Sorcerous Familiars, the Second
A familiar is a creature or thing created by a wizard an imbued with his
magical energy. The familiar becomes an extension of the wizard,
providing him with a companion who can aid him in his magical journey
towards ultimate power.
The wizard can create a familiar any object or creature. The process of
familiar creation gives the object or creature life and intelligence.
To create a familiar, the Wizard must know
the Ritual of Familiar Creation
. This skill must be found or learned using the normal rules for
learning "outside career" skills.
Creating a complete familiar will take a wizard several months, if not
years, of game time.
Relation to Druidic Familiars
Druidic familiars are spritual totems or fetches. A druidic priest may
create a sorcerous familiar , but only with the agreement of his totem.
The Ritual of Familiar Creation
The Ritual of Familiar Creation is a special skill which allows the
wizard (or any spell caster with magic points) to create a sorcerous
familiar. Any object or souless creature may be used to create the
familiar. This object or creature is called the Familiar Vessel. During
the ritual, the wizard may invest the familiar with additional
abilities. In effect, the wizard is creating an NPC character out of
whole cloth, using lengthy rituals and his own power to fuel the
creation of this character.
The Ritual of Familiar Creation has
two important parts. In the first part, the wizard uses the
Ritual to locate a free and willing spirit or soul to
inhabit the Familiar Vessel. The second part (the Investment
Ritual
) allows the wizard to imbue the familiar with attributes it may
be lacking.
Selecting the Familiar Vessel
The caster must first select a creature or object of excellent character
for its species. Not just any "off the shelf" creature or object will
do. The hopeful familiar must be a (nearly) perfect example of its kind.
The GM should determine whether or not the creature or object is
suitable familiar material. In no case should the chance be greater than
1 in 10.
The wizard must Evaluate the
potential vessel's quality as well. He could select a familiar
candidate that the GM has determined is unsuitable. If the wizard's
Evaluate
test misleads him, he will not
learn of his mistake until the ritual fails: a spirit can never be bound
into a inadequate vessel.
Performing the Ritual: Sifting for a Soul
Once the vessel is selected, the wizard must locate a willing spirit to
inhabit it and bring the vessel to life.
During the ritual, the wizard will invest magic points to sustain the
ritual magic. These magic points are marked with an asterisk (*) in the
following text. The magician may not regain these magic points until
after the entire ritual is completed. Only the magic points invested
successfully may not be regained (ie, if it takes the wizard 3 attempts
and 3 magic points to successfully draw the Magic Circle, he may regain
the magic points spent on the two failed attempts).
By way of clarification, asterisk-marked (*)
magic points are not lost permanently, but are bound
up
into the ritual magic and unavailable to
the wizard until the ritual concludes. After the ritual concludes, the
wizard may regain these magic points normally.
The wizard begins the ritual by spending 1 magic point(*) and making a WP
test. The ritual is not begun until the wizard has succeeded his WP test
and each test cost 1 MP. Each test takes 10 minutes.
The wizard must draw a Magic Circle (1 magic point(*), Dex test, +10 Art,
+10 Rune Mastery) and place the vessel within the circle.
The wizard must draw a Magic Pentagram (1 magic point(*), Dex test, +10
Art, +10 Rune Mastery). The Pentagram will contain the spirit contacted
by the wizard. The wizard may spend additional magic points to
strengthen the Pentagram against hostile spirits (see below).
The Circle and the Pentagram must be within 3 yards of each other. They
must be created during the same ritual. Both must remain unmoved, intact
and unbroken until the entire ritual is complete. It takes 10 minutes to
correctly draw the Circle and another 10 minutes to draw the Pentagram.
Once the Circle and Pentagram are complete, the wizard must place an
offering appropriate to the spirit he wants to attract within the
Pentagram. Some examples are:
- Lawful spirits : a single perfect item; eg, a triangle, sphere or
arrow of purest gold.
- Good spirits : an item of value or beauty or expressive work of art.
