This game is a work of fiction; any resemblance to real people living or dead is 100% intentional.
Note: This document may not represent the most up-to-date version of Tiny Frog Wizards. You can always find the latest revision at the following address:
The very primordial energies of creation and destruction are yours to wield as you will.
You are two inches tall.
Tone and Themes
Tiny Frog Wizards is a game of contrasts.
It's about people who are accustomed to being the biggest frogs in a very small pond, venturing into a much larger world.
It's about wielding a phenomenal cosmic power whose applications are so weirdly specialised, you'll struggle to cram your skill-set's square pegs into the world's round holes.
More than anything, however, Tiny Frog Wizards is a game about being a terrible inconvenience to everyone in the general vicinity, in the unshakable belief that you're helping.
One trusts that many of those reading this can relate.
Tiny Frog Wizards is a game for three to seven players, including an optional Gamemaster, or GM. You'll need a large pile of six-sided dice, ideally in many colours as befits your tiny frog wizard's arcane mastery, as well as some scrap paper to keep track of your mastered Arcana and various Misfortunes.
If you're playing without a GM – or have decided to allocate some of the GM's responsibilities to other players, as discussed under Playing the Game – you'll also need to decide on a seating order, as some rules care about who's sitting to the left (or right) of whom. In a face-to-face game, this may take care of itself; otherwise, decide on an ordering in whatever fashion (e.g., by age, alphabetically by first name, etc.) is agreeable to the group.
There are two types of dice rolls you'll be asked to make in Tiny Frog Wizards: rolling to cast a spell, and rolling on a table.
When you roll to cast a spell, you'll gather a number of six-sided dice and roll them all at once. The dice aren't added together; rather, the rolled values are individually assigned to the spell's various parameters to determine how effective the spell is. You can't assign more than one die to each parameter, and must assign a die to each parmeter if one is available. If you rolled more dice than there are parameters to assign, the extra dice are discarded; if you rolled fewer dice than parameters, any parameters you're unable to assign a die to receive a value of 0. Refer to Working Your Will for more information on how to determine how many dice to roll and how to assign the results.
When you roll on a table, you'll roll either one or two dice. If the table has the text “d6” at the top of the first column, roll a single six-sided die. If the table has the text “d66” at the top of the first column, roll two dice, reading the first die as the “tens” place and the second die as the “ones” place, yielding a two-digit number in the range from 11 to 66. You should decide which die counts as the “tens” and which die counts as the “ones” before rolling; if your dice aren't visually distinguishable, make the rolls one at a time to keep them straight.
On rare occasions, you may be asked to flip the result of a d66 roll. This means taking the existing roll and exchanging the places of the digits; for example, a roll of 3 and 6, normally read as “36”, would instead become “63”. This will typically occur if the roll's initial result is invalid for some reason.
In spite of its light-hearted tone, Tiny Frog Wizards is a game whose player characters wield semi-godlike powers. Mind control, bodily transformations, and the like are basic tools in their game-mechanical toolkits, and consequently, there's a strong possiblity that content some players aren't comfortable with will come up. Comfort zones regarding the game's sorcerous shenanigans should be a topic of explicit pre-game discussion; tools like John Stavropoulos' X Card may be helpful, and should be brought up with the group before play begins.
This section is intended to serve as a quick reference for experienced players. Novices are encouraged to skip directly to Tiny Frog Creation – most of this material won't make sense if you haven't been through at least that part!
d66
To make a d66 roll, roll a six-sided die twice, reading the first roll as the “tens” place and the second roll as the “ones” place, yielding a number in the range from 11 to 66. d66 rolls are typically used for rolling on tables. Refer to:Rolling Dice
Arcanum
One of the nine spheres of magic which tiny frog wizards can master. Each Arcanum enables a tiny frog wizard to produce different sorts of effects. Refer to:The True Arcana
Arcanum, mastered
A tiny frog wizard must have mastered an Arcanum in order to make use of it. Ordinarily, each tiny frog wizard begins play with two mastered Arcana. Refer to:Mastered Arcana
Casting roll
When casting a spell, a number of dice are gathered and rolled; how many dice are rolled is based on the performance of certain ritual actions and the expenditure of Preparation Dice. Once the dice have been rolled, one die is assigned to each of the spell's parameters; if fewer than three dice are rolled, any parameter to which a die is not assigned receives a value of zero. Refer to:Casting Spells
Concentration
Most spells require concentration. While concentrating on a spell, you can perform other actions, but your casting rolls are penalised by one die for each spell you're currently concenrating on. If you're distracted while concentrating on a spell, the spell may be disrupted. Spells which do not require concentration are called indefinite. Refer to:Spell Duration
Control
A parameter which determines how much control a tiny frog wizard exercises over a spell. The player must describe some aspect of the spell's effect in a number of works equal to its Control parameter; each Arcanum defines what needs to be described. A spell with a Control parameter of zero is considered uncontrolled. Refer to:The Control parameter
If you are seriously distracted or suffer Misfortune while concentrating on a spell, the spell may go haywire. A spell that's gone haywire has distorted effects, no longer counts against the number of spells you're currently concentrating on, and cannot be voluntarily terminated, lasting for the rest of the scene. Refer to:Disruption
Focus
A specific, named spellcasting tool which a tiny frog wizard carries. Each Focus contains a single Preparation Die, which can be spent if certain conditions specific to that Focus are satisfied. Unlike regular Preparation Dice, the Preparation Die contained by a Focus recovers on its own at the start of each scene. Refer to:Preparation Dice and Foci
Foraging
Any activity which permits the recovery of Preparation Dice during a scene (i.e., without resting). Foraging typically restores 1–2 Preparation Dice to each tiny frog wizard. Refer to:Recovery
Indefinite
A spell which does not require concentration is indefinite. Indefinite spells are considered non-magical once their effects fully manifest. The description of each Arcanum will indicate whether it can be used to produce indefinite effects. Refer to:Spell Duration
A parameter which determines the scope of a spell's effect. With a value of zero, a spell affects a single object or creature about the size of a tiny frog, or an area about one frog-length (5 cm or 2 inches) across; each added point of Magnitude either roughly doubles the diameter of the affected area or increases the size of the affected object or creature tenfold. Refer to:The Magnitude parameter
Player characters and certain NPCs may choose to suffer any undesirable effect as a Misfortune. Suffering a Misfortune means you get to describe how it affects you, and limits how seriously and for how long it can hinder you. A character's ability to suffer Misfortune is measured in slots; each slot can hold one Misfortune, and once they're all filled, that character is at the mercy of the GM. Refer to:Suffering Misfortune
Mundane action
Anything a character does which is not casting a spell is a mundane action. The outcome of a mundane action is resolved based on narrative plausibility, and doesn't involve numbers or rolling dice. Mundane actions ordinarily fail when opposed by a spell; however, some mundane actions have an effective Potency rating, allowing them to contend with spells of equal or lesser Potency. Refer to:Mundane actions
Opposition, direct
When two spells are trying to do mutually exclusive things, or when one spell tries to prevent or destroy the effect of another spell, those spells are in direct opposition. Each Arcanum's description outlines the situations in which it can directly oppose other spells. Direct opposition is resolved in favour of the spell with the greater Potency; in the event of a tie, the GM decides what happens. Refer to:Conflicting Spells
Opposition, indirect
Any interaction between two spells that isn't defined as direct opposition is indirect opposition. In such cases, the interplay of their effects is resolved by the GM's judgment. Refer to:Conflicting Spells
Parameter
A facet of a spell that determines how it operates. When making a casting roll, one die is assigned to each parameter after rolling; if fewer than three dice are rolled, any parameters to which no die is assigned receive a value of zero. The three parameters are Magnitude, Range and Control; the sum of these three parameters determines the spell's Potency. Refer to:Casting Spells
Preparation Dice
A pool of dice which can be added to casting rolls at the player's discretion. Once rolled, a Preparation Die is expended until it's recovered by foraging or resting. Refer to:Preparation Dice and Foci
Potency
A value which determines how well a spell can overcome other magical effects in the event of direct conflict. A spell's potency is ordinarily equal to the sum of its parameters. Refer to:Potency
Range
A parameter which determines how far away the target of a spell can be. A spell has a Range in hops (meters or yards) equal to this parameter's value; a spell with a Range of zero must target the caster themselves or something the caster is directly touching. Refer to:The Range parameter
Rest
Any interlude where the tiny frog wizards have an opportunity to kick back and relax, including (but not limited to) a good night's sleep. Resting resets all tiny frog wizards' Preparation Dice to their starting value, and permits them each to clear one Misfortune slot. Refer to:Recovery
Scene
A unit of play which begins with the tiny frog wizards' arrival in a place where a problem is occurring, and ends when they've satisfied themselves that the problem has been resolved (regardless of whether this is in fact the case). Refer to:Setting the Scene
Size
Every creature and object has a Size rating, ranging from 0 to 6. A creature or object's Size rating is equal to the Magnitude parameter required to target it with a spell. Refer to:The Magnitude parameter
Uncontrolled
When a spell is uncontrolled, any aspects of its effect that would ordinarily be described by its caster's player are instead described by the GM or determined randomly. A spell is normally uncontrolled only when its Control parameter is zero; a tiny frog wizard may also voluntarily cast a spell with a non-zero Control parameter as an uncontrolled spell if they wish. Refer to:The Control parameter
Each player (excepting the GM) will take on the role of a tiny frog wizard: an incomparable master of the True Arcana and commander of unseen forces beyond mortal ken. The creation of a tiny frog wizard has three steps:
Undertaking tiny frog wizard creation as a group is recommended, as it's often best to avoid unintended overlap, particularly with respect to one's mastered Arcana. Intentional overlap is, of course, another matter entirely!
