Important techniques

Mystics have some powerful tools at their disposal. The following sections detail some intricacies of mystic magic with which players should be familiar.

Consuming points

Certain mystic techniques such as Warding and item creation require the mystic to spend sphere points on a semi-permanent basis. Spending points in this manner is called consuming them. When points are consumed, the sphere rank temporarily drops when the points are spent. The sphere rank returns to normal when certain conditions are met, depending on why the points were consumed. Note that even when the sphere ranks return, the spent points do not return until the mystic refills them using Reserve as normal.

For example, Leander the mystic wizard wishes to create an anklet that grants him an extra partial action each round. While creating the anklet, he consumes Enh 6 (the cost of the haste effect). Normally, he has nine ranks in Enhancement, but until the consumed points are returned to him (when the item is completed), he effectively has only three ranks. When he finishes the item, his ranks in Enhancement return to nine, but he still has only three Enhancement sphere points remaining, until he chooses to refill the sphere using Reserve.

Divination triggers

Charging objects using the Improved Mystic Charge feat and imparting objects with magical charges using the Imbue Mystic Energy feat both allow the mystic to release one or more charges mentally as a free action when desired. They also allow the mystic to utilize a special form of Divination that causes the charges to be automatically released when certain conditions are met.

For a standard action trigger, add Div 1 at the time the charge is imparted. For simple state triggers (e.g., "when I die," "when someone puts on this coat," etc.) add Div 3. For free action triggers (e.g., thought), use Div 5. For interrupting triggers (e.g., "just before someone touches the orb" or "when someone is about to pickpocket me"), use Div 12.

For examples of use, see the Improved Mystic Charge and Imbue Mystic Energy feats.

Warding

With warding, any creature, item or area's temporary mystic effects can be made permanent. However, such effects can only be warded at the time they are created, and the warding level cannot be strengthened later without recreating the effect from scratch. To ward an effect, simply consume Res X in addition to the normal effect cost, where X is greater than or equal to the total sphere level of the effect. Even effects on unwilling creatures can be warded, but those creatures receive applicable saving throws at an interval equal to the usual duration (see "Saving throws and ability checks" on page 3 and "Duration" on page 4). For the mystic who created the effect, dissolving a warded effect takes a moment's thought and is a free action.

It is possible to ward the effect at less than level X, but doing so results in the effect deteriorating over time. The more the warding falls short of level X, the faster the effect will deteriorate.

For example, it is easy to temporarily grow 10% taller with Enh 1. But without spending extra Enhancement points to increase the duration, the effect would last only a single round. However, warding the effect by consuming Res 1 makes the effect permanent-at least until the enchantment is dispelled somehow.

Destruction magic can influence or even dispel a warded effect. Destr X reduces the warding level from its original value by X. These reductions do not stack, however. For example, if Pip the mystic wizard wards a 5th level Illusion effect with 8 Reserve, then Destr 4 would reduce the effective warding level to 4, creating a warding discrepancy of 1 (the Illusion effect would then collapse in 1d6 weeks). To make that ward then collapse more quickly, Destr 5 or higher would need to be spent, to cause the warding discrepancy to become 2 or higher.

The consumed Reserve returns to the mystic only when the enchantment ends (either because the mystic dissolved the effect, or because it was dispelled with Destruction or through other means). Even when the effective warding level drops due to mystic attack, the mystic does not necessarily know his warding has been attacked, nor does he regain any Reserve ranks unless the effect actually collapses.

Mysticraft

All mystics have access to an additional class skill called Mysticraft, which is used for identifying mystic effects both as they are created and after they are already in place. However, the Spellcraft skill is cross-class for the mystic (as is Mysticraft for the non-mystic). The DCs for identifying mystic effects are the same as those for Spellcraft, with mystic effects counting as one half the sphere total (rounded down) in spell level.

While Spellcraft and Mysticraft are quite different in many ways, they are related skills. A character with five ranks in Mysticraft receives a +2 synergy bonus to Spellcraft. Conversely, five ranks in Spellcraft grants a +2 synergy bonus to Mysticraft.

Countering mystic effects

By readying an action, a mystic can counter a mystic effect as it is being created (or a spell as it is being cast). To do so, the mystic must first determine the exact sphere components of the effect with a successful Mysticraft check (or in the case of a spell, a Spellcraft check). The mystic may then counter the effect by spending an amount of Destruction equal to the effect's mystic level (or for a spell, an amount of Destruction equal to twice the spell level).

Linking

Multiple mystics can combine their efforts to produce more powerful effects. Each mystic who wishes to be part of the link must be enchanted with a link-enabling effect (Enh 5). This technique is called enabling. An enabled mystic can magically reach out to another enabled mystic as a standard action, thus completing the link between them. Completing the link with another mystic requires physical contact, and all mystics involved must be willing, or the completion will fail (once completion is achieved, physical contact is no longer required). Removing oneself from a link (severing the link) is a free action. Additionally, any mystic who is part of a completed link can forcibly remove another mystic from the link (expelling that mystic) as a free action. Lastly, any mystic who ceases to be enabled at any point in time is automatically expelled from any link in which he is currently a member.

