IMPORTANT: Magic and Elements 2.0 [WIP]

Changelog:
21/5 Made layout slightly better. Now finding your own element and spell should be a lot easier.


Alright, here's some extra details on magic and elements. THIS LIST IS NOT COMPLETE. I will do extra work on it, also based on your feedback. Next on my list is a "Strength and weaknesses", also including physical combat.

This is a long text but it should be a fast read, and an important one. I ask you all to read and provide feedback somehow.

Aspects covered: Earth, rock, sand and stone; nature and metal/ores to some extent. Also has a grasp on tectonic movements (=quakes).
Applications: It is mostly used defensively, to enhance oneself or protect groups of people. Due to power over earth movements (and very large natural, blunt objects) it has good supporting abilities, mostly in the form of loss of stature (unbalancing) and staggers. It can be, but rarely is, used offensively (shards or boulders).

Aspects covered: Water-related e.g. water breathing, ice, [water] currents, weather (clouds, rain, snow).
Applications: Water is very balanced and versatile. Ice is often used for offense as well as defence, in the form of shards, spikes or barriers, or directly imbued into equipment. Water is often summoned or manipulated directly. Weather can provide excellent support, for example to cool down an area in a desert/hot area, or quell a violent thunderstorm.

Aspects covered: [air] pressure, gases, [wind] currents; speed/haste and weight to some extent. Can also manipulate [direction of] noise and smell.
Applications: Wind is a very supportive element: strong currents can deflect projectiles, weather conditions or move people and items around. Wind is also used to enhance people or spells. It is often used outside battles to manage weather and winds when travelling by sea.

Aspects covered: Heat, energy, explosion/ignition. Isn’t that enough?
Applications: Fire is very offensive and is mostly used in combat. It tends to incinerate people or give them high degree burns. It can be used to burn armour or items or superheat heavier armours. It is also often used in torture and, rarely, to cauterise wounds.

Aspects covered: Illumination, mind healing, enhancement and focus.
Applications: Normally used in a supporting way, Light can be an extremely strong weapon against certain enemy types (some undead, some demons and shadow-related beings). Light can cure mental conditions and enhance one’s mind state overall.

Aspects covered: Dimming, curses, mind manipulation/control, hallucinations and mind-altering states. Also contributes to necromancy.
Applications: Shadow can be used to inflict “fictional” pain on a target, usually to incapacitate or cripple them. Hallucinations of different kinds, including nightmares, are common shadow spells used in torture and battle. Shadow can also provide allies with special states such as bloodlust. However, stronger willpower and magical protection will make shadow spells far more ineffective.

Aspects covered: Living beings/matter, nature and healing.
Applications: Life magic is often used to mend somebody’s wounds or restore stamina and magical power. It can repair bones and damaged organs. With enough power it can go as far as wholly resurrecting people. It can also make use of nearby plant or wild life or even summon some with the help of other elements. Life magic can, to some extent, enhance people’s recovery and regeneration, even in combat.

Aspects covered: Pure destruction, diseases, plagues, pain and necromancy.
Applications: Death magic can be used in its pure state, often to spread pestilence and other deadly spells, or imbued in weapons and other elements. Death magic can also obliterate and protect from spells. It is substantial in necromancy. Death magic can also be used to heal death-related beings.

Aspects covered: Space and time (duh). That’s all.
Applications: It’s the only element that cannot be used to directly harm an opponent. It has many roles, however, ranging from teleportation to past sight and future prediction. Summoning is also part of this. It can also speed up time for some individuals or slow down time for others.

Aspects covered: Magic as a whole, [magical] lightning.
Applications: Offensively it can be used to disrupt an enemy’s focus, knock them back, throw solid objects or even shock them with pure lightning. Defensively it can create magical barriers or destroy incoming spells. In a supporting role, it can enhance other people in several aspects, mostly strength and dexterity well as magical and physical resistance.


-Basic: Simple, inexpensive, usually instant-cast spells. These are readily available and easy to find. These spells can be learned by anybody with a basic knowledge of magic and that element.
-Standard: In essence basic spells 2.0. Many apprentice spells involve only one element and still have basic, yet strong functions. Most of these spells can be picked up by novices, but will take more power and concentration. They eventually tend to replace basic spells.
-Superior: They can be different types of standard spells, spells involving two or more elements, or simply stronger standard spells. These spells are only sometimes instantly-cast and may require a little bit of concentration and focus in order to be released. No ‘custom’ spell is weaker than a superior spell.
-Advanced: Basically enhanced versions of superior spells, they usually have additional effects or functions and are the most common type of ‘custom’ spells.
-Master: Some of the most powerful spells a single individual can handle. These spells often affect more than one single target, if not an entire area, have multiple functions and are composed of several elements. Some master spells may require external aid, such as from magical sources or other casters.
-Apex: The most powerful spells. These are extremely rarely handled by a single individual (an honour given to some Riders) and usually require groups of people, or even special altars, runes or engravings, in order to be cast. They also tend to need large amounts of magical power, provided by nearby runes, anomalies, living creatures or gems. The main disadvantage of these spells is that they are relatively easy to disrupt, so they are often used outside (or before) combat.

