Module: High Magic
High Magic module (on by default). It adds the Arcanum, vials of distilled power, war-mages, great arcane works and portals.
Vials
A vial is distilled force sealed in glass: sunlight, seawater, breath, grave-chill. It is the fuel of high magic.
- Making them: an Arcanum master makes 1 vial per season at T1, ×1/3/5/8/16 by tier.
- Keeping them: vials keep 4 seasons, then weaken to half strength, then go inert.
- Trading them: they trade like luxuries (×2 face value, 200 gp). A vial gifted in a deal is +4.
- On the books: vials have their own needs row.
- Thieves and taxes: vials can be stolen (intrigue: steal) or tithed (10% where the Arcanum hosts a Temple, with Faith and Oaths).
Holdings
| Holding | T1 cost / time / upkeep | T1 output → T5 | Defense | Prereq |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcanum | 100,000 gp / 18 mo / 5,000 gp | 1 master, 1 vial per season → 4 masters, 16 vials | +2 → +4 | Duke |
| Bloodworks (rename it for your setting) | 5,000,000 gp / 12 mo / 50,000 gp | a realm-scale laboratory: 1 staged project, 1 vial per season per master → 5 projects in parallel | +2 → +5 | King |
The Bloodworks is built as an Ultimate Work. Each of its research stages costs 1 vial per season per master.
Units
| Unit | Base Power | Upkeep | Requires | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| War-mages | 5 (8 vs massed troops) | 400 gp + 1 vial per battle | Arcanum | militia facing them −1 morale |
| Blood initiates | 6 (9 frenzied) | 350 gp | Bloodworks | frenzy once per battle: +3 Power, then half-Power next battle |
Portals
A portal costs 100,000 gp, 3 seasons, 1 master and 1 vial per season to build, then 5,000 gp + 1 vial per season to hold open. Each portal beyond the first costs +1 vial per season more. A portal is a site (tags: portal, fortified, contested).
What a portal changes:
- Command: a settlement with an open portal counts as 0 miles for orders, decrees, Trial enforcement, council votes and officer travel.
- Troops: soldiers and officers step through in a day.
- Not supply: grain, timber, stone and an army's supply still travel the slow road. A portaled army eats at its real distance band unless something covers it locally.
- Watched: spies and assassins working through a portal suffer −1 secrecy, because everyone watches the gate.
- A target: close it (1 Authority + a master), seize it (a siege), or sabotage it (stage 6 collapses it for a season).
Court Arcanist
An officer post. + rating to research rolls; +1 vial per season per 2 points of rating.
Example: a T3 Arcanum makes 5 vials per season. The realm burns 2 (one gate, one war-mage battle) and banks 3, until the price of vials triples in a bad year.