Somaticism
Somaticism is the great obsession, and the great need, of the Decaying Ones. It is the magic of using souls to shape new body parts for another person, which is the only means of delaying the grim demise promised by the Decay. But it is much more than simply a remedy. To the Decaying Ones, Somaticism is art, and its practitioners masters of creating beautiful things. This is reflected in the execution of Somaticist rites; to craft a new body part, it must first be drawn by the ritualist. Newly forged, these fine new creations are infused with great magical power, but as time passes and the Decay sets in, they first lose their fresh potency and, as the years roll on, all functionality at all.
Any character with the Shaper of Flesh skill can perform Somaticism rituals. Only Decaying Ones, or Summoners, are viable targets for these rituals. The caster and the target may not be the same character. A Somaticism ritual requires
1. SOULS
One mortal soul is the base price of a Somaticist ritual. Using further souls significantly increases the ritual's power.
2. A PICTURE
The ritualist must draw a picture that roughly matches the new physrep the target will gain. The picture must unambiguously signify which one of the following categories of Somaticism is being performed.
Arm: The target gains new physrepping on one arm. This may or may not include a larp-safe weapon-like prosthetic, such as a large claw, that may be used to fight and deliver calls like a weapon. This grants the target the ability to deliver a combat call of the ritualist's choice. Note: at least two souls must be used to grant Disarm or Gank as a call.
Skin: The target gains new physrepping on their skin, such as scales or a stony complexion. This may be used to grant resistance to combat call of the ritualist's choice. Note: at least two souls must be used to grant resistance to Disarm or Gank.
Eyes: The target gains new physrepping on their eyes, such as coloured contacts, or additional eyes painted on their face. They grant abilities to commune with body parts, to commune with diseases or disease-like phenomenae, or to make their enemies cry.
Accessories: The target gains non-functional accessorising physrepping, unrelated to the above categories, such as unusual ears, barbels, or cloven feet. This grants additional uses of refresh.
All of the above categories also grant the target additional hits. A target can only benefit from extra hits from one augmentation of each type. So, for instance, a target with two Accessory augmentations only gains bonus hits from one of them.
3. RESOURCES
Resources must be used to make the alterations last. With the use of two magical resources, the effect lasts only until the end of the event at which the ritual was cast. Each additional two resources adds an extra event to the duration. Arm upgrades require Heartsteel, Skin upgrades require Crowngold, Eyes upgrades require Mirrorfrost, and Accessories upgrades require Glowroot.
4. A NEW PHYSREP
The mechanical improvements to a target to not take effect until the player has altered their physrepping appropriately in accordance with the type of alteration indicated by the picture and the resource used. Physreps added through Somaticism follow all of the normal rules for Decaying One costume.
Any character with the Shaper of Flesh skill can perform Somaticism rituals. Only Decaying Ones, or Summoners, are viable targets for these rituals. The caster and the target may not be the same character. A Somaticism ritual requires
- Souls. At least one mortal soul must be spent to fuel the ritual.
- A picture. An image must be drawn by the Somaticist of the proposed alteration to the target's body.
- Resources. Magical resources must be used, dependent on the type of alteration.
- A new physrep. The target must alter their physrepping.
1. SOULS
One mortal soul is the base price of a Somaticist ritual. Using further souls significantly increases the ritual's power.
2. A PICTURE
The ritualist must draw a picture that roughly matches the new physrep the target will gain. The picture must unambiguously signify which one of the following categories of Somaticism is being performed.
Arm: The target gains new physrepping on one arm. This may or may not include a larp-safe weapon-like prosthetic, such as a large claw, that may be used to fight and deliver calls like a weapon. This grants the target the ability to deliver a combat call of the ritualist's choice. Note: at least two souls must be used to grant Disarm or Gank as a call.
Skin: The target gains new physrepping on their skin, such as scales or a stony complexion. This may be used to grant resistance to combat call of the ritualist's choice. Note: at least two souls must be used to grant resistance to Disarm or Gank.
Eyes: The target gains new physrepping on their eyes, such as coloured contacts, or additional eyes painted on their face. They grant abilities to commune with body parts, to commune with diseases or disease-like phenomenae, or to make their enemies cry.
Accessories: The target gains non-functional accessorising physrepping, unrelated to the above categories, such as unusual ears, barbels, or cloven feet. This grants additional uses of refresh.
All of the above categories also grant the target additional hits. A target can only benefit from extra hits from one augmentation of each type. So, for instance, a target with two Accessory augmentations only gains bonus hits from one of them.
3. RESOURCES
Resources must be used to make the alterations last. With the use of two magical resources, the effect lasts only until the end of the event at which the ritual was cast. Each additional two resources adds an extra event to the duration. Arm upgrades require Heartsteel, Skin upgrades require Crowngold, Eyes upgrades require Mirrorfrost, and Accessories upgrades require Glowroot.
4. A NEW PHYSREP
The mechanical improvements to a target to not take effect until the player has altered their physrepping appropriately in accordance with the type of alteration indicated by the picture and the resource used. Physreps added through Somaticism follow all of the normal rules for Decaying One costume.