(These are examples. There's far more spells and spell types for every element, as well as a large choice of element mixing)


- Ironskin (Basic, Earth): You reinforce your armour as well as your own skin. Your armour will be more durable and tougher, your skin will be harder to cut or pierce and also gain a light additional resistance to magical attacks.
A defensive spell cast before or during battles. It’s easy to learn and does not consume much magical power; it can also last for a long amount of time as long as a very little amount of magical power is constantly (passively) channelled.
- Shard rain (Standard, Earth): You summon a group of arrow-like stone shards that are then magically thrown in the chosen direction.
An offensive spell, this is very effective against no or light armour as it can simply tear through flesh, cloth and light leather.
- Constricting Vines (Superior, Earth/Life): You grab control of nearby vines to entangle your enemy/enemies for a certain amount of time. If no vines are in the proximity some magical vines may be summoned, but they won’t be as strong as natural ones.
This is a versatile spell. You can use it to immobilise an enemy for a second hit, to save you or somebody else from a charging enemy, or even to separate a group or individual people so to cripple the army as a whole.


- Ice shards (Basic, Ice): A small number of sharp ice shards are summoned and then magically thrown at a target.
Differently from earth shards, ice shards are overall weaker (especially against heavier armour) but cause freezing on impact, which helps slowing down and crippling wounded enemies.
- Frostbolt (Basic, Water/Ice): A single magical bolt of water and ice, which is flung at an enemy or target location.
Frostbolts are considered “soft”, while shards are considered “hard”. Shards will shatter or pierce, bolts will splash or smack. Frostbolts have a far stronger freezing and slowing effect than ice shards, which can seep through armour and some protections, but deal less effective damage.
- Ice Wave (Superior, Ice): A number of large, sharp icy spikes will rise from the ground in a line in front of the caster. A well-placed spike can impale a lightly-armoured foe on the spot.
While the spell itself is powerful and highly damaging, the line of spikes will take a few seconds to form, and with a warning – thus opening for dodging or blocking opportunities.
- Frost Touch (Superior, Ice): Your weapons and armour is imbued with pure frost magic. Any melee attack received will lightly freeze the attacker. Any melee attack that connects with an enemy or entity will transfer them the same effect. Additionally, the user is far more resistant to Water and Ice attacks.
Frost touch is usually paired-up with heavy armour that is not easily pierced or broken. It can also be cast on other people, but untrained soldiers and normal metal armours may be frozen or slowed down by the effect itself.


- Blast (Basic, Wind): A blast of pressured wind sent towards a target.
This is especially useful against fighters, but it can also distract casters and deviate heavier projectiles.
- Gust (Standard, Wind): A gust of wind rises from your back, sweeping anything in its direction.
This spell is often used during sea travel to greatly reduce travelling times. It can sweep sand into enemies, spread or quell fires and, with enough force, slow or stop people.
- Whirlwind (Standard, Wind): Strong winds form beneath a target, trying to lift it upwards and incapacitate it.
This spell also works with inanimate targets, similar to telekinesis, but giving encasing the target in powerful winds.
- Haste (Superior, Wind/raw magic): You grant yourself or somebody else a light boon. All movements become easier (and therefore faster), armour and weapons weight less to the wearer and reflexes are also heightened.
At higher levels this can affect a group of people, or even be an “aura” around the caster.


- Fireball (Basic, Fire): You create a sphere of pure fire to throw at a chosen target.
Fire alone doesn’t have a strong impact, but it can cause severe burns (and pain) and, at higher temperatures, even melt armour.
- Heat Aura (Standard, Fire): You provide energy to your surroundings, heating up the area.
This aura can destabilise casters and almost cook up heavily armoured men. It can also simply be used to, for example, heat a room or a group of people during cold weather.
- Boil (Superior, Fire/Water): You locate a liquid and gradually heat it up. If uninterrupted, very high temperatures can be reached.
This can be used on living creatures (usually for torture), but it can be interrupted quite easily as some time is needed before critical temperatures are reached.
- Meteor (Master, Fire/Earth/Space-time): You summon a large rock in the sky, setting it alight and then assisting its fall downwards.
A devastating spell, it usually needs a high amount of concentration in order for it to have a lethal effect on its targets. It is often used during sieges and very rarely in large battles.


- Enlighten (Basic, Light): An area around you or a target is covered in light, inspiring nearby people.
This not only provides illumination but may also counter similar Shadow spells.
- Clear Mind (Standard, Light): Thoughts are more focused and burdens clear the mind, allowing for easier concentration and focus, in battle or at work.
- Blind (Standard, Light): A strong flash is sent to a target, temporarily blinding it. If strong enough, it may confuse or knock out somebody.
This spell can also purge similar Shadow spells.
- Purge (Superior, Light): Pure Light magic flows through the target. Normal people will hardly feel a thing. However Undead, some Elementals and Shadow/Death magic practitioners will have their magical reserves weakened.


