Miles may as well be inches for those who know how to step properly.
The traveller knows the way.Is it difficult to raise a family? Not if they're buried close enough together.
Death has never been an ending.Fire nurtures, and fire destroys.
Burn, baby, burn.The same substance that laps gently on the shore can cut through stone, given the opportunity.
Water is life.Aeromancers don't just control their element - they live within it.
Air is ever-present. Or else you have a problem.If you ever find yourself taking the ground you walk on for granted, a terramancer will quickly correct that.
Stone endures. So do you.There once was a time when a person's word was their bond, and the idea of breaking it was unthinkable.
It's time for that to return.Sometimes, the best way to reach your goals is to have someone else do it for you.
Names are power.The organic world is as complex as any technological system.
Life is growth.What is distance, what is the past, what is the future to those who know how to see?
Avert your eyes.Those who control the battlefield, control the battle.
Preparation is a superpower.The fleeting grasp on reality was always the plan.
Twist the shattered image.The art of making magical items.
A one-stop-shop.Why cast a spell when you can twist leylines directly?
Knowledge is power; but power is also power.The stars have effects that govern our lives.
Twist ye the fate.Technology - the ultimate democratization of power.
Ever since we first set fire to the wheel.For those magics too powerful.
The really scary stuff.Precasting: Characters may not cast spells "off screen", but may enter a scene with a single level 1 effect active on them by posting that effect in their opening post and deducting the appropriate Source. If a character precasts in this fashion, they arrive in the scene with the spell effect already active on them, with no capacity for people in the scene to observe or react to the casting.
Stacking Effects: Multiple effects of the same name cannot be active on a single target. If they would be, all but the newest of those effects are ignored.
Channeled spells require all of the caster’s focus to maintain. The caster may move and defend against attacks while channeling, but perform no other actions. Any cast requiring multiple posts counts as channeling. A Stunned or unconscious player cannot channel.
Direct spells require line of sight to the target. All spells are Direct unless specified.
Indirect spells do not require line of sight.
Opposed spells require the caster to succeed at an Arcanum roll against the target’s Magic Sense to take effect.
Ritual spells take twice as long to cast, cannot be cast in combat, and may be cast with a network of casters working in harmony. All spellcasters in a Ritual are considered “networked”, even the originator of the spell.
Passive effects are constant and always apply once a certain level is reached.
Summon spells add an extra character to a scene. You control the character, and they act on your initiative, and can take all basic actions. Unless an effect specifies otherwise, you can only have one summoned character at any given time, and summoned characters last until the end of the scene or until dismissed, whichever is sooner.
Shields prevent the next instance of damage against the character with the shield, before dissipating. Shields last for two rounds or until removed, and a character may only have one Shield at any given time.
Stunned prevents characters from acting on their turn. They may still defend against attacks. At the end of a turn in which the character was Stunned and took no actions, they lose the Stunned condition.
Spells have ranges at which they can be cast. Targets must be within their specified range to be affected by the spell.
Self: The caster
Touch: 3m
Blast: 6m
Near: 10m
Close: 20m
Long: 50m
Limitless: Any playable area
Veins of magical energy known as Leylines form a net of power that crosses the world, which can be tapped in order to cast magic. There are convergences of lines, where nodes of magical energy build up significant strength. The strongest of these tend to lie in cities and other locations of significance. Smaller, temporary nodes can also form from eddies or loops in a leyline. Nodes have an enhancing effect on magic cast within their sphere of influence, and thus are often jealously guarded upon discovery. Many of the natural ley lines in San Isid have been routed into artificial networks, fueling the powerful MagiNet system.
In addition to rank of knowledge, casters need the tools used to cast spells. Trillium’s Cyber-Arcane Somatic Transducer (CAST) device permits casters to access MagiNet, and through MagiNet, magic itself. CAST devices are keyed to the bio- and psychometrics of their owners and cannot be used by anyone other than the programmed owner. MagiNet offers several tiers of source access, ensuring that you’re never without the means to tweak reality to your will. Access is on a daily basis and does not accumulate over time.
While CAST devices can take many forms, the most common take form factors of other popular technology - cell phones, smart watches, and more. Implants are rare, especially amongst those who look for high-spec casting, due to the danger of overclocking.
Creative casters and skilled hackers work in conjunction to constantly tweak CAST software to allow for spells to be performed that were not originally intended by Trillium. The knowledge of how to make the modifications to the CAST software has inevitably spread over MagiNet despite efforts to censor it.
CAST devices can be overclocked in times of dire need to access powerful magics that otherwise are outside of the reach of casters. Originally discovered by Calavera members and since spread through the population as a whole, Trillium’s terms of service strictly forbid overclocking, though the constant stream of new CAST sales have helped shareholders look the other way. Overclocking really is an act of desperation, as the power channeled through the device can cause rapid and unplanned disassembly of the CAST device - and the limb holding it.
In an entirely unrelated topic: Panacea clinics have become skilled at treating severe burns and regrowing fingers. Injury reports often note the embedded remains of what appears to be an ‘unknown and malfunctioning handheld device.’
Those who follow the older ways know Overclocking by a different name: "Great Magic." Only gifted to the caster at a great personal sacrifice, these magicks are the pinnacle of their craft.
Listed under each magic rank are a list of potential effects. Only one listed effect can be utilized per spellcast.
Rank I: Casters of the first rank can perform relatively simple spells of limited power and duration. Requires one post and costs 1 Source per spell cast.
Rank II: Casters of the second rank can perform more complicated spells with greater power and duration. Requires two posts and costs 2 Source per spell cast.
Rank III: Casters of the third rank can perform complex spells, and even create new spells that are otherwise not listed with approval from staff. Requires three posts and costs 4 Source per spell cast. Note: New spells can only be developed once every thirty days, and will be added to the website for others to access.
Overclock: By pushing a CAST device past its limit, casters can access a powerful spell at the cost of their device. Overclocking cannot be done more than once a week and no spells can be cast until a new CAST device is obtained. Due to the violation of the terms of service required to perform an Overclock, the caster’s source pool is also emptied by this action.
Roll 20:
1-4: Cast Device explodes in a flare of light, blinding the user and mangling the user’s hand.
5-11: Cast Device explodes, mangling the user’s hand
12-16: Cast Device bursts into flame, giving the user major burns
17-20: Cast Device ceases to function
Great Magic: When pushing not a CAST device but instead a flesh and blood caster past their limits, side effects most certainly occur - but there's no filter between the magical power and their body, resulting in the magical equivalent of a fork in a power socket.
While highly illegal in the city of San Isid due to the nature of the corporate monopoly on political power, it is possible to cast magic with either direct leyline energy or with power granted from an Outsider patron. In order to do so, a character must have the Leyline Caster or Pact Caster merit, and abide by the restrictions within.