World Magic

Magitech

Magitech (commonly referred to as Artifice) is the backbone of society in the Emblem of Ea. The world has been gripped by a second magical-industrial revolution, pushing the standard of living out of the dark ages following the apocalyptic sundering and into an era of airships, living constructs, soaring castle towers and more.

Artifice has its advantages and its disadvantages. It’s clean, fast and almost as potent as pure magic but some degree of dichotomy has appeared between true arcane users and Artificers. The mistakes of the past through the High Artificers of the Empire of Kulthus are not easily forgotten and some also wonder if the use of machines to tap into Mana and not more natural means of spellcasting is truly good for magic in and of itself. This has led to some debates and even outright conflict between magician orders and guilds of craftsmen and invention. As of right now, things remain stable but the populace at large is not sure with whom to side. Technology brings power to the ‘common man’ that magic does not, but at the same time it’s something new and still largely not understood by the masses. It will be many more years before the western society truly embraces these things and there will always be cultures that look upon these areas with distrust.

Prior to the rise of the second generation of Artificers, Dwarves and Gnomes and even some clans of Goblins were experimenting with the use of alchemical products to produce what is now known as Black Powder. In the great underground dwarven cities and mining communities the use of steamcraft to aid in the delving and mining of their great halls was already underway while some gnomish communities embraced the design of Clockwork orientated mechanics, being drawn to their complexity. Such things were long alien to other cultures but the Dwarves were not surprised at all with the slow rise of industry in other lands. The great dwarven engineers introduced Steam-Tech to the world and although less prevalent as Artifice it has its uses. Steam powered pulley guns, propellers and even clockwork chess sets and devices capable of counting money are just some of the toys that emerge from Dwarven, Gnomish and Goblin think tanks.

Artifice Principles

The Mana Crystal (or magicite) is the heart of Artifice. Depending on their make, potency and arrangements, Mana Crystals typically function by emitting large concentrated waves of steady magical energy, sometimes with more powerful bursts. The emitted magical energy is then taken by other sources and used in a variety of ways effectively bypassing the wizards need to use ritual, arcane component and verbiage to achieve spells (although more powerful forms of magics and ritual may require the same of artifice in this day and age but less so in the past. However, they can also be configured and used in augmenting magical energy, storing it, channeling it, cycling it and more. The Mana Crystal is highly prized by arcane and technological societies and also yields smaller benefits to those willing to work with them and include them in the make of their magical items and spell casting attempts and rituals. In the hand of the typical person the Mana Crystal is little more then something of value to be sold to more enlightened ones. In the hands of those with access to arcane talents, the crystal is much more. As of today there has not been a crystal found capable of affecting or augmenting divine energy by natural means. Artificially manufactured Crystals from the age of Artifice were capable of influencing divine energies. Crystals found still functioning in Kulthians ruins are thus highly prized for this reason. It should be noted that larger crystals found in places such as the Eidolon Court were configured to explicitly be able to absorb and store divine energy but the knowledge of how to create such crystals is lost at present. It should b noted that large clusters of particularly powerful mana crystals have proven capable of augmenting magical energy in the immediate area making it possible for more powerful arcane and divine castings but such cases tend to require fully charged and potent crystals.

Generally, when left alone, Artifice is stable and long lasting. Artificers in the field tend to burn devices out quickly because the nature of their work requires constant tinkering and the invention of new things. Artifice used in day to day life can last and last and last if left to its own devices. Incidents do happen as is natural when dealing with complex machinery.

Necromantic Magitech

Older and darker forms of Artifice (and much more potent) were in effect during the days of Kulthus. Following its demise, though those epic effects were lost, some forms of Artifice were back engineered. Much that was deemed unsafe or destructive was destroyed but some nations, notably Charn, pursued study of forms of Artifice declared illegal in other lands. This form of Artifice was labeled ‘Black-Tech’. Black-Tech generally involves the merger of Artifice with Necromantic theories, the use of Artifice to drain natural wellsprings of magic to a harmful degree or the unsafe merger of Artifice with living beings to produce anathema such as Half-Golems or worse. The Soul-Burner Engines of the War-Golems of Kulthus were also among the most famous versions of this ‘banned’ form of Artifice.

