Magic
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DragonQuest offers a very rich magic system. However, some things need to be elaborated or clarified. Also, more emphasis needs to be put on the use of True Names.
Mana
Mana is often described as Magical energy, or as the essence of Magic, but it is really the essence of everything. All things are made of Mana bound into physical form. This was first demonstrated by the great Adept Alexi when he completely transformed matter into Mana, and Mana into matter.
Mana comes in two flavors. "Bound" Mana is that which is bound into physical objects and cannot be used unless the object is damaged or destroyed. All other Mana is known as "free" Mana, and it is available for use in Magic. Regions that are classified as high Mana or low Mana are referring to the amount of "free" Mana.
Every object has some free Mana associated with it, and this can be tapped or formed into enchantments and such. However, the amount of such "free" Mana in an object is typically small. Care must be taken because if the "bound" Mana is tapped into, the object is changed physically. (Worst case, it explodes rather spectacularly). This explains the power of so-called "Death Magic." Death is the destruction of a living entity, and as such, a significant amoung of "bound" Mana is freed. Because of this, significant death in an area will tend to raise the overall Mana abundance. (Battlefield magic can become quite potent, as can magic in a graveyard!)
Magic is a means of manipulating the free Mana in the world and channeling it to achieve some desired affect. Spellcasting and Ritual Magic are formulas used by Adepts to channel and pattern the Mana as needed to do what they want.
True Names and the Old Tongue
The aspects of all things, both physical and magical, are described in the Old Tongue. Each and every thing has associated with it a True Name in the Old Tongue which describes its essence, its existence, its true nature. By knowing this True Name, one has power over the thing.
For every classification of plant, tree, rock, magical spell, etc. there is a Generic True Name. Specific entities also have an Individual True Name associated with them. Thus, where the Generic True Name gives one power by knowing what something is, the Individual True Name gives one power by knowing who something is - which yields a much more personal and potent power.
There are many theories about just why these "Words of Power" exist - whether the Old Ones were truly the Creators of the world, or just the first entities to exist and give things names - but no one really knows for sure why the words of the Old Tongue carry so much power. The College of Naming Incantations is devoted to learning all that can be known of the Old Tongue.
Legend has it that when the first Races appeared, the True Names of all things were easily perceived. But during the First War of the Races, the power of True Names was severely abused, and therefore "taken away." Since then, all things are distrustful and hide their True Names away - even from themselves sometimes.
The only time an entity's Individual True Name can be learned with ease is at the moment of its birth. At that time, due to the entity's innocence, it's True Name is not yet hidden. Most entities have lost the ability to perceive the True Name, even at such a time of openness, but a Namer, being trained in the ways of True Names, may be able to perceive it by using the Ritual of Naming (see below).
Traditionally, the Namer either embeds the knowledge of the True Name into the child's subconscious to be "known" at a later date, or else witholds this knowledge until such a time when the individual has reached an age of responsibility.
Occasionally, it is possible to learn an Individual True Name at other times. Performing the Naming Ritual may allow a Namer to discover it, and asking a Dragon will always yield some sort of results...
Knowing one's own True Name lends to one's self-awareness and self-confidence. For this reason, people who do not know their own Individual True Name tend to have weaker wills.
Naturally, knowing one's own True Name is a pre-requisite for becoming a Namer. Furthermore, a Namer cannot, except under the most dire of circumstances, break the trust of knowing another's Individual True Name.
For a great majority of creatures, Namers cannot always be present for each and every birthing. For those who must go without, unless they find some other means of learning their True Names, they will live without that knowledge.
All Adepts have rank 0 for both Speak and Read/Write the Old Tongue. The maximum rank that can be achieved by anyone is rank 3. The experience cost for this language is 4 times that of a normal language. The rank the Adept has with Speaking the Old Tongue will also affect their ability to cast spells - add 3% per rank to their cast chance.
Knowing the target person's Individual True Name gives an Adept a +10% on their cast chance, and reduces the target's Magic Resistance by 20% (but not below the target’s Will Power).
All Adepts know the Generic True Names of common objects and entities. Rank for any True Names known by an Adept is the same as their rank in speaking the Old Tongue. It requires one week of study to be able to use a new Generic True Name, and one month for an Individual True Name. An Individual True Name can only be learned if the Generic True Name for the entity is already known. Generic True Names may be learned from an astute Detect Aura attempt.
Mana Stones
Mana Stones are gemstones which can store a vast amount of free Mana. Because of this, the Fatigue costs for spellcasting can be greatly reduced for an Adept in possession of such a Stone. Smaller Stones will often halve the Fatigue costs (round down), while some larger Stones have been found which reduced the cost by a factor of 5!
