Magic

The 6 Focussed Dragons

As with Inherent Magic, Focussed magic is produced from energy supplied by the Dragons. Of the Dragons, five live on their own plane of existence moulded to their likeness and are known as the Colour or Elemental Dragons. These are the Gods that provide the power for Focussed Magic.

Rubione the Red Dragon

Patron of the Plane of Fire

Amethyne the Blue Dragon

Patron of the Plane of Air, Lightning is its power, wind is its domain. Many sailors give thanks to Amethyne during their voyages in hopes that it will grant them safe travel. Nautical mages also follow Amethyne. Not cut out for adventuring, they chart the ebb and flow of the air as the steersman of the ship charts the same of the sea.

Viriol, the Green Dragon

Patron of the Plane of Water

Negrat, the Black Dragon

Pstron of the Plane of Earth

Snare, the White Dragon

Patron of the Plane of Ice.

The Mighty Dragon

There is also a sixth type of Focussed magic other than the five colours, the Mighty Dragon, believed to be the progenitor of all the other Dragons. It is not clear if the Mighty Dragon has their own plane or simply considers all of existence to be their domain.

The 3 Spiritual Dragons

These Dragons are gods, the only gods in the universe, although some very powerful creatures proclaim their own godhood, their power and influence is a mere shadow of the Dragons abilities. Three of these god dragons live on the Spiritual Planes, far removed from the Prime material world where mortal creatures live. These are the Metallic Dragons – The Golden, Silver and Bronze Dragons – which provide the power to perform Inherent Magic.

Katanal, the Gold Dragon

Katanal is the Dragon of ultimate Good. Seeking to convert the denizens of the Prime Material Plane into a Law abiding society dedicated to Good, whilst still allowing them free will. In other words, Katanal hopes that mortals will willingly worship them, and will not do anything to force them into its service.

Yasdril, the Bronze Dragon

God of balance, Yasdril is neutral, favouring neither good nor evil. As far as they are concerned, things are fine the way they are, but if one or the other of their metallic siblings gains total control, Yasdril will lose all of their own worship. For this reason, Yasdril is striving to maintain the fragile balance between Good and Evil.

Desutal, the Silver Dragon

Pure Evil embodied. Desutal has similar goals to the Golden Dragon. Whilst wishing to bring law to the Prime Material Plane and all that live on it, free will is an anathema to Desutal. Desutal works on the principal that forcing creatures to obey the law as they set it out is the only way that law can be maintained.

Other Dragons and Sources of Magic

The following are other beings of Magic and power who may be able to provide spell in a similar manner to the common 9 Dragons above, who may be encountered within the world of Lesia. Some of these may be available to Player characters, or even other sources not listed below, however in all cases will need to be discussed with the Plot Team.

It should also be noted that some cultures use the same Dragons or sources of magic, but may have very different names and beliefs surrounding them compared to how the people of Lesia know them, but their powers would be the same and their ideologies and teachings somewhat parallel, since the Dragons themselves are still the same entities.

The Dragons of Chaos and Law

These metallic dragons of spirit may well be from the same clutch as Katanal, Yasdril and Desutal, they seem to represent similar moral ideals and while they have been involved in affairs in Orlaine for many years they do not seem to have any interests with Lesia.

The Dragon of Void

This great Dragon seemed to be the antithesis of magic itself, granting its followers the ability to corrupt and counter any form of magic. Seemingly stronger than the other Dragons, it was once bound deep underground by the others, and for millennia sought to free itself and wreak revenge on them and any mortals who used their power, and was one of if not the greatest threat to Lesia in its history.

Recently the Dragon nearly broke free, but through the actions of mortal heroes the other Dragons were united and it was permanently defeated, never again to threaten the mortal world. Its followers and those who had used its powers either died in the backlash of its defeat or suffered horribly, leaving no trace of its dark magic in Lesia except for scars and bad memories.

The Dragon of Void can no longer grant spells or magic.

The Fae Courts

The Fae courts are not dragons but the royalty of those courts may powers which dwarf mortals nonetheless, as such some few mortals who gain their favour may well be able to call on the Fae Realm or the Courts of Summer, Winter or the Wyld for power, however they are much more likely to take an active interest in such casters and may require more in return for their power than the Dragons who tend to keep their distance from mortals.

