Fetish Sorcery, a Focus based System

[Mzimwi]

This is the basic mage type for my Ubantu setting. This archetype is the medicine man with a clanking cloak full of rattle, wands and odd things he uses to cast his spells. To expand it a bit, I worked up a Dwarven lineage that makes a neat little thief-sorcerer. I'm converting from GURPS, as with all of this...I have some extensive notes about how the sorcerer goes about making his fetishes, which I may drop entirely as it's been suggested they inhibit role-playing, but these are included, GURPS and all, later.

 

Fetish Sorcery

Introduction, from Among the Congo Cannibals

 

The general name for fetish charm amulet talisman mascot etc is bonganga and this is also the word for the skill or art of the medicine man, that which constitutes him a member of the profession. It is however difficult to decide whether this skill arises from his own inherent intuitions or is imparted to him by his own powerful fetish. The word bonganga favours both views The prefix bo can indicate the thing into which a medicine man has put his power, hence a charm, fetish, etc and it also denotes a noun of quality and thus points to the skilfulness, art, etc or that quality by which the witch doctor is able to perform his magic. It is very probable that both views are necessary for a complete understanding of the word. [A fetish] is a thing into which the medicine man has put his power and it is also the skill, art, power etc by which he imparts it and by which he works as a witch doctor

 

In African anthropology, a fetish is an object used by a traditional healer or witch-doctor, while a spirit-containing item is a 'nkisi'. In Ubantu, we will trend towards the African definitions. A fetish mage is thus a type of magic worker who uses contructed items to cast spells. The most basic of these is a 'kinga', from kiSwahili meaning 'aid'. The one who uses it is called a 'mganga', which in kiSwahili means 'professional' but in Ubantu has come to mean 'mage'.

Fetish sorcerers create items that allow them to cast spells. These fetishes are normally ornate and bizarre, made from things rare and grotesque and zealously guarded. Fetish sorcerers guard their knowledge tightly and never write any of it down (in fact, this kind of magic represent a preliterate technology). Knowledge is passed from master to apprentice, resulting in the existence of many lineages.  Each lineage has its own taboos and range of powers.

Making a new fetish is a major investment. The waganga must plan carefully, as the details of the craftsmanship will affect the specifics of the spells. Each fetish enables several spells .Creating fetishes often involves subsidiary skills, such as drummaking or woodworking, in addition to gathering the rare materials (also done personally so as to protect secrets).  In addition, if he chooses, the sorcerer can build in extra potential, which, will luck and skill, can be turned into a new spell created on the fly, a spell gizmo.

Fetish magic is inseparable from taboos. Although some lineages have serious vows, most have a collection of quirks. When an fetish sorcerer is creating a new fetish, he can choose to take on new taboos to gain extra power. How this is done is important:  if the sorcerer violates his Taboo that relates to spell, he loses the ability to use that fetish. If the point was put into enhancing the fetish, it breaks, permanently. Naturally, sorcerers are not limited in the number of taboos they may have - shamans and medicine men are notoriously weird, world wide.

Example Lineages

 

Arogo Fetish Sorcerers, typical of Ubantu

The Arogo Lineage is an example of a Fetish Sorcery Lineage. The Arogo Sorcerers specialize in birds. These sorcerers must never eat uncooked food, wear the color red or sleep facing west. They may never harm or eat any kind of bird, despite the fact that all of their fetishes require feathers and/or bits of eggshells. They must carry a bag of seeds at all times and offer a handful as sacrifice every sunrise and sunset. As a result, granivorous birds of all species have an uncanny radar for Arogo Sorcerers and often appear in large numbers at feeding time.

The first spells learned concern birds:  Summon Birds, Speak with Birds and  Bird Messenger. The fetish for these spells is necklace adorned with feathers. Granivorous birds will generally follow any simple requests, knowing that the Mganga is looking out for them. Most of the spells used by the Arogo sorcerers involve communication and extending the range of their senses. Masters of this Lineage create fetishes that allow them to body-fly, though this is dangerous and can anger various air spirits.

The Arogo Sorcerers divide birds into twelve clans, based on their primary source of food:  Oceans, Freshwater, Seeds, Bugs, Mammals, Snakes, Fruit, Flies, Carrion, Plants, Flowers and Trees (woodpeckers). This comes into play in the creation of their fetishes and how their spells work. For instance, their Rider Within fetishes must be customized by clan.

