There are 4 types of magic in the kingdoms. They are:
The primary difference between these skills and the 12 common ones, however, is affinity.
Each character has an affinity attribute for each of the four magic types; by default, these values are 0. During character creation, player characters may gain some starting affinity; the Bestiary templates will also suggest affinities for various species.
A character cannot use a magic skill without at least 1 affinity in that skill. The skill is entirely cut off; no checks may be attempted, and anything that would use that skill from that character automatically fails. Once a character has at least 1 affinity for the associated magic type, that character may use that skill as normal.
In addition to enabling the use of a magic skill, affinity serves a second purpose: augmentation of actions. Many magic actions offer a scaling effect based on the user's affinity. For example:
Each magic skill has four basic hearts, and many more are found throughout the various tales - a heart is a magic action. It can be used exactly like any other action found in any normal skill, however, magic is fluid, and can be shaped to match its user. Custom magic actions can be composed by a character to suit their needs, each composition, however, must use one of the hearts.
To assist in overcoming the resistance of the target of a curse, an attraction may be used. When making the check, you may use an attraction if available:
All curses can benefit from the use of an attraction, if available.
A composition is a custom spell created by a character ad hoc; when a character takes an action that is a heart, they may use the action as is, or they can create a composition which will modify the effects. Characters are free to do this each time they use the heart; compositions are not recorded or limited in any way. A composition consists of two parts:
To compose a spell, when taking an action based on a heart: