Sorcery: Conjuring

The master conjuror can move items (though not himself) through space; scientists cal this ability apportation or telekinesis (depending on whether or not the item passes through the intervening space between where it is and where the conjuror wishes it to be), while those knowledgeable in Sphere magics claim that this is a limited application of the Sphere of Correspondence.

Many sorcerers who choose to practice their Arts openly, or somewhat openly, master Conjuration, if only to earn a living from their studies. With it, all manner of parlor tricks and stage magics can be emulated - of course, when a conjuror claims that there's nothing up her sleeves, there really isn't!

For the best effect, an object must be prepared ahead of time, in a ritual designed to bond the item to the caster, making it easy for her to latch onto and command later on. This doesn't mean that the Conjuror has to do this; theoretically, a conjuror can take control of anything that she can see, although in practice this is very difficult to do and much more draining.

The more experienced the conjuror is, the more she is able to move and the farther and more precisely she can move it; an experienced conjuror can thread needles, summon a rabbit into a hat from miles away or move an elephant across a room. The skilled conjuror can also manipulate multiple objects.

It is very difficult to use conjuration offensively (even beyond the length of time it normally takes to effect a change). A willing subject, properly prepared (which usually involves at least a low level of mesmerism) can be the subject of a conjuration, but the least resistance renders the effect almost impossible. With enough luck (and Willpower), a sorcerer might be able to conjure a weapon out of the hands of an opponent, but attempts at this are dreadfully prone to failure.


System

Roll: Dexterity + Occult

Modifiers: +1 for working against an object in the hands of someone who is resisting.

-1 for an object that is well known to the caster (Storyteller's discretion).

+2 to work against a resisting, living, target.

Cost: None for prepared object, one Willpower for object that has not been prepared. Duration: Instantaneous. For lasting effects (a set of puppets dancing without strings, a whirling dervish of knives, etc.) pay one Willpower for every turn you want it to last.


Aspects

Weight


*

Less than an ounce. A coin, business card, penknife, etc.

**

A few pounds, a hardcover book. At this level, very small or simple lifeforms (insects, snails, etc.) can be manipulated as well.

***

A largish object (computer monitor, telephone) weighing up to 100 pounds. Living beings can be moved as well, although the conjurer cannot manipulate humans.

****

Something as large as an armoire, weighing 1,000 pounds or so can be moved. Humans can be manipulated, so long as they are willing, unconscious or hypnotized.

*****

At this level, the conjuror can move a car or an elephant around. An unwilling human subject could also be moved, although this is very difficult.

******

The height of conjuration allows you to move things as large as a city bus or a loaded 18-wheeler. Feats of this magnitude must be carefully arranged and prepared for ahead of time, and the cost of failure is exceptionally high.


Distance

* No more than a couple of feet.

** Objects can be moved 20 feet or so.

*** The conjuror can summon an object from over 100 feet away.

**** The object being manipulated can be summoned forth from (or sent away to) a location up to half a mile away.

***** Summoned objects can be made to appear from five miles away.

****** The conjuror can bring forth items from almost anywhere within the city limits and even farther; maximum range is about 50 miles.


Accuracy

* Almost none; the objects quiver in ways you want.

** Rough motor control, about equal to being shoved around with an elbow or fist. Things pretty much go where you want them to but without much finesse.

*** Some fine control; equivalent to an object in hands but slow and unwieldy. Clumsy attacks (+1 difficulty) can be made with this level of accuracy.

**** Fine motor control. Equivalent to a normal pair of hands, able to perform fine tasks (opening locks, slowly threading a needle, etc.)

***** Extreme control. The item(s) will do whatever you ask, quickly and efficiently.

****** Objects do things you don't ask them to but in keeping with what you want done.


Number

* One item

** Two items

*** Three items

**** A small group (under 10) of near-identical items, or three items that aren't closely related to eachother.

***** 10-20 items of similar nature, or a lesser number of non-similar items.

****** Up to 100 similar items, or 25 or so unrelated objects.


Rituals

Sword of Summoning ***

Although more often used to draw forth loaded shotguns than long swords in these modern times, many Templar's are taught this ritual so that, in extremis, they are never without a weapon. This ritual is almost always hung - the Templar ritually prepares the weapon before entering some situation where he thinks it may be necessary, and keeps it always in his mind as he works. When he needs the weapon, he finishes the ritual and draws the weapon forth from some convenient shadow or out from underneath a trenchcoat. The difficulty is 7 (6 if the weapon or tool is well known to the user), and the device must normally be within a mile or so of the user and no larger than a shotgun or long sword. no summoning light machine guns with this ritual! If attempted in plain sight of unbelievers, this ritual will almost always fail (difficulty 9).

Shitstorm ****

This ritual allows the sorcerer to take a large number of small objects and spin them about himself in a deadly whirlwind of flaying debris. The difficulty of this ritual is 7 (8 if cast under duress). Each success gained increases the number of items in the cloud; the base whirlwind is two yards in diameter (usually centered on the caster), plus one yard for each success gained. Anyone caught in the whirlwind takes (successes) dice in bashing damage; in some cases this might be lethal damage (if the caster is in a room filled with glass breakables or cutlery or other small sharp objects...).

Price of Failure

A simple failure means the object fails to move at all, disappears never to be seen again or drops to the ground at an embarrassing or dangerous moment (like the keys falling right behind the lecturing guard...). Botches can summon the wrong object (or person...), put it in the wrong place or destroy it in some particularly messy fashion. Botches with living targets are generally very bad; stories tell of magicians assistants that disappear never to be seen again or, worse, show up in the disappearing booth days later, hideously mutilated. And few want to consider the fates of those magicians who have failed some tremendous feat of Conjuration, only to disappear themselves...