3. Magic- In depth Rules
Feb 15, 2015 23:56:25 GMT -8
Post by Storyteller Joy on Feb 15, 2015 23:56:25 GMT -8
Magic
For the most part you will learn everything you need to know about MAGIC in character, as, for the most part, players won't have much magic, if any, to begin with. However, for the sake of having a system and having rules, this is the in depth rule guide. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ THIS TO PLAY.
What is Magic?
Magic in Harpeah, and Earth (Terra), is the ability to manipulate natural forces into incredible things. Some magic is pretty obvious- like Earth magic, which focuses on plant life, animal life, and the very ground itself. Magic, in Harpeah, comes from all creations in Harpeah- from the dirt to the sky, to the wind, to the solar energy, to the shadows. Harpeah is a "Gateway" world, position in the planes of the universe so that it has access to many worlds- Terra (Earth) being one of them. It effectively "drains" parts of the magical energy of other worlds to Harpeah itself- reenergizing what loss of magic it suffers. There is, however, a delicate balance. Too strong of a pull in one area creates a vacuum somewhere else. (Like draining a huge portion of the water on one side fo the world- the water goes somewhere, and leaves that water unbalanced.
This "balancing" problem is one of the reasons the weather mages must patrol 9 months of the year around the planet, re-balancing the weather and providing stabilization to grow crops and cultivate animals. Only the biggest cities, and the Summerlands, are able to withstand the winter storms.
How do I get Magic?
Some characters begin the game with a limited amount of magic already in their element. This is Weird 1 or 2. Weird is the "stat" we use to access magic talent. While anyone can use magic (Even those at -1 Weird) it's those who have some talent (1 or 2 or even the rare 3) that are able to find the trickles of magic that are on Earth. Everyone, no matter their magical aptitude, has ten "magic points" that they can use to cast magic.
Everyone begins the game with 10 MP.
What does Weird +1, +2 or +3 Give me on Earth?
On Earth magic is very difficult to use, and Magic Pools, unless near an open portal, are virtually undetectable to get "Magic" to work properly. Those with a natural aptitude for Magic, with a +score to weird can access these trickles of magic to do parlor tricks. Even on Earth they are never fully cut off from their element. A Weird of 1 allows level 1 magic to go off with a 10+ success. A werid of 2 allows magic level 1 to go off with a 7-9 success. And a Weird of 3 allows Magic of the second level tog o off with a 10+ success.
For example...
Nell has a plus 2 to her weird. On Earth she can cast magic spells of a level 1 with a pretty good rate of success. Her Element is "Earth" so she can cast any spell that's a level 1 earth spell. One Level 1 earth spell, Call Nature's Spirits, allows her to communicate with spirits of nature- like Dryads. There are only a few trees who still boast Terran Dryads, but Nell, since childhood, could have been friends with one- her "Invisible friend." To communicate with her, she'd have to roll 2d6 (or this 1913343933) and, depending on the outcome would let her know if she found her friend that day or not. � In this instance, Nell has a +2 weird to add to her roll, bringing the total up to 8, which means her friend would be able to communicate to her for a short amount of time.
Magic on Harpeah Vs Magic on Earth
Magic on Earth/Terra is very different from Magic on Harpeah. On earth there is only the faintest of trickles of magic, leaking through partially closed portals or places where magic has been pooled since ancient times. It's the difference between the Desert (Earth) and the Ocean (Harpeah). On Earth, a failure of Magic isn't going to do much to your character except not having something 'awesome' happen. Unless you have a Weird +1 you probably don't even know that there IS magic on Earth at all! Where as on Harpeah, even someone with a weird -1, can still in fact, cast magic. (** The exception is the rare human who maintains their humanity and shape when they come to Harpeah... The Magic, for whatever reason doesn't go over to them at all.**)
On Harpeah, a failure usually invokes some sort of glitch or negative effect- sometimes "overdoing it." This resulting "50/50 chance for something going "badly" is called "Chaos." And Chaos, happens to everyone.
Chaos is covered in "Chaos and Curses Section" of the System in detail. We're going to only cover the parts where Chaos and Magic are tied.
Chaos in Magic
Now it depends on who you talk to, and who you want to listen to, about what or who, Chaos is. The one thing that everyone agrees with is, to play with Magic is to dance with Chaos.
From a purely systems perspective, Chaos is the "balance" to people flinging around Fireballs and Conjuring giant shadow creatures with tentacles. Chaos is the force, the "vaccum suction" that happens when a lot of magic is pulled into one area to quickly and leaves another area empty for a short period. It causes everything to go, however temporarily out of whack. Most "major" parts of Chaos will not happen unless it's a pretty big mess. (Like a small war between a lot of magic users all throwing spells at each other.) You'll find there aren't many "wars" on Harpeah- for damn good reason.
Chaos effects are, for the most part, random and based on both situation, amount of magic hurled around, and the random toss of the dice to determine a target(s). The reason they call it "Chaos" is because, for the most part, it is rather hard to "define" outside of "EEK CHAOS!"
