Magic is the manipulation of powerful energies that flow throughout the multiverse, altering reality itself. Individuals capable of controlling these energies are known as spellcasters. They are grouped by the origin of their magical abilities, whether derived from innate talent, external sources, or deep study. Regardless of their power’s origin, the rules governing these reality-shifting forces, called spells, remain constant. This chapter explains the mechanics of spellcasting and presents a variety of spells frequently encountered in the Labyrinth.
A spell is a crafted manipulation of reality, merging willpower and energy. Every spell requires a source of energy to fuel its effects, and a spellcaster to shape and control that energy. Spells can achieve a wide range of outcomes, inflicting harm, offering protection, or solving complex problems, all steered by the caster’s intent and creativity.
Developing a new spell demands both creativity and effort, often the culmination of years of study. For this reason, most spellcasters draw their spells from well-established pools of magical knowledge.
All magic draws upon energy. The four sources of magic represent four fundamental types of cosmic energy, each fueling different types of spellcasters. Every time a caster conjures a spell, they tap into their ability to draw energy from one of these four sources: Arcane, Divine, Primordial, and Wyrd. This section explains each source and its role in spellcasting.
Arcane casters tap into measurable forces that govern the physical world, such as heat, gravity, and space. Through precise words, gestures, and materials, an Arcane caster might ignite a blazing fire or connect two distant places.
Arcane magic follows intricate rules and calculations, making spellcasting a blend of mystical philosophy and careful precision. Mastery of Arcane magic demands creativity, discipline, and a quest for perfection.
Arcane tools vary greatly and are often personal to each caster. Common tools include runes, incantations, and hand signs.
A spell might be Arcane if it:
Divine casters draw power from connections between beings. With this energy, a Divine caster might revive a dying creature, channel divine wrath into a storm, or restore a barren field to feed the hungry.
Divine magic relies on the caster’s relationship with others. To wield it, a caster must show devotion, empathy, and a desire to improve life for those they serve.
While often tied to religious faith, Divine magic can stem from devotion to a cause, an evil pact, or loyalty to a community. Divine magic flows wherever there is need.
A spell might be Divine if it:
Primordial casters draw from the raw energies of nature. This magic can cause forests to bloom on barren land, speed the decay of life, or transform the caster’s physical form.
Using Primordial magic requires awareness of the natural world, a grasp of life’s fundamentals, and respect for nature’s inherent power.
Primordial magic manipulates the energies actively present in nature, either amplifying, altering, or redirecting them. Primordial casters understand that nature holds finite energy, and they must respect that balance. Primordial magic always connects with the natural world.
A spell might be Primordial if it:
Wyrd casters tap into forces beyond material reality. With Wyrd magic, a caster might summon otherworldly creatures, form writhing tendrils of chaotic energy, or banish foes to a void.
To wield Wyrd magic, a caster must act as a conduit, anchoring unnatural forces and shaping them with their will. This magic is incredibly dangerous, and most casters seek aid from spirits or entities from beyond the physical world to avoid catastrophe. Wyrd magic is about breaking physical reality to let otherworldly forces in.
A spell might be Wyrd if it:
Spells are categorized by levels, from 1st to 9th. The higher a spell’s level, the more energy it requires to cast, and the more powerful its effect.
Similar to the rings of a tree, spell levels build outward from the center. A novice spellcaster begins with access only to 1st-level spells. As they advance in skill, they gain access to higher-level spells. The higher the spell level, the more powerful the caster needs to be to use its magic.
Each class specifies when spellcasters unlock new spell levels. Generally, a spellcaster must be at least 17th level to cast spells of the 9th and final spell level.
Mana points represent the energy a caster has available to fuel their spells, like water stored in a reservoir. Your spellcasting class’s explains how many mana points you have at a given level. As you gain levels, you accumulate more mana to cast more powerful spells and have additional points to cast lower-level spells.
When a caster runs out of mana points, they are physically and mentally drained, unable to cast further spells. To replenish mana points, you must complete a short or long rest. Each class specifies which type of rest is needed and how many mana points you regain after resting. This rest is essential to recover from the strain spellcasting places on both body and mind.
The amount of mana you need to cast a spell is equal to it’s spell level. So a first level spell requires 1 mana point. A 6th level spell requires 6 mana points.
Some spell descriptions include a “At Higher Levels” section. Casting a spell at a higher level uses more mana points and increases the spell’s potency.
