Non-conventional uses of magic

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    • Non-conventional uses of magic

      For the game I am in we encountered a strange Suthra. At first we didn't know what it was so I decided to use the summoning ritual to attempt to calm this unkown beast. Figuring that I just needed to calm it's mind and put it back to sleep.

      Is this a valid use of summoning? Or did I blow smoke at my GM?
      If it comes down to the rules or the story; sorry but the rule book just became a paper-weight.
    • (Not sure if I interpreted/remembered the text from the pendium right, so I don't guarantee anything

      This is what I would have done if I were the GM)


      Was the creature actively attacking you, or spotted in the distance?

      If you had enough time to prepare your ritual and were able to locate the animal within the web of life (in my opinion it should have been harder, since you have never seen this type of animal, or specific animal before) and then managed to dominate it (personally, I would have made you fight a presentation of it's soul/spirit/will in-dream during the ritual, using your ritual dice to attack defeat and subdue it), I guess it's fair game!

      Or if the creature was fighting against your group and all the other players were giving you cover while doing the ritual, at the point when you are trying to dominate it, personally I would have frenzied the animal and sent straight for you, as if it knew that you are trying to break it's will.
      Then the other players would have had a chance to heroically save your ass as you awesomely break it's will in-dream.

      Generally though I think that the skill is more of a preperation thing.
      "Oh I have battle scheduled for tomorrow 8am, I should summon something!" xD

      The post was edited 4 times, last by Sherbie ().

    • RE: Non-conventional uses of magic

      Assuming you went through the various steps/disciplines described in the Summoning section, if the GM thought it sounded reasonable for the situation, I see no problem whatsoever in sort of "bending" the idea of the ritual's disciplines to suit your purposes...

      It sounds like you found it, accidentally (or purposefully) disturbed it, awoke it from some slumber, and then used magic to sooth it and put it back to sleep, is that correct?

      Scottie ^^
    • RE: Moving through Dream

      Originally posted by Aaron de Orive
      It is indeed possible to physically move through the Dreamworld (although very difficult) and is one of the Dreamwalking Disciplines discussed in the upcoming MAGIC & MARTIAL ARTS GUIDE. So stay tuned! :)


      It's already mentioned on the "Magic Difficulty Modifier Table" in the Basic Compendium, Page 256:

      Almost Impossible, -5 Dice or Higer, Seer: using the Dream Realm to physically transport your body

      So Seers can do it, yeah.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Sherbie ().

    • RE: Moving through Dream

      The way I see it, you can achieve pretty much anything with the Shard magic system provided the GM agrees.

      So has anybody considered an elemental type ritual for fireballs and whatnot? Combat of all sorts is possible with a liberal interpretation of the ritual rules and creating a new magical school should be pretty a simple matter of establishing the disciplines and a few examples...

      Scott and Aaron care to give us a little hint as to what, if any, new magical schools will be included in the eagerly anticipated sourcebook?

      >>ReaperWolf
    • Ring of Blazes

      Ring of Blazes

      This uncommon enchantment allows an item. Usually this is cast on a ring, glove, staff, or other hand held item. It charges the item with a limited amount of Prana that is converted to fire when the proper command word is given. When the prana in the item is expended it disintegrates.

      When cast by the enchanter the total number of successes are split between the number of uses and the possible damage.
      "One without crystal is without life"
    • RE: Non-conventional uses of magic

      Originally posted by Scott Jones
      Assuming you went through the various steps/disciplines described in the Summoning section, if the GM thought it sounded reasonable for the situation, I see no problem whatsoever in sort of "bending" the idea of the ritual's disciplines to suit your purposes...

      It sounds like you found it, accidentally (or purposefully) disturbed it, awoke it from some slumber, and then used magic to sooth it and put it back to sleep, is that correct?

      Scottie ^^

      Actualy it was awoken by the people mining in the cavern above it. I just made it very, very, angery when I did this. Turns out this Suthra had instictive magic skills, and was it's self a summoner. So when I tried to use the ritual I made contact with it's mind, and then was given the boot because it was angery, and I couldn't dominate it (Stupid Lazy butt demon descided she had better things to do)

      That said a question came up from a member of the party who took a look at what the demon could do in battle when she takes over my body. That question is "Why can't he do any of this?"
      The GM has said that yes, I can. I already know the rules I used for creating the 4 elemental attacks, but using them as Jasher, well it's a warping of the principals of magic design in this setting but if it bends the rules then it should come with a price I always say. So I figure using this magic there has to be a reason no one else does. THen I thought of it.

