EdroGrimshell
2010-02-12, 10:35 PM
This is a concept i have had for a while, i posted a while back for ideas on three seperate forums and this is what i got so far. This is a very rough draft and work in progress and i still need ideas to fine tune the system, but the framework is here. This is made to replace normal vancian spellcasting.
Anima
Anima is the essence of existence, the life force of the world. A person can be trained to draw on this limitless supply of energy, store it, and shape it to his will, allowing them to perform incredible feats of magic.
- Mana: Mana refers to the anima currently stored in an incanter’s body.
- Essence Pool: All incanters have an essence pool, a small reserve of mana stored in the incanter’s body. This pool is based on the incanter level and the ability score related to the incanter’s anima casting (Int for mages, Wis for priests, and Cha for witches) of the specific individual.
- Draw Anima: All incanters have the ability to draw anima into their body, storing it in their essence pool. There are two ways of drawing anima, passive and active. Passive draws a small amount of mana every minute, while active draws a larger amount as a full-round action, however, this method can be disrupted by an attack or other method that causes the incanter to loose focus.
- Tap Ley Line: This ability lets an incanter to gather a far greater amount of mana in a single round, however, he puts himself at risk from the massive influx of animus energy. As a swift action, the incanter can draw an amount of mana into himself equal to his incanter level + his primary incanting stat (Int for mages, Wis for priests, and Cha for witches). In doing so, he must make a Fort save (DC 10 + the amount of mana gathered) or take one point of Con burn for every five points of mana gathered.
- Incantations: An extended ritual that requires a large amount of mana to invoke, usually having a long duration, long prep time, and expensive components or Xp costs, often taking a minute or longer to complete.
- Invocations: Quick but weak intonations that require little mana that can be pulled from the incanter’s surroundings in an instant, usable at will as a standard action. Weakest of an incanter’s abilities.
- Weaves: A bond between an incanter and an item, usually a weapon, that persists so long as the incanter chooses, but reduces the essence pool until it is dismissed. Setting up a weave always takes one hour to complete, but once complete does not require an action to maintain. Dismissing a weave is a swift action.
- Chants: Repetitious chanting that has a low mana cost but requires concentration to keep active. Starting a chant is a standard action, concentrating on it is a swift action.
- Intonations: A fabrication of mana that creates a physical manifestation similar to a spell, intonations lie at a medium between incantations and invocations, drawing on a small amount of mana and a short casting time (usually a standard or full-round action).
- Arcanas: Arcanas are broad categories of anima magic that represent a specific way of manipulating mana. Each arcana is represented by a symbol related to the arcana's abilities. The arcanas are as follows; Body, Heart, Mind, and Spirit. Each arcana has three sub-arcanas, each representing different aspects of the main arcana. The sub-arcanas are as follows; Body (Material, Form, and Creation), Heart (Healing, Protection, and Emotion), Mind (Enchantment, Illusion, and Divination), and Spirit (Energy, Summoning, and Undeath)
- Magnitude: A magnitude is a rating of an invocation’s, incantation’s, intonation’s, weave’s, or chant’s overall power level. An incanter’s level must match the magnitude of the ability in order for it to be learned and cast.
Anima
Anima is the essence of existence, the life force of the world. A person can be trained to draw on this limitless supply of energy, store it, and shape it to his will, allowing them to perform incredible feats of magic.
- Mana: Mana refers to the anima currently stored in an incanter’s body.
- Essence Pool: All incanters have an essence pool, a small reserve of mana stored in the incanter’s body. This pool is based on the incanter level and the ability score related to the incanter’s anima casting (Int for mages, Wis for priests, and Cha for witches) of the specific individual.
- Draw Anima: All incanters have the ability to draw anima into their body, storing it in their essence pool. There are two ways of drawing anima, passive and active. Passive draws a small amount of mana every minute, while active draws a larger amount as a full-round action, however, this method can be disrupted by an attack or other method that causes the incanter to loose focus.
- Tap Ley Line: This ability lets an incanter to gather a far greater amount of mana in a single round, however, he puts himself at risk from the massive influx of animus energy. As a swift action, the incanter can draw an amount of mana into himself equal to his incanter level + his primary incanting stat (Int for mages, Wis for priests, and Cha for witches). In doing so, he must make a Fort save (DC 10 + the amount of mana gathered) or take one point of Con burn for every five points of mana gathered.
- Incantations: An extended ritual that requires a large amount of mana to invoke, usually having a long duration, long prep time, and expensive components or Xp costs, often taking a minute or longer to complete.
- Invocations: Quick but weak intonations that require little mana that can be pulled from the incanter’s surroundings in an instant, usable at will as a standard action. Weakest of an incanter’s abilities.
- Weaves: A bond between an incanter and an item, usually a weapon, that persists so long as the incanter chooses, but reduces the essence pool until it is dismissed. Setting up a weave always takes one hour to complete, but once complete does not require an action to maintain. Dismissing a weave is a swift action.
- Chants: Repetitious chanting that has a low mana cost but requires concentration to keep active. Starting a chant is a standard action, concentrating on it is a swift action.
- Intonations: A fabrication of mana that creates a physical manifestation similar to a spell, intonations lie at a medium between incantations and invocations, drawing on a small amount of mana and a short casting time (usually a standard or full-round action).
- Arcanas: Arcanas are broad categories of anima magic that represent a specific way of manipulating mana. Each arcana is represented by a symbol related to the arcana's abilities. The arcanas are as follows; Body, Heart, Mind, and Spirit. Each arcana has three sub-arcanas, each representing different aspects of the main arcana. The sub-arcanas are as follows; Body (Material, Form, and Creation), Heart (Healing, Protection, and Emotion), Mind (Enchantment, Illusion, and Divination), and Spirit (Energy, Summoning, and Undeath)
- Magnitude: A magnitude is a rating of an invocation’s, incantation’s, intonation’s, weave’s, or chant’s overall power level. An incanter’s level must match the magnitude of the ability in order for it to be learned and cast.