A sorcerer can specialize in a particular type of
magic. All spells within the chosen specialty have an Art limit equal to his
skill/5, while spells outside the specialty have an limit of his skill/20. For
instance, an illusionist with both Phantom Sight & Treat Wounds at 85 could
cast Phantom Sight 17, but only Treat Wounds 5. A non-specialist could use 9 MPs
for each spell.
Sample Sorcery Specialties
“Spells" = all spells
within that specialty.
"Vows" = alterations
in Vows due to this specialty.
"Lore Mastery" =
those skills which give him Presence above and beyond the normal Lore Mastery
vow.
"Other" = any
special bonuses or handicaps.
Spells
–Animate [substance], Bless [object], BoostÌ[attribute], Holdfast, Locate
Object, Produce [energy], Sense [substance], Armor Enchantment, Create Basilisk,
Enchant [metal], Warp Enchantment
Lore
Mastery
–Craft, Evaluate, Mineral Lore, and World Lore give 2 Presence each.
Other
–new Art: Alchemy
Spells –Create Basilisk, Dominate [otherworld species], Mystic Vision, Protective Circle, Resist Magic, Resist Spirit, Summon [species], Binding
Lore
Mastery –Demonology, Magic Lore, Spirit Lore, and Summon give 2
Presence each.
Other
– new spell: Boost (Elemental)
Spells
–Bless (medical gear, antidotes, etc.), Dominate [disease, emotion,
healing spirits], Regenerate, Resist Death, Resist Disease, Resist Poison,
Summon [healing spirit], Treat Wounds
Vows –none unique, though Never Kill a Human and Shun Harm are common.
Lore Mastery –First Aid, Treat Poison, & Treat Disease give 2 Presence each.
Other
–new spell: Neutralize Disease
Touch, instant
Relieves the effects of
disease. The Intensity is matched vs. the disease’s POT on the Resistance
Table. If the disease is caused by a disease spirit, use the spirit’s MPs to
determine its POT. If it is a normal disease, its POT is considered to be 5 per
“level” the disease is at; i.e., acute diseases are 5, chronic 10, etc.,
If the POT is overcome, the disease is cured.
Unlike most Neutralize spells, Neutralize Disease has a chance to take effect even if its intensity is less than half the disease’s POT. Normally, multiple applications are necessary.
Spells -- all Enchant spells, Identify Spell, Mystic Vision
Lore
Mastery -- Enchant and Magic Lore give 2 Presence each. The first Craft
the enchanter masters provides 3 Presence. The second Craft provides 2. Further
Crafts are worth 1 each.
Other
– new spell: Break Conditions. Special Ability – added Conditions to his
enchantments cost him no POW.
Spells – Animate Wood, Animate Plants, Animate Trees, Animate [plant species], Boost Perception, Boost Stealth, Dominate [woodland species], Project [sense]
Lore
Mastery – Plant Lore counts for 3. Each Stealth skill gives 1
Presence.
Other – Transform to Tree, Destroy Scent, other special spells.
ranged
This spell requires Intensity
equal to at least 1/3 of the target’s SIZ. The target gives off no odor,
pleasant or foul, for as long as the spell is maintained.
Spells – Phantom [sense], Project [sense]
Lore Mastery --Conceal, Sleight, each Perception skill, and each Stealth skill give 1 Presence.
Other
– new Art: Illusion
New
Art: Illusion – This art gives a temporal spell a sort of
mock-sentience. You need as many MPs of Illusion as of the highest other Art in
the spell. It’s easier to give examples of how Illusion works than it is to
explain in the rules. Example: use Phantom Sound to create a voice that speaks
in the air. With the Illusion art, the caster can set up the voice so that it
will only speak when someone is there to hear it, and it will be able to respond
to simple questions. Or you could cast Illusion along with Smother to have the
Smother only activate when the victim was inside an illusory cloud of poison
gas. Note that if Illusion is used properly, active and even transient spells
can be internally controlled, instead of needing the caster’s concentration.
Spells –Boost [char.], Diminish [char.], Shapechange [species], Tap [except POW and INT]
Vows -- may never Sacrifice any characteristics in a Vow
Lore
Mastery -- Animal & Plant Lore give 3 Presence each.
