The Circle
Of Sapphire
Sapphire Circle Sorcery, also known as
Celestial or Second Circle Sorcery, is significantly more complicated and
powerful than Terrestrial Circle Sorcery. Its effects can slay thousands, level
fortresses and call up
The Battle’s End
Cost: 30 motes
Target: One battlefield
The caster chooses one battlefield over
which he has full view, not more than 50 yards away and 100 yards in diameter.
The caster cannot be participating in the battle at hand, for this spell allows
the sorcerer to force his will on all the creatures in combat. He must be clear
of mind to summon forth the energies necessary to halt a battle. As the
sorcerer casts the spell, he pours his Essence into the sky, forming a great
purple wheel of light. Around the edges of the wheel are sigils of mystical
power, and in the center is the rune of the Maiden of Endings. The wheel spins
gently counterclockwise, casting its light down to bathe all combatants. When
the spell is complete, everyone within the area of the spell will feel the
compulsion to lay down their arms and stand still.
The wheel will last for a number of turns
equal to twice the caster’s permanent Essence (if using the Mail and Steel
rules, this effect is measured as a normal duration ― three turns of
effect to the long turn). During that time, no mortal will be able to lift arms
against anyone else under the wheel.
Players of Exalts and God-Blooded may make
a Willpower roll, with a difficulty equal to the caster’s permanent Essence,
for their characters to act in a violent manner. If they are successful, then,
on the next turn, they may attack if they so choose, and if they do, the spell
is broken, and all combatants are released from the sorcerer’s geas.
The sorcerer is not immune to the effects of
this spell, even if he is outside of its initial area. He binds himself as he
binds the victims. Should he or an ally of his raise arms against anyone else
under the magical compulsion, they would have to take an action during which
their players would make the same Willpower roll, and if the roll succeeds,
they will break the spell’s effects and release the combatants. In addition, if
the caster is the one to break the spell, then he suffers an immediate loss of
three temporary Willpower points, in retribution for using the sign of Saturn
for deceit.
A variation of this spell was used during
the First Age to sanctify the field of duels and to prevent outside
intervention.
Between The Minute
And The Hour
Cost: 20 motes
Target: One moment in history
The river of time flows from minute to
minute, hour to hour, day to day on into infinity. No sorcery on the planet can
change that, but an adept savant might use the flow to his advantage. Every
river leaves traces of its passing, and with this spell, the sorcerer can read
those traces.
The sorcerer can visit a location and view
events that happened there, days or months or centuries past. She must have an
idea of how far back she wishes to view events before she sends her Essence
forth in shimmering silver that shoots across the minute dragon lines in the
area. The Essence flows forth as the caster chants, and then returns to form a
translucent window, swirling at the edges, in which the scene is depicted.
Everything that happened at that location at the given moment, for a number of
minutes equal to the caster’s Willpower, is replayed, and the sorcerer may
focus in on details. The sorcerer can even rewind the events and watch things
over and over again, as long as she concentrates, for up to the end of the scene.
A sorcerer may view any event up to 100 years in the past for every point of
the Occult Ability she possesses. The only stipulation is that, if the Wyld has
been unleashed in that area, then the caster can only view back to the point
when the Wyld took hold.
Once the sorcerer releases her
concentration, the Essence fades away, and the spell ends. The sorcerer may not
view any event she has already viewed through Between the Minute and the Hour.
The caster may perform no other actions while concentrating on the spell, and
if she takes damage, her player must make a reflexive Stamina + Resistance roll
for the Exalt to maintain concentration, with the difficulty equal to the
number of health levels she has taken.
Blood Of Boiling Oil
Cost: 30 motes
The character gathers a roiling ball of
Essence between her hands. This sphere glows brighter and brighter as the power
within it grows. It starts a dull brick red, but the color grows in brightness
and saturation until it is, first, the color of red-hot iron and, then, an
unearthly, glittering scarlet. The sphere then vanishes noiselessly and without
display, but the sorcerer’s hands are left covered with glowing scarlet arcane
characters.
If the sorcerer lays a hand on another
living being, the power flows from her hands into the unfortunate victim, transmuting
his blood to boiling oil. Most mortals die instantly when subjected to this
attack, and even the Exalted can be slain with but a single touch.
To resolve this attack, the sorcerer must
make a successful unarmed attack on the target. This attack can be combined with
a regular attack, a Charm or even a Combo, allowing a powerful warrior-mage to
unleash an attack of unparalleled power. The first time the sorcerer makes a
successful unarmed attack, her player must immediately make a reflexive
Charisma + Occult roll. For every success, the target takes the sorcerer’s
Essence in levels of lethal damage. This damage is applied before any other
damage from the attack and can be soaked only by the victim’s Stamina.
The Exalted are resistant to transmutation.
When this Charm is used on an Exalted target (or any similar target, such as
one of the Fair Folk or an embodied spirit), subtract the target’s Essence from
the number of successes the sorcerer’s player achieves on the Charisma + Occult
roll before determining damage. If the sorcerer’s successes are reduced to 0 or
less, then the magic dissipates but does no harm to the target.
This spell persists for a number of minutes
equal to the sorcerer’s Essence or until the first time she touches a living creature.
The sorcerer cannot touch herself by accident, but can accidentally touch an
unintended target. This spell has no effect on unliving creatures.
Bone Lion
Cost: 30 motes
Target: One creature
This spell, a favorite of vengeful
sorcerers, creates a merciless monster that will hound the target across the
face of Creation for 101 days. The ritual requires the sacrifice of a living
human, who is hung above a shallow depression dug into the ground. The victim
is blinded, eviscerated and ritually bled into the pit. After this is done, the
sorcerer hurls bolts of red and white Essence into the pit, causing the blood
and viscera to boil. The caster then takes two identical diamonds cut into the
shapes of eyes, which each cost Resources ••, and tosses them into the pit.
When they strike the ground, it rumbles and splits open, and from the steaming
hole arises a skeletal lion with bony spikes for a mane and its mouth open in a
silent roar. The sorcerer then holds forth any object that bears a trace of the
target of the spell. The lion sniffs the object and bows once toward the
caster, then bounds off in search of its prey.
A bone lion is aware of its target’s
general location through a bond of sorcery. It can follow this sense to within
several hundred yards of the target, but from there, it must use its
considerable tracking skills to locate the exact location of its prey.
When the lion has its prey in site, it will
immediately attack. If it slays its prey, it will crumble apart on top of the
victim’s body, forming a bony cairn to bury the target. If the victim manages
to defeat the lion, every piece and part, including the diamond eyes, must be
destroyed with sorcery, Charms or fire. If any little bit of the lion is left
remaining, it will rise from the earth again at the next sunset on the location
it was laid low and begin its hunt again. It will continue to do so for 101
days. If the victim can run, hide or fend off the lion for that time, the spell
ends, and the lion turns to dust.
Cantata Of Empty
Voices
Cost: 30 motes
Target: All creatures within area
A sorcerer can use her Essence to craft a
choir of vaporous entities that sing in crystalline voices that bring intense agony
and, eventually, death in all who hear them.
The sorcerer is surrounded by visages of
silver-white while casting the spell, which face outward in a circle and sing
loud enough for the spell to reach 800 yards per point of permanent Essence the
caster possesses. All creatures within that range must soak 2L at the beginning
of each turn as their ears begin to bleed and their heads fill with the
excruciating sound. This damage can only be soaked with Stamina and Charms that
add to Stamina.
In addition, the damnable singing is a
severe distraction and causes a two-die penalty to all actions. All living
creatures are vulnerable to the cantata unless they are deaf or can plug their
ears completely. Players of Exalts and God-Blooded may make a single Stamina +
Resistance roll, with a difficulty equal to the caster’s permanent Essence, for
their characters to ignore this penalty.
The cantata will sing for a number of turns
equal to the caster’s permanent Essence x 2, until countered or until the
caster is rendered unconscious. The caster is immune to the effects of the
singing and can act normally after the spell has been cast. The visages that
surround the sorcerer move with him, but they are illusions made of Essence and
provide no cover or defense.
Cloud Trapeze
Cost: 25 motes
Target: Caster
Cloud Trapeze envelops the caster and up to
500 pounds of people and equipment per point of permanent Essence that the
sorcerer possesses. The white vapor is solid beneath this weight and will lift
its burden into the sky and carry it among the clouds. The trapeze will then
sail the sorcerer and her cargo to a destination determined by the caster.
The cloud trapeze appears to be a simple
white cloud from the outside. Those riding in it only notice cloud-like
substance on the floor of the trapeze. Once the vapor envelops the sorcerer and
her cargo, it becomes transparent to those inside, allowing the sorcerer to
steer.
