Temporary magical weapons: What's the best way?

[CMEast]

Thanks Wordmaker, nice flavour text too

I've got a few questions though, I can't find any rules about using rituals to create effects that trigger at will/under certain conditions. Do I just need to declare that's how the spell works? So if the effect lasts for the scene, would adding additional duration allow it to be triggered again for an additional scene similar to an enchanted item? Or would it just make the original effect last longer?

My character has a lore of two, so to cast a spell of complexity six for instance (for added duration) I could make a declaration using my fists skill to add a further two and then invoke my high concept 'Wizard-Blooded Martial Artist' for a further two. The ritual would be my Tai Chi ritual, a symbolic link as I'm the target and I'm also the power source too.

So how long would this ritual take? Would I be meditating for half the day or is this a 30 minute ritual? I think under pressure I could do it in two exchanges but is it different when not under pressure?

Finally, I can't see any mention of taking 'rote' rituals but my character would cast this every morning as part of his routine. Do you think it's possible to use up a 'rote slot' to either add complexity or reduce duration?

*edit* Oh and I had guessed the starting duration for the spell would be a scene too feliscon, would be interesting to see what others think.

[wyvern]

Addendum to what follows: I'm not sure I'd allow this in a game I was running; while this example isn't broken, one could easily use the same method to construct a ritual that *is* totally overpowered; it sets a bad precedent.  (No, I won't stat out why I think it's a bad precedent.  Suffice to say that free use of weapon:10+ for a scene is not something I want to have any part of, even if it's costing the caster some serious consequence slots.)
However, if your GM is willing to let you, this is how I'd go about making (and using) such a ritual.

Fist-Focused Chi:
2 shifts for a power 2 attack
4 shifts to upgrade duration from "a few moments" to "15 minutes" (See the time chart in the reference section at the back of the book).

This assumes that 15 minutes is about one scene; I must admit I find it a bit odd that the time chart is mostly in real time units, while everything else is exchange / scene based.

Now, how to cast this.  As per page 261, "about a minute" is the smallest amount of time you can get away with for preparing a ritual, even if the actual casting part only takes an exchange or three.  However, since this particular ritual is well over your lore skill, you're going to have to cut some corners if you need to actually toss it off that quickly.

Probably your best option for high-speed casting would be spending a fate point to invoke your high concept, and accepting a minor consequence.  (For example, a minor mental consequence of "Too focused" that could be compelled to make you miss details or speak in one word sentences.)

If you've got a bit more time ("a mini-scene", which I'd interpret as maybe five to ten minutes), you could replace one of those prices with a skill check to apply an appropriate aspect - probably fists, here, and an aspect relating to various warm-up exercises / katas.  You'd still need to pay either a fate point or a minor consequence, but could get away with just one of 'em.

If you've somehow got enough time beforehand for two mini-scenes, you could try to make a second skill check - perhaps discipline for a "focused mind" aspect - and then get your effect with neither fate point nor consequence.

If you want to cast this at the beginning of every day, I'd allow that as just something you do... but it would only be of any use if you get into a fight within 15 minutes of leaving your home; not exactly the most useful option.

And if you want a version that lasts all day, that's another five steps up the time chart... hm... Well, four steps up is "an afternoon", which is listed as more than "a few hours"... Let's assume that time span is good enough to run from a bit after dawn until dusk; that should be sufficient.  That'd be a complexity 10 ritual; you could spend a fate point, take a minor consequence, and apply both of the skill checks listed above, taking maybe a bit less than half an hour to get ready for a day you know will be full of combat.
Of course, spending a fate point a day isn't likely to be sustainable, so this is something you'd use only when you were sure you'd need it.

You might also want to look into getting a focus item for your rituals; see page 278.  Two item slots could give you an item that gives +2 lore for purposes of ritual preparation; that'd cut down the prices listed above by a substantial margin, effectively replacing a single skill check, fate point, or minor consequence.

(Edit) Looking over the duration rules, it seems that a ritual built like this should only give you *one* free weapon:2 attack, sometime within the next fifteen minutes.  I'm guessing Wordmaker's two shifts per level of weapon might be a bit more balanced for something that allows multiple attacks - in other words, instead of making a single attack, you're "conjuring" up an actual "weapon". That'd effectively add two to the complexity of the above listed rituals, which neatly cancels with the addition of a ritual focus item.  Oh, well.(/Edit)

[EldritchFire]

Addendum to what follows: I'm not sure I'd allow this in a game I was running; while this example isn't broken, one could easily use the same method to construct a ritual that *is* totally overpowered; it sets a bad precedent.  (No, I won't stat out why I think it's a bad precedent.  Suffice to say that free use of weapon:10+ for a scene is not something I want to have any part of, even if it's costing the caster some serious consequence slots.)
However, if your GM is willing to let you, this is how I'd go about making (and using) such a ritual.

Fist-Focused Chi:
2 shifts for a power 2 attack
4 shifts to upgrade duration from "a few moments" to "15 minutes" (See the time chart in the reference section at the back of the book).

This assumes that 15 minutes is about one scene; I must admit I find it a bit odd that the time chart is mostly in real time units, while everything else is exchange / scene based.

Now, how to cast this.  As per page 261, "about a minute" is the smallest amount of time you can get away with for preparing a ritual, even if the actual casting part only takes an exchange or three.  However, since this particular ritual is well over your lore skill, you're going to have to cut some corners if you need to actually toss it off that quickly.

Probably your best option for high-speed casting would be spending a fate point to invoke your high concept, and accepting a minor consequence.  (For example, a minor mental consequence of "Too focused" that could be compelled to make you miss details or speak in one word sentences.)

