Special Items - 'powers' - Spells / Miracles / Rituals
Deep within the secure sanctums of the Magic Cyrcle or the protected rooms of the various Temples and Guilds, many powerful spells, miracles or rituals have been developed. Most of these are beyond the power-levels of the typical adventurer and take a very, very long time to learn. Hence adventurers cannot learn them. These are commonly referred to as 'powers'. This is due to the fact that the same powers could be gained from the Magic Cyrcle or from one of the other Guilds or Temples.
Powers are normally used in the form of a Power Scroll.A party may be rewarded with a Power for completing a Special Quest or a series of Special Quests.
POWER SCROLLS IN MORE DETAIL
PS can only be used once, so an Alliance should use them wisely. It is possible to use different powers in combinations with each other, which could vary the effect. In the case of a power being used as a defence it is slightly more effective than an aggressive power. Low-level powers do have a chance of affecting any high level powers, but it is reduced.
Alliances have a storeroom that can hold Power Scrolls that only its members can access.
Any party can deliver a PS (476) or Message Scrolls (473) to any Alliance storeroom; yes this means you can deliver items to another Alliance.
To use a Power contact the Games Master. Powers do not require a Special Action (SA); they are always Free Actions (FA); however some actions require a SA to be used first, like interacting with an NPC, for example a PS: Persuade is a FA to use, but to talk to the person still requires a SA. This concept may be confusing, but it should not be once you take into account that each action is a separate action.
The different Organisations have different areas that they are better suited to; this also applies to the creation of PS. Although it may normally seem best to ask the Magic Cyrcle for a PS, as they will likely be the best place to get a PS at a good price, sometimes other Organisation would be better places to enquire. The more powerful PS are generally not available at all Organisations. A good guide to this is thinking what things relate to the Organisation. For example Baldor's has strong links to healing so asking for a PS: Pestilence II will likely not only respond in a no, but also in a probably negative and possibly even a hostile response from Baldor Temple. The party's renown or an Alliance's renown & status plays an important part in any transaction, as does the current political situation; i.e. making a deal for a PS that will be used for the Organisation is more likely to result in the Organisation trying to sort out a better deal, however it may not be that straightforward.
Organisations can convert special magical energy into a more stable form, which can then be released at a later date; this is what Power Scrolls (PS) are. This special magical energy is explained in a bit more detail in the 'Magic' Section, but in short the magical energy required is not readily available and is in great demand for many reasons.
PS, like anything, are not perfect and thus they can fail. This leads to the difficult decision faced by the many Organisations; how much magic power do they allocate to PS production, when so many other things need the power as well.
Another problem with PS is that they do not keep forever. The longer they are kept the more likely the magic contained will destabilise and be released, or warp when it is used. This can make a PS storeroom quite a dangerous place, thus Organisations do not keep stockpiles of PS around.
For the above reasons the cost of PS can vary greatly; popular PS could rise in price due to the demand; whilst rarely requested PS could also rise in price due to an Organisation having to specially make one.
A party can use a SA, if they have one, to enquire with an Organisation or person to purchase, trade, or ask for up to three Power Scrolls per SA.
The party can designate a total amount of gold they are willing and able to pay, and if the amount is equal or less than this total then the PS will be purchased. If the amount comes to more than the gold offered then the action results will say so and it is up to the party as to whether they are willing to accept the offer, which is a FA.
For Example: Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith The Mystics (1032).
Using a SA to ask our Organisation Liaison Bob about purchasing a PS: Sense Emotion and PS: Mind Search. We can pay up to 38,000 gold, which will be taken from the Alliance's bank account, and the PS are to be added to our Alliance storeroom.
The following Organisation Liaison Reply is shown on all the Alliance members next turns. In this example before issuing this SA the Alliance had 2 SA left:
Possible Results: The Sense Emotion will cost 5,000 gold and the Mind Search 30,000 gold.
OOC - SA used, 1 left.
As the amount comes to less than 38,000 gold the GM takes 35,000 gold from the Alliance's bank account and places the PS in the Alliance storeroom.
In the following example the amount is more than the Alliance were willing to pay straight off:
For Example: Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith The Mystics (1032).
Using a SA to ask our Organisation Liaison Bob about purchasing a PS: Sense Emotion and PS: Mind Search. We can pay up to 38,000 gold, which will be taken from the Alliance's bank account, and the PS are to be added to our Alliance storeroom.
The following Organisation Liaison Reply is shown on all the Alliance members next turns. In this example before issuing this SA the Alliance had 2 SA left:
Possible Results: The Sense Emotion will cost 7,000 gold and the Mind Search 32,000 gold.
OOC - SA used, 1 left.
As the amount is more than the Alliance said it is willing to pay the Alliance members decide what to do next, they could send the following FA.
For Example: Game 31, Mystics of Avaellia 111, Account Number: 12345, Bobby Joe Smith The Mystics (1032).
As a FA confirm with Bob that the deal is agreed and deduct the 39,000 gold from the Alliance's bank account and add the PS to our Storeroom.
The two Power Scrolls are then added to the Alliance Storeroom.
The Alliance could decide to issue another SA and haggle the price. The Alliance could just ignore the offer, and after four weeks the offer will no longer be valid.
If a PS is not in stock the Organisation might offer to build one, and a time-scale of how long it will take, this will be told in the response and a party can turn the Organisation down or accept as noted above.
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