RULES 2024
ALCHEMY AND MAGIC - PART 1
Basics
Alchemists and Wizard/Clerical Spellcrafters harness the powers of Alchemy, the Winds of Magic and the Gods/esses to create powerful effects on the battlefield and beyond.
Principles:
Practical
Easy to see
Easy to react to
Types of Alchemy and Magic and Effects
Fireballs/Explosives
Summoning
Dark Bargains and Corruption
Story Team Rituals
Scholarly Magic
Healing (see healing rules)
Magic items (see magic item rules)
Potions (see potion rules)
Playing an Alchemist/Spellcrafter
To play as an Alchemist or Spellcrafter, you need ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
An opaque pouch containing 9 Rune Stones, identical other than in colour - 8 Success stones and 1 Failure stone - you can choose the two colours.
30 second sand timer.
Costume and props appropriate to your Warhammer Fantasy lore Alchemy, Wind of Magic, or Deity, including at a minimum:
Robes
Staff with wizardry/clerical topper, 2 handed warhammer or walking cane
Spellcrafting/Crafting props (minimum requirements - pick one (this is a serious roleplay requirement - you MUST have researched Warhammer lore)*
Crafter
Alchemist - robes, wild look, glasses, bottles of elixirs, philosopher's stone
Wizard
Wizard - robes, staff, arcane amulets and motifs appropriate to your Wind of Magic
Witch/Hedge wizard - robes, staff, dead animals, last bath was a year ago…
Cleric
Damsel of the Lady - kirtle, staff, fey countenance
Sigmarite Warrior priest - 2 handed hammer, twin-tailed comet amulet, prayer book, plate armour or robes, bare head
Followers of other deities - props and costume for the type of cleric from official Warhammer Fantasy materials
* Props and costume items should be visible and identifiable from 3 metres away
For each Wound Point from armour (but not helmets) worn by the Alchemist/Spellcrafter, the Alchemist/Spellcrafter loses 1 success stone from their Rune Stone pouch due to encumbrance and/interference with their actions.
An Alchemist/Spellcrafter cannot use a shield.
Your pouch of Rune Stones is used to determine whether your alchemy or magic works or some mishap occurs. See the separate alchemy/magic effects sections below to determine what happens on drawing a success or failure stone.
Further, if a failure stone is drawn when Spellcrafting/Crafting, then a success stone is removed from the Alchemist/Spellcrafter's Rune Stone pouch until either the end of the quarter for a battle game or dawn for a Roleplay event (the Alchemist/Spellcrafter will always retain at least 1 success and 1 failure stone).
If you are struck in combat while attempting Spellcrafting/Crafting, it automatically fails and a success stone is lost as if a failure stone had been drawn (this applies even if using the sand timer method).
If the Alchemist/Spellcrafter is also performing healing, they can use the same Rune Stone pouch and Rune Stones.
Fireball/Explosives
Fireball/Explosives kill you if any part hits any part of you (like a war machine missile). All Alchemist/Spellcrafters have access to Fireball/Explosives.
To cast a Fireball/Explosive an Alchemist/Spellcrafter needs to:
Firstly, draw a Rune Stone from your pouch but don’t check what it is.
Secondly, stand tall, and hold your staff and Fireball/Explosive above your head.
Thirdly, check which Rune Stone was drawn:
Success: You can throw it at your target. You can only take 5 steps with it before you must throw it. The Fireball/Explosive must be thrown overhand. As soon as the Fireball/Explosive leaves your hand, it has been discharged.
Failure: You are immediately reduced to 0 Wounds and are mortally wounded/dying.
Additional Note: If you are struck while Spellcrafting/Crafting a Fireball/Explosive, the effect/Spell automatically fails and, as well as losing a success stone, you are dying/reduced to 0 Wound Points.
The number of fireballs/explosives an Alchemist/Spellcrafter may have at a battle will be set by the game or event.
