I like having a lot of options for the terrible things that can happen to Wizards when their magic goes awry. Perhaps it was my flirting with the d1000 Wild-Magic Tables when I was playing 5e but I’m a big fan of insane things happening when magic fails.
I also like Mishaps happening somewhat regularly. And with this system there is actually some strategy and gambling involved.
I allow Wizards to force spells that failed to succeed, though they still must memorize it again after. The price for this is that their chance of Arcane Mishap goes up by 1 and doesn’t decrease until they have a Mishap.
Since the table has an increased severity for higher level spells when your chance of mishap gets to high you’ll want to only cast high level spells when needed or risk the dreaded Catastrophe.
I’m also considering adding a way to burn off your Mishap through long rituals, perhaps having an additional table of drawbacks to either choose from or roll on.
When the War Wizard starts glowing weird most soldiers take this approach:
So when the Wizard rolls a mishap, roll 1d10 and add the Spell’s Level/Tier
(Substack really needs to add the ability to make tables)
1D100 MISFIRE
1 You find yourself surrounded by d100 rats.
2 Spell is delayed for Roll 1d3 turns and has half effect.
3 You pass out for 1d6 minutes but the spell still has the desired effect
4 A massive insect appears within 20 ft and attacks the nearest person.
5 The caster forgets the events of the last 1d10 hours
6 You grow 1d10 years older
7 You grow 1d10 years younger
8 The caster's voice becomes high pitched like a pixie for the next hour.
9 A succubus is summoned from nowhere and wants to do your bidding.
10 The caster emits the effects of a fear spell on creatures within 30 feet for the next Roll 1d8 Turns.
11 You asked for it. Spell effect x5
12 For the next 5 minutes, the caster says everything twice.
13 Your spell is delayed for 1d4 weeks, but you're not quite sure what happened.
14 As you cast the spell you burst into flames
15 Everything you touch for the next 3d4 hours starts to burn.
16 You hallucinate for 1d12 months.
17 Caster shoots forth 8 non-poisonous snakes from their fingertips. Snakes do not attack.
18 The next phrase spoken by the caster becomes true, literally for 1 turn.
19 An eternal flame is instantly created where you stand.
20 Caster polymorphs randomly
21 Wall of Fire encircles caster.
22 A random person levitates 20 feet for 1d4 turns.
23 A 10x10 pit appears immediately in front of caster. 5' deep per level of the caster.
24 All normal fires within 60' of the caster are extinguished.
25 One magical item within 30' of the caster (randomly chosen) is permanently drained.
26 One normal item within 30' of the caster (randomly chosen) becomes permanently magical. (DM choice as to type of magic.)
27 All normal doors, secret doors, portcullises, etc. (including those locked or barred) within 60 feet of the caster swing open.
28 Caster and Target Exchange places. Each keeps their own clothing, possessions, etc.
29 Spell affects a random target within 60 feet of the caster.
30 Gate opens to a randomly chosen plane; 50% chance for an extra-planar creature to appear.
31 Spell reversed if reverse is possible.
32 Summon lesser demon
33 200 gallons of water soak the caster.
34 You summon forth a beautiful Succubus
35 Roll 1d10 for each of your possessions. On a 1 this item disappears.
36 You somehow become a bear for Roll 1d4 days. But you can speak.
37 Fireball, centered on the caster effective at caster’s level.
38 A volley of 10d20 arrows rains down on the area
39 Your spell causes an explosion dealing 1d2 damage per spell tier to all creatures within 10 feet of you, or half as much on a successful DC 12 Reflex Save. You automatically fail the save
40 Your magic corrupts nearby energy. A creature chosen at random within 15 feet of you, including you must make a Constitution save or become Corrupted.
41 A bright light fills your eyes blinding you for 1d4 rounds.
42 You scream for 1d10 rounds in Black Speech
43 A weapon currently being wielded within 30 feet of you at random gains sentience.
44 You're surrounded by a ring of salt and can't touch it or pass through it until something breaks the ring
45 Your surface flesh begins to rot, starting with your extremities and spreading inwards. The effect is painful but otherwise cosmetic. It fades away after 1d6 weeks.
