Author Games: Path of the Guildpact

The Magic of Ravnica

It is all but impossible to escape magic in Ravnica; it pervades every corner of society. In their shops, crafters create artifacts of varying power, utility, and reliability. Sorcerers hire themselves out for a daily wage, or join a guild in the hopes of rising to the top of the world. Goblins and vedalken alike use the latest magical technologies to manufacture wonders at a discount. Perhaps ten percent of the population of Ravnica possesses a gift for magic in one form or another; most of those, and even more of the ungifted are a part of the ten magical guilds which control the power in the world.

Though there are countless magical specialties, the overwhelming majority of them can be classed into one of 5 groups, the underlying "colors" of magic, based on the traits required to use it.

Green magic deals with growth and life, as well as nature and the cycle of life. A green mage might animate a tree, speak to animals, and nourish crops—or, if riled, send enormous creatures to crush their foes into paste. Mages who rely heavily on green magic tend to value life, nature, and wisdom, even as they disdain technology and magic designed to corrupt, kill, or otherwise disrupt the natural cycle.

White magic works with order, light, selflessness, and healing. White mages can vary widely in occupation, from healers, to law-mages, to soldiers, to religious caretakers. White magic draws great power from selflessness and moral conviction—oftentimes, a white mage will grow far stronger while laboring for a cause in which they believe, or alternatively be left powerless when they betray their convictions or their faith in a cause is shaken. Those who work with white magic will frequently see the world in strict terms of good and evil; this tends to result in a somewhat judgmental outlook on life, particularly when it perceives selfishness or anarchic tendencies.

Blue magic is concerned with the mind, as well as wind, water, and the fundamental nature of magic, energy, and time. A talented blue mage might be a gifted telepath, a hydromancer, a researcher, or an illusionist; in fact, why not all of the above? Those who use blue magic rely on their rationality and self-control to make advances in knowledge, sorcery, and technology—they tend to have a low opinion of those who reject technological advances and those who give into their emotions at inopportune times.

Black magic is amoral and unafraid— as such, it ignores ordinary taboos and delves into powers that corrupt, parasitize, kill, and revive. Black mages can find work as somewhat unsavory, if useful assassins, investigators, and enforcers; however, those who hire them ought tot be wary, because individualism and amorality combine to create a being for whom taking orders does not come naturally. The average entity who works with black magic has a special type of contempt for those who impose their moral views on the world (i.e., them) as well as those who revile death magic as 'unnatural.'

Red magic is driven by passion; emotion itself is both an energy source and a substrate, and red magic drives spells of chaos, fire, lightning, and earth. Red mages value freedom above all else, and they can (and do) dispense destruction as often as creation if they feel angry, threatened, or mildly repressed. Those who value art, entertainment, or love as their highest calling in life will often find themselves inclined towards red magic. Nonetheless, red mages simply cannot stand someone telling them what they can or can't do, as well as those who downplay the importance of their passions.