Magic Systems Overview 5

### Rune Complexity & Duration

|-----------|----------|------|-----|------|----------|-------|

| Simple (1) | Single rune (heat, light, bind) | 10 min | 10 | 1 gp | Permanent | Basic working |

| Elaborate (4) | Masterwork (protection circle, healing bed) | 1 day | 16 | 100 gp | Permanent | Master-level work |

### Common Sygaldry Applications

|-----------|--------|----|----|---------|

### Sygaldry Failures & Explosions

On a critical failure (natural 1) during inscription:

- Simple rune: Effect is unpredictable; 25% chance it activates immediately

- Moderate rune: 50% chance of explosion (2d6 damage, 10-foot radius)

- Complex rune: Guaranteed explosion (4d6 damage, 20-foot radius)

- Elaborate rune: Catastrophic (6d6 damage, 40-foot radius, all nearby runes activate)

### Erasing & Overwriting

A sygaldry can be erased by:

- Physical destruction (scratching/defacing the rune)

- Counter-rune (another mage inscribes negation rune, DC = original DC + 2)

- Magical dispel (Arcana check DC = original DC)

- Time and neglect (ancient runes fade after centuries)

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## Glamour: Fae Illusion & Desire

Glamour is the magic of the Fae—illusion, desire, and the reshaping of perception. Humans can learn fragments of glamour, but never master it as the Fae do.

Glamour operates on a fundamental principle: reality is perception, and the Fae reshape perception with perfect artistry.

### Glamour Mechanics

Glamour DC (Wisdom save to resist):

|--------|----|----|--------|------|

### Fae Glamour Workings

|---------|----|----|--------|----------|

### Glamour & Names

Glamour is particularly dangerous because it often extracts a price beyond power: your true name. A Fae might demand:

- A piece of your name (you forget one important memory forever)

- Your future name (you cannot make lasting promises)

- Your true name (you become enslaved to the Fae)

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## Lethani: Adem Discipline & Philosophy

The Lethani is not magic in the traditional sense—it is a disciplined mental state achieved through years of training. Adem warriors use the Lethani to achieve perfect, economical action.

### Lethani Principles

The Lethani teaches balance:

- Act decisively, not hastily

- Use only necessary force

- Understand your opponent before striking

- The right action is often the minimal action

- Success is invisible; only failure is noticed

### Lethani Mechanics

Entering the Lethani (meditation/discipline):

- Spend 1 minute in focused meditation

- Make Wisdom check (DC 10 + stress level)

- Success: Enter Lethani state for up to 10 minutes

- While in Lethani:

- Gain advantage on attack rolls

- Gain advantage on Initiative

- Take half damage from attacks you see coming

- Perception automatically succeeds against visual tricks

- Cannot use magic or spells

- Combat becomes balletic, efficient

Adem Combat Bonus:

- Adem have advantage on all unarmed attack rolls

- Adem deal 1d4 extra damage with unarmed strikes

- Adem have natural armor (AC 12 + DEX)

- Adem can move through rough terrain without penalty

### Lethani Training

Ketan (the sword dance—Adem martial art):

- Levels 1-3: Basic strikes, footwork (learned over months)

- Levels 4-6: Advanced combinations, defensive forms (1-2 years)

- Levels 7-9: Mastery, teaching others (5+ years)

- Level 10: Grand Master (recognition of perfect understanding)

Benefits by Ketan Level:

- Level 1-3: +1 to unarmed attack rolls

- Level 4-6: +2 to unarmed attack rolls, can fight multiple opponents without penalty

- Level 7-9: +3 to unarmed attack rolls, can disarm enemies with unarmed strikes

- Level 10: Automatic success on unarmed attacks vs. armed foes

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## Magic Exhaustion & Costs

Every magical working exacts a cost. These costs prevent unlimited magic and create meaningful tension.

