Magic System Design Checklist
R Dan Henry
checklist. If you have comments or suggestions, let's see them. I will
revise and post a "final" version which I hope will find its way onto
the roguelike development sites and, more importantly, will stimulate
magical diversity.
Note that this is about *systems*, I will not be addressing design of
individual spells or their effects. You'll have to use other resources
if you can't think of a fire ball on your own. ;-)
The "other" category is for odd-ball features like Zodiac Signs,
Fates, Talents, Culture, etc.
"Character condition" means things like being stunned, blinded, drunk,
cursed, blessed, berserk, etc.
SPELL CATEGORIZATION:
[] Spells are not grouped. Spells are spells.
[] Spells are grouped into "schools" (or "realms" or "fields", etc.)
[] Each spells belongs to a single school.
[] Spells may belong to multiple schools.
IF SPELL-CASTING IS SKILL-BASED:
[] There is a universal spell-casting skill
[] There is one skill per spell school (e.g. Crawl)
[] There is one skill per spell (e.g. ADOM)
SPELL AVAILABILITY
[] The spell list is the same every game
[] A random set of schools are available each game
[] A random set of spells is available each game
[] Each game creates a random set of spells from their
component parts (range, effect, area of effect, etc.)
each game
LEARNING SPELLS:
[] Spells are not learned, you provide energy and/or skill, but spell
selection is decided by your equipment (e.g., Wand of Fire Balls
allows you to cast a Fire Ball). Your abilities are based on
your:
[] class
[] level
[] skill(s)
[] stat(s)
[] race
[] other:____________________________
[] You start knowing one or more spells based on:
[] class
[] skills
[] stat(s)
[] race
[] other:_____________________________
[] Spells are learned by reading a book dedicated to learning that
spell (e.g., Nethack, ADOM)
[] Spells are learned by reading a book dedicated to learning a bunch
of spells (e.g., Angband, Crawl)
[] Spells books, but they're called something else (glyphs, gems of
secrets, potion of magical lore, etc.)
[] alternative name for spell books: _________________________
[] Spells are learned from scrolls
[] forfeiting casting the spell by reading the scroll
[] by casting the spell from the scroll
[] as a separate action that does not use up the scroll
[] Spells are learned by eating corpses
[] spell learned is randomized with each corpses
[] but corpses of more powerful monsters grant mightier
spells
[] corpses grant specific spells (e.g. swamp gnome grants poison
bolt)
[] which they use
[] which is thematic
[] which is randomized each game
[] corpses grant specific spell categories (e.g. swamp gnome
grants some poison spell)
[] which they use
[] which is thematic
[] which is randomized each game
[] Spells are learned by paying a guild or other teacher
[] Spells are learned by Wishing
[] Spells are learned granted by special locations
[] large locations (secret temples, sacred groves, enchanted
halls)
[] single squares ("traps" of grant spell, altars, wells)
[] Spells are learned by gaining levels (e.g. ADOM elementalist) or
advancing a spell skill
[] Spells are gifts from the gods
[] Spells are quest rewards
[] Spells are learned by being the target of that very spell
[] and making a stat/skill check
[] enough times
[] Spells are learned by using wands, rods, staves, potions, scrolls,
etc. of that spell
[] and making a stat/skill check
[] enough times
[] Spells are learned through success or failure of known spells
[] of the same school
[] What is learned is not spells, but spell components (aka "runes")
so that one would learn Fire and Ball separately and combine the
components to cast a Fire Ball.
LIMITS OF LEARNING
[] You can only know X number of spells
[] You can only know X number of spells from a certain school
[] You can only know X number of spells per level
[] You can only know X number of spells per Y points of skill
[] You can only know X number of spells per stat(s) table
[] You can only know X number of spells of a given spell level
[] You can only know X number of spell levels
[] You can only know X number of spell levels from a certain school
[] You can only know X number of spell levels per level
[] You can only know X number of spell levels per Y points of skill
[] You can only know X number of spell levels per stat(s) table
[] You can only learn spells from a limited number of schools
[] Number is same for everyone
[] Number is based on class
[] Number is based on race
[] Number is based on stat(s)
[] Number is based on religion
[] You can only learn spells from certain schools determined by:
[] class
[] race
[] religion
[] level or skill
[] mutually exclusive nature of schools (Fire *or* Ice, Life *or*
Death)
[] other ___________________________________
[] In order to learn a spell, you must already know (an)other spell(s)
[] minimum number of "points" (spells or spell levels) in a
school
[] must know specific spell(s) [e.g. must learn Make Fire before
learning Giant Fireball]
Spells are forgotten:
[] never
[] on certain spell casting failures
[] because of monster actions:
[] monster spell
[] monster special attack
[] use of item by monster
[] as divine punishment
[] through item effects
[] eating corpses
[] after a set number of uses
[] with time
[] during which the spell goes unused
[] due to traps or special locations
[] injury
[] blow to the head
[] reduction of spell stat(s)
[] other ___________________
POWERING THE SPELL
Energy for spells:
[] is not needed (other factors are sufficient to balance)
[] comes from specific magic points/mana/spell points/power
points
[] based on stat(s)
[] based on skill(s)
[] based on class/level
[] based on items
[] based on location (drawing on ambient power)
[] each school has its own pool of magic points
[] each spell level has its own pool of magic points
[] other:____________________________
[] comes from another source
[] exhaustion/fatigue points
[] hit points
[] stat(s)
[] drain is temporary
[] drain is *usually* temporary
[] drain must be restored
[] material components
[] components the same for all spells
[] components vary per spell level
[] components vary per individual spell
[] components vary per school
[] components are single use
[] components last multiple uses
Spell Points regenerate
[] over time
[] upon resting
[] upon leveling/increasing in skill
[] by absorbing from some source
[] items
[] location (e.g. at one's god's altar)
[] creatures
[] corpses
[] other's spells (suck up their mana)
Energy is drained
[] always
[] only if spell is successfully cast
Energy cost is
[] constant between castings
[] varies randomly between castings
Energy cost varies by
[] caster skill(s)
[] caster class/level
[] spell level
[] items worn
[] location
[] time
[] spell "power", range, area effected, or duration
[] other:____________________________
CASTING SPELLS (SUCCESS/FAILURE)
[] Spells never fail.
Failure rate
[] Cannot be reduced to zero
[] Can be reduced to zero
Failure rate depends on
[] character level
[] character class
[] character skill
[] spell level
[] player stat(s)
[] spell school
[] player condition
[] location
[] items
[] magical effects
[] mundane limits (too much armor/metal, wearing gloves)
[] individual spell
[] character race
[] time (cold spells prefer winter, necromancy prefers night)
[] other:____________________________
[] Success/Failure is binary (spell goes off or it doesn't, end of
story)
[] Success has multiple possible values
[] Critical Successes
[] Enhanced Power (range, damage, duration, etc.)
[] Reduced Costs (materials not consumed, reduced fatigue,
etc.)
[] Side Effects (e.g. not only heals you, but cleans your
clothes)
[] "Low" Successes
[] Reduced Power
[] Increased Costs
[] Side Effects
[] "High" Failure (spell "fails" but goes off)
[] Reduced Power
[] Increased Costs
[] Side Effects
[] Fumble (no spell PLUS)
[] Backlash (offensive spell targets caster)
[] Side Effects
Note: The difference between "Low" Success and "High" Failure is a
thin line, although greatly different effects will distinguish them if
both are used. Using only one, with the same success rates, "High"
Failures are more forgiving as they provide extra successes with a
cost.
