RIFTS MAGIC

How Does Magic Work?
The mastery of magic really is more of an art than a science, because it is controlled, focused and manifested by the mind. Although the methods of casting magic have basic methodologies and principles behind them with results that can be replicated time and again,each sorcerer puts their own little touch on the magic. Thus, while a Fire Ball is a Fire Ball, not all Fire Balls are equal nor look identical. Each is shaped and tuned, if ever so slightly (and in some cases, not so slightly), by the person creating it.

The reason? All magic, at least in part,is a physical representation of the practitioner's own mind,  spirit and force of will. That is also what makes spell casting so easy for some people and impossible for others.

The basic concepts behind magic are simple. First, magic is very real. It is a natural force that has existed since the dawn of time. Perhaps ancient humans like the mysterious builders of Stonehenge and other megaliths once knew about the supernatural and could actually perform great feats of magic. However, humankind lost the secrets of magic and turned to science. Over the generations, magic became a myth, an unknown to man, mystic energy was very real and continued to ebb and flow as it had done for eons.

So called 'magic' energy is invisible, like a lot of forces of nature. It is also a constant and ever present energy, like electro-magnetism. Parasychologists of the Twentieth Century called this energy Potential Psychic Energy (P.P.E.) after all, the term 'magic' is a misleading misnomer. It is called 'Potential' Psychic Energy as everybody seems to possess a certain amount of this energy, yet only a few are able to use this energy in a paranormal or magical way.

They also discovered that natural rivers and streams of this psychic energy ran across the planet like an invisible web of mystic energy. These invisible streams are called Ley Lines. Where two or more ley lines cross over each other is called a nexus point or energy junction. P.P.E. is at its greatest at nexus points. Investigators were surprised to find that ancient man had somehow known about these ley lines and nexus points and had marked these spots with stone circles and towers known as megaliths. In North America the ancients marked these places with huge mounds or animal effigies. In Central America and Egypt, great pyramids were erected.

It was theorized that these places, so rich in P.P.E., could have their energies tapped and used by men of magic. Primitive man may ahve seen supernatural visitors from other dimensions as inhuman monsters or demons.

Many of these megaliths also had astronomical significance and usually indicated the dawn of winter and summer solstice, planetary alignments, and other astronomical occurences. The revelation that followed was that these occurences caused the P.P.E. energy to dramatically increase for a brief period, lasting a few minutes to several hours. At these occasions, a practitioner of magic could utilize the sudden burst of energy to create powerful magic or know that this was a time of danger and that the area was to be avoided. The danger was that dimensional portals or 'rifts' would sometimes tear open, releasing strange and/or horrible monsters from other dimensions into our own.Worse yet, demon-like supernatural creatures were lured to the flux of mystic energy like moths to a flame. When the energy flux ended,the dimensional door closed, trapping the creatures in our world, where they adapted to hunt new prey, humans.

Assuming this is all true, why was magic virtually unknown to modern man? Investigations revealed that monsters may have certainly existed. All types of supernatural and magical phenomena were ignored or explained away with semi-reational explanations. Modern man simply refused to believe in the paranormal and magic. This refusal was the single most significant reason why modern man had lost the secrets of magic.

Theoretically, everybody has potential psychic energy and at some point in life, has a great deal of it. As a human matures and ages both physically and mentally the P.P.E. changes. The average adult has little P.P.E., yet the average teenager has more than at any other time of their lives. What happens is that the P.P.E. is used up in one way or another. Its most constructive use is focusing on a particular area of interest. This could be where the concept of natural talent arises. A person's focus to develop a particular skill or talent is so strong that the potential psychic energy is channeled in developing that specific area. But this is only a fraction of what is possible. By focusing and developing one's P.P.E., the individual can develop psychic or magic powers.

