Magic in Shaza

The word "magic" itself is a misnomer- magic is not "created" by the caster, but rather shaped and pulled forth. The creation of something from nothing occurs daily when a spell caster is involved, whether his magic comes from invisible energy or divine powers granted by a God.



Wizard-

Wizards pull their energy straight out of the Aether, an invisible substance which permeates reality. By using their own body as a conduit for this power, a Wizard may see and shape and pull forth energy from the Aether and imbue it with elemental properties. Pure Aether is unstable, and thus weaker and less practiced and learned Wizards are unable to pull much of it forth without rest. A Wizard who attempts to pull forth more energies than they can per day risks disaster, as many Wizards have annihilated their minds and their bodies from magical Overburn.



A Wizard knows spells through his or her spellbook, a tome or manual that details item creation, (staff, athame, familiar etc)spells and other passages or quotes of knowledge he sees fit to scribe down for later use. A Wizard who specializes in Runes for example may have a spellbook that details many different types of runes, thus helping him in casting particularly intricate ones. In the same vein, a Wizard who specializes in Transmutations may have a small Bestiary of his favorite creatures and beings so he can remember them for later use. A Wizard that gets his hands on another Wizard's spellbook can usually draw off some of its power by copying its varied passages and information, yet spellbooks usually lose any magical power they once had once the Wizard they belonged to is dead. Spellbooks are usually carried close at hand by a travelling Wizard, and some keep copies in their lairs in case anything untoward should befall their travelling, or "working" spellbook. Some spells are just too complex for a burgeoning Wizard to understand, and thus are impossible to learn and catastrophic to attempt before the Wizard is grown in power and understanding of the shaping of magic.



A Wizard cannot cast a spell he does not have in his spellbook, yet he may certainly copy (through the use of a Cantrip called Amanuesis) spells from scrolls and other spellbooks to his own. Furthermore, only Wizards can "read" magical scrolls and spellbooks, as the inherent Aether within such texts cause it to appear distorted and unreadable to normal folk. A Wizard who witnesses a spell they don't know being cast can attempt to copy it, but without the formula for its casting they will soon forget it.



A Wizard has a set number of levels of spells they can cast per day. The more powerful the spell, the more Aether it requires and thus the higher level it is. Zero level spells, commonly known as Cantrips, use such a miniscule amount of Aether that a Wizard may cast them at any time, even if they have used up all their spell levels per day.



Being able to see Aether, a Wizard can also see items or constructions that Aether has touched. Magic items glow or blaze in bright light before a Wizard, and he may easily shift in and out of normal and Aether vision to see if his foe or his environment holds any magical items.



Metamagic is the "buffing" or empowerment of spells as they are being cast. Lesser metamagic can make the Wizard silent or still in the casting, whilst greater feats of Metamagic can enhance the effects of a spell tenfold or even allow it to be cast as a thought. Metamagic effects that a Wizard knows can be applied to spells as they are being cast, yet depending on the effect the spell will use up from 1 to 9 more spell levels. If a metamagic effect would cause the Wizard to go into negative spell levels, the spell is cast as an Overburn, and the Wizard must make the appropriate save and sustain the consequences of his action.



A Wizard who reaches 0 spell levels per day remaining immediately becomes fatigued and is advised to rest as soon as they can.



Priest-

Priests, Clerics and Paladins all draw their power from a divine source- usually a God or other deity. As such, Priests do not have any need for spellbooks or other accoutrements of magical ability, rather they draw their power from within themselves and their connection to whatever Deity or divine source they follow.



A Priest, like a Wizard, has a certain number of spell levels per day they have been allowed by their deity. Powerful priests are afforded more divine power, whilst less powerful priests are given a limited allowance.



Unlike Wizards however, Priests cannot Overburn or otherwise continue casting when their spell levels per day are used up. As their powers extend from a divine source, Priests are powerless when they use up their spells for the day, and must meditate or otherwise pray / chant to their God for more spells, much like a Wizard must rest. To make up for this, powerful priests have the knowledge of spells that can copy a spell recently cast by the Priest (to a certain limit) and cast it again for a lesser cost.



Zero level spells, commonly known by all Priests as Orisons, use such a miniscule amount of divine energy that they do not use up spell levels and the Priest may cast them even when he has no spell levels left for the day.



As Priests are a conduit of power between themselves and their Gods in the Beyond, their constant channeling of magical spells gives them a certain degree of personal power. Avatar Points are a measurement of how much of their deities power has "rubbed off" on the Priest, and a priest may use these points to gain, for a point cost, certain powers which can function even when they cannot cast anymore spells. Whenever a Priest performs an act of faith in worship to their deity, they gain an amount of Avatar Points commesurate to the act they have done. Furthermore, upon gaining a level, the Priest automatically gains an amount of AP equal to their level divided by 2(round down).