[[[2 things:]]]
[[[Moved to the players hand book section, to here (link)]]]
[[[It has been updated too, so it will require a quick reread
]]]
Throughout the known lands of Altera, cultures, values, laws and beliefs are diverse, yet one aspect remains nearly the same.
All but a minority accept and believe, and even put to use, that which we call magic.
Magic is not an energy, or an entity, it is more closely described as a method.
While magic does give the skilled massive advantages, it is not all powerful.
Magic is the ability of a person to create, shape and manipulate energies to serve a purpose.
All people are born with a metaphysical entity called the Aether Vyrden. Litterally, this means "Life-rift." The Aether Vyrden is the source of energy for magicians. It is a rift between a person's soul and a plane of existence known as the Planar Infinity, an infinitely large realm filled with a fluid energy known as Mana. The rift itself can be accurately described as a tunnel. The diameter of the tunnel at the point of the rift determines how much mana can flow through at any one time, thus it is the upper limit for spell power, a mage cannot cast a spell that requires more energy at one time than the tunnel's diameter can sustain. The length of the tunnel determines how fast the mage can call upon energy. If the tunnel is very long, it will take a long time for the mage to call on energy, thus placing restrictions on how fast a mage can cast a spell, and the time it takes to cast successive spells. The size of the rift itself determines how much of the Planar Infinity a mage has access to, thus placing an upper limit (max mana) on the amount of energy a mage can use. If a mage were to exceed this limit, it would collapse his or her soul into the Planar Infinity, annihilating him or her on the most fundamental of levels. As the Planar Infinity is infinite, Mana will eventually refill the space voided by the magician's spells, but it takes time. Drawing energy from the Planar Infinity is in and of itself dangerous and exhausting, and requires practice to be able to access its full potential. A fledgling mage, for example, may have an Aether Vyrden that has access to a large amount of the Planar Infinity, but due to his inexperience, can only actually use a portion of it.
All people are born with this "Life-Rift" with the exception of Vorson's.
However, to be able to cast spells, two other things are required: The Conduit, and personal will.
The Conduit is a network of metaphysical energy pathways within the body. It controls the flow of energy so that a mage does not tear his body apart when casting a spell, and is also the medium for changing energy. Without a conduit, a person is totally unable to cast magic whatsoever, though there are rumors of artifacts which can create prosthetic conduits.
This Conduit is subject to a number of malladies and deformities. Firstly, only one half of people are born with Conduits. However, even in those that have one, it can be blocked, which prevents magic from being used, but is fixable, albeit it at great pain and risk. It can also be fractured, which causes significant energy loss and limits the ability of a caster to shape energies. This dooms a mage to horrible precision and efficiency. The conduit can also be twisted, which causes unbearable agony when energy courses through it. The latter 2 deformities are irreparable.
It is also possible to overload a conduit by running too much energy through it. This, similarly to using all of ones Aether Vyrden, causes self-annihilation.
Lastly, the personal will of a mage is what directs and gives purpose to the energy once it has been summoned from the Aether Vyrden. While will is not exactly the same as intelligence, they tend to go hand in hand. All spells require will, and thus a mage cannot cast a spell which he doesnt believe will work or disagrees with. Conversely, this means that mages can use magic in almost anyway way they can think of, so long as they believe in it. They can use hand gestures, symbols, runes, words, or even just thoughts.
However, doing magic entirely mentally is dangerous. Magic requires an intense amount of concentration to use. The symbols and words which people use act as anchors for the mundane ideas of a spell, allowing the caster to focus on the more important aspects.
Furthermore, a stray thought may totally change a spell formed only mentally. Conversely, intent can change the effect of a spell cast using gestures and symbols.
Assuming a person has all three of these things in the required amounts, they still require a massive amount of knoweledge and practice in order to be an effective mage. Even accessing the Aether Vyrden requires practice, and a mage may never be able to access all of the Planar Infinity that their Aether Vyrden allows. Precision and ability likewise increase with knoweledge and practice.
In Altera, methods for learning magic include:
-rp practice over time
-being taught by someone else in rp
-Attending an academy or school of magic
-magic related rp events
-rp books/scrolls
Magic is entirely energy based. All magic requires energy, and casting spells is, by nature, exhausting. The energy required to cast a spell is directly proportional to the desired effect. For example, it would require far more energy to throw a fireball than to light a candle. The words or symbols, and the type of energy, may be the same, but the energy requirement changes.