- Neutral spirits : an raw, natural item such as a rock, a flower, or a
simple vessel of fresh spring water.
- Evil spirits : blood or animal sacrifices.
- Chaotic spirits : diseased animals,
murdered children, deviant sexual devices, or chaotic or magic
items.
Maintaining the Ritual
The wizard must actively engage in the ritual
6 consecutive hours a day. Until the ritual is completed or
abandoned, the wizard must spend 1 magic point a day(*) to fuel the
ritual magics. Each day, he may make a Soul Search
test to see if he has attracted a spirit to the Pentagram.
The Soul Search Test
Each day, the wizard has a 1D6% (cumulative) chance of attracting a
spirit (Cleric/Druid +10, Necromancer/Demonologist +20). Once the wizard
has attracted a spirit, the GM should roll on the following table:
If the above roll is a double (00, 99, 88, etc), the spirit is hostile
to the wizard and will attempt to break the Pentagram and attack/possess
him.
Spirits have the following profiles:
|
|
|
|
| 2D10 + 20 (30)
|
2D10 + 30 (40)
|
2D10 + 40 (50)
|
| 2D10 + 10 (20)
|
2D10 + 20 (30)
|
2D10 + 40 (50)
|
| 2D10 + 20 (30)
|
2D10 + 40 (50)
|
2D10 + 70 (80)
|
| 2D10 + 20 (30)
|
2D10 + 30 (40)
|
2D10 + 40 (50)
|
| 2D10 + 20 (30)
|
2D10 + 40 (50)
|
2D10 + 50 (60)
|
| 2D10 + 20 (30)
|
2D10 + 20 (30)
|
2D10 + 20 (30)
|
| 1
|
1D3
|
1D3 + 1
|
| All spirits, WP/2
|
The arrival of the spirit magically consumes the sacrifice as the spirit
becomes discernable within the Pentagram. If the spirit is not hostile
to the wizard, the wizard may now examine and converse with the spirit
to determine its suitability for a familiar (the GM should role-play
this out, hinting at the spirit's strengths and weaknesses). Unless the
wizard wishes to force the spirit into the Familiar Vessel (see below),
he will need to reach a bargain or mutual agreement with the spirit (see
Spirit Desires below). The details of this role-playing are up the the
GM and the player. If the wizard thinks the spirit is suitable and the
spirit and the wizard can reach an agreement, the wizard may attempt to
complete the binding. The wizard must make a successful WP test and
spend 1 magic point(*) to facilitate the spirit into Familiar Vessel. It
takes 10 minutes to perform this test and the wizard may repeat it until
it succeeds. Once the wizard has succeeded, the Familiar Vessel gains
sentience and the wizard may proceed with the final stages of the
Ritual.
The Vessel and Spirit's Attributes
When the spirit enters the vessel, it replaces (or provides) the
vessel's Int, Ld, Cl, WP, and Fel scores. Since I is a physical-mental
attribute, it averages its I with the vessel's original I.
Hostile Spirits
If a hostile spirit arrives or if the wizard attempts to force the
spirit into the Familiar Vessel against its will, the spirit will become
enraged and attempt to harm the wizard.
First, the spirit must break free of the Pentagram. To do so, it need
only make a successful WP test and spend 1 magic point, modified as
follows:
- -5 per additional magic point spent by the wizard to strengthen the
Pentragram.
- +5 per additional magic point spent by
the spirit to break the Pentagram.
The spirit will continue its attacks (1/round) against the Pentagram
until it succeeds, the wizard dismisses, the wizard appeases it, or the
wizard forcefully binds the spirit into the Familiar Vessel.
Dismissing the Spirit
At any time during the ritual, the wizard may dismiss a non-hostile
spirit simply by telling it to leave. However, hostile spirits can only
be dismissed if the wizard wins WP vs. WP contest against the spirit.
The wizard may only make 1 test per round and may only make the test as
long as the spirit is still bound by the Pentagram.