Membership in the lineage offers several optional powers. The sorcerer may have a flock of birds as an ally, may learn to speak with birds (each clan has a language) or to soothe birds. Their fetishes include the Feather Mantle, which lets them cast Bird Summoning, Speak with Birds and Bird Messenger; the Basket of Birds, which magically summons a flock of birds under the mganga's control; the Familiar Ring, which lets them have a bird as a familiar will all the associated powers; the Eagle Headdress, giving them many of the powers of an eagle, and several others.

 

Fetishes:

Feather Necklace
Materials:  feathers from 27 species of birds, all found in nature
Background:  constructed by all apprentices, prerequisite for using all other abilities. in Arogo mythology, there are 12 clans of birds thus having one feather from each clan is a totality, allowing the user to speak with any bird. for political reasons, usually only members of the Eagle clan will summon and use eagles as messengers.
Spells:  Summon Birds, Speak with Birds, Bird Messenger

Quelea Basket
Materials:  basket woven from redbilled quelea nests
Background:  the redbilled quela is a terribly destructive agricultural pest. flocks can strip a field bare in minutes. the ritual for capturing the bird spirits in the basket is very complex. each time the flock is loosed, it must be fed
Spells:  Summon and Control Swarm

Master Fetish - Feather Cloak, permits winged flight

Fetish Sorcery for Dwarves

Example:  The Thief-Catcher Lineage

Gruthrk tza Armqik

    The Armqik is a traditional Dwarven craftguild that specialized in catching thieves. It sells charms that function has house alarms and other minor enchantments, but it also collects and sells secrets. The first fetish an Armqik learns to make lets him cast Loyalty and Oath, by which he can swear to secrecy any who are with him when he uncovers good info.
    
    
    The Armqik have a peculiar vow:  Never give away information. This makes them seem very greedy and antisocial to those who don't understand how Dwarven society works. To those who do, they just automatically hand over a copper before asking a question, a formality for both sides. Their second vow:  always find the answer, makes them very popular with adventurers. Together these are a ?pt vow.
    
    Their second vow is more restrictive:  Do not steal, from the living or the honored dead. This means no tomb looting...expect when it doesn't. When the Gruthrk tza Armqik hears about a new site opening up to treasure hunters, they send in their own team. The Armqik take along scholars and such, record as much as they can, then move the items to their museum. Still, this is prohibitive for adventurers, and this another ?pt vow.
    
    Armqik take familiars. These are almost always ferrets or bats, animals that can go where they cannot. Ferrets, in particular, are extremely curious and very aproprirate.

Fetishes:

Bracer of Secrets

Materials: Metal that was found, amounting to 5lbs (type of metal shows status in guild, newbies have bronze or iron)
Limiting Skill: Smithing, Armorworker
Domain: Oaths and secrets
Basic Spells: Forget Fact* -> Loyalty  -> Oath
Notes:  Forget Fact is the same as Forgetfulness M135, but applies only to facts. Given the limitations of this variant, the duration is extended to 2hrs.

Inspector's Glass
Materials: Lens made from explorer's telescope, Handle must be made from the bone of thief the nganga captured
Limiting Skill: Woodworking
Domain: Knowledge, Sight
Basic Spells: Detect Magic  -> Small Vision  -> Aura  -> Mage Sight  -> See Secrets
Notes:  This is the basic magnifying glass, common to all fictional PI's. Because it is item based, casting Small Vision doesn't make the nganga nearsighted.

Alarm Bells

Materials: Several small bells, material for each must be from a treasure trove
Limiting Skill: Metalworking
Domain: Protectiong and Warning
Prerequisite:  Magery 1
Basic Spells: Sense Foes -> Sense Danger  -> Magelock  -> Watchdog  -> Sense Observation
Notes:  The Alarm Bells are on a length of metal. Which bell rings and how loudly gives the information.

Stone of Acoustics

Materials: Gem from a treasure trove, worth at least $10,000
Limiting Skill: Gemworking
Domain: Sound and Communication
Prerequisite: Magery 1
Basic Spells: Silence  -> Keen Hearing  -> Garble  -> Converse  -> Borrow Language  -> Lend Language  -> Gift of Tongues
Notes: Silence is centered on the Stone, of course. The stone must be held up to the ear for Keen Hearing. All subjects must be touching the Stone, or in a multihand clasp, for Coverse.

