From: Steven
Date: Sat 18 Aug 1990 - 09:56:33 EEST
Copyright (C) 1988 Steven Maurer, all rights reserved All or part of this article may be freely copied for non-commercial use, provided that this notice in included in said copies and/or derivations (fixes/changes), and that proper attribution is made. Any other use, without written permission from the author, is prohibited.
Sorcery Definition:
Sorcery is the skill of magic. Unlike divine (godly) and soul (samanistic) magic, it is based on the complex practice of directly invoking the power of the runes, without any intermediaries. While this "cutting out the middleman" enables a generally greater return for magical input, it is also very hazardous.
Sorcerers do not have Divine Intervention, cannot attune iron, have no increased POW gain roll, or any other supernatural or heroic aid unless they get it directly from Heroquest. They have a DEX x 5 limitation on all non-sorcerous/non-knowledge skill rolls, if they want to progress beyond 100% as a Runelord in Sorcery skills (due to intensive study). Some Sorcerers may dabble in cults up to being Initiates, and some priests dabble in Sorcery (chiefly worshippers of the man-god { Pharoah }), however doing both is impossible simply from a practical time-oriented standpoint, much less the fact that most traditional gods disapprove of Sorcery.
There are other advantages and limitations, such as Sorcery generally being more slow. Most of these you will find out during play.
Sorcery, unlike Rune/Battle magic, is not "preprogrammed". With sufficient practice, the Sorcerer has complete control over the effects of the spell he is attempting to invoke. To a large extent then, Sorcerers are tinkerers. Many new Sorcery spells are simply unique combinations of older spells. Such "tinkerings" are called "variations". There are standard spell variations which will be described below.
Warning: Sorcerery is not an easy magic to learn, so playing a Sorcerer is not a technically easy job. Though the system is not complex, you must keep track of the every Sorcerous skill you know, and familiarize yourself with the rules. I do not suggest beginners play sorcerers.
Sorcery Rules
3a] Shortcut Table: This describes the rules found below.
-% %thresh Extra Mana Intensity X X Area X X Speed X Range X X Ease X Duration X Enchantment X * High-Enc X Iron X X Concordances +/- +/- 4] Sorcery costs 1 Mana (Temp-POW) to use. Many Variations require extra Mana to produce the additional effects. Most require extra Mana in addition to other requirements. 5] Some Variations may only be produced after the Sorcerer has attained a certain proficiency ( ML ) with the spell; these are called Threshold Variations (or %thresh). 5a] Speed - A Sorcery takes (24 + Dex SR - %thesh ML) seconds to cast; never below Dex SR. Example: Casting a 50% (ML 10) spell takes (24 + Dex SR - 10) seconds to complete. 5b] Range - A spells range is: 10 * 2 ^^ (%thresh / 4) meters, round down. At a %thresh of 0, Range is touch. Ex: At %thresh 8, the range is (10 * 2 ^^ 2 =) 40m. For every 80m, extra range costs +1 Mana. 5c] Ease to cast / Ease to hold "Active" spells - %thresh Effect 0 Trance. Sorcerer completely helpless while casting/holding the spell. 1 - 2 Total concentration; attackers +60% + free aimed shot. Any disturbance stops spell cast. 3 - 4 Heavy concentration; attackers +40% + free +2 Hit Loc Mod. Damage stops cast/hold, and Disturbance forces reroll at -10. 5 - 6 Concentration; attackers +20% Damage forces reroll at -3 per pt taken, or cast/hold fails, disturbance forces reroll at -5. 7 - 8 Light Concentration; attackers +10%. Damage forces reroll at -2 per pt taken, disturbance forces reroll at -2. 9 -10 Little concentration; attackers +0%. Damage forces reroll at -1 per pt taken, disturbance forces reroll. 11 -12 Routine; as above. Can combine with a non- attack/non-spell action in same phase, can ignore any "normal" disturbance. 13 -14 Practiced; as above, but Damage merely forces reroll with no minuses. 15 -16 Easy; Can combine with any non-spell action in same phase. 17 -18 Very Easy; Damage will not stop spell cast unless it FIs the caster. 19 -20 Extremely Easy; Can combine with any actions Sorcerer has SRs for in same phase. Instant spells may be maintained as if Active. 21 Automatic; may cast even when Functionally Incapacitated. Active spells may be held while asleep. 6] Some Variations are extremely difficult to produce, even for the best adepts; these are called Skill-Subtraction Variations, and have the symbol ' -% '. 6a] Intensity is the "power" of the spell. All spells start at a Intensity 0. For each Level of increased intensity, decrease effective ML by 1 ( EML = ML - Intensity ). The effects of Intensity are explained with the spell. Each Level also costs 1 extra Mana. Some spells are so complex, that they don't work until a high intensity is reached. 