Regio
Overview
The mortal world of Empire is surrounded and infused by six magical realms, which Imperial magicians have named Day, Night, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Normally the power of these realms is sequestered away; magicians can perform spells and rituals that draw on the power of the realms, but otherwise it does not affect the day-to-day lives of mortals.
A regio is a region where the power of one or more of the realms has seeped into the mortal world. Some regio occur naturally, others are a response to significant events or powerful magics. Some regio are permanent, some last only for a few hours; some are stable while others wax and wane with the hour or the season. Some are only detectable with magic, others cause effects that are so pronounced that you cannot fail to realize that something strange is happening.
Regio are useful for magicians, and some rituals are so powerful that they can only be performed in a regio. But the main reason regio exist is to create a suite of mechanics that covers many of the classic themes and ideas of mythology. A regio could be a fairy ring that fills with music and dancers at midnight. It could be a strange glade in a Dawnish forest into which knights are prone to wander but never return. A regio is any location in Empire that is mystical in some way, either enchanted or cursed.
Basics
- A regio is an area with a magical aura that exists in the mortal world
- Regio are connected to one of the realms and draw power from them
- Ritualists can detect regio and discover their realm connection with the detect magic spell
An area with a regio in it will often reflect the nature of the realm it is connected to; an area with a strong connection to one of the themes of a realm may over decades or even centuries, generate a regio.
For example, a Winter regio might form on a battlefield where hundreds have died and their bones been left without funeral rites. A Spring regio may form at the heart of an untracked wilderness. An ancient library with hundreds of books and scrolls or an observatory where men have watched the stars for centuries may form a Day regio.
A regio often has an aura associated with it that creates a powerful roleplaying effect. Sometimes these auras may have mechanical effects as well. Neither type of aura can be permanently removed as long as the regio is intact.
For example, a Winter regio may have an aura of dread that fills everyone entering it with the certainty that they are being watched by a horrible monster. A Spring regio may allow anyone within its bounds to recover hits with fifteen minutes of relaxation and rest.
Some regio are temporary, or exist only at certain times of the year. Some Eternals can help create a temporary or permanent regio, provided that mortal creatures create an appropriate area for the regio to 'anchor' to first.
For example, a Day Eternal may agree to help a group of scholars create a regio in their library provided they create a weltsilver and mithril beacon to go on top of it. A Summer Eternal may allow the formation of a temporary regio on a battlefield at the site where five enemy standards are arranged in a circle.
Using Regio
- Ritual magicians can use powerful regio to enhance their rituals
- Only one ritual can be performed using a regio at a time
- Some regio have special properties when used as part of a ritual performance
A regio may help a coven or skilled magician to perform rituals. A handful of rituals are so powerful that they can only be performed using a suitable regio. For example, any Winter regio can be used to perform Whispers through the Black Gate. Any Spring regio can be used to perform Thunderous Deluge.
A ritual that affects a region or territory requires the use of a regio in that region or territory; you cannot use a Spring regio in Bregasland to cast Thunderous Deluge on Skarsind, only on Bregasland.
Only one ritual can be performed using the power of a regio at one time. A new ritual cannot draw on the regio while one is already being cast by a ritualist or coven unless that ritual is disrupted. In the event that two groups try to start a ritual simultaneously, neither of them can draw on the regio.
Some regio are sufficiently powerful that they may provide additional benefits when used to perform a ritual. Usually, these benefits make it easier to perform rituals by allowing contributing magicians to use more crystal mana than their skill would normally allow. For example, a powerful Spring regio might allow a contributor who had a single rank of Spring Lore to contribute two crystal mana to a Spring ritual, rather than just one.
Portals and Regio
Some regio contain portals. A portal is a magical door that can be discovered with ritual magic. It is sometimes possible to wander through a portal unintentionally. More commonly, a magician uses the open portal spell to pass through a portal intentionally.
Beyond portals lie chambers. A chamber is a common term for a location that is outside the mortal Realm but is not fully part of one of the supernatural Realms. For example, a bleak haunted castle may exist as a chamber reached from a Winter regio. A pleasent glade full of flowers and feasting tables may be a chamber reached from a Night regio. A primaevil forest inhabited by carnivorous giant insects might be a chamber reached from a Spring regio.
Chambers are often inhabited by lesser Eternals, Heralds, mortals and creatures from both the Eternal Realms and the mortal Realm. Some of those inhabitants can pass easily into either the mortal or Eternal realms, but can only very rarely pass in both directions due to the restrictions on how magical portals work.
Anyone who enters a realm through a portal discovers that, regardless of how they leave the chamber, they always depart through the door them came in through. It is possible for Eternals to enter chambers from their Realms, in the same way mortals enter them from the mortal realm. Mortals cannot leave a chamber and enter the Eternal Realm however, nor can Eternals enter the mortal realm through a chamber; each must leave through the door they came in through.
The Imperial Regio
- Found only at Anvil
- Counts as a regio connected to all six Realms
- Is connected to the entire Empire
- Enhances rituals performed in the regio
The Imperial Regio or Anvil Regio is near the Sentinel Gate that has stood at Anvil since the early years of the Empire. It is connected to each of the six Realms, and can be used to perform rituals as if it were a regio of any Realm.
Any ritual performed by ritualists using the Anvil regio can target any Imperial forces and resources owned by Imperial characters in any region or territory controlled by the Empire. For example, the Anvil regio can be used to perform Thunderous Deluge on any Imperial territory.
Any ritual performed in the Imperial regio may harness its power to enhance the realm lore of the contributors; a character who possesses at least one rank of the appropriate realm lore performs the ritual as if their realm lore were one rank higher.
For example, A coven of three characters each with one rank of Summer lore use the anvil regio. They each act as if their Summer lore were rank 2 and can contribute 2 crystal mana to the ritual. A fourth member of their coven who has no ranks in Summer still cannot contribute to the ritual.
The Portal at Anvil
There is a portal in the Anvil regio, it leads to The Hall of Worlds. Any magician who casts operate portal on the Anvil regio can travel to the Hall of Worlds.
Any magician who does so once (at the normal cost of one mana) can then use the spell freely to enter the Hall of Worlds through the Anvil regio for the rest of the event without needing to spend additional mana.