Gaining a level of Magery isn’t easy. It involves a deep knowledge of Thaumatology and mana flows, and ways to get the mind to be able to manipulate it more easily. This involves learning Thaumatology to at least IQ-1, taking an alchemical drug to “open the mind”, and some ceremonial rituals. Once the Magery is unlocked, then come hours and hours of practice manipulating mana flows. The Magery is “unlocked” once 1 CP (or 200 hours) is invested in it. This allows spell casting, which allows the burgeoning mage to keep investing points in Magery.
It’s slightly different for mages who already have levels of Magery. All it takes for them is the ceremonial rituals and the hours of practice.
Assuming the subject hasn’t learnt any Magic at all yet:
The first thing they are taught is Thaumatology, for the theoretical knowledge. This amounts to 2 pts. They are also taught a couple of simple spells (requiring no prerequisites). They practice (under the supervision of skilled mages, to make sure they learn them correctly) and try to “dry fire” cast them. Without Magery, they will never be able to cast them, but when/if they gain Magical Talent they will need the knowledge in order to practice.
Then they are given the alchemical potion that grants them mana perception (Eyes of the Mage Elixir). This allows them to see the flows of mana. Seeing them helps the subject to visualize changing it via spell casting. Then the ceremonial rituals are performed, which invest power into the subject (this amounts to 1 point in Magery, and marks the beginning of the process of expanding the Magery to the point where spell casting is routinely possible).
But once it’s successful, it’s at this point where the first spells are learned by actually being able to cast them. These will be used to practice the Magery, strengthening that muscle. They are usually simple spells, like Seek Water, Ignite Fire, and Seek Food, or other spells that don’t have prerequisites. Magery, at this point, is Unreliable, with an activation number of 5. As the subject spends time (or character points), this changes to an 8, then 11, then 14, and finally not Unreliable at all when the full 5 points are applied.
| Points in Magery 0 |
Activation # |
| 1 |
5 |
| 2 |
8 |
| 3 |
11 |
| 4 |
14 |
| 5 |
N/A |
Once they have the full level of Magery, they are taught spells as normal.
For those that already know magic (that is, they already have at least Magery 0), most of the preliminary work to see and understand the flows of mana are not necessary. They skip to the ceremonial rituals of investiture, which provides them with the first point of their new level of Magery. New levels of Magery after the first (Magery 0) cost 10 pts. Until they have paid (time and/or points) that level of Magery is Unreliable. Regardless of the number of points a character has to spend, it still takes a week per point. It’s practice, and effort. Even if it’s accelerated by CPs. So yes, it takes 10 weeks of practicing to gain that extra level of Magery.
| Points in Magery+1 |
Activation # |
| 1 |
5 |
| 2 |
6 |
| 3 |
7 |
| 4 |
8 |
| 5 |
9 |
| 6 |
10 |
| 7 |
11 |
| 8 |
13 |
| 9 |
15 |
| 10 |
N/A |
Note: Only the extra Magery level is Unreliable. Sometimes the mage may get the bonus level, sometimes they won’t. It depends upon how good/lucky they are.
Example: Meryl has Magery 2, but is increasing it to Magery 3. She has 6 points invested in Magery 3, giving her an activation roll of 10-. She decides to cast a Fireball, which she has at skill-14. It will be skill-15 if she succeeds in making her activation roll. So about half the time, she saves herself a FP by having that extra Magery kick in. As she spends more and more time practicing, pushing herself, activating that extra level of Magery will become easier and easier.
The Eyes of the Mage Elixir
The potion, called “Eyes of the Mage”, gives a variant Mage Sight ability that allows the mage to “see” the mana density flows that exist all around them. It’s analogous to being able to detect the currents and eddies in a stream, or the streamline plot of an object in a wind tunnel. This gives the prospective mage something to visualize as they try to understand the theoretical basis of Thaumatology and, later, manipulate the mana.
However, as the potion allows the subject to see mana densities, it’s also useful to see how the mana flows interact when a spell is cast, or how it collects in enchanted items. Areas of denser mana appear “brighter”, and denote artificial concentrations that disrupt the normal flows of mana, much like how sources of heat appear brighter when viewed in the infrared. To someone under the effect of this elixir, a mage casting a spell appears to start getting “brighter” as they gather the mana for the spell they are casting. What spell it is, the subject wouldn’t know, since fine detail (such as finger positions) is obscured by the mana sensing “overlay”. But even if the casting mage knows the spell well enough to not need any outward indication that they are casting a spell, a person seeing them using Eyes of the Mage would know that they are casting something.
