Three-Corner Magic

Philosophy of Three-Corner Magic
Like many mystic philosophies, Three-Corner Magic revolves around the connection between body, spirit, and mind, or Vigor, Instinct, and Reason. For each of these, there is one Day focus and one Night focus, with the Day focus being considered more benign. Students were generally not taught the Night focus until their masters thought they had become adept with the Day focus. Now, with the school scattered and third-generation knowledge being passed down, training has lost a lot of structure. The Night foci are more widely taught; they also are believed to be evil by many, instead of being capable of being used for evil, a distinction held in the old days.

The foci are:

Creation and Destruction are the simplest foci, being merely making physical constructs or tearing them down. Enhancement is making something even more itself than it already is; Transformation focuses on making it different, changing its identity. Divination is seeing the truth; Enthrallment clouds the minds of others and hides the truth.

The Laws of Three-Corner Magic
There are a few laws that are always in place, unless a Secret alters them, when using Three-Corner magic.


 * The target of a magical effect must either be the caster, or something or someone the caster is touching.
 * Only one target can be affected with a magical effect.
 * A magical effect, except Destruction, is either instantaneous or lasts one hour. (Destruction is instantaneous, but the damage remains.)
 * Every magical effect done to a target can be resisted, if the target desires. Usually, a Resist ability check is done by the target opposing the player's ability check with her character's magical ability.

Three-Corner Magic Abilities

 * Creation (Vigor)
 * The character can create a small amount - a handful - of one of the basic elements (fire, air, earth, water) from nothing.


 * Destruction (Vigor)
 * The character can hurt a target with damage equal to her success level. The description of this damage is done by the player, and could be anything from telekinetic tearing of the target's body to a ghostly, arcane flame, but is definitely unnatural.


 * Transformation (Instinct)
 * The character can transfer the target's pool points from one pool to another equal to her success level.


 * Enhancement (Instinct)
 * The character can give bonus dice to any other character's ability check. You must make a resisted ability check against the other character's ability. If you are successful, your success levels are used as bonus dice on the check; if not, they receive a penalty die.


 * Divination (Reason)
 * The character can sense magic auras on an object or person she touches, and can sense the general disposition of people and animals.


 * Enthrallment (Reason)
 * The character can force her will on a target, who is well aware what is happening.

Creation and Destruction

I've been asked, why couldn't a character create a big chunk of rock over an enemy's head to kill her, instead of using Destruction? The answer is, of course she can. There are limits, though. First, the opponent gets to make a React ability check (if she's aware of the magic), which she may be better at than Resist. Second, damage is figured out by using the caster's success level with the magic, multiplied by the number of Force spent if using Create Volume. Without Create Volume, the amount of mass created usually isn't enough to hurt anyone.

Three-Corner Magic Secrets

 * Secret of the Invisible Hand
 * Normally, your character must touch a target to affect it with magic. With this Secret, she can affect any target she can see or have the effects of her magic occur anywhere she can see. Cost: 1 point from the associated pool.


 * Secret of the Invisible Arm
 * Your character can physically manipulate objects through telekinesis. This power is not as strong or coordinated as her normal body: all actions take a penalty die, although pools can be spent as normal to alleviate this. Cost: 1 Vigor. Prerequisite: Secret of the Invisible Hand.


 * Secret of Magical Contagion
 * Normally, your character's magic affects one target. You can spread her magic over a group of targets by spending points from the associated pool.
 * Cost:
 * A small group of targets (around 5) can be affected for 1 point.
 * A large group of targets (25 or less) can be affected for 3 points.
 * A crowd of targets (100 or less) can be affected for 6 points.
 * A horde of targets (all that the caster can see) can be affected for 10 points.


 * Secret of Magical Persistence
 * Normally, your character's magic can last for a maximum of one hour. With this Secret, you can extend the duration by spending from the associated pool.
 * Cost:
 * For 1 point, you can extend until sundown (or sunrise if used at night.)
 * For 3 points, you can extend until the end of one moon phase (end of the week).
 * For 6 points, you can extend until the next eclipse (end of the month).
 * For 10 points, you can extend until one complete sun cycle (either solstice).


 * Secret of Magical Effect
 * You can increase the success level of a successful Three-Corner Magic ability check by 1. Cost: 1 associated pool point.


 * Secret of Sympathetic Magic
 * If your character has an item of the target she is attempting to affect with magic, you gain a bonus die on your ability check.

Transformation Secrets

 * Craft
 * Your character can use any of her Craft or Artistic skills magically, making their action instantaneous. The Craft or Artistic skill is rolled first, with success levels acting as bonus dice on the Transformation ability check. Cost: 1 Instinct.


 * Living Morph
 * You can change the target's form into that of another living creature, moving around their pool points as you want at the same time. This costs a minimum of one Instinct. You can spend extra Instinct points to:
 * Double or half the target's size. If this is not done, the target becomes a creature of its same size.
 * Flip two skill scores. One of the skills does not have to be stated, if you flip for the target's best skill.
 * Add a +1 or +2 weapon or armor rating to the target. One Instinct must be spent per separate rating.
 * Add a Secret to the target.
 * Cost: 1+ Instinct.

Creation Secrets

 * Create Anything
 * Your character can create any pure material that she wants. Pure material is not as simple as any one of the real-world elements: alloys and such count. What is prohibited is creating, for example, wood and metal at the same time. Steel, an alloy, is fine. Cost: 1 Vigor.


