Table of Contents
Magic
Spell Packets
Whether a spell is cast as a powerful Bolt of arcane energy or a burst of healing rays, magics in REFUGE LARP are represented by “spell Packets.” In essence these are small bean bags used to safely target other players with various effects.
Spell Packets are constructed with bird seed and fabric. The bird seed should be a small round variety, with no large sunflower seeds or other heavy or sharp items that could hurt. Packets must be filled with bird seed only; replacements will not suffice and can prove harmful (for example, rice can get wet and turn into a hardened ball). Unsafe Packets may be confiscated by a Marshal.
To make a Packet, the birdseed is placed in the center of the fabric, and the fabric is gathered around it and held together with a rubber band or sewn shut. No metal or plastic tie wraps may be used.
Packets should be loosely packed—tight balls of birdseed can hurt! You should never use so much material that the resulting Packet cannot fit into a 50 ml shot glass. Packets that are larger than that may be unsafe and may be confiscated by a marshal. A 7 to 8-inch square with a tablespoon or so of birdseed will make a properly sized Packet.
Spell Packets may be of any color except orange or blue—orange Packets are used to represent Alchemical and trap globes while blue Packets are used for Weapon attacks such as Arrows and Bolts.
You may want to personalize your spell Packets in some way by using a distinctive cloth or writing on the Packets. This is a good way to make sure you can get your Packets back after a battle.
Spell Packets are visible IG as an opaque colored aura of energy only when held in the hand. IG they are visible, but they do not produce any light. They are not IG items and cannot be stolen, Disarmed, or removed.
You cannot carry more spell Packets in your hand than you can use at that moment (although you can have plenty of extra Packets in your pouches or pockets). In other words, you cannot have a “cauliflower hand” with forty-two spell Packets between your fingers if you only have the ability to cast three spells at that time (including Magic Items or scrolls at the ready).
Casting Spells
To cast a spell, the caster must have a spell Packet in hand. The hand and arm with the spell Packet in it must be free and able to use. Hands that are holding something else, are broken, or are tied or bound either physically or with a binding spell are not “free.” You can cast when your feet are bound, since you have at least one hand free enough to perform the casting. This includes touch-casting.
The caster must then correctly recite the spell incant; a short phrase associated with the spell. Each spell’s incant includes the appropriate damage amount (if applicable), the effect group, and the spell name. This must be spoken loud enough to be heard by the intended target. Within two seconds after finishing the verbal, the caster must then throw the Packet, trying to hit the target or the target’s direct possessions, including cloaks, Shields, Weapons, pouches, or a carried object.
You must finish the verbal completely before throwing the Packet, otherwise the spell is blown. This goes for any thrown Packet whether it’s representing a monster’s innate ability or an incanted spell.
The spell incant is spoken in plain English. IG, these words are understood by anyone, but have a magical effect associated with them that makes them different from normal speech. Even though you can speak the language, you cannot fake a spell incantation or otherwise bluff the casting of a spell. You also cannot start the incantation to a spell you do not have memorized.
Spellcasters lose the power to cast a spell as soon as the incantation has begun. You cannot start the incantation for a spell, change your mind, and then still have that spell. Any time you start an incant and do not finish it, or make a mistake when speaking the incant, the spell is lost. It can be Meditated back, however (see the Skill System section for details). Similarly, if a spell Packet is thrown at a target and misses, the caster may Meditate the spell back. Note that a spell which triggers a defense (even those such as Dodge which represents the spell missing IG) may not be Meditated back.
Spell Defenses
There are a few spells and effects that will protect the recipient from incoming spells or attacks. Each can protect against one spell or effect only. They are cast upon the recipient in advance and stay with the recipient until “activated” by the effect they are meant to prevent.
These Spell Defenses include Elemental Shield, Weapon Shield, Poison Shield, Reflect Spell, and Spell Shield. IG, you are always aware of what Spell Defenses are active on you.
Once a Spell Defense is active, it will block the next applicable incoming effect, regardless of whether you would have been affected by it. It will then be used up.
Spell Defenses will still trigger while a character is unconscious or bleeding out.
All Spell Defenses must be called correctly (for example “Reflect Spell” or “Weapon Shield”) to be effective; these defenses must be called within two seconds of triggering or they will be lost with no effect.
