Magic Use
The use of magic largely revolves around the Magic-linked skills of the
Sorcery and Conjuring skill groups, though Arcana and Enchanting
are essential to round out the versatile magician.

Sorcery
Sorcery is the term used for manipulating spells in Shadowrun. Sorcery
is a skill group composed of the Spellcasting, Ritual Spellcasting, and
Counterspelling skills.

Spellcasting
When a magician casts a spell, the player first chooses the Force of the
spell and then rolls her Spellcasting + Magic dice. Other sources of
power (foci, spirit spellcasting aid) and Visibility modifiers (p. 136)
may affect the dice pool. The success of a spell is measured by the
number of hits attained on the test, though some spells may require a
minimum number of hits before they work.
Using Spellcasting requires a complex action. For more information
on spellcasting, see p. 182.

Ritual Spellcasting
Ritual Spellcasting is the process of casting a spell over a longer duration,
usually with a group of magicians. Ritual Spellcasting allows the
magicians involved to cast a spell at a target they cannot see.
Hits scored on a Ritual Spellcasting + Magic Test determine the
success of a ritual spell. Additional magicians on the ritual team grant
bonus dice to the Ritual Spellcasting Test.
Ritual Spellcasting is a Complex Action that requires an extensive
length of time to complete (as long as 12 hours). For more information,
see p. 184.

Counterspelling
Counterspelling is used to interrupt other spells, either as they
are being cast or while they are sustained. For spell defense,
Counterspelling dice are added to each protected defender’s dice pool.
When dispelling, a Counterspelling + Magic Opposed Test is made
against the target spell’s Force + caster’s Magic, with net hits reducing
the hits scored to cast the spell. For more information, see p. 185.

Conjuring
Conjuring is the skill group used to deal with spirits. The group is composed
of the Summoning, Banishing, and Binding skills.

Summoning
The Summoning skill deals with the calling and commanding of spirits.
When a magician summons a spirit, she first chooses the Force of the
spirit she wishes to summon and then makes a Summoning + Magic
Opposed Test against the spirit’s Force. Other sources of power (such
as Summoning or power foci) may add to the summoner’s dice pool.
Net hits scored determine the number of services that the spirit owes.
The services of a summoned spirit remain only until sunrise or sunset,
whichever comes first, unless the spirit is bound to the magician (see
Binding, p. 188).
Summoning is a Complex Action. For more information, see p. 188.

B nishing
The Banishing skill is used to sever the magical ties between a spirit
and its summoner, freeing the spirit to return to its native metaplane.
In order to banish a spirit, the magician makes a Banishing + Magic
Opposed Test against the spirit’s Force (or Force + summoner’s Magic
for bound spirits). Each hit reduces the services owed by that spirit
by one. If the services are reduced to 0, the spirit returns to its home
unless a magician immediately moves to summon it once again.
Banishing requires a Complex Action. See p. 188.

Binding
The Binding skill is used to compel spirits into a longer period of service.
Bound spirits can perform a wider variety of services for magicians.
Binding is an Opposed Test pitting the character’s Binding +
Magic against the spirit’s Force x 2. This test requires a number of
hours equal to the spirit’s Force.
If the magician gains one net hit, the spirit is magically bound
to him. The services it owes from its original summoning will remain
until expended, rather than expiring at sunrise or sunset. Each additional
net hit after the first further increases the number of services
owed by the spirit by one.
For more information on binding spirits, see p. 188.

Arcana
The Arcana skill is what a magician uses to translate his magical tradition’s
arcane formulations and magical theory into practical magical
formulas. These formulas can take a variety of physical shapes, forms,
and materials appropriate to each tradition. Whether they take the
form of parchment scrolls or whalebone statuettes, these formulas distill
arcane knowledge and symbolism into a material representation
that can be used to design a focus (or develop a new spell). While of
limited application under the basic rules, Arcana is greatly expanded
upon in the advanced magic rulebook, Street Magic.

Enchanting
Enchanting is the skill magicians use to tap the latent potency in natural elements and transform
them into magical goods. Its most common use is in the artificing of foci and other
magical items. Enchanting is complex and requires time, concentration, and appropriate
tools. Details about the usage of Enchanting can be found in the Enchanting section (p. 190).
Street Magic features complete rules for creating a variety of additional magical goods and
introduces other useful applications of Enchanting.

