From postmaster@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Sat Feb 4 00:53:52 1995 Received: (from major@localhost) by hops.wharton.upenn.edu (8.6.9/8.6.9) id AAA16368; Sat, 4 Feb 1995 00:53:52 -0500 Date: Sat, 4 Feb 1995 00:53:52 -0500 Message-Id: <199502040553.AAA16368@hops.wharton.upenn.edu> To: owner-rq-rules@hops.wharton.upenn.edu From: owner-rq-rules@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Subject: BOUNCE rq-rules@hops.wharton.upenn.edu: Message too long (>24000) Status: RO >From rq-rules-owner@hops.wharton.upenn.edu Sat Feb 4 00:53:50 1995 Received: from flowbee.interaccess.com (flowbee.interaccess.com [198.80.1.32]) by hops.wharton.upenn.edu (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id AAA16363 for ; Sat, 4 Feb 1995 00:53:48 -0500 Received: from localhost (vladt@localhost) by flowbee.interaccess.com (8.6.5/8.6.5) id XAA20920; Fri, 3 Feb 1995 23:52:52 -0600 Date: Fri, 3 Feb 1995 23:52:51 -0600 (CST) From: Kevin Rose X-Sender: vladt@flowbee.interaccess.com To: rq rules Subject: Sandy Petersens Sorcery rules (long 75K) Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII As Sandy thought he had posted these to the Daily, but they missed, (I think they were eaten by Henk's server problems, but I'm not sure) I'll post them here. Following Sandy's actual stuff is a short set of his answers to my questions. Anything that is in [brackets like this] is mine. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 4 Jan 95 07:53:16 -0800 From: Sandy Petersen To: Kevin Rose Subject: This is the current version WESTERN SORCERY No less than four different Gloranthan magic traditions are all commonly known as "Sorcery". There is Western sorcery, as practiced by the Brithini and Malkioni. There is Lunar sorcery, known only within the Lunar Empire and its environs (and practiced alongside a Western style of magic). There is Kralori mysticism. And there is the peculiar form of magic native to the East Isles. These rules cover only the Western style of sorcery, as originated by the Brithini and Vadeli, and now spread across much of the world. Each sorcerer has a Presence, controlling his might at sorcery. The size of his Presence depends upon the Vows he has taken. Sorcery Spells When a spell is cast, the sorcerer determines how many levels of which Art are used in its casting. Normally, each level costs 1 MP. A sorcerer cannot have more total levels of spells in effect at any given time than his Presence permits. Skill in a sorcery spell indicates the user's % chance of casting it. He cannot place more total Art levels into a spell than his chance to cast that spell divided by 10. Time needed to cast a sorcery spell is equal to the user's DEX SR, plus 1 per MP. The Arts of Ease and Speed and the skill of Ceremony can modify this. The Use of Ceremony Ceremony increases the caster's chance to cast a spell, and hence also increases the levels he can manipulate it by. Ceremony cannot more than double the user's skill for a particular spell. If your Ceremony is 90, and your skill in Castback only 15, you cannot raise your chance of success to greater than 30. Each hour spent in ritual permits the sorcerer to use up to 10 percentiles of his Ceremony skill. A sorcerer with 85% Ceremony has no need to spend more than 9 hours in chanting before casting a spell. For instance, Subadim the Sorcerer has a skill of Produce Cold 36. If he spends 4 hours in Ceremony, he can double his skill to 72, letting him expend up to 8 levels of sorcery on the spell. Presence A sorcerer can have a number of Art levels in effect equal to his Presence, including any spells he is casting at the moment. Example: Cybex the sorcerer has a Presence of 35. He maintains a Castback 5 on himself, and on his dog. In addition, he maintains an Enhance APP 6 and a Resist Damage 10 on himself. This costs a total of 26 levels. When he is suddenly in combat, he cannot cast any spell larger than 9 total levels, and if that spell requires maintenance, he cannot cast another spell after that. A sorcerer can drop a spell being maintained at will, losing no SRs. The spell's effects last till the end of the round in which it is dropped. Arts The Arts of sorcery are used in casting spells. Remember that the user cannot have more levels of all Arts combined in his spell than his skill divided by 10. For instance, if a sorcerer's Treat Wounds was 72, he could use no more than 8 Art levels when casting it. If a character using a Sorcery spell does not know Intensity, the spell when cast costs 1 MP, and acts as if it had 1 level of Intensity. Ability to use the Arts is not innate, and must be acquired in some way. The exact method varies with the College of Magic involved. Brithini & Vadeli: study -- each Art is acquired by training or research as if it was a magic skill. When the sorcerer reaches 90% in an Art, he gains the ability to use it. Unaligned:Vows -- Vows can be taken to learn Arts, instead of raising the sorcerer's Presence. If the sorcerer later on violates a Vow, he does not lose access to the associated Art but instead loses Presence equal to what he would have gained if the Vow had been taken normally. Vows still may only be taken during Sacred Time, once a year. Malkioni -- St. Malkion is the source of Arts, when invoked as a patron. The Arts Seven Arts are normally recognized: Ease, Intensity, Hold, Multispell, Permanence, Range, and Speed. In addition, the Art of Combine is practiced by specialists. Ease This is the only Art that does not cost additional MPs to use. Instead, it actually reduces the MPs used! Each level of Ease reduces the MPs needed to cast the spell by 1, and adds 2 to the SRs needed to cast it. You cannot reduce the MPs to less than 1/2 the original total by means of this art, and so cannot use more Ease than half the levels of other Arts combined. It is pointless to use Ease with Speed, as the two cancel out. Intensity The effects of Intensity vary, but generally increase a spell's efficacy. Hold This lets you hold a single sorcery spell ready to cast. It requires no concentration to do this, and simply sits quietly in your subconscious, waiting for its unleashing. Essentially, it is a "emergency" spell. The levels of Hold used in the spell must equal the highest other Art used. When the spell is cast, instead of triggering, it pops onto the Otherworld, where it remains stable, ready to be released. When released, the spell is cast at the caster's DEX SR. The spell is maintained only until the caster releases it or casts some other spell instead. Normally, only one spell can be so held at a time. (But see Ouxey's Blessing, below.) It takes no Presence to Hold a spell. If the spell is not Instant, Presence is required to maintain it once cast. Example: Thraxon casts a Hinder spell (his skill is 45). He can put 5 total levels into Hinder, and uses Intensity 2 and Range 1. He'll also need Hold 2 (since Intensity, the highest Art used, is a 2). Multispell This lets you affect multiple targets with a single spell. Simply cast the spell as you would normally. For each level of Multispell used, an additional spell is cast at no increased cost in magic points. If the Multispell is boosted to break through magic defenses, each individual spell must be boosted individually. All the multiple spells must be aimed at different targets. Example: Cybex the sorcerer casts a multispelled Palsy at a trio of bandits. He uses Intensity 5 and Range 2, far enough to hit 'em all. He uses 2 levels of Multispell, to cast a total of 2 Palsies. Fortunately, his skill in Palsy is 143%, more than sufficient for the 9 Art levels he uses (and only 9 MPs are spent). Permanence This skill lets a temporal spell be made permanent, so that it no longer needs to be maintained. To do this, the levels of Permanence used must be equal to all the other levels in the spell combined. In addition, the caster must spend 1 POW. The spell can still be dispelled normally, and must be periodically boosted with magic points -- 1 per level in the spell per week. Range Without the use of Range, a ranged spell can be cast up to 10m away. Each level of Range used doubles this. A spell can be maintained via Presence at any range -- this skill is only used when a spell is initially being cast. Of course, the caster must be able to see the target no matter how far away it is. For this reason, ranges past 10 or so are rarely useful. Range Distance Range Distance Range Distance 0 10m 7 1.3 km 14 160 km 1 20m 8 2.5 km 15 320 km 2 40m 9 5 km 16 640 km 3 80m 10 10 km 17 1300 km 4 160m 11 20 km 18 2500 km 5 320m 12 40 km 19 5000 km 6 640m 13 80 km 20 10,000 km Speed This lets you cast a spell in less time. Each level of Speed reduces the SRs needed to cast the spell by 