Archives of the Empire III for WFRP 4e introduced some alternative channelling rules that worked with Cants. There was a disclaimer that said they were the same as the rules as presented in Winds of Magic, but they were clearly not. This was noticed in the PDF version of the book and then along came the printed version and the new rules had been stripped out and replaced by the ones that actually were in Winds of Magic. Since then the PDF has been updated to match the print version.
The problem is there were some adjustments made in the original that allowed for the use of Cants (also in Archives of the Empire III). Now that those rules have been taken away, it sort of leaves Cants a bit broken. The annoying thing is, it didn’t even have to mention Winds of Magic. If all that was intended was to provide a convenient way to make Cants doable, it could have been done without rewriting the Channelling rules at all.
Here is my suggested fix.
Storing the Winds
When channelling a Wind of Magic, a wizard is able to draw the magic to themselves and store it for a short time. Each +SL on the extended Channelling Test goes into a pool for that Wind, which can later be spent either reducing the CN of a spell, or fuelling a Cant associated with that Wind. Characters can reliably store up to their Willpower Bonus in channelled SLs. Storing more is possible, but comes with additional risks.
While holding onto channelled power a character may continue to act as normal, but the wizard may need to Test for an Interruption at the GMs discretion. Any turn in which a character does not spend an Action Channelling, or fueling a spell or Cant, results in the loss of one SL of power at the end of the round.
Fumbled Channelling
Follow the normal rules for Fumbled Channelling. If using the Winds of Magic Channelling rules, suffer a Major Miscast if stored SLs are greater than the character’s Willpower Bonus.
The Price of Power
Holding on to stored power for more than a minute is a risky business and results in a Minor Miscast every round, or a Major Miscast if the character is holding more power than their Willpower Bonus.
Example: Heinz has a Willpower Bonus of 5 and a Channelling (Aqshy) skill of 64. He plans to cast the spell Flaming Sword of Rhuin (CN 8) and starts to channel. On his first turn he rolls well and gathers 4 SLs of power. On his second turn he gathers another 3 SLs. He now has 7 SLs stored, but the immediate threat has gone thanks to his companions. Rather than releasing the gathered power safely, Heinz elects to keep hold of it for a little longer, just in case the group are ambushed and he needs to unleash a spell at short notice. Each round that he does not channel, one SL of stored power leaks out.
Heinz continues to channel so that he has a pool available when he needs it. A minute passes and he now has 8 SLs of Aqshy stored. If he continues to hold on to the power he will suffer a Major Miscast every round until he either uses it all, or disperses it safely. If he only had 5 SLs or fewer stored, he would only suffer a Minor Miscast every round.
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