The Fae courts seem to have the greatest affinity with the Mighty Dragon spell lists, each Court also seems to have a particular affinity for certain elements, such as the Summer Court for Red/Fire magic and the Winter Court for White/Cold magic.

The Land of Lesia

Lesia is widely believed to be a magical land, more so than other countries and continents, and while most do not know or understand how exactly many believe that the Royal Family of Lesia are somehow able to tap into this power. This can lend conviction to royalists who see it as a form of "divine mandate" but also mistrust to critics who may see it as propaganda.

Druids & Witches are known to cast by the power of "Nature", or "The Land", but otherwise use magic lists associated with Yasdril the Bronze (Neutral Inherent).

Arch Devils, Greater Demons and Arch Angels

Powerful extra planar creatures such as Demons or Angels may be able to grant spells to mortals, however they are much more likely to take an active interest in such casters and may require more in return for their power than the Dragons who tend to keep their distance from mortals.

The list affinities will vary between each entity, and may be limited to specific lists or mirror all of those granted by a specific Dragon depending on their power.

Learning Spells

The Focussed Dragons are neutral and are not really interested in other planes, they only want to feed on the energy supplied to them by casters of Focussed Magic Spells. Conversely the Metallic Spiritual Dragons are moral beings of Good, Neutral and Evil, and take an active interest in the affairs of mortals and the choices they make, only answering the calls and prayers of those who share their moral outlook.

Magic Spells are produced when the caster “taps” the power of one of the Dragons to create the desired spell effect. The vocals of a spell channel the caster’s energy to the appropriate Dragon who feeds on it, in return the Dragon sends back the magical force or spiritual power to produce the desired spell effect. Doing so requires the caster to channel their own essence through a Foci for Focussed Spells (see below) or through their own Spirit for Inherent Spells, these two things act as anchors for the casters connection to the dragons and without them will be unable to cast any spells.

Magic Spells are grouped into Spell Lists, each is associated with a specific Dragon. Once you have learnt a spell from a Spell List, you are said to have “opened” that particular list. Once you have an open spell list, you cannot close it until you have either learnt all the minor and moderate spells on the list (referred to as the "Cut-off" point) or you have learnt every spell on the list (referred to as "Completion"). If you choose to close a list once you have learnt all the minor and moderate Spells, the remaining Major Spells are considered a separate list. You “buy” Magic Spells for your character in exactly the same way as you buy Skills, using Skill Points.

The learning of spells within a list must be done in a specific order, learning the spells with the cheapest Skill Points cost first and ending in the most expensive. If two or more Spells in a list cost the same, you can choose which of them you wish to learn first, but you must learn all before you can move on to the more expensive ones. The skill LITERACY is required for a character to learn any Focused Spells.

There is a limit to the number of Open Spell lists your character may have open at one time. A Character may have a maximum of 4 spell lists open at any one time, but no more than 3 may be Focussed lists and likewise no more than 3 may be Inherent lists. This means that a character may never have 4 Focussed lists open at once, nor 4 Inherent lists, though they might have any other combination such as 2 of each, or 3 and 1.

Casting Spells

The energy used to cast Magic Spells is measured in units called Power Points (PP). Every time a character learns an Magic Spell, their PP total increases. When learnt a Spell gives the character additional PP equal to the cost of the spell, the number of PP your character has limits the number of Spells he can cast. They can keep casting spells until their PP total reaches zero, a character who does cast more power than they possess such as to take their PP total to a negative figure has Overcast, see the Glossary for more details on this condition.

Your characters PP total is re-charged up to its maximum amount once a day at midnight, although some potions or rare items may allow modest quantities to be recovered during the day.

Alignment and Inherent Spells

The Inherent Spell lists are divided into three groups: the Golden, Bronze and Silver Dragon lists. Note that there are 3 sets of opposing lists, if a character learns even a single spell on one of these sets they can never learn any spells from the opposing lists, even if they change alignment or dragon, as long as they know the opposing spells, even if they cannot cast them due to alignment shifts.

• Curing (Good) opposes Causing (Evil)

• Undead Dismissing (Good) opposes Undead Raising (Evil)

• The three General lists (Good, Neutral and Evil) all oppose each other.

