General Theory of Magic

Magic within the world of Camory is a highly rational system with a codified set of theories and operations as opposed to an undefined system with vaguely defined concepts of the situation dictating the potency of the magic. This is in part because there is not a greater overlaying structure to the world like hidden fates controlling destiny, karmic balance, or a combined universal consciousness to tap into. While many of the world reference a creator, such as the ‘All Father’ in the lands of Arisilon or ‘The True Mother’ in Zylonica, the actual gods which are worshipped are bound to the world and limited by the same rules of magic – therefore even their miracles and spells follow a similar set of rational rules with expected results.
When an unexpected anomaly occurs, the wise spellcaster begins asking why and searching for a deeper cause – never accepting an answer that it is magic and therefore not meant to be understood. True wizards are researchers who devote their life to the actual study of magic and its properties. They are far more than collectors of spells and dusty grimoires.
The study of magic is an abstract representation of the structure of reality and could be considered another branch of science along with physics and chemistry. As magic exists within this framework, that means the traditional theories for the disciplines of physics, chemistry, and biology are expanded and all are ultimately integrated with one another into a framework including magic.
Within the sciences, as studied by the Academy of Science and Magic, eight broad categories exist which in turn contain several sub-categories. Those eight categories are Physical Relational, Physical Interactive, Innate Magic, Divine Magic, Arcane Magic, Harmonic Magic, Technomancy, and Shar Dan. Much like many disciplines of science, magic builds off of itself. Whereas biology is based on chemistry, and chemistry is based on physics, one could say that innate magic is based on the Physical sciences, and divine magic is based on innate magic. Furthering this analogy, Technomancy would be most similar to engineering fields and Shar Dan would closest relate to quantum mechanics while its understanding would be mathematics.
As with science, the study of magic starts largely as observational ability. If you can't perceive it, it is hard to study it. The scholars of Camoray break science and magic down as follows.

Physical Relational Effects:

This is the study of the basic properties of the universe like mass and energy. This is the study of gravity and how it influences large bodies. It is the study of heat transfer and mechanical energy. This is the science of momentum and inertia. Basic physics.

Physical Interactive Effects:

Basic chemistry. This, of course, builds off of Physical Relational Effects. It is the study of the properties of matter. Interactions of various chemicals, even if not strictly magical, often get classified under alchemy.

Innate Magic:

Any living organism or item which can interact with magic has a minute level of magical ability to slightly modify the Physical Effects around them. As a general rule, this manifests in small ways virtually unnoticeable.
In some situations, especially in living things, it may manifest in specific ways, ways usually particular to that species. When this happens, it is generally homogenous enough in nature that these are considered traits for the species. Common occurrences might be dragon breath, invisibility, lycanthropy, magically aided flight, and elemental immunity. When this happens, it almost certainly has a genetic component. Many who study this branch focus on ways to enhance, share, or suppress these abilities. Some species have been created in the name of research by trying to harness various genetics for a new creature, like the dreaded owlbear.
Alchemists largely fall into this category as they focus on manipulating the properties of various plants to create their desired effects.
Alchemists also study the other side of innate magic as it pertains to inorganic materials. One of the observed properties of innate magic within inorganic materials is that it tends to be a constant effect on its environment rather than an intermittent effect as created by living creatures.
Innate magic is also the type of magic where an individual has learned to manipulate their own surroundings in a set fashion using what little magic they have, much like learning a habit. This is the source for many of the supernatural powers which non-spellcasting classes sometimes obtain.
Hex and curse type magics are a subset of this, in that successfully applying a hex or curse alters the innate magic of the recipient temporarily or permanently. In effect, the recipient is supplying the power for the hex. This also limits hexes to only those who can interact with magic. The greater the innate magic of the target, the more susceptible they are to the effects of hexes. This is also why dispel magic will not remove either a curse or a hex. Practitioners of occult magic like psychics, occultists, and spiritualists generally fall in this category as they create their effects from their own innate abilities or harness the innate power of spirits in their immediate vicinity.