      Maybe it's dangerous. Maybe I should be making Vigor rolls when ever I try to use it. Trying to harness and channel power not ment for the janu body to be a condiut for.

      Universal Rules:
      Treat attack rolls and actions used as attacking in the dream.
      Roll ranks in Mystic (number of times Mystic was bought +Essence)
      Target(s) treat as any other attack and may defend using any reasonable skill.
      Roll a vigor check against your essence If you fail take 1/2 Essence levels of damage using mystic Staminia not standard staminia. Should this be drained down to 0 the Sorcerer becomes unconcious.

      Flame Blast: Damage [Essence -2] The is a Area attack. It can be defended only be skills that get the target(s) out of

      Ice Lance: Damge [Essence]. This may be defneded by combat skills.

      Wind Blast: Damge[None] Target is pushed back a number of feet equal to 5x essence. If they collide with anything damage =Essence /2 This may alone may be used as a reaction in combat even if another attack from this list were

      Earth Spikes: Damage [essnce/2] A section of ground becomes impassible covered in razor sharp spines. Use rules for hard to move threw terrain. Can be evaded with any none combat skill (Ie Martial Arts or Melee combat)
      If it comes down to the rules or the story; sorry but the rule book just became a paper-weight.
    • RE: Non-conventional uses of magic

      (Stupid Lazy butt demon descided she had better things to do)

      Is a butt demon anything like a butt genie?

      Originally posted by HereticalGM
      Maybe it's dangerous. Maybe I should be making Vigor rolls when ever I try to use it. Trying to harness and channel power not ment for the janu body to be a condiut for.

      Personally I think it should be very dangerous. There's sorcerors around that are infinitely more mightier than your character, yet their use of magic powers in the real world is limited to a few flashy martial arts tricks.

      It's daemonic magic. So if we are talking dangerous here, we should be talking "meddling with your own life force possibly causing mental or mystic wounds and maybe searing your own flesh off in the process" dangerous.

      Have your GM think of some interesting reactions to fumbles when you use these powers, and also track how often you use them.

      Maybe the magic gets more potent after each use as you get more confident, but you also let your guard down and it poisons your soul and breaks your body.

      This could give you the chance to do some nice roleplaying! I'm sure it'll add some athmosphere!

      Here's how I would do it:

      Flame Blast: Damage [Essence -2] The is a Area attack. It can be defended only be skills that get the target(s) out of

      1st use: A small burst of fire burns your opponents. Part of your fur is seared, some of your equipment may be burning. You feel thirsty.
      2nd use: Your enemies are set ablaze and have struggle to put themselves out. You feel a warmth on your inside and are slightly reassured that you have tamed this power. You have first degree burns, but they don't hurt you.
      ...etc
      Xth use: An ordeal of sparks and fire devours your enemies. Your soul feels like it's on fire, you have blisters on your hands and patches of burnt skin, you do not notice any of this. All you do is kneel on the floor, thick smoke emanating from your seared fur and skin... laughing madly.

      Ice Lance: Damge [Essence]. This may be defneded by combat skills.

      1st use: A slim pin of ice stabs your enemy for some damage. Your fingers feel cold and any liquids that you carry in your inventory are frozen.
      ...etc
      Xth use: A thick icicle impales your opponent, freezing his blood before it can gush out. Your fur is covered by a thin layer of ice, possible frostburns. You shiver so violently that you cannot speak, but a grim smile forms on your ice-flake covered lips.

      Wind Blast: Damge[None] Target is pushed back a number of feet equal to 5x essence. If they collide with anything damage =Essence /2 This may alone may be used as a reaction in combat even if another attack from this list were

      1st use: You build up before your target and let out a unbelievably loud shout, speaking in some unknown language. Pushing your target off his feet. Your throat feels a little hoarse and you have a headache.
      ..etc
      Xth use: You bow forward with a horrific grimace and let out a haunting, abyssmal howl in that temporarily deafens your enemy and hurls him far away, ripping clothing items off his body. Your head feels like it will explode and you will not be able to speak for the rest of the day.

      The post was edited 2 times, last by Sherbie ().

    • Even with his new combat powers Jasher has descided to do something possibly evil. He will use his magic to alter a Suthra weapon, into a bonded Symbotic weapon. A Bonding it semi-perminatly to his body. Of course that would require altering the creature using the Enhancement Discipline set, and summoning to call up a a Whip or punching Dagger.

      Then I will perminatly bond the creature to my mind so that it is subject to my will and obeys me perfectly, without having to rely on the suthra use skill. Then the last step is to allow it at afix to my body (and possibly a few major blood vessels for food and oxygen), and connect it perminatly to my will.

