target’s Agility for Initiative purposes. Shape Change Power Points: 3+ Range: Self Duration: 1 minute (1/minute) Shape change into an animal. For 3 PP the character can change into a hawk, rabbit, cat, etc. For 4 PP he can change into a dog, wolf or deer sized animal. For 5 PP he can change into a Lion or Tiger sized creature. For 6 PP he can change into a Bear or Shark. For 7 PP he can change into something the size of a Great White Shark. The player must pick out an animal he can change into for each level of power point expenditure. Smite Power Points: 2 Range: Touch Duration: 3 (1/round) Increases weapon damage by 2, or by 4 with an Extraordinary Success. Speak Language Power Points: 1 Range: Touch Duration: 10 minutes (1/10 minutes) Speak, Read and Write a language other than your own. An extraordinary success allows you to project a particular dialect as well. Speed Power Points: 1 Range: Touch Duration: 3 (1/round) Adds 5 to base speed, or 10 with an Extraordinary Success. Stun Power Points: 2 Range: 12 Duration: Special Stuns those in a Medium Burst Template, requiring an opposed Resistance roll or the target is ‘stunned’ for a round and cannot act except with Passive Defense and ½ movement. With a raise the Resistance roll is at a +2 difficulty. A target remains stunned until he succeeds at his Resistance roll. Telekinesis Power Points: 5 Range: Intelligence Duration: 3 (1/round) Can lift 10 pounds x Willpower, or 50 pound x Willpower with an extraordinary success. Creatures resist with an opposed Agility + Willpower roll. Grabbed characters can be moved a number of feet equal to the caster’s Intelligence with an action. Bashing them into an object inflicts Willpower plus 2 die steps in basic damage. Telekinesis can be used to fight with weapons, using the caster’s Willpower + Spellcasting/Telekinesis. Teleport Power Points: 3+ Range: Special Duration: Instant Caster can teleport up to 10 hexes, or 15 hexes with an Extraordinary Success. Teleporting counts as the character’s movement for the round. Teleporting somewhere he can’t see increases the difficulty by 2, or by 4 if it’s somewhere he’s never seen. Failing to teleport inflicts d6 Shock damage. A 1 on the spellcasting dice inflicts d6 Basic Damage, in addition. An additional rider inflicts d4 shock on the character, and he may carry a maximum of 2 riders for 2d4 shock.
Zombie Power Points: 3/Corpse Range: Intelligence Duration: Special Raises 1 zombie for every 3 power points spent. Must have bodies to raise. A success raises the zombies for 1 hour. An Extraordinary Success raises them for 1d6 hours. Another Extraordinary Success (essentially +14) raises a zombie for a whole day. There ya go. The basic Powers from the Savage Worlds Explorer’s Edition. I’ll probably do the ones from the Fantasy Companion when it’s not 3:30 am and I have to get up in 4.5 more hours. Terry RW Whisenant
[email protected] October 7, 2009