Similarly, concentrations of mana denote that something is affecting the local mana. That can be a spell, and enchanted item, or even an area of higher or lower mana. In this way, the elixir is a bit better at detecting the boundaries between zones of differing mana levels. Mana levels are not distinguished by a step function, with a sharp terminator between the levels. It’s more of a ramp function, and if the variation is gradual enough, the boundary won’t be easily seen.
Metaphysically, there are four thaumic levels, and in order to see them you have to have a sufficient level of Magery. The lowest level can be seen by those with Magery 0. The highest level (so far discovered, anyway) can only be seen by those with Magery 4. The Eyes of the Mage elixir lets you see mana as if you had one level higher Magery. So, if you aren’t a mage at all, it enables you to see the lowest order of mana flows. Those with Magery 4 taking the potion haven’t been able to see any higher order of mana, but that could just be due to the eyes’ or minds’ inability to distinguish the difference between the fourth and fifth order of mana.
Mages have described the mana as appearing magenta or violet in color. It’s a color that doesn’t exist in the spectrum (some have even described it as “octarine”). The lowest level is the brightest, appearing almost white with a halo of magenta. The fourth level is a deep magenta that is almost black. Because it’s so close to black, if there was a fifth level, the mages were unable to distinguish it, so no one really knows if there is a fifth level at all. There is still ongoing research in many mage guilds to find out, though. They just haven’t stumbled upon a solution for it.
The elixir itself is made of a cocktail of psychotropics and toxins, and can, in some circumstances, be dangerous. The toxins are there to stimulate the cells of the body; the psychotropics to “open the mind” and allow for altered perceptions. Mind’s Eye mushroom (psilocybin analogue), Hitobana flowers (mana reactant), extract of Paradise Plant nectar (euphoric hallucinogen), Dropweed sap (mana reactant), and the petals of an alpine flower only found at high altitudes in the Northern Expanse (catalyst), are some of the ingredients.
Duration: 3d minutes. Form: Potion, Ointment. Doesn’t work when dry, so powders and pastilles aren’t effective. Cost: $2000. Recipe: $900, 5 weeks, defaults to Alchemy-3.
The Elixir of Investiture and the Investiture Ceremony
There are two parts to the Investiture portion of the process. The first is the Elixir of Investiture. It’s a thick, opaque reddish, roiling liquid that tastes and feels like pure capsaicin. So it’s difficult to drink (HT roll or cough some of it back up, giving -1d to the chances of the ceremony being successful). This potion makes the subject more receptive to the power influx being channeled by the six mages performing the ceremony. It has a side effect similar to the Eyes of the Mage elixir, where the subject can see mana flows. It shares some of the same ingredients as the Eyes of the Mage elixir: Mind’s Eye mushroom, Hitobana, and Paradise plant, but also has several more that are designed to allow the power to collect and suffuse the subject. These ingredients include griffin blood, water from Drygrass roots, Rotbloom toxin, and blood from a mage (this is usually given voluntarily).
The only use this elixir has is to make the ceremony work. It’s painful, makes the mind more focused and sensitive, and effectively paralyzes the subject. Because the subject’s mind is more focused and sensitive, the potion feels worse than it could, and the ceremony seems to take longer than it actually does.
Duration: 1 hour (although it feels longer). Form: potion. Cost: $1200. Recipe: $900, 6 weeks, defaults to Alchemy-5. Expensive, time consuming, and tricky to make.
The ceremony requires six mages. They can have any amount of Magery. There is a complicated, choreographed ritual that must be learned. The ceremonial magic ritual takes 1 hour to perform, and each mage must make an IQ+Magery roll to succeed at it. Dancing skill-12+ gives a +1 to the roll. If a single mage fails, the ceremony fails.
Assuming that the mages succeed in performing the ritual, the subject rolls vs HT+Magery. If successful, the ceremony “takes”. If not, the ceremony must be done again, at -1 to the roll. Each time the ceremony fails, the penalty increases by 1. The ceremony is painful, unpleasant, and uncomfortable, and it lasts longer than anyone would like. Going through it again requires a Will roll, at -2 for each time they have gone through it already. So, as the number of attempts build, it becomes harder for the person to subject themselves to it, and harder for it to actually work.
In addition to the success roll, the subject also needs to make a Fright Check. Each subsequent attempt at the ceremony is at -2 to the roll, so it gets worse each time. Sometimes, this can result in mental problems, physical problems, and, in at least one case, a mage was left with palsy so bad he was unable to cast spells.
Critically failing the HT+Magery roll results in all levels of Magery burning out for 2d months, at which point the Magery comes back, one level at a time, with 1d months between each level. Those failing the roll in this way cannot ever have a successful Investiture Ceremony. Critically succeeding the roll gives a permanent level of Extra Fatigue (mana). If (somehow…it’s never happened) all six mages get a critical success on their ceremonial ritual rolls, the subject gains two levels of Magery, up to a max of Magery 4.
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