OOC: How to Use Magic

How to use MagicSpells
The plugin we use for spells is called MagicSpells, but many things have been customized beyond the plugin's documentation, such as custom spells.

/cast is the base command for Spells.

/cast  is how you cast a spell.

/cast list will list the spells you know.

/cast bind is a spell that can be learned immediately, and it will bind a spell to an item that you hold in your hand. It is used like /cast bind 

/cast unbind is a spell used to unbind a spell from an item. Hold the item in your hand, and do /cast unbind 

Binding spells to objects is the preferred way to cast them, but make sure not to bind to objects you use often. A spell casts when you hold the bound item and swing your arm.

Some spells need an entity target to be cast, such as a player or a mob. You must be looking at a player or mob to cast these. Some spells are more like projectiles that will damage anyone near their impact area. Other spells give you enhanced attributes, and do not need a target.

Most spells require reagents to be cast, and consume a set amount of the required items each time the spell is cast. Most spells have a cool down time also.

Spell Permissions
Not all spells are available to all factions, and many spells are faction specific. If you are unable to cast a spell (rather than not targeting right or not having regents) that means you don't have permission to cast it. Below is a running list of the spell permissions each faction has:

Spell Classes
Each spell takes of certain amount of skill and magical understanding to learn, and you will not be able to learn a spell if you are not in its spell class. Everyone starts out with no magical skill, and may be given the first class by a magical instructor. The first class is called Alpha, and all other classes are named after letters in the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma,...) Only mods can upgrade your class, and only after they have seen your character increase in their magical skill and knowledge. This is achieved by using magic in battle, training, and going to classes. The approximate time between levels is listed below, but may be changed in any case.

Alpha to Beta - 1 week of active magical roleplay.

Beta to Gamma - 4 more weeks of active magical roleplay.

Gamma to Delta - 6-7 more weeks of active magical roleplay.

Delta to Epsilon - 8+ more weeks of active magical roleplay.

Epsilon to Zeta - Forget about it.

Zeta to Eta - We don't have that many spells.

Eta to Theta - We give you the FTP codes to the server and admin status. (:P)

Theta to Iota - You better know Java like Notch does.

Iota to Kappa - Heck, we'll have made our own game by then.

(This is all subject to change)

How to RP Magic
Spells very easy things to power-game with, and must be applied with care. Here is a hint: you are not an expert mage. By the time you can RP being an expert mage, the magical society of your faction will have recognized you and let you know. Until then, you can't do anything fantastic with your spells. Just take the spells for what they are, and use them like that.

Also, you must not role-play being able to use a spell if you actually cannot. In fact, in order to be able to RP using a spell, you must actually cast it. Don't have the required reagents? To bad. You didn't prepare to use that spell, so you can't use it. Fit it into role-play and make it a feature instead of a downer.

Spells are a tricky thing to RP with, since they actually can apply damage to another player, thus qualifying as PvP in some cases. This is ok! When Rping a battle that involves spells, you must actually use those spells unless there is some extraordinary case that would obviously ruin RP. Please see the page on PvP to find out how to fight with spells. Before fighting with spells, you must read this page!

Scrolls work very similar. If you do not have a scroll for a particular spell or cannot cast one, then you can't use it in RP! Scrolls are meant as rewards for quests, and are fairly rare. So if you see someone RP using scroll, but they don't appear to have one, question it!