If you forget you have a valid spell defense and then later realize that you did, it is still used up.
Touch-Casting
To touch-cast, hold a Packet and place it against the target you wish to affect in a safe and appropriate manner. Touch-casting thus avoids the chance of missing your target but cannot be used “offensively” against your foes in the middle of a moving combat.
The recipient of a touch-cast spell may choose to “accept” the spell, thus letting it pass their Spell Defenses such as Spell Shield or Reflect Spell. Thrown spells cannot be “accepted” in this way.
The recipient must be conscious to accept a spell. An unconscious person’s Spell Defenses will always go off.
The decision to accept a spell through touch-casting is made immediately after the spell is cast. This is to prevent a caster from tricking an unsuspecting victim.
The recipient of a touch-cast spell can always refuse the spell by saying “refused.” This will use up the spell but have no effect whatsoever on the recipient.
Touch-casting can only be used for an incanted spell, a Magic Item, or for Skills with the “Spell,” “Elemental,” or “Arcane” qualifiers. It cannot be used with Alchemy or Trap Globes or a “Poison” qualifier effect.
Spell Rules
The spellcaster is not Immune to their own spells. A spell that is Returned (for example via a Bane or Reflect Spell) will affect the caster. Nor can a caster automatically dispel or deactivate their own spells, unless specifically noted in a spell’s description. For instance, a caster can drop her own Prison or Circle of Power, because those spells explicitly state that they can do so.
Spell Defenses do not carry over from adventure to adventure. Since defensive spells last only five days, a character who has such a spell active at the end of an event weekend will not have that spell at the beginning of the next weekend.
Many effects are visible to those observing them. Shackle, Web, Paralysis, and Prison are all visible while they are in effect to any viewer who takes the time to observe them. This means you have to ask the person who is standing there things like “Are you Paralyzed?” This is an out-of- game question and answer, so both parties can ask and answer this even if affected by Silence. You cannot ask “What do I see?” You must ask if you observe each individual effect until you get the right one or are stumped.
Note that Shackle and Web do not affect the head, so the affected person can yell out things IG like “Help! I am Webbed!” However, if you are affected by Paralysis or Prison, you cannot speak at all IG and cannot “volunteer” to people nearby that you may be under the effects of a Paralysis or a Prison. They must notice you standing still and then ask you OOG.
In addition, the spells Wall of Force, Wizard Lock, Ward, and Circle of Power are also visible, provided that the physical representation can be seen and the viewer takes the time to observe them.
You cannot call a Pause Game to determine whether any visible effects are present on someone.
The amount of time it takes to ask if your character sees the effect is the amount of time it took your character to notice the effect.
This applies only to the effects listed here. You will not see any effects from someone who is Charmed, for instance.
Spell Defenses can be seen IG as a visible and audible effect when they are used.
IG, it is obvious to anyone looking at you that you were protected from an attacking spell. You must state what the defense is at the time by saying “Reflect Spell” or “Spell Shield,” for example, thus informing all observers that the spell was unsuccessful.
Spell Books
REFUGE LARP spells are recorded in spell books, tomes of magic that enable spellcasters to memorize their spells and prepare for battle. When preparing your spell slots at the start of an LP, you must have access to a spell book with the applicable spells to demonstrate that your character has access to the spells they are trying to memorize. IG, this represents your character focusing on filling their head with magical knowledge to prepare for the day ahead.
If you do not have a spell book with you when you study for your new spells at the start of the LP, then you will have to borrow someone else’s or find another IG source (such as an applicable Guild) for the use of theirs. Be prepared to pay game money for the use of the book.
Any number of people can memorize from the same book at Logistics, but if a spellcaster wants to Meditate back a missed or flubbed spell they will want their own book with them. Some guilds allow their members free use of the guild’s book for studying, but guild membership and guild policy are handled IG.
OOG, a spell book consists of a tag from Logistics that lists every spell of a specific aspect. Any spells not inscribed into that spell book will be crossed off from the tag. This card must be kept with a real spell book physical representation.
Spell books must be bound; a sheet of paper is not sufficient. You must provide your own spell book physrep. Multiple tags can be included in the same spell book physrep (such as both an Earth and a Celestial spell book, or an Alchemy recipe book as well).
