G is for Gaoian Mysticism

magic_spells_by_andygarcia666-d9f0x10 — Magic Spells by AndyGarcia666 - CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Approximate time to read: 4 minutes.

Witches of the barbarian tribes embrace the traditions of the Old Gods, discounted or blasted as heretical by the church of Ambria. The witches know the power that comes from connecting with these primal deities, through whatever form of worship, prayer or ritual each tribe gives credence. No single tribe shows their devotion in the same way and each witch will channel and manifest their spiritual power in a different way.

While the Gaoia follow the bidding of the gods as interpreted by Grandfather Lint, the witches still maintain their own approaches to worship. Of all the old gods and great spirits, the Gaoian witches seek guidance and assistance most from the spider Oroke and the serpent Uron.

Below you will find a few of the powers gifted in return for the reverence and respect the witches of Gaoia give to these ancient deities.

Uron’s Breath

Tradition: Witchcraft (blessed of Uron)
Material: A drop of snake venom on the tongue; mystic breathes a gentle hiss throughout
The gentle hiss of the Serpent God lulls opposition into a state of ease and restfulness, robbing them of their wariness.

At all levels of ability, the mystic must maintain a hissing sound, inhibiting common acts of communication, initiating new mystical powers, or extreme bursts of physical exertion (combat remains manageable, but sprinting, for example, would not). Unless noted otherwise, damage will necessitate a Concentration check (pg 130) or end the effect.

Novice Free. The gentle sound of hissing creates a state of calm. The target closest to the mystic succumbs if the mystic passes a [Resolute←Resolute] test; if this succeeds, an attempt is made to calm the next target and so on, until the test fails. The mystic must choose to penalise one of the targets’ attributes by -1, as long as the hissing persists: Accurate, Quick or Vigilant.
Adept Free. Same effect as the novice level. However, the effect dulls all the senses, applying a -1 penalty to Accurate, Quick and Vigilant.
Master Free. Same effect as the adept level, except the affected targets struggle to stay awake at all. Those who fail the initial test can only take Movement (at half normal speed) and Passive Actions each turn until they make a successful [Resolute] test.

Aorism

Tradition: Witchcraft (blessed of Oroke)
Material: A string of braided spider web
Oroke broods in a web at the heart of everything, so they say. Each strand of that web stretches out through the shadows of eternity, connecting and interconnecting into the furthest reaches of the dark. A Mystic with a knowledge of the Aorist can reach out at pluck those strands, repeating, extending or slipping through the moment.

Novice Active. With a successful [Resolute] test the Mystic gently tugs on the strands of time. Until the end of the Scene or for the next 10 turns/one minute (whichever comes sooner), the player can re-roll one roll of the die, per turn. Having re-rolled, the player must accept the second result, even if worse than the original.
Adept Active. The Mystic can stretch and pull the strands of time around any single target within their sight. As a result, all tests relating to the target work against them, so a player will roll with Favor if the target was a non-player character — or if targeting a player character, that individual will makes all test with Disfavor. The effect persists until the Mystic fails a [Resolute] test.
Master Active. The Mystic entwines the strands of time about themselves and then tugs, vanishing. At any time before the end of the Scene they can reappear anywhere they might have reasonably reached (assuming they took two Movement Actions per turn) and can act immediately, as if they had scored the highest roll for initiative, if entering a combative or competitive situation.

Oroke’s Blessing

Tradition: Witchcraft (blessed of Oroke)
Material: An insect cocooned in spider silk
The primal essence of the spider god pervades every culture, civilised or otherwise. The mystic who embraces, rather than fears, the embodiment of the spider can tap into the deep potential of all children of Oroke.

Novice   Active. The mystic targets a point within line of sight. Until the end of the Scene, the Mystic can hear and make [Vigilant] tests as if at the target location for the purpose of hearing any sounds, conversation and so forth.
Adept   Active. The mystic whispers a single word targeted at an individual within sight. With a successful [Resolute←Resolute] test, the target becomes utterly terrified by something, as if exposed to their worst of all possible fears. They become utterly incapable of taking any action but moving away from the location, generally away from the position of the Mystic; if blocked from doing this by terrain or structures, they drop to the floor and curl up as small as they possibly can. The target can make a new test each turn to shrug off the effects. The Mystic is not consciously aware of the word uttered when channelling the power.
Master   Active. The mystic taps into the limitless reach of Oroke while focused and visualising a specific person or object. Until the end of the Scene, the mystic knows the general location of the target and what path to follow to reach it. As the mystic grows closer to the target, the precision of the location becomes clear, like closing on an insect caught in a web. The target cannot hide or be hidden from the mystic while the power remains in effect.