Strain

Idea; Magic
See also: Adintech

Strain is a negative side effect of using Adintech, especially tapping bloodstones.

Many casters understand magic as interacting with the Weave. ((See PHB 205 for an introduction to the Weave.)) However, on a world with a Corrupted Weave (including Tessera), using magic comes at a cost. For both arcane magic and divine magic, interacting with the Weave can lead to side effects on the caster, called Strain effects.

Strain Effects

The most common Strain effects are mental. Mild effects can include reduced impulse control, a compulsion, an obsession, or a phobia. Moderate effects can include paranoia, addiction, or depression. Severe effects can include a psychosis--a complete break between the mind and reality.

Physical Strain effects are rarer. Mild effects can include changes to the caster's eyes, hair, skin, voice, etc. Moderate effects can include a severe allergy (e.g., to sunlight), infertility, or a metabolic need to ingest gold. Severe effects can include substantial and possibly grotesque distortions (e.g., shorter or longer limbs), additions (e.g., a second mouth), etc.

The nature and magnitude of Strain effects are related to the nature and magnitude of the magic. For example, a caster who gains a Strain effect from casting fear spells might develop a phobia.

Strain effects are rarely advantageous. Of course, a caster already suffering from mental effects might view a new physical effect as an improvement. Once developed, a Strain effect is a permanent, non-magical phenomenon. For example, Remove Curse won't remove a Strain effect. Depending on the nature of the effect, mundane or magical means might temper or remove it (e.g., counseling, surgery) ((DM's choice)).

Rules: Strain

Check for a Strain effect after a long rest, just before recovering spell slots. As part of this check, you don't include any slots created by Sorcery Points, Arcane Recovery, and the like.

The chance of a Strain effect is usually based on the highest level slot the caster has: (1+Level)%.

The severity of the Strain effect is usually proportional to the total levels of slots the caster has. The DM chooses the severity and the effect, based on these guidelines:

Total Levels of Slots: Strain Effect

• 1-9: Mild
• 10-18: Moderate
• 19-27: Severe
• 28+: 2 or more Effects

After checking for a Strain effect and resolving any effect, continue with recovering spell slots as normal.

Ajami on Strain

Ajami looks to Jane. She looks thoughtful for a time, finding her words. "Most orders of magic, including arcane, divine, and infernal, teach that magic is a natural resource rich with potential, like clean air or fertile soil. But it flows in very different cycles and can't be measured, contained, or expended in the same ways.
"My own order has many metaphors and parables that treat magic as water. We are taught that magic has its own essential nature including its flow, like a river. In most times and places, that flow is in harmony with other systems, such as the weather, the heavens, and the behavior of wild animals. Most orders call that flow and harmony the Weave. Just like a river, it's easier to travel with the current than against it, to work in concert with the threads of the Weave rather than rip or knot them up. An artful magic user finds the flow and designs their spells to act in harmony with that flow.
"For example, a tree that is already thriving can be coaxed to grow faster, and that's more harmonious than trying to spontaneously create life or snuff it out. My own art is mind magic, where it's more harmonious to change a perception than block it, or alter a memory than erase it. And when I must tamper with the mind of an innocent, I try to leave no permanent harm. I try to leave the mind in a state where it will heal itself. I respect its essential nature."
Ajami frowns. "But some magic users, in ignorance or selfishness, don't care about essential nature or flow. They only see raw power and try to bend it to their will, at any cost. There are many ways to effect the physical transformations you and your friends experienced. Magic like metabiotic crystals is the most rash and violent. It seeks to wrench the essential nature from one being and use it to change another. It is very possible that a tiefling had to die somewhere to create the crystals that effected your transformation. That is the worst kind of magic. It is blood magic, death magic, and it is anathema to the health and sustainability of a world's Weave."`

[{Category:Magic]]