The Earth Of Rifts
When the time of Rifts came, the Earth was transformed. The once subtle and forgotten magic energies that quietly flowed across the planet are now rushing rivers and seething oceans of mystic energy. Magic can not be ignored, because it is a daily reality. At night, the ley lines glow an eerie white-blue; even during the day, the most powerful ley lines and nexus points can stillbe seen to glow. Dimensional rifts appear across the land everytime there is an eclipse, planetary alignment, and every summer and winter solstice, letting in more creatures from the rifts. Madmen and practitioners of magic, who seek to tame the lines of magic, open new rifts and attract menaces from hell-spawned worlds. 'Demons,' supernatural horrors, uninmaginable monsters, aliens, mutants, and other dimensional beings (D-Bees) of all kinds claim the decimated planet as their domain.

The planet Earth has never been so rich in P.P.E./magic energy. The supernatural and paranormal are commonplace. Thus, the element of disbelief in magic is eliminated. Everybody knows magic is real. the new problem is that many people now fear magic and the supernatural and consciouslywant nothing to do with it.This effectively prevents a vast number of people from ever developing their potential psychic energy in any paranormal way. However, the prevalence of magic makes it much more easy for those who wish to develop magic potential to do so. The energy is all around them, theirs for the taking.

Building Potential Psychic Energy
Every person has some degree of P.P.E. Most humans and D-Bees have very little, but the practitioners of magic have learned to nurture and hold P.P.E., becoming living batteries of magic energy. The typical mage will have ten to fifty times more P.P.E. than the average person. This energy can be drawn upon at will, much like the psionic characters drawing on their psionic inner strength (or I.S.P.) to create or cause magic.

Each magic spell or ritual requires a certain amount of P.P.E. to create. Each spell description will indicate how many P.P.E. points are needed to perform the magic. P.P.E.costs range from as little as one to as much as two-thousand. Casting a less powerful spell requires one to about fifty P.P.E. The mage should be able to summon forth their own impressive amount of P.P.E. to cast the spell with comparative ease.

Recovery Of P.P.E.
Like psionic I.S.P. the loss of P.P.E. points is temporary and it will replenish themselves naturally at about five points for every hour of rest or sleep. Meditation is a skill known by all magic practitioners. It is used to focus one's concentration and to relax and open oneself to mystic forces. A meditative state will restore expended P.P.E. at a rate of 10 per hour and is equal to an hour of sleep. Meditation can not restore more P.P.E. than the character has maximum.

Other Sources Of P.P.E.
The spell caster usually has a few options at their disposal. They can draw the energy needed from within themselves or draw that energy from another source. These other sources include magical talismans, ley lines, ley line nexus points, and other, living creatures, including humans.

Drawing P.P.E.From Magical Artifacts:
There are some magic artifacts that act as a portable P.P.E. battery from which a mage can draw additional magic energy. These items are quite uncommon, but instantly recognised by practitioners of magic who can usually sense (and in some case see) the magic energy contained within the artifact.

Drawing P.P.E. From Other Living Beings:
A fairly easy task. All living creatures have a certain amount of P.P.E. and taking it from them does no damage. There are certain conditions under which P.P.E. can be taken from others:-

Lay Lines, Nexus Points, And P.P.E.
Ley lines are a matrix of natural potential psychic energy that run in straight lines across the globe. The source of energy is unknown and apparently inexhaustible. At places where several ley lines cross, the energy is at its greatest. These P.P.E. intersections are called ley line nexus points.

In Rifts Earth the ley line energy is at an all time high and offers a seemingly endless source of mystic power. Practitioners of magic, psychics, supernatural creatures, and demons can stand on or near a ley line and freely feed on its energy. To access the energy the character must be standing in the ley line or at the nexus point. Remember, even the thinnest ley line will be at least a few hundred years/meters wide; most are a mile (1.6km) wide.

Lay lines have the following effects on practitioners of magic:-
For more information see Ley Lines.

Understanding Magic
There are four major categories of magic: Spells (spoken), Rituals (performed), Summoning (either spoken or performed), and Special O.C.C. powers (exclusive abilities).

