THE

POWER
WORDS
ENGINE
Dom Liotti
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Foremost, a declaration of vehement and unrelenting

dedication to the 606 sundry and wondrous benefactors
who brought this project to life.

The Power Words Engine is inspired by the work of:

ktrey
blog.d4caltrops.com

Nick LS Whelan
paperspencils.com

Lum
builtbygodslongforgotten.blogspot.com

Necropraxis
necropraxis.com

The Power Words Engine © 2021 Dom Liotti

Text, layout, and other art by Dom Liotti

Typefaces: Adam Bold (Headers), Droid Serif (body text)

Made with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign 2021.
Funded via Kickstarter, February 2021, printed via Mixam.
I: INTRODUCTION I V: WORD LISTS 28
What is This Book? 2 Abjuration 29
Why Change Magic? 3 Conjuration 30
Balance ≠ Fun 5 Divination 31
Enchantment 32
II: USING THE ENGINE 6 Evocation 33
How Do I Use the Engine? 7 Illusion 34
Spell Vocabulary 7 Necromancy 35
Word Domains 8 Transmutation 36
The Octad Cyclogram 9
Octad Diagram 11 VI: ARCANE HARMONICS 37
Creating a Spell: Step By Step 12
Spell Examples 16 VII: RESONANCE TREES 40
Allocating Resonance 41
III: PERMUTATIONS I9 Resonance Trees 42
Metamagic 20 Targets 43
Wild Magic 21 Distance 44
Arificing 22 Duration 45
Components 46
IV: CONVERSIONS 23 Attack / Save 47
On Conversions 24 Damage 47
Die-Based 24 Arcane Implements 48
Slot-Based 26
Point-Based 26 VIII: TAGS 49
Beyond 27 Artificing Tags 51
Custom Tags 52

IX: QUICK REFERENCE 55

Welcome, dear reader, to the
definitive instructional arcane
text of the modern epoch. I
am Morton Ashenwort the
Chartreuse, Archon of House
Ashenwort, Scribe of the Eighth
Tower of Obsequience, Holder of
the Sacred Tome of Intellocraft,
and Heir Apparent to the High

I
Seat of the Council of Venerable
Magi. By reading these words,
which I have thus dictated to my
lowly apprentice Biff, you have
taken your first step into the vast
and glorious world of magic; not
only are you about to embark on
the journey of a lifetime, but you
may count yourself among the
fortunate few arcanists to have
an eminent magus such as myself
as your noble guide.
Whether you, reader, are
completely unacclimated to
the world of magics, or you
consider yourself to be an
accomplished mage already, you
INTRODUCTION
will undoubtedly find great value
in the wisdom I have elected
to share with you through this
educational text. But I digress!
I have never been one to extol
my own virtues, nor have I been
a person likened to those who
take any amount of pleasure in
mincing words; as such, let us
begin with a brief history of the
arcane arts...
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS THIS BOOK?
In the pages of this book, you will find all of the tools, guidance, and context you need to replace
the magic spell list in your tabletop game with the Power Words Engine. Designed to fit over
the top of existing spellcasting mechanics in many popular systems, the Engine is a magic spell
generation tool focused on enabling players to create their own magic spells from scratch by
combining words in specific patterns and combinations. Its primary intention is to create a
creative sandbox for spellcasting characters and inspire players to engage with a tool that feels
as arcane, deep, and mystifying as the magical arts’ portrayal in fantasy media has always
suggested it to be.

Our enthralling, sublime cosmos are unthinkably vast; great unexplored worlds, the realms
of gods, and the clandestine fathoms of darker, more dangerous beyonds are the constituent
elements of our universe (so says the great cosmic strider Margaux Savrasova). As any academic
will tell you — at nigh-maddening length, in the case of no small number of my own colleagues
— our knowledge of the mere existence of these depths of being, and our consequent ascension
to consciousness within these existential systems, are attributable almost exclusively to our
ability to harness and manipulate the fundament from which being itself arises. This shaping of
the elemental forces of the universe, the oldest, most revered academic practice, from the innate
power within certain fauna to the highest ivory towers of wizardom, though first coined by the
ancient mage El’thial, has colloquially become known over the aeons as magic.
Those of us that are capable of wielding the stuff of magic, that is, the essential affects
of reality, are known by a myriad of terms: magicians, arcanists, wizards, alchemists, artificers,
enchanters, sorcerers, seers, warlocks, shamans, illusionists; for a complete list, refer to A
Magic-User’s Guide to Synonyms by Rosto Grandemalion. Regardless of specialization, all of these
individuals understand and ascribe to an ancient philosophical theory of magic known as arcane
essentialism.
Essentialism, first codified by the arcanist Ireneo Funes in Arcane Essentialism
and Why Everything You Think is Actually Wrong, states that the universe and all that it
encompasses is composed in its entirety of disparate, indivisible forces which, through their
natural interrelation, propagate the innumerable complexity that we understand to be reality.
It also states that, with the utmost dedication and study, it is possible to reach into the fibers of
this tapestry of forces and call them forth with driven, conscious intention. Most commonly,
those with our penchant for magic do so through the use of Words of power, an invention
of the revered magician Dada de Stijl: direct invocations of these essential aspects of reality
which ultimately form a bridge between the horizon of intellectual possibility and the physical
2 manifestation of conscious will.
 INTRODUCTION
The Power Words Engine is not necessarily designed to overhaul magic systems in hopes of
fixing the classical issues with them (spellcasting characters being too powerful, magic being
too complex, et. al.), but rather to leverage value from those points of contention by providing
a more interesting and open-ended approach to justify the system and its endemic flaws as a
whole.
That said, playing a game with the Power Words Engine is going to be a significantly
different experience than the vanilla version of the game in which it’s being run, and has
the potential to overshadow other aspects of that game. Consider what might happen in that
game system if spellcasters had the potential to be even more powerful than before, and relay
that possibility to your players before they decide how they want to play. In any case, it’s
recommended to ensure that players can all access the content that the Engine delivers in some
measure regardless of the class (or equivalent) that they’re playing.
The Power Words Engine will likely cause you-the-GM to take a more active role in your
players’ choice of spells than usual; the Engine explicitly asks your players to check in with you
at various points in the creative process to ensure that the spells they’re making are generally
non-objectionable. You-the-GM certainly don’t have to be familiar with every single thing the
Engine has the potential to offer. You only need to be aware of its basic precepts and design
intention, as well as the method you’re using to retrofit it to your system of choice (see page 23).

Overall, the Engine works best in systems whose prescribed spell list is not deeply integrated into
other systems (such as character progression) or are otherwise content with leaving the most
granular details of spells’ functionality to the table, as many OSR systems do. It can absolutely
work in systems that play more like wargames, such as 5E, but you as a player and GM may
have to reframe your expectations of the game, have an even more critical eye to rulings about
granular spell functions, and improvise exceptions more often than usual. As a foundational
precept to using this text, you are encouraged to make rulings for yourself and your table. If
something is not explicitly defined by these words, you are implicitly invited to interpret it in the
best interest of your system and game.

WHY CHANGE MAGIC?

Spell lists are an age-old institution in fantasy games, and it might seem infeasible, impractical,
or unnecessary to rethink how we go about defining what a spellcasting character is capable of
in these games. On the next page are described three potential flaws with the traditional spell
list, and clarifications of the design intention behind the Power Words Engine which address
those flaws.

3
INTRODUCTION
Whether they were instituted as a vestige of wargaming, to abdicate the GM of
ESTHETIC responsibility for synthesizing magic systems, or to convey a very specific idea
PIGEONHOLING
of what magic should look like in a tabletop game, traditional spell lists betray a
definitive fantastical esthetic. Regardless of how salient or otherwise accepted
that esthetic might be, the spell list is an implicit decision about the design and
feel of a game setting which intrinsitcally dispenses with agency from the GM
and the player alike. This is especially felt in games that do not always represent
a canonical setting, such as 5E.
To counteract this, the Engine is designed to lend itself to a much finer
control over what feats the players and creatures in a game should be capable
of portraying with respect to setting or any other parameter of your game that
problematizes concepts of fireballs and magic missiles.

Esthetic pigeonholing might not be a problem, of course; if the spell list in your
PRESCRIPTIVISM game system of choice falls squarely in line with what you want for your setting,
then for many purposes, it can be perfectly usable. However, the Engine wins out
in the battle of creativity. Where traditional spell lists are prescriptive and thus
deterministic (and, more heinously, often give way to the institution of “must-
pick” spells, which are purely antithetical to creativity), the possibilities for
combinations of Power Words and their effects are essentially boundless, which
empowers players’ imaginations over the explicit qualities of a predetermined
set of spells, while still retaining the framework and precepts of implicit setting-
building that spell lists provide.

To say that traditional spell lists are too narrow in design assumes some things
ARCANE about your game: that it is focused more on creative problem-solving, for
ANTIPRAXIS
instance. If your game system tends to be concerned primarily with narrative
beats that can be portrayed squarely within the game’s explicit systems, it is
possible that a deterministic spell list with a very specific prescribed esthetic is
more than applicable to your game.
However, the traditional spell list still fundamentally abstracts the act
of practicing magic, and thus falls short of producing a feeling of engagement
in an arcane tradition. The Engine, while in some ways very open ended, has
an aspect of rigid complexity in that it presents ample challenge for a player
that wants to optimize their character. Not only will players develop a personal
connection to their spells by using the Engine, but they will also have a chance to
engage with a system that truly evokes the feeling of participating in a tradition
4 of study and mastery in a deeper way than the traditional spell list can match.
 INTRODUCTION
BALANCE ≠ FUN
On the concept of “balance.” Balance is a term that we like to pretend has a strictly game-design
meaning, but tends to be saddled with much more baggage than the term can reasonably
account for in practice. When we talk about balance in the context of a book like this one,
chances are we’re talking about how the comparative capabilities of actors in a game setting
make us feel, and if we feel bad about a particular discrepancy in these capabilities, we might
accuse the system of being “unbalanced.” The basis of this feeling is that someone else got to do
what they wanted to do and we didn’t, and that can be frustrating, to be sure. But frustration is
not always a bad thing, and it most certainly isn’t always an unhealthy thing for a game to have
some amount of.
Most game systems, including this one, never really claim to be “balanced” in any
way that would alleviate this frustration. The “balance” that we want here is something that we
implicitly expected from the game because we tend to hold an expectation that games which we
take voluntary part in will be fair, and we regard that fairness as central to our enjoyment of the
game. When something appears unfair in the context of this assumption, our enjoyment appears
to have been infringed upon.
This is not the game’s problem; it’s a problem with how we as players approach the
game. We are here to tell interesting stories, not see who can attack and dethrone God with
the least amount of effort. A story in which each principal character is just as intrinsically
world-destroying as any other is somewhat boring; as far as the tabletop space is concerned,
it’s an antique paradigm. Plenty of people have a passion for antiques, and that’s not to say that
antiques are without value, but we create new things in modernity for a reason.

