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"...[name] stood in the [name2] Hall, a hundred peers watching from the galleys
above. She called her Provider's name, and all could feel the power she commanded.
[name3] summoned his wards, but all that watched knew his efforts were in vain.
The next name she offered was his, and the misery of [name3] was legend."
translated from Dekàlan fragment found in ruins of Ilduùn
Spell Issues
Some spells and powers do not
work within the magical fabric of Teréth End. The
forbidden spells are:
Astral Projection
Astral Projection (PSI)
Astral Steed (PSI)
Baleful Teleport (PSI)
Blink
Bottomless Pit (RR)
Call Cohort (PSI)
Call Familiar (Drag280)
Call Weaponry (PSI)
Dimension Door
Dimension Door (PSI)
Dimenson Slide (PSI)
Dissipating Touch (PSI)
Drawmij's Instant Summons
Ethereal Jaunt
Ethereal Jaunt (PSI)
Etherealness
Etherealness (PSI)
Gate
Impr. Etherealness (PSI)
Leomund's Secret Chest
Mirror Safe (RR)
Mord. Magnificent Mansion
Phase Door
Phase Door (PSI)
Plane Shift
Plane Shift (PSI)
Probability Travel (PSI)
Rapid Journey (RR)
Refuge
Retrieve (PSI)
Teleport
Teleport (PSI)
Teleportation Circle
Teleportation Circle (PSI)
Telerport Trigger (PSI)
Teleport Without Error
Word of Recall
While others work, but not in
ways deemed common in other worlds. The altered spells
are:
Call Aq Animal I-II (RR)
Call Aq Humanoid I-II (RR)
Call Aq Monster (RR)
Dream Travel (PSI)
Greater Planar Ally
Gust of Wind
Imprisonment
Lesser Planar Ally
Limited Wish
Passwall
Recall Champion (RR)
Phantom Steed
Summon Monster I-IX
Summon Swarm
Time Skip (RR)
Transport Via Plants
Tree Stride
Verminplague (RR)
Wall of Hornets (RR)
Widdershins (RR)
Wish
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 Book
of Spells & Magic
It is difficult to know how extensively
magic was used in the Dekàlan Empire for much of the
towers, books, and wizards are gone. Ildûn, once the
center of all things sorcerous, lies under hills of ash and
sand with only fingers of glass and crystal rising from their
buried foundations. Perhaps the greatest evidence of magic-use
in ancient times is the extent of the ruins that remain, for
it is said that during the end-times, the magic was lost.
It is the wish of many Uren magicians to reclaim a piece of
that time.
Explaining how the Chaos
works on Teréth End would not give any insight as to
how it is believed to work and is used. Therefore, the following
books are divided by magical form, way, and the interpretations
and workings of separate sirkùli.
The source of magic on Teréth End is
a matter of unending debate among sirkùli. Some feel
that the Chaos is a gravitational or metaphysical effect caused
by the placement of moons around the world. Some believe that
massive artifacts are buried deep within the ground that emit
the power. Others trace lines of magic across the stars, believing
that re-created patterns of these astral channels may harnass
the Chaos. Still others believe that magic is life, and that
with each spell cast, life is drained from the world.
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From what can be gathered from
the old writings, the Dekàlan wizards did not subscribe
to any of the forementioned beliefs. The Dekàlan wizards,
and many who follow in their footsteps today, believed that
magic was generated by mythical creatures, or that these creatures
served as conduits to great reservoirs of Chaos that Uren
had no access to alone. It is no mystery why the Dekàlan
word for magic, is draga.
Dekàlan art is filled with the imagery of these mythic
beasts. The Dekàlan dependence on magic and these living
sources was central to the adoption of these creatures as
symbols of the Empire. The High King of Lanàdus once
sat upon the Dragar'Na Tom
(Throne of Dragons).
Why is magic so rare in a place
where it must have once been so plentiful? Few are familiar
with the events that brought about the end of the Dekàlan
Empire. Fewer still guess openly regarding what calamity could
have brought about a cessation of magic throughout Dekàlas.
Without these questions, it is difficult to postulate why
magic is rare today. Those that do guess have hypothesized
that the "magic cycle" has troughed and that one day it will
return to ancient peaks. Others guess that the magic is not
gone, but that the Chaos-weavers have forgotten the secrets
necessary to summon the magic forces. Still others believe
that the magic is dying, each passing year there is less,
and it soon will be gone forever.
