Harry Potter Lovecraft

[hcobb]

In this variant Heroes (i.e. Muggles) can't learn spells and are perhaps better off for it. They can instead choose from a wide array of modern skills and modern guns are far more effective.

Wizards lean on enchantments and their wands because of the soul risk of using direct spells.

Prepare wand is a one week enchantment at IQ 14. Prepared wands lose their staff status when the previous wizard dies and there are no wishes, revival spells or potions. Wizards can also choose to let their Staff spell expire so they can hand their current wand to another. (Prepared wands can be bought for $1k and starting wizards have this as part of their student debts.)

Casting any spell (other than an enchantment) without a prepared wand/Staff in hand save casting Staff on an unclaimed but prepared wand is on one additional die. If the wizard rolls a critical failure on spellcasting then he gets a 3/IQ roll, if he wishes. On a success the curse merely destroys the wand, on a failure or if he chooses not to make the roll then the curse lands on his own soul.

Resisting a curse is easy, at first. A wizard with a curse (and most have them) need only roll 2/IQ to avoid giving way to his worst aspects whenever these are tempted, with a -1 IQ adjustment on the roll for each curse level. A wizard can spend three months in quiet meditation and 500 XPs to reduce his current curse level by one.

So you can see why these wizards lean so heavily on Alchemy with dangerous beasts (which Muggles also can't learn) and enchantments (which merely fizzle).