Spell

A Spell is a particular kind of magic that a Mage can cast. There are many spells, each with a distinct effect. A particular instance of a kind of spell is also called a spell.

Spells can be classified by Tiers and Paths.


 * The Tier of a spell is the lowest Tier that a mage must be in order to cast that spell. There are 9 tiers of spells, ranging from Tier 1 to Tier 9. More powerful spells are at higher Tiers.
 * A spell may be associated with one or more paths. For spells with a single path, a mage must have sufficient Attainment in that path in order to cast the spell. For spells with dual paths, a mage must have sufficient attainment (having at least the same Tier as the spell's Tier) in either of the paths, and must have at least the spell's Tier - 1 in both paths, in order to cast the spell.

Three defining characteristics of a spell are Intensity, Scale, and Range.

Spells have a Mana cost associated with their casting. For some spells this is a set amount per casting; for other spells the mana cost is variable. This mana is depleted upon casting. If a mage does not have sufficient mana to cast the spell, the spell will "fizzle" out or fail outright before the spell is completed, and the mana invested will be wasted. Maintained Spells consume mana over time. If a mage runs out of mana, those spells will cease to have any effect.

Casting a spell generally does not require incantation, gesture, instruments, or other materials.

A mage can cast any number of spells concurrently. However additional spells require additional mana, and a mage at any given Tier can only cast spells expending a limited amount of mana. The higher the tier of mage, the more mana the mage can use per unit time, which means they can maintain more spells (or more mana-intensive spells).

Casting a spell must be done consciously.