Custom Powers Master List (Work In Progress)

[Tedronai]

scene-long durations are already available to evocation as per the recommended treatment of veils

[computerking]

scene-long durations are already available to evocation as per the recommended treatment of veils

Confusion on my part: I thought the Evocation veil effect was the "Quick Veil", which only lasts one exchange without extra duration shifts.

[Tedronai]

By RAW, yes, but with a sidebar recommending otherwise.
I'm away from books right now (and will be for a few days, it seems), or I'd give you a page reference.

[computerking]

Apologies to all for derailing the thread a bit. Back onto the current topic (Sponsored Magics):

Ma’at Magic [-4]
Description: Ma’at was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. In practice, the concepts of Truth, Order, and Justice prevail as the Goddess Ma’at’s  theme.
Sponsor: Ma’at (the personification of Ma’at the concept, and facilitator of "Final Justice" in Duat, the Underworld, where Anubis weighs one's heart against her Feather of Truth)
Agenda: To seek Truth, enforce Order and ensure Justice is done. Those Sponsored by Ma’at are often required to accept requests to mediate situations, like Judges or Viziers.
Evocation: Evocations based on Ma’at tend to be direct and focused. Fallout tends to occur in visibly stilted ways (Accidental fires that spread evenly, items break cleanly, etc.)
Thaumaturgy: Rituals involving Ma’at often make use of precise measurements, use of balance in item placement, well-chosen incantations(preferably in ancient Egyptian), and intricate repetitive gestures.
Evothaum: Ma’at Magic allows its user to cast Divination, Entropomancy, and Conjuration spells with the speed of Evocation.
Extra Benefits: Those Sponsored by Ma’at are gifted with a knack for feeling out the truth in situations, they may choose to use Lore to roll for the Empathy trapping "Reading People", or for the Investigation trapping "Examination". The Sponsored must choose which when affirming his appointment as Ma'at's Favored.

[Sanctaphrax]

The rules for evothaum are very vague. Which set of bonuses do you use? How long does it last? I don't think that these questions are ever answered.

And I'm not going to make up for that here.

Ma'at magic looks pretty decent, but it needs some restrictions on what forms of spells may be cast with it.

[Quackerjack]

The Ma'at magic comes pretty handy - I needed exactly this for an "Emissary of some Egyptian Gods" NPC next Saturday.

[computerking]

Is this a bit better?

Ma’at Magic [-4]
Description: Ma’at was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. In practice, the concepts of Truth, Order, and Justice prevail as the Goddess Ma’at’s  theme.
Sponsor: Ma’at (the personification of Ma’at the concept, and facilitator of "Final Justice" in Duat, the Underworld, where Anubis weighs one's heart against her Feather of Truth)
Agenda: To seek Truth, enforce Order and ensure Justice is done. Those Sponsored by Ma’at are often required to accept requests to mediate situations, like Judges or Viziers.
Evocation: Evocations based on Ma’at tend to be direct and focused. Fallout tends to occur in visibly stilted ways (Accidental fires that spread evenly, items break cleanly, etc.). Evocations of Ma'at are usually used in the Justice phase of a Sponsor's work, and must reflect a Just and fitting punishment (Shadow Evocations against someone proven to have blinded another, for example).
Thaumaturgy: Rituals involving Ma’at often make use of precise measurements, use of balance in item placement, well-chosen incantations(preferably in ancient Egyptian), and intricate repetitive gestures. Ma'at rituals promote the process of Investigation, Determination of the Truth, and Atonement/punishment for transgressions.
Evothaum: Ma’at Magic allows its user to cast Divination, Entropomancy, and Conjuration spells with the speed of Evocation.
Extra Benefits: Those Sponsored by Ma’at are gifted with a knack for feeling out the truth in situations, they may choose to use Lore to roll for the Empathy trapping "Reading People", or for the Investigation trapping "Examination". The Sponsored must choose which when affirming his appointment as Ma'at's Favored.

[Sanctaphrax]

Looks good.

And it makes me happy to hear that this thread is useful.

Will reformat a few more sponsored magics next post.

[Sanctaphrax]

If you see a balance problem, say so.

THE POWER OF BLOOD [-4]
Description: A true blooded elder vampire can draw a form of magical power from the life in the blood they have stolen. This power can be used to manipulate the blood of others and the blood of the vampire itself. The power of the blood works like evocation though cause hunger stress rather than mental stress.
Musts: The Blood Drinker and Feeding Dependency powers are required in order to purchase this one.
Sponsor: The Power Of Blood lacks a conventional sponsor. It is fueled by its user's nature and by the blood that its user has stolen.
Agenda: The Power Of Blood wants its users to drink more and more blood. It has no long-term agenda, just endless bloodlust.
Evocation: Evocations cast with The Power Of Blood work through the physical control of blood.
Thaumaturgy: The Power Of Blood allows its user to cast rituals that manipulate or make use of blood.
Evothaum: Any ritual that may be cast with The Power Of Blood may be cast with the speed and methods of Evocation.
Extra Benefits: Any spell cast with The Power Of Blood costs hunger stress instead of mental stress.

