Sorcery is an art and a science - a discipline that allows its users to ignore the laws of physics, turning instead to a set of broad, more flexible, and much more arcane rules. A sorcerer can do just about anything, given enough knowledge and personal power.

Sorcery is an inborn talent held by only a small fraction of the human race. (It seems to be hereditary, but sometimes unexpectedly pops up in a bloodline that has never before demonstrated sorcerous talent.) Not all people with the talent actually become sorcerers, however - it does not always manifest in any visible manner. Some children demonstrate odd abilities, suggesting the talent, but often the only means of determining if someone may become a sorcerer is to attempt to train them in the art. Some take to it, most do not.

The talent of Sorcery is difficult to quantify. Somehow (when joined with the proper discipline and expertise), this talent allows a sorcerer to access and control magic in a far more advanced manner than most humans (who are limited to Feats). Whereas Feats require the user to build up a pattern for magic to flow into over the course of a long period of study and discipline, Sorcery may be used to create such patterns immediately - channelling magic into complex forms with relatively little preparation. For this reason, Sorcery is typically considered to be both more powerful and more flexible than the development of Feats.

The downside of Sorcery is that it requires focus and effort to use. Feats may simply be activated, functioning without further input from the user. Sorcery requires more than that. If it is a spell with any duration, it must be cast ritually, which requires time, effort, and often materials. Spells can be cast spontaneously, but these are all instantaneous-effect spells - anything with a duration must be ritually cast. Also, spontaneous spells require a few moments to release, usually involving words, gestures, or other components. If this casting time is interrupted, the sorcerer loses the spell.

Since the use of Sorcery is primarily an act of will, a character must have a Will rating of Heroic or better to cast spells. The higher a character's Will, the more powerful the spell's effect will typically become, though no spell actually has a minimum Will needed to cast the spell (so long as the sorcerer has at least a Heroic Will). Some of the more complicated spells may be unlikely to have much effect without at least a Legendary Will powering them.

Sorcery has a handful of 'rules' that sorcerers must observe. All can be bent from time to time, but doing so requires great effort (often a monumental spell, as per the rules below). A few of the most important are listed here:

• Magic is fluid, which can be both good and bad. On one hand, it makes calling up magic and using it to fuel sorcerous spells relatively easy. On the other hand, it is very difficult to keep it in a static form. Magical effects tend to fade fairly quickly as the raw energy leaks out of the spell. (The only generally known ways to circumvent this are to use thaumaturgy to reinforce and stabilize a spell, or to cast a monumental spell.) Under normal circumstances, a spell will fade within twenty-four hours, regardless of the set duration.

• The exception to the above rule is when a ritual spell is cast with a trigger, set to activate under certain circumstances. For such spells, the twenty-four hour duration begins when the spell is triggered, not when it is cast. (The spell doesn't gather most of its magic until the trigger goes off.) However, these spells still fade eventually - usually dissipating within the lunar month if not otherwise triggered.

• This limitation on long-term magic also applies to magical items, magical constructs, and the like - all such things are created with monumental spells, since they would otherwise fizzle within the first day of their creations.

• There is also an effective range limitation to most Sorcery. A sorcerer usually cannot affect anything or anyone that she cannot directly and immediately perceive. Thus, simply designating a target by name is usually not enough if the sorcerer cannot perceive the target as well. However, magical means of seeing remote locations count as perception for these purposes. The chief exception to this rule is in spells using the Conjure microspell, which specializes in such things.

• While things of matter or magical energy are fairly mutable by Sorcery, a naked soul is much more difficult to affect. Destroying a soul is almost impossible, requiring a monumental spell of great power. Similarly, plucking a fresh soul out of the cycle reincarnation in order to give sentience to a creation is extraordinarily difficult - this is exactly why golems are so rare. Spirits may still be Compelled (as per the microspell), but affecting them on a more fundamental level requires great power.

Arts describe the areas of specialty that a given sorcerer has mastered. All spells that a sorcerer knows or formulates much be related to one of his arts, thus limiting exactly what he can do with his power. An example might be demonology (the art of summoning and controlling demons) or augury (the art of divination). Each has a selection of 'standard' spells associated with it, and each sorcerer may create any number of original spells to add to his spell selection.

If a sorcerer has no arts, he may not use Sorcery, since all of his spells need to be associated with a known art. Each art costs five points (either during character creation or after gaining experience). Examples may be found in the spell index.

