Extra Sorcery Rules
Meldek Sorcerors Rules
Kevin Rose's Questions and Answers
Comments and Discussions on Sandy's Sorcery
Nikk Effingham's Sorcery Rules
Sandy Petersen's Sorcery Rules
copyright 1996, Sandy Petersen
Contents
HTML note: Clicking on a link will take you to the relevent section.
Clicking on the spell name at the top of a spell description takes you
to the spells list.
Learning Spells
Increasing Spell Skill
Casting and Maintaining Sorcery Spells
Ceremony
Presence
Resisting / Dispelling Sorcery
MP Boosting
Spell Components
Sorcery vs Spirit Magic
Sorcery vs Rune Magic
Spell Precedence
Arts
Ease
Intensity
Hold
Multispell
Permanence
Range
Speed
Lunar Magic
Vows
Learning Vows
Vow Table
The
High Vow
The
Vessel
Lore
Mastery
Abjure
Armor
Abjure
Rune Magic
Abjure
Spirit Magic
Celibacy
Never
Kill a Human
Sacrifice
Appearance
Sacrifice
Constitution
Sacrifice
Power
Sacrifice
Strength
Shun
Harm
Shun
[Element]
Shun
Immortality
Shun
Tap
Tend
Familiar
Vegetarianism
Ranks
of Sorcery
Apprentice
Student
Journeyman
Adept
Magus
Specialities
Alchemist
Conjuror
Healer
Enchanter
Illusionist
Metamorph
Monitor
Necromancer
ShipSorceror
Warlock
Of [Element]
Weather
Mage
Woods
Mage
Definitions
of Spellcasting
Spell
Summary Table
Ritual
Magic
Learning
Ritual Spells
Casting
Ritual Spells
Special
Summoning Rules
Power
Within
Special
Enchantment Rules
Special
Materials
Enchanted
Tattoos and Ritual Scarification
Conditions
Ritual
Spells
Sect
Special Spells
Borist
Borist
Carmanian
Galvosti
Hrestoli
Rokari
Sedalpist
Stygian
Heresy
Saints
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.
Learning Spells
Learning a new spell takes 50 hours of
training from someone with knowledge of all the Arts,
plus skill in the spell being learned of at least 90. At the end of the
training, the student receives a skill in the spell equal to his Magic
Bonus. If this is 0 or less, then he still gets the spell, but at a
negative skill value (i.e., it is useless to him and cannot be cast). He
can train for another 50 hours, after which he can add 1d6 to his
skill. This process can be continued unti he is finally at a positive
level.
A sorcery spell takes up 1 point of INT.
This INT can either be from the sorcerer's own brain, a Spell
Matrix, a bound
spirit, or a familiar,
but it must be stored somewhere.
A sorcerer is allowed to research and
train in spells which he does not have memorized. In order to gain the “continuous
maintenance” skill bonus (see below, under Increasing
Spell Skill) he must have cast the spell himself, but need not have
it memorized.
Increasing Spell Skill
1. Research and training are efficacious
with spells, as with any other skill. Spells are fairly simple to
master, so a successful bout of training or research provides the
sorcerer with a full 1d6 increase, rather than 1d6-2.
2. Use of spells in crisis situations,
as with other skills, earn skill checks.
3. If a spell is kept continuously
maintained for a full week, at the end of the week the sorcerer gets a
skill check. If the skill check results in an increase, the spell's
skill goes up by 1d6-2. This is only applicable if the spell in question
makes up at least 10% of the sorcerer's total Presence. Thus, a
sorcerer with a Presence of 30 would need to maintain at least a 3 point
spell to gain this benefit. If a sorcerer maintains the same spell more
than once (example: keeping a Resist
Damage on each of four friends) he only gets a skill check and
possible increase once, not once per spell.
Casting and Maintaining 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.
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. Check the sorcerer's degree of success on the
following table:
Success Level | Result |
Critical |
Spell goes off, costs only 1 MP but takes full effect. |
Special |
Spell goes off, costs 1 MP less than normal, but takes full effect |
Normal |
Spell goes off, normal MP cost |
Failure |
Spell fizzles, only 1 MP lost |
Fumble |
Spell fizzles, all MPs devoted to spell are lost |
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. Each hour spent in ritual permits the sorcerer to use up to 10
percentiles of Ceremony (note: simplification from the old rules). A
sorcerer with 85% Ceremony has no need to spend more than 9 hours
chanting before casting a spell.
- Example: 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 MPs
in effect equal to his Presence, including any spells he is casting at
the moment. 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.
Example: Cybex the sorcerer has a Presence
of 35. He maintains a Castback
5 on himself, and on his dog. In addition, he maintains a Boost
APP 6 and a Resist
Damage 10 on himself for a total of 26 levels. When he is in
combat, he cannot cast any spell larger than 9 total levels, and if that
9-level spell requires maintenance, he cannot cast another after that.
RESISTING / DISPELLING SORCERY
Unless otherwise described in the
spell writeup, only Intensity
is used to determine a spell's might for the purpose of crashing
through counterspells. If a sorcerer casts a spell with an Intensity
1, Range
6, it's only a 1 point spell and a Resist
Magic 1 has a 50% chance of stopping it. When a spell is described
like “Damage
Boost 6” the number after the spell's name always refers to Intensity.
MP BOOSTING
A sorcerer can boost a spell with
additional MPs. This is not limited by the sorcerer's Art,
spell skill, or Presence.
It does take extra time to boost. The additional MPs serve no
function except to add to the spell's Intensity
for purposes of overcoming counterspells only. There is no purpose in
boosting a non-attack
spell, unless you want to heal someone (for instance) and need to blast
through the counterspell he has set up.
Example: Subadim throws an Evoke
Fire 4 at a broo. He suspects the Broo has Countermagic, so he
boosts his Evoke
Fire with 6 MPs. The Evoke hits the broo with 10 MPs of force. If
the broo's Countermagic is 8 or less, he is affected by the Evoke
Fire.
SPELL COMPONENTS
If the sorcerer has a component which
is very appropriate to the spell he is casting at hand, the GM can give
him a 5 percentile boost to chances of success. Special and rare
components give higher boosts, depending on the GM's whim. Using
multiple components does not increase the spell's chances further. The
component is destroyed in the spellcasting unless the roll is a normal
failure. In case of a multispell spell, the percentile increase only
applies to one spell, so it's not worth doing unless said spell is the
lowest of those being cast.
Example: Subadim casts Fly,
with an eagle feather as a component. This gives a +5 bonus. If he'd
used a griffin or sky bull feather, he'd gotten a +10 bonus. And if he'd
had a phoenix feather or dragon wing scale, he'd get a +20 bonus. A
feather from Vrimak, King of Birds, is worth about +50. Note that using a
whole eagle instead of a feather is still only +5. A chicken or crow
feather is worthless, though the tongue of a crow who'd been taught to
speak would probably be worth +10 for a communication spell.
SORCERY VS. SPIRIT MAGIC
- A spirit spell is considered to have Intensity
equal to the spell's MPs. A Rune spell is considered to have an Intensity
equal to twice its points.
- Similar Sorcery and Spirit Magic
“overlap”. When such spells are cast on the same target, they do NOT add
together. Instead, both spells take effect, but where the spells
overlap, no double bonus is available. For instance, if Boost
Damage 6 and Bladesharp 4 are both cast on a sword, damage is
increased by 6 (Boost
Damage), and attack is increased by 20% (Bladesharp). Bless
Sword & Bladesharp are similar spells. Ditto for Stupefy
& Befuddle, Boost
DEX & Coordination, etc.. Other cases are left for the
gamemaster to adjudicate, guided by his intuition and experience, but
the intent should be clear.
- Because of the wide variety of
possible combinations, the gamemaster is the final judge of whether or
not a particular spell pairing “overlaps”. Note that some
similar-appearing spells may not overlap. For instance, though Fireblade
and Boost
Damage both increase damage, they do not overlap - instead,
Fireblade takes precedence, just as with Bladesharp.
SORCERY VS. RUNE MAGIC
Normally, Rune spells can be added to
the effect of a sorcery. For instance, if both Boost
Damage and Truesword are cast on a blade, both effects take place.
This is not always the case, and must be adjudicated by the GM. Rune
spells are normally considered to be worth 2 Intensity
each for purposes of neutralizing or Resisting
their effects.
- Example: Shield 4 stops up to 8 Intensity
of sorcery.
SPELL PRECEDENCE
Spells are layered from the inside
out in the order in which they were cast. For instance, if you cast Resist
Magic 6, Castback
6, and Resist
Damage 6 on yourself, in that order, an enemy throwing an Evoke
Fire 8 would first need to overcome the Resist Damage. It would
roll its damage at that time. If it rolled a 4, it would have a 40%
chance of getting through the Resist Damage. Once through, it would
strike the Castback.
Since the Evoke 8 is higher than the Castback,
it penetrates with no difficulty. It now hits the Resist Magic, and the
Evoke's Intensity 8 is matched vs. the Resist Magic's 6, for a 60%
chance of success. If it finally gets through the Resist Magic, it
strikes you, doing the 4 pts of damage previously rolled.
ARTS
The Arts of sorcery are used in
casting spells. Remember that the user cannot have more levels of Arts
in a spell than his skill divided by 10. For instance, if a sorcerer's
Treat
Wounds was 72, he could use up to 8 Art levels (normally costing 8
MPs). Ability to use the Arts is not innate, and must be acquired. The
exact method varies with the College of Magic involved.
Brithini & Vadeli:
- Each Art is acquired by
training or research as if it was a magic skill with a base chance 0.
When the sorcerer reaches 90% in an Art, he has mastered it, and can use
it automatically. Until then, his spells are limited by his skill in
the Arts as well as his skill in the spells (i.e., his chance of casting
a spell is equal to the lowest skill being used, including all
applicable Arts).
Malkioni:
- St. Malkion is the source of
Arts. It takes 1 POW to gain him as a patron, and then each successive
Invocation (at 1 POW each) gains the apprentice 1 Art. An apprentice's
master will typically forbid him to reduce his total Magic Bonus below
10, even to invoke Malkion. It takes a total of 9 POW to gain all the
Arts via this method.
Unaligned:
- They have access to special Art
Vows. An Art Vow can be any Vow except the High Vow, the Vessel, or
Lore Mastery. An Art Vow can be taken before any Arts are learned. Each
such Vow gains a single Art for the apprentice. It does not increase
Presence, but merely provides access to the chosen Art. If the sorcerer
violates a Art Vow, he does not lose the Art but instead loses Presence
equal to what the Vow would normally provide. A Presence of 0 or less is
treated as 0 when spellcasting.
- Seven Arts are normally recognized: Ease,
Intensity, Hold, Multispell, Permanence, Range, and Speed. The arts
of Intensity, Multispell and Range are considered to be
the “basic” arts. The other arts, those of Ease, Hold, Permanence
and Speed, are considered “secondary” arts. Sometimes the
distinction is important.
Ease
- This Art costs MPs to use like
all the rest, but it is a bargain, because it actually lowers the final
MPs used in the spell. Each MP of Ease lowers the spell's total MP cost
by 2, and adds 1 extra SR to those needed to cast. You cannot reduce the
total MPs in the spell to less than the MPs spent on Ease. This does
not reduce the spell's effective MPs for purposes of dispelling or
maintaining or impacting on defensive spells.
