Sorcery

• Characters may cast any spell they have mastered by expending soul points
• Soul point base is Intelligence characteristic + sum of all Elemental Attunements
• Additional spells can be mastered by seasonal study

A sorcerer may attempt to cast any spell they have mastered. For the spell to be successful enough mystic energy must be channeled through the pattern. This requires the caster have an Attunement at least equal to the potency of the spell, and to spend soul points to stoke the magic in to action. The cost in soul points is based on the difference between the potency of the spell and the caster’s attunement, meaning more powerful mages can invoke trivial magic with ease. soul points are restored on the rising of the Blue Moon, once every three days.

Casting a spell at the limit of your capability costs 12 soul points. A caster with Attunement one higher than the magnitude of the spell only requires 6 soul points, as spelled out in the following chart.

Attunement - Magnitude	Cost
0<	Cannot cast
0	12
1	6
2	3
3	2
4>	1

The environment contributes to magical casting. For minor effects, such as casting fire magic while holding a torch, this reduces the cost by 1. Major environmental factors instead increase the caster’s effective attunement by 1.

Element	Cost - 1	Attunement + 1
Air	Windy day	Under a raging storm
Earth	Underground	Deep in an ancient cavern
Water	Near a body of water, or running water	On the deep ocean
Fire	In the presence of a strong campfire, torch	Within a forest fire
Celestial	Night sky	Blue moon at night

The power of a sorcerer comes from the combination of skill at the arts, and attunement to the elements. Each art is a unique Magical Skill which demonstrates a sorcerer’s learned understanding of the ways of mystical workings. Typically casters cannot master spells which are more complex, that is - have a higher spell occlusion value, than their current ranks in each art. The degree of a mage’s Attunement is their personal gnosis with that element, allowing them to channel greater power of that kind.

The arts of magic are

• Adjuration - speaking words of power, invoking direct manifestations of energy, the magic of command
• Alteration - transforming one thing into another, altering the properties of an individual, such as the quintessential Curse of Circe
• Conjuration - calling forth spirits, beings, and places
• Enchantment - the creation of magical objects, buildings, and great workings
• Thaumaturgy - a more esoteric art which includes curses, affecting the nature of the cosmos, and warding.

The elements of magic are

• Fire - including both literal fire, as well as fury, courage, and swiftness
• Earth - spells or stone and the deep places, as well as the order such walls maintain
• Air - wind, weather, lightning, and illusions
• Water - the seas, liquids, and aspects of the mind
• Celestial - fate, fortune, stars, and the essence of magic itself

Spells have two main measures of their power, occlusion and magnitude. Occlusion is the complexity, subtlety, and degree of jealous secrecy which a spell merits. Magnitude is how much magical force is required to cast the spell, giving a minimum attunement for the magical elements involved. Adding occlusion and potency gives the spell’s total circle.

Costs can be reduced to 0, in which case prolonged spellcasting is as strenuous as heavy labor - but is otherwise not usually limited. Alongside this, casters may master spells they wouldn’t normally be able to cast. Often this is done by casters wishing to use more powerful magic, who are relying on other circumstances to temporarily increase their effective Attunement rank. This could be due to favorable weather, timing, enchanted items, or relying on their ability to square the circle.

A Mage by Any Other Name

Wielders of the arcane arts are known by many names, with very little standardization. Most, even magic-user’s themselves, simply use whatever term comes to mind in the moment - freely speaking of sorcerer and invoker alike. However, some trends seem to prevail.

• sorcerer: most common word for those who use magic
• magic-user: a generally applicable term, and considered the most accurate by classically trained sorcerers - however uncommon amongst mundane folk
• wizard, magician: largely interchangeable, although some interpret these as having the connotation of chicanery and charlatanry
• mage: often used in the context of an element; fire-mage, water-mage, celestial-mage. Refers to anyone capable of channeling that type of elemental power
• conjurer, alterationist, thaumaturge…: using the names of schools of magic are almost exclusively used by trained sorcerers and other loremasters knowledgeable in the arcane arts. Ophidian law mandated that a magic-user must have mastered at least six spells and be above rank 3 before they could legally use these titles, although such restrictions are not enforced in the Shrinelands. A master would require rank 5.
• pyromancer, hydromancer, astromancer…: considered archaic and very rarely used, with the exception of necromancer, the near universally reviled form of magic. Most others have the connotation of limitation, the implication being that a pyromancer is exclusively capable of channeling fire magic.
• witch, warlock: as sorcerer but with a decidedly negative connotation, however rarely applied with any consistency. For every hardened barbarian decrying the witchery of the dark arts, the very next drink might find them praising their favorite enchanter for forging their favorite blade.

Ceremonial Magic

Larger spells which require more time to cast

Arts

The Arts are each magical skills, representing a character’s finesse and mastery of a particular style of magic.

Adjuration

Must always be spoken
notable spells

Learning basic adjuration is often seen as wise, for even many simple spells of this school can be devastating in the hands of a potent sorcerer.

Alteration

Known as mutators or shapers, the art of alteration changes the nature of the target. This could enhance a particular sense, giving the target the eyes of a cat, or change a rope to have the rigidity of stone.

tapping magic power

Conjuration

The conjurer practices the art of conjuration, calling spirits from distant realms to serve them. Most such spells tend to be lengthy rituals which involve appealing to the desires of some class of being. If the caster has enough Magical Leadership these creatures remain under their control as long as the spell lasts, although some rare beings are summoned as uncontrolled instances of their kind.

