Grayscale Sword & Sorcery
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Magical Theory
When designing spells and powers, there are several rules that GSS attempts to observe:
Mana Limitations. Spells require magical energy to cast, and every practitioner "banks" a certain amount of power to fuel them. The rate at which magical energy replenishes determines its scarcity and how frequently players will cast spells. By imposing level-based and environmental rules for drawing mana from the Astral Sea, the narrator can manipulate the abundance of magic over time. First Example: If characters recover 1d20+LVL points of mana per full rest, they will naturally "top off" easily at low level. But as their level and maximum mana pool increases, a full rest will no longer be sufficient to fully restore their power. As a result, they will hesitate before casting high-level spells with steep mana costs. Second Example: If astrology or geomancy controls the abundance of mana in your campaign, then characters will regain mana more quickly at certain times of the year or when they are in close proximity to places of power. Enemies will hunt mystics when they are "weaker", spellcasters will be more numerous in places where ley lines cross, etc. Imposing environmental and situational limits on how quickly mana is recovered prevents magic from dominating the game.
No Filler Spells. In most tabletop games there are certain spells nobody bothers to learn, either because they aren't very effective or because their utility is extremely situational. These are called "filler" spells, and they exist purely to take up space. The theory behind spell design in GSS is that no spell should be "bad" or "undesirable". Nobody in the process of spell selection should take a look at a spell and feel zero temptation to prepare it. Spells that would otherwise be one-dimensional often have fun or interesting rules or caveats thrown in regarding how they can be used.
Limited High Magic. Many archetypes in GSS have the "dabbler" trait, allowing characters to cast spells as a cleric, druid, or wizard of half their level. Characters can cast spells of 6th level or lower as often as they want, provided they have sufficient mana and the right material components. But spells of 7th, 8th, and 9th level are different. It is not possible to cast a spell of or at each of these levels more than once per full rest. Spells of 7th level and up are known as "high magic", and they are restricted to professional mystics of natural talent AND great experience. High magic spells allow characters to do incredible things that cannot otherwise be pulled off: teleportation to any location, growing clone bodies, dropping comets onto towns, and similar feats. No matter how much mana a mystic has, their ability to perform feats of magic this potent is severely limited. They must be selective about where and how they do so and prepared to endure the consequences.
Manifestation Rules. Magic is flashy. Any time a spell is cast, there is always a dramatic manifestation of some sort to accompany it: corposant, sounds, static, frost, motes of light, ghostwriting, etc. This means that magic is not normally compatible with stealth. When someone casts a spell, everyone nearby notices. There are a handful of exceptions to this rule: illusionists cast spells subtly, sorcerers can learn a metamagic trick to make their spells subtle, and certain spells with the SUBTLE descriptor may be cast covertly. But that's it. When a subtle spell is cast, it cannot be detected by local witnesses unless they are specifically watching for signs of spellcasting. If this is the case, the characters must roll their subterfuge OR arcane skill against the watcher's empathy OR arcane skill to spot it.
Arcane Rigor. Practicing arcane magic takes a toll on the body. This is reflected by the fact that most arcanists have six-sided hit dice. This is no accident. Even with its restrictions, arcane magic is a versatile and potent force. Most arcanists are taught that fate balances the universe and that their (relative) fragility is a natural consequence of mortals developing great magical strength. This concept is called Arcane Rigor, and wise arcanists who have embarked upon the path (or been forced upon it by a sorcerous bloodline) mitigate their vulnerability by avoiding danger or keeping tough friends and bodyguards.
No Instant Win Spells. In GSS, there are NO spells that deal damage or inflict negative conditions without a saving throw or attack roll. None. The moment a game implements any sort of rule that harms or deprives others of agency with no chance to resist, that game has jumped the shark. There is no "magic missile," there is no "power word stun," none of that.
Divine Magic
Deities are divine entities that reside in the outer planes and embody key elements or concepts of mortal existence. While some can manifest avatars, most rarely choose to do so. Instead, they operate through intermediaries; using spirits or mortals invested with divine power to further their interests in the cosmos. Most deities (including evil ones) abide by ancient pacts prohibiting direct conflict, and severe punishments are levied against gods who violate them. These pacts are enforced by older and more powerful entities, known as elder gods, who do not answer prayers and refuse to interact with mortals at all.
