Post by Kenneth New on Jun 1, 2014 21:44:24 GMT -5
The world is covered by a veil (velamen arcanum) that hides the magical from the mundane. The world is divided into those who see and those who do not. The former group includes all mageborn, non-mageborn who've lived in the magical community, magical creatures (such as shifters, undead, fey, etc...) and a few mundanes who've learned to see beyond the veil. Those who do not see through the veil are referred to as mundanes or sometimes as sleepers.
The most important law in the magical community is that you must never break the veil. Breaking this law will usually result in harsh punishment.
Casting spells is easy when there are no mundanes around, but mundane observers tend to make magic unreliable. If you're trying to cast a spell in front of mundane observers, you must make a Concentration check (DC 15 + twice the level of the spell). Any spell with flashy effects adds a +2 to the DC. Large numbers of observers also make it more difficult.
When you begin casting a spell, you can tell if there is observational resistance. In this case, you may choose to abort the spell. This still takes the standard action, but the spell is not lost. You may also decide to power through the resistance and make your concentration check. You may also choose to cast the spell subtly. This requires a full round action (or one extra full round if the spell already requires a full round to cast), but causes the spell to blend seamlessly into the background. Mundane observers will rationalize the spell as being natural.
If you power through the resistance and cast a spell in front of the mundane observers, each will get a Will save (DC 20) to see through the veil. If they do so, you have broken the veil. Assuming the observer lives, they will be allowed a second Will save a few minutes after the event. If they fail this one, the veil reasserts itself and all is well. If they make the second save, however, they are now able to see through the veil to the magical world beneath. Many mundanes go insane at this point, while others are able to cope with their new paradigm for viewing the world.
The most important law in the magical community is that you must never break the veil. Breaking this law will usually result in harsh punishment.
Casting spells is easy when there are no mundanes around, but mundane observers tend to make magic unreliable. If you're trying to cast a spell in front of mundane observers, you must make a Concentration check (DC 15 + twice the level of the spell). Any spell with flashy effects adds a +2 to the DC. Large numbers of observers also make it more difficult.
Number of Observers | Increase in DC |
1 | 0 |
2 | +1 |
3-5 | +2 |
6-10 | +3 |
11-20 | +4 |
21+ | +5 |
When you begin casting a spell, you can tell if there is observational resistance. In this case, you may choose to abort the spell. This still takes the standard action, but the spell is not lost. You may also decide to power through the resistance and make your concentration check. You may also choose to cast the spell subtly. This requires a full round action (or one extra full round if the spell already requires a full round to cast), but causes the spell to blend seamlessly into the background. Mundane observers will rationalize the spell as being natural.
If you power through the resistance and cast a spell in front of the mundane observers, each will get a Will save (DC 20) to see through the veil. If they do so, you have broken the veil. Assuming the observer lives, they will be allowed a second Will save a few minutes after the event. If they fail this one, the veil reasserts itself and all is well. If they make the second save, however, they are now able to see through the veil to the magical world beneath. Many mundanes go insane at this point, while others are able to cope with their new paradigm for viewing the world.