Cartomancy
Cartomancy was developed by the first Phalreans, as a means of directing magic to achieve powerful ends, but not without risk. Based on the Phalre's symbology of Circlet, Key, Quill, and Bell, rituals are performed through the drawing of cards. The cards drawn show the flows of magic that are bent towards the ritual's purpose, and the ritualists decide when to stop drawing power. Doing so too soon can make the ritual relatively powerless, but doing so too late can have explosive consequences.
Whilst costly and unpredictable, Cartomancy is undeniably powerful. Mostly, it is used to achieve wide-scale outcomes, deep metaphysical effects, and extensive divination.
Any character with the Symbolic Rites skill can participate in a Cartomancy ritual. This skill may only be purchased by Phalrean characters. A Cartomancy ritual requires the following elements.
1. A CARTOMANCY DECK
Cartomancy Decks are powerful artefacts which can not be created by characters in play. They each contain 10 cards of each of four suits; Circlet, Key, Quill, and Bell. A ritual attempted with an incomplete deck, or one that has been manipulated or searched through before being properly shuffled, will fail. Any attempt by a player to circumvent this metaphysical fact will be treated as an OC cheating offence. It may, however, be possible for the deck to be manipulated through magical means in uptime.
2. A RITUAL SCROLL
To perform a ritual, the participants must have the relevant ritual scroll. This will detail the number of participants required, the number of resources needed, a rough description of the potential outcomes of the ritual, the sympathetic and antithetical suits (see below), and the target number (also see below) for the ritual. It is not possible for players to create new ritual scrolls. Ritual scrolls are provided by the Order of Archivist NPCs at events. Opportunities may be presented IC to influence what type of scrolls they provide.
3. RESOURCES
The resource cost of a ritual is specified on the scroll. A ritual cast with insufficient resources fails and the resources are wasted. A ritual cast with additional resources is no more effective, and the spare resources are wasted. Souls are not usable for Cartomancy rituals.
4. THE DRAW
To enact the ritual, the required number of participants must use the deck to perform the Draw. The Draw is an uninterrupted process whereby each participant draws one card in turn from the deck. The number written on each drawn card of a sympathetic suit is tallied as the process goes on, whilst the number written on each drawn card of an antithetical suit is deducted from this running total. The goal of the participants is to make this total equal the target number of the ritual. A ritual hitting this target number will be cast at maximum effectiveness. A ritual falling short of this number will be cast at reduced, or no, effectiveness. A ritual going above the number will have unpredictable, often catastrophic consequences, but may still also have the desired effect (or even a particularly powerful effect) if the total does not exceed the target number too significantly.
The Draw ends either when a participant whose turn it is refuses to draw another card, enacting the ritual with the power gained from the cards drawn thus far, or when the running total exceeds the target number, whereupon the more extreme consequences will ensue and no more cards may be drawn. If a ritualist is rendered unconscious or leaves the line of sight of the attending ref, the ritual is enacted as though the target number had been exceeded, with no chance of the desired outcome being attained.
EXAMPLE
The most commonly used and well-understood Phalrean magic is the Rite of the Clean Slate, used to remove magical effects. It works as described below.
The sympathetic suits are the Key and the Bell. During the Draw, cards of this type will add their value to the running total.
The antithetical suit is the Quill. During the Draw, cards of this type will deduct their value from the running total.
Circlet cards will have no effect on the running total.
The ritual requires exactly two ritualists to perform the Draw, 3 Heartsteel and 1 Crowngold.
The target number is 16.
If the ritual is ended on a value between 1 and 8, it has no effect.
On a 9 to 12, the most recently applied, non-permanent magic effect on the target ends.
On a 13 to 15, all non-permanent magic effects on the target end.
On a 16, the casters become aware of all non-permanent magic effects on the target, and may selectively end any of them they wish. This allows them to end some effects of a given ritual, but keep others going, at their discretion.
On a 17+, the ritual is overcast. This causes the target and casters to lose the ability to cast rituals or use faction-specific abilities like the Silent Trance, until the end of the event. Experimentation has revealed that this does not affect the magic powers of Summoners.
UPTIME OPPORTUNITIES
Ritual scrolls might be found in play, and speaking to representatives of the Order of Archivists gives characters the chance to request certain types of magic to be made available at the subsequent event.
