LORE24 ENTRY #23 – Warding Magic

Category – Spell / Magic

One of the most studied forms of magic for its protective benefits, warding magic is a often a much deeper topic than one may initially surmise, and is prevalent in all modern branches of mysticism.  Primarily, warding magic is meant to protect either a location or object, or living beings, from some form of harm or other magic.  This is usually in the form of magically charged symbols, or wards, that are placed upon the target.  Wards can have a range of effects, from a constant protective ward that mitigates some form of damage, a ward shielding something from detection (typically via scrying), or a triggered trap that can cause harm.

Some example warding spells include:

Ward of Protection – This is a broader range of spells, depending on one’s mystic path, which is most often used to protect the caster or others around them from harm in some way.  This could take the form of a protective barrier that mitigates damage from typical sources (melee weapons, projectile weapons), the environment (extreme heat and cold, high pressure environments, or even vacuum), or other sources of a magical nature (elemental attack spells, etc).  These often take the form of an intangible aura around the subject, or a more focused, but smaller, visible shield of force, depending on application.  Some more powerful variations of these wards can even reflect the damaging source back toward the one who used it.

Ward of Concealment – These types of wards are meant to hide an object or person from detection, typically through magical scrying, though can also negate detection from mundane vision and other senses in some variations.  There may be no visual clue that such a ward is in place, without using arcane sight, but these wards can either completely hide a subject, or make their detection extremely difficult for an unskilled mystic.  Some wards only affect single senses, such as smell or hearing, while more advanced versions affect all senses, even those magical in nature.  A variation of this ward is the Ward of Tracking, which, when placed upon a target, will allow the caster to magically track the target over vast distances.

Ward of Destruction – These are often called offensive or combat wards, and are triggered to explode when the set triggering condition is met, dealing some form of damage to the ones triggering them, or releasing another spell on the target.  The most typical form of this ward is not unlike a landmine, causing an explosion of magical or elemental energy when someone steps within its area; some casters have been known to use multiple such wards to entrap a target during the course of a battle, and this variation of the spell has been refined to be easily used without much preparation or time, and are often called ‘landmine spells,’ even if they can be attached to any surface.  More advanced forms interweave additional spells within them, or increase the range or effect of the explosive effect.