The trapeze lasts as long as the sorcerer
concentrates on it. It travels across the sky in the direction it is commanded
at a rate up to 100 miles per hour. The sorcerer may choose to slow the trapeze
to disguise it as a cloud or to move swiftly without regard to possible
watchers. If the caster wishes to remain hidden among the clouds, the
sorcerer’s player may make a Wits + Occult roll and add a number of automatic
successes equal to the Exalt’s permanent Essence. The total outcome of this
roll becomes the difficulty to spot the cloud or for a supernatural tracker to
track the sorcerer’s movements while in the trapeze. No mortal method of
tracking can follow the trapeze’s movement if it is hidden among other clouds.
The caster need not concentrate on steering
the vessel, only devote part of her concentration to maintaining the spell and
issuing commands occasionally. The sorcerer cannot cast spells or use Charms
while maintaining the cloud trapeze, but she may converse freely or engage in
other simple activities. There is no time limit to the existence of the
trapeze. It stays solid and viable as long as the sorcerer remains inside and
devotes concentration to it.
The trapeze protects its contents from all
extremes of weather and conceals them from sight, but it is not a barrier and
affords little protection from attack. Attacks can be made against a trapeze’s
occupants as if the attackers were assaulting an unseen foe.
Demon Of The Second
Circle
Cost: 30+ motes
This spell is very similar to Demon of the
First Circle, save that the being it calls forth is a more powerful creature.
Rather than a mere servant of darkness, the being summoned is powerful and
dangerous, capable of wreaking great evil in the world of men — or performing
great feats when bound to the will of a sorcerer.
As with Demon of the First Circle, this
spell is a complex ritual that must be started at sundown and ended at the
stroke of midnight, but it can only be cast on the night of the new moon or
during the Calibration. The actual spell itself costs 30 Essence.
The sorcerer and demon engage in a contest
of Willpower + Essence, as per Demon of the First Circle. However, the cost to
reduce the demon’s dice pool is 10 motes per die, not 5. The roll to send the
demon back to the demon world is still difficulty 3, though the Exalted is much
less likely to be able to defeat the demon if his summoning fails.
Demons of the second and higher circles are
vengeful, intelligent creatures. Though they cannot reach the world of men on
their own, if somehow given an opportunity to avenge themselves on a sorcerer
who treated them cruelly or enslaved them, they will.
Dolorous Reflection
Cost: 20 motes
The character extends his hands, then
crosses them in a defensive posture, and hundreds of bands of mystical energy
swirl around him in a brilliant, surging cocoon. The bands fade from view
within a few seconds, but their effects remain. The effects of Dolorous
Reflection persist for as long as the caster maintains his defensive stance and
linger for a number of minutes afterward equal to twice the character’s
permanent Essence score.
Until the effects of the spell end, any
missile attack on the character is caught in the swirling bands of Essence, whirled
around her at tremendous speed and hurled back at the character who launched
it. The sorcerer’s player makes a reflexive Wits + Occult roll for each
reflected attack. This roll acts as the attack roll for the reflected attack,
and the character who launched the attack may dodge it as if it was a normal
attack. Reflected attacks are made without range penalties and do their
original base damage — the stronger the attack, the stronger the reflecting
force.
Unlike the Impenetrable Frost Barrier,
Dolorous Reflection effects large missiles, such as ballista bolts and trebuchet-hurled
boulders. However, Dolorous Reflection has no effect on attacks composed of
Essence, such as the Archery Charm Solar Spike. It does effect Essence-spawned material
attacks, such as Death of Obsidian Butterflies or Phantom Arrow Technique.
Dolorous Reflection also has no effect on hand-to-hand attacks.
This spell is a favorite of Lunar Exalted
warriors, who prefer to fight their opponents hand to hand.
Eternal
Crystalline Encasement
Cost: 20 motes
Target: One creature or object
This ritual creates a thick, impenetrable
jewellike skin of mystical material that encapsulates any item in a timeless stasis.
Rare and valuable items are protected from the detriment of decay, and living
material is prevented from aging. The ritual to cast Eternal Crystalline
Encasement is a long and difficult one. It must be begun at dawn on a clear
day, so that the sun’s first rays can be utilized in the magic.
It is this light, combined with the Essence
of the casting sorcerer, that forms the encasement’s substance. It then takes
an entire day to weave the encasement from these materials. Once the ritual is
completed, the encased subject is immune to the ravages of time. Time itself is halted within the encasement.
Inanimate items will never suffer corrosion or other weakening effects. Living
objects will not wither, age or decay.
Sentient creatures inside the encasement
have no knowledge of time passing ― to them, the time of their
imprisonment is instantaneous. Living creatures must be rendered unconscious
before the spell can be cast upon them, for the slightest movement can disrupt
the weaving of the encasement. This spell can cover a subject as large as a
man-sized statue and its base (approximately 27 cubic feet) in a gold-tinged
clear substance. The coating is an inch thick on all surfaces and will soak all
damage from non-magical means. Magical damage such as sorcerous fire or attacks
from weapons of the Five Magical Materials may harm the encasement, but the
first 50 health levels of damage are automatically soaked. Any damage that
exceeds 50 health levels in one attack shatters the encasement.
The casting sorcerer creates a special wand
of the same crystalline substance when the ritual is completed. If the wand is
touched to the encasement, both will crumble into a harmless golden dust. The
encasement will also crumble if Sapphire Countermagic is cast against it.
This spell may have been used during the
First Age to transport rare and fragile items from their native lands or to
imprison heinous criminals.
The Faithful Ally
Cost: 20 motes to cast, 20 motes to activate
Target: Caster and one creature
Creates an arcane link
The Faithful Ally binds a sorcerer and one
creature together, so that, in a time of great need, one might call on the
other for assistance. The spell has two parts: a ritual in which the caster and
another creature are bonded through their Essence, and the call for aid.
The ritual takes about eight hours to cast
and requires an amount of sapphire dust that costs Resources •••, which is
pulverized into a brilliant blue ink. This ink is used during the ritual to
place matching tattoos on both the sorcerer and the spell’s target. The
caster’s player must make a Perception + Linguistics roll, difficulty 4, for
the sorcerer to exactly match the tattoos.
Players of those seeing the tattoo may make
a Perception + Occult roll, difficulty 4, or a Perception + Lore roll,
difficulty 5, for their characters to recognize the tattoo as part of this
spell. For an additional 5 motes, the sorcerer may make the tattoo into an
arcane link with the target, for the use of other sorcery. The target does not
necessarily know this has happened, but she may discern it with a Perception +
Occult roll, difficulty 4, made at the moment of casting.
The tattoo should be placed on the same
place on each body and should most likely be put in a location that is easily touched.
This placement is required for the second part of the spell, when either the
sorcerer or his ally places two fingers across the tattoo and concentrates for
a turn, enabling a brief conduit of communication between the two. Either the
sorcerer or the ally may call upon the other for aid, and if the other is able,
then the sorcerer may spend 20 motes to transport either himself or the ally to
the other’s side. The communication must take only one turn, or the link is
broken, and the transportation takes place on the next turn. The sorcerer must
roll initiative at the time of transport, and this dictates when either he or
the ally arrives. There is no disorientation, and unless specified during the
communication, the one will arrive directly next to the other. The transported
ally cannot arrive more than 20 yards from the one calling for aid. Activating
the tattoo is not casting a spell. It is activating an enchantment. A creature
may abort its action to activating the tattoo or may combine it into a stunt or
multiple actions.
There is no limitation to the distance that
this spell will carry an ally, but it will not take a creature beyond the
bounds of Creation ― not into the Underworld, the Wyld, nor Malfeas. In
addition, wards against teleportation are effective in blocking an ally from
arriving, and an astute sorcerer may counter the spell if he or she understands
what is occurring.
When the enchantment is invoked, the
tattoos on both the sorcerer and the allied creature are consumed and vanish,
leaving no trace. A sorcerer may have a number of sorcerous tattoos equal to
his permanent Essence on his body at any time.
Force Of Life’s
Summer
Cost: 25 motes
Target: One living organism
This powerful spell causes any one
nonsentient life form to grow to its full maturity in a matter of moments. This
spell can only bring an organism to adult maturity and cannot age a specimen
past its prime growth. Hence, a sorcerer cannot cripple a target with the
infirmities of old age through the use of this spell.
The caster surrounds the target organism
with a curtain of brilliant chartreuse Essence that flares bright green and
yellow as he chants the words to the spell. When he is finished, the Essence
fades into the organism, and it begins to grow. Once the spell is completed,
the organism will grow without maintenance at a rate of one year of life per
turn, until adulthood is reached. Small plants instantly sprout roots and
bloom, baby animals grow up in a few minutes, and an acorn will become a full
oak tree in about an hour.
Any plant life targeted by the Force of
Life’s Summer not only grows to maturity, but appears as it would during the
late summer months of its annual life cycle. Thus, vegetables and grain can be
harvested, ornamental flowers will bloom, and trees will bear fruit.