Though your achievements are undoubtedly many, all of them pale in comparison to your mastery of the True Arcana: the very roots of magic. Having completed your tiny frog apprenticeship, you have mastered two of the nine True Arcana. Choose two, or roll once on the following table.
Preparation Dice are an abstraction of the various material means by which your tiny frog wizard enhances their magical prowess – consecrated tools, rare components, and other miscellaneous geegaws of sorcerous significance.
Your tiny frog wizard begins play with five Preparation Dice; this is also the number to which you reset whenever you have an opportunity to rest. You can detail what sorts of things your tiny frog wizard's Preparation Dice represent if you wish, but you're not required to – it's fine to make something up at the time that they're expended, or simply think of them as unspecified “stuff”.
Optionally, you may equip your tiny frog wizard with one or more Foci: specific, named pieces of magical paraphernalia. Foci provide a replenishing source of power: each Focus contains a single Preparation Die, which, when expended, recovers at the start of the next scene. In exchange, Foci impose two limits:
For each Focus that your tiny frog wizard carries, the number of Preparation Dice you start with (and reset to after resting) is reduced by one, such that your starting number of Preparation Dice plus the number of Foci you carry always add up to five. You may not reduce your starting Preparation Dice below zero in this way.
Each Focus has a condition associated with its use. In order to expend its Preparation Die, the spell you cast must satisfy that condition.
To create a Focus, roll or choose from the following table, once from the “Form” column and once from the “Function” column; for example, a roll of 64 followed by a roll of 54 would yield the Trousers of Suffering. You can also design your own Foci, with the group's approval – refer to Creating Your Own Foci for more information.
Random Foci
d66
Form
Function
11
Amulet
of Alacrity
12
Bell
of the Archmage
13
Belt
of the Artist
14
Boots
of Chaos
15
Bracelet
of Compensation
16
Cape
of Denial
21
Coin
of Destruction
22
Crystal
of the Dramaturge
23
Dagger
of Excellence
24
Egg
of the Fool
25
Elixir
of Friendship
26
Gem
of the Gourmand
31
Gloves
of Inversion
32
Goggles
of the Mentor
33
Mask
of the Mountebank
34
Medallion
of Order
35
Orb
of the Penitent
36
Pendant
of Peril
41
Pipe
of the Philosopher
42
Potion
of the Poet
43
Ring
of Prestidigitation
44
Robe
of Retribution
45
Rod
of Righteousness
46
Rune
of the Showman
51
Tome
of Silence
52
Sceptre
of Sneakiness
53
Scarf
of Stillness
54
Scroll
of Suffering
55
Sigil
of Wit
56
Spoon
of Wonder
61
Staff
62
Stone
63
Talisman
64
Trousers
65
Vest
66
Wand
Note: This table has not yet been finalised. For the time being, re-roll the first die of your d66 roll if it comes up a 6. (Or, if you're using a fancy dice-rolling app, make the first die a d5 instead!)
of Alacrity
Cast a spell as an immediate response to some unexpected or surprising event.
of the Archmage
Cast a spell which directly opposes any effect with a Potency rating; refer to Conflicting Spells for more information.
of the Artist
Cast a spell whose intended effect is principally aesthetic rather than functional.
The game's default assumption is that your tiny frog wizard's Foci are mostly fixed once chosen; strategising about which particular Foci to bring with you isn't expected to be a major part of play. However, if you find that one of your chosen Foci is proving to be difficult to apply to your mastered Arcana, or if its conditions just aren't fun or interesting for you to work with, you can and should feel free to swap it out for something else.
Foci can be added, removed, or swapped for different Foci any time you have the opportunity to fully refresh your Preparation Dice. As Foci represent items that your tiny frog wizard carries, no particular narrative justfication is required; you simply put away the old Foci and somehow find or obtain new ones. This can be played out if you're interested in doing so, but it's also fine to gloss over it between scenes – tiny frogs move in mysterious ways!
The Foci in the preceding table are not exhaustive. There are many perfectly valid conditions which are excluded because they'd be useful only in certain settings, or only to tiny frog wizards with specific mastered Arcana, making them awkward guests on a random table. For example, you might invent a Focus “of Conflagration” whose Preparation Die must be spent on spells related to fire; this is a fine Focus, but one that's hard to take advantage of for a tiny frog wizard whose mastered Arcana don't happen to include Evocation.
By the time you've reached this point, you already know what your mastered Arcana are and what kind of game you're playing, so you don't need to worry about accidentally inventing a Focus you can't use. Such specialised Foci are a great way to give your Tiny Frog Wizard a “signature spell” of sorts. In fact, they're encouraged: one of the game's central themes is that when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail, and a Focus that pushes you to repeatedly cast one particular spell is entirely in keeping with that theme.
Apart from Foci that encourage casting specific kinds of spells, there's also a category of Foci whose conditions are dice-and-rules based rather than descriptive; “of the Archmage” and “of Silence” from the preceding list are examples of Foci of this type. These conditions allow Foci to pull double duty as self-contained “rules toys” for mechanically minded players, analogous to special abilities in other systems. No guidance is offered with respect to creating a new Focus of this kind – you're on your own there!
Finally, you can simply re-name an existing Focus if it already has a suitable condition. For example, the Wand of Inversion might become the Wand of Balance, with a description focusing on restoring harmony, but the same mechanics.
Finally, give your tiny frog a name and a suitably grand title, and describe the appearance of your tiny frog's pointy wizard hat. You can use the following table for inspiration, or roll to decide these features randomly; roll once for a title, and as many times as you wish for your hat's colour and appearance.
Most things you do won't involve rules or dice. When you undertake a task that doesn't involve casting a spell, this is called a mundane action, and the GM will decide whether it's plausible that a tiny frog could perform it. If the GM determines that the answer is “yes”, you succeed; otherwise, you fail.
Magic is another matter. Such is your tiny frog's mastery that failure is unthinkable: when you command the forces of magic, they will obey. However, as you are very small, you may sometimes have difficulty mustering sufficient will to affect very large or distant targets.
As noted above, whether your tiny frog wizard can achieve something without using magic is governed by narrative plausibility, not by rolling dice. When you try to accomplish something through mundane effort, you're throwing yourself on the mercy of the GM, who may decide what you succeed, fail, or achieve a partial or unexpected result, as their whim dictates.