Once a spirit is dismissed, the ritual is over and the wizard must begin
it again anew (he may use the same Familiar Vessel, but he must redraw
the Circle and Pentragram and locate a new offering).
Appeasing the Spirit
A wizard faced with a hostile spirit may
attempt to appease it by offering it a substantial promise or
sacrifice in addition to the sacrifice already taken by the spirit.
This is, essentially, a "spiritual" bribe and requires a
Bribery
test (though, obviously, the GM
will need to adjudicate the value of the bribe). The wizard only gets
one chance to appease the spirit. An appeased spirit will never agree to
becoming the wizard's familiar, but it will peacefully depart, taking
whatever the wizard offered with it.
Spirit Combat and Forcefully Binding the Spirit
If the hostile spirit overcomes the Pentagram, it will immediately
attack the wizard. The spirit's goal is to possess the wizard. It does
this by attack the wizard's mind and soul. It must overcome the
wizard's mind and soul to control his body.
If a wizard wants to force the spirit into the vessel, he must attack
the spirit. Doing so automatically breaks the Pentagram and frees the
spirit to combat him.
Each round, the wizard and the spirit spend 1 magic point to engage in
spiritual combat. If one spends the magic point and the other does not,
the former automatically wins that round. If neither spend a magic
point (for whatever reason), the spirit combat is over and the spirit
departs.
The spirit attacks the wizard's Int, Ld, Cl, WP, and Fel. Each
round, both combatants make a test against one of these attributes. If
both succeed or fail, the spirit combat is a draw that round. If one
succeeds and the other fails, the winner has taken gains a "point" of
possession over the loser. If the spirit gains 3 points of possession,
it possesses the wizard (until the spirit can be exorcised) and may do
what it wants with the wizard's body. If the wizard gains 3 points of
possession, it has mastered the spirit and the spirit will obey him (in
essence, it becomes non-hostile).
Once an attribute has been won by either the spirit or wizard, it cannot
be attacked again during this spirit combat. For example, a spirit can
attack and win against the wizard's Int, WP, and Fel to gain 3
possession points. It cannot attack and win over the wizard's WP 3
times.
Possession
Although possessed by a spirit, the wizard is not always directly under
its control. Immediately after losing the spiritual combat and being
possessed, the spirit will control the wizards body for 2D6 hours, then
become "tired." The wizard will regain control of his body. However,
once a day, the wizard must succeed a WP test or succumb to the spirit
for another 2D6 hours.
The Spirit Bargain: Spirit Desires
All spirits bound into familiar vessels have Desires. These are needs
that the spirit will demand the caster fulfill on a daily basis. A
Weak spirit will have 1 Desire, a Normal Spirit will have 1D3 Desires,
and a Strong Spirit will have 1D3+1 Desires. Desires are often odd and
sometimes downright trivial and annoying. The spirit will inform the
wizard of its Desires and expect the wizard to accept and meet them.
Some example desires are:
- Keeping the vessel emaculate and clean.
- Proving a bowl of blood everyday for the vessel to sip.
- Allowing the vessel to sit in the sun for an hour everyday.
- Applying makeup to the vessel.
- Feeding the vessel crickets fried in olive oil and garlic.
- Bathing the vessel in urine.
- Placing the vessel in an empty grave
every night.
Obviously, the GM is encouraged to come up with original but similarly toned desires.
If the wizard does not meet the familiar spirit's Desires, it will
become agitated. After 1 week, it will become quite frustrated and
angry with the wizard and will begin refusing or subverting the wizard's
commands. After 2 weeks, it will become listless and weak, losing 1 W
(and so, too, will the wizard). Each week after 3, it becomes
progressively weaker and sick (losing 1 W per week, as does the wizard)
until it dies.
All spirits, even spirits bound against their will, have Desires that
the wizard must meet.
