Magical skills

Magician

• 2-point skill
• You must purchase this skill before you can take any other magical skills

You are able to cast the three basic spells; detect magic, operate portal and create bond. You may gain additional spells by purchasing an extra spell. Each spell requires you to expend mana to cast them. The magician skill grants you four personal mana per day. You may purchase extra mana. Your character’s personal mana replenish overnight.

If you have access to crystalized mana, then you may use these to cast spells instead of your personal mana. Crystalized mana is produced by a mana site, which is a personal resource. A starting site produces seven crystalized mana per event.

Extra Mana

• 1-point skill
• The cost of this skill increases by 1 point each time you purchase it

Imperial magicians can shape the fabric of the world.

You gain 2 additional personal mana per day each time you purchase this skill.

Extra Spell

• 1-point skill
• The cost of this skill is the same each time

You may choose one additional spell from the list each time you purchase this skill.

Battle Mage

• 2-point skill
• Allows the character to use a staff to cast spells
• Allows the character to wear mage armour that provides the wearer with two additional hits
• Mage armour does not protect against CLEAVE or IMPALE

Any character that has purchased the magician skill can use a rod or wand as a mage’s implement to touch a target to cast a spell. This skill allows you to use a staff as a mage’s implement to cast spells. A mage staff can be between 42” and 84” long. During combat, you must hold the weapon in two-hands whenever you use it. If your mage staff is over five feet long (>60”) then you must have at least 18" in separation between your hands when you use it.

A battle mage can wield a staff and wear mage armour.

Your character may also wear mage armour. Mage armour is a type of magical talismanic armour that protects you against harm but allows you to cast spells. Although mage armour is magical in nature, your character is able to fashion their own armour. If you have purchased this skill then you are considered to have access to a suit of mage armour, in the same way a warrior has access to a suit of mundane armour.

Realm Lore

• 1-point skill
• The cost of the specific lore skill for a realm increases by 1 point each time you purchase it
• The number of mana crystals you can use to perform a ritual is equal to your levels of lore in that realm

Any character that has purchased one or more realm ritual magic skills can perform rituals. Rituals require crystalized mana to cast; they are too powerful to perform with personal mana.

Each ritual will have a magnitude. This is the amount of crystalized mana needed to perform the ritual. The amount of crystalized mana that you can expend is based on your levels of lore in that particular realm. If the ritualist has mastered the ritual, then the mana that they contribute counts double.

Each rank of Realm lore also allows you to pick two free rituals from that realm that your character has mastered. You do not need to pick the rituals you want when you purchase the skill, you may leave the 'slots' free and choose the rituals you want later. Leaving one or more ritual slots empty also allows you the opportunity to learn rituals that are not in Imperial lore, provided you can find a source.

Gaining additional ranks

• You cannot contribute to a ritual of a realm unless your character has spent experience points to gain a rank in that realm
• You effective skill - your total skill including magical assistance - can never be more than three times your innate skill - your skill accrued by spending experience points

As with many skills it is possible to gain additional ranks of realm lore through the use of potions, magic items, and enchantments. it is also possible to gain additional ranks when performing a ritual at a powerful regio, such as the Imperial regio at Anvil. However, these benefits are limited by your innate skill - the raw skill your character possesses without any additional help.

In every case, you must have purchased the appropriate realm lore skill at least once to benefit from any source of additional ranks of that realm. For example, you must have Autumn lore to use a Melancholic Staff, Spring lore to benefit from a Vernal Balm, Day lore to gain the advantage offered by a Strigine Mask when performing Eyes of the Sun and Moon, or Winter lore to use the Imperial regio to gain a temporary boost to your power while performing Wisdom of the Balanced Blade. You cannot contribute to the performance of a ritual from a given realm unless your character has spent experience points to gain at least one realm lore skill for that realm.

In addition, you can only gain additional ranks of realm lore equal to triple your innate skill. This means that a character with one rank of a lore can only gain two additional ranks from any source (giving them a potential effective lore of three); a character with two ranks of a lore can gain no more than four additional ranks (for a total of six); a character with three ranks of a lore can only gain six additional ranks (for a total of nine); and so on. This applies to all methods of gaining additional ranks - potions, magic items, enchantments and eternal boons, and the power of a regio are all limited in this way. In every case the cap is set by the number of ranks of the appropriate lore the character has purchased with experience points.

Additional ranks acquired in this way never provide additional mastered rituals. Additional mastery is gained only from the realm lore skills a character purchases with experience points.

Extra Ritual

• 1-point skill
• The cost of this skill is the same each time

You may choose to master two additional rituals each time you purchase this skill. You do not need to pick the rituals you want at the time you purchase the skill, you may leave the 'slots' free and choose the rituals you want later if you wish.