Thor Olavsrud
12-09-2004, 04:27 PM
This is an attempt to write up a grimoire and also create a lot of setting flavor at the same time. One of the primary inspirations is the Moorcock story The Fortress of the Pearl, in which Elric learns about the Dream-Thieves (but I've added a Greek flavor). If you wish to use the Sodality of Hypnos (mentioned briefly below), I suggest giving each Sorcerer who successfully completes the training a crook (as in shepherd's crook) that serves as a Sustainer Matrix.
A quick note: Under the current Abstraction rules, it is impossible to create a spell that has an Obstacle equal to a stat of the target, as some of the spells in the Character Burner have. In building these spells, I decided to not add the Anima Obstacle when distilling spells. Instead, the final Obstacle is the Anima Obstacle (target's stat), plus an additional Obstacle arrived at through distillation. I think it works, but these spells are definitely not easy. You'll probably want to cast them Carefully and Patiently.
Anyway, let me know what you think!
The Yellow Ostrakon of the Oneiroi
This 'text,' sometimes known simply as the Yellow Ostrakon or the Oneiric Ostrakon, consists of an impossibly large, spiraling ram's horn inlaid with ivory, intricately carved with strange and unsettling glyphs. A sorcerer that can decipher the occulted orphic language in which it is written may begin to study the forbidden Oneiric Lore, the magic of dreams.
The Oneiric Ostrakon contains four dangerous and powerful spells: The Gate of Horn, The Gate of Ivory, The Ebon Bed of Morpheus, and The Veridical Gates of Horn and Ivory. Some wizards of the secretive Sodality of Hypnos claim that the spells are mere shadows of artifacts of the same names, whose powers they tap.
The Gate of Horn (Ob Target's Will +3^, Actions 6) -- Cost: 32 RPs
Effect: This first spell in the Oneiric Lore teaches the Dream Wizard to reach out with his senses (including mystical senses like those granted by The Sense) to touch the dreams of sleepers. A wizard who meets the Obstacle of the spell may observe the dreams of his target from afar, though he may not affect those dreams in any way. This incantation increases the dice available for Aura Reading. Increase Aura Reading dice by one for each success over the spell's Obstacle.
Element: Anima (Ob*, Actions 5)
Element: Influence (Ob +3, Actions +4)
Origin: Sight (Ob +4, Actions +4)
Duration: Sustained (Ob +2, Actions +2)
Area of Effect: Single Target (Ob +1, Actions +2)
First Distillation: Influence-Single Target
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Influence-Single Target (Ob 2, Actions 3)
Sight (Ob +4, Actions +4)
Sustained (Ob +2, Actions +2)
Second Distillation: Sight-Sustained
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Influence-Single Target (Ob +2, Actions +3)
Sight-Sustained (Ob +3, Actions +3)
Finalization
The Gate of Horn (Ob Target's Will +3, Actions 6)
The Gate of Ivory (Ob Target's Will +3^, Actions 8 ) -- Cost: 32 RPs
Effect: This spell may only be incanted once the Dream Wizard has touched his target's dreams, either through the Gate of Horn or The Veridical Gates of Horn and Ivory. The wizard invokes the names of Icelus (personification of human shapes in dreams), Phobetor (personification of animal shapes in dreams), and Phantasos (personification of lifeless items in dreams), to alter the dreamscape of an existing dream. The Dream Wizard may alter the appearance of one dream object for each success over the casting Obstacle. "Object" must be defined by the GM and player, but should be fairly limited. Altering the appearance of one person, one animal, one tree, one cave and one shadow would require 5 successes above the spell's Obstacle if attempted with a single casting.
Element: Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Impetus: Control (Ob +5, Actions 16)
Origin: Personal (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Duration: Instaneous (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Area of Effect: Double Presence (Ob +3, Actions 8 )
First Distillation: Control-Double Presence
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Control-Double Presence (Ob +4, Actions 12)
Personal (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Instaneous (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Second Distillation: Anima-Personal
Anima-Personal (Ob *+1, Actions 3)
Control-Double Presence (Ob +4, Actions 12)
Instaneous (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Finalization
The Gate of Ivory (Ob Target's Will +3, Actions 8 )
The Ebon Bed of Morpheus (Ob Target's Will +5^, Actions 11) -- 40 RPs
Effect: With this dark magic, the Dream Wizard may craft Dreams and Nightmares to send to his target. Invoking the names of Morpheus (Lord Shaper of Dreams), and his brothers Icelus, Phobetor, and Phantasos, the wizard enters a deep trance and begins to mold the stuff of dreams to his desires. This difficult art requires the utmost concentration and nerve. Successes over the Obstacle create increasingly believable and powerful dreams, as follows: +1 Ob: the wizard may only create a simple landscape and one man, animal or object to inhabit that landscape; +2 Ob: the wizard may create a simple landscape and one man, animal or object to inhabit that landscape, and the wizard may designate a simple script for the man, animal or object to follow (consisting of no more than one Exchange); +3 Ob: the wizard may create a complicated landscape (or two simple landscapes), and multiple men, animals or objects to inhabit that landscape, along with a simple script for those characters (consisting of no more than one Exchange); +4 Ob: the wizard may create a complicated landscape (or two simple landscapes), and multiple men, animals or objects to inhabit that landscape, along with a script for those characters (consisting of two Exchanges); +5 Ob (and beyond): one additional Exchange per success.
