How Magic Works
You have questions about magic in Starfinder, and I have answers! They may not be the answers you want, but I got them. Is there magic in Star Finder? Yes. How do spells work? It's not that complicated. How is spell DC calculated when it comes to Star Finder? Easily. Do you need to be able to cast magic within Star Finder? Ummmmm. How many spells do I get? It depends. Detailed answers to all of these questions and more, coming up!
What does magic look like?
One of the first things we should to cover first is how magic functions and how it looks aesthetically to the world. What does it look like when you cast a spell? Is it flashy? Or is it rather mundane, so you can cast your spells stealthily or quietly? According to the core rule book on page 330: When your character casts a spell, they are harnessing the latent magical energy that permeates in the Universe to achieve specific, measured effects. Whether you are playing a Mystic or a Technomancer, or even a character who has gained the ability to manipulate magical energies through a more unusual way, casting a spell in Starfinder follows one basic process. A cast spell always has some visual cue to creatures around you that a spell is being cast. It is also not possible to clandestinely cast a spell. In other words, you absolutely cannot do it quietly or stealthily. I know that this might come as a disappointment to some, but that is the way that it is written. Personally, I hate this rule, but I do understand why it has to be done this way. When you’re dealing with a high technology, high magic setting, you need something that obviously separates the magic from the technology. When you’re dealing with threats, you have to identify priority targets like casters, who can deal large amounts of damager. Now, keep in mind that this works for you as the player, and it also works for the GM playing as the enemies—anyone who casts a spell has some glowing effect around them and they can become priority target number one. This also means that forecasting you spells doesn’t have to have a verbal component, a hearing component or even a material cost. You want to cast a spell? Done and done. Rituals may still require some of the aforementioned components, but we will cover those in another post.
Hands! Do you need them?
Another big question that I’ve run into is do you need to have a free hand to be able to cast a magical spell? If we look at page 331 of the core rule book, it says to be able to cast a spell, you must concentrate. The length of time is specified in the casting time entry of the spells description. So no, you don’t need hands! Wild, right? That being said, there are some spells that require a line of sight, but it will state that somewhere on the spell itself. There are a varied amount of ways that a spell can be interrupted, such a physical blow to the caster. If you are trying to cast a spell, it cannot be cast in its environment (IE: trying to cast a fireball underwater). But hands? Arms? A mouth?? Nope! You’re good to play a magical casting worm if your GM will let you! I would let you. Tell them that Nathaniel has your back if they argue.
Are you a rebel?!
Now, as we’ve learned, casting a spell does have a visual component to it. You are visually noticeable. If your spell requires you to focus or concentrate for longer than one round, you are definitely going to be spotted, so plan accordingly. Before we move on to how spells work, do you agree with what I’ve said? Do you run your games the same way, or do will you allow your players to cast a spell stealthily? If you do operate it this way at your tables, please tell me why in the comments. I love to hear from you.
Can I confuse you with numbers? Here I go…
Now, as for how spells work mechanically, it’s not too complicated. For Mystics, the spell will pop off, and your target will still need to do some kind of saving throw to either negate the effects or take half damage if it’s a damage dealing spell. The Technomancer tends to have quite a few attack roll based spells, and the key thing to note here is if your spell requires you to make an attack roll and you miss, you still expend the spell slot. Bummer, right? There are a few level zero spells (or cantrips) that have some adjustments when it comes to Galactic magic. In Galactic Magic, they have a new scaling option that still makes your level zero spells viable at higher levels. You can apply this to other cantrip spells, but always talk to your GM first before you implement anything new. Now, some of these changes are really good. Starting at level 3, you add half your caster level to the damage as a baseline. That’s great! At level 7, you start increasing dice damage—any spell that deals 1d3 damage, now deals 2d4 damage. Other spells that are a bit stronger, such as 1d6 damage, now have 2d6 damage. And again at 10th, 13th and 15th. Just add another dice worth of damage! Simple, right? It’s the 17th and 19th level where these spells really get some big adjustments. You will add two more of the damage dice at each of these levels. So an Energy Ray at 19th level would deal 94 damage plus 9. Is this going to compete with level 19 weapons? No. But it will give you options at higher levels with level zero spells.
Spell DC = 10 + Spell Level + Key Ability (Wis or Int) + Modifiers
Another question that I have run into is how is spell DC’s calculated? There is a formula, and I promise it’s not too bad. There are two kinds of checks that you might be required to make as a Caster. One is a Caster Level check—this is a D20 roll, and you add your Caster Level. This kind of check is usually made to overcome a creatures spell resistance. There are also feats that you can grab to increase your Caster Level so that you can more easily overcome spell resistance. The other more common check is going to be a spell DC, and this is something that you have to know as a Caster, because the GM will ask you for it when they are rolling defense for their creatures. In order to find out what your spell DC is, you will start off with 10, you will add the spell level of which you are casting, then you will add your key ability score. If you are a Mystic, your key ability score will be wisdom. If you are a Technomancer, this will be intelligence. From there you will add any other modifiers that you have. Now, if you are multi-classing into any other kind of spell Caster, just know that in order to cast a level of spell, your key ability score for the Caster class must be 10 plus the level you want. So if you want to cast a level 1 spell, you must have a minimum of 11 in your wisdom, intelligence, what have you.
Can I have 600 spells?
Now how many spells can you get? There are over 200 spells for each of the Caster classes. We will have to do a little bit of cross-checking when it comes to the manual and for your class to find out what your key ability score is for your Caster Class… then you’ll have to look at your class chart!
Mystic chart for reference.
The first one will tell you how many spells you know and, depending on what your key ability score is, how many extra you know. The next one will tell you how many spells you can cast per day. Very simple. This number can’t really be increased. Thankfully there are no preparation rules so as long as you know a spell, you can cast the spell. There are also some variant magic rules thanks to Galactic Magic and I can note that in another post if anyone is interested. Are you? Interested that is? Let me know in the comments below!
I want to hear from you!
If you enjoyed this article, please let me know in the comments! As always, I would like to thank my patrons and the subscribers to my channel. If you would like to get access to my homebrew content, then please consider joining me on Patreon. All of your support is greatly appreciated. My name is Nathaniel, you’ve had a dose of Maple, and I welcome you back to the Table next week!