The Engineering Enclave

Based out of Clockwork Point in Khazad Duin, the Engineering Enclave is the western worlds foremost authority on matters of machines, artifice and industrial development. Although the individual cultures and nations may still have their own unions and guilds, the Enclave is largely considered to be the final answer and the greatest word on these issues. Most of the other guilds end up becoming satellite branches of the enclave, finding it a good thing to be brought into their umbrella. The Enclave was originally founded to protect the patents and creativity of individual inventors. As time passed and industry grew, so did the Enclave until it came to be a large society. Regional headquarters exist in most of the major western kingdoms and the enclave trains and certifies engineers and artificers who then go on to aid the needs of the various cultures of the western world.

The Techno-Arcane Union

Recent years have seen the development of a union of like minded individuals from Rune the Magocracy of Wizards and various members of the artifice and engineering community. Their desire is to see the co-equality of Artificers and Wizards in the known world and to bring down the clandestine curtains that shroud the activities of both groups. By unifying their efforts they believe that they can achieve greater heights then each group will on its own. This group is small at this point but is slowly gaining support.

Common Terms

Below are some terms that will help ease your understanding of artifice and what it brings to the IC world.

Airships

Airships symbolize freedom and are a product of the past seventy five years of research, having come into their own primarily during the era of the Crown Wars. The modern day Airship comes in all manner of shape and size and is used by a number of different individuals from the two to three man gnomish junker-ship to the massive airship galleons of merchant guilds and military exercise. The design of an airship tends to vary from nation to nation. The typical design embodies the combo of magical technology, clockwork technology and steamwork technology utilizing magical energies to help them stay afloat but relying upon appropriate engineering design for maneuverability and propellers for speed. Variations on this theme exist and are often determined from nation to nation and culture to culture. The use of magical technology means that no one single design is prevalent but ensures that all realms have their signature look.

Airships can reach great heights, the highest being the bottom of ‘low’ cloud cover, which causes the terrain beneath it to seem as if a map makers model. Typically only the largest of Airships with large indoor holds and traveling accoutrements, head to those heights. Ships with large open aired terraces or decks rarely go that high for the reasons of cold and comfort of passengers. The Guild of the Skies controls much of the commerce and traffic of Airships in the west. Charters granted by them and authenticated by the allied governments grant Airship Captains the freedom to fly the skies and to chart their courses. The license to fly an Airship is a precious thing and afforded only to the elite. The Guild of the Skies most notable chapter houses exist in Alexandria, Bryn Myridorn and Gateway. Those three cities form the hub for airship travel in the western kingdoms.

Skyroutes determined by the Guild of the Skies determines the paths most airships fly enabling them to circumvent dangerous storms caused by Mana-Rifts (locations where magical energies becomes to erratic to properly use or disappears all together), powerful and territorial monsters that reign in the skies must also be avoided as airships, though sturdy, are not indestructible and smaller passenger ships often lack the means to defend themselves.3

Sky Piracy is another menace that has grown in the years of the aftermath of the Crown Wars. The inability of the great nations to police lands that lay under the shroud of the Mana-Rifts, the lands under the control of brigands and mercenary-kings and the growth of the adventuring community have all contributed to the rise of sky-piracy as well as the need for merchant guilds to hire adventurers out to protect their wares.

Arcane Engines

A term for the machine that makes Artifice ‘work’. Typically the heart component of a form of Artifice known as contraptions. The actual ‘devices’ of Artifice. The heart of this is the Mana Crystal.

Black-Tech

Forbidden forms of Artifice that are harmful to the environment or abhorrent in moral practice. Often deals with the use of Artifice to create necromantic effects, and alter the fundamental nature of living beings.

Mana Crystal

The source of artifice. This is magic crystallized into a tangible visible form. They are often mined and refined from various places in the world. Alexandria is one of several places with a booming mining economy that benefits from nearby mines of Mana Crystals.

