magic the gathering the rpg

8/8/2019 Magic the Gathering the RPG

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What's all this about?

About a year and a half ago Patrick and Icame to feel that the division betweenmany role-playing gamers and Magic: The Gathering players was a bit of a pity.More importantly, it seemed like Wizards of the Coast might find it profitable to openup a secondary market for magic cards - and if we wrote a book that made that

possible and offered it to them a bit of that profit and publicity might come our way.Besides, it would be fun to write and playtest.

So we designed a roleplaying system that used Magic cards as basic elements ofthe characters, as their minions, and as a library of opposition for them, allowed forthe use of both magi and mundane characters of every level - squires or dabblingmage-apprentices on through legendary heroes and mighty planeswalkers - allowedplayers to make characters of every major race and type in the system at the time,and allowed for full-scale planewalker duels. We even made it nominally d20compatible (although we preferred the 3d6 option) in case Wizards wanted to tie inthat product line as well.

Then we recruited a few playtesters, let them build master summoners, fireball-spewing sorcerers, noble knights, and insane tinkerers, and had some fun. Judgingfrom the reactions of some of our local magic players it looked like there would bemore than enough interest, so we went ahead and submitted it. Sadly, Wizards ofthe Coast referred us to a submissions agent company - who charged a modest feeand eventually got back to us to tell us that Wizards of the Coast wasn't interestedin submissions based on Magic: The Gathering.

Presumably they've had years of being flooded with them.

Still, that left us with a complete game system with no place to go - and some ofour playtesters were already starting to pass around copies of the draft PDF. Sinceit's out there anyway, heres a version with an explanatory note. After all, in itscurrent form (a final version published through Wizards of the Coast would beanother matter) it's essentially a free fan production designed to boost WTC sales,and certainly does not attempt to compete with or replace any product of theirs thatwe're aware of. If anyone at Wizards ever sees it hopefully they'll like it or want tocomment (If so, try my gaming blog, at http://ruscumag.wordpress.com/), sendEmail to [email protected] (I check that every so often), orlook for our print products at http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=601512. IfWTC feels that it's an infringement - or more of one than any other fan-productionrevolving around their Magic: The Gathering trademark - they can let us know, andwell take it down. On the other hand, if they express approval (or, hopefully, decidethat they want to pick it up), we'll see about getting it onto a few of the fan sites aswell or - gladly - start in on a print version. It was fun: just because it apparentlywon't be going commercial doesn't mean that no one else should get to play with it.

-Paul Melroy, for Distant Horizons Games


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General IndexIntroduction 2

Characters 2

Basic Character Creation 2

Types

Abilities 2

Ability Rank Details 3

Cards 3

Lands 3

Creatures 3

Artifacts 4

Enchantments 4

Instants & Sorceries 4

Special Card Rules 4

Distinctions 5Armsman 5

Enhanced Sense 5

Good-Looking 5

Immunity 5

Inspiration 5

Landbond 5

Legendary 5

Legend Master 5

(___) Lord 5

Lucky 5

Magician 5

Magical Talent

In MTG:RPG 6

Martial Artist 6

Might 6

Poison 6

Role 6

Sharpshooter 6

Swarm Master 6

(___) Training 6

Undead 6

Warlord 6

Descriptions 7

Disadvantages 7

Sample Listing 7

Species 8

Angels 8

Aven and Griffins 8

Centaurs 8

Cephalid 8

Demons and Devils 9

Djinn and Efreet 9

Dragons 9

Dwarves 9

Elves 9

Goblins and Orcs 9

Leonin 9

Loxodons 10

Merfolk 10

Minotaurs 10

Nantuko 10

Nezumi-bito 10

Orochi-bito 10Soratami 10

Treefolk 10

Vedalken 10

Character Tem plates 11

The Assassin or Spy 11

The Barbarian Hero 11

The Hedge W izard 11

The Lesser Mage 11

The M agelord 11

The Merchant 11

The Planewalker 12

The Priest 12The Scholar 12

The Thief 12

The W arrior 12

Designing Character Types 13

Character Levels 13

Initial Ability Limits 13

Character Advancement 13

Opportunity Rewards 13

Fiat Rewards 13

Replacing Characters

The Duel Arcane 14

The Planewalker's Duel 15

Planewalker Distinction 15

Abilities 16

d6 versus d20 16

Using Abilities 16

The Base Rolls 16

Success Levels 16

Attacks 16

Combat Stances 16

Combat Damage 16

Critical Hits & Fum bles 16

Exclusive Abilities 17

General Abilities 25

The Landrule 31

Forests 31

Mountains 32

Islands 32

Plains 33

Swamps 33

Exotic Lands 33

Game Structure 34

Turns and Scenes 34

Tapping 34

Creature Conversions 34

Creature Statistics 34

Creature Combat 34Creature Abilities 34

Combat Turns 35

Surprise 35

Reaction and Initiative 35

Turns and Actions 35

Follower Actions 35

Accounting 35

Mana Burn 35

Timekeeping 35

Refreshing Cards 35

Movement and Position 36Other sources of damage 36

The W orkings of Cards 36

Keywords & Definitions 37

Running the W orlds 41

Classifying Creatures 41

Equipment 41

Strategic Choices 42

Mana Levels 42

Dynamic Magic 43

Sample Characters 44

Legal Note 44


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IntroductionMTG :RPG lets you create and play characters in the

worlds of MTG:CCG using your MTG:CCG cards -

without having to settle for short combat-oriented

sessions, having to struggle against each other, or

necessarily playing Planewalkers. You can develop

your characters over time, interact socially, and take on

a wide variety of roles within the ongoing saga.

Youll need some six sided dice and a character

sheet, and youll probably want to have a 20-sided die

and some MTG:CCG cards available.

The rules for MTG:CCG are available here, at

http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules

Since almost everything in a RPG revolves around

the characters, thats where well start off.

CharactersCharacter creation is simple in

Magic: The Gathering Role Playing

Game. The Game Master decides on

the star ting level - usually level 4. You

gain ten times your level in ability

points. Ability points are then spent on

skills, but you may exhange two ability

points for a card slot, or four for aDistinction. You may not have more

Distinctions than your level. You may

not start play with a skill level above 5.

As a recommendation, invest at least

twice as many points in skills as cards.

This gives you a wide base of skills and

abilities you may need to survive.

Card slots represent major spells,

fo l lowers, and magical i tems.

Distinctions are innate special abilities

and skills. Theyre both covered in

detail later on.

Charac ters usually start around level

4 because that level indicates they have

strong skills, talents, and show prom ise

in their chosen field. At the same time ,

they are not nearly masters. A level 1

character has virtually no magical

abilities or talents, whereas a level 7

character is as powerful as many great

heroes.

Only the major characters get full

write-ups. Minor followers, people on

the street, and creatures use an

abbreviated system. Major characters

get certain special abilities - the skills

and abilities included in a full writeup - just for being important. Mana knows

those who have great destinies, and

protects them from certain forces.

Major characters have five basic attributes - Type,

Abilities, Cards, Distinctions, and Description. Some

have Disadvantages and a Species other than human

or near-human. Taking these in order:

Type descriptions are supplied by type cards or by

the game master. In either case, types have several

basic elements - their level, ability modifiers, and

special abilities (if any). Just as in MTG:CCG their level

is indicated by the number of Mana symbols on the top

of the card and their abilities are listed in the text block.

As characters grow and gain new abilities they may

change types and learn new roles.

Abilities are simply ratings for how good a character

is at particular tasks. For the basic game abilities are

scored at ratings of 2 (unsk illed, the normal base score)

through 10 (grandmaster). Abilities are divided into

General and Exclusive categories. General abilities can

be rolled even if a character hasnt allotted any ability
http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/ruleshttp://wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules.http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules.http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/rules


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points to increase their level in them. Exclusive abilities

cannot be used for anything except automatic actions

unless youve invested some points in them. The

abilities are listed on the basic character sheet.

Ability Level Descriptions

Rank 0 Useless.

Rank 1 N o t a b l y i m p a i r e d o r r a c i a l l y

disadvantaged.

Rank 2 Untrained. Basically a competent person.

Rank 3 Basic training.

Rank 4 Ordinary professional level.

Rank 5 Talented professional.

Rank 6 Expert.

Rank 7 Master. As skilled as normal people ever

become.

Rank 8 Inhuman. Only a demigod can possibly

match your level of mastery.

Rank 9 Unbelievable. No one can possibly be that

good without supernatural aid.

Rank 10 Grandmaster. You have truly unearthly

mas tery of every possible application of

the ability.

Ranks 11 and 12 are only available to characters

with special racial aptitudes or unique enhancements.

If it should becom e important, Rank 11 is Godlike, and

is exceeded only by Rank 12 - Supremacy. At Rank 12,

no entity in the multiverse exceeds your mastery.

