Symbolism

Symbolism

The practice of imbuing magic into symbols goes back to the fallen empires of old. One can still find these glyphs and runes inscribed in ruins and, sometimes, the magic lingers to ruin anyone’s day who triggers them. The Symbolism tradition lets a caster sketch a symbol, imbue it with power that typically lasts until the symbol burns away.

Symbolism Talents

APOTROPAIC RUNE (Magical): You can perform a ritual using a writing kit to draw a protective rune. Target one creature or object in reach. When you finish, the target makes rolls to resist magical effects with 1 boon and imposes 1 bane on rolls made against it using magic. The effect lasts 24 hours or until you use this talent again. Once you use this talent, you lose access to it until after you rest.
RUNE OF DEFENSE (Magical): You can use an action to place a Rune of Defense. Target one creature in reach. For 1 minute, the target’s natural Defense increases by 3. You can use this talent once, twice at level 3, and three times at level 7. You regain expended uses after you rest.
RUNE OF TRACKING (Magical): You can use an action to place a rune on something so you can keep track of it. Target one creature or object you can see. An invisible rune appears on the target and remains there for 24 hours. You always know in which direction you can find the target and the approximate distance between you and the target. Once you use this talent, you lose access to it until after you rest. If the effect has not ended yet after you finish resting, you can use this talent to extend the duration by another 24 hours.
RUNE OF WAR (Magical): You can use an action to cause a Rune of War to appear on a weapon you can see within 10 yards. The rune remains for 1 minute or until you use this talent again. The rune grants 1 boon on rolls to attack with the weapon, and attacks with the weapon deal an extra 1d6 damage.
At level 3, attacks with the weapon now deal an extra 2d6 damage. At level 7, attacks with the weapon deal an extra 4d6 damage instead.

Novice Symbolism Spells

Baffling Pattern

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 1 space within reach
Duration: 1 minute
Using your finger, you sketch in the air a complex pattern that leaves a glowing tracery for the duration. Any creature that starts its turn with line of sight to the target space makes a Will roll. On a success, the creature becomes immune to this spell for 24 hours. On a failure, the creature takes 1d6 damage and becomes confused until the start of its next turn.

Brand of Cruelest Burning

Castings: 1, reaction when you get a success on a roll to attack an enemy
Target: The target of your attack
Duration: 1 minute
A burning brand appears on the target’s body. The brand emits dim light and the enemy becomes impaired in an attribute of your choice and takes an extra 1d6 damage the first time it takes damage in each round until the spell ends.

Entrapping Circle

Castings: 1
Target: The ground in one Size 5 space within 10 yards
Duration: 24 hours (see the effect)
An invisible circle forms on the ground inside the space and remains there for the duration or until activated, which ends the spell early. Any enemy moving into, within, or out of the target space makes a luck roll. On a failure, the enemy activates the circle, which causes it to radiate bright golden light up to 10 yards high and forms an impenetrable barrier around the enemy. The barrier remains until it’s destroyed; it has Health 20. Until then, nothing can pass through the barrier or climb it.

Glyph of Destruction

Castings: 1, perform a ritual, you have a writing kit and rare materials worth 5 cp
Target: One secured object within reach
Duration: 24 hours (see the effect)
A 1-foot-diameter glyph appears on the target’s surface where it remains for the duration or until activated. You decide what activates the glyph: a creature, ally, or enemy, which might be a specific individual or not, touches the glyph or moves to within some distance of it.
When activated, the glyph disappears and fire fills a Size 5 space centered on its location. The fire deals 3d6 damage to each object in the space and 1d6 damage to each creature in the space. A creature makes a luck roll. On a failure, the creature takes an extra 2d6 damage.

Mark of the Beast

Castings: 1
Target: One creature within 5 yards
Duration: 1 minute
A mark appears on the target’s body and remains there for the duration. The target becomes vulnerable, cannot benefit from invisibility, and cannot hide from you as you always know the target’s exact location.

Rune of Unflagging Vigor

Castings: 1, reaction when a creature start its turn
Target: One creature within 5 yards
Duration: 1 minute
A complex rune appears on the target’s body, bolstering its endurance and courage. The target makes Strength and Will rolls with 1 boon and imposes 1 bane on rolls against its Strength and Will. When the target becomes injured, it can end the spell early to heal 2d6 damage.

Expert Symbolism Spells

Glyph of the Illustrated Guardian

Castings: 1, perform a ritual, you have a writing kit and rare materials worth 1 sp
Target: One Size 1 secured object in reach
Duration: 24 hours (see the effect)
A 1-foot-diameter glyph appears on the object’s surface where it remains for the duration or until activated. You decide what activates the glyph: a creature, ally, or enemy, which might be a specific individual or not, touches the glyph or moves to within some distance of it.
Once triggered, the glyph disappears and an illustrated guardian appears on the ground within 5 yards of its location. The guardian remains for 1 hour, until it is incapacitated, or until it moves or is moved more than 5 yards from the space that contained the glyph. The guardian treats all creatures other than you and your allies as enemies. The Sage controls the guardian and uses the rules for it found in Secrets of the Weird Wizard.