 

Familiar's Collar:
Materials: Collar taken from a guardian monster
Limiting Skill: None
Domain: Animal, Mental
Prerequisites:  Must have Gift of Tongues from Stone of Acoustics or other means of talking with an animal, and Magery 2
Basic Spells: Rider Within
Notes: You must make a bargain with your familiar, which amounts to a Quirk or two for you. The most common Familiars for this guild are Bats and Ferrets.


Weasel Familiar (see Bestiary)


Master Key, IQ/VH
Materials: Key from an ancient trove and a thief's lockpicks, from a thief caught by the nganga
Limiting Skill: Locksmithing
Domain: Technology
Basic Spells: Locksmith  -> Lockmaster  -> Reveal Function  -> Schematic


Mirror of Secrets
Materials: mirror used by a powerful mage or monster
Limiting Skill: Glassworking
Domain: Knowledge, History
Basic Spells: Seeker  -> Trace  -> History  -> See Secrets  -> Images of the Past
Notes:  Images of the Past is a much more powerful spell here. It doesn't require a reflective surface to work, the nganga can scan any area using his Mirror.
 

[Mzimwi]

(the original GURPS version)

 

Fetish Magic

    A fetish is a specific kind of item used by witch-doctors, shamans and other traditional magic workers to cast spells. It the broadest since, all magic items are fetishes, but for the purposes of this document, a fetish is an object which allows a mage to cast a spell. The simplest way to model this type of magic is to use GURPS Magic with Requires Fetish as a -50% limitation that applies to the cost of all Fetish Magery. This is the Gadget limitation, with Breakable (DR 2) and Can Be Stolen (Contest of DX), both of which are generalizations about the nature of various fetishes.

    This document attempts to go beyond this, using GURPS Magic as a foundation to create object-based magic. The system involves cultural concepts such as taboos, which are fairly common in preliterate cultures and should be broadly applicable to fantasy cultures, particularly subcultures outside of the mainstream pseudo-medieval society. As this system is intended to represent the magic of a preliterate culture, different traditions are presented as lineages, each with a founder, a mythohistory and particular quirks passed down from master to apprentice over the ages. True masters, even in the stone age, are inventors and rules are presented for new creations and a generalized science of fetish magic.

    Because 'fetishist' has different connotations in modern English, I've decided to go with 'nganga', which means 'magical professional' in many Bantu languages. I've also decided to use a very limited amount of kiSwahili to describe certain aspects of this system, and to give it flavor, guided by the path names in RPM. I will *not* but doing Bantu plurals.

Basic Concepts

    A lineage is somewhat like Thaumatology in Ritual Path Magic. The basic skill is Lineage Lore, IQ/VH. This represents all of the knowledge accumulated as an apprentice, from the physical skills in making the fetishes, to the mythohistory of the lineages. History (Lineage) IQ/E defaults to Uzazi, Fetish Craft (Lineage) DX/H defaults to Lineage-4. Fetish Craft if the skill of creating the fetish, or, rather, the knowledge of how it should be done. When the fetish is relatively simple, such as a necklace or a medicine bag, this is the only skill. For other fetishes, there is another limiting skill based on some mundane craft. For instance, if the fetish is a drum, when rolling to create the drum, use Fetish Ritual or Drum-making, which ever is lower. The Crafts and Rituals of individual fetishes are techniques, if the player cares to improve upon specific ones (work out).

    Making a specific fetish is a Technique of Fetish Craft with a specified default. This seems like a gratuitous way of sucking out points if one thinks of traditional magic items, but fetishes are often fragile and in many cases the nganga will want to improve on his fetish by remaking it. Although the materials are rare and the process time consuming, it is nothing like what is required by enchantment. Most can be make in a week to a month, including gathering the ingredients. The caps for these techniques are 2 above the base skill.


    Fetish magic is inseparable from Pacts. Although some lineages have serious Vows, most have a collection of quirks. Because Fetish Magery is already greatly reduced (6 pts/lvl), the Pact Limitation works differently. Most Lineage have a 5pt Pact. These points are added directly to their base Lineage Skill. If the nganga needs more character points to create a new fetish, he will consult with a diviner and adopt a new 1 or 2 new Quirks, putting one point into his skill with that fetish and/or one point in enhancing the fetish. How the points are used is important:  if the nganga violates his Taboo that relates to skill, he loses the ability to use that fetish. If the point was put into enhancing the fetish, it breaks, permanently. Naturally, nganga are not limited to 5 quirks - shaman and medicine are notoriously weird, world wide. Also note that Magery only applies to *spells*, not other skills.