Cards represent followers, lands, mighty artifacts,

great spells, and other precious resources gleaned from

relics of the past, careful research, lengthy recruiting,

and lucky finds. Their power can far surpass that of the

abilities - but cards are far harder to com e by. There are

several choices to make regarding cards.

Lands are limited by the Mana Tappingability and by

the characters innate talent. Magelords and

Planewalkers ac tually control the full power of the lands

they claim, gaining the powers of Landrule (page 31)

and often ruling over their people and inhabitants.

Sadly, that mystical link leaves them open to the

dangerous of a full-scale Duel Arcane (page 14).

Lesser M agi are limited by theirMana Tappingability

and so can only draw Mana (at one point per day) from

those lands to which theyre attuned. They cannot draw

on the special powers of the Landrule without a

Distinction and their Mana supply is subject to thewhims of any Magelord who claims the same land.

Magelords can use the special powers of those

lands they control, permit or block the flow of Mana to

lesser magi attuned to those lands on a whim (hence;

Magelord), and may attune additional basic lands

according to their level of talent. Unfortunately, their

ability to attune exotic lands is still limited by theirMana

Tappingability and they can still only tap into Mana on

a per-day basis. Since most Magelords first act on

claiming an area is to lock out any lesser magi who

have been using its power - at least until they pay for

the privilege som ehow - lesser m agi often owe fealty to

a Magelord.

Planewalkers can tap into lands almost without limit

while operating in a battle-realm, but - while within a

dimension - operate under the same rules as

Magelords.

Game Masters who want to run land-poor games

may opt to mak e initial lands more expensive, counting

each as two card se lections, and may or may not allow

characters to start with any exotic lands in theirselection.

Since only one Planewalker or Magelord can control

a land at a time, mos t Magelords are deeply concerned

with the defense of their lands and with challenges to

their control. Fortunately for them, they can usually

leave such defense in the hands of competent lesser

magi in their service.

Creatures come in hundreds of specific types but,

for our purposes, only a few general ones. These

include Beasts (more-or-less natural creatures),

Aberrations (the undead, dragons, horrors from beyond

and so on), Minions (knights, druids, elves, and so on),

Spirits (nature spirits, elementals, and related beings),

and Constructs (golems, war machines, and similar

creations). Each is limited by a particular ability: a

character cannot have more Beastcards or any Beast

card with a higher level (converted Mana cost) than he

or she has ranks in the Beast Masteryability. Monsters

are limited by the Aberration ability, Minions by

Leadership , Spirits by Shamanism, and Constructs by

Artificer. Characters must also have high enough

ratings in the relevant m agical attribute or attributes to

be able to summ on or bind the creature in question.

For example, if the Bringer of Doom is a horrible

undead dragon which requires 4 Red and 4 Black Manato summon in a normal game, a c haracter would need

Aberration 8, Red Magic 8, Black Magic 8, and enough

Mana to call it up. This isnt easy.

Secondarily, Creatures can be designated as

Followers or as Conjurations when you acquire the

card. Followers are with you all the time (leave the card

face up on the table by your character sheet), at least

unless you send them on an errand or leave them at

home today and dont require any Mana to recruit. On

the upside, theyre tougher than Conjurations. Followers

dont die until -20 life, just like the player charac ters.

On the other hand, theyre a lot harder to replace; if

one dies, youre going to have to find and recruit areplacement. If you have a card-drawing ability this

generally only requires taking out some time to go and

recruit someone. If not, it may require a modest

adventure.

Of course, there are times when having a bunch of

Followers trailing you is inappropriate - especially if one

of them happens to be that Bringer of Doom . If one of

your followers is killed, turn the card face down until you

can find a replacement.


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Conjurations are short-term magical summonings.

This requires a lot of Mana, means that theyre

banished or die at 0 life, and that they never last more

than an hour or so, but it also means tha t theyre easy

to get back. All a summoner has to do is take a brief

break to rebuild the pattern of the spell and cast it

again. Just like with Followers, once a Conjuration is

Slain, or the duration of the summ oning runs out, turn

the card face down until your character gets a bit of rest

(how muc h depends on the type of card, see page 35).

Then pu t it back in your hand. Conjurations dont get toact until the turn after theyre summ oned.

Token creatures can be either Followers or

Conjurations. In either case, they count against the limit

on the appropriate type of card.

Artifacts are straightforward. Whether theyre items

or creatures theyre limited by theArtificerability just as

creatures a re limited by their relevant abilities. Artifacts

are usually permanent items. Followers can use most

artifacts, even if they cant normally be equipped to a

creature.

Enchantments are limited by the Enchantment

ability. Enchantments which require upkeep require it on

a daily basis, hence theyre most effective when applied

to Followers.

The enchantment ability can also be used to lay a

variety of short-term, low-powered enchantments, such

as night sight, slight (+1) increases in general abilities,

or making someone like you; these also occupy

enchantment slots. Hence only the most seriously

power-obsessed magi try to max out their supply of

major (card) enchantments.

Instants and Sorceries are limited by the

Elementalism ability. There is one major distinction

between them however; Instants work like Conjurationswhile Sorceries are simply powerful spells you happen

to have acquired. Once you use an Instantyou turn it

face down un til you have a bit of time off. Sorceries can

be used as o ften as you want - as long as you have the

Mana to power them. Given that creatures are more

durable in MTG:RPG, Instants and Sorceries that do

damage inflict 1d6+1 dam age per point that they would

norma lly inflict. Card-based effects do not require rolls

to hit or Resist Magic checks unless they are instant-

death effects.

Certain cards are subject to special rules in

MTG:RPG. While most of these appear in theKeywords section (page 37), some of the most comm on

rules include:

! Card Draw cards which allow the user to draw an

extra card during the draw step are only useful to

reduce the time required to replace cards which have

been destroyed - slain followers, broken artifacts, or

devastated lands. Each card which would be drawn

allows the user to replace one destroyed card at the

beginning of each session without having to actually

play out doing so. Permanent items provide whatever

bonus cards theyd normally provide per turn at the start

of each session.

! Card Draw cards which allow the user to draw

extra cards during a turn can be used to refresh

exhaus ted cards before their norma l refresh time is up.

If the Dynamic Magic option is in use, they can also be

used to draw cards for use with that ability.

! Cards which force the discarding of other cards

exhaust one card per card which would normally be

sent to the graveyard or otherwise rem oved. If a target

has no unexhausted cards they have no further effect.! Cards which allow the user to search for a

specified card can be used to fill a card slot which was

left vacant at the beginning of the session or can be

activated and then discarded to create a vacant slot.

Theyre useful in getting out a specific card to meet a

specific challenge, but deprive the user of the use o f at

least one slot in the meantime .

! Any card that ends the game in some fash ion can

only be used by the Game Master - usually as part of a

plot which the player characters want to stop.

! Epic Spells terminate after the end of the

confrontation in which they were used.

! Any Tokens a card or spell creates count as

cards of the same type, and count against restrictions

on their maximum number. Otherwise, since a

MTG:RPG gam e can cover many years of game time,

anyone using a card which spawns tokens could have

a limitless number of them.

! Legend Cards are subject to restrictions: Since

they represent unique places, individuals, and things,

only one of each may be used in a game and the Game

Master must approve them in advance. Theyre never

Conjurations; theyre always followers or real items.

Finally, any character who wants to control a legend

card must have either the Planewalker or Legend

MasterDistinction. The Game M aster will generally opt

to require the completion of a special quest or missionbefore allowing a Legend card to enter play.

! Global effects only apply to the cards which the

user and any opposing Magelord(s) actually control.

Other cards, and the world in general, are unaffected.

! Sacrificing lands simply means renouncing their

link with you, not actually destroying them. The Game

Master may rule that this also applies to legendary

cards in general, since otherwise they would be

permanently removed from the game.

! There are ten official cards (Polar Kraken,

Hypnox, Iname as One, Blinkm oth Infusion, Mox Lotus,

Mycosynth Golem, Autochthon W urm, the expensive

half of the Big Furry Monster duo, Draco and Gleemax)

with base costs of 11+. These cannot be controlled

(although they CAN be unleashed) outside of

Planewalker Duels without an appropriate Distinction,

although it is possible to collect enough Mana to play

mos t of them fairly readily. Secondarily, the Mox Lotus,

Gleemax, and possibly the Big Furry Monster are jokes,

and should not be permitted in MTG:RPG.


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DistinctionsDistinctions are special

talents and privileges, the little

touches which make characters

extraordinary in a variety of

ways . Wh i l e t he re a re

t h o u s a n d s o f p o s s i b l e

Distinctions, some of the most

common include:

Armsman I-IV. Armsmen

are masters of weapons,

armor, and melee combat.

