Incantation

Incantation

Great focus of the mind is required for a mage to properly perform magic. Focus lost can lead to feedback flowing into the mage, the spell performing chaotically or crucially different than it was designed, and is generally dangerous to the mage and anyone else nearby.

Mages, especially those who are inexperienced, resort to various forms of Incantation to focus their mind. Words, bodily movements, thought processes, etc. are all types of incantation which the mage utilizes to stay calm under pressure. Many different grimoires exist and many of the spells or processes within are similar but detail different types of incantation. For this reason, many different spells have many different incantations as practicing mages use the incantations they learn in confidence that such incantation has worked previously, or well enough to warrant it being published into a magical archive.

However, incantations do nothing for the spell itself, only for the mage.

This sounds nice but I'm curious as to what degree incantations help? I mean would a really "powerful" incantation in some ancient grimoire allow for the casting of a spell much more difficult then what someone normally could cast?

It's more or less a psychological placebo effect that people have not really understood that it's just a placebo effect. Certain words and bodily movements or manipulation do provoke certain thoughts or emotions, so there is theoretically a "powerful", or at least more scientifically based, incantation that allows for maximum benefit. As for the ancient grimoire part, this is likely, because anything before the Fall was priceless due to the peak of magical research.

As for how much it helps... well, it changes, really, from spell to spell, but I suppose this is more or less fluff why such things exist in the world and and added benefit to not being utterly destroyed by practicing magic.

For example, a trainee who is trying a more advanced spell for the first time uses an incantation he learned that has allowed for successful casting for centuries, giving him the confidence to overcome his nervousness and make a solid attempt. This will likely happen subconsciously, or at least they won't understand just how it works consciously.

So it increases a mages capacity to preform magic but wouldn't allow for them to do anything past what they are physically capable of doing?

More or less, I guess.

Excellent. Sounds peachy.

I'm going to add a bit more development and/or fluff and then incorporate it into the Magic System pending continued approval.

This would be a wonderful area in which to add the idea I proposed on limiting magic where mages can only marshall the neccessary focus to cast spells for a limited time before they are incapable of doing so (would trigger some ailment like dizziness or headache).

That's a terribly hard thing to quantify, though.

It's another tool to limit mages. And it fixes the issue of what happens with mages in fixed emplacements with tons of feedback and reagents.

There's already a limit of mental exhaustion and whatnot. It just isn't well quantified. This also doesn't really seem like the place to include it.

It's talking about incantation or "focus techniques". This is the perfect place to put it.

Yeah, you might be right. I've got an idea on how to include it and not interrupt the flow, but it's getting late and I'll get to it another time.

Aight.