Cursing

 

This Praxis has caused more than one sorcerer to be burned at the stake, for it allows you to use magic to bring harm to your opponents. All curses require a Mental or Social Challenge, which may not be negated with Willpower. A sorcerer may only bestow one curse upon a given individual at a time, though you always have the option to override any prior use of this path. Other sorcerers skilled in this Praxis may attempt to break an existing curse, as long as their knowledge equals or exceeds that of the original caster. This process uses the normal rules for Unweaving. Because of the nature of these effects, you may be required to forfeit a temporary Humanity Trait if a Narrator feels that these powers are being used carelessly or maliciously. Cursing also requires that the exact words be noted for the benefit of the Storyteller, who will determine what results the curse has in accordance with the story.

 

Basic:

 

Mishap

You may hex someone with a minor inconvenience, such as causing him to drop an object or to say something inappropriate, for example. You may even cause a target to have a small accident, such as tripping and spraining an ankle (one Health Level of normal damage). The curse may be brought about immediately if the circumstances are right at the time of casting; otherwise, the effect will manifest sometime during the current game session.

 

Falling Out

This spell allows you to promote the effects of Mishap to all members of a small group. The targets must be directly linked in some way: two lovers, all the living children of an individual, everyone who participated in a specific attack on the caster, etc. The specific manifestation of the effects may not be the same for each victim, but there will be a common thread among all the victims’ misfortunes.

 

Intermediate:

 

Misfortune

At this level, you may cause calamities with lasting consequences. For example, your curse could ruin a friendship, cause a target’s house to bum down, or have someone charged with a crime he did not commit. You may even bring about direct injury - two Health Levels of normal damage or one aggravated wound - in the form of a lasting illness or random mishap, such as getting hit by a stray bullet. Again, the specific nature of the curse will determine how quickly it comes into effect, though most such afflictions will manifest before the end of the current story.

 

Advanced:

 

Great Curse

You may now inflict a long-term debilitating illness (permanently lose

two Attribute Traits or gain up to two Negative Traits) upon your 

target. This may be the result of a heart attack or stroke, the loss of a

limb or an emotional breakdown. Alternately, the curse may invoke a

terrible disaster, such as a member of the victim’s immediate family

being murdered. If you intend the subject to die, you must also spend

a temporary Willpower Trait before the challenge is resolved. As with

all Advanced sorcery, you must spend a full minute preparing: In this

case, you build up anger and malice toward your subject. The

Storyteller maychoose to waive this premeditation if the curse is

directed at someone immediately threatening your life.

 

Master:

 

Hand of Fate

The most directed application of this Praxis is the ability to tip the scales of destiny in one direction or the other. By defeating a character in a Mental Challenge (versus his Social Traits), you may force him to lose all ties for the next hour. If your target has a power allowing him to win all ties, the effects cancel each other out and tests are resolved normally.