Chapter 10: The Schools of Magic and Martial Abilities

As a Demigod, your power stems not only from your inherent attributes and lineage but also from the specific skills and abilities you cultivate. The Demayth universe offers a vast array of possibilities, broadly categorized into the arcane arts – the twelve schools of magic – and the honed disciplines of martial combat. Understanding these categories is key to defining your character's capabilities and their role in the world.

The Twelve Schools of Magic:

Practiced Magic, the art of consciously manipulating Demayth energy, is typically learned and categorized through twelve distinct schools. Each school represents a different discipline, a different approach to understanding and shaping the fundamental forces of the universe. While some Demigods, like the Arkana, might possess a natural aptitude for many schools, most specialize, honing their skills within the disciplines that best align with their lineage, their Focus (SCM), and their personal inclinations.

Here is a brief overview of the twelve schools:

• Alteration: The art of changing the physical form or properties of creatures and objects.
• Augmentation: The enhancement of physical or magical capabilities in oneself or others.
• Chronology: The manipulation of the flow of time itself.
• Conjuration: The creation of objects or the summoning of creatures and energies.
• Destruction: The wielding of raw elemental or Demayth energy for devastating effect.
• Divination: The practice of perceiving hidden truths, glimpsing the future, or communicating with the divine.
• Necromancy: The manipulation of life force, souls, and the energies of death.
• Protection: The creation of magical barriers and defenses against harm.
• Psyche: The art of influencing minds, emotions, and perceptions.
• Reprisal: The neutralization, disruption, or reflection of magical effects.
• Restoration: The magic of healing, mending, and restoring life force.
• Witchcraft: The practice of utilizing rituals, curses, and connections to natural or supernatural entities.

Detailed descriptions of specific spells and abilities associated with each of these twelve schools can be found in Chapter 13: Demayth Grimoire.

Demigod Martial Abilities:

While magic is a potent force in Demayth, the art of physical combat remains a crucial skill for many Demigods. Their enhanced strength, speed, and resilience, often further amplified through the school of Augmentation, allow them to perform feats of martial prowess far beyond the capabilities of ordinary mortals. These skills are often categorized into three broad disciplines:

• Striking Techniques: These focus on offensive maneuvers – powerful punches, kicks, weapon strikes, grapples, and throws designed to overwhelm opponents through sheer force or precise application of power.
• Blocking Techniques: These focus on defense – parrying blows, dodging attacks, disarming opponents, and utilizing agility and reflexes to avoid harm.
• Stance Techniques: These represent balanced approaches, combining offensive readiness with defensive posture, allowing a warrior to adapt to the flow of battle and exploit openings while minimizing their own vulnerability.

Furthermore, spells from the School of Augmentation often interact directly with Battle Cards. An Augmentation spell might, for instance, enhance the power of your next physical blow, bolster your defenses for a crucial moment, or even grant you the ability to play a specific Battle Card as part of the spell's effect, allowing for potent combinations of magic and martial skill. (Specific examples and spell details can be found in Chapter 13: Demayth Grimoire)."

Ability Fundamentals

The myriad powers wielded by Demigods, derived from the twelve schools, share fundamental principles:

• School-Specific: Every ability is rooted primarily in a single school of magic, reflecting the core focus of that discipline. A Conjuration ability summons or creates, while a Destruction ability obliterates. Understanding an ability's governing school is key to understanding its potential and limitations.
• Mastery-Driven: The potency, effectiveness, and complexity of an ability are directly linked to your character's Mastery Rank in the corresponding school (gained through character advancement - see Chapter 17). As your Demigod gains proficiency, their abilities become more powerful and versatile.
• Evolution through Mastery: When a school's Mastery Rank increases, all associated abilities have the potential to grow in strength. This might involve unlocking new effects, enhancing existing damage or duration, increasing the area of effect, or reducing the Demayth Point cost, as detailed in specific ability descriptions or determined by the Battle Master.

Ability Classification

Demigod abilities generally fall into three broad categories based on their primary function:

• Aggressive Abilities: Designed to inflict harm upon enemies, whether through direct damage (like a Fireball), debilitating effects (like a Hex of Weakness), or offensive curses. These are the primary tools for engaging foes directly.
• Defensive Abilities: Focused on protecting your Demigod or their allies. They create barriers (Magic Shield), deflect attacks, heal wounds (Healing Magic), or remove harmful conditions (Protection). These are essential for survival.
• Utility Abilities: Offer a wide range of effects beyond direct offense or defense. They might enhance movement (Fly, Teleport), manipulate the environment, provide information (Detect Magic), create illusions (Invisibility), or offer other tactical or non-combat advantages.

Understanding Ability Types: A successful Demigod learns to strategically utilize a combination of Aggressive, Defensive, and Utility abilities. Your chosen class role often influences which types you prioritize; Assassins focus on Aggressive, Tanks on Defensive, and Support characters often balance Defensive and Utility abilities.

Duration

The duration of an ability refers to how long its effects persist. This varies greatly depending on the ability, the caster's power, and the school of magic.

• Instantaneous Abilities: These effects happen immediately and then end, though their consequences might linger. Examples include an energy bolt striking a foe or a quick healing touch. The effect itself is resolved within the action used to activate it, though lingering effects (like ongoing fire damage from a fireball) might last longer (often 1-2 rotations unless otherwise specified).
• Concentration Abilities: Many abilities require the caster to maintain focus (Concentration) for their effects to persist. The caster can typically maintain concentration on up to two such abilities simultaneously (Demigods with exceptionally high Wisdom, typically 30+, maintain three). Losing concentration (due to taking high damage and failing a Fortitude saving throw, falling unconscious, being affected by certain conditions like Stunned, or choosing to end the effect) causes the ability to cease immediately. Creatures affected by an ongoing concentration spell may be able to attempt a saving throw at the start of their turn to break free, as specified by the ability.
• Fixed Duration: Some abilities last for a specific duration measured in rotations (6 seconds), minutes, hours, or even longer, without requiring concentration. Examples: A Haste spell granting speed for 1 minute, a Protection ward lasting 1 hour.
• Factors Affecting Duration: The caster's Mastery Rank in the governing school can sometimes influence duration, and specific items, perks, or rituals might extend the duration of certain abilities.

Ability Range

The range of your Demigod's abilities dictates how far their magic can reach. Understanding these ranges is crucial for tactical positioning. There are four primary range types:

• Self: Affects only the caster themselves (e.g., personal buffs, self-healing). Requires no specific target beyond the caster. Any Spell Rite can typically be used.
• Touch/Melee: Requires physical contact or adjacency (up to 5 feet). Used for melee attacks, touch-based spells (like transferring energy or direct healing). Often doesn't require complex Spell Rites beyond the touch itself, though some spells might have other components.
• Line of Sight (LOS): Can target anything the caster can clearly see within a straight, unobstructed line, up to a maximum of 125 feet. Used for many ranged attacks and targeted spells. Requires a clear visual path; obstructions block the effect. Any Spell Rite can be used. (Remember, individual weapons/spells have their own maximum effective range, which is often less than 125 feet).
• Perception: Can target anything the caster is aware of within 65 feet, even if partially obscured (but not totally hidden or invisible). Used for many area-of-effect spells, abilities targeting creatures based on conditions (e.g., "all enemies within range"), or effects requiring general awareness rather than precise visual targeting. Any Spell Rite can be used.

Additional Considerations: Obstructions block LOS. Creatures successfully using Stealth typically cannot be targeted by LOS or Perception abilities unless detected. Creature size might affect reach (Battle Master discretion).

Ability Effects

In Demayth, your Demigod's abilities are not just static tools; they are dynamic expressions of their unique power and connection to Demayth. Each ability is shaped by the governing school(s) of magic and its classification (Aggressive, Defensive, or Utility), determining its primary function and potential applications.

