FrivYeti/SorceryPrin
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Contents
The Five Principles
When the Magus began his war against the gods, he had the power of sorcery at his disposal. However, he soon discovered that while his abilities were vast, they were also by nature slow and difficult to enact properly in a fight. To that end, he set about learning the underlying principles of his art; not content to simply use the spells he developed, he found new ways to alter them, using what he termed the Principles of Creation.
Of the Five Principles, only one was actually detailed by the Magus, although his efforts aided in the develop of the Principles of Suseri and Hanuman, two of his best companions, and only three were developed during the Age of Fire. The Principles of Morganna and Galen were not developed until the Age of Wind, and they are generally considered to be the last of the Principles. While sorcerers may continue to expand upon them, all use the five basic concepts that these five great sorcerers developed.
Principle Trees
Each of the five Principle trees follow certain basic rules. First, every tree builds from a single Essence 2 Charm. No other Essence 2 Charms may be developed. Each Principle has an Essence requirement one point higher than its prerequisite, and has one or two prerequisites of the previous Essence level. Principles never progress past Essence 6, and the common Prerequisites never progress past Essence 4; any sorcerer of Essence 5 or 6 who develops a Principle is unlikely to teach it to others, and thus it will remain a unique expression of their understanding. Higher-Essence Principles are never just "better" than their predecesssors, although they may be more powerful.
Learning Principles
Unlike the Elements, Divinities, and Embodiments, sorcerers do not have any instinctive grasp of the Principles. Instead, they must painstakingly learn or develop each Principle anew. It is said that in the past, every sorcerer pooled their knowledge to develop a greater understanding of magic; this is no longer the case. Principles are hotly contested and jealously guarded, and each sorcerer trades them only in the gravest circumstances. While the basic Principles are far too common-knowledge to be divided in this way, most others remain secret.
Developing a Principle from scratch requires an extended Intelligence + Occult roll. The difficulty is equal to the Essence requirement of the Principle, and requires a total number of successes equal to (Essence requirement x5). Each roll requires a full week of effort. Developing a Principle requires 10 XP. Characters must have the prerequisites for whatever Principle they develop.
Learning a principle is much easier, requiring only one week of training from someone who already knows the Principle in question. Learning a Principle from others costs only 8 XP.
The Arrow Of Light
The Principles of the Magus: The Arrow of Light - Increased Speed
The Subtle Knife
The Principles of Suseri: The Subtle Knife- Reduced Obviousness
The Golden Peach
The Principles of Hanuman: The Golden Peach - Cost Alteration
The Gathering Storm
The Principles of Morganna: The Gathering Storm - Ritual Spells
The Chain Of Blood
The Principles of Galen: The Chain of Blood - Arcane Links
