On magic:

[Icedaemon]

Aphuria is a world possessed of an innate magical field. The gods are the primary users of this magic. They have the most control over it. However, it is the souls of all creatures which ultimately form the foci for shaping this magic.

Now, magic does not ignore the laws of physics. That would, after all, be absurd. It is an additional primal force, one that a strong-willed and talented individual can utilize with the right practices and tools, but ultimately, it is simply a little something that interacts with the laws of nature.

Magic in my often-name-changing roleplay system has always had this trait, to an extent. Now, however, I'd like to increase it.

For example, hydrourgy, possibly seemingly a rather minor spell sphere, can easily make up an entire school. Hydrourgy is not magic which would depend on the 'element' of water, as the primitive human magi might well believe, however. It instead relies on using and shaping the physical properties of liquids, especially surface tension and other aspects of the bonds between molecules, to create a wide range of effects.
Subspheres might include things like Hydromancy, Water-shaping, Sangurgy and so on.

Electrourgy, the magical control of electricity and magnetism is of course it's own separate school, as are luxurgy, mentalism, chemistry and so on.

(private:Icedaemon)

[Jeeeeoker]

Hydrourgy should be about using magic to grow some wicked hydro.

On Magic: "Magic is the continuation of technology by other means."
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State of the badass art

[Icedaemon]

The known spheres of magic are as follows. Note that this list might not be complete - the gods seem to grant spells not per list, but by their divine portfolios, for example.

Types of magic are classified into schools, which in turn are divided into spheres. Casting spells without proper knowledge of the sphere at hand is even more perilous than ordinary casting and only attempted by the desperate and the insane.

The following list includes the spell schools known to the wizards of Turim, complete with an example of the symbol for that school often used in that region, a name for that spell school in-system and the name most commonly used in Turim (the latter being Lore of Thing, the former being Thingyurgy)

//\
\\// Reagenturgy, most commonly known as The Lore of Fire or Alchemy.
This school of magic deals with substances and their reactions. Alchemy is a subsphere in reality, but most chemical reactions between simpler substances fall under this school.
The most popular sphere under this is naturally pyrourgy - calling forth violent chemical reactions and spontaneous combustion.

\o/
i||
/ \ Biourgy, also known as the Lore of Life, less commonly Flesh magic, Necromagy and several other names
While Reagenturgy and Biourgy share many traits and one can consider biourgy merely a large sphere of reagenturgy, the interactions Biourgy deals with are much more intricate and require rigorous study in very specific magical patterns. All magic that has to do with living things is included amongst biourgy. This ranges from simple adrenaline boosts to keeping a half-dead companion alive and growing him new legs, but also includes most disease-based magic and even the often frowned upon art of turning corpses into puppets.

/ /
/ /
/ / Electrurgy, also known as the Lore of Lightning or Thunder magic
Nearly spells of electrical or magnetic nature fall under this group.

\ | /
- o -
/ | \ Luxurgy, the Lore of Light, also called Bright Magic
The magical control of light and other electromagnetic emissions. While seemingly a small school, it nevertheless offers a wide variety of spells, from something as simple as forming an invisible lens to magnify a small object or even create a ray that melts and burns all that it touches.

((0))
Sonusurgy, the Lore of Sound, also known as Spellvoice
While named as the magic of sound, this form of magic actually controls all manner of waves, though one needs to be very powerful indeed to create ripples powerful enough to form a tidal wave.

==>
===>
==> Agiturgy, the Lore of Motion, Spellcraft of Movement
All magic that affects kinetic energy falls under this group. From slowing one's fall, to flinging boulders at the speed of sound.

/ | \
\ | / Thaumaturgy, the Lore of Itself, The Lore of Lores, the Purest Lore, True Magic
Spells which affect magic already in place, as well as other magi. Thaumaturgy allows one to dispel their enemies magic, or strengthen allied wizards' attempts to cast spells. However, the volatile magical energies of this realm also allow one to attack their enemies with blasts of unrefined magical energy, which have strange but mostly deadly or at least hazardous effects. Even moreso than the other wizards, those specializing in Thaumaturgy look down on other forms of magic as merely derivative spellcraft, as evidenced by their tendency to call this spell school 'The lore of Lores' and other such grandiose names.

((o))
ci||
c/ \ Cogiurgi, also known as the Lore of The Mind, less commonly Psionics, Lore of Thoughts, Brain Magic
By far the most widely used and venerated minor school of magic, it is basically a form of biourgy. Cogiurgi is even more subtle, with effects that require very careful manipulation. This spell school deals with spells that affect a creature's nervous system, shutting down parts of one's mind and even, it is said, mentally controlling people as though they were mere puppets.

i)S )
(/\( Temperaturgy, The Lore of Heat
A minor (small) school, dealing with spells that transfer heat from one body to another faster (or slower, if so wished) than current contact, as well as turning magical energy into heat and vice versa.

~~~~
~~~~ Hydrourgy
Another minor school, one dealing with the physical properties of water and other liquids. Somewhat limited, but surprisingly potent due to the ubiquity of water. One particularly dangerous and often banned sphere of this, Sangurgy, is a deadly art dedicated to controlling a person's vital fluids exclusively.

Yes, most names likely aren't grammatically correct. If this irks you, post a more accurate rendition in the OOC thread.

[Icedaemon]

Gone is the concept of spells coming in different levels. Instead, each spell has a difficulty rating, generally as low as 5 for the simplest tricks, while the most epic and legendary magics might have a difficulty in excess of 150.

To learn a spell, a magically talented individual must have (2*[intellect+5]*SquareRoot[Level]) equal to or greater than the spell's complexity. Thus, a person with an intellect at 'very bad' or lower is not capable of learning spells, not through conventional means, at least. Knowing a spell which is more-or-less a weaker, less complex version of the spell at hand can lower the difficulty for this purpose.

When casting a spell, an individual shall compare (3d6+[will+8]*SquareRoot[Level]), rounded down, to the spell's complexity to determine how successfully the spell is cast. A failure shall cause the magic to operate somewhat wildly, whether the spell might hit a wrong target, backfire, have a different effect or be more powerful. Distractions can impose large penalties to this roll.

An individual can store no more than (intellect+8)*(will*8)*SquareRoot[Level] difficulty level of spells in one's mind. The exception to this is if one knows several spells which are directly more or less powerful variations of one another - in that case, only the most powerful variant is counted. Magic which has not been cast or reviewed in five days starts acquiring a growing penalty to the casting roll. 'Unlearning' a spell which has been cast within the last month (30 days) is a complex process which requires mind-altering magics to be cast on a person, whereas forgetting a spell not used in a year is a simple process for a wizard. Still, most magi are careful not to cram their minds full of spells immediately.