Here's a glimpse at how OWLs will work on HiO. Please keep in mind that this is only part of the system, as it is heavily tied into the Adult System, which will be published for player perusal in the coming months. In the meantime though, you may wish to know what you can/can't say about your OWLs.

In character, OWLs remain an examination that Hogwarts students take at the end of fifth year to measure their comprehensive knowledge of a subject. Achieving a passing grade (A, E, or O) in an OWL means that you will take advanced "honors-level" classes for that subject starting in sixth year, but here's where our site will differ slightly from canon. Instead of only taking your advanced-level classes in sixth year, you can still take all of the other classes at a standard level as well.

Why? This change is due to system limitations as well as our spell acquisition system -- classes give out our spells and house points and we have no way of "turning on" a class after the OWLS. So IC we had to explain why you are still gaining spells in your later years for classes you may not have an OWL for. Basically Hogwarts has changed in the way it works to give students more comprehensive knowledge, but the advanced honors-level classes granted by OWLs are what employers look for.

If we can still attend all classes even if we don't have an OWL in that subject, what's the point in taking/passing the OWLs/NEWTs? Our adult system, which you will be getting a glimpse at sometime this year, involves career paths. Some of these career paths require an OWL in a certain subject or multiple subjects. Also, there are restricted spell/potion abilities where you must have an OWL in that subject before you can take the ability.

All the OWLs in the report card will be published by summer's end (we currently have six available for players to complete, and professors are working hard to publish the rest). Take your time with them if you want a passing grade and to be able to say that your character took/achieved them. This is, like homework, an optional system - as in, there will be a way to IC achieve OWLs after Hogwarts if you don't want to do the report card OWLs.

So in summary, know that taking the report card OWL and getting a passing grade means you can IC say your character achieved the OWL. This is a notable difference between the report card homework and the report card OWLS - report card homework is OOC and you can have straight Ts but claim your character is a straight O character (or the other way around). But with the report card OWLs, you have to have it on the report card to claim that your character achieved it. Also know that during sixth year, your character can still take classes that they might not have achieved an OWL in. There is no deadline for taking the report card OWL - you can wait for the adult system or do them now, but there is no rush.

A more comprehensive documentation of the OWL/NEWT system and the adult system will be published in the coming months with an FAQ. Any questions not answered by the above announcement will likely be answered by the fully-published system, so any questions posed now beyond the roleplay aspect of the OWLs might not receive an answer until then.

The following abilities have been edited, the edits here are in red. Please note that the Restricted Section opens up to 6th Years. The list of spells is being finalized and will hopefully be made publicly available in the Restricted Section by summer's end.

Apparition - provided some clarification on the means to gain your license

Reducio

3.)

Apparition
Prerequisite: Apparition; Sixth year or more.

Wisdom DC: 28 [On a critical failure, the user is splinched]

Restrictions: Cannot apparate on Hogwarts grounds (nor in other areas affected by anti-apparition charms)

Effect: Apparition is a wizarding transportation. It is essentially the magical action of travelling by having the user focus on a desired location in their mind. After the user is properly focused they then disappear from the current location and instantly reappear at the desired location. In short, Apparition is a form of teleportation. It is by far the fastest way to get to a desired destination, but is tricky to pull off correctly and disastrous if botched.

Apparition also be used when in an altercation, however you cannot dodge/resist any attacks during the round that this is cast and if you are damaged during the round that you are casting this for more than 25% of your maximum health or you are rendered unconscious, then your attempt to apparate will fail.

In altercations this would be considered the last action moderated regardless of the order the user has chosen.

Splinching: Splinching is where a body part fails to come with the caster. The exact effect is up to the moderator's discretion and the limb would be eventually reattached but the user would be without a limb until they complete the thread that they are in as well as a thread in the hospital wing of Hogwarts or a hospital thread in St. Mungos where you get your limb magically re-attached. [500 word count minimum solo RP] Debuffs include -5 accuracy (splinched arm) or -5 evasion (splinched leg) which would effect the user until their limb is reattached.