-
Example: Thraxon wants to Palsy
an unsuspecting guard, but sees no reason it should cost him a fortune
in MPs. He spends 2 on Range, 6 on Intensity, and 3 on Ease, for a total
of 11. However, the 3 MPs spent on Ease return 6 MPs, so in the end he
only spends 5. The spell will take 15 SRs (one for each MP originally
placed in the spell, plus 1 more for each level of Ease).
Intensity
- The effects of Intensity vary
with the particular spell in question.
Hold
- This lets you hold a single
sorcery spell ready to cast. When the spell is cast, instead of
triggering, it pops onto the Otherworld, where it remains stable, ready
to be released. Essentially, this gives you an “emergency” spell. The
levels of Hold must equal the highest other Art in the spell. When
released, the spell is cast at the caster's DEX SR. The spell is
maintained only until the caster releases it. 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 decides to Hold a Hinder
spell. 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 skill lets the user
combine multiple spells within his Art, casting them all at the same
time, and at the same or at different targets. Multispells can have
identical MP levels for all skills used, or the user can voluntarily
lower the levels for one or more spells selectively. Each MP in
Multispell lets the user have one spell to the mix, or have one target
who is struck by all the spells in the casting (note: this means you
can't use less than 2 MPs in Multispell -- a 1 MP Multispell only gives
you 1 spell, or 1 target, which is worthless).
- The maximum MPs for the casting is
figured by the lowest skill of all spells involved. If a mage knows Evoke
Fire at 60 and Animate
Fire at 80, and decides to Multispell the two (to create a fire
already under control), he can only use 6 MPs total, because his Evoke
skill of 60/10 = 6. Since he needs 2 MPs of Multispell to cast both the
spells at once, this means he can have no more than Intensity
4. However, every single spell in the Multispell gets to “share” the
MPs! So that the spell would be both Evoked for Intensity 4, and Animated
for Intensity 4, for the same 6 MP cost!
- The chance to successfully cast a
Multispell is equal to the lowest skill involved. If attack
spells are combined, the defender needs only one resistance roll. If he
fails, all the spells take effect (otherwise, all fail). If the various
spells have different chances to overcome the target, use only the
lowest chance among them to determine success or failure for all.
- If the Multispell is boosted
to break through magic defenses, each individual spell must be boosted
separately.
-
Example: Thraxon the wizard Multispells Diminish
SIZ, Diminish
STR, and Shapechange
Human, planning to turn a barbarian into a bunny rabbit. He uses Intensity
8, and must use Multispell
3 (because 3 spells are involved). The total cost is 11 MPs, and the
target ends up with -8 STR, -8 SIZ, and sufficient Shapechange Intensity
to affect a human up to SIZ 16. If Thraxon included 8 levels of Hold,
he could keep the effect readied for a total of 19 MPs spent. Of
course, he would need at least 181% skill in all the spells involved to
do this. Or, if he specialized as a Transformer, then he would only need
91% skill, which is a bit more reasonable. (See sorcerous Specialty
rules, following the Arts).
When Thraxon casts the spell, he
only rolls to overcome his foe's MPs once. If the target's SIZ is 17 or
more, then the entire spell automatically fails, because the 100%
certainty of the Shapechange
spell's failing is the “lowest chance” among the spells involved.
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 3 levels of Multispell, to cast a
total of 3 Palsies. Fortunately, his skill in Palsy
is more than sufficient for the 10 Art levels he uses (and only 10 MPs
are spent).
Permanence
- This skill lets a temporal
spell become permanent, so that it no longer counts against the
sorcerer's Presence.
To do this, the MPs in Permanence must be equal to the highest other
Art used in the spell. In addition, the caster must spend 1 POW. The
spell can still be dispelled, and must be periodically boosted with
magic points -- 1 per Permanence MP in the spell per week. These MPs can
be from any source, and important spells are often tied to a POW
source.
- When a Permanent spell is cast, the
magician can boost it with extra MPs (above and beyond his normal Art
or Presence
maximum). These extra MPs are added to the Permanent spell's Intensity
for the purpose of resisting anti-magic spells only.
-
Example: Cybex decides to boost his Strength. His skill
in Boost
STR is 75, so he can use up to 8 Art levels. He uses Permanence 4,
to match the Intensity
4, then spends 1 POW. Now his strength is at +2 and will remain there
until the spell is dispelled, no longer taking up any Presence. At the
same time he casts the spell, he boosts it with an additional 12 MPs.
Now, to dispell this magic, an enemy caster must overcome a defending MP
total of 12+4 = 16. However, each week Cybex must put 4 MPs into the
spell or it will fade of its own accord.
Range ***
Major change - see sscomments.html ***
- Without the use of Range, a
ranged spell can be cast up to 10m away. Each level of Range doubles
this. A spell can be maintained via Presence at any range -- this skill
is only used when a spell is first cast. Of course, the caster must be
able to see or otherwise pinpoint the target no matter how far away it
is. For this reason, ranges past 9-10 are rarely useful.
Range |
Distance |
Range |
Distance |
Range |
Distance |
>0 |
>10 meters |
>7 |
>1.3 kilometers |
>14 |
>160 kilometers |
>1 |
>20 meters |
>8 |
>2.5 kilometers |
>15 |
>320 kilometers |
>2 |
>40 meters |
>9 |
>5 kilometers |
>16 |
>640 kilometers |
>3 |
>80 meters |
>10 |
>10 kilometers |
>17 |
>1,300 kilometers |
>4 |
>160 meters |
>11 |
>20 kilometers |
>18 |
>2,500 kilometers |
>5 |
>320 meters |
>12 |
>40 kilometers |
>19 |
>5,000 kilometers |
>6 |
>640 meters |
>13 |
>80 kilometers |
>20 |
>10,000 kilometers |
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). The Speed MPs do not count in figuring casting
time.
-
Example: Cybex is casting a Multispelled Palsy
at his enemies (see previous example). The spell costs him Intensity 5 +
Range 2 + Multispell 2 = 9 MPs, so it takes 9 SRs plus his DEX SR of 3
for a total of 12 SRs. Hence, it will go off on SR 2 of the next round.
Because the bandits are charging quickly, he chooses to also use Speed,
spending 2 extra MPs to reduce the casting time from 12 SRs to 10,
letting it go off on SR 10 of this round. Now the spell costs 11MPs
instead of 9.
Lunar Magic
This is an unusual sorcery variant..
The sorcerer is tied to the Lunar cyclical magic, and is able to utilize
Lunar elemental magic. Note that only Lunar sorcerers can use Lunar
elemental magic.
Cyclic Magic Table
Lunar Phase |
Spell Levels |
Full Moon |
Use skill/5 to determine maximum MPs per spell |
Half Moon |
Use skill/10 to determine maximum MPs per spell |
Crescent Moon |
Use skill/20 to determine maximum MPs per spell |
Dark/Dying Moon |
Use skill/50 to determine maximum MPs per spell |
A Lunar sorcerer can take a specialty.
A Lunar specialist casts his specialty spells as if the Moon was one
phase “better”, and he casts his non-specialty spells as if the Moon was
one phase “worse”. During the Full Moon, he casts his specialty spells
at skill/3. During the Dark or Dying Moon, he can use only 1 MP on
non-specialty spells.
VOWS
Sorcerers create and increase Presence
by means of Vows: oaths that the sorcerer will do, or refrain from
doing, specific deeds. If a sorcerer breaks a Vow, he loses all Presence
he'd gained from it, and may not take that Vow again. This fact is
taken by Malkioni as evidence that sorcery is governed by the Invisible
God, deity of Law. It is possible to cast sorcery spells without any
Vows. An individual who has taken no Vows is considered to have a
Presence of 1.
Learning Vows
When a sorcerer masters his first Art,
he can take the High
Vow of his sect. This sets up a mental discipline for him to follow
throughout life. Once the sorcerer has learned the three basic Arts of Intensity,
Range,
and Multispell,
he can take the vow of the Vessel.
For each Art he learns after that, he may take one (1) additional Vow
of his choice. In addition, for each sorcery spell he masters at 90%, he
may take yet another Vow of his choice. If a sorcerer somehow forgets
an Art, or an appropriate skill drops below 90, he does not lose the Vow
he received for that skill or Art, but when he relearns the Art or the
skill rises to 90 again, he does not get to take a new Vow. Only one Vow
per Art or spell.
Vow Table
Arts Known |
Vows available |
none |
none |
one only |
The High Vow |
all basic Arts |
The Vessel |
each other Art |
Any Vow |
each spell mastered |
Any Vow |
THE HIGH VOW
- This is the first vow that a
sorcery-user normally takes, and it is the only vow that can be taken
before a sorcerer has learned all three basic Arts. The candidate must
know at least one Art to take this Vow.
- The High Vows vary with the
particular sect of Malkionism, hence there is High Hrestolism, High
Rokarism, etc. The user must adhere to his Sect's strictures (such as
Caste definitions), to take this Vow, which permits him to add a certain
score to his Presence.
This score is determined by taking the sorcerer's Intelligence plus his
Power, and subtracting 20. If the sorcerer's score would be equal to 0
or less, he automatically gets 1 point for the High Vow. Few sorcerers
will bother with training an individual whose potential for sorcery is
lower than 10.
- 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 the next time he qualifies for a new Vow. Even
non-Malkioni sects may have an equivalent to the High Vow -- usually
some kind of philosophy upon which the sorcerer can base his mind's
architecture. While it is possible for a person to learn sorcery without
this kind of framework, it is of course much harder. Unaligned
sorcerers must adhere to an ethical doctrine or mental discipline in
order to take the High Vow. If they have no such dogma to base their
reality around, the High Vow is not possible, and their sorcerous power
is correspondingly weakened.
THE VESSEL
- This is a basic, and powerful Vow
usually considered the mark of a true sorcerer. This is normally the
first Vow taken upon acquiring all the basic Arts (Intensity,
Multispell,
and Range).
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 Presence from this Vow, but should he forget a spell, the Presence
returns. This Vow normally marks the end of a sorcerer's apprenticeship.
LORE MASTERY
- This is a fine Vow which permits the
user to increase his Presence
by learning certain non-sorcery skills to 90%. For a non-specialist
sorcerer, each Knowledge or Magic skill (not counting sorcery spells) he
masters at 90 gives him 1 Presence. For instance, a wizard who knew
Read/Write Brithini, Enchant, Ceremony, Animal Lore, Mineral Lore, and
Rokari Lore at 90+ each, would have 6 added to his Presence because of
this Vow. The Vow must be qualified for like any other Vow (i.e., by
learning an Art or mastering a sorcery spell), but once in place,
continues to increase each time the sorcerer masters a new appropriate
skill.
- This Vow, like the Vessel, cannot
readily be broken. If one of the sorcerer's skills drops below 90, the
Vow is not broken, but he does lose that point of Presence until it
rises again. Sorcerers who specialize can obtain Lore Mastery, too, but
generally use different skills to boost their Presence.
Other Vows
After each Vow's name is a number --
this is the amount by which the Vow increases the sorcerer's Presence.
These vows may only be taken after a sorcerer has learned all the basic
Arts.
ABJURE ARMOR
- (1, or 2 for Rokari): never wear any physical armor. Unavailable
to the Brithini (who can't wear armor anyway), the Vadeli, and the
Hrestoli. The Rokari have the lesser Vow of Abjure Metal Armor, which
permits them to wear leather, wood, or other non-metal armor, for 1
Presence. If such a Rokari later takes Abjure Armor, the lesser vow is
subsumed into the greater.
