Magic/Systems

In Corasur, Magic is the catch-all term for the various powers that the Aspects grant. Each aspect's blessing is very different from the others, however there are some similarities having to do with the basic structure of a blessing. The art of blessings was introduced to all the aspects by Ralataṙ, but each Aspect perfected the art independently.

This section is horribly redundant and unpolished and will be until I have figured out all the basics. Please bear with me.

Types

Mechanical Categories

These terms are primarily used for gameplay, but overlap with in-world terms.

Passive/Free Magic

Tag: F

Passive magic represents magic which is always active or which is activated unconsciously.

Will-Based Magic

Tag: W

Will-based magic is activated consciously, with a simple willpower roll, and in certain cases a relevant skill check. They are free if successful in most cases. The most significant examples are cants and animistic shaping magic.

Ritual Magic/Weaving

Tag: R

Ritual magic uses natural materials to bind and manipulate other forms of magic to create long-term effects. Making use of it is a physical, rather than mental, endeavor, and usually involves some form of the Weaving skill.

Mana-Based magic (Arcana)

Tag: M

Arcana is based on manipulating Mana (a magical energy which permeates the entire plane) to bring about dramatic effects. Potence represents the store of Mana held within one's body, though the environment is almost always saturated with it, so it is nearly impossible to run out in anything but the most temporary sense.

Blessings

Oraculism (White/Black, F)

Oraculism is the attunement to supernatural "voices". Oraculism (Black) is automatically granted to every sentient being at minimum level, uniquely among the Blessings. Increasing the Favor track for Oraculism does not confer any direct advantages, except for the chance to have visions of varying utility. A near-death experience will convert Black Oraculism to White Oraculism, at half the level (rounded up) of the original Black score. Further brushes with death will increase this Favor track, allowing the Medium (as they are now called) to hear the parting words of the dead.

The voice of the Black Aspect sometimes whispers secret or lost knowledge to people who would care about it. Most people hear this voice only a few times in their entire lives, but those with strong Favor of Rafitaṙ hear these whispers much more often.

Mediums, on the other hand, hear the voices of the dead as they pass over the Threshold. Every soul is permitted to speak a final message for the living before it passes over the edge, never to return, and Ranataṙ dutifully conveys every such message to a medium, who is obliged to carry out the last wishes of the deceased. A medium may deny a wish, but must either pass it on to someone else or succeed a willpower check to silence it.

Potence (Purple/Green, M)

The Blessing of the Purple (Magery) and Green (Alchemy) Aspects create reservoirs of Mana within the Blessed's body, which may be directed at will to great effect. This may be used for almost anything, but it is never very stable. Purple and Green Potence are entirely incompatible with each other, and having one precludes the possibility of gaining the other. Aside from that, however, Magery and Alchemy are very similar, both being able to create a variety of effects, but going about them in slightly different ways.

Potence disturbs the delicate balance required for Weaving, forcing a Mage or Alchemist to do such effects with their own magical power, with the advantages and disadvantages that brings.

Animism (Red, F, W)

The Blessing of the Red Aspect is life itself. However, some beings are particularly in tune with their primal selves, and are capable of using small shaping spells on themselves or others with Willpower rolls, altering their bodies as they see fit, or healing grave injuries. (Note: Any shaping spell used against another being will be automatically resisted using their Willpower stat, even if the being is unaware of it or it is voluntary.) The Free effect of the Red blessing is regeneration and resistance in proportion with the degree of Favor that being enjoys. All animistic shaping magic is entirely ineffective on or against the Surjafia (however, the mundane effects of it do apply as normal).

With strong Favor from Rakofaṙ, one may even give themselves supernatural abilities, such as the ability to breathe fire. Such effects are created via Weaving, and attempting to use it to reshape another being results in automatic resistance applying for every hour that shaping is attempted, making it near-impossible to reshape another being unless they are much weaker-souled than the animist.

Any animistic transformations last one day for every hour spent creating them, and at minimum one day, unless the transformed uses their willpower to force a return to their natural form (this becomes easier over time).

