Magic is an important part of our game; however, since none of us are actually magical or capable of generating bursts of energy from our hands we have set up a series of established mechanics that govern how magic is represented in game.
Here is a list of the mechanics covered on this page:
Casting Spells
Casting Psychic Skills with Contact
Benediction and Malediction Disks
Gates and Rifts
Magic Items
Scrolls and Scroll-Crafting
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In-game, spells are delivered via spell packets, weapons, or direct physical contact.
Spell packets are small squares of fabric filled with a spoonful of birdseed. Casters throw the packets at their targets as they state the name of the intended spell. Packet-based spells are considered expended even if the packet completely misses the target. This holds true for any spell that is thrown via packets, be it a spell you know or something granted by a magic item. A spell packet that makes contact with any part of the target, including anything that they are carrying or wearing, takes effect.
Spells cast through weapon are cast by striking the victim’s body with the weapon and stating the spell name. If you miss, or connect with your victim’s weapon or shield, the spell does not take effect and is not used up, much like other melee skills (Maim, Crushing blow, and so on).
Finally, contact spells are delivered when a caster (gently) places his hand on his target’s shoulder or upper arm and states the spell name. Please note that if someone does not want you to actually touch them then simply place a spell packet in your hand and touch them with that. Like spells cast via weapons, if the caster misses, the spell is not used up.
Any successfully cast spell that is resisted negates whatever spell was used. When casting, you may not be moving any faster than a slow walk, and you cannot crawl and cast at the same time.
Spell packets are considered out of game items and, therefore, you may not steal them from others. Spell incantations (the spell names you call), however, are considered in-game, which is why the Silence spell is particularly effective against casters.
With a few important exceptions, if you hear someone cast a spell you know what was cast in game and can attempt to dodge the spell packet. The exceptions are all Psychic skills which have their own section below.
Please refrain from faking spell casting, as this is a form of cheating.
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Casting Psychic Skills with Contact
Many psychic skills require the successful use of “Contact” in order to cast. This represents the creation of the mental link required to use those skills.
There are a few important thing to note about Contact.
Contact is invisible. Meaning that unlike most other skills you cannot act upon hearing or seeing it because from an in-game standpoint you didn’t (unless explicitly told otherwise).
You cannot resist Contact (once again unless explicitly told otherwise).
For the next 5 minutes the psychic who hit you with Contact (and only that psychic) may cast certain skills on you without the use of a spell packet. Those skills are: Fear, Rage, Joy, and Despair. These may be resisted with Spell Shield or other applicable skills.
Contact may be made with only one target at a time, and is immediately broken if the target leaves the line of sight of the psychic or if they attempt a contact-based skill, regardless of whether or not the spell is successfully cast.
If broken, contact must be reestablished before any other contact-based skills may be used.
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Benediction and Malediction Disks
Benediction and Malediction Disks are strongly magical in-game items. They are represented by small wooden disks (the benedictions are all white and the maledictions are all black).They have a variety of uses, but their most common use is to influence the interaction of an individual who is going to Death.
If someone presents you with one of these disks, while saying “I benedict (or maledict) your spirit” while you are dead, then you must accept it. You cannot accept a disk once you have become an eidolon, you should respond with “No Effect, eidolon.” The only exception to this is if someone gives it to you while saying “I benedict (or maledict) your eidolon.” You may choose to activate a Spell Shield upon receiving the disk if you still have one. Once you arrive in Death’s Realm you must present the disk to Death. You are not required know anything about the actual disk, you just need to present it. If for some reason you are brought back to life before you get to Death, the magic of the disk is wasted and you should not present it to Death upon subsequent vists.
Please note that there are “Greater” varieties of both of these disks that behave in a mechanically identical fashion. They simply influence your interaction with Death more. They are represented by larger disks.
If you are raised as an Undead creature or otherwise become a creature with a special interaction with these disks, whoever is responsible for raising or changing you will give you instructions about how to react to these disks.
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Terra is full of magic. That includes not just the people and the objects within it, but also the world itself. Different realms–of memory, of time, and of existence–lay beside, underneath, and over top of one another. Portals, represented by strings of lights of specific shapes and colors, link each to each. Some portals, known as gates, are opened intentionally; others, known as rifts, flicker open and closed according to their own whims.
Passing through a gate can lead you virtually anywhere, but the size, shape, and color of a given gate can give clues as to its nature. Lights that remain steadily lit signify that the portal is passable and stable, while blinking lights mean that the portal is passable but unstable. If you come across a string of lights that is not lit, you may not pass through it–rather, you should role-play as though it is not even there. Likewise, this means that a gate or rift that closes (in other words, the lights go off) becomes sealed until it reopens (the lights come back on). People have been known to vanish, lost forever, after stepping through gates or rifts that close on them.
For reasons unknown to everyone but those who have studied portals in depth, portals vary in shape and size. They can be circular, rectangular, or triangular, and as long as a given portal is large enough to fit through easily, anyone may pass through any of these shapes. Gates that are too small or too high to fit through are meant for purposes other than passage between realms, rendering physical contact–including passing items or casting spells–through this kind of gate impossible.
Portals also vary in color, as the color of a portal indicates the realm into which it opens. Everyone knows that necromancers carry purple light; a purple gate or rift, then, indicates a connection to necromancy; red lights signify that Death’s realm is close at hand; a portal leading into Faerie will feature white lights; etc.
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Some in-game items possess magical power. Certain items have labels somewhere on their surface, allowing anyone who reads the label to use them automatically. In other cases, someone who knows how to use the item must teach you how, or you might have to dedicate some research on your own to find out what the item does.
Magical items function only if worn, held, or otherwise used properly—for example, a necklace must be worn around the neck.
Most magical items will have a sticker on them to indicate their status as stealable, unable to be moved, and so on.
Please note that we are in the process of refining our Magic Item system so these rules may change in the near future. There will be a post on the Updates and Announcements page when that happens. Thank you for bearing with us.
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Scroll-crafting is a type of magic that must be learned through in-game study, after the Scroll-craft skill has been purchased. Only scroll-crafters may manufacture scrolls.
Scrolls themselves may be used by anyone. Scrolls are represented by folded strips of paper, sealed on the outside with a bit of tape. To activate the scroll, break the seal, at which time you must read the contents of the scroll and role-play accordingly. Once a scroll has been used up, rip it in half to indicate this. Scrolls may not be used more than once, or by more than one person, unless explicitly stated in the description.
The accoutremonts of scroll-crafting, including inks, scrolls, and plants (represented by plastic flowers) are all considered in-game and stealable items.