ABJURE RUNE MAGIC
- (1, or 2 if you have never cast a Rune spell) : you may never
sacrifice for Rune magic, and must never cast any that you now know.
Unavailable to Lunar or Henotheist sorcerers.
ABJURE SPIRIT MAGIC
- (1, or 2 if you have never cast a spirit spell): you may never
learn spirit magic, and must forget any that you now know.
CELIBACY
- (1, or 2 if you have never engaged in coitus; add +2 for
Rokari): This includes sex of any type, including homosexual or
cross-species.
NEVER KILL A HUMAN
- (1, or 2 if you have never ever done so; add +2 for Sedalpists):
This Vow does not mean that the sorcerer cannot let a human die by
inaction, or that he cannot order someone else to kill him. The Stygians
have the vow of Never Kill a Troll, which may be taken in addition to
or or instead of this one.
SACRIFICE APPEARANCE
- (1): lower APP by 2. May be taken more than once. Training APP
back up is considered to break the Vow, though using Boost
APP is legal. APP cannot be lowered below 1 by this Vow.
SACRIFICE CONSTITUTION
- (1): lower CON by 1. See Sacrifice Appearance. CON can be
reduced to 0 or less, but if this happens, the sorcerer's CON-boosting
spells must be sufficient to raise his CON to at least 1 or he dies at
once. Not available to Hrestoli.
SACRIFICE POWER
- (3): lower species-maximum POW by 1. This does not affect
current POW, unless it is already at species maximum. A human sorcerer
who'd taken this vow 5 times would have a species maximum POW of 16. If
his POW was 12 and he got a POW increase check, he would have a 20%
chance of raising his POW by 1d3. Only available to non-aligned
sorcerers.
SACRIFICE STRENGTH
- (1): lower STR by 1. See Sacrifice Constitution. Not available
to Hrestoli.
SHUN HARM
- (3): You may cast no attack
spells. Generally only taken by healers. Unavailable to the Brithini
and Vadeli.
SHUN [ELEMENT]
- (2): 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 Evoke
Light. However, a sorcerer with this vow may learn a Resist
spell vs. the chosen element. Note that nobody can take Shun Moon, for
non-Lunar sorcerers can't use such magic anyway, and Lunar sorcerers are
forbidden this vow. Unavailable to Lunar Sorcerers, except for Shun
Storm. Shun Darkness is Unavailable to Stygians, and Shun Storm is
Unavailable to Aeolians.
SHUN IMMORTALITY
- (1): 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.
Unavailable to Brithini.
SHUN TAP
- (1, or 2 if you have never cast Tap):
If you are currently maintaining a Tap
spell, you must drop it upon taking this Vow. Unavailable to Malkioni
sects which permit Tap.
TEND FAMILIAR
- (1): 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
- (1, or 3 for Sedalpists): Never eat animal meat. The Sedalpists
have the lesser Vow of Partial Vegetarianism, which forbids eating the
flesh of warm-blooded animals (only), for 1 added to Presence. If such a
Sedalpist later takes full Vegetarianism, the lesser Vow is subsumed
into the greater.
Ranks of Sorcery
- In most societies, sorcerers rise through several definite degrees,
and are ranked according to their achievements.
APPRENTICE
- An apprentice is attached to an
older sorcerer, normally at least an Adept, but some experienced
journeymen can take apprentices, too, depending on the local society
(typically, if sorcerers are common, only Adepts may take apprentices).
The apprentice must first devote himself to the mastery of a particular Art.
Normally this is Intensity,
but a few masters prefer other Arts. Once the apprentice has learned
the Art in question, he may take the High
Vow at a formal celebration. Now he may learn spells, as well as
the other Arts. A good master will insist that the apprentice learn
several different spells.
STUDENT
- Once the apprentice has learned all
the basic Arts,
he is permitted to take the Vessel
in another impressive ceremony. At this time, he is considered to have
risen to the rank of Student, and is given extra privileges. A student
is still considered to be an Apprentice -- just a more important one. A
Student may now choose to become a specialist,
if his master is one. The master must be a specialist in the field the
student chooses. The master may or may not cast Apprentice
Bonding on a new apprentice, but most sects require a master to
perform Apprentice Bonding once his apprentice becomes a full student.
Requirements
- 1) Knowledge of all basic Arts
JOURNEYMAN
- Once an apprentice has learned
enough, he is considered a full sorcerer. At this time, most sects
permit him to leave his master. However, he is not required to do so,
and for some time he will be considered second-rate at best and his
income may be significantly straitened until he improves his skills.
This is normally the level at which a player-character becomes an
adventurer.
Requirements
- 1) Knowledge of all Arts
- 2) Skill in Ceremony,
Enchant,
and Summon
of at least 01% each
ADEPT
- Adepts are considered competent in
all aspects of sorcery. An Adept must meet specific requirements, and
they are respected or feared everywhere. In civilized lands, adepts are
recognized as such by the authorities, and usually permitted certain
privileges. For instance, in most Malkioni lands, only Adept sorcerers
are permitted to wear all-white robes (and then only if they have the
Vow of Shun
Tap).
Benefits:
- Adepts are able to learn spells normally restricted to specialists,
because their lore and knowledge has grown until they can comprehend
such.
Requirements
- 1) Knowledge of all Arts
- 2) Skill in at least five non-ritual spells at 90+.
- 3) Skill in Ceremony, Enchant, and Summon of 50+ each.
- 4) Possession of a familiar.
- 5) (Malkioni only) at least three Patron saints.
Non-Malkioni must have accomplished something similar, varying with the
sect.
MAGUS
- At some point, an Adept can proclaim
himself a Magus. Generally, this is not done until most people who know
of him have begun to consider him such (or he risks mockery). There are
no specific conditions, but being called a Magus normally implies at
least the following minimum --
Commonly recognized requirements
- 1) Adept status
- 2) Skill in Ceremony,
Enchant,
and Summon
of 90+ each.
- 3) Skill in at least a dozen non-ritual spells at 90+.
- 4) Having invented at least one new spell in one's career.
- 5) Presence of 50+.
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 spend MPs equal to his skill/5.
However, spells outside his specialty can only use MPs up to his
skill/20.
- For instance, an illusionist
with Phantom
Sight and Treat
Wounds at 85 each could put 17 MPs into Phantom Sight, but only 5
into Treat
Wounds. A non-specialist could use 9 MPs with each spell.
- In addition, when a specialist uses
the Art of Multispell and only his specialty spells are Multispelled,
the Multispell effect does not cost him any MPs. However, the total
levels in the spells are still limited by the points theoretically in
the Multispell.
-
Example: Hugo the illusionist Multispells Phantom
Sight, Sound, and Touch to create a clanking warrior. His lowest
skill of the three is 62%, which lets him use up to 13 MPs total in the
casting. The casting requires Multispell
3, which leaves him 10 MPs to divvy up among Intensity
and Range.
When cast, because all the spells are within his specialty, he only
spends 10 MPs, not 13 -- the Multispell was free.
Example: Hugo now Multispells Phantom
Sight, Touch, and Damage
Boost to make a burning fire wraith. His lowest skill of the three
is 62%. He needs Multispell
3, and because Damage
Boost is not a specialty spell, he can only put 7 points total into
the casting, leaving him an Intensity 4 for the spells involved. He
does need to spend the total 7 MPs, as the Multispell is not free in
this case.
Sample Sorcery Specialties
Each specialty is described in the
same manner.
- “spells” lists all spells
within that specialty.
- “Vows” lists any alterations in Vows
due to this specialty. In addition, sometimes a Vow is listed as
required -- this means this Vow must be selected by the specialist as
his third Vow ever taken. (If it can be repeated, he can take it again
later if he wishes).
- “Lore Mastery” lists those skills
which, when mastered at 90%, raise the Presence granted by his Lore
Mastery Vow, if any. Some specialties get extra bonuses from certain
skills.
- “Other” adds any other special
features the specialist possesses as a bonus or handicap.
ALCHEMIST
Spells -- Animate
[Substance], Bless
[object], Boost
[attribute], HoldFast,
Locate
Object, Produce
[energy], SenseSense
[substance], Armor
Enchantment, Create
Basilisk, Enchant
[metal], Warp
Enchantment
Vows -- Read/Write, all Magic skills (except sorcery spells), all Lores.
Lore Mastery -- Mineral & World Lore provide 2 Presence. Alchemy
skills, Craft, Evaluate.
Other -- none special
CONJUROR
Spells -- Create
Basilisk, Dominate
[otherworld species], Mystic
Vision, Protective
Circle, Resist
Magic, Resist
Spirit, Summon
[species], Binding
Vows -- Read/Write, all Magic skills (except sorcery spells), all Lores.
Lore Mastery -- Magic & Spirit Lore provide 2 Presence. Demonology..
Other -- Boost
[elemental]
HEALER
Spells -- Bless
(medical gear, antidotes, etc.), Dominate
[disease, emotion, healing spirits], Regenerate,
Resist
Death, Resist
Infection, Resist
Poison, Summon
[healing spirit], Treat
Wounds
Vows -- none special, though Never
Kill a Human and Shun
Harm are common.
Lore Mastery -- First Aid, Treat Poison, Treat Disease, other medical
skills, Read/Write, all Magic skills (except sorcery spells), all Lores.
Other -- Neutralize Disease
ENCHANTER
Spells -- all Enchant spells
Vows -- none special
Lore Mastery -- Craft, Read/Write, all Magic skills (except sorcery
spells), all Lores. Magic Lore provides 2 Presence. The very first Craft
the enchanter masters provides 2 Presence. Further Crafts are just
worth the usual 1 Presence.
Other -- Special spell -- Break Conditions
ILLUSIONIST
Spells -- Phantom
[sense], Project
[sense]
Vows -- none special
Lore Mastery -- Read/Write, all Magic skills (except sorcery spells),
all Lores, all Perception skills, Sleight, Conceal, all Stealth skills
Other -- none special
METAMORPH
Spells -- Boost
[characteristic], Diminish
[characteristic], Shapechange
[species], Tap
[all but POW and INT]
Vows -- never Sacrifice any characteristics in a Vow
Lore Mastery -- Read/Write, all Magic skills (except sorcery spells),
all Lores. Animal & Plant Lore provide 2 Presence.
Other -- none special
MONITOR
Spells -- Dominate
[species], Mystic
Vision, Suppress
Sorcery, Stupefy,
Tap
INT, Telepathy
Vows -- none special
Lore Mastery -- all Communication skills, Read/Write, all Magic skills
(except sorcery spells), all Lores.
Other -- Special spells available include Hypnotism, Clear
Mind, Comprehend, Implant, Mind Probe
NECROMANCER
Spells -- Animate
Dead, Dominate
[type of undead], Drain,
Hand
of Death, Resist
Death, Sense
Life, Sense
Undead, Tap
[characteristic], Banishment,
Create
Basilisk, Create
Vampire, Immortality,
Summon
[type of undead]
Vows -- Shun
Sky is required. In addition, every 5th Vow must be Sacrifice
Appearance, until APP has dropped to 1. Never
Kill, Shun
Immortality, and Shun
Tap are forbidden.
Lore Mastery --Read/Write, all Magic skills (except sorcery spells), all
Lores, All Stealth skills. Magic & Undead Lore provide 2 Presence
Other -- Hide Life and can stack Tap.
Necromancers are considered to be chaotic, or at least meddling with
chaos.
