Update 1.5 comes with new stuff, controversial changes and strange mechanics. Let's take a look.

Search For Magical Artifacts
In general, magical items are a little harder to acquire in the conventional way, as characters will not want to give them away at will, and helpful events will trigger less frequently. However, True Witches now get a new activity - Search for Magical Artifacts. It costs time, gold and stress, but in some aspects it may even be better than magical triangulation. Happy hunting.


Rework of Domination spell and 'physical contact'.
Domination is a very powerful spell that solves many problems at once. Too many.
There are similar spells in fantasy settings, but most of them can only be cast on the person standing next to you - not on someone on the other side of the world.
I have introduced a restriction that this spell can only be cast on a person you can spontaneously meet. The 'physical contact' condition includes:

• characters in your location (province)
  
• your positive relationships e.g. friends, lovers, wards
  
• your consorts
  
• your prisoners and characters on whom you have a strong (unused) hook - they are unable to deny you a face-to-face meeting
  
• for the purposes of gameplay, direct vassals are also counted as people with whom you have physical contact (in theory, you can summon your vassals at any time, though this is a big simplification)

As you can see, there are no neighboring rulers or lieges on the list - if you want to dominate such characters, you should do it during your joint activity (then they will be in the same location as you).
Two additional notes:

• this restriction does not apply to legendary mages and masters of psionics (from magical research)
  
• perhaps some will find this restriction too hurtful, so I added a game rule that can disable it (although I do not recommend it)

I've come to the conclusion that new limitations should go hand in hand with new possibilities, so I've decided to make domination a more powerful tool at the same time. I'm putting at your disposal the Command Minion interaction, which, in exchange for a hook, allows you, for example, demand gold, support in war (if possible) or turn a dominated character into your lover.


Power Strike
The healer perk is gone, instead we have the Caster perk, which gives you access to several spells - two always available and a third, depending on your personality. Most of the spells work intuitively, but the Power Strike spell deserves to be discussed, as it is always available and contains several nuances.
I believe that the mage should be a very dangerous opponent in a direct confrontation as well, and Power Strike is an expression of that. Basically, you face your target and fry him with a stream of deadly magical energy - yes, this is the second (and last) spell that requires physical contact. Unlike most other spells, this one isn't very discreet. If your faith doesn't accept witchcraft, your reputation will suffer greatly, and the pope will have a fine excuse to excommunicate you. Witch hunters can send their greetings too...
Kill with Power Strike counts as an execution, so it will have all the consequences of an execution, including tyranny. Do you already feel discouraged? :) So it's time for some advantages of this spell. To deal with inconvenient characters, a powerful curse will usually be better, but Power Strike is more reliable (and sometimes cooler in roleplay). It also has another important advantage: combat spells cast at close range ignore basic magical protection, so it may be the optimal way to deal with witch hunters at your court or vassals who have magic protection for some reason. Besides, it's a pretty good way to increase your dread.
And what if we use Power Strike against other magic user? Well, a mage duel will begin.


Mage Duel
Basic magic protection can prevent a curse or domination, but magical runes can't handle more powerful magic. However, direct combat spells can also be counter or deflected, mages have their ways. Mage Duel is a new interaction that mages receive to invite other mage (or demon) to a duel. I'm not saying it's always a better solution than sitting in a safe tower and plotting - on the contrary, duels are risky and one should not decide on them hastily. However, it can be a quick way to definitively crush your rival, seize his magical items, or even resolve a war.
The duel has random elements, but usually the more powerful mage wins. So what you can do is make sure that you are the more powerful one. A high level of Power Saturation is a key factor, it will give you a big advantage (demons usually count as mages with 100 PS). High learning, knowing various spells, and having magical items will give you an advantage and additional options in the duel, and a high level of Secret Knowledge can also help, especially with the Doom Spell. Basic magic protection doesn't work here, but full magic protection will turn the duel into a rather one-sided fight.
There are four ways to win a mage duel:

• In most of duels, the fight will be decided by the Power Clash track, which represents the (im)balance of power between mages. Pushing your opponent off this track will result in their defeat - having an advantage on this track after the seventh round of combat will also ensure your victory.
  
• A skilled and well-prepared mage can try to win with a so-called Doom Spell, a spell powerful enough that it cannot be neutralized in any way. However, preparing a Doom Spell takes time.
  
• Inflicting sufficiently serious wounds on your opponent will end the duel as well.
  
• Some combat options have a small chance of instantly killing an enemy ('critical hit').

I know that some elements of the duel sound strange and abstract for now, but much will become clear when you test it in practice. However, I recommend making a save before the first fight.
Mage duel does not harm your overall reputation regardless of your faith - this event is so spectacular that the whole world can only react with fear or admiration.


Demons
Demons have received a rework of their trait, which implements an XP system. Demons get stronger over time - every year they have a chance to receive +1 XP. It's a very long process, so you should be more interested in their current strength. I introduced this system mainly to be able to easily distinguish demons from each other. A minor demon can be dangerous, but when you see that your rival is a four-star demon, you know you're ♥♥♥♥♥♥.


Other Things

• Grand Rite almost always restores Power Saturation for mages (with the Seek the Power intent, or also with worshiping for the heresiarch).
  
• Ring of Life was too OP, so it got a nerf - it no longer provides full magic protection. However, the new magical armor provides full magic protection (and protection from most other things...).
  
• And speaking of magic protection - the Mage Tower perk now provides basic magic protection - although unlike magical runes, it only covers you and possibly your liege.
  
• Places of Power have received cool features.
  
• As I mentioned before, there is one new magical artifact, armor - Dragonscales.
  
• Hostile mages are now a bit stronger, they can sometimes pose a bigger problem.
  
• The healing spell is not as available as it used to be, but minor health problems can be dealt with create potions decision.
  
• Grand master of the coven gets extra XP at the start if his parent/grandparent also had this trait.
  
• You'll have to discover the rest on your own ;>

That's all from me, have fun ;)