At times, the plausibility of a particular mundane action may depend on whether or not your tiny frog wizard is versed in some relevant skill. You're free to jot down a few mundane skills you'd like your tiny frog wizard wizard to be good at during character creation, but this is explicitly not an expected part of the character creation process. Players are both allowed and encouraged to make up new areas of expertise on the spot, as events demand and their tiny frog wizard's character concept permits.
In order to cast a spell, select an appropriate Arcanum from among those you've mastered, and describe, in general terms, the feat of sorcery you intend to achieve.
Then, pick up a handful of dice. You start with one die for each of the following conditions that you satisfy:
You declare your intentions in a loud, firm croak
You make grand, sweeping gestures with both tiny webbed hands
You are wearing your pointy wizard hat
You may expend Preparation Dice from your own supply to increase the number of dice in your hand on a one-for-one basis. This decision must be made before rolling – you may not wait and see the result of your roll before deciding whether to expend Preparation Dice. Preparation Dice expended in this fashion are used up until recovered.
Thirdly, roll the dice, and select three to assign to the parameters of Magnitude, Range and Control. If you're rolling fewer than three dice for any reason, any parameters you don't assign a die to have a value of zero. You must roll at least one die in order to cast a spell.
Once you've begun casting, you must assign a die to each parameter if one is available, and the spell must take effect. If you don't have sufficient Control to fully describe the intended effect, you'll have to make do with what you have. Likewise, if you don't have sufficient Range to reach the intended target, or your Magnitude parameter's value is too small to affect it, you'll just have to pick a different target!
Finally, add up the sum of the spell's parameters. This is the spell's Potency, and will be referred to by various other rules.
Magnitude determines the size or scope of the thing the spell affects. The Arcanum's description will indicate whether its Magnitude is measured by size, or by area; these two types of Magnitude will be denoted as Magnitude (Size) and Magnitude (Area), respectively.
With a Magnitude of zero, the spell affects either a single object or creature about the size of a tiny frog, or an area about one frog-length across. (For the human player's reference, one frog-length is approximately five centimetres, or two inches.) For each point of this parameter's value in excess of zero, either approximately double the diameter of the affected area, or increase the size of the target object or creature tenfold. The following table provides reference points for various sizes and areas:
Magnitude
Value
Size
Area
0
Tiny frog, golf ball, crayon
1 frog-length / 5 cm / 2 in
1
Rat, pair of socks, stapler
2 frog-lengths / 10 cm / 4 in
2
Housecat, toaster, teapot
5 frog-lengths / 25 cm / 10 in
3
Goose, car tire, umbrella
10 frog-lengths / 50 cm / 20 in
4
Human, bicycle, toilet
20 frog-lengths / 1 m / 40 in
5
Horse, refrigerator, sofa
50 frog-lengths / 2.5 m / 100 in
6
Elephant, forklift, gazebo
100 frog-lengths / 5 m / 200 in
A spell that uses the Magnitude (Size) parameter cannot affect only part of a larger creature or object; the parameter's value must be sufficient to affect the whole target. A creature's clothing and possessions may or may not be included when targeting that creature, at your discretion. Area-affecting spells have no such restrictions, and may partially affect a creature or object that's only partially inside the affected region.
Range determines the distance at which the spell is effective. Unless the chosen Arcanum's description specifies otherwise, this is the distance to the target creature or object, or to the centre of the affected area if the spell affects an area. Unless otherwise noted, you also need uninterrupted line of sight to a target in order to affect it, though in the case of a spell that affects an area you only need line of sight to the centre of the affected area, not to every part of it.
A spell has a Range in hops equal to the value of the die assigned to this parameter. For the benefit of any humans who may be playing this game, a hop can be considered roughly equal to one meter (or one yard). A spell with a Range of zero affects only the caster or something they're directly touching; if the spell affects an area, the area is centred on the caster.
Control determines how well you direct the spell, reflected by the number of words you can use to specify the spell's effect. Each Arcanum's description will outline how Control is used. You may use slang or contractions when describing the desired effect, and need not count articles such as “a” and “the”.
In the event that a spell is cast with a Control parameter of zero, the spell's effect is random. You may still choose which creature, object or area the spell targets (or, in the case of Conjuration, the point in space where the target will appear); however, the particulars of the effect are determined by the GM. The description of each Arcanum includes guidelines for the behaviour of uncontrolled spells – refer to The True Arcana for more information.
You may choose to cast a spell with a non-zero Control parameter in an uncontrolled fashion if you wish. There's ordinarily no benefit to doing so, apart from creating a random effect with greater Potency, but you can do it!
Potency is a measure of how powerful a spell is for the purpose of overcoming other magical effects. In the event of direct opposition with another magical effect, the effect with the greater Potency prevails. A spell's Potency also determines how difficult it is to safely dismiss if the caster's concentration is disrupted.
A spell's Potency is ordinarily equal to the sum of its Magnitude, Range and Control. If a spell is assigned multiple instances of the same parameter for any reason, only the highest value for that parameter contributes to its Potency. Conversely, if no die is assigned to a parameter, that parameter contributes nothing at all to the spell's Potency.
You can exploit only part of a parameter's value if you wish: a creature up to the rolled Size, a number of words up to the rolled Control value, and so forth. Choosing to use less than the full value of the die assigned to a parameter does not reduce the spell's Potency.
Groups who desire more unruly magic in their games may be tempted to require spells to adhere exactly to their assigned parameters; this is not recommended for Magnitude or Range, as in practice it often results in spells that have no valid targets at all. However, if your group's members are handy with phrasing, this can be a viable house rule for Control.
Uncontrolled spells are a specific exception to this rule with respect to the Magnitude parameter – most uncontrolled spells are obliged to produce the largest effect their Magnitude permits. This usually doesn't restrict your ability to target smaller creatures or objects, but may affect what happens to them. For example, an uncontrolled Alteration is free to target a smaller creature than its Magnitude allows, but whatever that creature turns into will be as large as possible.
Refer to each Arcanum's description for details on how its Magnitude parameter is handled for uncontrolled spells.
Spell Duration
Your spells will have one of two durations: indefinite, or concentration.
An indefinite effect sticks around with no particular limit, and is considered non-magical once it fully manifests. You don't need to do anything in particular to keep these effects around. Spells of this type are generally limited to “one and done” effects, like summoning a creature or object with Conjuration, or using Transmutation to perform natural transformations, e.g., changing water into ice.
Other effects persist only while you concentrate. Once you stop maintaining such a spell, its immediate effects revert: an illusion vanishes, a transformed creature resumes its natural shape, etc. Any second-order effects usually remain; for example, a summoned flame can set mundane fires that will continue burning naturally once the spell ends.
While concentrating on a spell, you may perform mundane actions as you wish. However, your ability to cast additional spells is impaired: the number of dice you roll when casting is reduced by one for each spell you're concentrating on. If this reduces the number of dice in your pool to zero, you must buy it up to at least one using Preparation Dice in order to cast a spell.
You can voluntarily terminate a spell that you're concentrating on. This requires no roll. Once you cease concentrating on a spell, any effects that depend on concentration persist for a number of seconds equal to the spell's Potency before fading. This can provide a grace period while preparing other enchantments, but it can also pose a problem if you wish to terminate a spell gone awry.
Each Arcanum's description will indicate which of its effects require concentration; see The True Arcana for more information.
Spells that you're concentrating on can be disrupted. This can occur if you're injured, severely distracted, or suffer Misfortune, or if you do something foolish like fall asleep while maintaining a spell. When your concentration is disrupted, roll three dice, and compare their sum to the Potency of each spell you're currently concentrating on. If the rolled value exceeds a spell's Potency, the spell lapses, just as though you'd voluntarily terminated it. Otherwise, the spell goes haywire, with effects determined by the GM.
There are no universal rules for exactly how a disrupted spell goes haywire. If you're stuck for ideas, the following table can provide a starting point.
Random Spell Disruption Consequences
d6
Consequence
1
The spell jumps to a new, random target or area
2
The spell spreads to additional targets or a much larger area
3
The caster's described intent is intensified or exaggerated
4
The caster's described intent becomes warped or inverted
5
The caster takes backlash in the form of an ironic Misfortune
6
There is no obvious consequence… yet
A spell that's gone haywire does not count against the number of spells you're currently concentrating on, can no longer voluntarily be terminated, and lasts for the remainder of the scene.
