Post by darkfather on Oct 25, 2008 20:24:45 GMT -5
This applies to Wizards, Geomancers, Macumbas, Necromancers, Warlocks, Clerics, Bard's, Sorcerers, Shamans and Druids.
All magic users in Virdea gain power from the same place and manipulate it in the same basic way, but each has a different philosophy in how they work with the power. Understanding what makes them the same helps young magic users understand how the world of magic works.
All magic using classes use (by preference) a magical focus to open the barrier between the plane of shadows (astral space) and our own world. That focus allows the magic use to direct their mind on the difficult task of opening the portal in the exact way needed to result in the desired affects. Each tradition has its own focus:
Wizards - Staff
Geomancers - Orb
Warlocks - Athame
Clerics - Holy Item (see below)
--Pegana - Writing Pen
--Luthor - Hand Lamp
--Tempester - Pinwheel
--Magwe - Pendant
--Bagraine - Kukri
--Sederick - Manacles
--Mendalla - Dradle
--Sindaria - anything / changes all the time
Bards - Instrument
Sorcerers - Wand
Druids (Great Father) - Cross
Shaman - Medicine Stick
Macumba - Poppet
Necromancer - Scepter
A magic user must attune themselves to a new focus, taking 1 day per level (but they need not again do so until they change or improve their focus). A magic user with a mundane focus (costing, in general, less than 1 denar, except for that of Druids and Macumba) will destroy their focus when making an attack roll of exactly 10, so most magic users work hard to acquire higher quality foci. Foci must be held in the hand to be used, so magic users usually do not indulge in weapon and shield fighting, unless their focus is also a weapon. Certainly a Macumba would not try and bash a troll with his or her poppet.
Casting magic without a focus is either dangerous, or expensive. A wizard without his or her staff, on a roll of 10, damages themselves. To fight this they may carry material components for spells that cost 1 penny per level of spell squared and are expended in casting. These materials are called gre-is, and Oldari word meaning "in place of personal (connection)."
Foci have one other advantage, and that is they may be imbued. An imbued foci can hold spells for casting, make spells more powerful when cast, or shield the user from spells. The exact powers imbued in a foci are very personal and often kept secret by magic users.
Magic users, except for Macumba, do not keep multiple foci around, instead working to make the focus they have chosen the best it can be. You will never see a Wizard with a collection of staves ready to pull as battle changes. Magic users will prepare and cache fetishes in case they loose their foci, and many fetishes can be prepared quickly with a little money, or even bought off the shelf.
Much is said about magic users loosing their foci, because it is as serious as disarming a fighter. Like magical weapons which are attuned to their hosts, attuned foci are beacons to their host, and not as easily destroyed as items that are not attuned. A stolen wand, staff, or rod shows up to its owner like a beacon in astral space.
All magic users in Virdea gain power from the same place and manipulate it in the same basic way, but each has a different philosophy in how they work with the power. Understanding what makes them the same helps young magic users understand how the world of magic works.
All magic using classes use (by preference) a magical focus to open the barrier between the plane of shadows (astral space) and our own world. That focus allows the magic use to direct their mind on the difficult task of opening the portal in the exact way needed to result in the desired affects. Each tradition has its own focus:
Wizards - Staff
Geomancers - Orb
Warlocks - Athame
Clerics - Holy Item (see below)
--Pegana - Writing Pen
--Luthor - Hand Lamp
--Tempester - Pinwheel
--Magwe - Pendant
--Bagraine - Kukri
--Sederick - Manacles
--Mendalla - Dradle
--Sindaria - anything / changes all the time
Bards - Instrument
Sorcerers - Wand
Druids (Great Father) - Cross
Shaman - Medicine Stick
Macumba - Poppet
Necromancer - Scepter
A magic user must attune themselves to a new focus, taking 1 day per level (but they need not again do so until they change or improve their focus). A magic user with a mundane focus (costing, in general, less than 1 denar, except for that of Druids and Macumba) will destroy their focus when making an attack roll of exactly 10, so most magic users work hard to acquire higher quality foci. Foci must be held in the hand to be used, so magic users usually do not indulge in weapon and shield fighting, unless their focus is also a weapon. Certainly a Macumba would not try and bash a troll with his or her poppet.
Casting magic without a focus is either dangerous, or expensive. A wizard without his or her staff, on a roll of 10, damages themselves. To fight this they may carry material components for spells that cost 1 penny per level of spell squared and are expended in casting. These materials are called gre-is, and Oldari word meaning "in place of personal (connection)."
Foci have one other advantage, and that is they may be imbued. An imbued foci can hold spells for casting, make spells more powerful when cast, or shield the user from spells. The exact powers imbued in a foci are very personal and often kept secret by magic users.
Magic users, except for Macumba, do not keep multiple foci around, instead working to make the focus they have chosen the best it can be. You will never see a Wizard with a collection of staves ready to pull as battle changes. Magic users will prepare and cache fetishes in case they loose their foci, and many fetishes can be prepared quickly with a little money, or even bought off the shelf.
Much is said about magic users loosing their foci, because it is as serious as disarming a fighter. Like magical weapons which are attuned to their hosts, attuned foci are beacons to their host, and not as easily destroyed as items that are not attuned. A stolen wand, staff, or rod shows up to its owner like a beacon in astral space.