In the world of Tamriel, magic is well known and ubiquitous. Though knowledge of magic has passed through many forms, most adhere to the six Schools of Magic classified by Vanus Galerion, founder of the Mages Guild. The Schools are:
Alteration: Deals in change of the physical world, as well as some defensive magics.
Conjuration: Deals in the control of souls and minds, daedra summoning and wards against undead.
Destruction: Deals in the control of the four primary elements and combat utilizing them.
Illusion: Deals in control of the senses and emotions, enchantments and silencing magic.
Mysticism: Deals in divining spells, instant transport and manipulation of magic forces.
Restoration: Deals in curing and healing wounds of all sorts, physical and spiritual.
Approximately one in three denizens of Tamriel have some degree of magical ability. Those without training in a school are novices, though they may be able to cast simple spells by chance of birth. Gaining a level in a school grants an additional title, from Apprentice, to Adept, to Expert, to Master.
These may be matched to taste. A mage with all four templates may be a master of one school, an apprentice of four, or some other combination. They may also be taken alongside non-wizard templates.
Each level in a specific school grants access to the next tier, containing three spells, but Magic Dice (MD) are a common resource. An Apprentice of Alteration who has three levels in other schools may be able to put 4 dice into a Shield spell, but a Master of the school could fly with a fraction of the effort.
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| Mezamero |
Magic Dice under this system are d8s. Unlike standard GLOG magic, there are no Mishaps or Dooms, as Elder Scrolls magic is largely safe and well studied. Spells do, however, fizzle. Any roll of a 7-8 on a MD returns to the pool with no effect.
Magic Organizations
Magic and its users may be found all throughout Tamriel. The greatest centers of magic learning and ability are the many Mages Guilds found in large cities. Besides them, the temples contain many potent magic-users, and martial organizations have some on payroll. Novices and Apprentices of all disciplines may be found among the general population readily.
In dedicated organizations such as the Mages Guild, you may expect to find one Master of a school, two or three Experts, about ten Adepts, a couple dozen Apprentices and a crowd of Novices serving as pages and assistants. There are a handful of Masters of each School in a given province, and these must be sought out for special instruction or the creation of the most powerful scrolls.
The Magic Economy
Tamriel being a high-magic setting, this is worth addressing. There are magic shops and organizations, and many people have basic spellcasting ability, but the amount of magic available is still limited. The magic items for sale are Power 1 or 2, same for scrolls. The dedicated merchants only sell Petty and Lesser soul gems, and most licensed mages only have access to Common gems. Black gems must be corrupted through dark ritual, and there are maybe a dozen of them in Vvardenfell. Anybody with access to more potent enchanted items is either already using them or keeping them under lock and key.
The same goes for materials. Regular weapons and armor are widely available. More costly +1 varieties, including Nordic steel, silvered weapons and dwarven relics, can be purchased openly through high-end armories. But higher grade stuff, glass and ebony in particular, are rare, expensive, and closely regulated by whatever government controls the area. Few smiths know how to make ebony or glass equipment, and most of them are on the Imperial or House payroll. This is tightly controlled military technology, on the level with heavy ordnance and materiel.
If you find, say a legendary suit of mail in your dungeoneering, you will become a target for theft, both by bandits and ambitious officials. If you want to sell it, you will have to seek out powerful people, and at that point you're not dealing with gold. A suit of enchanted glass from the days of Veloth can be sold for a manor, a title, or amnesty for past crimes. An artifact on the scale of the Lord's Mail or Azura's Star has a going rate of an army, a castle, or a particularly large favor from a lord of the land. Remember, Tamriel is still very feudal.
And if you are selling, make it dramatic. If you don't want to take whatever a given lord, or archmage or high priest will pay, the value of such an item can only be decided at auction, and that carries all of its own complications. If you do sell, there'll be a whole chain of transactions. You sell Umbra to a bloodthirsty Redoran lord, who pays by calling in a favor with the archcanon to de-excommunicate a particular mercenary general who turned bandit. She's now at your command. Get creative with it.
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| Elder Scrolls: Legends |
Enchanted parchment bearing spells. Allows anyone, regardless of their magic potential to cast a spell. Contains up to 4MD. When casting with a scroll, roll as if casting with that number of MD, which may fizzle as normal. After a single casting, the scroll is consumed. Some scrolls may have multiple spells. For example, a Scroll of Windwalker will contain 2MD of Levitate and 2 MD of Invisibility. When casting, you may choose to roll all together and assign the MD or roll separately for each spell. Either way, the scroll is cast once.
Making and Buying Scrolls
Scrolls are often found in magically inclined shops, and a few may be found in general stores. These tend to be low-power generic scrolls with a single effect. More powerful and varied scrolls may be found by looting or commissioned. Commissions require a decent relationship with the mage or guild in question. Scrolls from stores tend to be about 50% more expensive than they would be to produce.
Scrolls may be created by a PC wizard, purchased from a store or actively commissioned. A scroll in which you do not know any of the spells involved must be commissioned from a wizard of the relevant school. The creation of a scroll involves trapping MD in enchanted parchment. The wizard creating it must have enough MD and know the spell they are trapping. A scroll of Mass Charm (T4 Illusion) requires a master of Illusion to create. However many MD they put in, they lose for the day. Once a scroll is made, more MD cannot be added.
The materials for a scroll cost 10gp per MD. If the player is not providing the MD, that's another 10gp per MD. The player may provide some of the MD on a scroll and buy the rest from a mage. For example, a PC who is an Master Illusionist may wish to create a Scroll of Psychic Prison. The player may use their own MD for the Paralysis effect, but still need a Mystic of Adept rank or higher to provide the Soul Trap effect. Such a scroll with 2 MD would cost 30gp.
