Everyday Arcana by Evil Genius Games

01/05/2025

Excited to announce the launch of our 3rd for the Return of the Living Dead Official . In this unique zombie game by veteran writer Nick Lowe and artist Chris Tyner, we celebrate the franchise on its 40th anniversary! Click to learn more.

A resurrection of the cult of the 80s horror film adapted to the Everyday Heroes system in time for its 40th anniversary.

29/06/2024

Hey everyone, Goober here with some more Everyday Arcana talk! Today I want to talk about classes in a broad sense. We've seen some examples so far, but now let's look at the current list of classes for the core book.

Strong Heroes
Avatar - This hero channels life energies to both control and perfect their own bodies in a variety of ways transcending their natural Origin.
Hidden Hand - Hidden Hands use arcane energies to synchronize body, mind, and will, allowing them to physically manipulate the world around them with telekinetic force as if it were simply an extension of their bodies.
Materialist - A hero who deliberately eschews the use of magic and instead uses their innate connection to it to combat and counter magic users and magical creatures.

Agile Heroes
Ferromancer - This hero uses material magic to enhance material armaments to become a magically enhanced warrior.
Primordialist - This hero specializes in elemental magic used in combat or warfare. They have a versatile elemental attack in addition to spells.
Thrillseeker - This "mundane" hero is fast on their feet and has a knack for escaping danger thanks to their incredible reflexes and survival instinct. They are self reliant and highly skilled.

Tough Heroes
Sanguinist - A hero that uses their own lifesblood as a magical focus letting them sacrifice health for magic.
Soldier - A non-magical warrior skilled with broad weapons and equipment as well as discipline, teamwork, and resourceful survival.
Wayfinder - A hero that is drawn to explore strange and wonderful magical places and uses magic both to explore and to survive a range of dangerous situations.

Smart Heroes
Arcanist - Adhere to strict empirical methodologies of gaining arcane knowledge and accessing arcane forces. While they are always experimenting to gain new insights, they follow in the footsteps of well established magical traditions.
Artificer - This hero focuses their magic through their hands and minds into material objects. They are fond of creating enchanted objects and mixing material science with other branches of magic.
Sage - This hero seeks to understand the world around them, and by doing so gain the power to influence it through sharing their thoughts with others. While not a magic practitioner themselves, they may well have insights into magic few others can match.

Wise Heroes
Acolyte - This is a hero who draws their powers from outside entities whom they worship, serve, or steal from. They gain magic associated with their patron and can spend Focus to cast spells.
Mystic - A hero that uses the power of their convictions to cast spells. Uses Focus to enhance spells that best align with their beliefs.
Shadowseeker - Individuals who delve into the world of magic as outsiders. Detectives and monster hunters, they are experts in dealing with magic and supernatural entities.

Charming Heroes.
Adept - With magic that comes to them easily, adepts are versatile spellcasters that dabble and experiment to perfect their spells.
Fixer - Great at talking their way into and out of trouble. While not typically fighters, they have a few dirty tricks and cheats they use to get out of tight spots.
Glamourist - Uses the force of their personality to transform the world around them to fit their personal style and ambition. Masters of illusions and mind-control.

Names are likely to change as we refine things, but that's the list as it stands! What classes are you excited to play? Any concepts you feel are missing for a core book? What would you like to see in future supplements?

Also come chat with me in our Discord's everyday-arcana-discussion channel! https://discord.gg/t9WxaaPT

16/06/2024

Hey, y'all. Goober here with some more Everyday Arcana previews! Today let's look at one of the Wise Hero spellcaster classes, the Acolyte. Acolytes get their power from a patron, which could be a single powerful entity or an organization like a corporation. They might receive power from a deity, but are distinct from another Wise Hero class we'll see later in that the power is external and does not come from their own faith or conviction.

The interesting thing about Wise Heroes as spellcasters is they have Focus points to spend in addition to Mana. Some Wise casters might use their Focus to boost their spells or to do something besides casting, but in this case, the Acolyte uses it directly to cast spell, representing calling directly on their patron's reserves of power. They have a little bit of their own mana as part of their gifts, but as they gain levels Focus increasingly becomes their main source of magic.

Let's take a look at the Acolyte's class features!

Cantrips (Level 1, Magical). You know and can cast a number of cantrips, chosen from any sphere. The number of cantrips you know increases as you gain levels, as shown in the Cantrips column of the Acolyte table.

Whenever you gain a level, you can replace one of your chosen cantrips with another from any sphere.

Favoritism (Level 1). When you make an ability check or saving throw, you can spend 1 Focus before rolling. If you do, add 1d4 to the result of that roll.

