Art Magic. Sorcerers Use Sorcery

Transcription

1 Art Magic Art Magic is a variant of the standard Sorcery mechanics presented in the Burning Wheel. This system does not use a set spell list. Instead, the sorcerer gathers his art, skill and inspiration together and calls upon the eldritch powers to obey his will and aid him as he requires. This art can t recreate all of the effects of standard Sorcery. We have omitted certain big effects, and it s not nearly as destructive as Sorcery. However, it is more versatile. This system is challenging to use. The sorcerer player must think of the outcome of his spell before he can cast. He must envision the result, not only in terms of eldritch and arcana, but in the form of a game-mechanical effect. This takes some practice, but once the player masters it, he may never want to leave the warm embrace of Art Magic. Sorcerers Use Sorcery To build a spell using Art Magic, the sorcerer player must first choose the effect, breadth and duration for the spell. Once those facets are chosen, determine if his school of magic applies. Next, the player must either name the spell or speak a bit of the incantation. These steps determine the obstacle for the spell and any advantage dice available. Test Sorcery plus the advantage dice against the obstacle. If the test is successful, then the spell has its intended effect. If failed, the GM may choose the consequences. Sorcery, not Sorcery Art Magic is accessed through the standard Sorcery skill. When using Art Magic, the rules for standard Sorcery are replaced with these rules. Do not use any of the rules in the standard Sorcery chapter unless otherwise instructed to do so in this chapter. We strongly recommend against having Art Magic and Sorcery in your game at the same time. Gifted Characters must be Gifted to use Art Magic. 279

2 The Burning Wheel Codex Effects What does the sorcerer want his spell to do? There are nine effects to choose from in Art Magic: Hinder, Advantage, Arcane Knowledge, Sorcerous Weapon, Destroy with Sorcerous Fire, Evoke, Arcane Action, Illusion and Trait. Multiple effects can be combined in a single spell. Hinder The magician may hinder one or more of the target s abilities. When using this effect, the player must name which specific ability (or abilities, depending on the breadth of the spell) he is targeting. Hindrance can manifest as commanding branches to entangle, conjuring illusions to blind, or casting diseases or afflictions on your target. Hinder Effect Casting Obstacle +1 Ob Ob 2 +2 Ob Ob 3 +3 Ob Ob 5 Advantage The sorcerer may use his art to grant himself and his allies aid. Using this effect, he may add advantage dice to stats, skills, Steel, Resources, Circles or stride (stride is increased by 1 per advantage die added). Multiple abilities may be targeted using the breadth modifier. Advantage can manifest as a favorable wind in the sails, a burst of strength, a flash of insight, a quickening of the pulse or the blessing of spirits and gods. Advantage Effect Casting Obstacle +1D Ob 2 +2D Ob 3 +3D Ob 4 Recursive Curse A Sorcerer may not directly or indirectly give advantage dice to Sorcery, Enchanting, Summoning, Spirit Binding, Death Art or any other similar spellcasting art. 280

3 The Arcane Library Arcane Knowledge The sorcerer may plumb the wells of magic in his search for knowledge. To use the Arcane Knowledge effect, test Sorcery. In this case, Sorcery counts as a proxy for any academic skill in the skill list. The obstacle for the effect is the same as the skill test obstacle for the academic skill, plus breadth and duration. Art Magic Sorcerous Weapon The sorcerer may summon forth an eldritch weapon to wield against his enemies! He may call forth the sorcerous equivalent of a sword, spear, axe or mace. This may be wielded in Fight like a normal weapon it requires use of a weapon skill or Beginner s Luck. Rather than using Power as a base for the weapon damage, use the sorcerer s Will exponent. Add the weapon power from the appropriate conjured weapon. Also, use the weapon s length, speed, Add and VA categories for the appropriate weapon type. Burning Spear of Arcane Fury With an Ob 1 Sorcery test, the wizard may conjure to his hand an eldritch (but run of the mill) spear, sword or mace ringed in arcane fire. The player must choose which weapon he desires before the spell is cast. To make the weapon superior quality, increase the obstacle by +2 Ob. The weapon may also be conjured as a spirit weapon. To do so, increase the casting obstacle by +2 Ob. Death s Axe This spell effect summons forth a shimmering silver black axe. The obstacle is 4. Use the stats for the Sweet Axe. The weapon may also be conjured as a spirit weapon at +2 Ob. Destroy with Sorcerous Fire! The sorcerer chants violent and profane syllables as white fire jets from his fingertips! Base Ob 4. Must be combined with the One Test Duration if being used to harm characters. Otherwise, any other duration is applicable to set up walls of magic fire. May not be used on Self. Damage as follows: Sorcerer s Will as base Power, VA 2, Die of Fate as a bow. Successes may be used to increase damage (+1 Power per extra success), increase the VA (two successes for +1 VA) or modify the Die of Fate (one success for +1 DoF). Weapon Length: Longest. Range: as hunting bow. 281

