The Art of Magic and Life
Introduction
This information is posted for GMs to be aware of and potentially use in their games if appropriate.
GM Notes: This tome was created before the war of tears, it is one of many works of knowledge that was banned and its destruction ordered following the War of Tears. The book has been kept secret, protected by and traded between powerful and unscrupulous adepts, and occasionally lost. Those few who have heard of it are usually polarised into those who believe it should be destroyed and those who wish to read it. It is no longer in the hands of guild members but it is believed to still be on-plane.
The following information is the result of experimentation and deduction, not Divination of the Tome. As such some of it may not be strictly accurate.
- The debriefing of the guild members exposed to this Tome has been kept secret by the guild council and will only be shared with senior trustworthy guild members on a need to know basis. Your character does not know of the Tome unless they have been told of it by a character who knows of it.
The Art of Magic and Life
by Heuros, Sage Haguar
This thick tome has a dark red-brown cover bound by unbreakable gold thread.
Opening it requires fresh blood (1EN) on the binding. The entity that provides the blood may then open the tome and read the content. To anyone else the content is illegible. If the tome is closed then it may not be read again without re-spilling blood, but this time the EN loss is permanent, a third attempted read is fatal. The effects of further attempted reading is unknown but some adepts have lived to claim reading it more than 5 times.
A sentient that reads a page gains the (non-colleged) ritual/spell/talent at rank 0 (using up 1 MA slot for spells and rituals).
To stop reading requires a Will Power check, the difficulty varies depending on how much they've read, how far into the book they are, and whether they still have free MA. Critical failures are fatal.
It is not possible for most mortals to read more than 7 pages per sitting, failing to stop after 7 pages is fatal.
If free MA is exceeded then other spells lost are worked out after the reading is finished.
The pages of the book (in order) are:
- Sourcing Sentients Ritual (AR-1)
- Sourcing Beasts Ritual (AR-2)
- Sourcing Plants Ritual (AR-3)
- Blood Enhancement Ritual (AR-4)
- Soul Permanence Ritual (AR-5)
- Soul Stealing Ritual (AR-6)
- Protective Souls Ritual (AR-7)
- Sourcing the Land Ritual (AR-8)
- Sourcing Sentients Spell (AS-1)
- Sourcing Beasts Spell (AS-2)
- Plant Restoration Spell (AS-3)
- to be discovered...
Weight: 4 lbs GM: Stephen
Special Knowledge Non-College Arcane Rituals
The following arcane rituals and spells were learned from the ancient and powerful tome: The Art of Magic and Life by Heuros, Sage Haguar. Knowledge of these is not inherently evil, but many would consider the willing use of some of them to be evil. These are not teachable through normal methods. They all backfire normally. Each of the rituals builds on the knowledge gained from the ones before and may not be ranked higher than the earlier rituals. The spells have ranking restrictions as specified in their effects.
Sourcing Sentients Ritual (AR-1)
Range: 5 feet (+ 5 per rank)
Duration: 1 day (+ 1 per rank)
Experience Multiple: 300
Base Chance: 60% (+ 2 per rank)
Cast Time: 1 hour
Resist: Active, Passive
Target: Sentient Entity
Material: None
Actions: Concentration
Concentration Check: Standard
Effects: This ritual creates a bond with the target entity to make them a source for spell casting energy. When the bonded sentient is within range the adept may use source's fatigue to cast their spells.
Backfires will only affect the adept.
Sourcing Beasts Ritual (AR-2)
Range: 5 feet (+ 5 per rank)
Duration: 1 day (+ 1 per rank)
Experience Multiple: 300
Base Chance: 60% (+ 2 per rank)
Cast Time: 1 hour
Resist: None
Target: Non-sentient Entity
Material: None
Actions: Concentration
Concentration Check: Standard
Effects: This ritual creates a bond with the target animal to make them a source for spell casting energy. When the source is within range the adept may use source's Endurance as spell fatigue to cast their spells.
Backfires will only affect the adept.
Sourcing Plants Ritual (AR-3)
Range: Self
Duration: 4 hours (+ 1 per rank)
Experience Multiple: 300
Base Chance: 50% (+2 per rank)
Cast Time: 30 minutes
Resist: None (normally)
Target: Self
Material: None
Actions: Concentration
Concentration Check: Standard
Effects: This ritual allows the adept to drain healthy plant life within range to provide spell fatigue. When casting the adept may drain plants within 5 feet (+ 5 per 2 full ranks) to provide fatigue for the spell. Each hex of healthy plant life gives 1 FT.
The affected plants are dead, drained of all life, the earth is not affected and presumably new plant life will eventually grow.
Plants that have magic resistance (e.g. Sentient plants) may attempt to actively/passively resist each draining, if they fail their FT then EN is drained to provide FT for the adept (1:1 as if sourced by AR1 & AR-2) until they are dead. Magical plants will usually have additional (GM whim) effects on the adept and/or spell if they are drained.
Blood Enhancement Ritual (AR-4)
Range: Touch
Duration: Instant
Experience Multiple: 350
Base Chance: 40% (+ 3 per rank)
Cast Time: 1 hour
Resist: None
Target: Entity
Material: Life Blood
Actions: Ritual Bleeding/Sacrifice
Concentration Check: Standard
Effects: This ritual is similar to ritual spell preparation in that it is ritually casting a spell. It allows the adept to ritually bleed animals or sentients of some or all of their life. Each 10 EN of animals or 1 EN of a sentient enhances the rank of the spell (as per E&E Enhance Enchant except that it affects all attributes of the one spell) by 1 to a maximum of 1 (+1 per rank). E.g. Rk 10 in spell and rk20 in ritual, drain 21 EN from sentient to cast at effective rank 31. The drained life blood may only be healed 1 per day.
