Magick
The Colors Like Threads...
As you peer over the landscape, the very visage of green pastures and the forests come to life as the physical world fades and a blend of colors is born for your eyes. Permeated in every flower are strands of earth and water. The skies march with threads of air and fire, swirling down in a breeze that touches the leaves of the trees and gives birth to movement. All around you is a tapestry of chaotic color, interconnected, spreading from horizon to horizon. The Great Weave. The World Weave. It is a sight only you can behold, you who is gifted with magick. It is a tapestry that can bend to your will, a tapestry you can change with your very words and thoughts so that for the eternity that follows after your passing, your mark will remain.
Magick and its Forms
When a magi opens himself up to the World Weave, he can touch the very threads of its form and create a pattern inside of it that in turn affects the World Weave and thus the world. Just as words written on paper can affect the minds that read it, the pattern the magi creates reverberates and affects those near it. Manipulation of the World Weave comes through movements of ones hands, through utterances of certain words, from the magi’s emotion, or even from the magi’s very concentration. Of the most basic of examples, a magi can move his hands to in turn move a thread of a color, utter a word that ties the thread with another, perform another movement to make a knot, construct a thought and make a movement to set the thread loose towards a location, and then utter a word to cut the knot... and the result of all these actions brings life to a fireball coursing through the air. The complications of tampering with the World Weave are numerous and stand as the barrier between the magi and his control over the natural world. For the World Weave is always changing; an undefined pattern that always wishes to return to its original form.
The movements and words that exist throughout the magical world are unique to each school. Unique even to each caster. The different schools of magick teach their students different means to effect the World Weave and perfect their own styles. Students learn these styles and individualize their manifestations, giving rise to a blending of ancient and modern methodology in touching the world around them. Regardless of a magi’s skill, the use of words and movements is ever present in spell casting. But over time, magi learn of how to switch movements for words to increase speed, words for movements to increase potency, and a possibly infinite number of combinations of actions to produce the desired result. It is only through studying the World Weave that magi become better practitioners.
Magick Schools
The Concept
When the Priory was first founded in Leanantla it acted as an international organization amongst the Kingdoms and the tribes of Leanantla where research was discussed. Magic as a whole was largely shunned for fear that the same fate that befell the Old Empire would befall the fledgling Kingdoms. The magical knowledge of the Old Empire thus faded and the skills once learned and mastered were lost. It was not until the rise of the Lothrim Federation that magick was re-aligned as a tool of destruction to combat the warring Orks. Upon the collapse of the Lothrim Federation, the old Masters of the Priory wanted to return to the peaceful research that the organization once stood for. The new generals and students that had risen to power during the Federation years carried a loud voice against this, speaking out against weakening magick for fear the Orks might once return. Unable to reconcile their differences, the Priory as a concept dissolved, but remained in name. This was the period that the Schools of Magick appeared, where the old and new Masters of the Priory began to teach different methods of affecting the World Weave and contact between the Schools largely fell away. It wasn’t until the founding of the unified Kingdom of Mercia that the Priory was re-unified under order of the King. The Schools thus became a single organization once more, each Master holding sway in the direction of the Priory and the studies it developed. Largely, the Schools continue to work on their own practices while others look to blend the methods that the different Schools have perfected. Guardianship over magick was now the responsibility of the Schools and those students who would turn renegade and leave the Priory were hunted down to keep the secrets of the Schools and magick itself safe.
The Mechanics
A mage may only memorize spells from a school that he belongs to. A mage may belong to multiple schools, but certain schools are “opposed” to each other, and a mage may not belong to opposed schools. A mage may memorize a spell from another mage, or from a spell formula, or from a grimoire that holds that spell.
Memorization of Spells
The Concept
The constant development and discovery of new magicks makes it difficult for any magi to maintain an understanding of all the spells in existence. It is often thus that students of magick develop large grimoires carrying all the spells they have access to while they memorize the spells they need. The complexities of all the spells; the movements, the words, the concentrations, and the emotions necessary to bring about a successful adaptation to the World Weave are difficult to memorize and thus there is a limit to how many spells a magi can understand at one point. Thus, magi can learn and forget spells from their grimoires in their own studies to adapt to their changing needs. Should a magi need his entire arsenal of weaves, however, he can take the dangerous step and carry about his grimoire and cast directly from the numerous instructions inside.
The Mechanics
A mage may “memorize” spells from a spellbook. He may then cast any of his memorized spells when he needs to cast, but in order to change his spell selection, he needs to memorize different spells from a spellbook. The mage has a limited amount of “spell points” that he may memorize, and he may need to release some spells from his memory in order to memorize new ones. Alternately, a mage may cast a spell directly from a book rather than first committing its casting style to memory. This is most often done with rituals (which are often cast in a mage’s safe location, therefore he need not risk taking his grimoire/spellbook out into danger, and which also require a lot of memory).