If you've got a bit more time ("a mini-scene", which I'd interpret as maybe five to ten minutes), you could replace one of those prices with a skill check to apply an appropriate aspect - probably fists, here, and an aspect relating to various warm-up exercises / katas.  You'd still need to pay either a fate point or a minor consequence, but could get away with just one of 'em.

If you've somehow got enough time beforehand for two mini-scenes, you could try to make a second skill check - perhaps discipline for a "focused mind" aspect - and then get your effect with neither fate point nor consequence.

If you want to cast this at the beginning of every day, I'd allow that as just something you do... but it would only be of any use if you get into a fight within 15 minutes of leaving your home; not exactly the most useful option.

And if you want a version that lasts all day, that's another five steps up the time chart... hm... Well, four steps up is "an afternoon", which is listed as more than "a few hours"... Let's assume that time span is good enough to run from a bit after dawn until dusk; that should be sufficient.  That'd be a complexity 10 ritual; you could spend a fate point, take a minor consequence, and apply both of the skill checks listed above, taking maybe a bit less than half an hour to get ready for a day you know will be full of combat.
Of course, spending a fate point a day isn't likely to be sustainable, so this is something you'd use only when you were sure you'd need it.

You might also want to look into getting a focus item for your rituals; see page 278.  Two item slots could give you an item that gives +2 lore for purposes of ritual preparation; that'd cut down the prices listed above by a substantial margin, effectively replacing a single skill check, fate point, or minor consequence.

+1

I like this. It's pretty much what I was trying to say, but wyvern said it better!

-EF

[Wordmaker]

Re: spell duration: I'm basing this off the fact that most of the sample rituals that result in damage being caused are instant (ie: one exchange) effects. So increasing the complexity by one to have it last for a scene is pretty fair, in my book.

This would mean that you wouldn't really do this at the start of each day. Instead you'd wait until you were just about to fight someone tough and then do it.

Also, the duration of every sample thaumaturgy ritual is given in terms of exchange, scene, session, etc. Not minutes or hours. So I'd see it as acceptable that you wouldn't use the time chart for working out how long a spell like this lasts, particularly because it's combat related.

Though it you wanted to use the time chart, it's fair, and works better for a "I do this every morning" type of spell.

On that note, you can only use rote slots for evocations. Thaumaturgy is too complex and dependent on the ever-changing rules of magic. So if you wanted a version of this ritual that you use every morning and wanted it to last a full day, it would probably be quite difficult to perform, as mentioned above.

As for how long a given ritual takes. If the ritual complexity is below your Lore, you can get it done in as much time as it takes to draw a circle and say a few words, so less than 5 minutes in most cases. Of course, if your Lore isn't high enough, you need to spend some time invoking Aspects, making declarations, etc.

[feliscon]

I'd say a ritual with complexity of your Lore or less (including invoking Aspects) is fast enough to start in combat, as there is at least one, and arguably two, examples of Harry using Thaumaturgy in combat in the books.

[wyvern]

Re: spell duration: I'm basing what I said off the duration rules listed on YS 266, and the fact that a lot of those example rituals have listings like "Duration: until Sunrise" and "Complexity: 6-12, depending on duration" - for example, the Dreamless Sleep spells on YS 296.

Of course, one could make an argument that you're "conjuring" a "weapon", which would reasonably default to a one scene duration to start with.  See YS 274 for the rules on that; it looks like the base complexity would be 3, plus some ad-hoc increase for the fact that the energies you're calling up aren't actually a separate item and you can't be physically disarmed short of being, well, literally disarmed (an extreme consequence at a minimum, if not outright fatal.)  Probably somewhere around complexity 5-7?  Up to your GM, really.

I think I actually like the conjuration version better; it has the advantage that it doesn't imply one can keep scaling the ritual up to higher weapon values.  And it means that a clever opponent could do things like use social maneuvers to try and make you lose your focus - in essence, a non-physical disarm attempt against your not-a-physical-item "weapon"; a version subject to such disruptions seems like it'd be at the lower end of the options; a mere complexity five ritual.  (See, also, "Can I conjure a sword?" on YS 275.)

Feliscon: That sounds like a perfectly reasonable house rule, especially if it's something your character has used a lot (maybe a mechanic similar to how rotes work for evocation?)  Still, there should probably be some cost to cutting (even more) corners that way; I'd say at least an exchange spent on "preparation" (Whether that's drawing a circle, or using some set of meditative martial arts stances is up to you), and possibly some penalty on the casting checks to account for less-than-ideal setup, or an aspect like "Sloppy casting" that your foes can compel against you later on?  Of course, as a house rule, exact details would be up to your GM.

[feliscon]

Well it's not really a house rule, as the time taken to prepare for a ritual isn't clearly defined in the rules in the first place. Harry uses thaumaturgy in combat to defeat Bianca, and arguably the spell he uses to kill the loup-garou is thaumaturgy as well (more energy efficient by neccessity of him being nearly drained, using the pentacle to create a circle, focussing the power over more than one exchange). Not to mention all the smaller quick spells like his tracking spells and binding the loup-garou that seem like they're fast enough to pull off in combat provided someone can cover him long enough to not get the circle broken by an enemy (I think that's the more serious practical limitation of thaumaturgy in combat, not time requirements).

If you want casters to have to set up the circle first, have them do a manouvre with Lore to put the aspect 'Casting Space' on the scene. This represents them drawing a circle, and opposed manouvres to remove the aspect represent attempts to disrupt it and ruin the spell.