Mana Lamps

An example of a simple form of Artifice used to light streets in place of older gas or torch based lanterns and lights.

Levitator Stone

An Artificer device that creates a Flight field effect around an Airship. The Runeplates on the Airship sustain and amplify this effect enabling an Airship Captain to control and move his or her ship.

Runeplate

A device that enhances and loops arcane magic produced by the arcane engine. It amplifies it ten to a hundred fold and spreads it across surfaces such as armor or vehicles. Typically they are configured to enhance a particular type of spell. For example Airships are plated with Runeplates designed to enhance flight and levitation based magic.

Soul Burn

Necromantic Process by which Artifice taps into the living essence/life force/soul of a living being and uses it to super charge an Arcane Engine to epic proportions.

Magic

Magic in its purest form is a great and mysterious force. Though Artifice has brought more magic to the common people by way of things they can touch and sometimes manipulate, by and large it remains this mysterious power that is the privilege of the few and the great.

The Covenant of Mana

The source of all arcane magic is known as The Sea of Mana. Mana is the power to create miracles and the energy that binds all life together. It envelops the world and invigorates it with arcane force. Even the gods rely upon the Sea of Mana to produce their vast arcane effects. It is the life flow of the world itself and the power it contains is the source of all arcane magic. The Covenant of Mana is an abstract series of laws that represent the devotion of a wizard to arcane magic. In all things a Wizard must view Magic First. It is First before race, creed, allegiance, nation and even friends. To some it is first even before their religious obligations and devotion to the ones they love. To place the magic first is to embrace it and all it contains and to protect and strengthen it. This is the essence of the Covenant of Mana. It represents how much a wizard is willing to sacrifice for ‘The Magic’. It weeds the weak from the strong and ensures that only those that will promote Arcane Magic are capable of wielding it.

The Sea of Mana

All power flows from The True Source. From The True Source emerges the great Sea of Mana, a vast ocean that permeates the world and saturates it with its raw presence and power. When a wizard, sorcerer, dragon, demon or any other being calls upon arcane energies they reach out and invoke from the Sea of Mana a mere droplet of its power and with this power they can change the world, for magic is change. The energy that binds all life and matter together can be reworked, twisted, reshaped, woven and commanded into different shapes and forms and from this we have arcane magic.

Ley Lines

Magic enters the world from the Sea of Mana by ‘rivers’ of magic known as Ley Lines. There are literally countless Ley Lines that criss cross the world like an invisible spider web. Networking magic and enveloping the entire planet with it. Arcane Casters who understand the properties and principles of leylines can tap into them and temporarily boost their magical power when casting on or near a Leyline.

However they first must be capable of sensing the Leyline. To sense a leyline a Wizard needs to make a DC 20 spellcraft check. Upon success he boosts the power of his spell by +1 caster level.

The Dark Arts

Necromancy is a Dark Art and is often referred to as ‘The’ Dark Art on the world of Gaea. While the Players Handbook certainly presents non evil and benevolent uses of the school of Necromancy, on Gaea it is a reviled art and the mere suspicion of it’s practice has launched witch hunts and burned wizard schools in the ancient past. Great and might wizards have dabbled in the upper levels of this school and nearly always turned to corruption and only a few have mastered it without succumbing to the lure of diabolical power. The undead plague the world, restless spirits roam the lands and vengeful forces of the unliving are an all to often recurring reality for many denizens of the known world.

True Necromancy has been forbidden since the fall of Genrivia at the hands of The Lich King. Necromancy and Soul Magic in general, has its roots within the dark god Thul and a twisting of arcane principles. The Convocation of Rune is responsible for much of the initial banning of this dark art and the teaching of principles against it but even before they stepped in many nations had a hand in dealing with those who dabble in it. The principle practitioners of Necromancy hail from the Shadow Council in Charn which itself supports a number of splinter groups and covens scattered about the western kingdoms. Charn’s Shadow Council and affiliated Artificers use such magic daily and want for nothing in Charn. Slaves, sacrifices, terrible tomes and ichor are all easily provided for them so they can further these dark arts.