Lynchpins are the variables embedded within a spell. A lynchpin can describe the target of the spell, how long it will last, or any number of other characteristics which might vary from casting to casting. Lynchpins are coded into a spell when it is formulated - they may not be added on the fly. So if a spell has no duration lynchpin, it last the same amount of time every time it is cast, for instance. It may later be formulated from scratch to add a duration lynchpin, should the sorcerer so desire. Lynchpins are not purchased - they are simply a characteristic used in spell formulation and casting.

One of the most important lynchpins is the trigger lynchpin, allowing a ritual spell to be cast with a preset trigger. When the conditions described in the trigger come about, the spell activates as if it had just been cast. Many sorcerers make use of this lynchpin to prepare a number of spells and leave them 'hung' until the trigger activates. The trigger can be a certain event ('when I am knocked unconscious') or even an activation word (often a nonsense word that wouldn't be likely to come up in normal conversation).

Another useful lynchpin is the bind lynchpin, which allows a spell to be bound to a certain object or person, so that the spell effects can be transported from place to place. For instance, a spell that drives back demons from its focal point could be bound to an object so that the warding effect could be carried with the sorcerer.

This is often combined with the trigger lynchpin, binding a spell with a trigger to an object, then either carrying it along (so that the spell activates at the object's location, rather than at the place where it was cast) or passing it to someone else (so that a non-sorcerer can 'cast' spells by carrying the object and speaking a command word when the spell is needed). A given object can usually only accept one bound spell, so many sorcerers carry a number of small objects on their person, each with a separate spell bound to it.

There are many other lynchpins, depending on what specific spell is being cast. For example, a spell that summons an elemental would require a lynchpin describing the arrival location and the elemental that the sorcerer wishes to summon. A spell that creates a portal to another place might require several lynchpins, such as destination, specific location of this side of the portal, duration, size, a filter determining who can enter and who can't, and a dismissal trigger (if the sorcerer wants to be able to disable the spell, rather than wait for it to expire). See existing spells for further examples.

There are five microspells, each one covering a certain class of sorcery - a sorcerer must have a microspell to do magic of the kind described by that microspell. They can be used independently or combined to produce effects that straddle or combine the domains of multiple microspells. It is important to note that a microspell is purely a system device. Sorcerers in the game world do not think in terms of microspells - they think in terms of arts and spell complexity. Microspells are simply a useful way to describe this in rules-speak.

Each microspell costs five points to purchase, just like arts. To purchase an art, you must have the microspells identified as prerequisites in its spell description. See below for details on the five microspells, and see the rules for formulating and casting spells for details on how they are used in spells.

• The Alter microspell is concerned with the physical world, transmuting and manipulating matter and energy alike. Any spell which does these things much include Alter in its formulation. It is often paired with Conjure to summon and direct elemental energies, and it may be used in conjunction with Compel to affect the body of a sentient being.

• Compel governs the manipulation of the minds of sentient beings. In addition to simple mind control, it is often used in wards and binding spells, implanting the compulsion to remain in or out of a certain area. Compel is also necessary in any spell that directly affects the person of another sentient being. Compel may be used in conjunction with Conjure to summon sentient beings.

• Conjure allows a sorcerer to transport creatures, objects, and energy from elsewhere to his current location. With the right expertise, it may be inverted to allow a sorcerer to travel to a distant location, but this is a fairly difficult task - the sorcerer must use clairvoyant magics to define the remote location as his 'current location,' then summon himself to that location. The magical gymnastics involved are considerable. Conjure must be combined with either Alter or Compel to work (depending on whether it is being used to summon something which is sentient or non-sentient).

• Control governs the manipulation of raw magical energy. (This is used in thaumaturgy and related arts.) When combined with Sense, it allows a sorcerer to perceive magical energies - the only common way for a human to do so.

• The Sense microspell relates to the expansion of the sorcerer's senses, allowing him to perceive distant locations, see things which are normally not detectable, or sharpen his mundane senses. It also allows seeing into the future, reading omens, and engaging in various forms of psychometry.

Sorcerous Feats actually form a subset of normal Feats. Where normal Feats allow a character to perform extraordinary acts with more mundane skills, sorcerous Feats modify what a sorcerer can do with his magic. Some give certain innate magical abilities - if a sorcerer has the Augury art, he can pick up a Feat that allows him to get visions from time to time, essentially turning a spell into an innate ability.

Other sorcerous Feats alter how Sorcery works. For instance, a Feat might make it much easier for a demonologist to contain and ward against demons - he is so experienced with this kind of activity that he can overcome demons that would normally outclass him in battles of Will and Presence.

Sorcerous Feats are purchased in the same way as any other Feat. Some examples may be found in the Feat index, while more art-specific Feats are incorporated into the spell index.

