Tree Magic
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Mechanics and Requirements
There are basically four questions to be answered in order to cover all the in-game mechanics regarding Tree Magic. Who can Enchant a tree and what methods are available to him? How much does it cost, in terms of personal Essence, to Enchant a tree? How long does it take for the magic to be fully ingrained in the tree and be 'operational'? How can the Character be better at Tree Magic if he wants to make this area a specialization of his? This chapter addresses each of these topics and lists all the answers and the options available.
Spells from the Plant Realm
The most obvious way to go about when Enchanting a tree is to use one of the several available spells within the Plant Realm of magic. There are four such spells, forming a ladder, starting with Enchant Tree I up to Enchant Tree IV. Each spell, upon its completion, gives the Character a certain number of Tree Levels (see Chapter on costs below) that he can use to put an effect into a tree.
Magical effects that can be imbued into trees belong to one of four different categories: Sentience, Aura, Enhanced Bloodline and Health/Life. When a Character is casting an Enchant Tree Spell, all the Tree Levels that the Character gets upon completing the spell shall go toward one or more effects belonging to the same category. That is, one cannot cast a Spell that gives 4 Tree Levels in order to imbue an Aura effect that costs 3 Tree Levels and a Sentience Effect that costs 1 level as well. In order to imbue effects coming from different categories into a tree, different Enchant Tree Spells must be cast, and the Tree Levels obtained can be used only for the effects within a single category.
If the spell being casst gives more Tree Levels than are needed for the effect, only those required are effectively used (and Essence costs are beased only on the Levels used); all the remaining Tree Levels are lost.
Specific Lore
Just as with Familiars, a Character can pursue a magical act without ever learning the appropriate spells frome the Plant Realm. Instead, a specific Lore (name of the lore here) exists which allows the Character to bypass the need for those spells and focus and specialize on the Tree Magic aspects he is most interested in.
Magical Power
Lunar Power
How to calculate Essence Costs
Tree Levels are an abstract way to measure how much Essence is required to imbue a given effect within a tree permanently. The conversion factor from TLs to Essence is fixed: one Tree Level costs 0.2ES regardless of the Character. Specific Powers (e.g. TreeBrother, see below) can then be selected in order to decrease the number of Tree Levels needed to achieve a given effect. This has two consequences: the obvious one is that a Character uses up a smaller amount of Essence to achieve the same effect. Also, for Characters using Plant Realm spells to Enchant a tree, lower level Spells are required to get the necessary number of Tree Levels (the higher the spell level, the more Tree Levels it gives the Character upon its completion), thus decreasing the overall Fumble chance in the process.
In order to find out how much Essence your planned magical tree will end up costing you, simply tally all the Tree Levels for the rituals involved, applied all relevant discount and then convert it to Essence cost using the conversion factor indicated above. In terms of Essence cost, effects belonging to different categories don't impose any additional restriction or requirement. The Tree Levels needed are tallied and converted to Essence, regardless of the category the effects belong to. Just remember that effects from different categories each need its own dedicated Enchant Tree Spell to be cast.
Growth Time Interval
Enchanting a Tree is not a fast process. This type of magic is not suited to fast tactical challenges, as it takes moons, sometimes years, to develop and bear fruit. As such, planning ahead becomes very important. The basic measure of how long it takes for a certain effect to grow magical into the tree is called Growth Time Interval (GTI). Its standard span is 3 years, but the Character can develop specific Mysticisms to modify it (see the section on Fast Enchantment below). The GTI is used in three rituals, the first of which is a mandatory step in all Tree Enchanting processes. The base duration can be reduced by spending more Essence and taking the Speed Up I or Speed Up II options. Both options are available in all three rituals, but their cost (in additional Tree Levels, hence additional Essence expenditure) depends on the ritual being worked. All costs are detailed under the relevant section.
| Ritual | Base Duration | SpeedUp I | SpeedUp II |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare the Tree | 3 yrs (1 GTI) | 6 moons | 1 moon |
| Enlarge a Tree | 3 yrs (1 GTI) per size | 6 moons per size | 1 moon per size |
| Awaken a Tree | 15 yrs (5GTIs) | 3 yrs | 6 moons |
The table is calculated for the standard GTI duration. Taking the Speed Up I option divides the duration by 6; taking the Speed Up II option divides the original duration by 36.
Enhancing Powers
Sometimes being able to do something is not enough for a Character. Sometimes the Character concept requires him being particularly well versed at some specific aspects, because that's where his life led him to and that's where his interests lie. Tree Magic has two related Powers that allow a Character to be better than a 'standard tree magician' along two different lines.
TreeBrother
The TreeBrother Power entitles a Character to ES discounts when Enchanting trees, so that he will usually be able to Enchant more. The Power comes into three levels. The first is TreeBrother I (tree type name). This halves the Tree Levels for all the rituals regarding a specific type of tree (e.g. all oak trees, all plums trees, ...). See the section on the Essence Costs for a better understanding of how Tree Levels work. The result is that the Character will find Enchanting a specific type of tree particularly cheap (and will probably do most of his Enchanting on said type of tree as a result). The second level is TreeBrother II. The benefits gained from TreeBrother I (specific), that is halving Tree Levels, is extended to all trees, regardless of their type. The final level is TreeBrother III: in addition to the discount provided by TreeBrother II, this level allows the Character to pay much less when Preparing a Tree (see dedicated section below). Specifically, the Tree Level cost for the various Prepare rituals is reduced by one and then halved, so that Prepare I is free (0 levels) and Prepare II and III are heavily discounted.
| Power Level | Discount | Special |
|---|---|---|
| TreeBrother I | Halves the Tree Levels for a specific type of tree | |
| TreeBrother II | Halves the Tree Levels all trees | |
| TreeBrother III | Halves the Tree Levels all trees | Tree Levels for Prepare rituals are reduced |
Fast Enchanter
The standard Growth Time Interval is 3 years. A Character can develop a Mysticism in order to reduce this interval. This impacts the time it takes the tree to grow magical (that is the time the Character must wait before he can start putting magic into the tree), the time it takes the tree to be Awakened and the time it takes the tree to be magically Enlarged. Of these three cases, the first one (wait time while preparing the tree) is mandatory; the other two depend on the effect the Character is interested in putting into the tree.
Some specifics on the Mysticisms TBW.
Steps to Enchant a Tree
Preparing the Tree
Enlarging (Optional)
Effects
Sentience
Life-related Effects
Radiance Effects
Fruits
Advice
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Please note
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Mini-FAQ
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The world
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World impact
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The Ärth setting
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Design Notes
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Quick mini-glossary
Tree Level (TL)
Growth Time Interval (GTI)
See also
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Table structure to use
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