Adepts may be restricted as to when and where they can employ magic according to general rules covering all
magic or by specific restrictions concerning their College only. Restrictions of a general nature are discussed in
this section. Restrictions covering only individual Colleges are discussed under the sections dealing with those
Colleges.
A character may never prepare a spell or engage in ritual magic while in physical contact with cold
iron. He can exercise any Talent Magic he can possess as a result of his race, but not Talent Magic stemming
from his membership in a College of Magic. Cold iron is defined as any metal composed substantially or wholly of
iron ore and its direct products, iron and steel. The amount of cold iron that will prevent an Adept from using his
powers is relatively small, but not minute. Generally, no more than a few ounces is sufficient to prevent the working
of all but racial Talent Magic. However, the final determination as to whether or not a character is affected by cold
iron on his person is up to the GM. The Adept must be in direct contact with cold iron for this stricture to apply. In
all cases, such determinations are the province of the GM. An Adept cannot prepare a spell, use the special
talents of his College, nor perform Ritual Magic while wearing armor made of cold iron or holding weapons or tools
made of cold iron under the provisions of this rule. This does not mean, however, that Adepts cannot wear armor
or use weapons or tools. There are three possible means of circumventing the effects of cold iron.
1. The character can wear non-metallic armor (leather for example) and carry weapons and tools made of bone,
wood, or stone. Tools and weapons of bone, wood, or stone will always be less effective than similar weapons
made of metal. Thus, when using a non-metallic nature, but similar in design to an existing weapon on the
Weapons Table made of cold iron, the Adept would do 2 fewer points of damage and would have his Strike Chance
with the weapon reduced by 10. The same general reduction in effectiveness should be adhered to by the GM in
assigning values to any tools normally made of cold iron that the magician uses in their non-metallic form. Note that
this provision is meant to apply to the substitution of other materials for cold iron in items normally made of metal. A
quarterstaff, for example, would not be any less effective in the hands of a magician since it is a weapon made of
wood anyway. However, arrows would be less effective, since their (normally metallic) heads would have to be
made of stone or bone.
2. The character can use metallic items that contain little or no cold iron. These include items made of such soft
metals as copper and tin (and, of course, their product: bronze). Such items will always be less effective than items
made with cold iron, though not as radically so as in the case of bone, wood, or stone implements. A character can
purchase items of soft metal for the same price as other weapons, but they always do 1 less point of damage and
they always do 1 less point of damage and they can break on a roll of 92-99 instead of just 99. Bronze armor
(scale, chain plate, partial plate, or improved plate) always has a Protection Rating 2 less than the rating for the
same type of armor made of cold iron.
3. The character can neutralize the cold iron by combining it with precious metal. There are three types of metal
that can be combined with cold iron for this purpose: silver, gold, and true silver. Articles made from these
substances will be equally as effective as items made only of cold iron, but will cost much more. An item made of
silvered metal costs 10 times the normal cost for the item made simply of cold iron. A gilded item will cost 120 times
the normal cost for the item made of cold iron alone. True silver will cost 180 times the cost of the item made from
cold iron alone. Silver and gold only partially neutralize the effects of cold iron, but true silver entirely neutralizes it.
The Cast Chance of a character in contact with cold iron neutralized by silver is reduced by 10. The Cast Chance
of a character in contact with cold iron neutralized by gold is reduced by 5. A character is not protected from the
effects of magic by wearing cold iron. For example, a character in armor plate would still be affected by any spell
cast at him despite the presence of the armor.
A character must have the freedom to make the necessary gestures and sounds in order to
cast a spell or perform a ritual. Mute, bound, paralyzed, unconscious, stunned, or restrained characters or
those engaged in Close Combat cannot use Spell or Ritual Magic, though Talent Magic is usually possible.
A character cannot employ a type of magic or a spell or ritual with which he is not familiar. Only those spells,
talents, and rituals that the character has mastered as a result of his race or College or studies after initiation into
the College (i.e., the development of Special Knowledge spells) can be employed by a character.
A character cannot perform a spell or ritual without the necessary equipment or working materials where such
are required in the description of the spell or ritual. A character cannot cast a spell or execute a ritual if his
concentration is broken. Generally, a character's concentration is broken by being engaged in Melee or Close
Combat. Other types of attack or the intrusion of loud noises could serve as a distraction as well. For example, an
arrow whizzing past the caster's ear might break his train of thought and spoil a spell. Whether such events do, in
fact, keep a character from casting a spell is up to the GM. If he decides that an event may have broken the
character's concentration, the character's player must roll D100. If the result is less than or equal to 4 times the
character's Willpower, the character is not bothered by the intrusion and continues what he was doing. Otherwise,
the character is distracted and the spell or ritual must be started over again. Note: This rule is meant to describe
the effects on the process of performing magic when a character's concentration is broken. It does not apply to the
controlling of spells already cast or to the concentration necessary to control an animal, monster, etc., once a Spell
of Controlling has been successfully cast. A character's concentration for these purposes will not be broken by his
entering combat or being attacked. It will only be broken if he is killed or knocked out or (perhaps) if he is stunned.
BACKFIRE FROM SPELLS
There is a chance that a spell will backfire. If the Adept's player rolls a number more than 30 higher
than the Cast Chance while attempting to cast a spell during the Tactical Procedure or 40 higher than
the Cast Chance while attempting to cast a spell during the Adventure Procedure, the spell backfires. It
does not hit the intended target. Instead, the GM rolls D100 and refers to the Backfire Table to determine the exact
effect of the backfire. Possible effects include Fatigue penalties, affecting characters other then (or including) the
original target of the spell, affecting the caster himself, or inflicting a variety of curses and disabilities on the caster.
Backfire never occurs as a result of the functioning of talents and seldom as the result of the functioning of rituals.
Where a backfire can occur as a result of the functioning of a ritual, the possible results are often described in the
section dealing with that ritual, if not, the GM should invent one. House Rule: 99 & 100 are always a backfire.
When a spell has backfired, the GM rolls D100 and consults the Backfire Table. The effect on the Backfire Table
corresponding to the number rolled is immediately applied to the character. All backfire effects are cumulative. A
character may be subject to backfire any number of times and may, in fact, suffer the same curse any number of
times as a result of backfire. All effects are cumulative, though their exact nature may be subject to some
interpretation by the GM. It may be impossible to apply a specific backfire effect to certain characters or spells. In
most cases, when it is not possible for a spell to have the result indicated on the Backfire Table, there will be no
backfire result will be ignored. For example, a spell designed to turn water into wood might or might not have any
effect if it backfired in such a way that it was cast on one of the casting character's companions. Whether the
innocent victim was unaffected or the water in his tissues turned to wood would be entirely up to the imagination
and discretion of the GM.
When a backfire leads to a character being required to lose more Fatigue than he has available, the excess
Fatigue Points are removed from Endurance instead. If the spell was unranked, it is simply forgotten and must be
relearned (even if General Knowledge spell). Forgetting a spell or losing Rank takes place after all other backfire
results are applied. They would not, for example, affect the possibility of a spell reversing itself and affecting the
character who cast it in the same Pulse in which that character forgets the spell. An Adept can be stunned if
forced to remove a number of points of Fatigue or Endurance greater than one-third of his Endurance
as a result of a single backfire result.
 |  |  |  |  |  |
