From WFRP-owner@cool.khis.com Sat Dec 18 13:38:27 1993 Received: from cool.khis.com by sol.newcastle.edu.au with SMTP id AA06195 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for peterson); Sat, 18 Dec 1993 13:38:09 +1100 Received: by cool.khis.com id AA18139 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for wfrp-list); Fri, 17 Dec 1993 19:02:22 -0600 Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1993 19:02:22 -0600 Message-Id: <199312180102.AA18139@cool.khis.com> To: WFRP@cool.khis.com From: Reply-To: WFRP@cool.khis.com (The WFRP mailing list) Sender: WFRP@cool.khis.com (The WFRP mailing list) Errors-To: WFRP-owner@cool.khis.com Subject: Color Magick for Realms of Sorcery X-Bmwmail: 4.0a X-List: The WFRP mailing list Status: RO Ken Rolston here: I've begun work on a draft for publication of Realm of Sorcery. Apart from ruthless editing and some presentation flourishes, it's pretty complete... except I'd like to add some touch of color magick to the system so I can use the neat graphic elements proposed in WD113 and WD114. System-wise, the inclusion would be purely chrome, so I need to keep the design additions to the absolute minimum. Here are rough notes on my current notions. Comments and other bad ideas are encouraged, as are questions like: "What the dickens ARE you talking about?" Folks who have seen the pirate version of Realms of Sorcery will best understand what's being said. And by the way, those pirate versions must disappear pretty soon. When publication of Realms of Sorcery is formalized and scheduled, I'm going to start pestering folk to pull those files out of circulation. They were originally intended only for my playtesting group, and folks who respect the god Copyright will swiftly and honorably trash the files and go out and buy the Official and Elegant Edition. COLOR MAGICK AND WFRP SORCERY Magick is wrought by drawing pure magickal energy ("raw magick" or "flux") from Chaos through a sorceror's aethyrial organ (known variously as "Spirit," "Mind," or "Psyche") and shaping it through the discipline of lingua praestantia (the "Greatest Language," or "The Speech of the Gods"). Raw magick is perceived by the sorceror's aethyrial organ as a mixture of eight basic natures called "colors." These natures are perceived by the sorceror as visual colors (i.e., red, orange, yellow); furthermore, these colors are sensed by the sorceror as having specific associated emotions and moods -- that is, each "color" is felt to have its own distinctive personality. Many sorcerors specialize in magicks associated with a single flux color. Such specialization enhances the facility of casting spells associated with that color; this advantage is counterweighed by the disadvantage that spells associated with other colors are difficult to learn and cast. These are the sorcerors of the Eight Colleges of Color. Some sorcerors choose not to specialize, but practice castings of all colors. They lack the facility of specialists, but have a broader range of spells available. These sorcerors are of the Rainbow College. All magickal flux bears both a positive and negative charge. Spells which utilize primarily positive energies are called Enlightened. Spells which utilize primarily negative energies are called Dark. The eight Color Colleges and the Rainbow College are said to practice Enlightened Sorcery, since these colleges emphasize the practice of spells dependent on Enlightened energies. Enlightened Sorcerors are permitted to learn and cast spells dependent on Dark energies, but only with restraint and close supervision by the Guilds. Sorcerors who specialize in the practice of Dark magicks are called Dark Wizards. Such practice is against Guild charter and State law; Dark Wizards are outlawed in all civilized countries of the Old World. Scholars have privately noted that spells dependent on Dark energies are generally easier and more dangerous to learn and cast than Enlightened spells. This is because Enlightened spells must be more carefully shaped and controlled by Will and Intellect than Dark spells; Dark spells depend more on Passion than Intellect, and are more effective when unfettered by the inhibitions of Will. COLOR DISCIPLINES AND THE SORCEROR CHARACTER In game terms, sorceror characters are defined as belonging to one of ten Color Disciplines: either one of the eight Color colleges (Light, Golden, Jade, Celestial, Grey, Amethyst, Bright, or Amber), the Rainbow College, or Dark Wizardry. All sorcerous spells are listed as belonging to one of the eight color colleges. In addition, all spells are classified as either Enlightened or Dark. When creating a sorceror, the player must choose one of the ten Color Disciplines of Sorcery. This choice reflects the character's natural tendencies, and remains the same throughout the life of the character, with one exception: a sorceror belonging to one of the Color Colleges or the Rainbow College may become a Dark Wizard as a result of unfavorable results on Disability and Casting Injury Tables. LEARNING SPELLS: Color College wizards are specialists. Color Wizards learn spells of their own color colleges for 50ep, and may learn any Enlightened spell at 200 ep. They may not learn Dark spells except those taught in their own color college. Use of Dark spells, except where sanctioned by the State and Guild, is forbidden, and grounds for expulsion from the Guild and outlawry by the State. Rainbow College wizards are generalists. Rainbow Wizards learn any spell, Enlightened or Dark, at 150 ep. Rainbow Wizards are associated with hedgewizardry, and they tend to advance slowly, are poorly represented in the power elites of the Guilds, and are generally regarded as socially and intellectually inferior. Use of Dark spells, except where sanctioned by the State and Guild, is forbidden, and grounds for expulsion from the Guild and outlawry by the State. Dark wizards have a special affinity for spells driven by the power of Chaos. Dark Wizards may learn any Dark spell at 50ep, and may learn any Rainbow spell at 200ep. Dark Wizards are forbidden membership in the Guild, are forbidden tutelage or library use in the academies, and are outlawed by most states in the Old World. The Guild and State accurately judge Dark Wizards to be morally depraved; as such, Dark Wizards are normally suitable only as villains. CASTING SPELLS: Spells in Your Color College are more reliable in casting. The GM rolls 1d10 at beginning of each round to determine the current ambient strength of the magical flux. When the flux is weak, more personal magickal energy must be expended to cast a spell; specialists, however, cast spells from their own color discipline normally. When the flux is strong, specialists find cast ing spells of their own color college especially efficient. 1d10 Strength of Magickal Flu x During This Round 0 Flux is weak. Double MP cost except in own color college. 1-8 Flux is normal. All MP costs normal. 9 Flux is powerful. Castings in own color college are at half cost in MP (rounded up). All other MP costs normal. [[So. What spells are categorized as what? A fair question, and one I'll answer... as soon as I've whipped up a list.]] Ken