Material component

Midian assumes that a mage will use many different tools and substances in their work. Most of these are tradition specific, and are left unspecified. For example, an elementalist needs some portion of the element in question for a spell to work, but sparks from flint will often suffice for a fire spell. Some spells are sorceries—that is, a very short incantation and gestures alone—while others are more like magical ways of doing things. Steal the Life's Warmth is a good example of a sorcerous spell; it can be done quickly enough for combat, and requires no special accoutrement. Spear Balancing is an example of the latter, no ritual is required whatsoever. For the most part we have deliberately left all of this vague, the better to fit into a campaign. Suffice to say that the vast majority of magic in Midian requires some involved ritual. The specifics are, again, dependent on the magical traditions the wizard follows.

The following are broad groups and specific spells with their needed material components, if any.


 * None: Analysis, Apparition Flare, Arcane Symbols, Atemi: Dim Mak, Black Thumb, Bloodsoak, Blunted Fang, Bone Danse, Bone Thorns, Calling, Detect Gates, Degenerative Spiral, Disappear: Advanced, Dispel Magic, Ectoplasmic Raiment, Envision Spirits, Extermination, Fastburn Corpse, Gangrene, Geas, Ghost Form, Great Leap, Grim Visage, Hunted Dreams, Inner Fury, Insubstance, Magic Lore, Manifestation of Thin Flesh, Metaphysics, Milky Eye, Never the Strong, Non-Detection, Odour of the Grave, Pierce the Masque, Poisonous Presence, Pulling for Death's Embrace, Reinforce Skeletal Construct, Restore Bone, Rice Paper Walking, Silence of the Grave, Spear Balancing, Spectral Movement, Steal the Life's Warmth, Strike Barren, Temporis Augmentum, Thanatoptics, Thinner than Water, Transfusion of Life, Transparency, Treasure Guardian, Unique Curse, Use Circles, Wayfarer, Whispers of the Spirit


 * Inscription: (Needs only a tool to paint or carve) Bringing Out the Dead, Glyph Writing, Lunaruen, Repel Spirit, Runes, Spirit Beacon, Talisman Memory Mark


 * Psionic: (Never requires anything other than the mind) Aura Perception, Hands of the Sith, Intuitive Reflexes, Meditation, Psychometry, Telekinesis


 * Alchemy: A full lab is ideal.  A portable lab can be used, but this fills a footlocker, and the Game Master may inflict penalties or limit what may be done.


 * Ambrosia: Requires bits of flowers, honey, and anything else sweet-smelling you can get your hands on.  A bowl and some mixing tool is preferred, otherwise you are just using your hands... which means the bugs are coming for you as well. Sealable beakers are highly useful here.


 * Anchor: Needs a poppet and a corpse.


 * Angkow: This ritual needs a consecrated cemetery that has not yet been used, a temporarily living victim, and something to bury him or her.


 * Augury: This is really more of a skill than a spell.  There are no specific components other than something observed to be the potential omen.


 * Blade Spirit: Discounting ritual elements due to a tradition, this spell really only needs the deceased's spirit and the item to enchant.


 * Bloated Corpse: Nothing, other than the target of the spell.


 * Blood Blessing: Only need something sharp and the item to be enchanted.


 * Blood Bonding Ritual: Anything that will cut is all that is required, hopefully something clean to minimise cross infections, especially if the same implement is used for multiple bondings.


 * Blood Mark Curse: The caster must drink at least one drop of the victim's blood.


 * Blood Spike: Some of the victim's blood is needed, but it need not be fresh.


 * Bloodstained Hands: Lots and lots of musky incense is needed, along with any possible tradition-specific elements.


 * Bone Bond: A portable kit is all that is needed, and even then there are many possible substitutes that can be used in a pinch.  This isn't a very complex formula.


 * Bone Fragments: Just the bones to explode.


 * Chemical Distraction: Like Ambrosia, this formula operates on scent.  This means you would want to keep those contained until use, such as in a beaker with a stopper or a sealed jar.


 * Circle of Fear: White paint, yellow paint, and a living moth (for now) are needed for this circle.


 * Circle of Protection: Spectres: This circle is created with a powdered mix of iron, bone, and salt.


 * Circle of Protection: Undead: This circle is created with a powdered mix of iron, bone, and salt.


 * Cleanse the Scabrous Wound: Requires tradition elements and some of the caster's blood.


