Advanced Philsys theory

Advanced Philsys theory is the idea behind digging into the guts of Philsys and knowing exactly how it works in order to create new things with it. GMs and players alike benefit greatly from understanding Philsys; players need to know how Philsys works in order to create customized abilities for their characters. It often takes a great deal of time, experience, and research to become familiar with these aspects of Philsys.

When complete, this article should be a guide that makes that process easier by providing clear benchmarks and a good look at the internal mechanics of the system.

Standardized Benchmarks

In order for GMs or players to create customized abilities for characters, there need to exist a set of benchmarks that allow them to judge the relative power of the abilities in question. A set of benchmarks is designed to provide a list of points on a scale that can be used to approximate the power of a spell or ability. A player can theoretically look at the list, decide where a new ability will fall, and arbitrate a rank accordingly.

Philsys Magic

In Philsys magic, the minimum rank required to learn a spell roughly governs its power. Higher-ranked spells have greater effects.

• Ranks 1-5 produce minor effects.
• Ranks 6-11 produce moderate effects.
• Ranks 12-17 produce major effects.
• Ranks 18-25 produce incredible effects.
• Ranks 26-32 produce insanely incredible effects.

The terms "minor," "moderate" and so forth are intentionally vague. They divide magic into five categories of relative power. In the context of relative strengths, some numbers can be attached to the categories:

• Minor means +2.
• Moderate means +4.
• Major means +6.
• Incredible means +10.
• Insanely incredible means +20.

These numbers can be seen as ratios, but this is not necessarily true. A moderate spell is not necessarily twice as powerful as a minor one, and a major spell is not necessarily three times as powerful, but this is not a bad guideline. When spells apply general bonuses or penalties to all rolls or skills, these guidelines provide approximate appropriate numbers; a minor spell, for example, might be able to grant a +2 bonus to all rolls and checks of any type.

The next set of bullets is basically a lot of math that compares the effectiveness of spells at different ranks using the spells from the Philsys spellbook as examples.

• Minor elemental spells cost 4-8 MP, average 6.
• Minor elemental spell average damage (when learned at 1): 13 (2.2 dmg/MP)
• Minor elemental spell average damage (at minor cap 5): 21 (3.5 dmg/MP)
• Minor elemental spell average damage (at moderate cap 11): 33 (5.5 dmg/MP)

• Moderate elemental spells cost 12-16 MP, average 14.
• Moderate elemental spell average damage (when learned at 4): 37 (2.6 dmg/MP)
• Moderate elemental spell average damage (at minor cap 5): 42 (3 dmg/MP)
• Moderate elemental spell average damage (at moderate cap 11): 65 (4.6 dmg/MP)

• Major elemental spells cost 30-34 MP, average 32.
• Major elemental spell average damage (when learned at 12): 102 (3.2 dmg/MP)
• Major elemental spell average damage (at major cap 17): 132 (4.1 dmg/MP)

This is really just spellbook stuff, but the math supports the spellbook's numbers to a great extent. These are good damage benchmarks. Damage-over-time spells should be more MP efficient or more damaging to compensate for slower action (this applies to healing-over-time too):

• [Malediction=1]Poison (6 MP) - Level 3 poison (6d6 total damage, average 21, 3.5 dmg/MP).
• [Malediction=4]Poison 2 (12 MP) - Level 5 poison (15d6 total damage, average 53, 4.4 dmg/MP).
• [Malediction=6]Poison 3 (20 MP) - Level 7 poison (28d6 total damage, average 98, 4.9 dmg/MP).
• [Malediction=12]Poison 4 (32 MP) - Level 10 poison (55d6 total damage, average 192, 6 dmg/MP).

• [Element=1]Element 1 (4 MP) - Generic single target elemental attack. 8+rank*2+1d6 damage.
• [Element=4]Element 2 (12 MP) - Generic single target elemental attack. 14+rank*4+2d6 damage.
• [Element=12]Element 3 (32 MP) - Generic single target elemental attack. 20+rank*6+3d6 damage.
• [Element=4]Area Element (29 MP) - Generic multi-target elemental attack. Affects a small area or a limited number of targets. 10+rank*2+3d6 damage.
• [Element=8]Area Element 2 (54 MP) - Generic multi-target elemental attack. Affects a medium-sized area or a greater number of targets. 16+rank*4+2d6 damage.
• [Element=16]Area Element 3 (76 MP) - Generic multi-target elemental attack. Affects a large area or a very large number of targets. 22+rank*6+2d6 damage.