Inscription
A mage may write the formula of any spell that he has memorized into a grimoire or onto a normal scroll (which would create a spell formula out of that scroll). A common method of learning spells is to learn the spell from another mage, then inscribe it into one’s grimoire. A less common method (since it requires entrusting someone else with your grimoire) is to let the other mage inscribe it directly into your grimoire for you. A riskier method, but sometimes necessary when trying to obtain a spell that is as yet too difficult for you to memorize.
Inscribing a spell onto a “vellum scroll”, which is made out of animal hide and thus will store a magical effect, sets up that spell to be cast by reading that scroll. Anyone who belongs to the proper school for that spell can then cast the spell by reading it from the scroll, and doing so is easier than casting the spell directly.
Magick Commands
forgetspell: release a spell from your memory in order to make room to memorize another.
myschools: lists the schools to which you belong.
myspells: lists the spells which you know.
myspecialization: adds specialization points to your schools, allowing you to cast spells from that school.
schoolinfo [school name]: gives you information on a school. You may enter the name of the school, or leave it blank to choose from a list.
spell [spell name] [options]: you cast the given spell. If you do not specify a spell, you may choose it from a list of your known spells. Options will allow you to cast a spell for greater effect, or more quickly, or without using material components, etc., usually at an increase in the casting difficulty and mana cost.
spellinfo <spell name>: gives you information on a spell that you know. You may enter the name of the spell, or leave it blank to choose from a list.
learnoption <spell> <option>: memorizes a new option for that spell, if it is available (check spellinfo to see if it is). Detailed on the next section.
readysoul <name>: Conjuration-only. You may enter the name of a soul you know, and cast it without selecting from the gump. Use “.readysoul off” to disable.
Spell Customization
| Option | Memory Cost Multiplier | Description | Backlash/Difficulty (adds) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effect | 1.7 | 50% effect bonus | 1 highest thread, 3 pseudo-threads | |
| Range | 1.2 | 50% range bonus | 1 pseudo-thread | |
| Duration | 1.2 | 50% duration bonus | 2 pseudo-threads | |
| Difficulty | 1.2 | -30% cast difficulty | 1 pseudo-thread | |
| Area | 1.7 | 3×3 area or +1 to Radius. | 1 highest thread, 2 pseudo-threads | |
| Cost | 1.5 | -1 special cost | 2 pseudo-threads | |
| Faster | 1.5 | 2/3 casting time | 2 pseudo-threads | |
| Silent | 1.2 | Doesn’t implicate the mage | 1 pseudo-thread | |
| Farcast | 1.5 | No LOS, requires spiritlink | 3 pseudo-threads | |
| Accurate | 1.2 | +20 to attack roll | 1 pseudo-thread | |
| Careful | 1.2 | 3 threads less backlash | 1 pseudo-thread | |
Additional Information
For additional information, see:
Spells have a casting length. This length is either a Word, Charm, Short, Long, or Ritual. The casting length determines whether you need your hands free and how long it takes to cast the spell. Word spells can be cast with both hands occupied. Charm spells require a gesture and thus can be cast only if you have a free hand. Longer spells require more complicated gesturing and thus require both hands to be free. Each spell has a minimum casting length, but can be cast at greater length in order to decrease the difficulty and mana cost.
Spells may require material components. These are usually the standard OSI regs, but some spells may require other components, may require multiple of each component (such as requiring 5 Blood Moss), or may require a component that is not used up (many spells require a dagger, which is used to let out a small amount of blood for power).
Spells all cost some Mana. In addition, many spells may also cost some Fatigue, and/or some Hit Points (usually this means that the mage needs to let out some blood to power the spell). Lastly, some spells may cost some of your abilities, such as STR or INT. These costs are temporary, and indicate that you are fueling a spell’s continued effect directly with your own physical strength, or by concentrating on it.
Spells may be cast while moving, but be warned that as you move more, the difficulty of casting the spell increases greatly. It is suggested that you remain still even in combat unless you’re casting very basic spells. Additionally, anything that disturbs your concentration (this generally means taking damage) will also increase the casting difficutly. It is quite possible that a master mage who is moving in combat and is being hit, may have no chance at all to cast even the simplest spells.
The mana cost for all spells is increased by wearing cumbersome armor. Anything that gives you DEX penalties due to equipping it will increase the casting cost (mana only) of all of your spells. Temporary DEX penalties such as from some poisons or other spells will not.
