Magic¶

Phoenix Sagas has two distinct magical traditions. Most callings study named workings arranged in circles. A Savant instead composes a working from spoken forms and elemental words.

Circle magic¶

Warriors, Rogues, Monks, Rangers, Bards, Paladins, Wizards, Clerics, Empaths, and Sorcerers can train one or more circles. Their basic commands are:

SPELLS                    list workings ready to cast
SPELLS ALL                list every learned working, including those not ready
SPELLS BUFFS              list ready buffs (BUFF also works)
SPELLS WARD               list ready offensive wardings
SPELLS BOLTS              list ready aimed bolts
SPELLS SONG               list ready held and instant bard songs
SPELLS ALL BUFF           list every learned buff, including those not ready
SPELLS CATALOG            explain what each circle offers
SPELLS CATALOG Lesser Breath  browse a circle, including future workings
SPELLS 2122               explain Quiet Guard and your ability to use it
PREPARE 2148              prepare a working briefly
CAST                      release it at the default target
CAST KOBOLD               release it at a named target
INCANT 2148 KOBOLD        prepare and release in one command
RELEASE                   let a prepared working go
STOP 6106                 stop a held spellsong

SPELLS is authoritative for your ready workings and their mana prices. It lists learned workings ready with your current level and mana, checking recovery, cooldowns, casting injuries, and room restrictions. Its compact rows show each working's type and mana price; empty circles are omitted. Targets and spell-specific conditions still apply. SPELLS ALL includes every learned working and marks any current limit. It does not include workings you have yet to learn.

Filter either view with BUFF, WARD, BOLT, SONG, HEAL, UTILITY, MANEUVER, or ATTACK; singular and plural forms work. WARD means offensive wardings, including area attacks; protective wards belong under BUFF. Skill bonuses such as lockwork and swimming, weapon blessings, and lasting support such as Quickfire also count as buffs. HEAL includes wound and scar repair, restoration, and resurrection. SONG includes both held songs and instant bard workings. Filters can overlap: a buff song appears in both views. Combine ALL with a filter in either order, such as SPELLS ALL BUFF or SPELLS BUFF ALL.

SPELLS CATALOG explains the circles; add a circle name to browse its workings. SPELLS <catalogue code> explains one spell's use, targets, mana, and your current ability to cast it.

The spell reference describes each ordinary circle and its spells, including workings you have not learned. Use it to choose a tradition by its protections, attacks, support, and utility.

Catalogue codes are addresses, not power levels¶

A four-digit spell code is a lookup address. Its first two digits identify the catalogue block; the remaining digits do not reveal required study, character level, strength, or mana price.

For example, 2148 Spiritshawl protects against aimed attacks, while 3310 Needle Spark is an aimed lightning bolt. Their descriptions tell you what they do; their codes let you cast them.

Rank requirement and mana price are separate values:

Circle ranks determine which workings you have learned and improve several effects.
Mana cost depends on a working's depth and job. Broad area magic, clouds, and resurrection cost more; quiet utility and personal wards cost less.
Character level still gates progression and contributes to magical force, but a code's suffix carries none of that information.

Use the catalogue codes printed by SPELLS and this reference when casting.

The circles¶

Circle	Catalogue	Who may train it
Lesser Breath	2100	Warrior, Rogue, Monk, Ranger, Bard, Paladin, Wizard, Cleric, Empath, Sorcerer
Greater Breath	2200	Cleric, Empath
Cleric's Wheel	2300	Cleric
Paladin's Wheel	2400	Paladin
Empath's Wheel	2500	Empath
Lesser Vein	3100	Warrior, Rogue, Monk, Ranger, Bard, Paladin, Wizard, Cleric, Empath, Sorcerer
Greater Vein	3200	Wizard
Wizard's Wheel	3300	Wizard
Sorcerer's Wheel	3400	Sorcerer
Ranger's Wheel	4100	Ranger
Lesser Coal	5100	Warrior, Rogue, Monk, Ranger, Bard, Paladin, Wizard, Cleric, Empath, Sorcerer
Bard's Wheel	6100	Bard
Deep Wheel	7100	found magic; no calling trains it normally

A calling's circle access is part of its identity, not a public “martial/hybrid/caster” ladder. Training costs and starting aptitudes are defined per calling.

