Light

Though it has many names – power of the divine, blessing of the gods, holy magic – the School of Light is a magic that has many uses. Its primary use is control over the very forces of life and death. It can be used to heal grievous wounds, resurrect the fallen, and even turn undead abominations. It can also be used to cleanse disease, purify the tainted, and burn the wicked. A versatile school of magic with great power.

Primary Stats: Wisdom (Healing and Enhancement), Charisma (Damage and Undead), Constitution

Bonus to Skill Checks: Diplomacy, Heal, Insight, Knowledge (Religion), Perception

Basic Abilities

Opening this talent tree grants you the following powers and abilities.

Blessing of the Light. You gain the ability to channel holy power. This divine magic can do many wondrous things. You can use it as a powerful blast of holy energy to decimate your foes, light the darkness, turn the undead, or even to create powerful shields to aid you or your allies. It is used as easily to heal as it is to inflict damage. At this level, your power is not great, and to heal you must have physical contact with the wounded. You won’t be bringing anyone back from the dead, but you can heal many wounds, slow or stop the undead from advancing, and even cast reasonably powerful spells that damage enemies. 

Mastery: Mastery is a measure of your overall power and ability in a given talent branch. Each rank raises your ability a bit higher, and grants you greater power and access to more abilities further down the line. You must purchase each rank in order. Each rank is explained in detail below.

Rank 1: Your powers are slightly enhanced, reducing the energy you need to cast spells. Your spells are also slightly empowered, granting greater effects. For example, if you were casting heal minor wounds, it might heal wounds instead. 10 points.

Rank 2: Your powers are slightly enhanced, reducing the energy you need to cast spells. Your spells are also slightly empowered, granting greater effects. You can heal people nearby without having to physically touch them, though they must be within a few yards of you to do this. 20 points.

Rank 3: Your powers are enhanced, reducing the energy you need to cast spells. Your spells are also empowered, granting greater effects. Your auras take less energy to raise and maintain and have a greater effect at a greater distance. You gain a +2 to Wisdom or Charisma. 30 points.

Rank 4: Your powers are greatly enhanced, reducing the energy you need to cast spells. You can cast many minor and basic spells without using any energy at all. You can have two auras on at the same time, but this will drain you rather quickly. It is very easy for you to physically heal someone, recovering even grave wounds with relative ease, while you can lessen wounds and slightly heal others at a distance. You can also heal multiple people at once with relative ease. 40 points.

Rank 5: Your powers are greatly enhanced, reducing the energy you need to cast most spells to almost nothing. Your spells are also greatly empowered, granting greater effects; for example, if you just heal someone they will likely have a regeneration effect on them for a time. You gain a +3 to Wisdom or Charisma. 50 points.

Dual Cast: Many spells require you to channel energy through your hands, guiding the magic. You now have the ability to cast two separate spells from each hand, or use your hands together to cast the same spell making it a bigger spell with different and more powerful effects. This kind of spell casting requires a great deal of energy and can drain you very quickly. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 15 points.

Avenging Branch

10 points.

Opening this branch of Light grants the following abilities.

Holy Flame: You channel holy energy into a fiery force that you can wield in a number of ways, the two most basic being bathing your weapon or armor in the flame, or sending it out as a wave of radiant vengeance. 

Aura of Vengeance: You burn bright with the divine wrath of the light. You and nearby allies become slightly empowered, able to hit with great accuracy, strength, and ability. You can only have one aura on at a time.

Avenging Branch Abilities

Crusader Strike: Your blade glows with holy power, and strike your foe with brilliant divine energy, stunning them and leaving them in shock for a brief moment. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

Divine Lightning: Golden bolts of lightning explode from your hand, igniting an enemy nearby. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

Bane of the Undead: While this starts simply with being able to turn undead – which will stun or force undead creatures to flee – as you gain power this turns into a destructive assault on the undead. You have the ability to simply ignite undead creatures with a look, and, eventually, they may turn from you and run when they see you. A powerful tool to have in your arsenal. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 15 points.