Geomancy (Grey, F, W, M, R)

The Blessing of Rajafar is available only to ko Ail favored creations, the Sůṙjafia. Geomancy is a complex and dynamic art, which can be brought to bear in almost any situation. The Free effect of the Grey blessing is resistance in proportion to the degree of Favor the Blessed enjoys, as well as the magical flame that gives the Surjafi'a their "life". Using a special form of Mana ritual, (Weaving (Geomancy)) the Surjafi'a can come together to create offspring, which will start life with an amalgam of the "parents'" memories, which take at least several weeks to process.

Soothsaying (Gold, W, R)

Soothsaying is the power to look beyond the present moment into both the future and the past The Blessing of the Gold Aspect comes in the form of memories or dreams. More powerful soothsayers may sometimes forget which of their memories are past and which are future, and thus often seem to others to be slightly displaced in time, speaking of things which have not yet come to pass, or mentioning events in the distant past as if they had just happened.

Shadowtouch (Silver, W, R)

The Silver Blessing allows its wielder to temporary alter the physical properties of objects, such as making them lighter or heavier, bigger or smaller, or altering color or transparency; and to create illusions. Such effects decay after a short time, gradually returning to their natural forms.

Rasalaṙ's blessing also enables one to temporarily blend the real and the immaterial. The power of Shadowtouch allows one to make an object pass through another as if it was not there. This Blessing is unusually taxing on the bearer, to the extent that those of weak constitution sometimes pass out shortly after using it. With an only slightly lesser effort (and cost), one may give weight and solidity to the illusions they create as well, effectively creating objects out of thin air. (Such objects fade away as usual for illusions, though it takes longer.) It takes about five seconds of deep concentration to invoke this power, (Just about as long as it takes an average speaker to read this parenthetical out loud.) meaning that it is only useful when the user knows they need it. (In game terms, it takes one round, and is not reflexive.) Thus, it is usually only used in dire situations, such as to save oneself from sudden harm.

Cantrips (Spirit, W, R)

Cantrips are small feats of magic, oftentimes little more capable than sleight of hand. They are either instantaneous effects, or they last for mere moments. Examples include starting a fire, altering the lighting, minor telekinesis (up to a couple pounds and at short range), predicting the weather, drying oneself off instantly, and altering the sound of one's voice. Each cantrip is unique, and learning a new one is more involved than simply mimicking a hand motion or incantation. Instead, each person must reinvent each cantrip for themselves. This can create slightly different effects, and different people usually have completely different methods for using their cantrips.

The number of cantrips a person can learn is determined by their Favor with Raïsaṙ. Each point of Favor allows for 3+n additional points. (1st level = 4 cantrips, 2nd level = 5 new + 4 old = 9 total, 3rd level = 6 new + 9 old = 15 total, and so on.) These do not have to be taken all at once, but can instead be filled in at any point by dedicating one day of offtime towards study and experimentation to (re)create a desired cantrip.

Intuition (Glass, F)

Intuition is to be given glances of the impossibly complex clockwork that governs the world. The Blessing of Glass manifests in a single instant, granting a momentary but perfect understanding of the meaning hidden within the mundane. However, as soon as it is over, that understanding is gone, and the sage is left only with the knowledge of the ultimate outcome, completely confident in its truth but incapable of explaining why. For this reason, people who have the Governor's Favor are often ignored and unable to warn those affected by the future they have predicted, until they can create a reputation of credibility. In our world, we call such a person a Cassandra.

Truesight (Blue, F, R)

The Blessing of Truesight is simple, but the true power comes from the mundane skill, Weaving (Rituals). With the Favor of the Blue Aspect, one can see the flow of wind, water, and Mana. With a Blessed person to guide the process, however, anyone may make use of the Weaving (Rituals) skill to create large-scale magical effects.

Enchantment (Iron, R)

Weaving (Craft) is a perfectly mundane skill in Ailhaotnůṙ, and may be learned by anyone. There is no associated Blessing or Favor track with the Worldforge.

