Game news:Magic
During the second life of the mortals of Atharia magic was granted to them by the Gods, except the petty Larthin. The majority of their second life was devoted to learning how to use the new found magic, which was made even more difficult by Larthin. The mortals were very careful about how they used the magic because it could affect the Gods, the world around them, and themselves when used incorrectly. No one is, so far, clear to why or how the magic affects the Gods, the world, and themselves. What is considered misuse is unclear as it depends on if the Gods reacts or not. Typically if one of the Gods reacts to the use of the magic a person wields, it means they are misusing their ability. Though, Gods have been known to react to exceptionally good use of magic on occasion but mainly the misuse of magic is what draws their attention.
It was during this life time that the people of Atharia realized they had to have some sort of connection to the world they live on, so it is rare that they will do something that disconnects them from it. They keep their feet firmly planted on the ground and if, for some reason, they can not touch some part of the world (the water, the ground, plant life, etc) they will carry something that will keep them connected (a pile of dirt in their pockets, flowers woven into their hair, leaves turned into a necklace, uncarved branches from a tree, etc). As long as the person feels their connection to the world is strong they will do whatever it is that causes them to take their feet off the ground.
Each person is born with a magical ability, whatever it might be, that is unique to them. Sure, there will be people with very similar magic but ultimately the magical power is the wielder's alone. due to the fact magical powers are hard to master a person can not use another person's magic, even if they are very similar. Each person is born with magic and no other person can use the magic they are born with. It starts off VERY weak (barely even a spark) then grows stronger as they are, becoming the most powerful when they are an adult, which is 18 years of age. Not everyone decides to devote themselves to training their magic but they have the capability to if they want. When 18 their magic is as strong as it will ever be, with or without training in it. The training is more based on how well that magic is wielded. There no concrete method to how a person trains to use their magic. Sometimes it could be to use prayer to the Gods to help them understand the uses, sometimes it can be digging into the memories of their past lives, some seek books that might have the knowledge. The methods of training and are endless, like anything about magic, it is unique to the wielder.
All magic has a benefit and a drawback. Magic is one of the most powerful things in Atharia and because of this there is a price and and self imposed limits. Magic is a frequently used thing, though, may limit to how often they use the magic due to the draw backs it has. Even those who trained in magic, as there are some who don't focus on training their magic, often impose a limit on themselves. An example of a benefit and drawback of someone's magic is a person can see into the future but each time they do so they lose memories of their past. Magic is not taken lightly by anyone in Atharia, they have witnessed what can happen if they do.
OOC: What this basically means is you can have any kind of magic you want (subject to staff approval) and only your character can use it, even if someone has something that may as well be identical. All magic used against a PC will require a roll (+roll person=<StaT>-<number> vs <target>=<stat>+<number>) that is a disadvantage for the caster. The rolls don't matter against NPCs or anything like that but we don't encourage taking away OOC rights of players.