The World of Puella Magi

Right so first of all let's talk about this fucko. As a recap, this is Kyubey (The Incubator), an alien being of Law that contracts Puella Magi, all for the sake of eventually turning them into Witches. He does this because he has no real feelings or soul of his own.

He does this because he's saving the universe.

The Incubators are much like classically biblical angels or modrons; they aren't creatures of heaven or any other supernal realm, but they are Gnostic stewards of the material world, utterly dispassionate and removed from the anthropomorphic perspective. They take on this form only because it is useful, and they are in truth a single group-mind that expands all possible bodies simultaneously.

Kyubey is only visible to those it chooses to be, and approaches adolescents in times of emotional stress and desperation in hopes of forming Contracts. He supports them passively, and as they collect and use Grief Seeds, he eats them, all the while waiting for the moment to bring down the hammer and push his clients into becoming Youma, if they don't collapse on their own. A killed Puella Magi is a wasted investment, and too many dead humans means his cattle don't breed as many suitable clients, but that's the only reason he pretends to care at all.

 As for the Grief Seeds he takes, he does not destroy them. Grief Seeds are sent to wherever Incubators come from, where their endless suffering is milked for free energy; that's what this is all about. The energy the Incubators collect from their schemes is used to stave off the heat death of the physical universe. Perhaps they're the only reason it's lived as long as it has.

Again, the Incubators are not malicious. They can't be. They withhold information but they do not lie. They do not do physical harm, only say hurtful things. They have no emotions, no empathy, no grudges. All that matters is acquiring more energy through the Contract system, and they gain energy from the initial Contract, the transformation into the Youma, and eventually the collected Grief Seed.

Mechanically, treat them as any sort of small ferret-like animal; they have no HD and no AC. Any attack against them automatically hits and is an instant kill. It doesn't matter, however, as a new Incubator body just teleports in and eats the corpse to preserve the calories. And they don't care. They'll keep saying whatever they want to say via their telepathy.

Besides telepathy, forming contracts, and having infinite teleporting vessels, Incubators can't really do much. Treat them as having INT 30, or whatever the equivalent is for godlike intelligence. Literally, only a god or multiversal hivemind can outpace them. Assume that an Incubator knows everything through atomic omniscience; they can listen in on the telepathy they give Puella Magi but they cannot read minds. They cannot see the future, or anything magically protected against them, but they essentially have cameras everywhere in the world.

They will never attack you, though they tend to say things designed to hurt you. Always polite and sweet; after all, they have no ill will towards humanity. They just don't understand why you're crying over one little girl, sacrificed to save the universe. Thousands of more little girls are born every second. What does it matter?

They are the personification of Utilitarianism, taken to its most inhuman, strawman conclusion.

--

Youma, that which Puella Magi are born to fight. The source of curses, which are themselves born of curses. Youma are inhuman, fae, eldritch creatures that don't follow normal logic, and cannot live in the material world. Instead, they create pocket dimensions known as Labyrinths to protect themselves, and stalk mankind in the shadows.

A labyrinth essentially is a bounded space in the Ethereal Plane, overlapping the real world along a different axis. Any Puella Magi (as well as anyone of sufficient magical accumen), can open a Gate to a labyrinth in the area by pure will; labyrinths are as dungeons, with the top level being closes to the real world, and each level beyond taking you further from real-world imagery into the Youma's inner sanctum. For instance, a candy youma might haunt a hospital, and indeed there's syringes, exit signs, false nurses, and the like in the top layer, but as you go deeper, everything is eventually replaced with gingerbread houses and ice cream mountains.

The reason it's so easy to enter a labyrinth is essentially that Youma are able to invite people in and out, as with a Mage's Magnificent Mansion, though due to their goals and warped minds, they by default are 'inviting' everyone. A Youma can shut up their lair and keep anyone from invading it, but then they wouldn't be able to hunt or interfere with reality, either.