Additional Information: This requires a licence, your RP to gain this is taking the exam where you demonstrate your ability to apparate. The Ministry of Magic holds multi-week classes with an exam at the end to gain your license for anyone who has completed fifth year. These classes and exams can take place over summer at the Ministry, or during the school year in the Great Hall under supervision by an NPC Ministry official.

Can I choose to suffer a minor splinch? Yes you may. If you want to state you lost a pinky finger or your hair is now a bob, by all means do so.

What is a Critical Failure? A critical failure is where you roll a 1 (or within the extended range if applicable) and the spell ends up backfiring or an unexpected effect happens which is often disastrous to the caster.

Restricted Section spells/potions - clarified where the RP should go

Reducio

43.)

Restricted Charms Section

Due to your academic successes and efforts, you have been admitted among the academic elite in your school. You have decided to pursue forbidden lore in the library, thanks to your access and your skill you now have access to some additional spells.

Restriction: Must be NEWT have an OWL in Charms (6th Year or above)

Effect: Must post 400 words in the Restricted Section of the Library. Able to learn up to 5 restricted charms.

How this works? In the restricted section of the library you will find a list of charms that you can learn. These charms are not taught as a part of the Hogwarts curriculum. You can pick any charm from this list as long as you meet any prerequisites listed. Then you simply write a 400 word post in the Charms Classroom Restricted Section where you practice this spell. You can claim you already practiced this at home and are demonstrating it there at a later date, but you must do the RP there for the sake of consistency and papertrails. Provide a word count total at the end of your roleplay (this does not include the directions necessary to perform the spell that must be described) and then contact the index team to have these charms added to your trunk like you would any spell.

Note: This has to be done for each of the charms learned.

How this works for NPCs: This does not work for NPCs. Your iNPC has the same spells your player character has.

44.)

Restricted Defense Against the Dark Arts Section

Due to your academic successes and efforts, you have been admitted among the academic elite in your school. You have decided to pursue forbidden lore in the library, thanks to your access and your skill you now have access to some additional spells.

Restriction: Must be NEWT have an OWL in Defense Against the Dark Arts (6th Year or above)

Effect: Must post 400 words in the Restricted Section of the Library. Able to learn up to 5 restricted DADA spells.

How this works? In the restricted section of the library you will find a list of DADA spells that you can learn. These DADA spells are not taught as a part of the Hogwarts curriculum. You can pick any DADA spell from this list as long as you meet any prerequisites listed. Then you simply write a 400 word post in the DADA Classroom Restricted Section where you practice this spell. You can claim you already practiced this at home and are demonstrating it there at a later date, but you must do the RP there for the sake of consistency and papertrails. Provide a word count total at the end of your roleplay (this does not include the directions necessary to perform the spell that must be described) and then contact the index team to have these spells added to your trunk like you would any spell.

Note: This has to be done for each of the DADA spells learned.
If you are a Parselmouth with this ability, you may learn all of the spells this way rather than only 5.

How this works for NPCs: This does not work for NPCs. Your iNPC has the same spells your player character has.

45.)

Restricted Potions Section

Due to your academic successes and efforts, you have been admitted among the academic elite in your school. You have decided to pursue forbidden lore in the library, thanks to your access and your skill you now have access to some additional potions.

Prerequisite: Must be NEWT have an OWL in Potions (6th Year or above)

Effect: Must post 400 words in the Restricted Section of the Library. Able to learn up to 5 restricted potions.

How this works? In the restricted section of the library you will find a list of potions that you can learn. These potions are not taught as a part of the Hogwarts curriculum. You can pick any potion from this list as long as you meet any prerequisites listed. Then you simply write a 400 word post in the Potions Classroom Restricted Section where you brew this potion. You can claim you already practiced this at home and are demonstrating it there at a later date, but you must do the RP there for the sake of consistency and papertrails. Provide a word count total at the end of your roleplay (this does not include the recipe) and then contact the index team to have these potions added to your trunk like you would any spell.

Note: This has to be done for each of the potions learned.

How this works for NPCs: This does not work for NPCs. Your iNPC has the same spells your player character has.

46.)