Spells
–Dominate [species], Mystic Vision, Suppress Sorcery, Stupefy, Tap INT,
Telepathy
Lore
Mastery
– each Communication skill gives 1 Presence.
Other
– new spells: Hypnotism, Clear Mind, Comprehend, Implant, Mind Probe
ranged
Each Intensity gives the
target 1 point of protection vs. spells which act against INT. For instance, it
provides false "free INT" for defending against Stupefaction; and
subtracts 1 from the target's effective INT for recovering from Befuddle. Other
spells that target INT are affected likewise, by raising or lowering the
caster's INT, whichever is most helpful.
The
target becomes resistant to all mind- and emotion-affecting spells. If he is
under a mind-affecting spell with a lower Intensity than the Clear Mind, the
latter masks the former's effects until the Clear Mind is allowed to lapse. This
renders one immune not only to harmful spells, but certain beneficial spells as
well, such as Fanaticism, Telepathy, Erotocomatose Lucidity, and Mindlink.
Mental contact with a familiar or apprentice remains intact.
MIND PROBE
Attack, ranged, transient
Effective only vs. creatures with normal INT. If the target is overcome, then the Mind Probe’s intensity is matched vs. his MPs. If he fails to resist, the caster can obtain one truthful answer from the victim. He may try again once a melee round. Once the target succeeds in resisting the Mind Probe, the spell’s effects end.
The
answer is transmitted via telepathy. If the caster is already in telepathic
contact with the target, the latter automatically fails to resist the incoming
spell (but he can still resist vs. its Intensity). If the caster does not speak
the target’s language, only “Yes”, “No”, and “I don’t know.”
responses are given.
Spells – Animate Dead, Dominate [type of undead], Drain, Hand of Death, Resist Death (even for non-Galvosti), Sense Life, Sense Undead, Tap [characteristic], Banishment, Create Basilisk, Create Vampire, Immortality, Summon [type of undead]
Vows
– Shun Sky must be the 3rd Vow. In addition, every 5th Vow must be Sacrifice
Appearance, until APP has dropped to 1. Never Kill and Shun Immortality are
forbidden.
Lore
Mastery
– Magic & Undead Lore give 2 Presence each. Each Stealth skill gives 1
Presence.
Other
– new spell: Hide Life. Necromancers are considered to be chaotic, or at least
meddling with chaos.
Self-only
The target cannot be detected by means of spells, unless the spell involved has a higher Intensity than the Hide Life. If the caster concentrates on the spell, as with an active spell, then the Hide Life has a chance to resist detection spells by matching its Intensity vs. theirs on the resistance table.
Spells
– Animate [rope, canvas, wood, etc.], Bless Ship [and shipboard
equipment], Boost [ship's attributes], Dominate Sylph, Dominate Undine, Evoke
Wind, Holdfast, Open Seas, Skin of Life.
Vows – Shun Sea, Shun Storm, and Shun Sky are forbidden
Lore
Mastery – Boating, all appropriate Crafts, Navigation, Shiphandling,
and World Lore give 2 Presence each.
Spells -- Animate/Call/Evoke/Resist/Sense [element]; Dominate [elemental], Summon [elemental]
Vows
– Shun [enemy element] is required as the third Vow. Enemies are the
dominant or inferior element to your own -- for instance, Water & Dark are
enemies to Fire. The other Shun [enemy element] must be taken as the fifth Vow.
Each time you take the Flee [element] Vow vs. an enemy element, you get an extra
1 Presence.
Lore
Mastery
-- Mineral & World Lore give 2 Presence each.
Other
– new spell: Boost [elemental]. Only the element chosen can be used in the
listed spells. For instance, Resist Fire is a specialist spell, but not Resist
Damage. 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.
Spells
–Animate Fog, Call [appropriate energy], Dominate Sylph, Evoke Lightning,
Evoke Windblast, Fly
Vows – may not take Shun Sky or Shun Storm
Lore Mastery – World Lore gives 4 Presence.
Other
–Predict Weather, plus others.
ritual Ceremony, ranged
Accurately predicts the weather for the following day. If the ceremony is fumbled, the weather mage gets an inaccurate prediction. Spells and supernatural affects are not allowed for. The spell’s prediction only holds for the area within the range of the spell.
Copyright © 1998, Sandy Petersen