Magical War-Artifacts of the Mother Empire

"In the Capital City of Golgotha the Messiah sometimes leads a Grand Mass. Oh, it is worth a pilgrimage to Golgotha to experience. Thousands of Faithful gather upon the Holy Site and the Messiah, may Sophia Bless Her, delivers the Mass with a booming voice that can be heard throughout the City -- a Power only The Daughter of God could display!"
-"The Faithful Beggar," Regular at The Red Room in Nein

The Magic-users of the World know that ancient artifacts exist that can enhance the power of their Spell-Magic. They are known by many names and come in various forms, but the Historians among them classify two broad categories: Rods and Gauntlets.

These devices were known to have been common during the Great War over 2,000 years ago, wielded by the Magic-users of that time and also by the Mage-Knights. They are supposed to have greatly increased the power of all the Spells channeled through them and also allowed the user to treat the Weapon as their "free hand" for Castings.

These Rods and Gauntlets sometimes had inherent Spell-Magic within them that could be conjured through the device's Charge and wielder's Willpower (Action Points). Such is the power of these War-Artifacts that any user, if of enough Intellect and Courage, could wield the Spell-Magic within them. Lastly, the most powerful of these devices had flourishing effects that would be conferred upon all attacks made by the device itself in addition to the Spells channeled through it.

Game Mechanics

All Gauntlets and Rods have an Intellect Requirement. Unlike Mundane Weapons, having less than this Intellect Requirement prevents the use of the Artifact entirely -- the device will not function as the user's Will is inadequate to power the device.

These devices function as Supernatural Weapons in that any attacks made with them will do Critical Hits on rolls of Natural-10s (as well as Natural-20s). Both devices use Intellect for their Damage Scaling. As a result, using these Weapons will kill and hurt Monsters with their Basic Attacks who can only be affected by Supernatural Weapons.

The Torch

Gauntlets are Melee Weapons and are one-handed. Its form makes it impossible to use in two hands -- though a audacious user could dual-wield Gauntlets if he managed to acquire more than one! Rods are Ranged Weapons and while they can be carried in one hand, they can only properly be used to channel Spell-Magic or be used to attack while wielding it in both hands.

Each of these devices are unique and the form of its Basic Attack and the Spell-Magic contained within them varies a great deal. Here are two examples of devices documented to exist:

Dog-Mouth: This Gauntlet, when empowered by a user of Great Will, will open its one monstrous eye and begin to drool from its mouth that makes up the palm of the Gauntlet. When used to attack the Dog-Mouth will rip and tear chunks from its targets. (Requires: Intellect 2)
Basic Attack: Strength +2 vs. AC. Melee only. (Critical Hit on 10s)
Damage: 2d6 + (Intellect * 1.5)
Charge: 4 / 4 Maximum

The Torch: This Rod resembles a steel pole embellished with all sorts of dials, levers and gizmos. The "business" end of The Torch is an opening into the center of the device. When wielded by a Willful user, heat, fire and smoke radiates out from this hole. When used to make Basic Attacks, the user can summon bursts of fire-magic from the Rod that propels pellets of blackened eldritch matter at its targets. (Requires: Intellect 2)
Basic Attack: Agility +1 vs. AC. Ranged only. (Critical Hit on 10s)
Damage: 2d6 + (Intellect * 1.5) +2
Charge: 5 / 5 Maximum

The Ancient Magic-users harnessed destructive technologies from the Ancient Cities during The Great War. . .

Rods and Gauntlets may be imbued with further Minor or Major Spell-Magic. A Minor Spell is equivalent to a Lesser Incantation and only requires the Spending of an Action Point by the user -- but requires not major investment of Charge by the device. A Major Spell within the device is equivalent to a Full Incantation and requires BOTH the Burning of an Action Point by the user, as well as the immediate deduction of one point of Charge from the Gauntlet or Rod.