Someone who steals a spell book may keep the tag but bring the book to Logistics for return to the player (unless otherwise stated by the player on the same page as the tag). The OOG book is personal property. You cannot make your spell book unstealable by writing it in a different language or in code; the tag can be taken and placed in a new book easily enough.
Spells may be copied from one book to another (and thus added to the new book’s tag). The inks used in the writing of a spell book will cost approximately two copper pieces per level of the spell that you are copying. This may vary based on your local campaign’s economy. You cannot get your spell(s) authorized until you pay the requisite game money. You must have the original from which you are going to make the copy as well as the book into which you want the spell copied.
The magical ink is not school specific. For example, ink bought in the Celestial Scholars’ Guild can be used to scribe healing spells.
You cannot cast spells directly from your spell book, nor may you copy scrolls into your spell book. Spell books and scrolls are two independent ways to record spells. A spell book allows someone to memorize a spell for casting at a time of the reader’s choosing. A scroll allows the reader to immediately cast the spell written on it if they choose to do so.
Reversible Spells
Many Earth Magic spells are reversible (for example, Destroy Undead and Create Undead). These spells do not have to be learned or memorized separately. In fact, there is no way to separate the two spells. If you know the spell Cure Wounds, you automatically also know Cause Wounds. You cannot “forget” how to cast Necromantic spells or otherwise honestly claim to only know one side of a reversible spell.
You can decide at the moment of casting which spell effect you will use (with the proper incantation, of course).
The reverse of many healing spells are Necromantic, identifiable by the word “Necromancy” in their incant. Be aware that IG laws exist against Necromancy; if you are discovered casting Necromantic spells such as Create Undead, you’d better be ready to face the serious IG consequences if caught (the penalty for casting Necromancy is almost always at least one character death).
This works a little differently for Magic Items and Potions. If a reversible spell is put into a Ritual such as Enchant or Spell Store, it may only be brought back out in the same way it was put in. Similarly, once created, a Potion only holds one “side” of a reversible spell.
Channeling
Some Scholars learn to focus and direct raw Elemental energies. This form of magic, called Channeling, works differently from the more elegant spells that most people associate with spellcasters. Instead, Channelers use objects of power called “Sources” to focus and amplify the streams of energy inherent in the natural world around them.
To support everything from glowing orbs to magical wands, Channeling Sources can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Every Source must fit within at least one of the following formats:
- At least 1 inch in each dimension (for example, an Orb of Power or the skull of an ancient Lich)
- 9 to 16 inches long, at least 1/4“ inch thick (for example, a wand of lightning-struck oak)
- Thinner items must be at least 6 square inches in area (for example, a pendant inscribed with runes of power)
In all cases, the physrep must be ruled safe to carry in combat by a Marshal. A long glass rod is unlikely to pass, for example, as it risks shattering and hurting people if it’s accidentally hit by a Weapon.
A Source must be purchased at Logistics for 2 silver pieces. This requires no special production Skill, but only characters with the Channeling Skill may craft a Source in this way. Sources can be enchanted but can never be an item with another IG tag; for example, a sword or Shield may not be made into a Source. Note that there is a High Magic ability that allows a Staff to be used as a Source.
When created, a Source is tied to a single type of energy—Flame, Ice, Lightning, Stone, Healing, or Chaos. Without Formal Magic, a single Source may only ever channel a single type of energy. Many casters carry multiple Sources to switch between as the need arises. A Celestially aligned Source (evoking Flame, Ice, Lightning, or Stone) is referred to as a “Wand,” while an Earth-aligned Source (channeling Healing or Chaos) is referred to as a “Relic.”
A character with Channeling gains 25 points in their Channeling Pool for each rank of Channeling they have learned. Each Aspect of Channeling goes into its own pool; these pools may not be combined in any way. When using their pool, a Channeler may produce bursts of power as “X Elemental <Type>,” where the type is determined by the Source they are currently using. These bursts are produced in 5-point increments; a Channeler’s maximum burst size is 10 and can be increased by purchasing the Improved Channeling Skill.
To use one’s Channeling Pool, a character must hold their Source in one hand, say the appropriate verbal (like “5 Elemental Stone!”), touch a spell Packet to the Source, and then throw or touch-cast the Packet. Sources act like Two-Handed Weapons in that no other IG item may be wielded at the same time. Sources can never be used for blocking or swinging as a Weapon.