Aura of Power: A golden flame wreaths around you, empowering your divine abilities. You hit much harder and take much less damage. Since this ability only affects you, it does not count toward the one aura you may have on at one time. Requires Rank 1 and 25 points.

Judgment: With a gesture, you hit a foe with the wrath of the divine, igniting them with radiant flames and knocking them back. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 10 points.

Templar’s Verdict: As you strike your foe, a blaze of swirling holy energy explodes around you, burning nearby enemies and leaving them stunned. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 15 points.

Seal of Justice: With a bright explosion, a spell caster is silenced, their power locked away for a few moments while they burn with radiant energy. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 20 points.

Sun Slash: You slash at a foe, and divine fire explodes in a wave across your enemies. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 20 points.

Avenging Wrath: The light grants you great power, and now when an enemy attacks you, they ignite with radiant flames. This even affects spell casters. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 20 points.

Sword of Light: Your current weapon becomes empowered with the light, making it stronger, more durable, and better able to fight against enemies. It has a small fear effect against any creatures that want to hurt you. Any creature you attack will burn with divine energy, and it is extra effective against the undead and evil creatures. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 25 points.

Retribution of the Fallen: You call out with the light, and are answered by those who have fallen before. They rise up and spirits, hole and hearth once more, and, at your command, attack your foes. This summons a small squadron of allies to fight with you. They will have decent power and ability, and may even have magic of their own to use. It depends on location and luck, but they will always be able to fight admirably. They last a short time before disappearing. Requires Mastery Rank 4 and 40 points.

Vengeance: You summon the totality of your powers and become a shimmering beacon made of living energy. This empowers all of your abilities to a great extent, allowing you cast nearly any spell almost instantaneously without wearing out and you can blast out in great arcs doing incredible damage to your foes and healing your allies. However, the effect is short lived, and when it’s over, you are greatly weakened, to the point of being unable to move. Doing it more than once a day will almost certainly destroy you. Requires Mastery Rank 5 and 50 points.

Defensive Branch

10 points.

Opening this branch of Light grants the following abilities.

Righteous Fury: You burn with divine energy, and your enemies really want to hit you for it.

Aura of Protection: You are bathed in a haze of light and those allies who feel the warmth of your light gain greater protection. This is something that you can turn on and off at will. While you have this aura active, allies nearby have slightly better armor and will be more likely to dodge an attack or have an enemy miss them. They also have slightly better stamina and are slightly more resistant to diseases and poisons. You can only have one aura on at a time.

Defensive Branch Abilities

Aura of Hope: You are bathed in a haze of light and those allies who feel the warmth of your light gain greater strength and concentration. This allows warriors to hit harder, archers to be more accurate, and mages to cast with greater ease and ability. You can only have one aura on at a time. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

Armor of the Guardian: Your armor is infused with your own holy power, and protects even better. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

Rebuke: With a charge of divine energy, you shout at your foe, stunning them briefly and drawing their attention toward you. As you gain Mastery, this can cause different effects on the target, including the target catching fire. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

Smite: You throw a small shockwave of holy energy at your foe, stunning and burning them. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

Consecration: You fill the ground beneath you with holy energy, weakening and slowing foes nearby, and drawing more of their attention to you. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 10 points.

Elysian Strike: Your weapon burns with white light, and as you strike an enemy, several more around it burn. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 15 points.

Summon Holy Steed: A magnificent steed of your choosing appears at your command, wreathed in the flame of the light to carry you where you desire. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 25 points. 

Godspeed: You charge yourself or an ally with the power of the Light, allowing them to move with more grace and greater speed to move them out of danger or to protect them from harm by allowing them to dodge incoming attacks. They might even have a chance to dodge magical attacks. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 25 points.

Brilliant Arc: You swing your weapon in a wide arc, sending out a massive wave of divine energy that crashes through your foes, stunning and burning them. Requires Mastery Ran 3 and 25 points.

Summon Archon: A being of pure light energy appears next to you, in the shape of a winged humanoid. It stands with you, healing your allies, fighting your foes for a short time before it burns out and returns to the ether. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 25 points.