    Once a fetish is created, the nganga must learn to use it. Fetishes are IQ/H or IQ/VH, as specified, and each spell which may be cast from the defaults to the base skill at the described rate (-2 per, cascading). This system is used, rather than just having skills for each spell, because it is possible to use the fetish in new ways, creating new spells. In order for the fetish to have this potential, character points must be invested during its empowerment, but not defined, making it a kind of gizmo spell.

    Enhancements may be built into fetishes. For each 5% of modifier, the skill level of the spell is adjusted by 1, as is the energy cost. Thus for the Kwinuliwa Staff, having Increased Range x2 is a 10% enhancement. It is decided to apply this to all of the fetish's spells. The *final* skill level of each spell is reduced by 2, and each spell costs 2 more FP. Applying the enhancement is optional.

    Likewise, if the nganga were in need of points, he could accept the Limited Range x1/2 -10% limitation on his spells. Each spell would cost 2 FP less to cast and add +2 to his final skill roll. The downside of this is that these modifiers must be built into the fetish when the ritual is conducted and that for each 5% of modification (having 10% enhanced range and -10% limited range is 20 percentage points worth, not zero), there is a -2 penalty to the Craft roll. Unlike Enhancements, Limitations are not optional - they are treated as Always On. Making them switchable reduces the gain to skill and cost to cast by half.

    Spell gizmos may also be built into fetish. After all spells in the fetish are known at at least IQ, assuming 2 character points were 'put back' during the creation of the fetish, those points may be translated into a new spell that defaults to one of the normal spells at -4. To this new spell successfully, the nganga must check against his base skill in the fetish at -4. If he misses the roll by one or two points, the spell still happens, but has unusual side effects. Needless to say, the spell must be within the domain of the fetish, and the GM may adjust the difficulty roll for creation based on how different the new spell is from the old. Very simple modifications may even be considered Techniques rather than new spells.
 

[Mzimwi]

Oookay, here goes...

 

I'm looking at the best way to handle these powers. It seems that everything similar I look at uses multipowers, so I'd have something like:  Kwinuliwa Staff:  Kwinuliwa Staff:  Multipower, 115 point reserve,  (51 Active Points); all slots OAF Arrangement Fragile (Focus - staff; -1 1/2).
The staff allows the mage to cast the following spells:

1)Apportation:  Telekinesis (5 STR) (8 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Requires A Skill Roll (-1/2), Lockout (-1/2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2)

2)Arrow Swatter:  Missile Deflection (Arrows, Slings, Etc.), Increased Maximum Range (500"; +1/4), Full Range (+1) (22 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Costs Endurance (-1/2), Requires A Skill Roll (-1/2), Lockout (-1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -1/2)

3)Poltergeist:  Killing Attack - Ranged 6d6 (90 Active Points); OAF Fragile (requires loose items to cause damage; -1 1/4), Requires Multiple Foci or functions at reduced effectiveness (+1/4), Requires A Skill Roll (-1/2), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Side Effect only affects the environment near the character; Creates huge mess, may damage fragile objects; -1/2), Lockout (-1/2), Inaccurate (1/2 OCV; -1/4)

4)Force Shield:  Force Wall (15 PD/10 ED; 4" long and 3" tall) (73 Active Points); OAF Arrangement Fragile Expendable (Kwinuliwa Staff fetish; Difficult to obtain new Focus; -1 3/4), Costs END To Maintain (Full END Cost; -1/2), Requires A Skill Roll (-1/2), Spell (-1/2), No Range (-1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4)

[6th version = Invisible Shield:  Armor (5 PD/2 ED), Protects Carried Items (+10) (115 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Requires A Skill Roll (-1/2), Lockout (-1/2), Limited Coverage [61-180] Degrees (-1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4)]
 

Is that even remotely right? Thanks

[Lucius]

I'l probably go back over the rest of what you posted but let's start here

 

Oookay, here goes...

 

I'm looking at the best way to handle these powers. It seems that everything similar I look at uses multipowers,

Stop.

 

A Multipower means you buy a kind of pool of points that can be assigned to specific Powers. It means that you have to make trade-offs, robbing Peter to pay Paul so to speak.

 

Multipower: 60 pts

Peter Power: 60 Active points

Paul Power: 60 Active points

 

You can have Peter at full power, and no Paul; Paul at full power, and no Peter; maybe each at half; etc.

