The Colors of Magic
All the planes of Magic’s Multiverse are suffused with mana—the energy that fuels magic in all its forms. Mana is intricately linked with the physical world, and different types of terrain produce different “colors” of mana. Most mages specialize in the use of one or perhaps two colors of mana, and in the particular types of magical effects that mana can create. Color is a fundamental organizing principle of the Multiverse, closely linked with everything from physical geography to human personality. The following are just some of the correlations between color and other aspects of existence:
• Lands: Different types of terrain generate mana of different colors. For example, mountains produce red mana, while plains produce white mana.
• Philosophical Principles: Each color is associated with a set of ideals, values, and principles.
• Magical Effects: Different colors of mana are used to power different kinds of spells. Spells of fire, lightning, and speed draw on red mana, while spells of water, ice, and the mind use blue mana.
• Races and Creatures: Humans are exceptional, in that they don’t have a particular aptitude or affinity for one color of mana. For other races, and even for nonsentient creatures, the connection is much stronger. Elves, for example, are typically green aligned. They use nature magic, and they value things like balance, stability, and interdependence. Hydras are also green aligned, though they don’t use magic and they don’t have values—even as they can be seen to embody those values. So if you wanted to summon a hydra, you’d use a green spell to do it.
• Metaphysical Essence: Sometimes magic or even powerful emotions can change the basic nature of people or creatures in a way that alters their color alignment. A vile curse might change someone from green aligned to black aligned (or both green and black aligned). A terrible loss that spurs someone to vengeance might add red to the person’s color alignment—temporarily or even permanently.
• Personality Traits: Different colors of mana are associated with different qualities of personality. It might be that a person who is emotionally driven, creative, and energetic is naturally drawn to the use of red mana; or perhaps using red mana brings out those qualities in a person. Most likely, the effect runs both ways.
A character’s or creature’s “color alignment” is a sort of shorthand that sketches out its personality, alignment, and power suite—the kinds of effects that it creates with its magic or through its behavior. This section goes over the traits of each of the five colors, and offers suggestions for ways they might influence a D&D character.
Many mages, especially Planeswalkers, routinely draw on two or more colors of mana.
In some worlds, color pairs or triads have such a strong identity that they are manifested in the world. The guilds of Ravnica, for example, are each aligned to a specific pair of mana colors, and each of the clans of Tarkir used three colors. And some lands produce mana of more than one color, so that a highland lake might produce both red and blue mana. Mana pairs similarly suggest certain principles, create certain magical effects, and favor certain personality traits.
Based on the color wheel, it’s possible to speak of two colors of mana as either “allied” (adjacent to each other on the wheel) or “enemy” (separated by another color). White’s allied colors are green and blue; its enemy colors are red and black. That doesn’t mean that creatures associated with allied colors are necessarily on the same side of any conflict, or that creatures associated with enemy colors are actually enemies. But if conflict does arise—for example, in a party of adventurers—it’s more likely to arise between a white-aligned and a red-aligned character than between a white-aligned and a blue-aligned one. That’s the natural result of the different personalities and principles associated with each color. A white character might put a lot of stress on the value of law and order, and of working together toward a common goal. A red-aligned character values freedom and individuality.
In the language of the D&D game, the colors of mana are a means of categorizing the types of magic that suffuse all existence. When a spellcaster draws upon or manipulates the Weave (see chapter 10 in the Player’s Handbook), part of that process involves tugging on a strand that connects to a land that produces mana of the desired color. Whether consciously or unconsciously, a druid casting barkskin tugs on a strand of the Weave connected to a forest in the world, drawing out the green mana needed to cast the spell.
There’s no rules weight to this material; it’s simply about roleplaying your character. If you’re playing a cleric, you might find it helpful to imagine your character drawing on white mana, and you’ll find that a lot of your spells could indeed be white spells in Magic. You might also find inspiration in the personality traits and ideals described in the white mana entry. But there’s no rule preventing your character from using spells like divination (a blue spell), stone shape (a red spell), create undead (a black spell), or insect plague (a green spell). On the other hand, you might find that thinking about your cleric as a white-aligned caster shapes your choice of spells as well as your personality.
