VII. SORCERY

This chapter describes the rules governing sorcery.

There is symmetry between magics and physics. Physical actions use Dexterity for skill and Strength for power; magical actions use Intelligence and Willpower, respectively.

Spellcasters often use a focus to channel magical energy. A focus is an enchanted object covered with runes that glow when energy is channelled through the focus (the runes must be uncovered for the focus to work). This is usually a wand or staff of some sort, but it could just as easily be a place of power, such as a church, a tower, or a circle of stones. Such enormous foci must have a focal point of some kind, such as an altar or a pentagram, where the runes are inscribed. This is where the magician must stand in order to use the focus. If this focal point is damaged or desecrated, the place of power ceases to act as a focus.

A focus is not required for the use of sorcery, any more than a weapon is required for a warrior to hit an enemy - it simply makes the act more effective.

In addition to foci - the magical equivalent of weapons - sorcerers can use charms, which are the magical equivalent of armor. More on foci and charms can be found in the chapter on Equipment.

Every sorcerer has a power level. This is based on his willpower and on any focus he is using, and represents how much supernatural energy the sorcerer can channel in a single round.

Every spell has an energy level. To cast a spell of a certain energy, the sorcerer must channel that amount of energy and make a skill roll. This may take more than one round, if the energy level of the spell is higher than the power level of the sorcerer. For most spells - those cast within the course of a single round without extra time or effort - the energy level will be identical to the power level of the sorcerer.

To successfully cast a spell, the caster must roll greater than the energy level of the spell on his skill roll. Failure is usually nothing more than a gasp and puff of smoke, but critical failures can be quite bad.

If a sorcerer is not confident in his ability to complete a spell successfully, he may choose to take extra time and precaution to gain bonuses to his skill roll (as with any other skill).

A caster may take as long as is necessary to complete a spell, even hours or days. The skill roll for the spell is performed at the end of the casting. However, the caster will lose 3 points of stamina for each hour of casting. These points can only be recovered by sleep.

Example: Nik the Wise has a willpower of 4, and a staff of power 6. His total power level is 10 (will + focus).

If Nik wants to cast a spell of energy 4, he must roll greater than 4 on his skill roll. With his willpower of 4, he can cast this spell in one round even without his staff.

If Nik wants to cast a spell of energy 10, he must roll greater than ten on his skill roll. Without his staff, this would take three rounds. With his staff, he can cast in a single round. If Nik is not confident in his ability to succeed, he could opt to take extra time in the casting - he could halve the challenge level by taking ten rounds without the staff or two rounds with the staff.

If Nik wants to cast a massive spell of energy 400, he must roll greater than 400 on his skill roll - a daunting task for the most learned master. Without his staff, this spell would take a minimum of 100 rounds. With it, the spell still requires forty rounds. If Nik is not confident in his ability to succeed, he could opt to take extra time in the casting - he could divide the challenge level by twenty by taking 2000 rounds (3hr, 20 min) without the staff or 800 rounds (1 hr, 20 min) with the staff.

In order to use sorcery against a person or object, the user must be able to sense the subject in some way. This usually means being able to see or touch the target.

The Bastard may also allow a sorcerer to affect anyone who is currently using sorcery on him, even if the sorcerer has no way of sensing his attacker.

Most spells are directed at a single individual. This is not mandatory, however. A sorcerer may choose to divide a spell amongst two or more individuals. He makes one skill roll as normal, which each target then gets a defensive roll against. Any target that fails its defensive roll receives an amount of energy equal to the energy of the spell divided by the number of targets. Basically, this means that a sorcerer can attack two targets with half the power, three targets with one third the power, four targets with one quarter the power, etc.

The sorcerer may not divide a spell between a greater number of individuals than his level of intelligence, however. This requires too much concentration. What can be done, if he desires to assault an entire army, is to spread the energy of a spell across a certain area of space. This has the disadvantage of possible waste - some parts of the area may be empty of foes - but it does allow the caster to attack enemies on a large scale.

The area to be occupied by a spell in this way must be simple, like a cone, circle, or sphere. The energy of the spell is equally divided amongst every point (cubic yard) within the area.

