Dueling and Laws Governing Them

Rules for governing all magic use are flexible around the world with the exception of the ritual cooperation edict. Some local areas however do have strict controls on who does what, and when, and who may be affected by anything. In general “don’t mess with anyone else’s stuff/person/property” are words to live by. It is best to know what the local laws and regulations are, before firing off spells, since many a young mage has spent the night in a dungeon thinking about their errors after blowing up the wrong sheep…

Magic under any kind of stress is something that causes backfires or death most commonly, so care is generally taken to learn as much as possible before going out into the wild and utilizing attacks or defensive spells. One magic might never be more powerful than another – elemental magic in the right hands can be just as impressive as a spoken spell. It always comes down to who is using it, and how talented they are in their field. Frankly, just as many magical accidents happen to those learning or honing their Psionics, as those working with spell magic.

You’d think that people would want to minimize deaths and incidents regarding magic use. But an up and coming practice is that of ‘combat magic’, where mages pit themselves against one another in duels of will and wit, but also of physical contact. Truly amazing battles can be seen in these fights, though there are plenty of spectator injuries in addition to those found on the participants! In order to keep such things safer overall, most societies, and certainly and city which has multiple species who use magic in it, have enacted strict rules about where those battles may take place, and some have gone as far as sponsoring them. Why? It’s easier to maintain control when something is where it ought to be. Outlawing ‘pit fighting’ hardly ever actually removes it from society. Plus, cities and communities which host these events can tax or charge for entry, benefiting the local area tremendously.

Adventurer’s guilds, such as they may exist around Dragondeep, are good spots to find who hosts any given combat magic match. Usually putting an Elementalist against a spell-caster is a headlining part of such an event.

Psionics can negate many magical effects – there are remarkably few spells which do this. Causing the voice to vanish on a spell caster while they’re busy muttering can stop their spell or at least mitigate the effects. However, spell-casters do not have to rely upon personal energies, and don’t generally get as exhausted by their work. So an elementalist might be able to toss around protective shields of dirt or make the mage’s voice go all squeaky for a time, but eventually they will be worn out from the effort and any good spell-mage knows this. After their protections fail, the spell-speaker can use whatever they have learned. They are limited only to their knowledge, and presumably if one of them is going to be out dueling, they’re going to have an extensive number of spells at their disposal.

Formal duels can be arranged among the wealthy or powerful, with all the professional trappings: helpers, second fighters, warders for errant spell casting, spectator betting pools, and healers or resurrectionists able to quickly restore an almost-dead participant. Settling scores, or just proving ones worth, is commonly done among Summoners, Lumin, and a good number of Fey communities. However, the best Combat mages seem to be Stone Elves and Vampires.