Magic Overview

Introduction

For as long as humanity can remember, they have had a fascination with the night sky. In the stars, they could find patterns, constellations. Yet they also found something else, something deeper. By inscribing down certain patterns, those mortals with an innate connection to the mysterious Astral Plane found they could memorize these patterns. Thus began the art of sigil literacy, and the practice of learning magic as a whole.

Mages spend years honing their craft, memorizing sigils and mastering the incantations and gestures required to cause them to take effect. This often comes at the expense of their other skills, which suffer on account of their discipline and study. To cast spells, mages tap into a reserve of energy often called “mana”. While doing so, they trace the required sigils in the air while reciting an incantation. When this is complete, provided the correct steps were taken, the spell takes effect.

As much as magic can be distilled into a science, mages are often loath to admit that the rules of magic can be inconstant and changing. The process of learning magic requires as much scientific study and memorization of studies as it does a more spiritual understanding of the branch of magic that is being learned. The exact procedures vary wildly from culture to culture, and even from mage to mage. At the end of the day, however, the importance of sigil memorization remains core.

Core to the experience of being a mage is the allure of Arcane Essence, and the later dependence. Arcane Essence is largely believed to be pure magical energy condensed into the form of a mineral. By consuming this mineral, mages gain a surge of energy. Additionally, this extra energy is often required for more advanced rituals. Mages find themselves quickly addicted to Arcane Essence, with bursts of energy becoming more and more necessary for them to maintain their normal energy levels. Without it, mages often become lethargic and unfocused.


Definitions

Magic Class: The broad category of magic that determines the particular mechanics and origins of that magic. The classes are: Arcane, Contract, Elemental, and Primal.

• Arcane magic is pure magic, derived directly from the night sky and the Astral Plane. This magic requires an innate, intimate understanding of magic as an art, uninhibited by other distinctions and understandings. There is only one branch of Arcane Magic, known as Astral Magic.
  
  
• Contract magics involve spirituality and the understanding of particular basic forces in the world. Unlike other classes of magic, Contract magic allows an individual to influence life itself. The branches of Contract magic are: Dark, Light, and Natural.
  
  
• Elemental magics manipulate and conjure the basic building blocks that construct the physical world. The branches of Elemental magic are: Air, Earth, Fire, Voltaic, and Water.
  Primal magic is a unique class of magic, with branches that are often derived from an understanding of another branch of magic.
  
  
• Primal magics are said to emulate magical energies that fall outside of the ordinary understanding of spellcasting. The branches of Primal magic are: Blood, Dragonflame, Songwoven, and Storm.
  

Magic Branch: The subdivision of a Class of magic, a branch of magic describes a type of magic and collection of spells with the same origins and effects. A mage can only ever learn two branches of magic.

Magic School: A way of categorizing spells into groupings that describe their mechanics and effect on the world. The school of a spell transcends Class or branch. The known schools are: Alteration, Animancy, Illusion, Manifestation, Necromancy, and Ward. Primal magics do not follow the school system.

Magic Spell: An individual sigil and the method of causing that sigil to take effect on the world. Spells have specific, clearly defined effects, and drain mana when cast. Spells are grouped into four Tiers, which describe their power level.

• Tier 1: Though small spells with minor effects, these spells are only minimally draining. Mages typically use them to preserve energy while still creating effects of some substance.
  
• Tier 2: These spells are seen as the “standard” spells of a mage’s toolkit. The majority of what a mage casts tends to be Tier 2 spells, which balance effect, complexity, and drain.
  
• Tier 3: These spells are often powerful, complicated, difficult to learn, and very tiring to perform. Usually saved for pivotal moments, mages tend to learn very few Tier 3 spells in their time.
  
• Tier 4 (Focus): The epitome of what a spell can do with only a single caster, Focus spells are the peak of a given school within a branch of magic. Many mages will never learn a Focus spell, and those that do find them often too draining and complex to use regularly.
  

Vigors: A vigor is a term for a minor magical effect any mage who knows a particular branch of magic can perform. These effects take no mana and are generally used more as learning tools and party tricks.

