The most fundamental of all rules of sorcery is that its effects are purely mental. The only way sorcery can affect the physical world is by the actions of people whose minds are under sorcerous influence. As a result of this, sorcery spells almost always have to overcome the target’s resistance to take effect.

The sorceror’s spell points are given by his special ability card value squared. The sorceror can attempt to improve his special ability score as if it were a normal stat. When casting spells, the sorceror’s Reasoning stat is used and the sorceror’s reasoning code determines how many spheres he can command: see the game stats handout for details. Spell points come back at one per hour or after a night’s sleep a place of safety.

Sorcerors are quite rare in Ellenida and as a result are feared and reviled. There is some reason for this as many of the most powerful sorcerors have carved themselves kingdoms and rule with fists of iron. Sorcerors are in the habit of keeping secrets and the extent of their power is usually one of the closest kept. If you want a long life, be subtle and don’t brag.

This is determined in a slightly different way from DL5A. The factors to be included are spell preparation time, connection cost, duration, area of effect, effect and resistance of target.

-10 8 months

-9 4 months

-8 2 months

-7 1 month

-6 16 days

-5 8 days

-4 4 days

-3 2 days

-2 1 day

-1 12 hours

0. 4 hours
1. 1 hour
2. 30 minutes
3. 5 minutes
4. 1 minute
5. Instant

Unlike DL5A, spells can be prepared in advance. If the spell is to be cast at the end of the preparation time, the cost and difficulty are reduced as above, but the caster must concentrate eight hours a day, seven days a week until the spell is ready.

Alternatively, the caster can prepare a spell but not cast it until some later date. In this case the minimum points cost is zero (so it isn’t worth spending more than 4 hours preparing such a spell). A sorceror can have up to his reasoning stat prepared spells at any one time. When he comes to finally cast the spell, he proceeds as normal but takes the preparation time cost from his earlier time. When he prepares the spell he must give an outline of what it will be used for (e.g. for creating the illusion of a spectral army) but can fill in parameters like area of effect and duration according to his needs at the time.

0. True Name known
1. Physical connection
2. Well acquainted
3. Common Name known
4. Sight (or optica lumens)
5. Aware but unseen

The second determining factor in the spell cost is the connection that the caster has with the target. If he knows his true name, there is no connection cost. In this case the range is limited only by the sorceror’s ability to adapt his spell to the target. For example, the range of a curse when you know the target’s true name is unlimited, but for an illusion to be effective you need to be able to perceive what the victim is doing.

A physical connection is something like a lock of hair or a drop of blood. So long as it is relatively fresh and was collected in the presence of both the sorceror and the target this is nearly as useful as knowing the target’s true name.

Well acquainted means that the caster knows the target’s common name and has spoken with him on many occasions. If you don’t know you target the least you should do is try to find out his common name, for this makes casting your spell quite a lot easier than just targeting someone you can see (either physically or with a magic spell called optica lumens). Hardest of all is targeting someone you can’t even see.

1. Instant
2. 1 minute
3. 15 minutes
4. 1 hour
5. 6 hours
6. 1 day
7. 1 week
8. 1 month
9. 1 year
10. 1 century
11. Forever

1. One person
2. Two people
3. Small Group (5)
4. Large Group (10)
5. Crowd (25)
6. Mob (100)
7. Village (200)
8. Town (500)
9. Small City (2000)
10. Large City(5000)

Although nearly all spells will affect a certain number of targets, some might possibly be better rated as an area or a time into the past. In particular, illusions determine their area of effect by the volume that they cover; all who view the illusion are affected by it unless they resist.

1. Individual
2. Small Room
3. Large Room
4. Small House
5. Large House
6. Small Street
7. Village Square
8. Village
9. Town
10. City

1. 1 minute
2. 1 hour
3. 1 day
4. 1 week
5. 1 month

1. +/- 1
2. +/- 2
3. +/- 3
4. +/- 4
5. +/- 5
6. etc.

1. 1 card
2. 2 cards
3. 3 cards
4. 4 cards
5. 5 cards

1. Irritating
2. Troublesome
3. Hindering
4. Impeding
5. Painful

Some of the spheres have more specific guidelines for effects: see the sphere descriptions.

The spell effect cost for Illusions goes as the DL5A Irritating (1 pt) to Harmful (5 pt) table. The range is so wide that the GM will probably have to rule on how many points of effect are required for each spell. As a basic guide if it is going to be able to cause temporary wounds, the cost will be 3, if it will be able to cause serious permanent wounds the cost will be 5.

Causing someone harm by convincing them that they can feel the pain is possible but costs quite a lot of mental energy. When the Illusions actually start to hand out physical damage caused by system shock and psychosomatic effects, the damage handed out should always be modified by a random draw from the fate deck. If a dragon is drawn, the caster must immediately pay the value of the card in spell points or the spell ceases to affect the target.

For example, Arketos is a sorceror faced with a dozen guardsmen. He decides that he’s in a real hurry and will summon a spectral army to assist him. This is a spell he’s previously prepared and he lets it go now.

He can see the group, but that’s the extent of his knowledge about them, so the connection cost is 4. The duration will be 15 mins (cost 3) and the area of effect is a large room (cost 3). As he wants the guards out of the way rather than dead, he decides that his illusion will be able to hurt but not seriously wound his foes, costing 3. The basic spell costs 13 plus resistance; he allows for a cost of 18.

Now his spectral army engages the guards. Each round Arketos must maintain his concentration to make sure that the spectral army remains believable. To simplify the combat he plays one attack-counterattack each round and applies the results across the group. His spectral army strikes the guards successfully so Arketos applies the damage of their weapons as usual but instead of adding "strength" he adds a random card. It comes up 10 of dragons- the guards are devastated by the spectral army and are left unconscious on the ground. Arketos slips past, but he’s feeling pretty exhausted as well as the spell just cost him an extra 10 points. The guards will wake some time later with brutal headaches and aches and pains but no cuts or serious wounds.

