Ward

Spells that envelop the entire area and enforce a particular effect on everything inside this domain. Usually protective in nature, hence the name, but some wards react rather violently when the right conditions are triggered. Alarm spells, magic inhibitor zones and spells that resist specific spells, types of magic, environmental extremes and other threats are an example of warding magic. Wards tend to have very long casting times, making them of limited use in combat situations if they had not been applied on the target beforehand. Additionally, different wards interfere with one another, making it tricky to stack multiple ones upon the same target. Most professional warders measure their skill in terms of how many different wards they can stack together and how smoothly they work together – a task that gets drastically more difficult as one adds each additional ward into the project.

Warding is both easy and hard. If one is only interested in casting temporary wards, the field is not too difficult. A fair amount of experimentation and experience is required to figure out how to make multiple wards work together smoothly, but this is nothing unmanageable. Many mages specialize in the field in such a manner, erecting temporary warding zones when employed to do so.

However, while this is a perfectly respectable way to make a living, it is not the most profitable one. The real money lies in the construction of permanent wards, and this requires considerable expertise in spell formula. Since spell formulas are notoriously difficult, this raises the difficulty of the job immensely. Though many professional warders dream of eventually transitioning into the field of permanent wards, very few actually have what it takes to pull it off. This makes this sort of warder extremely well paid, and often reluctant to help others enter the same field and lower the prices.

Wards can be dispelled, but if they are anchored to a spell formula they are much more difficult to dispel.

Wards are ubiquitous. They are used by most wizards, both weak and strong. It is common for mages to keep permanent wards on their homes.

Wards require a power source. They are often made to subsist off of ambient mana, in which case the strength of the wards depends on the amount of ambient mana in the area. They can also be powered by personal mana or the mana of captured souls.

Types of Wards

Wards cover an area and are used for protection. They may accomplish a variety of purposes. We have seen wards that can:

• Alert the caster that someone or something has entered the ward. This basic type of ward is learned even before a mage is certified. Zorian knows how to use it even before entering the time loop (ch. 1).
• Disrupt spellcasting (ch. 1). This does not make spellcasting impossible, but it does make it more difficult.
• Prevent divinations from detecting those within it.
• Soundproof an area.
• Prevent or subvert teleportation (ch. 51). Large cities can employ wards to route teleportation through a central location.
• Prevent magical explosions (ch. 47)
• Prevent fire magic (ch. 62)
• (INCOMPLETE LIST)

Anti-ward Magic

There is a branch of magic that focuses on defeating enemy wards. There are three ways to defeat a ward (ch. 30).

1. Siphoning. The power source of the ward is drained until it runs out of power and fades away. This can take a long time and requires having control of the area around the ward.
2. Breaking. This is the fastest strategy. A weakness in the ward is exploited to cause the ward to suddenly collapse. This is quick, but may cause the ward to explode. Powerful wards cannot be easily broken.
3. Bypassing. The mage avoids triggering the ward. This requires a good understanding of the ward.