 

or perhaps

 

Multipower: 120 pts

Peter Power: 60 Active points

Paul Power: 60 Active points

Mary Power; 90 Active points

 

Now you can get Mary power, and either Peter or Paul at half-power; or Peter and Paul at full power and no Mary; or both Peter and Paul at half and Mary at just 60 Active points; etc

 

If you envision your magic working this way then you want Multipower. If this is not how you want magic to work, you do not want Multipower.

 

Also, you make reference to something you call a "gizmo." If I understand what you're talking about, maybe what you really want is a Variable Power Pool, which I similar to a Multipower but a step beyond it in terms of flexibility. But I may not understand what you're talking about.

 

edit: Looked it over, and I WAS misunderstanding. You're not talking about something that would be a Variable Power Pool.

 

In Hero, if someone has a Multipower and wants to spend a few points for a new "slot"- they spend a few points for a new slot. The Game Operations Director has to approve like any other expenditure, but there's no requirement of having "set aside" points when the Multipower was first purchased.

 

 

 

 

so I'd have something like:  Kwinuliwa Staff:  Kwinuliwa Staff:  Multipower, 115 point reserve,  (51 Active Points); all slots OAF Arrangement Fragile (Focus - staff; -1 1/2).

OAF means it's obviously the power source, and fragile means it is very easily broken. Your mage has a staff, but will probably very soon have a broken staff.

 

 

The staff allows the mage to cast the following spells:

 

1)Apportation:  Telekinesis (5 STR) (8 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Requires A Skill Roll (-1/2), Lockout (-1/2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2)

 

2)Arrow Swatter:  Missile Deflection (Arrows, Slings, Etc.), Increased Maximum Range (500"; +1/4), Full Range (+1) (22 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Costs Endurance (-1/2), Requires A Skill Roll (-1/2), Lockout (-1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -1/2)

I assume "Lockout" is to lock out the rest of the Power in the Multipower? Very clever - if you really want using any Power to totally lock out the others, you can use this Limitation on the ones that are of lesser Active Points and would normally not take up the whole pool of available points.

 

3)Poltergeist:  Killing Attack - Ranged 6d6 (90 Active Points); OAF Fragile (requires loose items to cause damage; -1 1/4), Requires Multiple Foci or functions at reduced effectiveness (+1/4), Requires A Skill Roll (-1/2), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Side Effect only affects the environment near the character; Creates huge mess, may damage fragile objects; -1/2), Lockout (-1/2), Inaccurate (1/2 OCV; -1/4)

A 6d6 Killing attack? Really? Hunting dinosaurs?

 

By the way, Requires a Skill Roll means the Skill takes a penalty based on the Active Points of the spell. It can be unexpectedly crippling for large Powers. In this case, your mage takes a -9 on the Skill Roll.

 

4)Force Shield:  Force Wall (15 PD/10 ED; 4" long and 3" tall) (73 Active Points); OAF Arrangement Fragile Expendable (Kwinuliwa Staff fetish; Difficult to obtain new Focus; -1 3/4), Costs END To Maintain (Full END Cost; -1/2), Requires A Skill Roll (-1/2), Spell (-1/2), No Range (-1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4)

 

[6th version = Invisible Shield:  Armor (5 PD/2 ED), Protects Carried Items (+10) (115 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Requires A Skill Roll (-1/2), Lockout (-1/2), Limited Coverage [61-180] Degrees (-1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4)]

 

Is that even remotely right? Thanks

Well, you figured out the largest Power and used that as the basis for the Multipower, which means the Multipower at least has enough juice for the biggest job you expect it to do. I'm not entirely sure why it costs that much (you apparently didn't list Advantages?) and I have to point out, that' a -11 on the Skill roll. But I think you have a grip on things.

 

If the "Lockout" on that superexpensive Power is meant to lock out the rest of the Multipower, that's not legitimate; some people might consider Lockout questionable in a Multipower in any case (by definition it locks out a certain number of points by default) but I think it's reasonable IF there would normally be enough points "left over" to use something else. If a Multipower "slot" takes up the whole allotment of points, there's nothing "left over." But if you mean it to lock something else out that's outside the Multipower ("What?" I want to ask) then it's okay.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Multipalindromedary

[Mzimwi]

The staff isn't fragile, but it is very ornate, with lots of decorations that can be damaged. There isn't really a 'fussy' category.

 

Honestly, I'm not sure I see the point of using a multipower for this, except that the mage can only use one of the powers assigned to the fetish at a time (lockout), and I know no other means

 

The skill roll penalty - originally there were complex modifiers to make the more complex spells harder, but honestly, I may want to just ditch that. How do you just link the power to a skill without a penalty? Perhaps just a regular roll?