Spells are the end result of all of the background work involved in becoming a sorcerer and in working Sorcery. Each spell is composed of microspells and (usually) lynchpins, and each spell is associated with a specific art. Spells are not purchased - some come with an art automatically, while others may be learnt or formulated by a studious sorcerer.

In metaphysical terms, a spell is a pattern created largely by a sorcerer's Will, which he may then fuel with raw magical energy, generating a magical effect - almost anything one can imagine. They come in three types: spontaneous spells (cast in a few moments, but they have no duration and are somewhat tiring for a sorcerer to cast), ritual spells (take time and effort to cast, but may last a while and do not exhaust the caster), and monumental spells (extremely powerful, extremely limited ritual spells).

Examples of spells are present in the spell index.

A spontaneous spell is fairly simple to formulate. It requires no expenditure of character creation points or experience - the sorcerer already has the necessary building blocks (in the form of arts and microspells), so all that remains is to use those tools to generate a new spell. Three steps are involved:

• Identify intended effect of spell. Each spell generated by a sorcerer must fit into one of her known arts or, in rare cases, be a product of two or more of the sorcerer's known arts. (For instance, a spell that binds a demon as the animating force of a fresh corpse would involve both demonology and necromancy, since neither art would individually be capable of performing such an act.)

• Determine what microspells and lynchpins will be incorporated into the spell.

• Begin research and experimentation. This period requires about a week for each microspell involved, though the required length of time could be extended considerably if the sorcerer is not able to devote her full attention to the project (if she is travelling or engaged in any other time-consuming activities). It is possible to shorten the research period by spending experience points - each point spent cuts a week from the research period, to a minimum of a few days.

Once these three steps have been dealt with and the research period completed, the sorcerer may use the spell normally - success is guaranteed, assuming that she did everything right along the way.

Spontaneous spells are the only spells that may be cast quickly - taking only a few moments. Many are combat spells, suited for releasing in the thick of battle when a more time-consuming spell is quite impossible. The major limitation of spontaneous magic is that all such spells must be of instantaneous duration. Spontaneous magic spins out a pattern and forces magic through it, but the process is so hasty that the spell collapses instantly. More time and effort is required to craft a more enduring spell.

The second flaw of spontaneous magic is that the sorcerer must channel magic through her own body (since the spell matrix is not stable enough to take on the full strain). This is very similar to using a Feat - a character's body can only channel so much raw magic before she exhausts herself. Each spontaneous spell cast tires a sorcerer just as if she had used a Feat.

Note that all spontaneous spells may be precast as ritual spells, using bind and trigger lynchpins to ready them for later use (see below). Most sorcerers make use of this, preparing spells ahead of time so that they need not exhaust themselves with spontaneous magic. However, if pressed, they may still fall back on the spontaneous versions.

When casting a spontaneous spell, a sorcerer must take a few moments to call up and direct the necessary magical energies. This usually involves a short incantation, possibly paired with some kind of somatic or material component. While this doesn't require much time (about a second for each lynchpin in the spell), it does take long enough that a quick-witted enemy may be able to attack or distract the sorcerer while she is casting the spell. If this occurs, the spell is lost and the sorcerer still feels the effects of exhaustion. A sorcerer with a high Will rating might be able to maintain concentration in the face of such distraction, but this will be very difficult if she is actually injured while casting.

A ritual spell is formulated no differently from a spontaneous spell - only the rules for casting are changed.

Ritual magic is much more complex than is spontaneous magic, but it doesn't take nearly as much out of the caster. With ritual magic, the sorcerer may take time to weave a stable spell matrix - something that can accept and (for a time) hold raw magic. The sorcerer never needs to channel power through his own body, and thus does not have to contend with the exhausting effects of casting spontaneously. Ritual magic also has the distinct advantage of being able to produce spells of some duration, unlike spontaneous magic.

The downside of ritual magic is that is requires so much to pull off. Ritual spells often require exotic materials to execute, and they always take time (running about an hour for each microspell, though particularly delicate work may require much more time). If this process is interrupted, it may or may not be possible for the caster to pick up where he left off. If he was in the middle of an hour's worth of incantations, he can probably sit back down and continue working. If he's near the culmination of the spell, delicately completing the structure of the spell matrix, an interruption could send him right back to square one.

While many ritual spells are cast for immediate effects (summoning and binding a demon, for example), it is also quite common for a sorcerer to cast a ritual spell and 'hang' it on an object through the use of the bind and trigger lynchpins. In this way, a lengthy ritual can be precast, then held in check until it is needed (perhaps casting the aforementioned summoning and binding spells, but hanging the spells for later use in a combat situation). It is also common for a sorcerer to precast a selection of spontaneous spells as ritual spells - this allows him to circumvent the exhaustion brought on by spontaneous magic.