Learning

To learn magic, a character must spend at least two OOC weeks training under another mage. They then provide 10 screenshots of their training and complete a short application (found in the Solstice Discord) to receive their magic. A character can learn only one branch of magic from this training period, and the branch must be one that their mentor knows.

Magical learning involves being taught the sigils and incantations for a variety of spells, as well as the more esoteric theory behind the particular branch of magic they are being taught. For example, an air mage might take a student to a high peak in order to further appreciate the element of air. A natural mage might take their students on long journeys in the wilderness to grow closer to nature. Learning magic requires both an understanding of basic arcane sigils as well as a deep understanding of the branch.

A character can learn up to two branches of magic in their lifetime, though each must be learned separately. When a character learns magic, they are able to pick a number of spells with a combined total of Tiers equalling 16. For example, a mage could take two Tier 1 spells, two Tier 2 spells, two Tier 3 spells, and one Focus spell, for a total of 16. When a mage learns a second branch of magic, they may trade out some of their previously known spells to be replaced by new ones from the new branch. A mage can only ever know one Focus spell. Spells cannot be changed once taken.

When a mage gains a Focus Skill Value of 10, they can have a maximum of 21 combined tiers of spells. When the skill value reaches 15, they can have a maximum of 26 combined tiers of spells. A mage who hits this threshold should contact a staff member to have the additional spells added to their sheet.

Combat

There are a handful of rules and keywords that are important when using magic in combat or with use of the Solstice skill system.

First, and arguably most important, is Mana. Every mage has 8 points of mana. When a spell is cast, it drains mana equal to its tier. For example, a Tier 2 spell would drain 2 points of mana, leaving a mage with 6 out of 8.

A mage can regain their mana in a variety of ways:
An hour spent out of combat and without action counts as a Rest, restoring all of a mage’s mana. This can be performed with the command “/magic rest”.
A mage can, once per combat encounter, consume up to 64 Arcane Essence (lapis lazuli) to regain mana. For every 8 Arcane Essence that is consumed, 1 mana is recovered. This can be performed with the command “/magic recover [number]”.

There are a variety of keywords that describe the effects of spells. The keywords are:
Maintained: A spell with this tag allows the caster to continue the effect of the spell for several turns. This consumes the caster’s action. Taking damage or being forced to roll to resist an attack ends the maintenance. The caster can move while maintaining a spell. Only the initial use of a spell drains mana.

Ritual: A spell with this tag cannot be cast in combat. Instead, it must be cast over the course of an hour with a very involved and complicated ritual. The caster typically uses reagents and draws complex sigils over the course of this ritual.

Channeled: A spell with this tag requires extra turns equal to the value to be cast. For example, a spell that must be Channeled for one turn requires a full turn of channeling as well as the turn of casting. If the caster takes damage while Channeling the spell is canceled and the mana is consumed.

To attack with a spell, a mage rolls their Focus (Logic) skill. How this is resisted is dependent on the specific spell.

• Spells with the Projectile keyword are resisted with an Evasion (Dexterity) check. These are singular projectiles that must be evaded.
  
• Spells with the Bind keyword are resisted with an Athletics (Strength) check. These are physical binds that cannot be dodged, and require strength to break free of.
  
• Spells with the Wave keyword are resisted with a Resilience (Endurance). These abilities typically cover large areas and cannot be evaded, instead needing physical resilience to avoid damage.
  
• Spells with the Phantasm keyword are resisted with a Willpower (Intuition) check. These are illusions and affect the mind.
  

Spells require both hands to cast. A caster cannot use a weapon while casting spells, unless they utilize a catalyst. A catalyst must be held in one hand throughout the casting process. For this reason, a mage cannot utilize a shield or two-handed weapon in combat while being able to cast.

Commands:
“/magic rest” - Fully restores mana.
“/magic recover [number]” - Consumes lapis lazuli equal to the number inputted, returning 1 mana for every 8 lapis lazuli consumed.
“/magic restore [number]” - Directly returns mana equal to the number inputted. For use with special spells and abilities that restore mana.
“/magic drain [number]” - Loses a number of points of mana equal to the number inputted. For use with special spells and abilities that drain mana.
“/magic cast [number]” - Displays a message and drains mana equal to the Tier of the spell inputted.