Glamour Sorcery

The great spells of the raksha are artifacts forged from raksha Graces and bound to the aspects of Dharma. Most come from the Graces of the unshaped.

Spells are the poisons and drugs of the Wyld. They undermine or change the Essence patterns of those they encounter. The raksha use them as tools of ravishment.

They are aphrodisiacs, depressants, euphorics, opiates and hallucinogens. They make the experience of others’ shaping more intense, more confusing or more unbearable and, in so doing, facilitate the arts of the Cup. In Creation and within the worlds of raksha-shaped fate, they manifest as patterns of changing circumstance.

 

Waking Circle Spell (Artifact •)

These are the pettiest of spells, from the circle of waking visions — more the caffeine or sugar of the Wyld than its cocaine. In Cup-shaping combat, they have qualities similar to a normal one-dot artifact weapon — by default, a piercing clinch enhancer with Speed -5, Accuracy +1, Damage +4, Defense +4 and Rate 1.

Invoking these spells in Creation takes one scene, 10 motes and 1 gossamer. Once invoked, they remain invoked for a full story, but the motes are not committed.

To determine the tangible effects of a Waking Circle spell, build each spell as an object with 10 mutation points.

They must have exactly 1 point of Assumption-type Charm mutations, normally Assumption of Elemental Shape. The remaining mutation points are spent on non-Assumption-type mutations to craft the spell itself.

For example, a Waking Circle spell might take form as a leering wooden mask that impoverishes all who look upon it. Such a mask has the permanent versions of Assumption of Elemental Shape (Wood) and the Hateful Coin Curse. When someone looks at the mask, roll its lorekeeper’s Intelligence + Bureaucracy. The victim temporarily loses one dot of Resources per success; this work of glamour fails if the target’s Wits + Essence exceeds the lorekeeper’s Bureaucracy.

 

Dreaming Circle Spell (Artifact ••)

These spells are the substance of dream, disruptive to elements of pattern. In shaping combat, they have qualities similar to a normal one-dot artifact weapon. In addition, most offer a positive pharmaceutical effect to the user or disruptively poison their victims. Pharmaceuticals usually add two dice to a shaping Ability. Poisons usually force a Stamina + Resistance check at difficulty 3 each time the shaping weapon damages a target lest the target suffer an extra point of Cup damage.

Invoking these spells in Creation takes one scene, 15 motes and 1 gossamer. Once invoked, they remain invoked for a full story, but the motes are not committed.

The tangible effects of a Dreaming Circle spell are built with 11 mutation points. They have either 1 or 2 points of Assumption-type Charm mutations, normally Assumption of Elemental Shape or Assumption of the Land’s Heart. The remaining mutation points are spent on non-Assumption-type mutations to craft the spell itself.

For example, a Dreaming Circle spell might blanket a hamlet-sized region with the ignorance of pain — though pain and suffering remain real, people there naturally conceal and forget about its existence, so that they believe themselves living in a utopia. This might take form as a spherical gem with the permanent versions of Assumption of the Land’s Heart and Fall of Night Shadows the Truth. When conjured into Creation, the Assumption of the Land’s Heart effect Magistrate Eyes. A simple stunt such as marking one’s way with chalk or navigating by the stars would also suffice.

 

Samadhi Circle Spell (Artifact ••••)

These spells are crafted to influence the endless primordial dreams of the Wyld, the Graces and the mortal soul. These are also called “True Self Spells,” and no raksha can cast them that does not own his own Heart. In shaping combat, Samadhi Circle spells have qualities appropriate to a three- or four-dot artifact weapon, defaulting to Speed +6, Accuracy +1, Damage +8, Defense +1, Rate 5 and a special power, such as the ability to ready the spell without a shaping action.

Invoking these spells in Creation takes two scenes, 25 motes and 2 gossamer. Once invoked, they remain invoked until some condition inherent to the spell is met. If that condition is the passage of time, the spell lasts up to one year and one day. The motes are not committed.

The tangible effects of a Samadhi Circle spell are built with 15 mutation points. They have 1 to 6 points of Assumption-type Charm mutations. The remaining mutation points are spent on non-Assumption-type mutations to craft the spell itself. Charms or stunts are necessary to see through the Samadhi Circle, as with the Desire Circle.

For example, a Samadhi Circle spell could create a tainted land and slowly gather an army of Wyld addicts. Cast as the Wyld recedes from Creation, its permanent Assumption of the Wyld-Tainted Land takes force and creates a tainted region. The permanent version of Shiftless Untamed Beauty makes the land itself addictive, and the permanent version of Adored By All the Worlds attracts a few more followers — Wyld loyalists, drawn to the region rather than the raksha — each scene. As the storm gathers, the permanent form of Ordinary Object Conjuration forges one suit of armor from the sky each scene. Mad God Mien protects the result from standard countermagic.

 

Shinma Circle Spell (Artifact •••••)

These spells are crafted to influence the substance before dreams, the primal substrata of the Wyld and the world from which the shinma, the Primordials and certain of the unshaped were made. These spells are the most terrifying of the shaping weapons of the Cup. In shaping combat, Samadhi Circle spells have qualities appropriate to a four- or five-dot artifact weapon, defaulting to Speed +6, Accuracy +1, Damage +8, Defense +1, Rate 5 and a major special power, such as a mote-fueled persistent defense or the ability to fight on its own.

Invoking these spells in Creation takes three scenes, 30 motes and 3 gossamer. Once invoked, they remain invoked until some condition inherent to the spell is met. If that condition is the passage of time, the spell lasts up to one century. The motes are not committed.

The tangible effects of a Shinma Circle spell are built with up to 18 mutation points, at least 1 of which must come from an Assumption-type Charm. The remaining mutation points are spent to craft the spell itself.

It takes an appropriate Charm or stunt to see through Shinma Circle works of glamour, as with the Samadhi and Desire Circles.

These rules apply only to player-created Shinma Circle spells or spells created by the Storyteller for casual unshaped use. Shinma Circle spells that exist for story purposes can have additional or unusual abilities. Some are effectively legendary (N/A) artifacts in power.