- Darken (Basic, Shadow): Darkness surrounds a person or area, possibly dimmer light and possible fright.
- Fear (Standard, Shadow): The target’s mind is attacked by shadows, triggering panic reactions.
Even at higher levels, this spell only effectively attacks weaker-willed subjects. Effects vary from small levels of fear to pure panic and even suicide.
- Cripple (Superior, Shadow): Shadow envelops the mind and the nerves, causing the weak to fall to their knees in pain.
Even on stronger subjects, pain will be felt, but the crippling effect may be reduced or denied.
- Bloodlust (Superior, Shadow): The target enters a raging frenzy; combat senses and strength is heightened at the cost of low self-control, suppressed pain and a wish to slaughter anything in sight.
While this can be used on the caster, it is not suggested to do so. This is particularly useful on weaker-willed offensive units or to disrupt organised enemy ranks.


- Heal (Basic, Life): The target’s flesh (internal and external) wounds are slowly sealed and repaired.
This spell scales, in speed and effectiveness, with one’s mastery a lot more than other spells do. It also works on organs as long as some part of them is left intact – you can heal a stabbed eye, but not a missing or fully crushed eye.
- Bone mend (Standard, Life): Similar as Heal, this spell targets one’s bones by increasing their regeneration and re-aligning them.
Note: This spell can cause pain because of the bones’ movement.
- Rejuvenation (Superior, Life): The target is strengthened for a certain amount of time, increasing their physical stamina as well as their magical power and recovery. Light wounds are instantly resealed and bleeding is lessened.
- Resurrection (Apex, Life/Light/Water): The body is repaired, rehydrated and its soul is restored. This spell requires a special resurrection altar or similar, and at least one master of each element.
This spell is not possible, or extremely hard to achieve, if 1) The body is beyond repair 2) The soul had long departed the body 3) The soul has been trapped and is not readily available.


- Wrath (Standard, Death/Raw magic): A blast of death magic is sent to a target. It will ignore all physical armour and, as if a sword struck, tear skin and flesh.
This spell is, however, enormously weakened by any form of magical protection.
- Death’s Touch (Standard, Death): You imbue your weapon with a dark spell. On contact, the spell will increase the strike’s strength by destroying matter near the impact area, widening wounds or shattering bones.
- Agony (Superior, Death): A channelled spell that focuses on one target. Unless interrupted, the body will weaken, wounds will open and death by bleeding or extreme pain will occur.
- Hellbolt (Superior, Death/fire): A bolt of pure, concentrated magic, it can destroy matter it contacts with and, if strong enough, carve a hole through people and items. It is particularly effective on heavy armour


- Blink (Basic, Space-time): You perform a short yet instant forward teleport. A well executed blink can confuse or close into an enemy.
- Teleport (Standard, Space-time): You teleport from a place to another. At lower mastery, this is only effective if teleporting towards anchored places. The distance and time needed to teleport is proportional to the distance.
- Portal (Superior, Space-time): You open a portal in front of you. This will function like a teleport, but multiple people can access it. The portal has to be kept up, however, and it will decay in seconds if it isn’t fuelled. Items can also travel through a portal.
- Foresight (Superior, Space-time/Light): You are able to predict the very few moments ahead of you for a short time. This, paired up with increased reflexes and thinking speed, allows you to quickly change your actions or deflect an opponent’s strikes.


- Telekinesis (Basic, Raw magic): You are able to remotely hold and move objects. The strength of the telekinetic grab will increase with one’s mastery, as will the ability to seize living or multiple targets.
- Dash (Standard, Raw magic): Your next footstep(s) is (are) enhanced, providing you a far greater boost in the chosen direction.
This is a powerful dodging, fleeing and closing move; however practise is required to get acquainted with the sudden power surge.
- Raw Blast (Standard, Raw magic): A simple blast of pure magic. It will push away or stagger targeted enemies and may disrupt a caster’s focus. A strong blast can send targets flying or knock them into the ground.
- Lightning Storm (Master, Raw Magic): You charge up and then release raw magic in the form of lightning in an area in front of you. Targets will be electrocuted (or in some cases turned to ash) and direct lightning strikes will leap from target to target. Lightning is particularly effective against many forms of magical protection, as well as heavy metal armour.

Nice, are these the standard spells for each element? Were still allowed our own unique magic according to our element right?

These are "sample" spells. Purely an example of how some spells could be and could work. If requested, or needed, I will probably add a list of standard spells for all elements.

Yes, I allow (and, in fact, incite) creation of custom/special spells. They can be modifications of existing spells or completely new things, usually with different aesthetics or functions. All "custom" spells will have to be checked and confirmed, for now by me I suppose (being the one that manages elements/magic currently), but we'll see.

Wait is that the Magic part in out bio?

What do you mean?

Nevermind, I found it. ^_^