SHIP's SORCERER
Spells -- Animate
Hemp [canvas, wood, etc.], Bless
Ship [and shipboard equipment], Boost
[ship's attributes], Evoke
Wind, HoldFast,
Open
Seas, Skin
of Life.
Vows -- none special
Lore Mastery -- Read/Write, all Magic skills (except sorcery spells),
all Lores, World Lore provides 2 Presence. Boating, appropriate Crafts,
Navigation, Shiphandling.
Other -- none special
WARLOCK [OF NAMED ELEMENT]
Spells -- Animate/Evoke/Produce/Resist/Sense
[appropriate element]; Dominate
[elemental], Summon
[elemental];
Vows -- at least one Shun
[enemy element] is required.. Your “enemies” are defined as the
element which has an advantage over you, or that you have an advantage
over. For instance, a Fire Warlock could take either Shun Water or Shun
Dark for his third Vow (but he must take one of them).
Lore Mastery -- --Read/Write, all Magic skills (except sorcery spells),
all Lores. Mineral & World Lore provide 2 Presence.
Other -- Only the element chosen can be used in the listed spells. For
instance, Resist
Fire would be a specialist spell, but Resist
Damage would not be. All aspects of a given element are within this
specialty. For instance, both Evoke
Fire and Evoke
Light are within a fire warlock's specialty.
Special spell -- Boost
[appropriate elemental].
WEATHER MAGE
Spells -- Animate
Fog, Dominate
Sylph, Evoke
Lightning, Evoke
Windblast, Fly
Vows -- none special
Lore Mastery -- --Read/Write, all Magic skills (except sorcery spells),
all Lores. World Lore provides 3 Presence.
Other -- various weather-affecting spells.
WOODS MAGE
Spells -- Animate
Wood, Animate
Plants, Animate
Trees, Animate
[plant species], Boost
Perception, Boost
Stealth, Dominate
[woodland species], Project
[sense]
Vows -- none special
Lore Mastery -- --Read/Write, all Magic skills (except sorcery spells),
Plant Lore, all Stealth skills.
Other -- Transform
to Tree, plant-affecting spells.
Definitions of Spellcasting
There are two basic types of spells.
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
Wounds, 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 only
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 Hinder,
but not Treat
Wounds.
- When an “active” spell is up,
you cannot cast any other spells (except a Held
one). You can only utilize an active spell with some other spell if Multispell
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 into quiescence, and then later brought back into activity by
concentration.
- A “transient” spell is active, but
in addition, if you end your concentration the spell is cancelled. If
you want to re-use it, you have to re-cast the whole thing.
- Many spells cost points or do
damage defined as 1d(intensity).
This is taken to mean: Intensity 3 = 1d3. Intensity 6 = 1d6. Intensity
10 = 1d10. Intensity 14 = 1d8+1d6, Intensity 18 = 3d6, etc. Basically a
die or combination of dice is rolled with a maximum value equal to the
Intensity.
Some spells come in the format:
VERB [noun] such as Animate
[substance]. Such spells come in a variety of forms, sometimes
individually described, but sometimes not. Hence, Animate
[substance] is not one spell, but a whole variety. Each spell must
be learned separately. Knowledge of Animate
Stone does you no good in casting Animate
Fire.
[HTML readers: Clicking on a spell name takes you to the spell
description, clicking on the name at the heading of the spell
description takes you to the spell list]
Name [qualifier] | Type | Notes |
Animate
Dead | Ranged, Active | |
Animate
[substance] | Ranged,
Active | Material, Item,
Specific Item, etc. |
Apprentice
Bonding | Ritual Ceremony | |
Attract
[harm] | Attack, Touch,
Ranged, Transient | Magic,
Missiles, Spirits |
Banishment
(Shackle Soul) | Ritual
Ceremony | |
Binding
(Ban) | Ritual Enchant | |
Bless | Ritual Ceremony | |
Block
Pagan | Attack, Ranged | Rokari College |
Bless
[object] | Touch | Tools, weapons |
Boost
[attribute] | Touch | Armor, Damage, Range/Distance |
Boost
[characteristic or skill bonus] | Touch | STR,
CON, Stealth, etc. |
Boost
[elemental] | Ranged | Stygian Heresy College, Conjuror or
Warlock Specialist |
Break
Conditions | Undefined | Enchanter Specialist |
Castback | Touch | |
Clear
Mind | | Galvosti College, Monitor Specialist |
comprehend | Undefined | Monitor Specialist |
Create
Basilisk | Ritual Enchant | |
Create
Familiar (Loose Familiar) | Ritual
Enchant | |
Create
Vampire (Destroy Vampire) | Ritual
Enchant | |
Curse | Ritual Summon | |
Dampen
Damage | Ranged | Rokari College |
Dampen
[skill] | Attack, Ranged | |
Decrepitude | Attack, Ranged, Instant | Brithini College |
Diminish
[attribute] | Attack,
Ranged | |
Dominate
[species] | Attack,
Ranged, Active | |
Drain | Attack, Ranged, Instant | |
Drain
Soul | Attack, Ranged,
Instant | Hrestoli College |
Enchant
[characteristic] (Decrease...) | Ritual Enchant | |
Enchant
[metal] | Ritual Enchant | |
Evoke
[energy] | Ranged, Instant | Cold, Flame, Light, Lightning, Shadow,
Water, Windblast |
False
Armor | Ranged | Hrestoli College |
Fly | Ranged, Active | |
Hand
of Death | Attack, Ranged,
Instant | |
Haste | Ranged | |
Hide
Life | Undefined | Necromancer Specialist |
Hinder | Attack, Ranged | |
HoldFast | Attack (vs living), Ranged | |
Homing
Circle | Ritual Enchant | |
Hypnotism | Undefined | Monitor Specialist |
Identify
Spell | Ranged, Instant | |
Immortality | Ritual Enchant | |
implant | Undefined | Monitor Specialist |
Locate
Object | Touch, Active | |
Magic
Point Matrix | Ritual
Enchant | |
mind Probe | Undefined | Monitor Specialist |
Mystic
Vision | Ranged | |
Neutralize
Armor | Ranged | Hrestoli College |
Neutralize
Damage | Touch, Instant | Rokari College |
neutralize Disease | Undefined | Healer Specialist |
Neutralize
Enchantment | Ritual
Enchant | |
Neutralize
Magic | Ranged, Instant | |
Neutralize
Poison | Undefined | Borist College |
Open
Seas | Ritual Ceremony | |
Palsy | Attack, Ranged | |
Phantom
[sense] | Ranged, Active
if attacking | Odor, Sight,
Sound, Taste, Touch |
Poison
Troll | Ritual Enchant | Sedalpist college |
Preserve
[item] | Touch, Instant | Hrestoli College |
Produce
[energy] | Ranged | Cold, Heat, Light, Shadow |
Project
[sense] | Ranged, Active | Touch, Sight, Hearing, etc. (Darksense
= Stygian) |
Protective
Circle | Touch, Ranged | |
Proscribe
[cult] | Ranged | Carmanian College |
Regenerate | Touch | |
Resist
[attack type] | Touch | Damage, Death, Infection, Magic, etc. |
See
Rune Magic | Ranged,
Active | Stygian Heresy college |
Sense
[substance] | Ranged,
Active | Life, Magic, Malice,
[Species], Undead |
Shapechange
[species] | Attack, Ranged | |
Skin
of Life | Touch | |
Slumber
of Peace | Attack, Ranged | Sedalpist college |
Smite
[non-human species] | Ranged | Sedalpist college |
Spell
Matrix (Suppress Spell Matrix) | Ritual Enchant | |
Smother | Attack, Ranged, Transient | |
Strengthening
(Debilitation) | Ritual
Enchant | |
Stupefy | Attack, Ranged, Active | |
Summon
[species] | Ritual Summons | |
Suppress
[art] | Attack, Ranged | Brithini College |
Suppress
Paganism | Attack, Ranged | Hrestoli & Rokari Colleges |
Suppress
Priestcraft | Attack,
Ranged | Hrestoli & Rokari
Colleges |
Suppress
Sorcery | Attack, Ranged | |
Suppress
Wizard | Attack, Ranged | Brithini College |
Tap
[characteristic] | Attack,
Touch, Instant | |
Telepathy | Ranged, Active | |
Teleport | Ranged, Instant | |
Transform
to [species] | Attack,
Touch | |
Treat
Wounds | Touch, Transient | |
Venom | Attack, Ranged, Instant | |
Warp
Enchantment | Ritual
Enchant | |
Wither
Elf Bow | Attack, Ranged,
Instant | Sedalpist college |
Worship
Invisible God | Ritual
Ceremony | |
- ANIMATE DEAD ranged, active
- Each Intensity
animates 6 SIZ or 1d6 STR. Normally, sufficient Intensity is required
to make the entire corpse's SIZ animate (but in special circumstances,
just a corpse's arm, head, etc. need be activated). The Intensity
devoted to STR must be at least half that used for SIZ. More SIZ cannot
be animated than the creature's original SIZ, but the creature can be
given more STR than it had in life. An animated corpse's move is 1 less
than in life, and an animated skeleton moves as fast as in life. An
animated corpse is detectable
as Undead; if Turn Undead is used, the caster (of Turn Undead) matches
MPs vs the Intensity of the Animate Dead spell.
Example: Subadim the sorcerer wishes to reanimate a
dead horse, SIZ 32. This will cost 6 Intensity for SIZ, plus at least
half as many levels (i.e., 3) for STR (which would give a STR of 3d6).
He could make the horse stronger if he wanted (and if he had sufficient
ability in the spell).
- ANIMATE [substance] ranged, active
- Each Intensity
lets the caster animate 3 SIZ of a solid substance, or 1 cubic meter of
a non-solid substance (such as air, light, fire, etc.). A sufficient
quantity of the substance must be present for the spell to have full
effect (the right Evoke
spell can be handy). Different substances have different
characteristics. It is possible to have a rather generic Animate spell,
such as Animate Metal, or to be more specific, such as Animate Bronze.
An Animate spell cannot be used to affect a complex living
creature, such as a human or troll, whose makeup contains too many
different substances for this spell to control. Simpler entities such as
trees or jolanti are a different matter. If the target has MPs, then it
must be overcome as per an attack spell.
- If appropriate, the target can be used
by the caster to take actions at the caster's DEX times some multiplier
for its chances of success (see below). An animated solid substance does
1d(intensity)
of damage upon striking a blow, or smashed into a target. 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.
used for animating substances such as stone, wood, metal, etc.
- To figure the degree of control the
caster has over the spell, you need to figure out how specific his
Animate spell is, combined with certain other conditions. See the
following chart for the basic system.
-
DEX multiplier | Condition |
x5 | Spell is item-specific, such as
Animate My Bronze Sword Weedeater |
x4 | spell is type-of-item specific, such
as Animate Bronze Sword |
x3 | material-specific, such as Animate
Bronze |
x2 | generic class of material, such as
Animate Metal |
x1 | extremely generic, such as Animate
Mineral |
+1 to multiplier | each extra increment of
Intensity used for this purpose. (e.g., if a 12 SIZ statue is being
animated, this costs 4 Intensity. If the caster spends 8 Intensity
instead, then he gets +1 to his DEX multiplier. 12 Intensity would
garner a +2 multiplier. |
-1 to multiplier | target is particularly
unsuited for the desired action (e.g. an irregular rock used to carry a
pane of glass) |
+1 to multiplier | target is very well-made
for the action. (e.g. a rope winding itself round someone) |
-1 to multiplier | target has been crafted
or worked into an object, even if that's all the spell can affect.
