Post by Admin on Oct 29, 2012 21:42:52 GMT -5
There are many different roads to power. Some appear quicker than others. None are free. In some circles, the strongest of mages can give a substantial jump-start to non-magicals, in what can most easily be understood as a more advanced form of the Familiar bond: the Pact.
Forming a pact calls upon old, complicated, and mostly forgotten magic to create a bond between the two souls involved: the original mage, or pactor, who must be Tier 4 or 5 to have the necessary strength; and the pacted mage, a person of Tier 0 strength before the ritual.
The exact nature of the Pact - the terms and conditions, so to speak - can vary from one to another, and are usually decided and agreed upon beforehand. The method of creating the pact is likewise fluid; it can be from anything as simple as signing a contract or making spoken vows to using one's own blood to draw a complex sigil between the two. Whatever the process, the resultant pact can be classified into one of two kinds.
A weak pact raises the non-magical's tier from 0 to 2, with all associated benefits. While special abilities gained/learned may be different from the original mage, the specializations gained are two of the original mage's own. After all, the pacted mage is effectively gaining a bit of the original mage's magic. Thus, if the original mage used Spoken (Latin) and Physical (Fire), the pacted mage might, too. He or she would not automatically gain the original mage's knowledge of those forms though.
(What specialization your character has is up to you, the player, not necessarily the character though. The original mage may include the prospective specializations as part of the pact terms. You/the character may attempt to retrain it over time.)
All pacts limit the decisions the strengthened character can make, but weak pacts are, as the name suggests, less restrictive. Like a contract, the pacted mage agrees to use - or not use - their powers in certain ways. A bodyguard might be contracted to use their magic only to defend the original mage. A knight might be contracted to use their magic only against evil doers. In other words, a weak pact gives the pacted some magic, but not freely.
A strong pact raises the non-magical's tier from 0 to 3. In exchange, they come under almost full control of the original mage. To uphold the pact, they need to follow every command given by the original mage, from anything as whimsical as passing the salt to using their newfound powers to slay a dragon. This closeness of will and connection is a partially a result of all the energy necessary to forge the bond in the first place, as the original mage is putting a large chunk of themself into the other. A strong pact thus grants more magical ability, but only as long as the wishes of the stronger mage are followed.
In either case, it's important that the would-be pacted mage is Tier 0. A full cup cannot be added to. A mage with his own powers cannot be jump-started this way. Natural mages and universally magical beings like the Fey thus can never be pacted, but could potentially pact others. Many a High Fey has chosen a warrior to act in their stead.
Pacted mages may have limited choices, but their free will is by no means removed. They suffer no explicit mental control or hypnosis (though unscrupulous pactors might include that as an element of the pact).
They are not "zombies." While they may feel a slight mental compulsion to act within the boundaries of the pact, they are free to interpret its terms as they wish - as long as they follow the agreed-upon terms (or the original mage's words) to the letter, they're in the clear. Mages who know how to form pacts usually also know that language is important, and if they can't trust the pacted mages they make, they usually go out of their way to eliminate loopholes from said pacts.
Alternatively, if a pacted mage feels for whatever reason that they cannot uphold the pact any longer, they could choose to try and break it completely by violating the contract, acting against the original mage's wishes, or through another kind of ritual. Breaking this connection is both costly and painful for the pacted mage.
Weak-pacted mages fall back one tier, losing a specialization and a special ability, as appropriate for being a tier lower. In the case of humans and similar, they could lose two special abilities.
Strong-pacted mages fall back two tiers, losing two specializations and special abilities, as appropriate for being two tiers lower.
Forfeiting the magical strength gained from the original mage also means weakening their own soul/life force, which may lead to a period of physical weakness or illness, possibly even death. This has left many an ex-strong-pacted mage in the perfect state of vulnerability for their wrathful former masters to do away with them.
However, as the pacted mage comes into their own strength and advances beyond the artificial tier(s), the pact may erode on its own. This is a much more difficult than it sounds, taking at least a few decades, for instance, to advance from tier 3 to 4. Yet it can be done, and can eventually free the mage from their pact without the side effects of tier and ability loss. Progressing by 2 tiers should be enough to dissolve most pacts altogether - but keep in mind that most mages will never get beyond tier 2 or 3, and pacted mages are no different. Such an "escape" is a rare occurence.
The original mage cannot make an infinite number of pacted mages, even through different means. A tier 4 mage can only make a handful, the exact number varying between different people. A tier 5 mage can make more, though the process requires Spoken, Written, or a suitable specialization of another form to be able to perform the ritual.
Pacting is a strenuous process for them in the same way breaking a pact can be for a pacted mage, though not as life threatening. After all, they're using a part of their soul/life-force to jumpstart another's. Giving up too much of yourself to others eventually takes its toll, which is why most mages capable of it don't do it at all, and those that do include a measure of control in the pacts. They want to make it count.