In this instance the creature is on its own, and a wise caster ought to employ bargaining or control spells to use such creatures. Alongside this, even controlled creatures balk at doing anything against their nature. Issuing these orders requires a control check on behalf of the caster.

leadership

Enchantment

Enchanters largely deal with the creation of magic items, although a number of additional useful magics have been picked up by the school over the eons. Most sorcerers at least learn the basics of enchantment, this being required to align a mystic space with which to do much of their other work.

• creating the mystic laboratory
• the sword spell - creates a truly unique weapon, the ultimate power

Thaumaturgy

A more esoteric art, the thaumaturge enforces new rules on the cosmos. This often takes the form of curses, but also includes many outlandish spells beyond the other techniques.

teleportation
important for binding a familiar

Elements

Inherent Attunement Bonus

The power flowing through any creature attuned to the elements changes them in subtle ways, providing bonuses even outside of any aptitude at spellcraft.

• Total Attunement is added to Soul Points, so each level increases this by 1
• Attunement level is added to saves against spells of that particular element

Additional each element provides some resistance against attacks of that nature, specifically:

• Air - Lightning resistance, ignore X highest damage die from lightning
• Earth - 1: +1 AC, 2: +1 AC, +1 HP, 3: +1 AC, +5 HP, 4: +1 AC, +5 HP, +1 DR
• Fire - Fire resistance, ignore X highest damage dice from fire attacks
• Water - Reduce mental damage by X, increase AC underwater by X
• Celestial - Alongside the normal save bonus, adds to saves and AC against spells you have mastered

Increasing Attunement

Many creatures have a base amount of Attunement grounded in their nature. Things of the deep places can manifest some degree of Earth power, while many winged predators have some mastery over Air. Magic-users, either by virtue of the alignment of the stars or the shape of their soul, also fall into this category - as reflected in their natural increases to Attunement at higher levels. This amount, however, is often not enough to satiate the true sorcerer’s desire for increased arcane potency.

Aside natural amounts of Attunement any creature may come to possess magical power, either through chance or training. Those wishing to increase their Attunement can look to

• Seek out powerful ceremonial magic proven to grant mystic power, such as Wading Through the Trials of Heron or by Kindling the Soul - often held as inner mysteries of the various temples or prized secrets of powerful mages
• Consuming raw essence. Although hideously inefficient and unpredictable, long term exposure to magic itself can increase Attunement. Generally dozens upon dozens of essence is required for this process
• Using magic in aligned spaces increases effective Attunement, such as in a raging storm, deep in the earth, or within an aligned Wizard’s Sanctum
• Wielding potent enchanted devices, as rare as the legendary Ring of Wizardry to creations such as the Oceanmaster’s Robe

Air

Illusions create accident, not substance. Can be disbelieved with training, or commit to being hit/running through wall

minor illusions manipulate images

Earth

Fire

Water

Celestial

The Nature of Magic

Essence

Objects may contain exceptional amounts of elemental potency, meaning that they can be used as essence.

Some natural confluences of potent forces can be sources of such wealth, called essence seeps. Most such seeps yield one essence per season, while some rare specimens may provide up to 10. While essence can come in many forms, the most stable form is when captured in a gem - such as via the soul siphon spell.

Essence Cost

Some spells and rituals cost essence to cast. This must be of the same element as the spell.

Cost	Examples
5	Simple enchanted item
10	Potent ritual, summoning notable beings
20	Powerful conjuration, large-scale rituals
50	Outlandish amount, enchanting peerless objects of power

Restriction of Destruction

Sorcery is unable to truly destroy anything. A conjure fire elemental may turn foes to ash, but this is simply the natural consequences of its own power. Spells may topple a tower, but its rubble and its memory remain. Demons can be banished back to their beyond, but not annihilated. Such true acts of destruction remain the domain of gods.

Restriction of Divination

There are no spells which can directly yield information; such wisdom can only come from dreams or the revelation of gods. Much magic allows the caster to see what is normally unseen, but this is an enhancement of the power of vision. Other spells conjure beings to go seek information, or demand answers from those who already know such.

Necromancy in particular is regarded as especially useful in this regard, as the dead often know much which ought not be known by mortals. The erudite claim this nearly unnatural power is the reason that necromancers ought to be feared and destroyed. The practical sorcerer thinks fears of undead legions are enough reason.

Potency of Secrecy

Spells which are more secretly clutched have more power. Widely known magics are far weaker given their relative potency than the truly esoteric. Scholars argue if a spell being widely known would cause it to loose power, or if instead Fate continually operates to obfuscate powerful spells. Despite this, many secret spells have vast notoriety; it is not their existence which is secret, but rather the details of their casting.
Those rare sorcerers who strive to invent their own spell often resent that this does not become more of a boon. Despite being known only to a single individual they are not guaranteed to have overwhelming potency. Some speculate this is simply because younger spells have yet to mature, or that such spells lack the focused envy of frustrated attempts to find them.

Principalities and Powers

In the Ephemeral Realm various beings rule of the nature of magic, contesting each spell much as kings war over territory. Spells that fall under their domain have a similar character.

• chaos magic
• Hebetic - stabilized by ancient wizards
• forgotten god
• reversed spells