Verbal Mitigators
Verbal mitigators are spoken words. The value of the mitigator depends on the length of the chant and its relevance to the spell. The chant must make sense and be applicable to the situation at hand.
Each phrase in the chant is graded by its appropriateness for the spell: very, somewhat, or mildly. Very appropriate phrases count for three times their actual wordcount. Somewhat appropriate phrases count for double the actual wordcount. Mildly appropriate phrases count their wordcount only once. Phrases with no relevance count for nothing at all.
Total the wordcount value of all of the phrases in the chant. This is your chant’s length. The total length of the chant determines how many steps of verbal mitigation you have, and thus how many points you receive.
The first step is 1-18 words. The maximum wordcount for each step after the first is then 18(step number)+(maximum wordcount for previous step). The minimum wordcount for each step is one greater than the maximum wordcount for the previous step.
For convenience, the first six steps have been laid out for you.
1 mitigation: 1-18 words
2 mitigation: 19-54 words
3 mitigation: 55-108 words
4 mitigation: 109-180 words
5 mitigation: 181-270 words
6 mitigation: 271-378 words
If you overrun the word limit for one step, the verbal mitigation defaults to the next.
Note that multiple people saying the same thing does not count for any more verbal mitigation than if one person said it, nor does repeating something count for more than saying it once.
Sonic Mitigators
This is any sound other than words. This includes things like bird calls or even nails on a chalkboard.
Sounds that do not contain words are sorted by appropriateness for the spell at hand.
Very appropriate: 4 mitigation.
Appropriate: 2 mitigation.
Mildly appropriate: 1 mitigation.
Examples:
Very Appropriate: A lullaby for a sleep spell.
Appropriate: General nighttime sounds for a sleep spell.
Mildly Appropriate: Something soothing for a sleep spell.
Somatic Mitigators
Somatic mitigators are positions or gestures - holding or moving your body a certain way. They are divided into major and minor. For example, a major position would be standing in a firebender’s stance while casting a fireball spell, while a major gesture would be making a chopping motion with your arm to generate a razor wind. A minor position would be, say, holding your hand in the sign for stop when making a time stop spell, while a minor gesture would be something like snapping your fingers for a sonic boom spell.
Position/Gesture:
Major: +2
Minor: +1
A note on sign language: Spellsigning is always considered verbal mitigation. If each handsign is a word on its own, then each may be considered a minor position, but
only those words that are in and of themselves relevant to the spell may be counted in this way. Otherwise, again, sign language is counted as verbal.
Material Mitigators
Material mitigators are physical objects, symbols, or substances. They are divided into levels.
The levels for material mitigators are:
Very Minor: 1 mitigation: These are only tangentially related to the spell in question. As an example, if casting a scrying spell, using silicon beads as a mitigator. (Silicon is an ingredient in glass.)
Minor: 3 mitigation: These are connected, but not something you would normally think of using for the spell in question. Going back to the scrying example, using, say, a microscope.
Medium: 4 mitigation: These have a definite link, but lack a specialization to that particular spell. For example, for your scrying spell, you use a bowl of water. It is connected to scrying, but you could also use it for healing, potion making, etc.
Major: 5 mitigation: These are focused and connected to the spell in question, and thus very powerful. For example, using some of the herbs that the Oracle at Delphi used would be very useful for our scrying spell.
Very Major: 7 mitigation: These are permanently linked to a spell and cannot really be seen as useful for anything else. Going back to the scrying, having the skull of the Oracle at Delphi would be a great mitigator.
Locational Mitigation
Locational mitigation is casting in an environment that fits with a spell. For example, casting a fire spell is a lot easier in, say, a volcano, even without the added heat decreasing the Power required. This means picking your battleground is very important.
Location:
Very appropriate: 4 mitigation.
Appropriate: 2 mitigation.
Mildly appropriate: 1 mitigation.
Neutral: 0 mitigation.
Mildly inappropriate: -1 mitigation.
Inappropriate: -2 mitigation.
Very inappropriate: -4 mitigation.
Examples:
Very Appropriate: Summoning a dryad in a forest.
Appropriate: Summoning a dryad near a single tree.
Mildly Appropriate: Summoning a dryad in a grassy field.
Neutral: Summoning a dryad on dirt.
Mildly Inappropriate: Summoning a dryad on rocky ground.
Inappropriate: Summoning a dryad in a stone room or a cave.
Very Inappropriate: Summoning a dryad in a desert or volcano.
Thematic Mitigation:
Thematic mitigation is a theme within a single spell. For instance, doing everything in threes (saying the chant three times, using three of each material mitigator, et cetera). You need at least two things fitting the declared theme to get points for it; those two give you +1 mitigation total. This is on top of any mitigation they already grant you.
You can continue to add things that fit the theme to get additional mitigation, as follows:
1 additional thing (for three total items) gives you +1 mitigation. (1 thing over the previous level.)
3 additional things (for five total items) give you +2 mitigation. (2 things over the previous level.)
6 additional things (for eight total items) give you +3 mitigation. (3 things over the previous level.)
And so on. In general, each level of “thematicness” requires one more thing to reach from the previous level than the previous level did.
Multiple themes do stack, but the second theme requires twice as many things in all categories (four to count as a theme at all, two more for another +1, another four for the next +1, et cetera), the third three times as many (six to count, three for the extra +1, six for the next +1, et cetera), and so on.
And if all that is too confusing, an extensive thematic mitigation chart is available here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... TeWc#gid=0
Mastery
Each level of Mastery in a school gives you 1 point of mitigation for all spells in that school.
In addition, it expands the range of correct mana cost by +/- 1.
Example: Kirana has level 1 Alchemy Mastery. If she were casting an Alchemy spell that costs 15 points, she could spend and mitigate anywhere from 14 to 16 points of mana and that would count as perfectly meeting the cost. Her Mastery would also count as one point of that mitigation.
Multiple Casters
Each secondary caster in a spell may add as much of their own mana as they wish; each point of mana spent in this way adds 1 mitigation to the spell.
A person helping in this way may contribute as much mana as he or she wants. However, if someone contributes more mana than the caster, that contributor may attempt to take over the spell. Contested control is determined by Essence checks. If control is successfully wrested away, apply the new controller’s Masteries instead of the original caster’s, and allow the new controller to redefine the spell as they wish. Yes, this may result in the spell being over- or under-powered and requires recalculating everything. Sorry about that.
If a spell necessitates an Essence check other than contested control checks, such as domination of a Conjured creature, each person who contributes mana to the spell may add their Essence to either side of that check.
Note that you can also transfer mana from your own pool to someone else’s; doing so costs one point of mana for every point the target recovers. Giving someone so much mana that their current mana exceeds their maximum will result in whatever the Headmaster wants it to.