Patron (Level 1, Magical). Choose three Lore Paths that represent your patron’s areas of focus. You are able to cast spells from those Lore Paths. You know all spells from those Lore Paths up to the highest rank you can cast, which is shown in the Acolyte table.

Your spellcasting ability when you cast Acolyte spells is Wisdom. Your spellcasting DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier.

You have Mana as shown on the Acolyte table. You recover all your mana after completing a long rest.

Channel Patron (Level 3, Magical). You can call upon the power of your patron to cast additional spells. You can spend Focus in addition to or instead of Mana when you cast an Acolyte spell. Every 3 Focus spent counts as 1 Mana.

After you reach level 5, instead every 2 Focus counts as 1 Mana. After you reach level 9, instead every 1 Focus counts as 1 Mana.

You may notice the use of Lore Paths for their spell selection, something they share with the Arcanist class, though they only ever get the three that represent their patron. Each Lore Path has a spell at every rank from 1-5, so while Acolytes don't choose new spells, they do end up knowing an above average number of them at 15 total spells by 9th level.

If you want to see more on the weird math of combining daily and short rest resources, come chat with me in our Discord's everyday-arcana-discussion channel! https://discord.gg/EHXYYY4c

02/06/2024

Hey y'all! Goober here with some more Everyday Arcana. Let's talk Backgrounds this week! Here are some examples of planned Backgrounds, intended to cover a lot of the same bases as Everyday Heroes Core, but provide different options for maximum customization. But in this book, we've got magic! What supernatural backgrounds would you like to see?

Also, come check out our Discord to chat in the everyday-arcana-discussion channel and take a look at a couple more Backgrounds! https://discord.gg/4Q6A3JQD

Destitute
You grew up struggling for money. You might have been a street urchin, lived off the land, or simply grew up poor.
Ability Score Increase: Increase your Constitution by 1 to a maximum of 20.
Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Streetwise or Survival
Iconic Equipment: Ragged clothes
Go Without: You can go a full day without food, water, and/or sleep without penalty. You must eat, drink, and sleep normally for one day before you can do this again.

High Society
You grew up amongst the movers and shakers.
Ability Score Increase: Increase your Charisma score by one, to a maximum of 20
Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Insight or Intimidation
Iconic Equipment: Expensive watch or jewelry
Movers and Shakers: You have advantage on Charisma checks made when interacting with the social elite.

Mundane
In a world full of magic and wonder, you grew up aggressively normal. You never went on any magical adventures as a child, your parents weren’t special, and you had no special destiny. You lived a boring, middle class life.
Ability Adjustment: Increase the ability score of your choice by one, to a maximum of 20.
Skill Proficiencies: None
Not so Iconic Equipment: Bag stuff or pocket stuff
That’s Too Weird: When you are subjected to a magical effect that allows for an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw, you can gain advantage on that saving throw. You cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Popular
Your natural charm has always drawn people to you, and you’ve always had friends to help you out of a bind.
Ability Adjustment: Increase your Charisma by one, to a maximum of 20.
Skill Proficiencies: Choose either Deception or Persuasion
Iconic Equipment: Fashionable outfit
Likable: You gain advantage on Charisma checks made to convince someone to do you a favor.

Rough Past
Your life has been full of violence and danger.
Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength by one, to a maximum of 20.
Skill Proficiencies: Streetwise
Iconic Equipment: Cool scars
Ready for Trouble: You gain a +2 bonus to initiative rolls.

Studious
You spent your early life focused on your education. You studied hard, read a ludicrous number of books, and probably went to, or currently attend, a prestigious university.
Ability Adjustment: Increase your Intelligence by one, to a maximum of 20.
Skill Proficiencies: Investigation
Iconic Equipment: Signed textbook, notebook full of notes, pen
Academic: You have advantage on any Intelligence check made to turn up information via research.

25/05/2024

Hi all! Goober here with more Everyday Arcana!

This week I'm thinking about Professions. As this book is standalone, we'll be covering a variety of mundane professions, but there's also room for some cool magical jobs, plus ones that are a more classically fantasy but fit into an urban fantasy setting.

Here are a few Professions I've got cooked up so far. What ones would you like to see in the game?

