Disciplines | Sovereignsrestsl

Magic Disciplines

While "Hexing" is listed on one of the tabs below, please note that it is not a separate discipline, but rather ties in to them by nature.

Magic and The Natural World

On Sovereign’s Rest, physical materials act as translators and conduits for magic rather than mere decorative fuel. Because magic cannot be willed out of thin air, a spellcaster must start with an item that naturally carries the physical property or meaning they want to achieve. The natural attribute of the object "tells" the magic what the practitioner intends to do, and the caster's energy then flows through that item to amplify its real-world effect.

For example, to relieve severe pain, a healer starts with something that naturally eases pain—like white willow bark—to establish the spell's intent, and then channels magic through it to double or triple its healing capability. The same principle applies across all disciplines: a spellcaster uses honey for its natural antibacterial properties to speed up recovery, salt and obsidian to translate intent into protective wards against hexes, or spirit boards and colored candles to translate abstract spiritual energy into clear visions and emotional anchors. Because components function as the necessary bridge between intent and reality, practitioners must research real-world materials; using an item that doesn't naturally translate the intended goal causes the spell to fail completely.

Healing

Healers are dedicated to preserving life and supporting every facet of a person or creature's health, bridging the gap between physical, biological, and mental care. Their craft spans everything from diagnosing and treating illnesses like common colds or severe pneumonia to providing acute pain relief and managing trauma. They also oversee complex biological functions, effortlessly creating fertility potions, formulating birth control remedies, or helping a mother produce milk. Grounded in both herbalism and magic, Healers extend their work into the mind, soothing psychological distress by easing insomnia, quelling nightmares, and restoring peace of mind

Core Mechanics & OOC Rules

In a roleplay setting, this type of magic requires high levels of cooperation and communication between players. Like with all medical roleplay, do IM the injured/ill person first and discuss the illness or injury - do not metagame what it is, or godmode the severity of the illness or injury.

Notecard Requirement: Whenever a potion or healing remedy is used, the healer must provide a notecard to the recipient containing the following:

Name of the Potion
Ingredients used (if any)
Duration (how long it lasts)
Effect (what the potion does)

OOC Consent: Healers require explicit OOC consent before attempting to heal another player, as some may prefer their characters to remain injured for narrative purposes.

Outcome Control: The player being healed always determines the ultimate effectiveness and the amount of healing their character receives.

Dice Use: Players may choose to roll dice to determine how the magic functions or to resolve the extent of the healing.

Knowledge, Tools & Ingredients

Healer Witches are expected to possess significant OOC knowledge regarding the medical and natural sciences relevant to their craft.

Required Knowledge: Healers understand anatomy, injuries, illnesses, and herbal remedies. They have a working knowledge of how the body functions, how wounds heal naturally, the specific effects of both medicines and poisons, and the risks involved in using magic to alter the natural recovery process.

Herbalism: A deep understanding of plant and herbal properties is essential.

Typical Tools: Healers utilize poultices, herbs, and various first-aid materials in their daily practice.

Types of Healing & Multipliers

Practitioners can specialize in several forms of restoration, often utilizing physical components to boost their arcane efforts. Types of Healing Include:

Healing Hands
Diagnostic Magic
Herbal Remedies
Potion Making
Pain Relief
Mental Calming Magic

The use of physical medicine is significantly enhanced by the presence of magic.

Standard Magic User: When any witch adds magic to a potion or poultice, it increases the rate of healing by 2x compared to a non-witch.

Healer Witch: If a healing potion is infused with magic by a specialized Healer Witch, the healing amount is increased by 3x.

Specialty Skills

Wound Closure

The healer channels magic into an open wound, encouraging damaged tissue to close and stabilize. This is primarily used to stop bleeding and seal cuts, lacerations, and similar external injuries.

How it Works: The healer must be able to see and reach the wound. The magic encourages existing tissue to knit together rather than instantly regenerating it.

