osimur_wil
Scribe
Back again with more information and lore about my little pet project. This time about the magic system! Please, be sure to tell me what you think about it. Comments and criticism is always welcome.
Magic draws on the energy that comes from the shifting and movement tectonic plates. During and shortly following tectonic activity, such as earthquakes and/or volcanic eruptions, magic in a localized area will receive a boost in power. This boost also appears along fault lines.
Magic is accessed and directed through the force of will of the spellcaster. However, some mages use arcane runes and language to channel magic. This discipline of magic is known as "sigilism", and its practitioners are known as sigilists. To laymen, they're known as rune mages.
Magic cannot raise the dead. It can, however, bind the spirits and souls of the recently deceased to objects, such as suits of armor. This practice of soul binding is a forbidden art, a taboo that is tantamount to treasonous action.
If a mage tries to do too much with too little energy the spell will "rebound". The spell is thrown out of balance and will fluctuate wildly until finding an equilibrium. This can result in mutation, serious injury, or even death.
Magic is divided into different "schools" based on concepts.
- Destruction
- Protection
- Animation
- Rejuvination
- Illusion
- Summoning
- Sigil
- Enchantment
Animation magic is primarily used to make clockwork constructs move and give them purpose. In olden times, animation magic was used to make stone statues move on their own. It took a handful of animancers of considerable skill to give motion to stone. This was before the magical community figured out that more moving parts makes animancy easier. Nowadays, making constructs move takes only one animancer of middling skill.
Sigilists are the creators of magic books and scrolls, allowing for those not versed in the ways of spellcasting to use magic in a conventional sense. They can also engrave runes into objects to embue them with magical power. A sword with a sigil of lightning deliver a truly shocking surprise to the unaware.
Summoners are a rare and powerful kind of mage, able to open rifts through the astral veil that seperates the material world from the outer planes of existence, bringing creatures from those realms and binding them to their will
Destruction magic takes different flavors- pyromancy, cryomancy, electromancy, etc.- and is heavily prohibited in civilized areas such as cities and towns.
Abjurers keep up magic wards that guard cities and important structures from monsters that prowl the world. They can also create walls, shields, and enhance the durability of preexisting matter.
Healers tend to the injured and indisposed. Healing magic can heal wounds as severe as third degree burns to something as minor as a scrape or paper cut. Particularly skilled healers can reattach limbs and stop internal bleeding. Despite this, however, healing magic cannot cure diseases.
Illusionists are either spies for the great nations of the world, criminals that use illusions to change their identities, or street performers looking for something to spice up their acts. Illusions can be anything from a sound, a smell, a feeling, or an image. Master illusionists can make someone feel as though they've been shot even when no bullet has been fired.
Enchanters manipulate the minds of others, using magic to suggest the behaviors and implant ideas into the minds of the unsuspecting. As such, enchanters accompany illusionist spies on missions. Outside of this function, enchanters are largely mistrusted, many seeing them as dangerous. Abjurers can counter-act enchanters by creating mental defenses.
The Colleges of Magic are institutes where mages are educated in the use of magic, magical lore, and the applications of magic in the modern world. The colleges were established long ago when the old mage circles came to the realization that their orders wouldn't survive the ongoing march of civilization and innovations of science and technology. To keep their legacy from becoming obscure, they came to the city of Vance to found the first- and still greatest- College of Magic.
Over time, the colleges became centers of culture, science, philosophy, and education. They've since become a cultural cornerstone in the land of Oslaria. Commoners and noblemen alike mingle there, becoming an avenue for upwards social movement.
Magic draws on the energy that comes from the shifting and movement tectonic plates. During and shortly following tectonic activity, such as earthquakes and/or volcanic eruptions, magic in a localized area will receive a boost in power. This boost also appears along fault lines.
Magic is accessed and directed through the force of will of the spellcaster. However, some mages use arcane runes and language to channel magic. This discipline of magic is known as "sigilism", and its practitioners are known as sigilists. To laymen, they're known as rune mages.
Magic cannot raise the dead. It can, however, bind the spirits and souls of the recently deceased to objects, such as suits of armor. This practice of soul binding is a forbidden art, a taboo that is tantamount to treasonous action.
If a mage tries to do too much with too little energy the spell will "rebound". The spell is thrown out of balance and will fluctuate wildly until finding an equilibrium. This can result in mutation, serious injury, or even death.
Magic is divided into different "schools" based on concepts.
- Destruction
- Protection
- Animation
- Rejuvination
- Illusion
- Summoning
- Sigil
- Enchantment
Animation magic is primarily used to make clockwork constructs move and give them purpose. In olden times, animation magic was used to make stone statues move on their own. It took a handful of animancers of considerable skill to give motion to stone. This was before the magical community figured out that more moving parts makes animancy easier. Nowadays, making constructs move takes only one animancer of middling skill.
Sigilists are the creators of magic books and scrolls, allowing for those not versed in the ways of spellcasting to use magic in a conventional sense. They can also engrave runes into objects to embue them with magical power. A sword with a sigil of lightning deliver a truly shocking surprise to the unaware.
Summoners are a rare and powerful kind of mage, able to open rifts through the astral veil that seperates the material world from the outer planes of existence, bringing creatures from those realms and binding them to their will
Destruction magic takes different flavors- pyromancy, cryomancy, electromancy, etc.- and is heavily prohibited in civilized areas such as cities and towns.
Abjurers keep up magic wards that guard cities and important structures from monsters that prowl the world. They can also create walls, shields, and enhance the durability of preexisting matter.
Healers tend to the injured and indisposed. Healing magic can heal wounds as severe as third degree burns to something as minor as a scrape or paper cut. Particularly skilled healers can reattach limbs and stop internal bleeding. Despite this, however, healing magic cannot cure diseases.
Illusionists are either spies for the great nations of the world, criminals that use illusions to change their identities, or street performers looking for something to spice up their acts. Illusions can be anything from a sound, a smell, a feeling, or an image. Master illusionists can make someone feel as though they've been shot even when no bullet has been fired.
Enchanters manipulate the minds of others, using magic to suggest the behaviors and implant ideas into the minds of the unsuspecting. As such, enchanters accompany illusionist spies on missions. Outside of this function, enchanters are largely mistrusted, many seeing them as dangerous. Abjurers can counter-act enchanters by creating mental defenses.
The Colleges of Magic are institutes where mages are educated in the use of magic, magical lore, and the applications of magic in the modern world. The colleges were established long ago when the old mage circles came to the realization that their orders wouldn't survive the ongoing march of civilization and innovations of science and technology. To keep their legacy from becoming obscure, they came to the city of Vance to found the first- and still greatest- College of Magic.
Over time, the colleges became centers of culture, science, philosophy, and education. They've since become a cultural cornerstone in the land of Oslaria. Commoners and noblemen alike mingle there, becoming an avenue for upwards social movement.