Magic

Magic exists between the earth and the sky. It flows through and around all things.  It moves us, warms us and protects us.  It is the animating breath of the whole world.

Resonance, Symbology, Essences and Casting Magic

Words have power.  Even without magic they can heal or harm.  With magic, however, words connect more strongly with what they represent… they resonate with their meaning.  This has little impact on normal speech but you can heighten and manipulate the effect with training and intent to alter the flow of magic around you and thereby cast a spell.  Names have more resonance than other words and the names of the gods have the most resonance of all.  Only a fool speaks the god’s names without caution.

Gestures can be incorporated into casting a spell where words are not sufficient.  Some gestures are used to direct spells (e.g. pointing at a target) but most often they are made up symbols drawn in the air.  These symbols are a method of converting intention into action, or can be thought of as a trigger for the will of the caster.

Another common component of spellcasting are essences.  Essences are physical materials often used to provide the force or power for the spell.  They take the form of items that partake of some of the qualities needed in the spell and are used up when the spell is completed.  Essences may be cheap and easy to find (e.g. spider legs) or expensive and rare (e.g. large diamonds).

Everyone knows a few spells.  They get passed from family member to family or crafter to apprentice.  These minor spells are known as cantrips.  They are useful but too minor to cause much direct harm.  Mothers use them to help sing their children to sleep, Tailors mend tears in cloth, cooks weight the exact amount of herbs for their recipies, etc.

Foci

Seeing Magic

One of the most common cantrips allows the caster to see where magic has been focused and used by other spells.  The different information/effects may be faint or hard to identify depending on the strength and complexity of the magic.  It takes time and concentration to get a full picture of the magic present.

[range?]

• Easy & quick: Does magic exist
• Easy & slow: Where is the magic concentrated and how many concentrations
• Moderate & quick: As for easy & quick but with effects (see below)
• Moderate & slow: As for easy & slow but with effects and the dominant type (i.e. colour)
• Difficult & quick: as for moderate & quick but with the dominant type
• Difficult & slow: effects, types and religious magic

Effects:

• Magically imbued items – a solid glow around the item
• Natural concentrations of magic – a shifting and uneven glow
• Spells – sparkles, points and lines of magic

Types of magic show up as different colours (more than one colour may be seen at a time depending on what the spell does):

• Red – magic which causes, or can cause, direct harm (e.g. fire, disease spells)
• Orange – magic which deceives (e.g. illusion, invisibility)
• Yellow – magic which alters (e.g. spells of strength, influencing the mind)
• Green – magic which is used to heal (e.g. cure poisons, heal wounds)
• Blue – magic which expands the senses (e.g. see magic, divination)
• Purple – magic which protects and makes barriers (e.g. magic walls, protection from cold)
• Black – magic which summons and banishes (e.g. calling animals, summoning demons)
• White – magic which creates from nothing (e.g. creating food,

Clerical/Religious magic (magic from gods alters how the magic is experienced in different ways):

• Somnia (Death) – cold
• [Earth] – smell of newly turned earth
• [Fate] -
• [Life] – warmth
• [Names] – a sound of quiet whispering
• [Roads] -
• [Sky] – smell of rain
• [War] – pain
• [Wine] – dizziness

Magii (also known as Wizards)

Mages, on the other hand, have learned how to maniulate magic in much more powerful ways.  Magic must be understood to be controlled.

Training can be found in universities or in the Temples of [god of names].

Sorcerers

[What is sorcery - non system description]

Sorcerers are blamed for the [breaking] and almost destroying the whole world.  As a result, they are hunted down and executed.  Civilised lands will have some sort of trial… most of the time… but the penalty for anyone found guilty of Sorcery is death.

Druids and Shamans

Troubadours and Bards

—system—

Cantrips:

• Choose from Wizard/Sorcerer spells
• Number can cast: INT bonus per day
• Number known: Starts at 1 per INT bonus.  Additional gained through learning specific spells
• Number prepared: preparation not required

New Cantrips

Compass – Mail Runner only
Signature – Mail Runner only
Lullaby

Seeing Magic

D20:

Abjuration – mostly purple but red shows up if the spell is designed to harm, or xxx if the spell banishes

Holy Symbols and Wizards Staffs

Give up wizards familiar (at least without taking an additional feat)

Staff/Foci has a Resistance level based on materials, construction, etc. Any magic cast of a greater level than the resistance damages the item. If the foci is destroyed during a spell then the spell is still cast but the damage is passed on to the caster.

Holy symbols need just be held out but the foci for the wizard must be both in contact with the ground and pointing at the sky.  For this reason, staffs are a common foci.

The benefit of using a foci like this is that it can take the place of common material components, e.g. xxx for xxx.  It is only relevant for material components up to the value of xxx gp.

Resistance of base material

The purer the materials used the better.

• Softwood 1, xgp
• Hardwood 2, xgp
• Steel 2, xgp
• Iron 3, xgp
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Adamantium
• Quartz

Modifiers

• Masterwork +1
• Badly made -1
• Improvised -?
• Made by the wizard/cleric who will be using the foci
• Engraved with runes:
• [skill check] difficulty 15 for +1
• [skill check] difficulty 20 for +2
• [skill check] difficulty 25 for +3
• Metal shod [base resistance / 2, rounding?]
• Gem or crystal at the highest point, +1 per xgp value gem