Restricted Transfiguration Section

Due to your academic successes and efforts, you have been admitted among the academic elite in your school. You have decided to pursue forbidden lore in the library, thanks to your access and your skill you now have access to some additional spells.

Restriction: Must be NEWT have an OWL in Transfiguration (6th Year or above)

Effect: Must post 400 words in the Restricted Section of the Library. Able to learn up to 5 restricted transfiguration spells.

How this works? In the restricted section of the library you will find a list of spells that you can learn. These transfiguration spells are not taught as a part of the Hogwarts curriculum. You can pick any transfiguration spell from this list as long as you meet any prerequisites listed. Then you simply write a 400 word post in the Transfiguration Classroom Restricted Section where you practice this spell. You can claim you already practiced this at home and are demonstrating it there at a later date, but you must do the RP there for the sake of consistency and papertrails. Provide a word count total at the end of your roleplay (this does not include the directions necessary to perform the spell that must be described) and then contact the index team to have these spells added to your trunk like you would any spell.

Note: This has to be done for each of the transfiguration spells learned.
If you are a metamorphmagi with this ability, you may learn all of the spells this way rather than only 5.

How this works for NPCs: This does not work for NPCs. Your iNPC has the same spells your player character has.

The following ability has been edited, edits are marked in red. The lore for Occlumency has also been posted to give background to those who wish to take this ability.

Occlumency Lore can be found in the Context section of the Encyclopedia (here).

33.) Occlumency

Reducio

Your mind is like a metal box under lock and key. Without the right key or your permission, nobody can take a look at the contents you have locked away.


Restriction: At least 6th year, cannot be a Parselmouth, Metamorphmagus, part-Veela, part-Giant, part-Goblin, Dhampir, Seer, or a Werewolf. You must be fully human. Cannot become an Animagus.


Effect:
The ability to close one's mind off to another. This ranges from being able to prevent someone from telepathically speaking to you (eg like with the Binding Mark ability) to preventing someone from reading your mind or emotions (eg like with the Legilimency ability). Makes one immune to the effect of truth serum/Veritaserum and gives advantage to rolls against the Imperius Curse.

Roots broke through the earth, black and gnarled. The severed earth overturned, the roots would encroach upon a wall made of grey stone. Initially it was too close, one would try as they may to identify what or where the site of this vision was, it was too close to tell at first... then the vision panned out, as if they had stumbled back away from the breech. It as the stone edifice of Hogwarts castle. The wall would tremble, the mortar would crumble and the wall would break. The wall broken, the rubble nary a barrier as something dark skittered over the fractured remains of the wall. The moonlight illuminated the profile of these creatures, their dark chitinous form. They resembled the spiders, unique in their physical form due to a strange segment in their thorax that was unique to Vladimir's spiders for those who had seen them. Only, these were not mere shadows, they had a terrible, true form. These were corporeal and they were many.

There would be laughter, then there would be screams.

Using this new feature is rather easy:

1. When you hover over a voice chat you will see a speech bubble. An example can be seen below:



2. When you click on this speech bubble you will be able to see the chat:



3. Type as you would in a normal text chat.

1. Clarifications have been made to the rules to make them easier to access. For example, the rules with respect to trees, evasion (as opposed to dodge), and vines should now be clearer and more accessible at a glance.
2. New obstacles have been added, as per flying homework answers provided by some of our students. Remember to do your homework if you want to be part of living patches. These include:
   • Snowfall
   • Bright Light
   • Fog
   • Maze
   • Heat
   Some of these effects are weather effects and can stack on top of existing obstacles.
3. New environmental attackers have also been added from the same source, do your homework, kids! These are:
   • Giant Squid
   • Pixies
   • Mackled Malaclaws
   • Ashwinder Eggs
   • Pooping Pigeons
4. If a player notices the bundimun, they will now roll for an evasion check at a reduced DC of 20 to avoid its acidic secretions.
5. Blatching now takes place in a way that anyone who shares a unit with the racer at any point during a turn is considered a valid target, be this before or after movement.
6. We nerfed improvised projectile. It now has a range: 3(+1 for each 5 points of strength)
7. Every spell now has a wisdom DC unique to racing, as you are flying through the air on a broom, and said broom sometimes provides wisdom bonuses
8. Healing potions have been added to racing, other potions are in the works and will be added with future patches
9. Clarifications as to races and abilities have been included Spell Flinger has also been amended, although it remains in beta.
10. The punishment for being caught cheating has been reduced from 3 rounds stationary to 1.
11. Order of operations has changed. Actions now take place before movement, and specifically in this order: counter-charms and defensive spells, support and healing spells, spells against the environment, and then hostile spells and other hostile actions.
12. We have introduced a points based system to determine the overall champion! Gone are the days of the three way tie for the 2020-21 championship. Don't worry, the first across the line still wins.