Counterspelling
If you see another wizard casting a spell and wish to stop them, you can attempt to counterspell. You must have mastered the Arcanum of the spell being cast. Roll as though you were casting a spell, but don't assign any parameters – simply take the sum of the best three dice. If the total exceeds the Potency of the spell you're attempting to counter, it's negated with a clap of thunder and a puff of smoke. A counterspelling roll can be enhanced with Preparation Dice.
You may not counter a spell if you haven't mastered its Arcanum, or if it's already fully taken effect. You'll have to deal with it by other means!
In general, spell effects don't directly oppose one another. If you surround your rival with all-consuming fire, and your rival responds by teleporting away, no conflict exists: your spell successfully filled the targeted area with fire, and your rival's spell successfully moved them to another location. You both got exactly what you asked for – though it may not be entirely what you wanted! In the case of such indirect opposition, no numerical comparisons are made between the two spells; the interplay of the two effects is resolved through the players' descriptions and the GM's judgment.
However, sometimes you'll run into situations where two spells can't both be effective, or when the effect of one spell directly attempts to prevent, mitigate or destroy the effect of another spell. Some examples include:
Two different instances of the same Arcanum being used on the same target with mutually exclusive effects; e.g., simultaneously Evoking both light and darkness into the same or overlapping areas, or two Domination spells giving the same creature conflicting orders.
Any Arcanum trying to produce a prohibited creature, object, phenomenon, substance, or other effect within the area of an Abjuration-based ward; e.g., Conjuring a horse into an area warded against animals.
Anything specifically called out in an Arcanum's description as producing such a conflict; e.g., Imprecation-based curses opposing any effort to further curse or transform the victim.
This is known as direct opposition. When direct opposition occurs, to the extent that the two spells are mutually exclusive, the spell with greater Potency prevails. The spell with lesser Potency remains fully effective with respect to the portion of its effects (if any) that don't conflict with the spell of greater Potency. A spell whose effects are entirely overridden by those of another spell is considered to have been terminated.
If two directly opposing spells have precisely equal Potency, the GM will decide what happens.
Spells of the True Arcana cannot be opposed by mundane actions. In any situation where the direct opposition rules would come into play, a mudane action that contends with a spell fails utterly, regardless of the spell's Potency. For example, a flame conjured via Evocation cannot be extinguished by any mundane means while the spell's duration persists; even if it were thrust underwater, it would continue to burn!
There are, however, three saving graces. First, spells tend to be narrow in their effects. If a rival attempts to squash you with a large rock summoned via Conjuration, for example, only the rock's actual presence is unopposable. Nothing you do (short of casting a spell of your own) will prevent the rock from appearing, but actually hitting you with it is a mundane action on the part of the spell's caster, and you're perfectly able to simply hop out of the way. Likewise, the magical portion of the aforementioned Evoked flame merely dictates that there be fire; it doesn't guarantee that the fire will accomplish any particular goal. The “Direct Opposition” section of each Arcanum's description will clarify where the spell's magic ends and ancillary mundane actions begin.
Second, if you notice someone casting a spell, you can try to react with a mundane action before the casting is complete, typically by getting out of Range or breaking line of sight. Like all mundane actions, the success or failure of such evasions is governed by plausibility: in this case, the plausibility that you'd notice the spell being cast in time to run away, and that you'd be able to reach cover before its casting is complete. Otherwise, you're out of luck – trying to dodge a curse fails like any other mundane action directly opposing a spell.
Finally, some Arcana – for example, Alteration or Domination – can grant certain types of mundane actions an effective Potency. This doesn't guarantee that such mundane actions will succeed, nor does it render them unopposable by other mundane actions; however, such actions can contend with spells of equal or lesser Potency.
Sooner or later, your tiny frog wizard is going to be on the receiving end of a spell whose effects you do not care for. Unless taken totally by surprise, you always have a chance – typically exactly one chance – to defend yourself with a spell of your own. Best make it count!
The first and most reliable option is to counterspell. If you've mastered the Arcanum of the incoming spell, you can attempt to block it. Unlike the other means of defence discussed here, this snuffs out the offending spell entirely, so it's handy for defending others as well as yourself. The downside is that you have to beat the incoming spell's Potency.
Failing that, your next best option is Abjuration. “Magic” is a totally valid subject for a ward, so a low Control die is no problem here. Abjuration is almost as good as counterspelling for defending your friends, since you can ward a whole area if you need to. As with counterspelling, you'll have to beat the incoming spell's Potency.
If your mastered Arcana include neither Abjuration nor the Arcanum of the hostile spell, your options depend on what you're up against.
If the hostile spell affects an area, like an Evocation, a Transmutation, or possibly a Conjuration that tries to drop a heavy object on you, you can simply leave the affected area. Using Conjuration to teleport yourself away will usually work. Alternatively, an appropriately phrased Evocation or Transmutation might be able to hurl you out of the way, though it'll probably hurt. In any event, this doesn't count as direct opposition – you're not stopping the hostile effect, you're just not being there when it goes off – so you don't need to beat the spell's Potency.
If the hostile spell affects you directly, like a Domination or an Imprecation, your options are more limited. There's no area of effect to avoid, so you'll have to either get completely out of range (and your enemy is likely to have a nice fat Range die to work with, since targeting a tiny frog only requires a Magnitude (Size) value of 0!), or break line of sight using a solid barrier. Both Conjuration and Transmutation work well for this purpose.
Unlike evading an area spell, outranging or breaking line of sight on an individually targeted spell does invoke the direct opposition rules, since you're trying to stop the hostile spell's effect from happening at all; whatever you use will have to beat the spell's Potency.
Alternatively, you can just try to duck out of the way. As a mundane action, no dice or numeric comparisons are involved; it's entirely up to the GM whether a tiny frog could plausibly get out of the way before the hostile spell goes off. Factors the GM might take into account include whether the enemy wizard announces their intentions and the proximity of sufficient cover.
Though a sufficiently determined group can play a long-form campaign in nearly any game, this text's default assumption is that Tiny Frog Wizards will be played episodically: each session consists of a series of scenes, in which the tiny frog wizards arrive to discover a problem which warrants wizardly meddling, meddle, and move on. These scenes may form a connected narrative, or they may stand as isolated episodes – tiny frog wizards are creatures of the moment!
In episodic play, the Gamemaster alternates between a proactive role and a reactive one. When setting each scene, you're calling the shots: as the scene opens, the tiny frog wizards have already arrived, and the problem that requires their attention is already in progress! From that point on, however, the players are in the driver's seat, and your role is simply to describe the outcomes of their actions and provide the reactions of any non-player characters who may be present. Don't worry about pushing the story in any particular direction; in an episodic game, the story is something that happens after the fact.
As a player, the main expectation is to seize the opportunity provided by the scene the GM has set and run away with it. The game's premise hangs on the presumption that tiny frog wizards are constitutionally incapable of passing up the chance to interfere in other people's problems. It's okay if you want to invent a specific reason for your tiny frog wizard to get involved, but inventing reasons not to get involved and obliging the GM and the other players to wheedle your character into participating is bad form – though making a dramatic show of your reluctance to get involved, then proceeding to do so anyway is fine!
Each scene consists of three elements: a place, a set of non-player characters to inhabit it, and a problem for the tiny frog wizards to meddle with. Any setup beyond this is unnecessary: the scene should open with the tiny frog wizards' arrival. If the players are interested in how their tiny frog wizards found out about the problem, how they got here, etc., they're free to retroactively invent these details as needed.
It may be the case that the players will draw conclusions about the nature of the problem that requires their tiny frog wizards' attention that are very different from what you had intended. No effort should be made to correct their mistake; either it will be come apparent in the course of play, or their tiny frog wizards will go away satisfied that they've solved a problem that didn't actually exist. Either outcome is acceptable.
In subsequent scenes, the previous scene's conclusion may provide enough direction to make most of the preceding considerations unnecessary. However, the same approach should be followed: unless how to gain access to wherever they're going is, itself, the problem that needs to be overcome, the GM should generally gloss over the transitional bits and open the scene with the tiny frog wizards' arrival.