Each level of Armsman

provides +1 Defense (see

Attacks under Using Abilities,

page 16) and +1 power (1d6

damage) in HTH combat. A

character who is deprived of his

or her primary weapons or

armor loses one effective level

of Armsman, one deprived of

all weapons and armor loses

two - three if nothing is

available to improvise with.

Enhanced Sense. Characters with this Distinction

have augmented sensory abilities. They may have a

sense o f smell like a bloodhound , be able to see in the

infrared and ultraviolet, be able to operate in the dark by

some sort of radar sense, be able to hear the voices

of the unquiet dead, or sense the presence of diseases

and toxins. The sensory enhancement involved must be

selected when this Distinction is taken and be approved

by the Game Master - if only because he or she will

have to describe what the character detects.

Good-Looking. Good-Looking makes you extremely

attractive. Movie-star attractive. Youll get invited to

places simply because youre so decorative, draw

obsessed fans and groupies, and need never sleep

alone. People will give you presents. Of course, they

may also try to kidnap you to put you in a Harem or try

to force you into marriage, but theres a price for

everything.

Immunity. Immunity allows the character to simply

ignore the effects of some sort of attack. Characters

may be immune to poison , to particular types of energy(fire, cold, lightning, etc), to particular colors (this allows

a DC 18 Resist Magic check to overcome), or even to

some effects, such as falls or being surprised. The

Gam e Master will probably refuse to allow characters to

take imm unity to too many things.

Inspiration. A character with Inspiration can share

one of his or her abilities with his or her followers and

Conjurations. If its applied to an ability once, the

inspiring character can share it at up to rank 4. If its

applied twice it can be shared a t up to rank 6. Applying

it three times allows the chosen

ability to be shared at up to rank

7, the maximum possible.

A character can share up to

seven abilities with his or her

followers, but no more.

Landbond. Landbond allows a

Lesser Mage to attune to an

additional two lands and to draw

on the Landrule powers but doesnot open them to the Duel Arcane

or allow them to keep others from

tapping into the lands theyre

attuned to. Unlike extra levels of

t he Mag i c i an D i s t i nc t i on ,

Landbond can be learned without

difficulty after charac ter creation.

Legendary. To become

Legendary a character must have

at least 8 other Distinctions

already and cannot have any level

of Magician. Its the difference

between learning to channel

Mana and becoming a natural

expression of it. In any case, a

Legendary charac ter gains some exotic special ability,

power, or talent unique to them and a +2 bonus to their

effective rating in any 3 abilities selected by the Gam e

Master (This may take their effective score up to a

maximum of 12). Legendary characters are rare and

sought-after.

Legend Master. This Distinction lets a character

control Legend cards. Unless the Game Master gives

you special perm ission, youll normally have to have at

least five other Distinctions first. Planewalkers dontneed this Distinction while theyre in a battle-realm;

under those circumstances they can control anything

they can get ahold of.

(___) Lord. These Distinctions allow their users to

partially bypass the restrictions on the number and

power level of a particular type of card which they can

control, increasing the maximum level of the cards

which they can control by +1 and the number of cards

which they can control by +2. This Distinction may be

applied to a particular card type up to three times.

Lucky. Some peop le just get all the breaks. A lucky

character gets three chances to reroll the dice per

game session, dropping the old result in favor of the

new one. They may even use multiple rerolls on a

single roll if theyre determined enough.

Magician I-IV. Lesser Mage (may tap into Mana from

a number of lands e qual to your Mana Tapping rank),

Magelord I(first 3 basic lands of each type do not count

against Mana Tapping limit), Magelord II(first 5 basic

lands of each type do not count against Mana Tapping

limit), Planewalker(see the Planewalker section; only


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available with GM approval). As a rule, it is very difficult

or near-impossible to upgrade this Distinction after

character creation.

Magical Talent

In MTG:RPG there are five basic levels of magical

power - non-magi, who dont use magic at all, Hedge

Wizards, who practice the lesser magical abilities but

cant use Mana, Lesser Magi, who can use M ana, but

cant control its flow in the land, Magelords, who can

control external Mana flows, and Planewalkers , who

can control the flow of Mana between the dimensions.

Hedge wizardry requires nothing but study, but actually

using the higher levels of magic requires spec ial talents

- although anyone can learn the required skills.

Martial Artist I-IV. A Martial Artist gains a bonus of

+1 to his or her Defense (see Attacks under Using

Abilities , page 16) per level of Martial Artist and +1

power (+1d6 damage) with Unarmed Attacks for every

two levels of M artial Artist.

Might. Mightallows you to inflict an extra 1d6 points

of damage with weapons, lift extra-heavy weights, and

flex impressively. Its a favorite of warriors and may be

taken up to twice for those who favor the body-builder

look.

Poison. Poison allows the character to damage

abilities. In general, a charac ter can op t to have lethal

poison (reduces the victims Vigor by one point per

attack), nonlethal poison (reduces any chosen ability by

two points per attack), or a selection of non-lethal

poisons (the user may select one ability from each

group and choose which is reduced by one each time

he or she a ttacks; Vigor is not a valid choice). Dam agedabilities recover at one point per Ac t and, if an ability is

reduced to 0, the victim must roll a simple check for

norma lly-automatic effects using it.

Role. Roles are defined social roles which provide

special privileges. You dont have to have this

Distinction to claim such a title or include it in your

character description. You do have to have it if you want

the NPCs to react appropriately. Anyone can be a

priest. If you want to be a recognized priest from a

major faith, get special legal privileges, and call on the

support of your temp le, youll want to take it as a role.

Possible roles include being a Priest, Noble,

Diplomat, Gu ild Leader, Ruler of a City-State, Celebrity,

Fabulous Courtesan, Law-Enforcement Official, and

Heir Apparent.

Sharpshooter I-IV. Each level of Sharpshooter

increases the power of a charac ters ranged attacks by

+1, thus adding 1d6 points of damag e to a successful

attack. Every two levels provides a +1 bonus on the

users attack rolls.

Swarm Master. A Swarm Master may control four

tokens over and above normal limits. This may be taken

repeatedly.

(___) Training. You possess the special abilities of

one card of the same basic type as yourself provided

that such ab ilities are arguably learned, that the card in

question is not legendary, that the card in question has

a converted Mana cost of four or less, and that the

Game Master approves. For example, a human

character could learn to spend an action to generateone Black Mana each day (as per a Bog Initiate - a

Hum an W izard), to give up your turn to counter a spell

once each day (Mundungu, an unspecified wizard), or

to temporarily enhance creatures (Nantuko Disciple,

which may be an Insect, but is still a person and a

Druid). Most of the general monster abilities - Haste,

First Strike, Vigilance, and so on, are both valid and

encouraged. A full list can be found on page 37 under

Keywords.

He or she c ouldnt learn to put a squirrel token into

play each Turn and enhance squirrels like a Nut

Collector Druid, since a Nut Collector costs a total of 6

Mana. Only a Dragon is likely to be able to be able to

learn a breath weapon. Other powers , such as that of

a Joiner Adept (lands may be tapped for Mana of any

color) probably wont be perm itted by the GM.

As usual, any active effect generally works once per

day. Any continuous effect is still continuous.

This Distinction may be taken up to three times.

Each time m ay either add new abilities or increase the

level of a set of abilities by +3.

Undead. Your body is either dead or never lived, is

animated by the same m agic which binds your spirit into

it, and has no m etabolism. You cant be poisoned, are

immune to many forms of environmental damage, do

not age, and gain an extra 20 Life. You also loseaccess to the Regeneration and Green Magic abilities,

cannot be affected by beneficial drugs and related

magic, and will have a variety of social problems. This

can also be used to represent Constructs, Golems, and

Plant creatures.

Warlord. A Warlord may designate up to four of his

or her cards as examples of garrison troops. While

such cards have a max imum level of (relevant ability/2)

and cannot include Legend cards, a similar set of

troops or defenses is presumed to be present to defend

the mystical nexus of each land a Warlord controls. For

example, a Warlord who has Beast Mastery 8 and

controls several level four Beasts could garrison each

of his or her lands with four similar creatures. He or she

couldnt pick a creature with a total Mana cost of 5+

(those are too powerful) or a legendary creature like

Shizuko Caller of Autumn even though Shizoko only

costs 3 Mana.


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DescriptionsThere arent any game mechanics for your

characters description. A characters age, sex, build,

description, major personality traits, religion,

background, family, and any other details you care to

invent dont modify you r abilities or dice rolls, just how

you apply them.

Still, theyre probably one of the most important

things you can provide for your character. W eve left theentire back of the character sheet blank for them - and

for many players, that wont be enough.

We have left a place on the front for some of the

mos t important bits; no character is complete without a

name. Most of them should have a title - Enchanter of

the Third Circle, Ringmaster, or even something

mundane, like Scout - and many belong to some

organization, or at least did at one po int.