Animals targeted by the spell not only
become adult specimens, but are rendered tame and friendly toward the caster as
if he had raised them. The sorcerer is able to give simple commands to a
force-grown animal as if it he had trained it from birth.
No sentient creature may be targeted by
this spell because the education and experience necessary for its growth cannot
be mimicked by the sorcerer’s magic.
Geyser Of
Corruption
Cost: 30 motes
Target: Area of effect
This spell is feared for its destructive
power and energy, as it causes a jet of scalding hot liquid to burst from the
ground and dissolve everything it touches.
The caster gathers Essence into a swirling
amber ball in his hand and hurls it at a target no more than 50 yards away, his
player making either a Dexterity + Occult or Dexterity + Thrown roll (whichever
is greater) to strike the target. Where it strikes, it explodes in a shower of
viscous amber acid that covers an area 20 yards in diameter. Any creatures in
that area may attempt to dodge this attack, but it may only be parried through
the use of Charms.
The acid immediately begins eating away at
anything it touches, and it will continue to do so until it is washed away with
enough clean water to bathe the entire object. The acid ignores 5 points of
soak of any inanimate object or armor, and deals eight dice of aggravated
damage per turn until it is washed away. Against living targets, the acid
ignores 5 points of soak and deals 3A per turn until neutralized.
Gift Of Knowledge
Cost: 25 motes
This spell allows the sorcerer to directly
transfer knowledge of a particular subject or skill to another individual.
This spell requires an hour-long ritual.
The sorcerer and the subject of the spell must be in physical contact. They
both enter a deep meditative trance, and knowledge flows from the sorcerer to
the subject. This spell can impart a particular memory or experience to the
subject or understanding of a particular Trait, including Abilities,
specialties, spells or Charms. It does not work on Essence. The spell obviates
the need for training time for the Sidereal to learn the subject or improve the
Trait, so long as the caster’s rating in that Trait is greater than the
subject’s.
The subject must still have sufficient experience
to improve the Trait’s rating and can only improve a Trait by one dot per
casting of this spell, as the subject must still integrate the acquired
knowledge. However, multiple castings can allow a subject to increase a Trait
in hours rather than weeks or months. Gift of Knowledge does not grant subjects
the ability to learn Traits they cannot normally acquire, so it cannot teach a
mortal to use Exalted Charms, for example, or teach a spell to a character who
cannot cast it.
Hideous Confusion
Of Tongues
Cost: 35 motes
Target: All creatures in range
When this spell is cast, a wave of
turquoise Essence explodes from the sorcerer, expanding outward like a ripple
on a pond. It expands to a radius of 100 yards from the caster before fading,
and every being it touches is infected with the spell’s curse. The effects are
not immediately noticeable, though the spell’s visual display is unmistakable.
Each creature so touched is cursed to be unable to speak intelligibly for
several hours. What comes from their mouths is glossolalia, gibberish made from
known words that have no meaning when strung together.
Players of those with the Occult Ability
may make a Perception + Occult roll at the time of the casting for their
characters to realize what has occurred. After the spell is cast, the players
of all those affected may make a reflexive Perception + Awareness roll,
difficulty 3, for their characters to realize that their speech has been
mystically affected.
This spell works not only on those
initially targeted by the spell, but also on anyone to whom the victims speak
afterward. The curse spreads like an infection to any who hear the glossolalia,
and individuals who are inflicted remain unable to communicate verbally for a
number of hours equal to twice the caster’s permanent Essence. It is possible
for someone to be cursed again once the spell’s effects wears off if he speaks
to another who has been afflicted. The simplest way to end the spell’s effects
is for the victims to remain silent for the duration of the spell ― a
plan much harder than it sounds.
Those with an Occult rating may recognize
the effects of this spell after it has been cast with a reflexive Intelligence
+ Occult roll, difficulty 3.
Sapphire Countermagic will remove the curse
from an individual, but it can only counter the entire spell if used at the
time of casting. If countermagic is used to cure the curse, then that victim is
immune to effects caused by speaking to other victims.
This spell does not affect the caster, nor
does it affect any creature with a permanent Essence greater than the caster’s
own. Hideous Confusion of Tongues only affects a creature’s ability to
communicate and does not hamper the use of sorcery or Charms.
Imbue Amalgam
Cost: 15+ motes
Target: One mortal creature
Creates an arcane link
When a sorcerer learns this ritual, he
learns to transmute mortal creatures to grant them abilities and skills that
far supercede their own. By adding new Physical Traits, a sorcerer can increase
a target’s Attributes and Abilities, grant her Essence and Charms, make her
attacks lethal and more. The effects of the ritual, both the physical
transmutation and the imbuing of power are permanent.
In addition, the ritual binds the target to
the sorcerer with an arcane link, so that the sorcerer can issue commands more
efficiently and cast additional spells on the target.
The target becomes servile and unable to
disobey the caster’s direct orders, and her player must make a successful
Willpower roll in order for the character to interpret the caster’s wishes
beyond a literal sense.
Imbue Amalgam takes an entire day to cast.
The sorcerer must have a statue of exacting quality made that has all of the
physical transformations he wishes to perform on the subject. The statue must
be carved from stone quarried from the Blessed Isle, gilded and inlayed with a
variety of jewels that are arranged in a mystical pattern across the body of
the statue (total cost of Resources ••••). The sorcerer places identical gems
in the same places on the target’s body during the ritual. As the ritual
proceeds, the jewels are consumed, and the target takes on the physical
qualities of the statue, while the statue becomes more like the original form
of the target. The statue is intimately tied to the target and must be used in
subsequent castings of Imbue Amalgam on that target.
The statue should be carved with any and
all possible Traits the caster might want to imbue, and a new statue cannot be
created for a creature until the original statue has been entirely used (when it
completely resembles the original creature before the spell was cast).
In addition to the base cost of the spell,
the caster spends additional Essence to pay for the traits imbued to the
target. It costs 2 motes to raise an Attribute by one and 1 mote to raise an
Ability by one. Every 4 motes the sorcerer spend on this spell adds one dot of
Essence or 5 motes of temporary Essence to the target, which can be used only
to power Charms that have been given to the target. A sorcerer may not raise an
amalgam’s permanent Essence to a score higher than (his permanent Essence - 1).
An amalgam must have enough dots of Essence
to meet the minimum Essence requirements of any Charms the sorcerer grants her.
The motes recharge at the normal rate ― 4 per hour of gentle activity, 8
per hour of meditation. A sorcerer cannot add more dots to a given Ability or
Attribute than his Occult + Essence. For 4 motes, one permanent Willpower may
be purchased for the amalgam. Amalgams often develop natural armor and attacks.
Each mote spent creating the amalgam can
give it +1L/+1B soak. A sorcerer cannot spend more motes on the amalgam’s soak
than he has points of Occult + Essence.
The sorcerer can spend 1 mote to convert a
hand-to-hand attack from bashing to lethal or for a choice of adding +2 speed,
+1 accuracy, +1L damage or +1 defense to the amalgam’s hand-to-hand attack. For
amalgams who have ranged weapons imbued into them, the caster may spent one
mote to add +1 to accuracy or rate, +1L to damage or +100 to range. Amalgams may
be armed with both hand-to-hand and missile weapons, but each must be paid for
separately. Amalgams do not generate their own ammo without Charms. A sorcerer
cannot spend more motes on either weapon individually than he has points of
Occult + Essence.
A sorcerer need not know the Charms he
lends to the amalgam. However, although the amalgam is a product of sorcery, it
is intimately connected with the Exalt who created it, and the Charms he lends
it are those of his own type, so a Solar creating amalgams could only give them
Solar Charms.
Each such Charm costs 3 motes to imbue.
Amalgams betray no anima banner, but close examination will show what type of
Exalt created them. Amalgams cannot be granted sorcery more powerful than the
Terrestrial Circle. Teaching an amalgam a spell is just like granting it a
Charm, save that the sorcerer must know the spell he grants.
Amalgams bleed, heal and fight infection
and disease and resist sorcery as Exalted. They can use stunts, and their 10s
count as two successes. Though they are typically used as magical killing
machines, they need not be. It is impossible to mistake an amalgam for a normal
mortal creature ― they are clearly constructs of magic. The best a
sorcerer could hope for is to convince someone the amalgam is some sort of
Wyld-twisted mutant. Sorcerers most often perform physical transformations with
a theme to them, such as having all their amalgams transformed into insects or
creating Old Realm markings on them. This spell can only target mortal
creatures with a permanent Essence lower than the caster. Exalts and other
Essence-using creatures are immune to this spell’s effects.
Incomparable Body Arsenal
Cost: 30 motes
For a number of hours equal to her Essence
score, the character transforms her body into an automaton of rust-streaked black
iron. This form is roughly similar to her natural body, but it appears roughly
cast and is studded with rivets where the “segments” meet. A character used this
spell need not breathe and is immune to poison and the effects of exposure to
extreme temperatures.
