FrivYeti/SorceryPrin

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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.

Using Principles

When a character casts a spell seed, she may attach any or all of the Principles that she knows to the spell. Principles have two effects - a cost, and a restriction. Costs are mote, Willpower, or even health level costs that must be added to a spell. Restrictions are penalties to a character's Divinity + Element die pool, or to her Essence. All costs and restrictions stack; if they reduce a die pool or Essence to 0, the spell cannot be cast.

Characters may never use a given Principle more than once on the same spell. Sometimes, mages can find ways to create new Principles with similar effects that can be stacked onto earlier ones, but these always have far greater costs and requirements.

The Arrow Of Light

The Principles of the Magus draw their inspiration from the necessity that faced him when the war against the gods began. To that end, he began to test the limits of sorcery, finding methods to chain together the elaborate incantations and gestures required to focus his energies. The end results were the Principles of the Magus, what he called the Arrow of Light. The Magus, and others after him, used the Arrow of Light to increase the speed of their spellcasting and to find ways to prepare for battle long in advance. The Arrow covers any Principle based around casting spells more quickly or shortcutting magical pathways.

The Principles of the Magus: The Arrow of Light

The Subtle Knife

Suseri, one of the Magus' chief lieutenants in the war against the gods, often found it useful to slip unseen through the crowds of her enemies. She theorized that as magic was a force of Creation, it should be possible to restrain all those elements of it that made it obvious to an observer. Her principles, which she termed the Subtle Knife, are less-developed than they once were, as sorcerers no long fear displaying their powers, but there are still many who would take advantage of them. The Knife covers any Principle that internalizes magics within a person.

The Principles of Suseri: The Subtle Knife

The Golden Peach

Hanuman was a lazy sorcerer, who enjoyed using his magics to make his life easier; yet he often found that he could not, needing to shepherd his resources for the wars that were fought. He theorized that magic, as with so many things, must be inefficent, and that as the world was formed on Essence, there must be more than the obvious way to charge a spell. His principles, the Golden Peach, have been expounded upon over the centuries that followed. The Peach covers any Principles that affect the cost of a spell.

The Principles of Hanuman: The Golden Peach

The Gathering Storm

In the years following the victory over the gods, the sorceress Morganna often wondered if spells could gather their power over time and place. Surely, she reasoned, magic could be likened to a storm, and grow in fury and force through extended effort. Her studies led her to the Gathering Storm, through which sorcerers grant their spells extra power or effect through acts of extreme effort. The Storm covers any Principle that increases the overall power of spells.

The Principles of Morganna: The Gathering Storm

The Chain Of Blood

The final Principle was developed over a century after the Gathering Storm, as the sorcerer Galen studied the connections between things. Almost by accident, he discovered that resonence connections exist between many things, and that by concealing or exploiting such connections, one can gain great advantage. The Chain of Blood was the result of his experiments, allowing sorcerers to bypass many of the usual restrictions upon their spells. The Chain covers any use of substitution or sympathy in magic.

The Principles of Galen: The Chain of Blood - Arcane Links