Keep this in mind as you read on through this volume. While it is entirely possible to appropriate
the Power Words Engine to annihilate your in-game universe, and it makes no claim to prevent
(or specifically dampen at all for that matter) such things. That’s simply not what we’re here to
do. The Engine will help you to make interesting spells, and it will help you think critically about
the specifics of what those spells can do in the context of a game-like system through a resource
called resonance. The existence of a resource-based ecosystem of sorts in resonance should
not be taken as absolution of the charge of maintaining some semblance of commitment to a
collaborative story rather than pointless self-empowerment.

5
 Though most anyone with a
mind capable of composing any
nature of complex thought is
more than capable of performing
quite powerful magic (one needs
only to associate oneself with the

II
tale of Hemlock in The Goblin
Who Could Blow Up Your House
and Other True Stories for proof
of this), it takes true dedication
and talent to unlock the latent
potential and power of Words.
This guide is intended to
provide an aspiring spellcrafter
with all of the tools and
knowledge one needs in order to
broach the world of creation that
awaits them in the metaphysical
practice of arcane essentialism.
By studying from this text,
and with the profound curiosity
USING THE ENGINE of Oorin, Collector of Names,
and the experimentative spirit
of A. I. Yagolinitzer, you will
be able to invoke the Words of
power to create spells of your
own and exact your will through
them; you will be limited only
by the bounds of your own
consciousness.
 THE ENGINE
HOW DO I USE THE ENGINE?
To create a spell in the Power Words Engine, you’ll choose a set of one to nine Words from a
collection of lists. Using these Words as a guide, you’ll generate a description for a spell whose
effects are described by the chosen Words. Then, you’ll determine your spell’s resonance value:
its power level, essentially, which you then spend in increments to determine your spell’s more
specific mechanical benefits. This chapter provides step-by-step breakdown of the procedure that
arcanists making spells in the Engine should follow. It also contains some common nomenclature
which will be used throughout the rest of the book.
The most important guidelines and rules from this section can be found in
abridged form in the Quick Reference section on page 54.

SPELL VOCABULARY
You should either be familiar with these words before continuing to the spell creation section, or
be prepared to come back and reference this section while you read through it.
❧ A Word is an arcane invocation of a fundamental essence of reality, and are the building
blocks of spells. There is a list of the possible Words for a spell on page 28.

❧ A domain is one of eight subdivisions of Words. Every Word belongs to one of these eight
domains: abjuration, enchantment, transmutation, necromancy, conjuration, evocation,
illusion, and divination (see the following page for details on each).

❧ The Octad Cyclogram is a diagram that describes various relationships and connections
between domains of Words. More broadly, it is a model of the interplay between the various
qualities of the fundamental essences of reality as they relate to the practice of magic. It is
located on pages 11 and 58 of this text, and is accompanied by a description of its parts.

❧ Resonance is a numeric measure of how powerful a spell has the potential to be. Part of
creating a spell is determining its resonance value; thereafter, that resonance can be used to
enhance aspects of the spell such as its range, damage, material components, and more.

❧ Arcane harmonics, listed on page 38 (and in quick-reference form on page 58) are 26 unique
rules concerning the relationships between a spell’s constituent Words which the spell may
or may not follow. Generally, the more harmonics a spell follows, the more powerful it is.

❧ An inverted Word is one which invokes a concept that is opposite to the one that appears on
the Word list. For more on inverting Words and what it means to invert a Word in a spell, see
page 14. 7
THE ENGINE
WORD DOMAINS
Every Word of Power falls into one of the eight domains:

Abjuration Words deal with preservation, continuation, prevention, and protection; as

a highly ordered domain, its Words invoke the perpetuation of a state, warding against
external mutators (natural and otherwise).

Conjuration contains all the Words an arcanist requires for performing

manifestations, summonings, and transportation. Conjuration is the reality-indifferent
grasp of the mage, and it can be made to eke out all variety of material horizons.

Divination is the domain of Words concerned with the objective truth which all
instances and forms of reality inherently hold. To explore the domain of divination is
to peer into the pages of the astral ledger-book into which all of reality is transcribed.

Enchantment encompasses the alteration of non-physical states. It is most commonly

employed in mentalism as spells that beguile sentient beings. Enchantments are at
their most powerful, and dangerous, when used to subvert conscious will.

Evocation Words are those which reach into the elemental fabric to pull forth its
might. This is the domain of fire, ice, and all nature of energies therein and beyond. It
is too the aspect of their manifestation: of bolts, clouds, and explosions.

Illusion Words are the essence of obscurity; they are diversion, deception, and
foundationally the realization in our world of the incongruent realities to which we are
perpetually adjacent and from which we are interminally barred.

Necromancy is the realm of Words that deal in the practice of flesh-crafting and the
techniques that govern the manipulation of the soul-energy of sentient beings. It has
been known most commonly to be involved in the reanimation of the once-dead.

Transmutation Words grasp the deepest fundament of objects in an arcane grip,

8 twisting it like clay and molding it into something new. Practitioners of transmutation
are master manipulators of the primal energy from which all matter derives.
 THE ENGINE
THE OCTAD CYCLOGRAM
The following list of terms describes some common The Octad Cyclogram, or
relationships between domains as they appear on the Octad the Octad, is perhaps the
Cyclogram, located on page 11. These will be relevant to most pivotal of arcane
calculating a spell’s resonance. works. Yet another seminal
❧ Analogous domains are those which fall directly adjacent contribution of the Malaine
to one another on the Octad. Von de la Playa, Priestess
of the Unblemished Heart,
❧ Diametric domains are those which fall directly opposite it is a divine-geometric
one another on the Octad. description of the resonance
between domains of magic
❧ The Divine Quartets are four pairs of domains which fall that permeate our cosmos,
into the same Chaos-Order and Upper-Lower groupings: and by extension, a treatise
illusion-divination, evocation-conjuration, abjuration-
on the relationships
enchantment, and necromancy-transmutation. They fall on
between the fundamental
the four corners of the Octad.
teleologies of everything
❧ Quaternants are one of two groups of four domains whose around us. It guides us to
interrelation is defined by their constituents’ belonging to understand the most basic
four unique Divine Quartets and for which none of the four laws of the interrelation of
are analogous to any other. They are represented by the primal universal forces, and
two diamond-shaped figures that cross over the inner part ultimately delivers us unto
of the Octad. The so-called Positive Quaternant contains mastery over the universe
the domains of divination, enchantment, necromancy, and itself.
evocation, while the Negative Quaternant contains illusion,
abjuration, transmutation, and conjuration.
❧ Upper domains are the domains of illusion, divination, abjuration, and enchantment, which
fall on the top half of the Octad.

❧ Lower domains are the domains of evocation, conjuration, necromancy, and transmutation,
which fall on the bottom half of the Octad.

❧ Ordered domains are the domains of abjuration, enchantment, transmutation, and

necromancy, which fall on the right half of the Octad.

❧ Chaotic domains are the domains of divination, illusion, evocation, and conjuration, which
fall on the left half of the Octad. 9
THE ENGINE
The Octad is a circle divided into eight distinct parts (originally six, with two additional sections
officially added in the quelfth era by the high Runic Lorekeeper Iskander Ador’almash, following
the discovery by Tum the Umbrous of the necromantic magics). These sectors of the Octad are
the domains, the essential categories of being that can be used to describe all aspects of reality
in varying measure. According to the work Seventeen and a Half Arcane Proofs by the adjunct
conjurer Elbrecht Ban Slythenverg VII, every Word of power is a distillation of reality to an
indivisible aspect, and it follows that every Word falls under the scope of exactly one domain.
The domains themselves are divided into four categories of likeness: principally, the
Upper, Lower, Chaotic, and Ordered domains.
The Upper domains, also called the Mind domains, are those located in the top half of
the Octad, and include the domains of illusion, divination, abjuration, and enchantment. These
are most often associated with continuums of truth and falsehood and of the manipulation
thereof (see I Smell When You’re Lying by dread heresy scholar Percival Turr, the Golden
Inquisitor). The Lower domains, also called the Body domains, located in the bottom half of
the Octad, are those of evocation, conjuration, necromancy, and transmutation. These are the
domains most directly linked to the boundless cyclicals of creation and destruction. They deal
with the accessing and alteration of the malleable physical material of the universe, including of
course, the body (see The Body Domains and You: Tone Those Glutes! by Zarkorious, Wondrous
Warrior Wizard[!]).
The Chaotic and Ordered domains are the categories of domains that fall on the left
and right halves of the Octad respectively. The Chaotic domains of divination, illusion, evocation,
and conjuration are those which most strongly oppose what the venerable Foster Elder called
the “natural” order of the physical world; they cause objects, creatures, or knowledge to spring
from apparent nothingness. In contrast, the Ordered domains of abjuration, enchantment,
transmutation, and necromancy are those which most strongly accelerate the natural universal
order, or preserve it (or, in accordance with the findings of Visionist Traqarim Yenstaer in The
Multiverse for Dullards, access a possible concurrent order).
Pairs of domains fall also into four Divine Quartets, which group together the domains
which fall into the same Chaos-Order and Upper-Lower groupings as another domain. These
pairs are illusion-divination, evocation-conjuration, abjuration-enchantment, and necromancy-
transmutation.
There are other terms which arcanists use to describe certain relationships between
domains, specifically those which are most commonly expressed through the arcane harmonics,
which are explicated upon in a later section. These additional terms are described as follows,
along with succinct versions of the divisions I have already discussed. For an exhaustively
10 complete list, see Brex Lemigue’s Magicians’ Slang Through the Ages.
THE ENGINE 11
THE ENGINE
CREATING A SPELL: STEP-BY-STEP
The act of creating a spell is a conversation between a player, a GM, and the mechanics put forth
in this text. You will act as the creative engine that drives the process, and the text will give both
you and your GM the tools you need to refine the concept you come up with, make sure it is
appropriately powerful, and fits in your game.

