After each Adventure thread, players will have a mandatory Downtime session where they can pursue individual study, training, or develop relationships with NPCs and other Players. To structure this downtime a list of activities is provided below. During each downtime players can engage in two different activities. It is important to remember that Downtime is still a narrative thread and efforts should be made to flesh out any activity.

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• Training
• Spellcraft
• Refining
• Enchanting
• Breakthroughs
• Rituals

This message was last edited by the GM at 17:08, Fri 29 May 2020.

Magic can solve many problems but it can also be countered and in some situations its effects would be too overt to be practical. That's why it's important to train your skills, hone your body, and improve upon your wits or charm.


Francine has taken to traveling the kingdom and finds that walking is far too slow for her needs. So she uses magic to tame a mare and practices riding them. After a week of diligent practice she learns how to ride well enough (Riding 1). Now she needs a proper saddle and perhaps a few good enchantments for her new mount.

Navigation: Training | Spellcraft | Refining | Enchanting | Breakthroughs | Rituals
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:09, Fri 29 May 2020.

All mages use spells to some extent and the process of developing new rote spells to use is known as spellcraft. To begin select a combination of Method and Form and generate a total. You can create a number of spells using this total equal to or less than the cumulative Rank penalty of the created spells (e.g. two Rank 1 spells have a cumulative penalty of 6). You can learn any combination of different Rank spells but cannot develop spells for more than one combination (e.g. you can learn a R1 and R2 spell using your Incepio Materia total but you cannot learn an R1 spell from both Incepio Materia and Modus Materia.)

The exception to this is when crafting spells that require multiple Methods or Forms. In this situation you may develop spells of any combination of Method and Form but at least one must use all of them and penalties are increased by 1 for all spells (e.g. you can learn a R1 MoEp(Ma) spell and a R1 MoMa spell for a cumulative penalty of 8). Additionally, spells can also be learned from appropriately prepared scrolls, tomes, and grimoires. Learning spells in this fashion allows you to double the lower of your Method or Form for the purposes of determining how many spells you can learn in a single session, up to the number of spells contained in the text.

Jacob is a young mage with a strong affinity for creating metals (Ascending Incepio and Materia). His master guides him in spellcraft, instructing him to create two spells: one to make small bars of bronze and the other bars of iron. With his proficiency (InMa 7) he easily creates both at Rank 1 after a few weeks.

Landon has uncovered the tome of a warlock and studies it in hopes of replicating some of the magic it contains. The tome has 3 InEp spells and with Landon's skill (In 4, Ep 3) he has a total of 10 for his studies (In 4, Ep 3*2). He easily learns all 3 of the Rank 1 spells in a summer (cumulative penalty of 9).

Navigation: Training | Spellcraft | Refining | Enchanting | Breakthroughs | Rituals
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:09, Fri 29 May 2020.

To become more powerful mages you must learn to access and control greater amounts of planar energies. This process is known as refining and it increases the score you have in a Method or Form. Special materials and circumstances can modify these values allowing for neutral or descending Methods and Forms to be learned at an accelerate rate. To reiterate: Ascending and Descending Energies are linked to your Mark, being easier or more difficult to use respectively. Neutral energies are any Method or Form not modified by your Mark.


Mara sequesters herself in her sanctum and begins meditating on her Ascending energy of Incepio. She studies the energy by drawing it through her Mark and practices manifesting materials and testing their limits. At the end of her meditations she has gained a deeper connection with the realm of Orior and improved her skill (Incepio increases from 4 to 5).

Ethan finds the abandoned tower of a long dead mage. After disabling the wizened crones defensive rituals and enchantments they reach their library. Here they find a tome dedicated to their descending energy, Elucidius. It will make refining all the easier, at least for a while (6 sessions).

Navigation: Training | Spellcraft | Refining | Enchanting | Breakthroughs | Rituals
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:09, Fri 29 May 2020.

