Magic is real and widely believed in the world of Song of Ice and Fire. Yet it is also rare enough for many to doubt its existence or at least its effectiveness, particularly in Westeros and most of all in the Citadel.

Magic, occasionally referred to as "the higher mysteries" is a powerful but little is understood of this force in the world. In Westeros it is believed, particularly by the Maesters of the Citadel, that magic, if it ever existed, is now gone from the world. Only one in every hundred Maesters, bother to study the subject.

Nevertheless, in Essos, magic is still practiced, particularly in the eastern corners of the continent, although its effects and the power of its practitioners are frequently questioned.

In any event, magic or at least eastern magic seems to be faded but still around in the world.

This tread will detail all aspects of magic and the mystics of Westeros and Essos.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:11, Tue 06 May 2014.

Magic in Westeros

Other than the children of the forest, who said to be strong in magic, native magic in Westeros is much rarer. In days past, the greenseers of the children possessed incredible powers over nature; Skinchanging, slipping into the minds of beasts, and Greensight, the power to foretell the future. Though the children of the forest and their greenseers have long passed from Westeros, there are still descendants of the First Men who possess those powers and while those powers are not something you can will to occur, it seems that those who hold the old gods are more susceptible to becoming one.

The very knowledge of the existence of skinchangers is exceedingly rare in Westeros, except perhaps among the northern wildlings that live beyond the Wall.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:16, Thu 11 Sept 2014.

Magic in Valyria

All Valyrian magic was rooted in blood and fire. It is said that they could set dragonglass candles to burning with strange, unpleasantly-bright light. With the obsidian candles, they could see across vast distances, look into a man's mind, and speak with one another though they were half the world apart. It is often said that the old wizards of Valyria did not cut and chisel stone, but worked it with fire and magic as one might work clay. The people of Valyria were very strong in magic, and they would use their powerful wizards and their dragons in conjunction with their armies to conquer most of the eastern continent. Dragons were controlled by whips, magic horns and sorcery.

Magic in the East

In Qarth, the enigmatic warlocks of the House of the Undying practice curious rituals. Whilst shadowbinders, spellsingers and aeromancers from Asshai are capable of great and terrible feats.

Bloodmages from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai are said to use the darkest of all magics, and possibly the most powerful. They have dark spells to save a man from death, though some say death is cleaner.

There are firemages who can conjure ladders from the air that are made of fire and can stand forty feet high. The mage can climb up the ladder, each rung disappearing behind him, leaving nothing but silvery smoke. When he reaches the top, the ladder and he are both gone.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:11, Tue 06 May 2014.

Types of Magic and Magic-Related Abilities

◾ Shadow-birthing:
Shadowbinders may give birth to shadows shortly after being impregnated by a man.

◾ Bilocation:
The ability to be physically present and perform actions in several places at once.

◾ Kiss of Life:
Red Priests have the ability to resurrect the newly dead.

◾ Elemental control:
The priests of R'hllor seem able to control the element of fire being able to evoke fire with their bare hands in order to engulf their weapons in flames, or to use the fire alone as a means to attack enemies or just to amaze crowds. It is possible that other wizards and sorcerers know ways of using other elements.

◾ Divination:
Some people exhibit the ability to see the future either through looking in the fire in the case of the followers and priests of the Lord of Light or through dreams. In the second case this is called Greensight if following the way of the old gods or dragon dreams if it is done by a Targaryen.

◾ Skinchanging:
The ability to enter the mind of an animal and control its actions.It is a rare ability with only one man in a thousand being born a skinchanger. Having the blood of the first Men usually makes it more likely for someone to be a skinchanger.

◾ Raising the dead:
Some priests of R'hllor have been capable of performing the extraordinary feat of raising a man from the dead. However the reborn person may have difficulty remembering parts of his past life, or they exhibit a change in personality. What red priests generally fail to do is to heal a man brought back to life by whatever injuries he may have suffered and as a result their bodies are battered by their wounds.

◾ Necromancy:
Some are rumored to dabble in necromancy the ability to raise the dead but as mindless automaton's bound to serve a specific purpose.

◾ Glamouring:
Wizards and sorcerers can change their appearance or the appearance of others by using light and shadow. Also the use of items of the person whose for they want assume seem to enhance the effect.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:55, Sun 15 June 2014.

Rare Magic/Mystical Items

 Valyrian candles are artifacts dating from the time of the Valyrian Freehold. The candles allowed people to communicate and relay information over vast distances. Since the Doom of Valyria, the surviving candles have been dormant. The Citadel in Oldtown holds several such candles, but despite centuries of study the maesters have never been able to make them work.