[] Degree of Success/Failure depends on:
[] character level
[] character class
[] character skill
[] spell level
[] player stat(s)
[] spell school
[] player condition
[] location
[] items
[] magical effects
[] mundane limits (too much armor/metal, wearing gloves)
[] individual spell
[] character race
[] time (cold spells prefer winter, necromancy prefers night)
[] other:____________________________
[] Side Effects vary by
[] individual spell
[] spell school
[] character class
[] spell level
[] time
[] character condition
[] whether it is for "critical", "success", "failure" or "fumble"
[] other:____________________________
CASTING SPELLS (MECHANICS)
[] Casting time is the same for all spells
[] Casting time varies by
[] player class
[] player level
[] player skill(s)
[] player stat(s)
[] spell level
[] individual spell
[] spell school
[] items
[] magical effects
[] mundane effects
[] auxiliary spells (e.g. Speed Casting active)
[] location
[] character condition
[] other:____________________________
[] player choice to cast faster/slower
[] balanced by adjusting energy costs
[] balanced by adjusting failure rate
[] balanced by (risk of) side effects
[] balanced by adjusting spell power
[] Casting time is zero, but requires action to activate (e.g. you
cast Mighty Blow, which expends no time, but for spell to take
effect, you must next make a melee attack)
Spells are cast:
[] by explicit command (e.g., the "m" or "Z" key)
[] on automatic trigger (e.g., Remove Stun is autocast when you
are stunned)
[] which player may toggle/reassign
[] in a reactive manner (e.g., "the dragon breathes -more-" "cast
Quench Flames? [y/n]")
RANGED SPELLS
Ranged spells have
[] perfect autotargeting (never "miss")
[] only if non-offensive in nature
[] a chance to hit based on:
[] player class
[] player level
[] spell level
[] school
[] skill(s)
[] stat(s)
[] character condition
[] monster defenses (evasion)
[] range
[] individual spell
[] items
[] magical effects
[] mundane effects (items in hands, armor)
[] environmental conditions (e.g. wind)
[] other:____________________________
RESISTING SPELLS
Elemental spells are:
[] physical in effect, normal physical defense rules apply
[] magical in nature, normal spell defense rules apply
[] both physical and magical
[] either physical or magical defense is effective
[] effective defense requires both physical and magical
defense
[] physical defenses defend against half the damage,
magical defenses defend against the rest
Resisting spells is:
[] all or nothing (resist or don't)
[] determines degree of effect
Resistance depends on:
[] caster class/level
[] caster skill(s)
[] caster race
[] caster condition
[] caster religion
[] caster items
[] magical effects
[] mundane effects
[] target class/level
[] target skill(s)
[] target race
[] target condition
[] target religion
[] target items
[] magical effects
[] mundane effects
[] spell level
[] spell "power" (e.g., adjustment by spending more energy,
critical success effect)
[] spell school
[] individual spell
[] range
[] environmental conditions
[] other:____________________________
SPELL EFFECTS
Duration of spell may be influenced by:
[] caster class/level
[] caster skill(s)
[] caster race
[] caster's condition
[] items
[] spell level
[] spell school
[] individual spell
[] caster religion
[] environmental conditions
[] random variation
[] other:____________________________
Range of spell may be influenced by:
[] caster class/level
[] caster skill(s)
[] caster race
[] caster's condition
[] items
[] spell level
[] spell school
[] individual spell
[] caster religion
[] environmental conditions
[] random variation
[] other:____________________________
Area of Effect of spell may be influenced by:
[] caster class/level
[] caster skill(s)
[] caster race
[] caster's condition
[] items
[] spell level
[] spell school
[] individual spell
[] caster religion
[] environmental conditions
[] random variation
[] other:____________________________
"Power" (amount healed, amount damage done, difficulty of resisting,
etc.) of spell may be influenced by:
[] caster class/level
[] caster skill(s)
[] caster race
[] caster's condition
[] items
[] caster religion
[] environmental conditions
[] random variation
[] other:____________________________
Note: Power covers enough different things that it *must* have be
defined on an individual spell basis.
MONSTER/NPC MAGIC
[] Monster magic works just like player magic
[] Monster magic is simplified or otherwise different (just go through
the list again)
[] Each monster of type X knows the same spells and its the same every
game
[] Each monster of type X knows a set of spells randomized each game
[] Each monster of type X knows a set of spells randomized for each
individual monster
[] Monsters use the same spells as the player
[] Monsters have their own spells
--
R. Dan Henry
rdan...@earthlink.net
They can have my ASCII graphics when they pry them
from my cold dead (c) and (d) slots.
copx
"R Dan Henry" <rdan...@earthlink.net> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:31hlev0nk4n6ur5n9...@4ax.com...
> In the interest of more creative magic systems, I offer the following
> checklist. If you have comments or suggestions, let's see them. I will
> revise and post a "final" version which I hope will find its way onto
> the roguelike development sites and, more importantly, will stimulate
> magical diversity.
>
> Note that this is about *systems*, I will not be addressing design of
> individual spells or their effects. You'll have to use other resources
> if you can't think of a fire ball on your own. ;-)
>
> The "other" category is for odd-ball features like Zodiac Signs,
> Fates, Talents, Culture, etc.
>
> "Character condition" means things like being stunned, blinded, drunk,
> cursed, blessed, berserk, etc.
>
> SPELL CATEGORIZATION:
Great piece of work R Dan!
