Magic Rules

## Summary

Magic relies on the accumulation, transformation and release of aether an immaterial substance that permeates the world.

## Basic Rules

* In order to cast a spell, a character must have sufficient *Mana*.
* The required *Mana* for a spell is listed with the technique.
* Regardless of other abilities, no spell may have its *Mana* cost reduced to less than 1 (spells may be cast for free if abilities specifically state the mana cost is waived).

## Mana

*Parallel with the material realm of Patera is the aether, an immaterial substance from which practitioners can draw vast amounts of energy. This energy can be transformed into many different materials and effects, but quickly dissipates back into nothing without the continuous focus of the arcane wielder.*

*Mana* can be obtained in several different ways. These include (but are not limited to):

* Storing and releasing ***Internal Mana***
* Harnessing ***Wild Mana***
* Drawing ***Wild Mana***

Regardless of the source of the *Mana*, a character may expend any combination of accumulated *Mana* to cast *spells* (i.e., arcane techniques). Each *Spell* has an associated *Mana Cost*.

### Internal Mana

*One of the first lessons any wielder of the arcane learns is to slowly channel mana from the aether, storing it in their body for later use. It is a complex and time-consuming process, not suited to the rigors of battle, but instead to quiet contemplation and focus.*
*Internal Mana* is stored in a character through a long process of meditation.

* Once per day, during their *Focus Time* a character may restore their *Internal Mana*.
* The maximum *Internal Mana* a character can store is equal to their total ranks in all *Arcane Skills*.

### Harnessing Wild Mana

*Wild mana ebbs and flows in the world, spreading like the shifting winds. The amount of available wild mana will vary from person to person, moment to moment. Even without effort, a wielder of the arcane can augment their spells with mana drawn from the surrounding aether.*

*Harnessing Wild Mana* works as follows:

* Once, at the start of each player’s turn, they may as a *Free Action* roll a dice depending on the maximum *Internal Mana* they possess.
* The result represents how much *Wild Mana* is easily available to incorporate into their spells without further action.
* If this *Wild Mana* is not used before the end of the turn, it is lost.

 1-5
 6-11
 12-17
 18-23
 24-29
 30-35
 36+

### Drawing Wild Mana

*Unlike harnessing wild mana, channeling is the active process of drawing mana from the aether. It requires a disruption of the local aether winds and can be an exhausting task.*

In addition to automatically generated *Wild Mana*, a character with one or more ranks in Arcane Skills may also use the *Channel Mana* action.

* Unlike regular *Wild Mana*, *Channeled Mana* requires active focus.
* It does however last longer, allowing the arcane wielder to accumulate a temporary pool of extra *Mana* to draw from at the cost of their own energy.

## Advanced Rules

### Concentration

*Once set in motion, some spells have natural conclusions such as a stone thrown into the air which inevitably falls to the ground. However, some spells do not occur in an instant, instead requiring the caster to control and manipulate the spell over time. These spells, require a caster’s concentration, often requiring a constant influx of mana to maintain the spell’s potency. Disrupting a caster by forcing them to move or inflicting injury and harm on them can cause such spells to end prematurely.*

When casting a spell with the *Concentration* rule, the following applies:

* At the start of a player’s turn, they must expend the *Mana* cost of each of their *Concentration* spells or the effect of the spell immediately ends (unless otherwise stated).
* Whenever a character who is currently concentrating on a spell suffers damage or is required to make a *Skill Check* against an effect which might disrupt their *Concentration*, they must make a check (once per spell):
* D20 + *Arcane Skill School* ranks + *Fervour*
* TS = damage taken **OR** TS of triggering ability

### Magical Opposition

Some spells cause others to fail.

When a spell comes into *Magical Opposition* with another, the player who cast the recent spell must make a *Skill* *Check* against the the opposing spell using the opposing spell’s theoretical TS (even if the spell does not usually have one). If successful, the opposing spell fails and ceases to function.

* Simple examples of Magical Opposition are Light and Darkness, Heat and Cold, Summoning and Banishing