How magic actually plays at the table — casting, Drain, Spell Defense, Conjuring spirits, Foci, Ritual Sorcery, Astral Space, and (briefly) Initiation. Sources: SR2 core Magic chapter pp. 118–169, with Grimoire 2nd Edition for Initiation / Metamagic.

// CASTING A SPELL — THE SEQUENCE

1. 01

   Choose Force

   Pick a Force from 1 up to the spell's purchased Force rating (chargen cap = 6, raise later with Karma). Force feeds Power, drain TN, and any other Force-scaled effects. See the Spells Index "Force — How It Works" callout for the trade-off.

2. 02

   Spell Success Test

   Roll Sorcery dice + allocated Magic Pool dice against a base Target Number determined by spell category, range, visibility, and circumstance modifiers. Successes are the spell's "raw power." (SR2 p. 131)

3. 03

   Target's Resistance Test

   Target rolls against the spell. Physical spells: Body. Mana spells: Willpower. Illusions: Willpower to disbelieve. Manipulations: Object Resistance (objects) or the relevant Attribute (living targets). TN = spell's Force.

4. 04

   Net Successes → Result

   Caster successes − target successes = the spell's effective magnitude. For damage spells, net successes "stage" the Damage Level upward (or downward if the target wins). For other spells, net successes set magnitude, duration, or scale.

5. 05

   Drain Resistance Test

   The caster rolls Drain — see the next section. Drain is paid regardless of whether the spell succeeded.

// DRAIN — THE COST OF CASTING

Drain Damage Level

The trailing letter of the drain code (L / M / S / D) — same as the spell's damage level. Caster takes that level unless successes reduce it.

Drain Damage Type

Mana spells deal Stun Drain. Physical spells deal Physical Drain. Stun heals fast, Physical heals slow — Physical Drain is what kills mages.

Force > Magic Rating

If you cast at a Force higher than your Magic Rating, the Drain becomes PHYSICAL regardless of spell type. This is the major risk: a Magic 4 mage casting Force 6 Manabolt takes Physical Drain instead of Stun. Mages avoid over-casting for this reason.

Reducing Drain

Allocate Magic Pool dice to the Drain Test. Centering Skill rolls can soak additional levels. Enhanced Centering (adept power) lets non-physical skills serve as Centering. Initiated mages may have Centering as a metamagic technique (see below).

// SPELL DEFENSE

A magician with a clear view of an ally can spend Magic Pool dice as Spell Defense — bolstering the ally's resistance against incoming spells.

How it works

The defender allocates Magic Pool dice in advance. When an enemy spell hits a protected ally, those dice are added to the ally's Resistance Test. Allocated dice are spent regardless of whether they fired. (SR2 p. 131-132)

View requirement

The defender must be able to see the area being defended — naturally, through a window, or via a sustained Detect spell. Cannot defend from blind cover.

Magic Pool refreshes

Each new turn, Magic Pool refills. A defender can keep up Spell Defense indefinitely — at the cost of having those Magic Pool dice unavailable for the defender's own casts.

// CONJURING — SUMMONING SPIRITS

Both traditions summon spirits but call different beings in different ways.

// COMMON SPIRIT SERVICES

Combat

Spirit fights a designated enemy until defeated, the spirit is destroyed, or the service ends.

Reconnaissance

Spirit scouts an area or follows a target and reports back.

Concealment / Confusion

Spirit uses its inherent magical Powers (Concealment, Confusion, etc.) to misdirect enemies.

Movement / Transport

Spirit carries the summoner or an object, performs lifting, opens / closes terrain.

Astral Guard

Spirit stays in astral space and watches for incoming astral threats — alerting the summoner if anything approaches.

Spirit Form

Many spirits have Astral Form (default), Manifest Form (visible in the physical world), and Remote Service modes. See SR2 p. 152 for the spirit-form table.

Banishing: Opposed Conjuring (or Charisma for shamans) vs the spirit's Force. Net successes equal services used up from the spirit's remaining stock. Spirits banished to zero services vanish. (SR2 p. 153)

// FOCI & BONDING

Foci are magical items that augment a magician's effective Magic. Each focus must be bonded by paying its Karma cost, and its Force determines how powerful it is.

Bonding costs above are approximate — verify against SR2 p. 147 and the Magical Equipment table (p. 263) for exact values. Bonding requires Karma and the focus's nuyen price.

Bonding constraint

A focus is bonded to one magician. Another mage holding it gets no benefit. Re-bonding to a new mage requires the original to release it (or be dead).

Foci at chargen

The chargen Force-Points pool pays both the monetary cost and the Karma bonding cost — see Step 7 on the 10-Step Process. So a Force-1 Power Focus costs 3 FP to bond plus its nuyen price.

Adepts and foci

Adepts can bond Power Foci (adds dice to Magic-related rolls, including extra Power Points effectively) and Weapon Foci. They cannot use Spell Foci — no Sorcery.

// RITUAL SORCERY

Group spellcasting over time — used to reach targets a single mage couldn't dream of touching with a normal cast.

Participants

Multiple magicians of compatible tradition work together. Hermetic ritual circles cast as a team; shaman circles use shared totem rituals.

Material Link

Required. A piece of the target — hair, blood, a recent photograph, or a personal possession. The link tightens the spell's reach. Stronger link = better TN.

Time scale

Hours to weeks of focused work. Each tick, the participants roll a Ritual Sorcery Test; successes accumulate toward a target threshold.

Range

Effectively global with a strong material link. Can cross continents.

Defending

A target who suspects a ritual can use the same material link in reverse to trace and counter-strike. Wards and Masking metamagic complicate this.

Full rules: SR2 p. 143–146.

// ASTRAL SPACE

The metaphysical layer overlapping the material world. Magicians see and travel through it; mundane characters can't perceive it at all.

Astral Perception

Mage toggles on astral sight as a Simple Action. Sees magical effects, auras, foci, spells, spirits. Body stays in the physical world — half-foot-in-each. Adepts with Astral Perception power can do this too. (SR2 p. 155)

Astral Projection

Full magicians only. Mage leaves their body, projecting as astral form. The body is helpless / comatose during. Astral form travels at supernatural speeds, ignores walls, can't interact with physical objects, and ends if the silver cord is severed (rare).

Astral Combat

Resolved as opposed tests using Willpower (and Charisma for shamans) plus magical attributes. Damage on the astral form translates to physical Stun / Physical when the mage returns to body. Weapon Foci work astrally; mundane weapons don't.

Astral Tracking

Recent spellcasting leaves an astral signature for hours afterward. An astral tracker can read it, identify the caster's aura, and follow the trail. Masking metamagic counters this. (SR2 p. 159)

Wards & Barriers

Mana Barrier spells and bonded wards block astral movement. Ramming through requires opposed Force tests; corp facilities and dragon lairs typically have layered wards.

// INITIATION & METAMAGIC (Grimoire 2e)

Past chargen, magicians can initiate — undergoing magical training that unlocks metamagic techniques. Each initiation level costs Karma; each level grants one metamagic technique.

Initiation cost (Grimoire 2e): Roughly 3 × current Magic Rating × current Initiate Grade in Karma per grade — meaning it gets steadily more expensive. Some groups offer reduced costs through group oaths or specific ordeals. Initiation typically takes weeks of in-fiction time.