 Valyrian steel is a magical alloy invented in Valyria and used to make weapons of unparalleled quality. It is the spells and magic that make the steel special. Valyrian steel blades are lighter, stronger, and sharper than even the best castle-forged steel, and feature distinctive rippled patterns similar to Damascus steel. Valyrian steel blades in Westeros are treasured heirlooms of noble houses, each with its own name and storied history. It is likely that most of the Valyrian steel swords were brought to Westeros by the Targaryens, after the Doom of Valyria.

 Dragonglass is a common name in Westeros for the substance known as obsidian, a form of volcanic glass. They are notable for being thus far seen to be the only substance capable of killing White Walkers.



This message was last edited by the GM at 22:07, Fri 09 May 2014.

Types of Magic, ... continued

Greensight: Also known as a Greenseer a the title given to people who experience prophetic dreams. Those that possess the magical ability to perceive the future, past or distant events in dreams known as Green Dreams. According to legend, greenseers were much respected by the Children of the Forest.

Skinchanger: Also known as Wargs are people with the ability to enter the minds of animals and perceive the world through their senses and even control their actions. The act of doing this is called "warging".

Blood Magic: Is a form of sorcery involving sacrifice of both animals and humans, it is forbidden among the Dothraki. Maegi are female practitioners of blood magic from Essos. The Dothraki hate and mistrust maegi.

Warlocks: They are a group of magic practitioners based in the city of Qarth. They gather at the House of the Undying and are recognizable by their blue lips, caused by their custom of drinking a substance known as shade of the evening.

This message was last edited by the GM at 11:15, Wed 28 May 2014.

Magic Ability & Specialty


Qualities


* Valyrian Steel Weaponsmith
Cost per weapon: fine steel worth 3x the weapon's price or 600ss, whichever is more costly
Requires: Knowledge Focus (Valyrian Steel) and Trade (Weaponsmith) Qualities
Item required: Expertly Crafted set of craftsman's tools (worth 800ss or more)
Given the right tools and time you may forge Valyrian Steel weaponry.
The process of folding the metal and binding the magic takes a number of days of complete dedication dependent on the size of the weapon (to be decided by the GM). After the allocated time has passed roll 1d6.

• If the result is a 1 the forging was a failure and the invested steel is made worthless. In addition your tools are destroyed.
• If the result is not a 1, the forging was successful.

* Reshape Valyrian Steel
Cost per weapon:
Requires:
Item required:

Given the right tools and time you may re-forge Valyrian Steel weaponry.
The process of folding the metal and binding the magic takes a number of days of complete dedication dependent on the size of the weapon (to be decided by the GM). After the allocated time has passed roll 1d6.

• If the result is a 1 or 2 the forging was a failure and the invested steel is no longer Valyrian Steel but considered Castle Forged.
• If the result is not a 1 or 2, the forging was successful.

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Flames of R'hllor
Requires: Follower of R'hllor
Effect: You may create magical fire in your palm(s) that does not burn you but produces light and heat as if it were normal fire. You may use this fire to light other flammable sources. In addition, you may also manipulate small non-magical fires into different shapes and colors.

Firesight
Requires: Flames of R'hllor
Effect: Once per week you may look into the Nightfire and catch cryptic clues of coming events. You receive a number of clues from the GM equal to your Decipher specialty, minimum 1.

Glamour
Requires: Knowledge Focus (Magic)
Effect: Create a disguise as per the the Disguise action except instead of rolling Deception instead roll the caster's Knowledge (Education Bonus dice are applicable). When Acting while under a Glamour you may add the caster's Knowledge rank to your Act test. When casting the glamour roll a number of d6s equal to your Knowledge rank, the Glamour lasts that many hours. The Glamour is broken and dispelled if anyone other than the caster recognizes you because you failed a Disguise or Act test.

Raise Dead
Requires: Knowledge Focus (Magic) and Knowledge Focus (Underworld), Destiny point
Effect: You may burn a destiny point (a willing participant in the ritual may offer their destiny point instead) to attempt to bring a dead character back to life. Any wounds knit closed leaving ghastly scars (Raised character gains the Marked drawback) if they had them. If any of the corpse's limbs are detached and are present they are reattached however if they are not present they do not grow back (Raised character gains Maimed drawback as appropriate. You may not Raise a corpse without it's head. If the character was poisoned to death, when they are Raised they may have other relevant drawbacks applied to them eg if the poison made them unable to talk they would gain the Mute Drawback. In addition, all Raised characters gain the Brought Back Drawback. This ritual takes 7 hours of constant concentration to complete and must be restarted from the beginning if you are interrupted. At the end of the 7 hour ritual roll 1d6: If the result is 1 the ritual fails and the destiny point is burnt. If the character does not wish to leave the realm of the dead the ritual fails but the destiny point is not burnt.

