Second Circle of Spell Craft

Second Circle (Street-Grade Sorcery)

System mapping (5e-style):

  • Treat Second Circle like 2nd-level spells.

  • Spell Save DC = 8 + proficiency + casting stat. Spell attack = proficiency + stat.

  • Damage is comparable to 2nd-level 5e spells (e.g., ~3d6–3d8 baseline).

  • Overcast (optional rule): You can “push” a Second Circle spell to Third-Circle strength: +1 die to damage/effect, but make a Veil Stress check (d20). On a 1, you ping local wards; glamours work overtime to normalize the scene (sirens hear “a transformer pop,” witnesses remember “steam pressure,” etc.).

  • Glamour masking: The Veil filters the look/sound of magic for mundanes. Big tells (shattered glass, scorched asphalt) may remain, but onlookers rationalize them unless the Veil is thin.

  • Thin-Zone hazard: In frayed areas, space/time can wobble and outsiders notice. Any “Loud” tag spell in a thin zone forces a GM complication roll.

Signature Second-Circle Spells

(All are Circle 2 unless noted. “Loud” risks attention; “Veil-safe” is designed to read as mundane.)

Gutter Spark — lightning line you can carve through an alley
School: evocation • Cast: 1 action • Range: 30-ft line, 5-ft wide • Comp: V,S • Dur: instant
Effect: Creatures in line make DEX save, taking 3d6 lightning (half on success). Metal surfaces arc; unsecured small objects skitter. Overcast: +1d6. Tags: Loud, Urban-boost (advantage on attack rolls if line passes through standing water). Glamour: mundanes perceive it as a power surge/flicker.

Shiverglass Pulse — the classic street shatter
School: evocation • Cast: 1 action • Range: 60 ft • Area: 10-ft radius sphere • Comp: V,S,M (bottle cap) • Dur: instant
Effect: CON save or 3d8 thunder (half on success); unattended glass in area fractures. Overcast: +1d8 and objects have disadvantage on saves. Tags: Loud. Veil note: often rationalized as “gas line pop” unless the Veil is weak.

Asphalt Snare — grab them by the city itself
School: transmutation • Cast: 1 action • Range: 60 ft • Comp: V,S • Dur: up to 1 min (conc.)
Effect: A 10-ft square of ground softens and grips. One creature STR save or restrained and takes 2d6 bludgeoning at start of each turn while restrained. Escape: action, STR (Athletics) vs your save DC. Overcast: damage becomes 3d6 and square expands to 15 ft. Tags: Veil-safe (reads as “sinkhole/asphalt fatigue”).

Vapor Step — the alley-hop
School: conjuration • Cast: bonus action • Range: Self • Comp: V • Dur: instant
Effect: Teleport up to 30 ft to a spot you can see. You leave a brief pressure ring + condensation that mundanes blink past. Overcast: you can bring one willing adjacent creature. Tags: Subtle. Thin-zone quirk: on a 1 on your Veil Stress check, you arrive 5 ft off and lose your bonus action as time “slips.”

Siren’s Lash — cut with song
School: evocation • Cast: 1 action • Range: 60 ft • Comp: V,S • Dur: instant
Effect: Make three spell attacks; each hit deals 2d6 thunder. On any hit, target can’t take reactions until the start of its next turn. Overcast: a fourth ray. Tags: Loud-lite (sounds like feedback to mundanes). Lore fit: nightclub sirens already pass as “too-perfect singers.”

Sunbrand Mark — radiant tag that won’t wash off
School: evocation • Cast: 1 action • Range: 60 ft • Comp: V,S • Dur: 1 minute (conc.)
Effect: Ranged spell attack: 2d8 radiant and target glows (dim light 10 ft). While marked, attacks against it ignore half cover, and the first time each turn an ally hits, add +1d4 radiant. Overcast: initial hit 3d8. Tags: Veil-safe (mundanes see “UV paint” or “flashlight glare”). Flavor: Pendrake-adjacent hunters love this.

Chain of Echoes — yank them off balance
School: force • Cast: 1 action • Range: 30 ft • Comp: V,S • Dur: instant
Effect: STR save or 2d10 force and pulled up to 10 ft to you; on success, half damage/no pull. Overcast: 3d10 and you can choose a 5-ft side pull instead. Tags: Medium-Loud (audible “pop”). Glamour: reads as a stumble or trip cable.

Null Bloom (Field-craft) — pop a mini dead-zone
School: abjuration • Cast: 1 action • Range: 60 ft • Area: 5-ft radius • Comp: V,S,M (shard of dark glass) • Dur: 1 round
Effect: Spells of 1st circle and lower fizzle inside; ongoing magic is suppressed while inside. Overcast: radius 10 ft. Tags: Tactical. Lore hook: operates like a cheap, short-burst cousin to the Umhlaba’s Celestial Diamond alloy null wave (~2 m dampening in their kit).

Torque Blessing — tune a ride for the chase
School: transmutation • Cast: 1 action • Range: touch (vehicle or mount) • Dur: 10 minutes (conc.)
Effect: Vehicle gains +10 ft speed, advantage on handling checks, and deals 2d6 force on a deliberate ram once/turn (DEX save for half). Overcast: +15 ft and 3d6 ram. Tags: Veil-safe (mundanes call it “nitrous” or “great tires”).

Silver Thread — see through the lie
School: divination • Cast: 1 action • Range: Self • Dur: 10 minutes (conc.)
Effect: Advantage on checks to detect glamours/illusions; you see true forms through Veil filtering within 30 ft. Against a creature actively glamoured, it must make a CHA save or you (and allies within 10 ft) ignore its glamour for the duration. Why it matters: the Veil’s whole job is filtering—this peeks around the filter without breaking it.

Using Second Circle in the Veil (GM Tools)

Attention & Cover-up. When a Loud Second-Circle spell goes off in a populated area, roll a d20: on 1–2 in a normal zone (or always in a thin zone), nearby wards/Watchers or the Umbra Bureau notice “anomalous activity,” even if witnesses rationalize it after. The Bureau’s literal reason to exist is cleaning magical fallout before mortals catch on.

Thin-Zone complication seeds (roll d6):
1–2: Warped geometry. A door now exits three feet to the left; difficult terrain for 1 round.
3–4: Time slip. Someone loses/gains an action as seconds stretch or snap.
5–6: Porous edge. A Veil-born echo bleeds through—stray noise, a spectral bystander, or a minor creature investigating.

Glamour logic at the table. Assume mundanes backfill a “reasonable” story (power surge, steam burst, pothole) unless: (a) multiple Loud casts stack in one scene, (b) a thin zone is active, or (c) someone is Veil-Touched and naturally sees through it.

Counter-magic & gear. Elite operators (e.g., Umhlaba) carry null-adjacent tech and alloys that damp magical signatures within a small radius; standing in that field can suppress or blunt Second-Circle effects—great hook for cat-and-mouse fights.