Apprentice
You are an apprentice working under the supervision of a master in your field, hoping to one day be as accomplished as the one who is teaching you.
Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence and three other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20
Skill Proficiencies: Investigation and choose two from Arcana, Arts and Crafts, Computers, Mechanics, Natural Sciences, Security, Social Sciences, Streetwise, and Survival
Iconic Equipment: Notebook
Wealth Level: 1
Seek Guidance: You can seek the guidance of your master. Choose one skill proficiency from those listed above. So long as you can contact your master and speak with them for a full minute beforehand, you can gain advantage on one Ability Check using that proficiency. You cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Bounty Hunter
Though not officially part of any law enforcement organization, you hunt down fugitives and turn them in for their bounty.
Ability Score Increase: Increase your Strength and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Perception, and Security
Equipment Proficiencies: Basic Equipment
Iconic Equipment: Bounty hunter license, handcuffs, zip ties
Wealth Level: 2
Citizen’s Arrest: You are legally allowed to arrest criminals.

Research
You work in academic, scientific, or mystical research, pushing the boundaries of knowledge for the world, or at least your employers.
Ability Score Increase: Increase your Intelligence and two other ability scores of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20
Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from Arcana, Computers, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences
Iconic Equipment: Lab coat, research notes
Wealth Level: 3
Researcher: You have advantage on any ability check made to find or look up information in a database, library, or similar repository.

Sanitation
You clean things for a living, keeping the world safe from spills, stains, germs, and mountains of trash.
Ability Adjustments: Increase your Constitution and two other different ability scores of your choice by one, to a maximum of 20.
Skill Proficiencies: Endurance, Investigation, and Sleight of Hand
Iconic Equipment: Jumpsuit, rubber gloves, cleaning supplies
Wealth Level: 2
Smelled It All: You gain advantage on Constitution saving throws made against gasses, sprays, or smells.

I'll also be discussing the planned Profession list in out Discord. Come check out the everyday-arcana-discussion channel there if you want to join in! Here's an invitation link: https://discord.gg/5VPmP3qp

19/05/2024

Goober here again with some Arcana previews! This week I've been thinking about the Arcanist class. This class is pretty unique in that it's a Smart Hero that uses plans to cast spells rather than mana. Here's how that plan works:

Arcane Genius
Choose one Arcanist lore path when you learn this plan. Through complex calculations, written word, and precise application of reagents, you have already prepared a spell from that path that is now ready to cast. When you enact this plan, you can cast the rank 1 spell from the chosen path without spending any Mana. This takes no additional action beyond the action required to cast that spell.

You can take this plan multiple times, choosing a different Arcanist lore path each time you do.

Plan Enhancements:
3rd: You can cast the rank 2 spell from the chosen spell line, or an earlier spell in the line elevated to rank 2.
5th: You can cast the rank 3 spell from the chosen spell line, or an earlier spell in the line elevated to rank 3.
7th: You can cast the rank 4 spell from the chosen spell line, or an earlier spell in the line elevated to rank 4.
9th: You can cast the rank 5 spell from the chosen spell line, or an earlier spell in the line elevated to rank 5.

So what that means is, you'll be able to cast about the amount of magic as any other spellcaster, but you always cast spells at your highest possible rank. At first level, this won't be any different from anyone else, but as your grow in levels, you'll be casting fewer and fewer low rank spells. In order to introduce a little more versatility in a class that is meant to be an arcane master, I've added a feature that gets them a little bit of mana that can be spent only on lower rank spells:

Arcane Versatility (Level 3, Magical). Having unlocked the greater secrets of your lore paths, casting spells of a lower rank has become rote to you. You now have mana as shown on the Arcanist table, and you can spend mana to cast spells from any lore path you have chosen for the Arcane Genius plan. You can only cast spells up to the rank shown on the Arcanist table in this way.

Want to take a look at the preliminary Arcanist table and chat about the numbers? Come hang out in the everyday-arcana-discussion channel on our Discord! https://discord.gg/BBFqNd3z

12/05/2024

Goober here again, with a few more origins for Everyday Arcana, and also to ask you: what origins would you like to see in the game?

Below you can find the Dwarf and Orc origins. For a couple more, the Gnome and Goblin, come check out our Discord's everyday-arcana-discussion channel! You can find the Discord here: https://discord.gg/qDbeF5KY

The Dwarf Origin:
Dwarf Ability Scores
Starting Array: 14,14,13,12,10, 8
Point Buy: 25 points (14 maximum score)
Rolling: 4d6 (drop the lowest) on five rolls and 3d6 on one roll
Ability Score Limits: 22 for Constitution, 20 for all other ability scores

Dwarf Talents
Darkvision. (Secondary) Dwarven eyes are well adapted to darkness. You have Good Visibility in dim lighting and Poor Visibility in darkness or minimal lighting.

Tough Like Stone. (Primary) Your maximum hit points are increased by an amount equal to your level.

