# Ability & Spell Creation Every weapon ability and spell in LoreFell follows a shared structure. If you want to homebrew something, propose an ability to your LoreMaster, or understand how existing abilities were built, this page gives you everything you need. ## What Makes a Good Ability A well-built ability does one thing well. It reinforces the identity of the weapon or spell school, creates a clear moment at the table, and reads cleanly in a single pass. The best ones are short enough to quote from memory and interesting enough that players look forward to unlocking them. When building an ability, ask: - Does this feel like it belongs to this weapon? - Is it fun to use? - Can someone understand it without explanation? - Is it meaningfully different from the other abilities in the same tree? If any answer is no, rethink it. ## Tiers and Budgets Every ability belongs to one of three tiers. Each tier has a budget that limits how much the ability can do. Spending more budget means more impact, but you cannot exceed the tier's limit. | Tier | Budget | Non-Damage Components | Afflictions | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Tier 1 | 2 | Up to 2 | Up to 1 | | Tier 2 | 4 | Up to 2 | Up to 1 | | Tier 3 | 6 | Up to 2 | Up to 1 | ## Damage Every ability includes exactly one damage type. Choose one and stick with it: - **Base Damage** — reduced damage, costs nothing - **Standard Damage** — normal damage, costs nothing - **Double Base Damage** — costs 1 - **Double Standard Damage** — costs 2 Additional damage components like Cleaved, Crushed, and Refracted are available but count against your non-damage component limit. Never combine two damage types in the same ability. ## Effects Effects are temporary battlefield modifiers. They do not use an asterisk. Each Effect counts as one non-damage component. When writing an ability that applies an Effect, the shorthand names the Effect and the full description explains what it does in plain language. Effects persist until their trigger condition is met. > [!note] Example > > **Shorthand:** Attack. On a hit, deal Standard Damage and apply Studied. > > **Full:** Target suffers Standard Damage. Target is Studied: your attacks against the target are Lucky Rolls until you deal damage to them. ## Afflictions Afflictions are persistent conditions applied through weapon hits. Each Affliction counts as one non-damage component, and each ability is limited to one. When writing an ability that applies an Affliction, the full description explains what the Affliction does and how to remove it. > [!note] Example > > **Shorthand:** Attack. On a hit, deal Standard Damage and apply Bleeding. > > **Full:** Target suffers Standard Damage. Target is Bleeding: whenever they take damage, they take 1 additional Base Damage. They may spend an Act to attempt a Renewal breakout. ## Ability Format Each ability is written in two forms. The shorthand is for quick reference during play. The full description explains every component so nothing is assumed. --- ### Tier X — Ability Name **Shorthand** Attack. On a hit, deal Standard Damage and apply Studied. --- **Full Description** Target suffers Standard Damage. Target is Studied: your attacks against the target are Lucky Rolls until you deal damage to them. --- *Flavor text that captures the fantasy of the ability in one or two sentences.* --- **Budget** - Standard Damage (0) - Studied (2) Total: 2 --- ## Before You Finalize Run through this list before calling an ability done: - The total cost matches the tier budget exactly. - There is only one damage type. - There are no more than two non-damage components. - There is no more than one Affliction. - Every Effect and Affliction is fully explained in the full description. - The shorthand names components without explaining them inline.