Element: Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Element: Arcana (Ob 4, Actions 8 )
Impetus: Create (Ob +6, Actions 32)
Origin: Sight (Ob +4, Actions 4)
Duration: Sustained (Ob +2, Actions 2)
Area of Effect: Single Target (Ob +1, Actions 2)
First Distillation: Create-Sight
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Arcana (Ob 4, Actions 8 )
Create-Sight (Ob 5, Actions 18 )
Sustained (Ob +2, Actions 2)
Single Target (Ob +1, Actions 2)
Second Distillation: Arcana-Sustained
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Arcana-Sustained (Ob 3, Actions 5)
Create-Sight (Ob 5, Actions 18 )
Single Target (Ob +1, Actions 2)
Finalization
The Ebon Bed of Morpheus (Ob Target's Will +5, Actions 15)
The Veridical Gates of Horn and Ivory (Ob Caster's Will +4, Actions 10) -- Cost: 18 RPs
Effect: This spell is the ultimate test of the Oneiric Lore. The Dream Wizard falls into a deep trance and focuses his Arcane energies inward, transmuting his substance into the pure stuff of Dream, ready to walk through the Gates of Horn and Ivory into the Land of Nod itself, trailing a silver cord behind him. With this spell, the Dream Wizard may go beyond the dreams of any one person; he may walk physically into the Realms of the Oneiroi themselves, and from there may travel to any dream in any world, for they all touch upon the Land of Nod. But the spell is dangerous in the extreme. Should the spell be dropped before the wizard reaches a physical world, he may be trapped in Dream forever. And should his silver cord be severed, he may never be able to find his way back to his own world.
Element: Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Impetus: Transmutative [Anima/Arcana] (Ob 10, Actions 24)
Origin: Personal (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Duration: Sustained (Ob +2, Actions 2)
Area of Effect: Caster (Ob +1, Actions 1)
First Distillation: Transmutative [Arcana]-Caster
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Transmutative [Anima/Arcana]-Caster (Ob 6, Actions 13)
Personal (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Sustained (Ob +2, Actions 2)
Second Distillation: Personal-Sustained
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Transmutative [Arcana]-Caster (Ob 6, Actions 13)
Personal-Sustained (Ob +2, Actions 2)
Finalization: The Veridical Gates of Horn and Ivory (Ob Caster's Will +4, Actions 10)
A quick note: Under the current Abstraction rules, it is impossible to create a spell that has an Obstacle equal to a stat of the target, as some of the spells in the Character Burner have. In building these spells, I decided to not add the Anima Obstacle when distilling spells. Instead, the final Obstacle is the Anima Obstacle (target's stat), plus an additional Obstacle arrived at through distillation. I think it works, but these spells are definitely not easy. You'll probably want to cast them Carefully and Patiently.
Anyway, let me know what you think!
The Yellow Ostrakon of the Oneiroi
This 'text,' sometimes known simply as the Yellow Ostrakon or the Oneiric Ostrakon, consists of an impossibly large, spiraling ram's horn inlaid with ivory, intricately carved with strange and unsettling glyphs. A sorcerer that can decipher the occulted orphic language in which it is written may begin to study the forbidden Oneiric Lore, the magic of dreams.
The Oneiric Ostrakon contains four dangerous and powerful spells: The Gate of Horn, The Gate of Ivory, The Ebon Bed of Morpheus, and The Veridical Gates of Horn and Ivory. Some wizards of the secretive Sodality of Hypnos claim that the spells are mere shadows of artifacts of the same names, whose powers they tap.
The Gate of Horn (Ob Target's Will +3^, Actions 6) -- Cost: 32 RPs
Effect: This first spell in the Oneiric Lore teaches the Dream Wizard to reach out with his senses (including mystical senses like those granted by The Sense) to touch the dreams of sleepers. A wizard who meets the Obstacle of the spell may observe the dreams of his target from afar, though he may not affect those dreams in any way. This incantation increases the dice available for Aura Reading. Increase Aura Reading dice by one for each success over the spell's Obstacle.
