Arcane Skill: Summoning
Starting Power Points: 10
Starting Powers: Basic summoning, banishing, and exorcism
Summoning is a branch of magic that has been regarded with suspicion at best. The general concensus is that it was bad enough when demons were accidentally let loose in normal space, which had resulted in the Otherspace War. Deliberately bringing one into normal space for any reason is considered to be just short of insane. Still, there is some call for the services of a summoner, even outside of the cults that serve the Others.
Like spells, summonings can be done either on the fly or as a ritual. The ritual method is preferred by most summoners as it offers more certain results, and with demons you want as little uncertainty as possible. First, the Spirit die type of the demon you want to summon must be determined. Starting summoners can only call up demons with d4 or d6 Spirit. When a summoner reaches Seasoned, he can take the New Power Edge and then be able to summon d8s and d10s. At Veteran, a summoner is able to handle d12s once the New Power Edge is taken. Should the ritual method be chosen, the summoner will need some chalks and a summoning library with a skill at least equal to the Spirit of the demon being summoned. As with ritual sorcery, the library's skill is treated as an extra Wild Die. The Summoning roll is made using the procedure described on page 79 of the Savage Worlds rulebook. The base Power Point cost of performing a summoning is half the demon's Spirit. If the summoner wishes the demon to have some specific spells rather than have the GM select them, it will apply a -1 per spell desired on the Summoning roll. Additional Power Points may be expended to improve on the summons at a rate of three Power Points per +2 on the Summoning roll. On a basic success, the demon arrives and is bound to perform a service for the summoner. Each raise provides an additional service. If the Summoning die comes up one (regardless of the Wild Die), the summoner receives hyperfeedback and is automatically Shaken. Should the roll come up snake eyes, the demon arrives unbound and plenty pissed. The summoner must then succeed on an opposed Spirit roll or take a Corruption Point as the demon floods his/her brain with the energies of Otherspace. The demon will then have the option to either return to Otherspace or hang around to engage in mischief.
A service is spent by the summoner by issuing a one sentence command. The demon will carry out this command to the best of its ability, but will obey the letter, rather than the spirit, of the order. Smart summoners learn to be careful in how they word their commands. The GM should discourage excessive run-on sentence commands. While the demon is under the thumb of the summoner until all the services have been used up, it will still try to break from its binding. It may attempt to do so every six hours by engaging the summoner in an opposed Spirit roll. If the summoner wins, the demon remains in thrall. Should the demon win, it breaks free of its binding. Once free, its first order of business will probably be to hassle the summoner. Once all the services have been spent and performed, the demon is then required to peacefully return to Otherspace.
Banishing is the ability to force a demon back into Otherspace. It can only be done on the fly. A summoner may even attempt to banish a demon s/he normally wouldn't be able to summon. Banishing is an opposed roll of Summoning vs. the demon's Spirit. The Power Point cost is the same as it would be to summon the demon in question. Additional Power Points may be spent to improve on the roll at the same rate as a summoning. However, if the demon has manifested, a -4 is applied to the Summoning roll due to it having a stronger connection to normal space. The demon may also spend its Power Points to provide bonuses to its Spirit roll at a rate of three Power Points per +2. If the summoner wins, the demon is successfully banished. If the demon wins, it hangs in there. Should the Summoning die come up one or the summoner get snake eyes, s/he'll suffer effects identical to what s/he'd get with a summoning. If the banishing attempt failed, the summoner may make another try if s/he has enough Power Points and is in a condition to do so.
One of the more notorious abilities of a demon is the power of possession in which it takes total control over a sentient. If the victim isn't strongwilled enough to evict the degenerate freeloader, an exorcism may prove desirable. The Summoning roll and Power Point costs are identical to those for banishing. Unlike banishing, an exorcism can use the ritual method, though it is recommended that the subject be restrained in some manner during the proceedings. If the summoner wins, the demon is cast out but is still around and may attempt to possess someone else (except the summoner and the person it had previously possessed) or to manifest if it wishes to do so. If the summoner gets a raise, the demon is also forced back into Otherspace. If the demon wins, it manages to stay, but the summoner may make another attempt if s/he wishes to do so and still has enough Power Points. Should the demon get a raise, it's got too firm a grip on its victim for the summoner to exorcise it. The only other options are to either find another, more capable summoner or lock the unfortunate in a padded cell until the demon gets bored and leaves of its own accord.