Inherent spell casters are categorised into 3 groups - note that even if they cast by a non-dragon entity they will still follow these rules based on the alignment of their source of magic, for example Druids cast by Nature and thus count as BDUs (Neutral).

• Gold Dragon User (GDU)

  • • Alignment of +6 or higher (Good) casts all inherent spells by the Golden Dragon.

    • May learn and cast all the Gold Dragon Lists, including General Good

    • May learn and cast any Bronze Dragon List, except for General Neutral

    • If a GDUs alignment falls to +5 the Gold Dragon will give them a chance to redeem themselves and restore their alignment, and thus still grant access to their spells. If they fall as low as +4 then they become a BDU.

• Bronze Dragon User (BDU)

  • • Alignment between +5 and -5 (Neutral) casts all inherent spells by the Bronze Dragon.

    • May learn and cast all the Bronze Dragon Lists, including General Neutral

    • May learn and cast any Gold or Silver Dragon List, except for General Good or General Evil

    • If a BDUs alignment rises to +6 or falls to -6 the Bronze Dragon will give them a chance to redeem themselves and restore their alignment, and thus still grant access to their spells. If they rise as high as +7 then they become a GDU, if they fall as far as -7 they become an SDU.

• Silver Dragon User (SDU)

  • • Alignment of -6 or lower (Evil) casts all inherent spells by the Silver Dragon.

    • May learn and cast all the Silver Dragon Lists, including General Evil

    • May learn and cast any Bronze Dragon List, except for General Neutral

    • If an SDUs alignment rises to -5 the Silver Dragon will give them a chance to prove themselves and restore their alignment, and thus still grant access to their spells. If they rise as high as +4 then they become a BDU.

If an inherent caster changes alignment such that they cast by a different dragon, the lists available to them to learn and cast changes to match their new alignment. If they have learned spells which are not provided by their new dragon then they lose access to these spells and can no longer cast them, however they retain any PP gained from learning them. Characters who change Dragons can usually return to their previous Dragon by simply working towards restoring their previous alignment, however the Dragons also often offer opportunities for new casters to prove their faith and embrace their conversion. Casters who do this may be given a trial, and if successful allowed to convert their locked lists for the equivalent from their new Dragon.

For example a GDU has learned the General Good list, they then drop to a Neutral Alignment and become a BDU. As the Bronze cannot provide the General Good list they can no longer cast or learn any spells from that list, however they retain all the PP already gained from learning the spells. At this point they could either work to restore their previous alignment, if they can return to +7 or higher then the Golden Dragon will become their Dragon once more and they regain access to the list. Alternatively they could embrace their newfound Neutrality and beseech the Bronze to prove their worth, who may send them a trial or test to prove their newfound faith. If successful the Bronze may exchange their knowledge of the General Good List for the General Neutral List permanently.

Focussed Foci

To cast Focussed spells, a character requires a Spell Focus. A Spell Focus must be a non-combat item measuring 3 or more inches in one direction, with all the spells it contains inscribed using special ink, and is most commonly a spell book. The spell vocals must be written clearly and legibly, of a size that could be written by hand. Each Spell Focus is attuned to its owner and cannot be used by another caster. The ink used to write Spell Focuses is a lesser magical item and therefore Foci are immune to Spells such as Breaks, Fumble, Magnetise or similar effects, nor do they use any Magic Item slots. The book or Foci itself is otherwise not magical and can be torn, burnt and damaged by non-magical means as much as any mundane equivalent. Foci have a Magical signature and can be detected using the Magic Sense skill, with Magic Sense Major able to discern which lists are written and the strongest of each (Minor, Moderate or Major Spells).

To cast a Focussed Spell, their written focus must be held in one hand with their other free to make somatic gestures. While they need not read directly from their Focus, they must be capable of turning the page, such that a quick glance at the vocals is possible. You may hold other items in the same hand while casting, provided that the Focus may be manipulated.

Most casters are limited to written Foci which must be a book or equivalent medium (scrolls, etched rune plates etc), however other forms of Foci are possible using the Craft Focus skill which allows the crafter to create a Foci out of any non-combat item, such as jewellery, tattoos, dolls etc, allowing players to express their character with much more individuality. These unique Foci also only need to be appropriately equipped by the caster (for example wear a Foci Ring) and do not need to be held, making them valued by combat casters who can use the free hand to hold a weapon or shield.