Drain
The effort of manipulating mana can exhaust or even injure a magician. As mana is a form
of energy, channeling greater quantities of that energy may strain the body and mind. The
effect of this strain is referred to as Drain. Magical actions that cause Drain have a Drain
Value, much like a weapon’s Damage Value.
All magicians use Willpower plus another mental attribute appropriate to their tradition
to resist Drain. For example, most hermetic mages use Willpower + Logic to resist all
Drain while shamans use Willpower + Charisma.
Salamander has just cast a Manabolt with 2 net hits and must now resist the Drain (Drain Damage Value 3 + 2).
He’s a hermetic mage, so he uses his Logic 5 in addition to Willpower 3 to resist Drain DV5. Rolling 8 dice, he gets
only 3 hits, so he suffers 2 boxes of Stun damage from Drain.
The base Drain Value for Spellcasting is listed in the spell’s description (p. 203). For
Summoning and Binding spirits, the Drain Value is twice the number of hits (not net hits)
generated by the spirit during the Opposed Test.
Each hit on the Drain Resistance Test reduces the Drain Value by one. Any remaining
Drain is suffered by the magician. Drain is usually Stun damage, though there are situations
in which it can be transformed into Physical damage (see the Sorcery and Conjuring sections).
Neither Stun nor Physical damage resulting from Drain can be healed by magical means such
as sorcery or spirit powers.

Magical Lodges
In order to progress in her studies, a magician must have a collection of symbols, writings,
tools, and other material that allows her to record her progress, gives her room to expand her
knowledge, and assists her in her magical endeavors. Such a collection of items and information
is known as a magical lodge. Magicians of the same tradition can share a magical lodge.
A magical lodge is required to improve Magic-linked skills, learn new spells, and perform
Ritual Spellcasting. A lodge has a Force rating that is used to measure its power. The
Force of a lodge must be at least equal to the skill rating being learned or the force of a spell
being cast (in the case of Ritual Spellcasting).
A lodge costs 500¥ per Force point, and the lodge’s rating can be improved later. The
money is spent to buy the supplies used to build the lodge. Once the supplies are gathered,
the magician must complete an activation ritual that will “awaken” the lodge and construct
its astral presence. The actual process requires 1 day per point of Force desired. An activated
lodge acts as an astral barrier (p. 194). Any magicians involved in the activation of the lodge
are unaffected by this barrier, and can allow other astral forms to pass through it at will. A
lodge contains the astral signatures of the magicians who activated it (see Astral Signatures,
p. 192), and is magically linked to them. This link can be tracked using astral projection (see
Astral Tracking, p. 193).
To increase the rating of an existing lodge, additional materials must be acquired. An
activation ritual must also be performed, taking a number of days equal to the difference
between the current Force and the desired Force. The cost of searching and gathering can
be simplified to a cost of 500¥ per Force point. Improving a Force 4 lodge to Force 6, for
example, would cost 1,000¥ and take two days of ritual.
The contents of a lodge vary according to a magician’s tradition. Hermetic lodges contain
ritual tools such as daggers, scrollwork, runes, and—above all—books (though virtual
libraries are increasingly common). Shamans are known to have crystals, stones, hides, colored
sand or paint, herbs, and so forth.
Lodges can be established almost anywhere. While the contents of a lodge can be moved,
lodges are not portable. It is an Awakened place, more than the sum of the objects it contains.
After being moved a lodge must be set up again and a new activation ritual performed.

Noticing Magic
Just how obvious are magical skills? Not very, since most spells and spirits have little, if any, visible effect in the physical world (unless the magician prefers to have flashy effects, or her
tradition calls for it). An observer has to notice the magician’s intense look of concentration,
whispered incantations, and small gestures. Magicians of some traditions display a more
visible change when practicing magic known as the shamanic mask. The shamanic mask
typically changes the magician’s features temporarily to display characteristics appropriate to
her mentor spirit or tradition—an eagle shaman, for example, might seem to have feathers
or beaklike features while spellcasting or summoning.
Noticing if someone is using a magical skill requires a Perception Test (p. 135) with a
threshold equal to 6 minus the magic’s Force. More powerful magic is easier to spot with
the gathered mana normally appearing as a disturbance or glowing aura in the air around the
caster. The gamemaster should apply additional modifiers as appropriate, or if the perceiver
is Awakened themselves (+2 dice), astrally perceiving (+2 dice), or if a shamanic mask is
evident (+2 dice).