Magiauredo

Magical Disease (Arcane, Non-Contagious, Rare)

Common Names: Mage’s Fade, Velmont’s Grief, Green Burn

Magiauredo is a rare and poorly understood arcane degenerative disease, first documented in the margins of obscure Mól religious texts and later named by scholars in Amulta. The Mól believed it to be a divine curse, a punishment from the gods for overreaching with magic, and similar views likely existed in other cultures. Though its true origin remains unknown, Magiauredo has only ever manifested in individuals born with innate magical aptitude; no known cases exist among those who later acquired magical abilities. While non-contagious by nature, the disease can be replicated and artificially transmitted through magical-alchemical methods using tuberculosis as a vessel. That discovery was tragically exploited by desperate researchers, including the late Magnus Velmont.

Initial Symptoms

• A faint, bioluminescent rash, usually green, blue, or violet, appears along the arms, throat, and abdomen.

• Mild burning or tingling sensations beneath the skin, worsening with emotional stress or magical activity.

• Decreased magical control; spells may feel “sluggish,” causing a 5% chance of spell failure.

• Arcane fatigue (the fatigued condition for a number of rounds equal to the spell cast).

Progression

Over Weeks or Months

• Rash deepens; pulses become more intense causing headaches, tremors, and insomnia.

• Further decrease of magical control; 20% chance of spell failure.

• Arcane fatigue (the fatigued condition for a number of rounds equal to the spell cast).

Over Months or Years

• Pain intensifies, becoming a sharp, internal burning (treat as sickened during flare).

• Magic becomes harder to wield: casters begin losing 1 spell slot from their highest available level each day they use arcane magic.

• Eventually, magical ability becomes completely inert as the disease reaches its late stages. Physical health begins to decline shortly thereafter.

Dangers of Casting While Afflicted

The effects of using magic progressively worsenen as the disease advances.

• Mild Stage: Slight spell failure chance; and mild fatigue.
• Moderate Stage: Magical fatigue persists and it becomes harder to recover magical energy.
• Severe Stage: Cast spells can deal nonlethal or even lethal damage to the mage. Or some oocations it my even cause ability score damage.
• Note: In rare cases a flare-up can cause arcane surges or unpredictable magical effects.

History

The disease is most infamously associated with the tragic downfall of the Velmont family, once respected nobles in Amulta.

Magnus Velmont was the first to successfully replicate and inject the disease into test subjects, many of whom died in agony. Only a test subject named Elijah is known to have survived. His daughter Gwenivere Velmont, though not a test subject herself, carries the disease to this day.

Magiauredo is now classified by the Lady Arcium and Amulta as a “hazardous magical affliction,” though records of its existence are limited, and research into its cure is quietly suppressed.

Treatment

There is no known cure for Magiauredo. Standard restoration magic has no effect on the disease, and in some cases, attempts to remove it magically have accelerated progression.

However, the Velmont family discovered a method of palliative care through a herbal infusion known as “Velvet Balm.” This remedy uses a blend of rare plants (notably Iversage root, ghost thistle, and Lotus berthelotii combined with controlled infusion of certain restorative and ice magics.

When administered during a flare-up

• The sickened condition is suppressed for a few hours.

• Pain is numbed, reducing lethal to nonlethal damage and eliminating nonlethal damage.

• The glow of the rash dulls; tremors and other symptoms subside.

Requires a successful DC 20 Craft (alchemy) or Profession (herbalist) check to prepare. Also requires access to low-level magical energy when administered to “activate” the infusion.

The infusion is not addictive, but overuse can reduce its effectiveness.