4 The Burning Wheel Codex Illusion A sorcerer may use his magic to create illusions to confuse or deceive. Make a versus test between Sorcery and the victim s Perception (with the attendant double obstacle penalty). Be sure to add obstacle penalties to the Sorcery test for breadth and duration. If the sorcerer wins the versus test, his victim believes the illusion to be true. 282

5 The Arcane Library This spell cannot be used to harm its victims or create perfect simulacra. It may only be used to frighten, confuse, deceive, bamboozle or otherwise fool them into thinking something is real when it is not. Illusion costs three actions in Fight. Evoke Using the Evoke effect, the sorcerer can force a versus test between his Sorcery skill and a target s physical stat, martial or physical skill or the Health attribute. When using this effect, the sorcerer must declare his intent to shove, grab, immobilize, knock down or similar. He may not use this effect to directly injure the target. Any other effects of this spell come from the results of the physical reaction of the target if he is pushed into a freezing pond, for example. A wizard could use the Evoke effect to keep a team of Orcs from pulling up a tree: Sorcery versus Tree Pulling. He could stop an enemy sorcerer from being able to draw enough breath to cast a spell himself: Sorcery versus Health. Or he could knock a bird off its perch: Sorcery versus Speed. Art Magic To cast the spell, make a versus test between Sorcery and the target. Be sure to add the obstacle modifiers for breadth and duration. Evoke spells cost two actions to perform in Fight. Arcane Action Using the Arcane Action effect, the sorcerer may overcome the material world around him with his arcane power. Sorcery may be used to pass any simple physical test pushing, leaping, grabbing, thrusting. The obstacle for this effect is 1 plus the obstacle of the test at hand. Success indicates that the wizard has passed the test as if he had been testing the appropriate ability. Failure on the skill test also counts as a failed spell! Using this, the sorcerer may strike an unsuspecting opponent with a sword or climb a wall. Trait Using this spell effect, the sorcerer may grant the target access to a trait from the general Trait List in the Burning Wheel or the Monstrous Trait List from this book. Ob 1 plus the trait point cost for a beneficial effect. Ob 2 plus trait cost for a curse or detrimental effect. Unpriced lifepath traits in the individual character stock chapters are Ob 4. Common traits from the eight existing character stocks are Ob 5. Call-ons may 283

6 The Burning Wheel Codex not be so granted. Neither can you grant Gifted, Faithful, Loathsome and Twisted, Essence of the Earth or any similar defining common trait. Transform A wizard may transform himself into an animal. Obstacles are as follows: Mundane, harmless creature (like a bird or a fish), Ob 3. Mundane, effective or threatening creature (like a wolf or a bear), Ob 4. The wizard is completely transformed into that creature. He may not cast other spells while so changed. To transform another it s Ob 1 plus the victim s Forte, plus a +1 Ob penalty per difference in stature from the original form to the new one. Changing a Dragon (Gigantic Stature) to a bird (Small Stature) is a base obstacle 13 (1 plus G10 Forte plus 2, assuming our wizard has black shade Sorcery) plus four for the difference in stature: Ob 17, plus breadth and duration. Good luck! Breadth Breadth describes how much the spell affects. Does it affect the caster, or the whole town? Choose the breadth of your spell from the list below. Breadth of Target Self (One Ability) Single Target, One Person (One Ability) Group, Handful, Two Abilities Crowd, Copse, Cluster, Three Abilities Village, Pond, Four Abilities Town, Countryside, Castle, Five Abilities City, Forest, Six Abilities Mountain, Plain, All Abilities Sky, Ocean Obstacle Modifier +1 Ob +3 Ob +4 Ob +6 Ob +7 Ob + 8 Ob +9 Ob +10 Ob The parenthetical (One Ability) listed with Self and One Person indicates you can affect one ability on yourself for no penalty or one ability on another character for +1 Ob. If you re affecting an object, use the Single Target breadth. Breadth is cumulative. If you wanted to affect the Faith and Will of an entire city, it would be Two Abilities +3 Ob of a City +8 Ob = 11 Ob. 284

