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Sorcery Traditions
Sorcerers form cabals, schools, guilds and cults. Not only does this give them social benefits and venues for finding teachers, students and employment. Nor is it solely because they wish to form a school of magic and gather together all the lore they can find. No, a major reason is that they need the support of their fellows when confronting the raw forces of reality. Sorcery is the art of shaping reality through your craft. It is similar to Shaping, but much more commonly available, and more utalitarian. But on all sorcery deals with reality on a very primal level, and all sorcerers need a solid root in tradition in order to manipulate reality in this way. A magic tradition is always based on a particular view of reality and the sorcerers place in that reality. Many such traditions are bases in religion. Some assume that the sorcerer is a servant of some divine force, that grants him his power. Others seek to manipulate or plead with the divine forces of the universe without devoting themsleves to serving them. Others see the universe as impersonal, and the strings they pull as simple cause-and-effect relationships with no deeper meaning. But however sorcerers describe reality, they must be very devoted to their point of view; it is the fixed pont that gives them the leverage to move the universe. A world-view that is shared between several sorcerers is easier to use and becomes more powerful. The sorcerer can convince himself of the validity of his views by comparing his works and teories to those of others in the same tradition. Breaking with tradition is ikonoclastic and heretical, and might very vell prompt his former collegues to hunt him back or kill him rather than let him leave the fold. They have to, failing to do so would weaken their own confidence in the magic they are using. Each sorcery tradition has some limitations, crutches or mental obstacles that you must accept in order to use sorcery. Certain sorcerers do away with one or more of these crutches, but only with great effort. It is possible to establish your own sorcery tradition, with your own strictures and limitations. But doing so is an immense undertaking, and you can expect hostility from existing schools and no help when learning new magic. This is something best left to semi-mythical NPCs. Starfox | Home | T3 | Sorcery | Traditions | |
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