Disadvantages (Optional)Up until this point, everything about a character has

been positive. Characters may, however, have severe

drawbacks - addictions, compulsions, major enemies,

and similar problems. If you want to add such a thing to

your character, there are three steps - come up with a

description of your handicap, get the Game Master to

approve it, and then add it and a compensating bonus

Distinction to your character sheet. Perhaps fortunately,

characters m ay only start with one disadvantage unless

they pick up a second one due to their species - and

any they pick up in play dont come accompanied by

any compensating Distinction(s). Some possibilities

here include:

Addiction. You dont have to have it, but you suffer

a penalty of -1 to -3 (the easier your addiction is to fulfill,

the worse the penalty when you cant since youre less

used to doing without) on all die rolls if you ca nt get a

regular fix. Things like must have coffee in themorning don t count unless youre pretty much useless

without it.

Bad Luck. For those cursed with Bad Luck nothing

ever goes well. If you take this disadvantage the Game

Master is entitled to make you r life miserable in a wide

variety of minor ways and to request that you reroll a

successful check up to three times per session. This

will usually happen just when you got a really good roll,

so youre unlikely to accomplish any legendary feats.

Berserker. The character may not withdraw from

combat and must make a simple Psyche check to

refrain from attacking friends if out of enemies. On the

upside, he or she does gain a +1 bonus on his or her

attacks.

Crippled. You have an upper limit of rank five in 2-4

GM-selected skills which should be important to your

character. (Note that if you cant live with what the

Game Master comes up with, you can pick another

disadvantage instead).


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Cursed. Something nasty happens periodically.

Perhaps any building you shelter in for more than a few

days catches fire or collapses, NPCs in the area catch

horrible diseases, youre an uncontrollable lycanthrope,

or your blood catches fire and does extra damage to

you whenever youre hit.

Honor. The character may not dec line an honorably

offered challenge. Most honorable characters also tend

to keep their words, protect innocents, and otherwise be

chivalrous, but nastier types often just like to fight.

Hunted. Some large and powerful group, or someindividual enemy with lots of minions, is after you.

Expect to be attacked at the mos t inconvenient times .

Oversized. Youre huge. You wont fit into ordinary

vehicles or buildings, take double damage from falls,

eat enormously, and are extremely conspicuous.

Prejudice. Whether its a racial reputation, an aura

of malevolence, or some twist of fate, youre generally

despised and prejudged. Merchants won t deal with you

or let you in their shops, the local authorities always

assume the worst about you, and small children may

throw rocks. Will you suffer nobly and try to overcome

such prejudice or will you return such hatred?

Sustenance. You have some exotic dietary or

environmen tal requirement; if you dont get it every day

youll begin taking damage, fall unconscious, or suf fer

some other awful consequence. You may need to be

immersed in fresh water every few hours, devour the

essence of a sentient being each day, or need to drink

a brew made from Tana leaves (semi-legendary and

very difficult to find) each week.

Further examples can be found under the Species

listing below; the racial drawbacks are simply examples

of Disadvantages.

It is possible to get rid of a disadvantage; you have

to either embark on some mighty quest to do so or, if

the problem is purely internal (such as an Addiction orBerserke r) spend a distinction to buy it off and spend

at least one Story doing so.

Species (Optional)The vast majority of playable species in MTG:RPG

are a lot like humans - enough so that the differences

can be readily represented through simply varying the

Distinctions and abilities they purchas e.

More exotic races, or players who want a more

detailed representation of a human-like race, can takea species package - normally consisting of 3 abilities

with a +1 initial bonus (this may raise them above the

usual starting limit) and a rac ial maximum of 12, three

abilities with -2 penalties and a rac ial maximum of 8, an

automatic Distinction and an automatic disadvantage.

More powerful species may require the investment

of additional Distinctions or simply start off young and

inexperienced. Characters dont have to start off with

the stuff listed in the Adults line, but shou ld probably

have it by the time theyve gone up a few levels.

Angel (no cost)

Angels are, at least in terms of the system, simply

humans with Flight (and often Vigilance) and an affinity

for White Magic. If you wan t to play one just create such

a character.

Aven (no cost)

Racial Modifiers: +1 to Evasion, White Magic, and

Reaction. Racial max imum of 12 in these abilities. -2 to

Artificer, Craftsman, and W hite Magic. Racial maximum

of 8 in these abilities.Racial D istinction: Flying

Racial Drawback: Fragile. For all their wingspan,

Aven are hollow-boned, light, and mostly made of skin

and feathers. They cannot take Armsman III or IV and

take an extra 1d6 points of damage from any melee

attack.

Adults: Adult Aven normally pick up a few points of

Movement, Perception, and Ranged W eapons.

Griffins, creatures of wind and passion, have only a

few sentient subspecies, but can use much the same

modifiers. Simply substitute Red Magic for White Magic

and add Unarmed Combat I, for a net cost of one

Distinction. A few types use magic to help them fly.

These subspecies drop the Fragile drawback in favor of

No Hands.

Centaur(no cost)

Racial Mod ifiers: +1 to Movement, Toughness, and

Vigor. Racial maximum of 12 in these abilities. -2 to

Stealth, Evasion, and Finance. Racial maxim um of 8 in

these abilities.

Racial D istinction: Might I

Racial Drawback: Centaurs are very large; they have

a hard time fitting into most buildings or vehicles, eat

enormously, take double damage from falls, and are

very conspicuous.

Adults: Should have a minimum Movement andVigor of 4, but dont require anything exotic beyond that,

hence most centaur characters start off as adults.

Cephalid (squid-people) (no cost)

Racial Mod ifiers: +1 to Blue Magic, Serpent-Tongue,

and Larceny. Racial maximum of 12 in these abilities.

-2 to . Racial maxim um of 8 in these abilities.

Racial Distinction: Cephalids communicate by a

limited form of telepathy, and so can both communicate

silently and bypass language barriers with non-a rtifact

creatures.

Racial Drawback: Boneless. Cephalids may not

increase their Vigor, Fortification, Melee Weapons orUnarmed Combat skills above 5 and cannot take

Armsman III or IV.

Adults: Adult Cephalids are usua lly either dom inated

or enslaved by other Cephalids or have an assortment

of servants of their own. They dont usually get along

with anyone (including each other) who isnt entirely

under their control.


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Demons and Devils

Oddly enough, Demons and Devils, like Angels,

require no special rules. They re generally evil entities

with an affinity for Black Magic and some o f them have

Flying. If you want to play one, just create such a

character. A few are very powerful, and require regular

sacrifices to bind them into the material world - but

theyre obviously not suitable as charac ters anyway.

Djinn and Efreet

While many Djinn and Efreet have flying and theirspecial powers are usually considered to be innate

rather than learned, they operate under the normal

rules.

Dragon (costs 2 Distinctions)

Racial Modifiers: +1 to Fortification, Toughness, and


Larceny, Leadership, and Stealth. Racial maximum of

8 in these abilities.

Racial Distinction(s): Unarmed Combat II, Flying

Racial Drawback: Dragons have a hard time fitting

in anywhere due to their sheer size, hoarding instinct,

and arrogance. Outside of cities they tend to be m ajortargets.

Adults: Should have Unarmed Combat 4, Might, one

or more Enhanced Senses and either Doublestrike

(representing a breath weapon) or Po ison. High levels

of the Elementalism, Fortification, Finance, Unarmed

Combat, and Evasion abilities are in order as well. Most

dragon characters start off fairly young and mature

slowly.

Drakes are smaller relatives of Dragons, and often

possess interesting magical powers. Unfortunately for

would-be players, theyre generally animalistic rather

than sentient.

Dwarf(no cost)

Racial Modifiers: +1 to Artificer, Engineering, and

Red Mag ic. Racial maximum of 12 in these abilities. -2

to Courtier, Politician and Shamanism. Racial max imum

of 8 in these abilities.

Racial D istinction: The dwarven racial Distinction is

not having any racial drawback.

Racial Drawback: None. See above.

Adults: Adult dwarves are usua lly skilled in Sleights

and have a fondness for devices involving fire, smoke,

and explosions. Most of them also have a fair level in

the Armsm an Distinction, but this is not a hard rule.

Elf (no cost)Racial Mod ifiers: +1 to Beast Master, Green Mag ic,

and Evasion. Racial maximum of 12 in these abilities.

-2 to Leadership, Politician, and Serpent-Tongue.

Racial maxim um of 8 in these abilities.

Racial D istinction: Enhanced Sense. Elves can see

into the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums.

Racial Drawback: Vulnerability; Elves are extremely

sensitive to toxins. They take double damage from

poison and suffer 1d6 life points of damage per day

spent in a destroyed land.

Adults: Adult elves are usually either attuned to a

forest or two or have Lifeweaking. In either cast, they

also usually have a few Beast followers and o ften know

how to summ on some sort of animal to their assistance.

