The River and the Road: Skills (Part 2)

I told you magic was gonna get weird, but look at what's going on in Musketry- what could I be getting at there?

Hey, hi. Here's what I've got for the next bit of The River and the Road, which will finish off weapon Styles, and then give you a taste of Magic. Coming up: More Magic, which is again, really, really weird.

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Shield: Fighting with the addition of a shield or other, similar defensive weapons, allowing new methods of intercepting enemy attacks, and countering with blunting bash attacks.

Archery: Training to nock, aim and loose from bows, crossbows and similar weapons, and not just hit a standing target, but hit a moving target, a hiding target, a charging target. 

Musketry: Training to load, present and fire muskets, blunderbusses and other combusting ranged weapons, both to hit the target, but scorch it with fire and deafen it with blast. 

Magic

The Converged Worlds are described as having Architecture, by those who can perceive it, as though certain forces are drawn into the “picture” of the world, like the precise lines of a blueprint. But it’s not simply lines that they describe, but multiple colours of them upon onion-skin paper, drawing the outline of concepts as abstract shapes, which only become perceptible things, weighty and real, when all of the coloured layers are overlaid each other, and the blueprint is complete. The Indivisible Eleven are pretty staunch about their plans for the Converged Worlds remaining set to their specifications, but even so, they’re secure in their designs, and don’t mind much if people find ways of redrawing the lines in some fashion, because in time, all will go back to how it was supposed to be. It’s in the design, with proper purpose.

Each level of Mastery within a form of Magic provides one Subtle, one Overt and one Ritual manifestation that can be harnessed and cast forth to do arcane work for you, at different scales. Subtle manifestations allow for simple, functional spells to be cast, many of which are not taxing and can be performed passively, without effort. Overt manifestations are more direct, and are cast with a Spellcasting check, allowing the caster to either attack or perform some constructive or supportive function, or perhaps both when put to different tasks. Ritual manifestations are grand scale works of magic, which require some setup, a concerted effort, and might require a sacrifice of reagents, and will either unleash some large scale effect, or bind some greater force to a person, place or thing, as enchantment or a power to be released later.

In addition to Learning Experiences, characters require a point of Magical Aptitude, which are awarded when they undergo experiences that bring them close to the bared nature of the Converged Worlds. These can be near-death experiences where the veil is momentarily drawn back by getting too close to mortality, or moments where profound and universal truth is revealed, beautiful, terrible and without argument to the contrary. They can also be moments where a character demonstrates the ability to apply their logic arcanely, by solving a puzzle that required a leap beyond normal logic. For each applicable Learning Experience, a point of Magical Aptitude must be spent in order to gain a new level in a Magic Skill. In addition, if you have Magical Aptitude when you create a character, you can choose to take any levels desired across any of the schools, 1 for each point you have.

Finally, you have a limited range when using certain forms of magic, as will be denoted in their description. Your Spellcasting Range is equal to 10in, + 1 for each level above 1 you have in Senses, Instinct and Cunning. Some spells also use a generalized statistic for how powerful a spellcast your are, called Spellcasting Strength. You gain 1 Spellcasting Strength for every level of Instinct and Cunning you have above 1.

Potential: Living energy permeates the world, glowing with a vibrant green. Those of this school can raise this energy to vitalize the dying, or ignite it to bring death to an enemy.