World of Wu-Yu
High Magic is the more powerful and potentially destructive counterpart of Low Magic. In contrast to Low Magic, High Magic is neither common nor easily learned. It is the exclusive province of priests, shamans, and sorcerers, and takes years of training to learn.
The method of casting varies according to magical tradition, whether shamanic, priestly, or sorcerous. It is precisely the same as for Low Magic: shamans cast by contact with a focus, priests by chant and gesture, and sorcerers by mere thought (see Low Magic for more details).
Acquiring and remembering High Magic spells differs from Low Magic. First, Spirit Magic spells, wielded by shamans, must be learned by battling and capturing an appropriate spell spirit, possibly with the aid of a more powerful shaman, and once learned they can be cast and recast much like Low Magic. Next, Divine spells, the province of priests, are learned by spending days praying at an appropriately-sized temple, or in the presence of priests of an appropriate number and rank. Hefty donations to the temple are also required. In addition, the priest must dedicate a portion of his or her life essence to the spell, effectively reducing POW by one per point of Magnitude of the spell, until the spell is cast. Divine Magic spells tend to be more powerful, but once cast they are forgotten, and can only be relearned by more prayer and donation. Finally, Sorcery, commanded by sorcerers, is acquired by studying sorcerous texts. Once cast, they are forgotten, and can only be relearned with the aid of the sorcerous texts. Possession of such texts is a crime outside the Plateau of Trulkor.
The game mechanics of casting also generally differs from Low Magic. While Spirit Magic is cast the same way (POW x5), Divine Magic is not cast by one’s own power but by that of the deities. Thus, it has very little chance of failure (only on a roll of 96-00). Sorcery is cast using a skill score appropriate to each spell (for example, when casting the Palsy spell, use the Palsy skill score).
Spirit Magic and Sorcery both expend Magic Points in casting, much like Low Magic. But Divine Magic does not. The spell is powered instead by the essence of the deities.