Magick in Ar'rin (for Crown & Skull)
Or How do unify an RPG system with a Setting Ideology on Magick
For those interested in playing in my Crown & Skull session (set in Ar’rin) please see these articles:
The Pattern is the defining set of Laws for Magic-Use in The Wold, including the continent of Ar’rin. During the formation of the planet in this mythical realm, a set of “rules” were set into place by a powerful entity called Chains. Young beings, called godlings, were attracted to The Wold and Chains allowed them to assist in the creation of the land of Ar’rin. The most prominent godlings are Danika, Arkon, and the Sky Shepard in the history of the land. During the Age of Myth they had far more effect than any others. But there are many others, some lost to history or unknown to the mortal folk.
As the first folk, the immortal Elves and others, learned the ways of magick from the godlings (who understood The Pattern inherently) several methodologies were articulated, these now exist under the purview of the Shar Orders of Wizards at the Colleges in Arised.
In summation there are four “schools of thought” on Magick, once for each towered college:
The Enchantment Spire, this college focuses on developing skills of binding, imbuing, and inscribing the forces of magick into items, places, or even beings.
The Loom of Divination, is the famous college of seers, scryers, and students of the unknown aspects of The Pattern, the laws of sorcery & magick.
The Channeling Minaret, is where students are taught to harness and control magick's elemental, totemic, and universal aspects.
The Turret of Transmutation, this college specializes in the alchemical conversion process, shaping of the permutable, and brewing potions, balms, salves, and elixirs.
How to use this in a TTRPG?
When describing your spell use or deciding how your character accesses a spell, you can use the lens of these four schools as the anchor for your descriptions.
Examples:
Channeling (describe a conduit ritual that allows you to sense and harvest the power you are channeling
Divination (describe how your magic-user perceives the Pattern and the forces of Sorcery or Wizardry)
Enchantment (describe the components and processes that allow you to bind, inscribe or imbue energies into an object)
Transmutation (describe what the brew, elixir, salve, etc looks like and how you made it)
Now there are “other schools” that exist, the Shar Orders forbade Necromantic study and spell usage. The Church of Bruchon invokes the power of The Sky Shepard to perform miracles, these seem to defy, yet follow, the Pattern’s rules, leaving Wizards perplexed. The Danikan Knights employ rote-perfected sorceries that are handed down from master to student, these do not allow for experimentation.
Wizardy vs Sorcery
A long-established divide in Ar’rin, defines a sorcery as any power that accesses The Pattern resulting in a magical effect, whether understood or not. Where as, wizardry is the educated mastery of The Pattern by an awakened practitioner.
In short,
Wizards must be a) awakened to perceive The Pattern itself, & b) study its rules to channel, transmute, divine, or enchant objects, energies, etc. for magical effect.
Sorcerers can create a magical effect but it is not adaptable and the user cannot understand it (or explain it) through the rules of The Pattern itself.
Learn more about Ar’rin here via The Lorebook (a novel in progress, set during the end of The Age of Shadows.