Special Combat Options

Magic and Psionics

Please remember these rules do 'not' stand alone. They are within the T1 system, and are, therefore, turn based! It is a sliding turn based, however. An 'attack', regardless of the number of description lines, is still only a single attack. Thank you.

Mystical, magical, supernatural bloodshed.

The longer and more descriptively a spell is prepared, along with the power level of the casting being, helps to determine how powerful the spell is. Each "prep" line has to be of 5 words or greater in detailed length, and the spells' components, sensory effects (or lack there of), and end result must be described... each prep has to be describing the spell or its end result in some fashion...... All spells must be prepped, excluding spell-like abilities (which will be detailed later), and the more powerful the spell, the longer and more descriptive the prep. There is no designated number of prep lines, if you can cover all bases in explaining and preparing your spell in 3 or less clicks of your submit button, go to town! However, if you can describe, in detail your spell in that small amount of space, i'd like to see it!

As an example, let us say a weak wizard if planning to use a lightning based attack.

Eliric_the_Apprentice, as he stands before the rising water weird, calms himself as he was trained and sifts through the spells he knows, ultimately calling forth the arcane formula for a lightning spell.

The_Water_Weird rises out of the water fully, twisting toward what it percieves as dinner.

Eliric_the_Apprentice begins to chant in rhythmic tongue, his eyes close as he draws magic into him, using himself as a catalyst for it's power. Before him, his hands move in and out, back and forth, weaving the unseen yet tangible energy into the electrical power form he has chosen.

The_Water_Weird oozes forward, snake-like, preparing to engulf the foolish, young wizard and drag him into his watery grave.

Eliric_the_Apprentice's eyes spring opened, his hands and arms thrown outward before him. From his splayed fingers pour forth a thin, 120 degree arc of electricity the runs parallel to the ground, and flies a full three feet from himself.

The_Water_Weird is badly jolted by the curtain of electricity, it's bane. It's animating force breaks down and it becomes nothing more then a gout of water which crashes to the ground, and over Eliric.

Eliric_the_Apprentice gets soaked as he is forced to sit down and rest, the powerful spell having taken a great deal of his concentration and power to cast.

Spells that create projectiles must be given a prep as to where the projectile will end up, the nature of the projectile (Fire, Ice, Lightening, whatever) and any spell components that are needed.

For example, if you throw a lightning bolt at someone it would be good to include things such as: The smell of ozone rising in the air (The classic 'live wire' smell), a blinding flash of light, and the direction in which it flies. Small spells, like magic missiles, and dagger-type, or arrow sized projectiles should be targeted more specifically then large, encompassing area of effect spells. You can target Bob's right eye with a magically created Ice Knife. You might target Bob's head with an Ice Lance. You would Probably target Bob's general area with an Ice Storm. No additional lines of preparation are necessary for detailing these effects, you can just add them, thus adding greater detail still, to existing ones!

Other spells will follow these same basic guidelines, I.E the effects of the spell must somehow be explained during the preparation period, and one should always state when the spell goes into effect, if it isn't a blatantly obvious effect. Sleep spells, charms spells and shields are examples of indirect, or non combative spells. Preparation lines of these types are more varied, but are also often misused.

A Quick Note on Spell Effects

Should a mage be casting a spell and someone disrupts the spell, or a mage is forced to do more then take a single step to avoid an incoming attack, expect the effects of the spell to be disrupted or even voided. A GOOD Role Player will role play this out. Example, should a mage be planning on casting a spell to teleport someone out of danger (I.E. out of the way of a charging minotaur), and someone pushes the mage from behind, then perhaps the mage will teleport that someone into the path, instead of out of it, or the teleport to fail altogether.
Note: Some mages will be of high skill and thus have high levels of concentration, and thus able to concentrate in the task and NOT be distracted.

When a mage is done casting a spell, the effects of the mage's energy being used to cast that spell ARE FELT. A mage cannot cast several spells in succession without feeling physical effects on the body. These MUST be played out, and NO MAGE is exempt. Certain spells take more out of a mage, the more powerful the effects, the more it takes out of the mage physically. In the above example, our young apprentice is very weary from casting this simple electricity spell, where as his master, Milar_the_Magnificent could cast the same spell and be hardly drained at all. However, if Milar were to cast the much larger, more powerful Lightning Bolt spell, the draining effect would be very similar to what Eliric suffered. Overtaxing yourself with magic can kill you. So be careful.

....Use common Rping sense to determine the drain effects of spells. Every spell causes some.

Innate abilities, and Psionics

Innate Magical ability and Psionics have been listed together, not because they are the same thing, not by any means, but because they come from the same place--Self. Please remember Magic is NOT psionics! Both Innate abilities, and psionics tend to be as fast as thought. You will it to happen, and it happens. Generally speaking, it would be polite to give at least one warning line (including a description of what the power activator is activating) before actually inacting the power, but for personal affecting powers, like psionic telekinetic shields, or innate powers like protection from evil, it may not be necessary. Prepping it would be like prepping breathing, which would be a tad silly. The same basic description steps that apply to magic apply to these abilities.

The primary difference between psionic powers and innate abilities is that innate abilities should be extremely limited use, as they usually cause absolutely no drain to the user! If used in excess they are surpassingly cheap. Generally, non-offensive powers are idea for innate abilities.

Psionics, on the other hand, are EXTREMELY wearing on their user. You are using the power of your mind alone to raise your shields, or set fires, or lift yugos! Using too many psionic powers in a row can be potentially lethal, just as too much magic can. Please Note: The power of the psionicist has nothing to do with the power of the attacks. A fresh new psionicist could melt your gray matter, BUT, he might also kill himself in the process, where as an accomplished, well trained psionic master could melt several brains non-lethally, though with some substantial difficulty.