While Pacting is not something undertaken lightly in game, any player may submit a Pacted mage for approval. It is a viable alternative instead of being a natural mage or a trained mage.
Forming a pact calls upon old, complicated, and mostly forgotten magic to create a bond between the two souls involved: the original mage, or pactor, who must be Tier 4 or 5 to have the necessary strength; and the pacted mage, a person of Tier 0 strength before the ritual.
The exact nature of the Pact - the terms and conditions, so to speak - can vary from one to another, and are usually decided and agreed upon beforehand. The method of creating the pact is likewise fluid; it can be from anything as simple as signing a contract or making spoken vows to using one's own blood to draw a complex sigil between the two. Whatever the process, the resultant pact can be classified into one of two kinds.
A weak pact raises the non-magical's tier from 0 to 2, with all associated benefits. While special abilities gained/learned may be different from the original mage, the specializations gained are two of the original mage's own. After all, the pacted mage is effectively gaining a bit of the original mage's magic. Thus, if the original mage used Spoken (Latin) and Physical (Fire), the pacted mage might, too. He or she would not automatically gain the original mage's knowledge of those forms though.
(What specialization your character has is up to you, the player, not necessarily the character though. The original mage may include the prospective specializations as part of the pact terms. You/the character may attempt to retrain it over time.)
All pacts limit the decisions the strengthened character can make, but weak pacts are, as the name suggests, less restrictive. Like a contract, the pacted mage agrees to use - or not use - their powers in certain ways. A bodyguard might be contracted to use their magic only to defend the original mage. A knight might be contracted to use their magic only against evil doers. In other words, a weak pact gives the pacted some magic, but not freely.
A strong pact raises the non-magical's tier from 0 to 3. In exchange, they come under almost full control of the original mage. To uphold the pact, they need to follow every command given by the original mage, from anything as whimsical as passing the salt to using their newfound powers to slay a dragon. This closeness of will and connection is a partially a result of all the energy necessary to forge the bond in the first place, as the original mage is putting a large chunk of themself into the other. A strong pact thus grants more magical ability, but only as long as the wishes of the stronger mage are followed.
In either case, it's important that the would-be pacted mage is Tier 0. A full cup cannot be added to. A mage with his own powers cannot be jump-started this way. Natural mages and universally magical beings like the Fey thus can never be pacted, but could potentially pact others. Many a High Fey has chosen a warrior to act in their stead.
Pacted mages may have limited choices, but their free will is by no means removed. They suffer no explicit mental control or hypnosis (though unscrupulous pactors might include that as an element of the pact).
They are not "zombies." While they may feel a slight mental compulsion to act within the boundaries of the pact, they are free to interpret its terms as they wish - as long as they follow the agreed-upon terms (or the original mage's words) to the letter, they're in the clear. Mages who know how to form pacts usually also know that language is important, and if they can't trust the pacted mages they make, they usually go out of their way to eliminate loopholes from said pacts.
Alternatively, if a pacted mage feels for whatever reason that they cannot uphold the pact any longer, they could choose to try and break it completely by violating the contract, acting against the original mage's wishes, or through another kind of ritual. Breaking this connection is both costly and painful for the pacted mage.
Weak-pacted mages fall back one tier, losing a specialization and a special ability, as appropriate for being a tier lower. In the case of humans and similar, they could lose two special abilities.
Strong-pacted mages fall back two tiers, losing two specializations and special abilities, as appropriate for being two tiers lower.
Forfeiting the magical strength gained from the original mage also means weakening their own soul/life force, which may lead to a period of physical weakness or illness, possibly even death. This has left many an ex-strong-pacted mage in the perfect state of vulnerability for their wrathful former masters to do away with them.
However, as the pacted mage comes into their own strength and advances beyond the artificial tier(s), the pact may erode on its own. This is a much more difficult than it sounds, taking at least a few decades, for instance, to advance from tier 3 to 4. Yet it can be done, and can eventually free the mage from their pact without the side effects of tier and ability loss. Progressing by 2 tiers should be enough to dissolve most pacts altogether - but keep in mind that most mages will never get beyond tier 2 or 3, and pacted mages are no different. Such an "escape" is a rare occurence.
The original mage cannot make an infinite number of pacted mages, even through different means. A tier 4 mage can only make a handful, the exact number varying between different people. A tier 5 mage can make more, though the process requires Spoken, Written, or a suitable specialization of another form to be able to perform the ritual.
Pacting is a strenuous process for them in the same way breaking a pact can be for a pacted mage, though not as life threatening. After all, they're using a part of their soul/life-force to jumpstart another's. Giving up too much of yourself to others eventually takes its toll, which is why most mages capable of it don't do it at all, and those that do include a measure of control in the pacts. They want to make it count.
While Pacting is not something undertaken lightly in game, any player may submit a Pacted mage for approval. It is a viable alternative instead of being a natural mage or a trained mage.