Chants

Most magic is not the flashy explosions of a war mage or the blatant miracles of the priest. Most magic is small, communal, and practical. Here are two types common on Quartus.

Chants--Communal Magic

The common folk are continually singing as they work. Why? What effect does this have? Why do they spend the energy? And why are they singing similar songs across the land? Because those songs are actually chants, special songs that induce magical effects.

Chants can be divided into plain chants, which have limited effects and don’t scale very high but do not require blood sacrifice, and high chants, which have larger effects and better scaling, but require some form of blood sacrifice as a catalyst.

All chants have a scaling factor and a limit--the scaling factor explains how the affected area or duration increases as you add new voices to the chant, while the limit sets how many voices can contribute and thus the maximum effect of the chant.

Plain Chants

These are the songs sung as the farmers work their fields, as the herders watch their cattle, as the teamsters guide their wagons and barges. Most plain chants lose effect rapidly after the chant ends, so they’re sung continually or they are alternated with another chant.

Weeder’s Plaint

Plain chant. Base area: 5’ diameter Scaling: area doubles for each new voice. Limit: 80’ diameter (5 voices within the area)

Unwanted plants within the affected area glimmer slightly and their roots become loose in the ground, making them easy to pull. The singer’s intention defines what plants are unwanted.

Bug-me-not

Plain chant. Base area: 1000 creatures within 300 feet. Scaling: Number of creatures increases by 1000 and range increases by 100 feet, for every voice. Limit: 5000 creatures, 700 feet.

Biting insects are discouraged from landing on or attacking affected creatures.

Roll-a-long

Plain chant. Base area: a single wheeled vehicle touched by the chanter, up to 500 lbs. Scaling: doubles the weight. Limit: 2000 lbs.

The vehicle and its contents have lower rolling resistance, reducing the effort needed to drag or pull it. Often used in concert with Bug-me-not.

High Chants

These hymns are sung by a whole community as part of a festival. Unlike plain chants, they have a lasting effect but require some form of blood sacrifice such as a chicken or a lamb or other small animal. Willing spoken (i.e. an intelligent creature) sacrifice is only done in extremis, and unwilling sacrifice is abhorrent in all civilized areas, as it contaminates the ground with abyssal-tainted anima.

Pest-bane Hymn

High Chant, minimum 20 voices. Chanting time: 1 hour. Base area: 500’ radius (~18 acres). Base duration: 32 days (1 month). Scaling: area doubles for every 20 voices added. Duration increases by 1 month. Limit: 4000’ radius (1.8 sq miles)

Pests such as plant-eating insects, birds, or small beasts are discouraged from the affected area for the duration. Unless driven by malign magic, they will not willingly enter the area and will leave as soon as possible. The plant life in the region tastes bad to them.

Hymn of Safe Birth

High Chant, minimum 10 voices. Chanting time: 1 hour. Base area: 100 animals of one type (sheep, cows, chickens, etc). Base duration: 1 week. Scaling: +10 animals per voice. Duration increase by a week for every 10 voices. Limit: 500 animals., 6 weeks. Special requirement: sacrifice must match animal type.

Affected animals have birthing-related complications reduced by a significant amount. Newborn animals come out much more healthy and gain weight faster.