Magic

Nexus is a world so charged with magic that even the most casual practitioner can achieve great and powerful things. It is a primordial force that, at it's most basic, transforms belief, thought, and passion into reality. Magic flows through reality, like threads forming a tapestry, granting things form and mind. It is through the altering of this 'tapestry' that magical effects happen.

Creatures have developed an incredible number of ways of altering reality, that is, wielding magic. Broadly speaking, this may be described both in terms of the magic's Method or the magic's Delivery. Methods describe the way in which the magic is being manipulated, while Deliveries describe the effects being reached. Both are detailed below. Another factor in this magic is it's Source, or Power Source, used interchangeably. In many ways it is more important than the others.

Arcane
Arcane Magic is magic which comes from within the user in some way. Well, more specifically, it comes from the use of their own crystal. The technical capabilities of Arcane Magic is limited by the potential power output of the Crystal in-use. The downsides to this are obvious and limiting, however the upsides are quite interesting; Use of a stronger Crystal would allow stronger spells to be used, even if an Arcanist is not typically able to use such magics, and the use of multiple crystals could be similarly great in impact. A further advantage of Arcane Magic is that it comes back through mere rest, wholly independent of other circumstances or creatures.

Divine
Divine Magic is magic that is granted by another entity, most famously a deity, though archfiends, celestials, archfey, and other beings are quite famous for doing this as well. Divine magic is limited both by the entity granting the power and the crystal of the one wielding said power, as too much granted magic can cause a creature's crystal to shatter, killing the creature in the process. Despite this limitation, which tends to correspond closely to other Sources in terms of raw power, divine power comes in many forms, some of which circumvent the limitations of a crystal(Specifically through features like Channel Divinity).

Eldritch
Eldritch power is magic granted through the nature or system of the world, the many strange fundamental laws of the world granting some of the greatest and most unorthodox magics in Nexus. Eldritch Power is granted impartially, and is famously the source of magic for creatures such as Demons and Devils, which gain power through the laws of their respective Planes of existence, the Abyss and the Nine Hells. Less famously but more widespread is the universal law of Nexus which grants power based on the subjective reality of other creatures(This being how many cult leaders obtain power, typically supplemented by Divine power).

Primal
Primal Magic is otherwise called Natural Magic, and is most famously used by Druids, though it supplements the power of many other types of creature and spellcaster. It is the magic which exists as ambience within Nexus, and is produced naturally through all living beings, particularly those which do not use their Crystal for the purposes of defense(Such as most plants). This magic drains outward into the world, and many creatures use the energy for many purposes. Again, Druids are the most common, since the vast majority of their magic is Primal. All planes have this magic, and energy from these planes are still considered Primal for the most part. Thus drawing energy from an elemental plane, or even the Abyss or Mount Celestia? It's still considered Primal magic, if it happens directly through the planes.

Tactile
Tactile Power is produced and harnessed through the physical body of it's user(Or, you know, someone else's body, if you're like, an evil scientist monk?) It's only famously used by Monks, in the form of Ki, though it is also the source of the power of some Barbarians' rage, and the source of many otherwise "Martial" abilities. Spellcasting is one of the least common uses of Tactile energy, though some do use it for this.

Methods
Methods describe the means to which the magic is manipulated. Broadly speaking, there are three methods employed by creatures within Nexus. These vary in popularity across the world, with each continent or continental region of Nexus using only one method, more or less. The grand majority of creatures on Nexus aren't even aware that there are other Methods, outside the one their society uses.

Crystal Channeling
Magical energies are capable of being shaped by other magical energies, particularly those of a creature's Crystal. This is the most common method, which involved the magus pulling magic energies through their magic Crystal, shaping them in the process.

This method is used in Alloy and on Acheri, Aldrow, Arclent, among others.

The major advantage of Crystal Channeling is it's versatility. Channellers can learn spells through many methods, including books, scrolls, or the stars. This applies to most rituals as well, and both of these lead to most spellcasters using this method to carry a spell book.

Psionics
Psionics is the broad act of shaping magic energies purely through force of will. Psionics are generally recognized as magic in Nexus, however many other worlds make a distinction between them, sometimes going so far as to say Psionics grant a wholly unique set of abilities than magic. Many practitioners of Psionics claim superiority over other Methods, however many advanced societies use them in tandem with others. It is generally considered the method which requires the most effort.

This method is used in Alloy and on Amedala and Araminta, among others.

