Wild Magic in your fantasy RPG
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- April 20, 2021
When a spell user casts a spell, they might be subject to Wild Magic. Wild magic is when the forces of magic take over and manifest in some way around or on the magic-user. This can be with a small effect, such as the hair on their arm rises or a cataclysmic effect rending the very ground below the caster and spurting out lava to cover the nearby area. Most effects come in between those 😉
I’ve compiled a list of 101 effects that you can randomly select from the list below. Just refresh the page to get a new result.
When to roll for Wild Magic effects?
How wild magic can be in your game is up to you. In some games, it will only be the Wild Magic Sorcerer that can unleash wild magic. In other games, any use of magic can potentially go wrong. You’ll need to set up the rules for your own world.
Is it only arcane magic, or can divine magic also cause wild magic surges? You need to think about all kinds of magic in your world. What about rituals? Can they have wild magic surges? Are all classes affected by this? How about monster casters? How easy or hard is it for this to happen? Do you roll a d20 with every spell cast to see if there is an effect? Or is it only in some regions of the world that this might happen? When you roll, is it only when you roll 1 on a d20, or is it 1 on a d4 to see if something happens?
Rules
Some of the effects have clear statistics, i.e., it lasts 1d4 rounds or such. Some are temporary effects, some are permanent. It is up to the Game Master to evaluate if the effect will go away after a few minutes, a rest, a day, or never. It is also up to the Game Master what it will take to remove an unwanted effect. The obvious ways to remove an effect would be with remove curse, healing spells, restoration spells, wishes – or in some cases, spells that are the opposite of the effect – like light against darkness. In some stories, prayers might work or an offer to the gods or a magic ritual (which can be a whole story onto itself).