6b] Multiple Target - Spells usually only affect only 1 target, but this can be changed for a varying cost. Target Multiplier ( TM ) is a cost multiple for each spell, with a default of 1. EML = ML - ( TM * Additional Targets). Extra Mana costs: 2 * TM * (Additional Targets). 6c] Increased Area - Some spells affect an area. As Multiple Targets, but each DOUBLING of area costs: TM * (# of Doubles) Extra Mana costs: 4 * TM * (# of double). All creatures in the area are effected by the spell, including the Sorcerer. 6d] Penetration - Spells may be tuned to penetrate the defenses of a particular target. For each -1 EML, the Sorcerer may have an effective +1 POW in any POW vs POW skill roll. This may only be used against 1 target, though people in Mind Link are be considered 1 target vs Mind affecting Sorceries. 6e] Combinations - Many Sorceries may be combined to produce new and interesting effects. These are only partially under the control of the Sorcerer. Even if the Sorcerer wants to apply an effect he has practiced, this subtracts from the EML. This is entirely GM controlled (by me). 7] Thresholds are partially cumulative with Subtractions. For each -2 ML, subtract -1 from %thresh ML. Example: A Mage at ML 18 (90%) attempts to Invoke Fire at Intensity 10. His EML is thus (18 - 10 =) 8, and for purposes of calculating how fast he can get it off, he is effectively (18 - 10/2 =) 13 %thresh. Thus, he throws it in 24 + 2 - 13 = 13 SRs (1 full round + 1). 8] A Sorcerer may use ML Subtractions to make up for %thresh losses (but NOT to get extra %thresh). Thus in the above example, to Invoke at Intensity 10 with no extra delay (%thresh of 18), the EML would be: (8 - (18 - 13) =) 3 . This must be stated before the spell is cast. See me if you have trouble understanding this rule. 8a] A Sorcerer may also use %thresh in one area, to make up for lost %thresh in another: Every -2 %thresh, restores 1. In the above example, to cast with a Speed at %thresh 18, the Sorcerer would have to make up +5 %thresh. By concentrating, he might reduce his Ease %thresh to 13 - ( 5 * 2) = 3, allowing to cast as if Speed %thresh 18. 9] "Passive" Sorcery spells (with Ease %thresh 11 or better), may be maintained by simply continuing to spend Mana every 2 minutes. 10] A Sorcerer may use ML Subtractions in place of Mana use, down to 1 Mana pt cost. Each -% ML from there doubles the time before "maintenance" Mana must be put in the spell. This is called a spell's "Maintained Duration". There are other limits: the spell ends when the Sorcerer does not pay the Mana, is killed, or ends up 10 kilometers away (in addition to dead spots). For "Active" spells, the caster must still concentrate, and this can be disrupted. For "passive" Sorcery, no concentration is needed. Adepts typically have several passive defensive spells up all the time. 11] A Sorcerer may place Mana in an object from which a Spell draws power, rather than himself. This is exactly like "Maintained Duration", except that the spell is "attached" to the object, not the sorcerer. 12] Passive spells may be made "permanent" by Enchanting an object or area. Each point of Mana required for the spell per day, is replaced by a point of Permanent POW. The spell will continue to function forever, unless the object is destroyed, or a "Destroy Magic" is cast. Bringing the object into a Dead spot will cause the spell to cease until brought back out again. The Maximum POW which may be put into an object is %thresh / 4. 12a] Active spells may also be made "permanent", except that they need something to guide them. This is either a trigger (e.g. "Harmonize anyone who touches that lock"), or a directed weapon (e.g. Disruption wand). The attack is made with the POW of the original caster. 12b] Sorcery Matrices may also be generated using this method. They are easier to create, but use the Mana and POW of the person using them. The POW cost to build matricies is 1/4 normal. 13] Sorcery requires easy use of hands and tounge to shape the glyphs which controls the runes. Thus, ENC penalties for carrying too many "things" starts at 1/2 normal for all Sorcery skills. This -% requires no extra Mana. 13a] Some Concordances (q.v.) require strange modes of dress. Nudity, for example, is useful in casting almost all Fertility Rune magic. 14] Iron disrupts magic. For each ENC point on the caster, subtract 1 ML, and add 1 Mana point for every spell cast. 15] A "Concordance" is an an effect in the environment which makes invoking a particular rune easier. Concordances may increase effective Mana and even Mastery Level! For instance, there is a +5ML when attempting to summon a Salamander out of an Inferno (50' x 50' burning area). Concordances may decrease, or make impossible some castings (it is impossible to summon a Salamander underwater). Spell components are concordances. 