FrivYeti/SorcerySpellTypes
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Purchasing Spells
In order to cast spells, powerful sorcerers must first research and design them – or learn them from those who have already done the same. In general, there are two ways in which characters may learn spells – spell seeds, and rotes.
Spell Seeds
Spell seeds are the most basic form of magic that can be learned. A spell seed is a basic spell, able to unleash the basic forms of magic, and which can be modified freely and easily. Spell seeds are single-target spells, which have a duration of either one minute or instant, depending on the spell in question.
Spell seeds are developed with extended Intelligence + Occult rolls. The difficulty of the roll is equal to the Circle of the spell +1, and the character must gain a total number of successes equal to the level of the Circle x5. Each roll represents one week of effort. Any failure can have explosive side effects, and a botch cancels all successes and creates a truly dangerous backlash. A character who favours a spell’s Divinity or Element reduces the difficulty of the roll by 1, and favouring both reduces the required successes to Circle x4.
A character may alternately be taught a spell seed from an existing tutor. This takes two days per level of the seed's Circle.
The experience cost for a spell seed is equal to (Circle x3) XP. Favouring either the Divinity or the Element of the spell reduces the cost by 1, and favouring both reduces the cost multiplier by 1 instead.
Rotes
Rather than developing complex and difficult spell seeds, some sorcerers develop the power of ‘rotes’, mighty spells that act by focusing power into a single area. The basic advantage of a rote is that it is easy to accomplish compared to just stacking effects, and it can be taught more easily. However, this power is bought at the price of flexibility.
To develop a rote, characters must first know the spell seed forming the base of the rote, and then all of the Embodiment and Principle Charms that will take part in the effect. Once these have been chosen, the character spends one experience point per Circle of the spell. The final cost of the rote is reduced by 1 mote for each Embodiment and Principle within it that had a mote cost. However, characters cannot use other Embodiments and Principles in order to enhance a rote the way they might enhance a spell seed. Developing a rote takes one week.
In order to learn a rote, a character must meet the Essence requirement of the rote’s Spell Seed, and must be no more than one Essence point below the Essence requirement of the rote’s highest-required Embodiment and Principle Charms. The total cost of a rote is as follows: the base cost is equal to the (Spell seed Circle x2), plus one for each Principle or Embodiment present. Learning a rote takes three days.