Shapers find Mana Stones particularly appealing as power sources for enchanted artifacts. The free Mana within a Mana Stone is never depleted, because the stones actually act like sponges, soaking up free Mana from the environment.
Some Mana Stones also possess bizarre characteristics. There have been accounts of Mana Stones which absorbed the spirits of those who died in their presence, or absorbed spells only to release them at a later time, or even which slowly sapped the life and Magical Aptitude away from their owners.
Mana Stones are naturally occurring, and exceptionally rare. Only a very few artificial Mana Stones have been successfully manufactured, and that was only by the greatest of Adepts during the Wizard Wars many millennia ago. Any Mana Stones are typically guarded very closely by their owners, and are typically considered to be priceless.
Legend has it that Mana Stones are actually the petrified hearts of dead Dragons.
Base Cast Chance
An Adept’s Magical Aptitude is added to the base cast chance for spells and rituals. It is not added to those spells, talents, or rituals whose base chance is some multiple of the Adept’s Magical Aptitude.
This replaces the modifier of +1% per point of MA above 15 and -1% per point below.
Effects of Cold Iron
Cold Iron partially disrupts the flow of Mana, making spellcasting more difficult for Adepts. The amount of disruption is dependent on the amount of cold iron and the closeness to the Adept.
For determining the effects of silvered items, treat them as if they were in the next range category. (eg. a silvered sword in hand would be treated as a Cold Iron sword in close proximity). Gilding extends this two range categories (gilded items in hand are treated as cold iron within one hex). Truesilver extends it by three ranges, thus negating completely the effects of Cold Iron.
These modifiers apply to rituals and spells cast on weapons, making investment of Cold Iron weapons rather expensive since Adepts would much rather work with silvered or specially prepared items.
Items prepared by Shapers are treated similarly to being silvered - the range is stepped up by one category.
Note: An arrow would typically have 1oz of Cold Iron in the head.
Boosting Spells with Extra Fatigue
Mages can increase the effects of a spell by using more Fatigue. The added energy from using an extra Fatigue point will boost the effective rank of the spell by 1 with regard to one characteristic of the spell (damage, duration, or range). More than one extra Fatigue point can be spent, with the effects of multiple points being divided amongst the characteristics of the spell as the player desires. However, due to the greater amount of energy being channeled, there is a -3% modifier to the cast chance per extra Fatigue point.
Rushing Spell Casting
The casting of a spell can be rushed (prepared and cast in the same round), but the fatigue cost is doubled and there is a -10% penalty on the cast-chance. The Initiative Value of the spell casting (for order of events in combat) is the character's Magical Aptitude plus their Perception.
Casting While Restrained
Mages normally need to have both hands free and be capable of speech to cast a spell in order to properly channel the magical energy. However, it is possible for an Adept to cast if restricted in some way. To do so, the Fatigue cost is doubled, and there will be penalties on the cast chance as follows:
Reduced Spell Costs at Higher Ranks
Upon reaching rank 10 with a spell, the character's Fatigue cost for casting is halved. The cost is halved further at ranks 15 and 20. This modifier is applied after all other modifiers for Fatigue cost. It does not affect backfire results.
Effects of Mana Levels
The difficult and cost of casting a spell depends on the availability of free Mana in the area.
| Level | %Mod | FT Cost | Backfire |
| Rich | +10% | halved | by 20% |
| Normal | 0% | normal | by 30% |
| Low | -5% | doubled | by 30% |
| Poor | -15% | tripled | by 20% |
If there has been a significant amount of death in the area within the very recent past, then the level of Mana is increase. This effect depends on the total Endurance and Magical Aptitude of all the dying entities. Consider the motivations of a Necromancer in a city…
An Adept will be able to determine the Mana level in his area. The base chance of success for this is ([4 x MA] + [2 x PC])%.
Fatigue Limitations
An Adept cannot plan to spend more Fatigue in the casting of a spell than he has Fatigue remaining. The Adept’s Fatigue may be reduced below zero, however, due to the effects of Backfires. If his Fatigue is reduced below zero, then the Adept is knocked unconscious for a number of minutes equal to the excess number of Fatigue points.
For determining the Fatigue cost of casting a spell, all additive modifiers must be calculated before applying any of the multiplicative modifiers.
Breaking Concentration
An Adept cannot cast a spell or execute a ritual if his concentration is broken. Some events will generally break the character's concentration, such as being involved in Melee or Close combat. Others might break his train of thought (GM's discretion), but are not guaranteed to. For such cases, the player must roll against the character's Willpower to maintain concentration. The difficulty factor is up to the GM.