Most sorcery is fleeting - spells are thrown, defended against, endured, and effected instantaneously.

If the sorcerer wishes to cast a spell that lasts for longer than a single round, he simply decides upon the duration of the spell at the beginning of casting. The energy of the spell is then divided evenly amongst each of its rounds of existence.

Alternatively, the sorcerer may choose to cast a spell continuously rather than choose a set duration ahead of time. With this option, the caster must constantly supply the proper amount of skill and energy - skill rolls are made every round, based on the amount of energy channeled that round.

The defense against direct supernatural attacks is always mental, but such attacks may have physical side effects that require physical defenses. A lightning bolt created by Mahasu could be evaded by the Int and Resistance of a character, yet turn the forest around that character into a very physical inferno. A telekinetic Sabatu attack can be evaded evaded by Resistance, destroyed by Seheru, or endured by willpower and charms, but if the attack were made against a nearby boulder instead, the target the target might have to use Dexterity and Defense or Strength and armor.

Magical forces do not allow for fine control, however. A physical phenomenon created as the result of a magical force cannot be aimed at a character with any sort of precision. Thus, most should be easier to avoid than a direct assault.

It is possible for multiple sorcerers to cooperate in the casting of a single spell. This is uncommon, as it requires all of the spellcasters (save one) to voluntarily subordinate their will to that of the one chosen to lead the casting. This is dangerous, as it gives the leader the power to control the subordinates like automatons until he chooses to relinquish command. To engage in a group ritual is to have limitless faith and trust in the leader.

Needless to say, this activity is more common among hierarchical religious orders or restless cults than among individualist scholars or adventurers.

When conducting a group ritual, the leader may cast spells as if his willpower were equal to the sum of the group. He may gain the benefit of any focus he is using, but may not gain the benefit of any foci in the hands of his followers.

Group rituals give the leader access to vast amounts of power, but do not add anything to the leader's skill. Thus, leaders must be very cautious in their casting - a particularly bad failure could very well erase the leader, all his followers, and his immediate area from the map.

For this reason, group rituals are usually scheduled as full day (or night) events.

The rules in this chapter will sometimes call for a player to roll the energy of his spell. This is rolled much like a skill roll, only based on the willpower (and possibly enchanted items) of the attacker rather than intelligence and skill.

Some spells use the base willpower of a character:

energy = 2d6 * will

Some spells are aided by the use of enchanted foci:

energy = 2d6 * (will + focus)

If a spell is directed at an opponent, the victim gets to roll to endure the attack:

endurance = 2d6 * (will + charm)

This endurance roll is subtracted from the energy of the attack.

The effect that any remaining energy has upon the target depends upon the type of spell that was thrown.

In the case of direct attack spells, this is handled identically to physical attacks - the remaining energy is the amount of Health subtracted from the victim. The energy of the spell is doubled before endurance is subtracted to find the Stamina done by the attack.

There are a number of ways that a sorcery may be used to harm a foe.

To determine whether an attack spell succeeds, the attacker rolls his skill level with whatever sorcery he is using. The skill to be used for the attack is simple to determine (a lightning bolt uses Mahasu, a telepathic invasion uses Nekelmu, etc).

If the character is attacking an unaware person or an object, the Bastard should assign an appropriate challenge level, perhaps equal to the range level plus or minus any random environmental factors (fatigue, cover, unexplained supernatural activity in the vicinity, etc). If aiming at a living target, this same challenge level should be subtracted from the attack roll before the offensive multiplier of the combat style is applied.

To avoid an offensive spell, the target must make a defensive skill roll. A character who is attacked automatically gets the chance to choose a defend, even if he has not yet reached his initiative.

There are two ways to evade sorcery. The usual way is Resistance, a non-sorcerous skill that measures mental defenses. Another method is Seheru, a type of anti-sorcery that nullifies other kinds. Because of this, it can be used to protect one's friends as well as one's self. The disadvantage is that, unlike Resistance, it can only be used once per round.

Once the offensive and defensive skills as decided upon, attacker and defender make their skill rolls.

