Spelljammer
Master of Defensive Magics
A Master of Defensive Magics is skilled at casting protective spells in combat. The master skill cannot exceed the lower of the mage's Spell Energy and Spell Memory skills (i.e., if the mage is rank 8 with Spell Energy and rank 12 with Spell Memory, they are limited to rank 8 in this skill).

Defensive spells are those that provide the target with a bonus to a saving throw, defense or protection or make them immune to a type of magical attack. The GM will decide whether a given spell is defensive or not.

Bonus to Initiative
Starting at rank 1, the Master of Defensive Magics gains a +1 to their initiative every 3 ranks (ranks 1, 4, 7, etc.) when casting defensive spells in combat(s).

Faster Spell Casting
A Master of Defensive Magics can cast defensive spells faster than normal mages.

Rank
GK Spell
SK Spell
Rank
Arcane
1-5
4
5
1-2
9
6-10
3
4
3-4
8
11-15
2
3
5-6
7
16-20
1
2
7-8
6
21
1
1
9
5
22
1
1
10
4

Dual Spell Casting
A Master of Defensive Magics may be able to cast two defensive spells in a round. They roll initiative once and begin their first spell. When the first spell is complete, count three more initiatives and then, if they can start and finish casting the second spell in the same round, they can do so.

Example, Brenda the White Witch wants to cast a Cloak of Bravery followed by a Protection from Evil. She is rank 9 with the first spell and rank 11 with the second. She rolls an initiative of 8. On 8, she begins casting Cloak of Bravery and finishes on 4. On initiative 1, she can begin casting Protection from Evil because cast time is only 3 and she can finish it on initiative -2. If she had rolled an initiative of 4 then she could have only gotten off the one spell.

Endurance
Spells normally cause the caster to use endurance at a rate of 2 END per spell point. Thus, GK spells cost 2 END, SK spells cost 4 END and Arcane spells cost 6 END.
  • Single Class Mage - At rank 1, this amount is halved and, at rank 6, no END is used when casting spells.
  • Dual Class Mage - At rank 4, this amount is halved and, at rank 10, no END is used when casting spells.

Reduced Chance of Backfire
If a backfire is indicated while fast-casting a spell in combat, and the result would not have been a backfire if it had been slow cast, the mage is allowed a second roll to avoid the backfire. If they roll less than ((Rank + MA + 3) x 2), no backfire occurs and the spell simply fails. The roll can be made before deciding whether to use a Luck point to reroll the cast attempt.

Reduced Spell Point Cost on Failed Spells
A mage who is rank 4 in this skill spends 1 less spell point on failed spells. Thus, if they fail a GK spell, they do not use any spell points in the attempt. If they fail an SK spell, they use only 1 spell point in the failed attempt.

A mage who is rank 8 in this skill spends 2 less spell point on failed spells.

Master Skills
A character cannot develop skill in more than one "master" skill. For example, if a dual class mage is already a Master Swordsman, they cannot develop Master of Battle Magics.