SM Arcane System

ARCSYS Preface
The Arcane System (ARCSYS) follows the design of other Speculation System Mechanics. Magic is either a tool to accomplish a preexisting task or becomes a task itself with a particular effect. Either way, the result is found by using the Task DoD or combat D/DoD system.

ARCSYS is organized based on an individual character's interaction with magic. The player-character learns capacity by roleplaying through a progression from first contact through attenuation, to first actuation, and finally to personal and field use. A few characters may progress to complex use (and this would very likely be their profession).

To get a primer on the physics of ARCSYS, as well as deep background on the nature, physics and metaphysics of magic, check out the Frequently Asked Questions.

Who Can Use Magic?

 * You can.
 * According to our research, anybody could use magic. Actual capacity will vary depending on the person, and factors both environmental and genetic will affect the character.

Where Does One Learn to Use Magic?

 * This depends entirely on the campaign. Check with the Ref to determine if your character would know magic going in – or whether learning is part of the campaign objective.
 * Like finding the formula for a room-temperature superconductor, the ability to "activate" magic is out there, but it's obscure. Once that entry is found, however, magic has a very low threshold for attenuation and actuation. The same thing that makes it so easy to activate also makes it dangerous for the practitioner (and everybody around them).
 * If learning magic isn't already central to the goal, objective or plot of the scenario, it should be at least meta-gamed to impart the thresholds a character has crossed to understand, attenuate and actuate magic. Most scenarios, from high fantasy through contemporary/modern through futuristic sci-fi scenarios will have commonalties that can be found on the Arcane Training and Education page.

What Kind of Spells Are There?

 * Every kind. Arcane routines have extraordinary flexibility.
 * Wait, what? What's a "routine"?
 * A routine is a technical description that street casters would call a spell. Think of it as a kind of computer program and the character is the computer. Or, like a gymnast learning a routine, casting by memory requires learning and recalling extremely specific visualization and intentions while energized by arcane energy.
 * Um, "energized"?
 * One can't operate a toaster or a blender unless it's plugged in – the motor needs to be energized to operate. Likewise, somebody who wants to cast a spell needs to be energized by arcane energy to shape and direct some effect. Creating that "magical wiring" is called attenuation. Doing a magical thing is called actuation.
 * How do we get that magical wiring?
 * Concentrating mental focus within range of a source of arcane energy. Using a "point source" is the easiest way and opens the door to using a point source to power memorized routines. That point source is most commonly a hand-held appliance that most would recognize as a "wand," but could easily be another similar device.
 * Learning the control of arcane energy from a particular source is a skill known as Arcane Practice (AP). A character's AP skill is usually the limit for all other actuation-based sub-skills.
 * Then we can cast a fireball?
 * Then a character can learn specific sub-skills, such as fireball. Just as a pyrotechnics expert will explain there are many forms of combustion, there are a thousand arcane ways of creating or mimicking combustion.

Wandism vs Casting

 * Most magic-inclusive campaigns will lean on a variation of arcane practice that's based on predicted physics. The usual pattern: tool-assisted magic is universal-entry, while environmental magic is exceptionally difficult.
 * In both forms, magic is sensitive and responsive to human neurological wavelengths. For most practitioners, actuating magic is done with the mind: a combination of visualization and intention. Particular techniques may be practiced to amplify effects or mitigate dangers.
 * Wandism is tool-assisted magic. The "wand" is the namesake of the technique, but the appliance could be a staff, rod, necklace, ring, etc. Whatever the device, the practitioner thinks while in contact with a magic source to activate the energy. The power and frequency of the magic is limited both by their own AP and by the capacity of the source.
 * Casting is "spontaneous" or environmentally-available magic. A practitioner may channel energy, and/or build and store it as necessary. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. They are not mutually exclusive, though combining them can be exceptionally dangerous.

Other Forms of Magic

 * Remote Actuation is energizing and/or activating arcane energy without personally channeling it. Creating arcane energy can be done with mundane means by someone with sufficient Arcanology skill, including knowledge of activation harmonics, and access to adequate equipment to do so.
 * Mundane Actuation is a subset of Remote Actuation. A specialized trigger facilitates mundane actuation of an arcane device. While such a device is inherently more limited, facilitating use by people without AP or Arcanology skill opens the door to the use of arcane energy in medical, commercial, industrial or military applications.
 * Note: even those with AP Skill may prefer a mundane actuator on complex or extremely powerful arcane devices. Actuating a device that operates near or above a magician's AP is akin to slapping a saddle on a cruise missile and hopping on for a ride.
 * Archaic magic: traditional arcanology, often called "wet" or "analog" magic by modern practitioners, produces nominal energy and is primarily based on energizing harmonic wavelengths emanating from unique components, such as artifacts or relics.
 * Attenuation is not required for the majority of the archaic forms, though hybrid practices are likely to surge in most campaign settings.
 * Wet magic is generally regarded with suspicion due to the nature of components required for a particular routine. The majority of components are essentially targeting for weaponized magic.

Arcanomechanics

 * Activation: the harmonics that create arcane permeability (i.e.; the ability to "unlock" interaction of magic with mundane matter).
 * Disciplines: the format and intent of the magic. This covers a wide spectrum, from common actuation to literally splitting the atom (the foundation of alchemy).
 * Fun-4: the preexisting fundamental four interactions of the universe during 3-dimensional volumetric conditions. The Fun-4 consist of the strong and weak nuclear force, gravity and electromagnetism.


 * Source: In magic, there are two primary sources that can be drawn upon for arcane energy.
 * Point Source: a magic-generating device. Generally a hand-held appliance, such as a wand.
 * Field Source: environmentally-available magic. Primary source for casters. Similar to the magnetosphere that allows compasses to work, the arcane field is generally very uniform and predictable, but certain intense point sources may affect the natural field.
 * Application: The transfer of arcane energy from a source to a target.
 * Application power is measured per-routine, in points relative to the system it is affecting.

Preliminaries

 * A character must first attune to magic, then achieve at least one (1) Arcane Practice (AP) skill point, with default sub-skill in Arcanokinesis.
 * A character must* have a dedicated skill prior to actuating an arcane routine ("spell").
 * Characters with 15+ AP skill may attempt to improvise Common Actuation routines.
 * An arcane device with a mundane trigger is handled on a case-by-case basis, but in most cases, is not treated as a character-driven arcane actuation.
 * Most mundane-actuated devices are considered "aimed" rather than "guided."
 * More sophisticated actuation, and routines, may have some form of guidance. Most will still follow Line-of-Sight (LOS) targeting, but there are exceptions on an AP-level and spell-by-spell basis.
 * Combat spell metrics are tuned around AP and sub-skill levels for streamlined COMSYS resolution.

Routine Actuation
The ARCSYS applies the principles of Speculation's Probabilistic (PROSYS) and Combat (COMSYS) systems to the arcane context. Success depends on modified individual task DoD or D/DoDs vs a routine-specific AP formula.
 * An arcane-capable person may choose to actuate magic in a particular fashion based on their knowledge of arcane routines ("spells"). The great majority of the time, this will fall under the "Common Actuation" Discipline.
 * Other Disciplines will have particular rules for actuation, with Enchantment, Alchemy, Transmutation and Nucleosynthesis preparation-intensive routines that rarely include a personal actuation.
 * Conjuration and Arcane Transit may vary in complexity from preparation-intensive to field-expedient.