Note that this applies only to casting a spell or executing a ritual. Once a spell or ritual is successful, if the character's concentration is required to maintain, it will only be broken if he is killed or knocked out or (perhaps) if he is stunned. The character's concentration will not be broking by entering combat or being attacked (unless by surprise, maybe) for these purposes.
Number of Spells Limitation
A character can know any number of Talents or counterspells. However, the number of spells and rituals at or below rank 4 must be less than his MA. The number of spells at ranks 5 and above is unlimited. This means that in order to join a College, the character must have an MA equal to or greater than the sum of the General Knowledge spells and Rituals. (The normal rules put the threshold at rank 4 instead of 5).
Magic Colleges will typically not let someone in which a Magical Aptitude less than 10, even if that is sufficient for the number of spells and rituals.
Multiple Colleges
It is possible for an Adept to belong to more than one Magic College. However, the Adept must have a high enough MA to learn all the general knowledge spells and rituals at rank 0, in addition to any already known, after joining the second College. Any spells that are "duplicates" of ones already known must also be learned. This is because each college has it's own philosophy and techniques for spell casting, so although the effects are the same, the particular rituals for channeling the Mana vary. It requires six months training to enter a Magic College, and the character cannot learn any other new skills during that period, and may only practice one skill (weapon, profession, or magic) at a time.
All modifiers specific to a Magic College apply only to the casting of spells from that College. (eg. a combination of Fire and Mind Magics will not provide bonuses to the Mind spells from standing in a fire).
Mages may belong to Colleges of opposite alignments, and modifiers for Magic Resistance due to College affiliation all apply (and can therefore cancel one another).
Invested Items
Only Spells may be invested into items, not Talents or Rituals.
Items do not have to be specifically shaped and bound by a Shaper. The maximum number of charges which can be invested is equal to the original investing Adept’s rank with this ritual (unless bound by a Shaper, in which case it is limited by the Shaper’s Binding ritual, see 47.7, R-5). Each application of the investment ritual provides [1 + (Rank with Investment Ritual)/3] charges. Any investments after the first are considered "recharging" (even if none of the original charges have been used) and are subject to penalties if the item was not bound by a Shaper. If the item is not bound, then recharging will cost extra Fatigue (equal to the cost for casting the spell) and -3% cast chance per charge.
If all the invested charges are used, the investment is gone and cannot be recharged (even if bound). The item may be reinvested with the same or a different spell, but it will be subject to the above penalties if it was not bound. This represents the idea that the original investment would tap into the "free" Mana within the object, but any further investments will required more "free" Mana to be added. Bound items are "Mana sponges" and will naturally absorb Mana much more easily.
When case, spells invested in items are subject to the same modifiers as the college they are from. The spell is treated as if the item were casting it with the MA and rank the investing Adept had at the time the spell was invested (include effects from rituals of purification and spell preparation, but not environmental or College-specific modifiers). Furthermore, while there is normally no Fatigue cost to the userr, in Low Mana regions it will cost the user 1 Fatigue point and in Poor Mana regions it will cost 2 Fatigue points for each charge used. After all, the spell must draw its energy from somewhere.
Any modifers due to an item being Cold Iron are applied to the Investment Ritual, treated as through the Adept was in contact with the object.
The spell to be invested must be "cast" at the time of investment, but no roll is made. The spell can be provided by an Adept other than the one performing the Investment Ritual (which is the only way to get the effects of the Ritual Spell Preparation). Essentially, the investment absorbs the pattern of the spell, and each usage of the invested spell weakens the stored pattern until it is finally unusable. Recharging an invested item does not required the casting of the original spell, because the reinvesting Adept is simply strengthening the pattern which already exists in the object. (Thus an Adept knowing the invested spell is not required for recharging, but the reinvesting Adept must have rank in the Investment Ritual at least equal to that of the original invester).
The trigger for activating the spell must be provided during the original investment. For example, an arrow can be invested to trigger a spell of incineration when it strikes its target. This means that at the end of the investment ritual, it must strike a target when the spell is "cast."
Breaking an invested item causes all remaining charges of the spell to be cast on random targets. Furthermore, for each charge, roll D10 for each characteristic. This is a bonus to the effective rank of the spell with regards to that characteristic. (As extra Fatigue expenditure, 97.6, only from release of the "bound" Mana in the object).
Characters with Witchsight may be able to tell an item is invested. Those using Detect Aura will be able to tell it is invested. Particularly astute attempts may determine what College of Magic the spell is from (<15% chance) or even what spell is invested into the object (<5%).
Enchanted Items
Enchanted items are specifically made by Shapers and can have Spells, Talents, bonuses for Characteristics, or knowledge of Magic, Skills or Weapons. These do not have charges as do Invested items, and they must draw their energy for Magic from outside themselves. If an enchanted item has a Mana Stone embedded in it, it can draw power from that - otherwise the character pays the Fatigue costs for any magic used. Enchanted items can have the spells enchanted into them (similar in effect to Invested spells without charge limitations), or they can have the knowledge of the spell - in which case the user casts the spell at whatever rank the item provides for.
