Magic and becoming a Spellcaster

The spellcaster:

A spellcaster is an individual who has bound their soul to one of the realms in which they draw power from. The process of binding is a long and tedious road that the new caster has to follow to gain their magical abilities. The caster has to fully trust the realm and it’s powers and in return, the realm also has to trust the wielder. The realm wants the caster to treat the powers given to them with the respect it deserves. In order to gain the trust of a realm, the caster has to fully surrender to the element the realm they’re bonding with represents. This is done through meditation, study and trials. Upcoming earth magic can be found meditating on top of mountains or in deep caves while fire casters can be found meditating within burning forest or a charred building.

With it also comes a lot of studying ancient texts written by the first generations of spellcasters. These tomes can be filled with all kinds of useful information for the casters. An example of these ancient texts are spellbooks, which explain to the casters how to use the raw energy the realm gives them and transform it into an actual spell.

Becoming a spellcaster:

During the process of bonding, the new spellcaster is accompanied by a mentor.  The mentor is a spellcaster who already went through the process of bonding and who is capable of helping the new student reach their goal. The mentor also acts as someone who presents the new student to the realm and endorses them. This is currently the only way to have the realm open up to a new student and start the bonding process.

OOC: The player who wants to become a mage has to seek out a mentor. A mentor is a Lvl 3+ mage who is registered as a teacher. Teachers can only have one student at a time and they will have to notify the staff team of them taking a student. The student can only become a spellcaster after they are registered,have the GO from lore team and pass their first levelling trial. The teacher does not have to request the first bonding trial, this will automatically be set up after the student is accepted.

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For the student, please fill out the spellcaster application form: [Link]

For the teacher, please fill out the new student form: [Link]

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Please note that mentors can only train students up to 2 levels below their own unless they are max level (Lvl: 5) EX: Lvl 3 teacher can only get the student to lvl 1

Increasing your spellcaster level

When the student is ready to strengthen the bond with the realm and use more advanced magics, the mentor can decide that the student is ready for their next bonding trial. The students' bond and knowledge about the realm will be put to the test. The student has to fully surrender themselves to the realm and trust that whatever happens, the realm will provide and the caster will survive. If the bond is strong enough, this will happen. If not, the caster will have to give up and continue their studies before trying again.

OOC: The bonding trials are a mini event organised by loremasters for the student. In this event, the player will be tested on knowledge, emote quality and some rolling related stuff. If the caster succeeds and “wins” the event, they will advance to the next level. If they fail, they will remain at their current level and can try again within a time decided by the Loremaster running the event. There has to be at least one month between the bonding trials.

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A bonding trial can be requested through here: [Link]

Casting magic: (Rules)

The basics

When the spellcaster finishes the bonding trials and after a long tiring study gets access to spells, they can cast those. But how does that work? The spell lore you choose decides for you how to cast it’s spells. Some of them make use of a casting item, this can be a staff, ring, wand etc. Another option is that the caster needs to gather ingredients to cast their spells.

Every caster needs an item to cast spells, this can be a staff, ring, weapon etc. After you choose your item, the caster has to turn it into a personal casting item in the item editor. The item editor can be accessed ingame by using the /itemeditor command. After you finished, please use the /rlm [message] command This command let’s a loremaster know that you need help. Ask them to give your item the loremaster approved tag. After this has been done the item is ready to be used as a casting item. Note that a casting item can only be used by the spellcaster who signed it. This is automatically done after you edit your item. If the caster wants to change their casting item or get rid of it entirely, they can simply throw the item in lava or something to destroy it.

Another way of casting is through the use of natural ingredients. This practice is often seen within the more ritual based spell lores. The caster has to gather a bunch of different ingredients from all over Eden to perform magical rituals that open tears to the realm they bonded with. Casting through ingredients is often seen as tedious by outsiders, but the spells are in most cases way more powerful.

Casting

When a spellcaster opens a tear to one of the realms and takes the raw energy of the realm through one of these tears, they can transform the raw magical energy into a discrete magical effect, a single shaping of the power of the realm, a very specific limited expression. This is known as casting a spell. The spells known to a caster can be found in their spell lores. These spellbooks are ancient tomes written by the most powerful and wise mages in Eden’s history. Most of these books have been found, studied and copied over the many centuries of Eden’s history.

But that does not mean that all magical knowledge has been rediscovered yet. Some spelltombs may lie crumbling and forgotten in ancient ruins or the bottom of the ocean. Maybe the newer generations of spellcasters may one day find a way to reinvent the ancient forgotten magical spell lores if they have the power and wisdom to do so.