Magical Ink

The ink used to create Spell Foci come in two types, Self and Other Ink. This ink is a lesser magical item and can therefore can be detected using Magic Sense, it is immune to Spell effects but does not use any Magic Item Slots. Physically it is simply rare and expensive ink, so can easily be lost or destroyed by spilling and so forth. Magical Ink cannot be applied to combat equipment such as weapons or armour, as it would be too easily damaged and ruined by regular weapon blows.

Self Ink automatically attunes itself to the user when scribed, and as such can never be used to create a Focus for another Caster, using Self Ink requires no special skill to use. Other Ink does not attune when scribed, if scribed properly utilizing the Craft Focus skill it attunes to the first caster to use the Focus. Without the Craft Focus skill it attunes automatically to the user, as Self Ink. Other Ink is often used by Teachers to prepare Foci for apprentices for this reason.

Characters do not need to pay for Magical Ink when they first learn a spell - the cost is covered as part of the training to learn the spell - however cautious casters can purchase additional Ink to scribe spare Foci in case of loss, damage or theft. Self Ink costs 6g per point of Power of each spell included, while Other Ink costs 12g per point.

If a creature uses Magic Ink to write things other than spells they know then the ink does not form a Foci and is wasted - it attunes to the writer but does not form a Foci and cannot be used for Spell casting. As such it is still a lesser Magic Item and can be sensed using Magic Sense and so forth as above, but Magic Sense Major and similar examination will reveal it to be a spoilt Foci. This occurs whether the scribe is using the ink for an expensive signature, love poem and so forth but also if a caster uses it to write a spell they have not yet learned.

Learning Blood Rituals

Blood Magic works differently to the other magic types. It does not use Spell Power and is not controlled by any of the Draconic gods or indeed any external sources, and is a direct expression of the users own innate magical potential. Blood magic is available to NON POWER Users Only. If a Character has even 1 Power Point then they are forever incapable of learning Blood Magic. This works both ways, as a character who has trained in the use of Blood Magic can never learn or use Inherent or Focussed Spells.

There are 2 types of Blood Magic - Instant or Dormant Rituals - which are split into 4 Lists. Only one list can be ‘open’ at a time and must be progressed up as though it were a normal spell list, learning the lowest rituals first. There is also no 'cut-off' point as there are in the spell lists, and the list must be taken in its entirety and closed prior to opening a new list.

Performing Blood Rituals

Blood Magic in itself does not involve power, but instead concentrates on the harmony of mind and body. The more ranks of Physical Enhancement (Body) the character gains the more often they are able to use Blood Magic.

Rituals per Day

The number of times Blood Magic may be used in a day is equal to double the total number of Ranks of Body that the Character has. For example a Character with Body III (3) is able to use 6 Blood Magic Rituals per day. Like spell casters, Blood Ritualists know all of their rituals each day and can prepare and activate them so long as they still have daily uses remaining.

It is unheard of for Blood Ritualists to overexert themselves and use more Rituals than they can handle, however if any did manage to do so it would likely be disastrous and at least as dangerous as Spellcasters overcasting.

Performing Rituals

Unless otherwise specified under the ritual description, each ritual takes 30 seconds to perform and the benefits only apply once the ritual has been completed successfully.

• Instant Rituals take effect the moment the ritual has been completed, with the duration starting immediately.

• Dormant Rituals do not immediately take effect, instead they are inactive until a specific trigger condition is met and then immediately trigger without any conscious action on the part of the ritualist. Most dormant rituals may remain this way for up to an entire adventure, but once triggered will last for the current encounter. Only one Dormant ritual may be used by a ritualist at a time, any previous dormant rituals would be cancelled if a second ritual is performed.

Each ritual requires a focal point, normally an object. If the Ritualist or focal point is disturbed in any way, the ritual is lost and no benefits are gained. All rituals only affect the person performing the ritual.

Each Ritualist does things differently. The only things that must be consistent are the necessity for an obvious start and finish point and for the ritual to be long enough. If this causes a problem then ask the ref to give you the nod when you start and finish.

