13.1 Magic

The world of Rise is a magical place. Many people are capable of using magic to perform feats that would be impossible in the real world. Not everyone is capable of magic, of course. It’s reasonable to assume that about ten percent of the civilized people in the world have a magical ability of some kind. In some societies, such as a feudal human-dominated society with a large number of commoners and serfs, the percentage of people with magic can be lower. However, this is balanced by the existence of other societies that tend to be more magical, such as societies ruled by gnomes and elves. Even in low-magic societies, everyone knows that magic exists, and almost everyone has observed or been personally affected by magic at some point in their lives.

People can have magical abilities for a wide variety of reasons. There are three main categories to explain why people can access magic: intrinsic magic, learned magic, and gifted magic. Each class with magical abilities belongs to one of these groups. Characters with magical feats are free to choose any of those three explanations for their feats. The explanation does not have to be the same as for any other magical abilities they possess. For example, a cleric may be gifted their magical cleric abilities because they worship a particular deity, but they may also be naturally telepathic.

Some people are simply intrinsically magical. They may require training and experience to improve their natural magical talents, but they had magical capabilities before doing any training. This intrinsic magic can come from magical ancestry, unusual birth circumstances, magical experimentation, exposure to powerful magic, simple random chance, or any number of other sources. This is the standard explanation for sorcerers. In addition, this is the most common explanation for the magical abilities of monsters.

Some people gain access to magic through personal training or research. These people find ways to tap into some pre-existing magical property of the universe and manipulate it at their command. This is the standard explanation for monks, rangers with the Beastmaster archetype, rogues with the Bardic Music archetype, and wizards.

Some people are gifted magic by their association with powerful magical entities or forces. They offer worship, allegiance, or their souls, and are granted magical power in exchange. This is the standard explanation for clerics, druids, paladins, and votives.