When a mage casts a spell, they can only select a spell from the spell lore that comes with the realm they bonded to. Every spell in one of these spell lores has a level from 1 to 5. A spell’s level is an indicator of how powerful the spell is. The higher the spell’s level, the higher level a spellcaster must be to cast that spell.

Casting a spell

When a spellcaster casts a spell they will have to do a series of rolls and emotes before the spell is actually cast. This section will explain the basics of spellcasting that all spell lores are built around. Please do keep in mind that it is possible for spell lores to have their own mechanics attached to it.

Rolls and modifiers:

The dice that is used for magic is always a D20. This means that when something related to magic asks you to roll a dice, it will always be a D20 unless the caster is specifically asked to roll another dice.

Modifiers are bonuses and penalties to the rolls that a caster makes. The most commonly used modifiers are the casters level modifier and the intelligence modifier.

The caster level modifier is simple to explain. You add your current caster level to the roll.

Example: Aldir’tor rolled a 12 and is lvl 3. This would mean that his roll is 12+3. This would give him a roll of 15 after applying all the modifiers.

The intelligence modifier gives you a bonus or penalty based on the amount of points you put in the intelligence skill during character creation.

Intelligence modifier table:
Intelligence level:	Modifier:
0	-3
2	-2
4	-1
6	+0
8	+1
10	+2
12	+3
14	+4

Example:  Aldir’tor rolled an 8, is lvl 3 and has 8 points put into intelligence. This would mean that his roll is 8+3+1 (Roll+lvl bonus+intelligence bonus) This would give him a roll of 12 after applying all the modifiers.

Action 1: Preparation

When a mage casts a spell, the first thing they do is open a tear to the realm they want to draw energy from. This has to be done through an emote. This is the preparation emote. This emote let’s the players around the caster know that they intend to cast a spell. The emote can be as in detail as the caster wants to make it. The only things it has to contain are the opening of the tear and the physical movements that the caster makes during the opening of the tear.

A simple example of this first emote would be: “Aldir’tor would raise his staff, allowing the wind to flow freely through the holes at the top of his staff. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath after which he slowly lowers his staff again, a small tear would open along the path of the staff. A cold breeze can be felt coming through the tear.”

Action 2: Casting

Now that the tear is open, the caster can now choose to hold on and wait before casting or choose a spell that they want to cast from their spell lore. If the tear is not used by the caster it will automatically close after 20 IRL minutes. The spellcaster does not have to open a new tear when they want to cast during this time. If the caster wants to cast a spell after the 20 minutes, they will have to create a new tear. (Redo action 1)

If the caster decides to cast a spell they will have to do a casting roll. The caster has to declare the spell they are trying to cast before making the actual roll. The casting roll is done with a D20 + modifiers. The modifiers that apply to the casting roll are the spellcasters level and the Intelligence bonus.

Example: Aldir’tor has an intelligence of 8 and is a level 3 mage. This would mean that his casting roll would look like this: D20 + 1 + 3 / D20 + Intelligence bonus + mage lvl 3 bonus.

The casting roll has to be higher or equal to the casting value of the spell they want to cast. If it is lower than that, the spell is not cast and the tear the caster was using closes.

After the casting roll is made and the spell goes off, the spellcaster has to do a second emote. This is the casting emote. The caster describes the casting of the spell itself and if necessary the target of the spell.

A simple example of this second emote would be: “Aldir’tor would move his staff around in a spinning motion, the raw magic would suddenly become visible and form into a big stormy cloud. Aldir’tor would brace himself and punch the newly formed cloud forward with his staff, attempting to hit Batul’arak with a Windblast spell.”

Action 3: Hitting and damage values.

After the second emote has been sent and the spell hits it’s target, the effectiveness has to be determined. This is again done with a D20 dice. If the spell hits, the caster who cast the spell rolls a D20 to see how effective the spell was. When doing this, please use the following table to determine the effectiveness.

Casters can apply their level modifier to this roll.

Spell effectiveness, damage and effects:
Dice roll result:	Damage + effect:
0 - 5	Critical failure: No effect, No damage.
6 - 10	Failure: Apply the weakened effect modifiers on spell cards.
11 - 15	Success: No modifiers, see spell card for damage and effects.
16 - 20	Critical success: Apply the critical success bonuses on spell cards.

After the effectiveness is determined, the target has to perform an emote reacting to getting hit by the spell. If there is no target because the spell is a buff or spell that affects a non player object, the caster has to make a final emote describing the spell's effects.

Casting a spell in short:

Caster wants to cast a spell:

The caster does action 1: Preparation - Open the casting tear. (emote)

The caster announces the spell they want to cast. <--- Start here if tear is already open.

The caster does action 2: Casting - Casting roll + Emote based on result.

<Room for other casters to unbind>

The caster does action 3: Hitting and damage values - Make effectiveness roll.

<Targets (If any) do their spell defence roll>

Effect emotes

Extra rules:

- The caster does not have to reopen the casting tear every time they want to cast a spell. The tear closes automatically after it has not been used for 20 minutes.

- Casters can use others tears, but that is only if both casters use the same spell lore. (EX: A Cyclonis mage can't use a Pyyromancers tear, but they can use the tear of another Cyclonis mage)

- If the caster gets interrupted during the casting process they have to restart the process of casting. (They don't have to reopen the tear if it was already opened)

Unbinding and spell defence.

Unbinding:

There are a few options when another caster or player wants to block the spell's effect.

Other casters who might want to block a spell from going off can try to unbind the spell. This can be done after the casting player did their second emote and before the effectiveness roll was made. If a caster wants to make an unbinding roll they roll a D20 + Intelligence bonus + Level bonus. If the roll is greater or equal to the casting roll of the caster the unbinding caster is trying to counter, the spell is unbound.

Example: Aldir’tor rolled a casting roll of 12 after applying all modifiers and does his casting emote. After which Batul’arak rolls an unbinding roll. He rolls 18 after applying all modifiers. This means that he won the roll-off and the spell has been unbound.

After a spell is unbound, the tears of the caster and unbinder close and the spell has no effect.

If a caster wants to unbind a spell it is expected of them that they do an emote before and after the unbinding roll. The first emote has to be done before the unbinding and has to contain the opening of a quick tear and the unbinding attempt. The second emote after the unbinding role describes the result of the unbinding attempt.

Spell defence:

If a player that is targeted by a spell is not a spellcaster themselves and doesn't have any means of unbinding a spell or have anyone to do it for them, they can still attempt to block a spell. This can be done by rolling a D20 + Intelligence bonus. This has to be done after the casting player did their second emote and before the effectiveness roll is made.

Example: Aldir’tor casts windblast on Boris Krüger. He rolls a casting roll of 15 after applying all modifiers. Boris has no abilities that prevent the spell from hitting him. This means that he has to resort to his saving throw. He rolls a D20 and gets a 16 after applying his modifiers. This means that he managed to block the spell's effects and nothing happens. The caster can’t roll an effectiveness roll after this because it automatically has no effect.

A brief overview of the spell lores:

Elemental spell lores

Fire - Pyromancer

From burning embers to the breath of a dragon, these spell casters have the power to open a tear to the fire realm, and draw the flame and use it for their will. If a threat stands before them, the answer is always to neutralize it in a glorious blaze, for their prey is the fuel for their pyromania. The highest fire mages cloak themselves in a blazing flame to help protect them in the midst of battle. Hurling Fire to leave their foes smoldering on the battlefield.

Water - Cryomancer

The water mages, those who wield the power to control water, draining power from the water realm and use it to their will, creating water walls to block their enemies’ path. Fire water bolts across the terrain causing pain to those in the crossfire. Getting stronger as a mage would give them the ability to better control the water. Freezing it and to perform chilling displays, leaving the threat immobile and bombarding them with ice spikes. If anyone was as lucky as to survive against this would later circum to the frost bite left from the frozen battlefield.

Earth - Avalan Druid/Shaman

The Earth mages, people of nature, focusing on life itself. Using a combination of spells and herbs to heal their allies and the world around them, curing sickness, wounds and the shadowy effects. Drawing power from the earthen realm to bless the herbs to have such power. Though do not get them wrong, they can still do some damage if opposed to the power to raise roots from the ground to hold their target in place. Then hurl speleothem (sharp rock) to destroy them. Higher level Earth mages can use their powers with the wildlife and use them for their own will. Using birds to scout the area around then, or bears to scare away their targets.

Wind - Cyclonis Wind Mage

From the hurricanes to the storms, the air mages are born to possess the power of wind itself, drawing their power from the air realm, to blast their enemy to the ground. Conjure clouds above to slow down their opponent then disarm them, leaving them useless in the midst of battle. They are elegant mages, for their powers and spells could be easily hidden from the common eyes, and could be mistaken for the weather. Becoming stronger as an air mage could hold the power to create larger clouds or have the power to create small tornadoes around a group of enemies. These are not one to be meddled with and if anyone was to find themselves on the opposing end, should pray to their God and hold their breath.