Duelling Update

There are some things that will change. Due to the need to do something about the fairness in duels, we have decided to introduce a Junior and a Senior League, while keeping the house team dynamic for house spirit and ease of strategy/moderation. We have also made some spell edits and added some new spells. Additionally we have decided to no longer randomize matches and instead divide the matches by stat point, in the hope to achieve some more balanced duels.

The Leagues

Junior League: Year 1-3
Senior League: Year 4-7

Students in Year 1-2 are fixed in the Junior League, students in Year 5-7 are fixed in the Senior League. Students from Year 3 and 4 can jump leagues. They would usually be assigned to be in the Junior League (for the third years) or Senior League (for the fourth years) but, if circumstances demand, might be moved to the other league to fill empty spots.

Pairings and Matches

As I said before we are going to keep house teams, however we are getting rid of randomized matches. Instead matches will be decided by a rough skill estimate. The pairings still consist of players of the same team. Those who participated in the summer games will be aware of what is meant by that. But I will give you a short rundown as well. The pairings and matches will be decided via the stat point average between the players to create matches in which players with similar stat point averages will face off against each other. Of course there are multiple things we need to be aware of, when manually assigning the matches. The following is a priority list of what we will take into account when deciding the pairings and matches:

1. Never match pairs against their own house
2. Match pairs against others with a similar stat point total
3. Match players against ones they have not played against in previous stages of the same school year

The Ranking

For those of you concerned about the ranking, there will not be any changes in the ranking itself. We won't split the ranking into leagues, but will adjust the coding to reflect more free matches, since we no longer pair players up against a specific house. We will also add category tags to the ranking.

[JL] = Junior League
[SL] = Senior League

You will find the ranking of this year here: [Link].

Spells

Limbo Mist • Vario Nebula • [Support][EoT] • WDC 15 [NEW!]
Tags: Non-targeted, Charm

Reducio

Damage
• No Damage (RP effect)
Effect
• Target suffers -4 Wisdom, -4 Accuracy for duration
• Target is enveloped by golden mist that makes them feel as if they were hanging off the ceiling (RP effect).
Duration
• 1-2 rounds (1d3, 1-2: 1 round, 3: 2 rounds) + 1 round per 5 points of caster's AP
Nullify
• None.
Critical Failure
• The effect is applied to the caster.
Critical Success
• Target suffers -6 Wisdom, -6 Accuracy for the duration.
Impaired Hit
• Not applicable

Tempest Jinx • Tempest • [Attack] • WDC 17 [NEW!]
Tags: Targeted, Jinx

Reducio

Damage
• 50 + AP × 10
Effect
• The caster sends 1-3 (d6, 1-3: 1, 4-5: 2, 6: 3) lightning strikes at the target. Each requires a separate Targeting and Accuracy phase.
Duration
• None
Nullify
• None
Critical Failure
• Caster is struck by 1-3 (d6, 1-3: 1, 4-5: 2, 6: 3) lightning strikes.
Critical Success
• One additional lightning strike.
Impaired Hit
• Damage is halved.