 * Consecrate Cemetery: Typical tradition components are used, and this ritual often involves religious invocations or even a full ecclesiastical ceremony.


 * Consume the Dead: In addition to the decedent's grey-matter, a bone saw or similar is needed to gain access.


 * Crossroads: Other than the location, body, and a digging tool, nothing else is really needed.  Some necromancers sacrifice a bag with a few silver coins as additional insurance—even if the body is dug up, the spirit will be drawn to the bag instead of the necromancer.


 * Cry of the Blood: As an extension of Blood Bonding, there are no additional components.


 * Deadman's Tale: The sensory organ to enchant is the most obvious component, but something to remove it is also essential.  Most traditions will have some means of purifying or preserving the item, such as salt or incense.


 * Divination—Aruspicy: The sacrifice and a sharp knife are needed.  Some traditions throw the innards into a fire for omens in the smoke.


 * Divination—Cards: You need a deck of cards.  The type doesn't really matter (playing cards, tarro, et al.), but the deck does need to be complete if the divination is to work properly.


 * Divination—Pendulum: A pendulum is needed, and many mages draw a answer circle beneath it for greater accuracy.


 * Divination—Rolling Bones: Dice may be substituted for bones.


 * Effigy: This spell is all about the poppet.  This is a doll made to look like the victim, containing bits of hair or nail clippings, or something important to the target.


 * Essence of Purity: In addition to the blood, flame, and vial, something to clean and purify the glass is needed.  It has to be more than physically clean, it has to be mystically clean.


 * Expurge the Blood: This is a full ritual, with components based on the mage's tradition.


 * Eyes of the Corinthian: Another in the "gouge out an eye or other body part" series of spells, this one only requires something to remove the eye.  Anything will do, even a greased spoon.


 * Familiar Combat Enhancement: As magical familiars are primarily the province of tradition mages, this one requires elements particular to that tradition.


 * Familiar Face: Other than the need to cut away the face of the donor corpse, this spell requires no components.


 * Find Remains: This spell is largely psionic in nature.  The mage needs only to hold the item and think about the name.  No gestures or words are used.


 * Formication: Bugs, and lots of them, are needed when learning this spell.  Once it is mastered, there are no components whatsoever.  It's really only a mystical skill on a technicality.


 * Flying Powder: The most difficult component is a flower that grows wild in Suditerre, but may be cultivated anywhere.  For the rest, a portable lab will suffice.


 * George's Tongue: For this spell, you need the target, a hammer, at least six nails, and a sharp knife.


 * Grasping Hands: Powdered and fragmented bones are used.  While these aren't exactly consumed in the casting (wrong game system for that), the tiny pieces are generally too much trouble to try and pick up afterwards for reuse.  Yes, it is possible to use bones harvested by other necromantic means, even by tearing off one of the grasping hands created by a prior use of this spell.  A small pouch of the bone powder is all that's needed, about a handful (and two minutes) for every ten to fifteen foot square or so.


 * Gunpowder Formulae: A full lab is ideal; a portable lab isn't going to have the same degree of protection from accidental explosions.


 * Hands of Death: A full lab is required to mix the toxic components and boil them in bitter oils into powder.  A big killing jar or other container is ideal for making the animals fight.


 * Helping Hands: The arm or hand and tradition-based elements are all that are needed.


 * Hypnosis: The only thing that is really needed is the mage's voice and a lack of distractions.  Some mages use pendulums, twisting jewellery, spinning circles, moving candles, or other aids.


 * Identify Blood: Ideally, some sort of lab equipment is used for this spell, but makeshift containers may be used.  The blood can even be taste-tested, but use of this spell offers no special protection when doing so.


 * Ineffectualize: Whatever materials are required for the spell you are bypassing are also needed for this ritual enhancement.


 * Last Rites: Tradition-specific elements are needed for the initial enchantment.  Nothing is required when the curse takes effect, except for the whole dying part.


 * Lesser Protection Circle: White paint or chalk and four white candles are all that are required.


 * Life Drain: Bloodstones and tradition elements are required for the initial enchantment.  The bloodstones alone are needed for the actual casting.


 * Little Death: Requires tradition-based components only.


 * Mimir Skull: The target skull and mystic herbs are required.


 * Mockery of Life: Tradition elements and the requisite components of either Consecrate Ceremony or Summoning Circle are used for this necromancy.


