URBAN ARCANA
SEED DESCRIPTIONS
The following terms are used extensively in this section of the chapter:
Incantation: Powerful ritual magic that requires successful Knowledge (arcane lore) checks to cast. Incantations don’t require spellcasting ability, don’t take up spell slots, can’t be improved using metamagic feats, and need not be prepared ahead of time.
Factor: An aspect of the incantation that’s built in when the incantation is designed. Casters have no control over factors; they’re an indelible part of the incantation. When a GM designs an incantation, factors are useful ways to customize an incantation.
Option: Aspects of the incantation that make it easier or harder, depending on choices the caster makes. Options provide modifiers to the caster’s Knowledge (arcane lore) check.
Seed: The building blocks of incantation, seeds describe magical effects in general terms.
| Factor | DC modifier |
|---|---|
| Skill Checks | |
| Requires skill check other than Knowledge (arcane lore) | -1 |
| Casting Time | |
| 1 hour between checks | -1 |
| Range | |
| Touch to Close/Close to Touch | +2/–2 |
| Close to Medium/Medium to Close | +2/–2 |
| Medium to Long/Long to Medium | +2/–2 |
| Target | |
| Unwilling target must be helpless | -2 |
| Limited targets (by HD, creature type, etc.) | -3 |
| Single target to multiple targets | +4 |
| Duration | |
| Rounds to minutes/minutes to rounds | +2/–2 |
| Minutes to hours/hours to minutes | +4/–2 |
| Hours to days /days to hours | +6/–2 |
| Days to permanent/permanent to days | +10/–4 |
| Material Components | |
| Expensive component (purchase DC 20–24) | -1 |
| Expensive component (purchase DC 25–29) | -2 |
| Expensive component (purchase DC 30+) | -4 |
| Expensive focus (purchase DC 25–29) | -1 |
| Expensive focus (purchase DC 30+) | -2 |
| XP Cost | |
| per 100 XP (max 1,000 XP) | -1 |
| Extra Casters | |
| Up to 10 secondary casters | -2 |
| 11–100 secondary casters | -6 |
| 101+ secondary casters | -10 |
| Backlash | |
| Per 2d6 points of damage | -1 |
| Caster is exhausted | -2 |
| Per negative level caster suffers | -2 |
| Caster reduced to –1 hp | -3 |
| Caster infected with disease | -4 |
| Backlash affects secondary casters too | -1 |
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