The second basic sort of sorcery is grabbing hold of another person’s mind and forcing him to do what you want him to. The effect of the spell determines how much mental force is applied; the more you apply the more likely the target is to notice it. A one-point effect is like a whisper from your subconscious and would only make the target do something he was considering doing anyway. A five-point effect grabs your target and doesn’t let go until he’s slit his throat or whatever. You can always order him to forget the dominion spell but he may remember at some later date. If ordered to perform some particularly harmful action (suicide or murdering a relative, for example), the target may well get a spirit action to resist your command. He will normally have to beat your spell casting score in order to resist.

A sorceror who has mastered this sphere can whisper directly to the minds of others and can hear the whispering babble of the minds of others, either conscious or unconscious. Digging out deeply-buried or secret information will require a Dominion of the Soul spell in conjunction with Susurration.

A sorceror who has mastered this sphere can call down terrible curses on those who thwart them. The curse can affect the target’s mind and turn it against him so that his own cursed self acts against him, causing him to commit the most hideous crimes and violence upon himself or those who he loves. It can also twist the perceptions of those who meet the target so that they see him through a twisted, smoking mirror.

Terrible curses are possible; the effect cost of the spell will range from 1 point for cursing someone to never sleep easily up to 10 points to cursing him to slay anyone he comes to love. It can also be used to reduce stats temporarily as the target believes himself less able than he actually is.

The opposite of Malediction, Benediction is used to bless people, to use the power of their mind to assist them and to make others look upon them more kindly. This can be used to boost stats temporarily, to remove curses and to heal people. However, because of the mental nature of the spells, ALL HEALING IS TEMPORARY and the wounds return at the end of the spell’s duration. Because convincing the target’s mind that it is able to heal the target takes a lot of energy, the extra spell points for dragons drawn rule applies as in DL5A.

Sorcerors who have mastered this sphere have gained the ability to look beyond the physical world of veils and illusions and see into the deeper world of minds and spirits. This sphere is used to perceive things with the mind’s eye and penetrate through the truth.

A sorceror with this sphere can create a magical link with a target which enables him to see through the target’s eyes or to keep a magical watch upon the target. Someone watched by an Optica Lumens can be targeted by a spell even if he flees half a world away.

Skilled practitioners (with an A reason code) can also use Optica Lumens to pull their minds awareness out of their body and scry ahead. However, this is extremely risky and any mishap occurring during the excursion will result in the sorceror’s mind being stranded and unable to return to his body.

Optica Lumens can also be used to see through the illusions of other sorcerors and can grant others the power to see through illusions as well.

This sphere allows a sorceror to communicate with the minds of animals. It functions like Susurration for communicating with creatures with a reasoning of 1 or 2. In order to cast spells of other spheres on animals, the caster must know Optica Animal.

To gain a new sphere, the sorceror must locate some source of power within himself and fight a demon for possession of this new untapped power source. If he succeeds, he captures the spirit and imprisons it inside himself and uses it to channel the new power has opened in his mind. If he fails to subdue the spirit, he will find himself possessed by it and dancing to whatever tune it cares to call. Many sorcerors never recover and end up as a spirit themselves imprisoned in what used to be their own body while the invader uses them to control the magical powers of the body.

In game terms, one must first spend several months preparing o untap another source of power from within oneself. This usually takes a few months, but it can happen suddenly- if you draw the 9 of dragons when attempting to increase your sorcery or the 9 of moons when trying to improve your reasoning you will gain the potential of another sphere at once. You may then prepare for your battle with your spirit, although it is not wise to put it off too long as a wandering spirit might notice you and try to take over. If you draw the 10 of dragons when attempting to improve ANY stat, you immediately gain another sphere but must fight a spirit at once.

When fighting the spirit, the battle takes place within the sorceror’s head. The landscape will depend on the nature of the combatants and on the sphere which the sorceror is trying to gain. The aim of the battle is to force to opponent to acquiesce. This can be done by spells, by pseudo-physical action, by redefining the mental landscape (usually requiring a spirit or reasoning action opposed by the other combatant), by capturing the foe or by the old standby of beating him into a soggy heap.

Once the battle is won, the victor binds the loser to his will and sets him as his vassal to watch over the particular sphere in the sorceror’s stead.

In certain circumstances, such as a mishap when casting a sorcery spell, a bound vassal can test his bounds and even break free of the sorceror’s command, precipitating an instant mental battle for control during which the sorceror is denied access to the contested sphere. This can be exceptionally dangerous when the caster is serious wounded or extremely fatigued, so be very cautious with spell casting with dragon cards. There are other circumstances in which vassals can try to break free... but you’ll find out what they are when it happens to you!

As you can see from the connection cost chart, true names have great power. If a foe finds out your true name he can target spells at you across vast distances, curse you for a thousand years or take control of your senses so that you can no longer tell reality from illusion.

As a result, all sorcerors must guard their true name very carefully. However, most keep at least one record of their true name somewhere because sight of their true name can restore them to command if they have been possessed by one of their vassals.

As most sorcerors fall foul of their vassals at least once or twice in their career, it is usually considered wise to have a written, but heavily guarded or concealed, record of their true name. In addition, a sorceror who has lost the knowledge of his own true name is unable to cast spells and although this is a rare occurrence it is sufficiently frightening to most sorcerors for them to follow the common practice. The commonest example of forgetting your true name is when an enemy who knows it uses sorcery to make you to forget it. Demons and other powerful beings may be able to block access to your memory, and even physical injuries can lead to memory loss that will block your abilities.