Dominions 5 – Magic
If the combat system is the heart of Dominions 5, the magic system is the soul. Everything is affected by magic in some way. The most powerful spells can summon awesome monsters or change the face of the entire world. Magic can also be used to craft artifacts for use by heroes. Some basic points to remember are:
● Spells are either rituals, which are cast outside of combat or battle magic, which is used in tactical battles
● Magic depends both on the path and the school of magic.
● The path skill of a given mage is generally fixed and doesn’t change easily.
● School is a group of spells that can be learned through research.
● Research is performed in laboratories.
● Magic gems and blood slaves are needed for many spells.
● These gems are produced by magic sites, including those in a nation’s home province.
● Gems and blood slaves are items that can be carried by commanders or stored in a nation’s pool.
● Laboratories also provide access to a nation’s pool of magic gems, blood slaves, and items.
● The Construction school allows for the building of magical items and artifacts.
● There are also Divine spells, which are special battle magic spells that priests can cast.
The Paths of Magical Power
There are eight paths of magical power: Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Astral, Nature, Death, and Blood. There are seven types of magical gems which correspond to the first seven of these paths. There are no Blood gems – Blood magic requires blood slaves, which can only be obtained through blood hunting.
Paths define the essential branches of magic. A fire mage can eventually learn all of the Fire spells in all the schools of magic for which he has the requisite magical ability once his nation has researched them. But he cannot learn Nature or Earth spells unless he first gains the path skill. While magic items can increase a mage’s skill level in paths he already possesses, a mage can only acquire new paths through Empowerment.
The Schools of Magical Research
There are also seven schools of magical research: Conjuration, Alteration, Evocation, Construction, Enchantment, Thaumaturgy, and Blood Magic. Note that the school of Blood Magic is not the same as the path of Blood Magic (although the two are related).
Schools define the areas of study needed to master the spells within each path of magic. For example, Conjuration is the school of magic that deals largely with summoning creatures from outside the world. Any nation can research the Conjuration school, and its mages would be able to use any spell in that school a) up to the current research level and b) which required a magic path those mages possessed.
For a mage to cast a spell, (a) you must have researched the school up to the level required by the spell, and (b) the mage must have proficiency in the magical path(s) required by a spell, and (c) the mage must have any magical gems or blood slaves required for the spell.
While each school has many different spells, the general characteristics of each school are as follows.
Conjuration: Summons powers and beings from other worlds. Many spells in this school will bring you additional units.
Alteration: Changes the physical world. Alteration spells can give units increased strength, resistance to fire, and the like. They can also change the weather.
Evocation: Projects arcane power into the physical world. If you want to cast spells traditionally associated with magic, like fireballs and lightning bolts, this is the school for you—lots of battle magic.
Construction: The level of your construction research determines which magic items you are allowed to craft. Some construction spells also allow you to make magic units.
Enchantment: Grants magical properties to men, items, or the land. You can cover entire provinces with protective domes or grant long-lasting increased health to your subjects.
Thaumaturgy: Manipulates the arcane world in ways traditionally associated with sorcery. You might call forth the souls of victims a soldier has killed and sent them after him or create a window in space to observe distant lands.
Blood Magic: All spells that use blood magic have to be unlocked by researching this school. If your nation has any blood mages, you will want to do some research here.