How hostile workings land¶

Circle attacks use one of three questions:

Working	Contest	What resists it
Bolt	Targeting against physical guard, shaped by the spell's armor matchup and Fortune	Evasion, Grace/Finesse, held shields and Shield Training, Brace/Guard, defensive wards, and the spell's armor matchup
Warding	Focus against Resolve, shaped by armor and Fortune	magical study, the relevant aptitudes, wards, and armor
Maneuver	spell force against physical readiness and Fortune	Grace, posture, physical disciplines, and familiarity with the art

The final outcome score determines whether the working lands and how strongly. Attack spells can also suffer a rare Fortune fumble: mana and committed recovery are spent, but the working fails before a contest.

Bolt accuracy grows from level plus the better of circle study or Spell Targeting. That study follows a diminishing ladder: training beyond your level remains useful, but does not turn equal-level opponents into automatic hits. Circle study and Spell Targeting are alternate routes for this purpose; buying both does not stack them.

Improving bolt defense¶

Train Evasion for dodging. A shield held in a hand adds protection; Shield Training, shield size, and enchantment you can use improve its block. Brace and Guard improve your active dodge and block contributions. Defensive wards and Guard-imbued jewelry add protection independently of stance. A stunned defender loses active dodging and the stance benefit, while retaining wards and half the held shield's block contribution.

Armor's benefit depends on the incoming spell's matchup. Spell study and Resolve workings protect against wardings. Wordcraft bolts that barely get through your defense deal less damage than the same formed bolt landing cleanly.

Improving warding offense¶

Train the circle that contains the warding spell. Its ranks increase your Focus. Spell Targeting improves bolts and can improve maneuver spells, but does not enter a warding contest. Channeling and the three Attunement skills help your mana supply and control; they do not directly increase warding Focus.

Your Focus combines character level, study in this particular circle, its attribute bonus, and any active Focus-enhancing workings. The circle determines the attribute:

Circle family	Attribute bonus used for warding Focus
Lesser Breath, Greater Breath, Cleric's Wheel, Empath's Wheel, Ranger's Wheel, Paladin's Wheel	Resolve
Lesser Vein, Greater Vein, Wizard's Wheel, Deep Wheel	Attunement
Lesser Coal	Resolve
Sorcerer's Wheel	Attunement and Resolve
Bard's Wheel	Attunement and Presence

Further study helps, with diminishing returns at deeper investment. A resistant or more experienced creature can still turn a learned spell aside. Some workings are more effective against a creature already stunned; each spell's description explains such uses. Focus-enhancing workings such as Truevein and Gathered Vein can also help.

Improving warding defense¶

Magical study across your circles helps you understand and resist hostile wardings. Your experience, the attributes relevant to the incoming magic, protective wards, and suitable armor also contribute. Quiet Guard, Spellward, and Mindward are examples of resistance workings; broader wards such as Grayshroud protect against both aimed attacks and hostile wardings.

Look for Resolve in a ward's description when you want magical resistance. Guard helps against aimed blows and bolts. Neither replaces the other, and protection against maneuvers depends more on physical readiness.

Your armor can separately hinder your own casting. Armor Training reduces that hindrance, so heavier armor is a tradeoff between protection and ease of casting.

Use SPELLS <catalogue code> to understand a working, SKILL to check your study, TRAIN to preview the cost and cap, and CHECK IN at an inn to buy ranks. The skill reference explains the other training choices.

Damage and area reach¶

On a successful direct-damage working, two things determine harm: the margin of the contest and the working's learned depth. Shallow workings stay mana-efficient, while deeper workings spend more mana to end a fight in fewer recoveries. This is a choice of tempo, not a hidden property of the catalogue code.

Armor is not a single universal magic defense. Some bolts find gaps in plate while others splash harmlessly across it; wardings and maneuvers test different protections. SPELLS identifies a working's family, and experimentation reveals which tool fits a target.