Limitations:

Does not instantly heal severe or deep wounds; these may require multiple treatments.
Cannot replace missing tissue, regrow body parts, or treat internal injuries.
The wound must still be cleaned and properly cared for after treatment.
Does not remove poison, infection, or foreign objects from a wound.

Diagnostics

The healer channels magic through their hands to sense what is happening inside a person's body. This allows them to detect injuries and physical problems such as broken bones, internal bleeding, or illnesses.

How it Works: The healer hovers their hands over the person, focusing their magic on the body to provide an intuitive sense of the patient's injuries and determine the necessary treatment.

Limitations:

Provides an intuitive reading rather than a perfect diagnosis or an infallible medical scan.
Accuracy depends on the healer's focus, experience, and anatomical knowledge.
Complex or hidden injuries or illnesses may produce vague or incomplete results.
Cannot cure or repair injuries on its own; it should only be used as a guide for treatment.

Alleviation

The healer channels magic into a person's body to temporarily suppress pain and physical discomfort. This allows an injured or ill person to remain calm and comfortable while proper treatment is being provided.

How it Works: The healer places their hands on or near the affected person and channels calming magic through their body to dull pain and reduce physical symptoms.

Limitations:

Does not heal injuries, cure illness, or remove poison.
May mask the severity of an injury or create a false sense of recovery, which may allow an underlying condition to worsen if treatment is delayed.

Duration: Effects last up to 1 hour (4 post rounds).
When the effect ends, the original pain and symptoms may return.

Hexing

Hexing is not an isolated or specialized magical discipline. Rather, it represents the corruptive alteration of existing magical arts. Any spellcaster—whether a witch or warlock—across any base discipline (including Healing, Divination, Warding, and Spiritual magic) is fully capable of casting a hex. What distinguishes a hex from ordinary spellcasting is not the classification of the magic itself, but two defining, unyielding pillars: Intent and The Blood Price.

Core Mechanics

Intent and Conduits

Magic within Sovereign's Rest requires physical components to translate a spellcaster's inner intent into reality. When a witch or warlock utilizes any discipline’s tools, physical ingredients, or ancient sigils with the explicit intent to cause harm, manipulate, or inflict suffering—rather than to heal, protect, or reveal—the resulting magical work is instantly transformed into a hex. For instance, if a Healing-focused witch uses their herbalism and brewing techniques to concoct a potion designed to inflict agonizing pain rather than ease it, they are performing a hex.

Personal Targeting & Anchors

Hexes are deeply intimate and focused forms of magic. They are inherently personal and must be directed at a specific individual. To fix, bind, and anchor the magical or emotional influence to the intended target, the ritual must incorporate a personal physical connection. Anchoring components commonly include personal items belonging directly to the victim, such as:

Strands of hair
Pieces of worn clothing
Fingernail clippings
A highly personal token or keepsake

The Blood Price

Every hex demands a steep physical sacrifice from its caster. To successfully bind, fuel, and ignite the dark currents of a hex, the witch or warlock must pay a mandatory blood price. This price requires the caster to draw and sacrifice a portion of their own blood during the execution of the ritual. Without this vital offering, the hex remains inert and cannot anchor to the victim.

Mental Corruption & Psychological Decay

Hexing does not merely block light magic; it eats away at the caster's mind and personality. As dark energy accumulates from performing hexes, witches and warlocks experience progressive psychological decay. This erosion of self manifests through clear psychological shifts:

Psychological Shift: Performing 3 or more hexes triggers frequent, uncontrollable intrusive thoughts. The caster becomes visibly negative and cynical, and experiences some degree of paranoia.

Hostile Instincts: When faced with conflicts, minor inconveniences, or personal challenges, their automatic reaction will lean heavily toward malice, harm, or vindictive revenge.

Escalation & Control: While these dark urges can be curbed initially through sheer willpower, the corruption compounds over time. The more hexes a caster performs, the stronger, more dominant, and more inescapable these sinister impulses become.

