| From: | K is the Symbol <Ereskanti@***.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | SR-Druids -AND- Re: Blood Magic |
| Date: | Tue, 30 Jun 1998 13:14:44 EDT |
RANNIC@****.COM writes:
> I run a game that has a lot of Celtic themes in Seattle. There
> are more Druids then you might think there would be in the area and they
> are doing work to revitalize the area. i.e. work against pollution, help
> (meta)humans, and fix up the Barrens.
Sounds okay, and somewhat believable. There is also a mentioning of "Druids"
working in and around Sean Laverty's place in the TT sourcebook.
> Druids in our game have been the keepers of knowledge passing
> down information through the centuries to those that have always
> followed the old ways.
Sounds like it follows some of the media-ized myths about them. Don't get me
wrong, that is something they do perform, just not often in a style everyone
finds "facilitative".
> This means that many of the them knew about the Invae, knew
> about the Enemy (though not many believed it) and know about Blood
> Magic.
Hmmmm....I don't know about how much they actually do -know- about overall,
but you are making some interesting conclusions here. I can see them knowing
a lot of older, undesirable, tidbits of information. And I can see a bundle
of them really working -HARD- on unlocking all the secrets of their various
Stone Circles and Aspected Sites (to use Steve's terminology on that last
one).
> They can use Blood Magic, though they tend not to, and when they
> do they are more likely to use their own blood. Which is considered more
> powerful then the blood of someone else.
It is, and it isn't. If it is given Freely, then it is not. If it is taken
without consent, then it is. If it is some of the blood, then it is not. If
it is an entirety of life, then it IS.
> Though occasionally they do use the blood of criminals, rapist,
> murderers, and toxic/insect shamans in rituals.
Sounds like too many "Wicker Men" here...but you are correct, they do.
> One such ritual I had take place in our game consisted of the
> Druids sacrificing a toxic shaman and his allies so that the Druids
> could purify the land.
How did you have this done? Was the Shaman part of the working domain
energies? This would have been a cool game, especially if you and your group
are into higher degrees of melodramatic license. The instant the "bad
influence dies", then the land(s) surrounding start to pull a "Fern Gully"
and
come back to life.
> Also, Voodoo practitioners use Blood Magic in my game. Some use
> animals and some use people. You can pretty much figure out whose who
> though.
Voudoon (sp?) have used blood magic for centuries, at least those that
originate from Africa do. Hell, every major -magically oriented- philosophy
has its own variation on the "Blood Magic" theme. Even Christianity in the
form of Christ-our-Savior(tm).
(and NO, I am not going to go any further than that on THAT topic)
> >Hold on a second, I guess we do allow Blood Magic to a certain
> extent,
> >especially with regards towards Enchantment. We give the
> bonding cost for a
> >foci a cheaper rate IF a bonding magician works a unit of his
> own "radicalized
> >blood" into the formula.
>
> I do the same. That is allowing blood to be used as a component
> for enchanting and cutting the cost for bonding. To me this makes the
> item more personal. However, I also make such items give bonuses for
> ritual sorcery if used against the enchanter.
Ah, sounds like we have a mixed orientation on creational origin here. An
object that is created and bound to a magician is actually a link to -both-
the bound magician -AND- the enchanter in question. This is part of the
reason one of the rules for the usage of Dispelling concerning the "removal of
auras" is so highly useful to an Enchanter. Whoever's blood is used on the
item, would merely make the item a better than normal link, perhaps a -1/-2 to
the Ritual Target numbers on Sending tests.
Please note, the House Rules we have for enchanting are vastly more expanded
than the book rules, so things like "Inheritance" and "True Ownership"
(thank
you "Misenchanted Sword") as well as "Transferance" (I give you this,
my
sword, take it and carry it in honor...).
Of course, the most recent fun is Binder is working currently on a "Potion of
Transformation" for another member of the party who is trying to hide from the
Paths of Tir Na nOg. The idea is to make her more "human", so Binder is
getting inspiration from Disney and the various German Mythologies of such
things. And then of course, we are probably going to be sneaking in to the
Vatican to get a look at it's stuff....(ewg). Hell, Binder has even designed
a more advanced Catalog spell for just the purpose. Only lists Alchemical
Formuae (modern definition of) for all items within the spell's AoE
(redesigned it to work like Clairvoyance so as to see inside boxes and the
like). Gonna be a treasure. Binder has already gotten the human fetus, now
all he needs is the elven one (which he had just gotten wind of during the
last game).
(sorry for the material mention, it is only fiction, not an intent to do harm
to anyone's sense of Morality)
I also know that in past games we have had magicians come up with slightly
more limited forms of "Spell Barrier" and "Mana Barrier", that were
specifically designed to work against those who had a "Blood Magic" taint to
them.
-K
>
> Otter
>
>
>