Enchantments

An Enchantment is any entity that has been imbued with magic. Basic enchantments produce a spell on command while more complex enchantments can hold multiple spells which can be cast independently or in series. An entity can hold a number of enchantments up to a limit imposed by their size (Tiny: 1, Small: 2, Medium: 3, Large: 4, Huge: 8) and any given effect can have a Rank up to a limit imposed by the quality of the item or its material (low: 1, average: 2, high: 3). Both the quality and size of an entity are determined by the GM. By default an enchantment is activated with a gesture or incantation but effects can take advantage of spell qualities as their ranks allow. Additionally an enchantments total is set at creation unless some effect alters this.

To determine the number of sessions needed to create an enchantment consult the table below. The base number of sessions is set by the size and is modified by the number of effects. If half or more, round down, of the total effects invested in an enchantment are spontaneous then the number of sessions increases by 1.


Hendricks, a court abjurer in the employ of Countess Grayvale, has been tasked with enchanting the countess' dress (medium, high quality) to turn aside an assassin's blade. Hendricks determines that he will need two separate effects: the first to determine when she's under assault (ElAn) and the second to strengthen the dress' fabric (MoMa). Because the effects must work together so he is forced to create them at Rank 2. Sadly he does not know a fabric strengthening spell and must make it spontaneously. The effort takes him the better portion of a year (Base 2 + 1 for 2 effects + 1 for spontaneous effect) but the Countess is pleased with the results, marveling at the intricate lacework of silver thread he used to hold the magic.

Special enchanted items, known as Regalia or Artifacts depending on the disposition of the mage, are capable of exceeding the limits of traditional enchantments and are intimately tied to their creators. A mage can only possess a single Regalia or Artifact and it cannot be wielded by anyone but its creator. Its destruction damages an individuals magic permanently and serves as a potent link to their creator, allowing them to be used for as sympathetic links for spells. In exchange for this they can contain as many spells of any Rank as the creator deems necessary and contain a single R4 spell. Also any effect which has a range of "personal" can also be applied to the Regalia and vice-versa.

Regalia/Artifacts require 3 downtime sessions to prepare before enchantments can be instilled into them. Destroying a Regalia/Artifact reduces the score for each Method and Form by 1 per spell that uses them, except for R4 spells which reduce by 3. (e.g. an artifact with 3 R1 InMa spells reduces the casters Incepio and Materia score by 3.)

Varun is an mage well into his tenure and power. Retreating to the heart of his castle he begins to ritually prepares his Artifact, a jeweled skull (medium, high quality). A year passes as he uses his magics to alter the bone and jewels to be flawless and imbue it with intricate runes. Once completed he dedicates close to a decade simply enchanting spells into the skull, intent on turning it into a phylactery for his soul as his body fails him.

Foci

While enchantments can be very useful some mages seek a means of further augmenting their magic. For these mages there are special magic items known as foci. A Foci increases the total of a particular combination of Method and Form when possessed or wielded. Foci have similar limits to Enchantments in terms of its relationship to size and material quality but with a few changes. The first of these changes is that there are no Large or Huge foci and size determines the amount of separate bonuses an item can provide (tiny,small = 1, medium = 2). The quality of the foci determines its cumulative maximum increase rather than effect Rank according to this scheme: low = +3, average = +6, high = +9. Foci follow the same scheme as Enchantments in terms of size but differ in the time needed relative to the bonus they provide.


A Foci can have no bonus greater than or equal to the lowest value used to generate the foci. In addition to applying a straight bonus to spellcasting totals a portion of the foci's bonus can be exchanged for metamagic effects. The possible effects and their costs are as follows:


 

• Subtle: Removes requirement for verbal commands and/or gestures when casting.
• Focused: Increase concentration total by 3 for casting or maintaining spells.
• Selective: Area effects can ignore individuals or objects within effective radius.
• Storing: Store up to 3 spells within the foci to be released as desired, including alongside another spell.
• Multicast: Cast two identical copies of spell alongside the original. Each spell may have a separate target.
• Enduring: Spells last for a duration as if 1 Rank higher, except Rank 4 spells.
• Swift: Cast magic before initiative takes place, even when ambushed.
• Obscured: Spells has no resonance and cannot be traced to the caster.
• Quality: Spells can be cast with a particular quality without penalty. X is equal to the twice the minimum rank the quality can be associated with.

