Project Manaflow (CYOA Ver.) Peace. For hundreds of years, these nations have been in conflict. We are finally able to put our differences aside and explore our world, of which we know so little. Our magic, for which we have only used for war. Our predators, who lurk ever closer. May our hardest times be behind us, and may the the wind always be at your back, traveler. Mana and the Soul Gate All magic uses Mana drawn from the Etherial Plane through one's Soul Gate. The Soul Gate is a fragile barrier between the Ether and the Material, and one exists in most living things. A Soul Gate is used to guide mana into shaping the earth, to channel life. The Soul Gate is damaged when mana is moved through it, though this damage is repaired quickly over time. The fastest recorded time for a fully repaired Soul Gate is 2 seconds, but newer casters can take upwards of half a minute. Casting Spells Every spell requires mana to flow through the caster's Soul Gate. If more mana is used, the effects of the spell increase. Some spells require that the caster Incantate or Gesticulate over the duration of the spell. When the caster stops performing these actions (or they are interrupted) the spell ends immediately. A spell that requires incantation or gesticulation is marked with (C) or (G), respectively. If a spell does not require either of these actions and has a duration that ends when the caster decides, it is designated ongoing and marked with (O). A caster may still cast other spells while channeling a spell. Skilled casters can incantate one spell, gesticulate another, and cast a third simultaneously. Many schools of magic have unique requirements that must be met before a spell may be cast. Rupture A caster must be aware of her limits, especially when learning new skills. When too much mana is channeled through a Soul Gate, a caster recieves backlash in the form of a Rupture. This backlash depends on the schools of magic from which they are able to cast, and their primary Arcana. A caster may not use a portion of their Soul Gate that is still recovering from the Rupture; if a caster has a Soul Gate 40% through recovery, they can use 40% of their Soul Gate as normal. They cannot access the other 60% of their Soul Gate by any means. Some casters, especially those who study the Catalyst Arcana, willingly cause Ruptures to use this backlash. Many of these effects are incredibly dangerous without preparation, and it goes without saying that care should be taken when using this technique. Novice casters frequently hurt themselves when their Soul Gate is ruptured. Arcana and Schools Spells are divided into three Arcanas, and further divided into nine Schools. A caster devotes themself to one Arcana over the course of their life. They may also select two schools of study. The caster may cast spells from their primary Arcana or their two auxiliary schools. A caster may forego either of their auxiliary schools to perfect a school they already have access to. A perfected school has simplified incantations and gesticulations, reduced casting time, and some spells have unique effects marked with "P:". Fortitude A caster must always keep in mind not only how mentally focused he is, but also their physical fitness.A casters fortitude represents their bodily stamina. Fortitude is not easy to maintain over a day's work. Any and every kind of strenuous activity drains one's fortitude, and fortitude may only be slowly generated by eating. Fortitude is best thought of as calories. Magical healing is more effective depending on the subject's fortitude, and some fortitude is drained when this is performed. This must be taken into account on long campaigns. TL;DR: Pick one of three Arcanas, which is the big text at the top of the screen to get access to every spell in every school under it. Also pick two Schools from other Arcanas. You may forego a school chosen this way to perfect another school you know, making the spells easier and faster to cast and gaining access to their perfected properties, marked with a "P:". If you use more mana than your Soul Gate (means by which you draw mana) can handle, you will cause a Rupture, which has effects depending on the schools and Arcanas you selected. Fortitude defines how well healing spells will heal you. It can only be generated by eating, and it will generate slowly. When you are healed, some Fortitude is consumed. If it hits zero at any time, you die. 1

