After much consideration taking into account my future plans for 52 Fates, I’ve decided to change the magic system, or more accurately, expand it. Where as before you had a magic type and then used one card suit for each spell, the new system is a much more open endeavor.
There will initially exist 13 magic imbuements such as: fire, kinetic, mind, shape, and light. The number comes from a practical perspective, as you can easily select a random magic type by picking a random card from ace to king. Each imbuement will describe what it entails, and the kind of actions that can be carried out when wielding each magic type. Protagonists will only be able to wield a single imbuement.
Spell mechanics
Every spell will have four aspects: area, duration, range, and power. All spells have a basic, default value for each aspect:
- Area: 5 feet
- Duration: Instantaneous
- Range: Touch
Each one of those aspects is tied to a card suit. For example, duration is tied to the diamonds suit. Playing a diamonds card will lengthen the duration of the spell based on the value of the card. A similar mechanic would apply to all the other aspects.
This means that a mage can actually cast spells without playing any cards, but the scope of such a spell would be rather limited in power and effect. But there’s also a twist to this!
Let’s say that, for example, the player wants to extend the area and range of a spell (and they have the appropriate suits), they would need to play two cards for that spell, no problem there. But, since sway is recovered at a rate of one card per combat round, this means that a mage can become temporarily weakened by casting a powerful spell, by having their sway reduced through the casting process via the cards spent. This makes high-power spells a risky proposition and makes it much more interesting in terms of gameplay and storytelling.
I hope this system makes 52 Fates even more enjoyable and interesting!