Binding the Vessel
Once a spirit has entered the Familiar Vessel, the wizard must
immediately inscribe or permanently mark the vessel with a Pentagram. To
successfully seal the Binding Pentagram, he must make a successful Dex
test (+10 Art, +10 Rune Mastery) and spend 1 magic point(*). The wizard
may make a second test (1 magic point(*)) if the first test fails. If
pentagram cannot be successfully inscribed on the vessel by the second
try, the ritual ends and the spirit departs. In addition, the vessel is
no longer pure enough to act as a familiar vessel.
Note, if the vessel was not pefect enough to
begin with, the Binding Pentagram tests above will
always
fail.
Once the spirit is bound into the Familiar Vessel, the Vessel gains the
attributes of the spirit (exception, I, see The Vessel-Spirit's
Attributes, above). It does not, however, gain any abilities not
formerly possessed by either the spirit or the Familiar Vessel.
In some cases, the Familiar, though now sentient, will not be
completed and the wizard will need to perform additional rituals to
complete the familiar.
The Familiar Link
The last thing the Wizard must do is establish the Familiar Link between
himself and the familiar. The wizard sacrifices 4 points from his Power
Level. These 4 points are permanently dedicated to maintaining the
Familiar Link and will only return to the wizard in the event of the
familiar's death.
Once the familiar is successfully sealed and linked into the Familiar
Vessel, the ritual concludes. The wizard may move onto the additional
rituals to complete the familiar.
Default Familiar Attributes
Familiars placed in living but souless vessels will replace the vessel's
spirit (I [Avg], Int, Ld, WP, Cl, and Fel) but gain all of the vessel's
natural abilities and weaknesses.
Familiars placed into inanimate vessels will provide the vessel with a
soul (I/2, Int, Ld, WP, Cl, and Fel), the wizard will need to invest the
vessel with whatever degree of animate physical attributes he desires.
All familiars can sense their surroundings. They can taste, smell, see,
hear, and feel like normal living creatures. The familiar does not
require organs for these senses, but familiars without the proper organs
sense with a -30 penalty to any tests made based on the organless sense.
The wizard may invest the vessel with Organs, which allows the familiar
to magically form the required organs out of its body as needed.
All familiars can understand all the languages spoken by the master,
though they cannot speak unless given the Speech ability.
Familiars, being fully sentient, may learn skills and follow
(appropriate) careers. The familiar begins "career-less" and earns
experience on its own (for convenience sake, it earns 1/3 the experience
earned by the master). Once the familiar has earned 100 EXP, it may
enter a basic career of the wizard's choosing as long as the career is
appropriate to the familiar's physical abilities and the GM approves.
Familiars are not usually bound by the trapping requirements of careers
(at the GMs discretion). Common initial careers for familiars include
Servant, Bodyguard, Initiate, Student, and Wizard Apprentice.
The Wizard-Familiar Relationship
The relation between the wizard and his familiar is based, for the most
part, on the agreement the wizard reached with the familiar spirit. The
familiar is bound to follow the agreement, though familiars bound
against their will obviously may try to subvert the wizard's wishes
through loopholes.
The Familiar Link between the wizard and familiar mystically ties the
two beings souls and bodies together. If one is wounded, the other takes
similar number of W to the same location. If one drinks poison, the
other must also test against the poison just as if he or she or it had
drunk the poison.
Benefits of Having a Familiar
The wizard gains the following benefits from his familiar:
- The Wizard's Far Eye: If the wizard concentrates (remains prone), he
may sense the world through the familiar's surroundings. This is
unlimited by distance and costs 1 magic point/minute.
- The Wizard's Long Arm: The wizard may
cast a spell through the familiar as if he was located where the
familiar is. This is unlimited by distance, but costs 1 magic
point/mile distance to initiate.
Rituals for Completing the Familiar: The Investment Rituals
Familiars will often need additional abilities to function as a whole
being. For example, familiars constructed from animals will probably
need to be given the power of speech whereas familiars constructed from
inamimate objects will need to be given not only the ability to speak,
but to move as well.
