Paladin's Magicks (book)

A Paladin's Magicks: Their Nature and Uses.

by Hashrasa Han-Azra

As with clerics, a Paladin relies on his or her relation with the divine in order to bring about those metaphysical wonders we call spells. When standing in a place easily accessed by the Gods, and when his or her soul is in good alignment, the skilled Paladin can bring down any foe in the blink of an eye. In addition, a Paladin's spells work better in a group than almost any other guild. So, as you step out on the road of magical study, keep in mind that your magical power ought to be used not only to defend the seven races of man as a whole, but also to aid you and your companions in the more local battles in which you engage.

The Inspiration Book

The spells of inspiration are used in large part to aid you or your fighting companions, and tend not to be as directly offen- sive as spells of the Justice book.

-- Courage --

Courage should be any young Paladin's first spell. While it is not especially powerful, it certainly helps you and your companions, no matter who your companions may be. Courage supplies its subject with a brief boost to their stamina, and a much longer boost to their vitality. The spell tends to be particularly useful in gaining the good graces of any empath you might encounter. One should also note that the brief boost courage gives to the subject's stamina is contingent on the size of the Paladin's group when the spell is cast. Only seven or eight people will supply a spell duration of about a half hour. Courage is particularly useful to young Paladins because it has a low minimum preperation requirement and needs no subject beyond the caster, and so is good for training those early ranks of Primary Magic.

-- Righteous Wrath --

Righteous Wrath requires prior knowledge of Courage to learn. It makes the subject's sword arm stronger. As it turns out, this spell can only be cast on the caster, making it rather unhelpful to your companions, rather uncharacteristic of spells of this book. In addition, while it strengthens the sword arm, it lowers the subject's skill in combat, so that the subject may be swinging to kill anything he or she hits, but never hit anything. However, one ought to note that the spell does not increase the subject's strength; it just makes the subject hit harder. Like courage, it can be used easily to train Primary Magic early on.

-- Trothfang's Rally --

This fine example of the Inspiration Book is manadatory for any Paladin that plans on leading a group into combat. (That is, that everyone in the group is joined to the Paladin in question, not that the Paladin is actually using the lead ability.) Available to any Paladin of at least the tenth circle who knows the Courage spell, Trothfang's Rally improves the balance of the caster and anyone in his or her group. Not much mana is needed to allow everyone in the group to enter the battle incredibly balanced, and this can be quite a life-saver when anyone in the group takes a wrong turn and finds themselves badly balanced at an inopportune moment. Note, however, that if the caster is bleeding, the bleeding will worsen when this spell it cast.

-- Sentinel's Resolve --

Since Paladins are marked by the task of maintaining substantial defensive ability, they often find that they need to remain in combat longer than it would take to simply kill their foe, in order to train their armor skills in particular. Enter Sentinel's Resolve. With this fine spell the subject's defensive abilities are markedly increased, although their offensive ability is likewise decreased, so that the battle will tend toward stalemate, a rather nice situation for anyone hoping to train their defensive skills. Also, Sentinel's Resolve can be cast quite strategically on mages or ranged weapons users to lessen their threat while the Paladin is engaged at melee with another opponent. One use many Paladin's find for this spell is to hamper a fight between to members of the races of man. Under those conditions, be aware that the spell will prove more effective if cast on the more skilled of the two combatants, if that can be discerned.

-- Banner of Truce --

Requiring knowledge of the Courage spell and at least 15 circles of experience, the Banner of Truce is a rarity of the Paladin's spells in that it has no tactical combat purpose, except, of course, to end combat. A Paladin can make him or herself mighty popular with a rather large group when an empath and/or cleric are working on one of the deceased in the middle of a hunting area. The marsh south of Riverhaven, and the chasm that is home of the Rock Guardians are good examples of places where Banner of Truce is often very helpful. This spell is also the most effective tool the Paladin guild has in fulfilling the role many of us aspire to: that of keeper of the peace. The banner doesn't last terribly long, but it doesn't take much to prepare, and certainly stops a fight right quick.

-- Anti Stun --

This is one of the most useful spells a Paladin can learn. It requires courage to learn, and only 6 mana to prepare. The spell creates an orange glow around the subject. While the spell is active, it will negate a stun at short regular inter- vals. If the subject is stunned at the end of one of these intervals, the stun will simply be shaken off, no further ques- tions asked. This spell can easily save the subject's life, as quite often the stun will be shaken off before the enemy gets a chance to strike again. Remember, it's those critical strikes while stunned that do the really painful damage, and most im- portantly, knock you seriously off balance. Be sure to get anti stun as soon as it's available, and work your casting abil- ity so that you can prepare this spell with as much mana as possible, reducing the number of times it needs to be recast. Also, when entering a new hunting ground, be sure to find the places where holy power is strongest, so you know where to go when you do need to recast Anti Stun.

-- Heroic Strength --

This is the only held-mana spell Paladins can learn, thus far. Heroic Strength contrasts significantly with Righteous Wrath in that Heroic Strength actually increases the casters strength, thereby increasing combat speed, making dragging easier, and making strikes more damaging if the weapon is suited for strength. Heroic Strength is best for higher ranking Paladins as much discipline and many ranks in harnessing are needed for best effect, and to avoid the nerve damage that comes with holding a lot of mana. Also note that this is also the only spell in the Inspiration Book that requires knowledge of a spell beyond Courage to learn. It requires Sentinel's Resolve.

