I always found the 2e spell mechanics to be the best of all editions, it has changes in the core rules, it doesn't follow a pattern, some are unbalanced with chaotic effects and on top of that they are very well written. There are lots of mini mechanics often foreign to the d20 roll system (yeah I know that 2e has THAC0, roll under skills etc), well explained in very little texts the rules/mechanics are well explained, some have excessive crunchiness/complications, but who am I to judge?

In this blog post I made a small text compilation of these spells and I will try to suggest examples on how I would use these mechanics in my own games.

I dedicated a few hours to this research, which is not very in-depth, and therefore I am completely open to suggestions and contributions. Also the mechanics I will explore and expand on here may or may not be used in some future game, but either way this can be used by anyone.

I won't compile all the spell text just the highlights, anyway the texts are easily found in a simple google search.

So without further ado, let's check it out:

Remove Curse

“The reverse of the spell is not permanent; the bestow curse lasts for one turn for every experience level of the wizard casting the spell. It causes one of the following effects (roll percentile dice):

Between 1 and 50 bestow curse lowers one ability of the subject to 3 (the DM determines which by random selection)

Between 51 and 75 bestow curse worsens the subject's attack rolls and saving throws by -4

Between 76 and 00 bestow curse makes the subject 50% likely per turn to drop whatever it is holding (or simply do nothing, in the case of creatures not using tools)

It is possible for a wizard to devise his own curse, and it should be similar in power to those given (the DM has final say).”

This is one of the simplest ones, but it is quite illustrative. I'm using the reverse spell system, here as an example, but a d% roll is not the logical thing to use in a d20 system, plus randomness (on a higher result of it  causes the target to drop an object WTF? ) I actually love it!

Let’s picture a minimalist game based on curses with effects on an expanded table of d%, with random and dangerous effects, but which over time become controllable, generating some autonomy to the curser, for example per level they can choose two effects numerically above or below of the result in this %(100) table.

Vision

“When a wizard wishes to gain supernatural guidance, he casts a vision spell, calling upon whatever power he desires aid from and asking a question that will be answered with a vision. Two six-sided dice are rolled. If they total 2 to 6, the power is annoyed and refuses to answer the question; instead, the power causes the wizard to perform some service (by an ultrapowerful geas or quest). If the dice total 7 to 9, the power is indifferent and gives some minor vision, though it may be unrelated to the question. If the dice total 10 or better, the power grants the vision.

The material component of the spell is the sacrifice of something valued by the spellcaster or by the power supplicated. The more precious the sacrifice, the better the chance of spell success. A very precious item grants a bonus of +1 to the dice roll, an extremely precious item adds +2, and a priceless item adds +3.”

This is the mother fucker PBTA’s core rule!!!

I guess it doesn't need more explanation, if you ever played PBTA games you will get it, I don’t know if Vicent was already thinking about this, but the resemblance is very clear, and I don't think he was wrong if it is really an inspiration. After all, this post is exactly about this.

Death spell

“When a death spell is cast, it snuffs out the life forces of creatures in the area of effect instantly and irrevocably. Such creatures cannot be raised or resurrected, but an individual slain in this manner might be brought back via a wish. The number of creatures that can be slain is a function of their Hit Dice. (See book for table ).

In other words, from the 4d20 roll subtract the number of creatures of less than 2 Hit Dice (these creatures die). If there are any remaining points from the 4d20 roll, subtract 2 for each creature of 2 to 4 Hit Dice (these creatures also die). If this still doesn't use up all the 4d20 roll, subtract 10 for each creature of 4+1 to 6+3 Hit Dice, and so on. Stop when all the creatures are dead, all the 4d20 roll is used up, or the remainder is less than half the CF of any remaining creatures. (If the remainder is one-half or more of the CF of a creature, that creature dies.)

For example, a mixed group of 20 goblins, eight gnolls, and four ogres, led by a hill giant, are caught in the area of a death spell. The 4d20 roll gives a total of 53 points; 20 of this eliminates the goblins (20 x 1 CF), 16 kills the gnolls (8 x 2 CF), and the remaining 17 kills two ogres (10 points to kill one ogre, and the remaining 7 points are enough to kill one more ogre). The other two ogres and the hill giant are unharmed.”

This one is almost completely compiled. First of all: “or the remainder is less than half the CF of any remaining creatures. (If the remainder is one-half or more of the CF of a creature, that creature dies.)” is garbage, a mistake, let’s ignore it. But how about this for a hit point system or even for a mass combat rule, with little short change this can be done. Example: 

The PC has a pool of vitality, resisting light, medium and severe damage. Light damage would have a degree of soak 1:1, medium 2:1 and severe 3:1. Where the blow "landed" a table of consequences, obviously with different degrees of severity, is rolled. If all the points from the pool are over the PC is obviously dead. Example of the example: The PC has a pool of 6 light, 3 medium and 2 severe wounds. One hit deals 15 points of damage. All light wounds are exhausted (1:1, 15-6=9), 9 points remain; 6 points are absorbed by medium wounds (the 3X2=6 and 9-6=3), leaving 3 points. These 3 points cost a major wound (1:3), a major wound table must be rolled.

This can all be further extrapolated to mass combat, where units would have different absorb proportions and even dice damage/attack rolls. If anyone wants me to exemplify better, I could do it.

Liveoak

“The liveoak spell can be cast upon a healthy tree of small, medium, or large size, according to desire and availability. A triggering phrase of up to maximum of one word per level of the spellcaster is then placed upon the targeted oak. For instance, "Attack any persons who come near without first saying sacred mistletoe" is an 11-word trigger phrase that could be used by a caster of 11th level or higher casting the spell.”

Imo, this is the best one! How about a one word per level magic system? Genius! Choose wisely the words, cautious negotiation with GM and mainly very dangerous consequences at low levels. What I’m thinking about is an almost free form system where the magic user chooses a power (or several) such as an elemental power as “fire”, and then has one word to describe the effect per level. 

Conclusions

These are examples and some points highlighted in the post. A close friend is intent on reading more spells together and theorizing about, I'm excited, so more related posts may come. As always and as previously mentioned, I am completely open to suggestions and contributions, I already advance that this is just the beginning and that there is still a lot of material there to be explored.

Thanks for reading this far!