 

The poltergeist damage - I would actually like the sorcerer to be able to choose how much damage it does by how much END he spends. 6d6 is casting the spell in a knife factory.

 

A gizmo is a GURPS term for a reserve of points that you can turn into a new power on the fly. I'll just skip that for now

 

Asante sana, ndugu! (Thanks a lot, brother)

 

Is there any thing I might do for you?

[Lucius]

The staff isn't fragile, but it is very ornate, with lots of decorations that can be damaged. There isn't really a 'fussy' category.

Sounds like fragile.

 

The problem with it is, these fragile focuses will get targeted and destroyed a lot. Seems like a big drawback to a career as an adventuring mage.

 

Fortunately, in Hero, a focus can normally be repaired or replaced without further expenditure of Character Points if it's destroyed, lost, or stolen. And it doesn't have to be as time consuming as the original construction.

 

 

Honestly, I'm not sure I see the point of using a multipower for this, except that the mage can only use one of the powers assigned to the fetish at a time (lockout), and I know no other means

If that's what you're looking for, Multipower is exactly the right tool. Make each slot "Fixed" and then use the Lockout Limitation on the ones with Active Points much lower than the total of the Multipower Reserve.

 

 

The skill roll penalty - originally there were complex modifiers to make the more complex spells harder, but honestly, I may want to just ditch that. How do you just link the power to a skill without a penalty? Perhaps just a regular roll?

My suggestion is to use a Required Roll but not a Skill roll (for some reason, if you just take a straight "Requires 14 or less roll" or "8 or less" or whatever, there's no Active point penalty) and buy it as "Jammed" and tie in the idea of taboos - if you fail the roll you must have inadvertently violated some taboo. Then use Skill Roll and an appropriate amount of time to "unjam" that spell.

 

The poltergeist damage - I would actually like the sorcerer to be able to choose how much damage it does by how much END he spends. 6d6 is casting the spell in a knife factory.

You can always choose to spend less END and use less of a power.

 

If you want to buy a Power like this that will seldom be usable at max effect (how often are you in an armory?) you might want to consider the more limited No Conscious Control Limitation (because you can't control when it's usable at max.)

 

Some suggestions:

 

Autofire: you can spend more END to throw more objects.

 

Limited Variable Advantage: could be Armor Piercing, +2 STUN, or whatever based on what objects are available. Good one to combine with that No Concious Control.

 

Cannot use Targetting: you can't decide to aim for the head or vitals or whatever.

 

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Obvious Inaccessible Palindromedary

[Lucius]

So, is the "obsessive secrecy" and "never writes vital spell information down" something that count as "universal taboos?"  If the mage decides to publicly announce that the hair of his fetish-doll came from a zebra tail, does the spell stop working, or get weaker, or start to go wrong because he revealed the secret?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

This palindromedary is classified

[Mzimwi]

It's a taboo in the sense that it's a 'law' that is enforced by the Ancestors, who would probably cause all his spells to backfire for a time. I'm working on a revised list of spells, thanks.

[Lucius]

What exactly is meant by "enhancing the fetish?"

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary thinks the Arogo lineage is for the birds

[SteelCold]

So, is the "obsessive secrecy" and "never writes vital spell information down" something that count as "universal taboos?"  If the mage decides to publicly announce that the hair of his fetish-doll came from a zebra tail, does the spell stop working, or get weaker, or start to go wrong because he revealed the secret?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

This palindromedary is classified

I believe the taboo also applies to everyone else not just the mage in question so just having the materials isn't enough.

[Mzimwi]

What exactly is meant by "enhancing the fetish?"

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary thinks the Arogo lineage is for the birds

 

The idea, which may not be of much use in HERO, is that you could customize your spells. Say you know telekinesis stuff. You might have a fetish/staff/fly swatter that is customized for short range delicate work and another for long range basic stuff.  This is the GURPS text:

 

 

    Enhancements may be built into fetishes. For each 5% of modifier, the skill level of the spell is adjusted by 1, as is the energy cost. Thus for the Kwinuliwa Staff, having Increased Range x2 is a 10% enhancement. It is decided to apply this to all of the fetish's spells. The *final* skill level of each spell is reduced by 2, and each spell costs 2 more FP. Applying the enhancement is optional.

