Vis for Beginners

Vis is the supernatural energy that permeates the universe and its various realms. It has played a part in shaping the universe and its inhabitants since the beginning of time. Vis manipulation is prevalent in numerous societies and is an integral part of all lives it has, and will continue to drastically alter the course of history.

**Note: While the system is very flexible, characters can only use one type of vis for now.**

## The Three A’s

There are three main types of vis: arcana, aura, and anima. They are the energies of the mind, body, and soul respectively. While they have their own strengths and weaknesses, each type can essentially accomplish the same tasks as the other.

All living beings possess three vis pools for each respective energy. When one uses any vis ability, they draw their power from these pools. To build up their reserves of vis, they must constantly be using their abilities to their limits, similar to how building muscle mass works.

If one were to use a vis pool more than the others, then they’d be specializing in that energy. It makes it more difficult to learn the abilities of other energies, for they’d have to balance the energies within themselves. **This means it’s very uncommon to find people who can use more than one of the Three A’s. New characters should only be able to use one type. As the RP goes on, there may be a chance to be able to use more!**

## Arcana

Arcana, more commonly known as mana, is formed into spells that tend to be more powerful than aurist or animist effects. It takes mental concentration and intelligence to cast spells; for this reason, mages tend to be more immobile than other fighters in exchange for their abilities. With it being the energy of the mind, arcana is able to do whatever the user can imagine as long as they have the capability to make it happen. Those who use arcana train by studying spells and honing their ability to focus.

Of the three energies, arcana is the also the most diverse in its known capabilities. With it you can not only cast combat spells, but also create runes and enchantments, which play an integral in modern magitechnology.

### Schools of Magic

With arcana, mages are able to accomplish almost anything. There are many schools of magic, ranging from telepathy to aquamancy to necromancy. Out of the three energies, magic has the most utility. Mages can learn to teleport, create enchantments and runes, and more.

## Aura

Aura can be molded into what is known as an alos. It takes athleticism to cast aloses; for this reason, aurists tend to be the most athletic and hands-on of fighters. Those who use aura train their physical abilities and condition their bodies to improve their skills. Because of this, aurists tend to be dangerous warriors in physical combat, especially at close range.

All abilities that come from aura must originate from the body. This means that any ranged attack must come from the user’s body. If one wishes to manipulate the battle without physically touching it, they must reach out to it with their aura first. For example, conjuring a battle axe five feet from the user is impossible unless they have extended some aura in the form of a tether to control it.

### Schools of Aura

With aura, aurics can manipulate the physical world to their pleasing. There are many schools of aura, focused not only on combat but other practical uses. Listed below are examples of uses of aura. (If you have an idea for an aura ability, please don't be afraid to suggest.)

* **Evocation:** The art of molding your aura into a shape, then manipulating the shape's properties. This is a basic school of aura. Most Aurics who practice Evocation use the school not only for making weapons mid-battle, but also serving them in daily life, such as evoking a bag to help them carry things. The form of evoked aura normally appears as glossy, translucent, and in the color the user desires. More skilled practitioners of Evocation are able to manipulate the appearance of their aura to look more like real objects.

	+ **Elemental Evocation:** The art of giving your evoked aura elemental properties. This is a more advanced school of aura. You can use Elemental Evocation to produce effects such as striking someone with an bolt of auric lightning, or igniting your sword with auric flames.

		- **Avatar:** An even more advanced school of Evocation is Avatar. It is a very difficult school to learn, as it involves engulfing the user in physical aura to form an avatar around them. These avatars can range in size and strength, from the size of double the user's body to a full building.

* **Strength Boost:** The art of giving oneself more physical strength. This allows for aurics to be able to give themselves higher bodily power and speed, even to superhuman levels. Stronger practitioners in this art are able to lift tons, as well as outrun cars.
* **Healing:** The art of mending wounds and curing disease. Aurist healers are able to simply touch another, and are able to fix any ailment their bodies may be experiencing.

