Glyphscape/Magic Rules

The new magic system no longer requires having some of the staves in v. 1. It also establishes multiple disciplines, which, like Strength and Ranged, must be developed separately and don't benefit from each other. Players often choose one discipline to go into rather than several of them.

Types of spells
There are 4 types of spells:


 * 1) Sorcery - These spells often resolve instantly and are permanent only in the sense that, unless changed, their effects are there; they don't continually do something.
 * 2) Enchantment - These spells have an effect (buff, curse) on a target of some sort. They continually do something.
 * 3) Aura - These spells are only activated when something else is done, at which point they evaporate. Until then, however, they reside ('stay in play') much like an enchantment but remain passive.
 * 4) Summon - These spells summon creatures named after the spell. Creatures remain until they are either destroyed (zero or negative hp) or deceased (duration left less than 0).

Rune pouches
Spellcasters fill their inventory slots with quite a few rune pouches, each storing 25 (small), 50 (medium), or 100 (large) identical runes. While a player is in combat, 1 random pouch is activated. When in combat, each 12 seconds activates another random pouch until there are no more. When out of combat, each 12 seconds deactivates a random pouch; leaving combat also deactivates a random pouch. Only one rune from each pouch (ie. a stack) can be used per spell every 4 seconds. So, every 4 seconds, you can use up to one rune from each pouch for all the spells you wish to cast in that 4-second period. Naturally, battles that last longer empower the spellcaster to use more powerful spells / cast more spells in the same period of time. Once a stack has been used (which reduces that pouch's quantity by 1) it cannot be used again until the next 4-second cycle.

Players will want to have a few pouches with different runes so that they can use spells that require differing runes; they will want to have multiple pouches with the same runes so that they can use spells requiring more of the same rune per spell, or to multicast; they will want to have large pouch quantities so that they don't run out of runes (an activated empty pouch is worthless).

Runes
Any one rune cannot be counted twice. All elemental runes (runes except essence rune) pay toward a spell's cost in runes of that element. Essence runes are element-less and can be used for spells that consume unspecific runes (and unspecific runes only). However, it cannot be used when a particular elemental rune is needed.

Staves


A magic staff allows one elemental rune per spell to be treated as essence rune (ie. allows it to count toward a spell's essence rune requirement, but not a different element's requirements). A magic battlestaff grants the same powers as the magic staff but poses no limits on this conversion.

An elemental staff (in this example an air staff) allows one essence rune per spell to be treated as both essence rune and air rune, ie. allows an essence rune to count one point toward a spell's air rune requirement; the same goes for the other three elements.

An elemental battlestaff combines the properties of a magic battlestaff with that of its respective elemental staff (but with limits on this second conversion).

A broken X staff is an inferior X staff. These staves have a set limit of charges (anywhere between 0 and 50). One charge is used each time you use the staff's ability. They can be recharged at any mysterious ruins. If they are elemental staves, they can only be recharged at the mysterious ruins of that element. Broken staves can't be repaired (they are considered separate items entirely).

There are also silver-trimmed (t) and rune-trimmed (g) varieties of elemental battlestaves, obtained from certain treasure trails (all high-level). None of these are 'broken'. They have no added effects.


 * Broken magic staff: 80-90 gp
 * Broken magic battlestaff: 900-1000 gp
 * Broken elemental staff: 800-1300 gp
 * Broken elemental battlestaff: 7000-9000 gp


 * Magic staff: 180-200 gp
 * Magic battlestaff: 2700-3000 gp
 * Elemental staff: 4000-6000 gp
 * Elemental battlestaff: 12,000 gp - 17,000 gp


 * Silver-trimmed magic battlestaff: 120,000-180,000 gp
 * Silver-trimmed elemental battlestaff: 200,000-260,000 gp
 * Gold-trimmed magic battlestaff: 240,000-330,000 gp
 * Gold-trimmed elemental battlestaff: 300,000-380,000 gp

Example
For example, let's consider casting Buffet, whose rune cost is. Normally, you can pay for this spell with an air elemental rune (whose symbol is ) for the first requirement and an essence rune. This will require having two pouches - one of air runes and one of essence runes - and depletes the two runes you used in the casting. You cannot, however, pay for the spell with, , or any other combination. With a magic staff, you can pay for the essence rune requirement with any other rune, so and, among others, become valid options as well as your original option. With an air elemental staff, (combined into ) also becomes a valid option. (In most situations the air elemental staff makes casting more flexible than this makes it appear, so as long as you stick with a particular discipline, using an elemental staff is superior.)