Each scene continues until one of three things has occurred:
The tiny frog wizards agree amongst themselves that the problem at hand has satisfactorily been resolved. After the requisite congratulations and back-slapping – and once any objections from NPCs present have been considered and summarily dismissed – the GM should devise a new problem for the tiny frog wizards to stick their snouts into, and move on to the next scene.
The finy frog wizards agree amongst themselves that no further progress can be made at this time, and the true root of the problem lies elsewhere. The players should take a moment to sort out what their tiny frog wizards think is really going on; this functions much as the preceding option, except the players take the reins in deciding where the next scene will lead. The GM is under no obligation to have their presumptions turn out to be correct.
The tiny frog wizards have collectively suffered a number of Misfortunes during the current scene that exceeds the number of tiny frog wizards. (For example, four Misfortunes in one scene, in a game with three tiny frog wizards.) If this threshold is reached, the tiny frog wizards' interference causes the problem to spin out of control, forcing them to retreat from the scene. The GM decides what new predicament they find themselves in, as well as whether they're afforded any opportunity to tend to the wounds to their bodies and egoes before being thrown into the thick of it.
Bad things can happen when you're a tiny frog, even without magic in the mix. As when defending yourself from a spell, the GM will usually afford you an opportunity to cast a spell to avoid potential harm, unless you've been completely caught out. However, at times even this may not suffice.
As a final line of defence, you can declare that whatever has befallen you is a Misfortune. In order to qualify as a Misfortune, a circumstance must satisfy two criteria:
It must be harmful
It must be non-transitory – that is, it must be something that's liable to stick around for more than a few moments
Some effects, like spells of the Imprecation Arcanum, are intrinsically Misfortunate and must be declared as Misfortunes if you have an available Misfortune slot. The GM will inform you when this is the case. You may choose to suffer Misfortune on behalf of your pointy wizard hat in order to protect it from otherwise-unavoidable harm, subject to the above criteria.
When you declare an effect to be a Misfortune, you write it down in one of your Misfortune slots. This has four benefits:
You describe how it affects you, rather than the caster (for spells) or the GM (for everything else)
The effect can remove you from play for at most the remainder of the current scene
Once you've suffered Misfortune from a particular spell, effect or circumstance, you can't suffer further harm from it during the current scene; the same spell, effect or circumstance can never oblige to you mark down multiple Misfortunes in the same scene
The effect is intrinsically recoverable, even if it ordinarily wouldn't make sense for it to be
For example, if a boulder falls on you and you declare it as a Misfortune, you'd turn up at the end of the scene, somewhat squished but alive and mobile. Similarly, if turned to stone by an Imprecation spell, you'd regain mobility at the end of the scene, though you'd remain stone until the Misfortune is recovered.
As a tiny frog wizard, you have three Misfortune slots. If all three are full, you can't declare any more Misfortunes, and your fate is in the hands of the GM!
Some important non-player characters may also have Misfortune slots.
In some situations, it might make sense to declare a very short-lived effect as Misfortunate. One common example is a spell effect with a duration of concentration; unless whoever cast the spell is very determined to see you suffer, the effect is unlikely to stick around for more than a few minutes.
Declaring such an effect as a Misfortune doesn't increase its duration. However, you don't get the Misfortune slot back immediately when the effect lapses: the slot remains occupied until it's recovered normally. Once the effect lapses, cross out the relevant Misfortune slot to remind yourself that it's occupied by a defunct effect.
Both Misfortune slots and Preparation Dice are recovered with rest. Whenever your tiny frog wizard has a chance to engage in uninterrupted rest and relaxation (including, but not limited to, a good night's sleep), clear one Misfortune slot, and reset your Preparation Dice to their starting value. Clearing a Misfortune slot is not optional, even if you've managed to twist a harmful effect around so that it somehow benefits you. However, if you're suffering from multiple Misfortunes, you can choose which slot to clear.
Additionally, Preparation Dice can sometimes be recovered between rests. Should the tiny frog wizards happen to stumble upon a cache of materials that look like they might make good spell components, or if they're afforded the opportunity to engage in a little off-screen pilferage between scenes, the GM can opt to allow each tiny frog wizard to recover one or two Preparation Dice, up to their usual starting maximum. Recovering Preparation Dice during play in this way is known as foraging.
The GM can adjust the frequency of foraging opportunities to control how freely tiny frog wizards can get away with spending Preparation Dice. In most games, a 1:1 ratio of opportunities to forage and opportunities to rest and recover is appropriate – that is, one chance for the tiny frog wizards to top up their Preparation Dice between each pair of breaks.
Tiny Frog Wizards adopts a traditional framework whereby players are responsible for their own characters, and all other characters – known, logically enough, as non-player characters or NPCs – are the province of the GM.
The GM never rolls dice for NPCs. In part, this is because the game's rules are concerned only with casting spells, and the default assumption is that NPCs are not wizards – indeed, this document treats the term “tiny frog wizard” as synonymous with “player character”. In greater part, it's because the spellcasting rules are time-consuming and involve lots of moving parts, and the GM has more important things to devote their time and attention to!
Accordingly, the trait of a basic NPC are simple: all you need to know are its Size, how many Misfortune Slots it has, and a short list of one or more Skills.
Size is self-explanatory: it's the Magnitude (Size) value required to affect the NPC with a spell. If you're not sure what Size a particular creature should be, the Random Creatures table may provide a useful point of reference.
Misfortune Slots function as they do for player characters, and measure how difficult it is for the tiny frog wizards to push the NPC around. Incidental NPCs generally have zero Misfortune Slots, while supporting characters should have one or two. Powerful beings who are not to be trifled with may have up to five!
Skills provide an idea of how the NPC is likely to respond to the tiny frog wizards' shenanigans. A Skill consists of a name, and – if it's not obvious based on the name – a brief explanation of what it does.
Finally, an NPC's Skills can have one of two special attributes. A Skill which lacks either of these attributes is mundane by default.
Epic X
Mundane actions taken with this Skill have an effective Potency of X, and are able to contend with magical effects of equal or lesser Potency.
Arcane X
Actions taken with this Skill are magic, with a Potency of X. They automatically defeat mundane actions, and resolve opposition with other magical effects as spells do. Such Skills may list the name of the effective Arcanum to which they belong instead of the word “Arcane”; if so, actions taken with them are treated as spells of that Arcanum for all purposes.
Future revisions of this document will include a variety of pre-built NPCs. For now, the following example is provided to illustrate how the various parts of an NPC stat block work; this example represents a relatively powerful NPC who is sure to badly annoy a typical group of tiny frog wizards.
(Note that this stat block is considerably wordier than it needs to be for the sake of clarity; in practice, it usually won't be necessary to restate how the Epic and Arcane keywords work in the Skill descriptions.)
One of the perennial sources of strife in tabletop roleplaying is deciding who gets to be GM. Fortunately, with only a few adjustments, Tiny Frog Wizards can be played with no GM at all.
First, with no GM, setting the scene becomes a collaborative undertaking. In order, the group should brainstorm answers to the following four questions:
Where are we?
Who else is here?
Why is everyone unhappy?
What stands in the way of fixing it?
In future revisions of this document, the Supplementary Tables appendix will include a set of prompt tables to kick-start the brainstorming process for each of thes steps. For now, the Random Creatures table can help to populate a scene, and the Random Goals table can be used for inspiration when deciding what each non-player character hopes to achieve.
Once the scene has been set, GMless play proceeds in a series of turns. Beginning with the oldest (and therefore wisest) player, each tiny frog wizard has their turn in the spotlight.
When you're in the spotlight, you drive the action, and the other players react. If more information is needed about the scene or its inhabitants in order to decide what to do, you ask the questions, and the other players will furnish answers. If the need for magic arises, the other players should find excuses to defer the honour to you; perhaps their tiny frog wizards become distracted or indisposed, or perhaps they're simply curious to see what you'll do.