Cassandra was a masterful mage, specializing in shapeshifting magics (MoNa). Seeking to reach new heights without needing to rely on the warping power of higher rank magics she created a focus out of her leather riding cloak (medium, average quality). Not needing its raw bonus she focused instead on imbuing it with a swift and subtle effect. Word quickly spread of how she would turn would-be ambushers into toads with a stray thought.

Note: Foci do not modify spells cast with enchantments nor can these spells by modified once cast. Additionally no item can be both an enchantment and a foci.

Navigation: Training | Spellcraft | Refining | Enchanting | Breakthroughs | Rituals
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:21, Thu 18 June 2020.

The limits of magic are unknown and those mages of an intellectual or curious nature may seek to push the boundaries of what is possible. This is where Breakthroughs come into play. Narratively, the player dedicates themselves to study, research, and experimentation as they attempt to advance themselves towards some new understanding. Mechanistically they accrue points towards either a Minor or Major Breakthrough. These Breakthroughs will allow them to change the rules of the game for their character in some way or another.

A Minor Breakthrough often requires 3 points whereas Major Breakthroughs require 6 points. A breakthrough could be anything from gaining the ability to create spirits who are automatically linked to the mages mind or learning to bind a magical creature to themselves as a Familiar or even how to replicate effects similar to the Veil. Alternatively a mage can be inducted into a breakthrough by studying under another mage who possesses it. A minor breakthrough can be inducted in a single session while a major breakthrough requires three sessions.

Tyril has grown as both a mage and a soldier. His efforts have earned him the interest of a magical chivalrous order, the Knights of Heron. They induct Tyril into the least of their minor breakthroughs: Mount Binding. This allows him to treat his mount as an extension of himself in both command and magic.

Having studied astronomy under the guidance of a monastic order, Gadriel works to integrate astrological patterns into his magic. After years of trial and experimenting he developed the major breakthrough of Stellar Magic. This allows him to link his spells to constellations and heavenly bodies. When they are present his spells receive a bonus  relative to legends associated with the constellation or heavenly body.

Navigation: Training | Spellcraft | Refining | Enchanting | Breakthroughs | Rituals
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:10, Fri 29 May 2020.

Ritual magic is the process of producing permanent or continuous magical effects. Rituals by their very nature are time consuming and must be anchored to a physical medium such as an  object or structure although living things may also be used. Rituals take time relative to the Rank and number of effects that it must maintain. If the ritual produces a permanent entity or object it is subsequently destroyed or otherwise rendered inert, causing the individual to have to repeat the process of developing the Ritual to perform the effect again.



To calculate the invested time determine the maximum contribution due to effect Rank and then add any increases due to the number of effects. This increase is regardless of the rank of additional effects. Additionally reduce the invested time by 2/Effect if you the effect is identical to an existing Rote spell, min. 1. This reduction is cumulative with multiple effects.

Gideon wished to create a pile of precious gems to bankroll some his loftier projects. This requires that he create a Ritual for a single R2 effect. Painstaking over the course of years he worked on his ritual circle (5 session) until it was finally complete. When he activated the ritual it flared to life before scouring itself from his sanctum floor and leaving behind a shimmering heap of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Now with a kings ransom he can afford to construct a proper curtain wall around his sanctum and hire sentries to man it.

Vera is the de facto god-queen of a small fiefdom located on a southeasterly island off the coast of the kingdom's riverlands. Having convinced her citizenry that she is the divine avatar of a powerful goddess Vera creates a complex ritual of her illusory guise (R3), a sound magnifying effect (R2), and a weather altering effect (R2) which she anchors into a sacred brazier. Since she possessed all of the effects as rote spells it takes her only half a year to finalize (2 sessions).

Living beings who are used to anchor ritual effects immediately gain Warping related to the nature and potency of the magic invested into them as well as the Resonance of the ritualist. A mage can use themselves as an anchor when appropriate.

Lillian is a druid whose sanctum rests within the hollow of an oak tree. When the forest is threatened by loggers she performs a ritual that allows her to move the tree at will. The resulting magical tree takes on her resonance of spring, blossoming with vibrant silver leaves that never fall. Rumor quickly spreads of a silver ent that wanders the countryside.

Navigation: Training | Spellcraft | Refining | Enchanting | Breakthroughs | Rituals
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:39, Sun 13 Sept 2020.