Spells
Spell magic requires spoken incantations and hand gestures that serve as a focus to cast magic. The base Save Vs Magic against spell magic is 12. As a mage grows in experience levels they receive bonuses that increases their spell strength.For example: The spell of a 2nd level Mystic has a +1 added to their spell strength. This means the magic is now more potent and victims of their mystic assault must roll a 13 or higher, instead of the base 12, to save.

Casting Spells is easy. A mage can not cast any spell they do not know. The only exception to this is a spell scroll, very rare on Rifts Earth, in which the scrollis read aloud to cast the spell. But once read, the words magically vanish or turn into gibberish or a powerless mystic symbol. To cast a spell requires verbalization and often hand gestures. The mantra of the spell must be spoken aloud and with authority. Hand gestures are usually part of the casting process, helping to focus and direct the mystic energy.

The speaking/casting of a spell is very quick:-
P.P.E. requires strategic use. Inless a practitioner of magic is on a ley line or nexus, they have a finite amount of P.P.E. When it is used up it is gone for a period of time (see Recovery Of P.P.E.). The character's base P.P.E.always regenerates, but will enough become available when the mage needs it most? That requires careful and strategic use of the character's P.P.E., meditation, and other considerations.

Ritual
Ritual or ceremonial magic usually applies to the higher level spell invocations(7th+). The more powerful the magic, the more it costs in P.P.E. The value of a ritual is that it enables the mage to willingly draw P.P.E. from the ritual participants and/or end the ceremony with a ritual killing and use the combined P.P.E. (amount donated and the double amount from the killing) as well as their own P.P.E. (or not) to perform powerful (costly) magic. If more P.P.E. is needed then the ritual may be performed at a ley linenexus or at a point when the nexus surges with energy.

Ritual frequently require props, components, and the drawing of a circle, triangle, or pentagram. Any spell incantation from level 7 or higher can be cast as a ritual. Spells from levels 1-6 are seldom made into rituals. Spells 7-10 require 10 minutes of ritualizing to cast, invocations of 11-15 take 1D4x10+15 minutes to complete as a ritual, but in all cases ritual magic is much more potent, requiring the victims or targets of the magic attack to make a Save Vs Magic of 16 or higher roll. Rare 'Spells of Legend' require 1D6x10+30 minutes toperfom as a ritual.

Summoning
Summoning magic can be spell or ritual, but often requires a formal ceremony to summon something or to create a supernatural force such as a zombie, mummy, golem, etc. Invocations involving controlling or dominating other intelligent beings always provide the victims with a Save vs Magic. (12-14 against most spell casters, 16 Vs ritual magic; see Saving Throws: Magic.

The Shifter is a summoning specialist, but any mage with the correct knowledge can perform a summoning. The physical act of summoning/making contact in a summoning spell is always successsful. It is controlling the creature and making it do one's bidding that is the tricky part. Summoning magic is used by predominatelyevil and Anarchist practitioners of magic.

O.C.C. Powers
Each magic O.C.C. has a handful of Special O.C.C. Abilities & Bonuses. These are special areas of knowledge and ability that arise out of that practitioner's occupational speciality and are usually exclusive to that O.C.C. only. Only the Ley Line Walker (and varient Ley Line Rifter) can teleport along a ley line without expending P.P.E.

Magic Combat
The weakness of spell casting is that even offensive spells have their limitations in range, damage, etc., and the unspoken limitation that the spell caster is not the best at one-on-one combat action. They usually lack initiative and is the last to attack/respond in melee combat rotation.

However, the restructuring of the amount of time it takes to cast low level spells gives the character a chance to respond quickly and get their spell off as fast or faster than their opponent may get off a gunshot. This also makes logical sense, because it is the low-level spells that cost the least P.P.E. and are the most likely to be fired off in a combat or panic situation. The more powerful mid- to high-level spells require more time, concentration and focus, but the low level spells are so familiar to the character (because they are used often) that they are like second nature to cast.