This definitely needs to be on any RL/CRPG
development website.
thumbs up!
copx
Kornel "Anubis" Kisielewicz
be...@sonic.net
>
> In the interest of more creative magic systems, I offer the following
> checklist. If you have comments or suggestions, let's see them. I will
> revise and post a "final" version which I hope will find its way onto
> the roguelike development sites and, more importantly, will stimulate
> magical diversity.
>
> Note that this is about *systems*, I will not be addressing design of
> individual spells or their effects. You'll have to use other resources
> if you can't think of a fire ball on your own. ;-)
One thing I'm doing that you've not mentioned on your list is
introducing a delay between casting and the spell taking effect.
Basically, the spell you cast with your last action takes effect
the instant it becomes your turn again. During that time, you
may have been attacked, monsters may have moved, help may have
arrived, etc...
But mainly, it just costs you one round of initiative if you're
going to use spells.
I'm including a list of "monster" spells that players are not
expected to ever be able to cast. They include things like spells
for dragon magicians where in order to release the power you have
to breathe fire and gesture with your tail.... Or things that
require more than two hands, or where some physical component that
weighs more than a ton has to be thrown at something. Heh. I
already have swords and warhammers made for giants that weigh
hundreds of pounds and mainly just act as "flavor items" for
human-scale adventurers; why should spells be any different?
I'm including a list of "just extensions of normal effects"
spells, such as a spell that makes your next thrown rock faster
and more accurate, a spell that turns your next fart into a
poison gas attack, a spell that causes you to projectile vomit
with highly caustic stomach juices, a version of "aggravate
monster" that involves mooning and possibly a spray of diahrrea,
etc... some of which are gross but they add flavor.
I still haven't addressed how players learn spells. I have
decided that there should be options that aren't scrolls or books,
though. In fact, it doesn't make sense to me that both scrolls and
books should be found in the same game setting; books are a far
superior and more useful and durable form for written matter.
Once people figured out how to make them why the *&% would they
still bother with scrolls?
But I'm still debating whether to have either. There'd be books
*about* magic, of course - and they might be useful to a player
researching a given spell or attempting to raise a magic-related
skill. But depending on the spell or the skill, so might the
inscriptions or illustrations carved on a piece of trollish love
pottery, or even the way a particular willow tree sways in the
wind. I like the idea that ordinary objects, even "meaningless"
objects, might somehow carry an idea or inspiration that a
magician could build something with. A particular orchid
preserved in amber might be an incredibly valuable item to
magicians researching spells about preservation and permanence,
even if intrinsically useless - and another, slightly different,
orchid preserved in amber might be a mere curio.
I'm thinking of having the magical ability of a character be
like an intrinsic system, and gathering and storing power and
casting known spells might be uses of that system, but learning
new spells would be a thing that a magician willfully does *to*
his own system, requiring research, planning, and possibly
decisions about whether to keep certain abilities that can only
be preserved by remaining specialized in those abilities.
Learning new spells might destabilize your abilty temporarily,
or require the development of mental infrastructure that will
then require modification of existing spells before they can be
used again, etc... There might be periods of a week or so in
town, where magicians can't use spells at all because they're
in the middle of changing fundamental things or redesigning the
way their system works so as to be able to handle more or
different spells in the future.
And there might be moments when the magician discovers an
unexpected interaction between a way he's recently changed his
own magic ability and a spell he thought wouldn't be affected
by the change.
All this is just musing, for now; as I said, I haven't addressed
how players learn spells in code.
Bear
Joonas Hirvonen
<be...@sonic.net> kirjoitti viestissä:3EEC0EA2...@sonic.net...
>
> I still haven't addressed how players learn spells. I have
> decided that there should be options that aren't scrolls or books,
> though. In fact, it doesn't make sense to me that both scrolls and
> books should be found in the same game setting; books are a far
> superior and more useful and durable form for written matter.
> Once people figured out how to make them why the *&% would they
> still bother with scrolls?
>
I've pondered with the same problem.
At this point I'm thinking of a very simple system where the player can put
N points to spells each time he gets a new level. Intelligence tells how
many N points the player has. Some spells are more difficult to learn and
could need 2*N points where some only N/2. So in some cases you could learn
several new spells at the same time but some cases you would need two levels
to learn one complex spell.
Maybe scrolls are made by spellcasters for those who can't cast spells.
Scrolls don't need any gestures or material components but maybe some arcane
language understanding / skill is needed. Once the magic is released, the
scroll burns out.
