Apocrymancy (Arcane)

Apocrymancy is the magic of controlling pure magical energy, bending force and manipulating matter to your will.

See Bedivere Hall for more information on the society of Apocrymancers.

Please note that example uses are only suggestions, and magical spells can be anything that fits with the specialisation.

Alteration

Apocrymancy Alteration is not well understood, but is thought to involve altering the very magic that Wytches control. This manifests itself as conjuring a crystalline substance known as Adamasite seemingly out of thin air, or altering constructs of it that already exist. Adamasite is a hard, brittle, translucent substance that can take any form. However, it is not particularly strong and will break quite easily.

Note, Adamasite is probably not the best thing to build your Fortress of Doom™ out of.  It'll look cool as hell though...

  • Novice - you are capable of creating or manipulating small amounts of Adamasite.
    Examples: creating a mug, summoning a dagger, a small makeshift repair.
  • Apprentice - you are capable of creating or manipulating moderate amounts of Adamasite.
    Examples: a chair, building some stairs up to a high ledge, making a beautiful cupboard.
  • Adept - you are capable of creating or manipulating large amounts of Adamasite.
    Examples: a bridge over a small crevasse, a large sculpture, a large weight for a trap.
  • Master - you are capable of creating or manipulating very large amounts of Adamasite.
    Examples: creating a crystalline Fortress of Doom™, a vast beach of Adamasite sand.

Enchantment

Apocrymancy Enchantment is the ability to conjure arcane spirits to embody items or potions, or to summon them as ghostly spirits to do tasks for the Wytch (scholars believe that while most spirits need to inhabit constructs of their own element, the Apocrymancer summons beings of pure magic which inhabit the magic in the air or water,1) although don't interact with the element itself). These spirits are often capable of casting arcane magic themselves, and often take the form of creatures and animals. However, even the best Wytch needs to be careful not to lose control of them.

Death rains from above! Except on Tuesday - it's sunny on Tuesday.

  • Novice - you can summon and enchant items and potions with minor arcane spirits.
    Examples: a small kitten, a weak protection tonic, a wasp.
  • Apprentice - you can summon and enchant items and potions with mid-level arcane spirits.
    Examples: a cat, a floating octopus, a restorative potion.
  • Adept - you can summon and enchant items and potions with high-level arcane spirits.
    Examples: a lynx, a wraith, Mr. Mime.
  • Master - you can summon and enchant items and potions with extremely powerful arcane spirits.
    Examples: a djinn, an Incubus, a ghosting libation.

Evocation

Apocrymancy Evocation is all about using energy to blast your way to victory. Blinding light, deafening sound waves and massive waves of force are all legitimate strategies in overcoming opponents.

"It's just like fireworks! Extremely pretty, and sends you blind if it hits you in the face."

  • Novice - you can cast minor offensive arcane spells.
    Examples: shining bright lights in people's eyes, low strength force waves, loud distracting noises.
  • Apprentice - you can cast mid-level offensive arcane spells.
    Examples: blasting your opponent off their feet, deafening or blinding your enemy for a few seconds, magical energy bolts.
  • Adept - you can cast high level offensive arcane spells.
    Examples: crumbling walls with force, energy bolts in all directions.
  • Master - you can cast very powerful offensive arcane spells.
    Examples: military-grade laser beams, huge bolts of arcane energy, deafening people for miles.

Illusion

Apocrymancy Illusion is less about staying hidden from trouble, and more to do with remaining unseen when spying or otherwise covertly finding out information. 'Ghosting', which is stepping out of your body in an invisible, incorporeal form that cannot hear, touch or smell, has a diverse range of uses, and proves very handy to those who use it. However, your body remains where it is when you do so, and you can only sense what your body senses (except sight) at the higher levels.

This 'Ghosting' sounds like an excellent premise for a RomCom.  And by RomCom I mean "Horror about a stalker".  Use it responsibly, kids!

  • Novice - you can ghost yourself for a few seconds.
    Examples: checking behind a locked door to see what's there, checking around a corner for an ambush, looking behind yourself to see if someone's there.
  • Apprentice - you can ghost yourself for couple of minutes, and can faintly sense what your body does.
    Examples: checking the route through a maze, following someone for a bit.
  • Adept - you can ghost yourself an hour or so, and can mostly sense what your body does.
    Examples: waiting until someone puts in their PIN, getting you or some friends inside a secret base after checking for traps, sensing when someone's sneaking up behind your body to attack you.
  • Master - you can ghost indefinitely, and can sense everything your body does.2)
    Examples: finding a remote secret base without being detected, going far out to sea to find an island.

Protection

Apocrymancy Protection is about using force and energy to protect yourself from oncoming attack, be it a conventional one or a magical one; this usually (but not always) manifests as a solid wall made out of Arcane energy, known as a forcefield. Although forcefields can be used all the time, the longer they are up the more the Wytch using them becomes drained, so most save them for when they're necessary rather than as a permanent defensive measure.

"I know it's supposed to stop me getting hurt, but that doesn't mean I can't use it to hover behind you and freak you out! Although judging by your reaction I may have to U-turn on that..."

  • Novice - you can cast minor arcane protection spells.
    Examples: a windbreaker for the beach, blocking a punch, catching a falling mouse.
  • Apprentice - you can cast mid-level arcane protection spells.
    Examples: blocking a single bullet, cushioning a falling safe, creating a small breathing space so you can go underwater briefly.
  • Adept - you can cast high level arcane protection spells.
    Examples: blocking bullets, protecting several people from assault.
  • Master - you can cast extremely strong arcane protection spells.
    Examples: shielding against an artillery shell, catching a falling plane, stopping a ship in its tracks.
1) but not earth or fire
2) However, your body is still capable of starving whilst ghosting.
arcane_magic.txt · Last modified: Tue 22 Apr 2014, 00:28:32 UTC by gm_jamesc
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