The "Element" spells listed above can be any basic element; fire, water, holy, astral, whatever. This is a suggested list of costs and damages. This is not always exactly what the spell's damages will look like, and it is suggested that for the sake of variety that players and GMs modify the damages slightly. For example, Element 1 could deal 4+rank*2+2d6 and it would still deal about the same amount of damage. Do some math if necessary and determine what is statistically fair. Spells that are more random (more dice or larger dice and a lower base damage) can cost slightly less if they do not do as much damage on average.

Some characters, especially older ones, have Element 2 spells with a rank*6 multiplier in the damage formula and Element 3 spells with rank*8. It is suggested that the rank multipliers listed above be considered more appropriate averages. At some point, many of these characters should probably change their multipliers, but this is really only necessary if the average spell damage is radically higher than it should be. Again, this requires some math on the part of the player or the GM.

Sample "Generic Spells"

• [Enhancement=1-5]Improve (8+(rank-1) MP) - Increases a minor physical substat by rank. Includes AT, PA, attack damage, missile evasion, or AC. Learn one skill per rank. Cost is determined by rank. Duration negotiable (add 2 MP to cost for every round on average the spell will last than rank).
• [Enhancement=6-8]Greater Improve (10+(rank-1) MP) - Increases a minor magical substat by rank. Includes MATK and MDEF. Learn one skill per rank. Cost is determined by rank. Duration negotiable (add 4 MP to cost for every round on average the spell will last than rank)
• [Enhancement=7-12]Capacity Improve (12+(rank-2) MP) - Increases a primary stat by 1/3 of rank, rounded down. Includes COU, WIS, INT, CHA, AGI, DEX, STR, and STA. Learn one skill per rank. Cost is determined by rank. Duration negotiable (add 6 MP to cost for every round on average the spell will last than rank)

• [Malediction=1-5]Cripple (8+(rank-1) MP) - Decrease a minor physical substat by rank or apply a minor general penalty of -2. Includes AT, PA, attack damage, missile evasion, or AC. Learn one skill per rank. Cost is determined by rank. Duration negotiable (add 2 MP to cost for every round on average the spell will last than rank). Effect can be increased up to 2x by quartering the duration.
• [Malediction=6-8]Greater Cripple (10+(rank-1) MP) - Decreases a minor magical substat by rank or apply a harsh general penalty of -4. Includes MATK and MDEF. Learn one skill per rank. Cost is determined by rank. Duration negotiable (add 4 MP to cost for every round on average the spell will last than rank) Effect can be increased up to 2x by quartering the duration.
• [Malediction=7-12]Capacity Cripple (12+(rank-2) MP) - Decreases a primary stat by 1/3 of rank, rounded down, or apply a serious general penalty of -6. Includes COU, WIS, INT, CHA, AGI, DEX, STR, and STA. Learn one skill per rank. Cost is determined by rank. Duration negotiable (add 6 MP to cost for every round on average the spell will last than rank). Effect can be increased up to 2x by quartering the duration.

These generic benediction and malediction spells require some explanation. The basic principle is that the character will learn to affect one attribute with each rank. For example, at rank 1, a character might learn an AT decreasing spell. At rank 2, they will learn the PA decreasing spell, and at rank 3 they will choose to learn the AC decreasing spell. The cost of of each spell can increase slightly with rank just for effect as opposed to having them all cost the same exact amount.

Whenever the generic formulas refer to rank, they mean the prerequisite rank required to learn the spell.

If a spell of rank 6 were to affect some attribute that was affectable by a rank 1 spell (say AT), it should be more effective somehow.

• [Creation=1-5]Call/Create Minor Object (6+(rank) MP) - Calls a relatively minor possession belonging to the caster to his location or creates a simple object.
• [Creation=8]Create Significant Object (20 MP) - Creates some sort of magical object with a minor enhancement.
• [Creation=12]Create Amazing Object (48 MP) - Creates some sort of very complex or impressive object or a magical object with a moderate enhancement.
• [Creation=18]Create Incredible Object (72 MP) - Creates an incredibly complex object or a magical object with a major enhancement.
• [Creation=26]Create Absurdly Powerful Object (168 MP) - Creates an artifact object. Truly powerful artifact objects will require a ritual.

These are summon spells that create objects of some nature. It is not required that a character have separate summon magic skills to create objects and creatures despite the fact that the skills used in these examples have different names.