When a Youma is born, it is a personification of the Puella Magi's last, darkest emotions; it is, in fact, literally the poor child, having lost all hope in their soul and entered a permanent, irreversible madness. Their Soul Gem becomes the Grief Seed, and their body is discarded as they become an entity made of pure elemental Grief.  Their form is a result of this symbolism. Here's some examples.

Mechanically, treat a Youma as statistically being the monster they look like; if they look like a dragon they do dragon things, otherwise get creative. Their Hit Dice should be equal to their former Puella Magi level, though this isn't an inviolable rule. If our Dragon-Youma is extra scary with extra HD and she had the karmic potential to justify that sort of thing, go for it. If the Youma's truly less fearsome than it appears due to being an illusionist-Magi, or otherwise based on her insecurities and low self-image, roll with it. These are sentient, malicious symbolism engines and should be treated as such.

In addition, they have the spellcasting of their former Puella Magi selves, save that they don't benefit from their Charisma in regards to anything like bonus spells or what have you, and their Corruption Pool doesn't benefit from the Charisma bonus.

A Youma's Corruption Pool works differently; it starts full, and it drains to refresh spell slots. Corruption can be used to heal itself like a Puella Magi, but it doesn't gain any other benefits. A Youma returns to a Grief Seed if its Corruption Pool is drained to zero, which it also does if brought to 0 HP.

Youma can leave a Cursed Kiss at-will. This leaves an Arcane Mark that functions as a Charm Person, except that the victim is compelled into suicidal self-destruction. Murder-suicides, homicides, school shootings, suicide cults,  people belly-flopping from high buildings, these are all caused by a Cursed Kiss. Sometimes its as tragically simple as someone in a hospital bed closing their eyes and just not waking up, due to lack of will to live. Puella Magi are immune to this ability

When someone under the Cursed Kiss dies, the Youma feeds off the despair, gaining 1d8 Corruption Points per HD of the victim. As mentioned, these Corruption Points can be used to heal, recover spell slots or create a Shikigami for 5 times the Tsukaima's HD in Corruption Points.

When a Youma dies and becomes a Grief Seed, their Labyrinth is destroyed; their Shikigami escape into their own lairs, living creatures reappear in the real world, and any unattended objects, including corpses, are seemingly lost forever.

--

Shikigami are like a witch's familiars. They are like lesser Youma in many respects: They can't live outside of labyrinths, they are made of solid Grief, they feed by Kissing mortals and killing them.A Shikigami is a soulless creation of a Youma that exists to serve them; like set-pieces in a dreamscape, they exist to fulfill a specific role and duty, and that is the totality of their existence. They never have more than half the HD of their master. 1 HD Youma cannot produce Shikigami.

A Shikigami cannot cast spells, though they can donate their Corruption Points to their mistress or heal themselves. A Shikigami can be released by their creator to form their own, smaller barrier and hunt on their own, though this will automatically happen if a Shikigami outlives its Youma. A Shikigami has Corruption Pools equal to their creator's, which start off empty. If it's filled up completely, the Shikigami matures into a perfect clone of its mother Youma in every respect, capable of dropping a Grief Seed even; it's supped upon enough mortal souls that it cobbled together its own out of the detritus fragments of pain.

--

What about in worlds where Youma don't exist? We have Akuyo. They're essentially Youma, but are not born from human suffering, but a mysterious universal rule. As if they exist to fill the void, and for no other reason. They drop 1d3 Curse Cubes per HD, which cannot hatch into Akuyo. Nor do they have Labyrinths or Shikigami; they merely haunt the Ethereal Plane, as if they were ghosts. Their Curse Cubes are generated by draining emotions from humans; the attacks of an Akuyo inflict Energy Drain. Someone fully drained of this attack do not die, however, but become emotionless level-0 NPCs. Puella Magi, however, are totally destroyed spiritually, vanishing into thin air so that not even the benevolent Law of Cycles (the universal rule that prevents Witches from being born) can save them.

An Akuyo gains a permanent new HD every time it drains levels equal to its own HD+5, unless those levels come from a Puella Magi.