Nor can magic accomplish everything. It is simply like a tool which the will of a person can shape. It can only do those things which would be possible assuming enough energy and knoweledge were available. What this means is that you cant do something with magic if you dont know how to do it without magic. If you dont know how a lock works or how to pick one, you wont be able to pick one with magic. That is not to say you cant bypass it, you could instead use magic to blow out the lock from the door, or to melt it. The point being made is that knoweledge increases magical ability.
With this in mind, (and for the sake of preventing God-moding) magic cannot accomplish the following:
Time Travel
Immortality
Boiling seas or moving mountains (it would require more energy than anyone has)
Killing people instantly (to prevent OP)
Destroying or creating Gods.
Kill an Immortal King
Change any aspect of an Aether Vyrden
Repair a fractured or twisted Conduit.
Seeing the future
In order to ensure the safety of the people of Altera, the Immortal Kings, through the Gods, established a ward of immense complexity that encompasses the entire realm. This ward creates a blockade within the Conduits of all who enter or are born in Altera, thus preventing them from using magic. This block can only be removed through a petition to the God's themselves. (I.E. admin approval on the forums).
Because of all these things, significant magic usage is relatively rare in Altera. There are mages of course, some very powerful, but in general, most people have little to no magical ability.
In order to be a successful mage, one must have:
-An unfettered conduit. Only half of all people are born with one, and they are often times blocked fractured or twisted, and the God's Ward required the aid of the Gods to remove the blockade.
-An Aether Vyrden large enough to draw enough energy for the spell. While all people are born with an Aether Vyrden, many are so small that the energy they give isnt enough to fuel even the simplest of spells.
-Knoweledge of some magical theory, and the spell in question. You cant accomplish things with magic if you dont know how to do them by hand.
-Strong enough power of will to concentrate on the aspects of a spell and give it purpose. Without a purpose, the energy will be expelled from the mage, but it wont perform the intended effect.
Magic is loosely divided into 4 categories, but there are exceptions and some overlap.
Evocation: Quick and dirty magic. All combat magic is Evocation. Very imprecise and inefficient, because the mage simply doesnt have time to consider all the aspects of the spell. It is, however, very fast. Mages with good concentration and large Aether Vyrdens are the best Evokers. Evocation tends to be limited to fluid energy, that is: heat, electricity, force, vacuum, sound and light. Often manifest elementally as fire, lightning, water, earth, rock, air/wind and light.
Thaumaturgy: Slow precise decisibe magic. High efficiency and precision, powerful effects, but very slow to cast and very mentally demanding. Effects vary greatly, including but not limited to manipulation of the fundamental underpinnings of reality, energy, and space: Dimensional travel, Teleportation, Non-counter-based (Fire v Water) dispels, Enchanting, Manipulation of other Magical Effects, Wards, and other magic-effecting-magic.
Cogitation: The magics of the mind. Telepathy, Altering sensation, Illusions, Memory, Mental Constructs, and Mind-control. These spells generally do not require much energy, but are the most mentally demanding of all magic and require the most concentration.
Mysticism: The magics of life, death, the soul, and divining. Healing magic, Necromantic magic, and Scrying. Mysticism requires the most knoweledge of the mechanics of the spells in question. Good healers have to understand anatomy in order to repair wounds, necromancers have to understand, at least in part, life in order to reanimate the dead.
The God's have established in Altera the Echelon system in Altera in order to classify mages.
-1st Echelon: Very little magical ability, very small amount of energy, maybe could light a candle after several minutes of concentration and would be exhausted by it. Poor concentration.
-2nd Echelon: Weak ability, low energy access. Most basic of spells, very little concentration.
-3rd Echelon: Moderate ability. Access to enough energy to accomplish tasks. Enough concentration to do some thaumaturgy.
-4th Echelon: Average ability of mages in Altera. Formidable Evocation in their specified fields, enough concentration to accomplish basic tasks.
-5th Echelon: Notable ability. Tops of their classes in academies, court mages and advisors. Enough Evocation to be an effective auxiliary to an army, but not enough to face enemies on their own. Decent Thaumaturgical ability.
-6th Echelon: Minimum Echelon for teachers of magic. Formidable energy access, enough evocation to be formidable against small groups of foes. Enough concentration for significant Thaumaturgy.
