Sponsored Magic: Unlight

[jftravis]

Here's something I've been tinkering with for a bit, and thought I'd share it here. Hopefully, your players won't want to lynch me, later... 

I'll probably (very sparingly, if ever) use this as-is, but I'm always interested in constructive feedback. Even if I don't use the input, someone else might find it handy. Also, while no major changes were necessary, I did wait til the release of The Paranet Papers to put this out here. It takes the discussion on Sponsored Magic there into account.

Have fun! 

Sponsored Magic: The Unlight

In a real world, physics-grounded Universe, darkness is simply the absence of light. Bring a light into a darkened room and the darkness recedes - it has no power to resist. The power of the Unlight is another matter. It is one of the powers offered by one or more Old Ones, the forgotten gods in the Outside. Even seeking knowledge of this power is a violation of the Seventh Law, as is every use of it, regardless of how benign it might seem. This is a very quick road to self-destruction.

Cost: 5, reduced by 1 each for Evocation and Thaumaturgy.

Benefits: The Unlight is terribly destructive to anything not of the Outside.; it gains +1 to power against beings and matter of the Nevernever, and +2 against any corporeal matter, even downgrading Physical Immunity to "merely" Mythic Toughness, leaving a dead, gray ash behind. If blocked by powers involving light, fire or other "bright" energy, it gains +4 power as it seemingly devours the source. The same bonus applies if it is used to block or counterspell such things. Only magic bolstered by Soulfire ignores this effect. It can satisfy the Catch against creatures that are vulnerable to "unholy" or "darkness" powers. For Evocation and Channeling, it acts most like darkness and cold. For Thaumaturgy and Ritual, it operates like Disruption, Necromancy (inflicting terrible decay on a target) and Worldwalking (eroding holes in the very fabric of space-time), with Evocation's methods and speed when such uses are in line with the power's agenda. Obviously, the power's agenda is focused on annihilation, but it is most concerned with the collapse of the barrier keeping the Outside at bay. Using this power to travel to and from the Nevernever is... bad.

It's also significantly more dangerous than most other forms of sponsored magic when a spellcaster loses control of a working. Any excess is taken as both Backlash AND Fallout, at full strength. Even worse, the Sponsor will not, under ANY circumstances, help mitigate these effects. They are, after all, trying to obliterate the user and everything around him, in the hope of punching holes in reality that they can ooze through.

[Sanctaphrax]

Pretty cool. I'll add it to the list, if you don't mind.

I'm a bit unsure how it's meant to work mechanically, though. Normally, you need to decide a spell's power before you know all of the factors that affect the size of the power bonus from this. Like, if I throw up a wall of unlight to stop attacks, I don't know whether it's gonna be blocking fire and light or not. So can I call up the extra shifts of power or not?

Also, is the Immunity-degrading thing meant to be in addition to the power bonus?

[jftravis]

Pretty cool. I'll add it to the list, if you don't mind.

By all means. It's here for people to play with.

I'm a bit unsure how it's meant to work mechanically, though. Normally, you need to decide a spell's power before you know all of the factors that affect the size of the power bonus from this. Like, if I throw up a wall of unlight to stop attacks, I don't know whether it's gonna be blocking fire and light or not. So can I call up the extra shifts of power or not?

Not 100% sure I'm grasping the question, but the power bonuses are always present, can only be used to increase the attack or block strength (not area or duration), and are only applied to negate part of a superior opposing roll. Quick and dirty: if a Unlight augmented attack of +8 hits a fire Block of +10, the +4 bonus serves to overcome the difference (the excess is ignored), allowing the Weapon: 8 attack to affect the target normally. The attack wouldn't get this bonus against a spell Block defined as, say, a wall of ice. In the reverse situation, the extra shifts can only be used to affect Block strength, and only come into play against an attack of the prescribed effect. I'm not sure why I'd need to know the opposing effect beforehand.

In retrospect, it does occur to me that quibbling over what type of "matter" is being affected (Nevernever or Corporeal) is probably needless over-complication.

Also, is the Immunity-degrading thing meant to be in addition to the power bonus?

It is, but it ONLY serves to downgrade Immunity; other Toughness powers are unaffected, barring the attack satisfying a Catch.

Hope that makes more sense, and in any case, feel free to (no pun intended?) butcher it at will.

[PirateJack]

So it's effectively a spell with counter-spell of varying power included in the casting.

[Sanctaphrax]

What you're describing doesn't sound like a power bonus. A power bonus lets you draw extra shifts without taking extra mental stress. But from the sound of it, this adds shifts directly to the spell's effect. Which is significantly stronger.

But hey, it's a -5 power with a drawback. It's allowed to be strong.

[jftravis]

Sounds like I've succeeded in my intent, then. Apologies for the terminology confusion; in my own head, such things are pretty malleable, as long as I know what my intent was. I've played a lot of other "reason from effect" games before, such as Champions (Hero system), so the tendency is a bit inevitable, I guess. 

[blackstaff67]

Ahh...Champions.  The good ol' days...

[jftravis]

Still love it, too. Just have no one here who runs it, at the moment.

[Sanctaphrax]

Alright, here's the Power in list format.

UNLIGHT [-5]
Description: In a real world, physics-grounded Universe, darkness is simply the absence of light. Bring a light into a darkened room and the darkness recedes - it has no power to resist. The power of the Unlight is another matter.
Sponsor: Unlight is one of the powers offered by one or more Old Ones, the forgotten gods in the Outside. Even seeking knowledge of this power is a violation of the Seventh Law, as is every use of it, regardless of how benign it might seem. This is a very quick road to self-destruction.
Agenda: Unlight seeks to destroy things, especially things that keep the Outside from coming inside.
Evocation: Evocations cast with Unlight destroy things. They resemble darkness and cold evocations.
Thaumaturgy: Rituals cast with Unlight can disrupt, destroy, and decay things. They can also open holes in space-time to allow for world-walking effects, but this tends to be bad for reality as a whole.
Evothaum: All rituals that may be cast with Unlight may be cast with Evocation's speed and methods.
Extra Benefits: Unlight can harm characters with Physical Immunity as though they had Mythic Toughness. Moreover, any Unlight spell that is used to block or destroy matter or energy gets two free shifts of effect added to it after casting. Double this bonus to four free shifts when Unlight is used to block or destroy light or heat. Reduce it to zero free shifts when Unlight is used against magic infused with Soulfire.
Drawbacks: A character who fails to control of an Unlight spell must take their margin of failure in both backlash and fallout. The sponsor will never help mitigate this effect.

Everything look good? I removed the Nevenever/material distinction because you said it was unnecessary.

[jftravis]

Looks good, ship it!