The wizard can complete his familiar by
performing the Ritual of Familiar Creation
at any time in the future upon his familiar. As
always, he begins the ritual by spending 1 magic point(*) and making a
WP test. He must maintain the ritual with 1 magic point(*) everyday and
he must be in contact with the familiar, performing the ritual, at least
6 hours everyday until the ritual is completed or abandoned.
To complete the familiar, the wizard selects what ability he is
attempting to impart to the familiar. Each ability has a cost in magic
points. The wizard may spend 1 magic point(*) a day towards the cost of
the ability. If the wizard reaches a point where he can no longer spend
magic points, he may Pause the Ritual (see below) to rest and recover,
and begin the ritual again later. Thus, it may take the wizard several
weeks or months (or years) of constant ritualizing to complete his
familiar.
Pausing the Ritual
Some abilities cannot possibly be completed within one ritual; they
simply cost too many magic points. In these cases, the wizard may Pause
the Ritual by making a successful WP test.
If the test succeeds, the ritual is successfully paused and the wizard
may resume where he left off when he is rested and ready.
If the test fails, the ritual is still successfully paused, but the
wizard loses half of the magic point investment from the ritual. For
example, if he spent 30 days and 30 magic points and failed the pause WP
test, he would have only successfully invested 15 magic points towards
the ability.
If the test fumbles (a failure with a double), all magic points invested
in the ability are lost and the wizard must start over again from
scratch.
Ritual Components
Some of the familiar ability rituals require special components similar
to spells. These components must be present during the entire ritual
and are consumed at the end of the ritual.
The Investment Ritual Test
On the last day of the Investment Ritual, the wizard makes a WP test.
If the WP test succeeds, the ritual is successful and completed.
If the WP test fails, the ritual is flawed and requires more an
additional 25% investment of magic points to correct the errors. The
wizard must make another Investment Test when the time comes due again.
If the WP test fails with doubles (00, 99, etc), the ritual is botched
and all the invested magic points are lost. The wizard must begin
again.
Invested Familiar Abilities
The wizard may invest his familiar with the following abilities:
| 50 + 50/M
|
| A rabbit's foot.
|
| The vessel must have 1 S per 3 points of legs M.
|
| Legs provides the familiar with the ability to move about on
land. The vessel must have inanimate legs to begin with. The wizard
specifies how many points of M to purchase when beginning the ritual.
|
| 25 + 75/M
|
| A dried snake.
|
| The vessel must have 1 S per 3 points of slither M.
|
| Slither gives the familiar the ability to slither and slide
about on land like a snake. Vessels without inanimate legs must choose
Slither to move about on land. The wizard specifies how many points of M
to purchase when beginning the ritual.
|
| 75 + 75/M
|
| A bat wing.
|
| The vessel must have 1 S per 2 points of flight M.
|
| Flight gives the familiar the ability to fly in the air like a
bird. The vessel must have inanimate wings to begin with. The wizard
specifies how many points of M to purchase and how the familiar will fly
(Swoop, Hover, Glide).
|
| 25 + 25/M
|
| A fish tail.
|
| The vessel must have 1 S per 4 points of swim M.
|
| Swim gives the familiar the ability to swim like a fish. The
vessel must either have inanimate fins or the Slither ability to begin
with. The wizard specifies how many points of M to purchase.
|
| 50 + 75/S
|
| The horn of an animal.
|
| The vessel must have a T score.
|
| Strength imparts a S attribute to the vessel, giving it the
ability to move its body as though it had a muscle system. Therefore, S
is required for any other investments that naturally involve muscle-
power and motor-control. The investment of S turns an inanimated vessel
into an animated one (a statue vessel could now, for example, make
facial expressions and move its mouth). The wizard specifies how many
points of S to purchase.
|
| 50 + 75/T
|
| A turtle shell.
|
| None.
|
| Toughness imparts a T attribute to the vessel, giving it the
ability to resist damage, disease, and poisons. Most inanimate vessels
already have a T score and, therefore, do not require this investment.