7 The Arcane Library Duration of Spell There are five possible durations for an Art Magic spell: one test, conflict, session, adventure and campaign. Choose the duration for your intended effect from the list below. Art Magic Duration One Test (according to Let It Ride) Conflict (Range and Cover, Fight or Duel of Wits) Session Adventure Campaign Obstacle Modifier +1 Ob +2 Ob +3 Ob +4 Ob A one test duration indicates the effect lasts for a single roll or a series of rolls as per the Let It Ride rule anything short of a conflict like Fight, Range and Cover or Duel of Wits. One goal, no change of venue, no introduction of new problems. A conflict duration indicates the effect lasts for one Fight, Range and Cover, Duel of Wits, Pursuit or Chase. This is a nice hefty duration, because those mechanics indicate that the character is doing something important. A session duration is the simplest to measure. The effect lasts until the end of the session. That s it. The adventure duration remains in effect until the group has completed some agreed-upon future goal slay the dragon, rescue the princess, break into the bank. Campaign durations usually last until the group has accomplished a great goal and then drifts off into retirement. It s not much of a limit at all. Typically the game s over at the end of the campaign. But campaign duration does have a cool flavor, especially if you end up coming back to the game later and pulling those characters out of retirement. Lasting Effects The effect may last beyond the duration of the spell if the spell changed the environment in some way. For example, you may conjure a scourging fire to burn a forest. After one scene, the fire is gone, but the forest remains burnt. 285

8 The Burning Wheel Codex Casting Time The casting time for a spell is a number of actions equal to its obstacle. Spells that cause versus tests have their own rules: Evoke costs two actions to cast, Illusion costs three. In Fight, use the Cast Spell action. In Range and Cover, A sorcerer may cast up to 20 actions of one spell during one volley instead of performing one of the standard actions. Dangerous! Casting Under Pressure A sorcerer must complete a spell uninterrupted and unimpeded. Therefore, a sorcerer may not be locked, injured, knocked off his feet or fail a Steel test while casting. If interrupted, the spell automatically fails at the full margin of failure (and note that tax at this level can possibly kill the sorcerer, so these are serious consequences). A sorcerer may cast a spell while otherwise on the move, in a fight or argument. Schools of Magic Using Art Magic, sorcerers are trained at various schools and taught to favor one form of magic over another. To form your school, select three effects of the nine offered. For example, evocation, illusion and arcane knowledge. These are the areas in which you specialize. Name your school. Call it something esoteric and wizardly. Take the six remaining effects and order them from 1 to 6 from most desired to least desired. These are the magical arts outside of your ability. You may cast spells outside of your school, but the order indicates the obstacle penalty added on top of the spell s obstacle from +1 to +6 Ob. Joining Schools of Magic in Play To join a school of magic during the course of a game, a player must find a member of the school who is willing to instruct him on its theories and methods. To learn from this teacher, the student must forge a mystical connection with him: The student must pass a Will test with an obstacle equal to 10 minus the teacher s Will. If this test is passed, the sorcerer player learns one effect from his mentor s school and now may cast 286