• Lands: Different types of terrain generate mana of different colors. For example, mountains produce red mana, while plains produce white mana.
• Philosophical Principles: Each color is associated with a set of ideals, values, and principles.
• Magical Effects: Different colors of mana are used to power different kinds of spells. Spells of fire, lightning, and speed draw on red mana, while spells of water, ice, and the mind use blue mana.
• Races and Creatures: Humans are exceptional, in that they don’t have a particular aptitude or affinity for one color of mana. For other races, and even for nonsentient creatures, the connection is much stronger. Elves, for example, are typically green aligned. They use nature magic, and they value things like balance, stability, and interdependence. Hydras are also green aligned, though they don’t use magic and they don’t have values—even as they can be seen to embody those values. So if you wanted to summon a hydra, you’d use a green spell to do it.
• Metaphysical Essence: Sometimes magic or even powerful emotions can change the basic nature of people or creatures in a way that alters their color alignment. A vile curse might change someone from green aligned to black aligned (or both green and black aligned). A terrible loss that spurs someone to vengeance might add red to the person’s color alignment—temporarily or even permanently.
• Personality Traits: Different colors of mana are associated with different qualities of personality. It might be that a person who is emotionally driven, creative, and energetic is naturally drawn to the use of red mana; or perhaps using red mana brings out those qualities in a person. Most likely, the effect runs both ways.
A character’s or creature’s “color alignment” is a sort of shorthand that sketches out its personality, alignment, and power suite—the kinds of effects that it creates with its magic or through its behavior. This section goes over the traits of each of the five colors, and offers suggestions for ways they might influence a D&D character.
Multiple Colors
Many mages, especially Planeswalkers, routinely draw on two or more colors of mana.
In some worlds, color pairs or triads have such a strong identity that they are manifested in the world. The guilds of Ravnica, for example, are each aligned to a specific pair of mana colors, and each of the clans of Tarkir used three colors. And some lands produce mana of more than one color, so that a highland lake might produce both red and blue mana. Mana pairs similarly suggest certain principles, create certain magical effects, and favor certain personality traits.
Based on the color wheel, it’s possible to speak of two colors of mana as either “allied” (adjacent to each other on the wheel) or “enemy” (separated by another color). White’s allied colors are green and blue; its enemy colors are red and black. That doesn’t mean that creatures associated with allied colors are necessarily on the same side of any conflict, or that creatures associated with enemy colors are actually enemies. But if conflict does arise—for example, in a party of adventurers—it’s more likely to arise between a white-aligned and a red-aligned character than between a white-aligned and a blue-aligned one. That’s the natural result of the different personalities and principles associated with each color. A white character might put a lot of stress on the value of law and order, and of working together toward a common goal. A red-aligned character values freedom and individuality.
Characters and Colors
In the language of the D&D game, the colors of mana are a means of categorizing the types of magic that suffuse all existence. When a spellcaster draws upon or manipulates the Weave (see chapter 10 in the Player’s Handbook), part of that process involves tugging on a strand that connects to a land that produces mana of the desired color. Whether consciously or unconsciously, a druid casting barkskin tugs on a strand of the Weave connected to a forest in the world, drawing out the green mana needed to cast the spell.
There’s no rules weight to this material; it’s simply about roleplaying your character. If you’re playing a cleric, you might find it helpful to imagine your character drawing on white mana, and you’ll find that a lot of your spells could indeed be white spells in Magic. You might also find inspiration in the personality traits and ideals described in the white mana entry. But there’s no rule preventing your character from using spells like divination (a blue spell), stone shape (a red spell), create undead (a black spell), or insect plague (a green spell). On the other hand, you might find that thinking about your cleric as a white-aligned caster shapes your choice of spells as well as your personality.
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