Magic & Psionic item basics

This page serves as a collection of ideas and hopefully refinements to provide a framework of guidance for future setting element development.

In the setting portrayed within WSO, magical and psionic materials are materials that have inherent, beneficial, or negative traits as influenced by magical or psionic energies. These materials are used in the production of specialized objects that either improve the function of magic or psionics, or alternatively allow for a magical or psionic effect to be achieved without direct energy expenditure by a mage or psion.

Magic or psionically attuned materials are excessively rare in nature requiring an exceedingly special locale to occur. Due to this rarity, a solar system might¹⁾ have a 1km^2 patch, at most, where such materials exist naturally. These locations are prized because the materials can be grown with minimal effort, though it takes a very, very long time.²⁾

As such magically and psionically attuned materials are most often artificial, being mundane materials that are conditioned through the use of magic or psionics to achieve useful properties. This allows, with a properly trained and motivated workforce, for the production of millions of tons of material a year, several orders of magnitude beyond what natural sources can provide.

Some people consider natural sites to be a source of higher quality materials, however, there is no solid evidence proving or disproving this claim despite centuries of research and debate.³⁾

Psionics related artifice is usually⁴⁾ tied to crystalline structures. These usually come in two distinct flavors; Generation and Control. - Generation crystals acumulate psionic energy passively and can be 'encouraged' to give up their charge for practical uses. These crystals get better with age, becoming more and more powerful as time passes. However, due to their value they are often the first targets in warfare, for both theft and destruction making the existance of crystals beyond a few decades of age exceedingly rare, and making the rumor of old crystals rediscovered a siren song for fortune seekers. - Control crystals are psionic tools that allow for the application of psionic effects in a pre-defined manner to be acheived simply by putting psionic energy into the crystal matrix. This allows a psion to achieve useful, complex tasks without having to focus on the method of achieving the result reducing cognitive exhaustion, at with the trade off of a lack of flexibility. These crystals due to their nature are more complex and nuanced than generation crystals and as such are more fragile. Compounding this issue is that the energy fed into Control crystals must be carefully managed as too much energy will cause the crystal to fissure, and in extreme cases shatter. Due to the complexity, extensive modes, designs, and philosophies exist for Control crystals and are constantly being tweaked and improved with each new generation.

Magical philosophy being varied results in a colorful plethora of magical materials being produced, ranging from natural materials such as wood, stone, and bone, to refined metals, glasses, and cut gemstones. The universal constant, however, is that the magical attunement process fundamentally alters the base material, the resulting product being observably different than the original material in property, with many materials glowing, pulsing with energy, or simply changing colors. These attuned materials typically have caveats and quirks unique to the method of production and will need to be detailed individually.

Magical items as a universal constant are always constructed in a way which in some way relates to their intended purpose. While the way in which this is conveyed may vary from practitioner to practitioner in detail the end result is that it is usually fairly straightforward to guess at the general function of an item assuming that one knows the background of who made it.

An example of this would be the ubiquitous application of staves, canes, wands, rods, scepters, and similarly shaped items as directing objects used to channel spells or effects at a target. Some items however can have multiple connotations, a common example being staves, which may be representative of a supporting pillar-like object as well as a directing object. To this end staves are commonly used as a focus for localized effects examples being protective wards, barriers, or divinations.

The best (but not the only) anti-magic and anti-psi objects and devices are crafted by mages and psions, using specialized techniques to negate their art. In extreme cases, some of these items are capable of killing a mage or psion with little more than a touch and often cause discomfort or pain simply due to proximity. These arts are typically scorned by many mages and may even be called anathema, but due to the demand in personal and national security they continue to be produced en-masse to supply the market.