most powerful of all magic-users in Ea. A Mage�s spiritual essence is more closely attuned to the mystical forces which inundate the ether, and so they are capable of more drastic magical workings without upsetting the order of things
Most Mages possess the full Magery advantage. However, it is not uncommon for
a character to have Limited Magery. Most times, this is One-College Magery. For
examples of Races with One-College Magery, see the Deamon and Lawani racial
descriptions. Individuals with One-College Magery may still cast spells outside their
Aspect (providing the spell is known of course) as though they were Wizards. Thresh and
RR are not affected. Only the casting of the spell is different.
Threshold and RR:
Mages receive a +5 to Thresh and +1 to RR for every level of Magery. This can be
modified by the Increased Thresh and Increased RR advantages. They are also the only
magic-users capable of purchasing the Double Recovery advantage, allowing them to
Recover twice as often as normal. Any Mage who spends more than 60 pts between
Magery and the four modifying advantages (Increased Thresh and RR, Safer Excess,
Double Recovery) must pay a 5 pt Unusual Background. This reflects the fact that they
are beginning to exceed the normal levels of power Mages possess.
ex. Eldric Bluestone is an Earth Mage. He has Earth-Aspected Magery 1, One level of
Increased Thresh and two levels of Increased RR. Therefore, his Thresh is 36 and his RR
is 2d+4. His Hour of Recovery is Midnight, so every night at Midnight, Eldric rolls 2d+4
and subtracts the result from his Tally.
Casting:
When a Mage casts a spell, the entire cost of a spell is added to the Tally. This can
be reduced by spending 4 fatigue for each point of reduction. High Skill reduces the cost
of spells and casting time as per GURPS Magic. Note that extremely large and powerful
spells may be cast this way, as there is no limit to the amount of power that can be drawn
as long as the Mage is willing to suffer the consequences.
Maintaining Spells:
The cost for maintaining a spell is also added to the Tally, reduced for High Skill
as per GURPS Magic. This can be especially dangerous, since an unmindful Mage may
exceed his Thresh unintentionally by maintaining a spell
Exceeding the Threshold is perhaps more dangerous for Mages than for any other
user of Magic in Ea. Considering the vast amounts of power accessible by Mages,
earth-shattering events are entirely possible. Many students who have reached way too far
into the ether have simply exploded, while managing to turn entire castles flamingo
pink.....
A balancing factor to this potential for destruction is the Safer Excess advantage,
which only Mages may possess. Each level of Safer Excess doubles the amount of energy
by which a Mage may exceed his Thresh before adding a +1 to his Calamity Roll.
However, any spell cast after Thresh has been exceeded will result in a Calamity
Roll, even if the spell costs no energy. Even without the +1 to the roll, if you have
exceeded your Thresh and keep casting, sooner or later you will make a Calamity Roll you
don�t like.
ex. Malor has exceeded his Thresh by six points with that last fire-ball. No problem,
right? He has 2 levels of Safer Excess. No bonus to the roll for Malor. He rolls 13 on 3d
and consults the chart. Uh-oh.. looks like Malor is gonna have nightmares for 9 days...
and a -2 to ST, DX, IQ, and Skills for the duration. Sure hope that Ogre doesn�t get back
up...