Challenges & Consequences

The practice of dark arts is a path of severe adversity. Spellcasters who continuously use hexes and dark magic face unique, compounding challenges and ultimate exile. As requested by the High Coven, the following are the primary challenges and consequences of continuous hexing:

Diminishing Power & Shadow Realm Exile

Continuous reliance on dark magic heavily degrades a spellcaster's resonance with natural elements. One of the most severe consequences of continuously performing dark magic is that the caster's power in light or neutral regions of the island will systematically diminish. Over time, their magical strength in these vibrant and balanced zones will wither entirely, leaving them unable to draw upon local currents and eventually forcing them to move permanently to the shadow realm to survive, where the ambient dark energy can sustain their hollowed-out magical channel.

Curse-Breaking Backlash & Instability

If a hex is dispelled, broken, or countered by an outside party or the target before its natural duration has elapsed, the magical severance triggers an intense, violent backflow of energy. The caster experiences a severe curse-breaking backlash. This leaves them emotionally unstable for a full two days, manifesting as uncontrollable anger, erratic crying spells, and extreme volatility that cannot be suppressed by sheer willpower.

The Rule of Three

Corrupting the natural flow of magic to inflict deliberate harm carries a severe spiritual burden. The caster's aura is heavily weighed down by dark resonance, which actively blocks their connection to constructive, benevolent magic. This is governed by the absolute law known as The Rule of Three.

The Threshold and Penalty

Once a witch or warlock performs 3 or more hexes, their internal channel to constructive and light energy becomes completely choked and blocked by dark resonance. Consequently, the caster triggers a severe magical penalty: their next 3 consecutive attempts to cast 'Light' or beneficial spells will automatically fail. Any “light” spells after the first three have a 50/50 chance of working until the witch seeks help as outlined below.
OOC Note: Keep in mind that performing spells back to back will deplete a witch’s or warlock’s energy, especially since they are now working against a dark nature, and will cause exhaustion.

In-Character Impact & Duration

Because any discipline can be corrupted for hexing, this suppression affects all light or constructive spellcasting across the board, regardless of the caster's chosen discipline. For example, whether a witch attempts to brew a restorative healing potion, cast a protective warding barrier, channel a spirit to receive guidance, perform a magical diagnostic scan on an injured ally, every single one of these actions will fizzle, backfire, or fail completely. This suppression remains actively in effect until the caster's spirit is formally cleansed.

Soul Cleansing & Recovery

The shadow left behind by hexing is deep, but it is not entirely permanent. There are two established methods to purge the dark residue from the caster's soul:

Method 1: The Coven Ritual (Soul Cleansing Spell)

A corrupted spellcaster can undergo a formal Soul Cleansing Spell to actively purge the dark residue. Due to the intense potency and danger of the ritual, this cleansing spell must be performed by a Morveth or higher-ranking witch within the Coven's sacred grounds.

Method 2: Submission and Captivity in the Lumina Glade.

The corrupted practitioner must travel to the Lumina Glade and willingly submit to captivity (following established captivity rules). For the cleansing to begin, the Regent must formally accept the surrender. This submission must be driven by absolute purity of heart and intent; if the surrender is a duplicitous ruse to infiltrate the territory or cause further harm, the cleansing will fail, and the dark resonance will remain bound to their soul.

OOC

To ensure fair and collaborative roleplay within Sovereign's Rest, several strict out-of-character (OOC) and mechanical standards are enforced for hexing spellcasters.

OOC Consent & Notecards
Any hex that targets another player-character requires prior OOC consent from the player of the target. Additionally, the caster must prepare and submit an OOC Notecard outlining the exact details of the curse. This notecard must explicitly contain:

The specific name of the hex
The physical and magical ingredients used in the ritual
The hex's duration (which has a strict maximum limit of 2 days without explicit admin approval)
The explicit effects and symptoms manifested by the target
The antidote, counter-spell, or breaking method to dispel it
A friendly reminder NOT to metagame knowing the antidote and to RP figuring it out.