This Spell-Magic is fueled by the device itself, and acquires the strength of its Casting based on the power of the device, not the Tuning of the user if a wielder of magic themselves. Some examples, utilizing Spell-Magic previously discussed for Pyromancers.

This Lesser Torch is capable of issuing forth Fireballs as per the Lesser Incantation of Lorre's Expanding Conflagration. This is a Minor Ability, requiring the Spending of 1 Action Point by the user.
Attack: Agility vs. SR (Critical Hits on 10s)
Targets: 2, must be Close
Damage: 3d6 + (Intellect * 1.5) + 2

This Grand Torch can shoot great Fireballs as per the Full Incantation of Lorre's Expanding Conflagration. This is a Major Ability, requiring the Burning of 1 Action Point by the user. This also immediately spends 1 Charge on the Rod.
Attack: Agility+1 vs. SR (Critical Hits on 10s)
Targets: 2, must be Close
Damage: [2d6 + (Intellect * 1.5) + 2] x2 on HIT / x1 on MISS.

Saints, Prayers, Orisons (Persona!)

"The Priest began murmuring to herself, a secret Prayer! With my mind's eye I saw a Glamer of Saint Jude the Hope-Giver wrapped around her. The Priest opened her eyes and then drove forth against the Godling brute. The power of her Faith drove her blade directly into the brain of the Monster, slaying him as he stood!"
-Tomas the Rogue, Adventurer

I've been musing on the Priest Class some more this week. As an aside here, I find that long walks and runs (that I take either very late at night or early in the morning) fuel my creativity a great deal! Sometimes, when I am stumped or stuck, I go do something very physically indulgent or athletic to get my Right-Brain muscles in gear! I suppose I would be considered a "Fit-Beard" in modern OSR parlance. LOL. . . Anyways. . .

Returning to the topic of Priests. Their Prayers are granted through their Devotion to the Saints, which are channeled through the Priest's Patron Saint -- the Demi-Spirit installed within the Priest after being initiated. As they increase their Devotion to particular Saints their access to that Saint's Prayers and the power of its associated Orison increases. I posted a very, very simple example, Saint Michael the Confessor. Let me expand on this example by showing the other elements of Saints:

Saint Michael the Confessor: The ancient Warrior-Priest, known for his Mercy upon the battlefield. He grants the energies of flesh-stitching beneficence to the Petitioner.
The Confessor appears as a large male Knight, clad head-to-toe in silvery plate-armor with a baroque great helm. He is further wrapped in white cloths standing tall with arms stretched out without weaponry or shield in his hands.
The Confessor's voice, when heard, is a soothing but booming bass-tone. He is impatient and prefers to get right to the business of healing -- the Petitioning Priest should be ready to direct the attentions of the Confessor immediately upon finishing the Prayer. 

Saint Michael is Resonant with Saint Bessus the Protector and Dissonant with Saint Jude the Hope-Giver.

Devotion Level	Devotion (in SP)	Prayer Access	Orison Granted
1	1,000	Prayer for Relief x1	"Glory to the Warriors"
2	3,000	Prayer for Relief x2	"Glory to the Warriors"
3	7,000	Prayer for Relief x3	"Glory to the Warriors"
4	15,000	Prayer for Relief x4, Prayer for Respite x1	"Glory to the Warriors"

Prayer for Relief: Touch 2 Allies, bestows Minor Healing to them according to Invocation Level* modified by Intellect. This is a Supreme Ability (Burns 1 Action Point). 

Prayer for Respite: Touch 2 Allies, bestows Minor Healing to them according to Invocation Level modified by Intellect. Also bestows Temporary Hit Points according to Invocation Level modified by Intellect. this is a Supreme Ability (Burns 1 Action Point).

Glory to the Warriors: Touch 1 Ally who is Wounded (Wounds are greater than 0). That Ally is granted Temporary Hit Points according to Invocation Level modified by Intellect. Cannot target oneself. This is an Advanced Ability (Places 1 Action Point into the Short Reserve).

