Magic Realm

[Tearen Wover]

So, if you haven't heard me gushing about this already; I'm infatuated with a board game called Magic Realm. It has an online application that can be downloaded at: http://realmspeak.dewkid.com/downloads

It runs in Java, and has no animations or anything fancy (just like a real board game!), so even the most humble of toasters can run it. It is freeware though, so setting it up can be a bit finicky. As is the game itself.

Magic Realm is essentially a tabletop rogue-like in which you can choose any number of character (or make your own!) and define your own conditions for victory. The rules are very...unique...and can take a while to get the hang of, and the gameplay itself is very difficult and requires a lot of tactical thinking. If you like Dark Souls or things like that, this game will tickle you.

So if anyone ever wants to get their Epic Survival Fantasy on, lemme know and I'll get us going.

[Tearen Wover]

Maybe I haven't made it clear how awesome the game is. I would do so myself, but this guy right here seems to understand:

http://fortressat.com/analysis-toc/1923-...agic-realm

http://fortressat.com/articles-analysis/...agic-realm

[Demetri Malius]

Sorry I didn't get to it yesterday, but I'm not home right now, I'll be checking into more Sunday or Monday though

[Strazio Rockwell]

I'd be down whenever I'm not burnt out from work or school.

[Shade]

I'm interested, though still confused slightly. Up for learning tho

[Tearen Wover]

For all my new Magic Realm buddies (:.D!), I recommend this combat guide for learning how not to die.

http://cmagoun.blogspot.com/2015/03/magi...basics.htm

[Ari]

I haz laptop nao, but sister needs to get stuff off of it still before it's really mine. Regardless, i canz play next time. Maybe. I start school next week

[Tearen Wover]

I figured I'd start journaling our escapades in the Realm to further entice people who were maybe not convinced this is amazing.

Game 1: Nealaphh the Sorceror, Demetri the Swordsman, Cyburn 'Angmar' Witch King

The trio started at the Inn, and were immediately posed with the challenge of having to traverse the caverns beneath the mountains to the south. Though it would not be a long trek underground, caves are always bad news. Luckily, everyone made it through safely, though the Sorceror stayed an extra day to infuse the area with purple magic, just in case the group needed to make a retreat back through the caves.

They emerged in the Dark Valley, with the Chapel and the Knights of the Order looming on the ridge to west. Thankfully for the trio, they Knights would not leave their post to come investigate these travellers. Weighing their options, the Sorceror and Witch King decided to investigate the overpass to the north, while the Swordsman Demetri opted to head to the fabled southern ruins, in hopes of finding an easier fortune.

...and find one he did. After searching through the dessicated, nameless ruins of old, the Swordsman stumbled upon a massive hoard of ancient treasure. Though it was clear that its owner, doubtless some fell beast, would return in time, Demetri was certain to grab as much of the swag as he could.

In the meantime, Cyburn and Nealaphh scaled the hills to the north and were immediately beset by a tremendous spider. In the ensuing battle, the Witch King summoned his wild magics to try and transmorphize the foe into something less lethal, but the unpredictable magics instead turned the already deadly arachnid into an even more terrible dragon!

In desperation, the Nealaphh tried to blast the dragon to pieces with his own spells, but the beast was too fearsome, and shrugged the eldritch blast off with nary a flinch. Though the Sorceror tried to lure the serpent away from Cyburn, the Witch King failed to flee, and was summarily torn limb from limb. Having no other choice, Nealaphh shifted into the form of a thin, ghostly wisp of vapor and glided away from the grisly scene.

Returning to the Dark Valley to make camp and regain his magic power, the Sorceror waited for his ghostly compatriot to recorporate at the Inn to the northeast and regroup for a counter attack. Since the Witch King's magic had faded, the spider had once again returned to its natural form.

Planning a better plan, the Nealaphh and Cyburn again stormed the peaks of the overpass and confronted their foe. This time, the Witch King's dark power turned the spider into a hapless bull, which the Sorceror summarily vaporized with a twitch of his hand.

This was all in good fortune, as the erstwhile arachnid had been guarding the ancient Cairns; an unspeakably ancient burial ground of warriors who took their spoils of war to the grave. The Witch King and Sorceror spent a few days picking apart the towering stone tombs and claiming these treasures for themselves.