 * Mourning Bell: The bell used must be enchanted by using tradition elements.  Any type of bell can be used, but the larger and more unwieldy ones are louder and thus have a greater range and area of effect.


 * Mushroom Fear: The most difficult component is the specialised Osterrean mushroom from which this spell derives its name.  A mortar, pestle, teakettle, and some source of heat are the only other requirements.


 * Necromancy of Intelligence: This is a full ritual.  A "sacred" space is used, along with the tools of the mage's tradition.  Necromantic tools involve a special knife, incense, candles, chalk, and an altar space that holds everything for the ritual.


 * Necropsy: Tradition elements alone are used, but this spell is often cast in conjunction with a standard autopsy, requiring the tools of that art.


 * Only Mostly Dead: Some item of silver is needed which must simultaneously touch both the caster and victim.


 * Pariah Curse: Most curses use only the caster's voice.  This one involves parts of the victim's body (hair, blood, et cetera) along with an item important, representative, or sacred to the victim's culture.


 * Personal Totem: Either needles and ink are used to incorporate this spell as a tattoo, or a carving knife and the skins of those slain by the mage.  These skins are often either stretched into a banner, or worn as a cape, and is often painted and decorated.  As blood magic, something to bleed the caster is needed.


 * Petrify Bones: The bones to be petrified, and a wand made of a bone that has already been petrified are needed.  Only a small part of the wand needs to be petrified bone.


 * Preservation: Tradition elements and—ideally—some sealable container are used.  Wax and jars are common.


 * Rattlin' Bones: Only the target bones are needed.  These do not need to be pre-enchanted.


 * Razor Wind: Nearby trees are needed, but some witchdoctors carry bags filled with leaves around with them.


 * Reassembly: The working area has to be circled by silver and bone fragments.  Whether these fragments derive from those bones whose reassembly failed depends on the temper of the necromancer.


 * Restful Draught: Blood, alcohol, and other liquids are used for this concoction.  It is suspected, but largely false, that bar towel wringings are the chief component.


 * Scrying: The real magic of this spell is in the item used.  Non-enchanted mirrors and the like are useless for this skill.  This is less of a spell so much as the skill to properly utilise magic gazing devices.


 * Semetary: As a variation on the Zombie ritual, the protection circle and candles are still used.


 * Skull Spy: Tradition-specific elements are used in this enchantment.


 * Slaying Skull: The skull and tradition elements are all that are needed.  It's not a very complicated ritual to enchant the skull; mostly you spend the hour taunting it...


 * Spirit Charm: The main material component is the item to be enchanted by inhabitation.  The spirit inside may ask for specific decorations, some sort of sacrifice, or an item in exchange for its services.


 * Spiritual Review: Elements specific to the mage's tradition are used.


 * Strength of the Stolen Soul: This is a full ritual involving the tradition's elements.


 * Summon Gneeches: A specific summoning circle and a few words are all that is needed for this simple conjuration.


 * Summoning Circle: The main requirement is something with which to paint or carve the circle.  Chalk and sand are also common materials for drawing these circles.  Summoning circles often require some sort of sacrifice to use.  Specific circles may have additional requirements.


 * Superstitions: The needed materiel depends on the specifics of each superstition.  Many of these won't have any, however.


 * Suspend Decay: Tradition elements are needed, along with someplace to store the bodies.


 * Sympathy for the Enemy: Tradition elements, yada yada.


 * The Art of the Deal: There must be some final act of acceptance by the target of this ritual.  This can be a signature on a contract, a bloody thumb print, spitting into hands before shaking them, et cetera.  Required materials will depend on the mage's tradition and desires, and on the nature of the deal.


 * Todesracher: Though this spell doesn't have any components on its own, as a modification of the Zombie ritual, the protection circle and candles are still used.


 * Tribal Totem: Though time consuming, this spell doesn't have great material requirements.  A large log or pole is the main component, along with something to carve it and often paint it.


 * Undead Seeker: A compass case without the needle is ideal, but any similar container could work.


 * Weaken Bone: You need to get wood for this spell.  A bundle of sticks is enchanted over a smoky flame, which is then twisted while the necromancer chants to enact the magery.


 * Whispers from Beyond the Grave: Not only is a special type of incense used, but it smells like cat pee.


 * Zombie: Eight white candles, a protection circle, additional white powder—made from toxic animals—and grave dirt, are all used for this necromantic spell.