Magic, Abilities, States and Special Effects

See also Category:Magic and Abilities for a full listing.

From the Rulebook

One of the key concepts of Amtgard is the abilities that classes have access to in battlegames. These concepts are broken into three basic categories that are further defined individually in this section.

Abilities are typically actions that are performed by a player using an incantation. It might range from hiding in the shadows to picking a lock to throwing a fireball. Each ability is individually defined later on in this section.

States are normally the result of an ability used by a player. A State is a result that stays on a player until it is removed by the duration ending, respawning, or another ability. See the States section for more information.

Special Effects are typically triggered events that have a specific result. Special Effects are often tied to hits from weapons, Magic Balls, or Verbals. A Special Effect differs from a State in that it has an instantaneous result. The result may continue, but the Special Effect is done once it has triggered. For instance if armor is destroyed by the Armor Destroying Special Effect from a Fireball then the only way to get the armor back is to repair it using Mend (or a similar ability).

Magic and Ability Mechanics Defined

Ability

Powers or skills that must be cast to be used.

1. Ability Enchantments denoted as Magical (m) in the class description count towards the bearers limit for carried Enchantments.
2. Ability Enchantments denoted as Extraordinary (ex) in the class description do not count towards enchantment limits or count for the purposes of Attuned, Essence Graft, or similar abilities. A player may not have more than one (ex) enchantment of the same name.
3. Abilities granted via an Enchantment retain the original School of the ability, not the School of the Enchantment.
4. Ongoing Effects are effects applied by abilities where the effect lasts for some specified duration (Examples: Terror, Heat Weapon, and Shake it Off) or for an indefinite duration (Examples: Elemental Barrage, and Shove).
5. An improperly cast ability, or ability which could not have been activated, fails. For example, abilities cast while Suppressed, or Magical abilities cast without an empty hand throughout the incantation.
6. Failed abilities have no effect on any target. A use of the ability is still expended.

Ability Order

When two abilities would take effect simultaneously:

1. Effects on a player trigger in this order: Traits, Immunities, Resistances, Other Enchantments.
2. Other Enchantment effects trigger at the same time, even if the result of one would prevent another. Example one: A player bearing Phoenix Tears and Troll Blood dies. Both enchantments trigger and lose a strip, player is Frozen for 30s, ignores the killing effect, and when Frozen is removed all wounds are removed, etc. Example two: A player bearing Ancestral Armor and Gift of Air is hit by a normal melee weapon in an armored location. That hit location loses 1 point of armor, and the player is Insubstantial.

Archetype

Class abilities which modify base rules about their class. Archetypes are denoted with an (A) and are always active throughout the game. Archetypes may not be removed by any means and persist after respawn. Archetypes are not enchantments, and do not count towards enchantment limits or count for the purposes of Attuned, Essence Graft, or similar abilities. You do not have to have an archetype, even if one is available to you.

Chant

An audible component required by some abilities that sustains their continuing function. Under normal circumstances a player may voluntarily end an ability with an ongoing chant at any time. The audible components of a Chant must be spaced no further than five seconds apart and audible to 50’. Failure to Chant ends the effect. May be spoken while moving. Only one Chant can be maintained at a time.

Charge

Some abilities may have their per-life or per-refresh uses restored after they are consumed. These abilities are denoted with the word “Charge” and a number after them. In order to gain an additional per-life or per-refresh use of a Chargeable ability the Charge Incantation must be repeated in full the number of times indicated by number after Charge. For instance an ability labeled ‘Charge x3’ requires three full repetitions of the Charge Incantation in order to regain a use.

1. Stating the name of an ability to Charge does not activate that ability.
2. Charges for per-refresh abilities carry between lives; a per-refresh ability Charged on a previous life and not used can be used on the next life.
3. The ability being Charged must be designated at the beginning of the Charge.
4. Only abilities which may be Charged can benefit from Innate, Steal Life Essence, etc.

Charge Incantation

The Incantation that is used to Charge an ability. A single ‘Charge Incantation’ is repeating the following phrase:

Out of battle I pause to rest.
I take some time to catch my breath.
Return to me my fleeting power.
To aid me in my darkest hour.