	+ **Shapeshifting:** The art of modifying one's own body with aura to a desired shape. The more experienced users of Shapeshifting can do a full body transformation, where they turn into things ranging from a beast, to a small critter, to even an everyday object. The art of shapeshifting has many useful uses. You could enhance your vision, grow wings, or even harden your skin to be as tough as steel.

		- **Alteration:** The difficult art of altering another's body. It's an advanced sub-school of healing. Alteration is intended for effects other than healing. One use of alteration is hardening another's skin so that they may have better defense. An offensive use of this ability could be damaging their internal organs, or even blinding them with a single touch.

			* **Symbiosis:** The rather difficult art of combining Shapeshifting and Alteration to change the shape of another. An offensive example would be altering the brain's hormonal levels, causing a variety of mental effects. A defensive example would be partially merging with another being. A utility example would be befriending other animals, which makes it a useful skill for druidic aurists.

* **Transmutation:** The art of changing the properties of an external object. Similar to shapeshifting, except that you're manipulating something other than yourself. By touching an object, a practitioner of Transmutation is able to change its properties, like its composition, state of matter, temperature, and more.
* **Mimicry:** The art of copying the exact movements and skill of another, simply by watching. By boosting their own eyes and nervous system with aura, one is able to replicate another to near, if not complete perfection. For example, if they're watching a skilled archer shoot an arrow, they can replicate the same form and accuracy. The user does not retain their skill with whatever they mimicked, however, as they are only able to perform it for as long as they're boosting their eyes and nervous system. If they stop this enhancement, then their muscle memory forgets the skill, and they must copy it again.
* **Tethering:** The art of keeping something attached to the user's body using a thin string of aura. All ranged auric abilities use some form or principal of Tethering in order to maintain control. Tethering allows for basic 'telekinesis' as well, as the user would be able to lift objects with a small string of aura.

	+ **Kinesis:** The art of manipulating general objects. This is more for aurists who prefer to use their surroundings rather than evoking their own power. Kinesis can be used for controlling certain types of objects based off of the user's training. They can specialize in manipulating a certain element with higher precision, or spread themselves out and control multiple elements with broad control.
	+ **Puppetry:** The art of manipulating multiple objects with keen precision using tethered aura. Practitioners of this skill use the Law of Alos to their advantage, keeping their 'puppets' tethered to their bodies in order to maintain control. More skilled users can manipulate up to a dozen or more objects.

## Anima

Anima can be formed into what is known as an aius. As the energy of the soul, anima focuses on two main aspects: willpower and precision. Willpower fuels the strength and intensity of aiuses, while precision dictates the success and accuracy of aiuses.

Anima is also the energy of the heart. One’s emotions can drastically cause an unintended change in an aius’s effect. Anger can bolster the user’s abilities but also risk self harm; fear can strengthen one’s precision at the cost of willpower; etc.

Because of the nature of anima and its capabilities, animist characters tend to make for great thieves, assassins, hybrid playstyles, and other miscellaneous playstyles.

### Schools of Anima

With anima, one can manipulate the emotions and souls of others. Listed below are examples of uses of aura. (If you have an idea for an anima ability, please don't be afraid to suggest.)

* **Soul Evocation:** The art of giving intangible form from your soul. Soul Evocation affects the souls of others. A soul evoked sword that slashes the leg of a victim would hurt the victim's leg and instilling a number of effects on them. They would feel weakened, lose their will, and feel the same pain in their leg as if they were actually cut in their physical body. This makes soul evocation dangerous, as it allows for unseen wounds.
* **Ki:** The art of giving your soul evocation tangible form. Ki is highly unstable when uncontrolled, as it naturally wants to return to its state of intangibility. If left uncontrolled, the Ki will release a high amount of energy and explode. The more skilled the user is, the more they can manipulate the properties of their ki, including the hardness, shape, and more.
	+ **Elemental Ki:** The difficult sub-school of Ki that gives your Ki elemental properties. Practitioners of this art are able to make fire, electric, arctic and more types of Ki.