In due time, drained from the excavation and woven magic, the Witch King and Sorceror descended from the twin peaks in opposite directions. The Sorceror volunteered to remain in the northlands and thoroughly plunder the prized Cairns, while the Witch King would meet the Swordsman to the south, once the wily thief had finished his own ventures.

With any luck, the Witch King will be able to turn Demetri himself into a dragon, and together, the trio will venture off to greater glories still...

[Tearen Wover]

Nealaphh the Sorceror, Demetri the Swordsman, Cyburn 'Angmar' Witch King, Adam the Black Knight, and Yuki the White Knight.

After digging throught the Hoard for a few more days, Demetri decided to finally move on to regroup with the other two heroes. Though he had to leave behind some finds in the interest of making good time, the Swordsman did manage to find the Regent of Jewels, an incredibly valuable treasure that would be sure to fetch a pretty penny with his rogue peers.

Demetri's return was, however, delayed by a the sudden appearance of a troop of goblin warriors, eager to relieve the treasure hunter of his prize. Worse still, in the process of trying to come to the Swordsman's aid, the Witch King was beset by a ravening pack of wolves and discorporated once more. The Sorceror was able to deliver the savage mongrels to a fiery death, however, and the Swordsman was able to pass by the goblins with a stealthy jaunt.

Upon joining once more, the trio briefly swapped their finds before the Swordsman and Witch King opted to head to the Inn to trade their treasures for the services of the rogues therein. The Sorceror bade them safe travels, and elected to stay in the safety of the Dark Valley while researching the Good Book, a holy artifact full of powerful spells that he had found in the Cairns.

Cyburn and Demetri marched fearlessly into the caverns that would lead to the Inn, and their hubris was duly punished when an even larger force of goblinsh, no doubt tipped off by their brethren to the south, ambushed to two travelers. Being that the caves were infused with purple magic, the Swordsman morphed into a powerful lion, but even this brute strength would not be able to overcome such long odds.

Knowing that the Demetri carried with him a veritable fortune, the Witch King lured the goblin horde away from his transmorphized friend, so that Demetri could escape. It had been Cyburn's intention to turn himself into an ethereal form, but in his haste to return to the Awful Valley, had neglected to prepare his magic spells. Once more, the Witch King's wraith-like body was dispersed, forcing the spirit to recombine himself at the Inn once more.

Swearing vengeance, Cyburn dedicated himself to the destruction of his attackers, and continually set upon them with violent spells until all but one of the goblins was destroyed. In this time, Demetri had bargained the hired alleigance of the rogues, and purchased himself a horse to boot. News of his fantastic treasures spread quickly to the less perilous lands beyond the Magic Realm, drawing a pair of rival Knights to the very same Inn that Demetri now departed.

The Witch King, Swordsman, Adam the Black, Yuki the White and their company of seedy hirelings now march with impunity back into the caves south of the Inn, ready to make their way into the Magic Realm proper. The Sorceror has heard of the White Knight's appearance in the realm, and may have use for this mighty hero. Thusly, he has been preparing for Yuki's arrival...

[Tearen Wover]

Magic Realm certainly wouldn't be quite as magical without all the, well, magic. Unfortunately, the magic system in Magic Realm is very complicated, but very rewarding when it is mastered. Like everything else in the game, it is also totally different from every other tabletop RP. It should be noted that this guide assumes you understand basic gameplay and combat.





So where to start with magic? Well, let's begin by answering the title question. The de facto quintessential combat spell in Magic Realm is fiery blast. It's a versatile attack spell that can attack as many or as few enemies as you want in a fight, and is capable of taking out the biggest, meanest monsters in the game.

There are two ingredients to consider when casting magic; Ritual and Color. You can think of these two components as Spell and Energy. There are eight different Ritual categories in Magic Realm, each with their own general themes. Type I is holy, restorative magic, whereas Type V is demonic rites, whereas Type VIII is harmful trickery. In the instance of Fiery Blast, it is a Type IV spell, so a character who wanted to cast it would need at least one unfatigued, unenchanted Type IV magic chit.

Having that, the next thing we need is color, or 'energy', to power our Type IV Magic chit. There are five colors of Magic in the Realm, including White, Grey, Gold, Purple, and Black. There are several ways to get color. First, at the end of every in-game week, the entire magic realm becomes infused with at least one color of magic for a single day. Second, characters can discover or purchase treasures that supply them with a constant source of color. Third, characters can use existing color energy in their reserves to Enchant a map tile causing all of the clearings in that tile to grant one or more colors depending on the tile. Finally, and most commonly, characters (spellcasters especially) can create their own color energy.

