Spellcaster

Casters, also known as magic-users or spellcasters, are capable of casting spells. A spell is a discrete magical effect, a single shaping of the magical energies that suffuse the multiverse into a specific, limited expression. In casting a spell, a character carefully plucks at the invisible strands of raw magic suffusing the world, pins them in place in a particular pattern, sets them vibrating in a specific way, and then releases them to unleash the desired effect—in most cases, all in the span of seconds.

Spells can be versatile tools, weapons, or protective wards. They can deal damage or undo it, impose or remove conditions, drain life energy away, and restore life to the dead. Casters are very powerful in Ilisara and thus are somewhat rare.

If you are playing a caster of some kind in the Ilisara RPG, your ability to deal damage is based on a series of formulas that loosely match the output of a weapon-wielding character. In some ways, this is limiting. All spellcasters deal a similar amount of damage. They passively receive bonuses to their damage as they level. There is no direct way to upgrade spell power through armor or weapons, except for finding rare items built specifically for magic users. These items usually cannot be bought in town or crafted. However, spellcasters can add incredible magical flavor to their abilities. Their spells can be healing, damaging, or utilitarian in nature, and spells allow you to do much more than swing a weapon in combat.

Spellcasters’ primary “required stat” is Arcana. Arcana encompasses knowledge of a specific kind of spellcasting, whether it is divine/holy, arcane, elemental, or some other kind.

Requirements:

• 5 Arcana to use a spell as a basic attack

• 4 Arcana to create a Tier 3 ability

• 6 Arcana to create a Tier 2 ability

• 8 Arcana to create a Tier 1 ability

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Spell Damage Types

All spells, including a caster’s Basic Attack, have a specific damage type. When you create your character’s spells, choose which type they are. Spells are seldom more than one type.

• Arcane

• Acid

• Cold

• Fire

• Nature

• Necrotic

• Psychic

• Radiant

• Shadow

• Storm

Healing

Healing spells gain a +1 bonus to HP healed at level 5, another +1 bonus at level 7, and another +1 bonus at level 10.

Resistance

Some creatures and objects are exceedingly difficult or unusually easy to hurt with certain types of damage. If a creature or an object has resistance to a damage type, damage of that type is halved against it. If a creature or an object has vulnerability to a damage type, damage of that type is doubled against it.

Resistance and then vulnerability are applied after all other modifiers to damage. Multiple instances of resistance or vulnerability that affect the same damage type count as only one instance.

Caster Basic Attacks

At level 1, you design a basic attack for your spellcaster. Your basic attack is a ranged spell that deals damage. There are four options for your basic attack’s damage output. For convenience of player choice, you can see the minimum and maximum rolls made possible by each option, and the average roll that each option has. Choose wisely.

.	Basic Attack Damage or Healing	Maximum roll	Minimum roll	Average roll
Option 1	1d8	8	1	4.5
Option 2	1d6 + 1	7	2	4.5
Option 3	1d4 + 2	6	3	4.5
Option 4	4	4	4	4

Option 1 and 2 are good for players who want their damage to go up and down a lot depending on the dice roll (and have a high maximum damage output). Option 3 and 4 are for for players who want more consistent damage (and have a lower maximum damage output). Option 4, notably, involves no dice rolling -- so you can be certain by choosing Option 4 that your basic attack will always deal 4 damage.

When you have chosen an option for damage output, choose a Spell Damage Type.

Spellcaster Tier Abilities

Spellcasters have the benefit of making incredibly flavorful Tier abilities. They can be in-combat utility spells, like a short-range teleport, or spells that deal damage/healing. Spellcaster Tier abilities that deal damage/healing can be AOE or Single-Target. When you design a Tier ability for yourself, use the correct table (Single Target or AOE) to determine the attack’s damage or healing output.

Special Note About AOE (Area Of Effect) Abilities

AOE abilities hit multiple targets in an area. When you use an AOE ability, you roll a single attack roll, and every affected target rolls their Defense against that attack roll. AOE attacks follow these guidelines:

• No strict limits on # of targets hit
• Allies are not damaged by allies’ AOE attacks (normally)
• AOE abilities always deal less damage to each individual target than Single Target abilities

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Tier 3

The Spellcaster Tier 3 page will explain how to create a Tier 3 Ability for a spellcaster.

Tier 2

The Spellcaster Tier 2 page will explain how to create a Tier 2 Ability for a spellcaster.

Tier 1

The Spellcaster Tier 1 page will explain how to create a Tier 1 Ability for a spellcaster.