Some people.. in character and out of character... will probably tell you Chaos is a woman. In reality- and for all intents and purposes, Chaos is really just a primordial force that just 'happens' to usually be delivered through the storytellers loving hands. If you want to join in with the "It's just a force" party or if you want to join in that the Mistress of the Jigoku really 'is' the mistress fo Chaos as well... who am I to argue? It's your character!
What does it Cost to Cast spells?
Each Level is the amount of MP it costs. So level 1 cost 1 MP, level 5 costs 5 mp. At max MP you should be able to cast 2 level 5 spells... (Note: that's an incredibly stupid idea.)
How do I get back MP?
You get back MP with rest. MP recharges at the same rate as Harm/HP.
Magic Spells!!!
So there are 2 different ways to do spells.
At Will (or Belief) spells are on one of the spell lists for your element.
On the Fly spells are spells you want to have happen, describe what you want it to do (clearly forming the thoughts or speaking out loud in a thread) and casting. On the Fly spells roll at a -1 x spell level to cast. This represents the difficulty of performing magic that is untried, and that the magic itself has to puzzle out "how to make it happen." Do note, ALL on the fly spells MUST be tied to the element your using to cast them from- or from a combination of casting elements. They are not "random" spells, simply ones that aren't "tried and true methods." The Bigger the spell, the greater the chance it will explode in your face. (at a -5, your going to need a lot of "Luck" to pull it off.)
For Example, Nell wants to cast a spell to move the entire planet of Harpeah a foot out of the way of an incoming meteor. That is definitely going to be a level 5 spell- and realistically should be about 5 other people joining her in casting it. It's considered "BIG MAGIC" and falls under that category. All the people working on the spell roll their use magic rolls -5. and add up the total.
The total number is going to be where the determination if it worked or didn't.... or even if it did work, what's the price for it.
Another example would be if Nell needed to change her shape. Nell is not a shapeshifter (she's an elf) and she's not a blood mage... but Nell makes the argument with her ties to earth that she wants to merge with the earth, surf over and get out of jail. This is going to be a series of two rolls, both of them are considered level 4 in this instance. One to see if she can change her form to something more earth based, and the second to move through the urge.... and a third roll, at level 2 to resume her human shape. (It's easier to go to a shape you know then one you don't!) .
She'd have to make all 3 rolls... or suffer the dire consequences...
Typically it's just easier to use the spell lists.
The first 3 spell levels are open to everyone, except time and world walking magic- both types of these two magics are so rare, only their users tend to know much of anything about them.
(if you get Time or World Walking magic, it will be PMed to you.)
For the most part you will learn everything you need to know about MAGIC in character, as, for the most part, players won't have much magic, if any, to begin with. However, for the sake of having a system and having rules, this is the in depth rule guide. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ THIS TO PLAY.
What is Magic?
Magic in Harpeah, and Earth (Terra), is the ability to manipulate natural forces into incredible things. Some magic is pretty obvious- like Earth magic, which focuses on plant life, animal life, and the very ground itself. Magic, in Harpeah, comes from all creations in Harpeah- from the dirt to the sky, to the wind, to the solar energy, to the shadows. Harpeah is a "Gateway" world, position in the planes of the universe so that it has access to many worlds- Terra (Earth) being one of them. It effectively "drains" parts of the magical energy of other worlds to Harpeah itself- reenergizing what loss of magic it suffers. There is, however, a delicate balance. Too strong of a pull in one area creates a vacuum somewhere else. (Like draining a huge portion of the water on one side fo the world- the water goes somewhere, and leaves that water unbalanced.
This "balancing" problem is one of the reasons the weather mages must patrol 9 months of the year around the planet, re-balancing the weather and providing stabilization to grow crops and cultivate animals. Only the biggest cities, and the Summerlands, are able to withstand the winter storms.
How do I get Magic?
Some characters begin the game with a limited amount of magic already in their element. This is Weird 1 or 2. Weird is the "stat" we use to access magic talent. While anyone can use magic (Even those at -1 Weird) it's those who have some talent (1 or 2 or even the rare 3) that are able to find the trickles of magic that are on Earth. Everyone, no matter their magical aptitude, has ten "magic points" that they can use to cast magic.
Everyone begins the game with 10 MP.
What does Weird +1, +2 or +3 Give me on Earth?
On Earth magic is very difficult to use, and Magic Pools, unless near an open portal, are virtually undetectable to get "Magic" to work properly. Those with a natural aptitude for Magic, with a +score to weird can access these trickles of magic to do parlor tricks. Even on Earth they are never fully cut off from their element. A Weird of 1 allows level 1 magic to go off with a 10+ success. A werid of 2 allows magic level 1 to go off with a 7-9 success. And a Weird of 3 allows Magic of the second level tog o off with a 10+ success.
For example...