Hence, Animate Bronze Sword can animate such a sword at the user's DEX x
4 (the specificity gives him DEX x 5, minus 1 for the fact that the
sword is a manufactured tool). |
Use Devise Skill | target has moving parts,
such as a door lock, a catapult, etc. (Note: a key does not have moving
parts though it can be used to activate one). If your Devise skill is
higher than the total DEX roll, use the DEX roll instead. |
-1 to multiplier | target is less than 95%
pure substance (e.g. heavily polluted water) |
-2 to multiplier | target is less than 50%
pure substance (e.g. the water in a mudpool) |
-1 to multiplier | action is complex
(Animating a key to unlock a door) |
-1 to multiplier | action involves
manipulating another object (animating a chain to hold a key to unlock a
door) |
-1 to multiplier | target is enchanted |
-1 to multiplier | target is touching an
entity of some sort (e.g. a helmet on a man's head) |
-1 to multiplier | target is alive, but has
no STR (e.g. a bound spirit within an item) |
special | target is alive, and has its own
STR. In this case, each round of activation the caster must attempt to
overcome the target's STR with his POW and compare to the following
table for results: |
-
success | result
|
critical | add +1 to multiplier |
special | -1 to multiplier |
ordinary | -2 to multiplier |
failure | cannot control target this turn. |
fumble | spell is dispelled |
- Note: if the sorcerer's DEX multiplier drops to 0 or less, he cannot
animate the substance at all.
- Example: Somesit the sorcerer casts Animate Granite on a
granite statue. His spell gets a x4 multiplier. (Animate Stone would
only provide a x3.) Since the statue is man-made, he lost 1 multiplier.
But since the statue is well-formed for animation, he gained multiplier,
too. His final chance is DEX x 4.
- Example: Now Somesit casts Animate Bronze on a trollkin's
helmet, trying to cover the trollkin's face so it can't see or hear to
fight. His spell gives a x4 multiplier, with a -1 because the target is
crafted. He gets another -1 because the target is touching an entity
(the trollkin). The total is DEX x 2.
- An object cannot normally be warped into
complex shapes. For instance you could not warp a hole in a wooden door
to peer through, though you may be able to twist the door in a diagonal
axis, leaving a crack at one corner through which you could peer.
- When the Animate spell ends, the
affected object returns to its original form, unless the caster makes
the effect Permanent, or successfully uses an appropriate Craft when
shaping the object. If the caster's modified DEX roll is lower than his
Craft, he uses his DEX roll instead. This cannot be used for repairing
damage, because the molding is too crude. However, something could
perhaps be bolstered with this use, though not truly repaired -- for
instance, a cracked wooden roof support could not be uncracked, but
another piece of wood could be Animated to wrap around the weak part and
hold it together.
- A damaged object can be repaired
via Animate, if the caster takes at least an hour (more, for very
delicate jobs such as jewelry or fine mechanisms) and is able to succeed
at the appropriate Craft. Again, if the caster's modified DEX roll is
lower than his Craft, he uses his DEX roll instead. This technique can
also be used to shape an object into a reasonably complex form. (e.g., a
door with a hole in it).
- ATTRACT [harm] attack, touch, transient
- The recipient tends to attract various
harmful attacks. Though this is a Touch spell, Range can be used with
it, giving the effect a wider radius. For instance, a Range 1 Attract
Missiles would cause the spell to attempt to attract every missile
within 20 meters of the recipient. This spell cannot be cast on
inanimate objects. If the target becomes inanimate (i.e., he
dies), then the spell is cancelled. If two Attract spells would both
affect a given attack, the higher Intensity spell checks first to see if
it succeeds. Only if it fails does the other spell check. If two spells
of equal Intensity compete, the one nearer to the attack checks first.
- Magic:
- this only attracts ranged spells to the
recipient. In addition, the recipient must be a legal target. For
instance, if he is not visible to the spellcaster, he does not attract
the spell. Also (for example) if the target must be an intelligent
being, a fixed-INT recipient is not targeted. Match the Attract's Intensity
vs. each eligible spell on the resistance table and if the Attract wins
out, the spell is targeted on the recipient.
- Missiles:
- this only attracts missiles with a clear
view of the target. This does not mean the missile- user needs a
clear view, just the missile. For instance. If the recipient is behind a
tree so as to be unseen by an archer, all the archer needs to do is
loose his arrow so that it flies past the tree. When it is beyond the
tree, the recipient will be “vislble” to the arrow, and it can whip
around and hit him. All eligible missiles roll percentile dice. If the
total is equal to or less than 5 x the spell's Intensity,
it hits him instead of its previously-designated target. It
automatically hits the recipient. If the missile's user rolled a special
or critical upon loosing it, then the recipient suffers a special or
critical wound. If the missile's user failed to roll a hit, the
recipient is still struck by the missile, unless the roll was a fumble.
- Spirits:
- all spirits capable of offensive spirit
combat must roll their MPs vs. this spell's Intensity
each round they are free. If they are overcome by the spell, they must
attack the recipient. Spirits already engaged in spirit combat or who
have 10 or more MPs than the Attract's Intensity can ignore this spell,
as can spirits who are incapable of combatting him for some reason. An
intelligent spirit friendly to the recipient can choose not to attack
him, but must remain near him and cannot attack anyone else until it
overcomes the spell's Intensity and selects another target.
- BLESS [object] touch
- 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 1 Intensity, he would have a +15%
at Calligraphy using them. All uses of the tool are normally enhanced.
Thus, a weapon would have both Attack and Parry increased. The spell
definitions 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, for obvious reasons.
- BOOST [attribute] touch
- There are three such spells: Boost
Armor, Boost Damage, and Boost Range, separately
described below. The spell must have as much Intensity as the target object's ENC. Additional Intensity
can be used to give the weapon enhanced qualities. 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 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 to target the enemy.
Because of the small size of missiles, a single Intensity normally
suffices for all save siege missiles.
- BOOST [characteristic or skill bonus]
ranged
- STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, or APP
- An unwilling target can
attempt to resist. Each 2 Intensity
adds 1 to the selected stat. Round fractions up -- thus a Boost STR 1,
gives you 1 pt of STR, while Boost STR 3 gives 2. Boosting APP makes a
target unrecognizable if 6+ Intensity is used.
- INT and POW
- INT and POW cannot be Boosted beyond the
user's original rolled INT (i.e., the spell can be used to repair INT
lost due to Tap
or disease, but not to increase beyond the base number.)
- Skill Bonus
- Each 2 intensity adds 5 to the selected
skill category modifier. All skills within that category are increased.
For instance, Boost Perception 10 increases all one's perception skills
by 25 percentiles.
- Note: sorcery spells are NOT affected by Boost Magic.
- CASTBACK touch
- 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 Castback's Intensity. If both
have Castback, the spell can ricochet back and forth until it finally
gets through the Castback.
- DAMPEN [skill] attack, ranged
- Each Intensity
reduces the target's proficiency in the named skill by 10 percentiles.
- DIMINISH [characteristic or skill bonus]
attack, ranged
- STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, or APP
- Each Intensity subtracts 1
from the selected characteristic, to a minimum of 1. Diminishing APP
makes the target unrecognizable if the APP is reduced to less than half
its normal value. There is no Diminish INT or POW.
- Skill Bonus
- Each 2 intensity
lowers the selected skill category modifier by 5. All skills within
that category are decreased.
- DOMINATE [species] attack, ranged,
active
- This is an assortment of spells, each
tied to a single species. Dominate must have an Intensity
at least half the target's MPs. 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 MPs in this situation.
- DRAIN attack, ranged, instant
- Each intensity
drops the target's fatigue by 1d6. This lost fatigue can be restored in
the normal manner.
- EVOKE [energy] ranged, instant
- Lets the user send a force as a beam
towards a foe, striking a single randomly rolled hit location. The
amount of the force which can be used in the beam is equal to the
spell's Intensity.
The beam can be emitted from the sorcerer's eyes, mouth, or hand(s), at
his option.
- Cold
- Does 1 pt of damage to the target's general hit
points, continuing for the spell's Intensity
in rounds. Armor does not protect.
- Flame
- The flame does 1d(intensity)
damage to one hit location. Flammable materials may ignite. Armor
protects on the first round it is struck. If flame hits the same
location for a second consecutive round, or the target site ignites,
armor stops helping. Default chance of ignition for flammable materials
is 5 percentiles per Intensity -- adjust for more or less (but still
flammable) stuff.
- Light
- A sighted target must roll the spell's Intensityx5
on 1d100. If successful, he is completely blinded that melee round. The
next round, he attempts to roll Intensity x 4, and keeps rolling until
he succeeds. Until that time, he remains blinded. Darkness entities
(such as hags or shades) and undead also take 1d(intensity)
damage from Evoke Light. Finally, Evoke Light Neutralizes
darkness-based magic.
- Lightning
- The target takes 1d(intensity)
damage to a random hit location, ignoring metal armor.
- Shadow
- Blinds the target, lowering all sight-based
skills by 5 per intensity.
This situation improves by 5 percentiles per round. In addition, Neutralizes
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.
- HAND OF DEATH attack, ranged, instant
- If the target is overcome, match the Intensity
vs. his CON. If his CON is overcome, he dies at once. This spell costs
the caster 1d4 general HP per casting.
- HASTE ranged
- Each 2 levels of Intensity
increase the target's movement rate by 1m/round and lower his DEX SR by
1. No matter how low DEX SR drops, no action can take less than 1 SR
and the total number of actions permitted in a melee round does not
change. The target loses 1 additional FP per melee round per 2
intensities, unless he rests, in which case he loses no fatigue, and
regains it at the normal rate.
- HINDER attack, ranged
- If the target's MPs are overcome, then
each Intensity
decreases the target's movement rate by 0.5m/round, to a minimum of
1m/round, and increases his DEX SR by 1. If the total SR of the target
adds up to more than 10, he can take action only once every other melee
round.
- HOLDFAST (formerly Bind) attack (if cast
vs. a living target), ranged
- Causes two adjacent 10cm x 10cm surfaces
to commingle, with a glue STR equal to 3 per Intensity
applied for that purpose. At least Intensity 2 must be used -- 1 for
the surface area, the other for the first 3 points of STR. Each
additional intensity either increases the area affected by another 10cm
in every direction, or increases the glue STR by 3. If used to affect
living tissue, the target's MPs must be overcome. If two living
creatures are each affected, each must resist individually. The exact
shape of the Holdfast can be altered by the sorcerer upon casting, so
long as the total surface area is not increased beyond the spell's
parameters.
Example: a vile sorcerer casts a high-power Holdfast
spell to stop some attacking trollkin. He casts it on the corridor
floor, using 14 Intensity
for the total area -- covering 1.4 x 1.4 meters, but he alters the
shape, because the corridor is only 1m wide, covering 1m x 1.8m. Four
trollkin are are in the affected region. Two of the trollkin are
barefoot, so their MPs must be overcome for the spell to work, and one
successfully resists the sorcerer. The two sandal-wearing trollkin and
the trollkin who failed to resist all feel their soles stick to the
floor. The sorcerer has devoted 7 Intensity to STR, and each Heldfast
trollkin must overcome a STR of (7x3)=21 with their own STR to break
free.The two sandaled trollkin immediately begin to unlace their
footwear. The barefoot glued trollkin just has to grin and bear it. He
can try to overcome the Holdfast's STR next round.
