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This page contains the Magic Formula, originally developed by Jim Henley, with modifications and comments for use in House of Cards.
Prowess + Performance = Target + Duration + Effect
Or
P + P [ + Bonus ] = [ Penalty + ] T + D + E
The GM may decide that things are easier or harder (or easier and harder) based on circumstances.
Sum the character's Power score and its governing Element.
These usually represent time. Performance is how long the mage spends casting the spell (chanting, meditating, dancing etc. as appropriate). Duration is how long the spell lasts.
Like the four Everway elements, Time is represented on a scale: in this case from 0 to 10 rather than 1 to 10. Time is the Formula element most subject to the mage's control.
Note: House of Cards uses a slightly different scale for Trump creation only, which is discussed below.
| Value | Duration |
|---|---|
| 0 | A moment. (The time it takes to utter a short word or make a gesture. An instantaneous effect.) |
| 1 | A minute. |
| 2 | A watch. (One tenth of the night or day. Something more than an hour and less than two.) |
| 3 | A day. (The sun comes up. The sun goes down. The sun comes up again.) |
| 4 | A week. |
| 5 | A month. (Roughly one lunar cycle.) |
| 6 | A season. |
| 7 | A year. (A complete turning of the seasons.) |
| 8 | A decade. |
| 9 | A lifetime. (We're talking something up to about a century.) |
| 10 | An era. (The age of an empire, the life span of a religion etc.) |
Spells are cast on something. Target represents the resistance value of whoever or whatever or wherever is at the business end of the mage's attention. In the case of a single creature it will probably be the creature's Earth score. In the case of multiple creatures the rule of doubling may come into play. (e.g., two Earth-4 opponents resist at Earth-5.)
Some spells are cast on regions rather than beings. So we need another scale. Like Time, the Space scale runs from 0 to 10.
| Value | Area |
|---|---|
| 0 | a wineskin / an infant / a spot. |
| 1 | a pack / a child / a puddle. |
| 2 | a barrel / a youth / a trough. |
| 3 | a coffin or closet / an adult / a bath. |
| 4 | a hovel / a boar / a wagon / a fountain. |
| 5 | a house / a horse / a garden / a stream pool. |
| 6 | a village / a bear / a field / a pond / a knoll. |
| 7 | a town / a platoon / a lake / a mountain. |
| 8 | a city / a company / a valley / a sea / a range. |
| 9 | a Shadow / a legion / an ocean. |
| 10 | a group of Shadows / an army. |
In practical terms, this is the value left over after you take the others into account. Like everything else in Everway, it's on a 1-10 (or 0-10) scale. The Effect scale is generic:
| Value | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | none |
| 1 | barely noticeable. |
| 2 | minor. |
| 3 | "average". |
| 4 | solid. |
| 5 | strong effect. |
| 6 | "Olympic-caliber". |
| 7 | legendary. |
| 8 | affects a Kingdom. |
| 9 | affects a Shadow. |
| 10 | affects a group of Shadows. |
Bonuses and penalties on attempts to use Powers will vary based on the power used. The maximum bonus or penalty (sum of all individual bonuses and penalties) applied to a single use of a power is +/- 2. The exception to this limit is Trump creation as described below.
General examples of bonuses and penalties for various powers include:
Creating Trumps is the most elaborately-developed use of the Magic Formula in House of Cards. All Trump creation times are based on the use of oil or similar paint media on pasteboard of approximately card size. Other media and materials can be used; most notoriously Brita created a Trump on a shell and Reid tattooed one on human skin.
Some basic time information about Trumps:
Some other basic numbers for use in the Magic Formula for Trump creation:
These are bonuses and penalties specific to Trump creation:
| Value | Duration |
|---|---|
| 0 | a watch. |
| 1 | a night. |
| 2 | a full day. |
| 3 | a week. |
| 4 | a fortnight. |
| 5 | a month. |
| 6 | a season. |
| 7 | a half-year. |
| 8 | a year. |
| 9 | a decade. |
| 10 | a generation. (~25 years) |
| 11 | a lifetime (~100 years). |
| 12 | an era. |