Nell has a plus 2 to her weird. On Earth she can cast magic spells of a level 1 with a pretty good rate of success. Her Element is "Earth" so she can cast any spell that's a level 1 earth spell. One Level 1 earth spell, Call Nature's Spirits, allows her to communicate with spirits of nature- like Dryads. There are only a few trees who still boast Terran Dryads, but Nell, since childhood, could have been friends with one- her "Invisible friend." To communicate with her, she'd have to roll 2d6 (or this 1913343933) and, depending on the outcome would let her know if she found her friend that day or not. � In this instance, Nell has a +2 weird to add to her roll, bringing the total up to 8, which means her friend would be able to communicate to her for a short amount of time.
Magic on Harpeah Vs Magic on Earth
Magic on Earth/Terra is very different from Magic on Harpeah. On earth there is only the faintest of trickles of magic, leaking through partially closed portals or places where magic has been pooled since ancient times. It's the difference between the Desert (Earth) and the Ocean (Harpeah). On Earth, a failure of Magic isn't going to do much to your character except not having something 'awesome' happen. Unless you have a Weird +1 you probably don't even know that there IS magic on Earth at all! Where as on Harpeah, even someone with a weird -1, can still in fact, cast magic. (** The exception is the rare human who maintains their humanity and shape when they come to Harpeah... The Magic, for whatever reason doesn't go over to them at all.**)
On Harpeah, a failure usually invokes some sort of glitch or negative effect- sometimes "overdoing it." This resulting "50/50 chance for something going "badly" is called "Chaos." And Chaos, happens to everyone.
Chaos is covered in "Chaos and Curses Section" of the System in detail. We're going to only cover the parts where Chaos and Magic are tied.
Chaos in Magic
Now it depends on who you talk to, and who you want to listen to, about what or who, Chaos is. The one thing that everyone agrees with is, to play with Magic is to dance with Chaos.
From a purely systems perspective, Chaos is the "balance" to people flinging around Fireballs and Conjuring giant shadow creatures with tentacles. Chaos is the force, the "vaccum suction" that happens when a lot of magic is pulled into one area to quickly and leaves another area empty for a short period. It causes everything to go, however temporarily out of whack. Most "major" parts of Chaos will not happen unless it's a pretty big mess. (Like a small war between a lot of magic users all throwing spells at each other.) You'll find there aren't many "wars" on Harpeah- for damn good reason.
Chaos effects are, for the most part, random and based on both situation, amount of magic hurled around, and the random toss of the dice to determine a target(s). The reason they call it "Chaos" is because, for the most part, it is rather hard to "define" outside of "EEK CHAOS!"
Some people.. in character and out of character... will probably tell you Chaos is a woman. In reality- and for all intents and purposes, Chaos is really just a primordial force that just 'happens' to usually be delivered through the storytellers loving hands. If you want to join in with the "It's just a force" party or if you want to join in that the Mistress of the Jigoku really 'is' the mistress fo Chaos as well... who am I to argue? It's your character!
What does it Cost to Cast spells?
Each Level is the amount of MP it costs. So level 1 cost 1 MP, level 5 costs 5 mp. At max MP you should be able to cast 2 level 5 spells... (Note: that's an incredibly stupid idea.)
How do I get back MP?
You get back MP with rest. MP recharges at the same rate as Harm/HP.
Magic Spells!!!
So there are 2 different ways to do spells.
At Will (or Belief) spells are on one of the spell lists for your element.
On the Fly spells are spells you want to have happen, describe what you want it to do (clearly forming the thoughts or speaking out loud in a thread) and casting. On the Fly spells roll at a -1 x spell level to cast. This represents the difficulty of performing magic that is untried, and that the magic itself has to puzzle out "how to make it happen." Do note, ALL on the fly spells MUST be tied to the element your using to cast them from- or from a combination of casting elements. They are not "random" spells, simply ones that aren't "tried and true methods." The Bigger the spell, the greater the chance it will explode in your face. (at a -5, your going to need a lot of "Luck" to pull it off.)
For Example, Nell wants to cast a spell to move the entire planet of Harpeah a foot out of the way of an incoming meteor. That is definitely going to be a level 5 spell- and realistically should be about 5 other people joining her in casting it. It's considered "BIG MAGIC" and falls under that category. All the people working on the spell roll their use magic rolls -5. and add up the total.
The total number is going to be where the determination if it worked or didn't.... or even if it did work, what's the price for it.
Another example would be if Nell needed to change her shape. Nell is not a shapeshifter (she's an elf) and she's not a blood mage... but Nell makes the argument with her ties to earth that she wants to merge with the earth, surf over and get out of jail. This is going to be a series of two rolls, both of them are considered level 4 in this instance. One to see if she can change her form to something more earth based, and the second to move through the urge.... and a third roll, at level 2 to resume her human shape. (It's easier to go to a shape you know then one you don't!) .
She'd have to make all 3 rolls... or suffer the dire consequences...
Typically it's just easier to use the spell lists.
The first 3 spell levels are open to everyone, except time and world walking magic- both types of these two magics are so rare, only their users tend to know much of anything about them.
(if you get Time or World Walking magic, it will be PMed to you.)
