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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 1632962" data-attributes="member: 172">In my Trinalia campaign, magic comes from a ubuquitous energy field called the flow. The flow exists everywhere. It exists in a passive, potential state. In some places, the flow pools and flows, and is stronger there. These places are ley lines and nexii.The flow has a relationship to living things. Arcane spellcasters learn to pull this energy into them. In its natural state it is undirected energy, though. To use it, the spellcaster must shape it into meaningful form.Wizards prepare the energy that they pull into themselves as they pull it in. They can shape it later, but this takes more effort. This shaping is acheive through formula and rote.Sorcerers are more like creatures of natural magic, that more naturally draw the flow into them, so can store more. As this occurs subconsciously, most cannot shape it as it is drawn into them. But while they can't formulaicly shape magic, they can reflexively shape it at a whim. But these reflexes are harder to shape than formulae, so a sorcerer has only a limited number of shapes his spells can take.The gods breathe the flow in massive quantities beyond what any mortal could contemplate. Not only that, but the arose from the primordial chaos and sundered from it as creative beings. It is this relationship with the universe that allows them to shape the flow for creative and healing purposes that mortal creatures cannot. They shape the magical energy of the flow, and then send it back out across the universe, refined by their divine essence. Usually, only divine casters in tune with the specific deity can pluck out this shaped divine energy.Psionics is different from magic. Psions down draw energy into them as spellcasters do. Rather, they manipulate the flow directly with their mind to acheive the effects they want.Normally the flow is invisible and intangible. However, in places where the atmosphere becomes saturated with it, magical energy "spills over" into the real world. Ley lines and nexuses glow softly in the dark, and magic "wildwinds" flow up and down ley lines. Casting spells in an area saturated this way can super-saturate the area and cause it to spill over and cause unintended magic effects, often called wild surges (I use ENPub's Wild Spellcraft for this, with some of my own house rules.)</blockquote>

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