Magic Moves

These moves cover live casting, research, and support crafts — the magic half of the Moves chapter. Fiction still triggers them: declare what you do, then resolve the move.

Shape the Matrix

A Magic Move. Available to all Casters.

This move handles live shaping under pressure. It is not the default trigger for downtime support crafting; use Brew Alchemy and Engrave Artifice for those workflows.

When you project or trace a geometric matrix to manipulate reality, declare:

your Intent
your School
your Technique Glyph (Faden, Stoss, Wacht, Anker, Kreis, or another unlocked Glyph), or stack multiple unlocked Glyphs (each glyph beyond the first costs +1 Mana Track tick, see Magic System)
your Scale (Effect, Range, Area, Duration)
your intended Tags (e.g., Forceful, Messy, Restraining, Defensive, Area)

If your declaration exceeds your current fictional permission, school limits, or known glyph access, the GM will tell you what is unstable before the roll.

Then, roll:

+Finesse (for precise, delicate, or defensive shaping)
+Willpower (for brute force, destructive, or desperate channeling)
10+ (Strong Hit): The matrix locks cleanly into reality. You achieve your intent. Choose one:
The spell gains an additional beneficial Tag (e.g., Lingering, Piercing).
You recover or retain narrative momentum (gain a +1 Forward).
You cast cleanly enough to avoid either collateral harm or immediate attention (choose one).
7-9 (Mixed Success): You successfully cast the spell and achieve your intent, but the matrix strains you or the environment. The GM offers two fitting consequences (glyph-aware and fiction-aware) from the menu below; you choose one:
Channel Strain (Harm): Take 1-Wound immediately (ignores armor/wards). Take 2-Wounds if the spell was highly ambitious.
Structural Bleed (Collateral): The magic bleeds into the environment in unintended, dangerous ways.
Resonant Echo: It attracts immediate, dangerous attention from enemies or beasts.
Bleeding Signature: A persistent hazard remains tied to your school/glyph expression (smoke field, warped footing, sensory static, anchor residue, etc.).
Geometric Blindness: You are locked out of that specific Technique Glyph for the rest of the scene.
The Monkey's Paw: The spell interprets your intent in the most unhelpful literal way possible.

If you are Pushing the Matrix (too many tags for your Calculation, out-of-ready shaping, or beyond safe tier), the GM may include one overreach consequence in the offered pair.

6- (Miss): The matrix collapses instantly. The spell fails, mutates against you, or causes severe backlash. The GM makes a Hard Move that follows from your declared School + Glyph + Scale.

Channel Unstructured Magic

A Magic Move. Available to all Casters.

When you abandon formulas and blast raw, unshaped mana through sheer force of will, roll +Willpower.

Requirements: Because you lack a stabilizing structure, this act violently tears your organic channels. You MUST take 1-Wound immediately, regardless of success.
10+: You force the mana into reality. The raw, blunt effect happens precisely as you need it to.
7-9: The magic manifests, but the lack of structure causes severe backlash. You achieve the core of your intent, but the GM chooses a complication from the Mistranslation Menu (e.g., intense collateral damage, taking an additional wound, or alerting enemies).
6-: Total catastrophic backlash. The GM makes a Hard Move.

Spell Clock

A Magic Move. Available to all Casters.

When you cast the same spell declaration (Intent -> School -> Glyph -> Scale -> Tags) and it achieves its intent, mark 1 segment on that pattern's Spell Clock.

Each pattern you are developing has its own 4-segment clock.
10+ or 7-9: both count as "achieves its intent" — mark 1 segment either way. The spell worked.
6-: the spell fails; the pattern's clock does not advance, and the GM makes a hard move.
Glyph stacks: a stacked declaration counts as its own pattern (same stack, same clock).

When the clock fills, the pattern is Mastered — write it into your Grimoire as a Spell Formula.

Joint Casting

A Magic Move. Available to all Students.

When you link minds with an ally to cast an overwhelming spell, choose your role:

The Lens (Calculation): You focus on the geometry. The lead caster gains Advantage on their Shape the Matrix roll.
The Battery (Willpower): You shoulder the burden. You pay the Mana Track cost (ticks) of the spell instead of the lead caster.
The Anchor (Memory): You hold the structure. The spell's Complexity Limit is expanded based on your combined knowledge.

On a 7-9 or 6-: ALL participants suffer the chosen complications, physical Wounds, or GM Hard Moves.

Research Matrix

A Magic Move. Available to all Students during downtime.

When you spend protected study time to stabilize a spell pattern, name the formula, list the declaration (Intent -> School -> [Anchor] + [Form] -> Scale -> Tags), and roll + Calculation.

