Ritual: Mage Focus

Requirements

• Magecraft Source
• Rank 1-5, 1 CC point per Rank or 3 GXP x Rank

Effects

A mage's focus is fundamental to the expression of a her persona and magic, commonly used among magicians and spellcasters across endless stories and worlds. A mage's focus comes in one of three styles: as a Staff, Wand, or Orb/Sphere, which is determined upon purchasing this benefit. The actual appearance, size, shape, material, and any fine details will be representative of the mage who created the focus, rendering each utterly unique in appearance and form.

Mages that pursue the creation of a focus will realize multiple benefits to their casting when properly wielded. Wielding a focus requires that at least one hand must be exclusively engaged with it to gain its bonuses. For example, this may involve holding the focus in one hand or using the fingers of the hand to touch it and activate it. Generally, a mage's focus such as a Wand or Orb may not be wielded as a martial weapon (except with Storyteller approval), however, a mage with a Staff focus gains the stats of a basic martial Staff (2d10 nonlethal base damage, requiring 2 hands to utilize and 2 STR minimum to hold) and may be utilized with Fighting Style: Staves for purposes of melee combat.

If the focus is ever lost, either due to separation by planar magic or by its destruction (voluntarily or otherwise), the character may reconstruct the focus using Magecraft. Reconstruction takes 1 day for each rank of the benefit previously purchased. During reconstruction, all mana is consumed each day and will not be available for any other purpose. No break in creation is permitted. If the mage desires, she can reconstruct the focus at a lower rank than previously obtained, however future rank increases must be paid at full cost. During this process, the character may change any previous choices made for the prior focus, if applicable. This does include the initial decision as to what style of Focus the mage intends to wield, e.g. the mage may choose to change foci from a wand to a staff or orb upon reconstruction of her focus.

Only one focus may exist at a time for any one character, who is attuned to that focus, and the abilities of that focus are dependent on the Benefit rank obtained. Only the mage who created the focus gains benefits from wielding it, i.e. no one may gain bonuses from wielding another person’s focus.

Rank	Name	Description
1	Mage Light	As a Standard Action, the mage may cause the focus (or a part of the focus) to provide light with the strength of a standard torch. This Mage Light's color is chosen by the mage when first activated, and may not be changed later. Any magical aura or residue within range of the Mage Light is made visible to the mage as per the spell Mage Sight.
2	Basic Focus	The focus now provides a +1 Focus bonus to the Casting Roll of all Magecraft spells when wielded. This increases to +2 at Rank 3, and then to +3 at Rank 5.
3	Mana Focus	As a Standard Action, the mage may transfer mana into the focus to be utilized at a later time. The maximum permitted mana storage is equal to the mage’s Magic Score. This mana storage has no expiration. This mana is not accessible to any other creature or power, including mana drain effects. The mage must wield the focus to access the stored mana.
4	Extension Focus	Magecraft spells cast through the focus may have their casting attributes modified depending on what type of focus is wielded. Staff: Touch spells may be cast through the Staff, extending their Reach by 1 yard beyond melee range. Additionally, ranged area of effect spells (e.g. Fireball) may be cast centered on the caster, while excluding the caster from the effect. Wand: A Wand may be used to cast Touch spells within normal melee range, and allows for more control of area of effect spells. On casting, the mage may choose to reduce a spell's width by half and double its length, extending away from the mage. Orb: An Orb may be used to anchor a single spell that would otherwise require Concentration to maintain, freeing the mage to initiate other actions without dropping the spell.
5	Efficient Focus	Magecraft spells cast while wielding the focus have their cost reduced by 1, to a minimum of 1 mana.