When firing off a low-level (1-5) invocation, roll Initiative as usual. If the spell caster gets initiative, they get to use their magic before opponents, if it is a low-level spell counting as one of the spell caster's melee attacks/actions.

Mid- to high-level spells count as 2 or 3 of the melee attacks/actions of the spell caster, and will require the spell caster to take a step back from the action to use their magic to the best strategic purpose. While thei may remove them from the immediate action of combat, their spell may have a profound effect on the battle, that is the trade-off.

With the arguable exception of the Shifter, practitioners of magic are not experts in hand-to-hand combat. Most can handle themselves in a fight, but they are not warriors, they just are not. Furthermore, magic has the disadvantage of requiring concentration and speaking, two things that are difficult while under attack. So unless the spell being cast is a level 1-5 invocation that can be popped off in three or four seconds, the action of Parrying, Dodging, or Striking back will break the spell invocation and prevent the mage from casting their spell (they will need a 'breather'of 7-10 seconds to cast a higher level spell). Likewise, getting popped in the mouth or stomach, or getting knocked down or blinded, or anything that breaks the spell caster's concentration and makes them stop in the middle of their verbalization of the spell prevents them from finishing it.

When interupted the mage must start all over again. They do not lose any P.P.E. (that is not spent until the spell is completed and cast), but they do lose precious time.

This also means if the mage is being ahmmered by a full press attack (i.e. their attacker keeps striking at them at every opportunity), even if the sorcerer is successfully parrying each attack, the sorcerer is focused on protecting and defending themselves can can not get a higher level spell off. The same is true if they are doing the physical attacking, or runnung, or performing any physical action. To cast the spell the practitioner of magic will need to stop, catch their breath (that should count as one or more of their melee attacks/actions) and then cast the spell (another one or more of their melee attacks/actions depending on the spell level).

Cancelling Magic
The spell caster/creator of magic can cancel/stop its effect or influence instantly at any time. Likewise, the magic-weaver does not have to create magic for its full duration, but can impose any amount of time, as long as it does not exceed the maximum possible duration.The same is true of damage. The spell caster may intentionally reduce the amount of damagea spell inflicts, but the player must announce this intention, otherwise it is assumed the full damage (or duration) is used.

Interrupting a spell caster, preventing them from completeing the spell, will force the mage to stop and start again, from the begining. No Potential Psychic Energy is lost, so the spell caster can stop reciting a spell in mid-incantation without expending any P.P.E. or causing any side effects.

Ritual or ceremonial magic, although more powerful, is also more fragile. An interuption of the ritual that lasts for more than 30 seconds (preventing the ritual from continuing) will ruin the ceremony, as well as cause 30% of the total available P.P.E. that may have already been collected to leak away unused. Incapacitating the leader for more than 30 seconds will have the same effect. Incapacitating the other participating members/cultists (rendering them unconscious, pulling them away, etc.) will only reduce the amount of available P.P.E. (basically they are not present to give their P.P.E. to the mage conducting the ritual). If the amount of available P.P.E. is reduced to below the minimum requirement, the ritual can not be finished.

The Negate Magic spell or ritual can also be used to stop/cancel the effects of long lasting magic.

Tech Effects On Magic
Unlike the Coalition States, who completely rejects magic in all its forms, few practitioners of magic dismiss technology out of hand. While it is true most rely heavily on their magic powers and natural abilities,most human and D-Bee sorcerers also use technology. Energy weapons, vibto-blades, portable computers, recorders, cameras, robot medical systems, language translators, radio communicators, optic systems, partial M.D.C. bosy armour, light vehicles,air filters, and goggles are all commonly part of the mage characetr's gear and equipment.

Bionics, with the exception of select Bio-systems in case of serious injury, cybernetic implants, and the wearing of environmental bosy armour (except for disguise) are avoided like the plague, but only because they interfere with spell casting and the use of magic.

