Magic

Manifestations of Magic

While magical effects take many forms, magical energy all flows from the same source. In practical terms, however, Continentals differentiate magic by the manner in which the caster acquires it.

Arcane: Arcane magic reflects the will of the caster, who possesses the ability to sense, manipulate, and release Trid’s magical energies to their desired purpose. Not surprisingly, arcane magic effects tend to enhance the wielder’s offensive and defensive capabilities, reveal hidden knowledge, or exert influence over others.

Divine: Divine magic reflects the will of the gods and is granted to mortals entrusted to further their agenda on Trid. Casters must be absolute in their devotion, but their piety allows them to wield divine magic, whose effects most frequently heal, guide, and protect. Because arcane magic is independent of the morals and ethics of religion, people view it warily at best, or with fear at worse. Not surprisingly, casters of divine magic form the greater part Trid’s spell casting population, but casters overall form the smallest group of the Continent’s peoples. As a result, relatively few people are direct witness to spell casting, fewer still have held an enchanted item in their hands. Still, no one denies magic exists, and it exists in many forms.

Spells

Every magical effect is rooted in a spell, a formulation of words, gestures, and materials that produce a desired outcome when infused with the magical energy surrounding Trid. Arcanists document these formulations in their spell book much like chefs keeping recipes in a cookbook. Casters memorise these recipes to release the effects when desired, but once cast, a spell is purged from the caster’s memory and may be replenished only after the caster re-memorises it from their spell book. Many arcane spells are “common” to arcane practitioners, though inventive casters—like inventive chefs—research their own recipes to produce new effects; specific formulations that produce consistent results are documented as new spells the caster may memorise. Immortals grant divine magic to their most devout worshippers, who release it as spells cast in furtherance of their god’s agenda on Trid. Unlike arcane practitioners, divine spell casters don’t use spell books, instead receiving spell ability as a form of temporary possession, achieved through faith and prayer, through which they act as conduits of divine power. Like arcane casters, however, once a spell is released, it is purged from the caster’s mind and available again only through renewed appeals to their deity.

Magic items

These rare objects take many forms, as armour and weapons, alchemical potions, mystical scrolls, enchanted rings, or everyday items of gear or clothing. All are imbued with magic that produce one or more spell effects when invoked. While rare, the obvious benefit of such items is that they aren’t limited to use by the caster, effectively granting limited magical ability to non-casters.

Inherent ability

Certain creatures have innate magical ability, which means they can produce magical effects without spell casting or using a magic item.

Artefacts & Relics

More rare than magic items, artefacts and relics are ancient items invested with arcane or divine magical energy. Unlike magic items, artefacts and relics are singular items of great power and historical import, whose origin is either cosmic and eternal, or resulting from their use by magical beings or mortals, or their role in supernatural events.

Magic & Spell Casters

While all magic on Trid flows from the same source, magical power is differentiated by the manner in which the caster acquires it.

Arcane Magic

Arcane magic reflects the will of the caster. Arcane magic tends to enhance the wielder’s offensive and defensive capabilities, reveal hidden knowledge, or exert influence over others. Arcane magic relies on the caster’s ability to sense, manipulate, and release Trid’s magical energies to the desired purpose. Elementalist: Concentrated to the Rover nomads of the Scour, Elementalist petition the Uliger to summon and briefly control an elemental to do their bidding. Enchanter: Rare arcanists, Enchanter specialise in mind-affecting magic. Magic-user: The most common arcane practitioner, Magic-user produce magical effects by directly manipulating magical energy with complex gestures and words of power. Sorcerer: Rightfully feared, Sorcerer engage in pacts with various Elder Powers, exchanging service for spells. Thaumaturge: Disciplined scholars, Thaumaturge study magic as a “science.” While they cannot cast spells, their knowledge of infusing particular materials with magical energy allows them to create objects that mimic spell effects.

Class	Arcane Source	Where
Elementalist	Uliger	The Scour
Enchanter	Trid’s magical field	Continental
Magic-user	Trid’s magical field	Continental
Sorcerer	Elder Powers	Alfland
Thaumaturge	Opho	Continental

Divine Magic

Divine magic reflects the will of the gods. Divine magic is granted to mortals in furtherance of the deity’s interests, and typically provide healing, protection, and guidance. Divine magic relies on the caster’s devotion to their deity, who grants power only to trusted mortal servants. Cleric: Devout followers of a particular deity, Cleric are mortal instruments of the divine who receive magical powers in aid of their immortal patron’s agenda. Cultist: Adherents of an Elder Power, Cultist advance their patron’s agenda on Trid in exchange for magical power.

Class	Divine Source	Where
Cleric	Gods of Trid	Continental
Cleric	Lawful Faith	The Holy See of Hieros
Cultist	Elder Powers	The Chains, Sudenland, Thornveld

Folk Magic

In the Before Times, cultures who looked to their Local Gods for guidance and inspiration developed Folk Magic. While Folk magic is sourced by immortals, it is not the same as divine magic in that its practitioners do not actively worship their patrons. Druid: The Druid of Albion are a sect of elevated ritualists devoted to The Fey Court, and they receive divine magic in the form of spells suited to their natural environment. Ritualist: The mortal interpreters of local gods, Ritualist invoke minor magical powers through their personal insight into their patrons’ will. These devotions, similar in scope to a cleric’s Turn Undead ability, are less powerful than spells but nevertheless produce magical effects.

Class	Divine Source	Where
Druid	The Fey Court	Albion
Ritualist	Local Gods	Buccina, The Frost Reach, Nordland

Magical Focuses

Various places and objects have an effect on spells cast in or near them.

Opho

The asteroid-moon Opho disrupts Trid’s magical field, though its erratic orbit ensures that such perturbations are both random and relatively brief. Scholarly consensus asserts that Opho projects a weak anti-magic field that extends to (but apparently does not penetrate) Trid’s surface. Casters who wield spells while Opho is visible risk attracting the Ardic Curse.

Henges

Many human and humanoid cultures of the Before Times erected stone monuments in places they held sacred, whether the site of a battle, a burial ground, an astronomical phenomenon, or a local god’s home. In this context, “henge” may refer to menhirs, obelisks, dolmens, stele, kurgen, and stone circles. Spell casters may wield their spells with enhanced effect if within the proximity of a henge at the right time of year. The majority of these structures are found in Nordland, the Frost Reach, the Scour, and Austrus.

Far Paths

Protected by ancient stone monuments, the Far Paths are a network of dimensional portals that enable near-instant transport across the Continent. Created (or activated, according to fringe scholars) by the Ophidian to expand their Ophidian Empire, they were destroyed at the end of the Dim Ages when their civilisation was destroyed by the alliance of elves and men. While the greatest concentration of Far Paths is found in Austrus, they are scattered throughout the Continent. Since the Age of Fable, attempts to magically repair them have failed, but interest in reactivating them continues unabated in the present day.

Ley Lines

If one drew a line between every Far Path portal, they would have a map of the Ley Lines that criss-cross Trid. Scholars believe that these ley lines mark the teleportation routes between the Far Paths, and while the lines themselves do not detect as magic, spells cast within 480’ of a ley line can manifest with improved or degraded effects.