The Charge Incantation requires an empty hand and must be audible out to 20'.

Enchantments

Enchantments are ongoing abilities that remain until they are used up or removed.

1. Enchantments are represented by enchantment strips.
   • Offensive Enchantments require a red strip
   • Defensive Enchantments require a white strip
   • Miscellaneous Enchantments require a yellow strip
2. Players may only carry one magical enchantment at a time. A player may not have more than one (ex) enchantment of the same name.
3. Enchantments may only be cast on willing players.
4. Enchantments are always worn by players. An Enchantment can always be cast onto a player, regardless of any Immunity, other Enchantment, or other effect that normally prevents a player from being affected by an ability, except for restrictions that affect Enchantments specifically, such as Essence Graft.
5. If a player bearing an Enchantment is killed the Enchantment remains but becomes inactive. Respawning removes any Enchantments from a player unless the Enchantments are Persistent. If the person is returned to life, as opposed to respawning, then Enchantments are preserved and will function again, unless removed by the ability that returned the player to life.
   • If a player voluntarily takes a death, all Enchantments carried are removed.
6. Enchantments that have a definite number of uses, such as Blessing Against Harm or Snaring Vines, are removed when their last use is expended even if ineffective against their target. For example, discharging Poison against a target Immune to the Death School still expends that use of Poison.
7. Uses of abilities granted by an Enchantment are tracked separately from a player's own abilities, and are recharged separately.
8. States, Abilities, and Ongoing Effects imparted as an inherent part of Enchantments to their bearer cannot be removed in any way while the Enchantment is active and are removed when the Enchantment is removed unless otherwise noted, except for Cursed. This does not apply to States nor Ongoing Effects incidentally caused by the Enchantment which have a normal exit condition or expiration timer. Those can be removed normally.
   Example One: A player bearing Heart of the Swarm is Stopped. When they die the Enchantment becomes inactive and the player is no longer Stopped since all States other than Cursed are removed on death. If the player is returned to life in a manner that preserves their Enchantments then they will again become Stopped as Heart of the Swarm becomes active again and re-applies the State.
   Example Two: A player is enchanted with Phoenix Tears and "killed". Phoenix Tears activates, making the player alive and Frozen. Another player could remove this Frozen with Release. If the player is "killed" again, Phoenix Tears will make them alive and Frozen, and then remove itself. Removal of the Enchantment does not remove Frozen.
   • Cursed imparted by an Enchantment cannot be removed in any way while the Enchantment is worn, whether it is active or inactive. If the Enchantment is removed, Cursed is not removed.
     Example One: A player bearing Vampirism dies. Their enchantment becomes inactive, but the Cursed State remains. If the enchantment were removed with Sever Spirit, Vampirism would be removed, but the Player would remain Cursed.
9. Enchantments worn (or a summary of their effects) must be declared at the beginning of an engagement if possible. Enchantments worn must always be declared when requested. Persistent enchantments must be declared as such.
10. Players may remove any worn enchantments from themselves by declaring that they are doing so. This must be audible out to 20 feet.

Engulfing

Engulfing effects affect the target if they strike a valid hit location, garb, or carried equipment.

Incantation

The verbal component required by some abilities that initiates their function.

Abilities used at a Range greater than Touch require that the target be indicated by name.

Example: “Timmy, I command thee to stop, I command thee to stop, I command thee to stop.”

If the name of the target is not known, or if the casting player prefers, they may instead point at the target with a free hand and say two descriptors for the target, such as their class and the color of their tunic.

Example: <Point with a free hand> “Warrior in blue, I command thee to stop...”

When targeting a piece of equipment, the caster must explicitly define the equipment in addition to the player most recently using it.

Example: “Timmy, blue sword on hip, I call upon flame to heat that sword...”