You keep the spotlight until you've made one spellcasting roll to try and fix the problem at hand. Depending on how quick on the draw you are, your turn in the spotlight might take a while to play out, or it may be over very quickly! After the effects of your spell have been resolved, your tiny frog wizard fades into the background for a while, and the spotlight passes to the player to your right. You still play your tiny frog wizard while you're out of the spotlight, but you're a supporting character for now.
When it's not your turn in the spotlight, you can still cast spells in response to something the spotlight player did – for example, to get yourself out of the line of fire! – but you can't do so of your own initiative. In return, you have two responsibilities:
Whenever the spotlight player's actions raise a question about what their tiny frog wizard can see or what's going on in the scene, any non-spotlight player can jump in and answer that question.
Whenever the spotlight player's tiny frog wizard interacts with a non-player character, any non-spotlight player can jump into the role of that character for as long as needed.
In addition to these, certain players may have more specific duties, depending on the size of your group. These roles will rotate aong with the spotlight.
In a game with two players, the non-spotlight player simply assumes the GM's responsibilties in every respect – describing scenes, playing NPCs, keeping track of the rules, etc. The non-spotlight player's tiny frog wizard effectively becomes an NPC for the duration.
In a game with three players, either non-spotlight player may step in to answer questions that would ordinarily be directed to the GM. However, a division of responsibility exists: the player to the spotlight player's left has final say on matters concerning dice and rules, particularly with respect to the outcomes of spells, while the player to the spotlight player's right has final say on matters governed by narrative plausibility rather than by game mechanics: whether a particular object or feature is present in the scene, the outcomes of mundane actions, and so forth. Either player may step into the role of an NPC at need.
Games with four or more players observe the same division of responsibilities as games with three players. In addition, the roles of major NPCs – particularly those acting antagonistically toward the spotlight player's tiny frog wizard – should preferentially be taken on by a player not otherwise burdened with responsibility (i.e., neither the player to the spotlight player's left nor the player to their right). This guideline may also be extended to inanimate features of the scene that display a sufficiently antagonistic orientation.
Mastery of even a single True Arcanum grants nearly godlike power – yet at the same time, each is limited to a relatively narrow sphere of effects. Having mastered only a pair of Arcana each, tiny frog wizards are thus prone to treating their magic as a solution in search of problems; as a certain time-worn proverb goes, when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!
Let this be your guiding principle to understanding the scope of each Arcanum. Tiny Frog Wizards is a game about applying wildly inappropriate solutions to relatively trivial problems; if you're interpreting your own Arcana in a way that inconveniences everyone around you, you're doing it right.
You ward a creature or area against harm. Use either the Magnitude (Size) parameter or the Magnitude (Area) parameter, depending on whether you're warding a creature or an area; a ward affecting an area is immobile once created, while a ward affecting a creature moves with that creature.
Describe what exactly the ward is to protect against using a number of words equal to the Control parameter; the described phenomena are prevented from touching the targeted creature or entering the targeted area. Instances of the phenomena that are already inside a warded area are neither ejected nor imprisoned, but if they leave the area by other means, they may not re-enter.
Concentration: Yes. A ward's protection persists only as long as you actively maintain it (and for the usual grace period afterward).
Direct Opposition: Against non-magical phenomena, Abjuration's protection is absolute. However, spells that draw on the True Arcana or similarly powerful sources can overwhelm an Abjuration-based ward if the hostile spell's Potency exceeds that of the ward. This counts as directly opposing the ward.
Uncontrolled: The targeted creature or area is warded against a random phenomenon; the GM can roll or choose from the Random Phenomena table for inspiration, rolling a die to choose a column (odd = abstract; even = concrete) if they have no preference. An uncontrolled ward targeting an area will be of the largest size the spell's Magnitude permits.
You modify the physical attributes of a creature. You can produce cosmetic changes to the targeted creature's apperance, cause it to grow or shrink, turn it invisible, or even transform it into another creature entirely. The Magnitude (Size) parameter determines both the maximum size of the targeted creature and the maximum size of its altered form, if they differ. Describe the desired alteration using a number of words equal to the Control parameter.
Alteration tends to preserve the abilities of the target's true form. A creature that's intelligent and capable of speech remains so. Similarly, turning a land-dwelling creature into a fish will grant it the ability to breathe water, but usually won't remove its ability to breathe air. Indeed, turning a bird into a fish may well result in a fish that can fly!
Given that what counts as a loss of ability is subjective, the rule is this: the target of an Alteration spell retains the abilities of its true form precisely to the extent that the target's player deems appropriate. They're free to invent a narrative rationale for this, but it doesn't have to be a good one. If you want to forcibly remove abilities from the target, you're looking for Imprecation.
Concentration: Yes. When you stop maintaining the spell, the target is aware that they're about to resume their true form, and can take advantage of the post-concentration grace period to get somewhere safe if they aren't already.
Direct Opposition: Actions which make use of new or enhanced capabilities granted by Alteration have an effective Potency equal to the spell's Potency for the purpose of overcoming any magical effect that would hinder those actions. The actions themselves remain mundane.
Uncontrolled: The target is transformed into a random creature of the largest size the spell's Magnitude permits; the GM can roll or choose from the Random Creatures table for inspiration.
You bring an inanimate object to life. The Magnitude (Size) parameter determines the affected object's maxium size. State a command in a number of words equal to the Control parameter; the object carries out this command precisely and to the letter, without regard for practicality or self-preservation.
An animated object is imbued with sufficient flexibility, awareness and motive force to obey orders, but doesn't necessarily gain any extraordinary abilities unless they're natural extensions of the object's existing physical properties. For example, an animated toy dragon probably wouldn't be able to breathe fire simply because it's shaped like a mythical fire-breathing creature; however, an animated candle may be able to hurl its flame. When in doubt, the GM decides what special abilities – if any – an animated object possesses.
Concentration: Yes. You cannot change an Animated object's command while concentrating on the spell that animates it. However, if you let the spell lapse and successfully cast a new Animation on the same object to issue a new command, the existing command is immediately “overwritten”, even if its grace period has not yet expired.
Direct Opposition: Physical actions taken by an animated object, in direct pursuit of its animating command, have an effective Potency equal to the spell's Potency for the purpose of overcoming any magical effect that would prevent that command from successfully being carried out. The actions themselves are mundane, and are resolved as such.
Uncontrolled: The animated object is given a random command. The GM can roll or choose from the first column of the Random Goals table for inspiration. (Don't roll on the second column – choose something that's already established as being present in the scene as the object of the rolled action.)
You call an object or creature to your presence. The Magnitude (Size) parameter determines its maximum size. Describe the desired target using a number of words equal to the Control parameter. You conjure a random object or creature from somewhere in the world that matches your description. The conjured target need not be within Range, nor do you require line of sight to it; the point where it appears, however, must be within Range and line of sight, and not already occupied by another object or creature.
Alternatively, you can send yourself or an object or creature that you're touching to a location you describe, using a number of words equal to the Control parameter. The described location must be within Range, but you need not have line of sight to it. (e.g., “behind that door” is a valid location.) The maximum size of the sent object is governed by the Magnitude (Size) parameter. In the event that you unwittingly send something to an occupied, nonexistent, or otherwise invalid location, the sending still occurs, but the spell's interpretation of the described location may be unconventional.
Concentration: No. Once the target has appeared, the spell's work is finished.
Direct Opposition: Conjurations rarely oppose other spells; anything the target does after appearing is a mundane action. However, Conjuration may directly oppose an Abjuration-based ward if you conjure a prohibited object into the warded area; appearing out of thin air does, unfortunately, count as “entering”.
Uncontrolled: The spell conjures a random creature or object of the largest size the spell's Magnitude permits; the GM can roll or choose from the Random Creatures or Random Objects tables for inspiration, rolling a die to choose a table (odd = creature; even = object) if they have no preference.
You chain a creature to your will. The Magnitude (Size) parameter determines the targeted creature's maximum size. State a command using a number of words equal to the Control parameter. The target is compelled to obey the stated directive, to the best of its understanding and ability. The target need not understand your language (or indeed, any language) in order to obey, though non-speaking creatures may be confused by complicated commands.