Divine Magic:

Divine magic has two sources.
The first and foremost source comes from the innate magic of believers. As each individual has a small measure of ability, by believing in another they transfer to that being some of their innate ability to influence their surroundings. The effect of this magic is that the sum is always greater than the parts, all believers can possess more power than any could individually. In a sense, when a priest casts a cure spell, every believer of that priest's deity is participating in the casting of that spell. This is one of the reasons gods can be so jealous and possessive of their followers. A side effect of this effect is that the nature of the believers transposes onto the god over time. If a society is cruel and narcissistic, the deity will start to take on those properties. A society that abhors chaos will have a deity incapable of casting chaos related spells.
The second comes from an internal focus, often referred to as a divine spark. Sometimes confused with innate magic, the divine spark goes beyond merely creating a locally controlled effect. For those possessing a divine spark, they have an ability to harness great amounts of magic by tapping into the energies present between the planes of existence. Many gods and ascended beings refer to this as the power of creation. And while not exactly accurate, the effects can be miraculous at times as matter and energy are created from seemingly nothingness. While many gods eventually develop a divine spark, this internal focus is present in almost all ascended beings.
Through the conduit created by worshiper and worshipped, both kinds of energy can be channeled. Priests use the channeled energy from their deities to power their spells and spell-like effects. As a general rule, when a priest prays, they are allocating the energy in advance. A priest does not need to understand how the spell works, in fact, neither does the deity. This is largely due to an established set of patterns desired by the priest. At some time in the past, the basics of the spell were worked out and every deity has just copied the same format. It is the replicative property of magic (see Harmonic Magic below) which allows ascended beings to grant spells to others when they might not know or understand the spell themselves. While this initially seems to refute the idea that there isn’t an universal conciseness in the background, it does indicate that within a religious group some sort of group knowledge exists.
Another side effect of this is that once the deity has opened the conduit up to grant powers to others, they are largely unaware of how the powers are used without focusing on the transfer of power as it is made. And since the power is more or less allocated to the priest at the time of prayer, knowledge of the effect from the casting is usually second hand. A deity or ascended being does have the power to regulate this transfer. To do so the deity must consciously allow for the spell to be cast at the time of the casting, which is impractical for most uses. Generally, a deity only does this for higher level spells (7th or above). And a deity can always close the conduit at any time without sacrificing the power gained from the worshiper. A deity can also withdraw all allocated divine energies given to a priest at will. An ascended being can do this, however, that being must learn how; it is not an automatic skill.
The uniform nature of divine magic makes it the easiest type of magic to discern the type of or source. The exception is when the deity in question (ascended beings often do not have this ability) wishes to mask their mark, in which case determining the source type of magic might be near impossible.

Arcane Magic:

This is the traditional access to magic often referred to as spellcasting. Initially brought to Pyrideon by the elves, the origins of these laws of magic are lost in antiquity. It is probable that the elves themselves borrowed the knowledge from other cultures.
The study of arcane magic is the understanding and use of a rigid ruleset of manipulations effected on the fabric of reality. By this means, the arcane caster can alter the physical properties of their surroundings in set ways, called spells. The formulas or functions for a spell are preset, with the final variables like target, distance, and choice of a limited number of options inserted at the time of casting. Spellcasting is comparable to rote memorization of a poem or song for lower level spells. Applying the proper changes for casting a spell is largely a mathematical skill, the better and faster the caster can manipulate the math side of the variables, the more powerful the spell they can handle as they plug the variables. Advanced spell casting is similar to learning a complex piece of music and then adjusting the tempo and key to demand at the time of the performance.
It is this rigidity within this system which applies when spellcraft checks are made. A particular swish of the hand or method of phrasing a few words does one thing and one thing only. The greater the knowledge of the individual making the check, the better and more knowledgeable they are of these actions. The same holds true for identifying most common magic items. The patterns created when bonding a type of magic to an item is similarly uniform.
Shalingra Magic is the simplest kind of arcane magic. With little understanding, just about everyone can master a few basic shalingras.
Almost all mages go their entire lives casting spells they have learned and not spells they have crafted themselves. New spells are crafted by trial and error. A new spell or major spell variation might be a life's work for many mages and considered their magnum opus.
Sorcery is another kind of arcane magic. It is often confused with other types of magic because of the lack of preparation exhibited by sorcerors. What sorcerors have given up by being studious, they gain through sheer ability. They have learned enough of the basics of the spell where they can cast it repeatedly relying on talent over skill, employing a mixture of rigid spell structure with a boost of innate magic to make up for their lack of finesse.
Magicians are the epitome of having mastered arcane magic. As a general rule, their ability properly belongs as a mix of other kinds of magic like innate magic and harmonic magic, however, they are regarded as arcane casters as all of them have mastered this field. What differentiates a magician from other arcane casters is their inherent deep understanding of the structure of magic. To use the musical analogy, whereas other casters may learn to repeat complex and arduous musical pieces, magicians are composers able to craft new music masterpieces at will. This allows them to take existing spells and transform them to their needs almost at will. By merely witnessing a spell being cast one time, they can copy that spell. Their understanding is such that they never have to worry about memorizing spells, their mind is their spellbook. Due to this, they are often making up their own rules as they go along.
This also can make accurately identifying magic crafted by magician more difficult. For simple effects and spells, this doesn't amount to much. However, an accomplished magician will use unconventional methods to achieve the same result. This effectively doubles the level of the spell when trying to identify the spell. Additionally, if it is a spell specific to the magician, the spell will be unidentifiable the first time seen (though there might be a chance to figure out basic function). Once another caster with spellcraft has witnessed a magician cast several spells, roughly 50 levels worth of spells, they will be able to identify the intricacies of the magician so that the double penalty is avoided. This also confers a chance to identify items made by that magician (whereas normally an item's crafter is unidentifiable to low-level attempts.)

Harmonic Magic:

This is the magic employed by the Barbarians tribes from the Plains of Arg and to some degree, the magic used by bards. While it starts with the individual's innate magic, it is an increasing field created by some form of resonance. From a tiny initial effect, a large effect occurs. In the case of the Barbarians, they use musical instruments and repetition to create their magical effects. Evocation, Abjuration and Alteration magics align the best with harmonic magic. Necromancy, Divination, and Illusion are the weakest, oftentimes impossible.
Bards share some of their traits with a mix of arcane and harmonic magic. While they still use rote magic forms from arcane rituals, they supply much of the power of the spell from harmonics. This enables the bard to keep the patterns and rituals simple, memorized in the form of songs, poems, and odes with volume, pitch, and tempo controlling most of the variables.
Ritual magic also draws many of its elements from harmonic magic with the numbers of participants and the repetition over time creating the greater resonance for the spell to function. Some argue that the link between worshiper and deity would be better classified as a type of harmonic magic due to the fact that it also has a sum greater than the parts, with the worshipers acting as the harmonic source. They point to the power granted from the repetition of sacraments and mantras for proof of concept. The counter is that these activities merely solidify the believer’s faith.

Technomancy;

or Phasic Magic. This is the marriage of technology and magic. While this field could be considered a combination of innate, arcane, and harmonic magics, it is usually viewed separately as it mandates that both innate and physical sciences be utilized together. The individual parts of each machine have elements of innate magic which, when put together, create large harmonic fields which oscillate (hence the phasic) into and out of existence. Due to their periodic nature, technomancy makes use of several rhythmic components like gears, timing chains, and pistons. The architecture of how the items are assembled is done with strict design rules emulating the effects of Arcane spell casting.
Phasic magic is the most difficult branch of magic to learn. Failure to master Arcane magic makes all but impossible to learn. It has few spells in and of itself, at least not spells which can be cast at a moment’s notice. Practitioners spend hours, if not days, inscribing symbols or crafting fine devices and gears to contain the magical effects they desire. Without studying Phasic magic directly, all spell checks are at -30 to comprehend even the basics and the student is considered untrained. For example, think of a chemist encountering genetics for the first time and finding it incomprehensible, not because it so much more complex but more because the systems used are specialized to such a considerable degree that the systems themselves require study for basic understanding.