Dark Elves are arguably a separate subspecies,

attuned to the powers of the Void rather than Life.

Dryads usually have Forestwalk instead of Enhanced

Sense, but otherwise use the same modifiers.

Giant (costs 2 Distinctions)

Racial Modifiers: +1 to Vigor, Toughness, andFortification. Racial maximum of 12 in these abilities. -2

to Stealth, Scholar, and Reaction. Racial maximum of

8 in these abilities.

Racial D istinction: Might, Armsman II

Racial Drawback: Giants are very large; they have

a hard time fitting into most buildings or vehicles, eat

enormously, take double damage from falls, and are

very conspicuous.

Adults: Adult giants are even bigger, and normally

have high scores in Vigor, Fortification, Toughness, and

in Weapons skills. Most such titans will also have

Armsman IV and various other combative distinctions.

Goblins and Orcs (no cost)

Racial Modifiers: +1 to Engineering, Sleights, and

Regeneration. Racial maximum of 12 in these abilities.

-2 to Artificer, Scholar, and Finance. Racial maximum


Racial D istinction: Fools Luck. Goblins may ignore

the consequences of any single event - evading a big

attack, using themselves as a sacrifice, or whatever -

once per Act.

Racial Drawback: Utter Incompetence . Goblins have

to pay double when purchasing any ability above 4.

Player-Characters may opt to substitute Coward ice, in

which case they must flee or hide one round after taking

damage.Adults: Adult goblins tend to dabble in everything,

and are good at nothing - except at produc ing more and

more goblins.

Oddly enough, Goblins are actually good at using

tools and technological tinkering. Unfortunately for

them, virtually everything in MTG is based on magic.

Theyre also notable for having one of the most potent

racial distinctions, and wors t drawbacks , on the list.

Leonin (and other cat-people) (no cost)

Racial Modifiers: +1 to Athletics, Evasion, and

Reaction. Racial max imum of 12 in these abilities. -2 to

Artificer, Craftsman, and W hite Magic. Racial maximumof 8 in these abilities.

Racial D istinction: Vigilance.

Racial Drawback: Leonin are extrem ely tribal. They

will never abandon their tribemates or party mem bers.

Adults: Adult Leonin generally have an extra point o r

two in their racial skills and decent com bat skills. Most

Leonin characters start off as adults.


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Loxodon (elephant-people) (costs 1 D istinction)

Racial Modifiers: +1 to Fortification, Toughness, and


Ambush, Stealth, and Larceny. Racial maximum o f 8 in

these abilities.

Racial Distinction: Might, any one Immunity of

choice.

Racial Drawback: Dedication. Once theyve given

their word or undertaken a m ission, a Loxodon will carry

out their task even if it kills them. Secondarily, thanks to

its corrosive effects on oaths, Loxodon will never takethe Black M agic ability.

Adults: Adult Loxodon norma lly possess fair ranks in

their racial skills - they are towering elephant-folk after

all - and a fair amount of White Magic if they have at

least Magician I.

Merfolk (no cost)

Racial Modifiers: +1 to Enchantment, Blue Magic,

and Survival. Racial maximum of 12 in these abilities.

-2 to Artificer, Craftsman, and Engineering. Racial

max imum o f 8 in these abilities.

Racial D istinction: Water immunity. Merfolk cannot

be harmed by water, including agents such as acids

and corrosives, and can breathe and function without

hindrance underwater.

Racial Drawback: Waterbound. Merfolk have no legs

and cannot breathe above water for long. They usually

have the good sense to stay in the water, and so are

rarely adventurers.

Adults: Other than a tendency towards high

Perception and Survival skills (and mastery of Blue

Magic if they have the talent to use it) there isnt that

much else distinctive about adult merfolk.

Minotaur(no cost)

Most Minotaurs are powerful warriors; they usually

have Might and at least Armsman II. On the other hand,so does almost any human barbarian. Outside of the

funny looks there rea lly isnt that much difference.

Nantuko (insect-druids) (no cost)

Racial Mod ifiers: +1 to Enchantment, Green Magic,

and Survival. Racial maximum of 12 in these abilities.

-2 to Artificer, Craftsman, and Engineering. Racial

max imum o f 8 in these abilities.

Racial Distinction: Unarmed Combat I. Their claws

and chitinous armor m ean that no Nantuko is ever truly

unarmed.

Racial Drawback: Fragile. Wearing their skeleton as

a thin layer on the outside of their bodies leaves theNantuko vulnerable to physical attacks, taking an extra

+1 damage per 1d6 in the attack.

Adults: Adult Nantuko are usually attuned to one or

two forests and can ca ll on a beast or two to help them

out.

Nezumi-bito (ratfolk) (no cost)

Racial Modifiers: +1 to Larceny, Saboteur, and

Stealth. Racial maximum of 12 in these abilities. -2 to

Politician, Shamanism, and Enchantment. Racial

max imum of 8 in these abilities.

Racial Distinction: Clannish. Ratfolk have lots and

lots of relatives, and can call on them for ass istance.

Racial Drawback: Prejudice. Everyone thinks that

ratfolk are disgusting little monsters.

Adults: Adult ratfolk are usua lly very good at being

treacherous sneaks, and have decent ranks in theirracial skills.

Orochi-bito (4-armed snake people) (no cost)

Racial Modifiers: +1 to Green Magic, Stealth, and

Psyche. Racial maximum of 12 in these abilities. -2 to

Aberration, Artificer, and Streetwise. Racial maximum


Racial D istinction: Poison.

Racial Drawback: Cold Blooded. Orochi-bito take a

-2 penalty on all ability checks while chilled, including

after being blasted with cold magic.

Adults: Adult Orochi-bito belong to either the Kash i

(archer), Matsu (warrior), or Sakura (magician) orders

within their society, and are expected to master the

appropriate skills.

Soratami or Moonfolk (no cost)

These characters are essentially simply humans

with Flying.

Treefolk (no cost)

Racial Mod ifiers: +1 to Mana T apping, Shamanism,

and Herb Mastery. Racial maximum of 12 in these

abilities. -2 to Artificer, Courtier, and Movem ent. Racial

max imum of 8 in these abilities.

Racial D istinction: Plant. While they do have a very

slow metabolism, their bodies are still animated bymag ic. This is equivalent to the Undead distinction.

Racial Drawback: Methodical. Treefolk are slow to

travel, slow to make decisions, and slow to act. They

always go last regardless of their Reaction check and

cannot e ffectively pilot any vehicle.

Adults: Adult Treefolk tend to be huge, have the

Might distinction, and tend towards high ranks in Touch

of Life, Green Magic, Fortification, Vigor, and Resist

Magic. Theyre often Scholars as well as Shamans and

Herb Mas ters. Like any other tree, Treefolk take a long

time to reach their full potential.

Yes, Treefolk need to invest at least one point in

Movement to learn to move at all.

Vedalken (4-armed aquatic people) (no cost)

Vedalken are essentially just really ugly Merfolk and

can use the same m odifiers. Some of them have power

suits which let them get out of the water; these count as

a level 3 Technology card effect.


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11

Character TemplatesMTG:RPG doesnt have character classes - but

there are som e recognizable templates out there. All

of them are a little larger than life; MTG is about mighty

heroes, grand rulers, armies sweeping across

continents, and legendary artifacts. The RPG does

allow for less epic characters, bu t it really isnt designed

for petty thieves, youngs ters just out of militia training,

and junior apprentices. Even if you dec ide to act like apetty con artist or street thug, your talents are almost

always quite exceptional. Dragons a re impressive - but

even a beginning group of player characters can

probably take one down.

Some of the most

common templates, and

appropriate abilities for them ,

include:

The Assassin or Spy.

Unlike real spies, most of

whom spend almost all their

time being quiet and listening,

fantasy spies are flamboyant

and sinister. Cloaks and

daggers are pretty much

mandatory. Outside of that all

you need is a completely

ruthless personality.

Spies usual ly need

Perception, Stealth, Psyche,

S l i g h t s , I n v e s t i g a t i o n ,

S a b o t e u r , L a r c e n y ,

Persuasion, and some sort of

Weapons ability. If theyre

spying on a mage, theyllprobably need Magesight as

well.

The Barbarian Hero. Star

of a thousand tales and really

bad movies, the Barbarian

Hero is big, muscular, and likes to dress in furs, leather

straps, and a supply of sharp objects regardless o f sex.

Theyre usually cunning and loyal, but have a

regrettable tendency to go bersek.

His or her abilities commonly include Athletics,

Evasion, Stealth, Survival, Toughness, Endurance,

Vigor, Melee W eapons, and/or Ranged W eapons, all

topped off with a point or two in Fortification and

Regeneration.

Variants include Amazon Warriors (usually only

differing stylistically), Rangers (who often know a bit of

Green Mag ic, Beast Mastery, and Mana Tapping), and

Beastmasters (Green Magic, Beast Mastery, a few

Beast cards, and [usually] Lifewreaking).

