Magick
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Divine Magick |
The Nature of Magick. For questions relating to the use of magick in-game, see also Magic FAQ.
Energy: it is Magick !
See also Moderating Magick: Energy
When you think about magick, any kind of magick – be it sorcery, religious or what have you – comes down to one thing: energy. As the fuel that powers all magic in Tazlure, energy is an invisible force. It is the essence of the world, flowing everywhere, being the source of creation, and so forth. Think of it like air, and the wind: it’s all around you, practically everywhere, yet you cannot see it.
No matter what kind of spellcaster we’re talking about, they all use this same energy; the difference lies in the way they go about using it, and where they take their energy from. Sorcerers, magicians, wizards and all traditional type spellcasters, for example, are trained to perceive the energy around them in some way, and to reach out and use this energy to weave a spell. Others are trained to beg or barter for it from an outside source: the priest who appeases his god with ritual and sacrifice in return for the energy to cast healing spells, or the cultist who deals with devils in search of immortality. And some might even be trained to use the energy that is inherent in everyone, their own personal energy. What is most important of all, though, is simply to note this: that all energy is in essence the same. It’s how the spellcaster uses it, that differs greatly.
While all energy is essentially the same, it does take on aspects of its surroundings. There is energy of the earth, which is strong near rock and desert, and there is energy of water, which is most prevalent near lakes and seas. There is such basic stuff as life energy, which is everywhere you can find something alive, and there is such complicated stuff as aggressive energy, which is only strong if there was a violent argument or a battle somewhere. Simply put, you can find the type of energy near anything that you could normally associate with it: water energy near streams, fire energy near fires, mental energy near rational beings, natural energy near places of nature. It’s really as simple as that: whatever thing or situation you have, that’s the type of energy you have.
In the same way, you have energy such as that of gods, demi-gods, demons, and so forth. These incredibly vast sources cannot be tapped like, say, you could pull wind energy out of the sky. A sentient being can grant you energy if you’re properly trained to receive and use it, like for example a priest. These beings decide what kind of energy they give to their followers: obviously, you won’t see an ice goddess give her followers the energy to start huge bonfires.
And then there’s the energy that rests inside every living thing. This mysterious spark is a special kind of energy, potent in even the small amount that is present in each and every one. Only special training can allow a spellcaster to tap into this reserve. Personal energy is very intimate; it’s not the kind of thing you can use to start an earthquake. Spellcasters can use this kind of energy to cast spells unseen, and to augment or modify themselves; only rarely (and after lots of training) will it allow you to affect other people strongly.
Basically, use of energy falls into three separate categories: the ones who use the energy that flows around them, the ones who use energy granted to them by other beings, and the ones who use only energy of their own body and mind. Those that call upon flowing energy are the standard type wizards, often trained at the Citadel’s University of Magick or at one of the magick colleges of World’s Mouth. Their magick is called Sorcery or spellweaving. The ones that call upon the energy of other beings are priests who can worship gods, spirits or demons; they are the priests, clerics, shamans, mystics and prophets who live in cities and villages and further the will of their supernatural patrons. And the last of the three, the ones who draw upon their own personal, intimate energy, are a rarer breed; although they can be mindcrafters, who use their magic almost like you’d expect of the archetypal psionic, they commonly become bards, weaving their magic into song or dance, enchanting their audience as much with their natural as their supernatural gifts.
There are three basic uses of energy: Sorcery , Faith and Mindcraft
Tazlurian Spellcasters
Below is a list of all the standard types of spellcasters that exist in Tazlure. It describes them briefly, then gives a definition that touches on their most distinctive points, and finally reminds what source of magic the spellcaster taps. Please note that this is not a complete list; individual mods may have come up with their own kinds of spellcasters, and individual mages may find a style of their own.
Sorcerer / Wizard / Magician
This is the standard image of a wizard, such as we all know ‘em and love ‘em. These are the robed, bearded guys who stand around, muttering and gesturing and making fireballs appear out of the sky. In reality, of course, the picture is a little less cliché: a sorcerer can be anyone, anywhere, and neither sex is intrinsically better at it. Sorcerers tap into the energies around them, and weave their spells from those. Aside from priests, sorcerers are the most common magic users in Tazlure.
- Definition: A spellcaster who uses a technique of gesturing and vocalizing to focus the surrounding energies into a spell.