-7th Echelon: Well known mages. Enough evocation to challenge groups of foes. Enough thaumaturgy to accomplish difficult and complicated tasks.
-8th Echelon: Truly incredible mage. Archmages are usually in the 8th Echelon. Enough evocation to challenge fortresses. Enough concentration to accomplish almost any task with Thaumaturgy, given enough time energy and knoweledge.
-9th Echelon: Terrifyingly powerful. Could level small hills, or armies alike. Nearly unmatched in every respect. With enough knoweledge, no task is beyong a 9th Echelon mage. Unplayable.
-10th Echelon: Immortal King. No mage is more powerful. Enough energy to create entire worlds, power over space and time. Unplayable.
The Echelon system is a measurement of overall magical prowess, with all fields taken into consideration. Specialists may be formidable in their fields, but still be in a relatively low Echelon.
Specialists recieve a prefix in front of their title, beginning at the 3rd Echelon.
Fire - Pyromagus
Ice - Cryomagus
Force - Kinetomagus
Water - Aquamagus
Earth - Terramagus
Life - Aethermagus
Death - Necromagus
Light - Auramagus
Electricity - Fulgurmagus
Wind/air - Ventamagus
Sound - Sonamagus
Illusion - Spectromagus
( will be expanded)
What does this mean for you?
For starters, everyone whos been playing a magic rp character for less than 3 months has the blockade in their conduit which needs to be removed by the gods.
For those who have been playing longer, you need to consider the aspects of this. About what Echelon are you in? How large is your Aether Vyrden? Does your conduit have any deformities?
Echelons are granted ONLY by the lore team. You dont actually get to decide what Echlon you are in, rather you suggest about where you ought to be. If you are at least 3rd Echelon, you may pick a single prefix to signify your specialization, but you dont have to.
If you God-mode with magic, the "Gods" will reinstate the blockade in your conduit, preventing you from using magic.
Magic isnt something you can just learn by yourself now. You must be taught or do research (in actual RP) to learn. Teaching is of course much faster, researching guaruntees nothing.
You have to remember the energy restrictions. If you dont have a large Aether Vyrden, you HAVE to remember that you get exhausted by casting too many spells. If you dont, you can be banned from magic.
[[[Moved to the players hand book section, to here (link)]]]
[[[It has been updated too, so it will require a quick reread
]]]Throughout the known lands of Altera, cultures, values, laws and beliefs are diverse, yet one aspect remains nearly the same.
All but a minority accept and believe, and even put to use, that which we call magic.
Magic is not an energy, or an entity, it is more closely described as a method.
While magic does give the skilled massive advantages, it is not all powerful.
Magic is the ability of a person to create, shape and manipulate energies to serve a purpose.
All people are born with a metaphysical entity called the Aether Vyrden. Litterally, this means "Life-rift." The Aether Vyrden is the source of energy for magicians. It is a rift between a person's soul and a plane of existence known as the Planar Infinity, an infinitely large realm filled with a fluid energy known as Mana. The rift itself can be accurately described as a tunnel. The diameter of the tunnel at the point of the rift determines how much mana can flow through at any one time, thus it is the upper limit for spell power, a mage cannot cast a spell that requires more energy at one time than the tunnel's diameter can sustain. The length of the tunnel determines how fast the mage can call upon energy. If the tunnel is very long, it will take a long time for the mage to call on energy, thus placing restrictions on how fast a mage can cast a spell, and the time it takes to cast successive spells. The size of the rift itself determines how much of the Planar Infinity a mage has access to, thus placing an upper limit (max mana) on the amount of energy a mage can use. If a mage were to exceed this limit, it would collapse his or her soul into the Planar Infinity, annihilating him or her on the most fundamental of levels. As the Planar Infinity is infinite, Mana will eventually refill the space voided by the magician's spells, but it takes time. Drawing energy from the Planar Infinity is in and of itself dangerous and exhausting, and requires practice to be able to access its full potential. A fledgling mage, for example, may have an Aether Vyrden that has access to a large amount of the Planar Infinity, but due to his inexperience, can only actually use a portion of it.
All people are born with this "Life-Rift" with the exception of Vorson's.
However, to be able to cast spells, two other things are required: The Conduit, and personal will.
The Conduit is a network of metaphysical energy pathways within the body. It controls the flow of energy so that a mage does not tear his body apart when casting a spell, and is also the medium for changing energy. Without a conduit, a person is totally unable to cast magic whatsoever, though there are rumors of artifacts which can create prosthetic conduits.
