About Magic

Magic exists in the form of “crystals” that can be consumed for a magical effect. The typical/most common way of consuming the crystals is to make a small cut or scrape in the skin - enough to draw blood - and allow the blood to mix with the crystal. Your life essence essentially fuels the crystal, and the magic is able to manifest itself in a form that you project.

You could have a red gem, and create various effects with it based upon your intent. It might summon forth a fireball upon command, maybe you use it to create a globe of light to follow you in a dungeon, or maybe you use it to boil water. That same gem could provide a shield against the elements (or block an incoming fire spell maybe), or it might do something else completely - allow you to manipulate the emotions of others and drive a horde of enemies into a rage induced fury that makes them turn on one another.

The scale of the effect is going to be based upon how strong the user is, both from a physical point of view and from a metaphysical point of view - someone who is well trained in magical arts can extract a larger effect for less of a physical cost.

This is also a very dirty way of performing magic. The use of it is associated with a bit of a magical high, and it is possible to get addicted to these crystals. Because of all of these factors, magic will be viewed in many different ways. Some will believe magic to be the gift from the world because it is found in nature in relative abundance. Others will see the addiction and the need to fuel it with your own blood as a blight that needs to be stamped out. Others might make it their life’s work to come up with a new way of using the magic that isn’t as dependant on the body.

What’s the distribution of magic like?

It isn’t uniform. There are going to be places where the crystals grow in abundance, and places where they are for the most part nonexistent. This would result in the natural evolution of various technologies. Places that have the crystals would likely depend on them for many things, whereas another part of the world might have developed somewhat of a steam punk approach.