Wizards channel magic through their soul, like light through a lens; focusing and directing energy.
In humans, the soul is immortal; it’s the portion of the self that remains after death, freed from the mortal body. This separation of body and soul means magic can pass through the soul of a human wizard without touching or hurting the flesh.
In elves, however, there is never such freedom; their body and soul are inextricably intertwined; their immortality permanently embodied, permanently embedded in the material world. This permanent joining of body and soul means an elven wizard must channel magic through both their soul and their body. Sometimes that hurts.
To reflect this, change the Cast A Spell move for elven wizards.
i) Remove the second option under 7-9: – The spell disturbs the fabric of reality as it is cast—take -1 ongoing to Cast a Spell until you Prepare Spells again.
ii) In its place add the following 7-9 option:
– Ethereal-flames burn and scar your flesh during the casting—take damage equal to the level of the spell cast.
#wizardweek
Taking 1/3 damage does sound way more doable then -1 to cast a spell for some time…
Is this extra or as a swap out for the racial move?
I had thought extra. I like the Elf starting move and fits well with the idea of magic flowing through an elf’s whole being.
I don’t quite get your comment about taking 1/3 damage. I meant to convey if you pick this option when casting a 5th Level spell, you take 5 damage; 9th Level spell, 9 damage; etc.
Well a level 1 Wizard has maybe 17 HP. He can cast a lot more level 1 spells when the only thing he has to pay on a 7-9 is 1 HP…
Also, more damage for higher level spells means they will favor lower level spells. I wrote a tiefling racial move where you can suffer 1d6 damage as an additional option on a 7-9 to prevent this, regardless of spell level.
I guess that would make elven wizards more prolific at lower levels but less able to handle the high level spells like human wizards. I kind of like that.
But you’re probably right, 1 HP damage is a very small cost to pay. I’m not a fan of a set 1d6 damage though.
What about spells at
level 1: 1d4 damage
level 3: 1d6 damage
level 5: 1d8 damage
level 7: 1d10 damage
level 9: 1d12 damage
Not as elegant but certainly more dangerous and more of a gamble.