Spells
From Scarred Lands :: Scarn.com :: Wiki
The "death" of Mesos, the event marking the beginning of the Divine & Titanswar, also unleashed unprecedented amounts of arcane energy. Until that time, most sorcerers served the titan (& to a lesser extent Mormo), while wizards ~ practitioners of "stolen" arcane arts ~ followed Miridum, That which Abides (Jandaveos) or fell through the cracks & developed the art on their own ~ these were much rarer & hunted by Mesos' minions though. The victory of the divine forces changed this. All the while, powered by the grace of the Gods themselves, divine magic grew in prominence. Today, both schools of magic, the druidic arts still carried by titan followers & Tattoo Magic, are potent if not always predictable.
Then there is Ritual Magic, possibly the most powerful magic of all.
Tattoo Magic
A rare form of magic allowing a spellcaster to imbue tattoo ink with magical energy. The ink is then used to create a tattoo on a target, which may be enchanted with a spell ike any otehr magical item. The target gains the ability to activate the tattoo & benefits from the spells effects.
It's not without drawbacks; unlike normal magic items, the spell in question is not enchanting an object, but a person. While living beings may normally be affected by spells with no lasting ill-effects, they typically do not have to store the energy for extended periods of time. Bearers of tattoos must become conduits for the powers they channel; as a result each tattoo conveys unique side-effects that mirror the magic it channels.
Like other magical items, tattoos may not simply be bought in a marketplace; they must be inscribed by a spellcaster who knows the Inscribe Magical Tattoo feat & also meets the prerequisites for inscribing that particular tattoo. Many tattoos have a limited number of uses a day & may not work at their full potency (if at all) due to space constraints. Removing them once in place requires high magic, as the process is similar to disenchanting any other magical item.
On Scarn two particular groups of people are culturally disposed to decorating themselves with tattoos & are adept at crafting the magical variety. These are the Wood Elves of the Ganjus Forest in central Ghelspad & the Albadian people (particularly the women sorceresses) in northern Ghelspad. There may be others on the other lands of Scarn who know of this magic artistry, but they are not close to the numbers of the Albadian & Wood elven people of Ghelspad.
Tattoos on Scarn (particularly in Ghelspad) tend to be more decorative & less pictoral. That is, the designs involve patterns of lines, dots, & geometric shapes almost exclusively, as opposed to tattoos that are a picture of something like a unicorn or sword.
Ritual Magic
True Rituals are rare beyond words. Those who would use a true ritual when soemthing else would work nearly as well may draw the attention of the wrong beings. Clerial Rituals are handed down from the Gods themselves. Priests are hesitent to share them freely, since misuse would bring down the wrath of the divine not only on the offending priest, but the one who taught them. Druidic rituals are guarded more jealously, though non-druid followers may participate in many of the rites, the actual words to them are in the druid secret language. Arcane rituals are similarly rare, but it has less to do with religious reasons as with selfishness.
True Rituals are, without exception, a "group effort". That is to say that more then one caster is required to get the effect done, the actual numbers vary from ritual to ritual; but it's always at least two casters, up to in some reports, nearly a dozen or so. There is also the time factor to consider, rituals can take anywhere from a few hours like in the case of the Blessing of a Marriage, to a week like with the Raise the Keep ritual.
