ADVANCED MAGIC

The following is a set of powers which, together, make up a form of Advanced Magic. They are split between the three Magical powers of Sorcery, Empowerment and Power Words. These powers do not apply to most of the Amber games which I run, but I have written them for those occasions when I do wish to have some advanced magical powers present.

Note that the basic versions of these powers are all described on the Magic page.

Also, mages should be aware that it is entirely possible to Combine the various magical powers to give increased effects. This too is described on the Magic page.

Note that these powers have not, as yet, been play-tested, so I have no idea how balanced, or otherwise, they may actually be.

SORCERY

SPECIALISED SORCERY (5 points)
 

GRAND SORCERY (5 points)
Note that in Amber and other low-magic locations, the power of magic is greatly reduced unless one knows how to imbue it with Increased Reality (see below).
 

RACK-LESS CASTING (10 points; 8 points if one already has a Spell Rack)
The Mage has learned how to alter their mind and magical aura so as to be able to store (rack) spells internally rather than in some external storage device, thus doing away with the need for a Spell Rack. The time and effort required to cast and maintain spells is not altered by this, but it does mean that the mage can no longer lose all of their carefully cast spells due to an act of theft.
 

COMPRESSED CASTING (10 points per Level)
The spell caster has learnt how to manipulate magic more efficiently so that they can cast and rack spells twice as fast as for someone with Grand Sorcery alone. This includes the maintenance of spells and so means that this allows the mage to rack and maintain twice as many spells as normal.
This power can be bought more than once, each time halving the time taken to cast, rack and maintain spells (so someone with this power bought twice could rack and maintain up to 48 spells at once, not just 12, and each of those spells could be racked in 1/4 of the listed time).
This power also applies to Empowerment, if the magic user possesses it.
 

COMPRESSED RELEASING (10 points per Level)
The spell caster has learnt how to release magic more efficiently, so that each lynchpin in a spell can be slotted into place twice as fast as someone without this power could do so. This has no effect on storing the spell in the first place, but is far more useful when using ones magic, when it allows one to release the spell (hopefully) faster than one's opponent.
This power can be bought more than once, each time halving the time taken to release spells (so someone with this power bought twice could release a four-lynchpin spell in the time it would take someone who has not learnt how to compress a spell's release time to release a one-lynchpin spell).
 

INCREASED REALITY (10 points)
The mage has learnt how to make their magic Realer. This makes their spells and other magical effects considerably harder to dispel, and also allows them to work better and more effectively in Real places, such as Amber, where Sorcery is much reduced in power, and also in low or no-magic shadows where similar effects apply.
This power also applies to Empowerment, if the magic user possesses it.
 

CROSS-SHADOW MAGIC (10 points)
The mage has learnt how to cast spells that are flexible, adaptable and Real enough to work between shadows, through shadow veils. This means that the mage no longer has to include a Magic of Shadow lynchpin in their spells, which has obvious advantages. Note, though, that spells which can operate through shadow veils do take four times longer to cast than a single-shadow version of the same spell, due to its having to be adapted to the many different magical environments of the different shadows it may pass through.
 

TRUMP-POWERED MAGIC (10 points)
The mage, who must be a Trump Artist, can incorporate the power of Trump into their magic, giving it even greater Reality, and allowing it to work normally in Real places, such as Amber, and in low or no-magic shadows.
 

LOGRUS-POWERED MAGIC (15 points)
The mage, who must be a Logrus Master, can incorporate the power of the Logrus into their magic, giving it full Reality, and allowing it to work normally in Real places, such as Amber, and in low or no-magic shadows. As Logrus is a superior power to Trump, so that Logrus-Powered Magic will defeat Trump-Powered Magic, this ability costs more than Trump-Powered Magic.
 

PATTERN-POWERED MAGIC (20 points)
The mage, who must be a Pattern Initiate, can incorporate the power of the Pattern into their magic, giving it full Reality, and allowing it to work normally in Real places, such as Amber, and in low or no-magic shadows. As Pattern is a superior power to Trump and Logrus, so that this ability will defeat Trump or Logrus-Powered Magic, this ability costs more than Trump or Logrus-Powered Magic.
 

OMNI-MAGIC (10 points)
The spell caster has learnt how to cast and store entirely generic spells. That is, the spell is nothing but lynchpins and energy that is shaped into a specific spell only when it is cast. One still has to learn and research new spell effects, and can still only rack 12 spells at once, but knowing this power means that one's racked spells can be used for any magical effect one requires, rather than being limited by what one chose to rack earlier. This includes turning them into cast Empowerments if the mage also knows that power. These 'Omni-spells' have one of the usual sort of lynchpin, the 'Magic of Shadow' lynchpin, but all of their other lynchpins are very generic ones which allow the mage to define the type and effect of the Omni-spell when it is released, plus any controls on the spell (which mainly covers the lynchpins a normal spell would require).
 
The 'Omni-spell' is defined as follows:
 

THE OMNI-SPELL Spell Type : Generic (a special type unique to the Omni-spell) Base Casting Time : 3 Hours Lynchpins (an additional 30 minutes casting time each) Magic of Shadow - as the normal lynchpin of that name, allowing the mage to adapt the spell to the local rules of magic. Type of Spell - what overall area the effect or source of the spell will fall into (for example, Invasive, Summoning, Defensive, Empowerment and so on). Effect of Spell - the more specific regime into which the effect of the spell will fall (for example, attack, defence, sensory or scrying, transportation). Special Effect of Spell- what, specifically, the spell does within the overall Type and Effect. That is, if it is a Summoning-type attack spell, is it a fire bolt, or a lightning bolt, or something else? If it is an Invasive attack spell, is it a mind touch, or a cardiac arrest, or something else? If it is an Invasive transportation effect is it a flight spell, or a teleportation spell, or something else? Controls on the Spell - this is a generic lynchpin that can be adapted when the spell is cast to perform the function of any other single lynchpin the caster may require. This includes lynchpins such as Target, Dispel Word, Duration and anything else relevant to the type of spell which the Omni-spell is being cast as (for example an illusion-type effect would require a 'Type of Illusion' control, and perhaps an area of effect, and so on). This lynchpin should be included once for each spell control the caster thinks they may require. NOTES - The Omni-spell cannot be Hard-Wired into anything; it is simply too complicated and flexible to survive such a process (note that this is entirely a game balance issue; if you can hard-wire the Omni-spell then one never needs to rack another spell ever again!).