*Level 1 Invocation is 1d6 + (Ability Score * 1.0).

A couple of further notes regarding Priests which will assist the reader in understanding what I have just described. Priests are either Invokers or Evokers in the channeling of their energies -- this is chosen at Level 1. Some Saints have Prayers available to only one kind (such as Saint Michael), other Saints have two versions of their granted Prayers and Orisons for Invokers and Evokers.

The Invoking Priest focuses on instilling awe in the flock and fear in the enemies of the Faith. The Evoking Priest focuses on making firm the bodies and mind of the flock, as well as inhibiting the forces of the Enemy. These two paths each have minor abilities that can be channeled apart from Prayers and Orisons. That is for a later post, but two examples: Invokers can effortlessly soothe the minds of mortals and instill anxiety in the minds of horrors (such as the Possessed), whereas Evokers can effortlessly numb the physical pain of mortal beings, but cause stinging pain all over the bodies of horrific beings.

One additional point regarding the Devotional Contribution of Priests to their Saints. As Priests choose to invest their time and money into Saints, they must consider that some Saints are Resonant or Dissonant with each other. Points put towards a Saint apply 10% of these points towards any Resonant Saints, but this same 10% is deducted from the Dissonant Saint -- though this penalty can never reduce Devotion below 0.

Example: Sister Lucretia St. Rex has put 1,000 Silver Pieces towards the rituals and materials to further devote herself to Saint Michael the Confessor. Saint Michael is Resonant with Saint Bessus, to 100 Points are added to Lucretia's Devotion to Bessus. Since Saint Michael is Dissonant with Saint Jude, 100 Points are deducted from Lucretia's Devotion to him.

One final note before signing off for the day -- I'm hoping to make it out to the Goth Club later tonight LOL -- Orisons function differently than Prayers. They are NOT forgotten when Cast and can be used many times per day -- as they simply move the Action Point so used into the Short Reserve. If you have been reading my previous posts on Magic and Abilities, any Action Points in the Short Reserve are returned, one at a time, to the available Action Point pool in any round where no Action Points are spent.

A Priest can access many different Orisons depending on his Devotion to various Saints. This Orison becomes more powerful at higher levels of Devotion (I have only included up to Level 4 here, the Orison for Saint Michael "upgrades" at Level 5). Even though Orisons are not forgotten when Cast, a Priest can only have a number of Orisons Memorized equal to his Intellect. A Priest with access to many different Orisons will need to consider which Orisons to commit to memory before heading out on adventures!

Hey, Look: Another Community Project Contribution

The Projectioneer

These are fun. Gorgonmilk has posted another request for contributions to his Magical Insanity Project. Here is my contribution.

Magician's Fugue (Magical Disease, Permanent):

NOTE: If already under the effect of Magician's Fugue, go to Total Recall, below.

The Magician has, in attempting to the Cast the Spell from his Mind, accidentally lodged it into a hidden part of his Psyche. The Magician, while under the effects of this Disease, has completely forgotten his understanding of the Spell that has triggered the Fugue.

NOTE: There are many variations of the Art & Science of Magic in the Multi-verse. Some Magicians Cast from a Pool of Power within their Minds through their Known Spells (known as Sorcerors or Psionics on some Planets). Others Program specific Spells into their Mind-Form that are Forgotten once Cast -- necessitating multiple instances of a Spell be Memorized if the Magician wishes to Cast a specific Spell more than once (known as Wizards or simply Magic-users on some Planes).

In the latter form of Spell-Magic, the Magician loses the other instances of the Spell in addition to the one Cast that triggered the Fugue. While in the Former, only the Magician's understanding is impacted, not the Pool of Energy utilized for Castings.

While under the effects of the Fugue, further Castings of the Spell that triggered the Fugue is impossible -- effectively striking the Spell from the Magician's list of Known Spells. This is a Permanent Magical Disease and can only be removed by way of a Remove Disease Spell or similar.