46 It rains blood for three rounds after the spell is cast.
47 Darkness pours from all orifices in your head. Filling a ten foot cube around you for d6 rounds.
48 Skin around hands is covered in tiny magical scars
49 Spell is delayed 1d10 rounds – after which effect happens.
50 Your spell gives you a Random Magical Disease.
51 Your magic tears open a portal inviting in a (D4, 1. Demon, 2.Fae 3. Celestial 4. Undead)
52 Lose all Resolve.
53 You become petrified for 1 Round
54 Your fingers become frostbitten.
55 Fragile objects within 30’ shatter.
56 One of the caster’s eyes turns into a 500 sp sapphire.
57 All light within 90 feet is snuffed out.
58 The caster and target(s) are flung 10’ in opposite directions
59 A random creature within 10 feet of you gains Madness.
60 You cast a random spell that you know instead.
61 A weapon currently being wielded within 30 feet of you at random gains sentience.
62 Caster ages normally but forever retains his current appearance
63 Caster appears to be bleeding profusely whenever he’s indoors
64 Caster appears to be a bare skeleton from the waist down
65 Caster is thrown 1d4x1000 years into the future for 1d4 rounds
66 Caster knows a spell that will slay him instantly
67 Caster knows the secret language of frogs and toads
68 Caster loses one hit point each time he calls someone by name
69 Caster sees ghostly courtesans all around him
70 Caster is thickly shrouded in cobwebs
71 Caster owes his life to someone who won’t be born for 1d100 years
72 Innumerable bats flutter around the target each day at twilight
73 Smoke pours from target’s skin as though their bones are ablaze
74 Suddenly 1d10 peasants appear and attack the target
75 Any who drink your blood have their lifespan extended for 3d20+5 years
76 Target can cast one Wish spell but permanently dies as a result
77 Target is encircled by tall icicles, each as thick as his leg
78 Target is suddenly holding the nearest corpse in his arms
79 The caster becomes slightly translucent. There is no physical effect
80 All creatures within 120 feet of the caster teleport to random other positions within 120 feet of the caster.
81 You are intoxicated for the next 1d4 days.
82 You cast grease centered on yourself.
83 A random creature within 60 feet of you becomes poisoned for 1d4 hours.
84 Your blood turns a little fiendish.
85 You can only speak deep speech for 1d4 days.
86 You summon fireworks!
87 If you die within the next minute, you immediately come back to life as if by the Reincarnate spell.
88 Roll on this table at the start of each of your turns for the 1d4 rounds, ignoring this result on subsequent rolls.
89 Anything slain by Magic in your presence has your name appear tattooed on their flesh.
90 The spell you cast will repeat itself at the same time of the day for 3d6 days.
91 The caster's reflection gains sapience and the ability to travel between reflective surfaces at will. It has no loyalty to the caster, and may in fact never be seen again.
92 The nearest spellcaster that is at least 1 mile away from you becomes aware of your general location for 24 hours.
93 You attract danger, the next 1d4 times that there is a possibility for an encounter it is guaranteed.
94 All gold within 100 feet turns to lead
95 Nothing happens. The GM should roll many dice and chuckle a bit.
96 The intended spell appears to fail when cast, but will go off the next time caster uses a spell in addition to the spell they are attempting to cast.
97 Roll Twice and Combine
98 Roll Three Times and Combine
99 All of caster's prepared spells go off simultaneously, aimed at random targets.
100 DM shouts “Wish!” and counts down from 10. If the caster makes a wish within the count it is granted. Be creative, be cruel.
D100 CORRUPTIONS
1-2 Caster grows an additional finger each week to a max of 1d20 extra fingers.
3-4 Thick Skull. -1d4 Intelligence, +1d4 Constitution. Cannot be Stunned by physical attacks.
5-6 Snake Arm. A new one. Like an eyeless, boa constrictor
7-8 Youth. De-age 2d10 years.
9-10 Feathered Skin. You are covered in white and black feathers.
11-12 Grey Hairs. Age 2d10 years.
13-14 Albino. All pigment and colour leaches from your body. Your eyes are pink.
