Sorcery
Sorcery is the most dangerous of the Sources and draws its power from realms beyond the natural world known as the Outer Planes. This power is difficult to control, resulting in flamboyant outbursts of magical energy barely harnessed by the spells of it's practitioners. Sorcery wields the primal power of the universe known as Seeds.
Sorcery Casting Roll
Casting Stat: Willpower + Sorcery Skill + Seed Rank
Choosing a Plane
When selecting this Source, players must select where in the The Outer Planes they draw their powers from. The Sorcerer’s powers will resemble the chosen plane (e.g. chaotic crimson flames for Energy Blasts drawn from Pandemonium), and Summons will draw from that plane's native creature type. Additionally, each plane gains at least one Favored Seed, a power which is easier to control when drawn from that region. Once selected, the character may not change their chosen plane, however they need not take Favored Seeds, they are free to choose whichever powers they prefer.
The first Push of a Favored Seed does not risk Backlash.
| Plane | Favored Seeds | Creature Type |
|---|---|---|
| Aaru | Create, Ward | Angels |
| Arcadia | Veil, Compel | Arcadians |
| Pandemonium | Energy, Summon | Demons |
| Stygia | Animate, Slay | Undead |
| The Outer Wild | Transform | Abominations, Wildings |
Sorcery Powers
Seeds
Seeds are the fundamental building blocks of planar magic. When selecting the Sorcery Source for character creation, players select a Rank 2 Seed. Additional ranks or new Seeds may be purchased at the cost of 5 GXP per rank. Seed: Energy may be purchased more than once, selecting a different elemental effect each time. Other seeds and their provided spells may only be purchased once.
| Seed | Description |
|---|---|
| Animate | Animate corpses you control. |
| Compel | Dominate minds. |
| Create | Create equipment from planar energy. |
| Conjure | Summon and control planar materials. |
| Drain | Drain energy from nearby targets. |
| Energy | Unleash destructive planar energy. |
| Portal | Use the planes to travel. |
| Scry | Reveal targets or find hidden knowledge. |
| Slay | Slay living targets. |
| Summon | Summon and bind Outsiders. |
| Transform | Changes casters form granting natural abilities. |
| Veil | Hide within a cloak of magic. |
| Ward | Damage preventing shield. |
Pushing
Sorcerers train to alter their spells through pure willpower, reaching beyond the normal limits of a spell. Sorcerers call this technique "Pushing". Each spell may be affected in different ways by Pushing. A Sorcerer may push a maximum of once per Rank of the Seed they are pushing per cast.
Backlash
Pushing is dangerous and can result in injury called Backlash. Each push used on a spell adds 1d10 to a pool rolled against the caster as the spell is cast. Each success rolled deals a point of non-lethal damage to the caster. No spells or abilities can prevent damage caused in this manner (e.g. Wards). If the caster has no Vigor remaining, Backlash is treated as lethal damage.
Example: Malatar is surrounded by undead ghouls, and knows he needs to make his Energy Nova count. Energy Nova grants a +1 Yard Radius per Push. He only has Rank 1 in Seed: Energy so he can only Push once, increasing the radius from 1 Yard to 2 Yards around him, hitting some extra ghouls when the spell goes off. In exchange for this alteration, he needs to roll 1d10 Backlash. Any successes are dealt as non-lethal damage to himself.
Fusion Spells
Seeds are the building blocks of planar magic, and can be combined in powerful spells. A Fusion spell will have a Primary Seed Rank, and a Secondary Seed Rank. To learn a Fusion spell the sorcerer must have the required ranks of both Seeds. Learning a Fusion spell costs 2 GXP x the Primary Seed Rank.