Element: Anima (Ob*, Actions 5)
Element: Influence (Ob +3, Actions +4)
Origin: Sight (Ob +4, Actions +4)
Duration: Sustained (Ob +2, Actions +2)
Area of Effect: Single Target (Ob +1, Actions +2)
First Distillation: Influence-Single Target
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Influence-Single Target (Ob 2, Actions 3)
Sight (Ob +4, Actions +4)
Sustained (Ob +2, Actions +2)
Second Distillation: Sight-Sustained
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Influence-Single Target (Ob +2, Actions +3)
Sight-Sustained (Ob +3, Actions +3)
Finalization
The Gate of Horn (Ob Target's Will +3, Actions 6)
The Gate of Ivory (Ob Target's Will +3^, Actions 8 ) -- Cost: 32 RPs
Effect: This spell may only be incanted once the Dream Wizard has touched his target's dreams, either through the Gate of Horn or The Veridical Gates of Horn and Ivory. The wizard invokes the names of Icelus (personification of human shapes in dreams), Phobetor (personification of animal shapes in dreams), and Phantasos (personification of lifeless items in dreams), to alter the dreamscape of an existing dream. The Dream Wizard may alter the appearance of one dream object for each success over the casting Obstacle. "Object" must be defined by the GM and player, but should be fairly limited. Altering the appearance of one person, one animal, one tree, one cave and one shadow would require 5 successes above the spell's Obstacle if attempted with a single casting.
Element: Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Impetus: Control (Ob +5, Actions 16)
Origin: Personal (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Duration: Instaneous (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Area of Effect: Double Presence (Ob +3, Actions 8 )
First Distillation: Control-Double Presence
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Control-Double Presence (Ob +4, Actions 12)
Personal (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Instaneous (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Second Distillation: Anima-Personal
Anima-Personal (Ob *+1, Actions 3)
Control-Double Presence (Ob +4, Actions 12)
Instaneous (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Finalization
The Gate of Ivory (Ob Target's Will +3, Actions 8 )
The Ebon Bed of Morpheus (Ob Target's Will +5^, Actions 11) -- 40 RPs
Effect: With this dark magic, the Dream Wizard may craft Dreams and Nightmares to send to his target. Invoking the names of Morpheus (Lord Shaper of Dreams), and his brothers Icelus, Phobetor, and Phantasos, the wizard enters a deep trance and begins to mold the stuff of dreams to his desires. This difficult art requires the utmost concentration and nerve. Successes over the Obstacle create increasingly believable and powerful dreams, as follows: +1 Ob: the wizard may only create a simple landscape and one man, animal or object to inhabit that landscape; +2 Ob: the wizard may create a simple landscape and one man, animal or object to inhabit that landscape, and the wizard may designate a simple script for the man, animal or object to follow (consisting of no more than one Exchange); +3 Ob: the wizard may create a complicated landscape (or two simple landscapes), and multiple men, animals or objects to inhabit that landscape, along with a simple script for those characters (consisting of no more than one Exchange); +4 Ob: the wizard may create a complicated landscape (or two simple landscapes), and multiple men, animals or objects to inhabit that landscape, along with a script for those characters (consisting of two Exchanges); +5 Ob (and beyond): one additional Exchange per success.
Element: Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Element: Arcana (Ob 4, Actions 8 )
Impetus: Create (Ob +6, Actions 32)
Origin: Sight (Ob +4, Actions 4)
Duration: Sustained (Ob +2, Actions 2)
Area of Effect: Single Target (Ob +1, Actions 2)
First Distillation: Create-Sight
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Arcana (Ob 4, Actions 8 )
Create-Sight (Ob 5, Actions 18 )
Sustained (Ob +2, Actions 2)
Single Target (Ob +1, Actions 2)
Second Distillation: Arcana-Sustained
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Arcana-Sustained (Ob 3, Actions 5)
Create-Sight (Ob 5, Actions 18 )
Single Target (Ob +1, Actions 2)
Finalization
The Ebon Bed of Morpheus (Ob Target's Will +5, Actions 15)
The Veridical Gates of Horn and Ivory (Ob Caster's Will +4, Actions 10) -- Cost: 18 RPs
Effect: This spell is the ultimate test of the Oneiric Lore. The Dream Wizard falls into a deep trance and focuses his Arcane energies inward, transmuting his substance into the pure stuff of Dream, ready to walk through the Gates of Horn and Ivory into the Land of Nod itself, trailing a silver cord behind him. With this spell, the Dream Wizard may go beyond the dreams of any one person; he may walk physically into the Realms of the Oneiroi themselves, and from there may travel to any dream in any world, for they all touch upon the Land of Nod. But the spell is dangerous in the extreme. Should the spell be dropped before the wizard reaches a physical world, he may be trapped in Dream forever. And should his silver cord be severed, he may never be able to find his way back to his own world.
Element: Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Impetus: Transmutative [Anima/Arcana] (Ob 10, Actions 24)
Origin: Personal (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Duration: Sustained (Ob +2, Actions 2)
Area of Effect: Caster (Ob +1, Actions 1)
First Distillation: Transmutative [Arcana]-Caster
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Transmutative [Anima/Arcana]-Caster (Ob 6, Actions 13)
Personal (Ob +0, Actions 1)
Sustained (Ob +2, Actions 2)
Second Distillation: Personal-Sustained
Anima (Ob *, Actions 5)
Transmutative [Arcana]-Caster (Ob 6, Actions 13)
Personal-Sustained (Ob +2, Actions 2)
Finalization: The Veridical Gates of Horn and Ivory (Ob Caster's Will +4, Actions 10)