FrivYeti/SorceryOverview

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The Power of Sorcery

Sorcery's powers, the Sorcerers have learned, work through the power of Fives. Sorcerers have learned that by combining the Five Divinities with the Five Elements, understood through the Five Embodiments of Being and the Five Principles of Creation, a sorcerer may unleash powerful magic through the Five Chakras.

Each of these things has a different meaning, which must be understood seperately, for a sorcerer to truly triumph over her foes and gain ultimate power.

The Five Chakras

Without power, there can be no strength. The will to succeed is meaningless without the means to accomplish your desires.

Creation is made up of great streams of Essence, travelling along the Dragon Lines in an endless flow of power. Sorcery functions by tapping into these Dragon Lines, channeling them through their own chakras and working change upon the world.

All humans have five chakras that define their natures. These chakras are the Crown of Temperance, the Chalice of Compassion, the Throne of Conviction, the Root of Valor, and the Seat of Wisdom. The first four chakras guard and focus power through the fifth, and it is these chakras that a sorcerer alters in order to touch the flows of Essence.

When a sorcerer first increases her Essence to 2, she chooses one of the four chakras (and its corresponding Virtue). This chakra is forced open, becoming brutally damaged. If the Virtue was rated 1 to 3, it is now rated at 1. If it was rated at 4 or 5, it is now rated at 2. The Virtue can only be raised to 2 with experience, and that costs 10 experience. Furthermore, the character must choose a Lure; a situation in which the Virtue is further weakened, such as Compassion (Harming Her Enemies) or Temperance (Alcohol). Whenever the character is exposed to her Lure, she must spend a Willpower in order to resist indulging in it. Finally, when the character is given a chance to betray a damaged Virtue in exchange for magical power, she must succeed on a Virtue roll to resist doing so. If she fails, she may spend a Willpower to resist.

Each time that a character increases her Essence, she chooses another chakra to damage. Once all four outer chakras have been broken, and the character reaches Essence 6, she shatters her Seat of Wisdom. At this time, the character may no longer spend Willpower to force her Virtues to succeed at Lures or resisting magical temptation. Because of this, powerful sorcerers are completely amoral and frightening to behold.

Once, sorcerers followed the Right-Hand Path. Under this path, each chakra that was damaged was routed through another in order to guard it. Following this path, a character who reaches Essence 2 must choose one Virtue to damage and one to anchor it. The Anchoring Virtue must be rated 3 or higher, and must have a higher rating than the Virtue to be damaged. The ‘damaged’ Virtue is not reduced, but the character must still choose a Lure for it, which is treated normally. In addition, they must still roll their Virtue or spend a Willpower to resist betraying Virtues for power, but their higher Virtue ratings make the roll more likely to succeed. Characters may not damage an anchoring Virtue without losing it as an anchor, causing the Virtue it anchors to shatter normally. Once two Virtues are damaged and two are anchored, the character may damage her Seat of Wisdom normally. This means that following the Right-Hand Path, a sorcerer may only reach Essence 4. Some sorcerers choose to anchor a single Virtue, shattering the other two and then breaking the Seat of Wisdom, and allowing themselves to reach Essence 5.

The Five Divinities

Without purpose, there can be no power. All the strength in the world will not avail you if you do not learn to apply it.

The Five Divinities determine and shape what a sorcerer can do. Each of them governs a way of working magic, and those who can gain mastery in many find themselves true champions of magic.

The Five Divinities are:
Tiphereth, The Body, which governs powers that change living beings.
Binah, The Mind, which governs powers that change thoughts and emotions.
Malchuth, The World, which governs powers that manipulate the elements directly.
Yesod, The Soul, which governs powers that use the metaphysical nature of an element.
Gevurah, The Void, which governs the powers of destruction.

Divinities are rated from 1 to 5. A character begins play with a single Favoured Divinity, and some characters may have others. Favoured Divinities have a maximum rating equal to the character's Essence rating, while non-Favoured Divinities have a maximum rating of the character's Essence -1.

Every spell has both a Divinity and an Element. When a character casts a spell, their die pool is equal to their Divinity + Element rating in the related traits.

The Five Elements

Without direction, there can be no purpose. Your goals will never be attained unless you know what paths to follow to achieve them.

The Five Elements focus and direct the Divinities. Some sorcerers theorize that, without the elements, a full Divinity could be unleashed through workings, but this has never been proven. Instead, the Divinities are limited and chained, working only through the channels that a sorcerer wishes.

The five Elements are Air, Earth, Fire, Water and Wood, as the elements of the world. The ideas behind each element determine which one a spell can be categorized as, using all of the normal rules for elemental affinities in Creation.

Elements are rated from 1 to 5. A character begins play with a single Favoured Element, and some characters may have others. Favoured Elements have a maximum rating equal to the character's Essence rating, while non-Favoured Elements have a maximum rating of the character's Essence - 1. As with Divinities, Elements affect a caster’s die pool for effects.

The Five Embodiments of Being

Without wisdom, there can be no direction. Unless you know when to use your power and how, it does not matter what you unleash it against.

The Five Embodiments of Being are the collected understanding of how the Divinities are shaped. Unlike the Divinities and Elements, they are a set of twenty-five Charms, along five paths, that help to define extra circumstances in which sorcery may be used.

The Five Embodiments are definitions of space and time, and are as follows:
Akasha, the Embodiment of Scope
Bhumi, the Embodiment of Duration
Agni, the Embodiment of Condition
Jala, the Embodiment of Restoration
Vayu, the Embodiment of Distance

The Five Principles of Creation

Without knowledge, there can be no wisdom. Learning and understanding bring about the understanding of how power is meant to be shaped.

The Five Principles of Creation are powerful Charms that were developed by five ancient sorcerers. Since then, other sorcerers have discovered new Principles, building on the knowledge granted by the first sorcerers; in their honour, the Five Principles are named for them. These Principles alter the ways in which sorcery is cast, making it faster, easier, or stronger to use.

The Principles of the Magus: The Arrow of Light
The Principles of Suseri: The Subtle Knife
The Principles of Morganna: The Gathering Storm
The Principles of Hanuman: The Golden Peach
The Principles of Galen: The Chain of Blood