Schools of Magic and Signature Spells
Whenever your character begins learning magic, either Celestial or Earth, you must select which of the two is your primary school of magic. The other will be your secondary school, costing more to learn. There is nothing preventing you from learning both Earth and Celestial Magic, but a separate spell pyramid must be built for each school.
Each school of magic has a Signature Spell - one core piece of magic which is available at every level. For Earth, this is the Cure Wounds / Cause Wounds spell; for Celestial, this is Evocation Bolt. These spells can be memorized in any Spell Slots of the appropriate school that a caster cares to devote to them.
Evocation Bolt can be manifested as either Flame, Ice, Lightning, or Stone at the caster’s choice. Cure Wounds / Cause Wounds may be cast in either its Earth form as Healing, or its Necromancy form as Chaos. Both choices are made at the time of casting.
When these spells are cast, their power depends on the level of Spell Slot they were memorized in. Each Signature Spell will have a value of 5 per level of Spell Slot it is cast from. For example, a Celestial caster who memorizes one Evocation Bolt at 3rd level will cast it by calling “I Evoke a 15 Flame Bolt!” (or whatever element they chose). If they had one memorized at 5th level as well, they could later cast that one with the call “I Evoke a 25 Ice Bolt!” (or another element). Similarly, an Earth caster could cast a 4th level Cure Wounds / Cause Wounds spell as either “I call upon Earth to grant 20 Healing!” or “With Necromancy I create 20 Chaos!”
When these spells are put into scrolls or potions, they must have the appropriate value for the Production Points written on the tag. For example, a Cure Wounds potion created with 5 Production Points (as per a 1st level spell) would be printed as a Healing potion, with the value of 5 written on the tag. Without a value written in, the tag is not valid.
When casting a Signature Spell, if it triggered a defense (whether Smart or Dumb) that spell may be Meditated back as per the Meditation rules.
Schools and their Specialties
In the battle against the foul Undead, the healer has an immensely powerful Weapon. Undead creatures are the reverse of living beings, and so are affected by healing spells in a reversed manner. Any Healing effect cast upon an Undead will instead do damage to them. Any Chaos effect, however, will heal the Undead. Similarly, many Earth effects will weaken or debilitate the Undead while Necromancy will do the opposite.
Undead generally have a significant amount of Natural Armor, representing the raw power of the Necromantic energies that animate them. Healing cuts right through an Undead’s armor, avoiding the bulk of its durability and striking straight at the core of its essence. Thus a Cure Wounds spell at 2nd level cast with the incant of “I call upon Earth to grant 10 Healing!” will do 10 points of damage against an Undead creature and ignore its significant Natural Armor completely, while a Cause Wounds spell of the same amount will heal the Undead for 10 points.
Similarly, Celestial Magic has a distinct advantage when fighting creatures not native to Realms of REFUGE as well as magically animated constructs or constructs. Their “Banish” and “Subjugate” spells come in especially useful against these foes. Similarly, when battling the common Elementals of Flame, Ice, Lightning, and Stone, their spells can be especially impactful when blasting away with the opposing Element.
Eldritch Power
Many of the spells call upon an energy called eldritch power. This is a type of energy that only affects beings that are alive or animated.
If you cast a Flame spell at someone and miss and hit a tree, the tree will not catch on fire. Nor can you use an Ice spell to keep your ice cream cold. These spells can only affect creatures that are alive or animated.
IG, they feel like fire or ice when they hit, and you should certainly role-play that out when you are the subject of one.
Healing
Why need anyone ever suffer if there are healing spells? Well, the answer is that healing spells cannot do everything.
If you are damaged (or dead) and you are then magically healed to your maximum (or Resurrected), then you are returned to the state your body was in before the damage was taken. If you had a limp before you were healed, you still have a limp. If you were dying of old age, then you are still dying of old age. If you were pregnant, you are still pregnant.
How to explain limps, handicaps, and scars? Healing spells (or Resurrection) heals you up to the state you were in last before you took any recent damage. In other words, if your body healed normally after a battle (that is, without the aid of magic) and you ended up with scars, any future healing would not correct that old injury.
Body parts cannot be restored, regrown, or mended with “Cure” spells, potions, or elixirs, which only replenish lost Body Points. To restore a body part that has been Withered, Stunned, amputated, or broken requires a Restore spell, a Life spell, or a Resurrection.
