Monday, December 28, 2020

Four Types of Old Magick

    Those who call to the stars above and look to the bones of the damned do not deal with runes. No, their magic cuts closer to the lifeblood of reality itself. These are the forces they invoke, and the magicks they wield. It is wild and strange and powerful, so pursue with caution. Each description is accompanied by 3 limited-use blessings. How they are granted, and the ramifications of their effects, are entirely up to you, but be warned, they may change your games and worlds forever.

Raven: They are the cries in the woods, mimicking the beasts and children. Icy black wings flutter as they soar in the warm night, flying as one. Their magic is of the beast, and of the night, and of darkness.

    Wings of Murder. Blades of the night sprout from your back. You can fly, and become invisible in darkness. In addition, your wings are sharp, and anyone killed by them will never come back by any means. However, you have attracted the ire of the winged folk, who will always cry out upon sensing your presence, and attack you if they feel good about their chances, which is rare.

    Forest Eyes. The beasts and plants bend to your will. You can command them to do whatever you so please, and can see out of their eyes at will, but every time you do this, your lifespan grows shorter and shorter.

    Crow´s Eye. You can see five seconds into the future. If you act on what you see, the timeline can change. Be warned, some events are fixed in time, and reality will lash out against attempts to interfere.

Ash: The lightning, the thunder, the forest fire, the storm, the flood. All of nature's primal fury. It all will begin in dust, and end in dust. This is the way it has been, and the way it will be.

    Holocaust. You can touch a spot and specify a time up to a year in the future. At that time, a bolt of divine fury will strike, and a wall of fire will burn outwards until it is stopped naturally or until it consumes a creature with a pure heart. This power has been rumored to consume worlds if not carefully contained.

    From Dust. Once, touch the remains of a creature. They will return immediately at full strength, against any odds or conditions, even the will of gods. Once you do so, your strength is sapped as long as they remain alive.

    Storm´s Avatar. Your blood is the wind, and your tears are the rain. You control the weather anywhere in the world at any time. In addition, if you die from unnatural means, the world is plunged into an eternal storm until your body is ritually consecrated.

Moon: The rays of darkened light from the Observer shine on the whispers in shadows. The Observer's grace is only rivaled by her cold majesty. Those who wear her crown are her penumbra, and walk the line between day and night, life and death.

    Lunar Crown. The Observer blesses you with a headpiece of polished moon rocks. It is unconsciously recognized as a symbol of great authority by all who behold it, even if they may not know what it is. Over time, it calcifies over more of your body, making you more majestic and better armored. Eventually, however, you will be trapped in a shell of calcified moon rock.

    Meteor. Once, you can call down a meteor. Its destruction is total, and it will carry with it vestiges of the stars above. When you do so, you ascend to the stars as an act of celestial balance, lost forever wandering the constellations and planets above.

    Hard Light. You can project this nimbus of astral light. Anyone entering the light´s path must choose to either retreat or be burned by this luminous halo. You can choose to negate this effect. Alternatively, there is an alternate version of this incantation that projects an aura that bolsters willpower and vitality within the nimbus.

Glass: Fractals carved in crystal, frozen doorways to other places and other times. A shimmering liquid light, colors pouring out like fish from a transparent stream. Their magic is is the mirror and the window and the door and the blade and the hourglass.

    Turn the Clock. Once, you can travel to any point in time. Anyone near you comes with you. You get approximately to where you need to go, and your travelling companions get approximately close to where you land. More precision may be possible with much planning and ritualistic study.

    Occulus. Your eyes are replaced with multifaceted crystals that can pierce illusions, lies, and facades. Eventually, you will go blind as you being to see through even what is real.

    Door to the Desert. You can open a shimmering gateway in the air to a vast desert, littered with portals. The portals lead anywhere and anywhen, but never go to exactly where you need or want them to. Once you step into the desert, the portal closes forever.

--

Here are some strange factions to introduce these magics into your world. Not much is known about them, and all reports and documentation of them are tinged by rumormongering and xenophobia. What mysteries of their mystic lore will be plumbed, and what revelations about the universe do they quietly safeguard?

The Heretics of the Wood dwell in the endless Vipernoss, its golden leaves cloaking their rituals and prayers. They venerate the creatures of the sky, looking upwards for their wisdom. They read omens in the clouds and the stars and the flights of the birds, and their idols are twisted and mutated animals stitched from the hides of the hunted.

The Blasphemers of the Sacrosanct Peak occupy a great mountain on the Xorshed Alps. They dwell the caverns and caves that riddle the slopes of the mountain they call the Progenitor. They delve into the earth below for their blessings, and eat the gems from their mines as a form of worship. They believe that if they delve deep enough, they will find the Sun Below, and it will grant them all their heart´s desires.

The Driftwood Papacy is a shadowy organization, dwelling entirely on the Arabus Ocean. No explorer has made it to their (rumored) fortress of floating flotsam and explored the greatest temple of their waterlogged faith, but it is said that a demigod lies slumbering in the lowest chamber, their waterlogged tomb lying at the convergence of many leylines.


Thanks for reading, and happy gaming.

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