 * Create Volume
 * Your character can create a mass of material. This is roughly equal to 1 foot cubed per Vigor spent, and can be in any non-complex shape, such as a sphere, wall, or cube. Cost: 1+ Vigor. (Note: That's 1 cubic foot for 1 Vigor, 8 cubic feet for 2 Vigor, 27 cubic feet for 3 Vigor, and so on.)

Destruction Secrets

 * Inner Damage
 * Your character can damage targets' pools, removing points, instead of doing physical damage. Cost: 1 Vigor.


 * Massive Damage
 * The damage done with Destruction is equal to your success level multiplied by the amount of Vigor spent. Cost: 2+ Vigor.

Enthrallment Secrets

 * Gentle Touch
 * Your character can use Enthrallment without making her target aware that she is being manipulated. Cost: 1 Reason.


 * Alter Senses
 * You can alter a target's senses. Cost: 1 Reason per sense.

Divination Secrets

 * Know Truth
 * Your character can know the answer to any question asked of her. The GM will determine the clarity of these answers by your success levels. Cost: 1 Reason.


 * Know Capabilities
 * You can learn game statistics about a target, such as a particular pool score, best skill and score, or specific skill and score. You can learn a number of bits of information equal to the number of Reason spent. Cost: 1+ Reason.

Enhancement Secrets

 * Empower Others
 * Your character can spend her pools to give other characters bonus dice or power their Secrets. This follows all normal rules; for example, only one point can be spent for bonus dice per action unless the receiving character has a Secret that allows more.


 * Burst of Power
 * By focusing on another character's action, you cause all dice rolled in their ability check to have the potential for bonus dice. Every blank (0) result on a die results in a bonus die given; this continues with these bonus dice, as well. Cost: 1 Instinct and one point of the pool associated with the other character's action.

Improvising New Three-Corner Magic Secrets
During the course of a game, a player or the Story Guide may want to expand what can be done with magic. As written, for example, Creation can only create inanimate objects. What if a wizard wants to temporarily create a living being, though? The Story Guide and player may work together to expand the usage of magic with new Secrets. The Story Guide needs to determine whether the usage is permissible in her campaign and how powerful it is. Using that, a new Three-Corner Secret can be co-written by the Story Guide and player to fit the new usage. An example of one that would allow for the creation of living beings:


 * Creation: Create Life
 * The caster can create a living being from thin air. This being has a number of advances equal to the number of Vigor spent minus 2 plus the success levels of the Creation ability check. Cost: 2+ Vigor.

In order to create a new Three-Corner Magic Secret, the character needs to either spend much time in research, or hunt down a source of learning the new Secret.

Spells
Spells are defined usages of Three-Corner magic, crafted by players or Story Guides. When a character performs something with magic that she would like to do again in the future, she may write up exactly how the magic worked as a spell, and then take that spell as a Secret. The advantages to this are that the spell costs one less pool point than it would normally. In addition, a spell may be taken multiple times as a Secret in order to further reduce its cost.

Characters that do not have the Secrets that make up a spell can still take the spell, although they cannot make new spells that rely on Secrets they do not have. In this case, they must be taught the spell by someone else. This is a good option for a character that focuses on something besides magic, but wants to be able to use a few pre-defined magical effects. If a spell uses more than one ability, roll them from lowest to highest ranked ability. All must succeed, but earlier success levels do roll into bonus dice for later rolls.

Sample spells

 * Instant Sword (Creation + Transformation)
 * A sword made of solid steel appears in the caster's hand. The caster can make a Rough Crafts ability check, with the bonus dice adding to this spell's Skill Roll. This sword lasts for one hour.
 * Cost:
 * Creation: Create Anything: 1 Vigor.
 * Transformation: Craft: 1 Instinct.
 * Total cost: 1 Vigor + 1 Instinct - 1 = 1 Vigor or 1 Instinct.


 * Wrack (Destruction)
 * The caster can decimate the pools of anyone in her sight. A number of pool points equal to twice times the caster's success levels are destroyed.
 * Cost:
 * Secret of the Invisible Hand: 1 Vigor.
 * Destruction: Inner Damage: 1 Vigor.
 * Destruction: Massive Damage: Twice the success levels = 2 Vigor.
 * Total cost: 1 + 1 + 2 - 1 = 3 Vigor.


 * Be Unseen (Enthrallment)
 * The target of this spell becomes not present in the eyes of those that surround her. (Dogs and other animals that track with their noses are unaffected, if a bit confused.) While this spell is negated immediately if more than 25 people are looking for the target, that shouldn't happen too much. Anyone looking for the target specifically can roll a Resist ability check versus the success level of this spell. This effect lasts an hour.
 * Cost:
 * Secret of Magical Contagion (large group): 2 Reason
 * Gentle Touch: 1 Reason
 * Alter Senses (sight): 1 Reason
 * Total cost: 2 + 1 + 1 - 1 = 3 Reason.


 * Werewolf Transformation (Transformation)
 * The target becomes a bipedal wolfen engine of destruction until the next eclipse. Reason is reduced to one point, with the points split between Vigor and Instinct. The target's best ability is flipped for Scrapping, and the target's second best ability is flipped for Athletics. The target's fingers become claws with +1 damage to rip soft things like flesh, clothes, and leather. You must touch the target to cast this spell.
 * Cost:
 * Secret of Magical Persistence: effect lasts until next eclipse = 6 Instinct.
 * Transformation: Living Morph: 1 base Instinct + 2 for skill flips + 1 for the claws = 4 Instinct.
 * Total cost: 6 + 4 - 1 = 9 Instinct.