Note that a hung spell may be cast with just a word or gesture (or set to go off when a certain circumstance comes about, such as the sorcerer being attacked). As such, it is not typically possible to interrupt a triggered spell in the manner spontaneous spells may be interrupted. On the downside, all lynchpins must be set during the ritual's casting. This forces the sorcerer to attempt to predict the situation he will need the hung spells, setting targets, durations, and the like on educated guesses. Often, a sorcerer must adjust his tactics to suit the array of spells he has hung - that, or fall back on spontaneous magic, defining lynchpins as he casts.

Unlike spontaneous spells, ritual spells may be cast in concert with other sorcerers. All involved sorcerers must be able to cast the spell on their own (that is, they have the necessary art or arts and they have learned the spell for themselves). In this case, the sorcerers add up the number of character creation and experience points they have invested in Will, and the spell is cast as if it had been cast by a single sorcerer with this point total invested in her Will.

It is also possible for sorcerers to trade off in the casting of longer rituals. In this case, the strength of the spell is determined by the weakest sorcerer or group of sorcerers involved at any one point in the ritual. For instance, if a sorcerer with fifteen points invested in Will and a sorcerer with twenty points invested in Will (for a total of thirty-five points) switch out with a single sorcerer who has invested fifty points in Will, the spell will manifest as if cast by a sorcerer with thirty-five points invested in Will.

The formulation of a monumental spell is a little different from the formulation of a spontaneous or ritual spell. The same process is used, with certain changes:

• The research period required for the creation of a monumental spell is measured in months, not weeks - each microspell involved adds a month to the research period. However, each experience point spent still only cuts a week from this period, to a minimum of a few days.

• Monumental spells are complex enough and powerful enough that no sorcerer can be exactly sure of whether or not she will have a functional spell at the end of the formulation process. Once the research period has concluded, a sorcerer must make a Will check against the spell - the effective Will of which is determined by its power. If she fails the check, she does not have a useable spell, and any experience points she used to shorten the research period remain committed. (If she attempts to recreate the spell, she may again benefit from these previously spent experience points.)

• The effective Will of the spell (as described above) is, in general terms, the Will that would be needed to cast a spell of that magnitude through simple ritual magic. As such, it is very rare that a sorcerer would be able to successfully complete the spell without additional aid. It is possible for her to push herself, though - spending experience points to increase her Will for the purposes of that check. Each point spent effectively adds ten points to the character creation and experience points invested in her Will rating.

• No monumental spell may make use of lynchpins. The power involved is too far beyond the ability of the sorcerer to guide freely, so every element must be hardwired into the spell. This means that every characteristic that might normally be dictated by a lynchpin (target, for instance), must be dictated while the spell is being formulated. For this reason, monumental spells usually can only serve as a one-shot deal, since the spells have absolutely no flexibility in their use.

Casting a monumental spell is almost identical to casting a ritual spell. The only significant difference is in the strain put on the caster - no spell is ever sufficient to totally command the power of monumental magic. As such, a sorcerer must channel huge quantities of magic through her body for the entire length of the ritual. While doing so, the power creates a kind of euphoria, allowing her to power on through what might be hours of spellcasting.

However, she is totally exhausted afterwards, suffering effects exactly as if she had executed a stunt or combo (as per the Feat rules). If her Endurance has a Common rating, she will be even more strongly impacted - passing out entirely if there is nobody to keep her conscious. Even if there is, she will be useless for most anything until she gets rest. This exhaustion strikes if the ritual is interrupted, as well (monumental spells cannot be taken up again after interruption).

Monumental spells may be cast by multiple sorcerers concert, but doing so has less impact on the spell than it would on a ritual spell. Since the power level of a monumental spell is more-or-less independent of the sorcerer, it is the same regardless of how many sorcerers are involved. However, if multiple sorcerers are involved, one or more may drop out due to distraction without losing the spell - as long as one sorcerer sticks with the spell from beginning to end, the spell may be cast successfully.

It is not normally possible to add a sorcerer to the casting midway through a monumental spell. The power levels gradually ramp up from the beginning of the spell, and those who started the spell are acclimated and buffered to deal with this. However, a sorcerer jumping into the spell part way through is not adjusted and will probably do herself grave harm, burning out on the sheer intensity of the power being thrown around.

Again, monumental spells may not have any lynchpins, so all such details are already set when the caster learns the spell.