The Magic Formula

This page contains the Magic Formula, originally developed by Jim Henley, with slight modifications and comments for use in House of Cards.

Prowess + Performance = Target + Duration + Effect

Or

P + P [ + Bonus ] = [ Penalty + ] T + D + E

The GM may decide that things are easier or harder (or easier and harder) based on circumstances.

Prowess

Sum the character's Power score and its governing Element.

Performance and Duration

These usually represent time. Performance is how long the mage spends casting the spell (chanting, meditating, dancing etc. as appropriate to the school). Duration is how long the spell lasts.

Like the four Everway elements, Time is represented on a scale - in this case from 0 to 10 rather than 1 to 10. Time is the Formula element most subject to the mage's control.

Note: House of Cards uses a slightly different scale for Trump creation only.

0 - A moment.   ( The time it takes to utter a short word or  make a gesture. An instantaneous effect.)
1 - A minute.
2 - A watch.   (One tenth of the night or day. Something more than an hour and less than two.)
3 - A day.  (The sun comes up. The sun goes down. The sun comes up again.)
4 - A week.
5 - A month. (Roughly one lunar cycle.)
6 - A season.
7 - A year. (A complete turning of the seasons.)
8 - A decade. 
9 - A lifetime. (We're talking something up to about a century.)
10 - An era.  (The age of an empire, the life span of a  religion etc.)

Target

Spells are cast on something. Target represents the resistance value of whoever or whatever or wherever is at the business end of the mage's attention. In the case of a single creature it will probably be the creature's Earth score. In the case of multiple creatures the rule of doubling may come into play. (e.g., two Earth-4 opponents resist at Earth-5.)

Some spells are cast on regions rather than beings. So we need another scale. Like Time, the Space scale runs from 0 to 10.

0 - a wineskin / an infant / a spot
1 - a pack / a child / a puddle
2 - a barrel / a youth / a trough
3 - a coffin or closet / an adult / a bath
4 - a hovel / a boar / a wagon / a fountain
5 - a house / a horse / a garden / a stream pool
6 - a village / a bear / a field / a pond / a knoll
7 - a town / a platoon / a lake / a mountain
8 - a city / a company / a valley / a sea / a range
9 - a Shadow / a legion / an ocean
10 - a group of Shadows / an army

Effect

In practical terms, this is the value left over after you take the others into account. Like everything else in Everway, it's on a 1-10 (or 0-10) scale. The Effect scale is generic:

0 - none
1 - barely noticeable
2 - minor
3 - "average"
4 - solid
5 - strong effect
6 - "Olympic-caliber"
7 - legendary
8 -  affects Kingdom
9 -  affects a Shadow
10 - affects a group of Shadows

Bonuses and Penalties

Bonuses and penalties on attempts to use Powers will vary based on the power used. General examples of bonuses and penalties for various powers include:

• Pattern: location; likelihood of event manipulated for.
• Trump: knowledge of subject; (for creation) presence or absence of subject; (for creation) quality of materials.
• Shapeshifting: secrecy; change in mass.
• Sorcery: props and components.
• Mirror Lore: quality of mirror used.