• Versatile Functions: Abilities can serve many purposes. They can be used to attack opponents (often resolved by comparing an ability's inherent Attack Value against a target's Defense), defend oneself or allies (by granting direct Defense bonuses or creating Magic Shields), enhance movement (like Teleportation), or provide a vast array of utility effects (creating objects, manipulating the environment, gathering information, etc.). The specific Attack Value, Defense Value, or the magnitude of a Magic Shield granted by a particular ability is determined by the Battle Master based on the ability's description and power level.
• One Primary Effect per School: While versatile, each ability generally has one primary effect tied to its governing school of magic. This effect should align with the core principles of that school (e.g., Destruction inflicts harm, Restoration mends, Alteration changes form).
• Varied Manifestations: This primary effect can be expressed in diverse ways. A fire spell could manifest as a burning touch, a scorching ray, or an area-covering fiery explosion, all stemming from the same core school.
• Base Calculation: For abilities that have a measured value (like damage dealt, HP healed, or MS granted), the base value is typically equal to your Spellcasting Modifier (SCM), reflecting your core magical power channeled into the spell. (Remember, damage is only calculated after an attack successfully hits by overcoming the target's defense).
• Scaling with Mastery: Abilities grow more potent as your character increases their Mastery Rank in the governing school.
• Damage/Healing/Magic Shield Scaling: For any kind of abilities that may need a measured value, this value often increases by adding your Mastery Rank. Thus, a common calculation for the total value of such an effect is SCM + Mastery Rank.
• Attack/Defense Value Scaling: For abilities used to make attacks or defenses, the inherent Attack (ATK) or Defense (DEF) value may also increase with Mastery Rank. A common progression is for the ability's ATK/DEF value to increase by +1 for every 5 Mastery Ranks gained in the relevant school.
• Other Scaling: Mastery can also increase an ability's area of effect, duration, number of targets, the strength of its defensive properties (like resistances granted), or unlock additional secondary effects. Specific scaling details are noted in individual ability descriptions (see Chapter 13: Demayth Grimoire) or determined by the Battle Master for custom abilities.

Scaling with Mastery Ranks Example: Pyroblast (Destruction School)

Let's assume the caster has an SCM of +4.

• Rank 1 (Mastery 1): Attack: 4, Damage: 4 (SCM) + 1 (Rank) = 5 Fire damage in a 15-foot cone.
• Rank 5 (Mastery 5): Attack: 5 (+1 ATK at Rank 5), Damage: 4 (SCM) + 5 (Rank) = 9 Fire damage in a 20-foot cone. Additional Effect: Creates lingering flames dealing 1d4 fire damage for 1 rotation.
• Rank 10 (Mastery 10): Attack: 6 (+1 ATK at Rank 10), Damage: 4 (SCM) + 10 (Rank) = 14 Fire damage in a 25-foot cone. Enhanced Effect: Lingering flames last 2 rotations, deal 1d6 fire damage.

As the caster gains mastery in the Destruction school, their Pyroblast spell becomes more powerful. The base damage (SCM) remains constant, but the added Mastery Rank bonus significantly increases the damage output. Additionally, the spell's Attack value increases at key Mastery Ranks (like 5 and 10), making it more likely to hit, while the area of effect also expands and new effects are added.

Area of Effect (AoE):

Many abilities affect an area rather than a single target. AoE defines the shape and size of this area.

• Measurement: AoE is measured in 5-foot cubes or squares on a grid map (Width x Length x Height).
• Shapes: Common shapes include:
  • Cube/Square: Box-like or flat areas (e.g., 10x10x10 ft cube, 15 x 15 ft square).
  • Sphere/Circle: Radiates from a central point (e.g., 10 ft radius sphere/circle).
  • Cone: Extends outward from the caster (e.g., 30 ft cone).
  • Cylinder: A circular area extending vertically (e.g., 5 ft radius, 20 ft high).
  • Line: A straight line of effect (e.g., 5 ft wide, 60 ft long).
• Targeting: AoE spells typically require LOS or Perception to the point of origin of the effect (e.g., the center of the sphere, the starting point of the line or cone).

Starting Statistics for Abilities (Guidelines)

When creating custom abilities (see Chapter 12), use this table as a guideline for determining starting numerical values. Work with your Battle Master to ensure balance.

Statistic Name	Starting Value Suggestion	Notes
Attack/Attack bonus	1-10/+1	Base ATK/DEF for BC/DC or ability attack
Defense/Defense bonus	1-10/+1	Base DEF or bonus for defensive ability
HP bonus	+1-5	Added to maximum HP (usually from perks)
Demayth point bonus	+1-3 (Max DP)	Added to maximum DP (usually from perks)
Movement/Move bonus	+1-10 ft (or +1-2 spaces)	Added to base movement
Healing/Healing bonus	1d4 to 1d8 (+SCM?)	Base healing or bonus added
Damage (of any kind)	1d4 to 1d10	Base damage for an ability
Damage bonus (of any kind)	+1-3	Bonus added to damage rolls
Damage Types (AoE, DoT)	1-3	Number of simultaneous damage types
Evasion, Phasing, etc.	Grant Advantage/Effect	Grants advantage or a specific status effect
Multiple Attacks	1 additional	Grants an extra attack action/instance
Card Economy (Draw/Etc.)	1-3 cards	Allows drawing/manipulating cards
Discarding bonus (enemies)	1-2 cards	Forces opponent to discard
Defense Reduction	-1 to -3 DEF	Penalty to opponent's DEF value
Attack Reduction	-1 ATK	Penalty to opponent's ATK value
Action Reduction	-1 AP cost	Reduces cost of specific actions
Attack Multiplier	x1.5 or x2 (Rare)	Multiplies total damage (use sparingly)
Saving Throw Bonus	+1 or +2	Bonus to specific saving throws
Resource Banks (ATK/DEF)	10	Pool for boosting ATK/DEF
Healing/DS Banks	10	Pool for boosting Healing/Defenses
Spell Duration	+1-3 rounds/rotations	Increases duration of spell effects
Power Banks	10	General pool for boosting actions
Weight point bonuses	+1-10	Increases carrying capacity
Minion Spawn bonus	1 additional	Allows summoning/controlling more minions

Conjuration Specifics: Minions and Limitations

The School of Conjuration allows Demigods to manifest matter, energy, and even beings from the ethereal potential of Demayth or other realms. While creating simple objects is a basic application, the true power often lies in bringing forth minions – creatures bound to the Conjurer's will.

Minion Types:

Understanding the origin of your minions is crucial, as it determines their nature and fate:

• Summoned Minions: These are real creatures called forth from other realms (elementals, fey crossings, beast domains, etc.). They possess their own unique statistics and abilities defined by their nature. Establishing a bond often requires specific rituals or offerings. If a Summoned minion is defeated, it dies permanently and cannot simply be re-summoned; the bond is broken, and the creature is lost. This makes summoning powerful entities a significant risk.
• Conjured Minions: These minions are created purely from the caster's magic and Demayth energy – elementals coalesced from raw power, constructs animated from inanimate materials, or spectral beasts woven from thought. Their statistics (HP, AP, MS, basic attacks/abilities) are determined by the specific conjuration spell and the caster's Conjuration Mastery Rank at the time of creation. If defeated, Conjured minions typically dissipate back into Demayth energy, allowing the caster to potentially re-conjure them later.
• Risen/Undead Minions (Necromancy Overlap): While primarily the domain of Necromancy, some Conjuration spells might allow the animation of simple undead constructs or the binding of minor spirits into corpses. These minions are explicitly tied to the caster's life force; if the caster dies or falls unconscious, these specific undead cease to exist. Their power is often limited by the caster's overall power level.

Commanding Minions:

Directing your minions requires effort:

• Action Cost: Issuing a command to one or more minions typically requires the caster to spend a Quick Action (1 MAP) or Standard Action (1 SAP).
• Complexity: Commands should generally be simple and direct (e.g., "Attack that Orc," "Guard this doorway," "Follow me"). More complex strategies might require multiple commands or rely on the minion's own intelligence (if any).
• Range: Commands usually need to be given verbally or telepathically within a certain range (often 60-120 feet).

Minion Control Methods & Actions:

How minions act in combat depends on their nature:

• Champion Minions: These more powerful beings (potent summoned creatures, complex constructs, higher-level undead) possess greater autonomy and tactical capability.
  • Actions: They typically have their own action pool each rotation: 2 Standard Action Points (SAP) and 1 Move Action Point (MAP), just like a Player Character.
  • Deck Sharing: They are considered an extension of their master's will and draw from/use their master's Demayth Deck. They have their own hand of cards (drawn from the master's deck/discard pile as needed), allowing them to use Battle Cards and potentially even basic Demayth Cards (if appropriate for the creature type, BM discretion) based on the master's commands or their own limited intelligence. This shared resource requires careful deck building and tactical coordination between the caster and their minion(s).
• Minor Minions: These smaller, weaker creatures (simple conjured objects, basic summoned animals, low-level undead) act more like extensions of a spell effect.
  • Actions: They typically have 1 Standard Action Point (SAP) and 1 Move Action Point (MAP) per rotation.
  • No Deck Sharing: They do not use the master's deck or hand. Their Standard Action is usually pre-determined by the spell or ability that created them (e.g., "Make one basic claw attack," "Provide flanking bonus," "Cast Spell X").

