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Planewalker Games' latest lore update for The Broken Hourglass, their upcoming fantasy RPG, focuses on the game's unique spell system. Stepping away from the more common RPG methods for handling magic use, Hourglass will make use of what Planewalker describes as a "mana potential" system.

Here's a bit of explanation from the article:

The amount of mana possessed by each character represents how much magical energy they can divide up among one or many tasks at a given time. Any effect which has a long duration is considered a standing enchantment, and standing enchantments tie up mana until they are released. A mage with 15 mana points who invests five mana points in a damage-protection spell is reduced to having 10 mana left to spend. When he releases the armor spell, he will once again have 15 mana available. Beneficial standing enchantments typically remain in play until party members choose to drop them. Deleterious standing enchantments, such as an attribute penalty or a spell to lower resistance to damage, typically remain in play until the end of combat, or until the party rests.

Some spells are not standing enchantments--most notably, direct damage spells. These spells are considered instantaneous rather than lasting in nature, so mana is not "held up" by a direct damage spell. A mage with 15 mana points who invests five in an armor spell is left with 10 mana points, which he can then use to shoot 10-mana damage bolts at enemies for as long as he wishes (or at least, as long as his enemies don't force him to change tactics by rushing him.)

The Broken Hourglass: Principles of Magic

The Broken Hourglass

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