### Exhaustion from Magic

Casting Exhaustion:

- Minor spell/working (DC 10-12): No exhaustion

- Moderate spell/working (DC 14-16): 1 exhaustion level

- Major spell/working (DC 18-20): 2 exhaustion levels

- Legendary spell/working (DC 22+): 3 exhaustion levels

Exhaustion from Naming:

- Tier 1-2: No exhaustion

- Tier 3: 1 exhaustion level + Wisdom save for madness

- Tier 4: 2 exhaustion levels + Wisdom save for madness

- Tier 5: 4 exhaustion levels + Wisdom save for madness

Exhaustion from Sympathetic Backlash:

- Minor backlash: 1 exhaustion

- Major backlash: 2 exhaustion + 1d4 damage per alar lost

Exhaustion Effects (stack):

- 1: Disadvantage on physical tasks

- 2: Disadvantage on all tasks, half speed

- 3: Can barely move, vulnerable to attacks

- 4: Incapacitated; cannot take actions

- 5: Unconscious

- 6: Death

Removing Exhaustion:

- 1 level per long rest

- Or: Drink potion (rare, 50+ gold talents)

- Or: Healing magic (Doctor expertise, high cost)

- Or: Fae bargain (dangerous price)

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## Magical Research & Discovery

Learning new magic takes time, resources, and risk. Characters cannot simply know spells—they must discover them through:

### Sympathy Research

Learning a new sympathetic working:

1. Find a teacher (University Master, experienced Arcanist) OR ancient text

2. Spend 1 week of study per working level

3. Make Arcana check (DC = 10 + working level)

4. Success: Learn the working; can use it

5. Failure by 1-4: Make progress toward learning; retry next week

6. Failure by 5+: Dangerous attempt; take 1d4 damage, lose 1 alar point temporarily

Cost: 10 gold talents per week of University training, or ancient texts (unpriced, rare)

### Naming Research

Learning a true name:

1. Spend weeks/months in dangerous research (libraries, contact with old forces)

2. Make Arcana check (DC = 10 + name tier)

3. Success: Learn the name; immediate use

4. Failure by 5+: Madness point; cannot retry for 1 month

5. Critical failure: Dangerous knowledge gained; 1d4 madness points

Cost: Personal risk, sanity, time. No monetary cost, but may require other things.

### Sygaldry Research

Inventing new rune combinations:

1. Spend time experimenting (1 day per complexity level)

2. Gather materials (10-100 gold talents per attempt)

3. Make Arcana check (DC = 12 + complexity)

4. Success: Discover new rune combination

5. Failure: Materials wasted, no progress

6. Critical failure: Rune explodes or activates unpredictably

Cost: 10-100 gold talents per attempt

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## Counter-Magic & Suppression

Magic is not unopposed in Temerant. Multiple forces resist or suppress magical workings.

### Alar Disruption (Mage vs. Mage)

Disrupting a sympathetic link:

1. Opposed Arcana check (your alar vs. opponent's alar)

2. Your roll: d20 + alar + Arcana bonus

3. Opponent's roll: d20 + their alar + their Arcana bonus

4. If you win: Their link breaks; backlash damage if casting

5. If you lose: Link persists; they maintain working

Cost to disrupt: Free action; doesn't interrupt your own workings

### Iron Disruption (Iron vs. Magic)

Iron blocks sympathetic links: Links cannot be made through or across iron. Any sympathetic working crossing iron requires:

- DC 18 Arcana check to establish link

- Double alar cost to maintain link

- Link breaks if iron barrier is activated/moved

Iron sources: Lead pipes, iron circles, iron bars, iron chains.

### Salt & Seawater

Salt breaks connections: Salt water and salt lines disrupt sympathetic links similarly to iron (not quite as effective).

### Church Suppression (Amyr & Inquisitors)

The Tehlin Church actively suppresses naming and demon-summoning. Methods:

- Wards: Church buildings have built-in anti-magic ward runes (DC 18 to bypass)

- Inquisitors: Trained to detect and disrupt magic use

- Excommunication: Using forbidden magic marks someone as heretic; they lose Church protection

- Executions: Practitioners of naming or summoning are executed on discovery