All Incantations:

1. Must be said loudly and clearly enough to be heard within 50’ or by the recipient, whichever is closer. Incantations for abilities which target self must be audible to within 20’. In the event of a disagreement over audible range, consult a reeve.
2. Unless otherwise noted in the ability description a player may not move their feet when incanting. If a player moves their feet the incantation is interrupted.
3. Improper wording, mispronunciation, a gap of more than two seconds between words, or omitting words will all result in an interrupted incantation.
4. An interrupted incantation does not result in an ability being consumed. Interrupted incantations must be restarted from the beginning.
5. Require the caster to have an empty hand with the exception of holding Material Components or the target of a Touch or Other Range magic. Incantations listed as Extraordinary (ex) do not require a free hand. Any hand that is touching a shield or weapon is not considered an empty hand, with the exception of hands incidentally touching Small shields that are strapped securely to the arm.
6. Starting an incantation renders the player’s active Magic Balls inactive and interrupts any other Incantation or Chant the player has in progress.
7. The target of an ability must be at least partially visible at the completion of an Incantation. The target being out of sight at any other point does not prevent or interrupt the casting attempt. If a piece of equipment is the target, the physical equipment itself is what needs to be at least partially visible. If the incantation is completed and the target is not at least partially visible, the Magic or Ability has no effect but is still expended.

Completing an incantation results in an ability being used up, regardless of if the target was valid or affected.

Magic Armor

Magic Armor is provided by some Enchantments. The specific enchantment will denote a number of points of Magic Armor that are granted to each hit location.

1. If Magic Armor is granted from two different sources only the highest value present is used and all others are ignored.
   Example: A player is wearing both Stoneskin (2 points of Magic Armor) and Barkskin (1 point of Magic Armor). Since Stoneskin is the highest value the Magic Armor from Barkskin is ignored. If Stoneskin is removed the player will have a new Magic Armor maximum of 1 point. All locations greater than 1 point will be lowered to 1 point while all locations at 1 point or lower will remain unchanged.
2. Magic Armor may be the target of abilities that affect armor such as Armor Breaking, Fireball, etc.
3. Magic Armor may be repaired like any other armor.
4. Magic Armor covers all locations on a player without any gaps in coverage.
5. Unless it is inherently part of the Enchantment, Magic Armor can never benefit from armor enhancement abilities such as Ancestral Armor or Imbue Armor.
6. Players may wear more Magic Armor than their class maximum allows. A class which cannot wear any armor can still wear Magic Armor.
7. Magic Armor behaves identically to normal armor.
8. The presence of Magic Armor must be declared to any opponents at the beginning of an engagement if possible; Magic Armor should not result in a ‘surprise survival’.
9. Enchantments which grant Magic Armor fail when targeting a player with worn armor. Players may not don worn armor while bearing an enchantment which grants magic armor. (If you are only wearing armor that was rated initially as zero points it may be worn with Magic Armor.)

Magic Balls

Magic Balls which are thrown and strike a player or object can have various effects.

1. Players may only carry or bring on to the battlefield a number of Magic Balls up to the maximum uses allowed to them.
   • Owners of Magic Balls may grant other players permission to carry their Magic Balls in order to return them to the owner or to the owner’s base. They may also grant other players permission to use their Magic Balls if the other player has the ability to do so.
2. A Magic Ball must be held in the caster's hand by the end of the incantation to become active.
3. A Magic Ball will become inactive if the caster begins an incantation or the Magic Ball stops being held in hand and has not been thrown. The caster can transfer an active Magic Ball from one hand to the other without it becoming inactive and can wield a weapon or shield in a hand that is also holding an active Magic Ball.
4. A player may only have one Magic Ball active at a time.
5. Magic Balls of the Subdual School have no effect on equipment that is not being carried.
   • Example: You may not Iceball a player’s shield if it is not being wielded or carried by them.
6. Magic Balls discharge and attempt to affect the first valid player or wielded equipment they strike, if any, before deactivating upon striking the terrain. Magic Balls are not Engulfing unless noted.
7. Garb strikes count as hitting the player if the Magic Ball would have continued on to hit the player.
   • Example: You may not block Lightning Bolts with your cloak.
8. Magic Balls are not stopped by Protection from Projectiles, Song of Deflection, or similar abilities.

Meta-Magic

A type of ability which alters the typical behavior of other abilities.

