About Spell Creation

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[attr="class","paracontentfull"]The process of spell creation can be very straightforward or very complicated depending on the complexity of the spell you wish to make. This guide is meant to explain how the moderation team judges the ranking of spells, as well as to explain more about the level of power that should be found at a given spell rank. We'll examine each field found in the spell template to explain what it is, what the standard options mean, and just provide some general ideas about what you can do.

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[attr="class","paracontentfull"]While you might think this is the easiest part, it isn't always the case. Spell names should be at least somewhat descriptive, but we also recommend thinking about the immersiveness and lore-friendliness of names. If you are naming a fire affinity spell and you call it "Big Fire Tornado" when you could instead call it "Conflagration" or "Inferno" then you might have missed out. While not all spells or characters end up having to shout spell names out loud, just thinking about how a character might discuss your spell can help sanity-check your spell name. This field does not influence ranking, but we might offer ideas for improvement if we have any.

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[attr="class","paracontentfull"]Spell Icons are used as part of the stylized spell template, and are mandatory for that template. Spell Icons must be 100x100 pixels and should be in png or jpg format. I have a giant collection available here that I maintain. You aren't required to use one of these, but they can help if you can't find anything on your own. Also keep in mind that you can just downscale any other cool images you find to the required size. This also doesn't effect spell ranking.

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[attr="class","paracontentfull"]What rank is your spell? This is the result of spell ranking, and all your other parameters should average out to this value. The questions that a moderator asks when looking at your proposed spell are "Does this feel like a rank X spell? Does it need to be buffed or nerfed? Should the rank be lower or higher?" All of those questions are asked about many of the components of the spell based on the guidelines below, some of which have explicit answers. Keep in mind that you can generally adjust a spell's ranking in either by increasing/decreasing the rank or by buffing/nerfing components of that spell.
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In most cases, components of a spell cannot massively outrank the total rank of a spell. Generally speaking, an individual component cannot be more than two ranks above the final rank of the spell. However, a component can be many ranks below without it being a big problem. This is to prevent spam of minmaxed spells with Rank EX utility and a Rank D cost.

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[attr="class","paracontentfull"]Another component that doesn't directly effect spell ranking. Affinity can be thought of as "spell schools" in most cases. Some of these are very broad, and some of these are very narrow. These directly correspond with the affinities that a character selects as part of character creation. Each topic within the Tome of Spells board is an affinity for the most part.

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[attr="class","paracontentfull"]Magic Crests are a bit trickier than the topics thus far. They too do not effect the spells ranking, but require moderators to ask an important question: "Is this spell unique enough in concept, theme, or synergy to justify its exclusivity?" If a spell feels incredibly generic moderators may refuse the ability to reserve it under a magic crest. For example if someone submits a spell called "Fireball" that is basically just a normal projectile attack, then there is basically no reason that should be locked down. This is because magic crest locked spells are afforded protection against "copycat" abilities. If we allowed super-generic abilities to be under a magic crest all the time, then there would be no public spells left!
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The big exception to this is when a magic crest is being designed as a whole and some spells are basically themed reskins of existing spells or effects that exist purely for flavor and lore. A good example of design in this respect is The Holy Church's Magic Crest. The Smite and Bless Weapon lines are basically reskinned versions of Lightning Strike and Reinforce Weapon, but the divine theme of the spell is the unique, lore-important component that is protected by the Magic Crest. Meanwhile the same magic crest has the Angelic/Archangelic Forms and Purgatory which have some unique mechanics as well as a powerful contribution to the theme of the magic crest.

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[attr="class","paracontentfull"]Range directly contributes to the ranking of a spell. Rather than specifying exact distances we generally recommend using the following categories of range which can be correlated to a ranking. Self is generally worth E-rank and Extreme is generally worth EX rank. This factor is usually the least important in a grading.

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[attr="class","paracontentfull"]Area of Effect(AoE) directly contributes to the ranking of a spell as well. Rather than specifying exact distances we generally recommend using the following categories of AoE which can be correlated to a ranking. None is generally worth E-rank and Huge is generally worth EX rank. Depending on the nature of a spell this can be either unimportant or hugely important, but generally matters much more than range. Sure, shooting a fireball a dozen kilometers is pretty cool, but shooting a dozen kilometer wide fireball is obviously more dangerous. It should also be noted that for some spells (generally buff/healing spells that autohit) the AoE can be declared as a set number of targets rather than a size.

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[attr="class","paracontentfull"]Incantations are actually a bit weird in that they are expected to get worse as the spell gets more powerful. Incantations are the chant that comes before the casting of a spell. Whether it is a pre-established spell or a personally invented one can change the reason for the incantation but they are ultimately a tool to help Magi control their magic circuits more effectively. Without the use of incantations most spells would not be possible. These can be bypassed with the perk High-Speed Incantation/Divine Words.
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An important thing to note is that most incantations are chanted within one's own mind. Incantations chanted aloud are known as Grand Incantations and are typically only performed by groups or incredibly powerful magi. Incantations are assumed to be chanted internally in spell creation unless "Grand" is listed in the incantation field or it is explicitly stated somewhere in the spell. Incantations are also a deeply personal thing, and unless otherwise indicated in a specific spell, can vary wildly from magi to magi. Listed incantations are most often an example from the creator of the spell.
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Possible values for this field are Single-Action or X-Count (One-Count, Two-Count, etc). Single-Action incantations are instantaneous and take no preparation. These are effectively considered EX potency since it allows for instant activation and would be found on low rank spells most commonly. As mentioned before, this great benefit from single-action is far easier to have on low power spells. When a proper incantation is used it is one count per rank in most cases. Rank E spells are One-Count and Rank A spells are Five-Count. However, Rank EX spells which border on miracles and rituals are generally Ten-Count.
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It should be noted that a "count" does not necessarily mean a "line" or a "sentence" but rather a "phrase" or "clause". Here are two different Five-Count examples. Note the use of punctuation, line breaks, or a "/" to indicate the end of a count.

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[attr="class","paracontentfull"]The meat and potatoes of a spell. This is what it's all about. The effect of a spell is what it actually does. This can potentially be as simple as "it's a big ball of fire" but more detail is always preferred. That said, there is also a point where too much detail can be there. The key is that you can generally describe things as verbosely as you want, but you should include established mechanics whenever you can for the sake of clarity. A better fireball effect might be something like "Launches a fireball the size of a pickup truck up to 100 meters away. If hit by the fireball then the target takes moderate damage (2nd degree burns) to all areas hit.
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Spell effects are much, much harder to explain exactly how the ranking goes since they can include anything from damage to teleportation to illusions. It is generally recommended to review existing spells to get a feeling for what kind of effects can be accepted at a given rank. As far as damaging spells go minor wounds are generally on E-D rank spells. Moderate wounds are generally on D-B rank spells. Major wounds are generally on B-EX rank spells. Yes there is overlap. This is on purpose as a Rank B touch-range zero-aoe spell could justify a major wound but a 10km range and city-sized Rank B spell would be looking at either minor or no wounding potential because of the sheer size and range being so impressive for a Rank B spell.