“Where will reaches law, thought reaches further. Magic bends the world; the mind bends the self.”

Two powers share one casting grammar in Guardians. Magic walks Paths, spends Mana, and bends the world. Psychic power is life-tethered, spends its own pool, and bends the self. This lesson is the Magic road — your first spell, cast honestly, with everything that can go wonderfully wrong.

You already know more than you think: casting costs AP like any action (5 + cast time), rolls per-action initiative like any action, and rides the same d20 grammar as every roll in the Dice lesson. Magic adds three new dials — Mana, degrees of success, and the spell power roll. One step each.

Why this matters: Because casting is just an action with extra dials, a caster never leaves the round you learned in Lesson One — same clock, same initiative, same table rhythm. Magic is deep, not separate.

🕷 Tela whispers: The first spell is the loudest silence you will ever hear. Everyone at the table leans in. Even me, and I have watched ten thousand.

📖 Core Rule Book — Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24 (Shared Casting Framework).

Your power is a single pool, spent on any magic effect you know:

Total Mana = ⌊(Int + Wis + Chr)/2⌋ + Highest Attribute + Σ Mastery Ranks in your Magic Paths

Every spell entry lists a Minimum Mana and an Invest scaling — pay more, get more, exactly as the entry says (+1 die, +1 target, +1 meter, +1 round…).

The well refills on its own clock:

• 5 Mana / hour — normal activity
• 10 Mana / hour — during rest
• Full — on 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep

Short at the worst moment? Overchannel: finish the spell by paying 2 HP per missing Mana (or take Strain, at the Game Guardian's option) — then answer for it with a backlash check (d20 + Magic Skill + Int vs 15). The well always lets you dig deeper. It just charges.

Our Battle-Scholar from the Forge — Int 7, Wis 6, Chr 5, Mastery 1 — carries ⌊18/2⌋ + 7 + 1 = 17 Mana. Enough for a very interesting evening.

Why this matters: One pool, any known effect — no per-spell slots to bookkeep. The interesting decision is never CAN I cast, it's how much of the well this moment deserves.

🕷 Tela whispers: Watch a veteran caster before a hard door. They aren't counting whether they can afford the spell. They're counting what they can't afford afterward.

📖 Core Rule Book — Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24 (§2.1–2.3: Total Mana; Mana Use & Regeneration; Overchanneling).

Casting rides the same grammar as everything else:

d20 + Focus Stat + Path/Skill + specialties + mods  vs  a DC (objects/terrain) or the target's Resistance

Magic's Focus Stat is typically Int (some Paths use Wis). A creature's Magic Resistance value = 10 + Mind Save + MR Skill + Natural MR.

And here magic sharpens the grammar — the margin matters:

Result	Effect
Fail by 5+	Backlash — roll on the table (next steps)
Success	Effect as written
Beat by 5+	Heighten — +25% magnitude, duration, or area (or the power's own rider)

Try it — Kinetic Bind (d20 + Int 7 + Path Skill 3 = +10) against a warded raider: MR value = 10 + Mind Save 4 + MR Skill 2 + Natural MR 1 = 17. With this spread all four fates are live: a 1–2 backlashes, 3–7 misses, 8–11 binds, 12+ heightens. Roll until you've met them all:

🎲 At the table: roll d20 + 10 against the warded raider's MR 17. Beat it and it's a hit.

Why this matters: Degrees turn every cast into three outcomes instead of two — and because Heighten is written per-spell, big margins FEEL like the spell surging, not like a generic crit. The fiction and the math agree.

🕷 Tela whispers: A miss by four is a shrug. A miss by five is a story. Casters learn the difference in their teeth.

📖 Core Rule Book — Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24 (Casting Roll; Resistances; Degrees of success); Kinetic Bind entry, p. 25.

You met the AP Roll in the Round — the combat table swings ±3/±1. Casters have their own table, same concept, harder swing:

Same laws as ever: declared before your first action, at most once per round, and it never touches movement-by-meter or per-AP investments like Defense stance. The Game Guardian can still call a Tempo Shift that makes everyone roll.