- IDENTIFY SPELL ranged, instant
- This allows the caster to identify a
spell. It can be cast to identify an instant spell only if the casting
is completed on the same round or the immediately succeeding round that
the instant spell went off. It can also be used to identify a spell
which is being prepared. (i.e., if you see an opposing wizard gesturing
mystically, Identify Spell can tell what he is going to cast). For Intensity
1, you can only tell the spell's general category (i.e., Sorcery, Rune,
Spirit Magic, Mysticism, Draconic, etc.). At Intensity 3, you know the
spell's type (basically, read the second line of the spell's description
-- for instance, if you were targeting an Identify Spell, you would be
told “ranged, instant”. If you targeted a Locate
Object, you would be told “touch, active”. At Intensity 5, you know
the spell's MPs and POW (if any). At Intensity 7, you know the spell's
name. At Intensity 10, you are given the spell's full description. This
spell cannot be used to determine what spells are in an enchantment, but
it can identify a spell being cast by an enchantment.
- 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 Locate Object
is dispelled, 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. In this case, the caster
knows if the Locate Object is dispelled, but receives no mental images,
nor does he learn the object's direction or distance at such a time.
Once the caster is again within Range, the spell reactivates
automatically. Locate Object only requires 1 Intensity.
- MYSTIC VISION ranged
- Only affects the caster himself (the
spell's Range
is how far he sees). Darkness or opaque stuff blocks you. Lets you see
MPs. You see the exact amount of MPs in anything you look at, up to
three times the spell's Intensity.
Anything over that is just “greater”. Can be cast in a special
transient format to determine the purpose of a magic item. 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 provides
the item's history. In all of this, Lore skills can help.
- NEUTRALIZE MAGIC ranged, instant
- Cancels a spell if the Neutralize
Magic's intensity
overcomes the defending spell's points on the Resistance Table. The
Intensity of the Neutralize Magic must be at least half as strong 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, 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
- Hits a random hit location. If the
target fails to resist, and the Intensity
is equal to or greater than the 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 head is
palsied, the target falls unconscious. If the chest is palsied, the
target is incapacitated, and begins to smother (start rolling at
CONx10). If the chosen location is already Palsied, a second Palsy will
not strike that location -- reroll until an unPalsied location is
selected. By adding extra points of Range,
the hit location roll can be modified by one point in either direction
(after the die is rolled) per extra point of Range beyond that required.
- PHANTOM [sense] ranged, (active to move
or attack, otherwise a normal temporal spell)
- This is a complex of illusion spells,
each affecting a particular sense. If the caster concentrates on the
illusion, it can be moved around, animated, or otherwise altered. If he
does not so concentrate, the illusion remains, but is immobile and
unchanging. An illusion spell can be moved with incredible speed unless
Phantom Touch is included in the total effect, in which case it is
limited as described below. Illusion spells can be cast to connect them
together.. Thus, a Phantom Sight can be attached to a Phantom Sound and
Phantom Odor, to make an illusion more convincing. Unless the caster
knows multispell,
he must cast the spells sequentialldd.
- Odor
- higher Intensity
makes an odor more intense. Intensity 1 is very mild, such as that of
fresh- cut grass or a freshly-bathed child, while Intensity 10 is strong
-- frying onions or dog breath. Range can be used in two ways in this
spell -- the normal manner, in which the spell is cast at a distance,
plus additional levels of Range can be used the enlarge the area
affected by the odor, which starts at 1m radius, doubling for each level
of Range used for this purpose. An odor can be cast so it floats in the
air, or it can be used to permeate an object. If this spell is cast to
permeate a living target he or she may attempt to resist. Very strong
odors can be used offensively. To do this, 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. A target that holds his breath can
avoid this effect, unless the smell is coming from he himself (because
the spell was cast to permeate him.)
- Sight
- creates an illusion of SIZ 3.
- Sound
- creates a point source sound with increasing
loudness per Intensity.
The sound emitted cannot be altered or comprehensible unless it is
concentrated on. For instance, a rattling noise could be left on its
own, but music or speech requires concentration. A person shouting has a
volume equal to his STR, and if a sound is intended to drown out
speech, it can match its volume vs. the target's.
- 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 and until he tastes it again.
- Touch
- manifests as an invisible solid force. It
cannot do damage by itself, but can be Damage
Boosted, Heated,
or have other spell effects cast on it. This is the only illusory sense
that can have non-illusion spells cast on it (such as Resist
Magic). Each Intensity
used to speed up the illusion gives it a move of 1. Each other level of
Intensity used enables the touch to support 1 Intensity of each other
spell cast on it (not counting illusion spells).
- PRODUCE [energy] ranged
- Permits the user to create the desired
effect in a selected object. The exact effects vary with the energy
calledd.
- 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. An object chilled below freezing causes 1 pt of
damage per round (on SR 10) it is held or on the target's body; per 10C
below 0 it 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 touch (though
Range must be used)
- 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. This circle is immobile
on the substrate on which it is cast. If the substrate is mobile (for
instance, a ship's deck), then the circle can move along with it. 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
- 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). If a Regenerate spell is
dispelled or dropped before the limb is completely regrown, the limb
suffers a shock. Roll 1d100 minus the Intensity of the cancelled
Regenerate spell. The result is the % of the limb that becomes necrotic
and must be removed before another Regenerate spell can work. Note that a
very low roll might actually end up sprouting an additional limb (with a
negative result). The % of the limb that is lost is added to whatever
percentage is already lost. A result of more than 100 is treated
as more than 100 -- the limb is considered to be so badly damaged that
extra time beyond the normal is taken to regrow it. This spell “grows”
while it is working its effect. Each week the spell is in effect, it
increases its virtual MP total by 1. These extra points do nothing but
take up more space in the magician's Presence. If it gets so large that
the magician can no longer maintain the spell, the Regenerate is
cancelled, with the dire effects specified above.
Example: Tidbit the trollkin has lost his leg in
combat, and Subadim wishes to restore it. Subadim devotes 15 Intensity
to the project, hoping to regrow the limb in 6 and a half weeks. This
uses up 15 of his Presence. Each week after the first, the spell grows,
until at the end of the sixth week, it is using 20 Presence. At this
time, Subadim is attacked by bad guys, and has to use some of that 20
Presence to cast a spell. This cancels out the entire Regenerate, and
1d100 is rolled to determine the effect on poor Tidbit. A result of 40
is obtained. Subtracting the spell's Intensity from 40 gives us a final
total of 25, so Tidbit loses 25% more of his leg. He'd gotten it regrown
up to 90%, but now drops back to 65%.
- RESIST [attack type] touch
- 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. Some of these spells come
in sub-types. These sub-types have the advantage that they resist at
double Intensity, but they may only resist their specific attack.
Example : Resist Creeping Chills (a sub-type of Resist
Infection) is worthless vs. Soul Waste .
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. This spell
has only a few sub-types: Resist Fire, Resist Cold, Resist Falling
Damage, and Resist Impale are among them (note that the latter only
attempts to resist vs. extra impaling damage, not ordinary damage
rolled by a thrusting weapon).
- Death
- Does not always 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 a Sever Spirit by pitting itself vs. the Sever Spirit caster's
MPs (and the target would still suffer 1d6 CON damage if Resist Death
worked), and it would try to resist vs. the damage done with a Fang of
Wachaza. This spell has no sub-types.
- Infection
- Helps vs. infection by 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. This spell has sub-types; one for each disease (i.e., Resist
Creeping Chills).
- 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.
This spell has sub-types as per each spell (i.e., Resist Disruption,
Resist Evoke
Fire, etc.).
- Poison
- works vs. any kind of poison or venom..
This spell has sub-types as per type of poison (for instance, Resist
Scorpion Man 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. This spell has no sub-types.
- 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.
Commonly used substances include gold, silver, bronze, gems, etc.Some
unusual “substances” are listed belodd.
- 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.
- Undead:
- any undead, or dead-but-animate
creature is detectable. This includes not only obvious undead like vampires,
but animated
corpses, ghosts, etc.
- SHAPECHANGE [species] attack,
ranged
- This spell requires intensity
equal to at least half the SIZ of the target creature. In addition, the
target's MPs must be overcome. There is a different version of this
spell for each different type of creature, but you may choose what you
want to transform the targets into each time the spell is cast.
Shapechange does not alter any of the target's statistics, including
SIZ. Special powers of the target species are only transferred unless
they are inherent in the body form and metabolism. Thus, a man
shapechanged into a bat could fly (there might be a learning process
involved, of course), and if he were a fish, he could breathe water.
This spell is only usable on creatures possessing STR, CON, SIZ, INT,
POW, and DEX, and can only transform them into such creatures. Thus, you
could learn the spell of Shapechange Human, but not Shapechange
Vampire, because vampires
lack POW. Similarly, you could not Shapechange anyone into a pain
spirit or a zombie, because these creatures are incomplete.
- SKIN OF LIFE touch
-  As before.
- SMOTHER attack, ranged, transient
- Lasts 1 melee round per Intensity.
The target takes normal CON rolls as per asphyxiation, taking 1d3
damage per round once he fails.
- STUPEFY attack,ranged, active
- 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.
- SUPPRESS SORCERY attack, ranged
- 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.
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.
- TAP [characteristic] attack, touch, instant
- This spell permanently destroys 1d6 of
the specified attribute and provides something to the caster, in an
equal quantity to the points taken. A target's characteristic cannot be
reduced to less than 1, and points beyond that are not subtracted. Thus a
target whose POW was 1 would be immune from Tap Power. The minimum Intensity
needed for the spell to take effect on a particular characteristic
variedd.
- Strength (Intensity 2):
- The caster gains Fatigue.
- Constitution (Intensity 3):
- The caster gains HP,
which may be applied either per location or as general HP.
- Size (Intensity 4):
- the caster gains density, adding
to SIZ for the purpose of figuring damage bonus only. In addition, he
gains 1 point of skin armor.
- Intelligence (Intensity 5):
- the caster gains
Presence.
- Power (Intensity 1):
- the caster gains MPs. This is
the commonest Tap.
- Dexterity (Intensity 4):
- the caster's DEX SR is
lowered by 1 for each point of DEX drained. No matter how low the
caster's DEX SR drops, no action can take less than 1 SR.
- Appearance (Intensity 3):
- the caster takes on the
target's appearance (as it was before the Tap).
- A caster may only have one Tap in
effect at a time. If he casts a second Tap, then supranormal benefits
from the earlier Tap are lost. But if he currently had hit pts beyond
his normal maximum, the excess would go away. Note that the “normal
maximum” for MPs is considered to be twice the user's POW. Creatures
with a POW of 0 have no MP maximum. Tap is fearsome in the hands of a
wraith.
Example:
Evil Nim the Tapster decides to Tap his neighbor's cows one dark
night. Nim has 3 points of damage in his right arm and a POW of 12. He
Taps the first cow for Heal CON, draining 4 points from the animal, and
applying it all to his right arm, which now has 1 HP more than normal.
He then taps the same cow's POW, draining 5 points. When he casts the
second Tap spell, the extra HP point in his arm goes away, However, the
arm is not re-injured. His MPs are now 17, though his POW is still 12.