Akuyo are not made of grief and curses; they are Lawful, extraplanar beings born of the will of the universe. A universe that fears the power of human emotions, strong enough to change its nature. As if to balance that karma, they act like perverse Bodhisattvas, out to directly murder passion.

Magical Girls? In my OSR? It's More Likely Than You Think!

Aww yea. Lookit that. What cute, innocent little kids full of hope and idealism and love and justice. Don't you just wanna run them through a death funnel adventure or a meatgrinder dungeon, or just generally destroy everything that made them beautiful inside?

Of course you do. That's why we DM.

So I've written multiple Mahou Shoujo/Magical Girl classes, for various subgenres of the archetype. I'm absolutely obsessed with the genre, having grown up on it and having had all my major childhood heroes that inspired me come from works generally based on it. I like Noblebright. I love Romantic Fantasy. I adore the power of Love overcoming everything in the end.

This first class is not that.

--

If you could have any wish, what would you trade your soul for?

That question is the birth of every Puer and Puella Magi, the slave-children of magic. Everyone who can call themselves such was approached in their adolescence, typically between 9 and 16 years old, though there are exceptions to every rule. 30-year olds with children of their own have heard the call, rarely. Gender is technically no object, but a majority of girls are approached.

The Incubator, normally calling itself "Kyubey" is a Messenger of Magic from another world. Although magic is born of emotional power, it has no emotions or true magic of its own, being a servitor of a higher Lawful force. Incubators exist only to form Contracts with potential Puella Magi, and in so doing grant them a wish in exchange for the duty and power of what they are to become.

The more hopeful and idealistic, the better. A good-hearted, innocent Puella Magi can shine like the noblest of Paladins. For hope is the greatest spice to create despair...

Puella/Puer Magi

To-Hit and Hit Dice: As Cleric

Save: As Cleric; however depending on your system, anything that references Wisdom should be replaced with Charisma.

Weapons and Armor: As Magic-User. Additionally, a Puella Magi can select one weapon to be their Magical Weapon (see below). Weird options are encouraged; if you want to have a trumpet that shoots magical damaging soap bubbles or a cute magic wand that shoots heart lasers or something that's only entirely appropriate. See below, also, for Henshin in regards to armor.

XP per Level: As Elf, or Magic-User if you don't use racial classes.

Prime Requisite: Charisma 13

The Wish: In exchange for the birth of your Soul Gem and a life of hunting Youma, you are given one wish. This wish can be absolutely anything, according to Kyubey, and it always comes true. More importantly, this Wish is born of your own inherent magical, emotional power, so it is based on your own intent rather than your wording. You technically don't need to say anything at all!

It's not quite that easy, though, as Kyubey selects his clients based on their karmic potential. Simply put, this is your character's cosmic relevance to the universe, the strength of their own hopes and emotions, and the despair they are fated to bear in the future. Mechanically, Kyubey tends not to consider anyone with less than 13 CHA, and you're always guaranteed the standard effects of a Limited Wish spell without any chance of failure or wish-twisting. However, the higher your Charisma score, the bigger a wish you can make. A girl with Charisma 18 should be able to make a truly powerful Wish (atleast everything the normal Wish spell can do, maybe a bit more depending), while a someone with something ridiculous like Charisma 30 or some absolute bullshit it should be able to rewrite all of time and space or slap a god or whatever the hell. I mean obviously just eye-ball this sort of thing, but keep this in mind; the force of your heart and soul reflects your magical potential, and thus the scope of your wish. Two people with wildly different Charisma scores making the same wish should expect different results.

 Whatever the wish is and whatever you decide the scope of it is, it will effect the magic of the Puella Magi. Not only do you get the actual benefit of the wish, but your spell list changes to reflect it. That means if you make a wish related to healing a loved one, you're basically getting nothing but healing and recovery spells, though you can also justify spells to protect someone you care about, like Shield Other or something. Follow the emotional intent of the wish, not just its literal wording and outcome.

However, what happens if a Puella Magi makes a wish over what their potential should be? Well, you give it to them of course. Now you can twist their wish.