1 (to a minimum of 1). Speed cannot be used with Ease. Example: Cybex is casting a Multispelled Palsy at his enemies (see previous example). The spell costs him Intensity 5 + Range 2 + Multispell 4 = 11 MPs, so it takes 11 SRs plus his DEX SR of 3 for a total of 14 SRs. Hence, it will go off on SR 4 of the next round. Because the bandits are charging quickly, he chooses to also use Speed, spending 4 extra MPs to reduce the casting time from 14 SRs to 10, letting it go off on SR 10 of this round. Now the spell costs 15 MPs instead of 11. Sorcerous Specialties: A sorcerer can specialize in a particular type of magic. A sorcerer doing this gains the benefit that all spells within his specialty can use a number of Art levels equal to his skill/5. However, spells outside his specialty can only use Art levels equal to his skill/20. For instance, an illusionist with both Illusory Sight and Treat Wounds at 85 could use 17 levels of Illusory Sight, but only 5 in Treat Wounds. A non-specialist would be able to use 9 levels with each spell. In addition, a specialist receives a new Art, Combine. Combine This skill lets a specialist combine multiple spells within his Art, casting them all at the same time, and at the same target. Combined spells can have identical Art levels for all skills used, or the user can voluntarily lower the levels for one or more spells selectively. Each level of Combine lets the user add one additional spell to the mix. A spell cannot be Combined with itself. The chance of successfully casting a Combined attempt is equal to the lowest skill of all the spells involved. If a number of attack spells are being cast using Combine, the defender makes only one resistance roll. If he fails, all the spells take effect at once. If the spells have different chances to overcome the target, use only the lowest chance among them to determine success or failure for them all. For Example: Thraxon the transformer casts Enhance SIZ, Enhance STR, and a Shapechange Human To Bear spell simultaneously, using 2 levels of Combine (one for each spell). Each has an intensity 6. The total cost is 12 MPs (2 Combine, 6 Intensity), and the target ends up with +6 STR, +6 SIZ, and sufficient Shapechange Intensity to affect a human up to SIZ 18. If Thraxon included 6 levels of Hold, he could keep the effect readied for an additional 6 MP cost. Lunar Magic: This is an unusual Specialty. All spells are considered to be within his "specialty", plus he does not receive Combine. The sorcerer is tied to the Lunar cyclical magic, and in turn is able to utilize Lunar elemental magic. NOTE: only Lunar sorcerers can use Lunar elemental magic. The Lunar can take another specialty in addition to this one, and he can learn Combine with respect to this later specialty. Full Moon Use his skill/5 to determine levels for all spells. Half Moon Use skill/10 to determine levels for all spells. Crescent Moon Use skill/5 to determine levels for all spells. Dark/Dying Moon may only use 1 level of each Art per spell. VOWS Malkioni sorcerers create and increase their Presence by means of Vows: oaths that the sorcerer will do, or refrain from doing, a specific act. A sorcerer can only take one Vow in a given year, at Sacred Time. Non-Malkioni sorcerers generally call these "Techniques", but the effect is the same. If a sorcerer ever breaks a Vow, he immediately loses all Presence he'd gained from it, and may never take that Vow again. This fact is taken by Malkioni as evidence that sorcery is governed by the Invisible God, deity of Law. Most sorcerers start out with the High vow of their sect, followed with the Vessel upon completion of their apprenticeship. Unless otherwise indicated in the description, a Vow increases the taker's Presence by 1. The Vessel: this is a basic, and powerful, Vow usually considered the mark of a true sorcerer. Essentially, all of the user's own personal INT that is not taken up in memorizing spells -- his "free INT" -- becomes a magic Vessel which is added to Presence. INT belonging to a familiar or in a magic item does not count. This vow is especially useful because it cannot really be broken. If the user has no free INT, he gets no additional Presence, but should he forget a spell, the Presence returns. This Vow cannot be made until the sorcerer has access to all of the seven basic Arts, which normally marks the end of his apprenticeship. The High Vow: This is actually a number of Vows, named variously, as High Hrestolism, High Rokarism, etc. The user must adhere to your Sect 's basic strictures (like Caste definitions), to take this Vow, which permits him to add his Magic Bonus to his Presence. This is a fairly basic vow, and only covers matters such as keeping caste restrictions, being part of and recognizing the ecclesiastical hierarchy, etc. When a sorcerer converts from his own sect to another, he loses this Vow. However, he can make it again in his new sect. For instance, if a Hrestoli sorcerer converted to the Galvosti faith, he would lose his High Hrestolism vow, but could take the High Galvostism vow in the following Sacred Time. Some of the later vows overlap to some extent with ordinary sect strictures, but are nonetheless available to magicians to enhance their Presence. Abjure Rune Magic: you may never sacrifice for Rune magic, and must never cast any that you now know. If you have never sacrificed for Rune magic, you may add 2 Presence. This Vow is not available to Lunar or Henotheist sorcerers. Abjure Spirit Magic: you may never learn spirit magic, and must forget any that you now know. If you have never learned any spirit magic, you may add 2 Presence. Celibacy: If you have never engaged in coitus, you may add 2 Presence. A Rokari sorcerer gains 3 Presence, or 4 Presence if he has never violated it. Never kill a human: if you have never done so, you may add 2 Presence. A Sedalpist sorcerer gains 3 Presence, or 4 Presence if he has never violated it. A Stygian sorcerer may take the vow of Never Kill a Troll in addition to or or instead of this one. Never wear armor: This Vow is forbidden to the Brithini (who can't wear armor anyway), the Vadeli, and the Hrestoli. Sacrifice Strength: lower STR by 1. May be taken more than once. Training STR back up is considered to break the Vow, though Enhance STR spell is legal. STR can be lowered below 0 by this Vow, in which case the sorcerer's STR-boosting spells must be sufficient to raise his STR to at least 1 or he dies at once. Sacrifice Constitution: lower CON by 1. See Sacrifice Strength. Sacrifice Appearance: lower APP by 1. See Sacrifice Strength. Shun Harm: You may not cast any attack spells. This lets you add 3 Presence, and is generally only taken by healers and their ilk. The Brithini and Vadeli lack this vow. Shun [Element]: You may not cast any spells that control, evoke, or otherwise affect the selected element. For example, if a sorcerer selected Shun Sky, he could not learn or cast the Glow spell. This entire Vow, except for Shun Storm, is forbidden to Lunar sorcerers. Shun Darkness is forbidden to Stygians, and Shun Storm is forbidden to Aeolians. This Vow lets you add 3 Presence. Shun Moon is not a permissable vow, for no non-Lunar sorcerers can use such magic anyway, and Lunar sorcerers may not take this vow. Shun Immortality: Never cast the Immortality spell upon yourself, or receive any similar life-extending spell. If you have the spell, you must cease maintaining it. Naturally immortal entities may not take this Vow unless they have somehow become mortal. This Vow is only available to non-Brithini Malkioni. Shun Tap: if you have never cast any Tap spell, you may add 2 Presence. If you are currently maintaining a Tap spell, you must drop it upon taking this Vow. This Vow is only available to non-Tapping Malkioni sects. Tend Familiar: You take this Vow simply by taking a familiar. If your familiar dies, the Vow is cancelled, but by taking another Familiar (or resurrecting the old one), you can accept this Vow a second time. Vegetarianism: Never eat animal meat. Sedalpists receive 3 Presence instead.. In addition, a Sedalpist can take Lesser Vegetarianism, which forbids eating the flesh of warm-blooded animals (only). This gives only 1 Presence. If a Sedalpist under Lesser Vegetarianism later on takes full Vegetarianism, the lesser Vow is absorbed into the greater, and he only receives 3 Presence total. SAINTS To gain a saint as a Patron, you must spend a certain amount of POW. This can be sacrificed over a period of time, and need not be done all at once. Once the saint is a Patron, you can invoke him at will and receive his blessing. It costs 1 POW each time a saint is invoked. The Blessing normally occurs on SR 1 of the round of invocation. A Saint's