He moves onto a second cow and Taps its POW as well, this time giving
him 3 MPs. Though he has now cast a third Tap, his second Tap's benefits
do not go away because 17 MPs is not “supranormal” for a POW 12
individual. Now he has 20 MPs. He taps a third cow, rolling a 6 for MPs
gained. His total MPs are now 26. If he casts another Tap, the 2 MPs
beyond his normal maximum of 24 would go away.
- 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 as
per an attack spell. At intensity
1, only the life, death, or unconsciousness of a fellow communicant can
be sensed. At 3 intensity, communication as in Mindspeech is allowed.
At Intensity 6, one user can see through another's eyes (but not cast
spells or take action). At Intensity 9, the users can cast one another's
spells. At Intensity 12, they can use each other's MPs . At Intensity
15, 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 attempt to control him). Since
Telepathy is an active spell, even at Intensity 12 you can't personally
cast a spell with your partner's MPs, but you can use them to
fill up an MP matrix or for a spell being cast by your familiar
or any other being who normally has access to your own MPs. Or if
someone else casts the Telepathy instead of you, you're home free.
- 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.
- TRANSFORM TO [species] attack, touch
- This spell is only available to certain
specialists. It acts like Shapechange
(q.v.), but instead of restricting which creature is transformed, it
dictates the species to which the target is transformed. For instance, a
Woods Mage's Transform to Tree can transform a man, a bear, an elf, or a
horse into a tree. You still need Intensity
in the spell equal to at least half the target's SIZ.
- 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.
- VENOM attack, ranged, instant
- If the target is overcome, then a venom
with POT equal to Intensity
infuses the target. If he resists the POT with his CON, he takes half
damage. Otherwise, he takes the full POT in damage.
- Learning Ritual Spells:
- these
take 50 hours to learn just like any other sorcery spell, and the
teacher must know all Arts
plus boast a skill of 90+ in the particular skill for that spell. When
the spell is learned, it uses up 1 INT to memorize, like any other
sorcery spell. However, the spell does not have an independent chance of
success, but is always the same as the corresponding Ritual skill.
- Casting Ritual Spells:
- to
cast a Ritual spell, the caster must have learned the spell in
question. He then spends at least an hour per Art
level in the spell (unless its spell description specifies otherwise)
plus any hours spent in Ceremony.
During the ritual he may not eat, drink, sleep, or lose concentration.
At the end of the ritual, he rolls against the appropriate skill. If he
succeeds, the spell goes off and the MPs or POW is lost.
- Example: Torgam the adept decides to enact the
ritual of Apprentice
Bonding. His chance of casting the spell is equal to his Ceremony
skill of 55, because it is a ritual Ceremony. He decides to use
additional Ceremony to enhance his chance of success (yes, Ceremony can
be used to boost the Ceremony skill when it is used in spellcasting). He
spends 4 hours in Ceremony, thus adding 40 percentiles to his chance of
success for a total chance of 95. He succeeds, his apprentice loses 1
POW, and the bonding is in effect.
- Restricted Arts:
- Unless otherwise stated in the
spell's description, the Arts of Hold,
and Multispell
cannot be used with a ritual magic. Ease
and Speed
do apply, but they still only affect the total time measured in rounds,
so they are rarely bothered with. Normally, for each Intensity
in an Enchant, one POW can be sacrificed.
- Reverse Spells:
- Many ritual spells have a reverse
effect that can be cast instead of the normal, beneficial form. In such
cases, the reverse effect's name is included in parentheses after the
normal spell title. The reverse spell does not have to be learned
separately. If a sorcerer learns Enchant
Iron, he also receives the ability to Disenchant Iron.
- Power Within
- Take 1 melee
round and concentrate, gathering your inner strength. At the end of the
round, you lose 1 hp and 1d6 fp, and receive one of the
following:
- MP equal to the rolled fatigue loss (i.e., 1d6)
- +1 Art
level on the next spell you cast (it must be started on the first round
after you cease the Summoning process). It is legal to Summon for
several rounds in a row. The total rounds spent cannot exceed your
Summon/10, rounded up.
- Special Materials:
- Very
fine or semi-magical materials permit an enchanter to put more POW into
the object. This is largely up to gamemaster discretion. Thus, a common
pebble could only contain 1 POW of enchantment. A simple pine staff
might only be able to hold 4 POW. The carved branch of an awakened
sapient tree might hold 10 POW. A carved length of ebonywood with a
demon's stoney heart as the end knob might be able to hold 20 or more
POW.
- Enchanted Tattoos and Ritual Scarification:
- Normally,
enchantments are engraved into an inanimate object. However,
enchantments can be tattooed or scarred, or otherwise permanently
attached to a living being (body paint could be used, but when the
paint rubs off, so would the enchantment). This is not as easy a process
as crafting an object, and the enchanter needs to spend an extra point
of POW for each enchantment he places onto a live person. Undead
or dead-but-animate
entities are exempt from this extra POW requirement. Of course, beings
lacking SIZ or permanent SIZ can't have anything permanently tattooed
onto their bodies. Note that a living being has no limit to the
amount of POW that can be enchanted into him. Tattooing or Scarifying a
body requires the caster or an assistant to use the Tattoo skill.
- Conditions:
- when placing
Enchantments, the caster can emplace Conditions at the same time.
Conditions do not make the Enchantment any harder, but do increase the
POW cost. (And thus may render an enchantment impossible, by forcing the
total cost above his allowed Art level).
- APPRENTICE BONDING ritual Ceremony
- This establishes a special link between
the master and his students. The apprentice must spend 1 POW for the
bond 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 (which the apprentice
need not obey, at his peril). He cannot read the apprentice's mind or
control his actions in any way. This effect lasts until the master's
death.
- BANISHMENT (Shackle Soul) 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. There is a
reverse form of this Ceremony, known as Shackle Soul, which is
considered evil and chaotic by most societies. It prevents the corpse's
spirit from passing on to the afterlife, and the spirit often responds
by transforming into a ghost or wraith over a time. A true Banishment
not only cancels out the evil Shackle Soul, but also sends the spirit on
to its afterlife, safe from further attempts to hold it here.
- BINDING (Ban) ritual Enchant
- Lets the caster spend POW to create an
enchantment which can contain spirits. This costs 1 POW per stat of the
creature the enchantment is intended for (not counting APP). Only
incomplete creatures can be bound, and only if they lack permanent SIZ
(like Naiads), or if they normally form their bodies from raw materials
(like Elementals). 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:
-
Species | Binding Cost | Characteristics |
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 |
- Note: when you initially summon an elemental,
you need the appropriate amount of element present. Once the entity is
bound, it can be called forth at will. However, there must be a trace of
the appropriate element present, or it cannot take shape. As a rule,
figure you need around a liter of the element for each cubic meter it
has. For instance, a good-sized torch will serve to call forth a 2m
elemental. The reverse spell, Ban, can be used on an object or as an
area enchantment to keep a specific type of otherworldly entity out
. Used this way, MPs must be placed within the Binding. Whenever the
banned type of entity tries to enter the object or area, it must
successfully overcome the Binding's MPs with its own. Once it succeeds,
it must make the die roll again on each melee round or it is
unceremoniously expelled. If the entity has MPs 20 or more above the
ban, it can ignore this effect.
- 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 Enchant
- 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. This is considered a Chaotic
spell.
- CREATE FAMILIAR (Loose Familiar)
ritual Enchant
- 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. When the familiar dies, you get your lost stat
back, exactly one year later.
- 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
- The reverse effect, Loose Familiar,
enables you to free your familiar from your mental control and
fellowship. It still retains the Stat(s) you provided it, but is freed.
If it dies, you still get your lost stat back after a year.
- CREATE VAMPIRE (Destroy Vampire)
ritual Enchant
- 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.
Destroy Vampire also takes a week, and the vampire's body is needed for
the entire duration. The caster loses 3 POW instead of 7. This is the
most sure way to destroy a vampire, but is rarely performed, for obvious
reasons.
- 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 [characteristc] (Decrease
[characteristic]) ritual Enchant
- Lets the caster increase a
characteristic of the target. If a living being is the target (the
normal case), he must be tattooed. It cannot be used for SIZ, INT, or
POW. Each POW in the spell ups the selected characteristic by 1. Thus,
Enchant Strength 4 increases a man's STR by 4 and costs the caster 5
POW, (the extra point because it was tattooed). Only one enchantment of a
given characteristic is in effect at a time. For instance, if a man
receives both Enchant Constitution 6 and Enchant Constitution 8, his CON
is boosted by 8, not 14. This spell can be used in reverse, as Decrease
[statistic]. If so used, the chosen characteristic is reduced by 1d3
per POW. Decrease can be used to decrease POW or INT (but still
not SIZ). If an individual has both Enchant and a Decrease on him, the
the higher of each adds together. A man with Enchant Constitution 8 and
Decrease Constitution 6 has a +2 CON.
- STRENGTHENING (Debilitation) ritual
Enchant
- Increases an attribute of an object by
1d3 for 1 POW. Normal attributes that can be affected are Armor, Armor
points (for weapons, for instance), Hit Points, Fatigue (living beings
only), etc. Can be used in reverse, as Debilitation, to decrease an
object's APs by 1d10. If APs are reduced to 0 or less, any rough touch
will shatter the object -- the lower the APs, the more fragments are
produced. In any case, all enchantments on the object are permanently
destroyed. Debilitation can be used with a Condition so only certain
beings would destroy the object with their touch. A wizard who tries to Warp
a Debilitation must subtract 10 from the appropriate Craft for each
negative AP. If the Craft roll fails, the object shatters.
- ENCHANT [metal] (Disenchant [metal])
ritual Enchant
- Lets the caster temper one of the magic
metals of Glorantha, by spending 1 POW per 10 ENC of metal. An
appropriate Craft skill is generally handy to use at the same time. The
reverse simply untempers 10 ENC of the metal per casting. No Craft skill
is needed.
- HOMING CIRCLE ritual Enchant
- 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 Enchant
- Prevents the caster from aging. The
spell must be maintained, and the spell must have sufficient intensity
to equal or exceed his original CON (not current). On the first day of
each subsequent year, the sorcerer's original CON goes up by 1 (this
does not affect his current CON). If the spell's Intensity is ever lower
than the sorcerer's original CON, then he must perform the ritual again
within one day, with a sufficiently high Intensity to equal or exceed
the sorcerer's new (higher) original CON, or suffer all the aging
effects of all the years in which Immortality was in effect. This spell
also requires another component, best chosen by the gamemaster (water
from the Fountain of Youth, virgin blood, etc.).
- MAGIC POINT MATRIX (Magic Point Sink)
ritual Enchant
- Allows a sorcerer to create an MP
storage device. The sorcerer must have an object Crafted appropriately
by someone who knows MP Matrix, and he then performs the ritual,
sacrificing 1 or more POW. For each POW in the Matrix, it becomes
capable of holding 2d6 MPs. The opposite effect, Magic Point Sink,
creates an object into which MPs can be placed, up to the maximum
possible for said object. However, MPs cannot be withdrawn from
it, only emplaced.
- NEUTRALIZE ENCHANTMENT ritual
Enchant
- Allows a sorcerer to “break”
enchantments. To do this, the sorcerer must spend 1 POW and match the
Intensity of his Neutralize Enchantment vs. the POW invested in the
enchanted item. If the item has MPs of its own, he must also overcome
these with his own MPs. If he succeeds, then the enchantment is broken,
but his POW is lost in any case. This can also be used as an alternate
means of canceling a Permanent spell.
- OPEN SEAS ritual Ceremony
- As previously described.
