Dangers of the Arcane

GM NOTE: This part of Valerick is of course entirely optional and you are not required to use it, however it is provided here in case you wish to truly capture the 'feel' of the dangers of the Arcane of the setting.

Those whom manipulate the arcane on Valerick are handling a great and terrible power, capable of amazing, and horrifying things. The raw power that Manna contains, the raw power that bleeds in from the Void, can simply not be overstated. However this eldritch power is not merely their, docile and waiting to be used. No if you were to ask any magister, regardless of their Order, of the sort of manna they manipulate, they would tell you what they do is not a willing or aided action. They walk a knife's edge with their abilities, for such an ancient and powerful force as Manna, as the arcane elemental currents that forged the very reality of the world and the cosmos itself? Such a thing has a....presence all its own, and no amount of it is willing to just...be used by some mere speck, a creature that is a mere speck on the timeline by comparison of the universe.

Add to this the instability of the taint of the Void, an inevitability, you have a recipe for disaster that even those so masterfully trained and disciplined as true Magisters have to be wary of respect, much less those foolish enough or unlucky enough to be handling such forces with no training or education.

No these energies are quite opposed to being manipulated and bent to the will of mere mortals, and resists such efforts in every way it can. That is to say nothing of the mental awareness and discipline one must have in spell-weaving to do everything correct, and to insure you do not draw in any Void taint, you manage to seperate what you need from the corruption in the Aether that is ever present now.

Corruption

Corruption is inevitable on Valerick for those whom wield arcane magicks, however there are two distinct casting methods. Magisters and well everyone else that is Apostates, Sorcerers or what some might call witches or warlocks. Those whom are trained Magisters have the necessary training in techniques ancient and heavily guarded to both only interact with one current of Manna and with doing so skillfully, filtering and containing to a point, the Void corruption within themselves even as they weave the manna, pure and stable now, into the spellform and bring its power into reality. This process sees them slowly, ever so slowly building up the taint, and they compartmentalize it, containing it metaphysically, with great mental discipline, but knowing at some point they need to expend it. It will need to be purged. There are a variety of methods to do this however ultimately eventually it will likely result in a Miscast event.

A Magister keeps tally of all spells they cast, the number never reducing until they have a miscast event, not even when they rest. Every time they go to rest, that is to start a new day, they roll a d100, and if they roll the tall number or below, the next time they cast a spell, they suffer a Minor Miscast event as notified below, and then this tracker, this Void tally, resets to zero.

For any other, every time they cast magick, they will roll a specific sized Die based upon their level and profession, tracking something known as Instability. They can discharge this in a variety of ways, however should it ever hit 100 without being discharged, they automatically, without needing to cast a spell, suffer a Major Miscast Event. When they do discharge it they automatically roll a Minor Miscast event, adding their current Instabilty score to the roll to determine the result before resetting their Instability to 0.

Minor Miscast Table

d100 roll	Miscast Event: Brief effect description
01-05	Witchsign: Next living creature born within 1 mile is mutated.
06-10	Soured Milk: All milk within 3d100 feet of you sours instantly.
11-15	Blight: Your Wisdom Modifer number of fields within Wisdom Modifier miles suffer blight, all crops rot overnight.
16-20	Soulwax: Your ears clog instantly with a thick wax. You are Deafened until you take an action to clean them.
21-25	Witchlight: You glow with the light of large bonfire, appropriate color to you Order of Magick, lasts 1d10 rounds.
26-30	Fell Whispers: Pass a Wisdom Saving Throw, with Advantage, or gain 1 corruption point (GM should roll influence randomly)
31-35	Rupture: Your eyes, nose and ears all start bleeding profusely. You begin to take 1d10 bleeding
36-40	Soulquake: You get rocked off your feet, you are knocked prone.
41-45	Unfasten: On your person, every knot, buckle, and strap comes undone, which may cause belts, pouches, armor and more to fall.
46-50	Wayward Garb: Your clothing seems to gain a mind of its own, you are now Restrained, DC to escape is equal to your Spell DC.
51-55	Curse of Temperance: All alcohol within 3d100 feet of you goes bad, tasting bitter and foul.
56-60	Souldrain: You gain 1 level of exhaustion, which lasts 1d10 hours.
61-65	Driven to Distraction: If engaged in combat, for the next round, you count as surprised, and lose concentration if you were maintaining it. Otherwise you are startled and unable to concentrate for a few moments (about 6-12 seconds).
66-70	Unholy Visions: Make a Wisdom Saving Throw, as you see a glimpse beyond the Aether, you glimpse into the horrors of the Void. If you fail, you are Blinded for 1d6 rounds. If you succeed, you are only blind for 1 round.
71-75	Cloying Tongue: Suddenly finding yourself barely able to speak, your tongue feeling swollen and unwieldy. All attempts at doing anything requiring you to speak (Casting, conversational skill checks, etc) are at Disadvantage for 1d10 rounds
76-80	The Horror: Glimpsing into the Void through the Aether, something looks back. Make a Wisdom Saving Throw with Disadvantage. If failed, you are Frightened of all magick for 1d10 rounds.
81-85	Curse of Corruption: Gain 1 corruption, from random influence.
86-90	Double Trouble: The effect of your intended spell, despite its range limits, is enacted somewhere random within 1d10 miles.
91-95	Multiplying Misfortune: Roll twice on this table rerolling results of 91-100
96-100	Cascading Chaos: Roll on the Major Miscast Table and use that result instead.

