Magic System and Ranking Guidelines | Page 1 | The Resonance Skies Academy | Guild Forums

Elen_Gilthoniel
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Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 9:42 pm

Character Ranks

A list of the available ranks and how you achieve each one.

Novice:

--all normal students will begin a the rank of novice. Novices start with their element beginning to emerge but, as of yet, undeveloped.

--Novices can only have one Level 1 spell to start out with.

--There is no self study. The only way for a novice to progress is via the spell casting class (It takes 2-3 spell casting classes to master a Level 1 spell).

--after mastering their first spell, Novices may learn, via the RP, a second Level 1 spell. Mastering this spell, again, takes 2-3 class periods.

--non-school related adult or child characters may be novices but they will not be able to advance to the next level. Student aged characters (regardless if they are in school) are limited to one power.

--at then END of being a novice, characters will know two level 1 spells.

Sage:

--all student council members will begin the RP at the level of a sage. ONLY student council sages have access to the advanced elements at this level.

--non-school related adult characters (citizens of the city) may be at the level of sage, but they will NOT have access to the advanced elements, nor will they be able to advance to the next level.

--normal students will advance to Sage once they have mastered their second L1 spell.

--Sages know two L1 spells and will begin to study one L2 spell from their chosen element. L2 spells require 3-4 spell casting classes to master.

--At the END of being a sage, prior to progression to Wizard, characters will know two level 1 spells and one level 2 spell.

Wizard/Witch:

--all teachers will begin the RP at the level of a Wizard. Teachers automatically have access to the advanced elements.

--Wizard is restricted to characters 17 and above--this level is bestowed on characters by the staff of the school and is not something that can be learned or achieved on one's own.

--Adults outside the school may be at this level, but still do not have access to advanced elements. They are not allowed to progress to the next level.

--When a student with a basic element is offered the opportunity to advance to Wizard level, they may, instead, choose to become an advanced element user. In this case, they will lose all progress and spells, and start back at Novice level--but now they will be learning spells in their new element.

--Those who choose to keep their original element will get to choose a new L1 spell to learn before learning their L3 spell. L3 spells require 4-5 spell casting classes to master. By the end of this stage, everyone will know at least five spells--three level 1 spells, one level 2 spell, and one level 3 spell.

Arch-Mage:

--Characters are not allowed to start at Arch-Mage level. This must be conferred on characters and isn't something someone can just achieve on their own.

--Only students who graduate from Resonance skies, and teachers consistent with their lessons will have the opportunity to achieve Arch-Mage status. Non-school oriented characters will not normally have access to this level (definitely not without good reason and prior permission from the crew)

--Arch-Mages must take a special class at the University in order to master their final spells.

--Arch mages have the opportunity to learn a new L2 spell before they learn their L4 spell. L4 spells take at least 2 years (RP time) to fully master so it's not an easy thing for characters to do. By the end of this stage, characters will know a total of seven spells--three level 1 spells, two level 2 spells, one level 3 spell and one level 4 spell.

Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 9:43 pm

Spell Levels

The limitations of each spell level apply across the board, even if the limitation isn't explicitly mentioned in the spell description.

Level 1 (L1) : These abilities are restricted to line of sight, touch or a small, 3-4 foot radius. These spells use minimal stamina, inflict only minimal amounts of damage (for offensive spells only) and can be cast once per round of posts in a scene, or sustained through multiple rounds of posts. There's no real limit to how often these spells can be cast per day but as with anything, over-use will lead to exhaustion. These spells can backfire and rebound onto the caster if used carelessly but they don't do much damage, so it's not a major concern. These are the only abilities novices can choose from.

Level 2 (L2) : These abilities are non-offensive only and usually fall in the category of being defensive, restraining, regenerative, etc. These spells take more stamina and can either be cast once every other posting round, or sustained through two rounds of posting in a scene. Stretching it beyond that would lead to exhaustion, fainting, etc. Usually, one wouldn't be able to cast this type of spell more than 3-4 times a day. Rather than rebounding back onto the caster if not cast properly, L2 spells tend to just fizzle out and fail to materialize properly if the caster is unfocused or lacks skill. You must be at least the rank of Sage to learn these spells.

Level 3 (L3) : These are spells that cover more expansive areas (10-20 foot radius) and affect more than one target. Spells can be cast only twice per RP day. They use large amounts of stamina, and cannot be sustained through more than two rounds of posting. Because of this, they are dangerous and sometimes risky to use--particularly when one is still learning to control them. If mis-cast, L3 spells can rebound onto the caster but, more often will go a little out of control. However, spells fizzle out quickly once the caster loses focus so it's easy to keep them from doing too much damage. These spells can be chosen by Wizards and Witches and are restricted to people above the age of 17 due to the danger inherent in using them.

Level 4 (L4) : These spells can be either offensive or defensive, and cover wide areas. These spells can be cast only once per RP day, as they are extremely powerful and waste significant amounts of stamina. They can be sustained through up to three rounds of posting, but have a long recovery time, leaving the caster weak and tired-- or worse. Two L4 spells clashing can cause fairly widespread destruction. However, if miscast, the rebound is severe, and can seriously injure the caster. Like L3 spells, they can go out of control but are just as easily dispelled before they do too much damage. Attempts to cast more than one per day would likely fail and rebound onto the caster. Only Arch-Mages can use these spells.

Elen_Gilthoniel
Vice Captain

Inquisitive Bibliophile

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Elen_Gilthoniel
Vice Captain

Inquisitive Bibliophile

Offline

Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 9:45 pm

F. A. Q.

Questions you may have about the magic system will be answered here.

Why does it take so long to learn a spell?

--because this RP is about kids learning magic at school. It doesn't make sense story-wise for there to be first year students able to reach the same level of skill as older students and teachers in a few weeks RP time. Characters need to go through a reasonable process of learning and practicing before they can move forward. If everyone sped through the process and became Arch-Mages in a few weeks, there wouldn't be much left to shoot for in the RP.

Why are advanced elements restricted?

--because, in a way, we wanted to reward people who participate and who are willing to take on the responsibility of having teachers and the like. We also want to reward people for actively participating in the school section of the guild, since that is the focus, after all. Advanced elements are supposed to be a bit stronger than the basic elements so learning them is a bit harder.

Why do you have to be 17 to learn a Level 3 Spell?

--from a story perspective, this is because Level 3 spells are too physically taxing for younger people. From a practical level, this is related to question #1. It doesn't make sense for a 14 year old first year to be able to achieve the same level as a 18 year old senior, or one of the teachers, in a matter of a couple of weeks.

Why are non-school characters not allowed to advance in the magic system?

--well, the focus of the guild is about learning magic. To learn magic, you need to be in a place where magic can be learned. Though we did want to open the RP up and let people have characters outside the school, there are perks to RPing at the school because that is the main RP. But the main reason is that for characters outside the school, there's no way to regulate and monitor their progression.

Why do we only get to know seven spells?

--in RP land, seven abilities is actually a lot. Most RPs limit you to 2-3 abilities. Even though there's a wide pool of spells to choose from, a lot of them are pretty powerful, so we needed to limit it. This also ensures not every character has the exact same skill set since you have to choose carefully what your character learns.

Can I suggest new spells?

--sure! If there's a spell you'd really like to see, please suggest it in the Suggestions thread. Include any restrictions and what level you think it should be--just be aware that if we think it's too powerful or doesn't fit in that level, we may put it somewhere else instead.

What is the difference between a rank and a level?

--rank refers to characters and level refers to spells. There is some correlation between the two since the lowest rank can only learn the lowest level of spell. But as one rises in rank, they can access spells of varying levels.

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