The contemporary layman's view
of magic varies from one city-state to the next. In the City
of Oth, magic is viewed as a strange and reckless force. It
is known to exist, but magicians are shunned and hunted for
endangering the populace. But even in the some countryside
areas near Oth, the view differs. In the Northfields for example,
everyday people are known to have "knacks" (minor magical
abilities) that manifest themselves in subtle ways. Some knacks
are for fishing, farming, or midwifing. None of these compare
to magician spells, but they are recognized and accepted as
controllable magics by those that study such activities. It
is notable that these "knacks" only appear in the Northfields,
and in no other area around the City of Oth. In the city-state
of Panath, magic is greeted more openly. Magic is an old and
revered tradition in Panath as it may have been in the ancient
lands of Dekàlas.
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The Chaos
Normally,
the Tapestry is a living constant, but during the full phase
of Mamra the Tapestry is distorted. The "natural"
laws that maintain the Tapestry's metaphysical form attempt
to reassert the pattern, but such fixes are temporary at best
during Mamra's reign. This monthly period of disruption
is known by many names, including the "Twisting".
During the Twisting, spells often act irratically or
oftentimes, not at all. Twisting should not be confused with
the mishaps that occur during fumbled spellcasting or in areas
of wild magic (i.e. Dream).
D&D:
To determine the effect on a spell or spell effect (i.e.
wand, etc.) during the Twisting, refer to following table.
Refer to the number that is equivalent to the spell's
saving throw DC (i.e. d20 + the level of the spell + your
bonus for the relevant ability). During the cusps of the full
phase of Mamra (i.e. day before or after Mamra is full) there
is only a 50% of Twisting. The range of effects span
0 to 35.
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01-10
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Spell* fails, charges, spell components and day's memory
of spell slot are lost
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11-12
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Random spell from repertoire
is released instead with normal effect |
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13-14
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Spell affects random target,
or different area 1d10 hexes away (grenade) |
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15-16
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Caster makes save versus Will
(DC 20) or is stunned for 1d6 rounds, spell lost |
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17-18
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Spell rebounds against caster
with normal effect |
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19-20
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Target imbued with spell,
must redirect within 1d6 rounds or suffer effects |
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21-23
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Spell becomes Pyrotechnics
fireworks display, caster level = level of spell x2 |
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24-28
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Spell functions normally |
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29-30
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Spell functions normally and
is not lost, components and charges retained |
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31-32
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Spell functions at 1d4 levels
higher than normal |
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33-34
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Spell functions with maximum
effect, DC is increased by +4 |
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35-36
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Spell blast, level of spell
x d6 explodes in level of spell x 10 ft. radius, spell
lost |
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37+
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Spell nova, as spell blast
but all caster's spells erupt at once, spells lost |
* Term "spell" refers
to psionic powers, spells, and spell-like abilities.
Bad effects of Twisting (unless
otherwise specified) are centered on the spellcaster. The
Twisting metamagic
feat allows a character to push the results of a spell cast
during this time plus or minus four points for each time the
feat is taken.
Example: Dammon, a 7th level sorcerer,
casts Asalayd's Wind during the cusp of Mamra. The DM
rolls percentile dice and gets a 42 meaning a Twisting effect
occurs. Rolling for the DC of his spell, Dammon rolls
an 14 +3 (3rd level spell) +4 (cha modifer) for a result of
21. A result of 21 on the Twisting Chart is "Spell becomes
Pyrotechnics fireworks display" which erupts around Dammon
as if cast by a 6th level spellcaster (level of spell cast
x2). Dammon does not have the Twisting feat, and so cannot
"push" this result to a 19 for normal effect. After
being blinded by the Pyrotechnics, he considers taking the
Twisting feat at 9th level.
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Dragàlim
 To
master anything, it must first be understood. Magic
is no different. In the long ago, the wizards of Dekàlas
conferred endlessly over how the Chaos should be defined and
how those definitions should be categorized. The Dekàlan
DragaOrkid was completed at the Council of Ildûn in
313 HK, and ratified in the Eshádect of 440 HK.
The Draga Orkid outlined twenty-four
arts. The arts were divided into ways and forms. The
combining of ways and forms (dragàlim)
produced magic.