The Hedge Wizard. While - like almost everyone

else - the Hedge Wizard cannot manipulate Mana

directly, there are an immense variety of feats which

can be accomplished without it. Classical hedge

wizards include W ise W omen and C unning Men, Seers

and Diviners, Druids, Wizards, and simple Herbalists.

Oddly enough, almost every Hedge Wizard is a bit

scruffy, late middle-aged or older, and carries around a

collection of unidentifiable occult parapherna lia.

A Hedge Wizards abilities usually include

Perception, Scholar, Psyche, Resist Magic, Healing,

and several of the lesser magical abilities - Touch of

Life, Magesight, Elementalism, Phantasm, Artificer,

Divination, Slights, Shamanism, Enchantment and HerbMastery.

Variants dont really exist; each Hedge W izard tends

to be a variant onto him- or he r-self.

The Lesser Mage. While they

do not - or at least do not yet -

possess the inner spark which

makes a Magelord, much less

the pr imal power o f a

Planewalker, lesser magi can

become quite powerful. While

theyre common as PCs, theyre

rare enough in the game world to

make each one unique.

A Lesser Mages abilities

(pretty much by definition)

include one or more (Color)

Magic abilities, Mana Tapping

and/or Lifewreak ing. Theyll need

at least one or two of the lesser

magic abilities as well. Finally, if

they expect to survive for long, a

bit of Vigor, Resist Magic,

Perception and Evasion are

probably in order - along with

whatever talents are needed to

round out the character conception. Unfortunately, this

usually means that their abilities

are spread pretty thin. Most

beginning lesser magi are far

more talented than skilled.

Lesser Magi usually have a

title for themselves - Necromancer, Adept, Forestlord,

Channeler, Invoker, or whatever. This may or may not

indicate anything about their specialities.

The Magelord. Second only to a Planewalker in their

raw power, experienced Magelords are laws onto

themselves. Beginners, however, no matter how

talented, have only one real advantage over Lesser

Magi: whatever powers they derive from Landrule. They

may not even control any lands; settling for simple

attunement as the Lesser Magi must. After all, if you

actually claim a land in your own right instead of acting

as som eone elses vassal, you have to defend it.

The Merchant. Merchants are rarely especially

heroic, but they are very good at coming out ahead.

Oddly enough, virtually all of them are middle-aged. In

general, a quick look at a Merchants clothing will


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12

suffice to tell you what he or she deals in, their rank in

whatever organization they belong to, and how

prosperous they are (this can also be m easured by their

expanding waistline).

Appropriate abilities for Merchants include Scho lar,

Perception, Land Vehicles, Finance, Investigation,

Leadership, Persuasion, and Serpent-Tongue. Those

with wide-spread ope rations often dabble in Divination,

Politics, and Repute as well.

The Planewalker. Superficially, a young P lanewalkermay not comm and any more active magical power than

a young Magelord or even a Lesser Mage. However

they are far tougher - and have a potential lifespan of

many millennia.

After a few centuries mortals rarely defeat them.

After a millennia or two mortals generally dont even

matter to them any more - presuming that they

have any sanity left at all. Even the most benign

and disciplined mind must eventually give way

beneath the ever-increasing weights of power,

memory, and time. Some of the greatest

heroes, and m ost terrible villians of all time have

been Planewalkers - enough on its own to make

folk fear and dread them. Inexperienced

Planewalkers are probably well-advised to avo id

revealing that status.

The Priest. Servants of some philosophy or

god, priests vary enormous ly - but almost all of

them carry a selection of holy symbols, wear a

distinctive costum e, and tend to try and govern

the behavior of everyone around them.

Regardless of whether theyre a good priest or

a bad one, their religion plays a major role in

their lives. If it doesnt theyre just con m en, not

priests.

A Priests abilities usually includePerception, Mana Tapping (often attuned to a

temple or two), Psyche, Scholar, Finance,

Politician, Persuasion, and Repute. Most have

some skill in magic, but the type depends

heavily on what he or she serves.

Variants include Healers (with Healing or Touch of

LIfe), Mad Scientists (priests of science with

Engineering or Artificer), and eastern-style martial-arts

Monks (with a bit of Unarm ed Combat and possibly

Lifewreaking).

The Scholar. Usually either a som ewhat ineffectual

young man or an elderly one, the scholar tends to be

bookish and skinny, dresses in robes, and often seem s

somewhat ineffectual. Of course, in a world where

magic work s, such an impression may be entirely false.

For some reason the vast majority of Scholars are

male.

The Scholars abilities usually include Perception,

Investigation, Psyche, Resist Magic, Artificer,

Divination, Scholar, Enchantment, and Herb Mastery.

Quite a few dabble in magic, but rarely in any

predictable fashion.

The Thief. A sneaky, cunning, fellow who may know

how to use a knife when he has to, but prefers to get

things done in more subtle ways. The Thief usually

prefers to look like an ordinary person, and so sticks

with light - and so readily concealable - armor,

weapons , and equipment. They often dabble in magic,

but rarely understand what theyre doing very well.

His or her abilities usually include Evasion,

Perception, Stealth, Resist Magic, Investigation,

Saboteur, Larceny, Persuasion, and Serpent-Tongue.

Most also know how to use a weapon or two reasonablywell and many use Sleights.

Variants include Pirates (with some weapons skills

and Water Vehicles), Highwaymen (who often rely as

much on Repute and Persuasion as on their weapons),

Con Men (relying on Persuasion, Serpent-Tongue, and

sometimes Phantasm), and even Minstrels (using Arts

and Persuasion)

and Bards (who

mix the Arts with a

bit of Scholar and

o t h e r h e d g e

magic).

The Warrior.

Your basic human

tank, usually found

w i t h a m o r e

cunning companion

t o p r o v i d e

d i rec t i ons . The

Warrior likes to

wear heavy armor,

carr ies a wide

variety of weapons,

and often leads a

smal l t roop o f

lesser fighters.His or her

abilities commonly

i n c l u d e V i g o r ,

F o r t i f i c a t i o n ,

E v a s i o n ,

Endurance, Magic Resistance, Regeneration, Melee

W eapons, Ranged Weapons, and Leadership. Those

with troops will need a bit of White Magic to fulfill the

card prerequ isites even if they cant use magic directly.

Variants include Paladins and Holy Warriors (who

usually know a bit of actual magic), Knights (who may

buy up their movement or athletics abilities to represent

a mundane mount or actually have the power to control

an extraordinary one), Leaders (who concentrate on

followers, along with the tactical and enhancement

abilities needed to use them to their best advantage),

Mercenaries (who usually have Ambush, Engineering,

a selection of practical skills, and an aversion to actually

fighting if they can avoid it), and Blademasters (those

characters who represent their Fortification ability as

parries and blocks).


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13

Designing Character TypesWhen creating character types, or if you want to

compare an experienced character to a beginner, the

rule-of-thumb is that each Ability point is worth 1 , each

Card is worth 2, and each Distinction is worth 4. Add

these up, divide by 10, and round off the result to obtain

the characters initial level / total Mana cost. Most

starting characters have initial levels of 4 to 6. The

casualty rate among weaker characters tends to befairly high.

While the Game Master may allow exceptions, few

starting characters are superhuman experts. As a rule,

low level characters should start with low abilities,

although they may build them up through experience.

Characters o f level 1 are usually limited to rank 3, those

of levels 2-3 are usually limited to rank 4, those of levels

4-5 are usually limited to rank 5, and those of higher

ranks to a level equal to their rank. Non-magi can

exceed these limitations by one rank ; they simply have

more time available to develop their other abilities.

Character AdvancementCharacters advance by gaining new Abilities, Cards,

and Distinctions. The only real question is how fast

such things are acquired.

The Game Master may opt to let characters

advance at the end of each major episode or story in

a cam paign. In this case characters gain 3 ab ility points,

two card slots, and one Distinction at the end of each

story - probably once every 3-5 sessions. The only

complication is that raising an ability above 5 costs two

points per step. Alternatively, the Game Master may simply base

things on the number of sessions a characters been

played. In this case we recomm end awarding one ab ility

point per session (doub le cost to raise abilities above 5

again), one card slot per two sessions, and one

Distinction per four sessions.

Game Masters who want rapid character

progressions can simply apply both methods.

Characters may opt to reduce the num ber of card

slots theyd normally have available in exchange for

additional ability points or Distinctions; a card slot m ay

be exchanged for 2 ability points or for 1/2 a D istinction.

In either case, advancing a character usually

requires a bit of time. Abilities usually dont require

much beyond an announcement that Im studying or

practicing thus-and-such, although the GM may

choose to make raising them above level 5 require

assistance. Cards m ust be justified; the character may

have to visit the mystical heart of a land to attune him-

or her-self to it, seek ou t the followers he or she w ishes

to recruit, or delve into ancient tomes for som e obscure

spell.

