The setting is chugging along! The quests should be finished by tomorrow night, then it's just a matter of finalizing the random tables and formatting everything! I'll release as much of the guide sections as I can by the new year, but I'm planning on saving a few of them for later versions of the GM's Guide.

This doesn't have anything to do with the Blackwood, but it was an idea I had and wanted to share.

The Elements and Velocities of Magic
Elements and Velocities form the building blocks of a lightweight magic system. Magic users have four velocities to choose from: advancing, withdrawing, avoiding, and resisting. There could be abilities a player chooses at character creation to specialize in one or two of these velocities to the detriment of the others.

When characters learn a spell, they come to understand an element of reality. This could be fire, or darkness, or pride, or almost any noun. Some elements are easier to learn than others, and some are nigh impossible to grasp. This would be reflected in the mechanics by spell levels or something like it.

When casting a spell, characters grasp an element, then focus on a velocity to spur the element into reality. An advancing fire spell could be a fireball, and a resisting gravity spell might be something that allows you to walk on walls. There could be abilities that allow a character to combine two elements or two velocities in a single spell.

Complexity could be added to the system by requiring an additional building block: proximity. Maybe starting characters have to choose one proximity (self, short, or medium), and all their spell ranges are affected accordingly. This would still allow characters to creatively interpret the combination of the elements and velocities, but adds a little constrain for those who prefer more crunch.

Thoughts? I like it, but I don't want to put too much effort into it at the moment.