At first, the dragàlim
did nothing to constrain magics, but acted rather as an awkward
template imposed on an already existing order. Great
councils were held to determine what the constructors of the
Draga Orkid meant, and to expand the meaning of the points,
also called nidh (see Visìktis).
By 483 HK the current Draga Orkid, with all its definitions
and variation, is believed to have been settled upon at a
signing of coven masters in the Great Circle of Ildûn.
Eventually, the use of dragàlim came to play
an important role in the development of spells and now defines
a spell's strengths, weaknesses, and function.
Determining the dragàlim
of a spell or enchantment requires a separation of action
and target. The action of a spell is defined by its
primary "way". There are nine ways within
the Draga Orkid; Alèmá
(to move), Endàrtá
(to relate), Halá (to
heal), Ild'a (to control),
Kreádá (to
create), Muátá
(to change), Orádá
(to divine), Sorádá
(to enchant), and Skar'ad
(to destroy). If two "ways" exist and one
is sorád'a, the other is usually counted. The
target of a spell is defined as its primary "form".
This is either the form in which the spell manifests
itself, or that which the spell affects if the manifestation
is unimportant or unknown.
Example, A spell that spouts fire from the magician's
fingertips has two "ways". First the fire
(phlogòstá) is created (kreád'a) and
then directed (ildá) at an opponent. The direction
(control) of the fire, although very significant to the
poor victim, is a secondary effect to the creation of the
blaze. Therefore the spell would be kreád'a
(to create) Phlogòst'a (fire). If the spell
required a nearby fire source the spell would be ildá
Phlogòst'a, as the form for the spell would already
be present, obviating the need to create it.
In the example above the confusion stemmed
from the fact that two "ways" existed. It
is also possible that two "forms" may exist within
a spell. When two "forms" are present within
a spell, the purpose of the spell becomes its target.
Example, The spell Madcurth's
Eye enchants (sorád'a) an extracted eyeball (visìktis)
with the power to find (orádá) an object (tereth).
Two "ways" exist, but because one is sorád'a,
the other is used. Two "forms" exist based
on the eyeball and the object. The eyeball, although
important to the spell is only a component, so the object
is the spell's "form". It is unimportant that
the type of object is known so long as it is physical.
Proper grammatical usage of dragàlim
requires the capitalization of Form, but not Way.
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Cosmology
It is natural for thinking creatures
to wonder if anything exists other than "this".
Does the known world exist alone in nothingness, or
is it surrounded by millions of other worlds where people
are wondering along the same lines. Many are satisfied
with the idea that the question is a philosphical one and
that it doesn't warrant a definitive answer. There are
also those who study the subject more closely and in discovering
that "this" is not the only "here", wonder
again at the extent of the possible cosmology.
Before answering these questions
it is important to explain that no-one on the World of Teréth
End knows the unquestionable truth, though a handful have
stumbled on it accidentally. The answer (as an
outsider looking in) is not a difficult one. There are
three main "planes" (e.g. the Mortal, the Ethereal,
and the Nether) and numerous smaller "areas" (e.g.
mortal Dream, etc.) that exist between. Mortal races
are not constructed in such a way that they might exist in
more than one plane. For this reason, travel to the
Ethereal and Nether is often one-way.
The Ethereal and the Nether are
both similar and dissimilar.
The Ethereal
is the immaterial world that exists beyond what the Dekàlans
called the Omtènema
Vor (or mortal veil). It is believed by many cults
of Teréth End that the dead assume new form that can
pass through this mortal veil and that the endless Ethereal
awaits all that make that passage. Some people believe
that the Ethereal holds great promise for those that venture
there, but others suggest that it is a great sea of nothingness,
and that spirits that venture there are forever lost. Still
others believe that the Tapestry is formed from the Ethereal
and that spirits become part of the Chaos when they pass there.
It is for this final reason that in some places only
priests are permitted to use magic, for the souls of the dead
might be destroyed by careless usage.
The Nether
is a third world that exists beyond what the Dekàlans
called the Kyuràda
Vor (or withering veil). It is believed by some
cults of Ter´th End that the withering veil holds great
and horrible beings at bay that would seek to destroy the
mortal world. Furthermor, some believe that the withering
veil was constructed by beneficent gods to protect and nurture
the mortal realm. Unlike the Ethereal, the Nether is
believed to be home to voracious outsiders which are depicted
in a constant struggle to breach the veil and partake of the
treasures of the mortal world.
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