Of Magick, Faith, and Science

in Players Guide to Adventures in Valerick

In the lands of Valerick, unlike other realms you may be familiar with, there are three kinds of....power. Magick if you will, though only two are true magick. Magick both divine and arcane operate exceedingly different from each other, to the point where they cannot even sense each other. Besides such magick, there is technology, the study of the sciences.

For conventional magick, there are many differences. For example, those whom worship the gods or practice the arcane share none of their spells or powers. Every god has their unique abilities they bestow upon their chosen recipients and this includes the blessings and divine miracles they may offer. As to the arcane arts, there are many types, many spells, but only a few are legal or should be considered safe to practice. For the eight currents of Manna are where true power lies, and those whom practice magick legally are always of one school of the Magisterium, a master of one flow of manna. These orders are the most common and primary face of the Arcane. Those whom practice magick illegally of course, can wield these spells as well, but do so with far less control and far more....madness. It is something that can be seen, felt and heard.

By its nature magick is obvious, it stands out. You cannot hide what you are, you cannot hide when you are casting spells. Magisters on Valerick are not the dusty folk whom merely read tomes and are physically lacking in ability or martial skill. They often wear armor, all have at least a modicum of martial prowess, and they are fit of mind and of body. They have to be. For the currents of Manna are unforgiving indeed.

This can be seen in those whom wield the forbidden arts of the arcana. Warlocks, witches, and those whom practice the vile crafts of sorcery or druidry wield devastating power, but at great risk, for they treat with many currents at once, wielding the various flows in combination without thinking or training or discipline, but on instinct. Most eventually become consumed by this, the madness of it all chipping away at them, twisting body and mind until they fall to true darkness, wielding the Magicks of Insanity, wielding raw energies from the Void for power. Hence the persecution they suffer. Witches and Warlocks are seen as the worst, for they have already sold their soul to some dark being, some long forgotten abomination or Void God in exchange for power, even though this is not always the case.

Of course then there are the powers of the true faithful. Entertainers stand alone in their unique way, as the voice of the Ascended, they are not beholden to any one diety among them, but worship the Ascended as a whole. So their list of powers is rather unique, and a thing all its own, though it counts as Divine Power, it is unique and seperate from the others whom call upon Divine Powers in their own right.

As to the rest whom can call upon divine power, they all are tied to the diety they so worship and as such, their abilities are set within the strict bounds of that faith. Their power lies in their faith and the unique gifts they can call upon. Such gifts are not free however, and one should always be careful to honor their diety, follow the divine codes, and stay in good standing. For a fall from grace can have a lot harsher consqeuences than just losing access to such power.

Finally we have the new age 'magicians', those whom wield technology and the sciences to achieve amazing and seemingly impossible effects. They are the heralds of a new age, of an industrial age, marking the progress of study and academia, as they inch ever closer to achieving and even perhaps one day in the not too distant future, pushing beyond the boundaries of such things as the Arcane, or Divinely gifted power. For what is the true limit of science? Are their any, as we make new breakthroughs within society in this golden age of academia, do we truly yet know of any limits, or are the only limits our own willingness to commit the long, ever so long, hours, days, months and years necessary to make such breakthroughs? None can say for sure, but it is a very interesting time to be alive to be sure.

Within this chapter you will find the magicks of Valerick. It will be divided up by profession, each profession a chapter. Any differences or alternative options for professions granted by their focuses will be included within the chapter of that profession. You will also find the devices and substances used by professions such as Chemist and Tinkerer here under their respective labels, containing their other focus subsets as well.