This Conduit is subject to a number of malladies and deformities. Firstly, only one half of people are born with Conduits. However, even in those that have one, it can be blocked, which prevents magic from being used, but is fixable, albeit it at great pain and risk. It can also be fractured, which causes significant energy loss and limits the ability of a caster to shape energies. This dooms a mage to horrible precision and efficiency. The conduit can also be twisted, which causes unbearable agony when energy courses through it. The latter 2 deformities are irreparable.
It is also possible to overload a conduit by running too much energy through it. This, similarly to using all of ones Aether Vyrden, causes self-annihilation.
Lastly, the personal will of a mage is what directs and gives purpose to the energy once it has been summoned from the Aether Vyrden. While will is not exactly the same as intelligence, they tend to go hand in hand. All spells require will, and thus a mage cannot cast a spell which he doesnt believe will work or disagrees with. Conversely, this means that mages can use magic in almost anyway way they can think of, so long as they believe in it. They can use hand gestures, symbols, runes, words, or even just thoughts.
However, doing magic entirely mentally is dangerous. Magic requires an intense amount of concentration to use. The symbols and words which people use act as anchors for the mundane ideas of a spell, allowing the caster to focus on the more important aspects.
Furthermore, a stray thought may totally change a spell formed only mentally. Conversely, intent can change the effect of a spell cast using gestures and symbols.
Assuming a person has all three of these things in the required amounts, they still require a massive amount of knoweledge and practice in order to be an effective mage. Even accessing the Aether Vyrden requires practice, and a mage may never be able to access all of the Planar Infinity that their Aether Vyrden allows. Precision and ability likewise increase with knoweledge and practice.
In Altera, methods for learning magic include:
-rp practice over time
-being taught by someone else in rp
-Attending an academy or school of magic
-magic related rp events
-rp books/scrolls
Magic is entirely energy based. All magic requires energy, and casting spells is, by nature, exhausting. The energy required to cast a spell is directly proportional to the desired effect. For example, it would require far more energy to throw a fireball than to light a candle. The words or symbols, and the type of energy, may be the same, but the energy requirement changes.
Nor can magic accomplish everything. It is simply like a tool which the will of a person can shape. It can only do those things which would be possible assuming enough energy and knoweledge were available. What this means is that you cant do something with magic if you dont know how to do it without magic. If you dont know how a lock works or how to pick one, you wont be able to pick one with magic. That is not to say you cant bypass it, you could instead use magic to blow out the lock from the door, or to melt it. The point being made is that knoweledge increases magical ability.
With this in mind, (and for the sake of preventing God-moding) magic cannot accomplish the following:
Time Travel
Immortality
Boiling seas or moving mountains (it would require more energy than anyone has)
Killing people instantly (to prevent OP)
Destroying or creating Gods.
Kill an Immortal King
Change any aspect of an Aether Vyrden
Repair a fractured or twisted Conduit.
Seeing the future
In order to ensure the safety of the people of Altera, the Immortal Kings, through the Gods, established a ward of immense complexity that encompasses the entire realm. This ward creates a blockade within the Conduits of all who enter or are born in Altera, thus preventing them from using magic. This block can only be removed through a petition to the God's themselves. (I.E. admin approval on the forums).
Because of all these things, significant magic usage is relatively rare in Altera. There are mages of course, some very powerful, but in general, most people have little to no magical ability.
In order to be a successful mage, one must have:
-An unfettered conduit. Only half of all people are born with one, and they are often times blocked fractured or twisted, and the God's Ward required the aid of the Gods to remove the blockade.
-An Aether Vyrden large enough to draw enough energy for the spell. While all people are born with an Aether Vyrden, many are so small that the energy they give isnt enough to fuel even the simplest of spells.
-Knoweledge of some magical theory, and the spell in question. You cant accomplish things with magic if you dont know how to do them by hand.
-Strong enough power of will to concentrate on the aspects of a spell and give it purpose. Without a purpose, the energy will be expelled from the mage, but it wont perform the intended effect.
Magic is loosely divided into 4 categories, but there are exceptions and some overlap.