When you cast a spell using additional mana points to reach a higher level, the spell takes on all the characteristics of that level for that casting. For example, if a wizard casts magic missile (a 1st-level spell) using mana points equivalent to a 2nd-level spell (that means using 2 mana points), it is treated as a 2nd-level spell. In essence, the spell grows to match the energy you invest in it.
You can’t upcast spells that you have no access to, even if you have enough mana points for it. For example, a first-level wizard wouldn’t be able to cast magic missile (a 1st-level spell) as a 3rd-level spell, even with enough mana points for it.
Sages and practitioners have categorized the complexities of magic into eight widely recognized groups known as schools of magic. While these schools don’t directly impact a spell’s effects, they help categorize the spell’s nature. Some class features or character abilities may reference these schools. Below is a brief explanation of the eight schools.
Abjuration spells provide protection, using wards, barriers, or shielding to defend targets. Examples include creating a force shield to block attacks or casting a ward to protect a home from unwanted intrusions.
Conjuration spells manipulate space to summon objects, creatures, or transport targets. Examples include causing a lost item to appear or opening a portal for travel between planes.
Divination spells gather information, allowing the caster to perceive beyond normal limitations. Examples include sensing a hidden doorway or foreseeing future events.
Enchantment spells, influence minds, affecting emotions or behavior. Examples include compelling a creature to act in a specific way or charming a former enemy into becoming a friend.
Evocation spells draw on energy to create powerful effects, often destructive. Examples include conjuring light, creating firestorms, or stirring the sky into a tempest.
Illusion spells deceive the senses, altering perception or creating false realities. Examples include changing your appearance or projecting nightmarish visions to confuse enemies.
Necromancy spells manipulate life and death, enabling healing, harm, or even resurrection. Examples include regenerating lost limbs or causing flesh to decay instantly.
Transmutation spells transform creatures or objects, changing or enhancing their forms. Examples include turning lead into gold or transforming an enemy into a harmless animal.
A spellcaster must be deeply familiar with a spell or possess a magic item that holds it in order to cast it. Different spellcasting classes handle this familiarity in their own ways. For instance, a wizard records their known spells in a spellbook and can add more spells as they discover them. Your class defines how many spells you know and can learn as you gain class levels.
Prepared spells are ready for quick casting in the heat of battle, with all the reading and preparation done in advance. Due to the mental strain, the number of spells a caster can prepare at once is usually limited. Some casters, like clerics and wizards, must prepare spells through study or meditation. Other classes, with smaller spell lists, can automatically prepare all their known spells. Your class determines how you prepare spells and how many you can have ready at any level.
Some spells are so deeply entwined with the currents of magic that they can be cast without draining your precious mana. These spells, marked with the ritual tag, allow a caster to wield magic without expending energy, but there’s always a trade-off: time and preparation.
A spell can be casted as a ritual if the spell description does have the tag on it’s level that can be casted as a ritual.
Casting a ritual spell takes more time than usual, requiring an additional 10 minutes on top of its normal casting time. This extended ritual process allows the caster to carefully gather and shape the magic, rather than pulling it all at once. By doing so, you cast the spell without using mana points, but at the cost of urgency.
However, not all rituals can be performed just anywhere. Some require special items or locations to unlock their true power. These might be rare components, a sacred space, or an ancient altar attuned to the magic’s origin. Such requirements will be noted in the spell’s description, and without these key elements, the ritual simply won’t work.
And while most rituals follow the default 10-minute rule, there are exceptions. Some particularly intricate rituals have unique casting times, carefully noted in their descriptions. These rare spells might take hours, or even days, but the reward is power without draining your reserves.
Some spells are so personal and powerful that they bear the mark of their creator’s name, forever tied to their origin. To identity if a spell is named, look at the spell name, if there is a character name on the spell name, probably is a named spell, additionally these spells are marked with the named tag. These are not easily learned, and their true strength comes from the deep connection to the spell’s original author.
Unlike ordinary spells, a named spell can’t be simply copied from a scroll or shared through casual teaching. To master a named spell, a caster must undergo intense study, usually from original sources like ancient grimoires, the caster’s personal spellbook, or other deeply rooted magical texts. Without this level of study, the spell’s true power remains out of reach. These can’t be learned on a level up without the approval of the GM.
Since these spells are stronger versions of regular spells, they should be treated as special. An alternative is to treat each named spell as one level higher. For example, if a player wants to learn/cast Himo’s Mana Sense (a 1st-level spell), treat it as a 2nd-level spell for this purpose and remove the “Himo’s” prefix, keeping only “Mana Sense.”