Resilient. (Secondary) You have advantage on Saving Throws against poison and are Resistant to Poison Damage.

Stonecunning. (Primary) Dwarves have an innate sense for stone and metal. You have advantage on ability checks made to identify, investigate, or work with any stone or solid metal. Electronics and other complex mixes of materials are beyond this sense.

Stout. (Primary) Dwarves are somewhat slower than humans due to their stature. Your movement speed is reduced by 5 feet.

The Orc Origin:
Orc Ability Scores
Starting Array: 14,14,13,12,10, 8
Point Buy: 25 points (14 maximum score)
Rolling: 4d6 (drop the lowest) on 5 rolls and 3d6 on 1 roll
Ability Score Limits: 22 for Strength, 20 for all other ability scores

Orc Talents
Darkvision. (Secondary) Orcish eyes are well adapted to darkness. You have Good Visibility in dim lighting and Poor Visibility in darkness or minimal lighting.

Fearsome. (Primary) You have advantage on Ability checks using Intimidation.

Powerful Build. (Secondary) Your maximum Bulk is increased by 3.

Relentless. (Primary) When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not immediately killed, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

09/05/2024

Hello, everyone! If you did not know, Evil Genius will be at Origins Game Fair this year! We are excited to see everyone who is heading that way in June. If you have thought about participating at a convention, now could be your chance because we still need a few GMs to fill some holes in the schedule! Even if you do not have a ton of experience, enthusiasm for the game goes a long way. We will provide you with everything you need to run a session as well. The sessions are 4 hours long. Take a look here for more info: https://www.originsgamefair.com/

If you would like to participate, take a look at the sessions below and email [email protected] to let me know what you would like to run! This will be first come first serve and I will try to update the sessions here as they are filled. New adventures as well as a taste of the Everyday Arcana system will be marked with NEW! Remember, 3+ sessions gets you a free badge at the con and if you are able to pick up at least 7 of these, I can swing a shared hotel room for you. 🙂

ORIGINS

Thursday - June 20
8a - 12p: Pacific Rim - First Flight
8a - 12p: You must STILL be this tall 2 slay (NEW)
1p - 5p: You must STILL be this tall 2 slay (NEW)
6p - 10p: Everyday Arcana - Cup o Crazy (NEW)
6p - 10p: Escape from New York - #1 With A Bullet

Friday - June 21
1p - 5p: You must STILL be this tall 2 slay (NEW)
6p - 10p: Total Recall - Dynasty of Dust (NEW)
6p - 10p: EDH Assignment 3: All Rhodes Lead to Redemption

Saturday - June 22
8a - 12p: EDH Assignment 3: All Rhodes Lead to Redemption
8p - 12p: Escape from New York - #1 With A Bullet
8a - 12p: Everyday Arcana - Cup o Crazy (NEW)
1p - 5p: Everyday Arcana - Cup o Crazy (NEW)
1p - 5p: You must STILL be this tall 2 slay (NEW)

Sunday - June 23
10a - 2p: EDH Assignment 3: All Rhodes Lead to Redemption
10a - 2p: Pacific Rim - First Flight
10a - 2p: Everyday Arcana - Cup o Crazy (NEW)

04/05/2024

Heyo, Goober here with more Everyday Arcana! Today, let's talk species.

When we created the Highlander and Total Recall cinematic adventures, Sig came up with the Origin mechanic, which adjusts the way you generate your ability scores in exchange for some cool new features. This will be a core rule in Everyday Arcana, with Human as the default Origin, which has the standard 27 points for Point Buy and no special features.

Here's an example of what the Elf Origin looks like. You'll notice some talents are listed as Primary, and some are Secondary. This is related to Combined Heritage, wherein you can swap the Secondary talents of one Origin for another in order to be half-anything!

Ability Scores:
Starting Array: 14,14,12,12,10, 8
Point Buy: 24 points (14 maximum)
Rolling: 4d6 (drop the lowest) on four rolls and 3d6 on two rolls
Ability Score Limits: 22 for Dexterity, 18 for Constitution, and 20 for all other ability scores

Elf Talents
Focused Mind. (Primary) You have advantage on saving throws made to resist the Charmed and Distracted conditions.

Keen Senses. (Secondary) You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks.

Sleepless. (Primary) Elves do not sleep as humans do. You are immune to any effect causing the Sleeping condition. You must spend at least 4 hours doing nothing beyond relaxation and meditation to benefit from a Long Rest.

Swift. (Secondary) Elves are especially quick on their feet. Your movement speed is increased by 5 feet.