      So far what is thought to be my best creation so far with enhacement is my exploding arrows that I gave to one party memeber.
      If it comes down to the rules or the story; sorry but the rule book just became a paper-weight.
    • Originally posted by HereticalGM
      Then I will perminatly bond the creature to my mind so that it is subject to my will and obeys me perfectly, without having to rely on the suthra use skill.


      ??

      If the beast is still delivering an attack, Suthra Use is still the valid skill.

      Just a warning, the bonding may go both ways meaning your nervous system will be influenced by the alien insect so your character may become a pariahs due altered appearance and behavior. Since the janah were made in the image of the Devah, maybe the process would be viewed as blasphemous.

      >>ReaperWolf
    • I'm kinda freaked out at the idea. I don't mean that it's bad, I just never thought about it.

      Sounds like a good idea for a bad guy to carry such weapon,
      or lends ideas for parasitic Suthra that attach to their host and in turn can be used as weapon.

      I think we already came up with something similar in another thread:

      dardunah.com/forum/thread.php?postid=1676#post1676

      Originally posted by ReaperWolf
      If the beast is still delivering an attack, Suthra Use is still the valid skill.


      Well if he does not have recall how to command the beast and speak the command, I suppose it's not really suthra use.

      More like Natural Weaponry, except it's not natural.

      Maybe make a new Combat Skill to avoid confusion. ;D

      Originally posted by ReaperWolf
      Just a warning, the bonding may go both ways meaning your nervous system will be influenced by the alien insect so your character may become a pariahs due altered appearance and behavior.

      I agree as well, but I suppose he's already sort of a pariah since he carries a demon inside him, in long term it won't really change much.
    • Exactly, what could possibly go wrong.
      Wow I love how when I tamper with boarderline blasphemy people get their creative juices going. And a part of the process will be that it will burrow into the skin (ouch), so that just the tip it's tail is sticking out and it is concealed by my clothes.
      If it comes down to the rules or the story; sorry but the rule book just became a paper-weight.
    • I applaud that your game master gives you so many freedoms,
      though personally I try to keep things mundane with a sprinkle of mystery, reserving the great wonders for later sessions! :D

      Somehow, your character with his many body modifications makes me think of the Cenobites from Hellraiser, which believe that pain and warping of one's self is the key to enlightenment (as far as I know).
    • Originally posted by Sherbie
      I applaud that your game master gives you so many freedoms,
      though personally I try to keep things mundane with a sprinkle of mystery, reserving the great wonders for later sessions! :D

      Somehow, your character with his many body modifications makes me think of the Cenobites from Hellraiser, which believe that pain and warping of one's self is the key to enlightenment (as far as I know).

      Well so far he has only the sigil as his body modifaction. The atempt to gather a Suthra to use failed. But I rebounded. As for freedoms, she points out that there is nothing to stop me doing it but the difficulty modifiers, and finding a Rare Suthra in a city is tough. Not to mention i would be stealing someone elses and while they may not reconise/see it when I'm done, I still have to find one. I failed with the massive penalty to even locate what I was looking for.

      SO instead I turned to what I've been really good at enhancing None living things. So durring last nights session...

      Consualting with the "Grand Sorcereress Supreme, the most powerful and knowelgeable, Jez'Real" Jasher took a Legendary level Crystal Saber made for him from a strange Crystal found in the caves of the Mystic Suthra, and embewed it with magic.

      My first thought was to create a sword that would drain the Parna of my foes and transfer it to me as Mystical energy to fortify my spells (Take one of there actions that round and turn it into a bonus dice for my attack rolls with my sorceries). Jez'real reminded me of how we ended up getting stuck together in the first place, calling that one of my worst ideas to date.

      SO then I proposed a similar idea, draining the Prana of the enemy and feeding it back to the enemy as Necrotic energy (effectily makeing the sword deliver a Necrotic Poison); She pointed out that the sword would be unsafe for any occasion that I didn't want to kill someone. She agreed the idea was sound and reasonable, and enteresting. 2 days of fasting and magic later, and the aid of my Demon "teacher", the sword is compleated, with 15 Sucesses! It's a legandary magic weapon. After a moment of consideration though after makeing it, I'm starting to wonder 4 things.
      1. Is Jasher really starting to not stroll, not amble, but jog down the path to the Dark Side.
      2. IS this sword going to be giving off an aura of evil?
      3. Considering the nature of magic in Dardunah, and where some of the power and skill came from to craft it, should there be unforseen levels of power in this weapon, abilities that I didn't forsee when I wove the enchantments over it.
      4. What do I call it? This thing has the magical power of Excalibre or Caliburn, or the Masamune it should have a name!
      If it comes down to the rules or the story; sorry but the rule book just became a paper-weight.
    • Originally posted by HereticalGM
      Well so far he has only the sigil as his body modifaction. The atempt to gather a Suthra to use failed. But I rebounded.

