014 - Magic 2
Runes
Magician | Soul | Mind | Metal
Also known as "charms", or "Enchantment". A rune is a special word or phrase of power concentrated into a symbol that echos its meaning through spiritual channels that run deep into the fabric that holds reality together. Fragments of a dialect based on the First Language, possessing a sliver of that authority over the reality that we know. Simply knowing of a rune isn't enough to utilize it, but requires practice to deeply harmonize your own contemplations to achieve understanding of that rune. To utilize runes, Witches prepare a ritual circle on which they place an item they wish to inscribe the rune onto, or placing the ritual circle on a surface around where you want to inscribe it, along with the necesary reagents to invoke the rune in question, and then place the rune on the item in some manner. Sewing, engraving, staining, or so on. The enchantment only lasts as long as the rune itself physically does, so more permanent methods of application are preferred. The ritual takes 1 minute, 10 minutes, 100 minutes, 1000 minutes, and 10000 minutes to complete, respective to rank. Rituals can be paused and continued, and use 4x equivalent ingredients to a potion of its rank in the ritual process. 75% of the ritual time can be passive, such as letting incense burn out, or gold dust to slowly melt into the item being enchanted, or other ritual elements not directly associated with the object, but such as performing a separate sub-ritual to harvest an ingredient or combine two ingredients into a necessary one.
Rank 1
You manifest the runes Helák (Luck), Füsil (Fertility), Motdet (Courage), and Kalvÿr (Chill). A luck-charmed object doubles the odds of a good outcome of an event wherein randomness is the primary factor. If used to harm, it doubles the victim's odds of a bad outcome instead for 12 hours. A fertility-charmed object doubles odds of conception and good genes (Can gurantee witch offspring), or prevents conception. If used to harm, the inverse for 12 hours. A courage-charmed object removes the edge from fear and promotes clear thinking under high stress. If used to harm, it heightens the sense of panic and dread, and shock, for 12 hours. A chill-charmed object's temperature maintains 0 degrees celsius while preventing state changes due to temperature. Water will remain liquid, or ice will remain solid, while in contact or within its space (A cup, or box). If used to harm, the freezing temperature of the object might be shocking and they will feel as though the air is 0 degrees for 12 hours (Mitigated by normal means; blankets, heater/fire, hot showers, ect.) Vælbán (Augment), choose one Affinity when inscribing a vælsÿn rune, and resist all forms of damage associated with it by 10% per Runes rank you use to create it. If used to harm, it instead applies a damage vulnerability on a target.
Rank 2
Manifest the runes Sykóst (Disease), and Tøktn (Heavy). A disease-charmed object passively sanitizes 99.99% of germs within a 6ft sphere around it. If used to harm, it cripples the immune system while doubling the rate of disease propagation within 6ft of them, for 12 hours. A heavy-charmed object weighs 1/10th its normal weight, along with anything within its space (A box, or cloak). If used to harm, damaged objects or parts of a body feel as though they weight 50% more, stacking, for 12 hours.
Rank 3
Manifest the runes Tifhæt (Talent), and Vÿkst (Wind). A talent-charmed object boosts hand-eye coordination, reflex, and memory recollection in ways that let you recognize and repeat actions or understand the rules of something with ease, letting you reach a high degree if skill in something within a few attempts depending on your exposure to the correct processes, which you can uncover yourself through failure and recognizing why you failed. If used to harm, it dulls these same senses for 12 hours. A wind-charmed object emits a faint breeze in all directions that is amplified in the direction of a movement proportional to the speed and force with which it was moved, and air displacement. A fan could emit a gale like a jet engine. If used to harm, cutting force is amplified as though there was a silent chainsaw along an edge, or bludgeoning force is amplified with twice the concussive force and 10x knockback.
Rank 4
Manifest the Hekyll (Spell), and Bàsynn (Warden). A spell-charmed object imbues the object with the magic of another magic effect available to you that functions as normal on that object or when that object is worn, or triggered when it makes contact, depending on the nature of the effect. For example, with Familiarity, you could make a charm of fox's cunning, or a ring possessing one life based on the 9 lives. A curse charm could passively curse people or specific targets within a short distance from it with a given curse. A warden-charmed object dispells magic on contact, for that one creature or object touched. If a permanent enchantment, that enchantment is suppressed for 12 hours.
Rank 5
Manifest the Taldél (Time), Skyttse (Protection), Gjenÿkvie (Relic) A time-charmed object stops the flow of time on the object baring outside influence. If worn, it prevents aging. If mostly encased in a charmed object, it'd fully suspend animation. A bowl of apples would never wither. Used to harm, such an object would age creatures by 2 years and objects by 10. A protection-charmed object prevents harm from occuring. 1/10th the prevented harm is directed to the charmed object instead as though it were struck itself, at 10% force. A relic-charmed object can copy the magical (Non-material/physical) effects on a relic from a relic on hand, into a rune which applies the same effect in a way that makes sense for the effect, onto another object or directly benefitting a weilder of the charm. Can apply the effects when worn, or on hit, as appropriate.