Types (Old)

This section is old, poorly written, and inaccurate, and kept here only for my own reference as I rewrite it in the above sections.

The Aspects' blessings can be roughly divided into these categories:

Magick/Arcana

   Purple, Green (Potence).

Magick uses raw power to alter the very Forms that make up reality. Mages have the power to create new Forms, while Alchemists reshape existing ones. This is extremely exhausting, for it uses the direct strength of the mind, (represented as Mana) however the results can be spectacular. Note that Blue is also Magick, but it is not related to Potence.

Scyring

   Gold (Farsight), Glass (Intuition), Void, White (Oraculism).

Many of the blessings of the Aspects do little more than grant knowledge, though knowledge must not be underestimated. Seers can see what is not near them, in space or in time. Glass Intuition enables one to come to conclusions that are beyond the scope of the mundane. Mediums and Oracles suffer almost from a curse, rather than a blessing, for they cannot refuse their revelations. Mediums hear the dead always, for it is a sacred law that last words must be heard. Oracles are, in Rafitar's view, little more than the loudspeakers through which ko Ail information reaches mortal (or immortal) ears. Ail does not respond to prayer, and Oracles cannot ignore ko Ail wisdom. (--Rework Glass and Gold--) Because of the similar metaphysical mechanisms of all of the blessings in this category, only one may be above level 3.

Cantrips and Blessings

   Silver (--Name--), Red (Animism), Spirit (Shadowtouch).

Cantrips and Blessings are temporary effects, which fade away after a relatively short time with no significant after-effect. Silver cants deny the reality of danger, at least for oneself, allowing warriors to walk away from terrible battles unharmed or miners to climb out from cave-ins. They are limited in that they must be cast in advance, and last only a short time, therefore, only anticipated dangers may be averted. Blessings of Fire allow beings to control their health to otherwise impossible degrees. They can simulate death perfectly or heal great wounds in mere hours, but their power relies upon ambient life energy. Cantrips of Spirit have such effects as creating illusions and countering blows and even spells, however, they cannot create, only duplicate.

Effects and Enchantments

   Iron (Enchanting), Blue (Rituals).

Enchanters can imbue mundane objects with mystical properties, but require strange reagents and, most of all, time. If you want a flaming sword, you can expect a wait of at least a lao, and to foot the cost of a shipment of flameblossoms, which only bloom for a two-week period in Kofao. The Blessing of Water is apt for long-term area effects, such as weather control. Many temples have ancient blessings on them that have been maintained for hundreds of cycles.

Geomancy

   Grey (Geomancy).

The essential power of Geomancy is animation, of the self and of objects. Only three Aspects have used their power to create souls in any significant fashion, Rakofar, Rasutar, and Rajafar, and only the latter grants it to non-divine beings. Other powers granted are the ability to shape stone and other materials of the earth, and the ability to temporarily petrify living beings.

Exclusions

Some of the aspects' blessings are incompatible with others, because of the specific natures of the blessings. The specific compatibilities are outlined below. If a blessing is given a number in parentheses, that is the extent of its power without incurring additional incompatibilities. Blocks may have two associated levels, the level at which a block occurs, and the level that limits the limited blessing to.

Free

These have been granted to all sentient creatures, all life, or even are basic rules of the world. Anything listed here at 0 is completely free and automatic, except that a character may only have either White or Black, even if they are at level 0. Default is White.

White (0)

The White aspect grants Ail visions to those who make the best use of them, though Ail favors ko Ail oracles. (Oraculism 0 allows up to 1 intelligence roll at (--penalty--) per game session, at GM approval, and the GM may grant visions unrequested as appropriate. This should be uncommon.)

Blocks: Black

Black (0)

By divine law, when a soul passes the threshold, their last words must be heard. Mediums are "qualified" to hear these messages, but in their absence, a final message may be heard by anybody.

Blocks: White

Red (1)

Granted in varying degrees to all living creatures. Level 1 allows the use of will to heal minor wounds. Automatically level 1 for any living creature.