Bionics and cybernetic implants will reduce the character's P.P.E. by half and prevent their ability to draw on P.P.E. from other sources, including blood sacrifices and ley lines. Likewise, all forms of magical healing are reduced by half. Furthermore, magical regeneration will heal the body and reject the bionics, expelling them from the bosy, unless it is a bio-system made of flesh and blood. Beings with natural bio-regenerative powers, which include most creatures of magic, spirits, demons and gods, can not use bionics or implants at all. Such foreign objects are immediately attacked and expelled from their bodies. In msot cases, they can not even be implanted to begin with because their bodies heal so quickly.

Wearing body armour or a full suit of medieval chain or plate armour to modern day environmental armour, blocks and interfers with the use of magic. A sorcerer can not wear more than partial armour, ideally covering no more than a third of their body, and never more than half. Covering oneself in metal or man-made materials, including plastic and ceramic platesm has the strange effect of hampering the channeling of magic energy. If more than 50% of the body is covered in artificial material the mage must spend 20% more P.P.E. to cast a spell, and the player must roll on the following table to see if this interference has an impact on the spell:

Armour made of natural materials, such as leather or M.D.C. animal hides, can be worn without interfering with magic. However, bulk and weight can become a problem as most practitioners of magic are not physically conditioned and strong enough to wear heavy and even medium body armour. Full armour is typically only worn for disguise. Note: The same considerations apply to power armour.

Trying to cast magic from inside a vehicle or giant robot is impossible, causing the magical effect/damage to strike those inside the vehicle (can not penetrate the walls of the vehicle; even novice students of magic are taught this). As a result, the spell caster must at least open a window or hatch, and stick their head and upper body out (a nice target for snipers) to weave their magic. Many spells also require line of sight to strike a specific target; the spell caster must be able to see their quarry.

The exception to the welcomed use ot technology comes from supernatural beings (demons and gods) and creatures of magic like FaerieFolk, dragons, the sphinx, and similar. These beings possess such immense natural and magical abilities that the majority rely on them entirely, and reject technology as 'man machines' or 'toys', However, even many dragons, especially Hatchlings, and the occasional demon and even god, will at least consider using bits and pieces of technology - for back-up or a surprise attack if nothing else. There are exceptionshere too. The lowliest of the demon races, known as sub-demons, such as the Brodkil, Daemonix, and Gargoyles, are comparitively powerless in the area of magic, so those exposed to it welcome technology. Brodkil absolutely love Vibro-Blades (especially vibro-claws, and swords), energy weapons of all kinds, optic systems (scopes, binoculars, optic bands, etc.) and other bits of technology. However, Brodkil or Gargoyles seldom use vehicles, unless specifically made for them and designed to accommodate their large size. The Gargoyles in Europe have a small armoury of high-tech weaponry, including M.D.C. body armour and weapons designed depecifically for their race.

The Pursuit Of Magic
Practitioners of magic, except the the Mystic, can learn and cast spells far above their actual experience level. This means a 2nd level Ley Line Walker could cast a 10th level spell, providing they had sufficient magic energy. The Ley Line Walker and Shifter are both proficient enough that they can even figure out a new spell incantation every time that they reach a new level of experience. However, there are still a multitude of incantations one can learn. The trick is learning them.

It is far easier to learn an already existing incantation than it is to create one from scratch. This is due, in part, to the knowledge that the existing spell is proven to work. It simply adds to the level of conviction and therefore insures the success of the spell. Remember that spells are designed to focus one's concentration and will so strongly that the mage can create a magical effect. This is more difficult than one might imagine.

Purchasing Magic
Practitioners of magic can sometimes purchase spell magic from magic shops, adult or ancient dragons,and elder masters of magic (9th level or higher). Places like Lazlo, the Mystic Quarter at MercTown and some of the cities in the Magic Zone may also have a college or guild that sells magic knowledge. In all cases, the seller is a practitioner of magic who guards their secrets well and only sells to those whom they knows are brother spell casters.