Conjuration Limitations:

• Size and Number: The number of minions a Conjurer can control simultaneously is limited, often based on the total size of the minions (e.g., you might control one Large minion, two Medium minions, or four Small minions). Swarms of Tiny creatures often count as a single unit for control purposes. The specific limits are usually defined by the conjuring spell or ability.
• Concentration: Maintaining the presence of most Conjured or Summoned minions requires ongoing Concentration. A caster can typically only concentrate on two such effects simultaneously (or three with very high Wisdom), limiting the number of active, concentration-based minions.
• Mastery Rank vs. Creature Power: Summoning or Conjuring truly powerful beings is restricted by the caster's own mastery. Your Conjuration Mastery Rank often determines the maximum power level or "Enemy Class" of creatures you can successfully summon or control. Attempting to control a creature beyond your rank might require a difficult contested check or be impossible. (The Battle Master determines the specific power ranks).
  • Conjuration Rank 1-4: Can control Minor power level creatures.
  • Conjuration Rank 5-9: Can control Moderate power level creatures.
  • Conjuration Rank 10-14: Can control Powerful power level creatures.
  • Conjuration Rank 15-19: Can control Superior power level creatures.
  • Conjuration Rank 20+: Can potentially control Legendary power level creatures (Requires Battle Master Approval and likely specific, difficult rituals or circumstances).

Example Conjuration Abilities:

(Brief descriptions - full mechanics in Chapter 13: Grimoire)

• Summon Familiar (Utility): Call forth a loyal, minor spirit in animal form (cat, raven, etc.) to act as a scout or companion.
• Simple Conjuration (Utility): Create a simple, non-magical object (tool, rope, etc.) from Demayth energy that lasts for a limited time.
• Conjure Food and Water (Utility): Conjure basic sustenance.
• Elemental Weapon (Aggressive/Utility): Temporarily imbue a weapon with elemental energy (fire, ice, etc.).
• Steed (Utility): Summon a horse mount for swift travel.

Mastery Ranks and Overcoming Magical Resistance

In the realms of Demayth, a Demigod's power in a specific school of magic is measured by their Mastery Rank. This rank, earned through dedicated study and experience (see Chapter 17: Leveling your Demigod), represents not only the complexity of the spells they can wield but also their fundamental ability to affect or overcome other magical energies, enchantments, magically resistant creatures, or enchanted objects. Essentially, it's a matter of Rank versus Rank.

Ability Rank Restrictions:

Your character can typically only reliably affect targets or magical effects with a Magical Rank equal to or lower than your own Mastery Rank in the corresponding school of magic. The Battle Master determines the inherent Magical Rank of creatures, objects, wards, or ongoing spell effects based on their power and origin. Example: If your character has a Mastery Rank of 3 in Alteration, they can reliably use Alteration spells to affect objects or creatures assigned a Magical Rank of 3 or lower by the Battle Master, or dispel magical effects cast at Rank 3 or lower.

Exceeding Your Limits (Spellcraft Check):

Attempting to use a spell to directly affect a target or magical effect with a higher Magical Rank than your Mastery Rank in that school requires pushing your abilities beyond their normal limits. This demands a Spellcraft check.

• The Check: Roll a d20 + your Spellcasting Modifier (SCM). (Note: The Battle Master might allow adding your relevant Magic School Skill Rank bonus in some situations).
• The DC: The Difficulty Class for this check is determined by the difference in Ranks: Base 10 + 2 for each Rank the target exceeds your Mastery Rank.
  • Example: To affect a Rank 5 magical ward (as determined by the BM) with your Rank 3 Protection spell requires a Spellcraft check against DC 14 (10 + [2 ranks higher * 2]).
• Success: If the check succeeds, the spell takes effect, but often at an increased cost (e.g., double the normal Demayth Point cost, gaining a level of Demayth Fatigue, or reduced duration/effect, as determined by the BM).
• Failure: If the check fails, the spell fails entirely, potentially wasting Demayth Points or other resources.
• Consequences of Epic Failure: Failing the Spellcraft check by a significant margin (e.g., 10 or more, BM discretion or a roll of a natural 1) can lead to disastrous consequences, such as the spell backfiring onto the caster, the target object being destroyed, or other unforeseen and dangerous side effects.

Alternative Solutions:

Remember that direct magical confrontation based on rank is not always the only solution. If your Mastery Rank is insufficient:

• Seek non-magical solutions (e.g., finding a physical key for a magically locked door).
• Collaborate with allies who possess higher Mastery Ranks or different skills.
• Find items or components that might temporarily boost your effective Mastery Rank for a specific task.

Understanding your limits, as defined by your Mastery Ranks, and knowing when to push them (and when to seek alternatives) is a key aspect of mastering magic in Demayth. The Battle Master plays a crucial role in assigning appropriate Ranks to the challenges you face, ensuring that this system remains both challenging and fair.

Spellcrafting Checks: Improvising Magic

While your Demigod will develop a repertoire of known spells and abilities, their connection to Demayth grants them the potential to weave magic spontaneously, tapping into their innate creativity and knowledge to create effects on the fly. This improvisation, known as Spellcrafting, allows for adaptability in unique situations but carries a greater risk of failure compared to casting well-practiced abilities.

The Spellcraft Check:

When you wish for your Demigod to attempt a magical effect they don't formally know (perhaps a minor variation of a known spell, or a simple effect drawing upon a specific school's principles), the Battle Master may call for a Spellcraft check. This determines if your Demigod can successfully gather and shape the necessary Demayth energy for the desired, temporary effect.

• The Check: Roll a d20 and add your Spellcasting Modifier (SCM). Relevant bonuses from items or Features may also apply.
• The DC: The Battle Master sets the Difficulty Class (DC) based on the complexity, power, and school of the improvised spell you are attempting. Creating a simple spark of light (Destruction) will have a much lower DC than attempting to temporarily mend a broken object (Restoration/Alteration) without knowing the proper spell.
• Success: If your check meets or exceeds the DC, the improvised spell works for that specific task or instance. Its energy then dissipates.
• Failure: If the check fails, the spell fizzles. The attempt fails, no effect occurs, and any action used is wasted (though Demayth Points are typically not consumed on a failed Spellcraft check unless the BM rules otherwise for a particularly strenuous attempt).

Unproficient Spellcasting:

Attempting to Spellcraft an effect that clearly falls under a school of magic in which your Demigod is Untrained is significantly more difficult.

• Penalties: When making a Spellcraft check for a spell from an Untrained school, you do not add your SCM to the roll, and you suffer the standard -2 penalty for being Untrained in the relevant underlying principles.

Spellcrafting allows for creative problem-solving and reflects the inherent magical potential of Demigods, but it is no substitute for the focused power and reliability gained through mastering specific spells and abilities within the Twelve Schools.

Demayth Points: Fueling Your Power

As a Demigod, your ability to manipulate the fundamental energies of Demayth is not limitless. You possess an inner reservoir of magical stamina, a connection to the cosmic wellspring, represented in the game by Demayth Points (DP). These points fuel many of your spells, rituals, and special abilities. Careful management of your DP is crucial, as overexerting your connection to Demayth can lead to exhaustion and potentially dire consequences.

Starting Demayth Points:

Every Demigod begins their journey with a pool of Demayth Points reflecting their initial connection to Demayth and their chosen magical focus. Calculate your starting DP as follows: Starting DP = 5 + Your Character's Level + Your Spellcasting Modifier (Focus) Bonus (Your Battle Master will explain how to determine your starting "Character Power" value, which typically reflects your initial level of experience).

Replenishing Demayth Points:

Your connection to Demayth naturally replenishes over time. You regain all spent Demayth Points after completing a long rest (typically 8 hours of sleep or Elven meditation). Additionally, as your Demigod grows in power and understanding, their reservoir expands. You gain 1 additional maximum DP each time your character advances in power.

Spending Demayth Points:

The expenditure of DP varies depending on the nature of the magical ability and the situation:

• Magical Abilities: Most abilities outside of direct combat (or abilities not represented by a card in your Demayth Deck) consume 1 DP or more, depending on their power and complexity, as detailed in their description (often found in Chapter 13: Demayth Grimoire).
• Demayth Cards in Battle: Playing Demayth Chapter Cards, Battle Master Cards, or Godlike Cards from your Demayth Deck generally does not cost additional DP. These cards represent trained techniques or innate abilities channeled efficiently.
• Free Use in Combat: However, you can choose to expend DP during combat to push beyond your normal limits. You might spend DP to activate an ability represented by a Demayth card without needing the card in hand, or potentially to enhance the effects of certain cards (Battle Master discretion).