      Originally posted by HereticalGM
      As for freedoms, she points out that there is nothing to stop me doing it but the difficulty modifiers, and finding a Rare Suthra in a city is tough

      That's true, and wasn't your character in fact of the outcaste (or any other caste other than the high caste)?
      In that case, all legal means of aquiring such creature would be ruled out as well. :/

      Originally posted by HereticalGM
      SO instead I turned to what I've been really good at enhancing None living things. So durring last nights session...

      Yeah, I myself give players a hefty penalty when trying to magically enhance living things, with grave side effects should they fail (they are messing with their inner workings, after all! Knowledge of the healing ritual might help, though...), such as new mystical drawbacks or stat damage.

      Originally posted by HereticalGM
      My first thought was to create a sword that would drain the Parna of my foes and transfer it to me as Mystical energy to fortify my spells (Take one of there actions that round and turn it into a bonus dice for my attack rolls with my sorceries). Jez'real reminded me of how we ended up getting stuck together in the first place, calling that one of my worst ideas to date.

      It doesn't sound like a bad idea,

      Originally posted by HereticalGM
      SO then I proposed a similar idea, draining the Prana of the enemy and feeding it back to the enemy as Necrotic energy (effectily makeing the sword deliver a Necrotic Poison); She pointed out that the sword would be unsafe for any occasion that I didn't want to kill someone. She agreed the idea was sound and reasonable, and enteresting.

      It sounds deadly for sure.
      Does that mean that the dealt damage factors into the applied poison level?
      How long will the enchantment stay?

      Originally posted by HereticalGM
      1. Is Jasher really starting to not stroll, not amble, but jog down the path to the Dark Side.

      With a demon dwelling in his chest, I think it's safe to say he's been a resident of eviltown for a while already.

      Originally posted by HereticalGM
      2. IS this sword going to be giving off an aura of evil?

      Is the sword itself evil? Maybe.
      It certainly dispenses rather ghastly effects unto your enemies...
      As far as I understood, it "defiles" their life force.
      So yeah, probably evil.

      It's powers might certainly attract unwanted attention of the magical and mundane kind.
      Abyssal beasts or wicked shadows that want to steal or possess it's powers, artifact collectors or other influential persons that want to buy or force it off you...

      Originally posted by HereticalGM
      3. Considering the nature of magic in Dardunah, and where some of the power and skill came from to craft it, should there be unforseen levels of power in this weapon, abilities that I didn't forsee when I wove the enchantments over it.

      Where did the power come from, though?

      I think you can leave surprises like that to your GM! :D

      Personally, I find the idea of such repercussions on your person, or unknown side-effects to be a very good one!

      How about a house rule for that:
      Every enchantment ritual comes with a few stages. Maybe during one of the stages, there's a certain possibility the magic gets slightly "tainted", with interesting effects.
      We could compile a list of negative effects or "personalities" a magical item could have. They could also have drawbacks just like a person, such as hating a certain kind of janah! *writes down idea for another thread, or the houserules thread*

      Originally posted by HereticalGM
      4. What do I call it? This thing has the magical power of Excalibre or Caliburn, or the Masamune it should have a name!

      Well, you could try the Name Generator, make up a fancy oriental-sounding one, or rather describing, like
      - Hekqual, the Defiling Edge
      - Soulblemish
      - etc

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Sherbie ().

    • Our story is winding to an end. The "evil" sword was named Soulsting. We are going up against a monsterous sorcerous Suthra who has absorbed the powers of the others we have been fighting. It's power is great.

      To this end, I think that I will revisit my greatest tradition as a player. Jasher shall become a martyr. I plan to pull all the power possible from his demon, then all the power (even his life force) he has in his body, and turn him into a bomb. I just hope that Kills this thing. Otherwise, the rest of the group will die.

      I think this will provide a fitting end to Jasher, with the Sigil destroyed Jez'Real will return to her home, and perhaps the Devah will forgive him his sins and allow him at the Edge of Heaven.

      SO anyone know just how much raw power a mage could convert every ounce of their being into?
      If it comes down to the rules or the story; sorry but the rule book just became a paper-weight.