Blessing can normally not be dispelled magically. A person can have more than one saint as a Patron, and can invoke more than one simultaneously. For instance, a sorcerer who had both Conwy and Joslyn as patrons could invoke them both at once, to render an enormous spell permanent! Conwy's Blessing (3 POW): Must be invoked when a sorcery spell is cast. The spell must be temporal, is made permanent, and no longer counts against the user's Presence. It can still be dispelled, of course. It costs the user no MPs, unlike Permanence. Joslyn's Blessing (2 POW): Must be invoked at the same time a sorcery spell is cast. The user's Presence is added to the spell's Intensity at no additional MP cost. Ouxey's Blessing (3 POW): Must be invoked at the same time any sorcery spell is cast using the Art of Hold. It enables the user to Hold an additional spell. Any number of spells can be held in this manner, each requiring a separate Blessing and pt of POW. Once he has cast it, the user can replace the spell without re-invoking Ouxey, but only with the same exact spell. Example: Thraxon decides that he wants his Intensity 2, Range 1, Hold 2 Hinder spell to benefit from Ouxey's Blessing. Later that week he uses it in a fight. He still has Ouxey's Blessing, and can fill the "slot" left open, but only with another Intensity 2, Range 1, Hold 2 Hinder spell, even should his Hinder skill rise so that he could cast a more powerful spell than that. Raceen's Blessing (2 POW): Must be invoked at the same time a sorcery spell is cast. The spell's Range is multiplied by the user's Presence. Arkat's Blessing (8 POW): When invoked, the skin and clothing of all illuminated beings within 100 meters of the supplicant turn translucent white. This effect lasts until the next sunrise, and includes the supplicant himself, if he is illuminated. There are other, special requirements to gaining Arkat as a patron, too intensive to go into here. Elleish's Blessing (4 POW): May only be invoked by a woman. Does something good for her. Gerlant's Blessing (3 POW): When invoked, a bladed weapon in the caster's hand becomes a Fireblade. From then on, whenever the supplicant wields that blade, it is a Fireblade. The effect is permanent. If the weapon is destroyed, the Blessing is lost. Hrestol's Blessing (8 POW): When invoked, the supplicant's POW doubles, and remains that way for one full day. At the end of the day, POW drops back to normal, but MPs may still be higher than the user's POW. Malkion's Blessing (1 POW): Each time Malkion is invoked, the supplicant must name one sorcerous Art., which he then gains access to. If the supplicant wishes, instead of learning an Art, he can invoke Malkion to assist in the casting of a sorcerous spell. In this case, the invocation reduces the spell's MP cost to 0, and the spell goes off at the caster's DEX SR. Hrestoli: A Farmer may not invoke Malkion. A Knight may only invoke him to learn Intensity. Rokari: A non-Wizard may only invoke him to learn Intensity. Nomia's Blessing (5 POW): When invoked, the user's mind is expanded. For the next week, all research & experience checks automatically succeed, plus the amount of increase is automatically the maximum possible (this last also applies to training). Thus, if the user does research in, say, Mace Attack, and invokes Nomia's Blessing, not only does he automatically increase, he gets 4 full points. Paslac's Blessing (5 POW): When invoked, the armor points of a chosen piece of metal, which can be a tool, weapon, or piece of armor, is doubled when the piece is touched by the supplicant. Paslac can be called upon again to transfer his blessing to a different piece of armor, but only a single piece at a time can be affected for a given supplicant. Talor's Blessing (6 POW): Talor may only be invoked just before or during a battle. His supplicant experiences great joy while fighting. For the duration of the battle, the supplicant is immune to fatigue loss, incapacitation, shock, unconsciousness, or the effects of exhaustion. He fails CON rolls only on a roll of 96-00. In addition, when first invoked, the supplicant can expend 1 or more magic points. For each MP expended, all his skills are increased by 2%. Valkaro's Blessing (6 POW): When invoked, until next nightfall, the devotee has great force of mind. He automatically succeeds in any INT roll he makes, including Concentration rolls. He automatically succeeds in sorcery spell casting and manipulation, with no die roll necessary, and no critical successes possible. Waertag's Blessing (4 POW): When invoked, the user gains the ability to survive underwater. Once he resurfaces for air, Waertag's blessing ends. Xemela's Blessing (9 POW): The invocation has two parts. In the first part, the supplicant's skin turns night-black, and he or she has one minute to touch other beings. When he or she has touched every being that he or she wishes to affect, or the minute is up, the the second half of the invocation takes place. At this moment, all the beings touched have all their damage cured. For every hit location cured of damage, the supplicant takes 1 point of damage in the corresponding location. For every person cured of all general hit point damage, the supplicant takes 1 point of general hit point damage. For every disease cured, the supplicant loses 1 point off the appropriate stat (i.e., curing Brain Fever costs 1 INT). Other losses can generally be figured out by comparing to this general effect. Thus, a person Tapped can be cured by losing 1 point of the appropriate stat. Only points lost below the character's normal trait level can be restored -- if you started with a POW of 10, and had it worked up to 15, and had it tapped down to 8, Xemela's Blessing would only restore you back to 10. If a hit location is completely destroyed, this blessing has no effect on it -- the Restore Limb spell must be used instead. This blessing cannot help someone who is dead, nor can it remove the taint of chaos from an individual. This blessing will not expel a passion spirit or disease spirit, but it will heal all damage done by such a spirit to date. If the total damage taken by the supplicant is enough to kill him or her, the complete effect still works. Hence, one common ploy is to "use up" Xemela supplicants during a battle, by having them each touch a hundred or more wounded individuals before invoking the second half of an invocaotion. The supplicant takes hundreds of points of damage, dying instantly in a tatter of bloody shreds, but many soldiers are cured and ready to return to battle. Spellcasting There are two basic types of spells that affect other individuals. An "attack" spell, such as Hinder, must overcome a target's MPs in order to take effect. However, a target can choose not to resist, in which case the spell takes effect once cast. A non-attack spell, such as Treat Wound, normally does not have to overcome a target's MPs. However, a target can choose to resist such a spell, in which case it must overcome the target's MPs, just as if it were an attack spell. The main time that the difference between these spells is meaningful is when the target is asleep or unaware of the incoming spell -- in such a case he would normally resist the Hinder, and not resist the Treat Wounds. When an "active" spell is up, you cannot cast any other spells (except a Held one) while using it. You can only utilize an active spell with some other spell if Combine was used when that active spell was cast. (For instance, Combining Fly with Animate Stone to make a flying gargoyle). An active spell can be allowed to lapse, and then suddenly brought back into activity by simply concentrating. A "transient" spell is active, but in additional ending your concentration on the active spell cancels it. If you want to re-use it, you have to re-cast the whole thing. "Damage as per intensity" is defined as: Intensity 3 = 1d3. Intensity 6 = 1d6. Intensity 10 = 1d10. Intensity 18 = 3d6, etc. Sorcery and Other Types of Magic A spirit spell is considered to have an Intensity equal to the spell's MPs. A Rune spell is considered to have an Intensity equal to twice the spell's points. Sorcery and Spirit Magic can "interfere" with one another. When such spells are cast on the same target, only one takes effect. For instance, Boost Damage & Bladesharp are similar spells. So are Bless Sword & Bladesharp. The same applies to Resist Magic & Countermagic, Stupefy & Befuddle, or Enhance DEX & Coordination. Because of the wide variety of spell combinations, the gamemaster is the final judge of whether or not a particular spell pairing "interferes" or not. Note that some similar-appearing spells may not interfere. For instance, though both Fireblade and Boost Damage increase a