Domination doesn't grant its target any means of accomplishing its orders that it wouldn't ordinarily have, nor does it give you any insight into what the target is actually capable of. A creature ordered to do something beyond its abilities will seek alternative solutions rather than risk harm in fruitless action.
Concentration: Yes. You cannot change a Dominated servant's command while concentrating on the spell that dominates it. However, if you let the spell lapse and successfully cast a new Domination on the same target to issue a new command, the existing command is immediately “overwritten”, even if its grace period has not yet expired.
Direct Opposition: Physical actions taken by a dominated subject, in direct pursuit of its binding command, have an effective Potency equal to the spell's Potency for the purpose of overcoming any magical effect that would prevent that command from successfully being carried out. The actions themselves are mundane, and are resolved as such.
Uncontrolled: The dominated subject is given a random command. The GM can roll or choose from the first column of the Random Goals table for inspiration. (Don't roll on the second column – choose something that's already established as being present in the scene as the object of the rolled action.)
You fill the targeted area with a particular ephemeral phenomenon: raging fire, impenetrable darkness, thunder and lightning, etc. The Magnitude (Area) parameter determines the size of the affected area. Describe the desired phenomenon using a number of words equal to the Control parameter. The described phenomenon fills the targeted area. You can shape it into walls or other unnatural configurations if you have sufficient Control to describe it.
Concentration: Yes. An Evoked phenomenon dissipates once you cease to maintain it. Any second-order effects of that phenomenon (e.g., water frozen by bitter cold, mundane fires set by a summoned flame, miscellaneous collateral damage, etc.) persist indefinitely, or at least as long as such effects ordinarily would.
Direct Opposition: Evocation simply causes the evoked phenomenon to exist within the targeted area. Any effect that would cause the phenomenon to not be there is subject to direct opposition; actually using the evoked phenomenon to accomplish a particular goal is a mundane action, and does not enjoy any guarantee of success.
Uncontrolled: The largest area the spell's Magnitude permits is suffused with a random phenomenon; the GM can roll or choose from the Random Phenomena table for inspiration. The result should be read from the “Concrete” column unless you've decided to be very free with respect to what phenomena this Arcanum can produce – refer to the sidebar below for further discussion.
You call down a curse upon the targeted creature. The Magnitude (Size) parameter determines your victim's maximum size. Describe the desired affliction, phrased as a command, in a number of words equal to the Control parameter. “Go blind”, “turn to stone”, “forget you saw me” and “sleep” are all valid afflictions. A curse may not compel its victim to perform an ongoing action, though it may remove the capacity to perform a particular action, or restrict the manner in which it can be performed; e.g., “speak in rhyme”.
Concentration: No. Curses are inherently Misfortunate, and the target must suffer the effect as a Misfortune if they have any unfilled Misfortune slots. If the target has no unfilled Misfortune slots, the curse is more or less permanent; it may or may not be amenable to mundane remedies, at the GM's discretion. If you have sufficient Control, you can put a time limit on a curse (e.g., “until sunrise”), or set conditions which will result in its removal.
Direct Opposition: Imprecation-based curses directly oppose any effort to further curse or transform their victim, including Alterations and additional Imprecations. Overcoming a curse with another Imprecation can only replace the existing curse with a new one; doing so with Alteration can remove a curse entirely. A creature that's become an object due to a curse can still be targeted as a creature for this purpose.
Uncontrolled: The target suffers a random curse; the GM can roll or choose from the Random Curses table for inspiration.
You cast a false seeming over a creature, object, or area. The illusion affects all senses convincingly, but real objects and creatures can pass through it.
When the illusion is cast over a creature or object, use the Magnitude (Size) parameter to determine the maximum size of both the target and the seeming you grant it. The target cannot be made to appear smaller than it really is, but it can be made to appear larger. Describe the target's new appearance in a number of words equal to the Control parameter. If the target is animate, the illusion will mimic its actions, though large differences between the target's true form and its seeming may produce strange results. In any case, the illusion moves with the target (or as the target is moved, in the case of an object).
When the illusion is cast over an area, use the Magnitude (Area) parameter to determine the affected region's maximum size, and describe its new appearance in a number of words equal to the Control parameter. Features within the affected area cannot be made invisible, but can appear to be anything that's at least roughly the same size; creatures present within or passing through the area are unchanged. The illusion is immobile once created.
Concentration: Yes; the illusion evaporates once you cease to maintain it.
Direct Opposition: Being unreal, illusions cannot directly oppose most spells; special senses granted by Alterations are an exception.
Uncontrolled: A targeted creature is made to appear as a random creature, and a targeted object, a random object; the GM can roll or choose from the Random Creatures or Random Objects tables (respectively) for inspiration. A targeted area appears to be filled with or transformed into a random substance or concrete phenomenon, per the Random Substances or Random Phenomena tables; the GM can roll a die to decide which table to use (odd = phenomenon; even = substance) if they have no preference. In all cases the illusion is of the largest size the spell's Magnitude permits.
You reshape or transform an inanimate substance. Describe what you want to turn the targeted substance into using a number of words equal to the Control parameter. The Magnitude (Area) parameter determines the maximum volume of the targeted substance you can affect. You can affect a portion of a larger object if you wish.
Concentration: Only if you perform an unnatural transmutation; e.g., lead into gold. If you merely reshape the target into a form it could naturally occupy, the transmutation lasts indefinitely, or at least as long as it ordinarily would; water turned to ice melts at the usual rate, while a stone transformed into a statue of yourself is more or less permanent – unless some enterprising art critic takes a chisel to it!
Direct Opposition: The magical part of this Arcanum's effect consists exclusively of causing the targeted substance to assume the desired form. As with Evocations, using this transformation to accomplish a particular goal – like skewering a meddling rival – is effectively a mundane action, and is resolved as such.
Uncontrolled: All inanimate matter in the largest area the spell's Magnitude permits is transformed into a random substance; the GM can roll or choose from the Random Substances table for inspiration.
This section offers several new ways for your tiny frog wizards to get in trouble. The rules get a bit more complicated with them in play, so don't feel obligated to use them if you're happy with the game's level of crunch right where it is.
If you want tiny frog wizards to be more casually magical in your game, you can waive the rule that rolling at least one die is required to cast a spell. Unrolled spells are called cantrips.
A cantrip automatically has a value of 1 in Control and one ofMagnitude or Range; the remaining parameter has a value of zero. This means it must have an effect that can be described in one word.
These limits don't mean that cantrips are weak – a Control value of 1 allows many powerful effects. However, cantrips suffer from a further drawback; they have no Potency at all, and are considered mundane actions. They can thus be contested by other mundane actions, and give way to any rolled spell.
Some groups may prefer casual magics to be more limited in their applications than true spells. In this case, each player should choose 1–3 words during tiny frog wizard creation; their tiny frog wizard may perform a cantrips only if the spell's Control parameter uses one of those words (including their verb forms, if applicable). For example, a tiny frog wizard with the word “hat”, having mastered the Arcana of Conjuration and Transmutation, would be able to employ cantrips to summon random hats and turn inanimate objects into hats.
Though they're loathe to admit it, tiny frog wizards have little facility with very complex spells. Some would say – though rarely to their froggy faces! – that they're simply too small for their arts to encompass such big concepts. However, where one frog falls short, two may suffice.
Cooperative magic allows a pair of tiny frog wizards to combine their Arcana in novel ways. The usual spellcasting rules are observed, modified as follows:
Two wizards are required, and each must contribute a different mastered Arcanum; tiny frog wizards cannot cooperatively cast a spell involving only a single Arcanum.
In order to receive dice for declaring intentions, grand gestures, or the wearing of hats, both tiny frog wizards must satisfy the relevant criteria. Only a single die is received for each condition that both wizards meet.
Either or both tiny frog wizards may contribute Preparation Dice. Unlike dice for ritual actions, Preparation Dice expenditure need not be “doubled up” in order to contribute to the final pool.
Two Control dice are assigned rather than one, each describing a different dimension of the intended effect. Note that this means a cooperative spell will assign four dice to parameters rather than three, so the expenditure of Preparation Dice is recommended!