For example, suppose that Luet the mystic wizard wishes to link with Artys the mystic ranger and Ellwood the mystic bard. Artys pays Enh 5 to enable himself. Ellwood does not have 5 ranks in Enhancement, so Luet spends Enh 5 to enable herself, then Enh 5 again to enable Ellwood. Now Ellwood and Luet join hands and Ellwood completes the link by willing himself into it (of course, if Luet did not wish for Ellwood to link, she could prevent the completion from being successful). Then Artys places a hand on Luet's shoulder and wills himself into the link as well. Now the three of them can act together, combining sphere points to create effects more powerful than any one of them could have managed alone.

When multiple linked mystics produce a single mystic effect (a linked effect), each member of the link contributing to that effect must apply their full concentration toward it-that is, producing that effect takes a standard action for each mystic contributing sphere points. Thus, in combat, linked mystics wishing to create a single effect must delay their respective actions until their initiatives are equal, and then collaboratively create their joint effect. A mystic who is a member of the link but not contributing points to any effects that round is called dormant, and need not delay his action in such a way, nor apply concentration toward the link that round.

To determine the effective sphere total of an effect, take the number of sphere points contributed by each member from each sphere, and convert these values into the equivalent number of building points (see the Sphere point progression section for details on building points). Sum these values for each sphere, then convert the results back into sphere points, to determine each sphere's resulting level.

In the previous example, suppose that Luet spends Trans 6, Artys contributes Trans 4, and Ellwood uses Trans 2. Luet's Trans 6 yields twenty-one building points, Artys's Trans 5 is fifteen building points, and Ellwood's Trans 2 contributes three building points, for a total of 21 + 15 + 3 = 39 building points—or eight sphere points. Note that since it only takes thirty-six building points to reach eight sphere points, there are three unneeded building points here, and since Ellwood's Trans 2 only yielded three building points, his contribution to the link was useless in this instance.

Wish-level magic

Sometimes, a mystic desires results more drastic than reasonably possible with a single mystic effect. Resurrecting an entire city block, creating an everlasting fireball, or turning an area into a permanent dead magic zone are examples of effects so extreme that only the most powerful mystics should ever have the ability to accomplish them. Such effects are known as wish-level magic, and are within the realm of possibility, but their use takes a heavy toll upon the mystic who invokes them.

To even fathom the use of wish-level magic, the mystic must have achieved level twenty, and must have twenty ranks in the desired wish-level effect's primary sphere. Note that only mystic wizards, mystic sorcerers and mystic clerics can ever have the capability to perform such magic, because only they are able to reach such a high sphere rank.

The mystic first spends twenty points from the sphere from which he wishes to invoke the magic. Then, the DM computes the hypothetical level of the wish-level effect. Subtract twenty from that value (since the mystic did spend twenty points), and multiply the result by fifty. This value is the amount of experience the mystic must pay, and represents the portion of his life energy the mystic is pouring into the effect to bring it to life.

For example, say that a giant boulder has fallen from the sky, crushing a building and killing everyone inside, both friend and foe. Luet the mystic wizard wishes to resurrect all her friends who died in the explosion. First, she spends Heal 20 to initiate the effect. The DM figures that the building is 100 feet wide, so an area effect with radius 60 feet or so will be needed to encompass the entire building. Resurrection of a single person costs Heal 18, and converting it to a 60-foot radius area effect increases the total cost to Heal 135 (see the Target section for more information on area effects). In addition, since she only wants to resurrect her friends, she must pay Div 5 to exclude her enemies from the effect, bringing the grand total to Heal 135 + Div 5. Luet's experience cost is therefore (140 - 20) * 50 = 6,000 EP, so she must pay Heal 20 and 6,000 EP to create the effect.

One other powerful effect that wish-level magic can create is that of permanent effects that would normally be instantaneous or temporary. To compute the hypothetical cost of a normally instantaneous effect, simply multiply the instantaneous cost of the effect by 100. For temporary effects, multiply the normal cost by 25.

As an example, say that Noj the mystic wizard wishes to create a magical enchantment on his staff so that anyone who touches it besides him suffers 5d6 points of fire damage each round until the offender breaks contact with the staff. Enchanting the staff with a one-time (instantaneous) charge would normally costs Pyro 5. He can use Div 1 (a divination trigger) to identify whether he is the person touching the staff, bringing the sphere total to 6, and the hypothetical cost of the wish to 600. After paying Pyro 20 to initiate the effect, Noj's experience cost would be a whopping (600 - 20) * 50 = 29,000 EP. But it might be worth it to have a permanent enchantment protecting one's prized possessions.