1. Meta-Magic follows all the standard rules for Incantations, except for Ambulant, which may be cast while moving.
2. Meta-Magic must be stated immediately after indicating the target and prior to beginning the incantation for the modified ability.
3. Abilities that are labeled with a Meta-Magic in the class description are affected as per that Meta-Magic, but do not require the player to state the incantation for that Meta-Magic.
4. Meta-Magics do not affect other Meta-Magics, but may be combined in any number so long as all restrictions are observed.
   Example: A player may cast an ability using Extension and Ambulant, however Extension must be stated without moving the feet as it is unaffected by Ambulant.
5. Meta-Magics are considered expended as soon as their incantation is finished regardless of whether or not the altered ability was completed.
6. May not be used to modify the behavior of Magic Items or abilities granted by Enchantments such as Heat Weapon from Gift of Flame.

Range

The target of an ability must be in range at the completion of an Incantation. The target being out of range at any other point does not prevent or interrupt the casting attempt. If a piece of equipment is the target, the physical equipment itself is what needs to be in range. If the incantation is completed and the target is not in range, the ability has no effect but is still expended.

• Self: Target must be the caster.
• Touch: Target may be Self or Other. Any physical contact between caster and target is sufficient, or placing one's hand within six inches of the target.
• Other: Target must be other players or equipment that are in Touch range.
• 20': Target must be within 20' upon completion of the incantation.
• 50': Target must be within 50' upon completion of the incantation.

Abilities that are cast at Touch range may only be used provided at least one of the following is true:

• The target is willing
• The target is Dead
• The target is Stunned
• The target is Frozen
• The target is Insubstantial and unable to move from their current location.

Resistant

The player is unaffected by the next effect of a given type. Players must declare "resistant" upon triggering.

Wounds: Does not receive the next wound that would otherwise be inflicted.

School: Immune to the next ability from the given School.

School

Abilities are divided into Schools. Each School specializes in a certain genre of magic and typically the effects of the different abilities within a School are similar.

Command

Typically compels or forbids action. All offensive magic and abilities from the Command School are Verbals and have the word “Command” in the incantation.

Death

Typically causes injury or destruction. Most abilities from the Death School have the word "Death" in the incantation.

Flame

Typically causes injury or destruction. Most abilities from the Flame School have the word “Flame” in the incantation.

Neutral

Typically has effects that alter game rules for the user in some manner and do not directly affect other players.

Protection

Typically prevents injury or destruction. There are no offensive abilities in the Protection School.

Sorcery

May cause any effect, serving as a catch-all School. Many abilities from the Sorcery School have the word "Power" in the incantation.

Spirit

Typically supportive abilities pertaining to injuries, death, and other ill affects. Many abilities from the Spirit School have the word "Spirit" in the incantation.

Subdual

Typically prevents movement or actions. All abilities in the Subdual School are Magic Balls.

Specialty Arrows

Specialty Arrows which strike a player or object can have various effects.

1. Players may only bring a number of Specialty Arrows on to the battlefield equal to the maximum uses allowed to them. Likewise, players may also only carry up to that amount at any given time.
   • Owners of Specialty Arrows may grant other players permission to carry their Specialty Arrows in order to return them to the owner or to the owner’s base, but may not grant anyone else permission to use them.
2. Specialty Arrows must be fired alone.
3. Incantations for Specialty Arrows must be said immediately prior to firing, and said loudly and clearly enough to be heard within 50’.
4. All Specialty Arrow incantations are treated as Ambulant but do not require the statement of "Ambulant" before their incantation.
5. Properly cast Specialty Arrows count as a normal hit from an arrow to the location struck in addition to their listed effects.

Traits

Class Abilities that function all of the time without activation being required. Includes such things as Immunity and the ability to use extra equipment. Traits are denoted with a (T) and are not considered States nor Enchantments. Traits may not be removed by any means and persist after respawn. Immunities granted by Traits persist after death. Traits are not enchantments, and do not count towards enchantment limits or count for the purposes of Attuned, Essence Graft, or similar abilities.
Note: Some Traits mimic other abilities, but these Traits are still always on and ignore any Incantation or Materials requirement listed.