For example, consider a girl named Homura, who watches her girlfriend die against an unstoppable foe. Homura wishes to go back in time and be someone strong enough to protect her, and so she begins timelooping. Homura has Time Stop at level 1, the ability to go back and try over and over, as long as she still has hope that she can succeed. However, one little girl with Charisma 14 or something is not strong enough to change the fates, voices, and overall will of everyone involved in this sequence of events. Though she can rearrange the cards in the deck of the timeloop, so to speak, she is unable to get a winning hand under her own power. She changes the process, but never the ending. She can protect her beloved, but she cannot save her. The clock always returns to 1 after it strikes 12.

Naturally this shouldn't be very common; if a player makes a reasonable wish, work out how to roll with it. But also, don't shoot down a wish that seems overpowered. After all, they're handing you a plot coupon for the tragedy of when hope gives in to despair, and that's what this class is ultimately about from a narrative perspective.

Spellcasting: Your spellcasting progression as a Puella Magi is as a Magic-User, save that you don't need a spellbook. If your game has 3E-style Sorcerers or other spontaneous casters, use that instead. If ability scores do anything regarding this feature in your games, use Charisma. 

Your spell slots do not refresh on a rest, however, as normal spellcasters. Your slots remain expended, though you can pay a Corruption Point cost equal to the spell's level, with cantrips only costing 1/2 a point if they exist in your game (Or At-will, if you're playing 5e or something). Using a Grief Seed, aside from its normal benefits, also refreshes all your spell slots as if you had a proper rest.

0-level/Cantrip and 1st level spells can be used outside of Henshin.

Soul Gem: Your contract grants you a small magic beacon known as a Soul Gem. They never quite said what your Soul Gem really is, but it takes a no-brainer to know why it's called that. If your Soul Gem (that is, you) is more than 100 feet away from your body, you lose consciousness and can take no actions until it touches your body and re-establishes connection. Additionally, you can survive as a Soul Gem even if the body is destroyed. That being said, if your Soul Gem is ever destroyed, you die no matter what. So if your GM likes "All Shields Shall Be Splintered" rules then you can go eat shit I guess.

Soul Gems, being magical items, have some resistance to shattering despite their glass-like qualities. They're about as hard as a ruby.

Detect Despair: This ability functions as Detect Evil for all purposes, except that it only detects supernatural evils, such as undead, fiends, and especially the Youma they are meant to hunt. This is an at-will ability, used by reading the glow of their Soul Gem. This ability does not require Henshin to be used.

Henshin!: The standard transformation sequence of a Puella Magi. Although this can be as flashy and purple prose-y as desired, it is actually an instantaneous transformation that cannot be interrupted. Once a costume is decided upon by the player, it cannot be changed, but this costume is always pristine and perfect. A Puella Magi must be in her transformed state to use her class features unless otherwise noted, but if they're in their untransformed states, they are treated as a normal civilian in all regards. Magic does not detect them as magical beings (though the Soul Gem still has an aura), and Scrying spells to find "That Magical Girl who shot me" or what have you do not show the Puella Magi's untransformed self. For this reason, many Puella Magi take on false names or superheroic alter egos to give themselves additional protection from scrying.

In addition, a Puella Magi's base AC becomes identical to their Charisma score (assuming ascending AC, otherwise calculate the equivalent) when they are transformed. They don't benefit from Dexterity bonuses or any other armors, but magical modifications can still apply.

Magical Attacks: All attacks by a Puella Magi count as magical for all purposes and considerations, when they are transformed.

Create Magic Weapon: You peer into the Soul Gem and find a vicious weapon ready to take shape once you pull it out of your Gem. If they are lost or broken, they can be recreated. At 3rd level, the weapon possesses a +1 bonus.

None save the Puella Magi can use the weapon, and they have proficiency in whatever weapon they choose it to be, which cannot be changed later.

Telepathy: You can establish a telepathic communication with someone, regardless of where they are, as long as they are on the same plane as you. However, this telepathy can only be used with other Puella Magi, or Potentials that Kyubey is considering contracting with. This ability can be used without needing Henshin.