* **Soul Consumption:** The art of consuming the anima from other spirits and souls in order to increase physical strength. This ability tends to tire out the opponent both physically and spiritually, while also increasing one's own physical strength. A downside to this ability is that Soul Consumption is a rather tiring technique, in which you use more anima than you consume.
* **Zen:** The art of temporary clearing your mind and heart of your emotions. This art gives you enhanced focus, thus sharpening your senses. Time also slows down for the user, allowing their mind to think faster and have significantly improved reaction timing. Note that Zen does not increase the user's speed, only their reaction time.
* **Insight:** The art of achieving clairvoyance. Through concentration and focus, one can experience another location without physically being there.
* **Ghosting:** The art of rendering your body completely intangible. Users of this art are able to briefly Ghost for a moment before having to become tangible again. However, while Ghosting, they're still vulnerable to magic, auric, or animic attacks.
* **Empathy:** The art of sensing the emotions of others. Users of Empathy are able to use anima to read the hearts of others, to see if something is affecting their emotions. Empathy can be used to detect nearby life forms, as it allows users to sense their hearts. Practitioners of this art are also able to speak with spirits in the Ancestral Realm easily.

	+ **Whispering:** The art of changing the heart of others. Whisperers are able to influence their victims into doing their bidding. The difference between Whispering and mind control is that Whispering makes the users want to do their command, whereas mind control is more of a forceful command. The art of Whispering can also be used to 'corrupt' the hearts of others, turning them 'evil'. Inversely, it can also 'purify' the hearts of others by undoing the corruption in their hearts. Note that this ability can also be used on non-humans as well, which makes it good for druids.
	+ **Deceit:** The art of casting an illusion on another. Animist Deceit allows for realistic illusions that affect all five senses of the victim. Deceit may involve subtle changes like the amount of ammunition the victim may have (therefore allowing them to overstep their limits), or drastic changes like transforming the victim’s world around them.

* **Soul Manipulation:** The art of manipulating the soul of the user. Practitioners of this art are able to do various effects with their souls. One technique, for example, is infusing part of your soul into an object so that you can control it. Another is Astral Projection, where your body goes comatose but your spirit is free to wander in the Ancestral Realm. Users of this art are also able to speak with spirits more freely, like users of Empathy.

	+ **Reanimation:** The art of pinpointing and pulling specific souls of the dead in the Ancestral Realm and controlling them. Users of this art are able to either directly use these souls in battle, or put them in bodies to create minions. These souls only remain in the regular world until the user releases control.
	+ **Spirit Summoning:** The art of summoning spirits from the Spirit World to do your bidding. This is different from Reanimation in the sense that the spirits need to willingly want to follow you. If they don't want to, they can simply resist. Spirit summoning can be considered the 'good' counterpart to reanimation.

		- **Spirit Enslavement:** The art of enslaving the spirits that you summon. If a spirit resists your command, the user can force them to obey if they're strong enough.

* **Possession:** The art of inserting your soul into another living being and controlling them. This ability causes your body to go comatose while your soul forces itself into another body or object, establishing dominance over the thing and taking control.
* **Bonding:** The art of establishing a bond between your soul and another's. This is useful for those who have pets or mounts, as it allows for easier communication through telepathy and empathy between the bonded souls. This skill is also the reason why animics have the easiest time with bonding with a Familiar.

## Bracing

Bracing is a technique that all energy users can perform to repel foreign energy away from them. It involves focusing one’s vis towards themselves to dispel effects. One example would be defending them against attacks such as magical telepathy or animist Whispering.

## Which energy should I pick for my character?

Any playstyle can be played with any type of the Three A’s, but can be more suited towards certain energies.

* Glass cannon characters who deal tons of damage at the cost of defensive capabilities tend to be arcanists.
* Warriors who like to get up close in combat are more effective with aura.
* Stealthy characters will find anima to be most useful.
* Necromancers and summoners would choose arcana or anima based on personal preference.
* Sharpshooters will find use in either aura or anima.
* Engineers would find most use in arcana due to its magitech capabilities.

These aren’t rules, however. If you can get creative and find ways for your warrior character to take advantage of magic, then go for it!

**As a reminder: characters can only use one type of vis!**