Difference between revisions of "Category:Schools of Sorcery"

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(Created page with "==Sorcerous Schools== Sorcery is a powerful and world-shaping force, not the purview of any single type of spirit or Exalt. It appeared under myster...")
 
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While it is not hard to adopt the worldview of a school in a basic sense, with zealous devotion or unenthusiastic interest, at their heart the Schools represent theories of what is True. To not only understand this truth, but to internalize it so that every thought and every perception is based upon that truth, rather than the lies and illusions which dominate much of the thought in Creation, is to effect a fundamental change upon an individual.  
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While it is not hard to pretend at the worldview of a school in a basic sense, with zealous rote devotion or unenthusiastic passing interest, at their heart the Schools represent theories of what is True. To not only understand this truth, but to internalize it so that every thought and every perception is based upon that truth, rather than the lies and illusions which dominate much of the thought in Creation, is to effect a fundamental change upon an individual.  
  
  
Much as the Sorcery Charms are universal, representing an individual's awakening to power and understanding, Absorption Charms are universal representing this fundamental change in worldview, with permanent effects both on the sorcerer's spellcraft and on their mundane actions. One can learn only a single Absorption Charm, and one may not un-learn that Charm... many advanced sorcerers, even those devoted to a School, do not take that final step into Absorption, due to fears of subordoning themselves to some greater power, or simply those last, lingering doubts that prevent them from reaching true certainty.  
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Much as the Sorcery Charms are universal, representing an individual's awakening to the power and expression of Sorcery, Absorption Charms are universal, representing their fundamental understanding of sorcery, a change in worldview, with permanent effects that both allow a would-be sorcerer to reach for the power spellcraft, and reflect upon their mundane actions.  
  
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The general rules for the [[Sorcerous Absorption]] Charm are universal (as is the need for such a Charm as prerequisite for learning [[Terrestrial Circle Sorcery]]), but each School will have a specific variant of the Charm, with its own Ability requirement and effects.
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As an Absorption is a worldview, and a worldview is the foundation of Sorcery, it is rare indeed for a sorcerer to change their School. However, though rare, it is not unknown for a sorcerer to experience crisis and epiphany which causes them to reconsider their foundations. This is a very significant shift, not to be taken lightly: the sorcerer loses their Absorption AND any Sorcery Charms. They must then adopt a new Absorption, and learn any Sorcery Charms again, going through any required steps and sacrifices. This shift does not inherently make a sorcerer forget their [[:Category:Spells|Spells]], but not all spells are compatible with the approaches of all Schools: the Storyteller and player ought cooperate to determine what can be retained, what can be replaced with compatible alternatives, and what must be lost outright. 
  
 
[[Category:Sorcery]]
 
[[Category:Sorcery]]

Revision as of 16:58, 27 October 2015

Sorcerous Schools

Sorcery is a powerful and world-shaping force, not the purview of any single type of spirit or Exalt. It appeared under mysterious circumstances in the wake of the Primordial War, it has no god in Yu-shan, and even the Primordials Gaia and Autochthon left no explanations for its nature. Some have compared it to the will-workings of the Primordials which forged Creation, others to the shifting tides of the Wyld... but nothing in Creation shouts out the truth of its nature.


That has not stopped many through the millenia from trying to discover that truth, to not only create new spells but to explain the very workings of sorcery, and thus the nature of Creation. Those who have grasped some truth or found support for some theory that can prove its own merits and withstand the counterarguments of their rivals, these become the Schools of Sorcery, worldviews for understanding Creation, paradigms for the practice of the sorcerous art.


School Spells

While several developments (most prominently the symbols and language of the Silurian School) have allowed different schools to understand each others' spells, Sorcerous Schools are ultimately incompatible views of how Creation and sorcery function, and are often diametrically opposed. Sorcery and sorcerers have immense flexibility, but the mindset and beliefs of a School have an impact on the spells a sorcerer will want to learn, and those they will have great difficulty grasping.


School Absorptions

While it is not hard to pretend at the worldview of a school in a basic sense, with zealous rote devotion or unenthusiastic passing interest, at their heart the Schools represent theories of what is True. To not only understand this truth, but to internalize it so that every thought and every perception is based upon that truth, rather than the lies and illusions which dominate much of the thought in Creation, is to effect a fundamental change upon an individual.


Much as the Sorcery Charms are universal, representing an individual's awakening to the power and expression of Sorcery, Absorption Charms are universal, representing their fundamental understanding of sorcery, a change in worldview, with permanent effects that both allow a would-be sorcerer to reach for the power spellcraft, and reflect upon their mundane actions.


The general rules for the Sorcerous Absorption Charm are universal (as is the need for such a Charm as prerequisite for learning Terrestrial Circle Sorcery), but each School will have a specific variant of the Charm, with its own Ability requirement and effects.


As an Absorption is a worldview, and a worldview is the foundation of Sorcery, it is rare indeed for a sorcerer to change their School. However, though rare, it is not unknown for a sorcerer to experience crisis and epiphany which causes them to reconsider their foundations. This is a very significant shift, not to be taken lightly: the sorcerer loses their Absorption AND any Sorcery Charms. They must then adopt a new Absorption, and learn any Sorcery Charms again, going through any required steps and sacrifices. This shift does not inherently make a sorcerer forget their Spells, but not all spells are compatible with the approaches of all Schools: the Storyteller and player ought cooperate to determine what can be retained, what can be replaced with compatible alternatives, and what must be lost outright.

Pages in category "Schools of Sorcery"

The following 10 pages are in this category, out of 10 total.