Soul Permanence Ritual (AR-5)
Range: Touch
Duration: Instant
Experience Multiple: 350
Base Chance: 40% (+3 per rank)
Cast Time: 1 hour
Resist: Passive
Target: Sentient Entity
Material: Sentient Entity
Actions: Ritual Sacrifice
Concentration Check: Standard
Effects: This ritual allows the adept to sacrifice a sentient entity, binding their soul/spirit into a spell to make the duration permanent. This ritual does not intrinsically make the sentient irresurrectable but if the sacrificed sentient is resurrected then the permanence ends, similarly if the spell is ended the soul will be released. NB Most spells on entities end when the body dies.
The spell must have sufficient duration to remain in effect throughout the duration of the ritual. The effective rank of the spell may not exceed the rank in the ritual. An entity may not have more than 1 (+1 per rank) permanent spells (via this ritual) without risking madness. An object or volume may only have one soul-bound permanence (via this ritual).
Soul Stealing Ritual (AR-6)
Range: Touch
Duration: Instant
Experience Multiple: 400
Base Chance: 30% (+ 3 per rank)
Cast Time: 1 hour
Resist: Passive
Target: Sentient Entity
Material: Sentient Entity
Actions: Ritual Sacrifice
Concentration Check: Standard
Effects: This ritual allows the adept to sacrifice a sentient entity, binding the sacrificed soul/spirit which gives access to the soul's magical knowledge. The soul is aware (in a dream-like state) of the environment and actions of the adept but may take no action. There is no communication between the adept and the souls, but a competent Mind Mage (Rk 10+ in appropriate spells) may sense (ESP/Telepathy) and target (Mind Speech or similar) the soul independently of the adept.
The stolen magical abilities (talents, spells and rituals) may not be ranked and cost 2FT each time to access (in addition to standard costs). Cast chances are based on the stats/skills/college of the sacrificed soul and affected by magic (E.g. Greater/Lesser) and dice modifiers on the adept.
An adept may steal no more than one soul (+1 per rank).
Protective Souls Ritual (AR-7)
Range: Touch
Duration: Instant
Experience Multiple: 400
Base Chance: 30% (+3 per rank)
Cast Time: 1 hour
Resist: Passive
Target: Sentient Entity
Material: Sentient Entity
Actions: Ritual Sacrifice
Concentration Check: Standard
Effects: This ritual allows the adept to sacrifice a sentient entity, binding the sacrificed soul/spirit as a form of ablative protection from harm.
A soul may be used to take any one injury (magical/physical) after the injury is inflicted. A soul used in this fashion will be diminished and is not available to be used again until the end of the current season.
If the injury is fatal and a soul is available then the soul will automatically take the injury and be released from the binding.
As per AR-6, the soul is aware and may be sensed by Mind Mages. An adept may be protected by no more than one soul (+1 per rank).
Sourcing the Land Ritual (AR-8)
Range: (2 + rank)2 feet
Duration: 1 hour (+ 1 per rank)
Experience Multiple: 500
Base Chance: 20% (+3 per rank)
Cast Time: 1 hour
Resist: None (normally)
Target: Self and Volume
Material: None
Actions: Concentration
Concentration Check: Standard
Effects: This ritual drains the land (earth, air and water) within range to provide a store of 'Spell Fatigue' for the adept.
The fatigue store lasts the duration of the ritual or until it is depleted. It may only be used for magic and is automatically used before the adept's natural fatigue.
The drained volume will be low mana and will not support life until it has recovered, the time it takes to recover depends on how 'deep' the adept drains it.
Draining the surface gives 1 FT + 1/rk and takes 1+rank years to recover.
At rank 10 the adept may drain 2 FT + 2/rk which takes rank decades to recover.
At rank 16 the adept may drain 3 FT + 3/rk which takes rank centuries to recover.
At rank 20 the adept may drain 4 FT + 4/rk which takes rank millennia to recover.
Draining high mana areas gives twice as much fatigue and takes twice as long to fully recover.
Sourcing Sentients Spell (AS-1)
Range: 5 feet (+ 5 per rank)
Duration: 5 minutes (+5 per rank)
Experience Multiple: 350
Base Chance: 30%
Resist: Active, Passive
Target: Sentient Entity
Effects: This spell creates a bond with the target entity to make them a source for spell casting energy. When the bonded sentient is within range the adept may use source's fatigue to cast their spells.
Backfires will only affect the adept.
May not be ranked higher than AR-1
Sourcing Beasts Spell (AS-2)
Range: 5 feet (+ 5 per rank)
Duration: 5 minutes (+5 per rank)
Experience Multiple: 250
Base Chance: 30%
Resist: Active, Passive
Target: Non-sentient Entity
Effects: This spell creates a bond with the target animal to make them a source for spell casting energy. When the source is within range the adept may use source's Endurance as spell fatigue to cast their spells.
Backfires will only affect the adept.
May not be ranked higher than AR-2
Plant Restoration Spell (AS-3)
Range: Self
Duration: 60 minutes (+30 per rank)
Experience Multiple: 300
Base Chance: 30%
Resist: None
Target: Plants
Effects: This spell will restore the adept's Fatigue by draining nearby (same hex) plants. Plants near the adept will immediately wilt and start to die. Every 30 minutes (-1 per rank) of draining plants will restore 1 FT (tiredness or damage).
Plants that have magic resistance (e.g. Sentient plants) may attempt to actively/passively resist being drained. Magical plants may have additional (GM whim) side effects on the adept if they are drained.
May not be ranked higher than AR-3
