Magic in the Badlands

There was a spark there, something she could feel but not see. What if she pulled at it? Twisted the strings? She reached out, her hand and her mind connecting all at once. She felt it respond. As if she could perhaps manipulate it. Was this the arcane? The magics of the world everyone so often speaks about in tales? She reached out again, her hands twisting and pulling. Is it malleable? Could she shape it into something new? She reached out again and thought of what she might be able to make. And with that a rose appeared in her hand. Her fingers were bleeding from the thorns, but she did it. She had done magic. 

Not everyone in the Badlands can do magic. Magic is a fickle element, unwilling to bend unless one is able to prove themselves strong enough to control it, lest they burn themselves to a tender crisp. It’s why the Veilguard force themselves to change so aggressively in order to control it. Ancient lines of cursed werewolves strive to control the magical curse that warps and twists their bodies, still unable to stop themselves from shifting at the moon’s whim. Even Kitsunes, though made of magic, cannot force their own magics to grow and must earn what they are given. 


How do I learn magic?


  • There are a variety of lore reasons as to why your character knows magic. This can either be from their own caste’s abilities to control magic or from ancient lineages of magical users that come from either Darraknoir or the Earth.

  • Not everyone can control magic. This is an important thing to distinguish. Even the few that are given magic with their caste, cannot do anything else outside those few abilities granted to them. 

  • All castes are capable of learning and performing magic. This includes Humans too! Though some castes have an easier time accessing specific types of magic, any are able to learn it though they may not be able to harness it. 


  • Examples of ways to learn magic:

    • You are a newly cursed werewolf. Your new mentor takes the time to teach you to control your wolf powers in order to move quickly, transform at will, or how to know when the moon might cause you to change.

    • You have met a member of the Cunning Folk and while you are a practiced healer, you want to learn more about the ways they use magic to heal people. While studying under Healers there, they teach you a few tricks and tools that can help you better heal those that need help. 

    • There is magic in your blood. You can do small harmless tricks but you finally are starting to translate the old grimoire your grandmother left you, learning more about caste’s, their abilities, and how you might be able to manipulate the world around you using incantations and ancient sigils. 

How do I use magic in the Badlands?

  • Some castes are given magical abilities from the jump, such as the ability to transform, go invisible, or use magical items to cast powerful spells. While mechanically there are plenty of ways to do magic, you can still incorporate magic into your role play. 

  • Consent goes a mile when it comes to magic. Whether you are casting spells on other players, or divining their future, it is extremely important to let the person you are working with in on the fun. Doing any sort of roleplay that controls someone's story is against the rules of the Badlands. But you can work collaboratively with others to help tell their stories in exciting ways. 

  • If you are looking for a place to start, we recommend you look at what your caste can naturally do already and build magical abilities around these natural skills. There are plenty of ways to utilize a caste's inherent abilities to create exciting magical skills. Please see further on what magic specific castes might have an easier time accessing. 

  • We recommend all magic be done with /me in game to showcase the abilities that you are doing. You can also just vocalize what you are doing announcing it to the people around you. 

  • Please note that we currently are not able to add in additional magical effects using in-game mechanics outside of what is currently available. We may add additional options in the future but we are limited by what our Dev team is currently able to create.

Types of Magic

Lesser Magic:

  • Controlling objects and moving them about.

  • Utilizing in-game mechanics either as ways to “foresee” events or knowing where people/creatures/items are. 

  • Small enchantments that other players can utilize to enhance their roleplay (A tea that you bless with a bit of luck or misfortune). 

  • Harmless illusions based in sight and sound.

  • Examples of Lesser Magic:

    • A doctor waves their hand and their tools fly from their bags and start scrubbing themselves to clean themselves. 

    • A witch twitching her nose to organize her potion ingredients on a shelf into alphabetical order

    • A mystic sensing that a rift is opening around her (using the queues of the in-game notification)

    • A Moon Priest seeing a creature’s path by using the moon’s power (utilizing eagle eye in game)

    • Someone’s appearance changing slightly the next time you see them (by utilizing the second chance shop)

    • A kitsune in their excitement makes a small magical effect around them to celebrate an exciting event.