Shar Dan:

Shar Dan disciplines are to magic what mathematics is to physics. Many do not even consider it a type of magic. Those who practice Shar Dan go beyond the understanding of magic, in fact, many times they avoid the study of magic. This is not the magic of occult users though it is often errantly referred to as psychic magic. This is the ability to not only see the fabric of reality but to modify it by willing a new pattern onto the fabric. The more gifted the practitioner, the more they can control and the larger area of reality they can bend to their will.
Of all the eight disciplines, Shar Dan is the least studied and least understood. History teaches that the Shar Dankra were masters of this discipline, and if any are alive today, they keep themselves hidden. The Shar Dankra were believed to have died out during Coalescence. Study of Shar Dan at the Academy is more of a historical pursuit due to the very limited number of people even gifted with the ability to perceive the underlying level of reality.
Because this is the undercurrent of magic itself, Shar Dan abilities often bypass basic magical constructs, rendering weaker magical defenses moot. Powerful defenses crafted by powerful spells are more resistant to change, but a powerful enough Shar Dan user can circumvent even the most potent defenses. The same holds true for attacks, the Shar Dan user can defend themselves against most magical attacks with relative ease. Anti-magic regions do not hinder a Shar Dan wielder.
However, due to the Shar Dan user's need to first conceptualize their surrounding reality, rumors exist that certain classes of spells were developed before Coalescence which had the singular purpose of continually making minor vibrations to the construct of reality so that a Shar Dan user couldn't get a clear grasp of what they are wanting to change.
Due to the separateness of Shar Dan from other magics, spells such as detect magic are not effective. Spellcraft skills are also ineffective. Shar Dan have their own set of skills which mimic these abilities for their own powers. Unlike other types of listed magic, Shar Dan users are born to their ability. It is not a learned skill. Less than one in ten thousand are born with even the barest of talents. It also appears to be a uniquely human trait.
Most fearful to spellcasters was the persistent rumor that a Shar Dan user could even change the rules of magic in their immediate vicinity, rendering all of a spell caster’s abilities useless.

Item Creation

While magic items can be created using any of these methods, artifacts require an understanding of harmonic magic in order to enchant an item as no item can possess enough innate magic to exhibit the levels of power an artifact possesses without some form of harmonic element. This is one reason many artifacts react so negatively with their environment – some simply leech power as needed.
As most artifacts are self-powered (immune to dispel magic and anti-magic fields), this indicates that the item was possibly created by inserting innate magic on the order of a divine spark.
Items created using the Linging process require the majority of the above disciplines. Many think that it also involves the use of Shar Dan principles and that is why the process is lost to this day. The most common belief is that the item is created similar to other artifacts, then an end step is added as its reality is folded in upon itself, granting the item indestructibility, but also making it largely imperceptible to magical senses. This also explains while the only individuals known to have been able to destroy an item created by Linging were those of the Illan dynasty – a family of Shar Dan users.

