While it is understood that Chivalry and Sorcery is designed more for a historic-level game, that does not mean the core of a high-fantasy game is not hidden beneath the surface. There is nothing within the rules that would seriously hamper enjoying a high-fantasy game using the rules with very few modifications. To demonstrate this fact I will discuss the creation and care of Battle Mages.

My use to term, Battle Mages, is meant to represent any practitioner of magick that engages in combat on a regular basis. While that is easily done with physical weapons, I want to concentrate on the use of magick on a battlefield — both in single and mass combat.

There are two large problems with magicians using their spells in the typical combat found in high-fantasy games. The first is their constant loss of fatigue and the second is the speed of their spells.

The fatigue loss is the most annoying of the problems to work around. Since fatigue is a combatant's first line of defense, even a magician not using very powerful spells will quickly find themselves down enough fatigue in the first few rounds that they will be rendered ineffective for the rest of the fight. To work around this the magician will use Prepare Combination and Trigger . By preparing combinations ahead of time and paying the fatigue cost the magician can generally carry enough items on their person to go at least the first round without dipping into their personal items. Even if the GM does not allow the use of holding spells in ordinary items (which I don't) it doesn't take too much to keep a few fully enchanted items of power on hand. Couple this with a lesser focus and even once the magician begins to burn their own fatigue the loss will not be too great.

The second problem is the speed of a magician's spells. This is because for anything slower than a Word of Guard or Cantrip the magician cannot get their spell off in a single Action Phase. Again the use of Prepare Combination and Trigger will allow the stacking of several slower spells during non-combat moments for a quick release during combat. The key is to keep the number spells in each spell stack limited to a very tight effect and under the size necessary to qualify as a cantrip.

Using these two simple techniques the magician is able to avoid the large penalties of fatigue loss and spell speed and become a valuable member of the party during combat. While both of these techniques give up flexibility for pre-defined options, a skilled magician will know what spells make the best combination in each situation and react accordingly.

When dealing with mass combat the magician generall has more options and less of a concerning about the speed of their spells. This is because they have a great deal of people standing between the enemy and them. Still, this does not make the danger to their success any less real. Massed combats are a confusing and ever shifting affair that the magician must understand as well as their own spells.

The first thing on the magician's mind must be their own defense. If the magician is constantly fighting off attacks from elements that break through the lines they cannot lend their magical weight to their comrades. This makes spells such as the various earth and air walls very important. They deflect missile weapons and provide an obstacle to those that wish to engage the magicians in melee.

When on the attack the big damage spells might be very effective, but they could turn against your own troops. Therefore magicians should instead try and target enemy commanders, other magicians, and any other special units before they can bring their might to bear.

Unless you are playing a shaman, avoid the temptation of taking a focus for your starting character. More spell selection is necessary because you will need several modifier spells like Prepare Combination, Trigger, and Link; in addition to your normal selection of spell. Then on the first gameday begin work collecting the items necessary to craft a lesser focus. Because you cannot trade your focus up (unless you are a shaman) — the least focus is simply not that good of an investment.

Second, Elementalists make the best battle mages because they have access to both a good collection of offensive and defensive spells with low associated costs. This will give you an excellent targeting roll with your main attack and at least two lesser attacks at a small reduction. In addition, they have very few capabilities that they cannot do at least decently enough to keep their arsenal unpredictable.