Cast

Some spells belong to one of five types, each with its own casting restrictions: augment, direct damage, hex, magic missile, and magical vortex. A handful of unique spells have no type at all -- any restrictions that apply are simply written into their own text. Regardless of type, all damage a spell causes counts as non-physical Magical Attacks.

Direct damage spells are deadly attacks that strike without warning. The target must be an enemy unit, must lie within the Wizard's forward arc, and must be within the spell's range -- but the Wizard doesn't need line of sight to it. A unit already locked in close combat can never be targeted.

Some direct damage spells use a template. The template can't be placed so it touches a friendly unit, or an enemy unit already in close combat (though it may still scatter onto one afterward, depending on the spell). A ranged direct damage spell using a template targets by placing the template over the target unit -- for a small or large round template, only the central hole needs to be within range.

Magic missiles are sorcerous projectiles hurled at the enemy. The target must be an enemy unit within the Wizard's forward arc and within the spell's range, and the Wizard DOES need line of sight to it. Magic missiles can't be cast at (or by a Wizard engaged in) close combat, and always hit their target automatically.

Augment spells strengthen the caster's allies -- wards, blessings, and enhanced fighting prowess. The target must be a friendly unit within the spell's range, but doesn't need to be in the Wizard's forward arc, and the Wizard doesn't need line of sight to it. Unlike most spell types, augment spells CAN target units already engaged in close combat.

If a Wizard casts an augment spell on themself and their unit, then leaves that unit, the spell continues to affect only the Wizard. If they later rejoin that unit (or join another) while the spell is still active, they'll share its benefit with their new unit again.

Hexes are the mirror of augment spells -- weakening the enemy to make them easier to slay. The target must be an enemy unit within the spell's range, but doesn't need to be in the Wizard's forward arc, and the Wizard doesn't need line of sight to it. Like augments, hexes CAN target units already in close combat.

Bonuses and penalties from hexes, augments, and similar spells are cumulative, though they normally can't push a characteristic above 10 or below 1 unless specifically stated.

Magical vortexes are roiling globes of energy that roam the battlefield causing unusual, often deadly, effects. They have no target as such -- instead they're placed in the caster's forward arc, and can't be placed to affect any model already in close combat at the moment they're cast. Models can never voluntarily move into or through one.

A magical vortex uses one of the round templates, placed in base contact with the caster with its centre inside the caster's forward arc, then moves as its own spell describes. Unlike most templated effects, a vortex remains on the battlefield once cast (unless it moves off it) -- at the end of every subsequent Magic phase, it moves again by the direction and distance the spell states.

If a vortex would end its move on top of a unit, it's instead placed 1" beyond that unit in the direction it was moving (repeating as needed if that's also over a unit) -- any models between where it would have stopped and where it's actually placed are unaffected. A model forced to move into or through a vortex suffers its full effect the instant it makes contact (for a spell affecting every model hit, that's every model whose base passes through it); survivors are placed 1" beyond the template and their move ends there.

Magical vortexes are always remains in play spells (see Spell Resolution).

Once the Wizard, spell, and target are chosen, declare how many dice from the power pool the Wizard will use -- at least one. The maximum any Wizard can commit to a single spell is their Wizard Level + 2, so a Level 3 Wizard could use up to 5 dice.

The chosen dice are taken from the power pool and rolled, their total giving the casting result -- keep them visible, since your opponent may need to see them if they attempt a dispel. To succeed, that total must equal or beat the spell's casting value (each spell has one, 3 or higher; a higher value means a more powerful, harder-to-cast spell). Meeting or beating it casts the spell (though it can still be dispelled); falling short means the casting attempt simply fails.

Many things can add a bonus to a casting attempt, making it easier to succeed and harder to dispel. The most common is the Wizard's own level: a Level 1 or 2 Wizard gets +1, a Level 3 or 4 Wizard gets +2. Further bonuses can come from magic items, special rules, units, or terrain -- but no single casting attempt may ever have more than +5 in total bonuses, regardless of source.

Some spells let a Wizard commit extra power for a stronger effect -- greater range, more damage, or a wider area. Where this option exists, the spell's own text states the boosted casting value and what the extra power buys. If your casting roll is high enough to reach the boosted value, you may choose whether to apply the standard or the boosted effect.

No matter how powerful a Wizard is, a spell can never be cast if the natural (unmodified) total of the dice rolled is less than 3 -- a natural 1 or 2 always fails, regardless of any bonus from any source. Even the mightiest Wizard needs to coax a minimum of raw power from the Winds of Magic before a spell will work at all.

If the natural dice total is 1 or 2, the spell doesn't just fail -- the Wizard's concentration breaks entirely, and they can't attempt to cast any further spells for the rest of the Magic phase.

For every natural 6 rolled while casting a spell, roll one additional free power die and add it to the casting total (a 6 on one of these bonus dice doesn't trigger further Ultimate Power dice). These extra dice aren't taken from the power pool, and don't count against the Wizard's usual dice limit for the spell.

If two or more of the dice rolled to cast a spell come up as unmodified 1s, the spell has been Miscast. Only the actual dice values count toward this -- bonuses from special rules or magic items are ignored, and if a die was re-rolled, only the second result matters. Every die rolled counts, whether it came from the power pool, Ultimate Power, or any other bonus source.

Once the spell has been dispelled or resolved, the Wizard rolls a D6 on the Miscast table below. The more power that went into the casting attempt, the more dangerous the result tends to be -- add the total number of dice used (including any from Ultimate Power) to the D6 roll before consulting the table. A Wizard who used 4 dice and rolls a 3 gets a result of 7.