Magical Essence
Many flavors of magic suffuses the universe and its inhabitants. Spellcasters harness this power when casting spells, and artisans can infuse this energy into magic items they create. While the same effect can be produced in different ways, it is fundamentally different and yet the same.
In total, there are nine different essences, split into four categories:
- Primal : Fire, Water, Earth, and Air
- Arcane : Lawful and Chaotic
- Divine : Positive and Negative
- Psionic
Some scholars who study the essences of the world believe there to be a tenth essence, but so far no one has been able to find it. Many great wizards and artificers have spent their lives fruitlessly searching for it.
Just because a spellcaster, magic item, or creature is associated with a specific essence or family of essences, doesn't mean that they cannot access powers beyond that family. For example, all wizards cast spells with an arcane source, but that does not mean that they are unable to conjure elemental effects - quite the opposite. In the same vein, a blue dragon is a creature of almost pure air essence, but might still be able to cast enchantment magic, which is strongly associated with chaotic essences.
Using Essences
| Essence rarity | Creature CR | Item Value |
|---|---|---|
| Common | -1 | -100gp |
| Uncommon | 2-5 | 100-500gp |
| Rare | 6-10 | 500-2500 |
| Very rare | 11-16 | 2500-10000 |
| Legendary | 17- | 10000- |
The value of essences work both ways. A rare essence might sell for 2000gp, and a 5000gp ruby can be used as a very rare fire essence.
Skilled crafters can also fuse and split essences. Essences can be split into two essences of the same type, but one quality lower. In order to fuse essences into one of higher quality, three essences are required. Fusing or splitting essences is not a very difficult process, and can be done as part of a short rest.
Some essences can be of multiple types at the same time, in which case it can be used as either type, but not multiple types at the same time. For example, a Remorhaz heart is both a fire and a water essence, and the choice of how to use it doesn't have to be made right away. It is rare, but not unheard of, for creatures to have both lawful and chaotic essences, or positive and negative, as these are opposing forces.
While many essences are body parts looted from slain creatures, not all of them have to be acquired through violence. Instead, essences could be acquired through barter, persuasion, guile, enchantment, or subterfuge.
For example, by doing a favor for a Valkyrie, she might gift the party a lock of her hair - a powerful positive essence. Perhaps the party can sneak up on an owlbear and grab a handful of feathers before fleeing - the owlbear will be pretty angry, but the party will have acquired its chaotic essence.
Humanoid enemies rarely have innate essences, but more often carry magic items of their own. Of course, there is always the Soul Trap spell...
Identifying essences
Often, the type of essence something has is easy to figure out, but for the cases where it might not be clear, the Identify spell will tell you what type of essence an item something has, including its rarity.
Essences as spell components
Some spells call for expensive components that are consumed by the spell. These components can be substituted with an essence of the same type and rarity as the original component would be. For example, the Revivify spell calls for diamonds worth 300gp. 300gp worth of diamonds is an uncommon positive essence, so any uncommon positive essence (such as a unicorn horn) could be used to cast Revivify.
Another example would be the Awaken spell, which calls for an agate worth 1000gp. Agates are not usually essences, but this spell has a very strong earth flavor, so any rare earth essence could be used.
This only applies to consumed material components - the gilded flower for Summon Fey must still be supplied as usual, and Chromatic Orb still requires an actual diamond.
Essences and the Weave
Primal
Primal magic draws their power from the elemental forces of the natural world. Elementals, dragons, giants, as well as many beasts and monstrosities are powered by primal essence. Each primal essence also has a corresponding plane, and Midgard, the material plane, lies at the intersection of these.
This magic of the Material Plane is some of the hardest to teach beyond a basic level, and insight is earned through nature itself - a bird's wing that flutters in just the right way or a dolphin jumping at the right time might be the keystone piece of information to understanding a wholly new concept for someone who is in tune with the primal magics of the world.
Each primal essence is also associated with a specific season, during which that essence is heightened. For example, flowers with an air essence often bloom in spring. This does not diminish the power of other essences during these times.
Fire
| Damage types | Fire |
| Gem | Ruby |
| Season | Spring |
Deserts, volcanoes, and wildfires all embody the destructive power of fire magic. Burning Hands and Faerie Fire both draw on fiery power.
- Fire Elemental core (uncommon fire)
- Summer Eladrin's flower (rare chaotic/fire)
- Remorhaz heart (very rare fire/water)
- Adult Red Dragon claw (very rare fire)
- Phoenix eye (legendary fire)
Air
| Damage types | Lightning, Thunder |
| Gem | Amber |
| Season | Spring |
The magic of air is present in thunderstorms, atop mountains, and on windswept coasts. Shatter and Cloud of Daggers are examples of airy magic.
- Volter horn (uncommon air)
- Fluxcharger core (rare air)
- Storm Giant Quintessent's blood (very rare air)
- Ashen Rider femur (very rare air/negative)
- Androsphinx feather (legendary air/positive)
Water
| Damage types | Cold |
| Gem | Sapphire |
| Season | Winter |
Oceans, rivers, lakes, and frozen tundras are all teeming with watery magic. Water Walk and Ice Knife both harness the element of water, in different ways.
- Young White Dragon scales (uncommon water)
- Polar Bear fur (uncommon water)
- Cryodile scales (rare water)
- Marid heart (very rare water)
- Ice Devil eyes (very rare water/lawful)
- Kraken teeth (legendary water/air)
Earth
| Damage types | Acid, Poison |
| Gem | Emerald |
| Season | Autumn |
Earthen magic can be found in woodlands and swamps, but also in caves and caverns. Earthbind and Spike Growth are examples of spells that embody this power.
