Mastery of the Arcana

(Active)

When a magician endowed with this ability does not have the mana required to cast a spell, he can temporarily reduce his POW to acquire the missing magic energy. Every point less in POW provides him with one of the required mana gems. A magician cannot use this ability to reduce his POW to less than 1. The reduction of the magician’s POW only lasts as long as the incantation. Once it is done the POW returns to its normal level.

A magician cannot use this ability as long as he has the mana needed to cast the spell in his own mana reserve. On the other hand, if the magician has an artifact that can supply him with mana or if he has any other way of getting some (spell, active mana source, etc.), then he can still choose to use Mastery of the arcana instead of using these.

Only the gems that the magician is missing can be acquired in this way. If the magician has some of the required gems in his reserve, then he must use them.

When this ability is active, it is impossible to improve the mastery of the incantation by spending mana. However, if the magician benefits from an effect that allows him to improve the mastery of the spell in another way, then it applies as usual.

Only the gems needed to cast the spell can be acquired in this way. If additional gems can or must be used to increase the spell’s effects, then they cannot be acquired by using Mastery of the arcana.

The same magician can use this ability only once per round.

Example: Magnus the Mystical has four gems of Earth and one gem of Water in his reserve. Yet the “Khor Catalyzer” spell requires two gems of Earth and two of Water. Magnus is therefore missing one gem of Water to be able to cast it. Being a pure magician Character, he can use the “Mastery of the arcana” ability to cast his spell. Magnus’s POW is reduced by one point and goes from 5 to 4. This sacrifice allows him to get the missing gem of Water.

However, though he still has two gems of Earth left in his reserve after having withdrawn the required gems, using Mastery of the arcana forbids him from sacrificing them to improve his mastery of the spell. The incantation test is therefore made with a single die and a POW of 4.