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| Alexey Rudikov |
A list of generic scrolls. The weakest are available, in small batches, from general stores, with more powerful ones available from special merchants, and the most powerful available only by direct commission. Players may mix effects as they will when creating their own, and name their creations. Common effects have different names depending on how strong the effect is. The prices below are for direct commission from a mage, which is cheaper but requires good relations with their guild. Prices in stores will usually be about 50% higher (30*MD) and are typically restricted to 1 or 2MD scrolls.
Alteration Scrolls
Scroll of the Leaden Leash: Burden 1 (20gp)
Scroll of Ondusi's Unhinging: Knock 2 (40gp)
Scroll of Ekash's Lock Splitter: Knock 4 (80gp)
Scroll of Galmes' Seal: Lock 2 (40gp)
Scroll of Heaven's Hand: Levitate 1 (20gp)
Scroll of Raynar's Bubble: Water Breathing 1 (20gp)
Scroll of Deynos' Fins: Water Breathing 3 (60gp)
Scroll of Mist Slippers: Water Walking 2 (40gp)
Scroll of the Third Barrier: Shield 3 (60gp)
Scroll of Feather's Grace: Slowfall 4 (80gp)
Conjuration Scrolls
Scroll of Beast Domination: Command Creature 2 (40gp)
Scroll of the Binding Ring: Circle of Turning 3 (60gp)
Scroll of Lord Mhas' Vengeance: Bound Armor 4 (80gp)
Scroll of Rebuke: Turn Undead 3 (60gp)
Scroll of Warrior's Waking: Bound Weapon 1 (20gp)
Scroll of Domination: Command Humanoid 4 (80gp)
Scroll of Spirit Binding: Control Undead 2 (40gp)
Scroll of the Messenger: Summon Lesser Daedra 1 (20gp)
Destruction Scrolls
Scroll of Winter Snare: Destructive Trap 1[frost] (20gp)
Scroll of Wizard's Fury: Destructive Bolt 3[fire, frost, shock] (60gp)
Scroll of the Wight: Energy Drain 2 (40gp)
Scroll of the Death Strike: Five Fingers of Pain 4 (80gp)
Scroll of Withering: Damage Attribute 3 [Constitution] (60gp)
Scroll of the Vampire: Absorb Health 2 (40gp)
Scroll of the Dunce: Damage Attribute 1 [Intelligence] (20gp)
Scroll of Thunderstrike: Destructive Blast 4 [shock] (80gp)
Scroll of Rust: Armor Eater 1 (20gp)
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| Tommy Arnold |
Scroll of Elevram's Sty: Blind 1 (20gp)
Scroll of Tevil's Peace: Calm 3 (60gp)
Scroll of Golnara's Eye-Maze: Chameleon 4 (80gp)
Scroll of Didala's Knack: Charm 2 (40gp)
Scroll of Averted Eyes: Invisibility 1 (20gp)
Scroll of Prince Ov's Brightball: Light 4 (80gp)
Scroll of Liros' Glowing Eye: Night Eye 2 (40gp)
Scroll of Sertise's Porphyry: Paralysis 3 (60gp)
Scroll of Nerusi's Lockjaw: Silence 2 (40gp)
Mysticism Scrolls
Scroll of Tevral's Hawkshaw: Detect Key/Gold 2 (40gp)
Scroll of Stendarr's Hand: Divine Intervention 3 (60gp)
Scroll of Reynos' Pulse-Finder: Detect Living 1 (20gp)
Scroll of Corrupt Arcanix: Dispel 4 (80gp)
Scroll of Tranasa's Spelltrap: Reflect 1 (20gp)
Scroll of Fphyggi's Gem-Feeder: Sould Trap 2 (40gp)
Scroll of Inasi's Mystic Finger: Telekinesis 3 (60gp)
Scroll of Sage Advice: Identify 1 (80gp)
Scroll of Azura's Favor: Daedric Intervention 4 (80gp)
Restoration Scrolls
Scroll of Daydene's Panacea: Cure Disease 1 (20gp)
Scroll of Purity of Body: Cure Disease 1, Heal 1, Cure Poison 1 (60gp)
Scroll of Mageweal: Fortify Magicka 2 (40gp)
Scroll of Frostguard: Resistance [frost] 4 (80gp)
Scroll of Vitality: Heal 3 (60gp)
Scroll of Salen's Vivification: Cure Paralyzation 2 (40gp)
Scroll of the Oathfast: Fortigy Attribute [Willpower] 3 (60gp)
Scroll of Borrowed Time: Fortify Health 1 (20gp)
Scroll of Argent Glow: Mass Healing 4 (80gp)
Mixed Scrolls
Scroll of Baleful Suffering: Blind 1, Burden 1, Weakness 1 and Drain Attribute 1 (80gp)
Scroll of Drathis' Soulrot: Paralyze 1, Destructive Touch 1 (Poison) Drain Attribute 2 (80gp)
Scroll of Ilnea's Breath: Destrctive Blast (Ice) 2 and Paralyze 2 (80gp)
Scroll of Psychic Prison: Paralyze 1 and Soul Trap 1 (40gp)
Scroll of Windform: Levitate 1 and Invisibility 1 (40gp)
Scroll of Windwalker Levitate 2 and Invisibility 2 (80gp)
Scroll of the Ninth Barrier: Shield 1, Resistance 3 [fire, frost, shock] (80gp)
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