Playing the Odds

Rolling the dice in MAGI is always a gamble. While leaning on your strengths always helps, you have a nearly-limitless fountain of magical power to draw from in the form of Overcharge. Overcharge lets you bet your long-term health on success in the short term- in other words, you can make up for your weak points at the cost of Fallout later. Fallout can do anything from afflicting you with dangerous Status Effects in battle, warping your character's body and mind, or causing your magic to run out of control, endangering those you care about. Tread carefully! Sometimes failure is better than the alternative.

Two Ways to Roll

MAGI has two methods of resolution: the High Stakes roll and the Low Stakes roll. High Stakes rolls are all about variance. Roll lots of dice and gain lots of successes, but with the equal chance that you whiff completely and are forced to rely on Overcharge. For these types of rolls, each Overcharge lets you add an extra d6 for another chance at success. High Stakes rolls are the default in combat, and are designed for the fast-paced tactical roulette that is MAGI's battle system!

Low Stakes rolls are a different beast, used for simple tasks without an opponent or when the opponent is so outclassed as to be inconsequential. These rolls consist of just two six-sided dice being rolled, and the value of your Trait being added afterwards as a flat bonus and compared to a Scale Rating. Meet or exceed the Scale, and you succeed. Low Stakes rolls are the default in the roleplaying segments of the game, and Overcharging on them just adds a flat bonus to your roll- no gambling here.

Heart-Racing Combat!!

Combat in MAGI is tuned for thoughtful, fast, tactical gameplay. Players each get an Action each turn, which can be used on certain Moves that have fixed speeds- no rolling for initiative here! After anyone's Action, players also have a single Reaction each turn which can be used to activate other Moves. Spend your Action and Reaction together to create short, punchy combos on your own, or hold your Reaction to follow up on a teammate's attack or counter an enemy! There's plenty of choice at every turn, and plenty of danger too.

Enemies fight within the same guidelines as players, able to throw your moves right back at you. Advice on deploying the different types of enemies against players is provided, as well as unique qualities and abilities to use. In addition to magical monsters and city-destroying calamities, there are also stats provided for rival Magi to fight toe-to-toe with your players and risk even more Overcharge!

Fallout and Consequence

The primary engine of trouble in MAGI is Fallout, the result of taking on too much Overcharge. While any player can elect to take Overcharge whenever they need more dice, they must count up their usage to avoid dangerous Fallout. Fallout takes many forms, from emotional outbursts to strange compulsions to mysterious mutations that change the way the Magi looks and interacts with other characters. Enough Fallout could turn you into a monster, or rob you of your friends. At the same time, it's great fun for a character to spontaneously generate rabbit ears or gain a removable head! Embracing Overcharge leads to more exciting, more vulnerable, more interesting play.