15-16 Homunculi Gland. If you are killed, a new version of you with 1/2 all your Stats, HP, and memories bursts free.
17-18 Migratory Teeth. Your teeth swim around under your skin, re-emerging at mealtimes. No effect.
19-20 Beetle Blood. Your blood is now beetle
21-22 Delusion. You are repulsed by the sight of holy symbols.
23-24 Beetle Blood. Your blood is now beetles.
25-26 Dead Asleep. While asleep or unconscious you appear to be a rotting corpse.
27-28 Eyes like white orbs. Damage-dealing spells you cast inflict +2 damage.
29-30 Powerful Name. Whenever you say it, an unseen chorus repeats it.
31-32 Flame Hair. All your hair turns into fire. Doesn't burn you.
33-34 Cloud Skin. Become a skeleton coated in thick mist. Can drink water as rations. Lose Half of your Maximum HP.
35-36 One of your hands becomes the head of an Imp
37-38 Second Life. The first time you die, you will lurch into undead life. 10 HP, cannot heal.
39-40 Mystic Sight. Your eyes become glowing balls of flame. Casts light as a candle 1/per day.
41-42 Your face is a Metal Mask. Neutral, genderless, nearly featureless.
43-44 Whenever you speak, faint red sparks fly from your mouth
45-46 Sparrows or small birds will bring you worms and beetles and expect you to be impressed.
47-48 You become a wolf by the light of the full moon
49-50 Cannot willingly enter an occupied building without being invited.
51-52 Any people you kill have a 1-in-6 chance of rising as hostile ghosts in 1 round.
53-54 In moonlight, appear as a rotting corpse. No effect on stats.
55-56 One of your eyes becomes black and weeps tar-like tears.
57-58 Hands twist backwards like a Rakshasa
59-60 Sealed Lips. They fuse shut while you sleep. Need to cut them open (1 damage) each morning.
61-62 Hollow Guts. Your intestines, stomach, etc. fall out. Your chest is an empty ribcage. -1d6 HP.
63-64 Non-magical projectiles get a +2 to hit you.
65-66 Inside Out. Horrible. Charisma -1d8 (Minimum 2), HP is halved.
67-68 Lamarckian Evolution. One hand turns into a random tool. Roll on the Professions table.
69-70 Glows like a candle if you tell a lie.
71-72 Cannibal Desires. You can only eat the dead flesh of intelligent creatures.
73-74 Tusks. Like a boar.
75-76 Grappling Hand. On tendons. Can throw it 10', retract. Cannot lift you. Can pull light things.
77-78 You gain Shark teeth. D8 Bite
79-80 Eyeless Sight. Eye sockets fuse over with flesh. You can still see.
81-82 Magpie. You must make Wisdom Check DC 15 or touch any shiny object you see. Your fingers grow long and bird-like.
83-84 Hairless Body. All hair flees in a sudden burst
85-86 Swap. DM picks a mutation you currently have and replaces it with one rolled on this table.
87-88 Molten Flesh. It dribbles and drips. Lose 1 HP per day unless you wear a fully enclosed suit.
89-90 Reroll your Class Talents.
91-92 Each morning, Constitution DC 18 or mutate. After 3 days this hell ends.
93-94 Roll twice and combine
95-96 Roll three times and combine
97-98 Roll twice and choose one
99-100 DM Chooses 2 Mutations
D100 CATASTROPHES
D100 Catastrophes
1-2 A river of lava stretches out from your feet in the direction you were looking when the spell was cast.
3-4 Devastating storms appear from nowhere and last for Roll 1d10 days, affecting a Roll 1d6 x 1d100 mile radius from where you stood when the spell was cast.
5-6 You set the nearest forest ablaze.
7-8 An earthquake comes to visit the area surrounding you. (1000 foot radius, 4-5 on the Richter scale.) Buildings shake and might crumble.
9-10 A star falls from the sky crashing into the nearest village.
11-12 A nearby cemetery is accidentally affected by a powerful raise the dead spell producing 10d8 skeletons
13-14 A sphere of annihilation appears at the spell’s target point
15-16 If target is slain in the next 24 hours, winter begins at once
17-18 A Nearby Noble becomes a Werewolf
19-20 A nearby village has terrifying dreams of your face
21-22 A Cities grain supply is replaced with gold.