The prices are usually quite steep:-
Add a +10% premium charge for offensive spells and a 20% premium charge for metamorphosis and summoning spells.

Most magic shops and even colleges do not offer the full range of spells (levels 1-4 are the most common) and many shops  will not be able to teach spells at all. Just because a shop sells magic items and TW devices does not mean its proprietors can teach magic. Prices will vary also, some charging 10% less others 50-200% more. The practice of magic frightens many normal people, so it is the rare community outside of the Magic Zone that even has a magic shop of any kind, most wilderness towns do not. Onthe other hand, there is likely to be 1D4 magic shops of some kind (perhaps mobile, and perhaps only a couple of dozen spells from levels 1-4) in one or two of the CoalitionState 'Burbs.Of course, if caught doing business at oneor it really is a 'sting operation' by the CS, the character will be attacked or taken for questioning, and if a mage or D-Bee executed. Many citizens of the 'Burbs fear magic and will call the police if they get suspiciousabout a personor place.

Trade For Magic
Much more common than purchasing magic for credits is trading one's service (or the service of the group) in exchange for a couple of mid- to high-level spells (levels 5-9). The more powerful the spell, the more dangerous the work. The emplyer is probably a member of a guild, cult, agent of the Federation of Magic, demon, or a dragon. The job probably involves retrieval of a person, magic object, or almost anything. It may also involve murder, saboutage, framing someone, blackmail, bodyguard work, information, or a host of other things.

Demons and other supernatural fiends will sometimes teach magic for money or, more often, for trade. They may want a magic relic, weapon, or information, or other service (spying, murder, etc.). However, it is always dangerous dealing with demons for obvious reasons.

Boons And Grants
Spell invocations are sometimes grantedas a reward by some communities, kingdoms, magic guilds, priests, and gods in trade for the character (or group) performing some quest or service.

Magic Guilds And Brotherhoods
A mage can learn new spells through several different means. Another way is to join a magic guild or brotherhood. The brotherhood is usually willing to teach new invocations to its members, but there are a number of catches. For one, the guild usually demands total allegiance, meaning that the member will donate at least 10-20% of their annual income to the brotherhood/guild and do other things to support (clean, maintenance, teach, etc.) and protect it from enemies. This codicilmay lead to being sent on quests, research or archaeological expeditions, reconnaissance, and even spying and combat assignments. This could also lead to one's services being rented out to outside forces,such as a local kingdom who needs the talents of a magefor whatever reason and is willing to pay the guild or brotherhood handsomely for the service. Rivalry between magic guilds or individuals can also leand to gang wars and acts of vengeance.

Initiates to a guild are usually given a speech about the benefits of membership (real benefits such as room and board, sanctuary from outside forces, access to mystic knowledge and books, communication with fellow amges, etc.). After the new member has offered a resonable donation of some kind (5,000-10,000 credits is comon) they will be officially accepted and have full benefits of membership. However, things such as spell knowledge will probably be withheld for a few months until the newbie has proven to be loyal and worthy. Acts of heroics, dedication, and generosity (big donations)are likely to increaseone's acceptability and status in the organization and earn the character the right to be taught a couple of new spells (probably 1-4, possibly from 1-6).

Spell knowlege is power, that is guarded jealously by most mages. Even in friendly and open magic societies like Lazlo,New Lazlo,and Tolkeen, there are some spells that are guarded secrets, rarely taught.These generally include most spells above Level 10. The easiest spells to find are levels 1-4, followed by 5-7, bryond this they are secret.

Magic Terms:-

Animals And Magic
All living creatures have potential psychic energy (P.P.E.) points. A practitioner of magic, especially evil ones, may sacrifice an animal to get its P.P.E.. Remember, the P.P.E. of all creatures doubles at the moment of death and a mage can capture and use that unleashed energy. Each animal description should have its typical P.P.E. noted, butthe two lists may be of aid:-
Alphabetical List Of Invocations

Alphabetical List of Invocations By Level