 
So Omni-magic is both slower to rack and slower to cast than specialised spells which can do the same things. But it has the advantage that it can be used to create any magical effect on desires at the time, freeing one from the necessity to decide on the spell one requires beforehand.
 

MAGICAL ACCUMULATION (10 points)
The mage has learnt to alter their magical aura so that with a minor act of conscious concentration it channels ambient magical power into their spell store (be this a rack or an internal store), thus allowing the mage to recover Omni-Spells while doing other things by this minor concentration, rather than having to explicitly cast them. With this ability alone the mage recovers spells at the basic casting rate of an Omni-Spell; if they have one or more levels of Compressed Casting then they will recover spells that much faster. The concentration taken by this ability does, however, although it allows the mage to do other things while regaining magic, reduce their effective skills while it is in operation. The alteration of the aura required for this is noticeable by other mages.
 

PERMANENT ACCUMULATION (10 points)
As above., but the mage has learnt how to permanently alter their magical aura to channel ambient magic into their spell store with no effort, even while they are doing other things, sleeping, or unconscious.

EMPOWERMENT

BASIC EMPOWERMENT (10 points)
In a setting where this version of magic is used, Empowerment does include the ability to create items with cross-shadow capability, such as the Seek in Shadow power, or items with Extraordinary Psychic Sensitivity which is capable of reaching across shadow veils and into nearby shadows. No equivalent to 'Cross-Shadow Magic' is required, as Empowerment already includes the ability to create things that are cross-shadow stable.
Note that in Amber and other low-magic locations, the power of Empowered items is greatly reduced unless one knows how to imbue them with Increased Reality (see below). Without it the Qualities and Powers of Empowered items will function at no more than the two-point level. That is, Qualities and Powers of the 4, 8 and 16-point levels will only work at the 2-point level in Amber and other low-magic places. The only exception to this is if the creature or item has become part of the personal Reality of the character - that is, if they have paid points for it - when it will work anywhere.
 

COMPRESSED CASTING (10 points per Level)
As for Sorcery, above. If one has the version for Sorcery, then one does not need to buy the version for Empowerment separately.
 

INCREASED REALITY (10 points)
As for Sorcery, above. It allows Empowered items and creatures both increased stability, and the ability to work both more powerfully and more reliably in low-magic and/or high Reality places. If one has the version for Sorcery, then one does not need to buy the version for Empowerment separately.
Without this ability the Qualities and Powers of Empowered items will function at no more than the two-point level in Amber and other low-magic places. That is, Qualities and Powers of the 4, 8 and 16-point levels will only work at the 2-point level there if the empowerer does not know how to imbue them with Increased Reality. The only exception to this is if the creature or item has become part of the personal Reality of the character - that is, if they have paid points for it - when it will work anywhere.
 

TRUMP-POWERED MAGIC (10 points)
As for Sorcery, above. If one has the version for Sorcery, then one does not need to buy the version for Empowerment separately.
 

LOGRUS-POWERED MAGIC (15 points)
As for Sorcery, above. If one has the version for Sorcery, then one does not need to buy the version for Empowerment separately.
 

PATTERN-POWERED MAGIC (20 points)
As for Sorcery, above. If one has the version for Sorcery, then one does not need to buy the version for Empowerment separately. Note that this ability in combination with Exalted Empowerment (see below) allows one to create Pattern Swords and other Pattern-powered artefacts.
 

INCREASED NUMBERS (10 points per level)
Basic Empowerment only allows things to be Empowered in groups of up to a dozen. Each level of this ability allows the Empowerment of twelve times more things than that (so one level of this would allow the Empowerment of up to 144 things at once; two would allow the Empowerment of up to 1728 at once, and so on).
 

ADVANCED EMPOWERMENT (10 points)
Allows Empowered items and creatures to be created which incorporate 8-point Powers and Qualities. This includes Impenetrable Armour (Invulnerable Armour does not exist, and Impenetrable Armour, while attacks cannot get through it, does transmit shock) and Deadly Damage weapons (an 8-point Quality here). There is no level of creature or item IQ over that of a normal human being. Other than this precisely what the 8-point Qualities and Powers this ability provides are is up to the individual GM. In general terms they should be enhancements of lower-level things (faster, stronger and so on) rather than radical departures from them.
 

EXALTED EMPOWERMENT (20 points)
Allows Empowered items and creatures to be created which incorporate 16-point Powers and Qualities. This includes armour which is both impenetrable and which protects the wearer from transmitted shock damage. There is no 16-point damage Quality, other than Pattern Swords and other weapons, which also require Pattern-Powered Magic (see above) to create. Other than this, as with Advanced Empowerment, the Qualities and Powers that can be created by the person with this ability are up to the GM, but again should be extensions to lower-level abilities.

POWER WORDS

POWER WORDS (10 points)
 

MORE POWER WORDS (1 per Word)
There is not really any advancement with Power Words other than learning more Power Words beyond the five one learns initially.

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