Incomparable Body Arsenal grants the character
+10 soak against both bashing and lethal damage. If an attack does less than 10
dice of raw damage to her, not a single damage die is rolled. In addition, the
character’s body is a trove of hidden weapons. Her skin can sprout rusty iron
spikes at will; double-bladed, eight-inch knives flick from her fingertips;
barbed iron spears extend from her palms at whim; and her mouth can drop open,
puppet-like, to fire a razor-sharp multi-bladed projectile on a long iron
chain. Whatever sort of weapon she needs simply extends from her metallic form.
The character’s Strength and Stamina both
increase by 2, even if that causes them to rise above 5. The character does Strength
+ 8 lethal damage in a clinch. She may make Speed + 3, Accuracy + 1
hand-to-hand attacks using her Brawl, Martial Arts or Melee (whatever the
character prefers) that do Strength + 6 lethal damage. The character can make
these attacks out to a range in yards equal to her permanent Essence.
This spell is not compatible with the use
of armor or weapons, for such accoutrements fade into the character’s statue-like
form. The character moves at normal speed, and unlike the Invulnerable Skin of
Bronze, the character weighs no more than normal while under the effect of this
spell. While she cannot swim, she need not worry about sinking into deep mud or
falling through wooden floors.
This spell is a favorite of the Abyssal
Exalted, who use it to carry out assassinations and strike fear into their
foes.
Insidious Tendrils
Of Hate
Cost: 20 motes
Target: See text
Requires an arcane link
Insidious Tendrils of Hate is a subtle spell
that can turn the best of friends into bitter enemies or start a war between
allies in a matter of days. The sorcerer may cast this spell on a number of
beings equal to his Manipulation + personal Essence, but he must have an arcane
link to each of those to be affected and they must be within 30 yards of each
other at the time of the ritual’s casting.
The ritual takes only a few minutes to cast
and requires the skins of a dozen species of exotic snake, which costs
Resources •• total and can only be acquired in the largest cities of the South.
The caster starts a fire in a brazier and chants the words to the ritual,
placing each of the snake skins into the fire in turn. When he is finished, a
dark hand of smoke will reach out of the fire, and the sorcerer places into
that hand the objects of the arcane links to the targets. These items are drawn
into the fire and consumed. At that moment, the vision of each of the targets
dims for the space of a turn. Each target’s player may then make a reflexive
Willpower roll with a difficulty equal to the caster’s permanent Essence.
Failure on this roll means the tendrils have encircled the target’s heart.
Success negates the ritual for that target only, and an astonishing success
(four or more successes) means that victim knows she was the target of a spell.
Those targets under the influence of the
tendrils believe that everything that is told to them is a lie and that they
are surrounded by enemies. Any statement made to a victim is always taken in
the worst possible way. Players of Essence-using creatures such as Exalted may
make a reflexive Willpower roll, difficulty 1, for their characters to avoid
misinterpreting what they are told.
Insidious Tendrils of Hate lasts for a
number of days equal to the caster’s Manipulation Attribute, until countered or
until the caster is slain.
Ivory Orchid
Pavilion
Cost: 20 motes
Target: One conjured building
This spell causes a shimmering building of
pale ivory to grow from the ground in a matter of moments. This mansion is made
of the caster’s Essence and is completely decorated with the finest furniture,
silk curtains and bedding, and it is filled with the scent of fresh orchids.
The walls, floor and ceiling appear to be of ivory of the highest quality,
carved to be thin enough that sunlight diffuses through it during the day.
Tables come filled with fresh fruits and nuts that are fully nourishing and
bowls of wine that refill themselves. The richness of detail of the ivory
orchid pavilion is such that it can be used to entertain any Celestial
divinities or Exalted beings without embarrassment to the sorcerer.
When the spell is cast, the sorcerer’s
Essence rises from the ground in a white fog that solidifies into a flower bud
around her. This bud then grows to immense size and splits open to reveal an
ornately pillared mansion capable of housing and entertaining 100 people per
point of permanent Essence the caster possesses. The pavilion lasts for 24
hours, after which is crumbles into white orchid petals. For five years after
the spell is cast, ordinary white orchids will grow on the spot where the
pavilion stood.
The pavilion is destroyed if Sapphire
Countermagic is cast against it. In addition, the ivory walls are thin and
fragile, with 10 health levels and a soak value of 5. The pavilion is also
extremely flammable, igniting like dry tinder if flame is touched to it, though
its size is enough that it takes several minutes for flames to engulf the
entire mansion.
Magma Kraken
Cost: 35 motes
Target: Area of effect
Upon casting this spell, bright-red strands
of Essence emanate from the caster’s fingertips and burrow into the ground
within 500 yards. The earth begins to shake in an area extending 50 yards from
where the strands struck the ground. On the next turn, tremendous tentacles of
superheated molten rock erupt from the ground and sweep through the caster’s
foes.
The caster chooses where in the 50-yard
radius each of the tentacles erupts. Players of those near where a tentacle
bursts forth must make a reflexive Dexterity + Athletics roll, difficulty 2, to
avoid their characters being knocked over. The tentacles last for an entire
scene unless destroyed or countered. When the spell ends, the kraken tentacles
harden into serpentine sculptures of obsidian.
There are 10 kraken tentacles at the time
of casting, each 15 yards long. All the tentacles have a strength of 10 and a
Dexterity equal to the caster’s permanent Essence. They have a Brawl rating
equal to the caster’s Occult, they act on the caster’s initiative, and they
deal a raw damage of 5L + their Strength of 10 + the caster’s permanent
Essence. Successes add to damage as usual. Since the tentacles are an extension
of the caster’s Essence, when they roll 10s, they count as two successes.
Damage from the tentacles is considered fire damage, in case a target has a
resistance or vulnerability to fire.
Kraken tentacles have no Mental or Social
Attributes and no Stamina. The tentacles are constructs of Essence and have a
sorcerous awareness of the caster’s foes that are in range. Kraken tentacles
ignore all bashing damage and also soak the first 10 levels of lethal damage
from any given attack. They have 10 health levels, and they regenerate at the
end of each turn. A tentacle must take 10 health levels of damage beyond its
soak in a turn to be destroyed.
The caster may take control of a tentacle
and use it to do a clinch maneuver. This takes the caster’s full concentration
and is equivalent to a simple-type Charm, so he cannot activate Charms that are
not reflexive, split his dice pools or cast spells. After the first turn of
control, the sorcerer may take one additional tentacle under his control each
turn, and he can control a maximum number of tentacles equal to his Perception.
All of these tentacles may attempt to cling or grapple at their full dice pool,
while the others mindlessly smash the closest foe. If the caster’s
concentration is broken, the clinch or hold of all of the tentacles is also
broken.
Mercury’s
Deliverance
Cost: 30 motes
Target: Area of effect
Mercury’s Deliverance is a spell that
creates a barrier that is proof against all magic of the Emerald and Sapphire
Circles. This barrier lasts from the time it is cast until the sun next crosses
the sky, and during that time, no sorcery may cross into the protected area. Sorcery
may be cast inside the radius of Mercury’s Deliverance, but it cannot reach
outside the barrier.
The sorcerer must prepare for the spell by
inscribing a circle around the area she wishes to protect, which may be no larger
than 100 yards in diameter for each point of permanent Essence she possesses.
At five points around the circle, she inscribes a small hexagram, about the
size of her hand, and marks a prayer to Mercury inside it. After this is
complete, the sorcerer returns to the center of the circle and inscribes the
same small circle. To cast the spell, the sorcerer then just needs to place her
hand against the centermost circle and expends her Essence. A lance of colored
light explodes upward from each sign of Mercury, one a turn counterclockwise
― first yellow, then red, then blue, then green,
then purple. From the center bursts a lance
of white light and the colored lights bend inward to touch the white lance,
forming a rainbow dome of scintillating Essence. The dome lasts for a turn
before vanishing, but its protection remains. If a spell effect tries to cross
the boundary, then the dome will flare to life again, warning those inside that
sorcery is at work. Mercury’s Deliverance blocks all teleportation, scrying and
other long-distance effects as well as preventing enchantments and items
enchanted by sorcery from entering.
The barrier cannot be countered from the
outside by anything short of Adamant Countermagic, but Sapphire Countermagic
may be cast at the centermost mark of Mercury to dispel the barrier.
Outside Worlds Within
Cost: 25 motes
Target: One room
This mighty ritual turns one room of a
building into any environment that might exist in Creation. A springtime garden
from the heart of the Realm or the frozen wastes of the Far North may be
mimicked with his spell.
An area up to 50 yards in radius from the
sorcerer (including up) per point of the caster’s permanent Essence can be
converted into an environment of the sorcerer’s choice.
