Each card lists category (Combat / Detection / Health / Illusion / Manipulation), type (Mana — affects living things only / Physical — affects anything in line of sight), range (LOS / Touch / Area / Self), duration (Instant / Sustained / Permanent), and drain code. Drain notation: [(F/2)+1]M means base drain TN = (Force ÷ 2) + 1, drain damage level = M (Moderate).

Combat spells also show ▸ DAMAGE plus Target and Area in the stats grid. Power = Force; the spell's damage level (L/M/S/D) is listed explicitly — note it is not the same as the drain code's letter. Mana spells affect living targets only and are resisted with Willpower; Physical spells affect anything in LOS and are resisted with Body. Most mana combat bolts (Mana Bolt, etc.) still deal Physical damage; only Stun spells (Sleep, Stun Bolt) deal Stun.

Area spells: base blast radius = the caster's Magic Rating in meters (so a Magic 6 mage's Fireball is a 6 m radius), and it hits friend and foe alike. Shrink it by 1 m per 2 dice withheld from the Success Test, or widen it by 1 m per 1 die withheld (dice removed can't exceed the spell's Force; Magic Pool can backfill). (SR2 p. 130) Each non-core addition carries a coloured source pill.

The number on a spell card is its drain code, not its Force. Force is something you assign when you learn the spell — at chargen you commit a chunk of your Force-Point pool to each spell, and the number of points you spend is the spell's Force rating.

• The Force you pick is the ceiling, not a fixed value. Once you know a spell at Force N, you may cast it at any Force from 1 up to N — handy when you want the effect but can't afford the drain that a full-power cast would cost.
• Chargen cap is Force 6. Higher Force can only be reached later by spending Karma to raise the spell rating, the same way skills grow.
• Cost = Force. Spending 4 Force Points on Mana Bolt means you know Mana Bolt at Force 4. A Force 6 spell eats 6 of your starting Force Points all by itself.
• Force feeds the math. The Force you cast at sets the spell's Power (for damage spells), the base drain TN (the F in the drain code), and in some cases the area or duration. Casting under your ceiling reduces all of those in lockstep.

Rule of thumb most tables follow: buy one or two "ceiling" spells at Force ≈ your Willpower (the dice you roll to soak drain), and keep a few low-Force utility spells (Detect Enemies, Mask, Heal at 2–3) where drain isn't a problem. (SR2 p. 46, casting rules in the Magic chapter.)