To do this, characters need to have an unfatigued Magic chit of any type I-V. Next, they will record a Spell Preparation Phase, Followed by a Spell phase. The Spell Prep Phase simulate's a magic user's need to gather their thoughts and enter a mindset suitable for magic. Any Spell phase recorded thereafter will allow the magic user to enchant either an unfatigued Type I-V Magic chit, or, use an existing enchanted chit to enchant the map tile they're in.

Fiery Blast is a Type IV spell, so it requires purple magic to power it. Each of the chits numbered I - V supply a different color of magic.

Type I - White
Type II - Grey
Type III - Gold
Type IV - Purple
Type V - Black

So, as you can see, we will need to have an enchanted Type IV chit to power the Ritual for Fiery Blast. If we were planning to cast only one Fiery Blast, we would be all set. It is, however, usually good to have at least two of a given combat spell prepared, just in case. When you are not receiving constant color from an outside source, you will need one enchanted color chit for each corresponding spell you cast. This means that, when using your own energy, spellcasting will fatigue TWO magic chits; the Ritual and the chit used for Color.

In combat, Fiery Blast basically plays as an L☆☆☆ missile attack against every desired target in the clearing. The speed of your spell depends on the Magic Chit used as the Ritual, so it's a good idea to use your slowest Magic chits as color, and your fasted ones as the Ritual.


These are the very basics of magic in the game. I'll get into Alerted Spells, Permanent Spells, and Curses next time.

[Tearen Wover]

Now, in Magic Realm, Magic is generally much more complicated that shooting blasto fire at the bad guys. Arguably, the much more important spells are the ones that permanently change or alter a character.

These spells are, suitably, called Permanent Spells. There are many in the game, but for the sake of this example, we'll look at my personal favorite; Melt Into Mist. Melt Into Mist is a great defensive spell that is technically always 'on'. That's what it means to be permanent; once it is cast upon the target, that character (be they player or denizen), keeps that affect until they are killed, the caster is killed, or, the spell is broken (usually by another spell). There is no limit to the number of permanents that can be cast on a character.

Let's back up for a moment. Permanents are cast just like more mundane spells, such as Fiery Blast, using a Ritual chit and a source of Color. Once cast inside of combat, the Permanent on question will remain in effect until the battles ends, powered by the color chit used to power the initial ritual. If there is no source of the Color needed to power the spell once combat is done, however, the Permanent will go 'dormant', and the affected character will revert to normal. It should be noted that once a Permanent has been cast, the magic chit used as the Ritual will be bound to the target and become unusable for as long as the spell is bewitching them.

To get the spell to become active again, the character needs to find a correct source of color. One source of Color will power one permanent until midnight that day, so to power multiple permanents, the character will need multiple color sources. It should be noted that perpetual, automatic sources of magic, will, in turn, automatically energize a permanent on a character. If the character has only one permanent bewitching them, that spell will automatically be energized, regardless of the character's desire. In the event that a character has multiple permanents bewitching them, they can choose which spell to involuntarily energize.

In order to energize a permanent inside of combat when the character has enchanted magic chits available, the character can choose to 'Play a Color Chit' during the actions phase of combat. Once they expend the color chit, the Permanent will instantly take effect. It should be noted that characters with color chits can choose to energize other people's permanents against their will.

In contrast, spells with day long durations last until midnight on the day after they are cast. That means if you have the Control Dragon spell, and you want to have a dragon you want to control on day 8, you need to cast it on the Dragon during combat on day 7. The Day spell will be in effect during day 7's combat, though. Day spells do not keep Magic chits bound to their target like Permanents; they fatigue after casting like usual.

[Tearen Wover]

I'm starting this again!

Hit me up to hear bout dis awezum shiet.

[Ezrihel]

Commenting so I can find this later!

[Jade Harley]

Maximum interest!

[Tearen Wover]

Feel free to ask questions. :hee:

[Miranda Frost]

im totally down for this. I guess help getting set up would be nice and a probably an basic overview over combat and essential mechanics. owo however new games like these take me forever to learn XD so i do expect to die a lot here (just like in dark souls... yeeyy)

[Tearen Wover]

I'm dredging this up again. Ya'll need to know about the greatest tabletop rpg ever made.