Demayth Fatigue and Overexertion:

Pushing your connection to Demayth too far is perilous. If you attempt to use an ability that costs DP when you have 0 DP remaining, you begin to suffer Demayth Fatigue (see Chapter 18: Status Effects). You gain one level of exhaustion for each DP you spend below zero. If your exhaustion level reaches 7 through this method, you risk tearing your soul from your body – you must choose between immediate death or ceasing all further magical exertion until you rest.

Alteration

Mastery of Alteration grants demigods the ability to reshape reality, manipulate matter, and bend the very fabric of existence to their will. It is a versatile school of magic with applications ranging from subtle enchantments to awe-inspiring transformations. Practitioners are the shapers, the transformers, the ones who see the potential for change in all things.

Key Abilities of Alteration:

• Polymorph: Transform the physical form of a willing or unwilling creature into another species, alter their size, or temporarily modify their physical attributes. This can be used for tactical advantage in combat, disguise, or even humorous pranks.
• Transmogrification: Alter the magical properties of an object, creature, or even a specific area. This can be used to neutralize harmful enchantments, enhance existing magic, or create entirely new magical effects.
• Transmutation: Transform a creature into an inanimate object or material, rendering them temporarily harmless or altering their properties for strategic advantage. (Note: Compare with Conjuration's ability to create matter).
• Duplication: Create temporary duplicates or copies of creatures, objects, or materials. This can be used to confuse enemies, create decoys, or even replicate valuable resources.
• Energy Manipulation: Control and manipulate magical energies, including elemental forces, to achieve various effects. This can be used to unlock doors, power devices, or subtly influence the environment.
• Space/Gravity Manipulation: Bend the fabric of space and gravity to move objects, create pocket dimensions, or even affect movement. This powerful ability is often reserved for high-level demigods or those with a special affinity for spatial magic.
• Teleportation and Portals: Instantly transport oneself or others to different locations through teleportation spells or by creating magical gateways (See Chapter 14: Magical Travel for details on Rifts, Portals, and Gated Portals).

Light and Dark Applications:

Alteration magic, like all forms of magic, can be used for a variety of purposes, both beneficial and harmful. A skilled Alteration mage might use their powers to repair damaged structures, to create tools and resources for their community, or to transform a barren landscape into a fertile paradise. Conversely, they could also use their abilities to reshape enemies into harmless creatures, to create traps and obstacles, or to alter the environment to their advantage in combat. The ethical implications of Alteration magic are complex, as the power to reshape reality carries with it a profound responsibility.

Limitations and Risks:

Despite its versatility and potential, Alteration magic is not without its limitations and risks. The more drastic the alteration, the more energy and skill is required, and the greater the chance of unforeseen consequences. Transforming a small object is far easier than reshaping an entire landscape, and altering the fundamental properties of matter can be incredibly taxing, even for experienced mages. Furthermore, altering living beings, particularly against their will, is a dangerous and ethically fraught practice, often carrying the risk of unintended mutations, permanent damage, or even death. The manipulation of space and gravity is particularly perilous, with even slight miscalculations potentially leading to catastrophic distortions of reality. A responsible Alteration mage must always be mindful of these risks.

Augmentation

The School of Augmentation empowers Demigods to transcend their inherent limitations, amplifying their physical and magical prowess to extraordinary levels. It is the school of self-improvement, unlocking latent potential, and pushing the boundaries of what is possible through the careful application of Demayth energy. Practitioners of Augmentation seek to enhance, to strengthen, and to perfect, whether it be their own bodies, the abilities of their allies, or the potency of their equipment.

Key Abilities of Augmentation:

• Amplification: This is the core principle of Augmentation – the ability to infuse objects, creatures, or even other magical effects with additional Demayth energy, enhancing their inherent capabilities. A warrior might use Augmentation to temporarily sharpen their blade to unnatural keenness, an ally might receive a surge of amplified strength or speed, or a spell's duration or power might be boosted beyond its normal limits. Artificers often employ principles of Augmentation when enchanting items, but the school allows for more direct and often temporary enhancements.
• Transcension: This represents the pinnacle of self-augmentation, allowing a Demigod to temporarily achieve a state of heightened power that borders on the divine. Through intense focus and channeling of Demayth, they can grant themselves or others extraordinary bursts of strength, speed, sensory acuity, or even a fleeting resistance to harm that mimics true immortality. This state allows for feats beyond normal Demigod comprehension but is difficult to achieve and often taxing to maintain.

Demigod Martial Arts:

Augmentation magic is the cornerstone of the unique fighting styles known collectively as Demigod Martial Arts. These are not merely physical techniques, but disciplines that blend combat prowess with the focused channeling of Demayth energy, allowing practitioners to strike harder, move faster, and defend more effectively than any ordinary mortal warrior. These arts are broadly categorized into:

• Striking Techniques: Focused on delivering devastating offensive maneuvers with fists, feet, or weapons, often enhanced by channeled Demayth energy for greater impact or additional effects. This includes powerful strikes, throws, and grapples.
• Blocking Techniques: Focused on defensive maneuvers, utilizing enhanced agility, reflexes, and precognitive anticipation (fueled by Augmentation) to evade, parry, deflect, or even disarm opponents.
• Stance Techniques: Versatile techniques combining offense and defense. Stances channel Demayth to enhance specific attributes (strength, defense, speed), prepare for powerful follow-up actions, or grant tactical advantages on the battlefield. (Specific martial abilities are often represented by Battle Master cards in the Demayth Deck).

Light and Dark Applications:

While Augmentation focuses on improvement and enhancement, often aligning with Light Demayth, its application depends heavily on intent. Empowering allies to defend the innocent is a noble use. However, amplifying one's own strength solely for conquest, enhancing destructive spells, or using augmented charisma to manipulate others leans towards darker applications. The pursuit of perfection through Augmentation can sometimes lead to arrogance or an unhealthy obsession with power.

Limitations and Risks:

The enhancements granted by Augmentation are often temporary, requiring sustained focus or repeated application. Pushing one's body or magical abilities too far through amplification carries risks of Demayth Fatigue, physical strain, or even permanent damage if natural limits are consistently ignored. The state of Transcension is particularly draining and can leave a Demigod incredibly vulnerable once its effects fade. Furthermore, relying solely on augmented abilities without developing underlying skill can be a dangerous crutch.

Chronology

Of all the schools of magic, perhaps none is as awe-inspiring, as enigmatic, and as inherently perilous as Chronology – the art of manipulating the very flow of time. Practitioners, often called Chronomancers, learn to perceive the currents of the temporal ocean that defines the Clepsydra Multiverse, wielding the power to bend, twist, and even temporarily halt the relentless march of moments. This grants opportunities for tactical advantage, strategic manipulation, and even glimpses into the past or potential futures, but tampering with time is a dangerous endeavor, closely watched by Phantor himself.

Key Abilities of Chronology:

The core abilities of Chronology revolve around manipulating the flow of time, both for individual targets and within localized areas:

• Time Regression: The ability to rewind the temporal state of a target, effectively reversing the effects of time on a limited scale. A Chronomancer might use this to rapidly mend fresh wounds (restoring recent HP loss), undo minor damage to an object, or even briefly force an opponent to repeat their last action. The further back one attempts to regress time, the greater the Demayth Point cost and the higher the risk of failure or paradox.
• Time Progression: The ability to accelerate the flow of time for a specific target. This can cause rapid aging, accelerate the effects of poisons or diseases, speed up the decay of objects, or hasten natural processes. Used offensively, it can be a devastating tool, but uncontrolled acceleration can have unpredictable results.
• Time Stop: One of the most potent abilities – the power to temporarily halt the flow of time for a specific target or in a small area, freezing affected creatures and objects in place. While incredibly powerful for setting up attacks or escaping danger, maintaining a Time Stop requires immense concentration (often preventing other actions) and significant Demayth Point expenditure, limiting its duration.
• Time Dilation: The creation of localized pockets of altered time, either slowing down time (making actions sluggish, potentially imposing disadvantage) or speeding it up (granting haste or accelerating effects) within a limited area. Maintaining these fields often requires concentration.
• Temporal Loop: A highly advanced and difficult technique that traps a target in a repeating loop of time, forcing them to relive the same few seconds or moments over and over again. This can be used as a form of imprisonment or interrogation but risks damaging the target's sanity and potentially creating temporal paradoxes.
• Time Travel (Advanced): The most coveted and dangerous Chronomantic ability is true time travel. This allows movement through the temporal ocean to witness past events or glimpse potential futures. Altering the past is fraught with peril, risking paradoxes that could unravel reality or incur the wrath of the Elder Divine (particularly Phantor and Herya). Travel to the future reveals only possibilities, as free will constantly reshapes destiny. This ability is rarely mastered and its use is heavily restricted by both the inherent dangers and divine oversight.

