Prevalence of Magic in General Society
The usage of magic is widespread throughout the world of Celesia, and comes in many forms. Its existence has drastically shaped Celesian society in some very notable ways. At any point in time, it can be assumed at least a third of a community's populace is capable of wielding magic in some form or other. This ratio increases to over three quarters if the people commonly have innate racial spell-like abilities.
Anyone with the aptitude can easliy learn how to wield magic as long as even basic educational institutions are available. Communities without such institutions would have longstanding traditions of apprenticeships to train the next generation of spellcasters.
Every family in Celesia strives to have at least one spellcaster in the family. The spells they try to acquire and learn are spells that aid tasks in everyday life. Families that lead generally peaceful lives commonly attain just the base levels of magic, but even these mostly harmless spells allow even the most common peasants to lead bountiful lives. Farmers learn magic to help make their livestock more agreeable. Laborers learn magic to allow them to travel farther and carry more. Thanks to spells like mending, tools and structures need little resources to be maintained and replaced. Simple healing spells extend lives and eliminate downtime from injuries, and families almost never have to go hungry thanks to basic sustenance magic.
Among the military and the political elite, magic becomes even more prevalent. Spells and supernatural abilities are taken into considering in the fundamental core of the art of war. Leaders must use magic, and be ware of it at the same time, in order to bring the most prosperity to their followers and to stay ahead of their rivals. At this level of concern, entire organizations are needed to supply and defend against the myriad and complicated usage of magic.
Healing
Healing magic easily repairs nonlethal wounds and cures diseases without needing significant training or risky procedures, preventing many deaths that would have otherwise resulted and extending life expectancy. Scars are more of a fashion statement than a permanent reminder of a fight. People who succeed in avoiding fatal encounters can live out their full natural lifespan, and can expect to pass away peacefully in their sleep as oppose to succumbing to a disease.
This has elevated anointed casters and layperson healers into vital positions of society, granting them enormous amount of influence. Oddly enough, this does not come with significant wealth, unless in a small and isolate community. This is because of the church of Kaï-den, the primary god of healing, and of St. Argath, the god of charity, who provide magical healing freely to the public. Other faiths must also do the same in order to compete with their influence. Layperson healers also find themselves undercut by these churches, and are unable to sell their services.
Interestingly, the ability to say a prayer and heal a wound or cure a disease has not greatly slowed down the pursuit of mundane healing techniques. the mundane healing arts remain an important area of study and development in part due to some areas not having access to magical healers, such as isolated communities or after a devasting war or disaster, thus needing at least some ways to tending to wounds. Another reason is that healing magic becomes noticeable far more potent the more the caster understands the patient's biology and how to repair it. In fact, close observation of healing magic in practice has led to significant understanding of how biology works to repair itself. And of course, some pioneers in medical study advanced the cause out of sheer curiosity of how biology works naturally.
Magical healing is a vital component to armed forces, whether in the form of healers or healing items. Interestingly, the presence of magical healing on the battlefield ensures that there is little recuperation time for surviving armies after a battle. Bleeding out can be easily avoided, the wounded are quickly brought up back to fighting condition, and diseases are quickly cured. Armies are only unable to continue fighting if their soldiers are outright killed before they can be healed, or are severely maimed, and maiming can also be avoided if the healers are powerful enough to cast regenerate. This has led to the preponderance of army composition and tactics that emphasize on overwhelming the enemy quickly and completely, resulting in short wars, or length wars when both sides fail to do so.
Most plagues are shortlived. They would not spread far, and their deadliness would be muted. Only the most virulent and potent of plagues would overwhelm the magical healing capacity of most regions. Such plagues would typically be magical in nature themselves. One side effect from being able to magically cure disease is that natural immunity rarely develops among the peoples of Celesia. On the other hand, some people have developed alternate means to become fully immuned to all diseases, such as paladins
Another hazard in the world that is easily managed thanks to magical healing is the deadly radiation of blightstones found underground. Dwarves are perhaps the most familiar with such stones and repositories, often found while excavating the underground. They have the most documentation on this natural phenomena which break down the body or cause cancerous growth. Both are understood to eventually lead to death, if it was not for the availability of magic to repair the damage or remove the cancer. While this alone would not prevent further damage if once again exposed, other forms of magic have been developed to protect a person for such radiation.
Poisons are also another area that becomes much more manageable and survivable thanks to healing magic. Its presence can be easily detected, easily removed, and any damage it might have caused can be easily repaired. This has led to the development of poisons being extremely potent and fast acting before a healer is able to treat it. Some people have even developed the ability to be fully immune to all types of poisons.
Abilities
- Channel energy (cleric)
- Diamond body (monk)
- Divine health (paladin)
- Lay on hands (paladin)
- Mercy (paladin)
- Purity of body (monk)
- Venom immunity (druid)
Items
- Potions of the valid spells list below.