The first task when creating a spell is to think about what the spell should do. Is it a
I damaging spell, something that can rain fire from the heavens or wash away a city in a
torrential flood? Is it a utility spell, one that attracts or repels certain monsters, beguiles
a person to do your bidding, or controls some aspect of the weather? Come up with a
specific idea for a spell.
Be careful not to think too much about specific mechanical aspects of it, such
as its duration, damage numbers, range, et cetera. Those will come in later. For now,
just focus on what the spell is intended to do in a general sense: instead of thinking
this fireball will do 10d6 damage at a 120 foot range, think this fireball will damage foes.
Instead of this charm will cause someone to make a Wisdom save, and if they fail, they’ll
perform whatever task I say for the next 8 hours, think this charm will make someone do
what I tell them to do.
As part of this step, especially if this is one of your first spells, you should
consult your GM. Ensure that the kind of effect you’re hoping to render into a spell is
consistent with the game with respect to theme and general power level, and that your
concept is both specific and non-mechanical enough to continue on with the process.

The next task in making a spell is to decide which Words that you should use in order
II to achieve the effect you desire. Words are the most basic building block of a spell, and
you’ll choose a number of them for your spell from the lists starting on page 28. On your
first pass, don’t pay attention to the domains into which the Words are organized. Just
pick the Words that you think best describe your spell. At this phase in the process, the
order of the Words themselves have no mechanical bearing other than to describe the
spell’s basic function. Later steps will likely have you refining and re-choosing some
of the Words in the spell in order to eke out as much power as you can from the spell’s
Words, so try not to get too invested in the specific Words you choose at this phase in the
process.
This is the step where some light mechanics come into play, which you should
be aware of as you choose Words for the first time:

12
 THE ENGINE
❧ A spell must have between one and nine Words (or fewer, as your system allows;
II
CONTD.
page 23).

❧ In addition to the Words written on the list, it is also valid to use their opposites in
cases where the Word’s opposite is clear and unambiguous. For example, although
the word Vulnerable is not on the list, it is possible to use it, as it is the direct and
unambiguous opposite of the word Invulnerable, which is on the list. This is called
inverting a Word, and has other mechanical implications that will be discussed in the
next step.

❧ Conversion of any Words on the list between their adjectival, verbal, or nounal forms
is valid, as is the addition of non-mutative suffixes such as -ed or -ing. The spell fire
orb could also be fiery orb at the creator’s discretion to no mechanical effect.

❧ Use of words including, but not limited to, of, to, the, and or with are free, and are
not considered Words for the purposes of determining the number of Words in a
spell. For example, the spell orb of fire uses the Words orb and fire, and the word of
is added for the sake of a satisfying mouth-feel. This also applies to the name of the
spellcrafter, as in Bufter’s orb of fire. Though Bufter and of are certainly words, they
are not Words.

The next main task is to determine the level of resonance in your spell, and perhaps
III revisit the previous step to find tweaks to increase your spell’s resonance level. A spell’s
resonance is a rough measure of its power relative to other spells in your game: a spell
with 1 or 2 resonance is a parlor trick, whereas a spell with 50 resonance might bring
about a world-rending cataclysm.
The resonance of a spell is determined by which and how many of the arcane
harmonics, rules that examine a spell’s Words and the configuration of their domains,
the Words of your spell abide by. There are 26 arcane harmonics, the abiding by each of
which signifies a different numeric amount of resonance. You should check your spell
against each of them and tally up the total resonance awarded to your spell by the arcane
harmonics that are true for your spell to determine its base resonance.

13
THE ENGINE
If you do go back and change around the Words of your spell as a part of this step,
III consider what that means for your spell’s concept. How does it change, if at all? Is the
CONTD. ethos of your concept still being represented by the Words of the spell? If it’s not, revisit
your concept or choose different words; the single most unalienable rule of this system is
that the Words of a spell must represent the essence of what that spell is meant to do.
The list of arcane harmonics are located on page 38. When you go about
determining which of them your spell abides by, keep these general rules in mind:

❧ To make a powerful spell, maximize the number of harmonics it has.

❧ If you invert a Word in your spell, that Word is considered for the purposes of
determining Arcane harmonics for this spell to be of the diametric domain (e.g.
the opposite domain as organized on the Octad Cyclogram on page 11) to the original
Word. For example, in the spell vulnerability to fire, the Word vulnerability is an
inversion of the word invulnerability, which is from the domain of abjuration. Thus,
the Word is treated as being from the domain of conjuration instead.

❧ The number of arcane harmonics a spell has may not exceed the number of
Words in the spell. For example, the spell orb of fire contains two words, one
from the domain of evocation and the other from the domain of conjuration. Thus,
according to the harmonics on page 38, orb of fire is formal, hypovective, orbital,
undulant, xenoethical, and zygapophytic. However, the spell only contains two
words, and therefore would only gain the resonance benefit granted by two of those
arcane harmonics.

Now that you have a spell concept and you know how much resonance is contained
IV within the spell, it is time to flesh out some of the more mechanical details by
spending resonance. Starting on page 43, you’ll find a list of resonance trees, each
of which will help you determine qualities like the range, area of effect, damage, and
components that the spell requires. This section also describes how to use them to spend
resonance; defer to the rules there when iterating on this step.
You do not need to use all of the trees given if one does not apply to your spell
(you would not make a selection on the components tree for a spell which requires no
components, for example), but it is essential that you maintain good faith through this
process nonetheless. That is, if your spell concept states or implies that the spell is meant

14
 THE ENGINE
to consume a material component to enact a ritual, you may not simply write off the
IV
CONTD.
components tree because it suits your resonance budgeting.

In addition, you may spend resonance on special one-off attributes referred to here as
tags. A list of example tags can be found on page 50.
As with most of the content in this book, the example tags and resonance trees
are not the be-all and end-all of attributes that you can spend resonance on. If there’s
something specific not covered in the trees or example tags, feel free to discuss it with
your GM and come up with a resonance cost for a specific spell function (and perhaps
add it into the book in the custom tags section starting on page 52).
Also feel free to return to step 1 here if you find yourself a few resonance short
of what you need; shuffle Words, invert something, and get creative with your concepting
to eke out as many harmonics from your spell as you can.

As you create more complex spells using the Engine and port them into your game, you
may find the following Spell Power table of some use. Its purpose is to give you a general
idea of how different levels of resonance in an Engine spell might map to the fictional
circumstances of a game. Though this table has no explicit use in spell generation, it is
intended to help you to refine your expectations of the fictional implications of your
spells’ effects with respect to the amount of resonance they have.
RESONANCE NOTES SLOT*
1-5 Parlor tricks. Harmless light shows or flair with minimal obvious use. 0
The most basic utile magic. Possibly combative in nature, but only ever
6-10 1
marginally so.
Useful, relatively minor feats capable of manipulating arcane forces in
11-25 2-3
a small locale, typically for a limited time.
Undoubtedly powerful, quite possibly dangerous magic capable of
26-35 4-6
bending the laws of nature.
Pivotal arcane feats with utility that stretches the bounds of space and
36-49 7-8
reality, or destructive magic capable of turning the tide of battles.
History-defining, world-rending, or reality-warping magic that defies
50+ the limits of the imagination. The pinnacle of magical power, possible 9
only for the most talented and dedicated mages in the universe.

* Equivalent Slot Level for systems that utilize a spell slot system with levels 0-9. Largely irrelevant
to the Engine, but useful as a conceptualization tool for those familiar with slot systems.
15
THE ENGINE
Finally, once you are satisfied with the spell you’ve created, clear it one last time with
V your GM. Ensure that your spell has remained congruent with your game and accept
input on how to make it fit better with the setting in which it will be run. Revisit previous
steps, refine, and iterate.
Once you are confident that your spell cannot improve further, transcribe its
final version, including the name, effects, the attributes you spent resonance on, and any
other information about it that you feel is relevant to its usage at the table.

In addition to the final writeup, it is highly recommended that throughout this process
you produce copious physical notes in whatever way is possible for you, such as
developing your spell on paper or even in a special notebook, opting to use a pen in
your iterations rather than a pencil, or printing out a digital, unabridged version of
your musings. While you’re playing your spellcaster the table, shuffling through papers
covered in struck passages, scribbling, scratch versions of the Octad Cyclogram, and
heavily-marked drafts of the spell’s wording will give you a powerful tactile experience
and allow you a physical portal into the experiences of your character.

SPELL EXAMPLES
Here are three examples of spells created using the procedures defined in this chapter:

EXAMPLE I
Spell: Arrow Faith Misty Growth
Fire an arrow from a bow while speaking a prayer. A gaseous cloud of radiant energy blossoms
forth from the point of impact. The cloud grows to a maximum size over a short time, then
dissipates; the cloud deals radiant damage to any creature inside.

Concept Notes: It is easy to see how each of the Words are expressed in the spell; the arrow is
fired as part of the casting (Arrow); a prayer must be said to invoke divine energy (Faith); the
divine energy takes the form of a cloud of smoke (Misty); and the cloud expands over the course
of the spell (Growth). The different parameters (the size of the cloud, its rate of growth, the
amount of damage the cloud does to its inhabitants, and more) will be filled out later; they’re
important, but not for the purposes of concepting spells.

Harmonics: Arrow is conjuration. Faith is divination. Misty is illusion. Growth is transmutation.

In accordance with the harmonics on page 38, the spell is Formal (3), Hypovective (4), and
16 Wending (2) for a total of 9 base resonance.
 THE ENGINE
EXAMPLE I CONTD.

Trees and Tags: The caster speaks a prayer with a verbal component (components tree, +1
resonance by the Detriment Rule on page 42). The spell begins as a small area (targets, 0
resonance) and grows over the course of one minute (time, +3) to a medium area (targets, 2).
The cloud lingers for one additional minute (time, 3) and causes creatures inside to make a save
against the holy steam, taking 1d6 damage (damage, 2) for each turn they spend inside, or half as
much on a successful save (attack/save, 2). We spend the 1 leftover resonance on a tag, sustained,
which gives us the damage-over-time effect for staying inside the cloud.