Whilst costly and unpredictable, Cartomancy is undeniably powerful. Mostly, it is used to achieve wide-scale outcomes, deep metaphysical effects, and extensive divination.
Any character with the Symbolic Rites skill can participate in a Cartomancy ritual. This skill may only be purchased by Phalrean characters. A Cartomancy ritual requires the following elements.
- A Cartomancy Deck; provided by the Order of Archivists, ref-controlled NPCs.
- A ritual scroll; each ritual requires a specific scroll, usually provided by the Order of Archivists, but occasionally sourced elsewhere.
- Resources; a quantity of Glowroot, Mirrorfrost, Crowngold, and/or Heartsteel as specified by the ritual scroll.
- The Draw; participants must perform the ritual by drawing cards from the deck, in a fashion described below.
1. A CARTOMANCY DECK
Cartomancy Decks are powerful artefacts which can not be created by characters in play. They each contain 10 cards of each of four suits; Circlet, Key, Quill, and Bell. A ritual attempted with an incomplete deck, or one that has been manipulated or searched through before being properly shuffled, will fail. Any attempt by a player to circumvent this metaphysical fact will be treated as an OC cheating offence. It may, however, be possible for the deck to be manipulated through magical means in uptime.
2. A RITUAL SCROLL
To perform a ritual, the participants must have the relevant ritual scroll. This will detail the number of participants required, the number of resources needed, a rough description of the potential outcomes of the ritual, the sympathetic and antithetical suits (see below), and the target number (also see below) for the ritual. It is not possible for players to create new ritual scrolls. Ritual scrolls are provided by the Order of Archivist NPCs at events. Opportunities may be presented IC to influence what type of scrolls they provide.
3. RESOURCES
The resource cost of a ritual is specified on the scroll. A ritual cast with insufficient resources fails and the resources are wasted. A ritual cast with additional resources is no more effective, and the spare resources are wasted. Souls are not usable for Cartomancy rituals.
4. THE DRAW
To enact the ritual, the required number of participants must use the deck to perform the Draw. The Draw is an uninterrupted process whereby each participant draws one card in turn from the deck. The number written on each drawn card of a sympathetic suit is tallied as the process goes on, whilst the number written on each drawn card of an antithetical suit is deducted from this running total. The goal of the participants is to make this total equal the target number of the ritual. A ritual hitting this target number will be cast at maximum effectiveness. A ritual falling short of this number will be cast at reduced, or no, effectiveness. A ritual going above the number will have unpredictable, often catastrophic consequences, but may still also have the desired effect (or even a particularly powerful effect) if the total does not exceed the target number too significantly.
The Draw ends either when a participant whose turn it is refuses to draw another card, enacting the ritual with the power gained from the cards drawn thus far, or when the running total exceeds the target number, whereupon the more extreme consequences will ensue and no more cards may be drawn. If a ritualist is rendered unconscious or leaves the line of sight of the attending ref, the ritual is enacted as though the target number had been exceeded, with no chance of the desired outcome being attained.
EXAMPLE
The most commonly used and well-understood Phalrean magic is the Rite of the Clean Slate, used to remove magical effects. It works as described below.
The sympathetic suits are the Key and the Bell. During the Draw, cards of this type will add their value to the running total.
The antithetical suit is the Quill. During the Draw, cards of this type will deduct their value from the running total.
Circlet cards will have no effect on the running total.
The ritual requires exactly two ritualists to perform the Draw, 3 Heartsteel and 1 Crowngold.
The target number is 16.
If the ritual is ended on a value between 1 and 8, it has no effect.
On a 9 to 12, the most recently applied, non-permanent magic effect on the target ends.
On a 13 to 15, all non-permanent magic effects on the target end.
On a 16, the casters become aware of all non-permanent magic effects on the target, and may selectively end any of them they wish. This allows them to end some effects of a given ritual, but keep others going, at their discretion.
On a 17+, the ritual is overcast. This causes the target and casters to lose the ability to cast rituals or use faction-specific abilities like the Silent Trance, until the end of the event. Experimentation has revealed that this does not affect the magic powers of Summoners.
UPTIME OPPORTUNITIES
Ritual scrolls might be found in play, and speaking to representatives of the Order of Archivists gives characters the chance to request certain types of magic to be made available at the subsequent event.