Divine magic flows from the outer planes. Clerics (and paladins) learn to channel this power after their “ordainment,” an event in which they become possessed by a tiny shard of their deities' vast being. This spiritual union connects to the outer planes where a cleric can draw divine magic. Ethos violations and spiritual turmoil damage this connection, cutting the caster off from their power source. This connection can only be restored through atonement, a set of actions or rituals that bring the caster's soul back into alignment. It is important to note that while a cleric's patron deity may disapprove of their actions, deities cannot deny their cleric's power after their ordainment. A loss of divine grace is purely a matter of spiritual dissonance, not divine rejection.
Divine magic works on the premise of divine authority. After ordainment, clerics slowly learn to exercise the divine traits now rightfully theirs. The greater their magic becomes, the more divine authority they possess. Clerical spells are formal invocations of this authority, spoken in the native language of the cleric's alignment plane while presenting a holy symbol that serves as a focus. Without these two things, a cleric cannot cast spells.
Only a deity can create a new divine spell. When a god creates a new divine spell, it is always done with the tacit approval of their peers. After such a mighty alteration of reality, the spell becomes available to all divine spellcasters everywhere. Thousands of years may pass without any new divine spells being conceived, and deities never discuss such things with mortals (nor create new spells at their request). The same elder gods who punish (or kill) deities for direct interference in the mortal realm also take a dim view of new spells that make clerics dramatically more powerful since this is tantamount to an attempt by the gods to exert undesirable levels of influence over the mortal realm.
Zealots cannot perform magic without faith. Even the most evil cleric has an ethos to uphold, and failure to do so means they lose attunement to their source plane. Most religions serve civilization in some fashion, even if they defy the prevailing government. As keepers of the covenant between gods and mortals, a faithful worshipper in genuine need has a right to petition a cleric for aid. This is particularly true where the worshipper's soul is in peril. Non-worshippers who ask for assistance are often required to donate, perform some service for the faith, or advance the interests of the deity's ethos. The tenets of each faith represent a unified cause for Zealots to rally behind.
Rulers have a love-hate relationship with zealots. Champions of popular faiths are respected by society, and such people are rarely persecuted. Most religious orders try to win the public's goodwill by preaching to the masses, officiating social events, offering temple services, and creating public works. They also try to avoid friction with the government because hostility between these two powers almost always ends poorly for both.
The relationship between religions is far more complicated. Every sect has some opinion of every other; they are allies or enemies, appreciative or contemptuous. Servants of rival faiths often clash, and this resentment drives conflict. Racial deities often war against one another by encouraging their mortal offspring to fight, and the instant a divine spellcaster is ordained, they inherit these enemies.
Lawful religions impose firm rules on their clergy to avoid political trouble. These groups are never idle; they always have a mission statement and a list of causes they support. It is rare for clerics of the same faith to have serious conflict. Divisions may exist regarding policy, promotion, or the best way to pursue the goals of the faith. Still, unless the deity encourages infighting between clerics, it is typically forbidden for two clerics of the same god to fight if both still possess their powers.
Primal Magic
Psionics
Primal magic flows from the Ethereal Realm, a spiritual plane coterminous with the prime and inner planes. The Ether is a ghostly black-and-white dimension suffused with eerie fog. It is the dwelling place of nature spirits that spend most of their time discorporated unless given cause to manifest. The Ether is also governed by many supernatural laws, and visitors who don’t know these rules often end up confused or in life-threatening danger if they remain longer than a few hours.
The most important thing to understand about primal magic is that it predates humanoid life. It is not seemly or utilitarian, and the nature spirits that enable it are ambivalent about civilization. To the Animal Lords, Arcoelementals, and nature spirits that preserve this legacy, the practice of ordaining new druids is not a favor or a transaction. It is an underlying cosmic truth. Some of these beings are millions of years old, which makes them more ancient than the gods (though not necessarily more powerful). They touch on a deep wellspring of divinity that faith cannot and never will be able to influence, and they don’t talk much.
While the oldest and most potent of these forces refuse to communicate, they occasionally take action. Normally, this is accomplished with curses. Vampires are vulnerable to sunlight, sharpened wood, running water, and certain plants. Demons and fey are vulnerable to cold iron, while devils and lycanthropes are vulnerable to silver and wolvesbane. Whenever a supernatural force appears with the power to overturn the cosmic order, these entities inflict terrible allergies upon them. Such curses cannot be lifted or circumvented. They are permanent.