EXAMPLE II
Spell: Animate Elements Shocking Speak
Murmur an incantation to a cloud in the sky; an elemental being of pure electricity is summoned to
your side from the firmament.

Concept Notes: For this spell, we’ve certainly represented each Word in the effect, just as we
did in example I. Example I, however, was relatively explicit compared to this one. We are not
certain of the exact qualities of the creature we’re summoning, only that it is made of electricity,
and that it has ostensibly been animated from the material in a cloud. These are the only details
that are relevant to the Words in the spell, so they’re the only details we bother describing
here. The power level of this creature is not necessarily known; the spell concept is worded
intentionally in such a way as to keep this ambiguous for now.
Regardless of these extraneous details, there is no doubt of what this spell does in the
most concrete sense: a creature made of electricity is summoned from the sky. This is the most
interesting and simple-to-understand part of the spell, which makes it more important to nail
down early.

Harmonics: Animate is transmutation. Element[s] is conjuration. Shock[ing] is evocation. Speak

is divination. The spell is Formal (2), Hypovective (3), Lexical (4), Orbital (2), and Zygapophytic
(3). Since there are four Words in the spell, it may only have four harmonics; taking the ones that
grant the most resonance gives the spell a base resonance of 12.

Trees and Tags: The caster speaks to call the creature down (components tree, +1 resonance).
It summons what we’ll call a major creature (components, 10). This happens instantaneously
(time, 0) at a point a short distance (distance, +1) from the caster. The creature sticks around for
a duration of ten minutes (time, 6).

17
THE ENGINE

EXAMPLE III
Spell: Lure Flesh Enemy Moon
Sacrifice a bit of flesh in a profane ritual beneath the full moon’s light. Every werewolf nearby is
drawn unabatingly to the site of the ceremony.

Notes: Though this spell is rather niche, it showcases the flexibility of the Engine; there are
certainly some situations where this spell might make or break a campaign arc. Notice also
that this spell doesn’t specify a duration or process for the ritual that it requires; this gives us a
markedly wider design space than spells typically have. The ritual may take all night, or even
occur over several days. Again, we’ll work out these details later, but in any case, the Engine
encourages you to expand the scope of what magic can be in your game.

Harmonics: Lure and Enemy are enchantment. Flesh is necromancy. Moon is divination. The
spell is Gracious (4), Trivectant (3), and Vertextual (4) for a base resonance of 11.

Trees and Tags: The spell ritual requires a bit of flesh (components tree, +1 resonance) and must
be performed under a full moon (components, +1). It takes two hours to complete (time, +8) and
has a duration of one hour (time, 7). There is no check or save to resist it (attack/save, 5), and it
acts on every werewolf in a mile radius (distance, 9).

18
This tome would not be
complete without mention of
the great roiling chaos that
exists within each and every
magician. Though the theory of

III
essentialism allows us to focus
our energy through the lens of
Words, the raw stuff of magic
churns just beneath the surface,
threatening to explode out of us
at any moment. There is hardly
a wizard in existence without a
handful of stories from their past
in which their control was lost
to great tragedy. But no matter!
In the words of the spellbinder
Delchor, “all’s the same in the
pursuit of knowledge, of mastery;
no meager loss of life or limb is
ultimately meaningful.”
Some wizards base their
practice in the chaos itself: to
PERMUTATIONS
let it boil up in brief moments
of duress, as the legendary
sorcerer Trary Goldweaver did,
or to become it entirely, as Horu
Osmonium, Quintessential of the
Tempest described in My Time as
a Tornado...
PERMUTATIONS

METAMAGIC
Metamagic describes a spellcasting character’s ability to alter the nature of their magic as it’s
being cast, mutating a single Word of the spell to change its effect slightly in kind as the situation
demands. Not all spellcasters have access to this metamagic; it should be reserved for those
spellcasters with the highest improvisational talent or inherent creativity. Perhaps bards, or
those for whom magic is a natural instinct more than it is a learned skill.

Spellcasters capable of weaving metamagic into their spells should choose a Word upon
character creation that will follow them throughout their life; perhaps it is a Word that
exemplifies their personal virtue, or perhaps it follows them like a curse. This is their metaword.

Whenever the character casts a spell with more than one Word, they can choose to swap one of
the Words of that spell with their metaword. There is no need to recalculate the resonance or
anything else about the spell; the spell’s effects simply mutate to reflect the change brought on by
the introduction of the metaword. See page 12 for more details on how to concept a spell.

A spellcaster can use their metaword a number of times equal to their level (or level equivalent),
and regains all expended uses upon finishing a good night’s rest.

It’s recommended for a player with a metaword to think about how a specific application of
that metaword might change a spell ahead of time to avoid extensive deliberation at the table.
Though metawords are capable of drastically changing how a spell manifests ingame, any effect
they cause should align somewhat with the power level of the original spell (see page 23 for more
on assessing a spell’s power in various systems).

It is perhaps worth mentioning that, at least in the principality of Ashenwort, many regulatory
measures have been taken to curb the usage of such magics, their being inherently quite
dangerous to the user and their surroundings. The famous Edict of the Squelfth Age handed
down by the good Queen Bartok is the most notable of these measures, with countless others
following suit in other principalities. In any case, despite the availability of the information on
the following pages, be sure not to follow in the footsteps of the mage Janek the Foolhardy or
Grymlykyn the False: unless you would like your primordial essence to be accidentally confined
to a mason jar forever, or for your eternal soul to be partitioned out and made the legal property
of sixty-odd demonic entities, be sure to follow all local laws and safety regulations when
endeavoring to practice these techniques.
20
 PERMUTATIONS
WILD MAGIC
Wild magic describes spellcasting that has the potential to be unpredictable or volatile. Some
spellcasters often find themselves causing magical mishaps just as often as they’re able to
successfully cast a spell. Alternatively, the magic of some game settings is inherently untamed.

To portray this tempestuous arcana in your character or game world, roll a d20 whenever
someone afflicted by wild magic casts a spell. If the result is a 1, roll on this d66 table to
determine how the effect of the spell is modified by wild magic:

11 The spell fizzles. 41 The caster gets a crick in their neck.

12 The spell goes off, but the caster can’t perceive it. 42 The caster dies for 1 minute.
The caster teleports 1d100 feet in a random The caster is duplicated, and the copy tries to kill
13 43
direction. them. The player continues to play as the victor.
14 The caster falls asleep. 44 The caster forgets their name.

15 The caster shrinks 1d12 inches in height. 45 The nearest animal can now speak.

16 The spell is wildly off the mark. 46 The nearest tree topples.

21 The spell fizzles, but the caster thinks it went off. 51 The spell targets the caster.

22 The caster turns invisible for 1 minute. 52 The player chooses the effect from this table.

23 The target of the spell turns blue. 53 Time slows to ½ pace for the caster for 1 minute.
A persistent and extraplanar salesperson is
24 The spell targets one of the caster’s parents. 54
summoned to the caster.
25 Lightning strikes at the target of the spell. 55 The caster is blasted backward 1d20 feet.
The spell takes effect as though all its Words The caster is blinded and deafened until they cast
26 56
were inverted. another spell.
31 The caster cannot sleep for the next 24 hours. 61 If the target is inanimate, it gains sentience.

32 All corpses within 1d100 feet rise as zombies. 62 The caster turns to stone for 1 minute.

33 The spell casts twice. 63 An annoying song gets stuck in the caster’s head.
The caster’s age changes by 1d10 years; they All the money the caster has on their person
34 64
choose the direction. turns into spiders.
Time accelerates to double speed for the caster The spell takes effect as though one of its Words
35 65
for 1 minute. were replaced with the Word slime.
36 All plants in a radius of 1d100 feet die. 66 Roll 2 more times and add both effects together. 21
PERMUTATIONS
The applicative horizon of Words
of Power stretches beyond direct
ARTIFICING
invocation of arcane power. The Engine can be used to determine the effects of magical
Mages through the ages have items, potions, scrolls, and artifacts, either found in the
developed methods to empower world of your game or crafted by the players themselves.
To create a magical item, follow these steps:
artifacts and tools with Words as
well; these seminal artificers, not I Choose a rarity for the item in question: Common,
the least of which is Carlin the Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare, or Legendary. The time
Magnificent, a stage wizard who and cost (in materials and other expenses) to produce
pioneered such practices in his an item of each rarity is as follows, if it is being crafted.
imbuement of a simple top hat Items have bonus base resonance in accordance with
with a miniature portal through their rarity according to the table at the bottom of this
which lesser wildlife could be page. Feel free to modify the cost and time values there
pulled. to suit the needs of your game.
Further still, one need only
think for a moment before II Perform the spell generation steps described in Chapter
prominent magical relics of yore II as normal, with the caveat that the spell may only
have up to a number of Words equal to the value in
spring to mind: the all-seeing
the Max. Words column of the table below. The spell
eyepatch of Gelf One-Eye; the
or effect you come up with is the power that is imbued
Mask of Obscursion worn by the
in the item. For magical items, you should also spend
Deceit-Mage Desmond Luna-noss; resonance on the Arcane Implements tree. You can also
the all-holding bucket of Mary spend additional resonance on the Artificing Tags on
Katherine; the list goes on. page 51.

RARITY TIME COST BONUS BASE MAX.

RESONANCE WORDS
Common 1 month 1,000 gp 1 1
Uncommon 1 year 5,000 gp 3 2
Rare 5 years 10,000 gp 5 3
Very Rare 10 years 100,000 gp 7 4
Legendary 100 years 1,000,000 gp 10 5

22
Within the framework of arcane

IV
essentialism, there are as many
physical methodologies in
manifesting magics as there
are blades of grass in elysium.
Though many forms have been
solidified as orthodoxy, from the
stoic form patented by the High
Seer of Kahena, Ashterot Lumàni
Verosá, to the remote form of
the recluses led by the arcanist
Artemis Wifi, to the famed runic
scribe Rayne, countless other
stances, flourishes, and practices
exist in tiny pockets across the
multiverse, sometimes held
uniquely by a single mage and no
others.
CONVERSIONS
CONVERSIONS
ON CONVERSIONS
There are two approaches available for fitting the Power Words Engine to your game:

1. Use a new casting system that entirely replaces your system’s casting mechanics.

2. Fit your game’s existing casting system to the Engine.

In this section, you’ll find options for both: firstly, a new system that you can apply to any game.
It’s recommended to use this Die-Based system for games that are less concerned with the most
granular specifics of magic spells (many OSR systems fall into this category). For games with
extremely deep combat systems or those which are tied heavily into character progression, try
one of the methods (Slot-Based or Point-Based) from the sections starting on page 26.
It’s the goal of this chapter to cover most of the popular systems, but it wouldn’t be
possible to explicitly include conversions for every game in existence. Your system of choice may
not fit neatly around one of the given solutions. In that case, it’s recommended that you choose
the one that most closely resembles your system and fill in the gaps yourself as a GM. Otherwise,
consider using Die-Based Casting.

