Editing Incarnation of the Black Goat: Magic
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The Difficulty of a spell determines the target Lore roll. Lore rolls can be enhanced above the caster's basic skill, but this usually requires very special aids or intense preparation. Create Advantage rolls to yield boosts for casting a spell are usually as specific and arcane as the spells themselves. | The Difficulty of a spell determines the target Lore roll. Lore rolls can be enhanced above the caster's basic skill, but this usually requires very special aids or intense preparation. Create Advantage rolls to yield boosts for casting a spell are usually as specific and arcane as the spells themselves. | ||
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'''Backlash''' | '''Backlash''' | ||
Performing magic triggers backlash. When a character does something that triggers backlash, note the effort of the Lore roll (plain or enhanced). After resolving the action, the caster must defend with Will against a mental attack whose rating equals that effort; for instance, if their effort was Great (+4), the backlash will also be Great (+4), whether their action succeeded or failed. This includes any boosts to their original Lore skill. The mental attack can be absorbed with stress and consequences, as normal. If they’re taken out by backlash, they must corrupt (rewrite) an aspect. | Performing magic triggers backlash. When a character does something that triggers backlash, note the effort of the Lore roll (plain or enhanced). After resolving the action, the caster must defend with Will against a mental attack whose rating equals that effort; for instance, if their effort was Great (+4), the backlash will also be Great (+4), whether their action succeeded or failed. This includes any boosts to their original Lore skill. The mental attack can be absorbed with stress and consequences, as normal. If they’re taken out by backlash, they must corrupt (rewrite) an aspect. | ||
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'''Learning a spell''' | '''Learning a spell''' | ||
− | Learning a spell normally requires an intensive period of study, over weeks or months, and a successful Lore roll against the Difficulty of the spell. There is no backlash for learning a spell. Various modifiers may increase or decrease the Difficulty of this study. | + | Learning a spell normally requires an intensive period of study, over weeks or months, and a successful Lore roll against the Difficulty of the spell. There is no backlash for learning a spell. Various modifiers may increase or decrease the Difficulty of this study. |
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== '''Rituals''' == | == '''Rituals''' == | ||
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Though rituals have impressive effects, they are safer than spells by far. During a ritual, one participant must be the leader, who rolls the dice, but each other participant with Lore of Average (+1) or better adds a +1 bonus to the leader’s roll. Use of multiple participants reduces the likelihood of catastrophic failure as each person checks the work, so to speak, and the backlash is spread among them, lessening it considerably. | Though rituals have impressive effects, they are safer than spells by far. During a ritual, one participant must be the leader, who rolls the dice, but each other participant with Lore of Average (+1) or better adds a +1 bonus to the leader’s roll. Use of multiple participants reduces the likelihood of catastrophic failure as each person checks the work, so to speak, and the backlash is spread among them, lessening it considerably. | ||
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+ | If a living human sacrifice is used in the ritual, the risk drops even further as the backlash is shunted into the sacrifice. Murdering the sacrifice isn’t just some gore fetish on the part of cultists, it has a practical application. If the sacrifice becomes completely corrupted, there’s a very good chanceit will end up killing all the participants. | ||
If a sacrifice is used, there is no backlash against those casting the spell. If there is no sacrifice, each participant in the ritual rolls to defend against backlash, but the difficulty is decreased by one step per participant. With enough people, the risk of backlash is effectively zero. | If a sacrifice is used, there is no backlash against those casting the spell. If there is no sacrifice, each participant in the ritual rolls to defend against backlash, but the difficulty is decreased by one step per participant. With enough people, the risk of backlash is effectively zero. | ||
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Most summonings can be performed either as spells or rituals, and have their own usual costs and risks, regardless of whether they succeed or fail. | Most summonings can be performed either as spells or rituals, and have their own usual costs and risks, regardless of whether they succeed or fail. | ||
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'''Working a summoning''' | '''Working a summoning''' | ||
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Once the summoning is successful, the summoner can simply attempt to bind it with a Will vs Will conflict which ends when the target is Taken Out (and which risks inflicting mental Stress and Consequences on the summoner), or bargain with it via social conflicts. Deceit, Provoke and Rapport are typically used to attack; Empathy and Rapport to defend. Even Resources or some other fringe skill can at least Create an Advantage if the entity is, for example, especially avaricious, but this usually requires extensive advance knowledge. | Once the summoning is successful, the summoner can simply attempt to bind it with a Will vs Will conflict which ends when the target is Taken Out (and which risks inflicting mental Stress and Consequences on the summoner), or bargain with it via social conflicts. Deceit, Provoke and Rapport are typically used to attack; Empathy and Rapport to defend. Even Resources or some other fringe skill can at least Create an Advantage if the entity is, for example, especially avaricious, but this usually requires extensive advance knowledge. | ||
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'''Failed summonings and broken pacts''' | '''Failed summonings and broken pacts''' | ||
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[[Possession]]: the creature turns its powers on the Summoner and begins Mental Combat. Should the Summoned Creature Take Out the Summoner, the Summoned Creature will kick them out of their body and walk off with it. The Summoned Being in the body may stay on the physical plane wreaking havoc until defeated. | [[Possession]]: the creature turns its powers on the Summoner and begins Mental Combat. Should the Summoned Creature Take Out the Summoner, the Summoned Creature will kick them out of their body and walk off with it. The Summoned Being in the body may stay on the physical plane wreaking havoc until defeated. | ||
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