Magic is the ability to tap into the various forces and manipulate them to your will. This is a great power, but it takes a lot of intelligence and knowledge to utilize it effectively.  No magician was created overnight.  It takes a long time and a lot of patience to become a mage.  Magic is treated as a secret and is guarded by powerful orders.    There are a few Orders in my game: The Coven, Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or , the Esoteric Order of the Dragon, and the Freemasons.   Each has its own agenda.  They don’t take kindly to rogue practitioners. Each leader of an order is called a Magus, and the best magus on earth is called the Arch magus.  There is only one Archmagus at a time.
  Magic is manipulating the natural forces.  A magician studies the Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or and uses the language of the creator to alter reality as they see fit.   The better one understands this Language, the better they are at wielding magic.  Look at magic like this,  God created the Code and the Code governs how the universe works.  When you learn God's code, you can alter the code to suite your whim.   Magic is, in a nutshell, the cheat code to the Cosmos!
    No one knows all 52 characters in God's Alphabet.  Due to this, no magician is able to perfectly wield magic.   One must substitute for the missing letters.  This is why material components, or more commonly called reagents, are needed.   Reagents are symbols or representations of the affect we wish to create.    If we knew all 52 letters, then reagents would not be needed.    Wizards are constantly looking for better reagents, or better yet,  undiscovered letters. 
Many religions have regarded Magi with, at best, suspicion, or at worse, persecution.   The wizard sets himself up as a substitute for god and this is offensive to most religious people.    The word Warlock is an example of this.  The world literally means, "word breaker".   The Warlock literally breaks the word of god and replaces it with his own.   This is why Warlocks are considered evil in the modern world. Blasphemy, or speaking out against the word of god, used to be a word for condemning magic or witchcraft.   Its meaning has changed in the modern world.   
   A true Magician must study constantly to hone their craft.   Learning the correct puncuation and grammar is a very difficult task when one doesn't even have all the letters to work with.   This is why magic is more an art, then a science, and two magicians my have two different spells for the same affect.
   One must learn mysticism to learn to think the correct symbols, and proper perspectives.   Occultism must also be learned to reveal things that are hidden to most eyes.  Presdigitation is also needed to make the hands flexible enough to outline the difficult words formed by the Byzantine symbols of the Primordial Language.    Then all this is synergized by an understanding of Spell Craft.   The last knowledge is a heavily guarded secret.   Orders and Schools are formed to keep that knowledge from the hands of amateurs and unworthies.    This knowledge must be taught.  It is said that Angels taught this skill to the first human magicians.   It is counter intuitive and no human has ever stumbled upon it by accident.

    





                

  Solomon organized magic into seven different types.   These are explained in his seminal book of magic called The Seven Keys.
    The seven types, or schools, of magic are as follows.
   Abjuration  The Abjuration school of magic encompasses protective spells. They create physical or magical barriers, negate magical or physical abilities, harm trespassers, or even banish the subject of the spell to another plane of existence. A wizard who specializes in abjuration is known as an abjurer.
    Alteration
Alteration is the magic of changing the traits of an object, being, creature or  the physical world.  Specialists in alteration are called Transmuters.
   Conjuration
Conjuration is a magic arts skill that allows a player to summon and command creatures, beings and objects.  A specialist in conjurations is called a conjurer
  Divination
  The art or act of foretelling future, past or unknown present events or revealing occult knowledge by means of augury or a supernatural agency.  Specialists in divination are called Diviners or Augurs.
  Enchantment
  Enchantments are spells that affect the perceptions and or mind of a target.  They also can empower magic in beings, objects or creatures.   This is the broadest school of magic, and the most common.  Specialists in this school are called enchanters.
Evocation 
  Evocation magic is utilizing natural forces.  Evocations can create strokes of lighting,  explosive bursts, or walls of fire.  This is a very dangerous, and flamboyant school of magic.  Evokers, as these specialists are called,  are very bold, and arrogant.
  Necromancy
    Necromancy is the art of death.   This school is concerned with healing dead tissue, regeneration lost limbs,  causing living tissue to die, manipulating souls and of course, animation of corpses.  Specialists are called Necromancers.   The good necromancers are healers, the evil are death obsessed Dark Wizards.

If a player wants to create a new spell, they must first learn the knowledge area of Spell Theory.   This is an even harder secret to learn than spell craft.    There are only handful of mages on Earth with this knowledge.

Some beings have such a mastery of the Language of Creation that they become godlike.  While not God, they are closer to god then mere mortals.  As such, they generate their own magic the way a star generates light.    Sorcerors invoke these beings for power, aid, or boons.    A sorceror is taping directy into these beings for power.   How they do so depends on that Source.  Typically a bargain is made and the sorceror furthers the agenda of the being it is invoking.  Some sources may not be intellegent in the normal sense of the word.  Witches, for example, tap into the vast power of the Earth itself.   Chaos Magicians may invoke the aid of one of the terrible Lords of Chaos for power.   Each Source exacts its own payment for tapping into their power.   Sorcery is the fine art of barganing, wheeling and dealing.  Its also dancing on a razor's blade.  Many sorcerors have been found homless muttering the name of Arioch or some other dreaded Power.     Becarful whom you ask for power, they may ask for too high a price!

