Ethshar: Difference between revisions

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* [[Addictive Magic]]: The more a warlock uses his magic, the easier and more pleasurable it gets. But the power's drawn from an external source, and a warlock who uses too much ends up being irresistibly summoned to that source.

* [[Anti Magic]]: There exists a spell that permanently cancels wizard's magic in a large area. Forever. Since the majority of the world operates by magic, the spell has been cast exactly thrice in the history of the world: once on discovery, once as a [[Deadly Prank]] against a wizard in a flying castle, and once to negate a universal solvent that was likely to destroy the entire world if unchecked. (Note, however, that it only applies to wizardry; the other half-dozen or so forms of magic are fundamentally different, though less powerful, and so are unaffected.)

* [[Anti-Magic]]: There exists a spell that permanently cancels wizard's magic in a large area. Forever. Since the majority of the world operates by magic, the spell has been cast exactly thrice in the history of the world: once on discovery, once as a [[Deadly Prank]] against a wizard in a flying castle, and once to negate a universal solvent that was likely to destroy the entire world if unchecked. (Note, however, that it only applies to wizardry; the other half-dozen or so forms of magic are fundamentally different, though less powerful, and so are unaffected.)

* [[Beat Still My Heart]]: Wizards can remove their heart from their body in order to protect the heart from harm. (We don't see the ritual or the removed heart, so whether the heart remains beating or not is a matter of speculation.) This magic is used as a protection against warlocks, who usually kill by telekinetically inducing a heart attack.

* [[Blood Magic]]: Different types of blood are used in many wizard spells. One example is the dragon blood, which is used in some powerful spells and is pretty expensive. Some spells need even more exotic kinds of blood, such as, for example, blood of a ''gelded'' dragon. Unusual in that there's no moral stigma associated with this, and there (usually) no [[Human Sacrifice]] involved: if a wizard needs [[Virgin Power|blood of a virgin]], for example, he just pays a virgin to donate the blood.

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* [[Hooker With a Heart of Gold]]: Rudhira the warlock, [[Fiery Redhead]] and former streetwalker.

* [[Immortal Immaturity]]: Eternal youth spells freeze someone at that point in their maturity, and immortal wizards who revert themselves back to youth note that a younger body makes them act differently (especially as regards the libido). One immortal who's been 15 for 200 years is eventually dumped by her 16-year-old beau as being too young (emotionally speaking) for him.

* [[Magic a Is Magic A]]: The author is ''very'' good at following established magical rules.

* [[Magic A Is Magic A]]: The author is ''very'' good at following established magical rules.

* [[Magical Incantation]]: Used pretty much in all wizard spells, and also in some witch spells.

* [[The Magic Goes Away]]: {{spoiler|In ''The Final Calling'', the Source of the warlockry flies away, depowering almost all warlocks.}}

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* [[Taken for Granite]]: There are at least two spells for that. ''Bazil’s Irreversible Petrifaction'' turns someone to stone [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|permanently]], while ''Fendel’s Superior Petrifaction'' can be reversed with the right spells (that's why it's considered Superior). Both spells can be used in magical combat, but the reversible spell has some other, more exotic uses. {{spoiler|In ''The Vondish Ambassador'' it is used as a protection from a magical assassin.}}

* [[Tabletop Game]]: There isn't an official one, but [[Word of God]] states that many varieties of Ethshar magic, with their rules and limitations, were invented by [[Lawrence Watt Evans]] for a homebrew [[Tabletop Game]]. (And the idea of the novel ''With a Single Spell'' came when one of the players asked the author: "What is the minimum number of spells for a newly-generated wizard?" The answer was "One".)

* [[Un Equal Rites]]: While there're half a dozen major varieties of magic in Ethshar, usually their rivalry is quite mild: higher-ups spy after another guilds, guilds compete a bit... and that is pretty much it. However, when a new and quite powerful variety of magic with previously-unknown limitations - the warlockry - turns up, tensions immediately run ''very'' high. Some wizard hotheads even consider just [[Kill Em All|killing all the warlocks]] as the best solution.

* [[Un Equal Rites]]: While there're half a dozen major varieties of magic in Ethshar, usually their rivalry is quite mild: higher-ups spy after another guilds, guilds compete a bit... and that is pretty much it. However, when a new and quite powerful variety of magic with previously-unknown limitations - the warlockry - turns up, tensions immediately run ''very'' high. Some wizard hotheads even consider just [[Kill'Em All|killing all the warlocks]] as the best solution.

* [[Vancian Magic]]: Wizardry can be like this. In ''Taking Flight'', two fire-and-forget wizardry systems are introduced, both with severe drawbacks. The first one lets wizard prepare any one (but only one) spell in advance, to be used once at his convenience, with practically zero casting time. Can be useful, as some spells need days to cast. The drawback is, until the spell is used, the wizard cannot do any other wizardry. The second system is a plot point: {{spoiler|wizard prepares about a dozen of spells, to instantly cast later as many times as he likes. The drawback? No other wizardry ever for that wizard, except for these spells.}}

* [[The Wall Around the World]]: Rather, the yellow fog/gas around the world.