If the adjusted roll of the defender is equal to or higher than that of the attacker, then the attack is unsuccessful and the defender is not affected by the spell at all. The spell may still have an effect on others or on the environment, however, unless destroyed entirely by Seheru.

If the attacker rolls higher than the defender, then the attack hit home. The effect of the attack depends upon the type of sorcery used.

Below is the list of the branches of sorcery, with details on the things that can be done with each kind.

This sorcery allows the user to open mystical doorways to other realms.

A portal must have a simple shape, like a circle or an ellipse. The amount of energy required to create a portal is determined by the size of the portal and the duration for which the portal will stay open. Size is a measure of area - a portal one yard across would be size 1, a portal two yards across would be size 4, a portal three yards across would be size 9, etc. These portals would require 1, 4, and 9 energy per round, respectively.

The size of a portal must be large enough for whatever the magician wishes to transport. Sights and sounds require only small portals. Normal humans can squeeze through a portal of size 1 or walk upright through a portal of size 4. Larger objects or creatures will require larger portals.

Upon casting, the sorcerer may choose the size of the portal and the realm that it will connect to. If the caster chooses to keep the portal open continuously, he can vary the size of the portal from round to round. The worlds connected, however, are fixed when the spell is cast.

The difficulty of an Amelatu spell depends not only on the energy of the spell, but also on the "distance" between the two worlds connected by the spell. This distance is not physical, but metaphysical and metaphorical. This distance is ultimately decided by the Bastard, as he must choose how much travel between worlds he wishes to allow in his campaign.

When creating a portal, the caster can easily connect the portal to any world with which he is familiar (i.e., he has been there). To connect the portal to a realm that he has never visited, he will face a greater difficulty - the less familiar the realm, the higher the challenge. In order to shift the farside of a portal to a completely unfamiliar place, the caster may have to first seek answers through research or Nabu divination.

Portals created by conjuration are symmetric. When a portal is created, individuals in both worlds will see a glowing gateway and a glimpse of what lies on the other side, and anyone who can physically reach the portal in either world may travel through it. Not only that, but the portal in each world is two-sided -- for example, if a portal is opened from dry land to a place that is underwater, water will begin to spew in two opposite directions, not one.

Portals can be affected from either side. Sorcerers on either side of the portal may try to take control of it using their Amelatu skill. Whoever rolls the highest on any given round gains control of the portal, and can decide its size the next round, but they are then required to supply the necessary skill rolls and supernatural energies necessary to maintain the spell.

Portals can also be dispelled, from either side, by Seheru.

Amelatu can be used to gather allies from other worlds. The ability to locate exotic creatures, however, does not automatically allow the sorcerer to make friends with them. If one wants an otherworldly servant, then one should be prepared to bribe, bully, or beg - and things from another world often do not speak your language.

Note that these portals are not very useful for travelling from place to place within our world. If a sorcerer steps through a portal into another world, walks ten miles, and then steps through another portal to get back to our world, he will find himself ten miles from the spot where he stepped through the first portal, in the same direction that he was walking in the other realm. Thus, Amelatu may be used to avoid certain physical barriers or known dangers of our world, but it will not save much time. It goes without saying that other worlds often have dangers of their own.

Note also that this sorcery does not confer any special life support upon a traveller - if the user opens a portal to a place filled with a harmful substance (lava, acid, or the pressurized water at the bottom of an ocean), he will probably destroy himself and his immediate area.

There is an infinite number of realms parallel to our world. The sorcerer who plans on exploration ought to have some knowledge of the place to be reached (gained from books, fellow travellers, or Nabu divination) before attempting to travel there - to open a portal to a random world that the caster knows nothing about is suicidal.

Mahasu is the art of manipulating the energies of the world, such as heat, light, sound, and lightning. It allows the sorcerer to unleash powerful magics of destruction to smite his enemies.

This can be used to blast a foe from afar. This can come in the form of heat, cold, lightning, wind, or anything else that the caster can come up with. The amount of energy channeled into the spell will determine the amount of damage rolled against the enemy. Each point of energy represents 1 level of damage that will be applied against an opponent's will if the spell is successful. This is the magical equivalent of a smack in the face.