Trigger

Some abilities have special circumstances that must be met before they can be cast.

Kill Trigger

Can only be used within 30 seconds after striking an enemy with the final blow or causes the activation of any effects which allow the enemy struck to avoid death such as (Troll Blood, Phoenix Tears, and Song of Survival). The caster must be outside of 10’ of a living enemy, and may only use one Kill Trigger ability per eligible killing blow.

Wound Trigger

Can only be used immediately after the caster causes a wound to an enemy (even if that wound kills the enemy; but not if the wound is not received, e.g. by a Resistance).

Verbal

Abilities that require an incantation to be cast. Verbals can have an immediate effect or impart a State or an Ongoing Effect. Ongoing Effects may have a duration, after which it expires. If a player would gain an Ongoing Effect they are already affected by, the Ongoing Effect’s duration will simply be adjusted to the new duration if it is longer than the current duration. An Ongoing Effect without a duration continues until it is removed by some outside force or until a condition is met. Unless otherwise noted, Ongoing Effects cannot apply to dead players and are removed when a player dies or has an ability activate which allows the player struck to avoid death (Troll Blood, Phoenix Tears, Song of Survival).

States Defined

All abilities (with a few exceptions) make use of a small set of common terms to explain the result they have on the player. These results are referred to as a ‘State’ or ‘States’. A player can have any number of different States simultaneously. A State conferred by a class Trait, such as Immunity to Subdual, is always on and may not be removed by respawn, death, or any other means.

A State may have a duration, after which it expires. If a player would gain a State they are already affected by, the State’s duration will simply be adjusted to the new duration if it is longer than the current duration. A State without a duration continues until it is removed by some outside force or until a condition is met. Unless otherwise noted, States cannot apply to dead players and are removed when a player dies or has an ability activate which allows the player struck to avoid death (Troll Blood, Phoenix Tears, Song of Survival).

States imparted at the same time as a killing blow are considered to have taken effect prior to death. If a State which prevented a player from moving expires due to its duration ending, the player it affected must declare, “No longer [State that ended]”. This must be audible out to 20 feet.

Cursed

Player becomes Immune to Spirit. Has no effect on abilities already cast or ongoing. Cursed persists after death but is removed on respawn. Cursed imparted by an Enchantment cannot be removed in any way while the Enchantment is worn, whether it is active or inactive. If the Enchantment is removed, Cursed is not removed.

Fragile

Player dies on the next wound.

Frozen

Player may not move, speak, or take any action. Can only be affected by mechanics that work on States in general (such as Release) or Frozen in specific (such as Shatter). Otherwise the player and their carried equipment is not affected by combat, abilities, etc.

Immune

The bearing player or object is unaffected by abilities from a given School.

1. Immunity granted as a Trait does not prevent players from making use of their own class abilities.
2. Unless otherwise noted, Immunities do not extend beyond the player or object that has them.
   Example: A player with Immunity to Flame can still have their armor destroyed by a Fireball.
3. If a player is Immune to an effect which would remove a State or Ongoing Effect, the State/Ongoing Effect is not removed.
   Example: A player who is Immune to Sorcery cannot be Released from Frozen, as they cannot be affected by Release, a Sorcery School ability.
4. Players with Immunities may still be targeted by abilities of the given School.
   Example: A player with Immunity to Flame can still be the target of Pyrotechnics which would still destroy their equipment (as Immunities do not extend to equipment unless noted).
5. A target becoming Immune to the source of an Ongoing Effect or State while it is applied does not remove Ongoing Effects or States currently affecting the target.
   Example: If a player who is Stopped by Hold Person casts Song of Determination on themselves, that player remains Stopped.

