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Incorporating

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ECCLESIASTES Chapter III: The Ongoing Campaign
GM'd by
Andrew D. Carter.

    This College deals with the use of magic to change people’s viewpoints.  To ensorcel someone is to place him under a long-term  charm, to gradually alter his attitudes or beliefs.  Thus, the amount of mana in an area is more critical for the Adept of the College than for those of other Colleges.  GM’s can allow Adepts of this College greater disadvantages in high-mana areas and greater disadvantages in low-mana areas (adding to or subtracting from Base Chances is recommended, in addition to the Fatigue cost adjustment).

    Places of Power are important to this College, as these locations would contain much pent-up magical energy.  Enchanters will always be searching for bit of arcane lore to aid them in their endeavours.  They are knowledgeable in the use of True Names, but not to the degree Namers are, and must acquire True names from a Namer or similar source.

    This type of magic is reminiscent of the King Arthur stories, with their special places (the Lady of the Lake, for example).  NPC Adepts would know a great deal about these legendary places, and would be great sources of information.

    This  College deals with the imposition of will by one individual over another.  The power of the mind is the primary interest of the Adepts, and they strive through discipline to achieve their gaols.  The amount of mana in an area would not affect Adepts of the mind as much as the other Colleges; the effect of the mana level can be lessened, as their minds act as focii for the mana.

    Remember that their talents are always on, and need never be activated.  As this school attempts to quantify psionic abilities into the magic system, these Adepts will rarely have the props and trappings of traditional magicians, such as wands and staves.  The Adept would find these distracting.

    This type of magic is often found in fantasy fiction, such as the Deryni books by  Katherine Kurtz and the short story “People of the Black Circle” by R. E. Howard.

    This College is closely allied in spirit and philosophy with Sorceries of the Mind, except that it needs much more mana to make the spells work.  The mana level should affect these Adepts in the same way that it does Enchanters.  Discipline is again important, as the essence of their work is the imposition of their will over the will of the viewer, making them believe what is not.  Also note that for game purposes (in answer to the ever-present theoretical question) illusions do exist; they are not simply figments of the viewer’s mind.

    This is the oldest College and its establishment will likely be tied very closely to the “time of creation” in any world.  It can be the most powerful College in the game if played properly.  The power of the Namers is their knowledge; it is their single  most valuable weapon, and they will guard it fiercely.  Adepts will be especially motivated to gain information about any new spells created in the campaign, so as to be able to find the proper method of countering them.  GM’s and namers should establish a very close relationship in any campaign, for this College might be the focal point around which the other revolve.

    The inspiration for this College includes the Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. LeGuinn and the traditions of Finnish folklore.

    These Adepts use mana to penetrate their respective elemental planes, releasing power stored there to alter their element on this plane.  Mana level affects them all normally.  To them, the elements embody living entities to be respected and used.  In their normal state, elements are things of wild natural beauty.  What is unnatural is an Adept controlling that element, shaping it in a way nature did not intend (the thunderstorm is a natural thing; the Air magician summoning it to a new location is unnatural).  Therefore elemental magicians have more than just a healthy respect for the own  element and would not use it in a frivolous fashion.  This is not to say they would all behave in this manner; simply that this is the philosophy of the majority.

    All elemental manifestations of this place (a campfire, a windstorm, a lake) contain elemental creatures with which these Adepts would be familiar.  Knowledge of these creatures allows the Adept to bind that element into shapes and purposes of the Adept’s own desire.  The same creatures will inhabit any stable manifestation, and an Adept would come to know these creatures on an individual basis.  Thus, when summoning a water elemental while standing on the shores of the Southern Sea (for example) the Water  Adept  knows (or certainly should know) the identity of the water elemental he is summoning, for the Southern Seas would certainly have no more than one or two such large elemental, and their Generic and Individual  True Names may even be known to the Adept.  The GM should treat these powerful elemental manifestations as NPC’s and establish interchange in a meaningful way between these creatures and elemental Adepts.  On the other hand, a bucket of water would vetainly have no more than a few water “spirits” inhabiting it, and while these elemental creatures could be bond, their power would be limited.  Knowledge of the Individual True Name of all powerful elemental creatures within an Adept’s element would be of great aid the these Adepts, and GM’s should encourage these avenues of thought.

    These Colleges were inspired by a classic myth.

    Remember that the efficacy of the Rune depends on centuries of use; thus, few new Runes will be found; this is an important limit on this College.

    If the G.M. wishes, Runes can be differentiated by culture. If so, the Runes of each culture should be considered a different college, and Rune magicians of one cannot learn the Runes of another without paying the standard penalties for changing Colleges. Additional totem spirits for different cultures can be added by the G.M. Although the original inspiration for this college is Norse and Celtic, the same basic structure can be adapted to African, Amerind, Oceanic, and other cultures as well.

    An Ongoing DRAGONQUEST saga set in SHADOW WORLD for many puzzle-solving players who don't mind a good fight. Good communication skills can be helpful although a sword or bow does get the message across nicely at times.

NO RULES KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED.

Role-playing: Heaps. Free Forming: It will be there.
Combat: How else can you kill the bad guys dummy! Poetry at ten paces?
Puzzle/Plot solving: Plenty of opportunity.

    Interested? Ring Andon, I mean Andrew "Arch Ensorceler and Enchanter" Carter, on (02) 96259613 before 9.00 p.m.
 

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