Toughness

Characters primarily gain body points from Body Skills. Other ways to get temporary body points include the Toughness spell, the Elixir of Toughness alchemical and the Alchemical Ascension ritual.

Regardless of the source, characters cannot have more than 4 points of body unless one or more of those sources explicitly says that they 'break cap'. Those sources can potentially take a character to 5 body or higher.

A special kind of attack, known as a killing blow, is available to characters circumstantially. Killing blows can only be performed if an opponent has the Torso Wound condition. To make a killing blow you role-play giving the character a fatal wound. There is no special call made when you perform a killing blow.

Sometimes you'll hear someone say 'Killing Blow!' aloud when they perform one, this is incorrect and shouldn't be done.

A killing blow gives a character the Dead condition.

When you are hit do the following in this order:

1. Check for on-going prevention effects (immunities such as the spell Mind Blank).
2. Check for one-time prevention effects (effects like the spell Spirit Shield).
3. Apply remaining damage to Magic Armor.
4. Apply remaining damage to Physical Armor.
5. Apply remaining damage to Natural Armor.
6. Apply remaining damage to Body Points.
7. If any damage remains take a Wound condition in the location hit.

The basics of all spell casting follow one set of guidelines. Some items types will add some additional rules specific to those item types.

For a character to cast a spell they must: know the spell, have enough power points available to cast the spell, and have a free hand. If all of these criteria are met they may proceed to casting the spell.

Cast a spell costs its level in power points to cast. Power points are a skill characters can learn, and some items can provide extra power points as well.

Characters can never spend more than 20 magic power points in a single game day. Attempting to do so causes the character to gain an unpreventable Torso Wound condition as the magical energies tear the character apart. This will also cause the spell casting to fail. Abilities that grant characters power points that break cap do not count against this limit.

Some abilities and rules allow characters to pay fewer power points to cast a spell. This cannot bring the spell's cost to 0 power points unless the source explicitly says that it does. Abilities that reduce power point costs do not stack unless they explicitly say they do.

If you've met the requirements, you are now ready to cast the spell. To cast a spell you must speak an incantation. Spells have no fixed incantations. Each character is free to come up with their own schema for how they want to represent the magic they can perform. Incants do not need to be spoken word. They can be sung, chanted, or role-played in other ways.

There are still some requirements for a proper incantation. Incantations must be spoken loudly and clearly enough that players standing 10 feet away will know that a spell has been cast. An incantation also requires a minimum of 8 words, which must include the name of the spell being performed. You may not bluff one spell and then cast a different one (such as by putting multiple spell names into the incantation). The incantation must clearly convey EXACTLY what you are casting. You may not make the incantation gibberish, or attempt to work it into a conversation. It must be both clear that you are casting and what you are casting.