Laws of Magic. Must Read!

[guru101]

Ok I will probably be adding material to this list throughout the game as things pop up, but let me see if I can get the good general basis of magic in this game down.

Magic is a thing of life. The source of it is the ambient life energy flowing all around us. It's exuded from every cell and molecule in the world.

Internal Magic: There are also reserves of magic in people. Some have small reserves, and some have massive ones. It all depends on the person. Generally it is a poor idea to draw upon you internal reserves unless you are in a dire situation and for some reason cannot access the ambient energy around. If a practitioner of the art uses too much of their internal energy then they can die.

Powering of spells: Now the act of gathering magical energies is almost instinctual in most users, but the strength of the spell is powered by emotions and will. If your pissed off and you take all of those emotions and funnel them into strengthening your spell then it will be stronger than if you don't really try.

Shaping spells: after the energy is gathered then you need to shape the energy with your will. You can mold it into whatever use you want for it. It can be used to shoot flames from your hand or to summon a fey monster. Though most users only have talent in one art of magic.

Using spells: The use of spells are instinctual acts of will, and are triggered when you want them. Though the bigger the spell the more tired the caster is. When a spell is cast the magical energies are sent through the users body and out in whatever manner they want it in. That effort is physically tiring. Though like with any muscle endurance can be built up.

Concentration: All of these steps take focus and concentration on the part of the user. Some people have an easier time of it than others, but experience eases the way. Sort of like muscle memory.

Words: Words are not necessary, but can be used as a mental device to help shape the magic. Certain words generally don't have much meaning in a magical sense, but more of in a sense of how you perceive the words to work. Magic doesn't care what the meaning of the word fire is, but if you shout fire and it helps you focus on what you want to happen then it is more likely that you will shoot fire. You can shout Raggel Fraggel and if you are focusing your will on shaping your magic then you will still shoot fire if you want to shoot fire.

Now you don't have to post using all of these steps when casting a summoning spell, but I put these here to help you understand a bit more the idea of magic in the game so that you wont blatantly just go against the way it is used.

Black Magic: All above is the use of white magic. Black magic is considered black when it uses the life energy of another living being, or draws energy from something that isn't life energy at all. Sacrificing someone to power a spell is black magic. It's also considered black depending on the intentions, but we will deal with that later. Just know that black magic is punishable by death in the magical community. It is something like a cancer that will spread through a person that uses it. They become obsessed with the power and eventually lose all humanity.

There are five arts. Here are the other four.

Combat: Combat students are taught to use various weapons designed to hurt, and kill their prey. Weapons range from guns, to swords, to more...exotic weaponry. They are faster and more skilled than any other warriors around. They use a more subtle type of internal magic to enhance their strength, speed, and all of their senses. The most skilled combat masters have the ability to speed up their reflexes and thought process so much that time slows down for them. While they may not have super strength that a summoner might be granted by their summon they could easily slit your throat in the second it takes for an untrained fighter to think about swinging a fist.

Next is evocation: Evocation is the art of controlling and altering energies. Think fireballs, electricity, summoning wind, binding spells, etc. General offensive and some defensive magic. The greatest evocators can blast a building to rubble in minuets if they wanted.

Thaumaturgy: ok the basic idea of thaumaturgy is taking something small and symbolic, doing something to that symbolic object, and it happening of a bigger scale. Voodoo dolls would be the simplest comparison. They may not be as blasty and explosive as he evocators, but they are far more terrifying. They can enslave a man to do whatever they want, blow you heart out of your chest, etc. Their magic generally works on living things, but they can do other things like say turn water into wine. They get a glass of water from a pool, and start their spell. Place a drop of blood into the cup, a bit of wine of your choice, and a whole hell of alot of energy to turn a whole pool. The next thing you know your swimming drunk as a hillbilly at a distillery. You get the idea.

and last is alchemy: The art of taking on thing and rearranging it to be something else. Alchemists are considered the nerds of the academy, and aren't extremely combat capable. They make up for that with how they help out. They can create healing potions, make impossibly strong and light weight armor, amazing weapons, and various other goodies. They generally can alter the molecular structure of something into whatever they want as long as the molecular make up is there. Though changing living things is almost impossible. There is a component of the soul that is more than just molecules. Something intangible that cannot be altered.