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Drawbacks


Brought Back
Requires: You were the target of the Raise Dead ritual
Effect: You are a shadow of your previous self, this may be a change in appearance; personality or motives. You become sensitive to sunlight and are allergic to silver. You can no longer gain Destiny points however you may burn/spend/invest any that you previously had as normal. You may not be subjected to the Raise Dead Ritual.


*Denotes non-playable Qualities


All rules and house rules subject to change by GM or CO-GM for better play by post.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:40, Fri 08 Aug 2014.

Greensight

The greensight is the ability once possessed by the children of the forest that allowed them to catch glimpses of the future. Called green dreams, the events witnessed in the mind's eye always come to pass, even if the circumstances of the dream are not immediately apparent. The ability of greensight is rare in Westeros, and if it exists beyond the lands of the Seven Kingdoms, it is known by other names.

Since the greensight is always accurate, and the actions undertaken by the players rarely so, adjudicating greensight can be challenging, so much so that you may be reluctant to use it at all. Unfortunately, not using greensight for a player that has invested in this quality deprives that character of a resource that might be better spent elsewhere. So if any player has this quality, you should make use of it at least once every story or two.

A green dream does not need to map out exactly what will happen and when. Instead, it usually captures a particular scene, an important event related to the story that marks a turning point in its plot. So when using greensight, you should select a pivotal scene to appear in the dream sequence. Instead of describing in detail what will happen during the scene, you should couch the entire scene in symbols. Look at the scene's setting and establish it as the background for the dream. Then, look at the principle Narrator characters related to the scene. Use their blazons or geographical locations to symbolize their presence. Finally, look at what's at stake in the scene, and shape the dream's action to represent the most likely outcome of the scene.

A good example from the books is Jojen's dream about the deaths of Bran and Rickon Stark. Jojen was certain that the boys would die, but they didn't. Instead, the lands believed them dead when Theon Greyjoy murdered two smallfolk boys in their stead to conceal their escape and cement his rule over Winterfell. From this example, you can see that while the expected outcome did not come to pass, the dream was still true because of what was believed to have happened and also what Bran and Rickon both would have to face.


Greensight Fate Quality

Your dreams sometimes come true.

Requirements: Cunning 5, Will 4, Third Eye

Effects: You have prophetic dreams, powerful portents of what is to come. The dreams are filled with symbolic meaning, images, and metaphors. The meaning behind the dreams is not always clear, but once you have experienced one, you will see the fulfillment of your visions in the unfolding of the events around you.

The greensight is not something you can will to occur. It comes to you when events significant to you and your allies are about to happen. The Narrator will take you aside, describe the most important elements of the dream, and give you the pieces to put together in whatever way you will. Regardless, the events you foresee using the greensight always happen.

Skinchangers

Uncommon in the North, where the old gods still hold some sway, skinchangers are virtually unknown in the cultivated south. A skinchanger, sometimes known as a beastling or warg, is a rare individual capable of casting out his mind to fill the consciousness of an animal. At first, the link can only occur between the individual and an animal to which he or she is close, and even then, only with exceptional animals.

When a skinchanger first awakens this ability, confusion is the most likely result because the person experiences vivid dreams and impossible events. Such links are unconscious, and the skinchanger has no control over these sensations, though the effects on a skinchanger and the animal begin to manifest early, as they take on the mannerisms of the other. In time, with practice and often the training of another skinchanger, the skinchanger learns to control the experience, blending his consciousness with the animal at times of his own choosing.

Skinchanging is dangerous for numerous reasons. The beastling must ever resist the influence of the animal and must always fight to retain his own identity. As well, should the skinchanger be killed while inhabiting his host creature, he remains trapped in the mind of the beast, condemned to spend the remainder of his days lost in the mind of his linked animal.

There doesn't appear to be any limits on the types of creatures a skinchanger can inhabit. Wargs, skinchangers who bond with wolves, are relatively common enough to color the opinions of most Northmen, but there are examples of skinchangers who link with shadowcats, eagles, direwolves, and even bears. It's said that the greatest skinchangers were the greenseers, children of the forest who could wear the skins of any beast.


Skinchanger Fate Quality

You have mastered the method of skinchanging and can now freely leave your body for that of your Beastfriend.

Requirements: Will 5 (Dedication 2B), Animal Cohort, Third Eye, Third Eye Opened

Effects: When you sleep, you can wear the skin of your Animal Cohort. You use the animal's statistics but retain your own Cunning and Will. You may remain in this form as long as you wish, though be aware your true body's needs must be met, and extended trips into your Animal Cohort could cause you to starve to death if you remain out for a week or more. You can return to your body and awaken at will. If your Animal Cohort takes damage, you automatically return to your body as well.

In addition, you can now take the Animal Cohort benefit multiple times, thus allowing you the ability to wear the skins of multiple animals, though no more than one at a time.