Magic is real, powerful, and learned.
The Gift is inherited. Mastery is learned.
True spellcasting belongs to Open-Gift characters.
Mana
An Open-Gift character has a Mana pool equal to:
Mana = (Intellect + Vigor) × 2
Mana represents the personal supernatural reserve a character can shape through trained magic.
Spellcasting
A normal magical roll uses:
relevant Attribute + Magic Foundation + magical Specialization + situational modifiers
Intellect is common, but another Attribute may fit a specific technique or magical tradition.
Traditions
Veyra does not assume one universal magical school or one rigid spell list.
Broad traditions include arcane, divine, natural, ancestral, spirit, blood, shadow, elemental, and magitech practices.
Different cultures emphasize different methods.
Caeloran practice often favors academic study, controlled effects, engineering, wards, and magitech.
Dwarven traditions prominently include Runecraft, especially work involving stone, metal, structures, permanence, wards, binding, enchantment, and memory.
Elderwood traditions are often associated with nature, healing, light, dreams, ritual, transformation, and subtle enchantment.
Tsukaran traditions commonly emphasize spirits, ancestors, weather, water, wards, purification, divination, binding, and maritime protection.
Local witchcraft, household magic, priestly practice, family traditions, and independent teachers exist throughout the world.
Improvised Magic
Trained magic is more dependable than improvisation, but creativity is possible.
Improvised magic generally carries an additional burden such as:
- increased difficulty;
- greater Mana cost;
- harsher consequences on failure.
The purpose is to reward creativity without making learned techniques meaningless.
Ritual Magic
Rituals use preparation, time, symbols, participants, meaningful locations, materials, or conditions to accomplish effects beyond ordinary moment-to-moment casting.
Rituals may involve:
- several casters;
- one lead caster with assistants;
- sacred or meaningful locations;
- rare materials;
- seasonal or celestial conditions;
- saltstone;
- carefully prepared symbols.
Non-mages may still contribute to some rituals through preparation, song, physical work, ceremony, or other meaningful roles depending on the tradition.
Magic and Miasma
Miasma can destabilize magic.
Effects may become unreliable, distorted, unusually weak, unusually strong, or dangerous.
Experienced travelers and monster hunters therefore avoid relying on a single magical solution.
Magic and the Mists
Near the Uncrossed Mists, even ordinary magic can become unreliable.
The standard frontier advice is simple:
Carry a mundane backup.