- Source: Sorcery
Runecrafter
See also Runecraft
A variety of the sorcerer, the runecrafter also uses sorcery, but his techniques are different. A runist traps energy in runic words or sentences, using special equipment and surfaces. Although not as blatantly powerful as normal sorcery, runecraft does have the advantage of being more subtle and much better at long-term effects.
- Definition: A spellcaster who uses a technique of inscription to focus surrounding energies into a (sometimes delayed) spell.
- Source: Sorcery
Alchemist
See also Alchemy
Another sorcerer variety, the alchemist is much more formulaic in his approach to magick. Alchemists catalogue the kinds of energy that appear in substances (for example, the presence of ‘change’ energy in Eye of Newt) and weave their spells by using these special ingredients together with magickally charged equipment to create substances, such as potions and powders, that can cause magical effects.
- Definition: A spellcaster who uses a scientific approach to focus energy inherent in samples into a magickal substance.
- Source: Sorcery
Priest
The archetypal priest serves a greater or lesser deity of some sort. They are scholars foremost, experts on the ways of life as prescribed by their god(dess). In return for living according to the right rules, and for spreading the faith among others, the priest is granted types of energy by his or her deity, which can then be used to weave spells. Unlike sorcerers, priests are not free to pick any type of energy; they are dependent on what a god is willing to grant. For example, an ice goddess will never grant fire energy to a follower, no matter how dire his cause might be.
- Definition: A spellcaster who uses granted divine energy and focuses it into a spell.
- Source: Faith
Cultist
Another spellcaster who employs energy granted by powerful beings is the cultist. Cultism derives its energy from demons, who must be worshipped in the proper way. The Cultist is very much like the priest, with only the source of his energy different: the priest worships a god, the cultist a demon. Please note that cultists do not bargain with demons for power; this method is the realm of the dark sorcerer.
- Definition: A spellcaster who uses granted demonic energy and focuses it into a spell.
- Source: Faith
Shaman
The shaman is a priest not of gods but of spirits, beings dwelling in the Aether. These spirits are easiest to communicate with in distinctive landmarks and places where the elements are more extreme, such as a beautiful pond or a stretch of desert. Shamans appease these spirits and teach their people to live in harmony with the spirit's ways, and in return are granted energy by the spirits as a reward for their good work.
- Definition: A spellcaster who uses granted spirit energy and focuses it into a spell.
- Source: Faith
Mindcrafter
See also Mindcraft, Mindcrafter
The most frequent type of spellcaster to draw from the mindcraft source of energy, a mindcrafter relies much more on what the magickal awakening of his mind does to his abilities and skills. Mindcrafters gain limited abilities such as telekinesis and mindreading through the casting of spells, but also benefit greatly from an arcane edge to, for example, the empathy skill. Most importantly, the mindcrafter is the only spellcaster who can cast silently and without gesture – in other words, unnoticeably.
- Definition: A spellcaster who uses inherent energy to augment skills or focuses it into a subtle spell.
- Source: Mindcraft
Dark Magician
See also Dark Arts
A blight upon the world, the dark magician is a mindcrafter who has learned a different, perverse kind of the trade; she starts where the mindcrafter ends. Because she practises methods that allow her to increase her inner energy reserves through the use of negative or ‘dark’ emotions, she has more power at her disposal; this combines with elements from runecraft and cultism which allow her to summon and contain demons, in order to bargain even more power from them. The drawback of all this power is that it is hardly subtle anymore, and actively pursued by most religious organisations, and by witch hunters. Additionally, too much demonic energy twists an individual into twisted forms, so dark magicians generally cannot use it as a source for spellcasting.
- Definition: A spellcaster who uses and enhances inherent energy to focus it into a spell or magickally charged pattern.
- Source: Mindcraft
Amunic Sorcerer-Priest
See also Amunic Magick
The Amunic sorcerer-priest is neither a sorcerer nor a priest, as the magick practised on Amun Rah is essentially a form of shamanism, although far more formal and ritualised than that found elsewhere. Practitioners have contact with a limited range of spirits, including the powerful Ancestors, and worship them as servants of the gods Uphuron and Anasis.
- Source: Faith
Shaper
See also Shaper
This kind of magick is predominant in the kingdom of T'aquar where the culture has an aversion to killing living things, even non sentient ones, to serve the community. Instead magick persuades trees, plants etc. to shape themselves into convenient homes, tools etc. allowing the adhiel to life in balance with their environment.