Divination

Divination is the practice of focusing the mind to enhance knowledge and perception. Practitioners of this discipline seek truth, uncover hidden information, and gain insight into people, places, and events through magical means. Rather than altering reality, this craft centers on sensing and interpreting information tied to the past, present, or possible futures. It is important to remember that divination reveals—it does not control; it provides warnings and clarity rather than absolte destiny.

Core Mechanics & OOC Rules

OOC Requirements

Divination is a highly collaborative form of magic that relies on clear boundaries and communication between players.

Prior Discussion & Consent: OOC discussion is mandatory before performing divination magic that involves other players, such as scrying or astral projection. Consent must be obtained from all players in a scene, not just one individual.

Recipient Control: When a Diviner performs a reading, the player being read determines what information is actually learned.

Narrative Limits: Practitioners may not use divination to write another character’s backstory, family, or history; this information must be provided by the character's player.

Admin Clearance: Any information regarding the island’s history, the Overlord, or Morrigan must be cleared with an Admin before being added to roleplay lore.

Tracking Players: Magic used to locate or track another character requires explicit OOC permission from the player being located and any other involved parties (such as captors).

Seeing the Future: While roleplay cannot truly predict the future, players can RP seeing potential futures through OOC coordination to help make those predictions "come true".

Knowledge, Tools & Ingredients

Practitioners must understand that peering into hidden truths carries risks, such as becoming overwhelmed by conflicting visions or misreading omens.

Required Knowledge: Divination witches study omens, symbols, and prophecy. Players are expected to research their chosen tools (e.g., the meanings of tarot cards) to ensure their character appears knowledgeable during roleplay.

Typical Tools: Common aids include tea leaves, tarot cards, crystal balls, scrying mirrors, pendulums, runes, palmistry, spirit boards, and bones.

Specialty Skills

These skills become available to practitioners once their magic has been activated.

Astral Projection

The Diviner separates their consciousness from their physical body to explore the surrounding area unseen.

Effect: The spirit may observe people and events for up to 2 post rounds while the physical body remains unconscious and vulnerable.

Limitations: The spirit cannot interact with the physical world, cast other magic, or pass through magical wards.

The Scryer

Using a focus (like a mirror or water), the Diviner searches for a known person or object.

Effect: Provides brief visions of the target's general surroundings or direction. Success is more accurate when linked through a personal item.

Limitations: The target must be known to the Diviner. Wards can block or distort the vision, and successful scrying is not guaranteed.

Illusion

Diviners can create sensory illusions that can be seen, heard, and smelled by those in the room.

Effect: The number of people affected scales with the number of witches involved (a solo witch can affect up to 2 people).

Limitations: The illusion persists for one post round after the caster exits the area.

Spiritual

Spiritual magic is the practice of communing with spirits, lingering souls, and unseen entities that exist beyond the physical world. Practitioners of this discipline can sense spiritual presences, communicate with the dead, and perform rituals that strengthen the connection between the mortal and spirit realms. This craft focuses on seeking guidance and uncovering lingering memories rather than directly altering physical reality.

Core Mechanics & OOC Rules

OOC Requirements

Because spiritual interactions can be deeply personal or involve sensitive narrative elements, they rely on strict consent and collaboration.

Mandatory Discussion: Prior OOC discussion must take place before any spiritual interaction involving another character, including astral projection or soul-based interaction.

Recipient Control: In all cases involving other players, the outcomes are determined by the receiving player, never the caster.

No Forced Actions: Spiritual magic cannot be used to force information from another character or summon spirits that dictate another player's actions.

Consent for Groups: If multiple players are involved in a scene, consent must be obtained from all participants before the magic is performed.

Knowledge, Tools & Ingredients

Practitioners must understand the risks of their craft, as spirits are not always truthful or cooperative, and contact can attract unwanted or hostile entities.