Minor objects can be just about anything simple and non-magical. A spell should usually be limited to a certain set of objects, for example, a spell that creates any desired type of weapon, a spell that creates a set of clothing, or a spell that creates food. One spell should not be able to achieve all three effects unless the objects are possessions of the caster that are being summoned to him after being specially prepared as "summonable objects" (which would count as a limited set of objects).

Significant objects can be magical weapons or armor or more complicated things. While a minor spell might create a mortar and pestle, a significant summoning might create a coffee grinder (which has interlocking mechanical parts that must be arranged in a specific way). A weapon or armor should follow the rules for a moderate effect and have an overall bonus no more than +4. For example, it could call a weapon that grants a +2/+2 AT/PA bonus (a minor bonus to damage, say +2-4 as well, is fine in addition).

An amazing object will be quite impressive indeed. Creating a working grandfather clock would be an example (the caster would need to have a vague idea as to what a grandfather clock was like on the inside). Magical gear will have an overall bonus around +6, maybe as high as +8 on the higher end (rank 15-17).

Incredible objects can be just about anything the caster desires as long as he can clearly picture it. As with lower-ranked spells, the spell should be specific (summon arcane automobile, for example). Magical equipment should have an overall bonus around +10, maybe as high as +14-16 on higher-ranked spells just before the insanely incredible benchmark.

What constitutes an absurdly powerful object? While characters should never be able to conjure an artifact on the spot without some sort of incredibly long ritual, the sky is the limit to a great extent. This is the type of spell that aged wizards spend decades thinking about and imaginging the potential of; almost no one can cast them, so no one really knows what a spell of this calibur can do.

• [Summon=4]Summon Minor Creature (35 MP) - Calls a creature that is roughly as powerful as a 1st level character, but that is less versatile and usually not a spellcaster. Average HP 50. Base AT/PA average of 12/12. Base missile evasion of 16. Base MBlock of 16. Base damage average of 14+1d6 for a light attack. Base AC of 8. Spellcasting minor creatures will have a base MATK of 14, ranks capped at 1.
• [Summon=8]Summon Moderate Creature (50 MP) - Calls a creature that is roughly as powerful as a 3rd level character, but that is less versatile and usually not a spellcaster. Average HP 65. Base AT/PA average of 16/16. Base missile evasion of 18. Base MBlock of 18. Base average damage of 20+1d6 for a light attack. Base AC of 12. Spellcasting minor creatures will have a base MATK of 16, ranks capped at 4.
• [Summon=14]Summon Major Creature (72 MP) - Calls a creature that is roughly as powerful as a 5th level character, but that is less versatile. Average HP 80. Base AT/PA average of 18/18. Base missile evasion of 20. Base MBlock of 20. Base damage average of 26+1d6 for a light attack. Base AC of 16. Spellcasting minor creatures will have a base MATK of 18, ranks capped at 8.
• [Summon=20]Summon Incredible Creature - Calls a creature that is roughly as powerful as a 7th level character, but that is less versatile. Average HP 100. Base AT/PA average of 20/20. Base missile evasion of 22. Base MBlock of 22. Base damage average of 30+1d6 for a light attack. Base AC of 20. Spellcasting minor creatures will have a base MATK of 20, ranks capped at 12.

Creature summon spells are separate from Final Fantasy-esque Spirit Summon spells that create a creature that deals damage for one or several rounds before leaving. The damage of these spells should be compared to Elemental rank in terms of effectiveness and adjusted accordingly--they require ranks in more than one skill in most cases, and they also often deal their damage over time. This will usually mean increased effectiveness over equivalent Elemental spells (damage, duration, side-effects).

Creature summoning spells are not intended to use the average values for all of their statistics. Like player characters, some are intended to be higher and others are intended to be lower. A spellcaster summon should have higher casting stats than AT/PA, for example. The AT/PA and damage assume that the summon is not wielding a weapon. If the summon is wielding a weapon, the effective rank is capped as normal for the level, and damage should be calculated as normal for an armed character. Magic skill caps are intentionally reduced because of the power of such spells. If more than one creature is summoned at a time, the resulting creatures should be weaker than the single creature. Creating abbreviated stat blocks or NPC sheets for summoned creatures is an excellent way to condense the relevant information.

• [Healing=12]Revivification (50 MP) - Resurrects a person that has only been dead for up to rank minutes, assuming that their body is repairable.
• [Healing=18]Resurrection (included for benchmarking)
• [Healing=30]Absolute Resurrection (# MP) - Resurrects a person without need for their body or a destroyed undead creature as the creature they were in life. Resurrection window is extended to rank days.

Effective Rank Caps at Levels

Level	Cap
1	4
2	6
3	8
4	10
5	12
6	14
7	16
8	18
9	20
10	22
11	24
12	26
13	28
14	30
15	32 (ranks above 32 not possible for magic)
16	34
17	36 (max effective rank for non-magic skills)
18	36
19	36
20	36

Average MP at Levels: Increasing INT and WIS does not grant retroactive MP bonuses, but increasing MAG does, if applicable. "Average" casting stats for a PC caster are assumed to be INT +4, WIS +4, and MAG 5 at 1st level, intentionally weighting them low. The average caster will, then, gain about 5 MP per level for most of his career. The most MP he can possibly gain at levelup is 12, which requires INT +10, MAG 6, and a roll of 4 (8+1d4 MP/level at this point). It is as such safe to assume an average MP gain of 5 per level and a base MP of 70. A very focused mage with high casting stats will have more (+10-20 MP).

Level	MP
1	70
2	75
3	85
5	95
7	100
8	105
10	115
12	125
15	140
20	165

If the levels chosen seem arbitrary, it is because they are, but the general idea is to get an idea of average MP around each benchmark of 1, 6, 12, 18, and 26 to assist in spell MP costs. Resurrection is a good example of a ritual spell because its MP cost is such that many wizards will have to burn some HP casting it or need assistance.

The general trend is that destruction should be easier than creation. An elemental burst is still only a major effect even at third tier, because it is just a bigger fireball. Elemental damage caps are such that a PC can incapacitate an average person at rank 11 without a critical hit. At rank 12, killing an average person (or even a very tough person, STA +5 or so) is easy with a little effort. Lower cost damage spells are more slightly more MP-efficient, but they work more slowly, because a character normally only gets one turn each round, and opponents have multiple chances to resist compared to a single, bigger spell.

Even instant-death spells should in most cases be at most high-tiered major spell effects. To undo life is easy--to create it or repair it is more difficult. An instant-death spell that affects a very wide variety of creatures (such as celestials and demons, the most poweful of whom are presumably immune to many things that would kill a normal human) might breach the incredible threshold with appropriate justification.

PCs can gain access to "emergency" resurrection spells at the earliest at level 5, resurrection spells at level 8, and very powerful resurrection spells at level 14. Still not an excuse to kill off PCs at random in most cases, but it gives them a chance to survive a botched encounter if someone is a healer and the party is prepared.

PCs at current generally have up to major effects. Major effects are considered to be very powerful spellcasting in general, but not impossible to achieve by a dedicated wizard. Incredible effects demonstrate true mastery of an art (i.e., bringing someone back from the dead is far beyond the capacity of most casters unless they dedicate themselves to the healing art fully). Insanely incredible effects demonstrate power beyond that of most mortals. A rank 30 effect is effortless for a deity, but would require incredible expenditure of power by a mortal. Insanely incredible effects are generally considered to be only theoretical and are the kinds of things Gunnir Archmagi write long speculative essays about (the creation process of artifacts, returning an undead creature to its former life weeks after its animation, the summoning and binding of demons at least as skilled at magic as they are, raising an enormous pile of plush pink rabbits out of the Val'Ri to create a small artifical island of stuffed animals, etc.) Some insanely incredible effects might be achievable at lower ranks through ritual magic requiring days, weeks, months, or years and adequate arcane assistance from followers or other aides. The big point is the minor, moderate, major, incredible, insanely incredible benchmarking system. By splitting magical effects up into these five categories, we effectively establish rough but better defined guidelines. Think White Wolf's system and its spheres for Mage--essentially, you're given a couple benchmarks and you're left to figure out what falls between them.

The most important benchmark, I decided, is the Resurrection spell. Bringing someone back from the dead is definitely classified as incredible, which is why the cutoff is rank 18. This is both a suitably hard to reach rank and an appropriate benchmark for most magical skills. Essentially, even the most powerful of basic area-effect elemental spells is only going to be a "major" effect--it takes a lot of energy and effort to blow up an entire room with damaging fire, but it doesn't really do anything that's more spectacular, reality-bending, or impossible than a smaller fireball.

I will clarify further later and would love to discuss this with interested parties. I apologize in advance for weird formatting, I use txt files for everything.