Feel the caster's gamble:

🎲 At the table: Roll the Casting AP Roll and read the bands:

1	+4 AP — The aether drags like deep water — every action costs 4 more this round. A Standard spell just became a Ritual's price.
2–4	+2 AP — Resistance in the weave — actions cost 2 more this round.
5–15	As listed — The round runs true. Costs exactly as written.
16–19	−2 AP — The currents align — every action costs 2 less this round. A Quick spell for 4 AP? Yes please.
20	−4 AP — The aether sings. Every action costs 4 less this round (minimum 1). Snap spells are nearly free — spend the round like a legend.

Why this matters: Two tables, one design truth: the caster's day swings harder in both directions. The martial AP Roll is a nudge; the casting AP Roll is a wager — exactly the flavor difference between sword and spell.

🕷 Tela whispers: Textus rolls it every round, remember? Now you know why he laughs the way he does on a 20.

📖 Core Rule Book — Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24 (AP Roll for casting; Tempo Shift; movement & stance exempt).

The cast succeeded. Now the aether decides how much of your invested Mana becomes real:

Two refinements from the book: a special skill — Adjusting the Range — can pull the upper success band down from 16 as far as 11 (and the lower band from 4 down to 2), making surges more common. But a roll of 1 is always a failure of fortune, whatever your training.

And the floor matters: if the adjusted power drops below the spell's minimum requirement, the spell is botched — effects range from harmless-and-funny to genuinely bad (Magic → Botched Spells).

Roll the surge on 4 invested Mana:

🎲 At the table: Roll spell power and read the bands:

1	−50% power — On 4 invested: 2 Mana of effect arrives. If that's below the spell's minimum — botched. The table holds its breath.
2–4	−25% power — On 4 invested: 3 Mana of effect. The weave frays but holds.
5–15	As invested — 4 in, 4 out. The aether keeps the contract.
16–19	+25% power — On 4 invested: 5 Mana of effect. The weave over-delivers — no extra cost.
20	+50% power — On 4 invested: 6 Mana of effect. The aether tips you. Spend the story well.

Why this matters: The casting roll asks DID it work; the power roll asks HOW HARD. Separating them means even routine spells keep a heartbeat — and investing extra Mana is also insurance against the −25% day.

🕷 Tela whispers: Caiden once botched a light spell so thoroughly it followed him around for a week, glowing apologetically. The rules call it “harmless or funny.” It was both.

📖 Core Rule Book — Rolls, p. 14 (Magic Rolls — Spell Power; Adjusting the Range; Spell Failure/Botch).

Straight from the book — the classic first spell:

Ember Dart (Rank 1, Snap) — AP 5 (5 + cast time 0), Min 1 Mana, Range 20 m, target rolls Reflex 10 for half. Hit: 1d6 + Int fire; objects may ignite. Invest: +1 Mana → +1d6, or 1 m splash (half damage around).

You are the Battle-Scholar: Int 7, 17 Mana, AP 20. A raider ducks behind a powder cart at 15 meters. It's a Snap — 5 AP, initiative d20 + 5 − 7 = d20 − 2, faster than any sword in the yard. The only question is the well:

How much of the well does this moment deserve?

▸ Minimum — 1 Mana

The economical answer: 1d6 + 7 fire, and the well barely notices (16 Mana left). At 5 AP you could send four of these in one round and still move. Roll the surge on your 1 invested Mana — and note the risk: on a natural 1 (−50%), half a Mana rounds below Ember Dart's minimum. That's a botch. Cheap spells feel the floor.

🎲 At the table: Roll spell power (1 invested) and read the bands:

1	Botched! — −50% of 1 Mana falls below the spell's minimum. The dart fizzles into embarrassed sparks — roll on the botch table, and yes, the raider saw.
2–4	−25% — it holds — Frayed but above minimum: the dart flies at reduced power. 1d6+7 fire, Reflex 10 for half.
5–15	As invested — 1d6+7 fire streaks across 15 meters. The powder cart is suddenly very relevant terrain.
16–19	+25% — The weave over-delivers on your single coin. The dart burns white at the edges — 1d6+7, and the Game Guardian eyes that powder cart.
20	+50% — Maximum return on minimum faith. The dart hits like you'd paid double — the aether liked your nerve.