The Justice Book

These spells of Justice tend to be significantly more offen- sive in nature. Though none are more effective than Banner of to the end of keeping the peace, one must think of justice in a universal sense to appreciate the justice these spells deal.

-- Halt --

Halt is the primary spell of the Justice Book. Something of a glorified staring contest, the spell pits the spell casting skill and the discipline of the caster, along with the power used to cast the spell against the discipline of the subject. If only a little mana is used to cast and the caster's spell casting ability is low, and the subject's discipline significantly exceeds the caster, the subject can actually turn the spell against the caster. More likely, the spell will simply be ineffective. Almost anyone can halt anyone else, if they have the skill to use a lot of mana. Halt is an effective test of any Paladin's non-combat ability. In fact, Paladins often use this spell in place of sparring to try each other and themselves. O the glory on the day when a young Paladin reverses they're first Halt! If effective, the spell leaves the subject immobile, unable to fight back or run away. Halt is the only offensive spell a Paladin can cast on one a member of the Seven Races.

-- Smite Foe --

Smite Foe is one of the three most useful spells for a Paladin. It requires 12 mana to prepare, and only Halt to learn, and 20 mana will kill most mid-level foes outright. The spell is rather like calling on the hand of a god to come and give your foe a bit of a pummel, sans armor. Just one good punch, and it will often kill. At the very least, it tends to stun and knock the subject off its feet. Keeping a smite prepared in the middle of a large battle can quickly turn the tide, cutting down on the size of the swarm your companions are facing. Note that any attempt at Smiting a member of the seven races will fail and result in detriment to the caster's soul.

-- Smite Shield --

Much like Smite Foe, this spell strikes instead at the target's rmor. Against non-living armor, this spell tends to take quite a lot of mana to do any serious damage, and often Smite Foe is more effective. However, when the opponent is not wear- ing armor, when instead they have natural armor, Smite Shield will rend their flesh quite nicely. Even a rather low-powered Smite Shield can open up some nasty cuts. Also consider the convenience this spell provides when you need to train a weapon skill but your opponent's shield keeps getting in the way. Like Smite Foe, Smite Shield cannot and should not be cast on any member of the Seven Races, and requires knowledge of Halt to learn. Smite Shield has a minimum preparatory cost of only 5 mana, one of the lowest of all of a Paladin's spells.

-- Divine Armor --

This spell essentially invokes divine power to make all the armor the subject is wearing more substantial. Not only does this mean that the armor protects better, but it means the armor is heavier and causes greater maneuvering hinderance. As a result, this spell is best for high ranking Paladins whose skill negates the added maneuvering hinderance and whose strength negates the added weight. The added protection is significant but not worth the hinderance, especially since the enemies that teach armor best have very strong attacks that are much more easily dodged than endured. The minimum preparation cost is rather high at 15 mana, and a Paladin must know Halt and be of at least 15th circle to learn Divine Armor.

-- Bond Weapon --

This is the last of a Paladin's most useful spells. While it helps the Paladin and only the Paladin, it sure does make fighting alone easier, for those Paladins that prefer that road. The spell will cause the bonded weapon or shield to return to the caster's hand if dropped, including if the caster dies. With this spell a Paladin can die far from help and have no worry that anything will happen to his or her weapon while the fallen Paladin waits for aid. Also, those tough opponents that knock weapons from the Paladin's hand are likewise no longer a worry. The spell is effective even if the Paladin leaves the room where the weapon is. Bond Weapon becomes very difficult to cast very quickly, but only 15 mana will last for more than 20 minutes, and it has a low minimum preperation of only 6. This spell requires Halt to learn.

Glyphs

The Paladin's glyphs rely on the state of the Paladin's soul, and sometimes the Paladin's very Charisma, in order to create a non-corporeal magical effect, hopefully for a substantial duration. Glyphs require a quest to learn, given by a guild leader. The quests tend to be easy for any Paladin who main- tains the ideals of the guild.

-- Warding --

The Warding Glyph has two uses. First, when traced over a dead person, the glyph protects tha deceased's items until that person finds means to walk again, or until the glyph runs out. If the glyph lasts long enough for the reincarnated individual to return, the ward dissapears when that person touches it, and the person's items return to the place they were when last he or she possessed them. The protection of the ward actually prevents anyone from even seeing the pro- tected items once they are no longer attached to a body, though the glyph itself can be easily seen: it glows in the air. The duration of the glyph is dependent on the charisma and soul of the Paladin tracing the glyph.

The other use for the Glyph of Warding is to protect the Paladin from distance attacks. Mages targetting the Paladin ith spells and bow-users aiming at the Paladin may be warded. The effect of the ward is dependednt on the Charisma of the Paladin, but if effective, the Paladin cannot be aimed at for a while. If indeed the guild arcanists ever complete the development of the rumored Uthmor's Maneuver, that spell and the glyph of warding will work well together.

-- Bonding --

This glyph works like the Bond Weapon spell in that it can bring a dropped weapon or shield back to a dead adventurer. The glyph is rather more limited than the spell. If the dropped item has been out of the deceased's hands for only a little while, the glyph will not work, and it will not work unless the item is on the ground in the same room as the dead one. However, it certainly puts their decaying minds at rest to have their items back in the right place, even before they're walking around again. And with a glyph of warding, every item a dead person has on them can be protected while the find their way through the beyond.