T3

Sorcery / Schticks / Creation

This is a Sorcery schtick that deals with transformation and Creation of inanimate matter. It also deals in the dissolution of material objects.

Creation magics are somewhat similar to Earth magics, but much more precise, though limited in mass and power. Polymorpism is the name of the related schtick that deals with the shapeshifting of living targets.

Backlash means the creation manifests, but fails when put under pressure – the created bridge breaks or the created food turns out to be rotten.

Creation and Transformation

You can create objects out of thin air, or transform objects into new and fantastic shapes.

Objects created or transformed using creation for all intents and purposes become whatever they were made into. Created food can be eaten, created bridges can be walked over. But once the duration is up, it is as if the item never existed, so those standing on the bridge fall and those who have eaten created food become hungry.

Created objects usually last only for the scene. They can be made to last until a set time, such as midnight, dawn or until the target or sorcerer next awakens from sleep with a Magic point. To keep it simple, it can last until the end of the session. Created food provides no lasting sustenance, though you will feel full and content, you will starve once the magic wears off.

Created objects look and feel somewhat unreal. They are more perfect in form, more radiant, with a slightly tingling, transparent feeling. There are many simple tests that can be made to see if an object is created, the easiest of which is to see if it puts out sparks in contact with iron. Merchants generally test merchandise (especially coins) in worlds where Creation is common.

If a mundane object is made permanent with the Permanency effect (Fertility or Metamagic), the object becomes a natural part of the world, and cannot be dispelled with magic. Such objects are in all ways natural, and such food can sustain a hungry man. Signature Weapons can never be permanently transformed.

Difficulty and Modifiers

There is a large number of factors that affect the complexity of creations. Each factor is explained, and all are summarized on the table below.

The base difficulty depends on the objects complexity and size.

Creation is heavily dependent of belief, and a Creation of something inappropriate to it's juncture or environment (a gun in 69AD) is much more difficult.

In general, it is as difficult to create something out of thin air as it is to transform another object into this new shape. But magical similarities can make this process easier. Transforming something in a way that resonates, such as transforming lead to gold, or dewdrops to gems, decreases the difficulty. Think of the transformations the fairy godmother does in Cinderella. As long as a transformation makes a good story, it becomes easier.

If the sorcerer is unfamiliar with the object is about to create, and has nothing to copy, the spell becomes more difficult.

Condition Example Difficulty
Raw, unformed substance pile of earth, bubble of water
Base materials, no moving parts club, rock, sword. 5
Precision tooling, unusual substances guns, gunpowder, silver or bronze 10
State-of-the-art technology or very valuable substances gold, computers 15
Large object Rifle, motorcycle, door or wall section +5
Huge object car, tiny building, 15m 2 wall, furnishings of large room. +10
Inappropriate, guns in 69AD +5
Resonates, teardrops to glass -5
Sorcerer unfamiliar with object and has nothing to copy A medieval sorcerer making a telephone +5

If whoever is using or holding the item is unwilling, the Creation needs an Outcome equal to his Skills: Dodge, Fix-It, Drive or other appropriate skill of the operator.

Conjuring items that simulate Items schticks costs a Magic point for each schtick. You can only create Items with magical properties if you know either the relevant Schticks or Artificing, and there is an additional Magic point cost in the later case. If such an object is made permanent, the item schtick must be purchased.

Note that you do not need this schtick to create magic items if you take time to do so; any sorcerer can do that using CommonEffects: Enchanting or Artificing.

Create Life

Life can be created out of nothing by a sorcerer who knows both Creation and Polymorpism. This creates an average specimen of some mundane creature type.

Destruction

Causing objects to disappear, or transforming them into something basically useless, has a difficulty equal to the object's Toughness. Each point of Outcome rips open a hole in a one-meter diameter. Against compact objects with a definite Toughness value, simple success destroys the object.

Typical materials and their Toughness ratings are wood (6), earth, plastic (9), stone, concrete (12), metal (15 or more). These values are for a sheet, about a centimeter thick. Thicker substances have considerably more Toughness. See the Toughness benchmarks.

If whoever is using or holding the item is unwilling, the Creation needs an Outcome equal to his Dodge, Fix-It, Drive or other appropriate Skills of the operator. This makes Destruction quite worthless in combat – try Disintegrate instead.

Signature Weapons (Fu or Guns) can never be destroyed, but they can be temporarily transformed.

Broken Terrain

Destruction can be used to cause cave-ins, accidents or treacherous ground in an area with a diameter equal to the Outcome against a difficulty determined by the substance's Toughness, as above. People walking in this are has half normal Move, and all actions other than simple movement count as continuos actions.

Repair

Repair any broken or damaged inanimate object. Each attempt costs a Magic point.

If the machine is named, you heal a number of Wound Points equal to the Action Result, but unless the result matches it's Toughness the repairs are only temporary. If it is unnamed, the difficulty is its Toughness right away.

On a Backlash, the item is permanently destroyed and cannot be repaired by any means. It is not possible to repair Arcanotech devices with this or any other purely magical spell unless you have a TechnomagicalEnabler.