Demons, Skeletons, and Druids…Oh My!

Magic in the Hyborian
World 


By Cody “Micajah” Bye

March 9, 2007

Over the last few weeks/months, Funcom and their representatives have
been leaking more information about the magic system than they had
been previously, so I was anxious to sit down with Jorgen and quiz him
on some of the finer aspects of spellweaving and the darkness that many
spells call forth. 

The “Journey into Darkness”

In the Age of Conan, and in the Conan lore in general,
spellcasters are
a special caste of people. Like our real world today, common citizens
in Hyboria have no connection to mystical or supernatural forces. When
someone in Hyboria does tap into these arts, it is not through common
means and often is tied to the demon world in some way.

“We call it the ‘Journey into
Darkness’,” Jorgen said. “While the melee
combatants experience this in the decisions that they make in the world
and how they interact with NPCs, the spellcasters are in particular
danger to going down this path due to their connection to the forces of
darkness.”

He went on to explain that this is due to the extremely volatile forces
that the spellcasters are drawing from. Since their magic is tied to a
darker place, it naturally affects the magic-users. The threat is
accentuated further when a character weaves his spells together.

For those that are unfamiliar, it was revealed that magic users in the
Age of Conan will be able to blend their spells together to form
greater and more potent effects. Though the reward from mixing these
spells is enhanced, so to is the risk.

“If the spells mixed exceed the character’s
abilities, the spellweave could backfire and injure or kill the
player,” Jorgen said. “There is also a greater
chance of falling farther into darkness.”

If the character takes the path of darkness too far, they may not be
able to return. When a character is corrupted to a certain point, he
will be plunged into a hell or a place a lot like it. Once this has
happened, the character is forced to fight his way back from the depths
in order to truly restore life back to his character.


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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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