weapon's damage, they do not interfere -- instead, the Fireblade simply takes precedence, just as with Bladesharp. When a target already under a particular spirit magic is struck by a similar sorcery, match the sorcery's Intensity vs. the spirit magic's MPs. If the sorcery overcomes the spirit magic on the Resistance table, it dispels and replaces it. Otherwise, the sorcery is cancelled. If a spirit magic is cast at an interfering sorcery, the spirit magic dispels and replaces the sorcery if it has equal or greater points than the sorcery's Intensity (the spirit spell can be boosted to enhance power for this purpose). Otherwise, the spirit magic is cancelled. Normally, a Rune spell never interferes with sorcery, and the two effects can be added together. For instance, if both Boost Damage and Truesword are cast on a single blade, both effects take place. ANIMATE [substance] ranged, active Each Intensity ets the caster animate 3 SIZ of a solid substance, or 1 cubic meter of a non-solid element. A sufficient quantity of the substance must be present for the spell to have full effect (the right Call spell can be handy). Different substances have different characteristics. If appropriate, the substance can take actions at the caster's DEX x 3. Dead -- 6 SIZ or 1d6 STR is animated per intensity. Normally, sufficient Intensity is required to make the entire corpse animate (but in special circumstances, just a corpse's arm, head, etc. could be activated). The amount of intensity spent on STR must be at least half as much spent on SIZ. While more SIZ cannot be animated than the creature's original SIZ, additional STR can be created. An animated corpse's move is 1 less than in life, and an animated skeleton has a move the same as in life. Example: Subadim the sorcerer wishes to reanimate a dead horse, SIZ 32. This will cost him at least 6 Intensity for SIZ, plus at least half as many levels (i.e., 3) for STR (which would only give a STR of 3d6). He could make the horse much stronger if he wanted (and if he had sufficient levels available). [Element] -- acts as an elemental of the appropriate size. There are six sub-varieties of this spell, one for each element. Substance -- an animated solid substance does damage as per Intensity. Unless it is an appropriately crafted object, it cannot wield objects or tools. The object retains its former armor points. Normally, a wooden object has a move of 3, a stone object a move of 1, and a metal object a move of 2. Other substances can have their move rates figured out appropriately. BLESS [object] touch, temporal Makes a specific tool or weapon slightly magical. Each Intensity adds 5 percentiles to the user's skill at any task using that tool. If multiple tools are all blessed, and are all useful to the same skill, percentile adds are cumulative. For instance, if a scribe had a quill, inkstand, and writing desk each with +5%, he would have a +15% at Calligraphy using them. This can be used to bless a weapon, and boosts both Attack and Parry. The weapon categories are fairly broad. Thus, Bless Sword affects 1H swords, 2H swords, shortswords, and rapiers. A tool that can be used both for work and fighting is blessed for both purposes. Thus, a farmer's blessed axe is better both for chopping wood and chopping people. While Bless Arrow is known, Bless Bow or Bless Crossbow are more generally useful. BOOST WEAPON [attribute] touch, temporal Enables the user to improve an inanimate object, often a weapon. One additional intensity must be used for each ENC or fraction thereof that the object possesses. For instance, if Boost Armor intensity 8 were cast on a medium shield (ENC 3), the shield would receive 5 extra armor points. Armor: adds 1 to an object's armor points per intensity. Because of the extreme weight of body armor, this spell is normally cast upon a single piece of armor at a time, rather than the entire suit (a medium suit of chainmail, for instance, takes a minimum of 20 Intensity, but a chain coif only 2). Damage: adds +1 to damage done per intensity. Can be cast on innocuous objects, such as coins, in order to give them a damage potential. Distance: Use Range instead of Intensity for this variant. It is cast upon a missile, and adds the spell's Range to that missile's basic range (if no Range levels are applied, the missile's range is increased by 10m). If the missile's range is increased such that it exceeds its long range, then it has no long range, and can shoot at normal chance to hit out to the full range now possible. If an exceedingly long distance is given to a missile, some sort of vision-enhancing spell may be needed in order to target the enemy. Because of the small size of missiles, a single Intensity normally suffices for all save seige missiles. CASTBACK touch, temporal Any spell with Intensity equal to or less than the Castback's Intensity bounce back at the caster, if the spell fails to overcome the caster's MPs. If both have Castback, the spell can ricochet back and forth until it finally affects someone. DIMINISH [characteristic] attack, ranged, temporal Each Intensity subtracts 1 from the selected characteristic, to a minimum of 1. Can be used to Diminish STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, or APP. Diminishing APP makes the target unrecognizable if the APP is reduced to less than half its normal value. DOMINATE [species] attack, ranged, active This spell must have an Intensity of at least half the target's POW (or MPs, if the target has a POW of 0). If the target fails to resist, he falls under the caster's domination. If the caster tries to force the target to perform an exceedingly repugnant action, it gets an immediate chance to break free. In any case, a sentient creature gets such a chance once a day. A being inside a binding enchantment cannot resist this spell, and only one Intensity need be used regardless of the being's POW. DRAIN attack, ranged, instant Each intensity drops the target's Fatigue by 1d6. This lost fatigue can be restored in the normal manner. ENHANCE [characteristic or skill bonus] ranged, temporal Characteristic -- Each Intensity adds 1 to the selected stat. Can be used to Enhance STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, or APP. Enhancing APP makes a target unrecognizable if 6+ Intensity is used. An unwilling target can attempt to resist, as if this were an attack spell. Skill Bonus -- Each intensity adds 2 to the selected skill category modifier. All skills within that category are increased. EVOKE [energy] ranged, instant Lets the user send a force as a beam towards a foe. The amount of the force which can be used in the beam is equal to the spell's Intensity. Cold -- Does 1 pt of damage to the target's general hit points, continuing for a number of rounds equal to the Intensity. Armor does not protect. Flame -- The flame's temperature does damage as per Intensity to one hit location. Flammable materials may ignite. Armor protects on the first round. If flame hits the same location for a second consecutive round, or the target site ignites, armor stops helping. Light -- A sighted target must roll Intensityx5 on 1d100. If successful, he is completely blinded for that melee round. He must roll again the next round to get his sight back, and keep rolling until he finally fails the Intensityx5 roll. Darkness-based entities and undead take damage from Evoke Light as per Intensity. In addition, Evoke Light can Neutralize darkness-based magic. Lightning -- The target takes damage as per Intensity, ignoring any armor. Shadow -- Blinds the target, lowering all sight-based skills by 5 per intensity. This lasts for a number of rounds equal to Intensity. In addition, can Neutralize earth-based magic. Water -- Delivers a knockback attack of 1d6 per Intensity. In addition, can Neutralize fire-based magic. Windblast -- Abrades target at half intensity rate (i.e., 6 intensity does 1d3 damage, 12 intensity does 1d6 damage), destroying armor or hit points in the hit location struck. In addition, can Neutralize water-based magic. FLY ranged, active Lets the caster levitate 3 SIZ of a target object at a move of 1. Each additional intensity either adds 3 to the SIZ allotment, or increases move by 1. An unwilling target can resist. HASTE ranged, temporal Each 2 levels of Intensity increase the target's movement rate by 1m/round and lower his DEX SR by 1, to a minimum of 1. The target loses 1 additional FP per melee round per intensity. HINDER attack, ranged, temporal If the target's MPs are overcome, then each levels of intensity decrease the target's movement rate by 0.5m/round, to a minimum of 1m/round, and increase his DEX SR by 1. If the total SR of the target add up to more than 10, he can only strike once every