Spells Preview

Bardic Magic: Though derided by wizards as a charlatan's mockery of the true arts, bardic magic has evolved into its own precise form, with its own compliment of spells. Unlike the more focused spells more characteristic of wizardry (and its closer offshoots, illusion and summoning), bardic magic is intimately tied to experimenting with Words of Power. Through subtle variations in pronunciation, pitch, and volume, bards can learn a variety of effects and spells. Musical accompaniment is not a requirement of bardic magic, but the melodies help a bard remember the precise variations of his spells. Consequently, bards may use but do not need spellbooks or scrolls for their magic, as they recall the spells as often as they'd like. Unfortunately, the Words of Power are still difficult to master, and even the bards' legendary memories cannot overcome the limitations of mortal flesh. Attunement with the Words of Power takes years of practice, and young bards find it difficult to recite even their favorite spells more often than once or twice a day before their voices weaken during casting. With training, they can become more familiar with the words' inflections, but even the greatest bards have never been able to reproduce any but the simplest spells more than a handful of times per day. Still, the flexibility of the bardic style allows for stringing many kinds of Words of Power together into the subtext of the famous bardic music, an effect that no wizard has ever been able to duplicate.

Cleric Magic: In a certain sense, clerics do not cast spells, and are no more magical in nature than a fighter or rogue. Instead, they call upon their personal relationships with their deity, praying for a divine intervention. Though the Words of Power are often part of these spells, specifically the words governing the concepts of master and servant, clerics use them to contact the astral planes, rather than to produce direct results. While divinity-spawned magic produces effects like no other spell, like healing, it also depends heavily on the gods' good graces. Those who have yet to prove themselves find the gods unwilling to intervene much, while begging for power like the arcane spellcasters usually receives a curt dismissal - the gods create clerics to fulfill the role of clerics, to inspire and lead worship, not to provide everything for everyone. Gods enjoy the worship of noble souls, not the lazy. Clerics still exert discrimination in how they serve, however, by selecting which of their gods' aspects (Domains) to emulate.

Druidic Magic: Druids believe their magic is the purest, the most reverent of all. In the Dragon's first lessons, It spoke of living with nature as neither servant nor master. Though Its motives came into question when It crushed the earliest civilizations and gods, druids still hold that the Dragon had not yet gone mad when It spoke such wisdom. To be sure, the lands where druids hold sway remain largely free of Bascarite heresies, and even the cruelest druid acts out of need, rather than straightforward sadism. Still, the druids' resemblance to the hated shamans often marks the former as a group of diabolists, too, though ethereal spirits are no more inherently evil than they are good. Totems may choose who to bless with their gifts, but they always choose those like themselves. The Words of Power druids use tend toward bargaining and alliance, asking for power, rather than demanding or begging for it.

Illusionist Magic: Illusion represents magic in perhaps its purest form, in concept rather than substance. Though closely related to wizards in many ways, illusionists favor almost stuttering uses of the Words of Power, sometimes speaking only the first syllable of the true words' power. Though this has led to the common view that illusions are lesser forms of true spellcraft, it also means that illusions disrupt the flow of the world less than other forms of magic. Even with the few illusion spells capable of killing others, the deaths appear natural, as though the victim died of shock. Rarely would anyone suspect an illusionist's hand in the murder.

Necromancy: Though technically a school of wizardry like illusion and summoning, necromancy is in many ways a throwback to shamanism. Though necromancy eschews shamanists' reliance on fickle totems and fetishes, it still deals directly with ethereal spirits, most notably those of the recently dead. While this naturally leads to a strong tendency to use Words of Power directly related to death, a wide variation with all the other Words is common as well. Though they commune with spirits regularly, necromancers achieve their power by choice and, not in a corresponding subservience to these entities.

Seer Magic: Though the gods grant their gifts to seers much as with clerics, seers ultimately answer to a different calling. Where clerics can choose how to serve, seers tend to see fewer options in their lives, and indeed see little but fate's forceful push in any individual’s future. Invoking the Glyph of Fate almost without thinking, seers serve as both compass and warning for a god's followers. In other respects, they are much like a cleric, and may hold high rank within or even lead their religion.

Shamanist Magic: Shamans are otherwise indistinguishable from druids.  Like druids, they draw their power from the spirits of the Ethereal Plane, but instead of bargaining, shamans bind the nature spirits to fetishes. Deverenian propaganda ensures most magicians believe that this is a travesty, a cruel trick that tortures the poor spirits. In truth, however, the shamans may use any means necessary to coerce the spirits to their fetishes. Good-aligned shamans see themselves as masters treating their servants forcefully, rewarding and punishing as necessary. The shamans' recollections of the Words of Power are possibly the most accurate, their intonations precise and unaltered over millennia. Though few spirits like shamans, the shamans' respect for the old ways brings the spirits' respect in return.

Summoning Magic: Though Deverenia's propaganda was persuasive enough to trick even the like-minded druids, not even Signon himself could have guessed that it would cause some shamans to second-guess their motives. Horrified at the thought that they had tortured innocent spirits, a few shamans abandoned their ways and went straight away to study at the feet of the wizards. It was this combination of methods which resulted in summoners.  Summoners command and control creatures with their magic, but rely solely on their spells and not on enslaved spirits. Summoners use perhaps the widest variety of Words of Power, within the vocabulary of their servants' true names. Some summoners have taken this to a formal level even a wizard can respect, and subsequently began cataloguing creatures based on biological similarities and differences.

Wizardry:  Before Deverenus, there were no wizards, only shamans. Whether through his mother's blessing or some quirk of his own personality, Deverenus was the first arcane magician in history to rely on detailed instructions when he cast spells, rather than relying on spirits bound to fetishes. With a standard form of spells, Deverenus could teach others wizardry quickly without being concerned about harm caused to enslaved spirits. Further, a common understanding of the Words of Power allowed for better research into new spells, since wizards could use previous spells as a clean starting point.

Miscellaneous Magic (Assassins, Paladins, Rangers): These classes do not truly have their own methods of casting spells, relying instead upon a casual familiarity with other classes (wizards, clerics, and druids, respectively).