To release a sealed item, roll any
How it works:
The floating pairing is intentional. Body + Release Magic works. So does Wits + Release Magic. A warrior with Body 4 and Release Magic 3 has a solid pool for lower-level spells without any Channeling investment. Magic items are accessible to characters who are not mages — if they can survive holding one.
Release Magic is the universal “use magic items” skill. It is not Channeling-only. A character who cannot enchant a single item can still unleash one that someone else made.
Not every sealed item is yours to use. Your release ceiling is:
You can only attempt to release spells at or below this number. A character with Channeling 3 and Release Magic 2 has a release ceiling of 5. A level 6 item is beyond them.
This ceiling is separate from the enchant ceiling (Channeling + Enchant Item), which limits what you can create. The two ceilings are independent. A specialist enchanter can create a level 8 spell they cannot personally release. That is a feature, not a bug: mages who make items for others are genuinely useful. So are the people they make items for.
See Channeling for the enchant ceiling and the full prepare–channel–seal–release loop.
If your release roll does not produce enough successes, nothing happens. The spell does not fire. The item is not destroyed. The energy stays sealed inside, waiting for the next attempt.
The AP spent on the release attempt is gone. That is the only cost. Try again next round.
A failed release is not an interruption. Failure means you could not unlock the energy.
Releasing a spell costs 1
| Spell Level | AP Cost | Steps / Rounds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 AP | 1 step |
| 2 | 2 AP | 2 steps |
| 3 | 3 AP | 3 steps (1 round) |
| 4 | 4 AP | 4 steps (2 rounds) |
| 5 | 5 AP | 5 steps (2 rounds) |
| 6 | 6 AP | 6 steps (2 rounds) |
| 8 | 8 AP | 8 steps (3 rounds) |
| 10 | 10 AP | 10 steps (4 rounds) |
Each round has 3 steps, so a level 3 spell (3 steps) fits exactly inside one round. A level 4 spell (4 steps) spills into a second round — the caster commits AP every step across both rounds. All AP cost values are playtesting values.
When a spell costs more than 3 AP, it spans multiple rounds. The caster commits 1 AP to the spell at every step until the full cost is paid. During a multi-round release:
This is not a soft commitment. There is no splitting AP “just a little” to squeeze in a dodge. If you start a multi-round release, you are rooted to the spot and hoping your allies handle everything else. Plan accordingly.
Magic resolves as a normal action — when its AP cost is fully paid. If a physical attack and a spell resolve in the same step, both resolve simultaneously: the caster takes the hit and the spell fires. Same-step damage does not interrupt.
What does interrupt: damage taken in a previous step, before the spell has resolved. If the caster is hit in Step 1 and the spell was not yet paid off, the spell is interrupted. For multi-round spells, any damage during the winding steps ends it. There is no safe window across steps.
Interrupted does not mean cancelled. It means the item explodes.
Explosion damage: spell level × 20 points to the caster. A level 3 explosion deals 60 points. A level 8 explosion deals 160 points. The item is destroyed. The 20 points per level value is a playtesting value.
The explosion damages the character holding the item. Whether nearby characters are also affected is at GM discretion — the rules do not define a fixed area of effect for explosions in this version.
The math at high levels: A level 8 spell explosion deals 160 points of damage to the caster. Starting from 100 health, that puts the caster at −60 —
Magical damage does not go through the standard
The magical damage pipeline:
A knight in full plate has the same magical vulnerability as an unarmored rogue. The plate is excellent protection against swords. It does nothing about fire. Against a mage, positioning and disruption are the only meaningful defenses — not steel.
See Spells for the full damage values at each spell tier. The design rationale: a level 3 spell that bypasses plate absorption entirely is substantially more effective than an equivalent physical strike. Magic is powerful per use; it is expensive in materials and preparation time.
Fiera is carrying a sealed iron rod containing a level 3 Searing spell (80 points of fire damage, plus burns that continue for 2 rounds). Across the courtyard stands a guard in chainmail.
Fiera spends 3 AP and declares the release. She describes extending the rod and willing the heat out through the tip — the GM approves Wits + Release Magic. She rolls and gets 3 successes. The spell level is 3. Three successes meets the threshold. The rod grows hot and crumbles to ash.
Damage resolution — magical pipeline:
The same attack against an armored knight (Full Plate, 50 absorption) would deal exactly the same 75 points. The armor is irrelevant. Fiera already knew this. She finds it useful that the knight did not.
Tharis is standing inside a summoning circle holding an iron-copper composite rod loaded with a level 8 Detonation spell (260 points damage within 6 squares, 130 points within 10 squares — the enemies are clustered perfectly). A spell's level can be higher than the lowest level shown in its tier's row; the tier is determined by which bracket the level falls into, so this level 8 counts as Tier 4. His release ceiling is Channeling 4 + Release Magic 4 = 8. He can just barely attempt this.
Level 8 costs 8 AP. Tharis spends 3 AP in round 1, 3 AP in round 2, and commits 2 AP to round 3. During round 3, before he finishes, an archer puts a bolt through his shoulder.
The release is interrupted.
Explosion: level 8 × 20 = 160 points to Tharis. He started at 100 health. 100 − 160 = −60. Tharis is Dying. Without stabilization, he loses 5 points per round and will reach −100 in 8 rounds. The rod is gone. The enemies are fine.
Tharis does not complain. He never does. Bran is already standing over him, which is either protection or a very large obstacle to anyone trying to help.
During a multi-round release, the caster is the most vulnerable character on the field. Any damage ends the spell and potentially ends the caster. One ally whose job is to draw attacks or block line of sight is not a luxury — it is the minimum viable plan for anything above level 3.
The
Level 1–3 spells each cost their level in AP and resolve within 3 steps — a single round. Against an unarmored or lightly armored target, even 15 points of magical damage for 1 AP is competitive with many weapon attacks — and ignores armor entirely. If a physical strike and the spell resolve in the same step, both land — the caster takes the hit and the spell still fires. The real risk is multi-step exposure: damage taken in an earlier step interrupts before the spell resolves. A caster who finishes in one step or stays out of range keeps that risk low. Low AP cost, reliable output, manageable explosion risk.
The danger of high-level spells scales faster than their damage. Level 5 (5 steps, 2 rounds) deals 70 points of damage but leaves the caster rooted and exposed across two full rounds. Level 8 (8 steps, 3 rounds; 160 points explosion; Dying caster) requires the entire party to orient around protecting one character for three full rounds. That is a significant commitment. Make sure the target is worth it.
For most fights, level 1–3 spells offer the best balance: enough damage to matter, finished in a single round, no multi-round exposure.
A heavily armored character defending against a mage should use the same tactics as a lightly armored one: close the distance fast, disrupt the release, or use Distraction to grant allies +1 bonus success against the caster, helping them land interrupting hits before the spell completes. Heavier armor makes the walk to melee range slightly more expensive (in AP) and no more survivable once the spell fires.
Positioning is the answer. Disruption is the answer. Steel is not.
For cover rules against ranged attacks and spells — including when physical cover actually helps — see Movement & Positioning.
For the full prepare–channel–seal loop and Release Magic skill details, see Channeling . For spell damage values and tier tables, see Spells .
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