- Allosaur leather (uncommon earth)
- Hydra poison sac (rare earth)
- Stone Giant toe (rare earth)
- Adult Black Dragon thagomizer (very rare earth)
- Purple Worm poison gland (legendary earth)
Arcane
Arcane magic uses the runes to harness the Weave, the intangible field that permeates and surrounds everything. It influences the order of the world, either increasing or decreasing it. The Weave is present on all planes, but strongest on the Astral Sea which connects the planes.
Wizards, bards, and spellswords who wish to increase their knowledge of arcane magic study the runes to uncover new concepts to use in their spells. Some practitioners of these fields consider their magic to be 'purer' than other types of magic, since it is not dependant on outside beings.
Warlocks, on the other hand, receive their magic much like a cleric does, only their source is usually not divine. A warlock's relationship with their patron is also more transactional than that of a cleric.
Sorcerers are natural conduits for the weave. They gain new insights more spontaneously - not entirely unlike a primal magician.
A footnote on artificers
Artificer magic is not based on the runes, but instead on technological contraptions that achieve the same effect. It is entirely possible that some of these gadgets interface with the weave (or even nature itself), but that would be an exception. This does not mean that their magic is not subject to effects such as Counterspell or Antimagic Fields.
Lawful
| Damage types | Force |
| Creature types | Constructs, Fiends (devils) |
| Planes | The Astral Sea, Mechanus, Limbo |
| Gem | Amethyst |
Lawful magic creates order where previously there were none. Bless, Magic Missile and most Abjuration spells are lawful.
- Animated Armor spark (common lawful)
- Slaad control crystal (uncommon lawful)
- Modron power core (rare lawful)
- Bone Devil spine (rare lawful)
- Stone Golem heart (very rare lawful/earth)
- Astral Dreadnaught plating (legendary lawful)
Chaotic
| Damage types | - |
| Creature types | Fey, Oozes, Fiends (demons) |
| Planes | The Feywild, Far Realms |
| Gem | Topaz, Faelite |
Chaotic magic is used to bend others to one's will and shift their perceptions. It only rarely deals direct damage, instead focusing on altering their state of mind. Bane, Charm Person and Hypnotic Pattern are prime examples of chaotic spells, as is most Illusion and Enchantment magic.
- Fluxsilk (chaotic)
- Rawsley flowers (chaotic)
- Naiad hair (uncommon chaotic/water)
- Beholder lens (very rare chaotic/psionic)
- Goristro horn (legendary chaotic)
Divine
The deities and other beings of celestial origin may grant a measure of understanding of magical concepts to a mortal being. This magic originates from the plane that the granting deity originates from. Practitioners of divine magic are granted new understanding of their deity's related concepts through prayer and meditation.
Two clerics of different deities might have entirely different paths to the same effect, shaped by the understanding granted to them. For example, take the runic incantation for the spell Cure Wounds. To a priestess of Freya it might be 'Sowilo-Getho-Dagaz' - 'Freya-Gift-Time', a request for a literal gift of lifetime from the sun goddess herself, while a cleric of Thor might use the incantation 'Thurisaz-Ansuz-Nauthiz' - 'Storm-God-Emergency', a call for immediate aid to the Stormbringer. Neither is wrong, but they would also not work for the other one.
Positive
| Damage types | Radiant |
| Creature types | Celestials |
| Planes | Asgard |
| Gem | Diamond, Luxite |
Positive magic is used to heal and restore, but also to oppose negative magic. Cure Wounds and Lesser Restoration are both positively tinged.
- Freya's Mallow (positive)
- Couatl feathers (uncommon positive)
- Unicorn horn (uncommon positive)
- Deva tears (rare positive)
- Lock of Valkyrie hair (rare positive)
- Ki-rin mane hair (very rare positive)
- Solar feather (legendary positive/fire)
Negative
| Damage types | Negative |
| Creature types | Undead |
| Planes | The Shadowfell, Helheim, the Abyss |
| Gem | Onyx, Noxite |
Negative magic exists as a dual of positive magic, locked in an eternal struggle, yet neither can exist without the other. Inflict Wounds and Darkness are examples of negative spells.
- Buckliss lily (negative)
- Flameskull dust (uncommon negative)
- Mezzoloth chitin (uncommon negative)
- Sword Wraith ectoplasm (rare negative)
- Vampire heart (very rare negative)
- Death Tyrant lens (very rare negative/chaos)
- Blue Dracolich heart (legendary negative/air)
Psionic
| Damage types | Psychic |
| Creature types | Aberrations |
| Planes | The Ethereal Plane |
| Gem | Opal |
The rarest source of magic, at least in this part of the world. This magic comes from the mind, turning imagination into solid objects, or manipulating the world by re-imagining it with a single thought. It is very rare for anyone to have any sort of psionic power, and most of those cannot exploit its full capacity, even less explain or teach it to others - if they can even control it at all.
Psionics seems to have some connection to the passage of time itself, although this is still an active area of study.
Unique among essences in that it has no counterpart, psionic essences are coveted by those who practice its powers. This is the least understood form of magic in the world, but that does not diminish its power. Some psionic effects can be replicated by ordinary wizards in spells such as Tasha's Mind Whip and Synaptic Static, but that is a long way from mastering psionics.
- Cranium Rat skull (common psionic)
- Displacer Beast tentacle (uncommon psionic)
- Mind Flayer blood (rare psionic)
- Aboleth mucus (very rare psionic)
- Star Spawn larvae (very rare psionic)
- Elder Brain cerebral fluid (legendary psionic)