Spellcasters are no strangers to battle, but there’s a difference between the chaos of a huge melee, with dozens of feral monsters seeking to tear the caster limb from limb, and a more civilized duel between rivals seeking to settle a dispute. Make no mistake, these duels can be just as deadly, but the rules surrounding them make for a different style of combat—one in which both combatants can attack and defend with ease, allowing the true skill and power of each to determine the victor.
A spell duel is a form of combat, but unlike ordinary combat, the participants must all agree to willingly enter the duel and abide by its rules. If either side breaks the rules, it is considered the loser of the duel, regardless of any other outcome, and if its members continue aggressive action, the fight returns to the standard rules for combat.
The rules for a duel between spellcasters are usually very simple, but can be changed and altered by the participants, so long as both sides agree. Such discussions typically happen before the duel, allowing both sides to properly prepare, but as with all elements of a duel, this is not always the case. Most duels utilize the following simple rules.
Each participant must fight alone or alongside their predetermined teammates and can receive no help from outside sources, with the exception of familiars or bonded creatures.
Each participant must fight with magic. The use of melee or ranged weapons is forbidden, with the exception of bonded objects and weapons that cast spells, such as staves.
The use of summoned or otherwise conjured creatures is forbidden, unless the duel expects such creatures to combat one another at the behest of the participants (rather than directly attacking the dueling opponent). This sort of creature duel is common among druids, summoners, and conjurers.
The duel lasts until one of the casters has been knocked unconscious or otherwise prevented from continuing. Spells such as puppet do not end duels, but curse with Turn to Stone certainly does, assuming the target is turned to stone. Some duels go to the death and are only ended when one duelist or team is a smoking pile of ash.
A duel functions much like ordinary combat, with a few notable exceptions that make for a more exciting and challenging encounter. A spell duel lasts three rounds. Before the start of the first round, give each duelist a “Hole Card,” face down—don’t let your opponent see it!
On the first and second round, the participants are dealt an Action Card as usual. They can perform most actions (with a few exceptions noted below) except make an actual attack—that’s reserved for the third and final round.
Spells: Participants can cast any spell on their turn in order to increase their odds of success as long as the spell does not incapacitate or injure their opponent.
A raise on a roll to activate a power grants the caster a new Hole Card or lets them discard a random Hole Card from an opponent instead of its normal benefit—everyone finishes with at least one Hole Card. A Critical Failure when casting or resisting a power also gives the opponent an additional Hole Card.
Tests: Distracted and Vulnerable conditions incurred during the duel remain until the end of the third round. A raise on a Test doesn’t Shake a duelist, however. Instead, the “attacker” can either draw a new Hole Card for himself or force the foe to randomly discard one of his. Ignore this if it’s his last card—everyone finishes with at least one. A Critical Failure when making or resisting a Test also gives the foe an additional Hole Card.
A special limited action (dueling counter) can be performed while spell dueling.
As a limited action, any participant can make an Occult roll to identify the next power an opponent will cast. With success, the opponent must declare if they are casting any powers on their turn and if so, what their first power will be.
Activating this power does not need to be the character's first action, but they must attempt to activate the power if possible.
When the opponent casts that spell, this character can choose one of their powers and spend the same number of Power Points to make an arcane skill roll. This becomes the Target Number for the power to be successfully activated. The arcane skill roll receives a penalty or bonus based on the power they chose and the power the opponent is going to cast.
At the start of the third round, don’t deal Action Cards. Instead, both characters reveal the Hole Card of their choice. That’s their new Action Card. This is when you want to unleash your arcane destruction, because all those bonuses and penalties go away at the end of this round.
While duels can be treated as another form of combat, they are usually done to resolve a dispute between colleagues or rivals and are not usually intended to end in death. As a result, duels are usually fought with a specific prize in mind.
Arcane academies are known for having duels to assign important faculty positions and as competitions between students for valuable prizes. In some places, magical duels of this kind are so common that special areas are constructed specifically for duels.
Such dueling yards are sometimes made with special magic that can be activated for dueling competitions, converting damage to nonlethal damage and preventing or reversing magic that slays a foe or does permanent harm. That is not to say that accidents don’t happen, and more than one student has lost a limb or even her life while on such “safe” fields.
Regardless of the conditions, most duels are serious affairs, with each side putting pride, honor, treasure, and even their lives on the line to win the day. While villains might try to cheat the rules and exploit every advantage, the more noble duelist sees the competition as a chance to prove her superiority and skill on the field of battle, using only her magic and wits.
The character's Trappings and surroundings should be taken into account when participating in a duel. If a duel takes place on a bridge over a lake, the caster may receive a bonus when casting a power with a water Trapping.
Similarly, characters can gain advantage in the early rounds by attempting to silence, disarm, or otherwise inhibit the opponent's ability to cast.
CIRCUMSTANCE MODIFIER
Power is a different school -2
Power is the same school but not the same spell -1
Power is a higher Rank than what it's countering +1
Spell is the same as the spell being countered +4