Cantrips

The cantrip spell from the Player’s Handbook is intended to describe a host of minor magical effects. In this system, a wizard may choose to memorize a cantrip as a 1st-level spell—just as it’s described in the PHB —or he can memorize individual applications of cantrip for a cost of 1 spell point each. These one-shot cantrips have the exact same effect as the 1st-level spell, but each application consumes 1 SP and has a duration of one full turn.

All cantrips are free magicks by definition; the wizard can perform any minor magical feat appropriate for the spell, without selecting the precise incantation ahead of time. A wizard is limited in the number of cantrips he can memorize at one time; he can’t allocate more than twice his number of spells allowed for each level to cantrips. For example, a 1st-level mage is limited to no more than two spells of each level, so he can memorize a maximum of four cantrips. A 6th-level mage is limited to four spells of any given level, so he can memorize up to eight cantrips.

All normal considerations for cantrips as described in the PHB still apply—they are minor magic, useful in role-playing or grandstanding but generally useless in combat. Of course, clever and resourceful players can create plenty of mayhem, even with magic as weak as this.

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