Blocks: (1+) Purple, (1+) Green.

Grey

Granted to all animate beings not of flesh at level 1 automatically. Level 1 mimics the effect of Red, but after that, the effects diverge, allowing Animation at 5.

Silver (0)

Some cants may be learned by anyone, with practise.

Fully-Compatible

These blessings are not freely-granted, however they do not interfere with the blessings of any other aspect.

Spirit

Only those who have been specifically blessed may use the Shadow's power, but no Aspect may question the Shadow's judgement.

Silver

Greater spells require the specific blessing of Rasalar.

Iron

This is the only Blessing that confers little direct power, and works best in conjunction with another. Instead, the Blessing of the Worldforge allows one to weave almost any other form of magic into an object.

All Others

These blessings interact with other blessings, creating certain incompatibilities.

Purple

The blessing of the Aspect of Power allows the blessed to be the master of the very world itself. However, the ability to channel such power (termed Potence) completely blocks one from many other magics.

Blocks: Green, Red (2), Blue (2).

Green

The Aspect of change grants the power to warp Forms to the blessed's desires, enabling acts of great power. However, the ability to channel such power (termed Potence) completely blocks one from many other magics.

Blocks: Purple, Red (2), Blue (2).

Blue

The Blessing of Water is transferable, but the Cult of Rasutar guards it closely. It is relatively compatible in general, but Potence disturbs it.

Blocks: (2+) Green, (2+) Purple.

Red

Some beings veritably burn with the fire of Rakofar, enabling terrifying feats of strength or stamina.

Blocks: (2+) Purple, (2+) Green.

White

Having the favor of the White aspect may not always seem to be a blessing. When Rafitar decides that something must be known, ko Ail oracles will hear it whether they want it or not. However, these messages are always useful, even if not immediately.

Blocks: Black, (3+) Gold (2), (3+) Glass (2).

Black

Blessed with the privilege of hearing the last words of the newly dead, Mediums are very important to the religions of the world. However, they have as little choice in the matter as Oracles (and no guarantee of utility), and gaining the blessing of Ranatar is rarely voluntary and always painful.

Blocks: White, (3+) Gold (2), (3+) Glass (2).

Gold

Blessed with Farsight, Seers can see into the future, the past, and the present. However, as Sight becomes easier, they may find it difficult to tell exactly what they're seeing now.

Blocks: (3+) Glass (2), (3+) Black (2), (3+) White (2).

Glass

The power of Intuition is no small thing. On Corasur, that it rained for two twelfths exactly, then a crack of thunder was heard from the East, on an afternoon in the second week of Sulao may provide enough information for a Blessed of Glass to know exactly who their friends are in a foreign land. Don't ask how, however, because the curse of Intuition is that no knowledge gained such may be explained.

Blocks: (3+) Gold (2), (3+) Black (2), (3+) White (2).

Details

Each Blessing comes with a Curse. At lower power, only the Blessing is apparent, but the seeds of the Curse are planted irrevocably. As the Blessing becomes more powerful, the Curse grows too, sometimes consuming the Blessed entirely.

Potence: The Potence stat reflects that reality is secondary to your will. The Potence stat provides a certain amount of mana, which may be spent to perform magick. Mana regenerates slowly by itself, however, it can be stored and actively transferred. Potence provides 10 mana at level 1 and increases by 15 every level thereafter. Anything using more than 20 mana is "unstable" and may cause dangerous effects. Potence uses a combination of fast casting and rituals, depending mostly on the amount of mana used. The Curse of Potence is Hubris. As ones power grows, one forgets that they do not have the right to shape the world as one sees fit. This often leads to experienced Mages and Alchemists attempting Forbidden things, usually killing themselves in the process.