- SPELL MATRIX (Suppress Spell Matrix)
ritual Enchant
- This lets you place a spell in a magic
item, so you don't have to memorize it any more. For each point of POW
you place in it, 10 percentiles are added to anyone's chances of casting
the spell, so it can be manipulated to greater levels than before.
Someone (not necessarily the Sorcerer) must have previously succeeded in
a Craft skill on the item, engraving runes, patterns, etc. This must be
done by someone who knows both the spell being emplaced and
Spell Matrix. This can be done before the Spell Matrix is created, so a
failed crafter can try again, unless he has fumbled and damaged the
object. If someone lacking sorcery skills attempts to use the
enchantment, he receives his Magic Bonus as a base chance to use the
spell (minimum of 5%), plus the percentiles included with the
enchantment (i.e., an enchantment with +30 percentiles could be used at
30%, plus the user's Magic Bonus). He can use any Arts he knows with the
spell. If the wielder knows no Arts, he can use Intensity (only) with
the object, to as many levels as the total skill involved allows.
- Example : a farmer who knows no sorcery discovers a Call
Light matrix, with 4 POW in it, giving it a +40% skill. His own Magic
bonus is +1, so he has a 41% chance to cast Call Light. He can use up to
5 levels of Intensity with it, though he has learned no Arts.
- The reverse effect, Suppress Spell Matrix, can only be enchanted
onto a pre-existing spell matrix. Each POW in Suppress lowers the user's
chances in using all spells within that matrix by 10 percentiles.
- 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, Hold
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.
- WARP ENCHANTMENT ritual Enchant
- This enables the sorcerer to alter one
enchantment into another. He must know all the enchantments involved,
both those in the item as it stands, and those he wishes to
change them into. Either he or an assistant must succeed in a Craft roll
for the item he is warping, to properly alter the patterns on it. He
has only one chance to succeed in the Craft, and if he fails, the Warp
fails. He must also, of course, succeed in his Enchant skill roll, plus
sacrifice 1 or more POW. If the enchantment has its own MPs, he must
overcome those MPs with his own. If both the Enchant roll and the MP vs.
MP roll (if needed) succeed, then the caster matches the POW he spent
vs. the total POW in the enchanted item. If his lost POW overcomes the
enchantment's POW on the Resistance table, then the spell is altered as
desired. Normally, sorcerers spend 1 POW when casting this spell, hoping
for a lucky roll. Warp requires the use of Multispell, even if the user
is changing the enchantment into the exact same enchantment (example:
to improve a poor die roll in a MP Matrix creation, a sorcerer might use
Warp to get a new, hopefully better, roll). A Multispell Art level is
needed for each different spell involved, both those currently in the
enchantment as well as those he wishes to Warp them into.
- Example: Cybex has a MP
Matrix containing 5 POW and 22 MPs. He decides to blow 1 POW in
hopes of altering it into a combination Spell
Matrix for Castback
and a smaller MP Matrix nstead. He knows Castback, Spell Matrix, and MP
Matrix, and succeeds in his Enchant and Craft rolls. He must now
overcome the matrix's MPs with his own, and does so. He now matches the 1
POW he spent vs. the 3 in the object, giving himself a 40% chance of
success. He succeeds! He now decides to use the 5 POW to alter the
matrix into a MP Matrix 3 and a Castback 2. When he rolls for the new MP
total in the matrix, he gets a 24, higher than before! The total Arts
used in the Warp Enchantment were Intensity
1 (for the POW) and Multispell
3 (for Castback, Spell Matrix, and MP Matrix), so the ritual takes him 4
hours, plus any Ceremony.
- 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.
Borist College of Magic
- NEUTRALIZE POISON
Brithini College of Magic
- DECREPITUDE attack, ranged, instant
- The target is
instantly aged a number of years equal to 1d(intensity).
If the target is a being that normally does not age, the spell has no
effect. Also, immature individuals are immune to this spell -- only full
adults can be affected.
- SUPPRESS [ART] attack, ranged
- This spell
comes in several subtypes -- one for each Art.
The most common is Suppress Intensity,
naturally enough. Once this takes effect, each time the victim wishes
to cast a spell, he must first roll on the Resistance table between his
MPs vs. the Suppress. If he fails to overcome the Suppress, then for the
remainder of that melee round, he may not cast any spell using that
Art. If he does overcome the Suppress, then he can use that Art for that
round (only). If a spell takes more than one round to cast, he must
successfully resist the Suppress on all rounds of casting, or the
spell is cancelled and he must start over again.
- SUPPRESS WIZARD attack, ranged
- Each 2 Intensities
in this spell reduces the target wizard's chances for success with all
non-ritual sorcery spells by 5 percentiles. Thus, a Suppress Wizard 10
would reduce a sorcerer's chances to cast almost any spell by 25, which
also lowers the total Arts
he can put into his spells.
Carmanian
College of Magic
- PROSCRIBE [cult] ranged
-
Each Intensity
reduces the chance of the target successfully casting spirit and divine
magic learned from the proscribed cult by 5 percentiles. The target can
not resist the spell, but defensive magic may block its effects. Bound
and allied spirits and Mindlinks should be checked to see if they are
also affected. It has no effect on any other spirit or divine magic.
Only theistic and spirit cults are affected, not Malkioni sects.
Proscribe [Cult] spells exist against Gorgorma, Yu-Kargzant, Shargash,
Storm Bull, Tawar, Kyger Litor, Humakt, Chalana Arroy, Lodril, and the
entire panoply of Pentan and Char-Un spirits, plus others at the GM's
discretion.
Galvosti College of
Magic
- CLEAR MIND
Hrestoli College of Magic
- Farmer Caste
-
All Hrestoli start out as members of the Farmer caste.
- May not wear metal armor
- May not ride a stirruped steed
- May learn no Art.
- Knight Caste
-
To qualify for Knight Caste, a Hrestoli must have 60% in Plant
Lore and any Craft.
- He may learn only the Art of Intensity.
- He may take the High Vow.
- 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 College
Spells
- DRAIN SOUL attack, ranged, instant
-
If the target fails to resist, he loses a number of magic
points equal to 1d(intensity).
At least 3 Intensity
must be used or the spell has no effect.
- FALSE ARMOR ranged
-
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, which does take effect first). Though this spell can be
maintained, once the false armor is destroyed, the effect is cancelled.
Example
: a knight with Intensity
6 False Armor has 6 extra armor points in each location. If he is
struck for 4 points of damage in his chest, his chest would only have 2
false armor points left, but his other locations each still have 6.
- NEUTRALIZE ARMOR ranged
-
This spell is cast on a weapon or missile. When
the weapon strikes home, the Intensity
of the Neutralize spell is matched vs. the target's APs. If the
Neutralize succeeds, the enemy's armor is halved for that strike.
Casting Neutralize Armor on a bow is useless, unless you physically
strike the foe with your bowstave. Neutralize Armor can be cast on
arrows or quarrels, however.
- PRESERVE [item] touch, instant.
-
This spell's effects last for one week. Unlike
most instant magics, its effects can be dispelled. The spell grants a
temporary bonus of +1 AP. A side effect of the extra armour point is
that the Blessed item will remain in the same state of repair it was in
when the spell was cast: armour remains shiny and new, clothing is
difficult to soil, a room stays clean and tidy. The spell is thus
extremely useful for keeping up appearances. While it is usually cast
upon a tool (plow, hammer, sword), variant Blessings exist for carts,
roofs, fires and the like.
- SUPPRESS PAGANISM attack, ranged
-
The target's chance to cast spirit spells is
reduced by 5 percentiles per intensity.
- SUPPRESS PRIESTCRAFT attack, ranged
-
The target can cast no non-ritual Rune spells
unless he expends 1 MP per Intensity
of the Suppress spell during the casting. MPs that would normally be
spent anyway (such as in a Heal Wound) do not count towards the total
needed. These extra MPs do not count towards boosting a spell to blast
through an opponent's defenses.
- Rokari Sect
- Farmer
Caste
- He may not wear metal armor.
- He may not practice any Art
except Intensity.
He may take the High
Vow.
- He may not learn inappropriate
spells.
- Knight Caste
- He may not practice any Art
but Intensity.
He may take the High
Vow.
- He may not own land.
- He may not learn inappropriate
spells.
- Wizard Caste
- He may practice all sorcery.
- He may not own land.
- He may not wear metal armor or
shields.
- He may not wield “military”
weapons as defined by Rokari law and tradition.
- Lord Caste
- He may practice all the Arts
but Intensity.
He may take the High
Vow.
- Rokari College of Spells
- BLOCK PAGAN attack, ranged
-
Has no effect on non-shamans. If the shaman fails
to resist, and the intensity
of the spell is equal to or greater than the MPs in the shaman's fetch,
the fetch is severed from the shaman. The fetch cannot take any actions
on the physical plane until the Block Pagan expires. 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 Pagan effect
ends. If the fetch's MPs are greater than the spell's intensity, and the
shaman fails to resist, then the fetch is blocked from the shaman for
one melee round per Intensity.
- DAMPEN DAMAGE ranged
-
This spell is cast on a weapon. If the weapon has
MPs of its own, it can attempt to resist. If the spell takes effect, the
weapon's damage is reduced by 1d(intensity).
Does not reduce missile damage unless cast on the missile itself (as
opposed to the bow). This spell “adds” to weapon enhancement spells.
Example: Adept Brokenic, attacked by trollkin, multispells
Dampen Damage on all the trollkins' spears. He has a skill of 85 in the
spell, so can use 9 levels. There are 5 trollkin, so he needs Multispell
5, which he combines with Range 1 and Intensity 3. Each trollkin's
spear damage is now reduced from 1d8+1 to 1d8+1 - 1d3. The 1d3 reduction
is rolled separately for each hit. One trollkin has a Bladesharp 4, so
his damage becomes 1d8+5 - 1d3.
- NEUTRALIZE DAMAGE touch, instant
-
Heals damage to a hit location as per other
Neutralize spells.
- SUPPRESS
PAGANISM (see Hrestoli:Suppress
Paganism)
- SUPPRESS
PRIESTCRAFT (see Hrestoli:Suppress
Priestcraft)
- Sedalpist College of Magic
- POISON TROLL ritual Enchant
-
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.
- SLUMBER OF PEACE attack, ranged
-
This spell takes two steps to determine success.
If the target fails to resist, then the Intensity
is matched vs. the target's CON. If overcome, the target falls asleep.
He will remain asleep until awakened by injury, splashed with water,
etc., or if the spell is allowed to lapse.
- SMITE [non-human species] ranged
-
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 attack, 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. all lower the damage done.
- Stygian Heresy College of Magic
- BOOST [elemental] ranged
-
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 other Project
[sense] spells, but for Darksense.
- SEE RUNE MAGIC ranged, active
-
This spell is cast on a single target (unless Multispelled),
who may not 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,
the presence or absence of rune magic can be sensed. At 5 intensities,
the total points of rune magic are known, as well as the general type.
At 10 intensities, the exact spells known are revealed.
This spell only detects spells known by the
target, not whether or not they have been cast or are present on him.
SAINTS
note: This is
taken from a previous version of Sandy's rules - revised Saint rules to
follow
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.
END of rules
Glorantha
is a trademark of Issaries,
Inc. Gloranthan material is copyright 1997 by Sandy Petersen and
Greg Stafford. Glorantha is the creation of Greg Stafford, and is used
with his permission.
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