Magecraft
Magecraft is one of the most flamboyant of disciplines specializing in blasts of fire and lightning, teleportation, flight, and healing. Mages are men and women who have learned to control the magical Ley Lines crossing the planes of existence. Mages learn to manipulate these lines through careful study to produce effects, which are formalized as spells. Spells have been constructed over hundreds or thousands of years to balance competing forces in the most efficient way possible. Great academies of mages study endlessly to improve upon existing spells or discover knew ones, endlessly arguing about the efficiency or viability of a new approach to existing knowledge.
Unlike other forms of magic, Magecraft requires a brilliant mind, and careful study to succeed. A mage without training might summon energy from a Ley line only to have the result fizzle into harmless light, or worse, detonate in their own hands. The study of Magecraft and Mathematics share much in common. For this reason Mages disdain Sorcery most of all, for its brutish lack of sophistication, as well as the lack of care for the dangers its practitioners so often exhibit.
Spheres
The study of manipulating a particular type of Ley line is defined as a Sphere. These spells can use one or more lines to varying degrees, and the Mage's rank in a Sphere signifies their level of control over lines associated with that Sphere, and places limits on what spells they are able to cast.
A Mage becomes primarily defined by their Sphere of specialization, but retains a variety of ways to diversify themselves from other Mages of the same specialization.
Spells
Spells are the formalized manipulation patterns of the ley lines of the world, there is a wide range of pattern complexity. The easiest spells to master are spells which use ley lines from only one Sphere, such as Fireball. These spells tend to be blunt instruments, and are often destructive in nature, as a raw discharge of a ley line’s power lacks finesse and has only basic levels of control over the manifestation of that power. Mage battles inevitably become blasts of raw energy, being simple to learn, cheap to cast, and devastating in their effect.
Spells that use ley lines from more than one Sphere are progressively more difficult to learn and more costly to cast, but the scope of ways to combine lines from multiple Spheres is the source of the Mage’s versatility, producing a huge range of effects that are precisely controlled, allowing them to generally be able to always have a useful spell at their fingertips.
Access to Spells
Each Magecraft spell has one or more Spheres that are required in order to be able to cast it, and each required Sphere has a minimum rank. The rank of the spell is the rank of the highest rank sphere requirement.
For example: Mana Storm has required spheres of Prime 4 and Fire 2. This means that Quiveztil needs to have 4 or more ranks in Prime and 2 or more ranks in Fire in order to obtain and cast this spell. This is a rank 4 spell, as the highest rank requirement is Prime, at 4 ranks required.
Learning new Spells
Mages start play with 1 Rank 2 spell, and 2 Rank 1 spells. These spells must be selected from the list of spells that the Mage has access to according to their Sphere ranks. Each time a Mage increases a sphere they gain a spell in the sphere at the newly gained rank. Additionally if that rank is rank 3 or greater, they gain a second spell 2 or more ranks lower than the newly gained rank. Mages may also purchase any spell that their ranks permit access to with experience, at 2xp per rank.
Casting Multi-Sphere Spells
When a multi-Sphere spell is cast, the following rules apply for the casting roll:
- If the spell has two or more spheres, the Mage’s spell rolls and spell effects are made with the sphere rank that is the most advantageous to the Mage.
- The mana cost of the spell is increased by 1 for each additional Sphere used by the spell beyond the first.
Magecraft Spheres
Prime
Prime ley lines are woven through the fabric of space and time, ignoring mundane material. The Prime Sphere deals with mana, hallows, arcane bindings, item creation, auras, force effects, counterspelling, time. It is not 'raw magic', but more the essence of magical forces beyond the mundane. Life heals itself, fire exists in hearths, but nothing Prime Magic can do is manifested in the mundane in some other way.
Prime mages are stuff of legends, usually obtaining strength through years of careful study with intensely powerful acts haking the foundations of the world intermittantly scattered about occasionally.
Example Prime spells: Dispel Magic, Telekinesis, Force Armor, Mana Bolt, Blink, Mana Gem, Mana Storm, Disjunction
Fire
Elemental Fire ley line are in streamers, flowing with currents of heat, flaring around sources of fire. The Fire Sphere deals with fire, heat, destruction, and ashes. Fire is highly offense, and the few defensive spells provide that defense more through a threat of damage than through actually intercepting the damage.
Fire mages conjure and control the flows of heat, powerful up close or at a distance they are always capable of significant destruction, especially against undead.
Example Fire spells: Combustion, Infravision, Fire Armor, Weapon of Flame, Fireball, Choking Smoke, Wall of Fire, Phoenix
Earth
Elemental Earth ley lines are in dense nets, holding fast within the substance of the world. The Earth Sphere deals with Dirt, stone, ore, metal, and gravity. Earth is high defense with significant utility, manipulating the foundations of the earth for their advantage.
Earth mages are solid, durable, and capable of controlling and shifting that which opponents feel is immovable and stable.
Example Earth spells: Tremorsense, Transmute Earth, Earth Armor, Earthen Bulwark, Earth Walk, Stone Shackles, Ground Burst, Reverse Gravity
Life
Life ley lines are in intricate lattices, woven through every living being. The Life Sphere deals with healing, growth, plants, rejuvenation, and poisons. Life is healing and buffing with some minor offensive power in the form of poisons.
Life mages can be brashly vibrant, slowly deliberate, or touchily secluded, but it's hard to have a bad day with a Life mage as a friend.
Example Life spells: Cleanse, Flash Heal, Life Armor, Enhance Poison, Heal, Physical Enhancement, Plant Wall, Regenerate
Water
Elemental Water ley lines are vague pools of clustered motes with invisible strands connecting them all. The Water Sphere deals with water, cold, ice, and winter storms. Water is mostly defensive with icy barriers and slowing effects, but has a good dose of offensive punch behind it's cold attacks.
Water mages suite their element, changing their tactics and methods rapidly and making it hard to pin them down, especially if they have already slowed you to a crawl.
Example Water spells: Breath Water, Frozen Touch, Ice Armor, Ice Shield, Water Ward, Wall of Ice, Cone of Cold, Tsunami
Air
Elemental Air ley lines are immense flows curling and curving through the air. The Air Sphere deals with wind, summer storms, travel, communication, and weightlessness. Air is mostly utility with communication and travel, paired with good offense in the form of lightning and wind based attacks.
Air mages have the greatest mobility among the mages, and they leverage it extensively to set up their opponents and trump their plans.
Example Air spells: Feather Fall, Whispering Wind, Gust of Wind, Air Pocket, Lightning Bolt, Levitation, Shockwave, Flight
Mind
Mental ley lines are woven through the minds of intelligence beings, connecting one mind to another by tenuous strands. The Mind Sphere deals with telepathy, illusions, memory, thoughts, emotions, and languages. Mind is mostly utility though detection and manipulation of others, with some minor offense power in their mental attacks.
Mind mages can be a true threat, attacking your very mental capacity to fight back, regardless of if the fight is a storm thrashed peak or a haggling table.
Example Mind spells: Aura Perception, Sense Minds, Displacement, Telepathy, Mind Flay, Invisibility, Mind Control, Insanity