Evocation: Quick and dirty magic. All combat magic is Evocation. Very imprecise and inefficient, because the mage simply doesnt have time to consider all the aspects of the spell. It is, however, very fast. Mages with good concentration and large Aether Vyrdens are the best Evokers. Evocation tends to be limited to fluid energy, that is: heat, electricity, force, vacuum, sound and light. Often manifest elementally as fire, lightning, water, earth, rock, air/wind and light.
Thaumaturgy: Slow precise decisibe magic. High efficiency and precision, powerful effects, but very slow to cast and very mentally demanding. Effects vary greatly, including but not limited to manipulation of the fundamental underpinnings of reality, energy, and space: Dimensional travel, Teleportation, Non-counter-based (Fire v Water) dispels, Enchanting, Manipulation of other Magical Effects, Wards, and other magic-effecting-magic.
Cogitation: The magics of the mind. Telepathy, Altering sensation, Illusions, Memory, Mental Constructs, and Mind-control. These spells generally do not require much energy, but are the most mentally demanding of all magic and require the most concentration.
Mysticism: The magics of life, death, the soul, and divining. Healing magic, Necromantic magic, and Scrying. Mysticism requires the most knoweledge of the mechanics of the spells in question. Good healers have to understand anatomy in order to repair wounds, necromancers have to understand, at least in part, life in order to reanimate the dead.
The God's have established in Altera the Echelon system in Altera in order to classify mages.
-1st Echelon: Very little magical ability, very small amount of energy, maybe could light a candle after several minutes of concentration and would be exhausted by it. Poor concentration.
-2nd Echelon: Weak ability, low energy access. Most basic of spells, very little concentration.
-3rd Echelon: Moderate ability. Access to enough energy to accomplish tasks. Enough concentration to do some thaumaturgy.
-4th Echelon: Average ability of mages in Altera. Formidable Evocation in their specified fields, enough concentration to accomplish basic tasks.
-5th Echelon: Notable ability. Tops of their classes in academies, court mages and advisors. Enough Evocation to be an effective auxiliary to an army, but not enough to face enemies on their own. Decent Thaumaturgical ability.
-6th Echelon: Minimum Echelon for teachers of magic. Formidable energy access, enough evocation to be formidable against small groups of foes. Enough concentration for significant Thaumaturgy.
-7th Echelon: Well known mages. Enough evocation to challenge groups of foes. Enough thaumaturgy to accomplish difficult and complicated tasks.
-8th Echelon: Truly incredible mage. Archmages are usually in the 8th Echelon. Enough evocation to challenge fortresses. Enough concentration to accomplish almost any task with Thaumaturgy, given enough time energy and knoweledge.
-9th Echelon: Terrifyingly powerful. Could level small hills, or armies alike. Nearly unmatched in every respect. With enough knoweledge, no task is beyong a 9th Echelon mage. Unplayable.
-10th Echelon: Immortal King. No mage is more powerful. Enough energy to create entire worlds, power over space and time. Unplayable.
The Echelon system is a measurement of overall magical prowess, with all fields taken into consideration. Specialists may be formidable in their fields, but still be in a relatively low Echelon.
Specialists recieve a prefix in front of their title, beginning at the 3rd Echelon.
Fire - Pyromagus
Ice - Cryomagus
Force - Kinetomagus
Water - Aquamagus
Earth - Terramagus
Life - Aethermagus
Death - Necromagus
Light - Auramagus
Electricity - Fulgurmagus
Wind/air - Ventamagus
Sound - Sonamagus
Illusion - Spectromagus
( will be expanded)
What does this mean for you?
For starters, everyone whos been playing a magic rp character for less than 3 months has the blockade in their conduit which needs to be removed by the gods.
For those who have been playing longer, you need to consider the aspects of this. About what Echelon are you in? How large is your Aether Vyrden? Does your conduit have any deformities?
Echelons are granted ONLY by the lore team. You dont actually get to decide what Echlon you are in, rather you suggest about where you ought to be. If you are at least 3rd Echelon, you may pick a single prefix to signify your specialization, but you dont have to.
If you God-mode with magic, the "Gods" will reinstate the blockade in your conduit, preventing you from using magic.
Magic isnt something you can just learn by yourself now. You must be taught or do research (in actual RP) to learn. Teaching is of course much faster, researching guaruntees nothing.
You have to remember the energy restrictions. If you dont have a large Aether Vyrden, you HAVE to remember that you get exhausted by casting too many spells. If you dont, you can be banned from magic.
