Sorcery
The Nature of Sorcery
In Parallel 34.21.12, bending the rules of the cosmos is achieved with the assistance of other-dimensional beings. Commonly referred to as "Demons", their true nature is poorly understood.
Using demons to invoke Sorcery requires the following conditions to be met:
- The Sorcerer is trained or experienced with the Sorcery skill.
- The Sorcerer has a Blood Stone that is attuned to that demon and that is charged with sufficient Power Points to cast the spell.
- The Sorcerer has acquired the spell.
In Parallel 34.21.12, Sorcery uses a single skill, simply called the Sorcery Skill. Intensity is 1/10 of the Sorcery Skill.
Instead of relying on a separate skill, Shaping is based on the number of Power Points drawn from a Blood Stone used to cast the spell. See Blood Stones and Casting Spells.
Blood Stones
Demons are generally happy to invoke their power, in return for a payment in the form of life force1. Life force is channeled to demons through Blood Stones, which are magical artifacts that act as Power Point storage (similar to Mythras Theism's Devotional Pools). Blood Stones must be attuned to a specific demon; this is done in a ritual that all Sorcerers are taught as part of their training in the Sorcery Skill.
Despite the name, Blood Stones may be made of either stone or metal, and need not have any particular shape or size2. The only requirement is that a glygh representing the demon's true name be carved, inscribed, etched, etc. into the Blood Stone.
Attuning a Blood Stone
At the time of attuning, 3 Power Points must be drained into the Blood Stone. Note that the Power Points used in attuning need not come from a single creature, but could be drained from multiple creatures. These initial Power Points are not available for casting spells. See below for how Power Points are stored into a Blood Stone.
A Blood Stone may store a maximum number of Power Points equal to the Sorcerer's Intensity, or one tenth of the Sorcerer's Sorcery Skill, at the time of attuning. This should be noted as a characteristic of each individual Blood Stone.
Note that attuning a Blood Stone on its own is not enough to learn a spell from that demon; see Acquiring Spells below.
Storing Power Points into a Blood Stone
Life force is stored in a Blood Stone by spilling the blood of live creatures onto it; however, that draining of blood must result in at least some level of Fatigue from the creature as specified on the table below. This is the life force that demons require for their services.
Demons prefer the life force of sentient beings; non-sentient blood will be accepted, but it takes much more of that kind of blood to charge a Blood Stone. Non-sentient beings' blood supplies only one twentieth that of sentient beings' blood. Demons will generally not accept blood from "lower" beings such as insects or other very small animals. A Blood Stone will simply not successfully retain life force from such beings.
The blood used to store life force into a Blood Stone could be the Sorcerer's own, or the blood of volunteers or victims.
Regardless of how much blood or how many Fatigue Levels are drained, a Blood Stone can store a maximum number of Power Points corresponding to the Sorcerer's Intensity when the Blood Stone was created.
| Fatigue Level | Power Points, Sentient |
|---|---|
| Tired | 1 |
| Exhausted | 2 |
| Debilitated | 3 |
| Semi-Conscious | 4 |
| Dead | 5 |
Durability of Blood Stones
Other than their magical nature, Blood Stones are simply stone or metal. They're inherently as durable as stone or metal, but they do not have any special resistance against damage or intentional destruction.
Fumbling Blood Stone Attuning
A fumble while attuning a Blood Stone can have strange and frightening side effects. See examples below.
Blood Stone Attuning Fumble Examples
| Roll | Fumble Effect |
|---|---|
| 01-05 | The Blood Stone explodes, causing 1d4+2 points of damage to the Sorcerer. |
| 06-10 | The Blood Stone fuses with part of the Sorcerer's body touching it, likely their hand or hands. |
| 11-15 | The Blood Stone is successfully attuned, but any other Blood Stone within 30 feet loses 1d4 Power Points of capacity. |
| 16-20 | The Blood Stone is successfully attuned, but 1d2 points of CON is permanently drained from the Sorcerer. |
| 21-25 | The Blood Stone vanishes and the demon obtains the ability to reach across the dimensions and compel a service from the Sorcerer, 1d4 times. |
| 26-30 | ... |
Acquiring Spells
WIP: Explain/write this out.
- Know name of relevant demon
- Attune Blood Stone or have an attuned Blood Stone for that demon
- Spend 2 Experience Rolls
Casting Spells
Casting a spell requires uttering the demon's true name and using an attuned Blood Stone that has enough Power Points for the spell. Magnitude, duration, targets, etc. are adjusted as desired using Shaping points equal to the number of Power Points the Sorcerer uses from the Blood Stone. Otherwise, casting takes place using the Mythras Sorcery rules.
Note that a Blood Stone may be at zero Power Points, but it can't go below zero. If there's not enough Power Points for a spell, it simply doesn't work (the demon refuses to invoke the spell).
Fumbling Spell Casting
A fumble while casting a spell can have strange and frightening side effects. See examples below.
Casting Fumble Examples
| Roll | Fumble Effect |
|---|---|
| 01-05 | The Blood Stone crumbles; the Sorcerer can never again speak this demon's name - they are somehow unable to form the necessary syllables. |
| 06-10 | A temporary gateway or portal between this world and the demon's realm will be held open. The demon can freely cross the portal for some unknown amount of time. |
| 11-15 | The spell, whatever its original intention, is immediately directed towards the Sorcerer. |
| 16-20 | The demon permanently absorbs 1d2 points of a random Characteristic from the Sorcerer. |
| 21-25 | The Sorcerer is drained of all Power Points, falling unconscious. The Sorcerer may recover. |
| 26-30 | The spell, whatever its original intention, is immediately directed towards a random person nearby. |
| 31-35 | The demon possesses the sorcerer for 1d6 minutes. |
| 36-40 | ... |
Restricting Sorcery
It may be desirable to put some limits on Sorcery as written. Here are some ideas:
- Cap the total number of Blood Stones a Sorcerer can have attuned at any one time to their current Sorcery Skill Intensity
- Cap the total amount of stored Power Points across all of a Sorcerer's attuned Blood Stones, perhaps to the Sorcerer's maximum Power Points
- Scale up the fumble effects based on the number of a Sorcerer's attuned Blood Stones or their total stored Power Points
- Apply increasing Difficulty Grades based on the number of a Sorcerer's attuned Blood Stones or their total stored Power Points
Other-Dimensional Beings - Demons of Parallel 34.21.12
Demons are called demons due to a lack of better terminology. Information about them is carefully hoarded and hidden. Rumors and anecdotes abound, about their nature and agendas.
Around the world, secretive but not entirely hidden, there are Colleges of Sorcery that keep their own stable of known demon true names. Membership is exclusive, although if one is persistent it's usually possible to be admitted to a College of Sorcery and learn one or two names (and thus spells).
Some nation-states and countries invest much time and effort into studying and using Sorcery; the USNA in particular relies on it for a fair amount of their national security and intelligence activities.
Also because if a Sorcerer fumbles their casting, there is an opportunity for the demon to enter the world through a portal that the Sorcerer has accidentally created. Or, other terrible things could happen. Results may be catastrophic.
Blood Stones must be made of stone or metal. They could thus be worked into anything such as a ring, a medallion, a sword, a statue, or even the foundation of a building.
Please see the note on historical revisionism and fictionalization.
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