Light and Dark Applications:

The potential applications of Chronology are vast, encompassing both beneficial and harmful uses. A Chronomancer might use their powers to heal recent injuries, accelerate the growth of crops, gain strategic advantages in combat by slowing foes or hastening allies, or study historical events. However, they could also use their abilities to age enemies to dust, trap them in endless loops of torment, or recklessly alter the past in ways that could have devastating consequences for the present. The line between responsible use and dangerous meddling is particularly thin with this school.

Limitations and Risks:

Manipulating time is inherently dangerous. Even the slightest miscalculation can create paradoxes, disrupting the flow of causality, creating alternate timelines, or even unraveling the fabric of reality itself. The Elder Divine, especially Phantor and Herya, closely monitor the timeline and may intervene (directly or indirectly) against those who meddle carelessly. Furthermore, constant exposure to temporal energies can take a toll on the Chronomancer's mind and body, potentially leading to accelerated aging for the caster, mental instability (seeing echoes of other times), or even becoming lost in the currents of time. Significant Demayth Point costs and the need for intense concentration also limit the frequent use of powerful Chronomancy.

Conjuration

Conjuration is the school of magic that embodies the very essence of creation, the power to draw upon the raw potential of Demayth's ethereal energies and to give them tangible form in the physical realm. It is the art of summoning allies from distant planes, creating objects from pure thought, and even breathing a semblance of life into inanimate matter. Conjurers are the architects of reality, capable of manifesting objects, creatures, and elemental forces, limited only by their imagination, their connection to Demayth, and their understanding of the intricate laws governing creation.

Key Abilities of Conjuration:

• Conjuring (Basic): This is the foundation of Conjuration – the ability to manifest simple objects, materials, or basic constructs directly from Demayth energy. A Conjurer might create a temporary tool, a simple weapon, a small amount of food or water, or even basic building materials. The complexity, durability, and duration of these conjured items depend heavily on the caster's skill and the Demayth Points invested.
• Constructs and Elementals: This involves imbuing inanimate matter (like stone, metal, or wood) or raw elemental energy with Demayth, animating it and granting it a degree of autonomy to serve the Conjurer. The level of sentience varies greatly:
  • Puppets: Mindless automatons animated by simple commands.
  • Constructs: Possess limited intelligence, capable of following more complex instructions.
  • Sparks: Intelligent beings capable of learning, but still bound to their creator.
  • Wanderers: Sentient beings with emotions and independent thought.
  • Awakened: Fully sentient beings with free will and a soul, often indistinguishable from natural creatures (exceedingly rare and difficult to create).
• Creation Magic (Advanced): Truly powerful Conjurers can go beyond simple manifestation, forging entirely new materials or unique objects with extraordinary properties, drawing upon the raw potential of Demayth. This level of creation approaches the power of the Elder Divine and is rarely achieved.
• Summoning: This involves opening temporary portals or pathways to call forth beings from other realms or dimensions. This could include summoning loyal animal companions (like those connected to Maka Kyky), powerful elemental spirits, helpful fey creatures (if allied with Muu'Dya), or even, for those dabbling in darker arts, demons or spirits from the Shadow Realm. Summoning requires precise rituals and often carries the risk of the summoned entity being uncontrollable or hostile.
• Elemental Conjuration: Conjurers can shape Demayth energy into raw elemental forms, creating blasts of fire, walls of ice, bolts of lightning, or shields of protective earth, similar in effect to Destruction spells but focused on manifesting the element rather than purely unleashing destructive force.

Light and Dark Applications:

Conjuration is inherently neutral, its applications depending entirely on the creator's intent. It can be used to create tools, shelters, and resources for communities; summon allies to defend the innocent; or build wondrous structures. Conversely, it can be used to conjure weapons, summon monstrous entities for warfare, create traps, or forge items intended for harm or control. The creation of sentient constructs (Wanderers and Awakened) carries significant ethical weight, bordering on playing god.

Limitations and Risks:

• Conjured vs. Natural: Objects conjured from pure Demayth energy, while useful, often lack the inherent depth and potency of naturally occurring materials formed through Romana's creation. A conjured herb lacks true medicinal properties; a conjured sword lacks the resilience of true steel. This makes conjured items generally unsuitable for high-level Alchemy or Artificing.
• Control: Maintaining control over summoned creatures or sentient constructs requires constant focus (often Concentration) and willpower. Losing control can be disastrous.
• Energy Cost: Conjuring complex objects, powerful creatures, or lasting effects requires a significant expenditure of Demayth Points.
• Ethical Concerns: The creation and control of sentient beings (Wanderers, Awakened, bound spirits) is ethically fraught and often viewed with suspicion.

Destruction

The School of Destruction embodies the raw, untamed power of Demayth, channeled into devastating spells that obliterate foes, shatter defenses, and reshape the battlefield itself. It is the magic of raw force, of elemental fury, of explosions and decay. Practitioners of Destruction are often feared, their ability to unleash pure energy making them potent weapons of war, but their skills can also be used to clear obstacles, destroy corrupting influences, or defend against overwhelming odds. Destruction magic primarily draws upon the Dark aspect of Demayth, focusing on the principles of consumption, change, and dissolution. Mages specializing in this school learn to harness fundamental forces like fire, ice, lightning, and acid, or, at higher levels of mastery, to manipulate raw Demayth energy in its volatile, plasma-like state.

Key Abilities of Destruction:

• Elemental Manipulation: The most common application of Destruction magic involves harnessing and controlling the raw power of the elements. This includes conjuring raging infernos (Fire), unleashing blizzards of ice (Freezing), calling down bolts of lightning (Shock), or spraying corrosive substances (Acid). These spells often inflict ongoing damage or debilitating status effects.
• Energy Projectiles (Bolts, Beams, Rays): Destruction mages can shape Demayth or elemental energy into focused projectiles. Bolts are quick, often numerous strikes. Beams are sustained lines of energy capable of piercing multiple targets. Rays typically affect targets in a wide arc or cone.
• Area Effects (Blasts, Waves): This school excels at affecting large areas. Blasts are concentrated bursts of energy (like a fireball or explosion of force), while Waves radiate outwards, potentially knocking foes back or engulfing them in elemental energy.
• Explosive Magic: This involves creating controlled (or sometimes uncontrolled) explosions, detonating objects, setting magical traps (like explosive runes), or even causing targets to combust from internal energy build-up.
• Raw Demayth Manipulation (Advanced): True masters of Destruction learn to bypass elemental forms and manipulate raw Demayth energy directly, often manifesting it as the volatile, plasma-like fourth state of matter. This allows for attacks that can tear through conventional defenses or bypass elemental resistances, representing the direct application of the universe's fundamental destructive potential. (While similar in appearance to the innate Furyin Energy, this magical manipulation requires profound knowledge and control, unlike the Furyins' rage-fueled, non-magical manifestation).
• Death Spells (Legendary): The absolute pinnacle of Destruction magic involves spells designed to instantly extinguish life force, bypassing conventional means of death and often preventing mundane resurrection. These abilities are exceedingly rare, typically accessible only to Intent Gods or Demigods of legendary power, and their use is often viewed with extreme caution, if not outright fear.

Light and Dark Applications:

While inherently destructive, the intent behind the use of this school determines its moral alignment. A Destruction spell can clear rubble after a disaster, cauterize a wound in an emergency, destroy a cursed object, or provide necessary force against irredeemable evil. However, the temptation to use this power for wanton violence, intimidation, or conquest is strong, making it a path that requires significant discipline and ethical consideration.

Limitations and Risks:

Destruction magic is powerful but often difficult to control precisely. Area-of-effect spells carry a high risk of collateral damage, potentially harming allies or the environment. Unleashing raw Demayth energy can be incredibly taxing, leading to rapid Demayth Fatigue, and backlash from uncontrolled energy can injure or even kill the caster. Furthermore, the overt and devastating nature of Destruction magic often attracts unwanted attention and fosters fear or hostility in others.

Divination

The School of Divination is the subtle art of perceiving that which is hidden, of drawing back the veils of time and space to glimpse truths beyond the reach of ordinary senses. It is the magic of insight, foresight, and communion with the unseen forces that shape the Demayth universe. Practitioners of Divination – be they academic Diviners interpreting the flow of Demayth or devoted Prophets receiving messages from the Divine – seek knowledge, guidance, and understanding, navigating the intricate web of fate and possibility.

Paths within Divination:

While all Divination draws upon the fundamental energies of Demayth, practitioners often follow one of two paths:

• The Diviner: These individuals rely on their own skills and their connection to Demayth to interpret signs, omens, dreams, and the subtle energy signatures left behind by events or individuals. They use tools like scrying pools, tarot-like cards (perhaps even specialized Demayth Cards), or meditative techniques, often relying heavily on the Demayth Sense and Perception skills. My own Slagpin clan are renowned Diviners.
• The Prophet: These are individuals chosen by a specific Elder Divine to act as their conduit in the mortal realm. They receive direct visions, messages, or guidance from their patron deity. Their abilities are often less about interpretation and more about receiving and conveying divine will, though the messages themselves can still be cryptic.

Key Abilities of Divination:

• Insight: Gaining information about creatures, objects, or situations through intuition and magical senses, often revealing hidden weaknesses, true intentions, or the nature of enchantments. (This often involves successful Wisdom (Insight) or Wisdom (Demayth Sense) checks).
• True Sight: The ability to perceive things as they truly are, seeing through mundane and magical illusions, perceiving invisible creatures or objects, and identifying magical barriers or effects. (This is often a specific spell or ability with limited duration).
• Clairvoyance/Precognition: Glimpsing potential futures, anticipating immediate dangers, or receiving flashes of insight about upcoming events. These visions are possibilities, not certainties, as free will constantly alters the threads of fate. (This might grant advantage on certain rolls or provide narrative clues at the BM's discretion).
• Prophecy Interpretation: Deciphering cryptic messages, visions, dreams, or omens that foretell significant future events or personal destinies. This requires knowledge, intuition, and often successful Intelligence (Religion) or Intelligence (History) checks.
• Scrying: Remotely viewing distant locations or individuals through a magical sensor (like a crystal ball, a pool of water, or even a conjured image). Requires concentration and potentially knowledge of the target location or person.

Prophet-Specific Abilities:

These abilities represent a direct connection to a patron deity and are exceptionally rare:

• Evoke Deity: Calling upon their deity for specific guidance, minor blessings (like advantage on a roll), or subtle intervention. This typically requires prayer, meditation, and potentially a Demayth Point cost.
• Invoke Deity: Allowing the deity's consciousness to temporarily merge with the Prophet's, granting enhanced abilities, divine knowledge, or allowing the deity to speak directly through them. This is physically and mentally taxing, carries great risks, and requires immense faith.
• Theophany (Legendary): The rarest and most dangerous ability – summoning a physical manifestation or avatar of the deity into the mortal realm. This act has profound consequences, potentially altering reality and drawing immense attention (both divine and otherwise). It is almost never undertaken lightly.

Light and Dark Applications:

Divination is primarily a tool for seeking knowledge and understanding, often associated with Light Demayth. It can be used to guide the lost, warn of danger, uncover injustice, and foster understanding. However, knowledge gained through Divination can also be used for manipulation, exploitation, or personal gain. Peering into the futures or secrets of others without consent raises significant ethical questions. Prophets, in particular, must grapple with the morality of the messages or commands they receive from their deity.

Limitations and Risks:

The future is not fixed, and Divination only reveals possibilities, often shrouded in symbolism and open to misinterpretation. The strain of constantly perceiving subtle energies or divine messages can be mentally taxing. Attempting to scry on powerful beings or delve into forbidden knowledge can attract unwanted attention or psychic backlash. For Prophets, invoking divine power carries the risk of being overwhelmed or facing the deity's displeasure if their faith wavers or their actions displease their patron.

Necromancy

The School of Necromancy delves into the shadowed realms that lie between life and death, granting its practitioners the power to manipulate souls, command the undead, and commune with the spirits of the departed. It is a school of magic often shrouded in fear and misunderstanding, associated with darkness, decay, and the forbidden arts, drawing heavily upon the energies governed by deities like Buta and Synthera. Yet, like all forms of magic in Demayth, Necromancy is not inherently evil; it is a tool, a force that can be used for a variety of purposes, both benevolent and malevolent, depending entirely on the wielder's intent.

Key Abilities of Necromancy:

• Raising the Undead: This is the most notorious application of Necromancy. It involves forcibly binding a soul back to its deceased body, animating the corpse and subjugating the spirit to the caster's will. This violation of the natural cycle is why Necromancy is so feared. Necromancers can raise various undead servants, from mindless zombies and skeletons to more powerful wights and wraiths, their capabilities dependent on the caster's skill and the nature of the corpse and bound soul. Controlling these creations often requires sustained concentration and carries the risk of the undead breaking free.
• Cryptic Sense: An innate ability to sense the presence of death, residual life force, and concentrations of necrotic energy, aiding in locating corpses or detecting hidden undead.
• Spiritual Sense: The ability to perceive and communicate with the spirits of the dead, allowing the Necromancer to gather information from beyond the veil, seek guidance, or even command lesser spirits.
• Soul Manipulation: A highly advanced and dangerous aspect of Necromancy involves manipulating the energy of souls (both living and dead) for various effects. This might include fueling other spells (Destruction, Augmentation, etc.), creating protective wards of spiritual energy, or performing complex rituals. This requires immense skill and carries significant ethical weight.
• Soul Stealing (Lich Only): A forbidden art practiced only by Liches, involving ripping a soul from a living being to fuel the Lich's power and immortality. This is an act of ultimate evil.

Necromancers vs. Liches:

It is vital to distinguish between a living Necromancer and a Lich. A Necromancer studies the energies of life and death while still possessing their own mortal life force. A Lich, however, has undergone a horrific ritual to achieve undeath, severing their soul and binding it to a magical container known as a phylactery. This grants immortality (as long as the phylactery survives) but at the cost of their humanity and often their sanity, forever binding them to a hunger for souls.

Light and Dark Applications:

While often associated with raising undead armies or seeking forbidden power, Necromancy can be applied in less malevolent ways. A Necromancer might use their abilities to:

• Communicate with ancestors for wisdom.
• Protect burial sites from desecration.
• Lay restless or harmful spirits to peace.
• Study the nature of life and death to potentially find cures for diseases (though this often overlaps with Restoration).

However, the temptation to use Necromancy for control, power, and the violation of souls is ever-present, making it a path few walk without succumbing to darkness.

Limitations and Risks:

Necromancy is arguably the most reviled school of magic in Demayth. Practitioners often face extreme prejudice, fear, and hostility from nearly all societies, especially those following the Three Sisters. Controlling undead requires constant effort and carries the risk of rebellion. Dealing with spirits can be perilous, potentially leading to possession or madness. The manipulation of souls is ethically reprehensible to most and can attract the attention of powerful entities, including deities like Un Du'Walc Shu'Way or Synthera. The pursuit of Lichdom almost inevitably leads to utter corruption and destruction.

Protection

In a universe as fraught with danger as Demayth, where the forces of Light and Dark constantly clash and where threats both magical and mundane abound, the School of Protection stands as a vital bulwark against harm. It is the art of defense, of safeguarding, of resilience – the magic of creating barriers, resisting harmful effects, and enhancing the ability to withstand attacks. Drawing primarily upon the ordering and preserving aspects of Light Demayth, Protection mages are the shield bearers, the guardians, the ones who stand between danger and those they seek to protect, often invoking the spirit of deities like Tor Ray Say.

Key Abilities of Protection:

• Energy Shields: Conjuring barriers of pure Demayth energy (often appearing as shimmering light or solid force) to absorb or deflect incoming attacks, both physical and magical. These shields vary in strength and duration, and skilled mages can shape them into walls, domes, or even temporary platforms. This is the foundation of the Magic Shield (MS) statistic.
• Resistance/Immunity Charms: Imbuing oneself or others with temporary or persistent resistance (halving damage) or immunity (negating damage) to specific threats like fire, cold, poison, disease, or even specific types of physical damage. This often involves enchanting an amulet or invoking a blessing.
• Repelling Magic: Creating wards that specifically counteract hostile magic. This can involve barriers that deflect spells, auras that grant advantage on saving throws against magic, or effects that directly dispel curses, hexes, or other detrimental enchantments. Protection magic can also be used to obscure oneself from Divination attempts.
• Energy Manipulation (Defensive): Shaping raw Demayth energy into static protective forms, such as reinforcing existing structures, creating temporary shelters from the elements, or laying down defensive glyphs.
• Blessings of Protection: Calling upon a deity (if the caster is faithful) to bestow temporary divine protection, often granting potent resistance or specific defensive advantages related to the deity's domain.
• Warding Glyphs: Inscribing intricate runes and symbols onto objects, doorways, or areas to create lasting magical wards. These wards might trigger defensive effects when approached by enemies, repel specific types of creatures (like demons or undead), or alert the caster to intrusion.