Insubstantial

Player may not interact with game items, objectives, or other players unless specified by the ability that made them Insubstantial, other than retrieving equipment. Players may only target themselves with magic and abilities that are able to affect insubstantial players. May use Meta-Magic and Charge abilities. Insubstantial players:

1. May not move from their starting location unless specified by the ability that made them Insubstantial. This is different from Stopped in that you can still move your feet.
2. Can only be affected by mechanics that work on States in general (such as Release) or Insubstantial in specific (such as Dimensional Rift). Player and their carried equipment are otherwise unaffected by combat, abilities, etc.
3. Are not affected or stopped by game terrain such as walls, lava pits, traps, etc, unless otherwise indicated by the reeve or game designer.
4. May remove this State from themselves at any time by incanting “I return to the physical world” x2, provided they are the cause of the State and the State was not imparted by an Enchantment. Otherwise, they must end the State as per the description of the responsible ability. This incantation is not interrupted by the player moving their feet, and does not require a free hand.
5. Must declare their Insubstantial State by saying “Insubstantial” if asked, attacked, or targeted by an ability.
6. May not delay the game excessively. For instance, you may not use this State to avoid being killed if you are the last player alive in a Mutual Annihilation battlegame. The reeve's decision is final.

Invulnerable

The player and their carried equipment are not affected by combat, abilities, etc that do not specifically work on Invulnerable players. The player is incapable of physically interacting with game items, objectives, or other players in any way other than abilities that specifically allow them to. This does not prevent you from retrieving equipment.

Stopped

Player may not move their feet. Abilities that allow or require movement fail only if they are cast while the target is Stopped. If an Enchantment effect activates while a player is Stopped, the activated effect is still applied but cannot be completed until the Stopped State ends. Example: A player is enchanted with Gift of Air and is later Stopped, then hit with a melee weapon. They remain Stopped for the duration of the Stopped effect, then may choose to return to base.

Stunned

Player is unable to act in any manner. May still be affected as per normal.

Suppressed

Player is unable to cast abilities or use the Charge incantation. Has no effect on abilities already cast, Chants already in progress, or Enchantments activating such as Phoenix Tears.

Special Effects Defined

Special Effects are a common language used to define battlefield events. Special Effects typically trigger when a player or object is hit by a weapon, Magic Ball, or targeted by a completed Verbal. A single event typically only has one relevant Special Effect. For instance a Destruction Arrow is both Armor Destroying and Shield Destroying, but there is no situation in which both of those matter simultaneously. Likewise a sword may be both Armor Breaking and Wounds Kill, but players are not affected by Armor Breaking and armor is not affected by Wounds Kill.

When using a melee weapon which causes a Special Effect you must declare it to your opponent at the beginning of an engagement and periodically during the engagement when reasonable. Example: A Barbarian moving to engage an unarmored Scout need not declare ‘Armor Breaking’; however if an armored Paladin moves into the engagement the Barbarian should declare ‘Armor Breaking’ at their soonest reasonable opportunity. The game flows more smoothly and everybody has more fun when Special Effects are stated ahead of time rather than kept as surprises.

Special Effects granted to equipment are always Extraordinary. They have no associated School, except for Wounds Kill, which is always of the Death School.

Armor Breaking

A hit to armor from a weapon or Magic Ball with the Armor Breaking Special Effect will immediately remove all Armor Points from the location struck if it currently has three or less Armor Points. Otherwise, the armor is affected as per a normal hit.

Armor Destroying

A hit to armor with weapons or abilities with the Armor Destroying Special Effect reduces the Armor Points to zero in that location.

Shield Crushing

A shield that has received any Shield Crushing hits is damaged. A shield that has been damaged any amount may be repaired. Three hits to a shield from a weapon, Magic Ball, etc. with the Shield Crushing Special Effect destroys the shield. Hits do not all have to be from the same source; hits from different sources are cumulative. Denoted by declaring “Shield Crushing”.

Siege

A hit to a player or their carried equipment with weapons or abilities with the Siege Special Effect will kill a Player and Destroy all their carried equipment.

Shield Destroying

A hit to a shield from a weapon, Magic Ball, etc. with the Shield Destroying Special Effect destroys the shield. Denoted by declaring "Shield Destroying".

Weapon Destroying

A weapon hit by an effect with the Weapon Destroying Special Effect is destroyed.

Wounds Kill

Players wounded by objects with the Wounds Kill Special Effect are killed. Denoted by declaring "Wounds Kill".

Rulebook 8.6.3