Druids organize themselves into circles. Some present themselves as witches or priests, while others regard their arts as a craft preserved by rural villages or families. Authority in these groups is a matter of tradition and natural selection. Power and wisdom equate to authority, and in violent circles leadership is often seized through ritual combat. Primal magic is a form of strength, and those who possess it are not necessarily driven by any sort of commitment to a higher ideal. Yet druids are still people, and the spirits that raise them up hold them responsible for managing the relationship between nature and civilization. In the modern era, this would require most of them to become hardcore eco-terrorists. In a pre-industrial or medieval setting, the impact of civilization is usually minimal.
Rulers usually hate druids because they don’t require the comforts of civilization to survive. This makes them independent of society and likely to flout secular authority when it inconveniences them. The local government becomes emasculated if they are not stopped from doing this. Conflicts between civilization and druidic circles usually end badly for the druids because they are not good at assembling or managing armies. In some primitive settings druids fill the role of priests, and people venerate nature spirits instead of gods. These cultures are inevitably harsher and more survivalist because the powers they venerate don’t particularly care about them.
Manifestation
Psionic power is a form of mental energy that accrues naturally in all sentient minds. In GSS it is the underlying motive force behind all higher thought, and in most thinking creatures this energy is devoted entirely to self-awareness and decision making. Occasionally a thinking creature will undergo a metaphysical awakening and develop the ability to use this power to manipulate reality. In mystic communities, these creatures are known as Sources. Unlike magical talent, any intelligent creature can become a source.
While humanoid psychics are rare, there are distant dimensions where this form of power is common. This is particularly true of Qlippoth. It is important to note that while magical and psychic energy are related, they behave differently like fire and electricity. The practice of manipulating each is fundamentally different, and skill at magic does not equate to psionic talent or vice versa. Psychic powers are more like disciplines than formulae. Every practitioner focuses on a small handful of disciplines that may be used dynamically so long as they have adequate energy to fuel the effect.
Magical Items
Mystic powers are rarely subtle. There is always an audible and visible manifestation whenever such a power is used. This manifestation can take many forms: music, lights, corposant, frost, ghostly symbols, etc. Only a handful of class abilities, and spells with the subtle trait, can obscure such manifestation. This is very important for two reasons. First, it looks awesome. Second, it ensures that magic cannot easily be combined with stealth. Whenever a supernatural power is used, everyone present notices it happening unless the spell description clearly states that it is subtle. If a player attempts to persuade the narrator that they should be able to cast a spell subtly but the spell is not marked as subtle and/or they do not possess an ability that explicitly lets them do so, the answer should be a firm no. This is particularly true when players are hiding, disguised, shapeshifted, or concealed.
Potions
Potions can be crafted by characters of any level, but several conditions must be met. First, the creator must be a spellcaster or have the Alchemist perk. Second, the creator must have a workshop or alchemistry suitable for potion creation. Third, the creator must have access to magical reagents appropriate to the type of potion made. Fourth, the creator must invest 100 silver AND one full day of work per tier of the potion. Fifth, the creator cannot brew a potion of a higher tier than their proficiency modifier. Sixth, the creator cannot simultaneously brew and monitor more potions than their proficiency modifier.
Once a potion is mixed it requires close monitoring for at least one hour a day, to ensure that all the steps of the multi-stage brewing process are observed. Failure to do so for even a single day causes the potion to be ruined, and the reagents and investment to be lost.
Enchanted items are a mainstay of fantasy roleplaying. More precious than wealth, they offer power and utility in tangible form. It is not possible to mass-produce enchanted items on anything like an industrial scale. Cultures with a robust magical heritage slowly accrue a backlog of magical items via cottage craft. However, this should never lead players to conclude that permanent magic items are plentiful or easy to obtain. Like all tools they are created, and the process dictates their scarcity.
Permanent magic items are hard to create. There are two basic methods. The first is through ritual means. This requires divination, rare reagents, and difficult feats at critical places and times. The second requires an 11th or higher level spellcaster to spend months in seclusion. Both methods are sufficient to enchant magical items of Tier 3 and below. Tier 4 and 5 items require lengthy ritual means (lasting at least a year), expensive components, AND a high-level spell caster leading the activity. Most powerful casters produce only a handful of magical items throughout their careers, often after retirement.
