Illumination

Step One: Illuminating the Scroll

Unlike alchemical crafting, the illumination process does not need to be continuous. A twenty hour project to illuminate a scroll could be performed in ten 2 hour sessions, for example. This flexibility is one of the great advantages of illumination, but it does create many possibilities for lost effort; falling into a river, being caught in a cold snap that freezes and ruins inks, or any number of hazards or misfortunes that might befall an illuminator who is also an adventurer should be considered.

Step Two: Capturing the Spell

Once the crafting time has been invested, as the illuminator incribes the final sigils, they may then capture the intended spell into the scroll they have created. To do this, all the illuminator needs to do is roll their 21C to cast the spell. Note that when 'casting' a spell into a scroll, the caster/illuminator does not spend the casting cost - this is, in fact the entire mechanism of scrolls; the spell has been 'cast' as a readable scroll but the concentration has not been spent to activate it - when the reader reads the scroll and spends the concentration cost, the spell is released as though they cast it.

Note that unlike alchemy, in which alchemists can use scrolls or potions to imbue their mixtures with magic, the only way an illuminator can capture a spell on a scroll is if they, themselves can cast the spell. Additionally, instant spells cannot be captured in scrolls, and any attempt to do so results in automatic failure.

If the illuminator/caster succeeds in casting their spell, all that remains is to seal the scroll. On a failure, the scroll is ruined. On any catastrophe, the caster/illuminator pays the concentration cost and the spell and its catastrophic effects are triggered immediately. On any critical success, the spell embedded in the scroll will be released as either a major or minor critical when the scroll is read, granting its benefits at the moment of casting as determined by the reader of the scroll.

The effectiveness of the spell captured in the scroll is equal to the roll the caster/illuminator makes when rolling their 21C to cast the spell, and is not related to the roll made when sealing the scroll (below). For example, if the caster/illuminator with an 18 Speed spell skill rolls a 19 when casting the spell into the Scroll of Speed they are creating, they have a Scroll of Speed (37) - which will result in a minor critical to cast the Speed spell when read.

Step Three: Sealing the Scroll

Once the spell has been successfully captured in the scroll, all that is required is for the illuminator to seal the scroll and complete the process. This means rolling a 21C using their Illumination skill. On a failure, the scroll is wasted and lost along with the spell. On any catastrophe, the illuminator pays the concentration cost, and the spell captured on the scroll is wasted and the scroll is destroyed. On a minor critical, the illuminator binds magical energies from the ether into the scroll, reducing the casting cost that ultimately must be paid by the reader of the scroll by half. On a major critical, the same happens, but the reader of the scroll can cast the spell from the scroll for no concentration cost.

Regardless of what the illuminator rolls when rolling the 21C using their Illumination skill to seal the scroll, the effectiveness of the spell that will be released when the scroll is read is determined by the previous roll to cast the spell (above).