other melee round. HOLDFAST (formerly Bind) attack (if cast vs. a living target), ranged, temporal Causes two adjacent 10cm x 10cm surfaces to commingle, with 6 STR of glue. Each additional intensity either increases the area affected by another 10cm in every direction, or increases the glue's STR by 6. If used to affect living tissue, the target's MPs must be overcome, and the total STR of the Holdfast is halved. LOCATE OBJECT Touch, active The object this spell is cast upon becomes traceable by the sorceror. When he concentrates on the object, bringing an image of it to his mind, he receives an impression of the object's current direction and distance. In addition, if this spell is dispelled, by whatever means, at that moment the caster involuntarily learns the object's current direction and distance, and he also receives a mental picture of the individual casting the neutralizing spell. If the caster or the object moves beyond the spell's Range, it cannot be used, but remains in effect. Once the caster is again within Range, he can re-activate the spell. Locate Object never requires over 1 Intensity. MYSTIC VISION ranged, temporal Only affects the caster himself (the "range" is how far he sees). Darkness or opaque stuff blocks you. Lets you see MPs. You see the exact amount of MPs up to three times the spell's Intensity. Anything over that is just "greater". Can be cast in a special transient format to determine what a magic item does. When used in this way, 6 Intensity gives you the basic purpose of the item and12 Intensity lets you know the item's true nature. A 15 Intensity can tell you the item's history. In all of this, Lore skills can help. NEUTRALIZE MAGIC ranged, instant Cancels a spell by matching the Neutralize Magic intensity vs. the defending spell's points. The Intensity of the Neutralize Magic must be at least half as high as the defending spell's points. The Neutralize Magic automatically targets the strongest spell (even if it cannot affect it), unless the caster names a specific target spell. If the spell named is not present on the target, the Neutralize Magic has no effect (the true name of the spell need not be known -- just "the spell making the dragonewt glow" is good enough). PALSY attack, ranged, temporal Hits a random hit location. If the target fails to resist, and the Intensity is equal to or greater than the hit location's current hit pts, the location is paralyzed. A damaged hit location that is palsied and then healed beyond the Palsy's Intensity is still Palsied. If the random location is already Palsied, a second Palsy will not strike that location -- reroll until an unPalsied location is selected. PHANTOM [sense] ranged, temporal (active to move or attack) Each spell affects a specific sense. If the illusion is concentrated on, it can be moved around, animated, or otherwise altered. Odor -- if used to attack via an offensive, match the odor's intensity vs. the target's CON. If the odor wins, the target is incapacitated that round. Make the roll every round. Range used to cast the spell at a distance is treated normally. Additional levels of Range can be used to enlarge the area affected by the odor, which starts at 1m radius, doubling for each level of Range used for this purpose. A target that holds his breath can avoid this effect. Sight -- creates an illusion of 3 SIZ. Odor, Taste, Sound, and Touch illusions can be cast on a Sight, and then will move with the Sight when it is moved or animated. The Sight illusion can be moved with incredible speed unless it also has Touch, in which case it is limited as see below. Sound -- creates a point source sound with increasing loudness per Intensity. The sound emitted cannot be altered or be comprehensible unless it is concentrated on. For instance, a rattling noise could be left to go on its own, but music or speech requires concentration. Taste -- Affects an area of 1 SIZ (+1 for each Intensity used for that purpose). An offensive taste illusion can be used like an odor illusion, but the target must actually take the illusion into his mouth. Once the target's CON roll finally succeeds, he suffers no further effects unless he tastes it again. Touch -- manifests as an invisible solid force. It cannot do damage, but can be Damage Boosted, Heated, or have other spell effects cast on it. This is the only illusory sense that can have other spells cast on it (including Resist Magic, etc.). For each Intensity used to speed up the illusion, it gets a move of 1. For each Intensity used to enhance the touch's solidity, size, etc., it is able to support 1 Intensity of each other spell cast on it (not counting illusion spells). PRODUCE [energy] ranged, temporal Permits the user to create the desired effect in a selected object. The exact effects vary with the energy called. Cold -- Chills one non-living object of moderate size (one hit location of armor, a barrel full of water, etc.). Metal and water react best -- other substances not so well. The object's temperature drops by 10C per Intensity used for that purpose. Hence, Intensity 3 causes ice to form atop water at room temperature. A chilled metal object causes 1 pt of damage per round (on SR 10) it is held or on the target's body; per 10C below 0 the object has been chilled. The damage starts at 1 pt, and grows by 1 pt/round, until it reaches its full level. Heat -- Causes one non-living object of moderate size to heat up to 1d6 per Intensity at its hottest. Only really effective on conductive objects, such as metal. The object gradually heats up, taking one minute (5 MR) to reach the first 1d6 heat, then adding 1d6 more per round thereafter until it has reached its full temperature. Light -- Creates a glow with a range equal to Range, and a brightness based on Intensity. 1 pt is enough to read, 5 is daylight, 10 is bright daylight. Shadow -- Creates a faint shadow on everything within Range. Each additional Intensity deepens the shadow. 5 pts make a shadow even in full daylight, and 10 are like a moonless night. Each Intensity addds +5 percentiles to Hide or Conceal for anyone within the shadow, and -5 percentiles from any visual perception used in or through the shadow. PROJECT [sense] ranged, active Lets the caster project the specified sense to the Range of the spell. The caster can move the viewpoint at a rate of 1m/round, each additional Intensity adding 1 to the rate. The spell cannot penetrate more than 10cm of dense material per intensity. The viewpoint is immaterial -- it can be detected magically and dispelled, but physical attacks have no effect. Magic attacks directed vs. the Projected sense affect the caster normally, if the attacks have enough range to reach the caster (wherever he is). Since the Projected sense is active, the caster cannot himself cast spells through it, not even Held spells. PROTECTIVE CIRCLE temporal Creates a magical framework on which other spells can be cast. Each point of Range used in the spell gives the circle a 1 meter radius of effect. Each point of Intensity provides the circle with a particular strength. Any other spell can then be cast on the framework by the Circle's original caster, or by anyone included within the Circle, and that spell becomes part of the Circle. For instant, a Castback thrown on the Circle will protect everyone within. No spell's Intensity may surpass the Intensity of the Circle itself. Instant spells remain quiescent within the circle until an appropriate object crosses the circle, in either direction. For instance, if a Neutralize Magic spell is placed in the Protective Circle, it will activate only if a spell crosses the boundary, in which case the Neutralize Magic will attempt to dispell it. A Dominate Human spell will remain quiet until a human tries to cross the boundary, when it will attempt to Dominate him (since the Circle is mindless, a Dominated human slumps inert). Such attack spells act as if they had MP backing them up equal to the current MPs of the Circle's creator. If he loses all his MPs or is killed, the Protective Circle vanishes. Temporal spells remain in effect until it or the Circle is allowed to lapse. This is a good way to protect everyone in the party with a Skin of Life, for instance. REGENERATE touch, temporal This spell causes a severed limb to regrow at a rate of 1% per intensity per week. The spell must be maintained until the limb is fully restored. It can instead be used to raise general hit points at the same rate (i.e., 1% per intensity per week). The spell must have sufficient Duration to go "back" to the time when the limb was lost (or the last time Regenerate was used, if the spell was incomplete). For instance, if the limb was lost two days ago, at least Duration 9 is needed. Normally, the