Magic as Electricity: The Church of the Human Font

 In my previous post, I covered the grim students and clergy of the Cyclica and its Saints. They worship magic as a tidal force, frozen by will and understanding and returning into formless miasma through inattention.

The Church of the Human Font split from the Cyclica over a the Heresy of the Vessel. See, to the mages of the Cyclica, magic is everywhere, yet unseen except through its effects, and man's only capacity for interacting with it is through thought, of all things the most intangible and evanescent. But the key to the Cylica is their twin rituals, the Ritual of the Vessel (which primes a physical vessel for containment of the intangible Tide of magic) and the Containment Ritual (which brings a Tide of magic into the vessel). The mysticism of Saint Mosil and the Raving of the Mad Saint are wondrous, and their effects on the world unparalleled; yet they are grounded to the world by the Vessel, a physical thing, which can be optimized, compared in efficacy to other Vessels, and refined in objective terms.

The Church of the Human Font believes that though we may not know what Magic is, we can use principles to improve upon our understanding of it, and use human works to harness it at every stage. Where the Mages of the Cyclica venerate Foci for their holy relation to the Words, the Church of the Human Font seeks to use them as a key to producing ever greater magic.

Magic as Electricity: The Church of the Human Font

In this model, magic functions like electricity. Talented wizards can draw it to themselves and from their environment, leaving their area devoid of magic while they crackle and surge with power. Magic must be stored in something-- brains and blood are the best conductors of magic, followed by glass and certain magical metals. These Conductors have magical Potential, as do magicians (though magicians can increase and decrease their potential through training).

Setting Element: Conductor's Ladder

The Church has a detailed list of effective magical conductors called the Conductor's Ladder. However, a brain with high Potential has thus far proved to be the most powerful conductor; just as electricity moves easily through copper because copper holds its electrons loosely, so does magic move easily through the brain because the Brain holds its magic loosely.

Setting Element: The Polaris, Voiding, Wracking

The act of drawing magic to oneself is called performing the Polaris. Mages have different ways of going about this, and though the effect is the same ini practice, in appearance it is not. See, the Polaris is different from the Containment Ritual in that it takes magic away from one's surroundings. The sudden displacement of magic, for whatever reason, leaves a scent in the air, and the rush of magic into the caster's body creates a minor physical change on their person. Different wizards have different smells associated with their casting; every wizard's scent is unique.

The Polaris lets you roll a die of your choice and get the die result's number of MD. This draws magic from the air and puts it in the caster, or into a chosen vessel. When someone casts the Polaris, it takes time for more magic to fill the space left in the Polaris' casting. When you remove the magic from an area, that's called Voiding. If someone has cast the Polaris nearby recently, the GM will reduce the die size you choose by two, down to a d0 (and you can't retroactively change it). d20-12-10-8-6-4-3-0.

If you draw more MD than you can contain in your brain, you are Wracked; the magic spills over from your brain and wreaks havoc on your body. Roll on the Wracks table, but keep the extra MD. You can still use them to cast spells. 

Setting Element: Poles & Polaris Failsafes

Where the mages of the Cylica have Foci, the Church of the Human Font have Poles. Poles are areas where magic is highly concentrated, and replenishes more frequently. In these areas, the GM will increase your die size when you cast the Polaris.

Polaris failsafes, meanwhile, are items that every Mage of the Polaris carries with them. You can activate them with an action, and they will decrease the number of MD you draw from the Polaris by d3. Roll this after you choose your die in the Polaris.

Setting Element: Spellcasting

Unlike the mages of the Cylica, the Church of the Human Font has procedural spellcasting. You don't need to understand concepts, just that saying these words in this way while you have magic coursing through your brain and blood will cause the effect you want to happen, usually. 

Sometimes, it doesn't quite work that way. Spellcasting is difficult, and the Church of the Human Font is grounded in the beliefs of the Cyclica, meaning that their spells are like heuristics for the worldly effects that the Cyclicans create through mastery of concepts. If you roll doubles, the GM gets to change 1-2 of the words in the spell, or its target, or effect, etc. Something significant, but not HUGE. They get to decide and you get to complain and they get to do nothing about it if they want.

There's also an added danger of losing control of the magic in your body. If you roll triples, consult the Magic Shock table.

Class: Polarist

You gain +1 Magical Potential every level.

Start off with the equipment you need for your Polaris (if any), the robes of the Church, a Polaris Failsafe, and a notebook with a few scribbled spells.

A: The Polaris, Spellcasting
B:

C:

D: Signature Style

The Polaris: In order to draw MD, you must enact the Polaris. By default, it takes an action, requires an instrument of some kind, and stores MD in you, the caster. Choose 2 Polaris Idiosyncrasies that detail the way you cast the Polaris.

The Polaris: 1 Action, Target Self. Choose a die and roll it. Gain that many MD. If you gain more MD than you have magical Potential, roll on the Wracks table.

Polaris Idiosyncrasies: (By default, it takes an action, requires an instrument of some kind, and stores magical potential in the caster first)

1. You have a machine which performs the Polaris for you, with a verbal and/or somatic command. Your Potential is stored in the machine-- you yourself have no magical potential. 1 Inventory Slot.
2. Your Polaris is inseparable from your body-- you trace your finger on a pictographic tattoo, or chant a memorized chant. Only specific physical harm can separate you from it.
3. Your Polaris takes 10mins, or twice as long (whichever is longer). Choose two more idiosyncrasies.
4. Your Polaris draws magic from a wider radius. If your Polaris would be Voided, it is only Voided by 1 die size.
5. You can take 20 additional minute to cast your Polaris in order to have advantage on the draw roll.
6. Your Polaris uses chalk, ink, or some other substance that when inscribed on a location, lets you perform the Polaris as long as you're at that location. Takes 5 additional minutes to draw the necessary glyphs and symbols, which counts as part of your casting time for the purposes of other idiosyncrasies.
7. Your Polaris is unaffected by Fonts unless you want it to be.
8. You do not emit your Scent when you use the Polaris.

