Mage Actions
This combination of activities that takes time can be quite a challenge in combat. Fortunately, Mages are adept understanding the flow and passage of time, and so have grasped the ability to recognize that when they engage, they generally have the ability to choose not to Move during a turn, and in so doing gain a benefit. For Mages, actions come in the form of slots. In a normal turn, a person gains an Action and a Movement. A Mage who is casting a spell can choose to not move and so use that action slot towards the Casting Time of the spell.
Additionally, should they have a Bonus Action or a Reaction, from some Aspect or Feature, they can choose to apply those to casting the spell instead of the described option. It is through this peculiar ability that a Mage is able to cast higher level spells in shorter amounts of time. It is as close as we can come to rushing it.
However, they can also choose to continue casting a spell while moving or taking a reaction or using a bonus action. While this means that it takes more time in rounds to cast a spell, it also allows them to do things like evade an attempt to interrupt a spell or step out of the way of an incoming threat.
Spells over Simple Complexity require multiple Action Slots to cast. It means being prepared and wary as one moves through the world.
Fortunately, any spell can be Readied and held at the ready to be released once the casting part is done. To Ready a spell, you still have to take the time to cast it, but instead you form it into an Invoking Glyph, which allows you to instantly release it as a reaction during your first turn. Many mages will move around with a spell at the ready, just in case.
Interrupting a Spell
While this is happening, the Mage is generally in what we call a bad spot. An interrupted spell, where their concentration is broken, costs the same amount of mana as an uninterrupted version of the spell. So, interrupting an Intermediate complexity 5th level spell still costs 8 mana points, and the process must begin again in casting it, along with the expenditure of the mana to do so.
Note that some casters have learned to cast more than one spell at a time, while others have learned to manipulate the way a spell functions.
Concentration
In terms of the standard 5th Edition concept of Concentration, discard it for the purposes of Wyrlde. For Wyrlde, the equivalent balancing metric is the Casting Time.
That said, the casting of a spell is rather rigorous and arduous effort and does require intense concentration. Spells which do require ongoing concentration (during which no other action can be taken, including movements, bonus actions, and reactions) are explicitly described in the body of the spell itself.
Concentration in this case is a focus on the spell during the use of it. While Concentrating, a Mage can move at no more than half their Speed in a turn, cannot use evasion moves, cannot use a weapon, and cannot do much more than keep the spell working.
Those spells which use Concentration most often are searching type spells, detecting type spells, divinations, and enchantments – but not all of them, and it varies according to the spell itself.
Invoking
The act of casting any spell requires the caster to chant the spell in Caligulan, the peculiar language of magic itself, while performing the finger, hand, limb, or body movements related to the spell in order to invoke it (known by the manifestation that always happens for the few seconds involved).
Spells are cast in play by saying that you are going to cast a spell you have memorized, spending the spell points, and casting it.
Mage Duels
While not a universal trait among my colleagues by any stretch, we do tend to have enormous egos, and when Mages get into arguments about magic, inevitably the practice initiated so many years ago as part of the Warding of Akadia comes into play. These arguments inevitably end up coming down to one of three things:
The number of spells they know.
The kinds of spells they know.
The amount of Mana they have.
The use of Mana and Spells.
These disagreements can become quite ferocious, and there are often points where one or another feels their honor is besmirched and requires repair, or there is a desire to prove greatness and position. So popular is the activity as a spectator sport that it has become a part of the very Grand Games themselves. I am, of course, talking about Duels.
From this, and with the less than pleasant encouragement of the Pale itself, a set of rules developed out around the act of challenging another mage to a duel. Doing so is not something to consider on a lark – it is a formal and sadly rigid thing that cannot be taken back once accepted and cannot be escaped.
Every Novice Mage knows at least three Cantrips and then has three additional spells in their arsenal that are among the very first taught, because of their value in training. These spells are Duel Skin, Duel Seal, and Duel Bond.
When making a formal challenge, the Challenger casts the Duel Bond and in a face-to-face confrontation challenges the person they seek to overcome, with an inclusion of where they seek to make the challenge take place.
The challenged Mage can then choose to decline or accept the challenge. If they accept, they too cast the Duel Bond and the pair clasps forearms, which triggers both spells and locks them in while formally accepting the challenge and specifying a time for the duel. If they decline, then nothing happens.
Attempting to back out of a challenge results in a loss of all Mana for a week. This is a debilitating effect, as you can imagine, and given Mages tend to be sneaky sorts, there is always a possibility of an effort to block one or the other from reaching the location of the Challenge. It is considered highly illegal in Akadia.
On the appointed time and at the appointed place, both casters will cast the Duel Seal cantrip. This will create a barrier that is a dome with a diameter of 50 feet and a height of 25 feet. This dome will move with the duelists. The space for the duel must be great enough to accommodate this field. There are a few Apprentices who have tried to set a place for such that wasn’t capable of accommodating the duel, and have suffered accordingly, as they are the ones that chose it.
Next, a Duel Skin cantrip is cast. This is a thin barrier that only works during duels and has the effect of changing damage done to a loss of Mana. Don’t ask me how it works. Magic. We have been trying to make skins work better and outside of duels for 300 years, and no luck. All I can tell you is that it only functions if a Duel Bond is in play, a Duel Seal has been erected, and they are about to enter the duel.
The field keeps all magical effects confined to the duel area, the skin causes damage to reduce Mana, and the bond enforces the terms of the duel. After that, the duel is fought by the mages using all the tools in their personal arsenals – including physical and martial skills, since even they are converted.
Mage duels are decided by any one of the following conditions:
A Mage runs out of Mana.
A Mage is rendered unconscious.
A Mage yields.
It is only when one or more of those conditions are met that the Bond, Seal, and Skin end, and the duel is over.