This demonstrates that the common version of the spell was already created, at the cost of its higher level. This is also a way to show the evolution of magic in the game. For example, at the start of the campaign, players may find a specific spell (a named one) harder to locate, and as the years pass, this spell becomes easier to find, as more mages learn it, creating minor variations to make it easier to teach at the cost of its level.
Furthermore, it points to the players that they can choose this spell to create a new version, with some changes, effectively becoming another named spell, and starting the cycle again.
Named spells carry an aura of secrecy and personal mastery. They are often stronger than typical spells of the same level, as though infused with the unique energy of their creator. Casting a named spell feels like wielding magic that is a level higher than its marked level, reflecting the creator’s mastery and connection to the spell.
These spells are carefully guarded and rarely shared. Learning one is often a long process, involving deep research, rare artifacts, or even direct instruction from the spell’s creator. As a result, named spells are highly sought after, and possessing one is a mark of prestige and power among spellcasters.
Due to the intense focus and exact gestures required for spellcasting, you must be proficient with the armor you are wearing to cast a spell. Otherwise, the armor’s restrictions prevent you from focusing on casting properly.
The effects of different spells can stack if their durations overlap. However, the effects of the same spell cast multiple times don’t stack. Instead, the most potent version of the effect applies while the spells are active.
For example, if two wizards cast mage armor on the same target, the target only benefits from the spell once, receiving the highest available bonus without stacking effects.
When a character casts a spell, the fundamental rules apply the same way no matter the spell’s level or source. Each spell in this chapter includes key information like its name, level, source, school, casting time, range, components, and duration. These details give you a full understanding of what the spell does and how to use it.
Most spells take a single action to cast, but some can be completed faster or take longer, depending on their nature.
A spell cast using a bonus action happens swiftly, allowing the caster to weave magic quickly during battle. You must use your bonus action to cast the spell on your turn, but only if you haven’t already used a bonus action this turn. If you cast a spell of 1st level or higher with a bonus action, you can’t cast another spell of 1st level or higher with your action during the same turn.
Certain spells can be cast in the blink of an eye, using a reaction. These spells trigger instantly when a specific event occurs. The spell description will outline the exact condition that must be met for you to cast it in response.
Some spells, especially rituals, take minutes or even hours to cast, requiring prolonged focus. When you cast a spell with a longer casting time, you must dedicate your action each turn to the casting process and maintain concentration (see the Concentration rules below). If your concentration is broken, the spell fails, but it doesn’t use up mana points or materials unless the spell says otherwise. If you want to try again, you’ll need to start the casting over from the beginning.
A spell’s target must be within its specified range. For spells like magic missile, the target is a creature. For spells like fireball, the target is a point in space where the fireball erupts.
Most spells have their range measured in meters. Some spells can only target a creature (including yourself) that you touch, while others, like the shield spell, only affect you. These spells have a range of self.
Spells that create areas of effect, like cones or lines, also have a range of self, meaning they originate from you (see Area of Effect). Once cast, a spell’s effects aren’t limited by its range unless the spell’s description specifies otherwise.
Spells like burning hands and cone of cold affect multiple creatures by covering a specific area. The spell’s description outlines the area of effect, which typically takes one of five shapes: cone, cube, cylinder, line, or sphere. Every area of effect has a point of origin, the location from which the spell’s energy emerges. The rules for each shape explain how to position its point of origin. Usually, the point is a location within the spell’s range that you choose, though some spells originate from a creature or object.
A spell’s effect spreads in straight lines from its point of origin. If a straight line from the point of origin to a location is blocked, that location isn’t included in the area of effect. To block one of these lines, an obstruction must provide total cover.
A cone extends in a direction you choose from its point of origin, typically the caster. The cone’s width at any point along its length is equal to the distance from the point of origin. The maximum length of a cone is defined by the spell’s area of effect. A cone’s point of origin is not included in its area of effect unless you choose otherwise.
For a cube, you choose the point of origin on one of its faces. The cube’s size is given as the length of each side. The cube’s point of origin isn’t included in the area of effect unless you decide otherwise.
A cylinder’s point of origin is the center of a circle, with the radius specified in the spell description. The circle, acting as the base of the cylinder, must either be on the ground or at the height of the spell’s effect. The cylinder’s energy extends in straight lines from the point of origin to the perimeter of the circle, forming its base. The spell then shoots upward or downward to a height equal to the cylinder’s height. The point of origin is included in the cylinder’s area of effect.