15a] Certain concordances are permanent, and can be applied to any spell. Widely known ones include: Dead Spots (remove all magic), "mage water" (adds Mana), and powered crystals. Other universal concordances exist, but are not public knowledge. (You must find this out for yourself.) 16] For every -1 ML taken on a spell, the Sorcerer may subtract -1% from the die roll, when checking for experience. 17] Incorrectly invoking the runes is a common enough occurance for Sorcerers, and can be dangerous. Failure/Fumble percentages are based on skill resulting from the effective ML -- before Concordances are taken into account. 17a] The majority of failures are perfectly safe. A simple miss means that the Mana is expended, and wasted in burst of power on the spirit plane. Unless you are trying to be invisible to spirits, this has no effect. Free Spirits often hang around journeymen just waiting for the free Mana. 17b] Fumbles can be quite dangerous, as they are incorrect invocations of the runes. These can be deadly, damaging, humourous, completely unintended, interesting, and/or overwhelmingly useful, depending upon the exact invocation, and other many factors present at the time. Note that magic in no wise tries to "get" the Sorcerer, it simply follows a path of least resistance. In fact, Failure Study (as it is called) is one of the better known methods of spell research. A sufficiently skilled Sorcerer can even intuit the mistakes an Apprentice is likely to make, and caution against them. In general, the more Mana cast, the wider the effect of the fumble. 17c] The most well researched spells have lists of common mis-invocations, and their expected effects. The mistake made most often is "overinvocation", in which the novice overestimates the power necessary to invoke the rune, and ends up applying the spell over a larger magical field than was intended. Note: "magical field" does not mean physical area, but rather an over expanded spell effect. A typical Fumble of Glamour (q.v.) is to send all animals in the close vicinity into a mating rut, many seeking to nuzzle the caster in ways dependant upon their species. The second most common mistake is "underinvocation". In our example above, this will make the target suddenly adore only one aspect of the caster, such as their nose, hands, or possessions. 17d] It is common knowledge among sourcerous circles, that fumbles of skilled sorcerers are of a different essential character than those of novices. Further, fumbles from new research are quite a bit more dangerous than those of a more established character (dangerous invocations are simply discarded). Can you say different table? Knew you could -- but you don't get to see it.
Example Spells
Warm (Passive/TM 1/4)
Invokes the Fire rune to warm a target/area. Does not bring true Fire onto mundane place, so heat generation is limited to 100 degrees. Extra levels of Intensity merely combat Cold related damage. Under heavy exertion, check for Heat exhaustion after 4 minutes.
Concordances:
Firegem +2 - +6 ML, Fire +2-+8 mana, Magical Fire +2 - +8 ML,
At Night -2 ML, Magical Darkness -2 - -8 ML, Fire Season +4 ML,
Earth Season +2 ML, Dark Season -4 ML, Storm Season -2 ML, each
10 degrees below 0F -2 ML.
Burn (Instant/TM 2)
Invokes the Fire Rune to burn a target, armor protects. Each successive attack on same target subtracts 1 from the armor protection value down to 1/2. May be opposed by Cool/Extinguish. In general, flammible objects will ignite after taking 1 point of damage. Semi-flammible objects (such as people) will ignite after taking 12 points. Bronze melts after taking 20; Stone after 30; Iron 40.
Begins: Base, or Warm / 2
INTENSITY EFFECT 0 1 point damage, as ignite spell 1+ (Intensity) d3 damage
Concordances:
As Warm divided by 2, Target Burning +1 - +10 ML, -1 Intesity
for each point of Cool/Extinguish.
Glamour (Passive/Active)
Invokes the Fertility rune to make the caster more attractive to other members of it's race, opposite sex. Intensity of the spell is limited to caster's base CHA. Each point of Intensity adds: +1 CHA, and +5% to all Communication-Persuasion based skills: Fast Talk, Barganing, Seduction, etc. Casting motions are erotic: only Sorcerers knowledgable of the spell will be likely to recognize it for what it is. May also be used as Active "attack" against a target POW vs POW, then Intensity vs INT, to entice the target into any nonfatal action appropriate to seduction. As with all mind-affecting spells, once POW vs POW is made, the target is unaware of the spell's existance.
Concordances:
A +1 ML for each "appreciative" viewer of the caster (usually
requires caster has a base CHA > 12), caster nude/nearly so +3 ML,
caster in heat +2ML - +6ML, target in heat +4ML - +8ML, caster
infertile -3 ML, caster male -1 ML, caster female +1 ML, +/-
Intensity for appropriateness of situation (in combat -5 Intensity).
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