Maleficence adapted for Knave 2e
I love the Maleficence mechanic as seen in Errant by Ava Islam and Gus L's Fistful of Crystals, so I decided to do an adaptation for Knave 2e. I think almost none of the spells already contained within the ruleset deal any damage, which is the perfect environment for this mechanic to be implemented. I also added an optional Overload mechanic which I hope will lead to some exciting, difficult decisions at the table.
Maleficence
Spell books may be used to cast Maleficence once per day instead of the spell contained within. The caster exerts their mental energy to attempt to force raw arcane energy from the book into a magical attack. The caster makes an INT check of DC 16. If they succeed, the attack hits a target(s) within 40'. It deals 1d6+INT damage to a single target or (1d6+INT)/2 to a group of clustered targets. If failed, the caster can choose to either A) have the Maleficence succeed but at the cost of filling one of their inventory slots with Fatigue which is cleared after two watches of sleep, or B) have the Maleficence fail, but the spell book is still usable for that day for another attempt.
Overload (optional)
At any time Maleficence may be cast from a book, the caster may choose to Overload the spell book, dealing (INT)d6 direct damage to a single target or half that to a group of clustered targets, with no save possible for any targets hit. Overloading comes at the cost of one gaining a slot of fatigue and the spell book exploding, dealing (INT)d6 direct damage to the caster and the spell book being completely destroyed. Roll damage dealt to the caster separately from damage dealt to the targets.
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