Spellcasting: to cast spells, choose the spell list of a GLoG Mage-- you progress through that spell list as if you are that wizard. Don't be a Dino Cleric please unless your GM is cool with it. Instead of Mishaps, the GM gets to change one important quality of your spell. Instead of Dooms, you have Magic Shocks. MD deplete on a 5-6, are returned on a 1-4-- classic GLoG spellcasting rules.

In addition, when you cast magic or perform the Polaris, the air is filled with a smell of your choice. People may recognize this scent.

Signature Style: Most talented wizards recognize your scent. In addition, you have some signature flourish or technique that distinguishes you from other wizards and is very ostentatious, like a loud noise, a complex set of hand gestures before casting, or bright visual.

Choose one of the following benefits:

1. MD deplete on a 6 only.

2. Choose one spell: instead, this is a signature spell. It looks totally distinct when you cast it. You may reroll any number of MD when you cast this spell.

3. You may reroll one MD when casting a spell, unless that would prevent a magic shock.

4. You may reroll one MD when casting a spell, unless that would prevent doubles.

5. You may choose to roll all d4s or all d8s when casting the spell.

6. You can perform your complex gesture or create your loud noise or whatever to regain one MD, once per day.

Magic Shocks

1. Your hands, tongue, ears, or eyes explode. Fortitude-esque roll or fall unconscious.
2. Whatever you need to cast the Polaris disappears. Sucks if these are your hands or a valuable unique machine.
3. You forget d6 random spells you know. You learn can learn them back or replace them with other spells by talking to teachers in your Church.
4. Immediately roll 2 Wracks.
5. You fall into a trance for a number of days equal to the triple you rolled (1-6).
6. You go insane for a number of hours equal to the triple you rolled (1-6).
7. The magic enters Spirit Form inside your body. You are possessed by a spirit with HD equal to the triple you rolled +1d3. Exorcising the spirit returns you to self-control, unconscious and at 0 HP. People nearby can tell what kind of spirit it is; if heatless fire dances on your skin and in your eyes, it's probably a demon; if your eyes are ocean blue and your legs disappear into a tide from the waste down, it's probably a marid or water elemental.
8. All nearby Polaris wizards (including you) lose all of their MD in a painful stream of sparks that trickles from their ears. Non-Polaris wizards roll all of their MD, and deplete as normal.
9. Do not tell the others what happened. You disappear for a number of hours equal the triple you rolled. You are invisible, intangible, cannot make noise or perform actions. You reappear where you disappeared at the end of that time.
10. Do not tell the other what happened. You disappear for a number of hours equal the twice the triple  you rolled. You are invisible, intangible, cannot make noise or perform actions. You reappear where you disappeared at the end of that time.

Wracks 

1. You cannot see, as red magical electricity courses in full flashing nets over your eye.
2. A thunderous boom echoes around you, leaving your ears ringing (deaf) and your senses dulled for 1d4 rounds.
3. Blood spurts from (1d10): 1-2 Your fingernails, 3-4 your nose, 5-6 your ears, 7-8 your mouth, 9-10 your eyes. Take that much damage, and that surface is covered in blood.
4. Shards of ice break stab out of the skin on your forearms. Take 1d4 damage for every arm you have (yes this basically instakills a Many Goblins Polarist).
5. You ignite on fire. You can't be put out while you have overflowing MD. Take 1 damage every round for every overflowing MD you have while on fire.
6. All light sources near you go out. All the hair on your body turns to ash.
7. Your eyes turn to golden sunlike discs if the sun is out, or silver moonlike discs if the moon is out. They shin glowing light wherever they look and let out a gentle hum. Closing your eyes burns your eyelids and fills your ears with a deafening hum.
8. Your outer layer of skin thickens into bark and grows foliage, using all of your excess MD. You are encased inside a tree, and getting pried out means removing your first layer of skin. You will never see trees the same way again. (learn the word "Tree" if you are of the Cylica somehow).
9. You go blind for 1 day for every excess MD you have. Learn the word "Light" if you are of the Cyclica somehow.
10. The sky darkens, clouds brew over head. Lightning immediately strikes you, no matter where you are. It may continue to if you don't get inside.
11. The magic enters Spirit Form inside your body. You are possessed by a spirit with HD equal to the MD you called. Exorcising the spirit returns you to self-control, unconscious and at 0 HP. People nearby can tell what kind of spirit it is; if heatless fire dances on your skin and in your eyes, it's probably a demon; if your eyes are ocean blue and your legs disappear into a tide from the waste down, it's probably a marid or water elemental.
12. Everyone nearby screams for 1 minute straight. The GM decides what nearby means by the number of MD gained.
13. Nature strikes out against you, if it can. Houseplants whip you, vines seek to snare you and pull you into the trees to gang up on you, trees swat you with their limbs or fall over if they're really old, wooden floors might break underneath you if they remember what it's like to be a tree still. Animals go bat shit crazy at you.
14. Something you have disintegrates. Could be a finger, or a limb, or an item, or your emotional stability, or a memory. You choose, and if it's not serious enough, the GM chooses instead.
15. A crown of flames appears on your head, and you are possessed by a forgotten spirit. It will give you riddles to figure out its name, a task to perform, or something like that. When it's finished with you, it returns you to your body with none of the excess MD.

16--20: double the number of excess MD you got, and roll again.