Exploring the Arcane

Enchantment tables and brewing stands are perfectly fine magical tools, but perhaps you yearn to explore a school of magic in depth. Perhaps out of practicality? For power? Or perhaps for the sake of knowledge itself?

In terms of practicality, Blood Magic has much to offer: living armor that adapts to the wearer's needs, rituals and routing nodes that can facilitate all manner of automation, and an alchemy table capable of producing potions far beyond the capabilities of a conventional brewing stand. However, all this power does not come without risk. Once your soul network has tasted blood for the first time, its hunger will never be sated. You will need to feed it blood, or you will risk it feeding on your own. Your soul network's hunger will only increase as your power grows. Should you deem yourself worthy, the Sanguine Scientiem can be readily crafted.

In terms of pure offensive power, hermitian spellcasting has no equal. Ranged spells and self spells can, with practice, render arrows and potions obsolete. However, be warned: the first spell you cast exerts an inescapable pull upon your mind, binding you to your body. As you continue to cast spells, the pull of one element will eventually win out. You will not only master control over that element, but embody everything that element represents. If the idea of spellcasting excites you, you can create the Arcane Compendium by placing a book in an item frame near a pool of etherium. Consult the Arcane Compendium about "Your First Spell," and be sure to place an Obelisk or linked Etherium Conduit near your Crafting Altar if your spell recipe requires etherium. [Ars Magica for 1.10 still has some bugs to work out, so be prepared for the experience to be a bit rough around the edges.]

If knowledge is what you seek, there is no better place to find it but in the stars. This school of magic, Astral Sorcery, harnesses the power of starlight. Starlight is needed for even the simplest of crafting recipes, but unfortunately concentrated starlight is not easy to come by on the surface. You will need to find a marble temple and dig into its lower chamber, where an unbreakable floating crystal can be found. You must borrow the starlight for crafting by placing a crafting table near the crystal. A Resonating Wand, a Starlight Crafting Table, and a Journal if you do not already have one, must all be crafted there before you can harness starlight on your own. The Journal will then tell you everything you need to progress.

One cannot forget to mention one of the oldest and most venerable schools of magic: equivalent exchange [ProjectE]. While the ancient masters are long dead, and much of the knowledge lost, it is still a field worth pursuing. Arguably the most useful material you will encounter early on is covalence dust. Different tiers of the dust can be crafted with tools to slowly repair them, and there continue to be found crafting recipes for the magical dusts that even the ancient masters could not have predicted. A dabbling alchemist can quickly find use for the transmuting and instant smelting abilities of the Philosopher's Stone, and the Klein Star-powered destruction catalyst as a terrain-clearing building tool. All these and more await you, should you be willing to pay the proper fee in matter.

Vital alchemy is also worth mentioning. It may lack the glamorous danger of blood alchemy or the precision of equivalent exchange, but its powders have no shortage of uses both practical and aesthetic. With a few hoppers or item pipes, many of its resources can be automated rather simply. Budding vital alchemists are encouraged to check out this guide.