TEXT: Magicians 
   
  Magicians (also called mages or magi) control the arcane forces of the 
  universe. They are experimenters in the mystical arts, seekers of 
  forbidden knowledge, and practitioners of dark arts.  Magicians have 
  access to the Magick Skill (spelled differently from normal to distinguish 
  from stage magic). They can also buy Spells. Spells are the areas of 
  knowledge which allow mages to warp reality to their will. 
   
  In JAGS there is little moral or ethical implications of magic: it’s simply 
  presented as a means of energy manipulation. The GM should feel free 
  to attach any rules to it he deems necessary (if the use of magic 
  corrupts, for example or there is some karmic backlash). 
   
  The spell list here is factored for a heroic fantasy game but it can also be 
  used in other situations (in a science fiction game, most of the combat 
  spells will have to be re-factored to compete with post-modern weapons). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  The Archetype 
  JAGS Magic is broken into colleges or “areas of study.” There are many 
  of these, some are elemental (Fire, Water, Earth, etc.) some are 
  philosophical (the Imperial College rules through respect, the Elder 
  School through fear), and some are more like sciences (Necromancy 
  and Alchemy). 
   
  Magician characters will most often be seen in fantasy games (where 
  they act as characters able to deal with elements of the fantastic as well 
  as some long-range fire power). 
   
  Example Characters or Scenarios 
  • 
  Apprentices: the characters are all new apprentices at a school 
  for magery. They may already have been trained to apprentice 
  level by their masters before being sent away. 
  • 
  Adepts: The characters are adventurers. Although not as 
  combat-capable as a well trained man-at-arms, they are capable 
  of holding their own and doing some unusual and formidable 
  things. 
  • 
  Archons: the characters are major players. Able to take a chunk 
  out of an army single handed, they wield both physical and 
  political power. 
  • 
  Modern Day Secret Societies: Magicians and the magical world 
  lies below the surface and observation of the mundane. The 
  characters are initiates into the secret world. 
   
   
   
   
  
   
  Basic Rules 
  Mages come in four classes: Apprentice, Adept, Archon, and Arch-mage. 
  Characters must be literate, buy the magic casting spell, buy the magic 
  combat spell (if they wish to use any offensive magic) and purchase the 
  spells they want. 
   
  Spell Points 
  The JAGS Magic system uses Spell Points. Spell Points (SP’s) are a 
  measure of the power a mage controls. There are two types which every 
  mage will have: 
   
  • 
  Short Term Spell Points: These are replenished every second 
  (assuming the mage is not being blocked somehow). 
  • 
  Long Term Spell Points: these come back at a rate of 1 per 5 
  minutes (1 per minute at Archon or Arch-mage level).  
   
  Spending Spell Points 
  If a mage (an Adept) has, say, 13 Short Term SP’s and 30 Long Term 
  SP’s, and he casts a spell which costs 14 Spell Points, he will (probably) 
  spend all 13 of his Short Term SP’s (for that turn) and 1 of his LT SP’s. If 
  he casts no more magic that second, he will have 0 ST SP’s and 29 LT 
  SP’s. 
   
  He can do this 30 times (over the course of 30 seconds) until h is Long 
  Term SP’s run out. 
   
  Note: Because Short Term SP’s come back, the character can, 
  essentially cast minor magic all day long (so long as his 
  endurance holds out).  However, using a lot of magic in a given 
  second (two attacks and a block, for example) or casting more 
  powerful magic will quickly drain long term spell points. 
   
  Recovering Spell Points: Metal Armor 
  Spell Points flow into the character’s body through the chakra points 
  (points of poser up the center and head of the body). This flow can be 
  blocked by metal (a character in metal armor will not recover his ST spell 
  points). The metal must be there for a couple of seconds and must have 
  reasonable coverage. 
   
  Note: If you’ve already figured a way around this, good for you. 
  The point of this is to distinguish the Mage archetype from 
  characters who fight hand to hand (in a fantasy game). The GM 
  should prohibit mage characters from wearing anything other 
  than light level armor (no heavy leather, no chain mail, etc.) 
   
  
  Rules For Mage Creation 
  Mages can be built on almost any number of points, however, these 
  standard totals seem to work best: 
   
  50 pts  Apprentice 
  75 pts  Adept 
  125pts  Archon 
  150+  Arch-mage   
   
  Cost: This is the minimal point cost for that level of magery. 
   
  Short Term: The number of short term spell points (round down). 
   
  Long Term: The number of Long Term spell points. 
   
  CP’s in Spells: Of the Cost, this is the number of points which must be 
  used to buy spells.  This means that for an Adept, the cost is 24pts 
  however, of those 24pts, 16 will be spent buying spells.  This means it 
  isn’t possible to be an Arch-mage who “forgot” to buy spells.  The 
  character may spend more points on spells if he wishes. 
   
  Spell Points 
  Level  
  Cost 
  Short Term 
  Long Term 
  CP’s in Spells 
  Apprentice 
  12 
  WIL /2  
   
  15 
   
   8 
  Adept  
  24 
  WIL 
   
   
  30 
   
  16 
  Archon  
  48 
  WIL x 2  
   
  60 
   
  32 
  Arch-mage 
  96 
  WIL x 4  
   
  120 
   
  64 
   
  Spell Levels    Spell Cost (in Character Points)    
  Level 1  
   
   1 
  Level 2  
   
   2 
  Level 3  
   
   4 
  Level 4  
   
   8 
  Level 5 
   
   
  16 
   
   
   
  An Apprentice can have Level 1 and 2 spells. 
  An Adept can have Level 1, 2, and 3 spells. 
  An Archon can have Level 1, 2, 3, and 4 spells. 
  An Arch-mage can have any level of spells. 
   
  Magic Skill 
  Magic Skill is a normal, RES based skill which must be had at the same 
  level as the spells the character can cast. The character must make a roll 
  to successfully cast any non-combat spell (combat spells always work 
  but might not hit). 
   
  Magic Combat Skill 
  This is the attack skill Mages use to hit with their magic bolts and block 
  attacks. 
  Difficult, COR 
  Level 1: Block –3 
  Level 2: Block –2 
  Level 3: Block –1 
  Ignore –3 Range/Speed Modifiers 
  Level 4: Block –0  
  Ignore –6 Range/Speed Modifiers  
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Jags/JAGS Magic.pdf