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DFRPG / Sponsored Magic: Unlight
« on: June 02, 2015, 10:32:48 PM »
Here's something I've been tinkering with for a bit, and thought I'd share it here. Hopefully, your players won't want to lynch me, later... 
I'll probably (very sparingly, if ever) use this as-is, but I'm always interested in constructive feedback. Even if I don't use the input, someone else might find it handy. Also, while no major changes were necessary, I did wait til the release of The Paranet Papers to put this out here. It takes the discussion on Sponsored Magic there into account.
Have fun!
Sponsored Magic: The Unlight
In a real world, physics-grounded Universe, darkness is simply the absence of light. Bring a light into a darkened room and the darkness recedes - it has no power to resist. The power of the Unlight is another matter. It is one of the powers offered by one or more Old Ones, the forgotten gods in the Outside. Even seeking knowledge of this power is a violation of the Seventh Law, as is every use of it, regardless of how benign it might seem. This is a very quick road to self-destruction.
Cost: 5, reduced by 1 each for Evocation and Thaumaturgy.
Benefits: The Unlight is terribly destructive to anything not of the Outside.; it gains +1 to power against beings and matter of the Nevernever, and +2 against any corporeal matter, even downgrading Physical Immunity to "merely" Mythic Toughness, leaving a dead, gray ash behind. If blocked by powers involving light, fire or other "bright" energy, it gains +4 power as it seemingly devours the source. The same bonus applies if it is used to block or counterspell such things. Only magic bolstered by Soulfire ignores this effect. It can satisfy the Catch against creatures that are vulnerable to "unholy" or "darkness" powers. For Evocation and Channeling, it acts most like darkness and cold. For Thaumaturgy and Ritual, it operates like Disruption, Necromancy (inflicting terrible decay on a target) and Worldwalking (eroding holes in the very fabric of space-time), with Evocation's methods and speed when such uses are in line with the power's agenda. Obviously, the power's agenda is focused on annihilation, but it is most concerned with the collapse of the barrier keeping the Outside at bay. Using this power to travel to and from the Nevernever is... bad.
It's also significantly more dangerous than most other forms of sponsored magic when a spellcaster loses control of a working. Any excess is taken as both Backlash AND Fallout, at full strength. Even worse, the Sponsor will not, under ANY circumstances, help mitigate these effects. They are, after all, trying to obliterate the user and everything around him, in the hope of punching holes in reality that they can ooze through.
I'll probably (very sparingly, if ever) use this as-is, but I'm always interested in constructive feedback. Even if I don't use the input, someone else might find it handy. Also, while no major changes were necessary, I did wait til the release of The Paranet Papers to put this out here. It takes the discussion on Sponsored Magic there into account.
Have fun!
Sponsored Magic: The Unlight
In a real world, physics-grounded Universe, darkness is simply the absence of light. Bring a light into a darkened room and the darkness recedes - it has no power to resist. The power of the Unlight is another matter. It is one of the powers offered by one or more Old Ones, the forgotten gods in the Outside. Even seeking knowledge of this power is a violation of the Seventh Law, as is every use of it, regardless of how benign it might seem. This is a very quick road to self-destruction.
Cost: 5, reduced by 1 each for Evocation and Thaumaturgy.
Benefits: The Unlight is terribly destructive to anything not of the Outside.; it gains +1 to power against beings and matter of the Nevernever, and +2 against any corporeal matter, even downgrading Physical Immunity to "merely" Mythic Toughness, leaving a dead, gray ash behind. If blocked by powers involving light, fire or other "bright" energy, it gains +4 power as it seemingly devours the source. The same bonus applies if it is used to block or counterspell such things. Only magic bolstered by Soulfire ignores this effect. It can satisfy the Catch against creatures that are vulnerable to "unholy" or "darkness" powers. For Evocation and Channeling, it acts most like darkness and cold. For Thaumaturgy and Ritual, it operates like Disruption, Necromancy (inflicting terrible decay on a target) and Worldwalking (eroding holes in the very fabric of space-time), with Evocation's methods and speed when such uses are in line with the power's agenda. Obviously, the power's agenda is focused on annihilation, but it is most concerned with the collapse of the barrier keeping the Outside at bay. Using this power to travel to and from the Nevernever is... bad.
It's also significantly more dangerous than most other forms of sponsored magic when a spellcaster loses control of a working. Any excess is taken as both Backlash AND Fallout, at full strength. Even worse, the Sponsor will not, under ANY circumstances, help mitigate these effects. They are, after all, trying to obliterate the user and everything around him, in the hope of punching holes in reality that they can ooze through.