Okay, I want to expand the magic system a little bit by adding Advanced Arts. These are expanded uses of the basic arts and you have to buy an Edge for each one. The basic arts represent powers that anyone who grew up with a high Magic rating would probably be able to figure out how to do. The advanced arts expand on those and represent special tricks that would require special instruction, talent and study/experimentation.
Taking an Advanced Art requires you to buy a special Edge and already have a minimum Skill Rating (not skill total) of 5+. They use the same skill as the basic art.
Manipulate: grasp and move a nearby object telekinetically, by channeling force through a mystic tendril. Levitation (Advanced): you have learned how to hold yourself above the ground by channeling force along mystic tendrils. Levitation is slow and requires you to remain near a solid object for your tendrils to grasp. Rats have a much harder time casting Levitation because of their larger size.
Spark: produce a small flame from the tip of a tendril that you can use to illuminate an area or burn something. Shock (Advanced): you can produce electrical charges with a tendril, which does less damage than fire but can stun, knock out or even kill foes outright with a good enough roll. You can also produce light that doesn't generate any heat or flame and is thus safer to use around flammable objects.
Search: search in a direction for a particular kind of object, any living creature, or any ongoing spells. Warning (Advanced): you can set up a spherical Search spell that surrounds you and moves with you, letting you know if anything that it is set to detect ends up near you.
Probe: insinuate a magical tendril into an object or creature to study their inner workings or magical aura. This is slow and doesn't have much range. Reshape (Advanced): you can reshape an object, rearranging its physical form from within. This is often used by artisans and healers. Reshaping an object in anything other than a general way will require a separate skill roll, usually Craft for inanimate objects and Medicine for reshaping living creatures without harming them.
Influence: subtly manipulate a target's emotional state. Compel (Advanced): enforce overt mental commands on a target.
Hm... some other possible arts:
Link: create an indirect magical connection between yourself and another person or object. As long as the link is maintained, you are always considered to be touching that target for the purposes of targetting them with any spells. A Link spell isn't quite an enchantment but can last indefinitely. Delve (Advanced): you can also see through their eyes and cast spells through them if they cooperate.
Animate: create an animating life force in an inanimate object, granting it some degree of mobility and intelligence. Unless you sever the spell, it will only last so long as the object remains within range of you. Greater Animation (Advanced): the "creature" created will have some degree of intelligence and possibly speech, depending on how well you rolled.
Intuition: diffuse your own magical aura over an area so that you pick up subtle, mystical signals from it, such as major events in the recent past, the presence of hidden dangers, or the attentions of uneasy spirits. This might well replace Warning. Ghostwalk (Advanced): you can actively try to conjure up images of specific past events that you are interested in so that you can get more details.
Posted by Kiz at October 6, 2005 08:30 AMCommentsPost a comment