    Likewise, if the nganga were in need of points, he could accept the Limited Range x1/2 -10% limitation on his spells. Each spell would cost 2 FP less to cast and add +2 to his final skill roll. The downside of this is that these modifiers must be built into the fetish when the ritual is conducted and that for each 5% of modification (having 10% enhanced range and -10% limited range is 20 percentage points worth, not zero), there is a -2 penalty to the Craft roll. Unlike Enhancements, Limitations are not optional - they are treated as Always On. Making them switchable reduces the gain to skill and cost to cast by half.

 

About the taboo:  yes. The fetish sorcerer has a guardian spirit who is also a bit of a narc. If he breaks the rules, his ancestors and other allied spirits can cut him off or even curse him.

 

Sorry, I got tied up in base material. I'm writing the Kikuyu kingdoms, done as a low magic area where they get into castles and siege engines. Thanks

[Lucius]

I believe the taboo also applies to everyone else not just the mage in question so just having the materials isn't enough.

 

Are you saying that

 

1) If I (not the feitish sorcerer) find out that the secret ingredient is cat whiskers, and make that public knowledge, then even though the sorcerer did not personally break the taboo (I did, having learned the secret and spilled it,) the fetish stops working?

 

2) If the sorcerer decides to go around telling the secret to everyone, then not only does their own fetish stop working, but so does every similar fetish even those used by sorcerers who don't yet know the cat is out of the bag?

 

Or

3) Both of the above?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary is calling Schrodinger

[IndianaJoe3]

The obvious mechanical workaround is to make fetish composition personal - one caster's ritual material is another's garbage. It might also be very specific (from a black cat with green eyes), circumstantial (taken from a cat owned by a widow), or both. 

[Mzimwi]

Neither. I don't get the confusion. Originally, there was a discount in the cost of the magic because it was linked to a Pact, meaning that if you break the pact, you can't use the magic. This is part of the anthropology of the magic system, if you will. D&D uses literate magic - spells are written in books, *language* is the power. This is pre-literate magic, where knowledge is the power. Classically, shamans and medicine men are always paranoid. In RW, this is probably because they are mostly charlatans, but also, their magic is in the physical items and how they are manipulated to access the power. If anyone learns this, the shaman's knowledge is no longer exclusive and he loses his power. Does that make sense?

 

Thus fetish-sorcerers, being this kind of pre-literate tradition, work on secrets. The methods of building their fetishes is 100% classified, from teacher to apprentice only. Naturally, these secrets are protected with curses, and as this is a magical world, the curses work. In Ubantu the medium (haha) for these curses is your personal guardian spirit/namesake angel. Likely a fetish sorcerer also has a tutelary spirit associated with his particular tradition - I'd translate the original GURPS need for levels of magery into ... dammit, what does HERO it?, but say that in the campaign world, this is the magical boost from your tutelary spirit, to whom you've sworn your oaths of secrecy. That give the spirit/GM discretion - say the character is spied upon while repairing his fetish, but by a child who doesn't know better. Then the fetish just doesn't work, maybe he has to talk to the kid and make up a story first to get it going. On the other hand, if he is tortured into giving out details, which are then written down, all his power is lost.

[Lucius]

 - I'd translate the original GURPS need for levels of magery into ... dammit, what does HERO it?

 

Closest analogue I can think of is, to translate each of the three magery levels into a given size of Multipower, along with of course a Detect Magic sense.

 

or maybe...let me think on this..

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Chewing it over with a palindromedary

[SteelCold]

What I meant was if someone might accidentally get the materials then it may or not mean said items still have power. I do like what I read of the Ubantu setting which enhances the books I got about the D20 Nyambe setting. But surely many if not most who might know about items meant for witchcraft will know better than:

 

1. Sell such things to those would use them for good or evil.

 

2. Get rid of such said items asap to avoid the attentions of the shamans/witch doctors as well as becoming associated with said magic users.

 

This enforces the point that unlike many campaigns, here one cannot just find a store where magical components can easily be found even in more heavily populated towns although there might be shops that sells fake items for the rare traveller.

[Markdoc]

Closest analogue I can think of is, to translate each of the three magery levels into a given size of Multipower, along with of course a Detect Magic sense.

 

or maybe...let me think on this..

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Chewing it over with a palindromedary

It's a long time since I played GURPS Fantasy, but unless it has changed significantly, one of the greatest benefits of magery was the reduction in mana cost, greatly expanding the number of spells you could cast - a naked reduced END advantage + a magical sense would seem to cover it, plus a limitation "requires magery X" in the spell system to allow casting of higher powered spells only to those with the requisite level of magery

 

Cheers, Mark

[L. Marcus]

Requires Magery X would, in my eyes, be a meta-rule for certain spells -- no Limitation allowed.