Note: Even redundantly researching the Spell so-forgotten will not bring the understanding of it back to the Magician. The Spell is a complete mystery to the Magician now.

Total Recall (Instant):

If a Magician who is currently under the effects of Magician's Fugue comes under the effects of the Fugue again -- the secret part of the Magician's Mind where Spells sometimes get lodged is blasted open by the transposition of a second Spell. This results in two effects:

The primary effect of this is that the Spell that has triggered this second instance of Fugue is NOT forgotten -- AND the Spell that was originally forgotten is remembered. 

The second effect of this is that the old Spell that has been remembered is immediately Cast as the Magician's total recall of the Spell is psychologically explosive -- the exact effects (targets et cetera) should be randomly determined by the DM.

Further Notes on Spells

"I'm stuck with this lazy Apprentice from one of the Baron Houses. His Family pays me well to train him, but he does the minimum and every daggering day I have to sober him up so he can watch the shop when I go out to resupply the forge in the mornings!"
~Albion the Armsmith

In my previous post I gave some examples of the starting Spells available to Projectioneers and Pyromancers. The names of these Spells are the Short Names as each Spell has a Full Name. I also plan on including the Partial and Full Incantation in the Spell descriptions in a partially-constructed language -- that is still in-progress. My goal is to have each Spell to have its own flavor beyond its numbers. Let me show you a couple of examples:

Fireball, also known as Lorre's Expanding Conflagration
Partial Incantation
Attack: As Tuning (+0 at Level 1), Ranged Attack (+Agility) vs. SR
Damage: As Tuning (1d6 + Intellect x1 at Level 1) + 1d6
Targets: 2, must be Close
Full Incantation
Attack: As Tuning, Ranged Attack vs. SR
Damage: As Tuning x2, 1/2 Damage on Miss
Targets: 2, must be Close

Arcane Knife, also known as Nivlem's Mind Shank
Partial Incantation
Attack: As Tuning, Melee Attack (+Strength) vs. AC
Damage: As Tuning plus Stun, x2 Damage if Flanking
Targets: 1
Full Incantation
Attack: As Tuning, Melee Attack vs. SR
Damage: As Tuning plus Stun, 1/2 Damage on Miss, x3 Damage if Flanking
Targets: 1

Spell-Magic: The Rules

"Please, call us Thieves. We take what we want. When we want it. And in a manner that is most pleasing to us. To us, it is a term of Honor and must be Earned."

-Shihab the Beggar, Renowned Burglar of the Southerly Nein Thieves Guild

In the previous post on Magic and Magic-users I detailed the basic foundation of a Magic-user's abilities, the Tuning. All Magic-users utilize Spells in concert with their Tuning to create magnificent effects. A Magic-user Memorizes his Spells out of a Spellbook. Each Spell is unique in this manner and is only capable of being Memorized in a single instance by a single Magic-user. As a result, a Magic-user wishing to Memorize multiple copies of the same Spell, must have multiple copies of this Spell in his Spellbook.

The Casting of Spells is called Incanting. Each Spell has a Partial and Full Incantation. The Partial Incantation is a less powerful version of the Spell, but Casting a Spell in this manner does not purge it from the Magic-user's Memory. The Full Incantation is the full expression of the Spell which, when Incanted, erases the Spell from the Memory of the Magic-user.

The Action Point used to Cast the Partial Incantation of a Spell is moved into a Magic-user's Short Reserve. This Action Point is then returned to the Magic-user's total following a full night's Rest (along with adequate nourishment). The Action Point used to Cast the Full Incantation of a Spell is Burned off. A Burned Action Point is only ever returned following the longer Upkeep period -- the month-long period between major excursions of adventures.

A newly minted Magic-user begins play with about four Spells in his or her Spellbook. This may be modified by the Magic-user's Background (which is randomly determined, similar to the Background generated by Race selection). See below for brief descriptions of some of the basic Spells available to Pyromancers and Projectioneers.

