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    Spellcasting in the Shadow World?

    HI all-

    I was poking around some of the wiki entries, and came across something that would seemingly (get it?) to be a problem.

    Cerilia is steeped in mebhaighl, which powers all arcane magic. This we know. But the Shadow World is steeped in awnmebhaighl.

    So, a wizard in the Shadow World doesn't have access to mebhaighl. How can he cast spells there? I can't find anything that says wizards can't, but what is the power source? There is little mebhaighl there (like there is little awnmebhaighl in Cerilia).

    The awnmebhaighl wiki entry has some information, and says that wizards must become sensitive to it to use it. Again this implies that wizards ought not be to be able to cast spells in the shadow world. Then the wiki discusses how a wizard can use awnmebhaighl as an alternative to mebhaighl. But nothing specifically saying wizards can't immediately cast spells while in the Shadow World.

    Have i missed something? Thoughts?


    -Fizz

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    Site Moderator Sorontar's Avatar
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    The Shadow World leaks into Cerilia, so it possible to use shadow magic/Seeming in parts of Cerilia. Likewise, I imagine that there are parts of the Shadow World that may be regarded as more "stable" that may have more chances of seeming to be "real" and as such give the illusion of magic working. If the illusion is real enough, it affects like it is reality.

    If you can see through the illusions (Seeming Perception), you are more attuned to the awnmebhaighl. The way we played it was that the longer you were exposed to awnmebhaighl, the more you developed your Seeming Perception. The more developed your shadow skills, the more likely that you would be warped by them and would developed your own Seeming abilities. This could simply be something like a "hide in shadows" feat or could end up being something more permanent. For a magic users/caster I imagine that this may mean that their spell capacities and specifics may have to change over time. The result is them using the Seeming rather than magic.

    Of course, you can "counter" this. My Druid took a "if I can see it, it is real" approach, regardless of how ridiculous it was. This countered the "see through the illusion" possibility and meant that he was very vulnerable to the Seeming (due to low Seeming Perception) but less likely to develop his own shadow skills.

    Sorontar

  3. #3
    I was thinking, if Seeming can become anything, under the influence of a strong will, perhaps the presence of a blooded wizard "transforms" Seeming into mebhaighl? after all, if the Seeming can become anything why not become an energy form? Spell effects caused by the use of awmmebhaighl would be explained by the idea that it is not really magical energy, only an imitation supported by willpower - hence the enhancement of illusion spells.
    I have always found interesting the how the setting focuses on illusionist spells, I wonder if the very existence of magicians can be connected in some way to the Seeming.

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    Hi Sorontar-

    What you say makes sense for someone in Cerilia wanting to use the Seeming. But i'm thinking about the opposite scenario.

    Suppose a Cerllian wizard finds himself in the Shadow World for the first time, and wants to cast a non-illusion spell, such as fireball. He can't sense or presumably use the awnmebhaighl, as he's never been exposed to it before. So how does he cast fireball if there is little to no mebhaighl present? Can he at all?

    For that matter, does the type of spell matter at all? Most illusion spells in Cerilia use mebhaighl. So if this wizard wants to cast a simple illusion in the Shadow World, and can't sense awnmebhaighl, it would seem he's equally stuck.


    -Fizz
    Last edited by Fizz; 02-18-2020 at 04:55 PM.

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    Site Moderator Sorontar's Avatar
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    The point is that the Cerilian mage *thinks* their magic works. In fact, they are using awnmebhaighl (potentially without realising it) and it is just an illusion. This would mean that 1) those who have resistance to illusions can counter/weaken the strength of the magic 2) the mage may not be as powerful as they are on Cerilia (unless they are casting illusion spells).

    Sorontar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sorontar View Post
    The point is that the Cerilian mage *thinks* their magic works. In fact, they are using awnmebhaighl (potentially without realising it) and it is just an illusion. This would mean that 1) those who have resistance to illusions can counter/weaken the strength of the magic 2) the mage may not be as powerful as they are on Cerilia (unless they are casting illusion spells).

    Sorontar
    So are you saying that all magic in the Shadow World is illusionary?

    It is stated Blood Spawn that the Lost used the power of the Seeming to create illusions that were more real. So this seems contradictory. The Lost used it to make illusions more real (tougher to ignore / disbelieve / real effects) but a Cerilian mage using awnmebhaighl (and fully believing it) has spells that are "just an illusion" and can be resisted more easily.

    The other issue here is whether the Seeming is really an illusion. Blood Spawn says that the misconception of the Shadow World is that nothing is as it seems. In fact, everything is exactly as it seems, but what it seems to be is malleable. This all sounds more like transmutation magic than illusion.

    Ack!

    -Fizz

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    Site Moderator Sorontar's Avatar
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    Fair enough. It's been a decade since we were playing in Cerilia so I might have forgotten how our house rules worked. Canon overrules house rules in this discussion.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sorontar View Post
    Fair enough. It's been a decade since we were playing in Cerilia so I might have forgotten how our house rules worked. Canon overrules house rules in this discussion.
    That's a good point. We've been discussing it, but may not be comparing apples to apples. I can't seem to find where in the original sources awnmebhaighl is first described.

    I have only found it mentioned in Blood Spawn, but without an explanation, as though the reader already knows what it is. And it doesn't seem to be mentioned in the Book of Magecraft at all.

    Anyone know where is it first discussed and described?


    -Fizz
    Last edited by Fizz; 02-25-2020 at 10:55 PM.

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