Invocation

Invocation

Invocation is the art of charging an object with magic, allowing it to be later used to cast a specific spell, or to use a damage call or some other magical ability. Much of the time, invocation is a collaboration, combining the efforts of a crafter, an alchemist and a magician.

Standard rules for invocation follow. The various Invocation skills grant knowledge of several rites.

Using Invocation Items

Invocation items always have a limited number of charges and a duration. Once all charges are used, or the duration expires, the invocation fades and the item is destroyed. Invocation items cannot be recharged or extended.

Using an item created by Invocation follows all the same rules as casting a spell, except that the user requires neither the Invocation skill nor knowledge of the spell magics invested in it, and doesn’t spend their own magic points.

Charged items can be activated in any level of armour.

Types of Invocation Items

There are two types of invocation item.

• Charms: Charms are simple investments holding 1 charge of one spell. Common charms include trinkets, trifling baubles marked with mundane ink that can hold a lesser spell until the end of the day; sigil stones, stone or clay tablets marked with sigils in magical ink that can hold any spell until the end of the event; and scrolls, paper or vellum sheets inscribed with spell vocals in magical ink that can hold any spell for a year.

• Talismans: Talismans are more complex invocations inlaid with symbols in magical alloy and invested to hold 9 charges of one lesser (or 3 charges of one greater) spell for a year. Common types of talisman include amulets, items of jewellery invested to hold personal, defensive or information spells; brands, small or one-handed weapons invested to inflict magical damage; and wands, short batons invested to hold ranged spells.

The greatest of invokers are able, with research, to create a staff, a powerful talisman invested with many spells and abilities. Every staff’s powers are different, and each staff must be invested for the individual who will wield it.

Tattoos

Tattoos made with magical ink can be invested with the same rites used to invest charms and talismans. This has the advantage that a tattoo cannot be lost or stolen, although in turn it cannot be shared with allies. Specific mechanics for tattoos are given in the description for each rite.

Investment

There are typically four parts to an invocation. The description of each rite details its specific requirements.

• Base: Invocation items are usually based on a crafted item, such as a scroll or wand – although there are exceptions, such as tattoos and spell boundaries.

• Medium: All invocations require a substance to convey the magic into the base, such as an ink, alloy or powder. When investing something for use the same day, a mundane ink or powder is sufficient, but longer-lasting invocations always require magically-rich mediums brewed by Alchemists, or gems cut by jewellers.

• Inscription: The medium is applied to the base in the form of an inscription representing the magics used: the name (or full vocal component) of the spell; a symbol, pattern or colour representing the spell; the name or image of a god the invoker associates with the invocation; or anything else that indicates the intention of the investment.

• Rite: The investment itself takes the form of a rite; many invokers inscribe the base as part of the rite, although the inscription can be applied separately beforehand and merely invested in the rite.

Sigilistic Invocation

For lesser investments, any representation of the magics invoked will suffice as an inscription; but to unlock the full potential of invocation, the magician must use the sigils, the ancient language of symbols discovered by the fae at the dawn of creation.

Sigilistic Invocation (also known as sigilism) is a powerful and versatile form of Invocation that requires knowledge of the correct combination of sigils for any given investment. Some combinations are well known; others are yet to be unlocked.

Two standard sigilistic investments are known to all practitioners:

• Sigil Stones: A sigil stone is an inscribed tablet of stone (or clay, wood or other material) inscribed in magic ink, holding a single spell lesser, greater or exalted spell known to the Invoker, until the end of the event.

• Spell Boundary: A spell boundary is a line or circle of powder placed on a surface or across the threshold of a doorway and invested with 9 charges of one lesser (or 3 charges of one greater) offensive spell known to the invoker until of the day. When anyone other than the invoker (or a person or group of people specified by the invoker) crosses the line, they are struck by one charge of the spell.

Other applications of sigilism abound, with creativity and research.

Sigils

The sigils required to invest a stone or boundary with some common spells are well-known; others will need to be uncovered, with research and experimentation.

• Aura of Defence: Sigils of Elemental, War, Mastery
• Fear: Sigils of Spirit, War
• Fumble: Sigils of Corporeal, Change
• Lesser Healing: Sigils of Corporeal, Creation
• Mend: Sigils of Elemental, Fate
• Paralysis: Sigils of Corporeal, Solid, Infinity
• Repel: Sigils of Elemental, Movement
• Sleep: Sigils of Spirit, Fate, Infinity
• Spirit Reading: Sigils of Spirit, Hope

Longer-lasting investments (such as a sigil stone that stores a charge for a year) also require the Infinity sigil, while triggered investments (like spell boundaries) also require the Fate sigil.

Trapping Ether

Invokers have been quick to grasp the potential of the newly discovered ether. Invocation is the skill of gathering magic and binding it into a physical vessel; as invokers have discovered of late, the same techniques apply to the mysterious vapour.

Capturing ether entails the Trap Ether rite, and requires a glass sphere crafted by an Artisan (although other forms of vessel may be possible, with research).