Mahasu can also be used to create blinding light or deafening noise. Each point of energy represents one level to be rolled against an opponent's will. For every ten points of energy remaining after the victim subtracts his endurance roll from the damage roll of the attacking sorcerer, the victim's targeted sense is neutralized for one round.

Nabu is a catchall for mystical abilities that are used to learn the unknown. The user may hear the whispers of spirits of the dead, read the future in the stars, or simply "know" things that he has no business knowing.

Nabu allows a magician to know whether a person, place, or thing is supernatural - and, if so, what that nature might be. This is a passive power, a sixth sense. It serves the same purpose with regards to sorcery and the spirit world as the Perception skill serves in regards to the physical world.

If a spell is cast anywhere near a Nabu user, the Bastard should have the player roll his skill to see if he senses it. More powerful spells will be "louder" and "brighter," so the Bastard should subtract one point from the challenge level for each level of energy in the spell.

Note that this check is made the moment that any supernatural energy is channeled. A sorcerer who is trying to cast an enormous spell may take several hours to do so, during which time the amount of energy in the spell grows steadily. Any diviners in the area should get regular skill checks to see if they notice it (though if a spell is large enough, it really is more a question of "when" than "if").

Nabu also allows a character to sense the presence of nearby disembodied spirits, and to communicate with them on a primal level. The diviner does not receive coherent thoughts from the ghosts, but urges, feelings, and desires.

Nabu can also be used by the Bastard as a plot device. He could allow a character to sense danger, receive visions of the future, or anything else that he feels would add to the game.

Nekelmu is the art of manipulating minds. It can be used to read minds, to project thoughts, and to control lesser beings.

The user can read the surface thoughts of intelligent creatures with a successful skill roll. The challenge level depends upon how familiar the mind is to the mentalist.

Familiarity             Challenge Level

a good friend           10 - 20
an acquaintance         20 - 40
a complete stranger     40 - 80
an alien creature       80 - 160

Anyone who is aware that his mind is being read may try to use Resistance to stop it from happening.

The user can read surface thoughts - thoughts that the target is having at the present moment - without the subject being aware of the intrusion. Reading deeper, like into the subject's memory or subconscious, is more intrusive and instantly makes the subject aware that his mind is being probed.

The user may also project thoughts into the minds of others with a successful skill roll (determined and resisted much like mind reading). This allows the sorcerer to communicate things to others without speaking. The recipient knows that he is being contacted by another mind, but does not automatically know who the mind belongs to. Only the use of his own Nekelmu or Nabu can tell him for certain who sent the message.

Users of Nekelmu may charge up their thought projection to a level that causes physical pain and damage to their subject, if they so desire. This is like any other magical assault - roll the energy level of the spell to get the Health, double this to get the Stamina, and then subtract the victim's endurance roll (will + charm) from both to get the damage taken.

It is not uncommon for two enemy masters of this skill to resolve their hatred by an honorable duel - the two sit down across from one another (perhaps in comfortable chairs), and simply stare at each other until one of them is unconscious or dead. The average person would not notice that anything was happening unless the masters used foci in their duel.

Finally, Nekelmu can be used to control mindless automatons. If more than one user is vying for control of the same automaton, the higher roll wins for the round.

This gives the sorcerer the power to move physical objects with his mind. This can be used to grab, push, or throw things (including enemies). It functions, for most practical purposes, like Strength that can be used at a distance.

If the user wishes to attack a foe directly, he rolls his Sabatu skill versus the defensive skill of his opponent (Resistance or Seheru), with penalties for range, cover, etc. If the attack is successful, the aggressor does damage to his opponent based on his willpower and whatever focus he is using. Armor does not protect against this damage, but charms do.

Once a character has been successfully attacked by Sabatu, the character is paralyzed. He will not be able to move or perform any physical actions until he breaks the hold or the aggressor ends the spell. Resistance or Seheru can be used to break out, of course, but the victim could also use his own Sabatu skill. This is the magical equivalent of close combat. Thus, if the victim has an enormous Willpower, then the Sabatu aggressor may not be able to affect him at all (it would be like a man trying to hold down a giant).

