The Magi of Achaea

---

Magi lore and origin

The Magi class is ancient. Its tradition reaches back to Agatheis, a slain elemental god whose power the Magi inherited. Modern Magi continue that work in the Workshops of Artifice, crafting elemental staves and forming compacts with the Elemental Planes themselves.

The lore is terse but the implications are large. A Magi is not a wizard who memorises spells. A Magi is a practitioner whose every ability is grounded in their relationship with the elements and their physical foci. The Elemental Staff is the basis and pinnacle of an Artificer’s achievement. The crystals scattered through their workshop are tools, not props.

Combat-wise, Magi are feared on any battlefield. Their tools are described in the lore as “formidable,” and the ability list backs that up. They can alter the battlefield with bulwarks of ice, scour foes with whips of flame, blast armies with hails of lightning. Higher-order spells, the ones that require resonance with the Elemental Planes, carry real risk. Magi mastery means handling the danger of channeling them, not just knowing the spells.

This is also one of the most accessible mage classes for a new player. The class has been around long enough to accumulate decades of player-written guides. Combat is direct enough that the basic loop is teachable. The class has no factional pressure: a Magi is welcome in every city.

---

Signature combat identity: elemental devastation and crystalline vibration

Three things make a Magi a Magi.

The first is elemental devastation. Elementalism is the core combat skill. A trained Magi opens channels to the Elemental Realms and pulls fire, ice, lightning, earth, and water through those conduits. The capstone spells (Conflagrate, Hypothermia, Glaciate, Firestorm, Shalestorm, Emanation, Convergence) are mass-destruction abilities. They’re meant to flatten battlefields. The Magi’s role in group combat is often to be the wide-area damage dealer.

The second is crystalline vibration. Crystalism is a room-control system. A Magi refines crystals from the Master Crystal of their House, spins them in a room, and embeds vibrations in the resulting field. Some vibrations affect only the Magi. Some affect only enemies. Some affect everyone. A skilled Magi can stack vibrations to create a room that punishes intruders while protecting allies. This is one of the most distinctive combat systems in Achaea, with no good comparison to anything in other games.

The third is the elemental treaty. Artificing is the craft skill, but its higher-order content is the Elemental Treaty: a ritual compact with the Elemental Planes that lets the Magi summon Waterweirds, Djinn, Sandlings, Efreeti, Stonebacks, Breath, Mistfiends, and Ashbeasts. These creatures are bound by formal compact, not casual summons. The Magi who has built strong treaties with multiple Planes commands an army.

Together, Elementalism + Crystalism + Artificing makes Magi a three-layer combatant: direct elemental damage, persistent room-control vibrations, and summoned planar allies. There’s a reason the class shows up on most “where to start” lists for new players who want a caster.

---

The three skills of a Magi

A Magi commands three skill sets: Elementalism, Crystalism, and Artificing. A fledgling Magi gains Elementalism and Crystalism; Artificing is granted upon embracing the class.

---

Magi Houses and cities

See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.

Magi is unrestricted by alignment. 16 Houses across all 6 cities plus two cityless options, the maximum for any non-factional class.

House	City	Notes
The Dawnblade	Targossas	Targossan martial House. Magi here serve Light.
The Harbingers of Redemption	Targossas	Targossan succour House. The healer/scholar Magi home.
The Dread Legates	Mhaldor	Mhaldorian military House.
The Insidium	Mhaldor	Mhaldorian rites House.
The Esoteric Consortium	Ashtan	Ashtan martial House.
The Savants of the Wheel	Ashtan	Ashtan academic House. Strong Magi home for scholarly play.
The Nemesian Vanguard	Ashtan	Ashtan front-line House.
The Vashnarian Shield	Cyrene	Cyrene guardian House.
The Virtuosi	Cyrene	Cyrene artistic House.
The Discurean Outriders	Cyrene	Cyrene explorer/academic House.
The Krymenian Academy	Hashan	Hashan academic House. Another scholar’s home.
The Somatikos	Hashan	Hashan body-discipline House.
The Scions of the Ithmia	Eleusis	Eleusis forestal House.
The Heartwood Kin	Eleusis	Eleusis nature House.
The Grand Merchant Collective	(cityless)	The trader House.
The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering	(cityless)	The Jester-founded House.