Some systems require that spells belong to a specific domain of magic, or be otherwise tagged
with keywords that allow the spell to function alongside other system mechanics. For these
situations, treat an Engine spell as belonging to the domain of its first Word.
If your system requires a more granular approach, or has keywords that do not line up
one-to-one with the domains described by the Octad Cyclogram, use your best judgment (along
with that of your GM) to give the spell the appropriate keywords for your system. If resonance
trees or tags are inapplicable, consider creating a new tag as described in this book and spend
resonance to apply it to your spell as normal.

This casting system uses a pool of dice to cast spells. A spellcasting character has a
DIE-BASED

number of spell dice equal to their level or level equivalent. 10-sided dice are used in this
example, though you may find another die constrains the spell power of your game more
adequately. In any case, a more powerful character has more spell dice.
To cast a spell, the character rolls one or more of their spell dice, taking the
total on all the dice rolled as the result. If the result of the roll is greater than or equal to
the total resonance of the spell they’re casting, the dice rolled are returned to their pool.
If the result is less, the dice are removed from their pool. There is a 1-in-2 chance that
any die rolled is removed from the character’s dice pool, regardless of the total roll (for
instance, if a 6-10 were rolled on a d10, that die would be removed, as would a 11-20 on a
24 d20). All of a character’s expended dice return to them after a good night’s rest.
 CONVERSIONS
The maximum number of dice a player can roll at a time to cast a spell is equal to the
CONTD.

number of Words in the spell that they’re casting. A player cannot cast spells with more
Words than they have levels (again, possibly subject to change based on the progression
systems within your game).
DIE-BASED

For instance, if the level 2 spellbinder Tony of Plus’one casts the spell doom chalice, he
rolls one or two spell dice from his pool of 2. Tony rolls two dice and the result is:

6 8

Since doom chalice has 8 resonance, and Tony rolled a 14, the two dice return to Tony’s
spell dice pool. Tony casts doom chalice again later, again with two dice. The result is:

I 0

Though the result of 11 is greater than doom chalice’s resonance, Tony rolled a 1 on
the first die, which means that die is removed from his pool, leaving him with 1 die
remaining for spells. He casts it again immediately with the final die:

The result is less than doom chalice’s resonance, so the final die is removed from the pool
after he cast the spell. Tony can no longer cast spells until he regains at least one spell
die, either with a good night’s rest or through some other means.

If your system doesn’t have rules for when a character gains access to new spells, they
gain access to 2 new spells upon leveling up.

25
CONVERSIONS
For slot-based systems (e.g. 5E, Pathfinder, B/X, and others; those in which a character

SLOT-BASED
has a number of spell slots which they can expend to cast a spell of a specific level),
spells’ levels are equal to the number of words in the spell; the one-Word spell teakettle
is a first-level spell, and the spell raise cultured monstrous corpse with intent to build new
healthy relationships is a ninth-level spell.

Most other functions of the casting system can remain the same. If you find that the
intrinsic specificity of higher-level spells causes them to be underwhelming relative to
the base game’s spells, consider giving your players access to more spells than normal
(four upon leveling up rather than two, for example) to counteract this lack of generalism
to a degree.

In a slot-based system, spells can be upcast by adding a number of new Words into the
spell equal to the difference between the original spell level and the level of the slot
which will be expended to cast it. If Zardoz the Infinite were to cast the second-level
haranguing nightmare using a third-level slot, they would have the opportunity to add a
new Word to the spell, rendering it into haranguing nightmare of fire, for example.
There is no need to recalculate resonance on the fly to account for any new
Words. The spell simply manifests itself in such a way as to reflect the additions. Keep
the power/resonance table on page 15 in mind as you do this; any additions should fall
reasonably within the bounds of power described by the equivalent slot level listed on
that table. Upcasting is not meant to be a free pass to circumvent the resonance system.
See page 12 for more information on concepting spells from Words.

In point-based systems (Whitehack, Call of Cthulhu, and others) typically either based on
POINT-BASED

hit points or some other linearly expendable resource, treat a spell’s resonance as the
amount of points required to cast the spell. In this case, it’s valid to leave some of a spell’s
resonance unspent, if possible. Only the spent resonance of a spell counts toward its
point cost to cast.

If the cost to cast spells in general tends to be far greater or far less than the amount of
points available to a player at any given time, consider applying a static multiplier to the
point cost to cast spells across your game. For instance, spells might cost ½ × the spell’s
resonance (rounded up) if characters have too few resources to spend, or 2 × the spell’s
resonance if they have too many.
The exact multiplier will depend greatly on your system. As a general rule, a
mage’s most powerful spells should eat through most of, if not all, the resources available

26 to them at any given time.

 CONVERSIONS
BEYOND
This chapter covered a few of the more popular formats for spellcasting, but the sea of
possibilities in the tabletop space for implementations of magic is practically endless.
If you find yourself in need of a homebrewed set of compatibility rules to use the Engine with
a system, including the ones mentioned in the preceding pages, consider the number of Words
in a spell or the amount of resonance a spell has as directly proportional to that spell’s relative
power. That is, a spell with fewer Words or less resonance should be thought of as less powerful
than one with more Words or resonance.
This should be enough to at least get you started. The Engine itself is designed to be
mostly self-contained: as exceptions or questions crop up, it should be relatively straightforward
to answer them at your discretion in the best interest of your system and game.

27
 The compilation of the most
power-filled Words is an
endeavor that has occupied
magedom since the dawn of
essentialism. Many anthologies
have been published, notably by
Vensolin the Unjust (101 Words

V
of Power) and Belasco Cadvar III
(102 Words of Power). Countless
other, much less reputable
sources of Words have cropped
up over the aeons; who could
forget the unorthodox tome
Magic Words I Came Up With
In the Shower by the inimitable
Glaxmeer the Unacquainted, or
the controversial digest Words
From Another Plane by Oran of
the Fey?
In any case, I am most assured
that the volume you now
hold is undoubtedly the most
WORD LISTS comprehensive amalgam of the
best Words in this reality, and
likely all others, such has been
ascertained by the great Noor
VonKlaven of Kamber Lane, who
in an editorial capacity traipsed
through at least several dozen
adjacent timelines to confirm as
much. But I digress!
 WORD LISTS
ABJURATION
Absolute Deflect Intractible Preserve Silence
Aegis Defuse Invulnerable Pressure Single
Agency Defy Iron Prism Skill
Aid Delay Keep Prison Sole
Armor Deny Knot Protection Solid
Articulate Earth Lapse Purify Stagger
Aura Endure Law Rebuke Stasis
Avail Entreat Liberty Rejoin Static
Balance Eternal Life Repent Statue
Bind Evade Machine Repose Stave
Brand Eventual Mark Repulse Stay
Bulwark Forbid Monad Reserve Stoic
Cell Free Mountain Resistance Stuck
Chain Geometry Mouth Restore Suppress
Circle Ground Mushroom Retract Temple
Clear Guardian Negate Revoke Throne
Cloak Hallow No Ring Turn
Clock Handle Obelisk Sacrament Uniform
Coat Harmony Oppress Seal Venerate
Continual Heal Own Self Vigil
Count Helm Pause Sequester Vindicate
Crest Hold Plain Set Wake
Crystalline Immune Plate Shackle Ward
Cure Impose Poise Shelter Wrest
Defend Indestructable Prayer Shield Zone 29
WORD LISTS

CONJURATION
Animal Create Fungus Other Spirit
Animus Creature Gas Out Splash
Arms Cube Glob Pillow Spore
Arrow Cylinder Grease Pit Steed
Assign Device Hammer Plants Summon
Banish Dimension Hive Pocket Swap
Beam Disc Honey Position Swarm
Bell Dish Hut Produce Sword
Bird Disk Infestation Prosthetic Teleport
Blade Dispel Insect Quick Thrall
Bolt Distribute Isopycnic Ray Thread
Bomb Dog Jar Reach Top
Bonfire Door Jelly Release Tower
Boundary Double Key Relic Transport
Bubble Draw Knife Return Trap
Cage Egg Large Ripple Travel
Chest Eldritch Light Rope Tree
Cloth Element Liminal Rune Tremor
Cloud Embark Manifest Saxophone Vegetable
Color Entity Mansion Scrap Visit
Complement Excess Matter Servant Wall
Cone Feast Meteor Ship Warp
Conjure Fog Needle Sigil Wave
Construct Food Object Smoke Weather

30 Container Fruit Orb Spiders Whip

 WORD LISTS
DIVINATION
After Dream Legend Quest Sovereign
Assess Dusk Line Quill Speak
Astral Ether Locate Read Stars
Away Extract Locus Ready Stop
Belief Eye Lore Reality Sun
Beyond Faith Lost Realize System
Bond Fate Mean Receive Test
Card Feel Memory Reconcile Text
Cauldron Find Message Remember Think
Check First Meter Report Thought
Commune Focus Mind Reticent Through
Comprehend Gem Moon Revenge Time
Conduit General Name Royal Timeline
Connect Glyph Night Script Title
Contact Guide Note Seam Track
Convene Hear Omen Search Trail
Date Home Parchment Seek True
Dawn Hope Past Sense Trust
Day Horizon Path Sequence Twin
Debt Identify Penance Sew Vision
Decide Ink Plane Sieve Voice
Depth Inscrutable Portent Sight Wander
Detect Inspire Praxis Sign Watch
Determine Know Prescient Signal Word
Divine Language Profound Sin Zetetos 31
WORD LISTS