▸ Invest — 2 Mana, +1d6

The soldier's answer: 2d6 + 7 fire for 2 Mana (15 left). Comfortably above minimum, so only a truly cruel surge can botch you, and the −25% band just shaves the edge. This is why veterans over-invest by one: the extra die is damage on a good day and insurance on a bad one.

🎲 At the table: Roll spell power (2 invested) and read the bands:

1	−50% — 1 Mana of effect arrives — right at the spell's minimum. A thin, angry dart. It still burns.
2–4	−25% — The weave frays: closer to 1½ Mana of effect. The Game Guardian rules the second die shrinks — still 1d6+7 at least.
5–15	As invested — 2d6+7 fire, clean. The raider's Reflex 10 for half suddenly matters a great deal.
16–19	+25% — The surge rounds your 2 up toward 3 — the Game Guardian grants the splash or a fatter die. Fire disagrees with powder carts.
20	+50% — 3 Mana of effect off a 2-Mana stake. The dart arrives as a comet. The cart, the raider, and the story all catch.

▸ Commit — 3 Mana, +2d6 or splash

The closer's answer: 3d6 + 7 fire — or 2d6+7 with a 1 m splash to catch the raider AND the cart (14 Mana left). At Int 7 you'll clear most casting DCs; the real gamble is the surge. Note the beautiful asymmetry: on 3 invested even a −50% day leaves you above minimum. Committed casts can't botch — they can only disappoint.

🎲 At the table: Roll spell power (3 invested) and read the bands:

1	−50% — 1½ → the Game Guardian rounds to ~2 Mana of effect. Diminished, not dead — above minimum, no botch. Commitment bought you the floor.
2–4	−25% — About 2 Mana of effect arrives. Two dice of fire is still a bad afternoon for the raider.
5–15	As invested — The full 3d6+7 — or the splash. Fifteen meters away, everything flammable files a complaint.
16–19	+25% — Nearly 4 Mana of effect. Take the splash AND the fat dice; the Game Guardian will be narrating smoke for a while.
20	+50% — 4–5 Mana of effect off your 3. The dart is a verdict. Somewhere, Textus laughs.

Why this matters: Investment is the caster's entire craft in miniature: minimum casts are fast and fragile, committed casts are costly and botch-proof. The well teaches risk management better than any sermon.

🕷 Tela whispers: Your first Ember Dart. I remember everyone's. The look on your face just now — that's the one I collect.

📖 Core Rule Book — Ember Dart entry, p. 24–25 (§2.6 Sample Magic Effects); spell power bands p. 14; Snap cast AP, p. 24.

Round → AP → Dice → Forge → Spell. The track is walked:

• Mana: one pool — ⌊(Int+Wis+Chr)/2⌋ + highest + Mastery; regen 5/hr, 10/hr resting, full on 6h sleep.
• Casting: d20 + Focus Stat + Path/Skill vs DC or Resistance; fail by 5+ → Backlash, beat by 5+ → Heighten.
• Casters' AP Roll: 1: +4 · 2–4: +2 · 5–15 · 16–19: −2 · 20: −4 — harder swing than steel, same laws.
• Spell power: 1: −50% · 2–4: −25% · 5–15 as invested · 16–19: +25% · 20: +50%; below minimum = botch.
• Invest wisely: extra Mana is damage on a good day and insurance on a bad one.

Deep water is one door away: the full Magic Rules, the Magic Cheat Sheet (PDF) for the table, and every spell in the compendium.

The Training Grounds are behind you, Guardian. The track stays open — bring the next recruit.

🕷 Tela whispers: Learn the round, they told you. Earn the robes. Well. Look at you. ...The eyes stay on you either way, Guardian. That's the job. Mine, I mean. And now yours.

📖 Core Rule Book — Magic & Psychic v1.2, p. 24–25; Rolls p. 14.