Curses
Warlock | Necro | Nature | Mind
Curses aren't evil, just misunderstood. So you made a guy throw up or every day of his life a waking nightmare. Is that really so much different than simply stabbing someone? That guy you fireballed? Probably disfigured and in pain for the rest of their life. That lightning bolt? Lifelong neurological complications. Honestly, who's the real monster here? The primary curses are Sickness, Pariah, Madness, Disaster, and Spellbind. They grow in power as you rank up your Curses magic, though you can always still cast them at a lower rank, which will generally be quicker and easier to cast. To use a curse, you must chant the particular words for the curse for 2 seconds while keeping a finger pointed at your target, and while within 30ft (10m), unless otherwise stated. Curses can be given Conditions in how they apply. ie; Only occurs on the next full moon, when they say a word, when someone else says a word near them, when they cause someone harm, or go within a certain distance, or so on. It only triggers once unless it has a duration, in which case you can choose a window for when it activates and divide the duration up between activations. You can also stack curses to add triggers, activations, or duration.
Rank 1
Sickness inflicts a bad but manageable cold that takes around half an hour to kick in, and around a day to recover from. Pariah makes the target hated by insects which turn hostile within 30ft of it. Madness causes a rush of white-hot anger, but they're still themselves and react as they would. Disaster causes the target to trip and fall within the minute at the first reasonable opportunity to do so, if not their own feet at the end of the duration. Spellbind lets you pair any other magic effect with a curse, of a rank equal to your curses rank. The magic effect must satisfy all its own requirements in creation or casting, then the activation and duration change occur when you curse a target. By channeling curse power when you drink a potion for example, you could reserve the potion effect as a curse effect, effectively like a piece of ammunition.
Rank 2
Sickness inflicts an incapacitating flu that requires bedrest, hard to do anything when the world is spinning and chimps are playing with hammers in your brain. Takes an hour to set in and will last a good 24 hours. Pariah now also attracts small animals, and within 900ft (300m). Madness now also prevents the recognition of friend vs foe. Disaster causes an instant charlie horse muscle spasm in one or both calves of the target, which if you aren't aware causes debilitatingly intense pain while the muscle violently contorts on its own in ways you didn't think possible. Very surprising if it's never happened to you before, believe me. Spellbind rank 2 magics.
Rank 3
You can now cast mass curses that afflict all in your field of view at once. You no longer have to point for the primary curses. The chant takes an additional 2 seconds per 20 targets. You can now also curse specific targets regardless of distance or view if you craft a effigy of the target out of natural material and add something that came from their body (hair, nail, blood) or a close possession of theirs. Spellbind rank 3 magics. New curse effect: Voodoo, you can form an effigy or doll of a target, and the target will feel anything you do to it, though it wont force movements or cause actual physical harm.
Rank 4
Sickness now immediately causes a high fever, diziness, and vomiting. It will kill weaker people if they don't recieve medical attention within a few hours. Pariah now effects all animal life save humans within a mile, and plants will do what they can as well, such as bending towards them in their path, slow moving roots rising to trip, poison ivy or cactuses reaching out. Madness removes all higher thought processes to turn them into a thoughtless feral predator for several hours with resistance to harm and fatigue. Disaster causes accidents that can result in serious or fatal injury whenever the possibility is there for the next 12 hours, no more than 1 per hour, can include seizures or momentary microsleeps that can lead to disaster indirectly. This can cause pipelines to explode under the street, sinkholes to open up under their feet if geographically feasible, lightning to strike if there is a storm, ect. Spellbind rank 4 magics. Voodoo can now puppet the target's movements if you manipulate the effigy/doll with intent, and damage transfers.
Rank 5
You can now curse people with immortality, exclusively a rank 5 curse. Recipients cannot die by any means (Save for things designed to slay immortals) but are just as vulnerable to injury and pain. They will continue to age as normal even long past organ failures, even as their body decays around their bones like a lich. They'd still feel pain from phantom nerves that think they're constantly exposed and raw. Alternatively, Immortality curse can strip an immortal from their immortality, their agelessness as well as their witch type's method of resurrection, until the curse is dispelled. Rank 5 sickness, pariah, madness, or disaster are wide scale curses that afflict city sized areas with earthquakes, tsunamis, tornaods, plagues of locusts or vermin, or deadly contagious diseases. Spellbind rank 5 magics. Curse effects bypass Warding Runes so long as the curse was placed while unprotected. Voodoo can now bind any number of victims to a single effigy/doll to influence them all at once. If you talk to the doll with intent, they will hear it as though in their own minds. Your manipulations of the dolls can cause them to levitate, and you can have fine control over movements based on your intent. Control over multiple people is based on intentions, so they would all move in a similar way as necessary, moving towards the same destination but not in the same direction for example. Curses placed on a voodoo effigy last until the doll is destroyed, afflicting the victims. All rank 5 curses require the light of a full moon and ingredients comparable to a rank 5 potion. Alternatively, ₭150,000 can be burnt to fuel a rank 5 curse, or you can sacrifice a limb at any time, blackening like charcoal unusably, which can't be healed without full moonlight.