Rituals: Rasutar grants only one Blessing: the ability to see the currents and eddies in all things, be they the sea, the sky, or the arcane. Passively, anyone with the Blue Blessing gains an intuitive understanding of weather and the sea, which means that they automatically know the weather conditions accurately for the next 12 days. They are also innately expert swimmers, much better with only minimal training than an expert swimmer. Blue magick is usually nearly self-sustaining. It, like Purple and Green magick, operates on mana, but only ambient mana, which makes it easier, but more situational. Having mana inside oneself (Potence) interrupts the flow of mana around oneself, making the intricacies of rituals impossible. A ritual may be able to feed on a sustained current of ambient mana for many cycles without intervention, but such autonomous constructs are fragile. Therefore, anyone intending for a duration of more than a cycle will maintain their ritual periodically. There is no Curse of Ritualism, except that the maximum power is much less than for many other Blessings.

Oraculism: To be an Oracle or a Medium is not necessarily always a good thing. Neither Rakoritar nor the dead frequently respond to prayer, instead they sound their voices on their own terms and the Blessed have no choice but to listen. By default, every character starts with White Oraculism, which represents the basic ability to hear the voice of Rakoritar. Nearing the threshold of death, however, taints that ability. Metaphysically, one may never walk backwards from the threshold, where the voice of Rakoritar is faint, and the voices of the dead drown it out. The Curse of Oraculism is Compulsion. Each message comes with a Command, which the Oracle is obliged to follow. Resisting a Compulsion is possible, but requires a significant exercise of willpower, and in the case of a Black Command, it must be passed on to another.

Farsight: Farsight is the ability to see that which is not nearby. The easiest method of Farsight is using Portals, such as mirrors or reflecting pools, but it can also be done without. At lower levels, Farsight allows one to See out of any Portal they have previously seen in person, which has not been moved since. Higher levels allow much more flexibility. The Curse of Farsight is Blindness. As one Sees more, they see less. They lose the ability to place themselves firmly into the present, and therefore become blind to it.

Intuition: There is only one power granted by the Governor, and that is the ability to understand ko Ail rules. They are exceedingly complex, but the Blessing of Intuition attunes you to them. The only Curse of Intuition is that knowledge gained thus can not be explained or justified in any way.

Cants: A cant is a small spell with a certain set of prerequisites. Certain basic Silver cants do not require the Blessing at any level, but most do. Silver cants generally operate by changing what is "real" and what is "illusory", most often being "I deny the existence of a threat". A few are creative, bringing simple desires out of the mind and into the world, such as the fire-starting cant, which is a statement of "I want heat to exist, so it does." Cants of Spirit are similar, but not the same, rather than being based on existence, are based on perception. They can be used to call a memory from someone's head into the world or to move a sight from one place to another. There are no free Spirit cants, all require at least Shadowtouch 1. To use a cant, one must simply express their will to that effect out loud, such that it may be clearly heard at the range it is intended to effect, and take a moment to concentrate on it. There is no mana involved, however, a roll must be made each time to prevent will point loss. The Curse of Silver is Ego. Those with the ability to deny reality often forget that world does not exist for their benefit. The Curse of Spirit is --WIP--

Blessings: Red magic is similar to cants, but it is focused internally rather than externally, and relies on passions and the drive to live, rather than the strength of will. The Curse of Fire is Hunger.

Significant Magical Reagents and Materials

Gold: Gold is the material of light and heat. It can hold a large amount of magical energy while remaining stable, matched by no other metal. While still rare, gold is considerably more plentiful in Corasur than on Earth, being roughly as common as silver.

Copper: As a relatively plentiful soft metal, copper is frequently used in place of gold. They are very similar, physically as well as magically, and therefore good copper can substitute for people who need function but cannot afford luxury.

Flameblossom: This bright orange or yellow flower is commonly used as incense, though it is poisonous raw, causing terrible fevers. Magically, flameblossom can serve as a useful channel for flame magic.

Amber: Amber is, quite literally, a material of death. The most accurate translation of "sap" into the Common Tongue is "tree-blood", so amber is considered transparently to be the essence of the death of trees, even when not filled with dead insects. As a reagent, amber may be used either to preserve objects or to steal and contain life essence.