If a user of Sabatu wishes to attack a foe indirectly, by throwing a rock or tipping over a pillar or something similar, he may do so. The target then faces a choice: he may try to prevent the attacker from succeeding in his spell via Seheru or his own Sabatu skill, or he may let the attacker complete his task and then try to avoid the physical danger with his Dexterity and Defense skill. The first case is resolved as any normal sorcerous contest. In the second case, the defensive roll required of the victim is independent of the skill roll made by the attacker. The Bastard should simply assign a challenge level appropriate to dodging a large boulder or falling tree or whatever.

This is the skill of magical protection. It allows the user to nullify spells or to set up magical wards.

Seheru cannot be used to negate the physical effects of spells that have already taken place. If a magical fire has roasted a character, Seheru will not heal the burn. If a sorcerer has blinded a foe with Mahasu, Seheru will not restore the person's sight.

To nullify an existing magical spell, a magician must make a Seheru skill roll that is higher than the skill roll that was used to create the spell. If successful, the spell is nullified and its effects immediately disappear.

Seheru can be used as a defensive action, the mental equivalent of a block. If the sorcerer sees a magical attack in progress, he can attempt to dispel the attack before it has any effect. The attack need not even be aimed at the user himself (though range penalties may apply if the attack is aimed at a friend who is at a distance).

Seheru can be used to set up magical wards. This is nothing more than a normal dispel with additional area and duration. Any magical spell or entity that enters the area will be hit with the dispel. The skill roll, made when the spell is first cast, is then compared to the skill roll of whatever magic has entered the area. If the Seheru roll is higher, the other magic is nullified (at least for the duration of the Seheru spell, or for as long as the invading magic remains in its area).

The Bastard may wish to rule that Seheru can only be used to dispel magic that is of roughly equal in power to, or less powerful than, that of the user. This is similar to the limitations placed on melee fighters when blocking - the Bastard may allow a fighter block a massive sword with a small dagger, but will probably not let the fighter block a catapulted boulder, not even with a large shield. Alternatively, He may rule that larger magics are weakened by an amount equal to the energy of the Seheru caster, but not totally destroyed. This option should only be used when the sorcery in question is far greater than that of the Seheru user.

This sorcery gives the user control over the forces of life and death. It allows the transfer of Stamina and Health from one individual living creature to another.

Such transfers can be voluntary or involuntary. Those who transfer their own life force to willing recipients are regarded as compassionate healers, while those who steal the lifeforce of others for their own purposes are seen as vile necromancers.

Talamic transfers are rolled as normal attacks, the Talamu skill against the Resistance or Seheru of the target. If the aggressor succeeds in overcoming the target's Resistance, he rolls the energy of the spell to get the Health, then doubles it to get the Stamina. The victim then rolls his willpower (plus any charm he wears) and subtracts this from the Health and Stamina rolled by the aggressor. Any that remains is subtracted from the victim and added to the Talamu user's chosen beneficiary (which may be himself).

Nothing can absorb more stamina or health than it normally has, however - if a user drains life from a victim without transferring it to a suitable beneficiary, then the extra lifeforce is lost to the winds.

Note that creatures are not required to resist Talamic sorcery. An individual could volunteer to sacrifice some of his Stamina and Health to aid a dying friend, thus lowering his defenses for the purpose of the spell. Conversely, an injured person could choose to try and resist receiving Stamina and Health (for whatever reason).

Transfers of lifeforce between creatures of different species are not so effective. Transferring between similar species, such as humans and non-human (but intelligent) aliens, would divide the benefits in half. The victim still loses the full amount of Stamina and Health, but the recipient can only benefit from half of it. When transferring between dissimilar species, such as humans and animals, the penalty is even greater - the recipient may get only a third, a quarter, or a tenth of the lifeforce drained from the victim, depending upon just how different the animal is from a human being (mammals are closer to humans than reptiles, reptiles are closer than fish, etc).

Talamu also allows the user to feel the emotions of creatures that are near. This is a sense, much like Perception or Nabu.

Talamu is very limited in range. In addition, if the user is trying to transfer life energy from one individual to another (not himself), then the ranges from the empath to each individual are added together to determine the total range penalty.