- Ring of regeneration
Spells
- Cleanse
- Cure wounds
- Delay disease
- Delay pain
- Delay poison
- Detect poison
- Diagnose disease
- Heal
- Neutralize poison
- Regenerate
- Remove blindness/deafness
- Remove sickness
- Restoration
Resurrection and the Afterlife
The ability to bring someone back to life after death requires powerful magic that is not commonly available. Even when it is, there are significant material costs required for these miracles to occur. That being said, every developed nation on Celesia has at least a handful of individuals capable of such feats with the resources necessary, therefore the public at large is well aware that bringing the dead back to life is possible.
Because of the high costs involved, generally only the wealthy or those backed with significant resources like nation leaders or high-ranking adventurers are among those few who can benefit from returning from death. This is but one more reason, albeit a significant one, for the less affluent masses to resent these elite few. In some societies, the powerful use this as a form of reward in exchange for service to them.
In some extremely rarer communities, there are individuals who are so powerful as to forego the material costs of resurrection magic. These individuals are often hounded by the masses to bring back their loved ones, and they are only limited by their time and generosity. The less altruistic ones typically hide themselves away from the public for their own peace of mind. Communities count themselves very blessed should they have a powerful resurrector that is willing to constantly accept such dire requests.
With the availability of such powers in the world, it is understood that death is not a complete certainty. Assassinating a foe is no sure means of ending the threat they represent. There are means to reduce the chances of their resurrection, such as destroying the body or applying other magic to interfere with the resurrection, but theses steps never truly eliminate the possibility. When it comes to killing a target, the perpetrator must often consider the amount of effort and resources to increase the resurrection's cost, and who would be willing to expend those costs to bring the victim back. Imprisonment becomes a more attractive alternative, and there is a whole other set of options to accomplish this, from physical imprisonment to capturing the target's soul. These have their own costs, but the control is now in the hands of the killer.
Not all resurrection magic are created equal. How easy, cheaply, and available the resurrection is depends greatly on the condition of the corpse, how long ago the deceased passed away, and how old they were. These conditions have also been a mitigating factor in how often a resurrection occurs. Aetherite dust is the main costly component to resurrection magic, so its availability is also a factor in how often resurrections occur. Other exotic materials might be used based on their concordance with the resurrection's benefactor.
Many forget that all resurrection magic requires that the target's soul must be free in the afterlife, is willing to return to life, and automatically knows who is trying to bring them back to life. Many families find themselves crushed when a resurrection fails to succeed when the target refuses to return, finding only a small bit of comfort knowing that their loved one finds themselves in a better place. However, the materials used in the resurrection are still expended, and this can be financially crushing. This risk is also another factor that mitigates the widespread use of resurrection magic. This may lead to resentment or suspicion of duplicity against the resurrector. The fact that some have actually committed false attempts resurrection, usually as a means of using up the target's resources, have made such concerns genuine.
Because of the risks involved, many try to find a way of communing with the spirit of the deceased to confirm their willingness, but these means have their own costs as well. It may be that for some, the dead are better left so for the sake of those still living. At the very least, it is a comfort knowing that an enemy is also unable to resurrect a victim to inflict more pain, meaning that death is sometimes a more preferable option for those in unfortunate inescapable positions. Sadly, this means that suicide is not uncommon in Celesia, mitigated only by the fear of how higher powers will judge them in the afterlife or how their self-inflicted demise will affect their karmic cycle.
It is believed that when a person dies, their soul is judged in the Court of Jeshakhet. Those that are judged to have lived according to their patron's ideals pass on to reside in their presence. These individuals are very much less likely to accept being resurrected, unless they have strong regrets or sense of obligation back in the world of the living. Those with no patrons or have been judged to have been false in their faith are sent to an unprotected realm in the Outer Plane that reflects their true heart. These souls are more likely to accept being resurrected. Some souls end up in the hands of fiends, having been sold to them in life. These souls are almost certain to accept being resurrected, regardless of the source, but the window for such action is very limited as the fiend who possess them will imprison or consume the soul as soon as possible. Such a result destroys the soul, preventing any resurrection.
As such, when a person does die, and remains so, the tragedy and sorrow of the event is extremely intense to the grievers. Alternatively, it can also be a cause for great celebration if the deceased was known to have lived a happy life and passed away peacefully. Such wakes celebrate the deceased's life and wishes them off to a great rest in the afterlife, and help the living cope with their passing.
The most powerful resurrection magic can bring back a deceased without needing a body, and can bring back a soul that died centuries ago depending on the power of the resurrector. It is known that on some very rare occasions, historical figures from long ago have been granted another lease on life, another chance to shape the world. Historians often seek out such individuals, helping flesh out historical records with first hand testimony from someone who actually lived in that part of history. It does make family reunions very unique, such as having the founder of your family line directly interact with their many, many great grandchildren.
