In Alethia Magic is divided into three categories:
The first are the Divine Blessings bestowed upon the people of Alethia by their gods. These are typically granted at the age of 16 (or the equivalent age in longer or shorter lived races, goblins get theirs at 6) and grant powers appropriate to the god and the region in which they live. Typically the blessing is received from the god that created the Divine Pillar under which you live. These Blessings are typically the same from the time they are received until the day the blessed die.
Blessings use a persons mana to produce effects.
The second is Ritual magic, learned though practice and experimentation in the manipulation of Alethia's abundant mana, these spells take more time to cast and use the mana of their environment to produce their effects but the range of spells a mage can produce depends only upon their imagination and their will.
Ritual magic uses Fatigue to produce magical effects.
The third is Essence magic, gained through the absorption of Essence Cubes and Affinity Stones, these powers begin as potent as week ritual spells but are quicker to manifest and grow in power with use. Each Essence Magician is only able to have a total of twenty essence powers and they have little say in the exact powers they receive beyond selecting which Essence Cubes and Affinity Stones they absorb.
Essence abilities use a combination of Mana Points and Fatigue Points to produce their effects.
The native mana levels of Alethia are high and as a result the population of Alethia are naturally too saturated with magical power to be able to absorb Essence Stones.
You are magically adept. This advantage comes in levels. You must purchase Magery 0 before buying higher levels of Magery.
In Alethia all Magery levels are "One College Only", meaning that when you take levels in Magery you have to pick which of the 8 colleges you would like to learn or improve.
Ritual magic is also slightly slower to manifest than Blessings and Essence powers, every time a mage casts a spell using Ritual magic add a single concentration maneuver before the actual casting as prep. time.
As a result, Each level of Magery costs only 3 points.
The information below about Magery lists the price at 10, this is the base price without the limitations listed above.
Magery levels have a Prerequisite number of spells of that same College equal to twice the level of Magery you have. Thus in order to have Magery 3 you are required to have learned at least 6 spells from that College.
The 'Flexible' list of spells is the exception, there is no school for those spells, instead they belong to, and count towards the number of spells you have for the Colleges in which you place the spells.
5 points for level 0
3 points / additional level (max level = Rank Modifier)
Magery represents your general aptitude for the manipulation of magical energies. This is an advantage not a skill that you roll it is a general aptitude that modifies other rolls related to essence use.
This advantage comes in levels. You must purchase Essence Use 0 before buying higher levels of Essence Use.
Magery 0 :
This is basic “magical awareness,” a prerequisite for learning magic in most worlds.
The GM makes a Sense roll when you first see a magic item, and again when you first touch it.
On a success, you intuitively know that the item is magical.
A roll of 3 or 4 also tells you whether the magic is helpful or dangerous, and about how strong it is.
Those without Magery do not get this roll!
5 points.
Magery 1 + :
Higher levels of Magery make it much easier to learn and use magic. Add your Magery to IQ when you learn or use ritual magics.
For instance, if you have IQ 14, Magery 3 lets you learn spells as if you had IQ 17.
Add your Magery level to Perception when you roll to sense magic items, and to IQ when you learn Thaumatology skill (p. 225).
Reduce the time required to learn new spells in play (but not the point cost) by 10% per Magery level, to a minimum of 60% of the usual time at Magery 4.
For instance, with Magery 3, you would learn spells in 70% the usual time.
Powerful spells require a minimum level of Magery as a prerequisite, so be sure to skim the Spell List (pp. 242-253) when deciding how much Magery you need.
Note: that high Magery lets you produce powerful results with even the most basic spells.
10 points/level (on top of the 5 points for Magery 0).
Each level in this skill adds 1 to your base IQ for the purpose of determining:
Difficulty when Casting Spells
On Sense rolls when dealing with Magical effects
On Perception rolls when spotting, identifying, and examining Auras
With Learning and Utilizing ritual magic
Special Limitations
Dance: You must be free to use bodily motions in order to cast spells. You are not freed from rituals requiring movement as your spell level increases. However, you need not speak at all to cast your spells. -40%.
Dark-Aspected: You can only use your powers in darkness. Regardless of the time of day or night, any light greater than candlelight or starlight deprives you of your abilities, though your aura reveals that you are a mage. -50%.
Day-Aspected: You can use your powers only when the sun is in the sky – on average, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. During solar eclipses, you have no powers! The effects of other astronomical events are up to the GM. When the sun is down, you have none of your magical abilities, although a look at your aura reveals that you are a mage. You are not affected by being in buildings, underground, and so on; only the sun’s position matters. You know automatically (if you are awake) when it is one minute to sunrise and one minute to sunset. -40%.
Musical: You must use a musical instrument in order to cast spells. You can never cast spells silently. -50%.
Night-Aspected: You can only use your powers when the sun is not in the sky – on average, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. When the sun is up, you have none of your magical abilities, although a look at your aura reveals that you are a mage. You are not affected by being in buildings, underground, and so on; only the sun’s position matters. You know automatically (if you are awake) when it is one minute to sunrise and one minute to sunset. -40%.
One College Only: Your Magery only benefits the spells of a single college and the Recover Energy spell. You learn other spells as though you were a non-mage, and can only cast them in high-mana areas. You may still count such spells as prerequisites for spells in your own college. You cannot detect magic items unless they contain at least one spell of your college, in which case you roll normally for detection on first sight and first touch. -40%.
Solitary: Your magical abilities are at -3 for every sapient being within five yards of you, and -6 for anyone touching you. As partial compensation, you get a roll vs. IQ to notice any time a sapient creature enters or leaves the five-yard area around you –but this only works on a single person. If there is already someone standing next to you, you won’t notice if someone else approaches. -40%.
Song: You must be able to sing in order to cast your spells. You are not freed from the ritual of speaking to cast spells as your spell level increases. -40%
First, Magery is always One College Only, limited to one of the 8 colleges of magic.
Second, Each spell requires a level of Magery equal to the level of the spell.
Third, the level of a spell reduces the effective level of Magery applied to a spell. Subtract the level of the spell from your Magery level before applying the benefits of the Magery Advantage to a spell.
As a result of these limitations the cost of Magery beyond level 0 is reduced to 3 points per level.