R. Alan Monroe
>though. In fact, it doesn't make sense to me that both scrolls and
>books should be found in the same game setting; books are a far
>superior and more useful and durable form for written matter.
>Once people figured out how to make them why the *&% would they
>still bother with scrolls?
Once people figured out how to make butane lighters, why the *&% would
they still bother with matches? :^)
Maybe non-magic folk (who can't learn full fledged magic stuff) could
use the scrolls. So it would be a sort of sideline moneymaker for
magic folk. Also, cost. Bookbinding isn't cheap :^)
Just rationalizing...
Alan
Mylon
news:yXZGa.210$8y....@read3.inet.fi...
Scrolls are most useful for non-casters. Scrolls can be seen as 1-charge
wands, and may not even be "Scrolls" at all. In my D&D game, for example, I
introduced a "stick of healing". It's much like a scroll in that it lets
you cast a spell, but it's also much like a potion because anyone can use
it; all you have to do is break by hitting a person with it, preferably over
the head. Thus, you can have a stick of healing, a scarab that turns into a
shielding spell, a fang that fires itself as a poisonous projectile, or an
ointment/oil that provides a temporary enchantment onto a weapon.
The idea is now only are these items easy to use, but they are (in game
balance terms) cheaper to make. An item that teaches a spell may require a
mage to spend a month imparting their direct knowledge through magical means
into the condensed form of a book or potion or whatever, whereas an
experienced artificer might be able to make 5 or more one-shot items in a
single day.
Mylon
> R Dan Henry wrote:
> >
> > In the interest of more creative magic systems, I offer the following
> > checklist. If you have comments or suggestions, let's see them. I will
> > revise and post a "final" version which I hope will find its way onto
> > the roguelike development sites and, more importantly, will stimulate
> > magical diversity.
> >
> > Note that this is about *systems*, I will not be addressing design of
> > individual spells or their effects. You'll have to use other resources
> > if you can't think of a fire ball on your own. ;-)
> I still haven't addressed how players learn spells. I have
> decided that there should be options that aren't scrolls or books,
> though. In fact, it doesn't make sense to me that both scrolls and
> books should be found in the same game setting; books are a far
> superior and more useful and durable form for written matter.
> Once people figured out how to make them why the *&% would they
> still bother with scrolls?
I do like how ADOM handles spells such that spellbooks for common spells
still have a use, but I feel obligated to try something different. I've
been toying with the ideal that spellbooks increase a character's experience
with that spell-skill (including the subsequent high-level skills), but even
that seems a little bland. Forcing the player to undertake quests for weird
items might be a bit too distracting, unless perhaps the quest is to kill a
mage for his spellbook(s).
Perhaps maybe have 2 kinds of spellbooks, the lugged around kind for general
refreshing (ala D&D study-in-the-morning, even though I hate
spell-preparation), and smaller spellbooks that just contain one spell (for
distribution and dungeon-generation purposes) with the additional quirk that
once any spellbook is keyed to someone (almost always being the creator)
only that person can read/study it indefinitely (for the purposes of
maintaining the ability to cast those spells), while other spellbooks impart
spellcasting experience? Thus, a small spellbook would still be useful for
increasing the potency of spells, and large spellbooks would likely impart a
significant amount of potency for all spells, if not through individual
spell-skills, through the general magic skill and/or schools.
Pieter Droogendijk
> Scrolls are most useful for non-casters. Scrolls can be seen as
> 1-charge wands, and may not even be "Scrolls" at all. In my D&D game,
> for example, I introduced a "stick of healing". It's much like a
> scroll in that it lets you cast a spell, but it's also much like a
> potion because anyone can use it; all you have to do is break by
> hitting a person with it, preferably over the head. Thus, you can
> have a stick of healing, a scarab that turns into a shielding spell, a
> fang that fires itself as a poisonous projectile, or an ointment/oil
> that provides a temporary enchantment onto a weapon.
>
> The idea is now only are these items easy to use, but they are (in
> game balance terms) cheaper to make. An item that teaches a spell may
> require a mage to spend a month imparting their direct knowledge
> through magical means into the condensed form of a book or potion or
> whatever, whereas an experienced artificer might be able to make 5 or
> more one-shot items in a single day.
Such an Artificer would make for an interesting new class to experiment with.