The benefits to Psionics are many; There are no components to using this method to cast spells. Further, Psionics wax and wane in power on some planes due to their mutability or lackthereof, and the nature of Psionics makes it harder to know many spells. Mechanically speaking, Psionics do not possess Verbal or Somatic components, ever, and only require costly material components. Further, no Psionic character prepares spells, they only know spells cast through this method, and this number is equal to their spellcaster level plus their casting ability score.

Conduit Casting/Technomagic
Using this Method, magical energy within the world is shaped via the use of an external object, which is manufactured in a specific way as to channel these energies. This is not always recognized as spellcasting, with some societies considering it a separate, though related, branch of study. By advanced societies which wield multiple Methods of spellcasting, Technomagic is often considered the most efficient, though the least versatile, particularly in performing Rites.

This method is used in Alloy and on Anntarrem and Azzeranni, among others.

The great benefit to Conduit Casting is that the created conduits hold some of their own magic, and the bearer of the conduit could cast the associated spell once each rest at no cost. The inherent downside to this was, of course, if you weren't holding your conduit, you couldn't cast the spell. In more mechanical terms, a creature can use a Crystal whose Tier is that of the spell to produce a Casting Implement for an individual spell they know. They may then cast the spell using the item alone, and the spell is prepared as long as the creature is using that implement. Otherwise, use of a general implement is necessary.

Innate Spellcasting
In addition to the above Methods, many, MANY creatures are capable of casting spells or performing other magical effects innately, due to their ancestry. This magical ability comes from the magic inherent within the creature, rather than being used via the manipulation of the flow of magic within the environment.

This method is used in nearly all places within Nexus.

Spellcasting
Spells are the most common form of magic used in Nexus, aside from the magical abilities inherent to all creatures. They are specific, learned uses of specific amounts of magical energy, provided or shaped by one's internal Crystal. Regardless of the precise wording, Spells come in levels, and are cast using spell slots. There's a billion ways to get spells; Classes, subclasses, feats, races, blessings, perks, talents, there are a million ways to get spells. Nexus is home to more spells than could be named, with hundreds of common spells and thousands or more lesser known spells. These spells are part of the world itself, the knowledge manifesting within the constellations.

Many of the more common spells developed in Nexus can be found here, while many Named spells, that is spells whose name still bears the name of their creator, have their own pages. Famous spell-makers in Nexus include Mordenkainen, Avarosa, Melf, Tenser, and others.

Rites
Rites, or Rituals, are potent magical effects which go beyond the effects of a spell. These are divided into Minor and Major Rites. While Major Rites often take more time than Minor, this is not a strict rule, only a vague trend. Rather, the difference between Major and Minor rites is that Minor rites do not require Activation rolls(Which may be skill checks, ability checks, or other rolls, as per the individual ritual), while Major Rites do. Generally, a Major Rite will require a number of Activation Rolls equal to 1/2 the Rite's Effective Spell Level.

Battle Magic
Battle Magic is a technical subsection of Minor Rites, though it is not often thought of in this way. All Battle Magic takes 1 minute to cast(Which is one turn within the Mass Combat system), which is the shortest one can perform such Rites. Battle Magic is almost always used in Mass Combat, in situations where most ordinary spells would have no impact.

Dynamic Magic
Dynamic Magic is a sort of magic which falls outside the purview of both Spells and Rites. It is often considered more powerful than both, but in reality it has it's own advantages and disadvantages, as one would reasonably expect. Dynamic Magic infers a mage's knowledge of certain fundamental elements of magic, and represents the mage's ability to use and combine these fundamental forces, rather than by wielding specific spells.

Dynamic Mages, sometimes known as "Callers" or "Dynamos", sometimes develop spell-like abilities which they wield consistently. They call these Rotes, but they are still highly distinct from spells, and function more like a magical "muscle memory".

Crystals
As mentioned several times above, all creatures of Nexus bear a special magical crystal, which allows them to perform feats of greatness, wield Crystal Channeling magic, and survive the dangerous world. For most creatures, their Crystal is so weak that it is only useful for basic healing and protective capabilities(Represented by the various health systems in gaming). These creatures are Level 0, or a proper analogue for a given system. Not capable of performing any feats they are not directly, physiologically capable of doing. For adventurers, monsters, or otherwise, their crystal might be powerful enough to alter reality, destroy worlds, or become gods. Seriously.