When determining the Potency of a cooperative spell, only the higher of the two Control dice is considered.
If sustaining the spell requires concentration, it weighs on both wizards, reducing future dice pools accordingly; likewise, the spell is disrupted if either wizard is harmed or distracted.
There are no rules governing who gets to decide which dice should be allocated to which parameters, nor which particular Control die each tiny frog wizard gets to use; those performing a cooperative spell must work these matters out amongst themselves. The GM is encouraged to construe protracted disagreement as in-character bickering, and rule accordingly.
There is no master list of all the possible effects for cooperative magic; not only is the number of pairings of Arcana very large, but each pairing may admit multiple possible effects. Cooperative magic is an improvisational affair, and players are encouraged to improvise alongside their tiny frog wizards. Several examples follow to provide a starting point for your imagination; for the sake of brevity, “the tiny frog wizard who contributes the Arcanum of [Arcanum]” is shorthanded as “the master of [Arcanum]” in these descriptions.
Amalgamate (Conjuration + Transmutation)
You circumvent the usual limits on the complexity of Transmutions by using another object as a template. The master of Conjuration describes the object to be used as a template in a number of words equal to the value of the first Control die. The master of Transmutation selects an object within Range and describes, in general terms, the attributes it should inherit from the template object, using a number of words equal to the value of the second Control die.
The result is a fully functional object that seamlessly combines the attributes of both the template object and the target object. The two objects need not be the same size, but neither can be larger than the rolled Magnitude.
Empower Servant (Animation + Transmutation)
You ensure that your Animated servant has the tools it needs to carry out its task. The master of Animation commands the object in the usual fashion, in a number of words equal to the value of the first Control die. The master of Transmutation describes a special ability which would help it carry out that command, in a number of words equal to the value of the second Control die. You don't need to specify how the object is transformed in order to grant the described ability – the magic (and the GM) figures it out for you.
Forbiddance (Abjuration + Imprecation)
You forbid a particular voluntary action within the warded area. The master of Abjuration describes the forbidden activity using a number of words equal to the value of the first Control die. The master of Imprecaton describes a terrible curse using a number of words equal to the value of the second Control die. Anyone who violates the prohibition while within the warded area will immediately be struck down by the curse.
Identity Theft (Alteration + Conjuration)
You steal another's body and take it for your own, leaving their mind and soul stranded in your former flesh. The master of Alteration describes the first target in a number of words equal to the value of the first Control die; this target must be willing, and may be one of the spell's casters. The master of Conjuration describes the second target in a number of words equal to the value of the second Control die; the second target may not be one of the spell's casters, and need not be willing. Both targets must be within Range.
For as long as both casters maintain concentration, the first target effectively plays the second target's character, and vice versa. If one of the targets is a tiny frog wizard, the ability to cast spells (and corresponding mastered Arcana) go along with their mind and soul, rather than remaining with their original body; however, as with more conventional Alterations, stealing a larger body does not change how your Range and Magnitude parameters work.
Overcoming the limits of matter, you impart experiential qualities to a thing directly. Thus, a tiny frog wizard transformed into a horse might become a trustworthy horse, while a conjured darkness might seem to watch those within it.
The principal Arcanum of the spell is Simulation. The auxiliary Arcanum depends on the target: Alteration for imbuing an experiential quality into a creature, Evocation for an area, or Transmutation for an object or substance. The master of the auxiliary Arcanum describes the physical part of the transformation in the usual fashion, in a number of words equal to the value of the first Control die, while the master of Simulation describes the imparted qualia in a number of words equal to the value of the second Control die.
Imparted qualia do not compel any particular action by those interacting with the affected subject. However, NPCs will usually behave appropriately unless they're given reason to believe their experiences are being manipulated. Imparted qualia which are very inconsistent with the subject's observable appearance may or may not provoke such suspicion, at the GM's judgment.
Monstrous Form (Alteration + Evocation)
You achieve the union of the material and the ephemeral within the target's flesh, transforming them into a mystical beast. The master of Alteration describes the target's new, monstrous form in a number of words equal to the value of the first Control die. The master of Evocation describes the ephemeral phenomenon over which the target gains dominion in a number of words equal to the value of the second Control die.
The target may radiate or project the described phenomenon at will, as a mundane action, for as long as the transformation persists. The phenomenon can be straightforward, like a dragon's firey breath, but it can also be esoteric – literally anything that the Arcanum of Evocation could call up is fair game!
Phantasmagoria (Domination + Simulation)
You produce a compelling illusion. This illusion, which must be cast on an area rather than a creature, compels those who observe or interact with it to play along with an associated scenario. The master of Simulation describes the illusion using a number of words equal to the value of the first Control die. The master of Domination describes the associated scenario using a number of words equal to the value of the second Control die. For example, an illusion of a large cake with a context of “a surprise birthday party” might cause anyone who sees it to suddenly “remember” that they've been invited.
Somebody Else's Problem (Abjuration + Simulation)
You invert the effect of an illusion: rather than causing affected parties to perceive something, you render them unable to perceive something. If you target an area, some feature or condition of that area becomes imperceptible; if you target an object or creature, some quality of that object or creature cannot be perceived. The affected condition or quality may be concrete or abstract.
The master of Abjuraton describes who should be prevented from perceiving the affected feature, condition or quality, using a number of words equal to the value of the first Control die. (“Everyone” is a valid choice, though “everyone except me” may be wiser!) The master of Simulaton describes the feature, condition, or quality that should be rendered imperceptible using a number of words equal to the value of the second Control die.
Summon Elemental (Animation + Evocation)
Rather than animating an object, you shape an ephemeral phenomenon into a form suitable to carry out your will. The master of Evocation describes the evoked form in a number of words equal to the value of the first Control die, and the master of Animation commands it in a number of words equal to the value of the second Control die. The form thereafter behaves as a typical animated object, with special abilities appropriate to its nature (as determined by the GM).
Ultimatum (Domination + Imprecation)
You lay a curse that hangs over the victim's head, waiting to strike should they defy you. The master of Imprecation pronounces the curse according to the normal rules governing Imprecations, using a number of words equal to the value of the first Control die. In a number of words equal to the value of the second Control die, the master of Domination defines either a command or a prohibition.
If you define a command, the curse strikes whenever the target disobeys. If you define a prohibition, the curse strikes whenever the target engages in the prohibited activity. An Ultimatum does not require concentration to sustain it once imposed; it effectively functions as a conditional Imprecation-based curse, filling one of the target's Misfortune slots if they have one.
In theory, cooperative spells combining three Arcana rather than two are possible. However, by default this is considered to be a lost art, inaccessible to tiny frog wizards of the modern age. Perhaps the players will rediscover it in the course of your game!
In the event that such a spell comes to pass, extend the above rules appropriately, assigning three Control dice rather than two.
This section includes a variety of tables for producing random outcomes. The GM can roll or choose from them for inspiration as needed, or they can be used as prompt generators in GMless play.
In the current version of Tiny Frog Wizards, these tables focus mainly on handling the outcomes of uncontrolled spells. In future revisions, they'll be expanded to include random scene prompts as well.
When rolling for an uncontrolled Animation or Domination, use only the first column; the rolled action's object should be chosen as something that's already established in the scene.
When rolling for an uncontrolled Abjuration, you can randomly decide which column to use by rolling an extra die (odd = abstract; even = concrete). When rolling for an uncontrolled Evocation or Simulation, only the “Concrete” column should be used unless the GM is up for a challenge. The implications of, e.g., being warded against silence are likewise left as an exercise for the GM.
Rules for partial parameters updated to clarify that using less than a parameter's full value does not reduce the spell's Potency; added discussion of parameters for uncontrolled spells (above).
Clarified that spells which have gone haywire due to disruption no longer count against the number of spells you're currently concentrating no.
Discussion of conflict between spells now addresses resolving conflicts between spells and mundane actions.
New Playing the Game chapter includes a brief discussion of the game's default assumptions about the cycle of play, as well as some material moved from Workng Your Will.
Expanded discussion of Power Dice, including Paths of Power, a newly introduced mechanic for gamifying Power Dice recovery.
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