However, it is conceivable that a wizard could select a vessel without a
inanimate T score (ie, a pool of pure water, for example). The wizard
specifies how many points of T to purchase.
|
| 50 + 75/W
|
| 1 pint of blood/W.
|
| None.
|
| Wounds imparts a W attribute to the vessel, giving it the
ability to withstand attacks and take wounds. Most inanimate vessels
already have a W score (or Dmg score) and, therefore, do not require
this investment. The wizard specifies how many points of W to purchase.
|
| 50 + 75/10 Dex
|
| A finger bone.
|
| The vessel must have S.
|
| Dexterity imparts a Dex score to the vessel, giving it the
ability to finely manipulate objects and perform complicated manual
tasks. The vessel must have one or more inanimate appendages suitable
for such tasks. The wizard specifies how many points of Dex to purchase.
|
| 100 + 100/10 WS
|
| A weapon, natural or man-made.
|
| The vessel must have S.
|
| Attack imparts the vessel with a WS score, giving it the ability
to make an attack. A vessel with Dex may learn to use melee weapons.
Otherwise, the vessel must have claws or teeth. Vessels without Dex or
without claws or teeth may make butting/bashing attacks with a -2 damage
penalty. The vessel gains 1 A if it has none.
|
| 100 + 100/10 WS
|
| A missile weapon, natural or man-made.
|
| The vessel must have S.
|
| Attack imparts the vessel with a S score, giving it the ability
to make an attack with a missile weapon. The vessel gains 1 A if it has
none.
|
| 150 (per Organ granted)
|
| An ear, a nose, a tongue, a eye, or a hand, as appropriate.
|
| None.
|
| Organs give the vessel the ability to magically form a sensory
organ appropriate to the sense. Although all familiars have the natural
five senses, familiars without appropriate organs suffer a -30 penalty
to tests using that particular sense. An Organ must be invested for each
sense. The familiar can instantly form and dismiss the organ out of its
vessel as needed.
none.
|
| 100
|
| One of the owning wizard's teeth.
|
| A speech-appropriate Organ.
|
| Speech gives the familiar the ability to speak. The familiar
must have an Organ with which to speak (either naturally or via the
Organ ritual).
|
A Big (Successful) Example
In the example, remember that magic point expenditures marked with (*)
are bound up into the ritual for the ritual's duration.
Barkly (Wizard 2, WP 45, Int 45, Magic Points 20) finds and learns the
Ritual of Familiar Creation and decides to create a familiar for
himself. He decides he wants a falcon familiar and spends several
months searching for a excellent falcon to act as the familiar vessel.
After 6 months, he locates what appears to be (Evaluate test) a perfect
falcon. He buys it and returns to his house where he plans to perform
the Ritual of Familiar Creation.
Barkly decides that he wants to attract a Neutral spirit, so spends some
time in the wood's behind his house locating interesting and attractive
stones and plants for the spirit offering.
Now ready, he begins the ritual on Day 1.
To begin the ritual he makes a successful WP test and spends 1 magic
point(*). He then draws the Magic Circle (Dex test, 1 magic point(*))
and the Magic Pentagram (Dex test, 1 magic point(*). Barkly places the
falcon within the Circle and the spirit offerings within the Pentagram.
He then starts the ritual chanting and actions required to attract the
attention of a spirit to the offering. On the first day, the GM
determines that he as a 3% chance (1D6%) of attracting a spirit. He
does not.
After Day 1, Barkly has spent 3 magic points into the ritual. He cannot
recover these until the ritual is concluded.
Day 2: Barkly spends 1 magic point(*) and 6 hours of his time to
maintain the ritual. He gains another 1D6% chance to attract a spirit
for a total chance now of 5%. He does not.
After Day 2, Barkly has spent 4 magic points into the ritual.
Day's 3-10: Barkly spends 1 magic point(*) and 6 hours each day
maintaining the ritual. Each day, he gains an average of 3% to his
chance to attract a spirit.
