Magic and Belief in the Motherlands
For many in the North of the Motherlands the very mention of Magic is a reminder of the pain they suffered during the time of the Dominion. But whilst High Magic and it's practitioners is viewed with distrust each person in the Motherlands lives a life rich in magical belief. The fundemental cornerstone of this life is the belief in the Great Mother. The Great Mother is a spirit from which all life comes from and returns to. The Great Mother flows through all things, binding them together, everything that lives is an extension of her.
Low Magic
So called low magic is the act of a devout man (or woman) strengthening the bound betweeen themselves and the Great Mother. This takes the form of a daily ritual through which the devotee can strengthen their place in the order of things. At the simplest this manifests as a form of luckiness. A peasant may have a series of rituals they follow every day for each major activity, by performing the correct rituals in the correct manner they suffer from less unforseen events.
The more devoted low mage will focus their life on a specific goal ( smithing, swordsmanship, sheperding etc. ). They will follow a more rigourous set of constrictions to their daily life in order to attain the desires focus. Examples of this include:
- a blacksmith who must perform a complex purification ritual for a minute before they can perform any work
- a sheperd who follows a strict set daily rituals, and has vowed to never eat meat or sleep indoors
- a travelling warrior who will only fight to protect the innocent
Each devotee will have their own code to follow in order to achieve their focus. Those people choosing to follow this more difficult path are treated with respect by the majority of those they meet. Even practitioners of high magic admire the discipline required to achieve such states.
High Magic
High magic differs from low magic in much the same way a painter differs from a brush. A devotee of low magic seeks to make themselves a better conduit for the spirit of the Great Mother in order to better live their life. A practitioner of High Magic instead learns to watch the subtle effects the passage of the Great Mother has on the world in order to learn how to manipulate it to produce a required result.
Game Rules
Simple Low Magic Meta Trait 10pts: Luck (Pact: Requires Ritualism -5%) 15pts; Discipline of Faith Ritualism -5pts.
Sample Low Magic Meta Traits. All focused low magic practioners must take at least a -20% limitation to the focus advantage, the limitations can come from Preparation required or Pact.
- Smith (37pts): Talent (Artificer) lvl 4 (Preparation Required 1 minute -20%) 8pts per level, Social Regard (as a devoted person) 5pts
- Sheperd (1pt): Talent (Animal Friend) lvl 4 (Pact: Requires Ritualism ,Vow Vegetarian and Vow Never Sleep Indoors -20%) 4pts per level, Social Regard (as a devoted person) 5pts, Discipline of Faith Ritualism -5pts. Vow: Vegetarian -5pts ,Vow: Never Sleep Indoors -10pts
- Heroic Swordsman (21pts): Weapons Master (Pact: Requires Sense of Duty (Everyone) -20%) 36pts, Social Regard (as a devoted person) 5pts, Sense of Duty (Everyone) -20pts
To represent High Magic use the Ritual Magic rules from The Basic Set (p 242) or Magic (p 200) using the Ritual Magic skill. Since High Magic is based on watching patterns of cause and effect the Ritual Magic skill is based on Per instead of IQ.