The Magic of Ayrelon: Enchanting
Enchanting on Ayrelon offers many benefits, and many challenges. The majority of enchantments are temporary, and often come with side effects. Enchantments can be placed on living things or inanimate objects. Their strength and duration depend greatly on both the caster and the resilience of the target.
The more powerful the enchanter, the stronger their enchantments can be and the longer they will last. However, the side effects will also be more severe. Living flesh, for example, can be imbued with greater strength, haste or increased stamina. These forces provide benefit for a time, but also degrade that flesh and can cause permanent damage. Such enchantments also suffer from diminishing returns, due to that degradation. A horse might be enchanted to run faster and farther than normal, but those effects cannot be persisted indefinitely without causing the poor creature’s death.
The same is true of enchantments placed upon inanimate objects. Objects imbued with spells also degrade as the powers expire. Since inanimate objects lack the ability to regenerate or heal themselves, they are often permanently damaged or even destroyed by their enchantments.
For enchantments to last, their target must be magical in nature. An example of this is Melrithium, a rare metal sometimes used to craft armour and weapons. The metal is softer than alternatives such as Iron, Bronze and Steel. However, it bears a natural magical affinity, and can be treated in such a way as to allow enchantments to become permanent. Even if not specially processed or treated, temporary enchantments applied to Melrithium do not degrade the structure of the metal.
Melrithium is extremely rare, difficult to mine and even more difficult to properly smelt and forge. This relegates permanently enchanted weaponry and armour to only the richest and most powerful inhabitants of Ayrelon.
Other rare substances with similar properties include dragon scales, dragon teeth, dragon claws, demonic skin and Lapithrium, a rare form of black lapis lazuli that is streaked with Melrithium rather than gold.
The more powerful the enchanter, the stronger their enchantments can be and the longer they will last. However, the side effects will also be more severe. Living flesh, for example, can be imbued with greater strength, haste or increased stamina. These forces provide benefit for a time, but also degrade that flesh and can cause permanent damage. Such enchantments also suffer from diminishing returns, due to that degradation. A horse might be enchanted to run faster and farther than normal, but those effects cannot be persisted indefinitely without causing the poor creature’s death.
The same is true of enchantments placed upon inanimate objects. Objects imbued with spells also degrade as the powers expire. Since inanimate objects lack the ability to regenerate or heal themselves, they are often permanently damaged or even destroyed by their enchantments.
For enchantments to last, their target must be magical in nature. An example of this is Melrithium, a rare metal sometimes used to craft armour and weapons. The metal is softer than alternatives such as Iron, Bronze and Steel. However, it bears a natural magical affinity, and can be treated in such a way as to allow enchantments to become permanent. Even if not specially processed or treated, temporary enchantments applied to Melrithium do not degrade the structure of the metal.
Melrithium is extremely rare, difficult to mine and even more difficult to properly smelt and forge. This relegates permanently enchanted weaponry and armour to only the richest and most powerful inhabitants of Ayrelon.
Other rare substances with similar properties include dragon scales, dragon teeth, dragon claws, demonic skin and Lapithrium, a rare form of black lapis lazuli that is streaked with Melrithium rather than gold.
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