A being that a sorceror invokes for magical energy is called a Power, Source, or sometimes a god.  What makes them a source is their understanding of the Language of Creation.  Each source has its own agenda, its own personality and its own wants and desires.   To stay in good standing with such a source,  the sorceror must stay in its' good standing.  How this is done is on a case by case basis.   
   Some sources are areas such as the Earth, and may not ( or may) be intellegence.   Ley Lines are non intellegenct sources.  The Phillosopher's Stone is another.   All magical Items are sources to a small extent, in that they store magic for someone to use later.
     Here is a partial list of some known sources that may be tapped by a sorceror.

Angels. This group consists of the beings created by Elohim (god) as his minions. Once in a great while, a mortal is born that can transcend it’s own limitations and become an angel



Devils:  This group is made up of angels that fled this universe to be free of Elohim. They sometimes return using avatars so they can remain hidden and free of Elohim’s influence.



Anarchs:  These are beings from the Plane of Chaos.  They are extremely powerful. Most surpass Angels or even Elohim.  Some Anarchs are Arioch,  Jubilex,and Balo.



Orders:  These are beings from the Plane of Order. They are extremely powerful. Most surpass Angels or even Elohim. Some Orders are Nodens, Krios, and Arawn.



Elders:  These are vastly powerful beings older than the universe. Their origins are unknown. Their motivations are beyond human understanding. They outrank Elohim as Elohim outranks humans.  Some Elders are Azathoth, Yog Sothoth,  Shubniggurath,



Demipowers:  These are powers that reside in another power’s realm. Through either their understanding of the Language of Creation, or through some unknown means they have become Sources of Power. Orcus rules a sub realm within Elohim’s, as does Riyanion. Other Demipowers are The Keeper of the Inn Between, The Last Place, the gods of Arcadia, Dispater, and  Cain.



Metas:  Rarely does a meta acquire enough power to become a Source on it’s own. The Rift was one of these rare metas.



Uniques: This is a catchall for other beings that don’t quite fit in with the other categories. Some known unique Sources are Elohim, O, Chronos, The King of All Tears, and the Logos. They vary in power to supreme in their own realm ( Elohim) to supreme almost everywhere ( O).

And rarely but it has happened, Human Wizards.  The ultimate goal of wizardry is to achieve an understanding of the Language of Creation so well that one becomes a source in their own right. 

Not much is known about Powers. Just finding  a name can take a lifetime. 

Wands

     When one thinks of a wizard, they often picture a man with a wand waving it about as if he  were conducting some invisible orchestra.     This is not a bad way to think of it.   What the wizard is doing with his wand is drawing the glyphs of the Language of Creation in the air with his wand.   This gives a better inscription.  It focus the engergy.  Its like painting with a brush as opposed to fingerpainting.    The wand must be specially crafted from the finest woods, and enchanted with the subtle's of spells.   In order for a wand to work its best, it must be crafted by the wizard himself.


When using a wand, the spell cost 4 power less.  This makes the spell quicker to cast and they spend less energy.  This is due to the more effiencent use of magical energy.

Spellbooks
   Since spells are formulas written down,  a wizard needs a place to keep them.  Hard covered books are the most common. Spell books are usually sturdy books designed to weather the ages.  Considering the cost in time and resources to replace damaged pages, anything less is just plain silly.
   Spell books can be great tombs of prodigious size, or they can be small pamphlets with only one or two spells.  Most of the larger grimoires  are covered with protective wards.   Most wards protect the book from water, vermin, or time.  Some, however, will unleash a bolt of lighting at the person who opens the book without the magic word to disable the ward.  Some, even release enchanted clouds of poison, or leperous curses!  When finding a spell book, be very careful.

Scrolls are simply spell books with only one or two spells rolled up for easy access.  They are usually copies of spells the magician has stored elsewhere.  They are used for sale, or for quick reading of a spell the wizard has yet to memorise. 

When casting a spell from a book or scroll that one has not memorised, the wizard suffers a -4 on their intellegence for purposes of making the needed saves.

Now keep in mind a totem pole is just a large staff.   The symbols on the pole perform the same purpose.   This makes it easier for the shamen to perform their magic for the village that hosts the pole.

And some sneaky architects have snuck some spires into their buildings.    Can these Freemasons have been secretly casting spells all over Manhattan?

Great stuff, John.

Any distinctions on Magic Enchanted Items.  How would these differ from technological devices which provide Super Powers.

Thanks
R. Richards

Yes, it makes sense.

Do you find that this method puts more restrictions or freedom on the PC to create their own magic item?

As a GM do you have few magic items or does this inspire you to create more?

cool.

thanks

Oni,
   I am enjoying it too.   I am glad you like the roleplaying more than the fighting.  Its refreshing.   AND you remember the clues I drop which is great.  ANd you remember when I fuck up, which is frustrating, but it keeps me honest.
    I am having a blast with Dick Dante, and I am thinking of having one player over on the "OFF" Fridays for a bit to do some more character driven stuff.

Ok not this week,  as I have a ton of class work to do,   I will start a rotation to see who wants to "solo".

Male and Female Magic

Magic can be said to have three genders; male, female and neuter.    Abjuration, Evocations, and Alteration are male magic.  Divination, Enchantment, and  Conjuration is female.  Since death comes to all, Necromancy is neuter.

Due to this Spires can store male magic easier, whereas cairns store female magic.   This is why you see witches with cauldrons rather than staves.

I like all of this except the references to a particular god.  It does make people with spells more flexible at the cost of speed and efficiency.