Scrolls are ritually prepared papers infused with the magic of a single spell. This magic can be released later by a spellcaster of the appropriate class and level, after which the paper burns up. Most scrolls contain spells that a caster would either not prepare normally or might desperately need in an emergency.
Scrolls can only be crafted by a sufficient class and level spellcasters to cast them. The creator must invest 100 silver per level of the scroll (plus the cost of any reagents) and a single day of work. The creator cannot record a spell of higher level than their proficiency modifier, so spells of 7th level and higher cannot be created. Certain ancient and fantastically powerful beings may be able to surpass this limitation at the narrator's discretion.
Penning a scroll is spiritually taxing and inflicts three levels of exhaustion on a spellcaster. Each can only be removed by a full day of rest or light activity. They cannot be removed by magic. Creating scrolls too frequently is known to cause premature aging. Because of this, most NPC spellcasters avoid producing more than one scroll a month.
Scrolls
Ammunition & Trinkets
Magical ammunition and trinkets may be crafted by characters of any level, but several conditions must be met. First, the creator must be a spellcaster capable of casting spells of a level equal to or greater than the tier of the item. Second, the creator must invest 100 silver per item tier and work a full day to enchant either one trinket or 20 pieces of ammunition. Third, the creator must obtain the correct reagents and/or be capable of casting spells similar to the effect being imparted.
Arcane Magic
Arcane magic flows from the Astral Sea; a plane of existence connected to all the realms in the cosmos. The astral sea is a silvery void, filled with clouds of distant stars and winds of pure sorcery. Arcanists draw power from this realm by sleeping (or reverie). In ancient times, powerful beings devised methods of shaping this energy through mental discipline, acts of symbolism, and ritually prepared foci. Specific languages are naturally structured for this purpose. These “magical languages” are used to perform arcane formulae.
It is not possible to spontaneously perform magic using one's imagination. For a spell to have power, it must be exhaustively researched and then “burned” or “programmed” into the underlying fabric of reality by a mind with a robust connection to the Astral Sea. The fabric of reality has many names in many cultures; the World Bones, the Tellurian, the Weave, the Mundus, the Akashic Record, and several others. A spell can be reliably used only after this exhaustive and mighty work is finished. Because of this, all arcane spells require incantations, mudras (hand gestures), and/or ritually prepared foci to cast. These things shape magical energy along hard lines of occult precedent, bending reality and allowing the power to manifest reliably.
It is extremely hard to develop a new arcane spell. Usually this task can only be performed by an arcanist of at least 15th level, and the process takes at least a year per level of the spell created. Certain spells are commonly traded among arcanists because they have been around since ancient times, and the beings who first composed them are long forgotten. Much like magical item creation, powerful arcanists only engage in this activity after retirement or during substantial windows of downtime. The creation of a new spell is a significant event. Unless the creator keeps the spell secret (which is quite normal), other arcanists will celebrate and honor their invention.
Magicians learned long ago that their magic sets them apart. Normal people treat them with caution, and rightly so. History is filled with curses, madness, botched summonings, and arcane devastation. It takes very little to turn public opinion against arcanists; despite their power, they are mortal. Because of this, most experienced arcanists take a dim view of any act that would harm their collective reputation. Cabals, sects, and similar organizations (including evil ones) move quickly to punish such deeds, except in situations where they dominate the public so completely that they do not need to fear consequences.
Rulers with an obligation to protect their citizens consider arcanists a threat. They become emasculated if these people cannot stop an arcanist from committing crimes. Some rulers deal with this problem by practicing magic, but few spellcasters can juggle the time demands of rulership with a magical career. Instead, they keep arcane advisors, who typically serve at the behest of some organization. Flashy magical crimes are always investigated closely, and it is not uncommon for a renegade mage to be persecuted by soldiers or bounty hunters. Failure to do so sends a message that arcanists are above the law and can act with impunity if they don’t get caught.
Faced with this persecution, most arcanists wisely band together to protect and share resources. Cabals, chantries, scriptoriums, and similar organizations provide a subculture of magic with essential benefits. They are a ready source of spells, reagents, knowledge, and magical services. The rules of such organizations vary, however. Some are minimalist, while others have complex codes and bylaws. The only thing they all have in common is their severity; magical laws are strictly upheld to prevent chaos and abuse of power. Evil organizations are particularly unyielding since unsanctioned magical activity directly insults the personal power of their leadership.