To check current House availability in-game: HOUSE LIST MAGI. To read about any House: HELP HOUSE .

A note for new players: Magi is one of the most newbie-friendly classes for organisations with strong academic Houses. The Savants of the Wheel (Ashtan), The Krymenian Academy (Hashan), and The Harbingers of Redemption (Targossas) all support Magi who lean scholarly.

---

What an Achaea Magi might look like

Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Magi can look like across a few of Achaea’s 14 playable races. These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Magi.

---

How to roleplay a Magi in Achaea

Magi roleplay is built around two pillars: the craft and the elements.

The craft is the Workshop. Every Magi labours over their Elemental Staff for hours that don’t show up in combat logs. The staff isn’t bought; it’s made. Same with the crystals. Same with the elemental treaties. A Magi who roleplays this side of the class well treats their workshop as a real space, their staff as a real object, and the act of crafting as part of who they are. The Hashan Krymenian Academy and the Ashtan Savants of the Wheel are the obvious homes for scholar-Magi who want to lean into this.

The elements are the relationships. Sllshya (water), Whiirh (air), Maklak (cold), Garash (earth), Kkractle (fire): these are the named Elemental Powers a Magi negotiates with. A treaty isn’t a transaction; it’s a compact. Players who lean into this aspect treat the Elemental Planes as characters with personalities, allies with their own interests, and counterparts whose favour matters.

A few practical notes:

You can serve any city. Targossas, Mhaldor, Ashtan, Cyrene, Hashan, Eleusis: every city has Magi. Pick the city that fits your character; the class will work in any of them. A Targossan Magi reads as the holy scholar. A Mhaldorian Magi reads as the cold theorist of Evil. An Ashtani Magi reads as the Chaos researcher. The class is a chameleon for whichever ethos you sign up for.

Master Crystal politics matter. Your House’s Master Crystal is the source of your Crystalism kit. If you switch Houses, you switch crystals. The class has a real mechanical stake in House loyalty, even though it’s not factionally locked.

Combat is mechanically rewarding. Stacking Crystalism vibrations to control a room while channeling higher-order Elementalism spells while keeping an elemental treaty active for summons: this is layered, demanding combat. The class rewards mastery.

If you want a versatile elemental caster, an ancient combat magic tradition with active player guides, and freedom to roleplay across any city’s ethos, Magi delivers.

---

Other classes to consider

Three classes worth a look if Magi is on your shortlist (or browse all 21 Achaea classes for the full comparison):

Alchemist: Cauda Pavonis Scholar

The mage cousin. Where the Magi works with elemental forces and crystals, the Alchemist works with humours, transmutation, and homunculi. Same scholarly identity, different combat mechanics. Note: Alchemist is locked out of cities that accept Druid/Sentinel/Sylvan (forestal classes), so the city pool is slightly narrower.

Sylvan: The Viridian Forest Mage

The elemental-meets-nature hybrid. Sylvans use Weatherweaving (elemental weather control) alongside Groves and Propagation. The lore explicitly says Sylvans drew on both Druid and Magi knowledge. Choose Sylvan if you want elemental power but with the forestal alignment to Eleusis and Nature.

Psion: The Aldar Mind-Mage

The other ancient magic tradition. Where Magi draw on slain Agatheis’s elemental power, Psions draw on the Aldar’s psionic and weaving arts. Choose Psion if you want ancient power but with a mental rather than elemental flavour, and a smaller, more specialised community.

← Back to all 21 classes

---

Frequently Asked Questions

← Back to all 21 classes

---