Required Knowledge: Spiritual magic users possess a deep understanding of the afterlife, spiritual energy, and the signs of spiritual activity. They must know how to properly summon and dismiss presences while recognizing the risks of opening oneself to the spirit world.

Typical Tools: Common aids include spirit boards, crystals, candles, incense, ritual circles, bells, chimes, and ancestral relics.

Specialty Skills

These skills become available to the practitioner once their magic has been activated.

Aura Reading

The Spiritualist perceives the invisible energy field surrounding a living being to sense changes in their internal state.

Effect: Reveals shifts in emotional or spiritual energy, appearing as changes in the aura's intensity or movement.

Limitations: This skill cannot read thoughts, memories, or specific secrets. It does not reveal whether a person is lying or their exact physical condition, and strong nearby magic can cloud the reading.

Ancestral Magic (The Helper)

A practitioner can call upon their ancestral bonds to summon the spirit of a deceased family member for guidance.

Effect: The summoned spirit remains close to the caster, offering quiet counsel and additional awareness. The Helper can observe events or listen to nearby conversations that the witch cannot see directly.

Limitations: This ability requires OOC permission from every player in the scene. The spirit cannot physically interact with the world or influence outcomes; it acts strictly as an observer.

Warding

Warding is the discipline of creating barriers, seals, and protective enchantments designed to defend people, places, and objects from harm. Unlike other forms of magic, Warding is unique because it must be anchored to a physical object or location to function. This craft allows a practitioner to establish boundaries, strengthen defenses, and detect or deter unwanted intrusions.

Core Mechanics & OOC Rules

OOC Requirements

Warding requires careful documentation and communication to ensure it enhances roleplay rather than blocking it.

Prior Discussion: OOC discussion is mandatory before using complex wards that directly affect another character or a roleplay scene. In the same way, if players cannot agree OOC whether a ward can be broken or pushed through, players should roll dice.

Notecard Requirement: Every ward placed into roleplay must have an accompanying notecard handed to involved players.

Notecard Info: Name of the ward, type, creator, ingredients, the anchored object/location, purpose, activation trigger, strength (hits), duration, and recharge requirements.

Narrative Limits: Warding cannot be used to completely prevent interaction or force another player's character into a specific, unavoidable outcome.

Admin Approval: Shields placed on buildings, large areas, or any ward that blocks/interferes with another's magical abilities requires Admin approval.

Knowledge, Tools & Ingredients

Practitioners of this path must master the technical construction of magical architecture.

Required Knowledge: Warders must understand the fundamentals of sigils, symbolism, spatial awareness, and ward construction, including how to calculate strength, perform recharges, and safely dismantle existing wards. Other skills herbology, as some herbs can be used for protection, minerology (crystals), etc.

Typical Tools: Common aids include protective runes, sigils, crystals, chalk circles, talismans, and anchored objects (like a doorway or a piece of jewelry)

Specialty Skills

Ward Sense

A Warder can instinctively feel the presence of active magical barriers in their immediate vicinity.

Capabilities:

Detects the physical presence of a nearby ward.
Reveals the general intent of the magic (e.g., protection, containment, or concealment).

Limits:

Cannot identify the specific spell name or its original creator.
Cannot see through, pierce, or bypass the ward's barrier.
Cannot read or evaluate the ward's remaining magical capacity.
Requires the Warder to be close enough to touch or stand adjacent to the magic.

Ward Reading & Breaking

A Warder can systematically analyze an active ward to deduce its underlying magical framework and dismantle it.

Capabilities:

Decodes the activation triggers and the elemental/magical types bound inside.
Uncovers structural weaknesses to figure out how to safely discharge or destroy it.
Allows a Warder to systematically unravel the spell framework rather than brute-forcing it.

Limits:

Requires 3 full post rounds of uninterrupted focus to attempt a standard dismantlement.
The Warder must remain physically touching or adjacent to the ward for the duration.
Cannot uncover hidden context or lore not directly coded into the warding spell.
Cannot alter, rewrite, or repurpose the original intent of the ward.
Dismantling permanently burns out the ward; it can never be recharged or repaired.
Exceptionally powerful wards may require multiple Warders collaborating simultaneously.
Does not grant a way to sneak past a ward without directly interacting with it.

