Spellcasting Σ
This section contains rules regarding spells, how they are obtained, prepared, and casted.
A List of Spells that have been modified from their SRD 5.2 counterparts or added anew, is available in its own section.
Before you can cast a spell, you must:
- Have learned the spell
- Have the spell prepared
- Have the resources to cast it
Step 1: Learning Spells
You learn new spells by investing in Background Traits or Talents.
In Echoes, every spell has a tier (level in SRD 5.2) from 0 to 9, which is indicated in the spell's description. Tier 0 spells are also known as Cantrips, while spells of tier 1 or higher are referred to as Tiered spells.
Traits and talents may provide you with spells spanning multiple tiers, but you can only learn spells of a tier equal to or lower than half your character's level (rounded down).
For example, if your character is level 3 and has a talent that gives them access to spells of the School of Magic: Evocation of tiers 0 to 2, you only learn Evocation spells of tier 0 and 1. When your character reaches level 4, they learn all Evocation spells of tier 2 without spending additional Talent Points.
Step 2: Preparing Spells
Once you have learned a set of spells, you prepare a list of those you want ready to use.
Your list of prepared spells can contain:
- A number of Cantrips equal to your Proficiency Bonus
- A number of Tiered spells equal to twice your Proficiency Bonus
You can change the list of prepared spells when you finish a Long Rest.
Most spellcasting non-player entities don't change their lists of prepared spells, but the Game Master is free to alter them.
Always-Prepared Spells
Certain features might give you one or more spells that you always have prepared. A spell that you always have prepared does not count against the number of spells in your list of prepared spells.
Step 3: Casting Spells
To cast a spell, you take the Magic Action. Some spells can also be cast as a Bonus Action or Reaction, as noted in their description.
While Cantrips are simple spells that you can cast without resources, Tiered spells are taxing and require you to spend a number of Empowering Points equal to their tier when casting them.
Casting at a Higher Tier
Certain Tiered spells provide additional benefits and effects—such as increased damage—when cast at a higher tier. To do so, you spend as many Empowering Points as the tier you want them to be cast at, but the tier must still be equal to or lower than half your character's level.
Casting without EP
There are several ways to cast a spell without spending Empowering Points:
- Cantrips. Tier 0 spells don't require the usage of Empowering Points to be cast.
- Rituals. Certain spells have the Ritual tag in the Casting Time entry. Such a spell can be cast following the normal rules for spellcasting, or it can be cast as a Ritual. The Ritual version of a spell takes 10 minutes or longer to cast than normal, but it doesn't expend Empowering Points. To cast a spell as a Ritual, a spellcaster must have it prepared.
- Special Features. Some entities have special features—such as Innate Magic—that allow them to cast specific spells without spending Empowering Points. This casting is usually limited in another way, such as being able to cast the spell a limited number of times per day.
- Magic Items. Spell Scrolls and some other magic items contain spells that can be cast without the caster knowing them and without spending Empowering Points. The description of such an item specifies how many times a spell can be cast from it.
Casting Time
Most spells require the Magic action to cast, but some spells require a Bonus Action, a Reaction, or 1 minute or more. A spell's Casting Time entry specifies which of those is required.
One Tiered Spell per Turn
On a turn, when you spend Empowering Points to cast a Tiered spell, you cannot spend Empowering Points on another spell. only one spell slot to cast a spell. For example, you can't cast a Tiered spell using the Magic action and another one using a Bonus Action on the same turn.
Reaction and Bonus Action Triggers
A spell that has a casting time of a Reaction is cast in response to a trigger that is defined in the spell's Casting Time entry. Some spells that have a casting time of a Bonus Action may also be casted in response to a trigger defined in the spell.
Longer Casting Times
Certain spells—including a spell cast as a Ritual—require more time to cast: minutes or even hours. While you cast a spell with a casting time of 1 minute or more, you must take the Magic action on each of your turns, and you must maintain Concentration while you do so. If your Concentration is broken, the spell fails, but you don't expend a Empowering Points. To cast the spell again, you must start over.
Range
A spell's range indicates how far from the spellcaster the spell's effect can originate, and the spell's description specifies which part of the effect is limited by the range.
A range usually takes one of the following forms:
- Distance. The range is expressed in feet / meters.
- Touch. The spell's effect originates on something, as defined by the spell, that the spellcaster must touch within their reach.
- Self. The spell is cast on the spellcaster or emanates from them, as specified in the spell.
If a spell has movable effects, they aren't restricted by its range unless the spell's description says otherwise.
Components Δ
A spell's components are physical requirements the spellcaster must meet to cast the spell. Each spell's description indicates whether it requires Verbal (V), Somatic (S), or Material (M) components. If the spellcaster can't provide one or more of a spell's components, the spellcaster can't cast the spell.
Verbal (V)
A Verbal component is the chanting of esoteric words that sound like nonsense to the uninitiated. The words must be uttered in a normal speaking voice. The words themselves aren't the source of the spell's power; rather, the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion. Thus, a creature who is gagged or in an area of magical silence can't cast a spell with a Verbal component.
Creating Verbal Components
If you'd like to say a spell's Verbal component, you may make up the words. However you make them, the goal is to create something that's easy to say and that doesn't mean anything in the real world. Consider this method: take the name of the spell, keep only one instance of each of its letters, and rearrange the remaining letters into words. For example, remove the second l from Fireball and rearrange the remaining letters to create Ber Fila or Fel Bira.
Somatic Δ (S)
A Somatic component is a forceful gesticulation or an intricate set of gestures. A spellcaster must use one of their hands—or functionally equivalent body part—to perform these movements.
