Spheres of Power

Spheres of Power is an alternative magic system that can be used alongside the standard magic system or may completely replace it, and like many optional systems is easily adapted to the third edition of the world’s oldest roleplaying game, as well as many other table-top RPGs.

For many, magic is the heart of the fantasy roleplaying experience. It’s what gives a setting its appeal, the heroes their power, and the villains their terrifying capacity for destruction. As such, the rules and capacities of magic determine what kinds of stories can be told—after all, a world where magic is reliable and divided between arcane and divine sources is different from one where magic is risky and only wielded by a select few. Likewise, a magic user who can cross dimensions at will has a very different adventuring career than one who must use a horse to travel, even at the heights of his power.

Basic Magic

This section covers the basic rules for the Spheres of Power system. Rather than gaining spells, casters choose areas of magic (spheres) they will possess mastery over, and use magic talents to further refine, empower, and develop their magical skill. This section also covers the basics for working the spheres, including caster level (the measure of a caster’s raw power, akin to the way Base Attack Bonus measures a character’s martial prowess), Magic Skill Bonus and Magic Skill Defense (a number similar to this game’s caster level, which is used for opposed checks, overcoming spell resistance, and making concentration checks), as well as rules for how these systems work when mixed with the more-familiar spell system from this game’s core magic system.

Classes

Eleven base classes and one prestige class give players and GMs a series of options designed from the ground up for use with the Spheres of Power system.

Base Classes

Armorist: The armorist binds weapons and armor to her service, creating items of vast power to fit her needs. With little need for outside equipment, an armorist can temporarily create weapons and armor for her allies and summon powerful equipment onto her own body.

Elementalist: A master of destructive magic, the elementalist can summon and control raw power in a variety of forms and can bring death to his enemies through fire, ice, lightning, and other ways.

Eliciter: Few creatures are as adept at manipulating minds as an eliciter, who can manipulate a creature’s emotions to both empower and enslave.

Fey Adept: The secret of the Fey is the mastery of illusion magic to the point of crafting reality, and the fey adepts are their mortal students. A fey adept manipulates perception and reality to a startling degree, using illusions to accomplish tangible effects.

Hedgewitch: No two hedgewitches are exactly alike, as this class excels at mixing and matching the powers of other classes through the use of its traditions. A hedgewitch could be a master of herbal magic, a dealer in forbidden arts, a charlatan, or all of the above.

Incanter: The undisputed master of magic, the incanter gains more magic talents than any other class, and is perfect for those who enjoy power and versatility in their casters.

Mageknight: When a warrior seeks to increase their power through magic, they often choose the path of the mageknight. Mageknights combine weapons and spheres to become a deadly force on the battlefield.

Shifter: Shifters use their magic to manipulate their bodies, ever-changing to suit their needs and overcome challenges. Shifters take on a variety of forms until few are sure which is their real one, if there even is such a thing.

Soul Weaver: Masters of both life and death, soul weavers are mediums, healers, necromancers, and summoners of spirits and shades. A soul weaver may either bless or curse the living and can enact powerful magic on those who fall under their sway.

Symbiat: Symbiats are masters of telepathy and telekinetics, using psionic magic to accomplish impressive feats. Symbiats use their power with a level of detail and finesse no other caster can copy, pushing their bodies to inhuman extremes or reading their opponent’s mind to stay one step ahead of its movements.

Thaumaturge: There are those who seek power down forbidden or unsafe paths, risking their bodies and souls to lift their magic to heights few would dare to tread. These are thaumaturges, and few can match their raw magical might.

Prestige Classes

Bokor: The bokor is a prestige class that combines the core Pathfinder spell system with the this system sphere system, representing those casters willing to study magic in all of its forms.

Archetypes

This section concludes with a series of archetypes designed to adapt existing core classes to the Spheres of Power system.

Advanced Magic

This section covers a series of optional magic rules, which both players and GMs can use to increase the scope of their adventures. This includes magic such as resurrection, long-distance teleportation, planar binding, and other magical feats that, depending on play style, may or may not become part of any given campaign. This magic is divided into four systems for ease of use:

Advanced Talents: These abilities function similarly to standard magic talents, but they have strict requirements and can greatly increase the scope of a base sphere’s power.

Rituals: Rituals allow a caster to invest time and material components to create magical effects. Rituals provide the utility of spells to a world of spheres.

Spellcrafting: Spellcrafting allows casters to create unique expressions of magic such as signature spells or other abilities outside the scope of the standard this system system.

Incantations: Similar to incantations from older roleplaying systems, this magic system allows creatures to use skill checks and strict criteria to accomplish great feats of magic, often in a campaign-centric way that adds wonder and mystery to a plot.

Player Options

Feats can be found here as well as rules for creating a caster’s tradition.