ENCHANTMENT
Adore Cry Grief Panic Scream
Alone Dancing Group Parity Shell
Amaze Delirious Guile Person Shine
Anxiety Disturb Gusto Pheromone Sibling
Apply Dominate Haste Phobic Sleep
Attach Ego Heavenly Placid Snare
Attract Embrace Help Platonic Sorrow
Augment Emotions Hero Please Stare
Avarice Empath Hunger Ply Straighten
Beauty Enemy Impress Praise Stupid
Believe Enhance Instill Pride Sympathy
Bless Envy Insult Profess Tear
Bluster Euphony Internal Pull Tired
Breathe External Joy Rage Touch
Calm Fae Laugh Reckless Transfix
Charm Favor Lead Relationship Treat
Coerce Fear Lean Relative Triumph
Comfort Flern Lie Repugnant Umbrage
Command Forgo Limbo Rest Unthinking
Compel Frenzy Lock Rhizome Urge
Compliment Friend Lure River Vampire
Confess Frustrate Magic Sacred Weak
Confidence Glib Monster Satisfy Weary
Convince Grace Origami Scent Years

32 Crown Greed Pallor Scold Zeal

 WORD LISTS
EVOCATION
Acid Cut Grasp Overwhelm Smite
Air Discharge Green Plunge Song
Anoint Divide Grey Poison Sonic
Awaken Drown Grind Pour Sound
Begin Duel Gust Progress Spike
Bend Effervescent Hand Pronounce Spin
Black Eke Heat Pump Splatter
Blast Emit Hunt Punch Splay
Blue Energy Inflict Purple Spread
Boil Escalate Invoke Push Spur
Boulder Explode Kick Radiant Squall
Bounce Expunge Kinetic Rain Stalk
Broadcast Fall Kiss Raise Storm
Bruise File Knead Red Stress
Build Fill Lathe Rip Strike
Burn Fist Launch Rod Thorn
Burst Fix Lift Run Thunder
Bury Flagellate Lightning Rush Tumble
Charge Flames Love Sauce Twist
Chill Flash Make Send Undulate
Claw Flood Missile Serrated Unleash
Commit Flow Move Sharp White
Conquer Force Music Shatter Wring
Counter Freeze Open Shock Yellow
Crush Go Orange Slice Zest 33
WORD LISTS

ILLUSION
Abandon Dazzle Hoax Mimic Shadow
Accuse Defect Hood Mirage Silver
Akin Defenestrate Humor Mirror Simulate
Almost Deploy Hypnotic Mischief Slip
Among Direct Illusion Misty Sly
Appear Disappear Imagine Mock Sow
Assume Discreet Imp Negative Spiral
Back Disguise Imply Not Spy
Bamboozle Display Impostor Obscure Steal
Behind Distract Impudent Occultation Surround
Bereft Divert Insidious Pass Switch
Betray Dodge Interfere Paste Threat
Bring Doubt Invert Pattern Trick
Cat Duplicity Invisible Plastic Try
Cheat Error Joke Posture Tumult
Code Escape Knack Potential Unknown
Compartment Fake Lucid Projection Unlike
Compound False Ludicrous Random Unseen
Conceal Fantastic Madness Redirect Upend
Confound Feign Malfeasant Reflect Upturn
Confuse Flip Malleable Replace Vague
Copy Flit Manipulate Response Value
Cross Fold Mask Reveal Virtual
Curve Gender Mime Satire Vortex

34 Davka Hide Mimetic Serpent Whisper

 WORD LISTS
NECROMANCY
Ancestor Doom Gnaw Nerve Sour
Annihilation Drain Good Old Spare
Atavistic Dreg Grave Pain Spine
Bile Drink Hair Palm Splice
Blind Dust Harrow Pest Stomach
Blood Ear Heart Phantasm Suffer
Body Eat Hollow Plague Swallow
Bone Eldritch Horror Putrid Swamp
Brain End Ichor Raw Swill
Chaos Engulf Infect Reap Telos
Congeal Ennui Inside Reduce Thresh
Consume Entropic Joint Remove Throat
Corporeal Evil Kill Rend Tomb
Corpse Feeble Knuckle Resurrect Tongue
Crust Feed Lamb Retch Tooth
Curse Fester Leg Revile Vessel
Cycle Fetal Limb Rib Vestige
Darkness Fetid Litter Rigor Violate
Deafen Final Liver Ruin Visage
Death Finger Locust Rust Void
Decay Flesh Loose Sanguine Wither
Deep Foot Malignant Sepulcher Worm
Defile Foul Mar Sick Wound
Destroy Ghost Marrow Skull Wraith
Disease Ghoul Nail Soil Young
35
WORD LISTS

TRANSMUTATION
Absorb Diffuse Grit Oil Smell
Add Digest Growth Osmosis Soft
Alchemy Dome Hard Petal Speed
Alter Evaporate Hole Primal Spice
Animate Exchange Hoof Pulley Spot
Appearance Extend Horn Rapid Squeeze
Aspect Fallow Ice Recover Stink
Bark Fatten Improve Reflective Stone
Beard Feather Into Retreat Stretch
Become Fire Ivory Reverse Sublimate
Breath Flake Jade Rough Terrain
Brittle Flat Jaw Ruby Thaw
Broad Float Jump Salt Tip
Capsule Flower Labyrinth Sand Transfer
Cause Fluid Long Sapphire Transition
Change Fly Mantle Scale Undo
Climb Form Meld Scramble Walk
Cling Frontier Melt Shape Water
Clone Fur Mend Shift Web
Coil Giant Metal Short Weight
Condense Glut Metamorphosis Size Wide
Control Gold Mold Skin Wind
Convert Grain Moss Sky Wing
Copper Gravity Muck Slow Wood

36 Desert Grip Ocean Small Woodland

To the amateur spellcrafter, the
rather daunting list of terms
which describe relationships
between domains can appear
unnecessarily specific. Those
who believe such nonsense are
correct to identify that the Octad
is complex, but disrespectful to
assume that the great mages of
yore created it arbitrarily.

VI
During the course of the
nascent discipline of arcanism,
it became apparent to the great
Agatha Henbane that spells
containing Words of specific
domains seemed to give way to
power markedly greater than
the sum of their constituent
parts. These patterns, dubbed
later as the arcane harmonics by
the lich illusionist Trion Harr,
were quickly identified and
mapped in the iconic Octad; the
formalization of the harmonics
(by many a great mage, though
principally by the magnanimous ARCANE HARMONICS
Corasinth) signified the presence
of a greater organizational
architecture to reality itself;
undeniable relationships
between like aspects of
essentialism converging on a
fundamental resonance, the
entirety of reality, in the words
of the illustrious Lady Cara of
the Playstuff-Academy, “ringing
to the euphonic tenor of astral
harpstrings.”
HARMONICS
ARCANE HARMONICS
The arcane harmonics are rules which the particular combination of Words in a spell may
or may not follow. The more rules a spell does follow, the more base resonance the spell has.
When creating your spell, it’s in your best interest to meet as many of the rules laid out by the
harmonics as possible.
The 26 arcane harmonics are listed on this and the next page. For more information on
the harmonics and how they materially affect the art of spellcraft, refer to page 14.

Accommodant; whose first and last Word Gracious; which contain no Words that
are from the same domain, and no other imply harm to any living creature.
Words share that domain.
+4 resonance.
+2 resonance.
Hypovective; whose Words are all from
Babelous; for which every Word begins different domains.
with the same letter of the alphabet.
+1 resonance per Word.
+1 resonance per Word.
Intraversive; for which at least two Words
Compound; whose Words are each in the spell rhyme.
analogous to one other Word in the spell.
+2 resonance per rhyming Word.
+1 resonance per Word.
Justified; whose Words come from either
Defractive; which contain at least two the upper or lower domains exclusively.
Words that exhibit significant assonance.
+1 resonance.
+2 resonance per assonant Word.
Kymoiambic; for which the spell’s Words
Euphonic; which contains exactly one are organized into iambic meter.
word from each of the eight domains.
+1 resonance per Word.
+5 resonance.
Lexical; whose constituent Words are in
Formal; which contain an equal number alphabetical order.
of Words from each unique domain
represented by the spell, and which +1 resonance per Word.
contains Words from at least 2 domains.

38 +3 resonance, minimum 2 Words.

 HARMONICS
Multivariate; whose Words have all been Trivectant; for which the number of
inverted. domains between the domains of each
Word sum to 5, and for which no two
+1 resonance per Word. Words are analogous.
Nondivergent; whose Words are all of the
+3 resonance.
same domain.
Undulant; with a prime number of Words.
+1 resonance per Word, up to +4.
+3 resonance.
Orbital; for which the domains of each
Word in order flow in one direction (either Vertextual; whose Words all belong to the
clockwise or counter-clockwise within one same quaternant.
rotation) around the Octad Cyclogram.
+1 resonance per Word, up to +4.
+2 resonance.
Wending; for which two or more Words
Pentarchial; for which, on the Octad are analogous and exactly one is diametric
Cyclogram, a uniform pentagram can be to one of the analogous Words
drawn by connecting with a straight line
the domain of each Word in order. +2 resonance.
Xenoethical; whose Words come from
+5 resonance.
the domains of either order or chaos
Quinesscent; for which a straight line can exclusively.
be drawn between the domains of each
Word in order without connecting two +1 resonance.
analogous domains or crossing over the
Yealing; whose constituent Words each
line.
have the same number of letters.
+4 resonance, minimum 3 words.
+1 resonance per letter in each Word.
Refractive; which contains a Word with a
Zygapophytic; whose constituent Words
corresponding diametric Word.
have a corresponding Word that is
analogous to its diametric domain.
+1 resonance per pair.
Skew; which contain exactly one inverted +1 resonance per pair.
Word.

+1 resonance.
39
 Perhaps the most arithmetical
subdiscipline of arcane meta-
academics is that which deals in
the research and development of
resonant application: that is, the
determination of which Words
of Power might give way to what
affects or countenances when

VII
invoked. The work of the dread-
mage Matthew Seagle cannot go
unnoticed here: I Blew Off All My
Fingers So You Don’t Have To and
I Regrew All My Fingers, and Now
You Can Too! are both utterly
foundational volumes.
The following pages contain
all the information you should
need to predict the effects of your
Words to a guaranteed accuracy
of 76 percent. It is with great
pleasure that I am able to claim
this number as the lowest proven
prediction variance since Suda
RESONANCE TREES Ren’s Admitting When You Don’t
Know What You’re Doing and
Other Essays; lest we recall the
heroic period of magic, where
the likes of Ima Junryou made
their name calling out completely
random Words in hopes that
they would have some practical
effect. Thanks to modern arcano-
science, magic is safer and more
consistent than ever!
ALLOCATING RESONANCE

TREES
Once you have chosen the Words of your spell and calculated the resonance it garners from its
arcane harmonics, it is time to distribute that resonance to define the most mechanical aspects
of the spell.
To do this, consider the points of mechanization in your spell. For a summoning, you
might ask: how powerful a creature can this spell summon? How long will the creature remain?
What special components or resources, if any, should I need to perform the summoning ritual?
For a beguiling, you might ask: What am I able to convince a target to do if they fall
under my influence? What kind of a chance do my targets have to resist my influence? How many
individuals can I enchant at once?