Fulgari • Fulgari • [Support][DoT][EoT] • WDC 16 [NEW!]
Tags: Targeted, Transfiguration

Reducio

Damage
• No Damage (RP effect)
Effect
• Conjures cords the target's arms.
• Target is unable to cast spells while bound, unless via the use of Wandless Magic
• Target suffers 50 damage with a stacking +10 damage for each round the target remains bound
• Every round of duration a Strength Check is performed to attempt breaking out of the effect.
• The DC to break out of the spell is 15 + 1 for every 10 points in the caster's Arcane Power. For each unsuccessful check, the DC is lowered by -2 in the following round.
Duration
• Until the target breaks out (requires action)
Nullify
• Emancipare removes the effect (cast by partner or wandless).
• General Counter-Spell lowers the Strength DC by 5 (cast by partner or wandless). Takes place before the Strength check for the round.
Critical Failure
• The effect and damage is applied to the caster.
Critical Success
• +5 Strength DC.
Impaired Hit
• DC is 10 + 1 for every 10 points in the caster's Arcane Power. For each unsuccessful check, the DC is lowered by -4 in the following round.

Emancipare • Emancipare • [Utility][Counter] • WDC 11 [NEW!]
Tags: Non-targeted, Transfiguration

Reducio

Damage
• No Damage (RP effect)
Effect
• Removes the effects of Fulgari from the target
Duration
• Applied the same round.
Nullify
• None
Critical Failure
• Restraints tighten, increasing the Strength DC by 5 and dealing an additional 50 damage.
Critical Success
• None
Impaired Hit
• Not applicable.

Jelly Fingers Curse • Digiti Wibbli • [Support] • WDC 15 [NEW!]
Tags: Targeted, Curse

Reducio

Damage
• No Damage (RP effect)
Effect
• Target suffers -4 Accuracy for the duration.
• Additionally, the target suffers a 30% chance with a +20% per round that the target drops their wand.
• Retrieving the wand requires using the 'Search For Wand' action or Accio.
Duration
• Until the wand is dropped.
Nullify
• None.
Critical Failure
• Effect is applied to the caster.
Critical Success
• Retrieving the wand requires two rounds of using the 'Search for Wand' action.
Impaired Hit
• Accuracy debuff is reduced to -2.
• Spell effect ends after 1-3 rounds (1d6, 1-3: 1 round, 4-5: 2 rounds, 6: 3 rounds) even if the wand is not dropped or when the wand is dropped.

Trip Jinx • Offendo • [Support][Counter] • WDC 16 [NEW!]
Tags: Non-targeted, Jinx

Reducio

Damage
• No damage (RP effect)
Effect
• Target trips and has to focus on recovering their balance.
• Target suffers -4 Evasion with an additional -2 Evasion for each 5 points of the caster's AP.
Duration
• Applied the same round.
Nullify
• None.
Critical Failure
• Effect is applied to the caster.
Critical Success
• Target suffers -6 Evasion with an additional -3 Evasion for each 5 points of the caster's AP.
Impaired Hit
• Not applicable.

Bird Conjuring Charm • Avis • [Support][Counter] • WDC 16 [NEW!]
Tags: Non-targeted, Charm

Reducio

Damage
• No damage (RP effect)
Effect
• A small flock of birds swarms the target's wand arm, hindering their movement.
• The target suffers -4 Accuracy with an additional -1 Accuracy for each 5 points of the caster's AP.
Duration
• Applied the same round.
Nullify
• None.
Critical Failure
• Caster conjures bird poop on the ground around them and suffer -4 Evasion with an additional -1 Evasion for every 5 points of the caster's AP (applied the same round).
Critical Success
• Target suffers -6 Accuracy with an additional -2 Accuracy for each 5 points of the caster's AP.
Impaired Hit
• Not applicable

Blasting Curse • Confringo • [Attack] • WDC 17 [NEW!]
Tags: Targeted, Curse

Reducio

Damage
• 150 + AP × 10 or 10 + AP × 5
Effect
• Spell makes the floor at the target's feet explode.
• If they get hit by the explosion, they take full damage.
• If they manage to evade the brunt of the explosion (successful Evasion check or Auto-Dodge/Miss), they take reduced chip damage from flying splinters.
Duration
• No Duration
Nullify
• None.
Critical Failure
• The caster suffers the full damage.
Critical Success
• +80 damage on hit, +30 damage if chip damage.
Impaired Hit
• Damage is halved.