And here's the Halfling Origin:

Halfling Ability Scores
Starting Array: 15,14,13,11,10, 8
Point Buy: 26 points (15 maximum score)
Rolling: 4d6 (drop the lowest) on 5 rolls and 3d6 on 1 roll
Ability Score Limits: 22 for Dexterity, 18 for Strength, and 20 for all other ability scores

Halfling Talents
Brave. (Secondary) Halflings, despite their stature, are known for their bravery. You have advantage on Saving Throws made to resist or recover from being Frightened.

Lucky. (Secondary) Halflings have a reputation for enjoying good luck. If you roll a 1 on any Success Roll, you can re-roll.

Nimble. (Primary) Halflings are especially nimble and able to scramble past larger creatures. You can move through spaces occupied by creatures larger than yourself.

Short. (Primary) Halflings are somewhat slower than humans. Your size is small and your movement speed is reduced by 5 feet.

An interesting question for you all: How do you feel about Origins negatively affecting your maximum ability scores, such as Elf having a maximum Constitution of 18? It's no -2 to your score like some older systems, but it might still be a little constraining, so I'm still not totally sold on using it. What do you think? Would this prevent you from playing some combinations of Class and Origin?

28/04/2024

Goober here, and today I've got a couple more early Everyday Arcana sketches for you to check out! This time, it's the Primordialist class art.

Which one do you like best?

And to go along with that art, here's a little sample of what you can do with the Primodrialist (an Agile Hero) at level 1. We've seen one example in the demo heroes, using ice magic, but here's the full array of options!

Proficiencies:
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Wisdom
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Arcana, Arts and Crafts, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Social Sciences, Stealth, and Survival.
Equipment: Basic Equipment

Elemental Attunement (Level 1, Magical). Choose one of the following elemental attunements:

Element / Damage Type / Reduction Type:
Air / Electrical / Piercing
Earth / Ballistic / Bludgeoning
Fire / Fire / Cold
Ice / Cold / Fire
Water / Bludgeoning / Slashing

You gain an Elemental Attack that deals the Damage Type listed for your element and can be used as both a melee weapon and a ranged weapon. The exact description of your elemental attack is up to you, but should match your elemental theme and be obvious to anyone observing you use it.

Elemental Attack
Basic Weapon
1d8 damage, PV 2, range 50/100, Finesse, Magical

You gain Damage Reduction 5 against the Reduction Type listed for your element.

Primordial Spellcasting (Level 1, Magical). You are able to cast spells from the Primordial sphere. The number of spell lists you know, and the highest rank you can cast, are shown in the Primordialist table. (At level 1, you know 2 spells of rank 1.)

Your spellcasting ability when you cast Primordialist spells is Wisdom. Your spellcasting DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier.

You have Mana equal to your Level times your Proficiency Bonus. You recover all your mana after completing a long rest.

How do you all feel about the elemental matchups with their damage types and resistances? Does it feel more right to you to have a fire mage resist cold due to running hot, or to resist fire because they're attuned to it?

21/04/2024

Hey, Goober here! Today, I'll be talking a little bit about the Spheres of magic you'll find in Everyday Arcana. So far we've seen four out of the five spheres represented in the demo heroes: Primordial, Life, Spirit, and Mind. Let's talk about those a bit first.

Primordial magic is the magic of energy and the elements. Here you'll find the most damage-dealing spells, but also weather manipulation, blinding light, and flight.

Life magic is all about biology. This is where you'll find healing magic, plant growth and control, shapeshifting, and spells that directly harm your enemies' bodies.

Spirit magic is perhaps the most "magical" of the spheres. It deals with things beyond the physical world: spirits, morality, belief, and chance. It includes protection and warding spells, blessings and curses, summoning, and counter-magic, as well as spells that circumvent the physical world: teleportation, passing through walls, etc.

Mind magic is all about thought and emotion. It includes mind reading, mind control, telepathy, and illusions, but also "mind over matter" effects like telekinesis and clairvoyance.

And that brings us to the final sphere: Material! Material magic includes the creation and manipulation of matter, but more importantly for our modern world, it is the magic of technology. Here you can find spells that affect computers, engines, guns, and chemicals!

In the Shadows Surrounding setting, a heavy infusion of Material magic is even what makes our high-tech world work in the first place. It's influence organizes of reality into a codified and predictable system. It is the reason the scientific method works, and the reason we can make microchips that function reliably.

What sorts of material spells would you like to see included in Everyday Arcana?

14/04/2024

Bonus post today! I got a couple sketches for the art that will accompany the Hidden hand class to choose between, and had to share. Behold! Berry the (gnome) clown!

Which sketch do you like better?