Material Δ (M)
A Material component is a particular material used in a spell's casting, as specified in parentheses in the Components entry. These materials aren't consumed by the spell unless the spell's description states otherwise. The spellcaster must have a hand free to access them, but it can be the same hand used to perform Somatic components, if any.
If a spell doesn't consume its materials and doesn't specify a cost for them, a spellcaster can use a Component Pouch which contains the most common materials, or the spellcaster can substitute the materials for a Spellcasting Focus. To use a Component Pouch, you must have a hand free to reach into it, and to use a Spellcasting Focus, you must hold it unless its description says otherwise. You can use both with the same hand used to perform the Somatic component.
Duration Δ
A spell's duration is the length of time the spell persists after it is cast. A duration typically takes one of the following forms:
- Concentration. A duration that requires Concentration follows the Concentration rules.
- Instantaneous. An instantaneous duration means the spell's magic appears only for a moment and then disappears.
- Time Span. A duration that provides a time span specifies how long the spell lasts in rounds, minutes, hours, or the like. For example, a Duration entry might say "1 minute", meaning the spell ends after 1 minute has passed. While a time-span spell that you cast is ongoing, you can dismiss it (no action required) if you don't have the Incapacitated condition.
- Time Span with Trigger. Follows the same rules as a spell with a duration provided as a Time Span, but specifies a trigger that, if met, may end the spell effects earlier.
Schools of Magic Δ
Each spell belongs to a school of magic. The schools are listed in the Schools of Magic table. These categories help describe spells and determine which Ability Modifier affects them.
| School | Ability | Typical Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Abjuration | INT or CHA | Prevents or reverses harmful effects |
| Conjuration | INT | Transports creatures or objects |
| Divination | INT or CHA | Reveals information |
| Enchantment | CHA | Influences minds |
| Evocation | INT or CHA | Channels energy to create effects that are often destructive |
| Illusion | CHA | Deceives the mind or senses |
| Necromancy | INT or CHA | Manipulates life and death |
| Transmutation | INT | Transforms creatures or objects |
Ranks Σ
Each School of Magic is divided into four ranks of magical knowledge, each encompassing two or three tiers of spells.
To be recognized as having a given rank within a School, an entiry must learn at least one spell for each tier within that rank and all previous ranks. The table below outlines the tiers associated with each rank:
| Rank | Initiate | Adept | Scholar | Arcanist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spell Tiers | 0, 1, 2 | 3, 4, 5 | 6, 7 | 8, 9 |
Effects
The effects of a spell are detailed after its duration entry. Those details present exactly what the spell does, which ignores mundane physical laws; any outcomes beyond those effects are under the GM's purview. Whatever the effects, they typically deal with targets, saving throws, attack rolls, or all three, each of which is detailed below.
Targets
A typical spell requires the caster to pick one or more targets to be affected by the spell's magic. A spell's description says whether the spell targets creatures, objects, or something else.
A Clear Path to the Target. To target something with a spell, a caster must have a clear path to it, so it can't be behind Total Cover.
Targeting Yourself. If a spell targets an entity of your choice, you can choose yourself unless the spell description specifies that the entity must be Hostile or other than you.
Areas of Effect. Some spells cover an area called an Area of Effect that determines what the spell targets. The description of a spell specifies whether it has an area of effect, which is typically one of these shapes: Cone, Cube, Cylinder, Emanation, Line, or Sphere.
Awareness of Being Targeted. Unless a spell has a perceptible effect, an entity doesn't know it was targeted by the spell. An effect like lightning is obvious, but a more subtle effect, such as an attempt to read thoughts, goes unnoticed unless a spell's description says otherwise.
Invalid Targets. If you cast a spell on someone or something that can't be affected by it, nothing happens to that target, but if you used Empowering Points to cast the spell, these are still expended.
If the spell normally has no effect on a target that succeeds on a saving throw, the invalid target appears to have succeeded on its saving throw, even though it didn't attempt one (giving no hint that the entity is an invalid target). Otherwise, you perceive that the spell did nothing to the target.
Saving Throws Δ
Many spells specify that a target makes a saving throw to avoid some or all of a spell's effects. Here's how to calculate the DC for your spells:
Spell save DC = 8 + your spellcasting ability modifier (as per school of magic) + your Proficiency Bonus
Note: Echoes for 5E only provides spells that have been meaningfully changed from their SRD 5.2 counterparts. To determine the Ability used for Saving Throws consult the following conversion table:
| SRD 5.2 | Echoes for 5E |
|---|---|
| Strength | Constitution |
| Dexterity | |
| Constitution | |
| Intelligence | Wisdom |
| Wisdom | |
| Charisma |
Attack Rolls Δ
Some spells require the caster to make an attack roll to determine whether the spell hits a target. Here's how to calculate the attack modifier for your spells:
Spell attack modifier = your spellcasting ability modifier (as per school of magic) + your Proficiency Bonus
Combining Spell Effects
The effects of different spells add together while their durations overlap. In contrast, the effects of the same spell cast multiple times don't combine. Instead, the most potent effect—such as the highest bonus—from those castings applies while their durations overlap. The most recent effect applies if the castings are equally potent and their durations overlap. For example, if two entities cast Bless on the same target, that target gains the spell's benefit only once; the target doesn't receive two bonus dice. But if the durations of the spells overlap, the effect continues until the duration of the second Bless ends.
Identifying an Ongoing Spell Δ
You can try to identify a non-instantaneous spell by its observable effects if its duration is ongoing. To identify it, you must take the Study action and succeed on an Arcana (INT) check with DC equal to 10 plus the Tier of the spell.