Area workings catch a limited number of hostiles. Your best Attunement increases how many threads you can hold, so that training matters beyond increasing a mana pool.

Wards, reach, and duration¶

Many shared-circle wards can be placed on a companion:

INCANT 2148              ward yourself
INCANT 2148 BRUISER      ward Bruiser

Self-cast wards benefit most from deep circle study and can sometimes accumulate duration. A ward placed on another person uses its dependable base strength and refreshes rather than stacking indefinitely. Group workings cover grouped companions who are present when the cast completes.

Positive spell bonuses to Attack, Guard, Focus, and Resolve converge when several are active: your strongest ward contributes most, and further wards add smaller benefits. A range of wards broadens protection alongside equipment and training.

Bard songs are different: a Bard holds them and pays renewal mana. Their effects are renewed for the group while the song continues, and end when stopped, interrupted, or starved of mana.

Empath repair workings are self-directed. To heal somebody else, an Empath uses BEAR, removing the patient's injury and carrying its pain as burden before mending their own body. See Health, Wounds, and Care.

Mana and committed recovery¶

Casting commits the character for a short recovery period, increased by encumbrance. Mana is spent whether a hostile working lands or misses. Mana is built through actual investment: Channeling, Attunement, circle ranks or Wordcraft, and the calling's casting aptitude. A calling receives no large reservoir merely for its name, so a Rogue who pays to study magic gains real mana while a Wizard who neglects magic does not.

Mana returns on its own pulse. Recovery nodes, Greater nodes, Attunement, and certain workings improve that flow. STAT shows your pools, and RECOVERY shows committed recovery; SPELLS shows the actual price before you cast.

Room restrictions¶

In a no-magic room, circle spells, Savant wordcraft, and item-carried circle workings cannot be released. Move out of the room before trying to cast or activate them.

Savant wordcraft¶

A Savant does not learn numbered circle spells. Wordcraft combines a form with one or two elements:

INCANT BOLTAR IGNIS KOBOLD
INCANT VORTHA AERIS
INCANT SELOS PETRIS
INCANT BOLTAR IGNIS AERIS KOBOLD

The first unrecognized word begins the target name. AT and ON may be used as readable links. Omitting a form defaults to BOLTAR, and two elements must come from different domains.

Forms¶

Word	Shape	Use
`BOLTAR`	Bolt	one seeking strike at a target
`VORTHA`	Vortex	a room-wide hostile effect
`SELOS` (`SELF`)	Self	a ward or inward working

Elements¶

Domain	Lesser	Greater	Master
Fire	`IGNIS`	`IGNARA`	`IGNAGA`
Air	`AERIS`	`AERARA`	`AERAGA`
Earth	`PETRIS`	`PETRARA`	`PETRAGA`
Water	`AQUIS`	`AQUARA`	`AQUAGA`

Lore determines which tier can be spoken safely. A Savant may reach above that limit, but doing so makes the working unstable and risks backlash.

Single elements carry their own tendencies: fire burns, air shocks, earth staggers, and water freezes. Two different elements create a named interaction:

Pair	Interaction	Character
Fire + Air	firestorm	broad burning force
Fire + Earth	magma	heavy burning impact
Fire + Water	steam	obscuring scald
Air + Earth	sandstorm	abrasion and lost sight
Water + Air	ice	piercing cold and restraint
Water + Earth	mud	weight and stagger

Wordcraft mana is composed from the selected form, each element's tier, and a surcharge for joining two elements. Vortexes and master words are expensive; a lesser single-target word is cheap. The WORDS command lists what the Savant has discovered and the live parser reports the price.

Discovery¶

Word knowledge belongs to the character. New words can be learned through play, including controlled attempts above the Savant's safe tier. Successful discovery is recorded permanently; failed overreach can consume mana, cause recovery, or turn the working back on its speaker.

Items and found magic¶

Wands, scrolls, potions, and symbols can carry circle workings. Activating one tests the appropriate item discipline and the item's own authority rather than silently granting circle training. The Deep Wheel exists primarily through such discoveries.

Found magic is intentionally not a second profession tree. It is treasure: finite, tradeable, sometimes dangerous, and identified through play.