Light and Dark Applications:

Protection magic is overwhelmingly used for benevolent purposes – defending the innocent, safeguarding communities, shielding allies from harm. Its connection to Light Demayth is strong. However, the intent defines the application. A tyrant could use Protection magic to make their fortress impregnable, a villain could shield themselves while enacting evil plans, or protective spells could be used to prevent justified retribution.

Limitations and Risks:

No defense is absolute. Powerful attacks can shatter magical shields, specific types of energy might bypass certain resistances, and clever opponents can find ways around static wards. Maintaining powerful protective spells often requires significant Demayth Point expenditure and potentially Concentration, limiting the caster's ability to perform other actions. Over-reliance on magical protection without developing other skills can also leave a practitioner vulnerable if their defenses fail or are suppressed.

Psyche

The School of Psyche delves into the most intricate and enigmatic realm of all – the minds and emotions of sentient beings. It is the subtle art of manipulating thoughts, shaping perceptions, influencing desires, and weaving illusions that blur the line between reality and fabrication. Practitioners of Psyche magic, often known as enchanters, illusionists, or mentalists, wield influence not through brute force or elemental fury, but through understanding and manipulating the very consciousness of others. It is a school of immense potential, capable of fostering empathy and understanding, but also one fraught with profound ethical complexities.

Key Abilities of Psyche:

• Charming: The ability to subtly influence the emotions and attitudes of others, making them more friendly, agreeable, or susceptible to suggestion. A charmed creature is not controlled, but views the caster more favorably. (Often requires a Will saving throw to resist).
• Illusions: Creating false sensory input – images, sounds, smells, or even tactile sensations – to deceive or distract. Illusions range from simple phantasms to complex, interactive scenes. Their effectiveness depends on the target's ability to discern reality (often requiring an Intelligence or Wisdom check).
• Mirage: A more powerful form of illusion that affects a larger area or multiple targets simultaneously, creating immersive sensory experiences that can distort perception on a grand scale.
• Enthralling (Advanced): A potent form of mental influence that holds a target's attention completely, rendering them passive and highly susceptible to suggestion, though not directly controlled. Breaking the enthrallment often requires external intervention or a successful Will save. (Often considered ethically dubious).
• Mind Control (Advanced): The direct and forceful seizure of a target's mind, allowing the caster to dictate their actions. This is an extremely powerful and widely condemned ability, representing a complete violation of free will. (Resisted by a Will saving throw, often with significant consequences for the caster if control is broken).
• Telepathy: Direct mind-to-mind communication, bypassing the need for spoken language. Allows for silent communication, probing thoughts (often requiring a Will save to resist), or projecting emotions.
• Psychic Assault: Attacking a target's mind directly with raw psychic energy, inflicting mental anguish, confusion, temporary paralysis, or even unconsciousness (Psychic damage). (Often resisted by a Will save).
• Memory Manipulation: Subtly altering, erasing, or implanting memories within a target's mind. This requires incredible precision and carries significant ethical weight, as it involves rewriting a being's past. (Often involves complex rituals and contested Will saves).
• Emotion Control: Amplifying, suppressing, or inciting specific emotions (fear, rage, joy, despair, love) within a target or group. (Often resisted by a Will save).
• Dream Walking: Entering the dreamscape of a sleeping target to communicate, influence their subconscious, plant suggestions, or even extract hidden information.

Light and Dark Applications:

Psyche magic inherently walks a fine ethical line. It can be used benevolently to calm agitated minds (like the Heartmenders of Lyate), inspire courage, foster empathy, or help individuals overcome traumatic memories. However, the potential for manipulation, coercion, and the violation of free will is immense. Using illusions to deceive, emotions to control, or charms to manipulate others for personal gain are common dark applications. The most extreme forms, like Mind Control, are almost universally considered acts of evil.

Limitations and Risks:

The mind is not easily controlled. Creatures with strong willpower (represented by high Wisdom and Will saves) can often resist psychic influence. Certain creatures or Demigods may possess innate mental defenses or protections against psychic intrusion. Furthermore, delving into the minds of others can be mentally taxing for the caster, potentially exposing them to harmful thoughts or causing psychic backlash if they encounter a powerful mental defense. Maintaining effects like illusions or enthrallment often requires Concentration, limiting the caster's ability to perform other actions.

Reprisal

In a universe saturated with Demayth energy, where magic can be both a blessing and a curse, the School of Reprisal provides the essential tools for defense and control. It is the art of unraveling enchantments, countering hostile spells, suppressing magical abilities, and even turning an opponent's power against them. Practitioners of Reprisal are the magical guardians, the curse-breakers, and the indispensable allies for anyone facing arcane threats. They understand that sometimes, the best defense against magic is magic itself.

Key Abilities of Reprisal:

• Dispelling Magic: The fundamental ability to prematurely end ongoing magical effects on creatures, objects, or areas. A successful Dispel can remove buffs, break enchantments, dissolve conjured barriers, or lift lingering curses. (Effectiveness often depends on comparing the Reprisal caster's power against the original spell's power, requiring a check).
• Blessing (Curse Removal): While Dispelling handles general magical effects, removing potent divine curses often requires a direct counter-blessing. Devout followers can appeal to their deity (or an opposing one) to grant a blessing specifically designed to counteract a particular curse.
• Counter Spell: A reactive ability allowing a Reprisal specialist to interrupt a spell as it is being cast. This requires keen timing and focus (often using a Reaction Point). A successful Counter Spell negates the incoming spell entirely before it takes effect.
• Demayth Suppression (Silencing Magic): The ability to temporarily sever a creature's connection to Demayth or disrupt their ability to cast spells, effectively "silencing" their magical capabilities for a short duration. (Often requires the target to fail a Will saving throw).
• Anti-Magic Field: Creating a localized zone where magic is significantly weakened or completely nullified. Spells cast within or targeted into the field may fail, and ongoing magical effects might be suppressed while inside it. Maintaining such a field usually requires Concentration and significant Demayth Point expenditure.
• Spell Reflection: A difficult and reactive maneuver where an incoming single-target spell is not just negated, but redirected back towards the original caster. (Requires a Reaction Point and likely a contested check against the caster).
• Rune of Disruption: Inscribing a rune that actively disrupts the flow of Demayth energy in its vicinity, potentially causing nearby spells to fail or increasing the Demayth Point cost for casters operating within its radius.
• Disjunction (Advanced): A powerful and often permanent effect that completely unravels the enchantments within a magical item, rendering it mundane. This is a drastic measure, typically reserved for destroying dangerous or corrupted artifacts.

Light and Dark Applications:

Reprisal is inherently defensive and restorative, aligning well with Light Demayth when used to protect the innocent, break harmful curses, or counter destructive magic. However, its applications can be morally grey. Suppressing the magic of a benevolent healer, dispelling protective wards to allow an assassination, or destroying a valuable (but not inherently evil) artifact solely to deny it to others could be considered dark applications of this school.

Limitations and Risks:

Reprisal magic is fundamentally reactive. It counters existing magic but cannot prevent non-magical threats. A Reprisal specialist can be overwhelmed by multiple simultaneous spells or by magic of a vastly greater power level than their own dispelling capabilities. Many Reprisal abilities require precise timing (Reactions) and significant Demayth Point expenditure. Furthermore, directly manipulating potent magical energies always carries a risk of backlash if control is lost.

Restoration

The School of Restoration embodies the life-giving and nurturing aspects of Light Demayth, channeling its radiant energies to mend wounds, cure ailments, purify corruption, and even restore life itself. It is the magic of healing, of rejuvenation, of preserving and protecting the vital forces that animate all living beings in Demayth. Practitioners of Restoration, often referred to as healers or clerics (especially if devoted to deities like Komora), stand against the forces of decay and destruction, offering solace, comfort, and the promise of renewal.

