When you’re coming up empty and you need a idea for a spell, sometimes a few word prompts help; some inspirational snips and shards you can recombine.  That’s where these tables come in.

Naturally, there’s the more involved way and the less involved way:

More Involved: Roll 1d3+1 for the number of prompts to combine, then 1d4 to determine which tables, then 1d10 on each table.

Less Involved: Pick how many prompts you want and then roll on whatever tables you like.  Or just pick your prompts and smash them together, that works just fine —

All prompts, of course, to be taken as literally or metaphorically or just-vaguely-related-ly as you like ;3

Table 01	Table 02	Table 03	Table 04
01. bone	01. shadow	01. finding	01. shape
02. blood	02. night	02. vision	02. confine
03. sun	03. moon	03. curse	03. mind
04. ash	04. earth	04. blessing	04. dream
05. flame	05. storm	05. wither	05. touch
06. plant	06. talon	06. mend	06. protect
07. thorn	07. ice	07. travel	07. sunder
08. sea	08. glass	08. strength	08. cocoon
09. salt	09. steel	09. decipher	09. preserve
10. gold	10. light	10. conceal	10. fear

And here are some example spells prompted by combos of some of the above shards —

01 – Threefold Warding: Inking three dots of kohl or ochre on the inside of each wrist (or equivalent) prevents hexes or curses or other eldritch blights from taking hold; each time a curse is thwarted, a dot burns from each wrist and leaves a wound. (curse + protect)

02 – Grand Voyage: For the next six hours, a subject and all that they travel with, up to a small cart, cross distance as follows — four times their speed on land, unhindered by terrain; twice land speed on water, even without a vessel; and, should sunbeams, lighthouses, rainbows and stranger things permit, traveling beams of light as if solid ground. (earth + sea + travel + light)

03 – Elephant Existence: One object or individual cannot be described or even comprehended as a whole for 1d6 hours. Individual attributes may be relayed, but a coherent whole description simply will not come together. (shape + conceal)

04 – Actinic Brambles: An area up to 10 metres in diameter erupts in crackling, clinging briars of semi-tangible stormcloud for the next ten minutes. Anything and anyone already in the area, even if invisible or intangible, is limned with a pale glow; anything or anyone that moves is jolted with lightning. (storm + light + thorn)

05 – Blind ‘Pillar’s Travel: Chart your course in your mind and be enveloped in rough silk that cushions you — which is good, because you are not staying upright any longer — and lulls you into a drowsy sense of comfort. While you rest, the silky cocoon sprouts many pairs of strong spurred claws and sets off on the path, walking, climbing, scaling stone, and contending with all obstacles (including fighting with those claws if necessary) . Unfortunately you are aware of nothing outside until you reach your destination or the cocoon is destroyed; but you’re bright-eyed and refreshed when you get there. (talon + cocoon)

06 – The Sleeper’s Quest: A slumber descends from which the subject will not awake for twelve hours. During that sleep, the dreaming self must untangle a code, thread a labyrinth, or deal with a similar puzzle; when the twelve hours are over, they wake with a dreamstone in hand that will restore the lost, from shattered vases to broken promises. It is possible to die in the dream, alas. (mend + dream + decipher)

07 – Burningheart: Sacrifice a portion of one’s own lifeblood and a beloved trinket to a brazier burning with bright coals, and stare into the flames; dancing among them will be seen an adversary’s greatest terror, and the path to best make use of such a thing, whatever it might be. (fear + flame + vision + finding)

08 – Grey Sanctuary: A single chamber, marked with glyphs on all walls, ceiling and flooring, doubles the chances for success in a specific task (including healing) for 24 hours. However, if the chamber is breached in any way, or any enter or leave, the enchantment shatters. (blessing + confine)

09 – Greenblight: With hands (or other extremities) gnarling black and tainted, for the next five minutes any plant matter touched will shrivel. Flowers brown and wilt, greenery dries brittle, even wood can be rendered punky and in splinters. Plant creatures will take double damage. (touch + sunder + plant)

10 – Winter’s Long Reach: Set yourself to gazing around yourself, as far to the horizon (or equivalent) as you can. At any point along the vista, at your will, the ground may split apart — or simply be raised high — as uncountable sharp spars of ice grow suddenly skyward up to a height of 10 metres. The ice lasts until it melts. (vision + thorn + earth + ice)

11 – The Day Turns Its Face: Until this curse is lifted, broken, or runs out its time (up to a year), the afflicted soul finds their strength, vitality and physical skill halved during daytime hours, their flesh growing feeble and wasted. Actually being struck by the rays of the sun intensifies the blight, leaving the subject a quarter of what they once were until fleeing the sun’s touch. (curse + wither + sun)

!2 – Mantle Of Midnight: Draws a portion of the night sky down to wrap around a subject’s shoulders like an all-enveloping cloak. For the next eight hours, the mantle keeps away the night chill and offers all the benefits of chainmail; additionally, once, at the subject’s wish, an attack against their person may either be magically converted to healing energy, or mirrored back at the assailant as a bolt of inky force that shatters weapons or maims claws. (mend + sunder + protect + night)