Vita Et Detraxi Rupture If the caster's health changes during the Rupture, the caster takes fortitude damage. The caster takes more damage the more recent the beginning of the Rupture is. Vita Vita is the study of life itself. Casters heal themselves by pulling vitality out of their surroundings and harm their enemies by pulling the same life out of their enemies. Vita casters must enter a trance, called shadestepping, to cast their spells. Rupture The caster cannot be healed for the duration of the Rupture. When the Rupture ends, the caster is healed for the amount that would have occured over the duration. Vitality Shift (C) Drain fortitude from the target and into the caster, or vice versa. The source target must remain still for the duration of the spell. Crown of Thorns (C, G) The caster and the target lose health at an exponentially increasing rate. This spell is especially easy to interrupt. End bloodlinks on the target and self. P: Deals Fortitude damage to the target, but not the caster. Concentrate Life (G) The caster shifts health over time from a non-sentient target to another target. The speed of the transfer is dependant on manaflow and the health of the recipient; the more health the recipient has, the faster the transfer. Phase (G) Step entirely into the Ether, becoming Phased. The caster is invisible to those not shadestepping or Phased, may walk through some materials, does not take physical damage (except by those Shadestepping or Phased), and is healed for an additional amount, but takes double damage from non-physical sources. Ends shadestepping when the spell ends. P: May be cast on a target other than the caster and no longer ends shadestepping. Anima Mea Anima Mea is the study of the soul and bonds between men. Casters heal their allies by casting spells through their shared blood and attack their enemies with a bow and an arrow dripping with their own blood. Anima Mea casters must create a blood bond with a target before casting spells on them. Rupture All bloodlinked characters take damage equal to the caster's maximum health split evenly among them. Strength in Unity The caster drains a small fraction of every Bloodlinked character’s health to a Bloodlinked target. Divided we Stand The caster sacrifices a large portion of her health to heal every Bloodlinked character. Spirit Flare (C, G) Grant every Bloodlinked character access to your Soul Gate. P: Or access a portion of every Bloodlinked character’s Soul Gate. Soul Charge (G) When a Bloodlinked character other than the caster uses mana, they heal proportional to the mana used. P: The caster is also effected by the spell. 2

Vita Et Detraxi, cont Corpus Corpus is the study of the body and death. Casters employ raised skeletons and cadavers to aid in spellcasting, and use their aides to disrupt their enemies. The effects of Corpus spells do not vary with Manaflow. Rupture The caster's incantated, gesticulated, and ongoing spells are maintained for the duration of the Rupture, and are ended when the Rupture is over. They may not be ended before then by any means. Ongoing 'Raise' spells increase the duration of the Rupture, and end when the Rupture is over. Raise Dancer (O) A dancer is the skeleton of a small animal, usually rodents. It is capable of gesticulating in place of the caster. The spell's mana demand increases exponentially over time. Bone Marionette (G) The target’s heart is stopped and their brain begins to control their limbs independent of muscles or bloodflow. Their fortitude cannot change. Their health cannot increase. If the caster attempts to heal them, they are instead damaged for the same amount. Death Knell Deal damage to a target. Deals more damage if the target has less than half fortitude remaining. Reanimate (C, G) The target corpse is given a semblance of life. It is allowed to act as if it had one fortitude. If it is restored to full health, it falls unconscious, the spell completes, and the target returns to life. If the caster stops incantating or gesticulating for any reason before the spell completes, the target immediately returns to being a corpse. 3