Outside Worlds Within requires one of two
conditions to be met. Either the caster has to have been to the area she wishes
to replicate, or she must have a sample of organic material from that
environment. A single blade of grass, a petal from a flower or a hair from an
animal is enough to recreate the surroundings from which it came.
A sorcerer must go through great measures
to prepare a chamber for the ritual. It must be cleansed both physically and
spiritually before imprinting the new environment can begin. The room must also
be sealed against intrusion from the outside until the ritual is completed. No
outside light, air or particles of dust can enter the room, or the ritual will
be ruined and the Essence lost.
After the chamber has been physically
cleansed, the casting sorcerer must also cleanse herself before entering the
chamber and sealing it. At this time, she must also prepare a special candle by
which she will light the chamber, which costs Resources ••. The caster may only
bring into the chamber herself, the candle and a sample of life, if it is being
used in the ritual. The sample, if used, must also be carefully bathed before
the ritual.
The first part of the ritual begins with
the sealing of the chamber and is the spiritual cleansing of the target room.
The caster stands at the center of the room, holding the candle, and channels
Essence to remove impressions from the previous tenants and objects. After this
process is complete, she either takes the sample in her hands with the candle
or closes her eyes and concentrates on her memory of the place to be mimicked.
The sorcerer pays the required motes, and that Essence coats the inside of the
chamber, suffusing it with a soft golden glow.
The room begins to change after that.
First, the light from the candle grows to match the glow of Essence and becomes
the light from the desired region. Then, the air begins to stir and shift as if
were the outside wind. Then, the floor becomes soil, and plants start to
sprout. They quickly grow to cover the walls and ceiling. Finally, the weather
conditions of the desired region come into effect. The candle and the sample
are consumed at that point.
If the casting sorcerer is performing the
ritual from a scene in her memory, then the chamber becomes an exact likeness
of that memory, disregarding the calendar season.
If the ritual used an organic sample, the
day of casting determines the season and the weather conditions of the
replicated region. If it is raining where the sample originates, then it will
rain in the ritual chamber. If it is summer where the sorcerer is casting but
winter where the sample came from, then the chamber may fill with snow and high
winds. The sorcerer should be mentally prepared for drastic climate changes,
for she cannot dress for them and cannot let them break her concentration.
Once the ritual has been completed, the
chamber remains altered for one month. After that, the sorcerer may renew the
spell and retain the enclosed environment simply by entering the chamber and
expending 25 motes of Essence.
If the spell is not maintained, then the
room returns to its barren original state over the course of three days.
The Princes Of The
Fallen Tower
Cost: 30 motes
Target: Conjured creatures
When this spell is cast, a shimmering doorway
of foul water forms in the air before the sorcerer, and manlike creatures made
of living rust stagger out of it. The sorcerer may conjure a number of such
creatures equal to his permanent Essence. These monsters of rust are
personifications of the caster’s subconscious and inner entropy made flesh by
the sorcerer’s Essence. The shambling creatures have no higher intelligence and
exist solely to destroy at the sorcerer’s command, moaning deeply in
acknowledgement of their orders. Their bodies resemble man-size iron statues
that flake and crumble as they march forward, yet never completely fall apart.
The princes’ hands are inhuman claws that stretch out and grasp incessantly.
The princes have the ability to rust metal,
to erode stone, to rot wood and to dissolve cloth with a single touch. They
have no real combat skills and, therefore, are of little use in battle, but the
princes can destroy a small town or wreck defensive fortification easily.
The touch of a prince of the fallen tower
ignores the first 6 points of an object’s soak, and deals 8L to that object.
Each touch of a prince will continue to eat away at an object for 25 turns.
Large stone structures may survive an attack from the princes of the fallen
tower, but it will cost a tremendous amount to repair them. Enchanted objects
and items made from the Five Magical Materials are immune to the touch of the
princes, as are living organisms.
The princes of the fallen tower last for
about five hours, unless countered or destroyed, and they never stop moving or
destroying in that time. A careless sorcerer who leaves his princes without
instruction may come back to find they have destroyed his Manse.
Rolling Earth
Carpet
Cost: 20 motes (committed)
Target: Caster
While the sorcerer commits her Essence to the
maintenance of this spell, the ground beneath her and her traveling companions
smoothes and hardens, creating perfect road conditions for any vehicle or
mount. The carpet appears as a flattened version of the original terrain, but
it feels like smooth, water-weathered stone. It extends for a 20-yard radius
around the caster. Any number of travelers may accompany the sorcerer on her
journey so long as they can fit within the radius of the spell. This is
typically 100 marching humans or 50 mounted riders.
When casting the spell, the sorcerer
concentrates for a moment and begins to glow with blue Essence. This Essence
expands in a sphere, crushing the grass, flattening rocks and even drying up
puddles around the sorcerer until the maximum radius is reached. The glow fades
as it expands, but so long as the caster’s Essence remains committed and the
carpet is in effect, the air has a faint bluish tinge to it. As the caster
progresses in her journey and the carpet passes, the ground is returned to its
original state, even developing the puddles or snow that were there previously.
The carpet leaves no mundane traces of its passing. Mortal trackers have no
chance of tracking the carpet, and supernatural trackers trying to follow a
sorcerer using the carpet do so at a +3 difficulty.
The carpet negates all penalties for
traveling due to weather conditions. The area of effect of the carpet feels
like a warm spring day. No precipitation falls, and snow and water evaporate
under the effect of the spell. The environment outside the carpet is
unaffected, so fog and snowstorms still inhibit vision beyond the 20-yard
radius.
All small obstacles are cleared from the
casting sorcerer’s path by the carpet’s smoothing effect. Sand, mud, fallen
rocks, marshy land and even low walls and fences prove to be no impediment to
the sorcerer. Travelers on the carpet must still go around buildings, high
walls, boulders, trees and large creatures, however. The carpet does not change
the incline of large hills and mountains either, so travel may be slowed by
steep uphill climbs.
Rolling Earth Carpet lasts as long as the
sorcerer commits the necessary Essence. The effect also ends if the casting
sorcerer is killed while her Essence is committed.
Sapphire Countermagic
Cost: 15 or 20 motes
This spell is similar to Emerald
Countermagic, save that it protects against spells of the second circle. Other
than its increased cost in Essence and Willpower and its ability to effect
spells of the second circle, this spell is identical to Emerald Countermagic.
However, the side effects of countering the spell are greater because more
Essence is released when the spell is cast. These side effects can even cause
some damage, in cases where the countered spell is very powerful.
In addition to its ability to counter magic
of the second circle, Sapphire Countermagic can also overpower the magic of the
Terrestrial Circle totally. A Terrestrial Circle spell countered through the
use of Sapphire Countermagic is hushed instantly, with no collateral damage from
the released Essence.
Servant Of
Infallible Location
Cost: 15 motes
Target: One conjured creature
Uses an arcane link
This spell conjures a small sparrow of blue
flame out of the caster’s Essence, which will thereafter lead a sorcerer to any
desired object or location. The servant can be commanded to find any item,
person or place that the caster has previously encountered or to which the
caster has an arcane link. The servant can also locate easily named things that
are close to the sorcerer, within 500 yards, such as the nearest drinkable
water source, the closest edible food or even the exit to a labyrinth. Once the
sparrow is close to finding a creature, make tracking rolls for it as a
supernatural tracker.
The blue-flame sparrow cannot speak or
sing, instead using a complex set of motions akin to dancing to explain to the
sorcerer in what direction and how close they are to their intended
destination. The servant cannot give precise distances, but it knows if it is
far away, close or really close and gets more excited as it reaches its goal.
The servant also knows if an object or person it is following is moving and has
a special dance to communicate that as well.
The servant cannot leave the caster’s
presence and will only fly a few yards away in the intended direction before
returning to the caster and repeating its dance. The sparrow can move as
swiftly as the caster can travel, with no restrictions other than how far it
can be away from the sorcerer.
A servant of infallible location will last
until its goal is reached, until it is dismissed or until it or the caster is slain.
Shadow Theft
Cost: 30 motes
Target: One creature
To cast this spell, the caster must have a
detailed portrait of the target made using paints that are specially enchanted
and cost Resources ••. The sorcerer must also have a small globe of perfectly
clear crystal made and mounted in a spherical cage of orichalcum, which also
costs Resources ••.
When the ritual is complete, the target’s
shadow is pulled from her and sealed within the crystal globe. The shadow will
remain there until the caster releases it, until Sapphire Countermagic is cast
on the globe or until both the globe and the portrait are destroyed. Until the
shadow is freed, the target feels an inexorable pull toward her shadow ―
and the sorcerer who imprisoned it. As time passes, the target will feel the
need to be reunited with her shadow consume her entire attention, and if more
than a year passes, then she mindlessly wanders through the wilderness to join
the caster. The target has only a vague idea in which direction she needs to
travel to reach her shadow and no knowledge of the distance involved or what
dangers may lay between her and her destination.
