This is a simple system designed to better simulate the consequences of being a spellcaster in a low-magic setting (such as the Hyborian Age). The concept is that weilding magic comes at a price, and this price becomes greater as your character progresses in their magic career. These rules apply to all magic users of all sorts, regardless of how they get their magic, though the GM may wish to exclude specific classes from this restriction.
When the Price Must Be Paid
Every time a character gains the ability to cast 1st level spells (i.e. when a class they have gains the ability to cast 1st level spells, even if they already had the ability form another class), they must a Detrement. Similar to Feats, Determents have requirements that must be met to be taken. Characters who no longer meet the requirements for a Detrement lose access to all spells of their highest casting level.
Characters gain an additional Detrement when they may cast 3rd, 5th, 7th, or 9th level spells. The penalties of Determents always stack with each other, so that someone with Defiler Magic, Pact, and Talisman would require vegitation, a magical object, and the blessing of an extra-planar being to cast their magic.
To abide level restrictions, you may take a Detrement early (at a time before you need to take it). For example, a Wizard who just gained 3rd level (and can now cast 2nd level spells) wouldn't need to take a Detrement, but they may take it early for the next time they need to take a Detrement (which would be at 5th level when they can cast 3rd level spells).
Magic Detrements
Aging:
Requirement: Adult Age or older, Character level 10 or less when taken
Description: Your magical power causes you to age faster than normal.
Effect: Your character ages twice as fast as other characters. When submitted to aging effects, their effect is likewise doubled.
Animal Aversion:
Requirement: May not have Wild Empathy
Description: You give off an unnatural sense that upsets animals.
Effect: You have a -4 penalty to all Handle Animal and Ride checks. Additionally, all animals automatically have an attitude one worse than normal when around you.
Arcane Study:
Requirement: Arcane Language (feat)
Description: Your magic requires intense study of arcane texts and tomes.
Effect: Much of your spare time and wealth goes to the study and pursuit of magic tomes and texts that give you your spellcasting power. You must have a number of ranks in Spellcraft equal to the spell level you want to cast times 2.
Complex Casting:
Requirement: None
Description: Your magic requires much more concentration than normal spellcasting.
Effect: To cast spells you must have two hands free and take at least a full-round action (spells which already require a full-round action do not take additional time to cast). Any Spell Failure checks you must make because of using defense or wearing armor automatically fail. You have a -4 penalty to any Concentration checks to prevent spell disruption. Finally, preparing your spells takes an additional half an hour beyond your normal prep time.
Conditional Magic:
Requirement: None
Description: Your magic functions only under specific circumstances.
Effect: You must take a number of restrictions from the table below so that the total point value of all of your restrictions equals at least 4. The point value of each is based on the commonality of the condition that inflicts the restriction, and the severity of the restriction.
| Condition | Everyday | Common | Uncommon | Rare |
| Can't effect | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Can only effect | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Can't cast spells when | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Can only cast spells when | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Can't prepare spells when | 3 | 2 | 1 | NA |
| Can only cast prepare spells when | NA | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Commonality | Subjects | Occurences |
| Everyday | ||
| Common | ||
| Uncommon | ||
| Rare |
Cursed:
Requirement: None
Description: Your magic has brought you a terrible curse.
Effect: As per Curse spell ...?
Defiler Magic:
Requirement: None
Description: Your magic is powered by the lifeforce of the vegitation of the surrounding area.
Effect: When you cast magic, the plants around you wither, die, and turn to ash, leaving a sterile spot where the spell was cast. You cannot cast magic in areas without vegitation, such as deserts or volcanos, though you may be able to cast lower level spells in areas with limited vegitation. Plants you come within 30 feet of die within a day or two, making it practically impossible for you to farm, and making you very easy to track through areas with vegitation (+10 to such rolls).
Devotion:
Requirement: None
Description: You gain your powers through religious devotion to a God.
Effect: You must follow all major tenants of the religion of the God you worship. They in turn bestow you with your magical ability. To cast a spell, you must have a number of ranks in Knowledge: Religion equal to the level of the spell times 2. Additionally, you may not be able to take certain spells, dependong on what your God is a God of.
