The energy that we call 'Magic' has been a part of the universe since the Big Bang. Like matter itself, magic cannot be destroyed, only changed. It is an underlining force that binds the know universe together. Sorcerers, Magicians and Warlocks can utilise this energy to influence reality itself and, in some cases, alter it completely. There are currently two schools of thought when using magic, Arcane and Elemental.
Although Magic does exists in the universe, the knowledge to wield it has slowly been lost. People just don’t believe in Magic anymore, and scientists dismiss it as cheap parlour tricks. The secretive nature of Sorcerers does not help the matter, as they tend to keep their power to themselves. It is hypothesised that some races might be a by-product of Magic and this is certainly the case with Risen, as most cases of Risen being created involves Magic in some way. However, despite the belief of most Humans, most other races are a product of evolution instead of the supernatural, although it may have played a part early in their evolutionary track. It has certainly never been observed for Werewolves and Vampires to ‘turn’ Humans through biting or other means, nor are they subject to other superstitious laws.
Each character who has purchased a Magic skill has a set list of spells. All basic spells can be cast once every 30 seconds, medium spells can be cast once every 10 minutes and master spells once every hour. It is up to the players to police their own spell use and anyone found abusing this system may be asked to leave the game. The spell lists can be found in the sub pages under this one. The cooldown is per spell rather than per level, so you can cast multiple medium spells within ten minutes, as long as they are different spells.
Spells will fit into one of the three established ranges as explained in the Combat page - Ranged, Proximity and Mass, which will be indicated alongside the spell name.
Players have free reign to customise ability verbal with the exception that every verbal must include the UPPERCASE words in the original verbal and it cannot be shorter.
Rituals are the most powerful spells that can be performed. They usually involve several magical practitioners, combining power to bend magical energy to their will. The effects of a ritual are diverse and is only limited by the ritualist’s imagination. They can create a new weapon or split a mountain in two given the right amount of power. However, holding great amounts of magical energy can be harmful and the safe minimum limit to any ritual is accepted as five minutes after which the magic will begin to flare, with ten minutes being the upper limit to it being in any way safe.
Of the types of Magic, Arcane is thought of as the the more powerful and is split into two groups; Law and Chaos. Lawful Magic influences reality along the line of reason and logic, doing little harm to the greater universe. For example, a Sorcerer using Law Magic might cause your muscles to lock and spasm to make you fall over, or cause water in a pool to evaporate to create a cloud. Chaotic Magic changes reality, often violently, producing ripples of magical energy which have long lasting effects on the universe. Chaotic Magic can make a man turn into a horse, or an island to float into the air. Although Chaos Magic can seem to be the more fantastical school, Lawful Sorcerers argue it does more harm than good.
Where Arcane is considered the most powerful type of Magic, Religious is often considered the most mysterious. Appealing to higher beings for aid is a tradition that goes back to the very start of sentient life, according to many. Some warn that when you appeal to a higher being you cannot always be sure it is that same being that responds, but that is where supporters of Religious magic insist on the power of faith. Unlike Arcane, there is not always such a noticeably stark difference in the attitudes of practitioners. They tend to fall in more with the values of the being they call upon, and so can be very varied. It is noticeable that demonic spells tend to lean more towards harm, whereas divine tend to lean more towards healing, but where this might be used to argue about the perceived vices of demonic magic practitioners, they have often said that the best defence is a good offence. It is also notable that many of what the Western world know as demons come from the Plane of Order, so have a strong tendency towards contracts and being very good at arguing their case, which has definitely helped considering the negative reputation this school of magic could have.
Although it tends to be regarded as less powerful than Arcane Magic, Elemental Magic is still a force to be reckoned with and is considered to be a more natural school of Magic. Recently, it has been discovered that Elemental Magic is linked to the 'Other Realms', places comprised entirely of Magic.