Magic Theory

• Magic is a mystical power that manifests in all animate and inanimate beings. It includes the five elements of the natural world: air, water, fire, earth, and arcana. Some consider magic a secondary form of life force, though most living things do not depend on magic to live. In layman term, arcana are the power to manipulate everything in the known universe, directly or indirectly. When one possesses arcana, one may control any of the other four elements at will. Because of its universality, a person of any race, gender, or age may use magic. However, not everyone excels in using magic. Some will only be able to light a candle no matter how much they study magic, while others may become powerful magi. This is because the manipulation of magic (arcana) requires mana.
  
  Casting spells require magical energy called mana. With insufficient mana, one cannot use magic efficiently. Mana circulates inside a person’s body, one may compare it to stamina, the life energy that allows one to run, fight, or perform daily functions. However, this energy is exclusively uses for magic, like stamina, mana recharges inside the body. It was theorized several centuries past that most if not all living things have magical circuits called leylines inside their body. Like how a person may be born with genes that make their bones big, or ones that give them bulky muscles, a person may also be born with big or small leylines. Bigger leylines means that one could store and make use of more mana. Having more mana will enable one to cast complex magic that requires a lot of energy. The expansion of leylines occurs naturally with aging and formal training.
  
  Primal Magic Although magic works in a very strict and logical parameter, there is one type of magic that defies all logic and leaves magic scholars completely baffled, Primal Magic. Primal Magic is considered Deity Magic, but it is nothing like magic. If one thinks of typical magic as rules, then Primal Magic is the thing that can change the rules. Primal Magic doesn’t just move element, it completely changes the property of the element. In a more practical sense, Primal Magic could turn beast into humanoids and naturalize the process. It can also make it so that all human are born with two heads. Although certain humanoid races had knowledge of Primal Magic at some point in time, the magic itself has not been reported since at least a millennia ago when most of it died with gods and their religion during the Dark Era.
  
  Cantrip While Mana allows some extremely potent effects, sometimes a mere trickle of mana is called for. This is the creation of a cantrip. Cantrips never reduce the mana stage by any amount, as their required costs are so small that even if cast continuously, they will never amount to even so much as a normal spell. These are spells so mastered by a mage they are virtually free of cost, although the character must be able to use some mana to use them. Cantrips are any spell that is at most 25% of your normal mastery rank in any field of magic. A magical weapon may increase this range, allowing more powerful cantrips without requiring more skill. Bless and Smite are effectively cantrips as well, as they do not require much mana to perform.
  
  Faith The power of true faith is perhaps stronger than any known magic. It is no understatement to say that the Smite mastery is one of the single most feared capabilities in all of Etheria. This is due to how difficult it is to defend against such raw power. However, Smite has a weakness, even against those that it condemns. This weakness is Faith. Smite's lethality is reduced one point for the total Faith the receiving target has. Faith is the total of all Miracles the character has as masteries. Their ranks are added together and directly oppose Smite. Many creatures have like capabilities, serving as a resistance to Smite, and offering their own abilities. However, should the source of their Faith deny a request, the user's faith is shaken, removing their protection until they can reestablish themselves in the eyes of their deity.
  

Spellcasting

Spell-casting isn’t easy. In fact, functional magic in the world of Etheria is more like programming a computer than accessing mystical power. The magic words (or gestures) are the language, telling the spell the where to go and what to do. For this reason, memorization is the life-blood of all arcane practice, as a single word or gesture out of place can have disastrous consequences.

To prevent an epidemic of destructive spells wielded by carless common folk, spell-casting has been largely hidden from public life, taught only in formal institutions or passed down within a mage’s family bloodline. To reiterate—magic is no mere trifle. One doesn’t walk the path of a mage without at least some measure of arrogance, insanity or intellect to back it up. But those who manage to keep their wits will find a whole new world awaiting them, with more mystery, danger and power than they’ve ever known.

What follows is an explanation of the fundamental aspects of magical casting. Please don’t worry if you don’t understand it all on the first go. Keep in mind that the math centering around magic ONLY matters to posts taking place within an OC (Original Campaign) thread, or Challenge Quests, which are led by DM. All other posting by players does not enforce these rules and you may write your character’s magical or martial prowess as imaginatively as you see fit. This is mainly to prevent potential powerplay in the presence of DMs.

Below each section will be an example to help illustrate how it works, and we’ll do our best to move through this step by step.

Casting Time Casting Times are perhaps the most important aspect of spell-crafting. After all, what good does a giant fireball do you if you get cut down before using it? So how do we go about figuring out how long a spell takes to cast? Well, there are a few things to keep in mind.

• The base casting time for all spells, unless stated otherwise, is zero (0) seconds.
  
• Base Casting Time is increased by 1 second for every 2 Mastery Points (MP) used to cast the spell.
  
• There is an exception to points #1 and #2 for very weak spells. Any spell cast with nineteen (19) or less MP has a 5 second base casting time.
  
• Keep in mind that throughout all this talk of base casting time that we are not including the penalties or benefits of casting methods at this point. The examples below will now demonstrate the basics:
  

Example: Let’s begin with the adventures of sorcerer Ming the Merciless. Now Ming is a pyromancer with big dreams of taking over the world. But Ming only has 17 in his Pyromancy mastery. His base casting time (that is, without considering which method he’s using to cast) is 5 seconds.

