Learning New Spells
Learning a Spell
All PCs who wish to learn a new Spell that they did not start with at Character Creation, or a PC who wishes to improve their Spell from one level to another, must follow strict guidelines in order to be initiated into the Spell. A PC cannot simply learn a new Spell on their own or learn from a random NPC or PC. First they need to find an instructor that meets the prerequisites required to be able to teach a spell. While Casters, PC or NPC, that are Journeymen are able to provide a few insights to other Casters of Apprentice level, such insights are just as likely to be unhelpful, or misunderstood, as they are to be beneficial. Only Experts and Masters have a high enough understanding of the Spell to identify what specifically the student is struggling to understand.
Second, the Character needs to establish a relationship with the potential instructor. Teaching someone a Spell is a serious commitment and requires a lot of time and effort. Instructors will not just teach anyone that simply asks for it, there needs to be a relationship and/or motivation for the instructor to want to teach the spell. And the last piece of the process is to have a Moderator’s approval for the Character to learn the new Spell.
Picking an Instructor
Almost all Spells require an Instructor to teach the PC the Spell initially and in order for a PC to improve levels. In all cases an Instructor must be an Expert or higher in the desired Spell in order to teach it. In most cases this Instructor will be an NPC. Some NPCs may already exist in your PCs location that fit these requirements, in which case, they may work for this situation. In other cases an NPC may not yet exist, in which case the Player may submit a TNPC request to the Lore Proposal forum requesting this Caster NPC where a Moderator must approve it.
Another PC can serve as your Character’s instructor. They must reside within the same city at the time your Character learns a new spell.
Establishing a Relationship
An NPC instructor must have a reason, or desire, for teaching someone a new Spell. For example: If the instructor is part of an organization, then the student would also need to be part of that organization and have proven themself in some way to show the instructor it is worth the effort to teach them. Alternatively, the instructor could decide to teach anyone that is able to pay a certain seasonal cost. In which case, the Character need only deduct the funds from their ledger. Last, the instructor could have a more personal reason for deciding to teach the Character. Whether it’s because of an act of repayment because the character saved their life, or because they are lovers and they wish to share that part of their life with the character.
If the relationship does not have a monetary foundation, then the Character will have to spend several threads developing it. The Character must complete at least four threads that total a minimum of eight thousand words from the PC’s contribution. This is in addition the specific spell’s prerequisites to learn. These threads are NOT threads that involve the potential instructor teaching the PC a Spell, but rather story driven relationship building threads that explore the reason why this instructor would even begin teaching the PC a Spell.
If the instructor is another PC then they can establish the relationship how they see fit through roleplay, without any minimum thread count or minimum word count. The PC who will be the instructor has the right to request payment from the student if they desire. What form that payment takes is up to the instructor.
Moderator Approval
After a Character has accomplished the minimum thread count and minimum word count, they must submit a request for Moderator Approval to learn the new spell. Should the request be denied, the Moderator will give their reasons why it was denied. A request for Moderator approval is not required if the instructor is another PC, but a Moderator must be informed prior to the initiation so that they may add the new Spell to their Spirit Access notes.
Approval can be requested in the Spell Learning Request thread located in the Request Center forum in the Spirit Center category.
Prohibitions
It is possible for a player to be suspended, or banned, from learning a new spell on any of their Character accounts. This applies to learning spells from PCs as well as NPCs. Additionally, it is possible for a Player to be suspended or banned from being able to teach another PC a new spell. These prohibitions can occur when a player has repeated occurrences of abusing or misusing magic. A Moderator will warn a player of their inappropriate use before bestowing suspension. A suspension will be recorded on the Player’s Spirit Access page. Those who are found learning new Spells without following this process or improving their Spell level without gaining approval will face consequences as well.
Inventing a New Spell
Each spell that is available was carefully considered before they were fully developed, but there are more spells that have yet to be discovered. PCs are able to make these discoveries in-thread with considerable research. There are certain requirements that have to be met, both in-character as well as out-of-character, before a spell’s invention can be added to the lore.
Out-of-Character Requirements
Before you begin to incorporate the hints of a new spell’s discovery in your character’s story you need to create a full write-up of the spell. Every spell on the Spell List can be used as a guideline for formatting and ability limitations. Once your write-up is complete, submit it as its own thread in the Lore Proposals forum of the site. Peer review from other players can help make clarifications or fill in some missing information. Alternatively, you can skip the peer review phase and submit a final draft for Moderator review.
Only after the spell write-up has received Moderator approval can any In-Character development of the spell begin.
In-Character Requirements
A PC must have 100 points in Rigenology before they can even begin their research into a new spell. If the finalized spell write-up has other prerequisites to learn the spell, the PC must also exceed those requirements. As part of the research process, there can be other spells and skills not mentioned in the write-up that the PC attempts to utilize.
Time Requirements
There are a few factors that determine the amount of time it requires a PC to successfully finish inventing a new spell. The base amount of time it takes to invent a new spell is two complete seasons of research. Depending on the prerequisites a Caster must meet to learn this spell from an expert, which should be detailed in the write-up, it can require additional seasons of research. Below are the specific guidelines:
- Rigenology
- For each tier above Apprentice that is required to learn the spell, add one season to the research time (+1 for Journeyman, +2 for Expert, etc).
- Additional Specialization Skills or Spells
- For each skill and/or spell that a character must be an Apprentice or Journeyman in, besides Rigenology, add one season to the research time. If a character must be an Expert or Master in the additional skill and/or spell, then add two seasons to the research time instead.
Thread Requirements
During each season of research there must be a minimum of one thread where the focus is the PC’s research of the new spell. Regardless of how many threads of research are done in a single season, there must be at least 5,000 words written within the research thread(s). If the focus of the thread(s) is deemed to be something other than the research, or if the word count is less than 5,000 words, then that season does not count towards the number of seasons required to develop the spell. Memory Threads do not count towards the seasonal threading requirements of spell research.
Research Expenses
During each season of research, whether it was a successful season of research or not, the Caster has to pay for supplies. When researching a new spell, add a note to your character sheet’s Upkeep listing what their seasonal expenses are. For roleplay purposes, these expenses cover inks, papers, and pens for note taking, raw material purchases to test a spell’s effects on them, paying experts for their insights, etc. These expenses do not include paying any assistants, if the Caster wishes to hire an assistant for their research. Nor does it cover the expense of renting a space to use as a research laboratory. Below are the Upkeep Expenses for each season of research.
| Type of Spell | Upkeep Expense Per Season |
|---|---|
| Creative | 23 Gold |
| Harnessed | 13 Gold 8 Silver |
| Personal | 9 Gold 2 Silver |
Article Credit to Abraxas
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