Alignment as Rock Paper Scissors

This is a tie breaking system I came up with for spells, but also as a potential universal tiebreaker. I don't think I will make any use of this system in Fire Tales. When you have a tie check alignments to see who wins:

Lawful beats Neutral.

Neutral beats Chaotic.

Chaotic beats Lawful.

If both are Lawful - Whoever has less to lose wins.

If both are Neutral - Whoever is more experienced wins.

If both are Chaotic - Whoever has more to lose wins.

The Mirror Grove

A clearing in a large forest with a small reflective pool of water. Ghosts can be seen here but only by some (have each player roll a dice and only those who roll odds may see.) They appear otherworldly, do not speak, and disappear if touched or pointed to. If you stare deeply into the pool you can see whatever it is that you seek.

Édouard de Beaumont

Stepping into the pool one receives an immediate but fleeting vision of a terrible fear and loses 1D4 stamina.  After this the water appears completely normal and nothing else magical appears to those who have stepped in.

You must leave something behind within the pool before you leave this place or something will be taken from you without your choosing it. 

"Taking Initiative"

Here is an initiative system you may enjoy. I'm unsure if this has been done before but I haven't seen anything exactly like it anywhere so I will post it here. This is the system currently in the Fire Tales RPG playtest:

The character or characters that strike first, go first. This is called “Taking Initiative.” To strike first, the player might say something like “I stab the knight with my dagger” or “I’m going to cast a spell targeting the wizard” in the middle of a conversation or while their enemy is monologuing. Then after this action, the order goes based on a static initiative attribute each creature has. In the event of an ambush, the ambushing group each acts in the order of their static initiative and then the ambushed group acts.

The trick is to have static initiative values based on something that is almost always unique. I current have this value set to 2DEX + WIS, with the tiebreaker being who is closer to where the action starts, but I may adjust this initial value to be something where overlap in values happens less often. 

Florence Harrison

Places of Magic

Here are some places you might find omens from spirits, magical energy, or where certain Invocations may be particularly strong. This is a non-exhaustive list. Large tomes are filled with lists such as this and none is complete.

Where the light of the evening sun seeps through leaves to draw patterns.

Where the light of the moon falls upon a sleeper.

Where the carver’s name is etched into wood planks.

Where a tooth is planted in the soft earth.

At the crossing of two ancient paths.

Where lovers exchange gifts.

Where a child wishes upon a falling star.

Where rain falls while the sun shines.

Where two streams meet.

Where stones skip upon water.

At the place where mortals pray.

Where dew collects on spiderwebs.

Where an ancient rock sits atop a grassy hill.

Where monoliths are stacked in a circle.

Where tears fall into running water.

Where a fire burns for longer than a year.

Where a daemon-lord has stepped upon the mortal earth.

Where the sunless waters flow deeper into the earth.

Where great treasure is stowed away beyond the memory of the last one who knew of it.