Distinctions must also be justified by some event in

the game, whether thats being hailed as a hero, ge tting

married, bathing in a mystic pool, or studying with a

follower who has the D istinction you want to learn.

Optionally, Game Masters may opt to play a more

active roll in card-based character advancem ent. In this

case, each player who wants new cards should file a

few - two or three will do - with the Game Master, who

will then work chances to acquire those cards into the

story.

Characters m ay also trade out old cards. To do so,

they simply inform the Game M aster of their decision at

the start of a session and remove the card. They may

then attempt to fill the open slot normally during the

next game session.

Opportunity Awards

Gam e Masters may wan t to restrict what characters

buy with their experience at times. After all, if some

poor characters find a horde of treasure it doesnt seem

unreasonable to ask them to each spend a point or two

on Finance. On the other hand, a character who knows

how to handle money probably has some already, while

those who dont will soon be broke again.

Such situations are handled by Opportunity Awards

- event-driven chances for easier self-improvement.

Mechan ically theyre pretty simple: the charac ters get a

chance to buy (and som etimes a chance to try out in

advance) whatever the Gam e Master elects to offer for

half price. Most com monly, that means two ability points

per one; those poor characters m ight gain a temporary

+2 boost to their Finance ab ilities. If they want to make

that permanent, it would only cost them one ability

point. Those who dont learn to Manage their finances

will thus shortly squander their new wealth.

Fiat Rewards

Some forms of character advancement dont affect

the game mechanics very much, although they may

affect play quite a bit. These story-based awards are

known as Fiat Rewards and usually only affect a limited

area. Of course, unless youre a Planewalker, you may

never leave such an area. Some of the major items in

this category include:

! Authority. Youre in charge of som ething, usually

due to having obtained some more-or-less official

position. You may have become the chief constable of

a city, the trusted advisor of a major king, or the k ingpin

of a band of thieves.

! Contacts. Youve met, and are on relatively good

terms with, someone important. This may be a powerful

W izard or even a Planewalker, a major ruler, or simply

someone its useful to know, like a good fence, expert

scholar, or m ilitary leader.

! Fame. Whether its good or bad, the tales of your

exploits are widely spread, minstrels sing about you,

and you get your own footnotes in the scrolls. They may

or may not be saying nice things, but most people seem

to regard it as a reward e ither way.


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14

! Favors. Having somebody owe you something is

always useful. On occasion, having someone important

or influential owe you something can be abs olutely vital.

Favors from major supernatural beings are to be

treasured, even by powerful magi.

! Lifestyle. W hether youve acquired an es tate, are

a favored guest of the wealthy, or have a stipend, you

can have a good time without having to pay for it in atleast one area. While this doesnt include spare cash,

at least the food, drink, and service are all excellent.

! Marriage. Like it or not, the opportunity to make an

advantageous m arriage has always been regarded as

a notable prize. Player characters, however, may well

regard this sort of reward as something exceedingly

awkward to deal with. Still, if Urza can do it...

! Recognition. This may mean medals, awards, or

titles, an honorary triumph, or some esoteric ceremony,

but it always means public acknowledgment, at least a

brief period of being a celebrity, and a certain amount of

social credit to draw on.

Replacing Characters

Unfortunately, characters sometimes die - and while

there are cards which can resurrect the dead, they

arent always available. Players may no rmally bring in a

replacement character with a level two below the

average level of the rest of the group.

So why cant your friend, a Magelord who controls

eight lands, just let every lesser mage in the group

attune to them and pick up a free eight-card

advantage? Why cant he just teach them that bit of

sorcery, hire a few followers, or spend some money

buying some new equipment?

Its because attuning yourself to lands, learning

spells, and increasing your sorcerous limits requires

immense amounts of time and effort. Getting new

equipment involves learning to use it, new abilitiesinvolve training and practice, and loyal followers take

time and effort to recruit. Your friend the Magelord can

certainly open his lands to you - but if you want to

attune one youll still need an open card slot and a high

enough level in Mana Tapping to accomm odate another

land.

For conveniences sake, if youre attuning to a land

that someone e lse holds, simply use a s lip of paper with

their name and the type of land on it as a token.

The Duel ArcaneUnlike Lesser Magi, Magelords can link to the land

they control so tightly that complex magical energy

structures can pass over the link. While this grants

them access to the Landrule and lets them cast spells

which take effect at the mystical center of one of their

lands, it also allows them to be arcanely attacked by

anyone at the mystical center of one of their lands (i.e.

they can be targeted by Instants, Sorceries, and lesser

magics despite being a very long ways away). Such a

battle will continue until the landowner renounces the


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15

link (and the control of the land), is slain (and the land,

presumably, claimed by the new owner), or the

interloper is either slain or driven off. In either case, any

creatures which were summoned to either location must

still be dealt with or escaped. In any case, the land

cannot be tapped for Mana wh ile its being fought over.

To avoid hit-and-run or gang attacks, most

Magelords try to conceal which lands they own, seek

out lands in remote/dangerous/obscure locations to

claim, leave guards at each nexus, or arrange for the

locals to protect them. Such tasks are a ready source ofemployment - and Mana - for Lesser Magi.

Such arcane battles tend to erupt out of nowhere at

awkward times, specifically centered on two opposing,

if widely-separated, spellcasters. Given the unpopularity

of sudden outbreaks of monsters and destructive

magic, incautious Magelords make unwelcome guests.

Planewalkers are subject to the Duel Arcane, but if

the challenger is also a Planewalker the initial

challenge-contact automatically invokes a full

Planewalkers Duel.

The Planewalkers DuelPlanewalkers Duels are among the most

devastating of mortal conflicts, capable of matching or

exceed ing anything short of interplanetary war. On the

other hand, many worlds have endured hundreds of

such battles - and survived.

W hat makes such survival this possible is the nature

o f t h e P l a n e w a l k e r s t h e m s e l v e s . T h e i r

transdimensional, polymorphic, natures protect them

and allow them to tap into vast energies - but also mean

that when two of them choose to confront each other,

the true battleground lies between the dimensions.

Depending on how they choose to perce ive it, they maybe virtually face-to-face, or they may be separated by

vast distances, moving troops like chess pieces, but

such appearances change nothing. Entering such a

compromise-plane will momentarily cut each

Planewalker off from their usual resources - forcing

them to reach out and draw to themselves whatever

resources they find ready for use and are mos t attuned

to in the great library of the mu ltiverse.

Victory in such a confrontation depends somewhat

on luck, but mostly on who makes the best use of the

resources that come to hand. W hether for well or ill, the

loser is rarely truly slain; most often they escape

unharmed, although they occasionally forfeit a sliver of

their essence to the victor.

Regardless of who achieves the victory, no matter

what forces and spells are unleashed, their effects are

inherently limited to the battle-realm and those

creatures, items, and areas which have been drawn

partially into it. Thus even a Global Rain of Fire or a

spell of Armageddon will only affect a few isolated

locations, items , and creatures . Only ancient and vastly

powerful Planewalkers of nearly equal power can keep

a battle going long enough to draw in any significant

portion of a world.

Let us hope that no such conflict occurs until long,

long, after we are dead and ou r civilizations have fallen

into dust.

The Planewa lker Distinction has four bas ic effects:

1) A Planewalkers body is purely an expression of

his or her w ill. Planewalkers need not eat, drink, sleep

(although those who dont tend to go mad rapidly), or

breathe, do not age, and take only 1 point of damage

per die which would normally apply. Sadly, they dontheal easily either; magical cures a re discounted at the

same rate.

2) W hen thrown back on their own resources they

are reduced, at least at first, to a mere 20 life. If they

draw on the correct forces in a battle-realm, however,

they may expand this almost without limit.

3) W hen entangled in a battle-realm their multiplanar

existence allows them to transcend all normal limits on

the number of magical resources (cards) they may

control - but they do have an upper limit; when they

reach it their multi-planar structure will shatter under the

strain

4) Planewalkers who attempt to directly confront

each other a re automatically drawn into a battle-realm

as described above for a standard game of M TG:CCG.

If more than two are involved, simply use the

multiplayer rules.

Taking the Planewalker Distinction requires prior

approval from the Game Master. Planewalker-only

Distinctions exist. These include the ability to change

appearance at will (Metamorph), the ability to simplywalk between dimensions instead of having to cast

spells (Passage), and the ability to extend some of their

personal defenses to their creatures in a battle-realm

(Vanguard).