Greater Magic:

  • Rituals or Ceremonies

  • Healing magic

  • Control of the elements and nature

  • Communing with the dead or spirits of the world

  • Examples of Great Magic:

    • A group of witches get together to “strengthen themselves” together by using a ritual in the woods of Ambarino

    • A Cunning Folk gives part of their own life essence to their patient so that they do not die from a gunshot wound. 

    • A priestess sits among nature, lighting a fire with a snap of her fingers, slowing the winds around her, and manipulates water into her canteen to get herself a drink

    • A Vampire sits in a Graveyard surrounded by candles, speaking with his dead Sire for a short time to get advice on what to do next with their life.

Magic allowed with other players consent: 

  • Divining someone’s future

  • Enchantments, blessings, or curses to provide luck or misfortune.

  • Magic that could warp a character’s appearance (utilizing the second chance shop)

  • Controlling a player’s actions 

    • This comes with the rule that they cannot harm themselves or others.

  • Examples of Magic allowed with other player’s consent:

    • A player foresees another player’s death in the far future involving a murder. While they do not have the exact details of who, they can see it clearly in their crystal ball.

    • A player speaks with a player’s dead relative. 

Not allowed:

  • Any magic that would break any of the rules listed on the website

  • Magic that would affect the entire server

  • Killing someone without their consent

  • Magic to metagame information

  • Magic that “summons” anything from beyond the Rift

  • Examples of Magic that is not allowed in the Badlands:

    • A player forces another player to trip nude and run through the town.

    • A group of players curses the entire town of Valentine to be completely uninhabitable.

    • A player uses their mind to make another player’s head explode

    • A player uses magic to know exactly what someone was doing last night though they were not there and they only saw clips in the discord of the event.

    • A player summons every demon from Darraknoir into Saint Denis to play poker.

FAQ

I want to do magic that is not covered in this, how do I proceed? 

  • It is always recommended to open a ticket to speak with the Lore team about your ideas so we can help make sure it works within the world! If you ever want to branch out into deeper magic, get confirmation on an idea, or go over something not covered here, please confirm with the lore team in a ticket so we can help! 

How can I use magical RP if my character doesn’t use magic?

  • While not everyone is magical, we certainly are currently occupying a world where magic is commonplace. So there are plenty of ways to get involved or creature stories with magic that could! 

  • A character could be cursed somehow in their backstory, giving a variety of negative effects that are played out in character. 

  • You could come across a ritual site that could give you temporary access to magic that you cannot control, allowing you to build a story with other characters to remove it. 

What magic do specific castes have an easier time using?

  • Humans: Able to utilize any type of magic, though they have to work twice as hard as others in order to perform magic.

  • Veilguard: Because of their mutagen, they can easily access elemental, offensive, or defensive spells.

  • Vampires: Blood Magic and Necromancy is what keeps them alive, thus they have an easier time connecting to it.

  • Werewolves: Druidic and Moon based magic are typically easier for them to utilize. Additionally, they are able to move faster with a simple spell.

  • Ma’ii: As a being made of the spirit, magic involving one's spirit or soul is something they have a simpler time utilizing. 

  • Kitsune: Illusion magic and truesight come natural to those of kitsune origins. 

  • Berserkers: Blood magic and Ice magic comes naturally to those blessed by the bear.

  • Nythari: Broken out of time, and able to mimic anyone living naturally, Doppelgangers are able to connect with divination and illusion based magic.

  • Nightwings: Naturally they can easily connect to shadow magic to stay out of sight, and truesight to see what is around them. 

  • Werecat: Druidic and Moon based magic are typically easier for them to utilize, as well as shadow based magic. 



Please note that this guide is just that, a guide. Badlands Staff can change or alter rules at their discretion to cover scenarios or situations that were not foreseen previously. It is always appropriate to open a ticket to confirm information and ensure that your ideas fit within the guidelines we have created.