spell is cast twice. Once with lots of Duration, and only 1 Intensity, to "start" the limb off, and then immediately is cast again with only 1 level of Duration (to reach back to the the moment, a few rounds ago, when the Regenerate was last cast), but lots of Intensity, to grow the limb back as swiftly as possible. RESIST [attack type] touch, temporal The incoming attack must overcome the Resist's Intensity in order to do any damage at all. Otherwise, it is canceled. If it does overcome it however, all damage penetrates. Damage -- Stops physical damage (not general hit point damage, tho). Armor or armor-like spells take effect after the Resist Damage has attempted to halt incoming harm. Damage resisted won't hurt the target, but knockback or knockdown can still occur. Death -- Does not work like other Resist spells. If the target is slain, this spell then comes into effect. For each Intensity of Resist Death, the target can go 1 HP beyond normal death without actually dying (he is still unconscious, though). This spell does work in the normal Resist manner to try to block Death magic; i.e., any spell which causes death directly, without doing normal damage -- like Sever Spirit, Fang of Wachaza, etc. It attempts to resist whatever is the actual number used to kill the target. For instance, it would try to resist the caster's MPs vs. a Sever Spirit (and the target would still suffer 1d6 CON damage if it resisted), and it would try to resist vs. the damage done with a Fang of Wachaza. [Disease] infection -- helps vs. infection by the given disease. After exposure, the severity of the disease must overcome the Intensity of the spell in order to take hold. Otherwise, no disease is contracted. If the target is attacked by the given spirit of disease, then this spell acts to resist it as per a Resist Spirit, plus once the spirit has successfully possessed the target, each time the spirit's effects attempt to harm the user, the spirit's MPs must overcome the Resist Infection or the spirit is cast out of the body and causes no harm. Magic -- Stops incoming spells. Spells that cause damage by physical means, with no resistance roll, (like Thunderbolt) are untouched -- Resist Damage must be used against such effects. Also spells that harm one indirectly, such as Shake Earth, are not affected. Poison -- works vs. any kind of poison or venom. Spirit -- an attacking spirit must overcome the Resist Spirit before it can attack the user in spirit combat. It must make the roll each round. SENSE [substance] ranged, active Upon concentrating, the caster becomes aware of every source of the chosen substance within range. The spell penetrates 10 cm of dense, opaque material per Intensity. Some sample substances are listed below. Life: any living creature is detectable. This does not include semi-living things like elementals or undead, of course. Magic: any active spell or enchantment. Malice: anyone meaning harm to the caster. Note that the target must be aware of the caster before this will detect him. [Species]: the use is obvious. Trolls, elves, horses, are all useful targets. etc. Other commonly used substances include gold, silver, bronze, gems, etc. SHAPECHANGE [species] TO [species] attack, ranged, temporal You must have intensity equal to at least half the POW of the target creature (or MPs, if the target has a POW of 0). SKIN OF LIFE touch, temporal As before. SMOTHER attack, ranged, transient Lasts 1 melee round per Intensity. The target takes normal CON rolls as per asphyxiation, taking 1d3 damage once he fails. SUPPRESS SORCERY attack, ranged, temporal This spell affects the target's Presence. One point of his Presence is trapped and rendered incapable of supporting spells or being used to cast magic per Intensity. Excess Intensity has no effect. If the target's Presence is reduced far enough, he may be forced to drop maintained spells, taking 1 round per spell to do so. STUPEFACTION attack, ranged, temporal To be effective, this spell's intensity must be equal to or greater than the target's Free INT. If so, and the target fails to resist, he ceases all action, and simply stands there, taking no will or interest in what goes on about him. He may be led or forced to walk, eat, or sit, but takes no independent action. He may babble incoherently. He remains in this state until he sustains physical or magical damage or the spell lapses. TAP [characteristic] attack, touch, temporal This spell permanently destroys 1d6 of the specified attribute and provides something to the caster, in an equal quantity to the points taken. The casting is instant, but the results must be maintained. A target cannot be reduced to less than 1 in a given characteristic. The exact Intensity needed for the spell to take effect on a particular characteristic varies according to the following schedule: Strength (needs Intensity 2): The caster gains Fatigue. FP above the normal maximum vanish when the spell lapses. Constitution (needs Intensity 3): The caster gains HP. HP above the normal maximum vanish when the spell lapses. Size (needs Intensity 4): the caster gains SIZ possibly adding to both HP and damage bonus. All added SIZ vanishes when the spell lapses. Intelligence (needs Intensity 5): the caster gains Presence. At first glance, this would appear to be useless, since the spell must be maintained, but it can be useful if the Tap Intelligence is dropped at the same time that the extra Presence is used. Power (needs Intensity 1): the caster gains MPs. MPs which exceed double the caster's POW vanish when the spell lapses. This is the commonest Tap spell. Dexterity (needs Intensity 4): the caster's DEX SR is lowered by 1 for each point of DEX drained. This lowered SR vanishes when the spell lapses. No matter how low the caster's DEX SR drops (even to negative levels!) no action can take less than 1 SR. Appearance (needs Intensity 3): the caster takes the target's appearance (as it was before the Tap spell was cast). He returns to normal when the spell lapses. TELEPATHY ranged, active Allows mind-to-mind communication between the caster and a target, or between two targets chosen by the caster (it must be Multispelled for this latter purpose). An unwilling target can attempt to resist. At 1 intensity, only the life, death, or unconsciousness of a fellow communicant can be sensed. At 3 intensity, communication as in Mindspeech is allowed. At 6 Intensity, one user can see through another's eyes (but not cast spells or take action). At 6 Intensity, the users can cast one another's spells. At 9 Intensity, they can use each other's MPs. At 12 Intensity, one user can take over and control another's actions by overcoming his MPs with his own. He must renew such control every melee round (and if he loses, the victim can control him). TELEPORT ranged, instant Each Intensity teleports 3 SIZ that must be touching the caster to a point that the caster can see, within Range, or to a Homing Circle within Range. If the caster has several Homing Circles, he can choose which one to teleport to. TREAT WOUNDS touch, transient Enables the target to receive First Aid a number of times equal to Intensity. Each success heals damage as per normal First Aid rules. Fumbles, special successes, and critical successes are all as per normal rules. Unlike normal First Aid rules, a single injury can be aided multiple times with this spell. Once all First Aid attempts have been made, the spell ends even if the sorcerer still wants to maintain it. VENOM attack, ranged, instant If the target's MPs are overcome, then a venom with a POT equal to the spell's Intensity infuses the target. If he resists the venom's POT with his CON, he takes only half damage. Otherwise, he takes the full POW in damage. Ritual Magic APPRENTICE BONDING ritual Ceremony This establishes a special link between the master and his students. The apprentice must spend 1 POW for the effect to take place. Once completed, the master will always know the approximate distance and direction of the apprentice, and can issue a mental summons for the apprentice to return to him. He cannot read the apprentice's mind or control his actions in any way. ARMORING ENCHANTMENT ritual Enchantment Increases the AP of a single object by 1d3 by spending 1 POW. BANISHMENT ritual Ceremony A funeral ritual common to Malkioni cultures. If successfully performed over a corpse, it ensures that the soul of the deceased passes on to whatever afterlife is due it, and does not remain as a ghost or evil spirit to haunt the living. BINDING ENCHANTMENT ritual Enchantment Lets the caster spend POW to create a binding enchantment. This costs 1 POW per stat of the creature the enchantment is intended for (not counting APP). For instance, a Bind