In other words, the basic MTG:CCG rules call for

starting by building a deck (deciding what youre

attuned to), starting with 20 life, drawing your initial

hand (the first resources you can grab), and then

continuing to draw whenever you can until you lose and

escape (p layers rarely quit playing magic entirely over

a loss), possibly lose an ante card (this is rare, but a

few games are still played with the ante rule), or quit playing entirely. If you run out of cards you lose. Of

course, now you know how the basic magic rules

interact with the world theyre set in - and what kinds of

effects they can have on the characters who arent

directly involved. Knowledge may not necessarily be

power, but it is a chance to duck.


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16

Using AbilitiesClassical d20 uses a d20 for most rolls. We

recommend using the optional 3d6 rule instead; the

resulting bell curve matches reality a great deal be tter

than the linear distribution of a single d ie. It also means

that you dont need any fancy d ice to play: a selection

of standard six-sided dice suffices.

Abilities can be used both Passively and Actively. Allof them can be used passively, without rolling.

Unfortunately, passive effects are quite limited, and

many abilities dont offer any at all. By default, all

abilities have a base level of (2 + any points spent on

the ability) up to a max imum total of 10.

Active effects require a roll, and succeed if the (Roll

+ Ability Level) equals or exceeds the Difficulty Class

set by the GM or by an opponents abilities. Sample

effects are listed for each ability, divided into:

Automatic. No roll is required to obtain this effect

unless the character is currently has an e ffective ability

rank below 2. If a character is so handicapped by

magic, injury, circumstances, or racial modifier these

effects have a DC of 10 for both the D6 and D20

variants.

Simple. These effects are pretty easy to obtain. They

have a d6 DC of 12 and a d20 DC of 12

Difficult. Highly skilled charac ters can usua lly pull off

a difficult task, although it may take multiple tries.

These effects have a d6 DC of 16 and a d20 DC of 20.

Heroic. These effects are reasonably common

among great masters, but are pretty rare otherwise. In

fiction they usually turn up at climactic mom ents, when

some great effort is m ade, or when someone gets very

lucky indeed. They have a d6 DC of 20 and a d20 DC

of 24.Legendary. These effects are d ifficult even for great

mas ters to obtain. They have a d6 DC of 24 and a d20

DC of 28.

Opposedchecks are simply resolve with opposed

rolls; if your Perception check beats your opponents

Stealth check you spot him or her. If not, you dont. In

this case no adjus tment for die type is required.

Attacks are fairly straightforward: Roll using the

relevant attack ability (Heavy, Melee, or Ranged

W eapons or Unarmed C ombat) versus the opponents

(Evasion + Fortification + 2). Characters with MeleeW eapons 5+ or Unarmed Combat 7+ gain an additional

+1 bonus on this Defense score.

In any case, the Gam e Master may assign bonuses

or penalties up to plus o r minus 4, or call for additional

checks. Two characters fighting on a narrow ledge

probably need Athletics checks to balance there.

Someone trying to do needlepoint in a howling gale will

suffer a -4 pena lty. Someone partially hidden behind a

tree gains a bonus to his or her Defense - but finds it

harder to attack with a sword.

Optionally, characters can declare that theyre using

an Totally Offensive, Offensive, Normal, Defensive, or

Totally Defensive stance. A Total Offensive stance

allows the user to attack twice, but he or she is

automatically hit by anyone who attacks him or her. An

Offensive stance provides a +2 bonus to attack at the

price of a -3 penalty on Defense. A Norma l stance has

no modifiers. A Defensive stance grants a +2 bonus to

Defense a t the cost of a -3 penalty to attacks. Finally, a

Totally Defensive stance provides a +5 bonus to

Defense, but does not allow the user to attack at all.

Damage is somewhat more comp licated. Characters

in general have a base power of 1 - converting to 1d6

damage - modified by any relevant Distinctions. They

can also gain a bonus for high ability scores:

Elementalism 6+ adds +1 power to attacks using

Melee Weapons, Ranged Weapons, or Unarmed

Combat. Note that anyone with Elementalism 3+ may

simply manifest appropriate weapons to use with their

combat abilities.

Characters with Ambush who attack unprepared

targets gain a bonus of (Ambush Rating/2, rounded up)

to their attack attempt and a damage bonus of (Ambush

Rating/2, rounded down) to the damage they inflict.

Sadly, Ambush is usually only usable on the first attack.

Characters with Melee Weapons 4+, Unarmed

Combat 5+, or Ranged W eapons 6+ gain a +1 bonus to

their power when attacking with those abilities.

Critical Hits and Fumbles

If you want to complicate things, include Fumbles

and Critical Hits. These work best with the 3d6 system,

since they can reso lved with the initial roll.

3d6 Critical Hits and Fum blesRoll of 3 You some how Manag e to inflict 1d6

points of damage on yourself,

bypassing all defenses save for a

Planewalkers natural durability.

Roll o f 4 You smack a randomly chosen friend,

ally, or one of your creatures for

normal damage.

Roll of 17 You hit and do an extra 2d6 damage.

Roll of 18 You hit and do an extra 4d6 damage.

D20 Critical Hits and Fumbles

Roll o f 1 Roll the attack aga in . On a miss, youcause 1d6 damage to yourself,

bypassing all of your defenses save a

Planewalkers natural du rability. On a

hit you hit a friend, ally, or one of your

creatures for norm al damage.

Roll of 20 Roll the attack again. On a miss you

hit and cause an extra 2d6 damage.

On a hit you hit and inflict an extra 4d6

damage.


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Exclusive Abilities

Exclusive Abilities (those with a grey background)

cannot be rolled unless you buy them, although any

automatic functions still apply. This group includes :

Aberration governs the ability to handle inherently

magical monsters, such as dragons, undead, shadow

creatures, and similar entities. It controls both the

maximum level and number of such creatures the usercan control at a time.

Automatic : Have an Aberration follower or control

a personally-conjured Aberration with a total Mana cos t

equal to the ability level or less (no more than one

creature per rank in this ability), provide basic ca re for

a fam iliar Aberration.

Simple: Identify the general characteristics of an

unfamiliar Aberration, recognize common types of

Aberrations.

Difficult: Develop a new Aberration-conjuring spell

given several months to work in, train unintelligent

Aberrations, understand what an Aberration is trying to

communicate without a common language, identify the

nature of a familiar Aberrations exotic afflictions

(devising an effective treatment will also require the

Healing ability).

Heroic: Control a conjured Aberation with a total

Mana cost of up to 5 over the ability level for 1d6+1

rounds, spot the unique special weakness of an

Aberration, predict the likely behavior patterns of an

Aberration, get a message across to an Aberration

without a common language.

Legendary: Determine the life cycle, and obscure

facts about, an unfamiliar Aberration with a mere

glance, develop a new Aberration-conjuring spell in a

few days, identify the nature of an unfamiliar

Aberrations exotic afflictions (devising an effectivetreatment requires the Healing ability).

Ambush governs setting up blinds and hidden

positions, sneak attacks, arranging a tactical

advantage, and inflicting extra damage on unaware

opponents.

Automatic : Gain bonuses to dam age and attacks

against unaware opponents (see Combat, page 16),

Simple: Conceal yourself in the woods in a good

spot to snipe from, pick the best available defensive

position available, create simple snares and traps.

Difficult: Conceal a group in a good position for a

surprise attack in a reasonable location or concealyourself in such a position under difficult conditions,

mak e an attack on someone look like an accident, build

dangerous deadfalls and pits.

Heroic: Organize an attack to give everyone on your

side a +1d6 bonus to damage during the first Turn,

conceal an attack on someone so that even the victim

must make a Perception check to determine the

source, build complex mechanical traps.

Legendary: Conceal a sm all horde in a flat desert,

plan a surprise attack to give everyone on your side a

+2d6 damage bonus during the first Turn, create a

maze full of lethal traps.

Artificergoverns the creation of magical devices

and the maximum number and level of Artifacts which

the character may possess . Note that the Game Master

can, and should, restrict silly combinations: most

creatures cant use more than one suit of armor and

one or two weapons at a time. Note that creating a new

Artifact allows it to be brought into the game without the

usual requirement of discovering it somewhere.

Automatic : Have a perm anent Artifact or an Artifact

Creature follower with a total Mana cost equal to the

ability level or less o r control a s imilar conjured artifact

(no more than one in total per rank in this ability),

provide basic care for a familiar Artifact.

Simple: Identify the general characteristics of anunfamiliar Artifact, recognize common Artifacts in use

by an opponent, create very simple (Level 1-2) Artifacts

given several months of work,

create magical charms and toys

given an hour or two, operate an

unfamiliar artifact.

Difficult: Develop a new Artifact

conjuring spell given several months

to work in, deduce the workings of

exotic Artifacts, make repairs on

low-level (1-3) Artifacts (for technical

artifacts this may also require an

Engineering check).Heroic: Spot the unique special

weakness of an Artifact or identify

any hidden functions, predict the

likely properties of a severely-

damaged or partial Artifact, make

repairs on damaged mid-level (4-5)

magic the gathering the rpg

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