A caster’s tradition is a shorthand for the rules and regulations that are associated with a particular caster’s magic style. In the core Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, these are things akin to a wizard needing a spell book and materials to use his magic, as well as his need to gesture and speak in a magical language. Likewise, it is similar to a cleric’s need to pray to her Deity and use her holy symbol as a focus in order to cast spells. Casting traditions allow not only players to customize the why’s and how’s of their magic users, but also GMs to dictate the rules of magic in a particular world, allowing them to create settings that otherwise would not translate well to the magic rules of the core Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Magic Items

This section covers not only how to adapt Spheres of Power for the creation of pre-existing magic items, but also includes new rules for the use and creation of magic items.

Latest Products from this Publisher at OpenGamingStore.com!

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Spheres of Power © 2014 Drop Dead Studios LLC, Author Adam Meyers

Ultimate Engineering (PF1)

Vendor: Drop Dead Studios
Type: Book
Price: 19.99

Ultimate Engineering is a comprehensive and ambitious combat sphere for the Spheres of Might system. Whether a character is a magitech engineer, stylistic clocksmith, or mad scientist, the Tinker sphere offers a sprawling set of talents to customize, design, and develop mastery over technology.

With five packages, Tinker sphere practitioners can customize and outfit themselves and their allies with powerful technology:

  • Augmentation: Directly improve the capabilities of the user. Run faster, lift stronger, survive more, or even create powerful prosthetics.
  • Computation: Program routines to assist, guide, and provide insight - or specialized routines and Artificial Intelligence.
  • Modification: Improve equipment directly, make it stronger, hit harder, reload faster, and be more useful to its wielder.
  • Transmission: Send signals, detect information, and gather information to make decisions.
  • Transportation: Construct mechanoids - bikes, planes, tanks, and even mech suits and mobile combat platforms.

The book also contains rules to let you build, create, and further customize with a robust GM toolkit for Tinker traditions and optional rules!

Spheres of Guile (PF1)

Vendor: Drop Dead Studios
Type: Book
Price: 24.99

Adventuring demands characters test their skills across many spheres of life—heroes explore their world, discover dangerous secrets, find hidden treasures, pull off incredible trickery, talk their way out of trouble, and pull off skillful maneuvers in combat.

The new rules in Spheres of Guile allow characters to use their skills in hundreds of new ways, including things otherwise possible only with magic. New guidance also helps players and GMs to take advantage of understanding character motivations, whether to have more satisfying roleplaying encounters or to thwart enemies more dramatically with specialized talents and class features.

Spheres of Guile introduces fifteen skill spheres that unlock extraordinary and highly customizable options for every skill in the game. You can build a character all your own by choosing numerous talent from these spheres as one of five new classes—the agent, trained spy and thief; the courser, a master wilderness survivor; the envoy, an inspiring virtuoso wielding words like weapons; the mastermind, always prepared to exploit enemy weaknesses; and the professional, an expert in whatever she chooses. In addition, trade traditions, feats, archetypes, and other customization options open up the flexibility of skill spheres to characters of any class.

Way of the Bushi

Vendor: Drop Dead Studios
Type: Book
Price: 1.99

Grace. Loyalty. War. Your credo is established in these three facets served to an honorable family house, ideal, or organization. Even those not in service to a house, the ronin, serve themselves and train to further their swordsmanship and devote themselves to a personal honor code.

This new archetype and associated feats are available for Pathfinder 2nd edition.

Demons of the Abyss: Lords of Chaos

Vendor: Drop Dead Studios
Type: Book
Price: 4.99

The Lower Planes are home to many foul and dangerous denizens.

The demon race is particularly dangerous, given their propensity for destruction and the pleasure they gain from corrupting that which is good and lawful.

Formed from the souls of those evil, chaotic souls that succumbed to the worst excesses of sin, these spirits find a new outlet for their destructive desires as embodiments of pure chaos and evil.

Standing above the rank and file of the Abyssal horde are the lords of chaos, from the mysterious moth demons to the mighty fire demon. Descend into the darkest depths to uncover the lords of the Abyssal race, the demon lords, of which Pazuzu is famous.

Uncover new templates for creating spheres-equivalent demons of all levels, including the demon lords. Open the gates to Infinity and unleash the designs and minions of the Sphere’s Bestiary: Demons of the Abyss: Lords of Chaos in the campaign.

For Pathfinder 1st edition and the Spheres of Power/Spheres of Might systems

Spheres Bestiary: Fiends of the Cosmos

Vendor: Drop Dead Studios
Type: Book
Price: 4.99

Powers of Corruption!

Long have tales spoken of inhuman evils, entities of corruption and ruin with countless names and faces. Their abilities are incredible, their intentions nightmarish…

And now, their secrets revealed!

Spheres Bestiary: Fiends of Cosmos introduces players to 18 mighty fiendish foes ranging from the lowly Imp to the corrupting Nightmare Prophet to the alien Elemental Cyst to the mighty Abyss-born Tyrant. Also contained within this book are numerous new feats for outsiders and seven expansive templates for creating new fiends of your own design. Seize upon this archive of strange powers and witness what the Fiends of the Cosmos truly have to offer.

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