Summoning, School of
Summoning is one of Andiron's Infinite Expressions of Magic that deals with calling supernatural creatures from distant places by use of some or all of the being's True Name.
Realm: Supernatural Creatures throughout Time and Space
Foci: Typical foci used to channel magic in summoning include candles, a written expression of some or all of the target's True Name, music or musical tones. Fresh water or virgin oil is often used as a medium for the portal through which the summon will enter the caster's space.
Ritual: The rites for summoning vary by culture, but they always include rhythmic repetitions of fragments of the target's True Name, both in order and out of order, to establish a link with and control over the target creature's soul. Summoning a small or weak creature is a fairly short and straightforward process, but summoning a large or powerful creature can take up to an hour, especially for novice summoners.
Effect: Summoning draws an avatar of the target creature, a fragment of its soul that travels through time and space independent of its material body to join the summoner in hir location. This avatar has the personality and vague memories of the target creature as it exists in time closest to the summoner, but its memories will often be extremely general and hard to recall. A summoned hero might remember, for example, that his name was Vittarik of Klayden, that he was a Queen's Guard in the royal knighthood, and that he was married and had children. He wouldn't remember who killed him while he was defending the queen, or who the leaders of the rebels were at the time, or how any exact events happened. He might not even remember his wife's or his children's names. Once a mage has called a summon to the material world, ze can dismiss or recall the summon at will for as long as the duration of the summons lasts. A dismissed summons sleeps in a kind of extraplanar holding space until the summoner recalls the servant to hir plane. A novice summoner can constrain a number of summons at one time equal to hir Charisma or Wisdom modifier, whichever is lower; (minimum zero) but feats exist that can increase this number through training.
Resistance: The summoned creature cannot cancel the initial pull of magic. Once it arrives on the caster's plane, however, it resists the master's control with a Saving Throw of either Wisdom or Charisma, whichever is higher. If the summon wins the contest against its summoner, it can choose either to return to its home plane or remain free in the caster's plane for the duration of the spell.
Backlash: When summoning spells backlash, it can be very bad for the caster--that's why summoners so often rely on redundant foci and elaborate rituals they work out ahead of time. In its simplest form, backlash can mean dimensional energies rebounding through the caster's aura, overloading hir synapses. Sometimes it summons an unintended, and therefore uncontrolled, entity. In more severe cases, the summoner may be whisked away to another plane or enslaved to demons.
Corruption: Whenever a caster summons and subdues a creature, the two of them form an intrinsic contract: the summoner is responsible for hir summon's well-being. Any time a summon bound to a caster dies violently, the caster gains a point of Corruption.
Restrictions: Summoners cannot eat meat or sentient plant life for 72 hours before performing a summoning ritual--otherwise, their aura is compromised and cannot connect effectively with that of the target creature. A summoning ritual performed within this time period typically ends in simple failure.
Realm: Supernatural Creatures throughout Time and Space
Foci: Typical foci used to channel magic in summoning include candles, a written expression of some or all of the target's True Name, music or musical tones. Fresh water or virgin oil is often used as a medium for the portal through which the summon will enter the caster's space.
Ritual: The rites for summoning vary by culture, but they always include rhythmic repetitions of fragments of the target's True Name, both in order and out of order, to establish a link with and control over the target creature's soul. Summoning a small or weak creature is a fairly short and straightforward process, but summoning a large or powerful creature can take up to an hour, especially for novice summoners.
Effect: Summoning draws an avatar of the target creature, a fragment of its soul that travels through time and space independent of its material body to join the summoner in hir location. This avatar has the personality and vague memories of the target creature as it exists in time closest to the summoner, but its memories will often be extremely general and hard to recall. A summoned hero might remember, for example, that his name was Vittarik of Klayden, that he was a Queen's Guard in the royal knighthood, and that he was married and had children. He wouldn't remember who killed him while he was defending the queen, or who the leaders of the rebels were at the time, or how any exact events happened. He might not even remember his wife's or his children's names. Once a mage has called a summon to the material world, ze can dismiss or recall the summon at will for as long as the duration of the summons lasts. A dismissed summons sleeps in a kind of extraplanar holding space until the summoner recalls the servant to hir plane. A novice summoner can constrain a number of summons at one time equal to hir Charisma or Wisdom modifier, whichever is lower; (minimum zero) but feats exist that can increase this number through training.
Resistance: The summoned creature cannot cancel the initial pull of magic. Once it arrives on the caster's plane, however, it resists the master's control with a Saving Throw of either Wisdom or Charisma, whichever is higher. If the summon wins the contest against its summoner, it can choose either to return to its home plane or remain free in the caster's plane for the duration of the spell.
Backlash: When summoning spells backlash, it can be very bad for the caster--that's why summoners so often rely on redundant foci and elaborate rituals they work out ahead of time. In its simplest form, backlash can mean dimensional energies rebounding through the caster's aura, overloading hir synapses. Sometimes it summons an unintended, and therefore uncontrolled, entity. In more severe cases, the summoner may be whisked away to another plane or enslaved to demons.
Corruption: Whenever a caster summons and subdues a creature, the two of them form an intrinsic contract: the summoner is responsible for hir summon's well-being. Any time a summon bound to a caster dies violently, the caster gains a point of Corruption.
Restrictions: Summoners cannot eat meat or sentient plant life for 72 hours before performing a summoning ritual--otherwise, their aura is compromised and cannot connect effectively with that of the target creature. A summoning ritual performed within this time period typically ends in simple failure.
Type
Metaphysical, Arcane
Comments