Protective Circle

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 5 space centered on you
Duration: 1 hour
A magical circle scrawled with writhing runes appears on the ground in the target space. The circle hedges out something of your choice, which you choose when you cast the spell from the following options:

Creatures, objects, or effects of the chosen kind cannot cross the circle by any means. For example, fire would not reach into the area protected by the circle, or a demon could not make attacks against creatures inside it. However, an enemy prevented from entering the circle could make ranged attacks against targets inside it.
If anything covers any part of the circle, make a luck roll. On a failure, the spell ends early.

Rune of Titanic Might

Castings: 1
Target: One creature within 5 yards
Duration: 4 hours
A large rune appears on the target’s body and emits dim light. The target’s Strength becomes 15 if it is lower than that and the target increases its supply of Bonus Damage dice by 2.

Seal of Aryal

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 1 space on the ground within 5 yards
Duration: 1 minute (see the effect)
A 1-yard diameter seal of Aryal appears on the ground in the target space and remains there for the duration or until activated. The seal radiates bright light.
A creature can activate the seal by moving onto it, provided the creature is not already under the effects of another seal. When it does, it becomes stunned until the start of its next turn, at which point it assumes an angelic appearance, with metallic skin and feathery wings for 1 hour. The creature imposes 1 bane on rolls to attack it and rolls against its Defense, gains the Fly trait, and makes attribute rolls and luck rolls with 1 boon.

Seal of Balefrons

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 1 space on the ground within 5 yards
Duration: 1 minute (see the effect)
A 1-yard diameter seal of Balefrons appears on the ground in the target space and remains there for the duration or until activated. The seal radiates dim light.
A creature can activate the seal by moving onto it, provided the creature is not already under the effects of another seal. When it does, it becomes stunned until the start of its next turn, at which point the creature’s head changes into that of a beast with blazing eyes and smoke spilling from its nostrils for 1 hour. The creature imposes 1 bane on rolls against its Defense and Agility, increases its Speed by 2, gains the Keen Vision trait, rolls to attack with 1 boon, and its attacks deal an extra 1d6 damage.

Symbol of Awe

Castings: 1
Target: One secured object within 10 yards
Duration: 24 hours
A 1-foot diameter symbol appears on the surface of the target and remains there for the duration. An enemy that starts its turn with line of sight to the symbol makes a Will roll with 1 bane. On a success, the enemy becomes immune to this spell for 24 hours. On a failure, the enemy becomes frightened of the symbol for as long as it has line of sight to it and for 1 minute thereafter. On each of its turns, an enemy frightened of the symbol must use an action, if it can, to run and move as far from the symbol as possible.

Master Symbolism Spells

Brand of Imminent Defeat

Castings: 1, reaction when you get a success on a roll to attack a creature
Target: The target of your attack
Duration: 1 minute
A brand appears on the target’s body and emits bright light and the target becomes confused and weakened for the duration. At the end of each round, the target makes a Strength roll. On a failure, it takes 3d6 damage.

Rune of Ruin

Castings: 1
Target: One creature within 5 yards
Duration: 1 minute
You point at the target and cause a black rune to appear on its body (luck ends). The target becomes Strength impaired, Agility impaired, and vulnerable until the effect ends. In addition, at the end of each round, the rune pulses to release a wave of destructive energy that spreads through a Size 5 space centered on the target. Each creature and object in this space takes 3d6 damage.

Seal of Tatengol

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 1 space on the ground within 5 yards
Duration: 1 minute (see the effect)
A 1-yard diameter seal of Tatengol appears on the ground in the target space and remains there for 1 minute or until activated. The seal radi- ates dim light.
A creature can activate the seal by moving onto it, provided the creature is not already under the effects of another seal. When it does, the creature becomes stunned until the start of its next turn. Then, for 1 hour, the creature becomes a towering humanoid with midnight blue skin and shaggy white hair. The creature imposes 1 bane on rolls to attack it by enemies not immune to the frightened affliction, increases its Strength score to 18, increases its Size by 1, gains the Keen Vision trait, takes half damage from ordinary sources, becomes immune to the frightened affliction and damage from cold. Finally, the creature’s melee attacks deal an extra 2d6 damage.

Symbol of Chaos

Castings: 1
Target: One secured object within 10 yards
Duration: 24 hours
A 1-foot diameter symbol of chaos appears on the surface of the target object and remains there for the duration. An enemy that starts its turn with line of sight to the symbol makes a Will roll. A creature with a Health score of 70 or higher rolls with 1 boon. On a success, the creature becomes immune to this spell for 24 hours. On a failure, the creature becomes stunned until the start of its next turn.

Symbol of Death

Castings: 1
Target: One secured object within 10 yards
Duration: 24 hours
A 1-foot diameter symbol of death appears on the surface of the target and remains there for the duration. An enemy that starts its turn within 5 yards of the symbol loses 5d6 Health and makes a Strength roll. On a success, the enemy becomes immune to this spell for 24 hours. On a failure, the enemy loses an extra 5d6 Health.

Symbol of Pain

Castings: 1
Target: One secured object within 10 yards
Duration: 24 hours
A 1-foot diameter symbol of pain appears on the surface of the target and remains there for the duration. When an enemy within 5 yards of the symbol is harmed, it makes a Will roll. On a success, the enemy becomes immune to this spell for 24 hours. On a failure, the enemy becomes vulnerable and weakened (luck ends both). If the creature is weakened already, it takes 3d6 damage.