Magician Codex

From Tenebrous Isles
Jump to: navigation, search
Magician Codex
Here are the instructions for setting up the 'Magical' portion of your Magic User character.

Elements

 First things first, Elements are important to set up on your PC. Standard Evocation gives you 3 Elements, Channeling gives you 1. You can set them up with the following commands:
  • The possible Elements are: Air, Earth, Fire, Spirit, and Water.
  • Additional 'elements' include: Summer, Winter, and Wyld. (For those taking the Fae magic abilities.)
  • Type +elements to view your current Evocation elemental familiarity.
  • Type +elements/add <element> to add an element to your list.
  • Type +elements/del <element> to remove an element from your list.

Enchanted Items

 Enchanted Items are specific things (jewelry, clothing items, wands, staffs, etc.) which an evocator has taken the time to work a well known spell into. They provide no bonus to any roll, but they do allow an evocator to use a specified spell one time without taking any stress during the course of a scene.

Enchantments on items are always very narrowly-defined: a single evocation or thaumaturgical application.

If you were to create an Evocation-based Enchanted item, it could allow you to make 1 Evocation attack for free in a scene. For example a fire-based attack game action vs a single target.

If you were to create a Thaumaturgy-based Enchanted item, it could allow you to make 1 Thaumaturgical action for free in a scene, quickly, without having to build up all necessary prerequisites to casting the Thaumaturgical spell. For example opening a doorway to the NeverNever or a Pocket full of Sunshine that places the aspect of 'Sunlight' onto the area.

Enchanted items are made with the following commands and cost 1 Refresh apiece.

  • Type +enchant/create <name>=<desc>: Creates that enchanted item. The cost of the item and the uses are both limited to 1. If you don't provide a <desc>, the item will begin blank.
  • Type +enchant/rename <num>=<name>: Renames that enchanted item.
  • Type +enchant/desc <num>=<description>: Describes that enchanted item. The preferred format is to describe the effect of the item." - e.g. "Coat of protection, Reactive armor, 2 free tags."
  • Type +enchant/del <num>: Deletes that item from your sheet.

Example: Joe the Magical Practitioner has himself an Enchanted Item, it's called his Pocket Full of Sunshine. It's just a simple kerchief, folded into a square, bright yellow like a lemon. When he unfurls it, Joe sets an aspect to the room of 'Sunlit' which is true for the next 2 exchanges.

Example 2: Joe the Magical Practitioner has himself another Enchanted Item, it's called 'Wasps of Air'. It's a vial, filled with nothing but air it seems. When he opens it all hell is unleashed in the form of what feels like invisible wasps stinging at flesh. The attack is at Weapon 1 as Joe doesn't have his combat abilities enhanced, and it's aimed to one target using his Casting skill.

Rotes/Runes

 Rote spells are those spells which an evocator has spent so long using, and have had so much practice with, that they settle into a kind of mental reflex which can be performed with relatively little effort to achieve maximum effect.

Rote spells are always very narrowly-defined: a single evocation application using a single element, such as a fire attack which always has the same weapon rating, or an air maneuver which always creates the exact aspect. However, within its narrow range of application, a rote spell can be very useful for a simple reason: Rotes are the only way to gain bonuses on Casting rolls.

When casting a rote spell for attack, the evocator receives the bonus conferred by the Rote to their casting roll (up to +2 for a VERY specific game action, or +1 for a general game action), plus uses any bonus from Specializations and additionally gains their Weapon rating. Keep in mind, while Rotes have no inherent limiter on their uses, they do cause 1 shift of damage to your stress track every time they're used.

Essentially, Rotes are the 'Stunts' for the Casting skill.

To create a rote spell, type +rote/add <name>=<description>. The description fills in exactly what the spell does, and how much of a bonus it confers to that rolled action. Each rote spell is assigned a number when viewed with +show, and this is the <number> used in the following commands.

  • +rote/rename <number>=<new name> renames a rote spell.
  • +rote/redesc <number>=<new description> changes the rote's description.
  • +rote/del <number> deletes a rote from your spell list.

Example: Joe the Magical Practitioner has a Rote called 'Fae Bane' that allows him to take +2 on his roll whenever he attacks NeverNever entities with his Earth element.

Example 2: Joe the Magical Practitioner has a Rote called 'Magical Shield' that allows him to take +1 on his roll whenever he defends against Magical attacks with his Spirit element.