After Day 10, Barkly has spent 12 magic points into the ritual and has a
29% chance of attracting a spirit (he has failed so far). He also only
has 8 magic points left.
Day 11: Barkly spends 1 magic point(*) and 6 hours maintaining the
ritual. He gains 6% on his chance to attract a spirit, raising it to
35%. Finally, a spirit appears! The GM rolls to determine the spirit's
strength, getting a Normal result. The GM doesn't roll doubles, so the
spirit is not hostile. The GM then rolls to determine the spirits
attributes; he rolls a completely average normal strength spirit.
Barkly begins to examine and converse with the spirit to determine if it
is suitable for a familiar. Although only an average spirit, Barkly
decides it seems suitable and attempts to strike a bargain with it. The
spirit has 2 Desires: it wants a live mouse to play with and eat each
day and it wants its claws painted bright pink and polished. Barkly
agrees to spirit's Desires. He now must facilitate the spirit's
entrance into the vessel, so he makes a WP test and spends 1 magic
point(*). The spirit enters the falcon's body and replaces the falcon's
Int, Ld, Cl, WP, and Fel. It averages it's I with the falcon's original
I score.
With the spirit in the falcon, Barkly now must successful place a
binding Pentagram on the falcon's body. He decides to use a small brand
on the falcon's chest. He must succeed 1 of 2 Dex tests to successfully
brand the falcon's chest. He spends 1 magic point(*) and fails his
first attempt. Holding his breath, he spends another magic point(*) and
tries again. He succeeds!
With the agreements and bindings in place, Barkly seals the ritual by
deducting 4 points from his Power Level. The ritual is completed and
Barkly has a falcon familiar.
It took Barkly 10 days to conduct this part of the Ritual of Familiar
Creation. It cost him a total of 16 magic points. However, after the
Familiar Linking, his Power Level is reduce from 20 to 16. Barkly may
regain the spent magic points now, but he will only regain them back to
16.
Although a fairly complete creature, Barkly's falcon familiar cannot
speak (though it can understand all the languages Barkly knows
perfectly). Barkly wants to be able to hold conversations to his
familiar, so he decides to perform the Speech sub-ritual. The ritual
requires a wizard's tooth (his!) and 100 ritually spent magic points.
Barkly decides to spend 10 ritual magic points at a time.
Day 1: Barkly makes a WP test and spends 1 magic point(*) to begin the
ritual. He spends 6 hours with his familiar perform the ritual and
spends 1 more magic point(*) towards the cost of the Speech ability.
Day 2-10: Barkly spends 1 magic point(*) and 6 hours with the familiar
each day. On Day 10, he Pauses the Ritual with a successful WP test.
After 10 days, Barkly has successfully spent 10 magic points towards the
cost of the Speech investment. He sleeps and recovers.
A few days later, Barkly restarts the Speech ritual. He must spend 1
magic point(*) and make a WP test to start the ritual as normal.
Day 11-20: Barkly spends 1 magic point(*) and 6 hours with the familiar
each day. On Day 20, he Pauses the Ritual again, but fails his WP test.
He loses half of his magic point investment from the previous 10 days.
After 20 days, Barkly has successfully spent 15 magic points towards the
cost of the Speech investment (due to a WP test failure when he Paused
the Ritual on Day 20).
Since Barkly's WP is 45, it is likely that he will fail Pausing the
Ritual about half the time. Assuming he does not also fail with a
double (a disaster), the remaining 80 magic points will take him another
120 days to invest. After 140 days of tedious ritual, he makes the
Investment Ritual test. Luckily, he makes it and his falcon gains the
ability to speak.
If Barkly fails the Investment Ritual test, all is not lost. He would
just need to spend another 25 ritual magic points (and 25 days) and make
another Investment Ritual test.
To get his familiar to this point, it took Barkly a total of 150
days, almost half a year (and this was generously in favor of him).
Since the rituals are non-portable and risky to Pause too often, Barkly's
freedom and magic point reserves were greatly impeded and tapped during
this time.
|
