Spirit

The Realm of Strife is a land where the Spiritual powers flow freely. There are many who have learned the arts and rituals to tap into this powerful force that manifests itself in what is generally referred to as magic. The source of these spiritual powers is a highly debated subject.

The druidic conclaves hold that the spiritual powers are just an extension of the divine powers of the gods. However the Colleges of Magic, the domain of Mages, Battle-mages, and Wizards, claim that it is a physical property of creation itself, invisible much like the wind, but with effects clearly evident in the world around it. These practitioners of the Spiritual arts spent long hours in study learning how to manipulate and control these forces. The savage tribal Shamans have also learned to tap into the Spiritual force known as magic, claiming it to be a primal energy in existence since the beginning of time, made manifest in creatures such as Elementals. There are also those who believe that it is more the art of focusing inward toward one’s own innate spirituality, and then channeling that Spirituality outwards. Runeweavers and Assassins are the followers of this belief, often spending a great deal of time in mediation to focus and strengthen their spirituality.

Regardless of the source, magic is not inherently good or evil, though it has been used for both great evil and great good over the course of history. Despite this, it deals with forces that the common person cannot comprehend and as such is almost always viewed with some measure of distrust or skepticism.

Spirit classes are those with the ability to attune themselves with the spiritual world; allowing them to control and manipulate these sources of spiritual energy with a wide range of effects.

Schools of Spirit Powers

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The spiritual powers of magic are broken down by Domain and School of Magic (also sometimes referred to as a School of Spiritual Arts). Magic derives its power from one of the three Planar Domains of Creation, each containing several Schools of Magic. Each School of Magic is associated with a polarity rooted in either Order, Balance, or Chaos. Each School of Magic can be further subdivided into a School of Powers (sometimes also referred to as a Subschool or Spell School).

Clink on any of the Schools of Spirit Powers to see a list of Powers specific to that School. A full list of Spirit Powers can also be found the Full Spirit Power List page.

Disciplines & Archetypes

To the untrained eye Spirit Powers may appear to lack be a wild and chaotic array of spells with no semblance of structure. However most Spirit Powers can actually be identified by an Archetype which governs the general form and function of a spell. These Spell Archetypes are then further categorized into five broader Disciplines:

• Destruction
• Devastation
• Conjuration
• Fortification
• Alteration

For details regarding Spirit Disciplines and Spell Archetypes see the Spirit Disciplines & Archetypes page.

The Laws of Magic

The spiritual energies of magic are present in every object and being throughout the Realm of Strife. The most basic tenants governing its use are commonly referred to as the Laws of Magic. Foremost of these laws, is the strict adherence to a single School of Spirit powers. While the Mage Colleges often see themselves as the ultimate authority on magic among mortal kind, and therefore the upholders of its laws, the truth is the the Laws of Magic existed long before the Colleges.

The true masters of magic are the Dragon Flights, for each was forever marked by a single School of Spirit Powers. As such the Dragon Flights often see magic as a gift bestowed upon mortals at their behest, and just as easily revoked if it is not treated with respect. Though some Dragon Flights are more active in this duty than others.

Some flights allow mortals free reign to manipulate and experiment with these spiritual energies, while others tolerate very little interference (see Codex of Creation – Dragonkind for more details). In exchange for allowing mortals to dabble in these powerful universal forces, the Dragons demand that the mortals ensure they are governed properly. As such, any practitioner of the spiritual arts that does not submit to a governing body such as a college or conclave, is typically hunted down and eliminated by the Mage Wardens. At the lower tiers of power some might look the other way or let you off with a stern warning to change your ways. However, as one increases in power and accesses higher tiers the dangers of ignoring the Laws of Magic become increasingly perilous. The Colleges use the Mage Wardens to enforce these laws, lest the Dragons decide mortals are not worthy to wield such powers and take matters into their own hands.

Spirit Points

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All Spirit powers require a certain amount of Spirit points in order to cast. Spirit points are usually simply referred to as Spirit. Spirit classes gain a larger pool of spirit every time they go up a level.  The amount of Spirit gained each level by Spirit classes is as follows:

• +2d6 per level for Full Class
• +1d8 per level for Mixed Classes

(apply Intellect bonuses: 20-19=+3/level, 18-16=+2/level, 15-11=+1/level, 6-0=-1/level)

Casting From Health

At anytime a Spirit class may choose to use HP instead of Spirit to cast a spirit power. This is often referred to as “casting from health”. Some restrictions may apply to casting from health for certain powers (i.e. Healing powers) and Classes (i.e. Shamans).

Tier and School Restrictions

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Unless choosing the path of an outlaw among their own kind, all practitioners of the spiritual arts must obtain their first Title before they can gain access to spiritual powers beyond the generic Tier Zero Powers. Tier and School restrictions are summarized below:

See each Class Codex for further details to that class

Learning New Powers

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The nature in which different classes interacts with the spirit world is unique and as such most have their own method for learning new spirit powers, as outlined below:

See each Class Codex for details regarding learning new powers specific to that class

Retaining, Swapping Out, and Re-Learning Powers

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With the exception of Runeweavers, all other Spirit users are restricted to retaining a set number of known and/or memorized powers. At any point during combat or while adventuring the powers retained in memory are the only ones accessible to the caster. This does not necessarily mean that once a power is learned and retained in memory that it is not possible to swap out or re-learn powers.

Due to the limit on the number of powers that most Spirit classes can actively retain, any time they learn a new power when the casters memory is full it forces an existing power out of your memory. In a sense, the power is over-written. The over-written power can be any power the caster chooses, other than a Tier 0. This over-writing applies regardless if at one point in time the caster already knew the power; if they do not currently retain knowledge in their memory of the power they must essentially re-learn it. The frequency at which these tasks are possible varies depending on the class. The chart below summarizes how each class retains, swaps, and/or re-learns powers:

*Does not include Tier 0 powers, which are always known, by all classes, at all times

Methods of Casting

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All Spirit classes cast their powers using a combination of some form of verbal command, sound or incantation paired with a casting gesture of some kind. This means in order for a spirit power to be successfully cast both components must be performed. Therefore in order to prevent a Spirit class from casting you must interfere with one or both of these functions. As such spirit classes will be prevented from using their Primary Skills (aka Spirit Powers) if they are Silenced, Winded, Stunned, Immobilized, Incapacitated or Unconscious. in combat this means they are susceptible to skills or abilities that inflict these types of Crowd Control (CC) effects.

Outside of combat, in a roleplaying sense, these types of effects can be induced upon Spirit classes to prevent them from casting. Examples would be tying a gag around their mouths, binding their hands and feet, dosing them with potions, or even just getting them extremely drunk. However, care should be taken when using methods such as this to prevent or restrict a Spirit class from casting. A well experienced a Assassin can cast a spell with a mere whisper and subtle nod of his head, and bound Runeweaver could still use a finger to draw a Rune of Power in the dirt. As always GM discretion plays a role in deciding how well a method performs in preventing a Spirit class from casting, and a good GM allows players to fail and learn from their mistakes rather than spoon feed them the foolproof method to imprisoning that renegade Mage to collect on his bounty.

Casting Flavor

All Spirit classes are generically required to use both a verbal/vocalized component and a physical component in order to use their Primary Skills (aka Cast Spells, aka use Spirit Powers). However, from a roleplaying perspective there are significant differences in the methods that different Spirit classes use to fulfill these requirements, based on their particular philosophies and approaches to the Spiritual arts. The methods listed below are typical of each class, but exceptions may exist within them.