Major Miscast Table

d100 roll	Miscast Event: Brief effect description
01-05	Ghostly Voices: Everyone within 6d10+Your Wisdom Score feet of you hears darkly seductive voices from the Void. All sapient beings in range must roll a Wisdom Saving Throw against your DC or gain 1 corruption (including you).
06-10	Hexeyes: Your eyes turn an unnatural color associated with your Order of Magick for 1d10 hours. While your eyes are like this, you are Blinded and it cannot be resolved by an means other than Greater Restoration or other curse breaking methods.
11-15	Aethyric Shock: You take 1d10 damage as appropriate to your element tied to your Order, and no resistances or immunities apply. Also make a Constitution Saving Throw, with Advantage. If failed, you are Stunned for 1 round.
16-20	Deathwalker: Your footsteps leave death in their wake. For the next 1d10 minutes, anywhere you walk, all plant life withers and dies.
21-25	Intestinal Rebellion: Your bowels move uncontrollably and you soil yourself. You are Sickened and gain 2 levels of Exhaustion that cannot be cleansed until you clean yourself up, or by magickal means.
26-30	Soulfire: You burst into unholy flames of a brilliant color associated with your Order of Magick. You are now on fire.
31-35	Speak in Tongues: You gabble unintelligibly for 1d10 rounds. During this time you cannot make Casting or Pray actions, nor speak in any way that anyone can understand.
36-40	Swarmed: You are engaged by a swarm of Aethyric creatures as appropriate for your lore (GM Discretion, but think like Rats for Onyx, Crows for Amethyst, Fire ants for Ruby, etc. Thematically appropriate.) After 1d10 rounds if not destroyed, the swarm simply fades away.
41-45	Ragdoll: You are flung randomly in a direction 3d10 feet, taking appropriate fall damage+1d10 when you hit the ground and are Prone.
46-50	Limb Frozen: One limb (decided at random) is frozen in place for 1d10 hours. It is considered useless as if amputated.
51-55	Darkling Sight: You lose the benefit of Aether-Sight for 1d10 hours. Casting actions are at a Disadvantage during this time.
56-60	Chaotic Foresight: Gain 1d4 Luck Points, as if the Luck Feat. But they disappear forever at tend of session. Every time you use one, gain 1 corruption point (GM decides).
61-65	Levitation: You are lifted by the currents of manna against your will, 3d10 feet into the air for 1d10 minutes. You can be forcibly moved but if left alone, will return to that height off the ground Once it ends, you fall and take appropriate fall damage.
66-70	Regurgitation: You spew uncontrollably, vomitting more than your body can possible contain. You are Stunned for 1d10 rounds.
71-75	Mannaquake: All creatures (and yourself) within 3d100 feet must make an Athletics Test at Disadvantage or be tossed Prone.
76-80	Foul Enfeeblement: Gain 1 corruption point, collapse Prone, and gain 2 levels of Exhaustion.
81-85	Voices of Madness: Gain 1 mental condition/insanity.
86-90	Gift of Mutation: You suffer a physical mutation.
91-95	Aethyric Feedback: Everyone withing 2d10 feet of you, friend and foe alike, suffer 1d12 damage of each element (all eight Orders) damage, and are knocked Prone. If there are no targets in range, the manna has nowhere to vent, so you immediately drop to 0 hit points and fail two death saves, as your body is brutalized by this storm of elemental energy within you.
96-99	Possession: Your soul may remain, but you are imprisoned in your own body, possessed by a Terror of the Void, one tied to the corrupting influence you have wracked up the most corruption in.
100	Rift in Reality: You are utterly consumed by the magick, making a Consitution Saving throw. Should you fail, you are just dead. Should you succeed, you are unconscious, but being used to keep the Void Portal that tears open where you stood stable. You have disadvantage to all Death Saves, and DO NOT wake up if you succeed three so long as you are within 100 feet of the tear in reality, as it keeps feeding on you to stay stable. A Void Incursion begins, 1d10 Terrors and 2d10 Horrors of the corrupting influence you had the most corruption in pouring out immediately. If you had a Corruption of 7 or more, a Nightmare leads them. If you die or are brought outside of 100 foot radius of the portal, it collapses and fails. Each round it is open 1d4 more Horrors come forth.