Overall structure of flexible polyurethane foam
Minimum dimensions: 150 X 75 mm
May be homemade or commercially purchased (Rawblade brand has them this size)
Example of minimum quality and aesthetics
Summoned Monsters
Summoned Monsters: Are constructs, golems, beasts, creatures, spirits or daemons costumed and themed to the Alchemists speciality, Wizard’s Wind of Magic or Cleric’s Deity.
Summoned monsters must be at least 2m tall and have to have a very high costume standard - they need to look like imposing and powerful monsters. The 2m height can be achieved with wings, horns, back banners, trophy rack or equivalent.
There is always the risk that a summoned monster will turn on the summoner and the summoner’s allies if the summoner fails to control it.
Summoned monsters have 8 Wound Points and may use:
A two handed weapon of any length
One or two limb weapons
Dual wield one handed weapons of any size
A one handed weapon of any length and a shield of any size
They do not get any other Wounds bonuses.
To play as a summoned monster you must be costumed and themed to your summoner’s Alchemical speciality, Wind of Wagic or Deity. You are required to have a very high costume standard, looking imposing and powerful.
You should use the opportunity to roleplay your role as a Summoned Monster and being bound. You are likely to be angry at everyone around you, especially the summoner...
You should also expect regular players to strike you - you just shrug off any hits other than from those referred to above.
To summon a Summoned Monster, you must:
Firstly, perform a summoning ritual:
Use your 30 second sand timer and roleplay the summoning.
The Summoned Monster remains stationary and inactive in front of you during the summoning process.
No player, other than the Alchemist/Spellcrafter, should be within 3 metres of the Alchemist/Spellcrafter or Summoned Monster.
Secondly, the Summoned Monster performs a Rune Stone Test using the Alchemist/Spellcrafter's Rune Stone Pouch:
Success: The Summoned Monster is bound to the Alchemist/Spellcrafter and may be issued a task.
Failure: The Alchemist/Spellcrafter is instantly slain and the Summoned Monster goes Berserk.
If you are struck in combat while attempting summoning, it automatically fails, a success stone is lost (this applies even if using the sand timer method) and the Summoned Monster goes Berserk.
Additional Notes
You may hold off giving the Summoned Monster a task. If the Alchemist/Spellcrafter dies, with no task given to the Summoned Monster, it goes Berserk.
Deliberately attacking your own Summoned Monster immediately sends it into a frenzy, going Berserk.
If something causes the Summoned Monster to go Berserk, then the Summoned Monster immediately starts to attack everyone around them and does not have a designated target.
Summoned Monsters must first prioritise attacking the Alchemist/Spellcrafter's allies without rest until it either dies or the battle in which it was summoned ends.
Hunt:
Attack the specified target the Alchemist/Spellcrafter can see, attacking any foes that actively impede its progress.Ward:
Guard the Alchemist/Spellcrafter. The Summoned Monster must stay within 3 metres of the Alchemist/Spellcrafter but can strike anyone from that area who they deem to be a threat.Haunt:
The Alchemist/Spellcrafter chooses a place on the ground and marks it with a suitably visible marker suited to their Alchemist/Spellcrafter type. TheSummoned Monster is then tethered to that place and cannot move more than 5 metres away from it, attacking anyone (including allies) that enters that space.Aid:
Perform a single physical non-combat, non-battlefield, role-play task for you.Message:
The Summoned Monster is given a written message, no more than a page, and a target individual. The Summoned Monster will then seek out that individual and deliver the message, avoiding combat where possible. The message can be retrieved if the Summoned Monster is killed before the message has been delivered. If the message is successfully delivered, it can no longer be retrieved from the Summoned Monster.
Dark Bargains
Warpstone, Dark Magic/Witchcraft, Necromancy and Chaos
For Roleplay events only
To preserve your power, and avoid Spell failure, you can always turn to darker sources.
If a failure stone is ever drawn, you may add a Warpstone (green), Dark Magic/Dhaur stone (red) or Chaos stone (pink) to your pouch instead of losing a success stone.