Bodily Improvement: You are able to veer into the Soul Gem's true limits and in doing so, realize that you can push your own limits.

For the price of 1 Corruption Points, you can heal yourself for 1d8 + your Constitution modifier of hit points. This applies even if your HP is at -10 (or 0 HP, or whenever people become corpses in your game).

For the price of 2 Corruption Points, you can cure yourself of a disease, though it will be 4 Corruption Points if it's brought on by a spell or otherwise supernatural. Alternatively, you can temporarily increase one of your Ability Scores (excluding CHA) by 2 for 1 hour. This can stack with itself.

For the price of 4 Corruption Points, you can regenerate lost limbs or any other severe handicaps, as well as give yourself rerolls on saving throws.

For the price of 9 Corruption Points, you can recreate a destroyed body. This will take a few minutes, because it's basically either recreating a body from scratch or rotting a corpse in reverse.

This ability can be used outside of Henshin, save for the ability-score enhancement feature.

Name Level: At Name Level, you become known as a Prince or Princess of Magic, and have demonstrated enough competence and luck to have lived this long that Kyubey has made you less of a target for harassment, and now uses you as a poster child for recruitment. Pick a settlement, and you become the de facto leader of it in the Puella Magi world, claiming it as your exclusive hunting grounds. You attract 1d6 novice Puella Magi who look up to you and see you as their senpai. Due to the lack of reliable information-durability due to the Puella Magi life being full of secrets and isolation, rumors about how you treat your new teammates don't spread very far. Indeed, if one of them dies and they didn't have a very public presence, most won't realize they had ever gotten involved with you at all.

Corruption Points: Throughout the class, you noticed how the words "Corruption Points" have been uttered. This is something that you gain when you make the Contract. You start with 0 Corruption Points in a pool known as a Corruption Pool, but with each use of your abilities as listed, you gain Corruption Points. Your Corruption Pool can only take so much Corruption before it exceeds its limit. Its Limit starts at 10 Corruption Points, with an additional 2 added for each level above 1. You also add your Charisma modifier to your Corruption Pool at every level including first.

The Corruption of a Soul Gem represents grief and despair, so aside from magic use, intense negative emotion can also cause it. If anything prompts an intense episode, such as a roleplaying scene, losing a dear loved one, or anything like a Save Vs. Madness or a Crushing Despair spell or whatever, have them make a saving throw (whichever correlates closest to a Wisdom/mental stability-based save), and if they fail, they gain a Corruption Point.

For every 10% of your Corruption Pool that's filled up, you take a -1 penalty to saves against future despair-induced Corruption saves, to reflect your darkening mood and imminent grief-spiral as the hope within you flickers and dies.

If your Corruption Pool reaches its limit, your Soul Gem bursts and becomes a Grief Seed, as you turn into the very Youma you've been hunting. Oh my god, what a twist! If your players are somehow unfamiliar with the reference material, hide this part, it'll be fucking awesome.

The only way to lower Corruption is to use Grief Seeds. Every defeated Youma drops a single Grief Seed, which refreshes Corruption Points as if they had a Cleansing Pool equal to the Corruption Pool of a Puella Magi of its HD, minus any Charisma bonuses . Excess points are not lost when a Grief Seed is used, so a Puella Magi can hold on to a half-spent Seed. A fully spent Seed can be used to cleanse a Soul Gem, but going over the Cleansing Limit causes the Grief Seed to hatch into a Youma, which will have 'leveled up' from the extra Corruption.

Sidebar: In certain universes, a girl sold her soul to save Puella Magi everywhere from the fate of becoming a Youma. In those campaign settings, those with fully Corrupted Soul Gems instead disappear into thin air, purportedly taken to a higher plane of existence. With no Youma in this reality, there are instead Akuyo, wraith-like figures of gloom that take their place. These creatures drop 1d3 Curse Cubes per HD, which work as Grief Seeds, except they only heal 1d6 Corruption Points each. Curse Cubes never hatch.