FrivYeti/SorcerySpells
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Spells
It is all well and good to learn the vastness that is magic, but without specific spells, a sorcerer’s power is useless. Fortunately, through extensive research and preparation, sorcerers have developed a wide variety of spells with which they both help and hinder one another. Sorcerers learn and cast spells as their primary means of power, and they can be learned in a number of ways.
Spell Circles
Sorcerers accept that there are five Circles of magic, each more powerful and devastating than the last. Each Circle has a name and degree, and each requires a sorcerer to have opened a set number of chakras in order to be learned and cast. Each Circle also has a base cost; for the youngest sorcerers, even the weakest spells can be a draining endeavour.
The Circle Of Amythest </b>FrivYeti/I>
Essence Requirement: 2
Base Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower
The weakest Circle of magic, Amythest-level spells are available to any magus who has unlocked their Essence. These spells, however, have strictly limited effects; while they can be impressive, they are often only able to replicate effects that can be done better without access to spells.
In game terms, Amythest-Circle spells may provide temporary Attribute bonuses of 1, Ability bonuses of Essence, or Specialty bonuses of (Essence x2). They can do up to a base 4L damage, and accomplish small, replicatable effects such as cleaning a shirt or lighting a campfire (although they generally do it faster than a mundane equivalent).
<b><I>The Circle Of Emerald </b>FrivYeti/I>
Essence Requirement: 3
Base Cost: 15 motes, 1 Willpower
A commonly-seen Circle, Emerald-level magic is both relatively easy to use and relatively powerful, and thus tends to be the Circle with the largest body of spells. Emerald-Circle spells are more powerful than their Amythest equivalents, but are still less than impressive when compared to the greatest effects.
In game terms, Emerald-Circle spells are capable of providing temporary Attribute bonuses of up to Essence, Ability Bonuses of (Essence) to two or three Abilities, or wide-ranging Specialty effects. They are able to create notable modifications to objects, and can deal up to 10L damage on attacks. Many can accomplish feats such as drastically increasing travel speed or creating meals for multiple people.
<b><I>The Circle Of Topaz </b>FrivYeti/I>
Essence Requirement: 4
Base Cost: 25 motes, 2 Willpower
For many years, the Circle of Topaz was imagined to be the most powerful Circle in existance; only the later discovery of the devastating Sapphire and Adamant Circles eventually quelled this belief. Still, the effects possible through the Circle of Topaz are amazing to behold, especially as most sorcerers to reach this level of potential do so with the help of a great many Principles and Embodiments. Those who have attained this level of mastery are fearsome to behold.
In game terms, the Circle of Topaz can provide a bonus equal to Essence to multiple Attributes and Abilities at once, or create specialized and powerful situational effects. They typically deal a base 25L damage or provide equivalent protection, and can render massive changes such as dissolving stone or stealing shadows.
<b><I>The Circle Of Sapphire</b>FrivYeti/I>
Essence Requirement: 5
Base Cost: 40 motes, 2 Willpower
Rare and powerful, the Circle Of Sapphire is most notable for the degree with which it simply ignores the laws of physics. Spells of this power level are impossible to resist without being exceptional, or magical in one’s own right, and even then can be dangerous. Nearly anything imagineable is possible to a master of the Sapphire Circle, and stories abound of sleepers that cannot be wakened, towers that burn with eternal flame, and beasts that have no right to exist walking Creation’s boundaries.
In game terms, the Circle of Sapphire can provide high-level bonuses to every Attribute and Abililty, or completely change anything into almost anything else, restricted only by a spellcaster’s imagination. Damage from spells can reach 50L. Alternately, the character may reproduce Amythest- and Emerald-Circle effects that can never be counterspelled, writing their natures into the fabric of reality and making them impossible to resist or avoid. It is a feared and devastating Circle of magic.
<b><I>The Circle Of Adamant</b>FrivYeti/I>
Essence Requirement: 6
Base Cost: 60 motes, 3 Willpower
The greatest of magics, the Circle of Adamant is not notable only for its power, but for the overwhelming nature of that power. By rewriting the very fabric of the Tapestry, all things become possible, and those few sorcerers who have mastered the Adamant Circle are truly terrifying.
In game terms, Adamant Circle spells mimic those of the Topaz or Sapphire Circle, except that they cannot be avoided or resisted, and their effects are permanent; no power can undo an Adamant Circle spell once set unless the spellcaster worked such a reversal into the initial spell – not even the spellcaster themselves.
Casting Spells
In order to cast a spell, a sorcerer must have a number of factors working in her favour. First, she must have freedom of movement; any Mobility penalties she may have directly reduce her casting diepool, as do any wound penalties or paralysing effects. Next, she must be able to work the words of power that focus magic; if she cannot speak, she cannot cast.
Casting spells requires a number of Shape Sorcery actions equal to the spell’s Circle. These are considered to be Speed 5, DV –3 actions, although they allow half movement and defenses as normal. When the last of these actions is taken, the character rolls her Divinity + Element, as listed in the chosen spell, and it takes effect. The character may act normally on her next action (5 ticks later).
Casting spells does not render a character inactive. However, if she is attacked, she must stunt her defense into her casting, or else be forced to make a check to see if she loses control of the magic. This functions identically to such checks for regular sorcery in Exalted: Second Edition. In addition, any situation requiring such a check remains. Characters who have begun shaping and are forced to stop must take this check (at a difficulty of the number of Shape Sorcery actions they have taken) or else suffer from sidescatter.
While spellcasting, power coils around the character. Amethyst Circle spells cast off light as a torch, visible up to twenty yards away. Emerald Circle spells shine brightly, and are clearly visible for around a hundred yards in daylight, more at night. Topaz Circle spells cast their light fifty yards into the air, and are visible for up to five hundred yards clearly. Sapphire Circle spells cast off incredible light and complexity, towering over a hundred yards up, and are visible up to a mile away. Finally, spells of the Adamant Circle can be clearly seen as many as twenty miles away, shining on the horizon like a rising sun.
Countermagic
When two sorcerers meet, they often find a need to counteract one another’s spells. This is not an easy process. In order to try and counterspell, a character must take a Speed 5 Shape Sorcery action.
First, the character must identify a spell. This requires a Perception + Occult roll, with a difficulty of 1 + 1 for every point of Essence she lacks from the spell. Identifying a spell is a reflexive action.
Once identified, the character rolls her rating in the spell’s Divinity + Element, adding her Essence as automatic successes, against a difficulty of the spell’s Essence +1, applying an internal penalty equal to half the target’s Divinity + Element. If successful, the character must spend the full cost of the spell; if unsuccessful, she merely spends 1 Willpower. If the counterspell is successful, the spell collapses. This effect may be used on any spell being cast or already cast, provided that it has not been made permanent. Even permanent spells may be countered while they are being cast, but once cast, they remain forever.
Spells may be countered at any point in their casting; if countered successfully, the spellcaster must spend the full Essence and Willpower cost of the spell, but may take another action as soon as her current Shape Sorcery action finishes. Any cost reductions on a spell taken by the caster are taken into account by the counterer, and cost reductions do not apply to countermagic unless specified.
