All the planes of Magic’s Multiverse are suffused with
mana—the energy that fuels magic in all its forms.
Mana is intricately linked with the physical world, and
different types of terrain produce different “colors” of
mana. Most mages specialize in the use of one or perhaps two colors of mana, and in the particular types of
magical effects that mana can create.
Color is a fundamental organizing principle of the
Multiverse, closely linked with everything from physical geography to human personality. The following are
just some of the correlations between color and other
aspects of existence:
• Lands: Different types of terrain generate mana
of different colors. For example, mountains produce red mana,while plains produce white mana.
• Philosophical Principles: Each color is associated with a set of ideals, values, and principles.
White is connected with protection and order, and
green with life and nature.
• Magical Effects: Different colors of mana are
used to power different kinds of spells. Spells
of fire, lightning, and speed draw on red mana,
while spells of water, ice, and the mind use blue
mana.
• Races and Creatures: Humans are exceptional,
in that they don’t have a particular aptitude or affinity for one color of mana. For other races, and
even for nonsentient creatures, the connection is
much stronger. Elves, for example, are typically
green aligned. They use nature magic, and they
value things like balance, stability, and interdependence. Hydras are also green aligned, though
they don’t use magic and they don’t have values—even as they can be seen to embody those
values. So if you wanted to summon a hydra,
you’d use a green spell to do it.
• Metaphysical Essence: Sometimes magic or
even powerful emotions can change the basic
nature of people or creatures in a way that alters
their color alignment. A vile curse might change
someone from green aligned to black aligned (or
both green and black aligned). A terrible loss that
spurs someone to vengeance might add red to the
person’s color alignment—temporarily or even
permanently.
• Personality Traits: Different colors of mana are
associated with different qualities of personality. It might be that a person who is emotionally
driven, creative, and energetic is naturally drawn
to the use of red mana; or perhaps using red mana
brings out those qualities in a person. Most likely,
the effect runs both ways.
A character’s or creature’s “color alignment” is a sort
of shorthand that sketches out its personality, alignment, and power suite—the kinds of effects that it creates with its magic or through its behavior. This section
goes over the traits of each of the five colors, and offers suggestions for ways they might influence a D&D
character.
Multiple Colors. Many mages, especially Planeswalkers, routinely draw on two or more colors of mana.
In some worlds, color pairs or triads have such a strong
identity that they are manifested in the world. The
guilds of Ravnica, for example, are each aligned to a
specific pair of mana colors, and each of the clans of
Tarkir used three colors. And some lands produce mana
of more than one color, so that a highland lake might
produce both red and blue mana. Mana pairs similarly
suggest certain principles, create certain magical effects, and favor certain personality traits.
Based on the color wheel, it’s possible to speak of
two colors of mana as either “allied” (adjacent to each
other on the wheel) or “enemy” (separated by another
color). White’s allied colors are green and blue; its enemy colors are red and black. That doesn’t mean that
creatures associated with allied colors are necessarily
on the same side of any conflict, or that creatures associated with enemy colors are actually enemies. But
if conflict does arise—for example, in a party of adventurers—it’s more likely to arise between a whitealigned and a red-aligned character than between a
white-aligned and a blue-aligned one. That’s the natural
result of the different personalities and principles associated with each color. A white character might put a lot
of stress on the value of law and order, and of working
together toward a common goal. A red-aligned character values freedom and individuality.
Characters and Colors. In the language of the D&D
game, the colors of mana are a means of categorizing
the types of magic that suffuse all existence. When a
spellcaster draws upon or manipulates the Weave (see
chapter 10 in the Player’s Handbook), part of that process involves tugging on a strand that connects to a land
that produces mana of the desired color. Whether consciously or unconsciously, a druid casting barkskin tugs
on a strand of the Weave connected to a forest in the
world, drawing out the green mana needed to cast the
spell.
There’s no rules weight to this material;
it’s simply about roleplaying your character.
If you’re playing a cleric, you might find it
helpful to imagine your character drawing
on white mana, and you’ll find that a lot of
your spells could indeed be white spells in
Magic. You might also find inspiration in
the personality traits and ideals described
in the white mana entry. But there’s no rule
preventing your character from using spells
like divination (a blue spell), stone shape (a
red spell), create undead (a black spell), or insect plague (a green spell). On the other hand,
you might find that thinking about your cleric as
a white-aligned caster shapes your choice of spells
as well as your personality.