Breaking or removing a body part requires at least three seconds. You do not have to do a “three count” but you must role-play the breaking to make it clear what you are doing.
A Cure Disease spell will only cure the game effect Disease. It will not cure cancer, get rid of athlete’s foot, or hide your bald spot. This gives some players fun role-playing frustrations of being sick: “You mean they can bring me back to life after dying but they can’t cure the common cold?!!”
Pregnancies IG are completely a role-playing issue controllable by the player involved. The most important thing is to follow all rules of good taste! Being pregnant IG will not change in any way any of the rules in this book. Using healing Skills to detect the existence of a pregnancy is also up to the player involved, although one should remember the limitations of medieval medicine. Healing Arts is not a magical Skill and cannot be used to determine an unborn child’s sex, Species, or heritage.
A doll used to represent an infant is considered a “personal possession” (if carried) in regard to the rules.
Necromancy
Is Necromancy evil? Not every person on REALMS OF REFUGE thinks so—in fact, it is perfectly legal in some places.
However, Necromancy is illegal in most parts of the world because many people believe it draws upon the decaying and dying aspects of the Earth and thus prevents the Earth from acting “naturally.” Further, those who cast Necromancy often tend to get, shall we say, “power mad.”
The most accepted IG explanation is this: Imagine the planet going through its seasons normally from year to year. Healing spells go with the flow of this cycle and do not disrupt the orderly process of living and dying that are part of this orderly system. Necromancy goes against the flow of this cycle by tapping into the chaotic forces that are not part of this system. Creating Undead, for example, requires that a spirit behave in ways that are contrary to the orderly flow of the cycle.
This IG theory has been used in the past to explain large numbers of Undead randomly appearing (“The Chaos in this area is so strong that the cycle is being completely disrupted!”) as well as aberrant weather (“This cold wave this time of year can only be caused by too much Necromancy being cast!”).
Of course, there are many scholars who believe that this theory is a load of goblin dung and that bad weather and Undead rising are all part of the normal cycle. It is up to you to decide as your character how you feel about the issue.
Assume for game purposes that there are many learned treatises on both sides and that people have been arguing the point for many thousands of years (although the people arguing in favor of Necromancy not being harmful usually have, shall we say, ulterior motives). Characters debate this issue often, and we encourage this; gray areas are always more fun than black and white issues.
Necromancy may be legal in some of the Cast countries that exist on the world of REALMS OF REFUGE, but it will always be illegal in the main area in which the game takes place. The main reason Necromancy is illegal is for game balance; if characters were allowed to throw these powerful spells without restriction, well, why wouldn’t everyone be a healer, able to harm better than a Celestial caster and be able to heal as well?
IG your character can try to get your local authorities to make Necromancy legal, but you the player must understand that OOG, this will never be done.
The existence of laws against Necromancy are an unalterable rule of the game. Further, you cannot complain if your character is caught casting Necromancy and is sentenced to a death (or worse) because of it. You have been warned, and it’s the risk you decide to take on your own.
Potions and Scrolls
Potions and scrolls give the spellcaster a tremendous advantage. With a good number of these, you should not have to worry about being ineffective after your memorized spells are gone.
A healer should keep a stockpile of healing potions so they can use their binding spells in battle and yet still be able to heal. A mage with a pile of scrolls is a much more formidable opponent than one with just spells in memory. The most successful casters are the ones who know that having scrolls and potions at their side can double and triple their effectiveness, usefulness, and fun.
The effects of potions and scrolls are the same as for a cast spell.
A scroll or potion physical representation (“phys rep”) is not valid unless it has an actual scroll or potion tag attached to the phys rep. Likewise, a scroll or potion tag without a physical representation is also invalid.
If you build or receive tags without physical representations (for example, after using your Production Points at Logistics to create items), then it is your responsibility to provide the appropriate physical representation and make sure the tag is attached.
Both Potions and Scrolls must be identified; see the “Production Skills” section of the Rule Book for details.
Potions: All potion phys reps must be large enough to hold at least a minimum of a quarter ounce of liquid. The phys rep does not actually have to contain any liquid to be valid.
To use a potion, you must role-play the proper drinking motions, and this must take at least three seconds. You should not count it out loud. Only one potion may be quaffed at a time.