Adding one of these special stones means the Spell or enchantment automatically succeeds. These “special” stones remain in the pouch and count as success stones for further casting until drawn…Each dawn, you need to take a dark bargain test for each such stone in your pouch. You can acquire these special stones in various ways.
Any Crafter other than a divine Crafter may seek out and acquire warpstone. Warpstone is a greenish stone with a faint glow and is highly dangerous to mortals. It should always be handled with care and special equipment to avoid its mutaing effects.TBC
For each warpstone in your pouch at dawn, conduct one Corruption Test. After the test, discard that warpstone stone.
Dhar stones are freely available to any dark wizard, witch or necromancer, though possession of dark magic stones is usually of great interest to witch hunters…. Dark Magic represents the brutally forcing together of all available different winds of magic together to power Spells or draw on the power of death. As such there is always the risk of catastrophic backlash.
For each dark magic stone in your pouch at dawn, conduct 2 Corruption Tests. After the 2 tests, remove the dark magic stone from your pouch.
Only the most depraved of sorcerers attempt to commune with the Dark Gods themselves to power their magic. This is downright insane...Chaos magic stones are freely available to these individuals.
For each Chaos stone in your pouch at dawn, conduct 1 Corruption Test. After the test, retain the Chaos stone in your pouch forever (it counts as a white stone for casting but triggers its own Corruption test each day - so the more you draw on Chaos, the greater your future risk of Corruption.
Corruption Tests
To conduct a Corruption Test, you must, shortly after dawn, draw one card from The Eye of Tzeentch’s Deck and follow the instructions for the card before midnight.
The Eye of Tzeentch’s Deck is a 78 card tarot deck.
The Major Arcana (greater secrets), or trump cards, consists of 22 cards without suits:
The Magician - roleplay contempt for non- wizards for next 24 hours
The High Priestess - roleplay hatred towards all Tileans and Estalians for next 24 hours
The Empress - roleplay hatred for Bretonnian nobles for next 24 hours
The Emperor - roleplay hatred towards followers of Sigmar for next 24 hours
The Hierophant - roleplay extreme gluttony for next 24 hours
The Lovers - roleplay extreme jealousy about another person person’s real or perceived affections for others for next 24 hours
The Chariot - roleplay hatred to all Arabians for next 24 hours
Strength - roleplay hatred to all Norse and Kislevites for next 24 hours
The Hermit - roleplay hatred to the merchant Princes or local rulers for next 24 hours
Wheel of Fortune - roleplay hatred to all followers of Ranald for next 24 hours
Justice - roleplay hatred to all followers of Verona for next 24 hours
The Hanged Man - roleplay active interest in Necromancy for next 24 hours
Death - roleplay hatred to all followers of Morr for next 24 hours
Temperance - roleplay drunkenness for next 24 hours
The Devil - undermine society and sow discord for next 24 hours
The Tower - roleplay hatred to all Dwarfs for next 24 hours
The Star - roleplay hatred to all Elves for next 24 hours
The Moon - roleplay hatred to all followers of Ulric for next 24 hours
The Sun - roleplay extreme pride for next 24 hours
Judgement - if you draw Judgement, a portal immediately opens up and daemons draw your body and soul into the Void to be tortured for eternity. Create new character
The World- roleplay extreme avarice for next 24 hours
The Fool - you may hold onto this Card and use it once in the future to protect you from the ill effects of a future Corruption Test.
The Minor Arcana (lesser secrets) consists of 56 cards, divided into four suits of 14 cards each; 1-10 for each suit (swords, staves, disks, or cups) plus the court cards: King, Queen, Knight and Page/Jack. If you draw a minor Arcana, the following happens:
Sword - For the next enchantment you cast, it takes twice as long as usual to cast (2:1 ratio of casting to effect).
Stave - For the next Spell you cast, it takes twice as long as usual to cast (2:1 ratio of casting to effect)
Disk - For the next Spell cast on you, double its duration.
Cup - - For the next Spell or enchantment you cast, do 2 stones tests. You need to pass both for the Spell to work.