CHAOS MAGIC/THE BLESSING OF THE UNNAMED [-4]
Description: Drawing on the power of the Nameless God of Chaos you are able to cast spells that fit into its essential nature: chaos, destruction, madness and the bending of reality. Making use of this power can cause ripples in the very nature of causality.
Sponsor: The Nameless God of Chaos sponsors users of this power.
Agenda: The Nameless God of Chaos wishes to twist the world until nothing but chaos and madness remains.
Evocation: Chaos evocations consist of brute-force reality-bending. They often resemble entropomantic attacks.
Thaumaturgy: Chaos rituals twist the world in subtle ways. Their effects are many and varied, but they always serve to promote the goals of the Nameless God.
Evothaum: Chaos Magic allows its user to use entropomancy, psychomancy, and diabolism with the speed and methods of evocation.
Extra Benefits: Chaos Magic users get free Thaumaturgy specializations in complexity and control for spells that twist the natures of things.

BOON OF THE FISHER KING [-4]
Description: This is the power of the legendary Fisher King. Enough said.
Sponsor: The Fisher King is a very old and very powerful faerie who features in the mortal legends of Bran the Blessed and King Arthur. He is 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. Over the years his legends have been mixed with Christian ones, giving him a severe identity crisis and essentially forcing him into senility.
Agenda: The Fisher King seeks to unlock the true potential of others, generally by sending them on quests.
Evocation:
Thaumaturgy:
Evothaum:
Extra Benefits:

Problem here. The Boon Of The Fisher King`s original version is very weak. No clear evocation and no extra benefits. No evothaum either. It needs a boost. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[benign]

Hope it's okay to just barge into the thread that you guys have going and throw in my own 2 cents.

Foxfire [-4]
Description: A gift from the old fox spirits of legend allows you to cloud your targets' minds, fool their senses, and even drive them to insanity.
Sponsor: The fox spirits of Eastern legend, AKA nine-tailed foxes, huli jing, kumiho, kitsune, and many other names. Contrary to many modern interpretations, fox spirits tend to be unrepentant monsters with a taste for the flesh and/or souls of human victims, though more benevolent individuals exist. Many scholars compare this diversity of fox spirit portrayals to faerie lore in European civilizations, though the two are (probably) distinct supernatural genera. These spirits are often worshiped, or at least placated, in traditional shrines.
Agenda: Seduction, illusion, the gaining of status and wealth through dishonorable means or Faustian bargains. Foxfire prefers to be used in indirect ways, but when grave insult or disrespect is offered, it kindles brightly with the hunger for vengeance.
Evocation: Foxfire evocations are often limned in ghostly blue or red flames. When used offensively it has a strong preference for inflicting mental stress, the fire that burns cold but sears the soul.
Thaumaturgy: Foxfire can be employed to manipulate emotional states, create durable illusions, and to cause effects in a target household that resemble a haunting or demon possession. It can also be used to draw out the life energy of vulnerable individuals to feed the magic's sponsors.
Evothaum: Foxfire allows its user to cast Photomancy and Psychomancy with the speed and methods of Evocation.
Extra Benefits: Foxfire users can break the first, third, and fourth Laws of Magic without needing to take the associated Lawbreaker powers.

Hope that's in the vein of what you're looking for.

[computerking]

That's one hell of an extra Benefit!

[benign]

True, what I meant to say is that they can use foxfire to violate said rules without accruing lawbreaker, but not normal mortal magic they might have access to; a subtle distinction, but one which is thematically appropriate (though perhaps overpowered?).

The idea was that, when using foxfire in said ways, they aren't throwing their soul into their workings the way a normal mortal practitioner would. Rather, their sponsors handle the more vicious aspects of the casting, leaving their mortal scion relatively unscathed.

Would it be more acceptable if, every time the caster violated a law, they accrued debt to their sponsor in exchange for not having to take lawbreaker? That way there is still a cost, but a much much easier one to pay than other casters have to deal with.

Or hey, I could scrap it. It's not really central to the power.

[devonapple]

Lawbreaking and Sponsored Magic have an oft-debated relationship. I'd be inclined to treat it the way I would Seelie/Unseelie Magic, and make the Lawbreaker stunts irrelevant.

[wyvern]

I'd change it to sponsor debt, yeah.  With the caveat that a non-mortal caster doesn't need to pay extra sponsor debt for law-of-magic violations, and that - if it's being used in a game where the GM doesn't apply law-of-magic issues to sponsored magic in the first place, then it's a moot point.

As written, I'd rule it to be worth 5 refresh for a game where sponsored magic users are still beholden to the laws of magic.

[Sanctaphrax]

I appreciate the contribution. It's well-written and fairly balanced.

Unfortunately, it puts its foot directly into two significant rules disagreements. Which are:

1. Can Evocation inflict mental stress?
and
2. Is Sponsored Magic subject to the Laws?

Do you think that you could rewrite the power to avoid those questions?