Armor of the Divine: A burst of radiant energy explodes around you, enhancing the armor of all allies around you. This makes armor much more effective and adds a small regeneration to those who are touched with the blessing. The regeneration won’t last long, but the protection lasts quite a while. Enemies who attack those blessed by you will regret it, and will burn with the divine power you have imbued the armor with. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 30 points.

Divine Transformation: You begin to glow, and wings of pure light sprout from your back. You radiate divine energy, and attract the attention of all creatures around you. Your allies surge, recovering from their wounds and fighting with greater strength and ability. Your enemies may attack, they may cower or run in fear, but they will be focused on you so your allies can better attack them. You are invincible during this, and your attacks are greatly enhanced, allowing you to deal heavy damage. It only lasts for a short while, and is very draining, so you can only do this once a day without burning yourself out completely. Requires Mastery Rank 5 and 50 points.

Restoration Branch

10 Points.

Opening this branch of Light grants the following abilities.

Light of Healing: You excel at healing wounds with your ability. It takes relatively little energy on your part to heal many different types of wounds. You can also help cure diseases, but cannot simply cure them on your own yet. You still cannot resurrect the dead and you still must lay on hands to heal, but you’re power is growing and your healing ability is greatly enhanced.

Aura of Recovery: You are bathed in a haze of light and those allies who feel the warmth of your light find their wounds close on their own. This allows a slight regeneration for you and your allies, but takes a lot of energy to keep up. It will only heal minor wounds, and more quickly heal greater ones, but can be very useful. You can only have one aura on at a time. 

Restoration Branch Abilities

Purify: You can use your ability to purify corrupt things, such as diseased water, or people who have been poisoned. It is relatively easy and requires little energy unless the impurity is rare or powerful. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 10 points.

Golden Shield: Using the power of the Light, you create shields around people, protecting them for a short time from all damage. This takes a lot of energy, and uses a small amount of energy from those you are protecting, so they can’t be used in succession without wearing you and the protected down, but you can cast a number of them at once over a group of people if they are very nearby you and each other. The amount of damage they deflect depends on your ability and how much energy you are willing or able to expend. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 25 points.

Word of Glory: With a single word, filled with the power of the divine, you help your allies to surge forward with renewed vigor while your foes bleed and are stunned. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 20 points.

Cure Disease: You can now, nearly instantly, cure diseases. Regardless of other abilities, this does require physical contact with the ill and can be very draining. Requires Mastery Rank 1 and 20 points.

Bolstering Spirit: You gleam with divine light, and all allies find they can fight harder, cast spells with greater power, speed, and accuracy, and the fight turns back to your favor. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 20 points.

Holy Word: White Fire: You speak an ancient word of the light, and your enemies burst into flame, engulfed by white fire that reduces them to ash. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 20 points.

Regeneration: You can leave a burst of divine energy in people, including yourself, that will steadily heal any wounds received for a time. The amount of damage that can be absorbed and healed depends on the time and energy put into the spell. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 25 points.

Circle of Protection: Sigils appear on the ground, and a dome of light shimmers around you and your allies, protecting you from harm for a short time. Requires Mastery Rank 2 and 25 points.

Lightwell: A glimmering spring of pure light energy appears on the field, sending waves of healing energy to all allies for a short time, keeping them healthy and vital, before it burns out. Requires Mastery Rank 3 and 20 points.

Divine Physician: You are a master healer, almost a legend. You can heal nearly any wound almost instantaneously, cure diseases, purify oceans and fight the darkest poisons. Your powers are greatly enhanced, require much less energy from you, and can be channeled over greater distances. Requires Mastery Rank 5 and 50 points.

Death Ward: You place a healing ward on someone and stave off death, holding them in a limbo state until you can heal them. This will not last forever, but can be of great advantage in keeping an ally alive until you can come to them. Requires Divine Physician and 35 points.

Resurrection: The ultimate expression of the Light, restoring life to the lifeless. This requires that the person wishes to be brought back, and takes a great deal of energy on your part. It will drain you and leave you essentially useless for a long while. Requires Divine Physician and 35 points.