Magic Catalysts

Mana Decay is the infliction caused by large quantities of mana, or smaller quantities of mana over more extended periods, being channelled. On a living being, the casting of spells through their body will first cause the veins to appear to glow faintly with the colour of their mana (which can be decided by the player), before their skin will gradually begin to turn the same colour in hue. Further use at this point causes the colour to fade to a grey, then black, until eventually the limb seems to deteriorate away altogether. Other materials seem to be prone to this as well, except particularly mana conductive materials such as mana crystals. This condition is chronic, usually only presenting itself after around 10 years without the use of a catalyst.

The words “foci” and “catalyst” are interchangeable. Foci is the term used more predominantly in Avont as their culture places less emphasis on the creation of magic but the creation of its tools that mages wield.

Catalysts can be split into two categories: Regular and Crystal. The difference is that a Crystal Catalyst is any catalyst which possesses a mana crystal, while a Regular is any catalyst that does not, usually conducting mana through alchemical infusion.

• Unarmed Casting involves casting through one’s body with no external aid. It can be done quickly, but the biggest downside is that, over time, it causes Mana Decay, which limits the strength of spells that can be done with it. Specifically, Mana Decay prevents an unarmed caster from using spells over Intermediate. Unarmed casting also tends to be more taxing on the user’s mana and produces generally weaker spells (only applicable in DTB when similar spells are clashing). 

Cantrips will not cause Mana Decay.

• Regular Catalyst Casting involves using a catalyst, usually made of wood, that an alchemist with mana oil has infused. This will allow it to conduct mana through it and be directed by the caster. These catalysts are still prone to Mana Decay, but they prevent the caster from suffering from it. They are stronger than unarmed casting, but still notably weaker than crystal catalyst casting (again, only applicable in DTB when similar spells are clashing). 

Catalysts can come in any shape, as long as they are not metal. You can use a 6-foot-long wooden staff, a leather-bound grimoire, or a traditional small wand- and anything in between.

• Crystal Catalyst Casting involves using a catalyst that has a mana crystal embedded or otherwise attached to it. These catalysts are much rarer, usually only being distributed through events, as they are almost entirely immune to the effects of Mana Decay and are capable of casting even the strongest of spells without noticeable strain. They are the strongest of all types of catalysts (still only applicable in DTB, like the above) and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. 

For example, a sword with a mana crystal as its pommel could be considered a “crystal catalyst”.  After years of using the crystal, it may start to wither in its colour before losing its ability to channel magic altogether through it. Due to Mana Crystals coming in all shapes and sizes, weaker and less potent ones tend only to last a year or two of continuous use. Whereas more pure, refined mana crystals seemingly last lifetimes or even forever. The person who distributes the crystal will always clarify the mana crystal’s potency.

The creation of foci is done through alchemy, and exists as a special subset of skills that not every alchemist bothers with, thanks to how complicated it is–not to mention, how niche the use is. A grounded artificer, for example, may be able to produce extremely high-quality foci. Still, unlike the high-tier runes and potions they can make, they could never use them themselves. As such, most who delve into the world of creating arcane foci tend to be mages themselves.