While the caster possesses the globe with a
shadow bound inside it, he may spend 5 motes of Essence and concentrate for a
turn to see through the target’s eyes. This shared vision lasts for only five
turns, but it is often enough for the caster to discern the victim’s location
and, possibly, her current activities. If the victim is an Essence user, then
her player may make a reflexive Willpower roll, with a difficulty equal to the
caster’s permanent Essence, to subconsciously block the caster from seeing
through her eyes. A remarkable success on this roll (three or more successes)
allows the target to know she was being watched.
Sorcerers often barter with their victims
to ransom their shadows back in exchange for some task or rare artifact.
Shadows Of The
Ancient Past
Cost: 25+ motes
Target: Area of effect
With this spell, a sorcerer can make an
elaborate illusion that recreates an object or scene from the past. The caster
summons her Essence and lets it flow around and about her, extending out to a
radius of 20 yards per point of permanent Essence. As she does this, a silver
fog rises from the ground and grows to cover the spell’s area of effect. When
it reaches the maximum radius, whatever it touches starts to glow with a soft
white light. The area that the caster stands in will then appear as a ghostly
visage of white and silver, looking as it did a the height of its function.
Ruins will seem whole and undamaged, rooms will fill with furniture, ancient
books and manuscripts that have turned to dust will become whole. The images of
people and creatures will even appear to move through the area as if they were
alive and going about their daily business. Only a visual illusion is produced
by this spell. There is no sound, smell or feel to any of the ghostly objects.
The illusion of Essence lasts as long as
the sorcerer concentrates on it, making this spell an excellent source of
entertainment, as well as a research tool. The illusion cannot be interacted
with in any way. Anyone attempting to touch or manipulate an illusionary object
will find that he passes right through the vision. However, the sorcerer may
pay an additional 5 motes of Essence to focus in on a single object within the
illusion. If that object is stationary, then the caster will levitate slightly
and move until she is directly next to the object she wishes to examine. If the
object she wishes to focus upon is something small and portable, then an
illusion of a person who used that item will arrive, pick up that object and
then demonstrate its use for the caster. An ancient weapon that once lay there
might be picked up and used in a series of martial katas, or a book might be
opened and read before the caster. The caster can only focus in on one object
at a time, but as long as she is willing to pay the additional Essence, she may
focus in on as many objects as she wishes.
The Spawning Of
Monsters
Cost: 30 motes
Target: See text
This spell allows a sorcerer to breed two
wholly different species together by magically extracting the seed from one
male partner and implanting it into the womb of a female. The creature
conceived of this sorcerous union combines the best physical traits and
spiritual aspects of both species and exists solely to serve the caster until
its death.
The ritual begins with the caster spending
the required motes of Essence to drain himself or a male creature of its entire
peripheral Essence pool and then storing that Essence in an acorn. The sorcerer
may keep an acorn to complete the spell for up to one month, but he cannot
access the Essence inside the acorn for any other reason.
To implant this Essence into a female
creature and begin gestating a new monster, the sorcerer must feed the acorn,
either whole or ground up but in its entirety, to a male of a species that can
mate with the female. When the male creature eats the acorn, it becomes
suffused with a reddish aura of Essence and immediately goes into season.
The sorcerer then mates it with the female
that will bear the monster, and when the mating is complete, the ruddy Essence
will drain from the male creature into the female.
The monster grows within the womb at an
unnatural speed and will be born in one-tenth the time it takes for a creature
of the female’s species to gestate, usually just a few weeks. This hideous
growth drains the mother’s strength, and the birth of the monster will kill any
mortal creature. Essence-using beings, such as Elementals and Exalts, may
survive the process if their players succeed at a Stamina + Resistance roll,
its difficulty equal to the new creature’s permanent Essence (difficulty 1 if a
female sorcerer uses herself as a host).
The new creature will have all of the best
Traits of the two parent creatures. It has the highest of the two creature’s
Attributes, Virtues, Willpower, permanent Essence and any shared Abilities, as
well as gaining any Abilities that either parent solely had. The creature will
be an Essence user if one of the parents was also an Essence user. It will gain
the Charms and other mystical abilities of either parent, though it will not
have Backgrounds or any equipment that the sorcerer does not grant it. After
its birth, it will grow to maturity in one week and will be completely devoted
to the sorcerer as if the sorcerer were its only parent.
Countermagic may be cast at any time during
the ritual, but after the creature has been conceived, there is no way to
reverse the effects of the spell. Normal methods of abortion may be used, but
they carry twice the normal health risks for the unwilling host mother.
The final appearance and statistics of the
newborn monster must be approved by the Storyteller before this spell is used.
Storm Rider
Enchantment
Cost: 30 motes
With the aid of this spell, a ship can
travel in even the mightiest storm without fear or danger, even taking
advantage of the storm’s power to lend speed to its journey. Cast when a ship
first encounters a storm, it renders the vessel totally immune to the storm’s
effect (if cast while the ship is in the storm, this spell has no effect). For
the duration of the Charm (which lasts as long as the storm or three days,
whichever is shorter), no lightning will strike the ship will sail safely over
the deepest swells and the highest waves and remain calm under even the
fiercest winds the ship has only slight control over where it goes but will, at
the least, keep somewhat on course for its destination if the navigator and
helmsmen are competent (this requires Wits or Stamina + Sail rolls for each,
with the difficulty ranging from 2 to 4 depending on the ferocity of the storm.
The player or Storyteller may choose whether to use Wits or Stamina, as both
quick-thinking or dogged determination can see one through a storm safely). If
the storm is traveling in the same direction as the vessel was heading, the
ship will benefit from its passage, typically cutting one to two days (or more
in the case of truly savage storms, up
to a week) from the length of the journey.
Summon Spirit Boat
Cost: 30 motes base, +2 motes per additional day
of existence
The sorcerer calls forth a sailing ship
constructed of pure Essence to take him where he wants to go. This
spirit-crafted vessel will remain in existence for a week and a day (plus one
day for every additional 2 motes of Essence spent), during which time it will
go wherever the sorcerer commands, without need of a crew or navigator. A
simple command such as “Take me to the city of Lookshy by the most direct path”
will suffice to set course and set the vessel upon its journey. If the sorcerer
desires, he may place the vessel under the command of another by merely
commanding the ship to take her orders as it would his own. He may also place
restrictions upon this gift, as desired; the ship will understand moderately
complicated conditions and restrictions placed upon its usage and follow them
accordingly. The vessel appears full stocked with provisions and take whatever
form the sorcerer requests, so long as it is a fine one; the spirits will not
create a crippled looking scow or an aged rowboat, instead interpreting these
commands in ways that better suit their aesthetic sensibilities. There are
limit to the size of the vessel this spell can create; ships as large as a large
yacht or a small coaster are within its ability, but a ship as large as a
blue-water merchant is beyond the spell’s ability to construct.
While on a course, the vessel travels at
three times the normal speed for a ship of its kind, even against the wind or
tides, and it will cleverly avoid reefs, shoals and other submerged hazards. It
provides no inherent protection against predators or the weather, but local
spirits will generally not harass those aboard such a ship unless ordered to do
so by another sorcerer who holds sway over them, or their superiors in their
spirit court. If attacked, the spirit ship has twice the soak and health levels
of a vessel of its type, but it is not armed and will attempt to run, not
fight.
Summon The Army Of
The Wild
Cost: 30 motes
Target: Summoned creatures within range
Using the dominion the Celestial Exalted
were granted over the natural world, a sorcerer may call a legion of animals to
fight alongside her. The caster sends forth her Essence in a wave of piping
music and greenish light that flows out into the wilderness, around obstacles
and even into caves to touch the summoned creatures. All animals within a
number of miles equal to the caster’s permanent Essence must come to the
sorcerer’s aid when this spell is cast. All mortal birds, reptiles and mammals
with an Intelligence score of less than 2 are summoned, including well-trained
creatures who are normally loyal to their masters (even those of the enemy).
This spell does not affect magical creatures, Wyld-twisted beasts, sentient
beings or familiars. This spell also does not call invertebrates, fish,
amphibians or mobile plants.
Animals summoned by this spell begin to
arrive the turn after the spell is cast and continue to join the caster for
about two minutes. The first animals to arrive wait for the sorcerer’s command
to attack whatever enemy she points them at, and then, they follow her into
battle.
Beasts continue to arrive and join in the
battle until the caster releases them or there are no more creatures to be summoned.
The caster must join in battle with the summoned army. She cannot command them
from afar.
The creatures will continue to battle until
the enemy is slain, the caster is slain or until the sun next crosses the
horizon. They will fight loyally and never fail a Valor check, and the
creatures will never harm one another.
Both predators and prey will work together
in an uncanny display of bestial cooperation. The animals will defend themselves
when necessary, but they will fight to the death unless released by the caster
from the battle. While the spell is in effect, the caster may issue general
mental commands to the army, such as to advance, to retreat, to flank the
opponent or to change direction.