Confundus Charm • Confundo • [Support] • WDC 17 [EDIT]
Tags: Targeted, Charm

Reducio

Damage
• No damage (RP effect)
Effect
• Target forgets all spells they have used in the last 4 rounds of the duel for the duration.
Duration
• 2-4 rounds (1d9, 1-4: 2 rounds, 5-7: 3 rounds, 8-9: 4 rounds)
Nullify
• None
Critical Failure
• Effect is applied to the caster.
Critical Success
• Target forgets all spells they have used in the last 5 rounds of the duel.
Impaired Hit
• Target forgets all spells they have used in the last 3 rounds of the duel.

Bravery Charm • Animosus • [Support][EoT] • WDC 11 [EDIT]
Tags: Non-Targeted, Charm

Reducio

Damage
• No Damage.
Effect
• The target feels brave, steadying their hand and boosting their accuracy.
• +2 with an additional +1 for every 10 points in Arcane Power to the target's Accuracy during the first round
• +1 with an additional +1 for every 10 points in Arcane Power to the target's Accuracy for the remaining duration.
Duration
• 1-2 rounds (1d3, 1-2: 1 round, 3: 2 rounds) + 1 for every 10 points in Arcane Power.
Nullify
• General Counter-Spell cancels the effect.
Critical Failure
• -2 with an additional +1 for every 10 points in Arcane Power applied to the caster's Accuracy
Critical Success
• Additional +1 Accuracy, no duration roll — max duration applied.

Cheering Charm • Serenate • [Support][EoT] • WDC 10 [EDIT]
Tags: Non-Targeted, Charm

Reducio

Damage
• No Damage.
Effect
• The target feels contentment, boosting their confidence.
• +2 with an additional +1 for every 10 points of the caster's Arcane Power to the target's Arcane Power for the duration.
Duration
• 1-2 rounds (1d3, 1-2: 1 round, 3: 2 rounds) + 1 for every 10 points in Arcane Power.
Nullify
• General Counter-Spell cancels the effect.
Critical Failure
• -2 with an additional -1 for every 10 points in Arcane Power applied to the caster's Arcane Power
Critical Success
• Additional +1 Arcane Power, no duration roll — max duration applied.

Wandmaker Update

2. Phoenix Feather: +2 Acc on spells, 10% chance of casting a random additional spell at your target
• Wand owner receives +2 Accuracy on spells
• After a successful Wisdom Check and potential Auto-Fail Checks, an additional d20 is rolled. If the result is 19 or 20, a random Duelling spell is selected from the caster's Trunk. This spell will target the same player who the caster was aiming at with their first spell (even if either of the two are spells that do not require Acc/Eva rolls). The Protego spell is not a valid option, unless the caster originally targeted themselves.
• The second spell is an auto-success (does not require a Wisdom or Auto-Fail Check), but will have to go through the Targeting and Accuracy phase independent of the first spell.
• In case the caster is affected by Alluring, the second spell is also redirected towards the new target.
• In case the first spell does not have a target (or more than one target), the second spell targets a random player apart from the caster (in addition to the original target, if applicable).
• If the caster uses Spell Spread, only the primary cast (not the spread) has the chance of an additional spell being cast.

Potions

Look forward to a new addition to our system. With the potion system released, we have decided to introduce potions into our system as well. This is just an announcement, in case people want to save their potion slots for duelling. We will be working on the introduction of potions into duelling and will let you know when the system is ready.

The purposeful creation of a new account without deactivating your old account will be treated as a multiaccount and this is a Bannable offense. As stated already, we will not facilitate interactions where one person knows who the other is and acts as if they are new, it is a violation of trust. When you leave/disappear, people will mourn you and worry about you. It is a cruel choice to make and not an option to make here.

Please be aware that we do not offer "secret deactivations", if a user chooses to just stop using one account and creates another that slips past out staff (with VPNs or lies), we will treat this as a multiaccount and ban you from the community.

We have a system for "do not contact" requests and we expect them to be honored both ways (from the person that requested the do not contact and the subject of the do not contact). If a user is caught breaking a do not contact, we will ban them from the community without warning. Depending on the circumstance, rude behavior or bully behaviors may result in staff intervention ranging from a request to cease but depending on the severity, this can result in a ban.