Barrier Shaping

A Warder can manifest a fleeting, mobile wall of raw kinetic or magical force to safeguard themselves or allies.

Capabilities:

Does not require an anchor object, physical sigil, or permanent location to cast.
Fueled, shaped, and anchored directly through the Warder's personal magical reserve.
Acts as a solid, telekinetic construct capable of stopping direct kinetic impacts.

Limits:

A single caster's barrier can absorb a maximum of 4 hits before collapsing.
Blocks physical and kinetic attacks only; offers no defense against pure magical or elemental spells.
Cannot be left behind or anchored to a static location; it collapses if the Warder moves away.
Instantly shatters and vanishes the moment its hit limit is completely exhausted.
The Warder must maintain active concentration and presence to keep the barrier formed.
Cannot be converted into a permanent defensive perimeter without a proper physical binding ritual.

Types of Wards

Practitioners of Warding can create several distinct types of magical structures, each with unique functions and activation triggers. Most wards remain active for up to one month before needing a recharge, unless interfered with.

Shields (Barrier Magic)

A protective ward that creates a magical barrier around a person, object, or area.

Activation: Triggered only by actual physical danger or an attempt to harm the protected target.

Strength (Hit Limits): A ward’s durability is determined by the number of practitioners involved in its creation:

1 Witch/Warlock: Up to 3 hits.

2 Witches/Warlocks: Up to 4 hits.

3+ Witches/Warlocks: Up to 5 hits.

Large Group Ward (Admin Approved): Up to 8 hits.

Activation: Once a ward is depleted by reaching its hit limit, it ceases to function until it is recharged or recreated.

Common Use: Personal protection, guarding valuable objects, or securing entrances.

Deterrent Wards

Designed to discourage interference or theft without creating a physical wall.

Effect: Produces a noticeable physical reaction in the violator, such as bright red hands, ringing in the ears, nausea, or temporary dizziness. The reaction must be noticeable but cannot cause permanent injury or death.

Activation: Triggered when someone violates the protected location or object.

Common Use: Shop protection, Home protection, Protecting personal belongings, Warning against theft or trespassing

Wards of Disguise or Reveal

These wards manipulate or uncover sensory and magical information.

Disguise Ward: Conceals something from detection. These wards may affect things such as: Smell, magical presence, appearance, aura, the presence of an object, certain magical intentions. For example, making a ring wearer smell like roses to mask their scent.

Reveal Ward: Exposes something hidden, such as a sigil over an entrance that reacts to harmful magical intent.

Prison Wards

Designed to contain or restrain a person within a designated area, usually marked by a large sigil or circle on the ground.

Activation: Once activated, the person inside cannot simply walk through the boundary.

Limitations: These cannot be used for permanent imprisonment.

Strength (Hit Limits): A ward’s durability is determined by the number of practitioners involved in its creation:

1 Witch/Warlock: Up to 3 hits.

2 Witches/Warlocks: Up to 4 hits.

3+ Witches/Warlocks: Up to 5 hits.

Large Group Ward (Admin Approved): Up to 8 hits.

Activation: Once a ward is depleted by reaching its hit limit, it ceases to function until it is recharged or recreated.

Limited Wards (Power-Blocking)

Wards that block, suppress, or interfere with another person’s magical abilities.

Restrictions:

They can only be created during the Full Moon.
A witch or warlock may create only one power-blocking charm at a time.
The charm must be approved before being placed into play.
The charm must be documented on a notecard.
The notecard must clearly state what ability is being restricted and how long the effect lasts.

Magic Disciplines

Magic and The Natural World

Healing

Core Mechanics & OOC Rules

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Knowledge, Tools & Ingredients

Types of Healing & Multipliers

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Specialty Skills

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