For each of the significant mechanical questions you can come up with for your spell, answer it
by performing the following steps:

I Study the set of trees on the following pages and find the one that is most
capable of codifying the mechanics in question (this will not always be
a perfect fit, but try to choose the closest one). The first tree you look at
should be the targets tree.

II Select a circular node on the tree. These circular nodes nail down a
specific mechanical aspect of your spell, such as its range or duration.

III Sum the values of the numbered node connections between the
appropriate diamond-shaped starting node and the one you selected. This 2
is the number of resonance required to achieve the effect defined by your
selected node. A negative sum at this step means that your spell gains that 3
amount of resonance to use in other trees. You may not traverse the tree
from a circular node to a diamond-shaped one, and you may only traverse
upward on a tree if moving from a diamond-shaped node to a circular one.

IV Add that value to a running total and repeat these steps until all of your
mechanization questions have been answered, bearing in mind that this
running total cannot exceed your spell’s total resonance.
2+ 3=5
...
41
 RESONANCE TREES
TREES

The resonance trees are located on the following pages.

You may not need to use one or more of the trees, or you may need to use one more than once.
It is up to you (and perhaps your GM) to determine exactly which parts of your spell need
mechanization; that said, in order for this system to be as flexible as possible, it’s assumed that
you are acting in good faith when distributing resonance for your spell.
It may also be the case that the topic a tree covers is indeed relevant for your spell,
but no specific route on it adequately represents your spell concept. In these cases, refer to the
tags on page 50. If none apply, create one and assign it a fair resonance cost based on the other
examples in this book, consulting your GM if necessary.

As you get more acclimated to the Engine, you will run into ambiguous cases or visions for
spells that either do not fit neatly into the given bounds of the trees or actively problematize
them. This is a good thing! It means that you are stretching the creative limits of the system,
as you should be. In these cases, you should ask yourself whether there is an effect described
somewhere between the tags list and the trees which is on par in terms of power with the effect
that you intend to describe, and estimate its resonance cost based on that determination. This
is an inherently subjective form of mechanization, so discuss with your GM as necessary. It is
possible, however, that there are aspects of your spell that do not need explicit mechanization
via resonance trees, and can simply exist as is logical within the narrative circumstances of your
game’s fiction rather than as an arm of its mechanical layer.
There is also one special rule that comes into play in the trees on the following pages:

The Detriment Rule: for any tree on the

following pages, qualities that scale to the spell’s
benefit, such as the spell effect’s duration (which
benefits from being longer), use the resonance
costs as listed. For any aspect of a spell that
scales to the spell’s detriment (e.g. the casting
time, whose length is directly proportional to
an amount of inconvenience on the part of the
caster), negate the resonance costs listed. In
short, spell qualities that make the spell more
difficult to use in some way grant extra resonance
for use in other trees or tags.
42
 TARGETS

TREES
The targets tree describes the number of targets
or size and type of the area that a spell affects.
Almost every spell needs to select a node on
POINT this tree. Start at one of the diamond-shaped
nodes, and start on that same node in the
other trees that you choose nodes on for this
0 spell. If you choose multiple target nodes for
VOLUME
I different parts of your spell, the node you start
SELF/ on for other trees should be the most relevant
NONE
one to the part of the spell you are defining
LINE mechanics for.
UP TO 0
TWO If defining targets is not strictly relevant to
your spell, use the point node as your starting
node on the other trees where applicable.
SMALL
3 AREA 0
❧ Self/None targeting spells target only the
caster, or don’t target anything.
SPELL 2 ONE
MOD LINE ❧ Up to Two targets can affect one or two
discrete individuals.

MEDIUM ❧ Spell mod means a number of targets equal to

2 AREA 3
the caster’s spellcasting modifier, or about 1-5
individuals (whichever applies).
3 MULTI
CROWD LINE ❧ A crowd is a half-dozen to a dozen individuals,
or perhaps as many as the caster can see.
LARGE
AREA ❧ A small area is 5-10 feet on a side or by radius.

❧ A medium area is 20 feet on a side or by

X radius.

❧ A large area is 30-50 feet on a side or by

radius.
VAST
AREA
❧ A vast area is a city, a continent, or even the
entire world. Consult your GM.

❧ One line is a single line of effect.

❧ Multi-line is for multiple lines. 43

TREES

VOLUME

0 DISTANCE
Most spells require at least one specific distance.
In a summoning, for example, a distance could
TOUCH indicate how far the summoned thing can appear
from the caster.
In a beguiling, you might need a distance
I
to the target, and possibly another for the
maximum distance away from you the target can
-2 get before the spell loses potency.
SHORT

❧ Touch describes a distance of zero, such as

-I one which originates on or within a caster
themself.
LINE 2 POINT
❧ A short distance is between arm’s reach
and 30 feet.
0 0 7
❧ A medium distance is 30 to 60 feet.
MEDIUM INFINITE
❧ A long distance is 60 to 150 feet.

3 ❧ An extreme distance is 150 feet to a mile.

Spend 1 additional resonance on this node
for each additional mile of range.
LONG
❧ Infinite distance means the spell can take
effect any place to which the caster can
3 make a mental connection.

EXTREME

44
 TREES
TIME
The time tree describes any aspect of a spell that
VOLUME can be represented by a span of time.
OR LINE
Most spells require at least two time
components: one to determine the duration of
0 any spell effects, and another to determine the
casting time.
2 INSTANT
❧ Instant time spans have no appreciable
duration.
X
❧ A span of a Turn indicates about 5 seconds,
TURN 0
INFINITE or the duration of one turn of combat in
your system, if applicable.
I I
❧ A time span of Minutes lasts for the number
of minutes listed.
ONE POINT
MINUTE
❧ Time spans of Hours, Days, or Years last
4 for the number of units listed plus one
more for each additional resonance spent
I on the selected node. For instance, an
HOURS effect duration of 4 hours for a point spell
costs 9 resonance (1 + 1 + 4 + 3 additional
3 hours), and a casting time of 1 year for a
FIVE volume spell grants 12 bonus resonance (2
MINUTES
+ 1 +4 + 3 + 2, given as a bonus rather than a
DAYS cost per the Detriment Rule on page 42).
I
2 ❧ An infinite span of time denotes eternity,
TEN excepting extenuating circumstance.
MINUTES
Consult your GM.
YEARS

45
TREES

POINT,
VOLUME, COMPONENTS
OR LINE
The components tree describes creatures or
I things that your spell may produce or consume,
such as (but not limited to) summoned creatures,
illusory goods, or material components that may
MINOR be required and consumed to cast the spell itself.
This tree’s nodes are not specific as to what the
exact nature of a component you are describing
3 by choosing them. However, when creating your
final spell description, you should be as specific
LESSER as possible in describing each one.
The Detriment Rule applies to this tree (see
5 page 42). Negate the listed resonance costs if
the component you are defining is of detriment
to your spell, as the consumption of material
GREATER components would be.

❧ Minor components are easily-obtained or

X
highly common, such as a pebble, a duck, or
a specific hand motion or verbal utterance.
LEGEN-
DARY
❧ Lesser components are mundane and still
somewhat common, though perhaps less
easily obtained: silver filings, the saliva of
a dangerous creature, an imp, or a horse,
perhaps.

❧ Greater components are those which have

While the components tree has a few specific
magical properties or are rare and exotic in
named uses in defining material components
nature: a giant eagle, the tooth of a dragon,
and determining the power level of creatures,
a demon, or an elemental.
it also represents an opportunity to codify more
obscure or specific spell effects into a simple
❧ Legendary components are specific, one-
hierarchy of rarity or magnitude (and to do so
of-a-kind, powerful artifacts or creatures
with access to the Detriment Rule).
that are nearly impossible to obtain. Consult
Before making new tags to cover spell
your GM.
mechanization that is not covered by the other
trees, consider the components tree through
this more generic lens.

46
 ATTACK / SAVE
The attack/save tree describes elements of your

TREES
spell that have a possibility for failure according
POINT, to the result of a check by the caster or their
VOLUME, targets.
OR LINE
A spell need only be concerned with this tree if
its targets would be unwilling to be targeted by a
0
spell if given the choice.
This tree makes no distinction between specific
FULL spellcasting stats or saving throw types; you
CHECK
should determine one that makes sense for the
effect in question, as well as whether the check
2
or save should be made by the caster or their
targets.
HALF
CHECK
❧ Full Check implies a check made by the
If a node implies a check to caster or the affected targets. On a success,
be made against a spell effect, the effect in question fizzles entirely.
5
either use your system’s
normal methods for checks ❧ Half Check implies a check to be made
or saves, or roll under the by the caster or the affected targets. On a
NO
relevant stat if your system has CHECK success, the effect in question is halved in
no such methods (For instance, magnitude, whatever that means in context.
you would roll a d20; if your
spellcasting stat were 12, an 11 ❧ No Check describes effects that act on their
or lower on the die would be targets without a chance for said targets to
a success, and a 12 or higher mitigate the effects.
would be a failure).