Branches of Magic

Once the general breakdown of magic is understood, it is easier to define how this theory affects the various schools of magic like evocation and alteration. These are the designated schools of magic: Abjuration, Conjuration/Summoning, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation/Alteration.
Some schools like Abjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, and Transmutation/Alteration see little change from established game rules.
Others see distinct changes (many of these changes are due to Camoray being plane-locked from the other planes of existence.)
Conjuration/Summoning Calling and Summoning spells during the time of the Chrailis campaign pull their targets not from other distant planes, but summon similar type creatures from the Lucid Veil (the land of the fey). Those summoned are creatures which were stuck in the land of the Fey when the world became closed off. In a few rare cases, if no such creature exists, a close substitute with shape-changing abilities is found.
This is due to the world of Camoray currently being locked from the other planes of existence and outside of a few closely parallel worlds like the Lucid Veil, Camoray has no access to other realms.
Teleportation is instantaneous travel within the same plane – not through the astral plane as written in Pathfinder. Any effect which slightly shifts the plane of the caster from their target destination, as with the valley of the Sarlok city, renders teleportation impossible. This slight shifting is also the basis of how teleportation shields are structured.
Divination Under divination, the following generalities occur. Seeing the future is Kristor’s domain and is probabilistic in nature, not precise. The further out the sought after event, the less likely it will occur exactly as preordained. Time travel does not occur. It may seem to perceptually occur from an individual’s perspective, though the event is locked. Much debate exists about how individual perspective seems to violate the mandate that time travel is impossible. Such debate is beyond the scope of this writing.
Another change from divination is the aspect of information gathering spells like comprehend languages and tongues. No information gathering spell pulls information out of nothingness, there has to be a source for the information. Such spells are actually harmonic in that they rely on the shared knowledge of the world. Divination spells only work across the planes if specially designed to do so. Essentially, if the gods or other powerful beings who make use of the spells know the information, then it is a sharable knowledge to the spell. That is the true function of such spells, a temporary transfer of knowledge.
This is why a cyphered note still remains cyphered, there is no common knowledge of what the cipher represents (a simple substitution cipher notwithstanding – which is easily defeated by a comprehend language spell). This is one of the chief reasons the Academy of Science and Magic makes such an attempt to gather as much information locally as possible. The more information that becomes gathered and known, the better such knowledge seekings spells operate.
Other spells like speak with plants and animals have limitations due to the magic being a rigid system over a miraculous system of variable results. The spell doesn’t give the plant or animal a greater understanding of its surroundings than it already would have. A dog can’t tell you what a sign said, or for that matter, what color of cloak the passing ranger wore (assuming that dogs are truly color blind.) What a dog can relate is its understanding of what it saw.
This, in turn, may make speak with plants a useless spell, until one starts talking to ancient plants or plant creatures. For ancient plants, they see time in seasons and can experience vibrations and damage to themselves. While a blade of grass may not give much information other than has it been trampled in the last few days or did it rain here yesterday, a tree can give more information like if there was a campfire (smoke) nearby within the last few days. Regular plants don’t have sight or sound, their world is chemically sensed and tactically felt via vibrations. Speak with plants really shines when used with plant-like creatures.
One exception exists with Speak with Plant like spells. If a major event has happened locally, especially one which involved several deaths like a battle, then the spiritual remains of that battle may still exist in the plants and offer a greater source of useful information (see Necromancy below). In this case, it is possibly the local vegetation has absorbed the spelled blood into itself and still contains some essence or memory of the event.
Stone Tell also has similar limitations. A stone tell spell will not grant knowledge the stone can’t perceive of it’s past unless it has absorbed some essence of a previous event. The spell will not answer the question of who has touched the stone (a change from Pathfinder.) However, as a variation (this goes for all such ‘speak with’ spells), the magic of the caster will spread into the target item, plant or creature and then allow it to answer questions like, what is on the other side of this wall? This, in essence, grants the subject basic perception as if the caster was the one observing.
Also with regards to spells like contact other plane, their effectiveness is severely limited. The only accessible greater intelligent would be those in the same world or in the Lucid Veil.
Necromancy Camoray does not have an afterlife per se. Those who die and return have no memory of the in between. In effect, when a raise dead spell is cast, it resets the body to the moment of death or before, and restarts the body like a machine.
This is not to say an afterlife doesn’t exist. It is part of most religions and has complicated versions and beliefs as to how the afterlife exists. With a rigid system of magic, the magic use exists for interacting and perceiving the immediate world, not the world beyond.
So – what are spirits? This ties into what innate magic is and ties into a divine spark for more powerful beings. The spirit is nothing more than the innate magical field of the creature cut loose. This field still exists for a time and still interacts with the world in preset manners, often exhibiting the intentions of the creature at the time of death. For powerful undead, this innate magical field has taken on the level of sophistication granting a grim awareness of what it used to be. Spirits and souls are designated as two separate things in Camoray. The soul is what moves on. Undeath does not affect the soul. Spirits are what is left behind when the dead become undead. Speaking with Dead spells gather the information from the corpse or the remaining spirit. They do not actually contact the soul and this distinction modifies such spells as listed, again limiting their effectiveness.
Illusion Illusion magic is largely unchanged. With regards to shadow, a shadow realm does exist. It is a part of the Lucid Veil and not a separate plane of existence. This shadow plane is also the same as the ethereal plane which is also the astral plane, they are not three entirely separate planes. In fact, many planes have their own shadow/ethereal/astral plane.