Ming’s brother Bob, however, is a powerful pyromancer with 100 in his Pyromancy mastery. Thus, his casting time is a hefty 50 seconds if he uses all of his power when casting a spell.

(Pyromancy 100 ÷ 2 = 50 seconds)


Casting Intervals “What is a Casting Interval?” – A Casting Interval is an increment of twenty (20) Mastery Points (MP) in a given school of magic. Every twenty (20) MP used when casting a spell increases this Interval, not counting the first twenty (20).

“Okay, so what does that look like? Lay it out for me.” – Right, so the Interval chart looks like this:

0-39 MP: Interval 1
40-59 MP: Interval 2
60-79 MP: Interval 3
80-99 MP: Interval 4
100-119 MP: Interval 5



Intervals are important because they are the core numbers driving the math on how powerful a spell can become and how quick it will be to cast. Intervals also determine the effects of Incantations, Gesturing and the effects of certain magical weapons on casting. To get more into this, let’s now look at each of the three casting methods and how they influence both spell power and casting time.

Example: Ming the Merciless has been training his Pyromancy for some time now, and now possesses 100 in his Pyromancy mastery. This has raised him from Interval 1 (due to his former 17 in Pyromancy) to Interval 5 if he uses all of his power (due to his current 100 in Pyromancy).


Incantation Incantation is the power of voice, serving as a direct link to a mage’s heart. It is the slowest method when used to cast, but can provide extra power when used in addition to another method, like focusing power through a staff.

When used as a casting method, Incantations are rather slow and add 2 additional seconds onto the casting time per Interval of the spell cast.

For a moment, let’s assume that Ming is still getting used to his Pyromancy and can only use Incantations. Applied Examples


Gesture Gestures are the shorthand of the magic realm, using motions of the body to stand in for magic words. It’s still not the fastest method for casting, but it does provide extra power or speed up the casting process (but never both) when added to other casting methods. Gestures are most often done by the hands, but those using two handed weapons may use their entire body to compensate. These gestures are often complex and dramatic, so be wary of using them if someone with a sword is bearing down on you.

Side Note: When it comes to gesturing and hand usage, remember that as long as you have at least one hand free you can still only use a free hand to gesture instead of your whole body. However, if you have both hands occupied either with dual-wielding or a two-handed weapon you must use your whole body to compensate.

When used as a casting method, Gestures add 1 additional second onto the casting time per Interval of the spell cast.

For a moment, let’s assume that Ming can only use Gestures to cast his spell. Applied Examples


Magical Weapons Most dedicated mages are smart enough not to depend on their body for magic. Instead, they equip powerful magical weapons to focus mana for them. These weapons allow the quickest casting times, and it’s common for a mage looking for large amounts of power to equip a staff and then empower their spells with Incantations and Gestures in order to amplify their power further. Magical Weapons have no penalty to casting speed. In fact, several of them reduce casting times by design.

Side Note: Having a magical weapon (such as a staff) does not make you inherently more powerful than a mage without one. Unless your staff grants a mastery bonus to your magic skills, you are no stronger in terms of overall power than a mage with the same amount of MP in any given school of magic.

For the following example, we will give Ming a staff and assume he’s only just become decent at using it with 5 points in the Staff mastery. This will grant him a -2 to his casting time per Interval. Let’s look at how this works: Applied Examples


Mana Empowerment Magic is a science and an art combined to create wondrous effects, but for all the skill and know-how a mage may possess, there is no amount of skill that allows one to cast more effectively than pure mana. Rather than relying only on basic amounts of mana to power their spells, mages can enter a dangerous tension between power and control as they funnel more and more power into their abilities.

There are eight ( stages of mana in total. On as basic casting level, spells drain one’s mana stages over time, at a rate of one mana stage per 3 spells. Any cantrips (i.e. manaless spells) do not add to this count. All players start at “Maximum” and go down from there unless otherwise stated.

Maximum: Mana that has not been used in any processing of magical effects.

Full: Mana that has been used very slightly, allowing for plenty of casting.

Adequate: Mana that has been allowed to expend a great deal of energy.

Winded: Mana that has used to the point it begins to physically affect the caster.

Tired: Mana that has begun to physically tired the caster from its loss, draining stamina and limiting action.

Exhausted: Mana that has gone further, and is on the verge of completely leaving the caster for some time, further magic begins actively draining stamina to conserve some mana.

Critical: Mana and Stamina levels have reached levels where the more frail begin unable to remain conscious.

Empty: Mana and Stamina are both depleted beyond easily recoverable levels. Unconsciousness sets in, and the body enters a comatose state.


Side Note: The less mana one has to begin with, the harder it is to recover over time. The first three stages of mana are well within the first 20% of one's reserves, but the more one expends the harder it is to regenerate, even with high grade armor. This means that early on in your mana stages even a moderate amount of magical regeneration equipment will be enough to recover one stage rather quickly. But once you begin to dip below the top 3 stages the recovery will begin to slow exponentially.

Aside from powering one’s spells on a basic level, Mana can also be used to augment magic, making it either more powerful or quicker to cast. For each mana stage sacrificed, a mage gains +4 to the effective Mastery Rank, or -4 seconds to the casting time of a spell. Both of these bonuses are applied per Interval. But how does this work in a practical example? Let’s take a look: Applied Examples