23-24 The ground within a 1d10 x d6 mile radius becomes barren. Crops wither, animals flee, and the soil turns black.
25-26 Rivers, lakes, and wells within 10d10 miles become tainted with blood, carrying the taste of rot and despair.
27-28 A chasm splits open at the spell’s epicenter, swallowing everything in a 1d20 x 100-foot radius and belching toxic fumes.
29-30 A mountain crumbles, raining stone and ash over nearby settlements.
31-32 Shadows take form any person who walks alone at night within 20 miles will be found the next morning, lifeless and hollowed out.
33-34 The sky turns red, and stars weep blood for 3d6 nights. Anyone who looks up for too long feels something watching back.
35-36 All water turns to salt within 3d20 miles. No plant or beast can drink it.
37-38 A black sun rises, casting the land in dim light for 1d12 days, no matter the time of day.
39-40 A town’s livestock are born with two heads, dead and rotting, for the next 1d10 years.
41-42 No one can die within 3d10 miles for 1d6 days. Even those torn apart remain awake, whispering prayers for an end.
43-44 A nearby noble family rises as vampires, starving and furious at their own resurrection.
45-46 A mass grave exhumes itself, spewing out d8 x d100 ghouls, all of whom seem to know your name.
47-48 The dead refuse to stay buried for the next d20 days, those who perish return as ghosts before fading into madness.
49-50 A local warlord is slain… and rises again as an undead tyrant, leading a legion of spectral warriors.
51-52 Every newborn in a city is born still… and whispers secrets of the void.
53-54 The bones of the long-dead crawl from riverbeds and fields, pulling themselves into abominable forms.
55-56 A cathedral’s bells toll on their own. The next day, the entire clergy is found flayed and nailed to its doors.
57-58 An army lost in history marches again, ghosts clad in rusted armor, unable to see the world as it is.
59-60 People begin forgetting their names, their families, their histories, entire towns wake up as strangers
61-62 Rain falls upwards, forming shimmering rivers in the sky that whisper secrets of the abyss.
63-64 Mirrors no longer reflect reality, but instead show something moving behind you.
65-66 A rift tears open, showing an impossible landscape beyond. Sometimes something steps through.
67-68 Time fractures, people vanish for hours or days and return, aged years or even centuries.
69-70 Every child born within 50 miles is monstrous, wrong-limbed, too many eyes, or whispering in languages older than mankind.
71-72 The next person who dies within 10 miles rises as an eldritch horror, unrecognizable as what they once were.
73-74 Eyes open on every tree, every stone, every surface, watching, unblinking.
75-76 Everyone within 5 miles wakes up covered in blood, with no idea where it came from.
77-78 A prophecy is spoken from every mouth at once, in perfect unison, when it ends, none remember what they said.
79-80 The next prayer uttered in a temple is answered, but wrong, twisted into something cruel.
81-82 The sun vanishes for an hour, and when it returns, something is missing, a building, a person, a piece of history.
83-84 An entire village’s people swap faces, skin stretching over the wrong bones.
85-86 Blood runs from the cracks of the earth, warm and still beating.
87-88 A temple’s relics crumble into dust, and priests begin speaking in tongues never heard before.
89-90 A massive shadow passes over the land, like an eclipse, but there is no source, no object in the sky.
91-92 Newborns are born with black teeth, within a year, all of them vanish without a trace.
93-94 The next ten people who fall asleep wake up... somewhere else.
95-96 A forgotten god stirs, and their name appears in every book, every scripture, etched onto bones and doorframes.
97-98 A divine voice booms from the heavens, declaring the name of the next king.
99-100 A portal to Oblivion opens within 1d10x6 miles.
I’ve had some sessions get pretty wild and intense when multiple wizards are having a spell duel. The battlefield can change pretty quick with the intense wildness that uncontrolled magic can have. Many of these outcomes are pulled from a variety of sources ages ago, and I plan to expand each of the tables further so when I do I’ll post an update.