Common starting vocals are:

"Using my mind and body I begin the ritual of …"

During the ritual, you may choose to slowly move, such as exercising and stretching muscles. But you may not take any offensive or defensive actions in any form without breaking the ritual. You must also not move away from the immediate area from where the ritual was started. The most common method used is quiet meditation or the recital of chants or prayers, provided the roleplay is unlikely to be mistaken for another in game effect (such as casting a spell).

Once the ritual duration time has passed, the common finishing vocals are:

"I thank my mind for the focus and my body for its strength. My ritual of …… has ended."

The table below explains the different types of spells cast by either Focussed casters, Inherent casters or Blood Ritualists.

Essence

Target - Players or Monsters

• Target of these spells must be a person or creature.

Object

Target - Item

• Target of these spells can either be a held object or an object within range.

Barrier

Target - External Effect

• A person can only have one of these spell types cast at any time, the most recent casting cancels the previous casting.

• The caster must provide a 20’ physrep for the barrier such as rope or beanbag markers.

• Objects swung, thrown or fired cannot cross the barrier.

Enhancement

Target - Player or Monster

• A person can only have one of these cast upon them at any time from an Inherent source.

• A person can only have one of these cast upon them at any time from a Focussed source.

• In any case the most recent casting (of equal or higher points cost) cancels the previous casting upon that target.

Summoning

Target - Monster

• Only one of these spells can be active by a party at any time.

• The most recent casting cancels the previous casting.

Force

Target - Area

• Target of these spells is usually an area of effect.

Scry

Target - Area

• Only one of these spells can be cast at a time per referee on an adventure.

The list of the spells currently known and of use to adventuring mages are listed above. Some casters have settled and learnt spells that are impractical to cast on adventures, such as simple dusting spells and “Animate Mop and Bucket” spells that are often the butt of many jokes. Some of these spells can take hours, days or even weeks to cast. Needless to say, these spells are not available to an adventuring character.

The available Spells below are grouped by spell list with their own subpage, with the lower power spells listed first. The following is a description of how the spells are presented, however not all are required for each spell.

Range

The maximum distance at which the spell can take effect, this can either be Touch, 20 feet or up to 20 feet with a 10 foot radius circle of effect. All spells must have the target in sight, but some must be clearly visible such as READ spells. Some spells also have the designation “Other” which simply means that the particular spell cannot be cast on the caster.

Level

Some spells have different degrees of potency, either Minor, Moderate or Major, which may have increased or different effects for each level depending on the spell. Where other qualities differ between level (such as Range or Damage) they will split these out in those fields, otherwise if only 1 quality is listed it will apply to all levels of the spell - for example Cure Wounds has Minor, Moderate and Major levels, all with a range of Touch but heal different amounts.

Cost

This is the cost of Power points needed to cast the spell of the required level.

Damage

The number of TBP and LP’s of damage caused to players. Monster hits are quoted in the vocals, and some spells cause a different type of damage, which is quoted in the spell.

Damage (LFO)

This is the damage caused in TBPs to Life Force Only creatures such as Elves or Dwarves, and is listed for convenience.

Duration

This is the length of time the spell is in effect for. Durations are either listed in Seconds (either 15s / 30s / 45s), Minutes, Encounters or Adventures.

Duration (LFO)

This is the duration for Life Force Only creatures such as Elves or Dwarves (20s / 40s / 60s). This only applies to durations of less than 1 Encounter, and is listed for convenience.

Method

These instructions must be carried out to cast the spell.

Vocals

This is what must be said aloud for the spell to be cast. If there is more than one set of vocals, each level will be differentiated by numbers. Damaging spells have additional vocals which quote the number of hits for monsters. This Must be called aloud.

NOTE - Where a spell vocals have (Dragon), this refers to the casters source of magic and must be specific, for example "Gold Dragon", "Red Dragon", "Nature" etc. The Spell lists will state their default Magic Source at the start of their description, however other sources may be able to supply the same spells.

Effect

this is a quick description of what the spell can do.

Notes

these are additional notes needed to clarify any part of the spell

Some spells may have additional fields such as Power Absorbed or Distance (Feet). These are covered under the notes section and in most cases are self explanatory.