Disfigured:
Requirement: None
Description: Your magic has caused you a malformity of some sort.
Effect: Part of your body is deformed, giving you some Skill modifiers as a result. You either have a mutilated part to your body, or have an absent part from your body. All mutilations and absences have a rating. The severity of the mutilation or absence is equal to your total spellcaster level. Mutilations and absences can spread in severity (i.e. grow from toes to foot to leg, and so on) as you gain level, but may never shrink (i.e. once it's gone bad, it's there to stay).
| Severity | Part Severed/Mutilated | Mutilation | Absense |
| 1 | Toes | -1 to Balance rolls | -1 to Balance rolls |
| 2 | Fingers | -1 to Computer Use rolls | -1 to Computer Use rolls |
| 3 | Hand | -2 on any roll requiring two hands | -4 on any roll requiring two hands |
| 4 | Foot | -1 to Swim rolls, -1 to Balance rolls | -2 meters of movement, -2 to Swim rolls, -4 to Balance rolls |
| 5 | Arm below or at elbow | -2 on any roll requiring two arms | -4 on any roll requiring two arms |
| 6 | Leg below or at kneecap | -2 meters to movement | May only move 2 meters per round |
| 7 | Arm above elbow | -4 on any roll requiring two arms | -8 on any roll requiring two arms |
| 8 | Leg above kneecap | May move at -4 meters per round | May only move 2 meters as a full-round action per round |
| 9 | Ear | No benefit | -2 to Listen checks, -2 to Surprise rolls |
| 10 | Nose | -2 Fortitude save against airborne disease, -4 to rolls requiring a nose | -4 Fortitude save against airborne disease, -4 to rolls requiring a nose |
| 11 | Eye | No benefit | -2 Spot checks, -2 Surprise rolls |
| 12 | Jaw | Speak with a noticable deficiency | You must mash up your food to eat it, can barely speak |
Distrusted:
Requirement: None
Description: People find you untrustworthy.
Effect: You have a -4 penalty to all Bluff and Gather Information checks. Additionally, people you come into contact with (not just encounter briefly) are automatically suspecious of you.
Dying:
Requirement: Character level 6 or less when taken
Description: Your magic is slowly killing you.
Effect: At every odd spellcaster level (including the one you took this Detrement at), you lose one point of Constitution permanently.
Endurance Loss:
Requirement: May not have Endurance feat
Description: Your magic has robbed you of some of your vitality.
Effect: You suffer a -6 to all rolls which gain a bonus from the Endurance feat. Additionally, at the end of every combat you become fatigued until you rest.
Hermit:
Requirement: None
Description: You spend significant time apart from others in seclusion.
Effect: You have a -4 penalty to Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks. Additionally, you feel uncomfortable when around people, automatically putting people on edge when you interact with them for longer than 2 rounds.
Jinx:
Requirement: None
Description: You bring bad luck upon you and your companions.
Effect: You and your companions now acquire cold markers on a d20 roll of 1 through 3. Uou suffer critical fumbles / automatic failure on a roll of either 1 or 2.
Lessened Magic:
Requirement: None
Description: You have reduced magical ability as compared to a spellcaster of your same class level.
Effect: You cast one less spell of each spell level that you can cast.
Madness:
Requirement: None
Description: You are prone to bouts of temporary insanity.
Effect: Once per adventure the GM may cause your character to act in an ilrational or otherwise crazy manner for the duration of a scene. You are completely vulnerable to what the GM wishes, though you will not do anything suicidal and are not necessarily violent. You may try to avoid going mad by making a Willpower saving throw with a DC of 10 plus your total spellcaster levels. The DC of this roll goes up by 1 every round until you fail your roll. If you have 5 or more ranks in Concentration you may gain a +2 synergy bonus to this roll.
Magic Obsession:
Requirement: 3rd level character or less when taken
Description: You are obsessed with magic, craving it always.
Effect: Whenever you gain a level, you must take a spellcaster class. Additionally, when you encounter a magical item, you seek it above all else, but will still take care when doing so.