Naiad would cost 6 POW, as nymphs have all stats. A Bind Power Spirit would only cost 1 POW. Once created, a binding enchantment is specific as to species. Thus, a Bind Undine enchantment could not contain a Gnome, even though both entities have 3 statistics. Standard costs: Chonchon: 5 [STR, CON, SIZ, INT, DEX] Elemental (any): 3 [STR, SIZ, POW] Ghost: 2 [INT, POW] Hellion: 1 [INT] Intellect Spirit: 2 [INT, POW] Magic Spirit: 2 [INT, POW] Nymph (any): 6 [STR, CON, SIZ, INT, POW, DEX] Power Spirit: 1 [POW] Wraith: 2 [CON, INT] BLESS ritual Ceremony A common ritual typically used at weddings, tournaments, coronations, and other important occasions. The ritual can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days, depending on the occasion. At the ritual's completion, everyone participating expends a variable nuumber of MPs. The gamemaster adjudges the effect, if any, of the blessing. In general, longer rituals, with more participants, and more MP spent, have more tangible results. CREATE BASILISK ritual Enchantment You need a live toad or adder, and an egg laid by a rooster. The ritual is performed, and then the toad or snake must incubate the egg for a month per POW pt sacrificed. The sorcerer can use Holdfast or Dominate to make the incubator behave. When the basilisk hatches, its glance is the equivalent of a 1 -pt Rune spell per pt of POW used in Create Basilisk. The basilisk will not be friendly towards its creator. Its characteristics are determined randomly. CREATE FAMILIAR ritual Enchantment You must still give points of your own stats to the familiar, just as before, but only 1 point in any one missing category. You cannot provide points for stats that are not missing in your familiar. INT = adds 2d6 to familiar's fixed INT and makes it normal INT. POW = gives a POW equal to your own, but this new POW can only be increased by an experience roll of 01-05. SIZ = either transforms familiar's SIZ to real SIZ or gives it a SIZ of 1 STR = as per SIZ CON = as per SIZ DEX = gives a DEX of 2d6 NOTE: when the familiar dies, you get your lost stat back, exactly one year later. CREATE VAMPIRE ritual Enchantment Must be used on a corpse dead no longer than a day. At the end of the week-long ceremony, it becomes a vampire with MPs and FPs equal to the corpse's previous POW. Thus, the victim of this ritual must be alive for the first six days of the ceremony, and is killed just before its completion. The ritual costs the caster 7 POW. CURSE ritual Summon A ritual used to send curses against one's foes. The mechanics of performing a Curse are similar to the Bless ritual, and the results equally vague. ENCHANT [metal] ritual Enchantment Lets the caster temper one of the magic metals of Glorantha, by spending 1 POW per 10 ENC of metal. An appropriate Craft skill may be handy to use at the same time. HOMING CIRCLE ritual Enchantment Creates an area to which one can target using the Teleport spell, even if it is out of the user's sight. Each POW spent on creating the Homing Circle renders it capable of accepting 20 points of incoming SIZ. IMMORTALITY ritual Enchantment Prevents the caster from aging. The spell must be maintained, and the spell must have sufficient intensity to equal his original CON. Each time this ritual is gone through, the sorcerer loses 1 off his original CON, which also reduces his current CON. This spell also requires another component, best chosen by the gamemaster (water from the Fountain of Youth, virgin blood, etc.). OPEN SEAS ritual Ceremony As previously described. SPELL MATRIX ENCHANTMENT Enchant Ritual This lets you place a spell in a magic item, so that you don't have to remember it any more. By spending additional POW, you can give the spell an additional 10 percentiles of skill, so that it can be manipulated to greater levels than before. If someone that has no sorcery skills attempts to use the enchantment, he receives his Magic Bonus as a base chance to use the spell (minimum of 5%), plus any percentiles included with the enchantment at the skill level contained (i.e., an enchantment with +30 percentiles to the skills could be used at 30%, plus the user's Magic Bonus). He can use any Arts he knows with the spell, up to the number permitted by the skill. Example: a farmer discovers a Call Light matrix, with 5 POW in it, giving it +40% skill. His own Magic bonus is +1, so he has a 41% chance to cast Call Light. If he knows Intensity, he can use up to 5 levels of Intensity with it. SUMMON [species] ritual Summons Lets the caster summon a creature from the Otherworld. If the caster knows the actual name of the creature being summoned, he gets the one selected. Otherwise, he gets a random member of the targeted species. Commonly, the Hold art is used to keep a Dominate spell ready for the creature's arrival. If the Summon roll is fumbled, a link to the Otherworld appears anyway, and a creature shows up, but not of the desired species. Only hostile and dangerous entities appear on such a bungled Summoning. WORSHIP INVISIBLE GOD ritual Ceremony Lets the user lead a formal worship service. If successful, all participants in the ritual receive spiritual assurance that the MPs donated to the Invisible God were acceptable. Specialty Spells Borist Specialty Spells NEUTRALIZE POISON Brithini Specialty Spells DECREPITUDE Galvosti Specialty Spells CLEAR MIND Hrestoli Sect Farmer Caste All Hrestoli start out as members of the Farmer caste. 1) He may not wear metal armor. 2) He may not ride a stirruped steed. 3) He may not practice any Art or any Magic skill except sorcery spells themselves. He may take no Vows. Knight Caste To qualify for Knight Caste, a Hrestoli must have 60% in Plant Lore and any Craft. 1) He may not practice any Art or Magic skill except for sorcery spells, Intensity, and Ceremony. He may take one Vow (only). Wizard Caste To qualify for Wizard Caste, a Hrestoli must have a melee weapon attack of 90%, a weapon parry of 90%, and one other military skill (Hide, Ride, Conceal, missile weapon, etc.) at 90%. Lord Caste To qualify for Lord, a Hrestoli must be an adept. Hrestoli Vows Major Vows: Never Tap, Shun Immortality Minor Vows: Execrate Spirit Magic Hrestoli College of Spells DRAIN SOUL ranged, temporal If the target fails to resist, he loses a number of magic points as per the attacker's Intensity (i.e., 6 intensity drains 1d6 MPs, 10 intensity drains 1d10 MPs, etc.) At least 3 Intensity must be used or the spell has no effect. FALSE ARMOR ranged, temporal This spell gives the target 1 pt of mock-armor per intensity in each hit location for the duration. This mock-armor is destroyed by incoming attacks, point for point. It is always hit before any other defensive magic takes effect (except Resist Damage). SUPPRESS SPIRIT MAGICIAN ranged, temporal If the target fails to resist, his chance to cast spirit spells is reduced by 5 percentiles per intensity. Rokari Sect Farmer Caste 1) He may not wear metal armor. 2) He may not practice any Art except Intensity. He may take only one Vow. 3) He may not learn inappropriate spells. Knight Caste 1) He may not practice any Art but Intensity. He may take only one Vow. 2) He may not own land. 3) He may not learn inappropriate spells. Wizard Caste Lord Caste Rokari Vows Major Vows: Celibacy, Never Tap Minor Vows: Never Carry Warrior's Weapons, Never Wear Armor, Execrate Spirit Magic, Vegetarianism Rokari College of Spells BLOCK FETCH ranged, instant Must be cast at a shaman. If the target fails to resist, this spell severs the fetch from the shaman for a number of melee rounds equal to the spell's Intensity. The fetch cannot take any actions on the physical plane until the Block Fetch's time is up. Alternately, if the shaman is currently on the spirit plane while the fetch is defending his body, then the shaman cannot return until the Block Fetch effect is finished. NEUTRALIZE DAMAGE touch, instant Heals damage to a hit location. SUPPRESS RUNE MAGIC ranged, temporal If the target fails to resist, he can cast no non-ritual Rune spells unless he expends 1 MP per Intensity of the Suppress Rune Magic spell during the casting. MPs that would normally be spent anyway (such as in a Heal Wound) can count towards the total needed. Example: Cybex casts Suppress Rune Magic Intensity 4 at a Wind Priest. The shaman retorts with a Thunderbolt, but must spend 4 MPs at the same time he casts the spell. These additional MPs do count as boosting added onto the Thunderbolt for purposes of blasting through Cybex's Resist Magic. Sedalpist Specialty Spells POISON TROLL ritual Enchantment Takes 1 POW, and must be used with Intensity. Each Intensity enchants 1 ENC of any troll-suitable foodstuff by infecting it with a poison that affects only trolls and their kin. Any troll which eats a full ENC of an affected food ingests a potency 20 poison. 