Background Counts

[Darkfather]

Originally Posted by Ewen O'mally

So the lower the background the greater the magic in the area? Casting magic is easy in a magical forest with a background of 5, but its hard in a barren desert of 10? Is the amount of life what determines the background?

The answer is yes, usually.

1. The more life, the lower the background count (and thus the closer the aether is to the physical world).
2. The the less life the higher the background count (and the farther the aether is to the physical world).
3. Ritual can increase or decrease the count for specific beings. A temple has a lower count for believers of the god the temple is consecrated in.
4. Beings of great power can suck the magical essence from the world around them, as can places where life has been lost in horrible ways, or where the dead are interred.
5. Fey require low background - they usually live in magical forests full of grottos (nothing better than a grotto for background).
6. Undead without great anima (like zombies) cannot survive in low backgrounds. You will never see a zombie in a grotto.