Requirements: You need notes, a mentor, or equivalent research context.
Patterns you have already cast: the fiction already exists, so research accelerates their Spell Clock (spend 1-2 SP per segment marked).
Patterns you have never cast: you are designing from first principles, the risky craft-from-scratch path.
10+ (Strong Hit): Your thesis stabilizes.
If the pattern already exists in fiction: mark 2 segments on its Spell Clock.
If you are designing from scratch: add the formula to your Grimoire as a Mastered Spell and define two safe-casting requirements with the GM. When those requirements are met, choose one standing benefit:
reduce Mana Track cost by 1 (minimum 1), or
on a mixed success, ignore one offered non-harm complication.
7-9 (Mixed Success): You create a Provisional Thesis. Add the formula to your Grimoire with two strict requirements and one built-in flaw (loud signature, narrow target profile, instability timer, or expensive setup). The thesis is castable on purpose and gains (or keeps) a Spell Clock — practice it toward Mastery, which erases the flaw.
6- (Miss): The research destabilizes. The thesis is not yet usable, and the GM makes a hard academic move (lost materials, faculty scrutiny, rival theft, dangerous test conditions).

Decode the Pattern

A Magic Move. Used to learn a new Technique Glyph through play.

When you study, test, or negotiate access to a new glyph pattern under real uncertainty, state the target glyph and roll + Calculation.

10+ (Strong Hit): Mark 2 segments on the target Glyph Mastery clock, or mark 1 segment and gain clean provisional use.
7-9 (Mixed Success): Mark 1 segment and choose one cost: debt, strain, unstable side effect, unwanted attention, or time loss.
6- (Miss): Mark 1 segment, and the GM makes a hard move tied to that glyph's risk profile.

When the 4-segment clock is filled, the glyph can be stabilized for regular use if progression and fiction permissions are met.

Deflect Magic

A Magic Move. Available to all Students.

When you quickly manifest a Mastered Abjuration spell (including Ward or Negation) to intercept an incoming magical attack, roll +Finesse.

10+: The ward holds perfectly. You negate the spell's effect entirely.
7-9: The ward dampens the blow but strains you. The spell is deflected, but you must either mark 1 tick on your Mana Track from kinetic feedback, or you are violently knocked into a disadvantageous position.
6-: The ward shatters like glass. You take the full effect of the spell and an immediate GM Hard Move.

Brew Alchemy

A Magic Move. Requires the target Alchemical Recipe and an Alchemical Material Cache.

When you spend 1 Time Slot and an Alchemical Material Cache to brew an elixir or concoction, roll +Mental.

Use Crafting to determine if the recipe is Simple (Complexity 1) or Advanced (Complexity 2+).

Simple (Complexity 1):
10+: Complete the brew cleanly.
7-9: Complete the brew, but choose 1 complication: extra reagent cost, unstable shelf life, or 1-Wound from toxic exposure/cramming.
6-: The batch fails. Lose the cache and time spent; the GM makes a hard move.
Advanced (Complexity 2+):
10+: Mark +2 Progress.
7-9: Mark +1 Progress and choose 1 complication: extra reagent cost, unstable intermediate, or 1-Wound from toxic exposure/cramming.
6-: Mark no Progress. The attempt still consumes the Time Slot and cache, and the GM makes a hard move.

Engrave Artifice

A Magic Move. Requires a known formula (or unlocked Glyphs) and exotic materials.

When you dedicate safe downtime and materials to carve a spell matrix into a physical object, tell the GM the intended effect and roll +Finesse or +Calculation.

Use Crafting to determine if the item is Simple (Complexity 1) or Advanced (Complexity 2+).

Simple (Complexity 1):
10+: Complete a stable inscription.
7-9: Complete the inscription, but choose 1 flaw: volatile signature, fragile housing, or activation causes minor collateral pressure.
6-: The inscription fails. Lose the anchor cache and time; take 1-Wound from feedback, and the GM makes a hard move.
Advanced (Complexity 2+):
10+: Mark +2 Progress.
7-9: Mark +1 Progress and choose 1 flaw: volatile signature, fragile housing, or activation causes collateral pressure.
6-: Mark no Progress. The attempt still consumes the anchor cache and time; take 1-Wound from feedback, and the GM makes a hard move.

Usage: Once crafted, triggering an Artifice item ignores your Calculation limit, activates instantly, and requires no casting roll. However, because pushing raw ambient mana through a physical object is fiercely inefficient, activating an Artifice item always costs 2 ticks on the user's Mana Track, regardless of the spell's scale.

Mastered inscription: When you inscribe a Mastered spell from your active recall, the formula is already stable — treat the item as one Complexity tier lower, and the triggered effect uses the spell's written risk signature instead of an improvised one.