Magic Overview

Overview
In this chapter, you’ll learn the history of magic on Pao and the specialization schools of modern magic.

This chapter also contains a list of spells divided by school and tier.

History of Magic
In the distant past, magic’s tendency to spiral out of control destroyed civilizations, left half the Old World a desert, and gave rise to a Vampire stranglehold on the New World. Very little is known about ancient magic, as its power and volatility ruined the same civilizations it built. Records and knowledge of ancient magic were sometimes lost or hidden, but often destroyed.

Taboos around the practice of any magic were only overcome centuries after the Collapse when a less volatile system of channeling magical power was discovered in the small shoe-making village of Roam. With arbitrary-seeming systems of rules that governed its practice and effectiveness, modern magic was slowly adopted across the Old World, and gave rise to centuries of peaceful unity across the continent, a veritable Pax Roamana.

While the Roaman Empire’s attempt to reclaim the New World from the Vampires eventually led to its splintering, the Roaman system of modern magic has outlasted the Empire by centuries. Regular people appreciate the convenience that magic’s practical applications lend their daily lives. Politicians appreciate that even a lifetime of studying modern magic won’t allow one man to destroy a SWAT team, let alone an army.

Ancient Magic Today
Practice of true ancient magic is negligible today, limited to a few cults and art collectors tapping into the power of artifacts that survived the Collapse. Practitioners of ancient magic generally apply it to manipulation, corruption, destruction, or death. Possession of sealed, or inactive, artifacts of ancient magic is legal, and most such known artifacts are displayed in museums and private collections.

The actual practice of ancient magic is not only looked down upon, but actually illegal. Cataloguers and Paladins hold the line against the encroachment of such dark forces. Catalogers take an academic approach and immerse themselves in knowledge to more effectively seal ancient artifacts and survive their effects, while Paladins hit the gym, eat an insane amount of protein, and smash any physical manifestations of ancient magic into gooey bits.

Modern Magic
Playable characters have access to modern magic, which is broken into several disciplines known as “Spell Schools.” Each school has four tiers of spells, with first tier spells the easiest to master, and fourth tier spells the most difficult.

Spell Name
 * Casting DC: How hard it is to cast
 * Casting Time: How long it takes to cast
 * Cooldown: How long until it can be cast again
 * Range: How far the spell can be cast
 * Target: Who/what the spell hits
 * Duration: How long the spell lasts
 * Saving Throw: How a target can avoid effects
 * Spell Resistance: Effectiveness of spell resistance

This text will tell you what a spell does and any other information needed to cast it. A single spell may have multiple uses, and it is recommended that players familiarize themselves with the entirety of the entries for any available spells.

Text in italics is goofy flavor text, because we like adding jokes wherever possible.