A potion may be Force Fed to an unconscious or sleeping person by someone else, but such a character cannot “accidentally” drink one. You cannot attach a potion or elixir to your collar or Shield and “bite” into it to get its effects while bound or in battle. You must be able to hold one in your hand, motion removing a cork or cap, and then mime drinking it.
Potions cannot be mixed into food or drink or diluted or mixed together in any way. If multiple potions are poured into the same container, both potions are ruined and provide no effects when consumed.
Earth Potions always have an implied “Spell” qualifier, just like an incanted spell.
All potions affect the drinker only and bypass any protective spells such as Spell Shield or Reflect Spell. They can, however, be resisted by applicable species abilities (such as Resist Spell or Resist Necromancy for a Necromantic potion).
Scrolls: All scroll phys reps must be at least 16 square inches (for example, a scroll that is 2 inches tall by 8 inches long would be fine, which will give you five scrolls out of a standard piece of paper).
To use a scroll, you must pull out the scroll, hold it before you, have enough light to be able to read it, touch a spell Packet to the scroll, actually read the scroll out loud, and then throw the Packet.
If your scroll is attached to a Weapon or Shield, you may not be swinging it while reading the scroll.
The entire scroll must be visible for it to be used. You cannot write the incant in very small letters in the top left corner and then hold a bunch of scrolls like a hand of playing cards with only the incant visible; nor can you overlap the scrolls and attach them to the back of your Shield, fitting twelve scrolls in an area that should only fit four.
After the scroll is used, the tag is removed but the paper remains. The magical writing is inert although anyone with Educated can tell what spell used to be on the scroll.
You must have an actual scroll phys rep for each scroll tag.
Note that scrolls can only be used by someone with the Read Magic Skill. A character may activate a scroll no higher than 4 levels above their highest-level Celestial Spell Slot; if they only have Read Magic, they can read up to 4th level scrolls.
Magic Items
Using the Formal Magic system, characters can create Magic Items which contain spells. You might also find these as treasure. These Magic Items may have a specific spell active within them which you can activate as if you had cast the spell yourself, even if you are not a caster.
Each Magic Item is made up of one or more Ritual Batches. Each Batch has a set duration and combination of Rituals. Individual Rituals fall into three types: Permanent, meaning that they are always in effect; Times Ever, meaning that they can only be used a certain number of times before their magics permanently burn out; or LPs, meaning that their magic will slowly fade over a certain amount of time. For items with a duration of a certain number of LPs, at the start of each event the item is brought to, one LP will be marked off for each LP of the event.
All items created through the ritual system that have a Permanent or LP duration are indestructible. These items cannot be destroyed using normal means like Shatter or physically breaking them.
Keep in mind that items which only have “Times Ever” or Spellcrafted Rituals are not made indestructible in this way.
This in no way implies that ritually summoned or created creatures cannot be killed. Magically created Constructs and summoned creatures will still follow all effects listed on their monster card; for example, constructs will still take damage from Shatter. Effects listed on the Magic Item tag (or in the case of transforms, summons, and created creatures, the monster card) may alter this effect.
In order to use a Magic Item which duplicates a spell (such as Enchant or Spell Store), you must say “Activate <spell verbal, including amount and effect>” and then throw a Packet (or touch-cast), following all other rules concerning spellcasting.
If you have the ability to cast the spell contained in the Magic Item on your own, you merely have to say “Activate <amount if applicable> Spell <effect>” without the rest of the spell verbal included. This is true even if the Magic Item was not made with your particular school of magic.
Magic items in your possession can be used when bound or otherwise incapacitated so long as you are able to speak. They cannot be used when Silenced, gagged, or otherwise unable to speak (such as when under the effects of a Prison or Paralysis).
Under normal circumstances, you must be the only conscious person having sole clear possession of an item to activate its abilities. The item need not be in a hand to activate; it may be in a pouch or other container, so long as it is clearly possessed by a single individual with the ability to activate the item.
It is also possible to activate a Magic Item that is in another person’s possession, so long as all rules for safety are abided by (i.e., you may not tackle or grab someone that you are currently or about to be in combat with and activate their items, but if your friend Bob is dead, and you know he is in possession of a Life item, you can activate the Life while carrying him away). You should make it clear to the player OOG that you are activating their Magic Items rather than your own.