Sponsored magic idea: the boon of the Fisher King

[Team8Mum]

A sponsored magic idea I'm brewing at the moment for the Hangover city setting- feed back appreciated.

Boon of the Fisher King.
Though today he seems to be little more than a senile old man, the Fishers King is in fact a very old and very powerful faerie. He is remembered in the mortal legends of Bran the blessed and king Arthur - the wounded monarch on which the vitality of the land depends, his life sustained by the magic cauldron that can restore the dead to life. Later the title fisher king was tied into the Christian idea of Jesus as the fisher of men, and the legends interwove into the tales of Joseph of Arimathaea and christianised. All things considered it's not surprising the poor guy doesn't really know who he is any more.

In the legends with his vitality curtailed by his wound, the monarch is surrounded by a wasteland. The return of the cauldron (or grail) by his questing knights allows him to hold back the decay and the land live again once more. But it is a never ending battle and can only be achieved with the help of those who can share his vision and enact it- alone he is still the wounded impotent king.

The Fisher King is fond of sending his people on quests which allow them to test themselves and discovered powers, skills and talents that have been lying dormant with in them. Thus he assists them to learn more of themselves and fulfil their full potential. As a result the creative powers of the king are now focused on inspiring the people around him - consider it similar to the Greek muses. And this is the power he gifts to those of his court,

Sponsored magic
Description: The spells performed under the power of the Fisher kings boon derive from the questing and 'muse'. They also have a certain level of healing that is drawn from the cauldron of life; though most of that power is being used elsewhere (see the pool of LIFE section)

Cost: 4 (- the usual reductions if you have evocation or Thaumaturgy but most of those using this magic are Faerie or changelings and thus won't benefit from the discount.)

Benefits: Where as the powers of the courts of the queens focus on evocations, the Fisher king is more Thaumaturgy orientated. For example;

• Conjurations to allow the 'visions' to be shared and ideas to be prototyped,
• Divination to assist in the quests,
• Crafting of items of power so chosen mortals can be gifted the ability to excel.

There is also a massive amount of psychomancy going on, as the mortal artists and scientists that attract the attention of the Faerie are 'inspired' to greater achievements in the goal of driving back the wasteland.

Limitation:  The power is derived from the Fisher King, it is essentially creative, any attempt to carry out an activity that would expand the wasteland, or discourage a mortals creativity would clash. Destructive spells would only be appropriated as 'self defence' -or defending a protected mortal, or one of their creations.

[Viatos]

Okay, so what makes this worth any refresh at all? The 'benefits' just look like normal Thaumaturgy.

What can I use with Evocation's speed and methods? What can I use as an element for Evocation? What kind of nifty specialization bonus do I get?

The idea is interesting; the crunch needs more crunch.

[Team8Mum]

Yeah I'm still trying to get to grips with the game mechanicy stuff especially the magic because I'm used to spirit of the century which does things differently.

So taking the standard faerie magics As a shape;
The fisher kings boon may be use as an element for evocation, allowing any evocation spell effects that encourage the creative, inspirational, and inventive mental processes. This includes the ability to produce effects along the lines of psychomancy (see of 286ys)

In place of the effectiveness down grade against the apposing courts, the boon grants a crafting specialisation of +1 strength, thereby negating the usual -1 drop that occurs when a magical item is created for the use of some one else. - as typically the Fae will be making the enchanted item to give to a mortal they are 'inspiring' rather than using it themselves.
(Would it be too much of an 'extra' to give additional +1 strength to any healing potions or effects? - I'm not totaly clear on the game balance here.)

As the power being channelled comes from the fisher king the 'debt' aspect will most typically take the form of a temporary madness or hallucinations (Which is why so many great artists and thinkers are 'a bit touched') In some cases this may be applied to the mortal being inspired rather than the Fae if that would make more trouble for the player be more game appropriate


(In some ways this is quite cool as it is allowing me to being back in the Fae inspiring mortals which was a big part of how they worked in the original PBeM. Technically this does make them all lawbreakers (3th law) but I'm unclear if that 'matters' if you are a faerie, because YS implies the laws of magic only apply to 'human wizards'.)

Getting crunchier?

I'm guessing most of the magical items will the things that give bonuses to skills such as
craftsmanship (the brush to paint a masterpiece)
investigation (a questing magnifying glass that draws the eye to the vital clue)
Performance (The enchanted guitar)
Presence (Badge or Orc impressing, there are probably better examples but it's after midnight and my brain is shutting down)
Rapport (Emma's broach)
Scholarship (something to give the scientist a nudge in the right direction and make the break through they need)

Would that work?