1d10 minutes after ingesting, he must match his CON vs. the poison. Success means he takes only 10 pts of damage. Failure delivers a full 20 points. If the troll eats only part of an ENC, pro-rate the poison. The poison is odorless and tasteless, but the fact that the food has been enchanted can be exposed by Detect Magic, Second Sight, or similar spells. SMITE [non-human] ranged, temporal Must be cast upon a weapon, and Intensity used equal to double the weapon's ENC. All damage done by that weapon to the target species that penetrates armor is doubled. Thus, if Smite Slarge were cast on a greatsword, which then hit a Slarge with 10-pt armor for 14 pts of damage, the 4 pts that got through would be doubled to 8. WITHER ELF BOW ranged instant This spell is only efficacious vs. magic elf bows. If the caster overcomes the bow's magic points, the bow takes 1 pt of damage per Intensity. Defensive magic, such as Protection, Resist Damage, Shield, etc. can all lower the damage done. Stygian Heresy Specialty Spells BOOST [elemental] ranged, temporal This spell must be cast on an elemental. The spell's Intensity is added to the elemental's hit points. When the spell lapses, the extra hit points vanish, possibly destroying the elemental. PROJECT DARKSENSE ranged, active Like the other Project [sense] spells, but for Darksense. SEE RUNE MAGIC ranged, active This spell is cast on a single target (unless Multispelled), who does not get to resist, though defensive magic can block the effects of the spell. While in effect, this spell allows the user to sense the possession of rune magic. With 1 pt of intensity, only the presence or absence of rune magic can be sensed. At 5 intensities, the total points of rune magic possessed are known, as well as the general type. At 10 intensities, the exact spells known are revealed. This spell does not detect rune magic in effect, only those known by the target, whether or not they have been cast. END of rules [Folowing is a set of questions I asked of Sandy Petersen for clarification. The quoted portions are the appropriate chink of my original question. The other portions are his answers.] >Overall, I like it a lot. Much more satisfactory than the "Classic" >vessel system that I have seen in various forms. It fixes the "fetch >aka familiar problem" and the "knowlage skill problems" and produces >a system that seems to be more than a bunch of pieces put together >into loose formation. Thank you. I'm rather pleased with the overall form of it myself, but many of the details still (as you noticed) need to be worked out. >The implication is that you either have or do not have a given >Art. >So, it you have it you can use it with no modification to your spell >skill roll, or you can't use it at all. Does this apply to the >Brithini and the Vadeli? Or am I totally confused? Right now, the way I am working the Arts is that you can either use an Art or not. The fact that the Brithini and Vadeli learn them as skills is merely a technique. Once a Brithini sorcerer is at 90%, he gets full access to his Art. Mind you, I _have_ considered making the Arts into skills, too, and forbidding a user to have more levels of any Art in a given spell than his skill in that Art/10. What do you think? The whole problem of learning arts has been a bit of a poser to me. >[Presence] This totally removes the concept of duration. This is >good. What I'm confused by is the characterization of spells as >TEMPORAL. The implication I get here is that these spells last >until: a) The end of the round when they were cast if not >maintained by presence, or b) Until the sorcerer who cast the spell >chooses to stop supporting them with presence. Is the base duration >really five minutes as per RQ3? A temporal spell requires Presence to maintain. If you have insufficient Presence to cast a given spell, you _cannot_ cast it. Hence, when you cast a temporal spell, it is maintained until you choose to drop it. It has no "base" duration. You have no choice but to maintain such a spell for at least one round, since it takes one round to drop a spell from maintenance. EXAMPLE: Kevin the Vadeli has a Presence of 40, 30 points of which are used up in maintaining various important effects. He can cast only a 10-point spell, since that's all the room he's got left in his Presence. If he casts a 10-point Instant spell, then the next round he can cast another. But if he casts a 10-point Temporal spell, then at the end of that round, all of his Presence is now filled. If he wants to cast another spell, he's going to have to take a round to drop one or more old spells. >Does the caster have to awake or >conscious to maintain them? No. >Can he pass control to another sorcerer? Hmm. Hadn't thought of this. Not a bad idea, though. I'll add this possibility as a ritual spell. First I got to think through the implications, though. This means that a highly skilled sorcerer could transfer a powerful spell over to one of his apprenti ces ... hmm. > a sorcerer without any presence cannot cast any spells. As this >does not quite fit with the Hrestoli Farmer caste, can they cast >spells, or are they assumed to have taken the high vow? I play that the Hrestoli farmer caste can cast only 1 point spells. If you have a better suggestion I'm all for it. [Lunar Magic] This table looks odd, with more magic available in >cresent than half. Is this correct? No, of course not. *sigh*. The crescent moon is supposed to be Skill/20 for all spells. Sorry. >Vows -- Seems like a good mechanic for making the system work. Thank you. It has the secondary effect of making wizards rules-ridden old whiners. Which I like. >Celibacy: Primary definition of celibacy in the several >dictionaries I looked at is remaining unmarried. Huh? I'd never heard that definition before, and have always used "celibate" as "no sex". >[Saints] The overall effects can be really gross. Is it really >suposed to be as easy and straight-foward to gain their patronage >(sacrifice x power) as this seems to indicate? I would expect that >there are other conditions needed to gain the patron, as well as >restrictions/conditions imposed on those who have a patron saint. Remember it costs 1 POW permanently each time you invoke a Patron. The details on extra requirements for saints are really more of a Malkioni religion thing, not a sorcery thing. But I'm sure you have to do more than just sack some POW to get a saint as Patron. >can anyone choose them as a Patron? For example, a Lunar sorcerer >in Pavis obtain Talor's blessing by simply sacrificing power? No. You _must_ be Malkioni. Brithini & Vadeli can't do it. >Am I correct in assuming that any Westerner could obtain a saint as >a patron, not just a sorcerer? Yes. This may be the main source of magic available to most peasants in the West. [The next portion was in response to the first set of questions and answers] >I sort of feel that studying the skills should be another way that >those people who have not become followers of Malkion/The Invisible >God can learn sorcery skills, but I would prefer to avoid having to >make a half dozen die rolls to cast a single spell. Obviously you'd only roll once, using the lowest of all rolls involved. Just like the standard RQ rule. >I feel that the RQ4 trick of limiting both total manipulation AND >individual Arts to skill/10 was excessive. That afflicted me, too. I'm gratified that at least one other RQer agrees that my system fixes both RQ3 and RQ4. The Hrestoli Farmer Issue: >The easy solution (to me, anyway) is to assume that only those >Farmers who have accepted the vow of High Hrestolism can cast magic. >I cannot see them being allowed to advance without this, so it seems >reasonable. Hmm. Would you let any farmer accept this vow? This gives some farmers a pretty good Presence. On the other hand, what if the farmer's Presence is 0 or less (it can happen, you know, with High Hrestolism)? Huh? Saints: > Speaking of Saints, with regard to Conwy's Blessing, does >permanent mean it lasts forever or until the caster dies? Forever. Other sorcerery questions >Do you have any concepts for how Lunar or Carmanian Sorcerers >do/learn sorcery other than what you've published here? (among >other things I'm wondering is if they need to use vows to learn the >Arts?) I think that they have vows, but probably different ones. >How about dwarves/Mostali (assuming they use sorcerery in your >view.)? Dwarfs use Sorcery, I believe (though presumably different spells). I don't think they use vows. I'm not sure what they do instead. in the sense you are using here, or would they be something >different? I think they are sorcerers using this kind of magic.