This spell does not imbue the summoned
animals with any unnatural intelligence, greater strength or stamina or any
other abilities that they did not already possess. An army of hungry lions or
trained war horses would be devastatingly effective, while one consisting of
lapdogs, parrots and desert lizards would prove to be little more than a
nuisance to a well-trained force. The effectiveness of the army lies not in its
size or its members, but in its commander’s ability to command and utilize
them.
Summoning The
Heart Of Darkness
Cost: 30 motes
Target: Area of effect
The caster pours his Essence into a black
nexus of twisting, writhing shadows between his hands, which then explodes into
a giant column of perfect darkness, centered on the sorcerer. The darkness
extends for a one-mile radius around the caster and reaches 10 miles into the
air. From far away, it appears as a perfect cylinder of the truest black.
All normal vision is completely impaired
within the spell’s effective radius, and sounds echo around, muffled and
indistinct. Even the closest shout seems to come from far away, and whispers go
all but unheard. If a large number of people are caught in the spell’s
darkness, it can become a veritable hell of reverberating screams. Anyone hearing
these cries must make a Valor roll with a difficulty of 3 to keep a level head
and not succumb to the terror of being alone in the dark.
Creatures with supernaturally enhanced
senses or that are capable of performing supernatural tracking may navigate
within the darkness at a two-die penalty to all moving actions while in the
darkness. Creatures without such enhancements or skills may attempt to use
their unaffected senses to navigate, but they suffer an increase in difficulty
to all actions equal to the caster’s permanent Essence.
The caster is not immune to the spell’s
sensory effects, though most sorcerers are prepared for it beforehand, often
using another sorcerous effect to escape in the confusion. The heart of
darkness lasts for 24 hours after being cast, unless countered, even if the
caster is slain.
Summoning The
Heavenly Portal
Cost: 35 motes
As the personal servants and messengers of
the Five Maidens, the Sidereal Exalted were given knowledge of how to actually
summon the Calibration Gate. To cast Summoning the Heavenly Portal, the Exalt
must meditate and pray for five minutes. At the end of this time, the caster’s
player rolls the character’s Essence + Occult. On a failure, some other
Celestial Exalted used this spell recently, and the gate was not available.
However, if the caster rolls even a single success, the gateway appears within
arms reach. The gateway normally stays until the next dawn, and it may not be
summoned by another Exalt for half an hour after the caster summoned it.
This spell is available to any Sidereal who
wishes to learn it, and all of them know of its existence. So far, no member of
the Gold Faction has taught this spell to any of the Solar Exalted they are
mentoring. Almost no Solars even know that this spell exists. Even the members
of the Gold Faction fear what might happen if the Solars could travel as easily
as they do. However, all Sidereals know that it is only a matter of time before
some Solar Exalt learns this spell. A handful of Lunar Exalted of the No Moon Caste
know this spell, but they guard it jealously and will only give it to other
Lunars who they consider truly worthy. Although they are normally capable of
learning Celestial Circle Sorcery, Abyssal Exalted are incapable of casting
this spell. Their nature is too antithetical to Heaven’s for them to possess
any ability to command it.
Also, this spell can only be cast in
Creation and can only be used to call the gateway to the caster. A Sidereal can
use this spell to gain access to Yu-Shan in less than 10 minutes. However, once
in Yu-Shan, the caster cannot move this gateway. Instead, an Exalt desiring to
move rapidly from one portion of Creation to another must summon this gateway,
enter Yu-Shan and then leave it via another gateway near his destination.
Swift Journey
Cost: 25 motes
This spells enables the vessel it is cast
upon to travel incredible distances in just a single day. When it is cast, the
sorcerer specifies a destination, which must be no further away than 1,500
miles times the caster’s permanent Essence. So long as the final stopping point
is within that range, the journey will take no more than a full day from the
time the spell is cast. The crew and passengers will notice nothing unusual
about their journey, save that it takes such a short time; while this spell is
in effect, only great powers such as elemental dragons, the gods and perhaps
elder Sidereals and the like can interfere with the ship until it reaches its
goal.
Swift Spirit Of
Winged Transportation
Cost: 25 motes
Target: One summoned spirit
This spell summons a rare type of air
spirit that manifests as a beautiful mass of feathered wings, large and small,
in a variety of colors. It has no head, eyes or discernable organs, save for
two huge feet with five talons that can grasp and carry. This spirit can be
summoned to carry one vessel, such as a ship, a wagon or even a small building,
anywhere that the caster desires. The spirit is 500 feet long and 200 hundred
feet wide, and it can carry up to 1,000 tons. When the spirit is summoned, it
is forced to pay the Essence cost for its manifestation.
The caster must either be onboard the
vessel to be carried or within a number of yards equal to her permanent Essence
in order to summon the spirit. The winged spirit appears above the vessel to be
carried and gently lifts it in its claws against its underside, shielding the
object with its great mass. This protects the deck of a ship and its passengers
from wind and weather as the spirit flies. The spirit can lift a vessel over a
mile into the air and flies at up to 200 miles per hour. The caster must have a
direction in mind when she summons the spirit but can also give more directions
once in the air. The spirit remains until the destination is reached, until it
is ordered to land or until it is destroyed.
Unless equipped with outriggers or some
type of landing supports, no ship other than a flat-bottomed barge can safely
be set down on land. During the First Age, sorcerers often constructed
elaborately decorated barges and used them to fly across Creation, landing
anywhere they wished. The largest ships presently used are wide-beamed merchant
freighters that are 300 feet long and 120 feet wide. Such ships can carry up to
400 people and hundreds of tons of cargo. The sorcerer can order the spirit to
land a ship or object gently on land or sea, or she might order the vessel to
be dropped from a great height. Sorcerers often use this spell to destroy the
ships of their enemies or to drop immense boulders onto fortifications.
Sorcerers who use this spell often generally make friends with a particular
spirit and will only summon that spirit.
Threefold Binding
Of The Heart
Cost: 30 motes
Target: One creature
This spell lays an absolute and stringent binding
on the victim’s heart, rendering her utterly devoted to the sorcerer’s
interests. The caster entwines the victim in ropes of orange and yellow light,
which painlessly pierce the victim along her spine and slither into her body,
merging with the target’s Essence. The spell instantly affects any mortal
creature, but players of Essence users may make a reflexive Willpower roll with
a difficulty equal to the caster’s permanent Essence for their characters to
resist the enchantment. If successful, then the Essence wielder may not be the
target of this spell again as cast by the same sorcerer. This spell has no
effect on any creature with a permanent Essence greater than the caster’s.
Rather than produce an unthinking drone,
the victim will have a slavish mentality but will listen intelligently to the
sorcerer’s wishes and act in what she believes to be the caster’s best
interests. The target will even ask questions for clarification if she is
allowed to by the sorcerer. The victim will experience sincere love and trust
toward the caster, emotions which are justified in any reasonable manner by the
victim. This spell is often cast on a target while she sleeps or is
unconscious, so that she has no idea that she is under an enchantment. In this
case, the victim almost always claims that her emotions are true and genuine
and that she serves the sorcerer out of love and respect. Outside observers,
however, are likely to see that the victim is ensorcelled to be a will-less
puppet.
Once a year, on the day of the victim’s
birth, she will subconsciously attempt to free herself from the sorcerer’s
enchantment. The victim’s player makes a reflexive Willpower roll, with a
difficulty equal to the caster’s permanent Essence. If the roll is successful,
then she is freed from the threefold binding and can no longer be the target of
this spell as cast by the same sorcerer. If the victim fails in her annual
struggle, then she remains bound to the caster for another year and has no
knowledge of her attempt at freedom.
Creatures subject to this spell will
cheerfully sacrifice their lives or the lives of their loved ones if they feel
that is in the caster’s best interests. This devotion can be so consuming of a
being’s emotions that she may slay her own mate and offspring so that it will
not be distracted.
Torrential Cascade
Cost: 30 motes
Target: One body of water
The caster draws forth his Essence into a
burning blue flame that he casts into a nearby body of water, causing it to
rise up into a terrible wave that floods across an area, crushing foes,
destroying building and uprooting plant life. The caster must be within 100
yards of the target body of water to cast this spell, and the target must be at
least 50 yards long or wide to support the cascade.
The cascade lasts for several turns, during
which a number of effects occur. On the turn the spell is cast, the sorcerer
hurls the blue flame into the target body of water, causing it to roil and
churn, with white-capped waves forming and the sounds of rushing water filling
the air. On the next turn, the caster raises his arms to the sky, and a wall of
water 20 yards high and 100 yards long rises from the target at the sorcerer’s
command. Players of those within five miles of this event may make a simple
reflexive Perception + Awareness roll for their characters to hear or see the
spell’s effects.