9 The Arcane Library it without obstacle penalty. Do not reorder or reshuffle the remaining unlearned effects. You can only know a number of effects equal to or less than your current Sorcery skill exponent. If you fail this test, you cannot learn this art magic effect. Ever. Art Magic Founding a New School of Magic A sorcerer may found his own school of magic. This requires a year of time and an Ob 5 Research test. Symbology, Astrology and Obscure History are acceptable FoRKs. If you pass the test, after the time allotted, the sorcerer founds a new school of magic and may remove the obstacle penalty from one effect outside of his current school. If you fail the test, the sorcerer has founded a corrupted or distorted version of the school. All spells in that school are cast at an obstacle penalty equal to the margin of failure of the Research test. For example, if you re trying to found the School of Brilliant Oratical Techniques and you fail your Research test by two, all advantage effects cast in that school suffer a +2 Ob on top of the penalty for their being outside of your starting school. Once a school is founded, all appropriate spells must be cast through that school, even if they come at a penalty. Incantation If the sorcerer player names his spell with an appropriately florid name or offers a bit of chant or verse for the spell, then he gains +1D to cast the spell. Consequences Art Magic has five possible prices that can be paid for each spell. If the sorcerer fails to properly cast an Art Magic spell, he suffers one of the following consequences: Tax, Hindrance, Enmity, Infamy or an Unintended Effect. The GM applies the consequences of the Sorcery based on the margin of failure and his judgement of the situation. 287

10 The Burning Wheel Codex Tax If the spell is failed, the GM may call for a tax test (as per the standard rules). The sorcerer must pass a Forte test with an obstacle equal to the obstacle of the spell. Margin of failure temporarily reduces Forte. If Forte is reduced to zero, the character is incapacitated. If Forte is reduced below zero, the character suffers a wound equal to the obstacle multiplied by each die below zero. Sorcerers recover taxed Forte the rules described in the Sorcery chapter of the Burning Wheel. Hindrance The GM may apply an obstacle penalty equal to the margin of failure. The hindrance has the same duration and breadth as the intended spell. Enmity and Infamy A spell gone awry causes friends to become enemies! When using this failure condition, the GM must describe how the casting goes wrong. The spell has an effect, but it s not exactly what was planned. The GM may change a relationship or named Circle on the sorcerer character s sheet from favorable to hateful or rivalrous. This invokes the Enmity Clause conditions for Duel of Wits! If no relationship is present, the GM may assign one. Failure by one success indicates a minor relationship. Failure by two or three successes indicates an important relationship. Failure by four or more indicates a powerful relationship. Alternately, the sorcerer can gain an infamous reputation among people, spirits or animals. If the spell is failed by one to three successes, the GM may assign the character an infamous reputation of a value equal to or less than the margin of failure in an appropriate sphere of the GM s choice (people, spirits or animals). The GM can also compound any existing infamous reputations or even turn a positive reputation to one of infamy due to the failed spell. Even the birds have heard about what a bastard you are. Unintended Effect The GM twist the intent of the spell so that it has an unintended (and unhappy) effect. The unintended effect could be that the original effect is not what was planned for, or the original spell doesn t activate at all. Instead birds fly from your mouth, or devils peel themselves from the walls or the house catches fire, etc. The only limit here is how evil your GM feels in the moment. 288

11 The Arcane Library Weaving Magic into the Fiber of My Being Using this mechanic, a Sorcerer may eventually weave the fabric of spells and incantations into his very being. If he casts a spell successfully a number of times equal to 10 minus his Will, he has woven the spell. Thereafter, the player gains an additional +1D when casting the spell. This is in addition to other advantages like +1D for the Incantation rule. Any obstacle penalties for using a particular effect remain. Art Magic This rule is optional for Art Magic. It s beneficial to the sorcerer player, but it requires that he do a substantial amount of bookkeeping he must track the spells he s cast and the number of times he s cast them. If the player doesn t want to do that, don t use this rule! Versus Sorcery The GM can call for Art Magic tests to be resolved using simple versus tests. The sorcerer player states the spell he s casting and declares his intent, then he makes the versus test. If he succeeds, he may describe how his magics have overcome his opponents. This process mirrors the one described on page 425 of the Burning Wheel. Bloody Sorcery Sorcery can also be substituted for a martial skill in the Bloody Versus test described on pages of the Burning Wheel. Sorcerer counts as a longer length weapon and a shield. 289