Pyromancy

Fireball: The Pyromancer generates a large ball of flame in his hand which he then tosses at his foes. This Spell hits reliably across multiple opponents.

Flame Dart: The Pyromancer produces a shiv made of fire that he directs into the target with great accuracy. Useful against single targets.

Application of Fire: A martial application of the Manifestation of Flame. Produces fire upon the Pyromancer's own weaponry or the weaponry of an ally, causing increased damage with the weaponry so enhanced.

Smoke: The Pyromancer quickly Manifests a flame upon any surface that immediately extinguishes itself into deep clouds of black smoke. The Partial Incantation is useful to hide oneself and allies against attacks. The Full Incantation creates a much deeper cloud that can inhibit and even hurt enemies.

Projectionism

Magic Missile: The Projectioneer propels a bolt of his Mind Form into the opponents. Reliable against one opponent. The Full Incantation produces multiple bolts.

Titan's Grasp: The Projectioneer generates a much more powerful and larger version of the Mage Hand that can be used to pin as well as crush an opponent.

Shield: The Projectioneer can create a wall of force with his Mind Form to absorb the attacks of his opponents. This wall of force can be produced upon the Magic-user's allies, too.

Arcane Knife: The Projectioneer generates a knife made of his Mind Form that he quickly drives into an opponent within melee or throws at an opponent at a distance. Is especially deadly if the opponent is being flanked or unawares.

Spell-Magic & Magic-Users

Within the world of Sophia's Children the Magic-users organize themselves into Orders. Though all PCs begin as Level 0 Commoners, they will choose the course of their Class at Level 1. Once selecting Magic-user as Class, the next choice to make will be the particular Order the character trained within. There are three known Orders upon Nod, though there may be many others across the settlements of Mankind upon the Earth. For instance, it is known that the Bantu have their own Orders of Magic-users in their Home country who differ from the Adepts, Pyromancers and Conjurists of Nod.

Orders tends to be clandestine in their dealings with other Orders, but will unite as one force if they feel as if their mutual security has been threatened. All Orders recognize the Divinity of the Messiah, indeed, it was they who were most helpful in ensuring the compliance of the Baron Houses when the Messiah staged her coup 2000 years ago.

In the initial iteration of the game there will be two Orders of Magic-users available for selection: the Pyromancers and the Adepts. Pyromancers belong to The Order of The Flame, whereas Adepts belong to The Order of The Hand.

All Magic-users receive their Tuning at the climax of their Magical Training. Following this, they will be able to utilize their Tuning for both spontaneous effects and the casting of Spells.

The Tuning

The Magic-user must maintain their Tuning utilizing the techniques learned at their Order. Separate from Level of Class, a Magic-user must also track the Level of their Tuning, which begins at Level 1 for a Level 1 Magic-user.

In addition to Tuning's Level, a Magic-user has a degree of Attunement with that Level of magical ability. Attunement is a measure of power, focus and resonance. If a Magic-user uses his Tuning for any purpose throughout the course of a day, he must make an Attunement check when Resting. Failing this check results in the decay of the Attunement by 1 point. If a Magic-user ever loses his final point of Attunement, his Tuning level drops by 1 and his Attunement is reset to 10.

Magic-users can replenish their Attunement, in addition to raising their Level of Tuning by way of rest, study, lengthy Rituals and Ordeals within their Order's Tower. A Magic-user may raise their Level of Tuning only up to their Class Level, I.E.: A Level 3 Magic-user can raise their Tuning up to Level 3.

Each Tuning, in addition to enabling the Memorization of Spells associated with its type, allow for three spontaneous abilities. Effortless abilities require that an Action Point be moved into the Magic-user's Short Reserve -- which is replenished almost immediately following any turn where no Action Points are spent.