Key Abilities of Restoration:

• Healing Magic: The cornerstone of Restoration, this involves channeling Light Demayth to close wounds, soothe pain, and restore lost Health Points (HP). The potency varies greatly, from spells that mend minor cuts and bruises (often costing few Demayth Points) to powerful workings capable of healing grievous, life-threatening injuries (requiring significant DP and focus).
• Regeneration (Advanced): A more potent application allowing the practitioner to magically regrow lost limbs, regenerate damaged organs, or restore functionality to severely injured body parts. This is complex magic, often requiring extended casting times, rare components, or significant DP expenditure.
• Mending: Applying restorative energies to repair broken or damaged inanimate objects, from simple tools to complex artifacts or structures. Success often depends on the caster's understanding of the object (potentially requiring Craft or Demayth Knowledge checks) and the extent of the damage.
• Cure Disease or Poison: Restoration specialists often possess a deep understanding of ailments and toxins, combining magical energy with knowledge (represented by the Intelligence (Medical) skill) to counteract their effects. They use magic to diagnose the affliction and then facilitate the body's natural defenses or magically neutralize the harmful agent. This might involve:
  • Neutralizing toxins (requiring a successful Heal check or spell against the poison's DC).
  • Stimulating the immune system or purging infection (requiring a successful Heal check or spell against the disease's DC).
  • Dispelling magically induced diseases or curses (often requiring Reprisal magic as well).
• Detoxification: Extending purification beyond individuals to the environment, neutralizing poisons in food or water sources, or cleansing areas tainted by magical or mundane corruption.
• Rejuvenation: Spells designed to restore vitality, remove exhaustion (Demayth Fatigue), or even temporarily reverse the physical effects of aging (though not true age).
• Purifying Light: Creating auras or bursts of radiant energy that heal minor wounds, provide temporary protection against Dark Demayth effects (like fear or despair), and may harm certain undead or shadow creatures.
• Resurrection (Advanced): The power to return the dead to life. This is rare, difficult, and ethically complex. Success often depends on the time since death, the state of the body, the willingness of the soul to return (if it hasn't moved on or been claimed), and potentially divine intervention. It almost always requires a costly ritual, rare components, and a high DC Wisdom (Heal) check, and may have lasting consequences for the resurrected soul.
• Soul Mending (Advanced): An exceedingly rare and complex art focused on repairing damage to a creature's soul itself (e.g., restoring maximum HP lost to Spiritual damage, mending trauma). Requires profound understanding of the soul and immense magical power, often bordering on divine intervention.

Light and Dark Applications:

Restoration is overwhelmingly associated with Light Demayth and benevolent intentions. However, the power over life can be misused. Healing could be used to prolong the suffering of a captive, unnatural regeneration could create monstrous forms, or resurrection could bring back dangerous individuals against the natural order. The line between preserving life and unnaturally extending it can be thin.

Limitations and Risks:

Restoration cannot heal all wounds instantaneously. Severe injuries require time, energy (DP), and often repeated applications. Curing potent diseases or poisons demands knowledge and may require specific counter-agents or rituals. Resurrection is never guaranteed and often impossible if the soul is unwilling, destroyed, or claimed by a powerful entity. Wielding powerful restorative magic can be draining, leading to Demayth Fatigue.

Witchcraft

The School of Witchcraft represents a path to power that is both ancient and deeply misunderstood, a tradition that draws upon the primal forces of nature, the whispers of spirits, and the manipulation of energies often considered forbidden by more conventional schools of magic. It is the art of the ritual, the curse, the summoning, and the delving into secrets that lie beyond the veil of the mundane. Witches are not simply spellcasters; they are conduits to a deeper, more primal understanding of Demayth, wielding powers that are both awe-inspiring and terrifying, often calling upon deities like Muu'Dya or Synthera.

Witchcraft is distinct from the other schools of magic in its approach to Demayth energy. While many schools focus on direct manipulation, Witchcraft is more about tapping into existing currents, working with natural and supernatural forces through intricate rituals, ancient knowledge, and connections to the spirit realm. It often embraces both Light and Dark aspects of Demayth, reflecting the duality of nature itself.

Key Abilities of Witchcraft:

• Curses and Hexes: Inflicting debilitating curses upon foes, causing misfortune, weakness, or even slow decay. Hexes are more potent, often tied to a physical object (totem), requiring the destruction or cleansing of the object to break the curse. (Often requires a Will save to resist).
• Ritual Magic: Witchcraft heavily relies on rituals that require specific Circles of Power, Components, Time, and often Enhancements to achieve potent effects (see details below).
• Summoning Supernatural Creatures: Calling forth beings like elementals, spirits, fey, demons, or even Celestials (though controlling them is highly risky and depends on the Witch's power and the ritual's strength).
• Blood Magic: Using blood (often the caster's own, costing HP) as a potent component or power source for rituals, amplifying their effects.
• Spirit Binding: Trapping spirits within objects or locations, compelling them to serve the Witch. This is ethically dubious and dangerous if control is lost.
• Ritual Divination: Utilizing specific rituals, components (like scrying bowls or bones), and offerings to gain insight into the future, commune with spirits, or uncover secrets.
• Transformation Curses: Inflicting curses that physically alter a victim's form, often into an animal or a lesser creature.
• Necromantic Rituals: Performing rituals that overlap with Necromancy, such as speaking with the recently departed or binding minor spirits (though typically less focused on raising large numbers of undead than true Necromancy).

Witchcraft Mechanics:

The practice of Witchcraft revolves around rituals, which are enhanced and defined by several key elements:

• Circles of Power: Magic circles drawn or constructed using specific materials and symbols focus Demayth energy for rituals. Common types include:
  • Circle of Binding: Contains summoned entities or spirits.
  • Circle of Blood: Amplifies rituals using life force/blood sacrifice.
  • Circle of Elements: Channels specific elemental energies.
  • Circle of Shadows: Aids necromantic or spirit-communing rituals.
  • Circle of the Moon: Enhances lunar, intuitive, or transformative magic.
  • Circle of the Sun: Empowers solar, healing, or purification magic.
• Ritual Components: Materials possessing inherent magical properties or symbolic significance, chosen using Demayth Sense or traditional knowledge. Examples:
  • Herbs/Plants: Nightshade, mandrake, wolfsbane, etc.
  • Animal Parts: Bones, feathers, claws, blood, etc.
  • Crystals/Gems: Quartz, amethyst, obsidian, moonstone, sunstone, etc.
  • Ritual Implements: Athames, chalices, candles, incense, etc.
  • Personal Items: Objects connected to a target or desired effect.
• Ritual Enhancements: Techniques to amplify ritual power:
  • Chanting/Incantations: Spoken words of power.
  • Dancing/Movement: Raising energy through rhythmic motion.
  • Sacrifices: Offerings (food, valuables, blood) to appease entities or fuel the ritual.
  • Astrological Alignments: Timing rituals with celestial events.
  • Ley Lines: Performing rituals on potent ley lines.
• Important Considerations:
  • Intent: The Witch's focus is crucial for success.
  • Preparation: Research and careful execution are key.
  • Risk vs. Reward: Powerful rituals carry inherent dangers (backlash, unwanted attention).

Example Witchcraft Rituals:

(These provide a glimpse into Witchcraft's potential. Specific mechanics like duration, saves, and costs are determined by the Battle Master based on the ritual's complexity and power).

• Ritual of Binding: Binds a summoned creature to the caster's will.
• Ritual of Blood Sacrifice: Enhances caster's power by offering life force.
• Ritual of Elemental Convergence: Harnesses elemental power for various effects.
• Ritual of Shadow Communion: Allows communication with spirits or guidance from the Shadow Realm.
• Ritual of Lunar Empowerment: Enhances intuition, transformation, or lunar magic.
• Ritual of Solar Rejuvenation: Heals wounds, purifies, or grants blessings of vitality.

Light and Dark Applications:

Witchcraft embodies duality. It can be used for community healing (Herbalist's Touch), protecting sacred groves, seeking guidance from nature spirits, or weaving protective charms. However, its potential for harm is significant: inflicting debilitating curses, summoning destructive entities, binding spirits against their will, or using blood magic for selfish gain are common dark applications. The line is often blurred, and perception varies greatly between cultures.

Limitations and Risks:

Witchcraft is often misunderstood and feared, leading to social stigma and persecution for its practitioners (like the Devil Kin). Rituals require time, specific components (which may be rare or dangerous to acquire), and precise execution; failure can lead to backlash or unintended consequences. Summoning and binding entities is inherently dangerous, risking loss of control or corruption. Blood magic carries physical and spiritual risks.