On the third turn of the spell, the
sorcerer gestures in the direction he wishes the cascade to strike, and the
wave begins its terrible journey. The cascade moves at a rate of 300 yards per
turn and will travel inland for a number of turns equal to the caster’s
permanent Essence. It remains 20 yards high and 10 yards thick as it moves.
The cascade destroys all small buildings
one-story tall or smaller and does terrible damage to larger structures.
Fortifications and immobile objects take 45 levels of bashing damage each turn
they are subjected to the cascade. The cascade has a combined Strength +
Athletics rating of 35 to move and uproot boulders and trees, and it will
completely ruin fields of crops or ornamental gardens.
Creatures and small objects caught in the
path of the cascade are swept away and take 15 dice of bashing damage per turn.
Exalts and other Essence-users may escape from the cascade with a successful
Dexterity + Athletics roll, the difficulty equal to the caster’s permanent
Essence.
When Torrential Cascade ends, the water
recedes back to the target body of water, and the level of water there remains
relatively unchanged. The region that has been devastated by the spell will remain
partially flooded. What was once dry earth will become knee-deep mud, and where
plants grew in abundance, there will be an ankle-deep marsh.
Travel Without Distance
Cost: 25 motes
The mighty among Exalted sorcerers can
travel across the face of the world in an instant, if they must. The character
gathers a blazing corona of Essence around him and shapes it through a complex
series of finger and hand gestures. When he releases the magic, he is wrapped
in whirling clouds of Essence and energy. When the clouds dissipate, he is
gone. The character can choose to reappear in any location he has seen before,
either with his own eyes or through scrying, so long as the destination is
within 10 miles per point of the character’s permanent Essence and it is not
warded against magical travel and spying.
The character’s arrival is as spectacular
as his departure, with the same whirling clouds gathering out of nothingness
and then dissipating to reveal the character, still wrapped in a corona of
Essence and channeling the magic with complicated gestures. This arrival takes
the same amount of time as the character’s departure — two full turns — during
which the character is vulnerable to attack. If the character is disrupted on
arrival, there is no chance of a botch: The spell’s Essence has been expended carrying
him to his destination. However, the character will be disoriented (-2 to all
actions) for (6 - his Stamina) hours. Travel via this spell is quite safe — the
character need not worry about appearing inside a chair if the furniture has
been rearranged or about appearing in midair if the building has been burnt
down or demolished. Instead, he will simply be displaced to the nearest stable,
open space with solid footing.
This spell is a favorite of the Sidereal
Exalted, who use it to come and go undetected from their meeting places, some of
which can only be reached through the use of this spell.
Unity Of Dreams
Cost: 20+ motes
Target: Caster and allies
This spell invokes the blessing of Venus, the
Maiden of Serenity, in a ritual that binds the dreams of the sorcerer to those
of her allies. The caster forges a link that will remain unbroken for a number
of months equal to the caster’s permanent Essence, unless it is countered with
Sapphire or Adamant Countermagic.
The ritual to cast Unity of Dreams is a
deceptively simple one in which all of the targets of the spell spend a number
of nights meditating together equal to the number of participants of the spell.
Each night, the caster spends 10 motes of Essence for each participant,
spreading it in a soft yellow glow to encompass all of the targets. This yellow
Essence suffuses the participants and becomes flecked with sparks of different
colors, depending on the temperaments of those involved, until the whole room
is filled with kaleidoscopic light.
After the ritual is complete, anytime two
or more targets are asleep, their dreams will mingle, and they will be able to
communicate. The dreams of the participants are fluid and shift constantly,
often expressing their subconscious, but this does not normally hamper
communication. It is often hard for participants to hide important facts or
events from each other.
Unity of Dreams also grants the targets a
certain unity of mind and purpose. Creatures that have intimate access to each
other’s subconscious, such as when they dream together, become closer in ways
that they cannot through normal interaction. When the participants are working
together or fighting together, they all act with a one-die bonus to all
actions.
At any time all participants are asleep and
dreaming together, one of the creatures may ask that the others join it. The
bond of the spell will then transport the other sleepers to the side of the one
who requested their presence. All participants must agree to the location to
which they will be transported, and then, their physical bodies will all be
moved across Creation. The participants will all awaken on the turn after they
have been transported through the spell to find themselves next to the target
who requested the transportation effect. To invoke the transportation effect of
Unity of Dreams has a cost though ― it ends all other effects of the
spell. The targets may no longer participate in shared dreams or enjoy a bonus
to their actions when working together.
Voices Of Distant
Regard
Cost: 25 motes
Target: Caster
Until the caster next sleeps, she can hear
any conversations where the participants are discussing her. The sorcerer’s name
never need be mentioned. The intent of the speakers is what is picked up by the
spell’s effects. The caster will also be vaguely aware of the distance and
direction of each of these conversations. The sorcerer will hear all the
participating voices as if she were in the same room with the speakers, and she
may recognize the voices of people she has met.
The caster may try to listen to multiple
conversations at one time, if they all involve her. The sorcerer’s player must
make a Perception + Awareness roll for her character, with a difficulty equal
to the number of conversations to which she wishes to listen. The caster may
choose to ignore all but one conversation that is occurring, and in that case,
her player won’t need to make any roll. The sorcerer may also block out all
distant conversations if she needs to participate in a conversation directly.
The caster may attempt to participate in one conversation while listening to
one the spell brings to her ears, but doing so requires a Perception + Awareness
roll, with a difficulty of (the number of conversations +1). A sorcerer
participating in a conversation while listening to others may seem distant or
even simple-minded to others.
Wheel Of The
Turning Heavens
Cost: 35 motes
Target: Creatures in the area of effect
This spell allows a sorcerer to entrance a
large group of people, so that they become placid and unaware of their
surroundings. The caster reaches toward the night sky and channels Essence in a
bright white beam up into it, where it explodes like giant fireworks. Instead
of fading like fireworks though, the burst becomes an illusion of the stars in
the sky suddenly growing more brightly, and for a radius of a half mile
centered around the sorcerer, the stars begin to rotate across the sky in a clockwise
motion. Anyone with an Intelligence greater than 1 who sees the stars above
will become entranced, forgetting whatever he was doing. The illusory spinning
stars lasts for one half hour for each point of permanent Essence the caster
possesses, and during that time, the spell’s victims will be unable to act and,
thereafter, will have no recollection of what went on around them.
This spell has no effects on plants or
mortal creatures with an Intelligence of 1, nor does it affect the caster in
any way. The player of any Essence-using being may attempt a reflexive
Dexterity + Awareness roll, with a difficulty equal to the caster’s permanent
Essence, for his character to realize that the swirling sky is an illusion and,
therefore, to avert his eyes from the heavens. This roll must be made any time
the Essence user’s vision may include a portion of the sky.
The spell ends if Sapphire or Adamant
Countermagic is cast against the sorcerer, if the caster is slain or if any
creature enchanted by the spell is harmed while entranced.
Whirlwind Of Fate
Cost: 20 motes
Target: Caster
The trained sorcerer can study the strands
of fortune around him and use the knowledge gained thereby to manipulate events
to his advantage. By standing motionless during the casting of this spell, the
caster observes the weaves of fate. For a single turn, the sorcerer’s Essence
flares and stretches out, racing along the threads of fate and tracing the
motions and actions of every object in the caster’s surroundings. The caster
can see how every creature and object in his immediate vicinity is tied to
every other and interpret how those interactions can be turned to the
sorcerer’s advantage. When the spell is cast, the sorcerer names a goal to be
completed, and the whirlwind of information that is before the caster can then
be read to aid in this goal. The caster’s player makes an Intelligence + Occult
roll. Each success on this roll becomes a bonus die that the sorcerer may add
to any one roll that furthers the goal stated when casting the spell. The bonus
dice last for a number of minutes equal to twice the caster’s permanent
Essence.
Bonus dice from Whirlwind of Fate can only
be used one at a time to add to any action. Any bonus used toward a feat or
stunt that a bonus die is added to gains an additional automatic success. If
the sorcerer’s stated goal is not completed by the time the pool of bonus dice
is due to elapse, then the caster suffers a penalty to all actions equal to the
number of bonus dice used by the caster until the sorcerer can meet the goal.
For
Example: Rosh the Triumphant uses Whirlwind of Fate when facing off against
five Dragon- Blooded soldiers who are protecting a temple. Rosh’s goal is to
retrieve an artifact at the center of the temple, and he needs the bonus dice to
complete this mission. Rosh’s player rolls his character’s Perception + Occult
and gains seven successes. This gives Rosh seven bonus dice that he may use for
the next four minutes ( twice Rosh’s Essence of 2) . Unfortunately , Rosh did
not know that there were a dozen more Dragon-Blooded stationed throughout the
temple. H e is careful and uses only three of his b onus dice before the
spell’s time elapses, so he only suffers a three-die penalty to all his actions
until he can retrieve the artifact.