Concentration abilities require that an Action Point be moved into the Long Reserve -- replenished following an overnight Rest. Concentration abilities last as long as the Magic-user maintains his concentration, but also end immediately upon losing consciousness for any reason due to sleep, death, etc.

The most powerful spontaneous effect is the Manifestation, which lasts for a period of time without concentration according to the Level of the Magic-user's Tuning. This Burns an Action Point that is only returned after the Magic-user takes an extended rest during Upkeep, a period of about one month. Only one Manifestation may be in effect at a time.

Pyromancy

A Pyromancer's Tuning is referred to as Pyromancy. Following the Tuning of this Order, a Pyromancer will have the ability to channel flame through his nervous system from the Flame which has been Implanted in his Brain. The most powerful means of which is through the Energy Points in the hands.

The Effortless ability of Pyromancy is the Spark. A Pyromancer can, through their hands, cause a flash of light that can kindle flammable materials. This Spark gives off light, as well as smoke -- the creative Magic-user will utilize his Spark in variety of ways.

The Concentration effect of Pyromancy is Light or Heat. A Pyromancer can maintain a source of Light that emanates from their body or a center of Heat. This locus must be on or within the body.

The Manifestation effect of Pyromancy is the Flame. All Pyromancer's can, through burning off a portion of their willpower (I.E.: Action Points), manifest a Flame that emits both light and heat into the environment. The size and force of this Flame depends on the Level of Tuning, as well as the length of time this Flame persists.

Projectionism

An Adept's Tuning is known as Projectionism. The Adept can exert his Mind Form beyond his Gross Form (what Adept's call their physical body) to impact the world with physical force Unseen.

The Effortless ability of the Adept is the Push. An Adept can, through their hands, create a physical force similar to a one-handed push or one-fingered press. The Magic-user must be able to see the target of his Push.

The Concentration effect of Projectionsim is called the Mage Hand. Through concentrated effort, the Adept can perform more fine manipulation and heavy lifting, though nothing more than a single hand's worth of ability can be performed in this manner.

The Manifestation effect of the Adept is the Unseen Servant. The Adept releases a large portion of his Mind Form, which can then act independently of the Magic-user for a period of time dependent on the Level of Tuning. The Unseen Servant can act with the force and ability of a whole person, though more martial applications of the Unseen Servant require Spell-Magic. This Servant must remain within eye sight of the Adept.

The Adepts are well known for weaponizing slivers of their Mind Form through Spell-Magic, which takes many diverse forms depending on the Spell used.

Spell-Magic

Though Magic-users utilize their Tuning's basic manifestation to perform magic that suits their general purposes. The more specialized and especially martial applications of the ability is through Spell-Magic. This fearsome force was organized to great effect during the Great War over 2000 years ago. Armies replete with Knights, Mage-Knights and Magic-users belonging to the Warlord Houses did battle with both Eldritch Energies and Steel.

In my next post I will go into more detail regarding the process and mechanics of Memorization, Incantations and Spellcraft -- the process by which Magic-user acquire, create and modify their Spells.

The Tuning

Master has directed me to prepare for the Final Rite.

I drew a bath and collected the oils so as to sanctify my body. As I slipped into the pool I thought of my training up to this final hour. . .

"Every action is preceded by a want that comes to your awareness after you have begun it."

I could feel the Second Sphere around me in the water. Master tells me that the Final Rite -- my Tuning -- would loosen the Second Sphere from my body. I wondered what this would feel like. Master's words again echoed in my Mind.

"We are all born with a Soul Caul. Our Order has perfected the Art of removing this Caul, whose tail is located around the back of the Brain -- the organ that houses your Mind. You will practice our Order's many exercises to sense and push against this Second Sphere.

"You will feel a pinching and then a pulling as the skin is opened in the back of your skull. You will then feel a hammering and a grinding as we apply the Trephine to the bone."

I reflected on the majority of this past year's training. The many Ordeals were designed to tolerate greater and greater amounts of pain so as to loosen the psyche under the Soul Caul -- that I may Flow following the Tuning.