A line extends from its point of origin in a straight path up to its length and covers an area defined by its width. The line’s point of origin is not included in the area of effect unless you decide otherwise.
You choose the point of origin for a sphere, and the sphere extends outward from that point. The size of the sphere is expressed as its radius in squares (sqr.) or meters. The point of origin is included in the sphere’s area of effect.
A spell’s components are the physical elements needed to cast it. Each spell’s description lists whether it requires verbal (V), somatic (S), or material (M) components. If you cannot provide one or more of the required components, you are unable to cast the spell.
Most spells demand the chanting of mystic words. The combination of sounds, specific in pitch and resonance, sets the magic in motion. As a result, a character who is gagged, affected by the deafened condition, or in an area of silence, such as that created by the silence spell, cannot cast a spell with a verbal component.
Some spells involve a forceful gesture or a series of intricate movements. If a spell requires a somatic component, the caster needs free use of at least one hand to perform the required gestures. This often means that spells with somatic components cannot be cast while holding both a weapon and a shield.
Certain spells call for specific objects, listed in parentheses in the component entry. Generally, a caster can use a component pouch or spellcasting focus as a substitute for most material components. However, if the material component has a specified cost, a pouch or focus cannot replace it, and the caster must provide the exact component to cast the spell. If the material component is consumed by the spell, it must be provided for each casting. A caster must have a hand free to retrieve material components or hold a spellcasting focus, but it can be the same hand used for somatic components.
A spell’s duration determines how long its effects last. It can be measured in rounds, minutes, or even years. Some spells remain in effect until they are dispelled or destroyed. Unless stated otherwise the spell last until the duration is completed or until the affected creature finished a rest.
Many spells take effect in an instant. These spells cause harm, heal, create, or alter a creature or object in a way that cannot be undone through dispelling, as their magic only exists for a brief moment. Even though some spells have an instantaneous duration, they can produce lasting effects described within their spell details.
Certain spells require concentration to sustain their effects. If you lose concentration on such a spell, it immediately ends.
A spell’s duration entry will indicate if concentration is required, as well as how long you can maintain it. You can stop concentrating on a spell at any time (no action needed).
Routine actions like moving and attacking do not disrupt concentration, but the following conditions may break it:
At the GM’s discretion, extreme environmental conditions, such as being hit by a wave on a stormy sea, may also require a Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration.
Every spell provides a detailed explanation of its effects, outlining how the spell functions. When a spell mentions a creature’s challenge rating, it’s shortened to CR.
When casting most spells, you must choose one or more targets to feel the effects of your magic. Whether a spell targets creatures, objects, or a specific point for an area of effect is specified in the spell’s description.
The act of spellcasting itself is always noticeable to anyone watching the caster, but the effects of the spell might not always be as clear. For example, a crackling bolt of lightning is hard to miss, but more subtle magic, like reading someone’s thoughts, can go entirely unnoticed unless the spell explicitly states otherwise.
Remember, while your spellcasting is obvious, the effects of the spell aren’t always apparent.
To cast a spell on something, you need a clear path to it, meaning it can’t be hidden behind total cover. If you try to place an area of effect on a point you can’t see, and there’s an obstruction like a wall between you and that point, the point of origin appears on the nearest side of the obstruction.
When a spell allows you to choose a creature as its target, you can choose yourself unless the spell specifically says otherwise. For example, some spells might require the target to be hostile or a creature other than yourself. If you are within the spell’s area of effect, you can also choose yourself as a target.
Many spells allow a target to attempt a saving throw to avoid some or all of the spell’s effects. The spell will specify which ability the target must use for the save, such as Dexterity or Wisdom, and what happens on a successful or failed save.
The DC (Difficulty Class) for resisting your spell is calculated as follows:
Spell Save DC = 8 + your spellcasting ability modifier + your proficiency bonus + any special modifiers
Your spellcasting class determines which ability modifier you use for your spells.
Some spells require the caster to make an attack roll to determine whether the spell successfully hits its target. Your attack bonus for a spell attack is calculated as:
Spell Attack Bonus = your spellcasting ability modifier + your proficiency bonus
Most spells that require attack rolls are ranged attacks. However, be aware that if you are within 1 square (1.5 meters) of a hostile creature that can see you and isn’t incapacitated, you have disadvantage on your spell attack rolls.