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PHILOSOPHIES
Most users of magic amongst the islands will fall into one of the following categories. That said, these are optional, not mandatory. If you have an idea for a character that doesn't fall into any of these categories, go ahead and tweak things out just how you like.
Using Philosophies
Philosophies afford certain benefits and impose certain drawbacks on their adherents. These are detailed below.
- Prerequisites
- Some philosophies require their practitioners to fulfill certain requirements in order to practice that particular philosophy, such as a particular skill or feat.
- Key Ability
- Each philosophy defines the key ability for anyone who wishes to follow it.
- Canonical Powers
- Adherents of a philosophy gain a bonus power rank to use canonical powers of their philosophy. That is, an adept with six power ranks uses canonical powers of his philosophy at seven ranks. However, powers not on the canonical powers list are used at one power rank lower than the character's level would normally indicate.
- Barred Powers
- Adherents of a philosophy cannot use any powers on their philosophy's barred powers list, even if using a Conviction point to activate the Adept's Talent core ability.
- Drawbacks
- Each philosophy has a few wrinkles in its usage.
- Flavour
- In case it's not obvious, we provide some ideas as to how this philosophy operates, and what its use might look like.
Imperial Sorcery
Imperial sorcery is the fearsome power used by the eunuch sorcerers, formerly at the behest of the Emperor but now for their own foul desires. Ordinarily, this sorcery is only taught within the Empire itself, and then only to trusted servants of the eunuch lords. It takes the form of a supernatural philosophy with the following attributes:
Prerequisites: Trained in Knowledge (supernatural)
Key Ability: Int
Canonical Powers: Dominate, Drain Vitality, Elemental Aura, Elemental Blast, Fire Shaping, Immobilize, Mind Touch, Move Object, Pain, Scrying, Wind Shaping
Barred Powers: Cure, Beast Link, Nature Reading, Summon Spirit
Drawback: There are many drawbacks to Imperial Sorcery. First of all, it is very taxing. The Difficulty for Resilience Saves for Imperial Sorcery is 17 rather than 15 as it is for other philosophies.
Second, using Imperial sorcery creates a wind display as wild currents stir the air around the sorcerer. This effect only extends 5 feet from the sorcerer, but becomes more extreme as the Power rank manifested increases.
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| < 5 | Light Wind: Clothing ruffles, hair swirls |
| 6-10 | Moderate Wind: 50% chance to extinguish any open flame |
| 11-15 | Strong Wind: extinguish all open flames, -2 on Notice checks |
| 16-20 | Severe Wind: -4 on Notice checks, unable to move |
| 21-25 | Windstorm: -8 on Notice checks |
| 26-30 | Hurricane: Notice checks impossible |
The effect lasts as long as the sorcerer is maintaining any power, and continues for a number of rounds after the power ceases to manifest equal to the rank of the manifested power. An adept with the Subtle Power feat can suppress this display by accepting the standard +2 increase to their Resilience roll difficulty (as per normal use of the Subtle Power feat).
Finally, spirits hate Imperial sorcery. Manifesting any Imperial sorcery powers within sense range of any spirits makes that spirit immediately hostile towards the manifester and her allies.
Flavour: Imperial Sorcery involves bold gestures and words of power, the use of pressure points and other dramatic effects. It is a harsh and violent power that offends the forces of nature.
Heavenly Medicine
Originating in the Empire, but now found throughout the islands, this set of powers revolves around restoring balances in essential energies, or taking advantage of imbalances. Exorcising ghosts, curing diseases and repelling evil spirits are just some of the heroic practices of this art.
Prerequisites: Trained in Concentration
Key Ability: Wis or Cha (character's choice)
Canonical Powers: Bind Spirit, Body Control, Cure, Enhance Other, Heart Reading, Imbue Life, Mind Shaping, Mind Touch, Psychic Shield, Second Sight, Severance, Summon Spirit, Ward
Barred Powers: Elemental Blast, Harm, Imbue Unlife, Move Object, Self-Shaping
Drawbacks: Heavenly medicine benefits greatly from a number of tools and rituals. A character using this form must make a Wealth check at Difficulty 5 + their power ranks each month or suffer a -1 penalty on all power checks.
In addition, the use of this form is made much more difficult when powers are used quickly. All powers with a time of less than one minute have their time increased by one category: move actions change to standard actions, standard actions change to full-round actions, and full-round actions change to one minute. Powers with a time of one minute or more are not changed.
Heavenly medicine requires loud incantations and gestures, along with an array of artifacts, candles, incense sticks and so on. There is no possibility that nearby characters will not notice the use of heavenly medicine.
Flavour: This power involves all the flavourful drawbacks mentioned above. Often a practitioner will set up an altar with incense, sacrifice chickens, wave wooden swords and paper symbols about, all the while chanting wildly and dancing. Like Imperial Sorcery, pressure points are sometimes used, but Heavenly Medicine is all about alignment with the natural world.
Ninja Mentalism
Amongst the ninja, many clans develop the mental powers of their adepts, allowing them to cloud the minds of others, or to focus their own concentration so sharply that they can achieve supernatural states of alertness or ability. The clans guard their secrets jealously, and someone who is not a ninja is unlikely to ever learn these powers. This supernatural philosophy has the following attributes:
Prerequisites: Trained in Stealth
Key Ability: Wis
Canonical Powers: Body Control, Cloud Minds, Combat Sense, Enhance Ability, Enhance Senses, Light Shaping, Phase, Sleep, Suggestion, Supernatural Speed
Barred Powers: Elemental Blast, Imbue Unlife, Ward
Drawbacks: Using Ninja Mentalism takes longer than typical power use. All powers with a time of less than one minute have their time increased by one category: move actions change to standard actions, standard actions change to full-round actions, and full-round actions change to one minute. Powers with a time of one minute or more are not changed.
Using ninja mental powers does not cause any visible display.
Flavour: These powers are activated through focus and the use of chi energy, that internal source of power all martial arts practitioners develop. Mostly they involve serious facial expressions and extended periods of stillness.
Shamanism
Common on many of the islands, this form of magic depends on a close relationship with natural forces and spirits, as well as a fierce will to order external powers. Many tribes honour and revere their shamans, but it is also common for those with strange powers to be hounded from their communities and persecuted. This supernatural philosophy has the following attributes:
Prerequisites: Survival (4 ranks) or Knowledge (supernatural, local or history) (4 ranks), Power Focus feat
Key Ability: Wis or Cha (player's choice)
Canonical Powers: Beast Link, Bind Spirit, Cure, Dominate, Imbue Life, Nature Reading, Object Reading, Plant Shaping, Summon Spirit, Visions, Ward, Weather Shaping
Barred Powers: Elemental Blast, Manipulate Object, Move Object
Drawbacks: A shaman is almost always at their best in a particular region or type of terrain. A shaman must take the Power Focus feat and select either a particular location or a type of terrain, but in addition to the bonus supplied by the feat, the shaman must accept a -1 penalty on Resilience rolls whenever they are not in their specialized region or terrain type.
Flavour: Most typically shamans must call upon spirits -- either spirits that they are familiar with (ancestors, or tribal gods, or some such), or spirits that are near at hand (of the surrounding natural features, or the nearby temple, or the weather, etc). The act of using the power is usually the result of some sort of negotiation with the spirits who then carry out the required task.