Marked:
Requirement: Character level 6 or less when taken
Description: You have some sort of arcane markings on your being, denoting you as a spellcaster.
Effect: People you encounter can make an opposed Spot check with your spellcaster level as a bonus on the roll against your Disguise skill. If they succeed, they can make an Intelligence check with a DC of 10 to realize you are a spellcaster, and act accordingly.
Nocturnal:
Requirement: None
Description: You have taken up a more night-based lifestyle, staying up at night and not getting enough sleep when trying to keep a daytime schedule.
Effect: When trying to operate on a daytime schedule, you are fatigued for the first 4 hours your character is awake. Additionally, you only sleep 6 hours a night. Anytime your character is operating in bright light (such as sunlight), you have a -1 penalty to all your d20 rolls.
Pact:
Requirement: None
Description: You gain your magical power through a pact with an outer-planar being.
Effect: You must deal with a powerful outer-planar being to prepare your spells. Many times they will grant you your powers automatically, but periodically they will demand a service in return. These services vary in scope, but are typically involved or difficult to accomplish. Additionally, such beings will often demand that you remit magic items and other rare treasures you encounter to them as compensation for their services. Additionally, your spell repretoir is limited to the magic that your benefactor can grant (typically they cannot grant spells from two schools of magic). Finally, you must negotate with your benefactor to attain new spells, though they are typically inclined to grant you what you want (presuming they can cast it). You may know how to cast a spell because of a previous source, but may not be able to cast it because your benefactor cannot give you the power to do so because it is one of their restricted spells.
Ritual Magic:
Requirement: None
Description: Your magic can only be cast as part of a complicated ritual.
Effect: All casting times are multiplied by 10, extending normal casting times of 1 action to 1 minute instead. Disruptions, however, have a reduced effect on your spellcasting, giving you a +10 bonus to any Concentration rolls to avoid spell disruption. Once the necessary time has taken place you must make a Spellcraft roll with a DC of 10 plus twice the level of the spell you are casting, with failure indicating that the spell is lost.
Sacrificial Magic:
Requirement: None
Description: Your magic comes with a price in blood.
Effect: When you cast spells, you lose a number of hit points equal to the spell level. You may avoid this hit point loss through the use of a sacrifice. To make a sacrifice, you must first make a coup de grace against a helpless victim. If they die, you may cast a spell within the next minute without hit point loss. The level of spell that may be cast depends on what was being sacrificed:
| Type of Sacrifice | Infant/Toddler | Child/Teen | Young Adult | Adult | Middle Age/Old | Very Old/Venerable |
| Animal, Tiny | ||||||
| Animal, Small | ||||||
| Animal, Medium | ||||||
| Animal, Large | ||||||
| Animal, Huge | ||||||
| Animal, Gargantuan | ||||||
| Animal, Colossal | ||||||
| Human |
Scarred:
Requirement: None
Description: Your magic has left you with permanent physical damage.
Effect: Your hit point total is permanently lowered by an amount equal to your total spellcaster levels.
Selfish Magic:
Requirement: None
Description: The beneficial effects of your magic only work on yourself.
Effect: Any beneficial magic spells with a range of touch or greater, including those that effect multiple targets, have a range of cast instead. Your familiar may not share spells as normal, nor may deliver your touch spells as normal.
Taboo:
Requirement: None
Description: Your magic places unusual restrictions upon you.
Effect: Under certain circumstances your character takes some sort of penalty. Each condition has a point value, as does each penalty. You must have a total of at least 4 points in any number of condition/penalty combinations.
| Condition | Common | Uncommon | Rare |
| When not around/doing | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| When around/doing | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Point Value | Penalty |
| 1 | -4 to Skill Rolls |
| 1 | -2 to Saving Throws |
| 2 | -8 Initative |
| 2 | -1 Attack |
| 3 | Table 1d3 damage |
Talisman:
Requirement: Powerful magic item
Description: You require a magical object to grant you magic.
Effect: You now require a powerful magic item to be in your possession to cast spells. Many magic items may have a limit as to the level of spell which may be granted through them, requiring a character with this Detrement to upgrade their talisman periodically (i.e. find a more powerful magic item to give them power).