DAMAGE
POINT, The damage tree describes how any effects from
VOLUME, your spell might manifest in terms of system
OR LINE
resources such as hit points.
You can spend additional resonance on each
2 I node of this tree. If you do, the amount of the dice
of the type listed increases by 1. The Detriment
D4 Rule applies.
D6
As a GM, you reserve the right to blacklist
nodes on this tree that usurp the resource
2 I continuum of your game system of choice.
You may choose a damage type for your spell

DI2 D8
(if such a thing is relevant to your system) at no
additional resonance cost. 47
TREES

ARCANE IMPLEMENTS
The arcane implements tree describes aspects of
a physical object of artificing: an object of power,
enchanted weapon, scroll, potion, or other
magical artifact.
Spells should only be concerned with this tree
in cases where they are imbued in such items of
power. The nodes on this tree describe the nature
APPAREL of the item in which a spell is imbued rather than
OR OBJECT any particular aspect of the spell itself. That in
mind, choose the diamond-shaped starting node
-I I2 on this tree that corresponds to the kind of item
in which the spell effect is imbued.
EXPEN- PERMA-
DABLE -3 NENT ❧ Charged items are those which have a
number of charges that replenish over time.
-I An item for which this node is selected has
one charge by default. Spend additional
-3 I2 resonance on this node 1-to-1 for additional
POTION CHARGED charges. Charged items regain 1d4 charges
each day at dawn.
2 I
❧ Expendable spell effects are those which
have limited uses. Spell effects with this
SCROLL WEAPON node imbued in magical items have a single
OR TOOL
use by default. In addition to the resonance
cost listed on this node’s connections,
I0 spend one additional resonance for each
additional use of the spell effect that
AT-WILL the item contains. Once all the uses are
expended, the item is either destroyed or
becomes mundane.

❧ At-Will effects are those which can be used

at-will any number of times.

❧ Permanent effects are passive magical

properties that are always present on the
item.

48
Hello. Biff here. Mort has been
rambling on and on in our
dictation “meeting” for six hours
now about how chickens are the
truest font of magic in existence.

VIII
It’s pure nonsense. Needless to
say, I’ve had enough. He hasn’t
dictated a word you’ve read here.
It was all me. It’s the only way I
can get published, since he’s very
stingy with his resources (none
of which he’s earned, by the way;
the Ashenwort fortune goes back
at least a hundred generations).
And that “Sacred Tome of
Intellocraft?” It’s a takeout menu
from the Dragon’s Den Bar &
Grill down on eighth and main.
You know the one.
Anyway, you might be
wondering, “Biff, won’t he see TAGS
you writing this? Or read it after
the fact?”
Maybe he’ll find out about it.
So be it. He certainly won’t read
it himself, though, because he
can’t read.
 TAGS
TAGS

On this page is a list of example tags for spells. They are essentially add-ons for some niche or
obscure spell effects which can be applied to your spell for a flat resonance cost, similarly to
choosing a node from the normal resonance trees. The tags in this list are accompanied with
suggested resonance costs, but serve primarily as a demonstration of your and your GM’s ability
to codify such things at your discretion; if you have a special mechanical need that does not
conform whatsoever to the trees, settle on a resonance cost for it with your GM.

TAG EFFECT COST

Concentration The caster may only sustain one spell with this tag at a time. -3
Prismatic You may choose a different damage type upon each cast of the spell. 2
Sustained An effect of the spell recurs on an interval, such as every turn. 1
Cross-Planar The spell’s effects act across planes of existence. 2
Subtle The spell’s verbal or somatic components are optional. 1
Reaction The spell can be cast immediately as soon as a trigger occurs. 1
Discrete A check made to cast the spell is made separately for every target. 1
Vampiric Damage done by the spell is returned to the caster as healing energy. 3
The spell can be cast without having it prepared (in systems that
Ritual 2
include spell preparation).
The caster can choose which creatures are affected by the effects of
Protective 2
an area spell.
Bladesung The spell is cast as part of an attack with a weapon. 2
Quickening The casting time of the spell is halved if a minor condition is met. 1
When the spell is cast, there is a small chance for the resources used
Resilient 5
to cast it not to be expended.
The spell’s effects are heightened if a specific material component is
Amplifiable 2
used, but can be cast without it.
Frightening The spell conveys a minor effect, such as fear, to any who witness it. 3
Cantrip The spell can be cast without expending any spellcasting resources. 12

50 Magnified The spell is extra-effective against a specific kind of creature. 2

ARTIFICING TAGS

TAGS
The following list of tags applies specifically to items of power in which spells have been imbued.
As with the tags on the preceding pages, these are primarily a list of example resonance costs for
other special effects or “ribbons” that you may want to portray in a magical item, and should be
added to or modified at your and your GM’s discretion.

TAG EFFECT COST

The item is intelligent and capable of communicating telepathically
Sentient -2
with its wielder.
Breakable Expending the item’s last charge causes it to explode. -1
Attunement The wielder may only wield one item with this tag at a time. -2
Binding When the wielder picks up the item, they cannot put it down. -3
Indestructible The item cannot be destroyed. 3
Seeking The item teleports to its wielder’s hand when summoned. 3
Leaching When the item takes a life, it gains a charge. 3
Flitting The item can be made visible and invisible at will. 2
Tailored The item can magically conform to any body type or size. 1
Multifaceted The item is imbued with an additional spell effect. 3
Each day at dawn, the item has a 1-in-20 chance to go irretrievably
Transient -3
missing for the day.
The item cannot be identified, and its magical properties are not
Obscuring 2
detectable as magic.
The item has historical value, and its wielder is held in high regard
Heirloom 2
for those who place stock in its mythological past.
Insuring If the item’s wielder dies, their soul is deposited into the item. 3
Lifegiving As long as the wielder possesses the item, they appear youthful. 3
The item wards off creatures of a certain type, such as vampires,
Reviling 2
werewolves, or dragons.
Pliable The item can transform into any kind of weapon. 4
Sustaining While the wielder possesses the item, they don’t need to sleep. 3
51
 CUSTOM TAGS
TAGS

The next two pages contain tables for tags that are intentionally left blank for you or your GM to
fill out if you choose to keep track of any specific effects and their costs.

TAG EFFECT COST

52
CUSTOM TAGS

TAGS
TAG EFFECT COST

53
IX
A alchemo-digital version of this
text, along with its supplemental
materials, was once located on
the Wizarding Interlink Suite at:

bit.ly/3xrEc4f

Please note that the digital

version is only accessible if your
current temporal position is
aligned with its own. If this is
not the case, use a Grade B or
better chrono-crystalline focus
to realign yours to the resonant
frequency of the address to
access it; please do not do the
QUICK REFERENCE opposite and realign the address
to your own temporal matrix!
This is discourteous to others.
 REFERENCE
STEP-BY-STEP
The following are the abridged steps for making a spell, which are found in full on 12.

❧ Create a spell concept. Select some Words and define the essence of what the spell does.

❧ Calculate resonance. Reference the harmonics and the Octad Cyclogram to determine how
much base resonance the spell has.

❧ Distribute resonance. Reference the resonance trees starting on page 43 and the tags
starting on page 50 to spend resonance in defining the spell’s mechanical effects.

❧ Final writeup. Transcribe the final spell on paper.

SPELL GENERATION RULES

❧ Spells must have between one and nine Words (or fewer, as your system allows; page 23).

❧ Inverted Words (the opposites of the Words in the lists starting on page 28) can be used;
inverted Words and all those that follow them are considered to be of their diametric
domain.

❧ Adding suffixes to Words or using their adjective, verb, or noun forms is allowed.

❧ Use of words like of, to, the, and, with, or the name of the spell’s creator are free, and are not
considered Words for the purposes of determining the number of Words in a spell.

❧ The Detriment Rule (page 42): spending resonance on a resonance tree for a quality of the
spell that makes it more difficult to use awards bonus resonance equal to the listed value
from the tree.

❧ The number of arcane harmonics a spell has may not exceed the number of Words in the
spell.

55
REFERENCE

GLOSSARY
Word A single unit of a spell that contains the power to invoke a concept.

Domain One of eight groups of Words.

Octad Cyclogram The diagram which illustrates the relationships between domains.

Resonance A numerical measure of a spell’s power.

Harmonics Configurational rules, abiding by which grants a spell more power.

Inverted Word A Word’s opposite.

Analogous Two domains or Words which are adjacent on the Octad Cyclogram.

Diametric Two domains or Words which are directly opposite on the Octad Cyclogram.

Divine Quartet One of four pairs of domains that fall on the quarters of the Octad Cyclogram.

One of two groupings of domains: either divination, enchantment,

Quaternant necromancy, and evocation; or illusion, abjuration, transmutation, and
conjuration.

Upper Domains The four domains on the top half of the Octad Cyclogram.

Lower Domains The four domains on the bottom half of the Octad Cyclogram.

Order Domains The four domains on the right half of the Octad Cyclogram.

Chaos Domains The four domains on the left half of the Octad Cyclogram.

56
REFERENCE 57
REFERENCE
A Whose first and last Word are from the same domain, and no other Words share that domain. (+2).
B For which every Word begins with the same letter of the alphabet. (+1/Word).
C Whose Words are each analogous to one other Word in the spell. (+1/Word).
D Which contain at least two Words that exhibit significant assonance. (+2/assonant Word).
E Which contains exactly one word from each of the eight domains. (+5).
Which contain an equal number of Words from each unique domain represented by the spell, and which
F
contains Words from at least 2 domains. (+3, minimum 2 Words).
G Which contain no Words that imply harm to any living creature. (+4).
H Whose Words are all from different domains. (+1/Word).
I For which at least two Words in the spell rhyme. (+2/rhyming Word).
J Whose Words come from either the upper or lower domains exclusively. (+1).
K For which the spell’s Words are organized into iambic meter. (+1/Word).
L Whose constituent Words are in alphabetical order. (+1/Word).
M Whose Words have all been inverted. (+1/Word).
N Whose Words are all of the same domain. (+1/Word, up to +4).
For which the domains of each Word in order flow in one direction (either clockwise or counter-clockwise
O
within one rotation) around the Octad Cyclogram. (+2).
For which, on the Octad Cyclogram, a uniform pentagram can be drawn by connecting with a straight line
P
the domain of each Word in order. (+5).
For which a straight line can be drawn between the domains of each Word in order without connecting
Q
two analogous domains or crossing over the line. (+4, minimum 3 words).
R Which contains a Word with a corresponding diametric Word. (+1/pair).
S Which contain exactly one inverted Word. (+1).
For which the number of domains between the domains of each Word sum to 5, and for which no two
T
Words are analogous. (+3).
U With a prime number of Words. (+3).
V Whose Words all belong to the same quaternant. (+1/Word, up to +4).
W For which two or more Words are analogous and exactly one is diametric to one of the analogous Words. (+2).
X Whose Words come from the domains of either order or chaos exclusively. (+1).
Y Whose constituent Words each have the same number of letters. (+1/letter in each Word).
58 Z Whose constituent Words have a corresponding Word that is analogous to its diametric domain. (+1/pair).