I tried to nap while soaking in the pool, but sleep would not come. I could feel the energy in my Gross Form already preparing itself for the Order's Surgeons. "They are preparing the Ritual Chamber," I thought. I imagined the table I would be secured to. I imagined the leather and metal restraints they would need as my body seized while they pulled my Second Sphere by the tail away from my Gross From.

Bringing my hands to my face, I felt the Gross Form of my face. My fingertips reached to the back of my skull. "Soon, my own Tuning mark will be there." I remembered the pride and far away stares on the faces of my older cohorts.

"It is time." Master had entered the room without me noticing.

Suddenly, the Order's Surgeons were upon me. The slipperiness of my limbs were no matter as they had loosened their Unseen Servants, doubling the arms restraining my Gross Form.

"I had no plans that it would be like this!" my Mind wailed! But Master's Unseen Servant was upon my face, holding closed my mouth and nose. My lungs stretched and flattened. My Gross Form rebelled and then Seized as all went Black. 

"Wake, child." Master's voice.

"The Final Rite, the Tuning, will now commence. You will be Awake for this. You will feel pain. We will rip the Soul Caul from the insides of your skull. You will be Free."

As Master spoke to me I felt the pressure of a razor upon my head as a Surgeon removed the hair from my Gross Form's head.

"Many have come before you. Many will come after you. All have undergone the Ordeals as you have. Not all survive the Tuning."

Panic inside. But it was too late to turn back now.

I now felt the pinching and pulling as a Surgeon removed skin so as to target the correct location of the Soul Caul's Tail. Coldness drooled down to my face as the Surgeon continued cutting. . .

"Now the Trephine."

I heard the clattering of a large metal instrument. The Trephine -- the machine that makes us More Than Others and Less Than Born.

"Child. You will be with Us no matter the state of your Gross Form." Master addressed the Surgeons. "Begin."

It felt like falling on the back of one's head. At first there was a stop. But then the falling continued. Falling, falling, falling. . .

The Lesson

"My Dear Student, I understand that you struggle with the terminology we use. Yes, indeed, we call the study of Spells Memorization, but it is not quite the same thing you may have heard before your studies here. 

"For example, if I explain to you the quickest path from the Order's Tower to City Hall and you commit that to memory, we can both agree that you have memorized this as well. You may also try this path on your own and in walking this path many times you will have furthered the commitment of that path to memory.

"This is not how Spells work, my boy. It is not you that memorizes the Spell, but is the Spell that memorizes you.

"You will recall the warnings against the sharing of Spells? Well, it is dangerous, but not life-threatening -- at least not directly. Listen closely and I will explain the nature of this. If the Adept has memorized a Spell from any source -- whether it be his personal tome, from a colleague's or one of our communal books -- that Spell is bound to him. If another Adept happens upon the same pages from the same book and were to then commit that Spell to memory, the Spell will be ripped from the Mind of the previous Adept.

"I have had this happen to me, dear Pupil! -- it is not a pleasurable sensation and there is no warning to it. Have you ever stepped on a nail by accident while walking through the Craftworker's District? It's like that. . .

"Now, you must know that the Order of Flame is known for sharing their Spells amongst one another. We, on the other hand, frown upon this for the reasons I have just described to you. Some Orders see the utility in this, but the risk of having a Spell ripped from your Mind suddenly and without warning is too big a risk to take by our standards.

"We do have Communal Tomes for Times of Crisis, when the most dangerous and volatile of Spells are needed by us, but these are kept locked away. And those Spells are not for the Novice, nor even the Accomplished Adept. . .

"Have you acquired your Personal Spellbook yet? Oh, good. Now, remember this lesson -- though it was very informal -- as you must guard your Spellbook vigilantly as it is not just ink on paper that you commit to your Mind, it is the very Souls of the Spells that are bound to yours."