[Lucius]

It's a long time since I played GURPS Fantasy, but unless it has changed significantly, one of the greatest benefits of magery was the reduction in mana cost, greatly expanding the number of spells you could cast - a naked reduced END advantage + a magical sense would seem to cover it, plus a limitation "requires magery X" in the spell system to allow casting of higher powered spells only to those with the requisite level of magery

 

Cheers, Mark

Does it divide the cost, or subtract from the cost?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary wants to buy Magery 4

[L. Marcus]

Subtract, in addition to give an X bonus to Spell Skills.

[Lucius]

 

Magery I : (Total: 21 Active Cost, 8 Real Cost) Aid Mana plus Skill 1d6 (standard effect: 3 points), Persistent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Expanded Effect (x2 Characteristics or Powers simultaneously) (END or Mana AND Magic Power Skill; +1/2), Constant (+1/2) (16 Active Points); Only to Aid Self (-1), One Use At A Time (-1), Always On (-1/2), Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 4) <b>plus</b> Detect A Class Of Things: Magic and Magical things 11- (Mental Group) (5 Active Points); Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 4)

 

Magery II : (Total: 33 Active Cost, 15 Real Cost) Aid Mana plus Skill 1d6+1 (standard effect: 4 points), Persistent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Expanded Effect (x2 Characteristics or Powers simultaneously) (END or Mana AND Magic Power Skill; +1/2), Constant (+1/2) (22 Active Points); Only to Aid Self (-1), One Use At A Time (-1), Always On (-1/2), Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 6) <b>plus</b> Detect A Class Of Things: Magic and Magical things 12- (Mental Group), Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) (11 Active Points); Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 9)

 

Magery III : (Total: 50 Active Cost, 23 Real Cost) Aid Mana plus Skill 2d6 (standard effect: 6 points), Persistent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Expanded Effect (x2 Characteristics or Powers simultaneously) (END or Mana AND Magic Power Skill; +1/2), Constant (+1/2) (33 Active Points); Only to Aid Self (-1), One Use At A Time (-1), Always On (-1/2), Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 9) <b>plus</b> Detect A Class Of Things: Magic and Magical things 13- (Mental Group), Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) (17 Active Points); Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 14)

 

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Asking the palindromedary, you want Magery for what?

[Markdoc]

The detect part of that build is fine but the aid doesn't really do it. The subtraction effect of magery meant that lower mana cost spells were essentially free to cast - so you could have some utility or even useful lower-powered combat magic at-will. This was particularly potent at magery III levels, since mana was often a limiting factor - so being able to cast some spells without dipping into your precious mana pool was a really big deal. A small naked advantage granting 1/2 END or 0 END would be closer to the effect. Because it's only small, it greatly decreases or abolishes END use - but only for lower-powered spells.

 

Cheers, Mark

[Lucius]

Given that the Aid is designed to be always on, my intention was that the character have 3, 4, or 6 Active points worth of free Mana each and every phase. In what way does this not enable the character to "cast some spells without dipping into your precious mana pool?"

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary wants an indoor heated mana pool

[Markdoc]

It lets you cast "some" spells, but even 6 points of extra mana would be swiftly consumed by a few utility spells. In contrast, Magery III lets you use your less expensive spells at-will. "At will" is very different from (say) "an extra 2-3 times a day". It's not that the design is bad: just that it doesn't really give the feel that Magery does in GURPS. My own opinion was that even though they jacked the cost of Magery in later editions, it was still a poor design, because it gave such a huge boost to utility, that Magery III was essentially a must-have" for any serious magic-user. Any power that *everyone* in that area has to have is usually a sign of broken game design.

 

cheers, Mark

[Lucius]

errr....I'm still not quite getting what in my write up doesn't let a mage cast small spells "at will" all day long without touching their "own" mana. The point of setting the Aid up to be Constant and Persistant is that, yes, the 6 Active points worth (which translates to, if I'm not mistaken, 15 pts in END in a Reserve) get consumed, but then they're back automatically the very next phase.

 

So it's not like you use those points up and then don't have them. You use them up and then still have them anyway. If in a given phase you expend more than the AID provides then you do obviously use up END from the "Mana pool" or your personal END or whatever, but then next phase you still have the points from AID again too.

 

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary calculates that the 4 Active Point Aid corresponds to 10 END and the 3 pt Aid to 8 END.