It's like a flavored spell preparation system (not as boring as silly old scrolls :P ); you learn how to create certain objects by finding one and examining it several times (and destroying the object in the process so you'd have to find plenty? would rule out gaining rare OOD object creation skills), learning from a master, perhaps choose one upon gaining a level, and eventually get proficient at making them by yourself.
The power of the spell eventually cast might best be increased by something else... perhaps the artificer can carry with him, for instance, a bag of magic stones (just a wild stab in the dark) which increase the magic's potency. A skill to be trained, a stat to be gained, feats, who knows.
You could also, in time, make the artificer learn how to create an improved version of the spell (new type of object), like the fang example given improving to a shard of rock, or a bone, each increasing damage, range, etcetera.
I'm certainly going to look what I can make of this.
--
It's lucky you're going so slowly, because you're going in the wrong
direction.
R Dan Henry
amon...@yahoo.com (R. Alan Monroe) declared:
Even in non-magical terms, we still use unbound volumes all the time. A
simple letter is a "scroll" if you just roll it up instead of folding
it.
In any case, in a setting like Crawl's where books hold magical lore for
study and scrolls hold magical power for use, they serve entirely
different functions.
R Dan Henry
checklist. I have now revised it slightly, taking into account responses
to the original, as well as a few additional thoughts of my own. Further
discussion is welcome.
Note that this is about *systems*, I will not be addressing design of
individual spells or their effects. You'll have to use other resources
if you can't think of a fire ball on your own. ;-) Several responses to
the previous list were really about spell design, not spell systems.
That's a fruitful topic, but not one I try to address in this list.
Also note that each choice still covers a range of possible
implementations. One still needs to determine how and why to actually
implement (both in game design and programming terms) each decision. I
had hoped to create an example system going through the checklist and
expanding on my choices, but I simply don't have the time.
The "other" category is for odd-ball features like Zodiac Signs,
Fates, Talents, Culture, etc.
"Character condition" means things like being stunned, blinded, drunk,
cursed, blessed, berserk, etc.
SPELL CATEGORIZATION:
[] Spells are not grouped. Spells are spells.
[] Spells are grouped into "schools" (or "realms" or "fields", etc.)
[] Each spell belongs to a single school.
[] randomized from a list of possibilities
[] Spells are learned by reading a book dedicated to learning that
spell (e.g., Nethack, ADOM)
[] Spells are learned by reading a book dedicated to learning a bunch
of spells (e.g., Angband, Crawl)
[] Spell books, but they're called something else (glyphs, gems of
secrets, potion of magical lore, etc.)
[] alternative name for spell books: _________________________
[] lots of different names for spell books (cosmetic variety)
[] spell books double as other items (learn off shields,
weapons, food, etc.)
[] Spells are learned from scrolls
[] forfeiting casting the spell by reading the scroll
[] by casting the spell from the scroll
[] as a separate action that does not use up the scroll
[] Written material (books, scrolls, graffiti) come in various
languages, requiring language knowledge (skill based,
race/culture based, translation powers, etc.) to read
[] Spells are learned by eating corpses
[] spell learned is randomized with each corpse
[] but corpses of more powerful monsters grant mightier
spells
[] corpses grant specific spells (e.g. swamp gnome grants poison
bolt)
[] which they use
[] which is thematic
[] which is randomized each game
[] corpses grant specific spell categories (e.g. swamp gnome
grants some poison spell)
[] which they use
[] which is thematic
[] which is randomized each game
[] Spells are learned by paying a guild or other teacher
[] Spells are learned by Wishing
[] Spells are learned by being granted by special locations
[] You can only learn a set of spells based on:
[] class
[] race
[] religion
[] level or skill
[] modified by race
[] if the target is missed, spell may hit someone/somewhere else
Note: Power covers enough different things that it *must* be
defined on an individual spell basis.
Effect of spell take place:
[] Same for all spells
[] Varies by:
[] caster class/level
[] caster skill(s)
[] caster race
[] caster condition
[] caster religion
[] spell level
[] spell "power" (e.g., adjustment by spending more energy,
critical success effect)
[] spell school
[] individual spell
[] environmental conditions
[] other:____________________________
[] Spell takes effect immediately (i.e., when cast)
[] After a fixed delay
[] After a random delay
[] After an adjustable delay
[] When "triggered" (various trigger types possible)
Note: This doesn't try to account for odd initiative systems, which can
give the terms altered meanings. If you handle time in an unusual way,
you'll have to consider how to account for that as well.