Characters with Witchsight may be able to tell an item is enchanted. Those using Detect Aura will be able to tell it is enchanted. Particularly astute attempts may determine what College of Magic some of the enchanted spells are from (<15% chance) or even some of the abilities are enchanted into the object (<5%).
Magical Wards
Multiple Wards may be put in any location and any event (within reason) can be used as a trigger, but there is a -5% modifier to the cast chance for complicated triggers (GM discretion). The trigger area of the Ward may be of any shape or size which fits within the range limitations of the spell put into the Ward. Wards may be set up to have multiple charges, up to [1 + 1 per 3 ranks with the Ward Ritual]. There is a -3% modifier for the cast chance per extra charge.
Characters with Witchsight may be able to tell an area has a Ward in place. Those using Detect Aura will be able to detect a Ward and particularly astute attempts may determine what College of Magic the spell is from (<15% of chance) or even which spell is used (<5%).
Resist Pain Talent (Mind Magics)
The character with this talent has a high tolerance for pain. They are never automatically stunned and can make a stun recovery check the same pulse as when they take enough damage to stun them. For all stun recovery checks, an additional 3% per rank is added to their chance of stun recovery. The character has an increased resistance to the Assassin interrogation ability by 4% per rank. The character's concentration is never automatically broken, and 5% (+1 per rank) is always added to the base chance of maintaining concentration despite intrusions. The Experience Multiple for this Talent is 300.
Ritual of Naming (Naming Incantations, General Knowledge Ritual Q-2)
This ritual is performed by Namers to learn the True Name of an object or entity. It is often used at the birth of the entity, as this is the only time the Individual True Name is easily discernible. The base chance for this ritual is [3 x Adept’s Magical Aptitude] plus 3% per rank achieved with this ritual. If the ritual is performed during the birth of an entity, then there is an additional +40% modifier to determining it’s True Name. A normal success will determine the target’s Generic True Name. A roll under 15% of the cast chance is required to determine the Individual True Name of an entity provided the subject is willing. If the entity is not willingly partaking in the ritual, the Individual True Name can only be discovered if the roll is under 5% of the cast chance and the subject fails its resistance check. This ritual may be actively resisted.
The ritual requires one hour to cast and the experience multiplier is 250.
The Night Vision Talent (ref. 44.3, Celestial Magics, T-2)
At Rank 0, there is a -10% modifier to any actions requiring precision in the dark (i.e. attacks). This modifier is reduced by 1 per Rank, until Rank 10 and thereafter where there is no penalty. At Ranks beyond 10, the vision is actually improved, either in range, detail perceived, or light required depending on the situation. This Talent requires some light until exceptionally high ranks (even a cat cannot see if there is no light!)
Shaping Magics
While performing prolonged rituals, Shapers have very little time to practice their skills and abilities. A shaper only has every fifth day to spend on maintaining skills and such. No other rituals may be practiced, and any spells practiced may interfere with the ongoing ritual (GM discretion).
The Spell of Mending (G-1) requires that the Adept know the Generic True Name of the object being mended.
For enchanting Magic into objects, can be enchanted either similarly to investments (no rituals) or as knowledge (no talents). In the first case, the Shaping Index is ([Total Experience for the Spell]/5 + Experience Multiple). Spells are treated as if invested, without limits on number of charges. Talents are treated as if the character using the object has the talent at the rank enchanted. If the spell or ritual is enchanted as knowledge, the Shaping Index is ([Rank + 1] x Experience Multiple), and the user can cast the spell or ritual as if he knows it at the enchanted rank. In this case, the user is subject to all the normal considerations for Adepts (fatigue costs, Cold Iron effects, College modifiers, etc.).
The Endurance costs for making an enchanted item do not have to be paid by the Shaper himself. They can instead be paid through a sacrifice. Multiple entities can be sacrificed for this purpose. The Endurance from non-sentient entities is halved. Traditionally, animals such as goats or sheep are used for smaller enchantments (A goat with an Endurance of 8 would cover a cost of 4 Endurance points for shaping). Any Endurance points cost not covered by the sacrifice must be paid by the Shaper. For greater artifacts, a sentient must be transformed into a spectre - either the Shaper or the sacrifice. Such sacrifices will typically not be willing, nor are they looked upon in a kindly fashion by everyone else. It is suggested the Shapers have a container prepared for binding the spectre, because unhappy spectres can ruin a good workshop.
The experience multiples for R2 and R3 are 350 and 400, respectively.