3. MAGIC, PSIONICS, AND SPECIAL ABILITIES

Although the dragons are by nature magic, humans native to the DragonLands do not evidence any magical abilities of their own. Humans who arrive from other lands through the wastes seem to lose their magical abilities when the arrive in DragonLands. So, while in rare cases humans may exhibit certain psionic abilities, there are no mages, wizards, etc. in the DragonLands.

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

3.1 Outside the DragonLands

Though this is not generally known to inhabitants of the DragonLands, the rest of New Brittany outside the wastes contains different types of magic from that of the DragonLands and its dragons. Thus, neither joined nor unjoined dragons can venture beyond the wastes; joined humans may do so, but their dragons cannot follow and the dragon and human cannot communicate with one another during that time. The dragon-human bond can last no more than an hour or so under this strain before being irrevocably severed. Very rarely an unjoined human makes the journey. It is not damaging to them (except for the wild dragons, and carnivorous plants and monsters they must face). This is not generally known, and has happened only a few times in the history of the DragonLands.

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

3.2 Channeling Magic

Humans are largely incapable of channeling magic. However, dragons are magical creatures and more in tune with the magic of the land. Occasionally, a dragon will exhibit a magical ability. Usually, it is a single knack or physical difference (for example, Wynn's dragon Malekith breathes fire that freezes rather than burns). Any such abilities must be cleared with the Administration before being brought into gameplay. Note: Because the magic of the DragonLands is different from magic anywhere else on New Brittany, a mage from elsewhere will not be able to practice magic once he or she enters the DragonLands. However, magic can be absorbed by certain minerals in the DragonLands, and DL alchemists are trained in locating these minerals and using them to best advantage. Therefore, though humans cannot channel magic directly, certain types of magic potions can be manufactured. This should only be done with Admin approval.

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

3.3 Telepathy

There is only one psionic ability that is expressly defined for DragonLands, and that is telepathy. All dragons are telepathic, and an extremely small number of humans exhibit this ability. It is not the same as the dragon-human bond; a dragonrider does not need to be a telepath to talk to his or her own dragon, while a telepath need not necessarily be a dragonrider.

Telepathy in this world is the ability to project thoughts and receive/process the projected thoughts of others. The thoughts a telepath reads must be projected by someone else with the ability to project. It's pretty much communication with other telepaths-- all dragons and those few human telepaths. Extraneous human thoughts should not be readable except in VERY close proximity (pretty much physical contact only), and even this is uncommon.

These readable surface thoughts come as abstract impressions. For example, you might be able to tell that your lover is lying to you, but you couldn't decipher his/her plans for tomorrow, even if he/she were thinking about them. These thoughts are usually only readable when there is emotional closeness between the telepath and subject. However, there have been cases where some amount of surface-thought reading occurred in times of extremely high stress.

What telepathy can do:

Hear projections from other human telepaths

Read dragon communications such as: <Kaeryth, this is Alanth. M'ressan wants you to tell Christalla that...>

What telepathy can't do:

Go digging through thoughts or memories in another mind

Tap in to the link between dragon and rider

What telepathy can do, but just barely:

Read surface thoughts of others (human and dragon) -- only with physical contact and high stress or emotional closeness.

It's still a pretty powerful tool. A lot of information is passed in dragon communications-- most riders (other than telepaths) depend on their dragons to communicate information with other dragonriders over distances. Dragons, on the other hand, use telepathy as almost their sole means of communication with their kind.

Telepathy also has a range, which is not necessarily true of the dragon-human bond (a mature dragon and rider are in some level of mental contact, regardless of distance). This range is often quite a few miles, but it is a definite restriction. It has been demonstrated, however, that multiple telepaths can combine their abilities (in physical contact again) to extend this range.

Note: Telepathy should not be confused with empathy. See below.

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

3.4 Other Psionics and Special Abilities

Psionic abilities are not common among humans of the DragonLands. However, they are not unknown. There is a lot of leeway in character creation with regards to special abilities, but all must be cleared with the administration before being brought into gameplay. To keep individual characters from achieving omnipotence (real or relative to other characters), there will be a restriction on how many special abilities a character can develop. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Generally speaking, however, a maximum of two "superpowers" are allowed for the dragon-human pair.

Empathy in DragonLands is the ability to sense emotions or feelings. It is restricted to only very strong, surface emotions, but close contact and emotional attachments may increase the ability to sense another individual's emotions. Empathy need not be linked to telepathy. In the Nomadlands certain empathic/telekinetic individuals can use their ability to heal, but only to great risk to themselves. (See information about the Nomadlands)

There is only one psionic ability that is not permitted in the DragonLands, and this is precognition (the ability to see future events before they happen). There are very few forms of precognition that will be accepted in the DragonLands, due to the restraints and confusion it can impose on the development of the storyline.

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE