Magic in Ferrum
Ferrum is a world where magical energy (called Aether) is in fundamental opposition to Iron, the elemental metal. All of creation sits on either side of this divide: Matter, Order, and Structure, in opposition to Magic, Chaos, and Possibility. In the casting of magic, this relationship can be expressed as the Iron Rule: magic cannot be cast with iron worn or held. Players who wish to cast magic must be neither wearing nor holding any piece of iron, or the flow of energy around them will be thwarted and the spell will fail. This especially includes armor, weapons, and shields.
Most mortals in Ferrum have iron running through their veins, making their blood run red, and acting as a slight dampener on magic flow. Because of this, most mortals must use an Arcane Focus, a type of attuned magic item that must be worn or held whenever a spell is cast.
Some humanoids, through ritual or ancestry, have non-red blood. Instead, colored magic flows through their veins, giving them innate magical skill and the ability to cast magic without an arcane focus. However, these races also an inherent weakness to iron: they may not use iron gear at all, and iron weapons hit them for 1 extra point of damage.
In summary:
Anyone casting magic may only wear and carry non-metal equipment: all metal armor is assumed to be iron, and any weapon is assumed to be iron unless specified through damage calls.
Humans, elves, half elves, and similar races must hold or wear an attuned arcane focus in order to cast magic
Semi-mortals, Fae, and any other player races with inborn magic do not need an arcane focus, but take +1 damage from metal weapons.
Casting magic
Spells in Portal to Ferrum consist of three parts: a Mana cost, a casting type, and a spell effect. Mana is a measure of magical stamina; how many spells can you cast before you must rest and recover? You gain more Mana through skill point assignment on the character sheet, and you recover Mana by resting in a warded space (usually a tavern). There are three casting types a spell might have: projectile, touch, or ritual:
Projectile spells
When casting projectile magic in combat in order to harm your adversaries, one must use a spell bag, comprised of birdseed bound in a small fabric pouch. If you wish to cast a spell on someone, you must throw a spell bag at them, making a damage/effect call as you do. If they are struck by the spell bag, the spell succeeds: if the spell bag misses, the spell has been cast, but fails to take effect: every throw of a spell bag costs Mana, whether it makes contact or not. If a spell strikes a metal weapon, armor, or shield, then it does not take effect, as the iron dispels the effect. This does not apply to wooden shields and weapons or to leather armor!
Touch spells
To cast a touch spell, one must place an empty palm on the target, then speak the verbal component of the spell (either a damage/effect call or the spell name, depending on the use case). The contact must be sustained for the length of the call: if contact is interrupted, the spell is not cast (no effect, and no Mana is spent). Fingertip contact does not count! If the spell is made on one’s own weapon (ie, to enchant it), then the spell persists until the weapon makes contact or is dropped, and damage calls for attacks with that weapon should repeat the effect until these conditions are satisfied. Eg., the touch spell “enchanted flames” causes one’s own weapon to become a weapon that deals 1 fire the next time it hits, so after casting it, you should say “1 fire” for every swing until you make contact.
Ritual spells
Some spells are more elaborate to cast, often requiring long verbal components and/or material components. A ritual must proceed uninterrupted until it is finished, or it will fail: sustaining damage or performing any other action will interrupt the ritual, and it will not be cast (no Mana cost, no effect). Ritual spells do not need to be prepared, as opposed to the other casting types (see section on Preparing Spells, further below)
Acquiring Magic
There are six ways to obtain magic in the Portal to Ferrum system. Players should feel free to mix and match different mechanical paths as best suits them and their character.
1) Study: Learn to read the language of magic, and copy spells from scrolls found in the world into a spellbook. Those who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of magical knowledge in this way are often known as wizards or mages.
2) Devotion: Devote oneself to a deity through a devotion ritual, and receive spells through divine prayer. Devout devotees with divine magic are often called clerics, druids, or priests.
Character creation instructions:
3) Pacts: Make a pact with a non-mortal entity (usually an infernal or a fae), and be given magic in return for a deal--for your soul, or for something else? Those who take this path are often called warlocks, though some call themselves conjurers and blur the line between power from deals and power from knowledge.
4) Blood: be born with magic in your veins, and learn how to wield it through practice and training. There are many names for those who wield inborn or innate magic like this, some more tasteful than others, depending on the color of magic one bleeds and how that magic was acquired: semi-mortals, magic bloods, color bloods, pact-bloods, magically gifted, etc.
5) Alchemy: Study plants and herbs, gather ingredients, and brew potions that utilize the magical properties of plants. Those who perform feats of alchemy are often appropriately called alchemists, but may also be called wise (wo)men, witches, hags, or simply potion brewers.
6) Items: Find or create objects imbued with magical effects. Many people of all types use magical items in the world of Ferrum, but those who make them are called magic forgers, aether smiths, magic artisans, aether crafters, etc.
Attunement
Magical items are powerful tools in Portal to Ferrum! Some magical items can be used by anyone, but items with a more potent effect must be attuned to in order for their entire effect to be utilized. A character may only have 2 items attuned to them at any time: this number may be increased by buying more slots on your character sheet. An Arcane Focus must be attuned to before it can be used to cast spells.
Attunement must be performed in the Tavern, and recorded accurately onto your character sheet. De-attumenemt is similarly performed in the Tavern, and must also be recorded.
Preparing spells
Before setting out on an adventure, one must prepare one’s magic in order to use it. Whereas alchemists and aether crafters literally prepare their magic through careful work of creation and distillation, those who gain their magic through study, devotion, or pacts prepare spells through moments of mental preparation. Scholars consult their notes and bring forth in their mind the shapes and words to speak magic into existence; the pious pray, asking their patron for what they need for the coming journey; those with pacts communicate more colorfully with their cosignatories/allies of various persuasion in the manner agreed upon at the time of the pact. All of them consider the tasks ahead of them, put their training and practice to use, and choose a handful of spells from their repertoire to keep “on deck” and ready to cast. Touch and projectile spells may only be cast if they are prepared (ritual spells need not be prepared). All non-ritual spells from any source use the same Prepared Spell Slots: more Slots may be bought with skill points on the character sheet. Prepared spells may be cast as many times as Mana allows.
Blood magic spells are learned instead of prepared, meaning they may not be traded out so easily. A learned blood magic spell must be written on the character sheet in an available Prepared Spell Slot and marked as Innate by filling in the designated circle. An innate spell may not be changed unless a skill point is spent to unlearn it.
All touch and projectile spells are prepared using the same Prepared Spell Slots, regardless of source: players who have access to more than one spell list may freely trade out prepared spells, barring innate spells. Eg. a character who has one innate spell, can read magic, and is devoted to the deity Meena has bought 3 more Prepared Spell Slots, for a total of 4: their innate spell may not change, but the other 3 slots can be any combination of spells from their own spellbook and Meena’s deity spell list.