Catalyst Every Catalyst spell requires a Catalyst: a mark on the skin describing a desired change to reality. When mana is allowed to flow through this mark, the effect occurs. However, these marks are fragile. As more and more mana flows through the mark, the mark becomes cracked and imperfect, demanding more mana for the same effect, and eventually becoming totally unusable. Rupture The caster takes quadruple magical damage for the duration of the rupture. Conjuration Conjuration is the simplest school of magic to use; simply flow mana through a Catalyst, and the effect occurs. The complexity occurs in the design of the mark. A mark may be designed to lower the cast time at the expense of a more complex incanatation, or larger damage at the cost of a smaller range. Rupture Every Catalyst degrades massively. If a Catalyst is destroyed this way, the spell as if the caster's entire Soul Gate was used to cast the spell on the caster's last target of a Conjuration spell. Mana Burn Arc raw mana through the air towards the target, dealing damage. Force their soul gate to accept mana proportional to the mana the caster used and distance, damaging their soul gate and potentially causing a rupture. The cast time is proportional to mana used. Jaunt (C/G) Teleport to a nearby target location, and when the channel ends, return. The caster may incantate or gesticulate to channel this spell. Crumble Fold an object or creature in on itself, causing massive damage. The cast time decreases with manaflow, but damage does not increase with manaflow. Void Rip (C, G) Rip spacetime, flooding the area with negative energy, dealing massive damage over time and healing the caster for the same amount. If this causes the caster to reach her maximum health, she explodes and instantly dies. Essence Essence is using an object which is the embodiment of a concept (such as a scarab for protection or a waterfall for motion) and projecting that embodiment by causing mana to flow through it. Repeated castings may not activate the same Essence unless a different object is used. Essence spells can be used as counterspells; if a target is under the effects of Purify, Purify may be cast on the target to end the effects. Rupture The caster is under the effects of Stoneskin for the duration. Stoneskin (C) Channel unbreakability (diamond, chain) to encase the target in stone. The target cannot move or cast spells with gesticulated components, but are immune to physical harm and line-of-effect spells. Ricochet (C) Channel a link (chain, etc.) to fire a projectile at the target. The projectile rapidly bounces to nearby targets. Bounce range increases with manaflow, damage does not. Arcane Ventriloquism Channel distance (arrow, letter) to cause a spell’s origin to shift to a target location and cast by proxy. Distance increases with manaflow. P: Cast the spell from both the target location and the caster’s position, paying all costs. Purify (O) Channel protection (scarab, hollow orb) to cause a target to become totally immune to magic, both helpful and harmful, for the duration. This spell demands an incredibly large manaflow, and as such cannot be safely maintained for longer than a second for most journeyman casters. 4

Catalyst, cont Will Will is the means by which a caster’s bare fists and limbs are used to make unarmed strikes empowered by Conjuration and Essence. As such, they may not be cast by proxy. Castings must be performed in the same motion of a strike. There is also a short downtime between Will spells. Will spells are far more difficult to cast while gesticulating. P: Will spells may be cast by proxy, but they still require physical contact. Rupture Will spells and strikes performed by the caster deal no damage whatsoever. Cobra Strike Channel motion (waterfall, wind) to lunge forward, breaking any imprisonment effects on yourself or the target. Lunge further depending on mana input. Close the Gates Reset the target's Soul Gate to its default state, ending ongoing effects. If performed on a target with a ruptured Soul Gate, deal massive damage and end the Rupture. Deal damage to the target proportional to the damage reverted. Pressure Point (C) Cause the target to lose control of a hand or leg while incanted. Bloody Mary's Gambit Switch any bloodlinks between the caster and target. 5

