2019-04-06

The World V: The Arts of Magic

There's high magic (known as theurgy in Godbound's rules) and there's low magic.  While the standard traditions exist in The World, they're slightly different and have some new kin.


The Academy of Thought

Known as 'telepaths', this magical tradition's practitioners disguise themselves as members of any number of non-existent magical traditions.  Their magic makes them distrusted at large by the populace.  It does not help that no small number are con-artists and false mediums.

The Cabal of Goetic Sciences

For some, power is worth any price.  For members of the Cabal, the risks inherent in creating and binding demons is worth the hideous price.  The Goetic Sciences are a derivation of the rites used by the Mortuary Guilds, and its practitioners are hunted by members of the same.  Many cabalists are monstrous in mind and body.

Curse-Eaters

The Titanomachy was brutal, with many lasting curses and magical effects flung across the World.  The Curse-Eaters arose from efforts by the Exemplars to remove the lesser effects so they could utilize their divine powers to reverse the more severe ones.  Their expertise means they are also able to levy minor curses as well.

Disciples of the Divine Flame

Pyromancers seek to master the purifying aspects of flame.  They are fanatically devoted to cleansing ghosts, demons, and undead, though their methods are not as effective as proper mortuary rites.  Non-disciples find the whole tradition to be a bit on the fanatical side.
(Stands in for the Cinnabar Order from the normal Godbound setting.)

The Empty Way

Rather than seeking mastery of the world around them, adherents of the Empty Way seek to master themselves.  Their magic is fueled by inner strength rather than willing the universe to change.
(Not any different from what's presented in the rulebook otherwise.)

Hedge Magic

Not really one tradition so much as a whole host of local traditions that accomplish many of the same magical effects.  Hedge magic has existed since the first people walked the World and is so old that many forget it is actually magic.

Lords of Dust

Known as necromancers, the Lords of Dust practice the creation, binding, and destruction of undead.  They're an off-shoot of the Mortuary Guilds, though they still believe in ushering souls onward into the wheel of reincarnation.  Their more powerful members know the secrets to becoming so-called 'free-willed' undead such as liches or vampires.

The Merciful Hand

A hedge magic tradition that has broken out into its own art and practice, the Merciful Hand is essentially a healer's guild.  They are as omnipresent as their descendant tradition, the Mortuary Guilds.

The Mortuary Guilds

When the Last Titan shattered Heaven, the machinery that kept souls from lingering in the World was broken with it.  Across the many shards of the World, parallel magic traditions arose from certain elements of the Merciful Hands to create rites to send earthbound souls to reincarnation.  Members of a Mortuary Guild are often quite familiar with the funeral rites and customs of the cultures around them.  The three major philosophies that guide the various guilds are the Sin-Eaters, Speakers For The Dead, and the Euthanatos.

The Occluded Ones

A low-magic tradition that deals with the Uncreated Night and its inhabitants.  On the one hand many think these mages are insane for trying to comprehend the incomprehensible.  On the other hand, their knowledge of how to ward against uncreated creatures is invaluable.

Seers of the Bright Eye

This low magic tradition is the province of court magicians and oracles.  They are the true fortune tellers, unlike certain charlatans belonging to the Academy of Thought.

Theotechnicians

The theurgists of the Golden Era required countless 'ordinary' craftsmen to work on the less critical parts of theurgic technology and to perform regular maintenance.  The Theotechnicians were responsible for these tasks and the creation of the lesser wonders of the Golden Era.  They are highly sought after for their expertise since even a working refrigerator is a sign of status in the World these days, though those with dark designs want them to build the common arms and armor of the Golden Era.

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