Resurrection does make inheritance and succession complicated. Nations find themselves needing to outline laws and policies in how authority is passed along after death and in case of resurrection, with stipulations on time or other conditions passed since death, pre-arranged agreements, and how, if allowed, a resurrected leader can return to power. Common inheritance laws are similarly complicated. Also, wills typically include a resurrection clause, either a stipulation that resurrection should or should not be attempted, or with different sets of conditions to determine which path of action should be taken. Many precautions are taken to ensure that such wills can be properly authenticated and are followed, because many would find it easier to just let the dead remain as so.
A resurrected person initially remembers their time in the afterlife. However, the knowledge and existence of the Outer Planes is too much for a mortal body. The resurrected's mind quickly and naturally seals those memories away to prevent them from overwhelming the body. All that remains are very powerful emotions and vague impressions, and these never go away. Many find this to be more of a burden than a blessing. Some memories of the afterlife may be safely unlocked through specific rituals or mental training.
The afterlife changes a person, and those who initially celebrated their return soon realize the person who came back is different than how they remembered them. If the resurrected resided in heavenly paradise, the living world becomes nothing but a drab shadow of what they experienced, and many fall into depression, even committing suicide in order to return.
Alternatively, if the person's returned from a hellscape, they would be certainly relieved to have escaped it, but the terrible experience will have certainly left mental scars that will leave them with ongoing nightmares. On the positive side, they would certainly be more motivated to avoid such a fate again. Only an exceptional few resurrected, due to their limited time spent in the afterlife, mental fortitude, or being just plain odd, manage to live their next lease on life as close to as before their death.
Adventurers are among those odd folk as the mindset that prompts one to go on harrowing, deadly adventurers already sets them apart from the rest of society. Their bizarre sense for adventure is a contributing factor as to why they keep readily accepting to come back to the land of the living even if they would be rewarded with paradise in the afterlife. Some very experienced adventurers can go through multiple resurrections, so many so that this miracleous event becomes a mundane affair to them. Adventurers typically keep of tally of their resurrections as some kind of personal record, and is often a topic of comparison among their discussions.
Sustenance
The ability to magically conjure fresh food and water on a regular has allowed many peoples of Celesia to survive and build communities in generally hostile environments. Deserts of sand or snow, trundra, and the barren underground may be harsher terrains and require more effort than grassy pains and rolling hills, but they are not obstacles to building a life there as long a community has access to such magic. Fresh water is readily available thanks to create water, and spells such as create food and water and goodberries can fill people's bellies every day, so long as enough caster are available. Such casters will often hold important and influential positions in such communities, and magical items that provide the same services would be closely guarded as some of the community's most sacred treasures.
Magic is also able to preserve the current supplies for nearly an indefinite period. Thanks to spells such as purify food and drink, food stores can last for months on long voyages on the high seas or burning deserts, or through long, harsh winters. Applied diligently daily, people can enjoy their food stores as fresh as the day they were plucked from the trees or caught from the seas.
Magical sustenance has not barred the development of mundane survival techniques. Such means exist in isolated places where such magic is not readily available, or that the community exceeds its magical capacity to generate enough sustenance. Nonetheless, magical sustenance has put off pressures on overhunting the local resources, and alleviates potential loss of life in times of disasters and emergencies.
Some people and creatures have developed the ability to avoid the need to eat and drink altogether, as do some magical items. Such creatures never suffer from malnutrition, and consume only for pleasure, but may run into the risk suffering from obesity. Such creatures find themselves having additional time on their hands thanks to not having to put in time and effort in acquiring food and eating it.
Sleeping and fatigue in general are another form of sustenance that can be avoided thanks to magic. Spells and abilities to remove fatique or become immune to it allow the creatures and peoples of Celesia to be very active for the majority of the day. With access to magic and items that avoid the need to sleep, the productivity of Celesians rises even further. The magic involved to avoid sleep also prevents any negative physical and mental effects from sleep deprivation, but most people still avoid spending their full day of wakefulness working on a single task if they can as that they remain vulnerable to that form of mental exhaustion. Nonetheless, access to such magic allows people and creatures to perform feats such as traveling long distances without needing to stop and rest, engage in longer period of labour, and remain on constant watch for danger.
Abilities
- Inner Earthly Current (feat)
- Psionic Repletion (feat)
Items
- Belt of foraging
- Cauldron of plenty
- Clear spindle ioun stone
- Decanter of endless water
- Purifying pearl
- Replenishing aquarium ball
- Ring of sustenance
- Rod of splendor
- Sustaining spoon
- Tengu drinking mug
- Verdant boots
- Versatile vest
Spells
- Abstemiousness
- Cleanse Body
- Create water
- Create Food and Water
- Dream feast
- Goodberry
- Heroes' Feast
- Mage's magnificient mansion
- Purify food and drink
- Restoration
- Sustenance