Independent Necromancers in the west, operating illegally and outside of the restraints laid upon the school by The Convocation of Rune, are the cause for the bulk of trouble. Many of them follow Thul but some follow Taara herself. They make mistakes, fall prey to common errors and their failed experiments are often what plague unsuspecting inhabitants in their given communities. Such rebellious necromancers find it useful to maintain contact with one another and to operate carefully beneath the roving eye of the Convocation of Rune and its agents.

True Necromancy is, of course, different then dabblers and while Rune frowns upon dabblers it is careful to distinguish between the two. Sometimes they quietly enable and allow weaker versions of magic from the forbidden arts if they prove useful and though they are sourced in necromantic energies they still turn the other cheek. Spells such as Death Ward, Disrupt Undead, Gentle Repose, Halt Undead, Mark of Justice, Speak With Dead and Undeath to Death are put to good use by the Convocation and affiliates.

Also the following ‘evil’ spells are still not considered indicative of ‘True Necromancy’ which has been forbidden since the fall of Genrivia. Bestow Curse, Blindness-Deafness, Cause Fear, Curse Water, Fear, Harm, Inflict Wounds Spells, Poison, Scare and Symbol of Fear.

All other spells are considered sure signs that a caster is Necromancer and is in violation of the Convocation of Rune and also many local laws. In addition to this, other spells have been labeled as part of the ‘dark arts’ even if they are not necessarily necromantic in nature. Their intent, requirements, purpose and more will certainly earn a caster the public title of ‘Dark Wizard’ or ‘Priest’. Blatant public casting of spells such as Blasphemy, Crushing Despair, Desecrate, Nightmare, Phantasmal Killer, Phantom Steed, Power Word Kill, Trap The Soul, Unhallow, and Weird quite literally brands one as a True Necromancer and is bound to bring the wrath of the Convocation down upon you.

The Convocation of Rune considers itself the global force where arcane spell casting is concerned and even those who would like to not be considered under their jurisdiction, having perhaps learned magic from a third party source, would do well to keep them in mind when in the western kingdoms.

Magus Points

Magus Points are areas that are powerful nodes of arcane magic created by the intersection of two or more leylines. The more the leylines the stronger the node. Extremely powerful nodes are used for powerful versions of ritual magic, the creation of artifacts or the sites of especially powerful strongholds of magical power. There are many Magus Points in the world but only a few are potent enough for the above. Magus Points are ranked on a scale of one through ten. It is known that the Magus Point beneath Alexandria is rank 10 while the one beneath the Academy of Sages is only a rank 4, but access to it is sealed and controlled by the upper echelons of the Academy staff.

All arcane casters benefit, immediately, from being on a Magus Point. Wizards on a Magus Point receive the benefit of Cooperative Spellcasting, even if they did not have the feat prior to entering the Magus Point. Wizards can attempt to access a Magus Point to boost their caster levels for the duration of their time there. In order to do so they must make a caster level check with a DC of 15 + level of the Magus Point x 2. If successful their caster level is boosted by 1 per 2 ranks of the Magus Point. If they fail the check then there is a percentage chance of a Backlash. The base chance of a Backlash is 5% per every level of a Magus Point.

When a backlash occurs, all participants take 1d6 arcane damage per rating level of the Point. The spell fails and depending on what was being attempted, and the history of the site, other dangerous effects may occur based on DM discretion.

Backlash Modifiers (minimum 0%):

1. For every spellcaster less than the rating of the point, +5%
2. Mixing arcane and divine casters, +10%
3. Some participants cannot cast spell/create item (must still be spellcasters), +10%
4. All participants possess the Cooperative Spell feat, -10%
5. Ritual Materials Used (rating squared x 100gp worth), -10%
6. Double casting time/item creation time (minimum one full round), -5%
7. DM Discretion (local mystical disturbances, astronomical conjunctions, etc), +/- 10%