Transmutation Rupture The caster cannot move their limbs. Alchemy Alchemy is the act of inscribing runes on an object or mixing materials to achieve an effect at a later time when mana is run through the object, called detonating the object. If the alchemist is skilled enough, multiple spells may be inscribed on the same object, to be detonated at different times. When the spell is complete, the rune disappears from the object. P: Alchemy objects are no longer destroyed Rupture All of the caster's alchemy objects detonate simultaneously shortly after the rupture begins. Lightning Ring The object releases a wave of electricity. The ring deals damage increases with distance from the object. Speed of the ring and maximum range scale with manaflow. Damage does not scale with manaflow. P: May instead damage a creature's Soul Gate. Singularity (C, G) The object becomes so compressed and massive it develops a gravity field. P: The object develops an event horizon. Cloudkill (G) The mixture changes phase to a gas to cause a single spell effect to those who inhale it. If the spell has gesticulated components, they last the duration. When gesticulation ends, the gas dissapates. A target may only be effected by a this spell once per casting. P: The mixture may instead distribute a bloodlink. Ether Vision (G) Shadestepping and Phased casters can see creatures near the object regardless of obscuring geometery regardless of intervening geometry. The caster is considered shadestepping while the object is detonating. A shadestepping caster cannot cast this spell. P: No gesticulation component. True Transmutation True Transmutation is the act of inscribing runes on an object as mana is channeled into the object. When the spell is complete, the rune disappears from the object. True Transmutation spells almost always interact with the environment. Sometimes they involve compressing or expanding matter. Many True Transmutation spells can be used on Alchemy objects or Artifacts. (R) marks a Rune component, which must be scribed on the target object. Rupture Runes for the last True Transmuation spell cast manifest and activate on nearby surfaces. Waterfall (G) Cause loose matter to increase or decrease in speed, or stay still. The tageted objects may only move along a line according to their velocity when the spell was cast. P: No G component. Impact (R) Cause a portion of a whole to fly out of the object. Boulders might be sent flying from the ground. Bark could be stripped from a tree. Sculpt (C, R) Cause matter to change shape. P: No C component. Shift (R) Cause matter to move without traveling through space, keeping its velocity. Can be used on or near a Soul Gate if manaflow is increased. 6

Transmutation cont. Artifaction Artifaction is the act of improving on a weapon by inscribing runes onto it and channeling mana into the weapon, henceforth called an Artifact. The Artifact cannot be destroyed because an Alchemy spell detonates from it. When an Artifaction spell is cast, the Artifact's next attack deals significatnly more damage. This property is called Shine. Will spells may be cast through the Artifact. P: True Transmutation spells may be cast on the Artifact with no cast time. Rupture Spells from the Transmutation Arcana cannot be cast on the Artifact. Spells from the Vita et Detraxi and Catalyst arcanas may be cast on the artifact. Shape Change the Artifact’s form. Has no cast time for the first time a form is used in a given minute. P: Demands almost no manaflow if the same condition is met. Temper (C) Superheat the Artifact. If an enemy is struck, the caster may incantate to cause the wound to burst into flames and deal magical damage and damage to the target's Soul Gate over time. Cauterize The next time the Artifact deals damage, it heals the target over the next few seconds depending on the damage dealt and manaflow. Instant cast time. Damage bonus from Shine doubled. Polarize (C) The caster and Artifact accelerate toward or away from one another. Does not activate Shine. 7

Overmagic Overmagic spells must be extensively researched to attune the spell to one's own Soul Gate, often require unique material components, and are only good for a single casting. The following Overmagic spells are the only ones discovered so far. Any caster can cast an Overmagic spell, should they have done the above. Redemption Up to 11 nearby targets are resurrected with full health and minimum fortitude. Eclipse The caster and all nearby targets are teleported to a Void Rip at any range. 9

Relics Our magic has been exclusively focused on war from the moment we discovered it. Now, with peace reigning, we must adapt our power to exploration and fighting beasts which usually lack any magic of their own. From what limited exploration we have already done, we have recovered several Relics from hermetic peoples seeking to escape the war and survive away from others, and learned how they were created. These Relics provide unique ways to interact with magic and the environment based on their affinity. Each affinity has an augmenting and reactive effect. The augmenting effect changes the user's spells' effects, while the reactive effect changes how the caster physically interacts with the world. Relics are somewhat unstable, and when left within a few feet of one another for an extended period of time, both Relics are rendered inert. As such, casters do not carry more than one Relic at any given time, and never use more than one Relic at a time. Choose one affinity. The Relic to hold it can be armor, a cloak, a weapon, an amulet, etc. Creation Relics may be created by any caster. The caster must assemble materials from every corner of the world to create a Relic with a given affinity. Discovery Relics are incredibly rare. It is suspected that incredibly dangerous monsters, attracted by the mana used by these hermetic peoples, may be inadvertantly guarding Relics and the secrets to their creation. 10