Urbanomancy

[James Palmer]

A general reply, since I was on the digest (I've just switched to the
regular list) and the mail program I'm using just at the moment is pretty
crappy, which makes chopping and pasting take an annoyingly long time.

Firstly, I was thinking of renaming it Polisomancy, to keep with the Gk
names of the other schools.  But then I thought, sod it, it sounds stupid
and too much like cop-magick (same etymology, actually, now I think about
it).  So it remains urbanomancy.  I doubt there's too many petty
grammarians on this list who'll seriously object to the mix of Greek and
Latin.  In game, I imagine some old-school occultists probably get all
upset when people don't call it Polisomagy. 

Secondly, I agree, on reflection, that urbanomancers should be restricted
to one city.  Either that, or they should start taking damage a la
Hawksmoor when outside a city - I'd figure -10 to all actions, due to
pain, nothing for the first hour, and minor damage (i.e d10+d10) per hour
afterwards, matches causing a severe fit in addition.

Game use: urbanomancers are much like cliomancers, not much immediate use,
but quite deadly over time.  An NPC urbanomancer (particularly a
councilman, who can rack up *tons* of significant charges) against a PC
group in his city would make for an interesting game.  You can't find him,
you can't get out, you keep ending up where he wants you to go, cars keep
crashing near you ...

An additional thing: use of My Turf on an area including a cliomancy site
allows the urbanomancer to drain charges from that site as a cliomancer
would.  However, a cliomancer who drains charges from that site also
drains - but doesn't receive - an equivalent charge from the urbanomancer
whose turf it is.  Urbanomancers and cliomancers *hate* each other, and
fight very subtle and very long magickal wars.
 
Three more spells -

Brick Chameleon

Cost: 1 minor charge

Effect: The urbanomancer, as long as he remains still, appears to be a
part of the urban landscape - a dustcan, lamppost, or whatever.  Many an
urbanomancer has spent a panicked moment standing very still and thinking
"I'm a postbox, I'm a postbox."

Alone in the Crowd

Cost: 1 significant charge

Effect: The target of this spell becomes a pariah for a week.  Nobody
attacks him or openly mocks him, but everybody subtly avoids him.  If he's
in a crowd, people will keep a distance of at least a foot.  Conversations
will be kept as short and sharp as possible.  The only exceptions are
close friends. Isolation and Helplessness checks are probably in order for
the target.

Ragged Warriors

Cost: 3 significant charges

Effect: The longer you stay on the streets, the more you become a part of
them.  Long-time homeless begin to lose their identify, merging into the
patterns of the city, and becoming susceptible to urbanomantic control. 
This spell lets the urbanomancer send his mind out from his body to
control one of these poor wrecks completely, who must be on his Turf at
the time of casting or otherwise sensable by magick.  The urbanomancer
cannot control his own body at the same time, and must cancel the spell to
return.  On the other hand, for every additional significant charge spent,
an extra homeless person can be controlled at the same time. 

For example, Julius, a corrupt councilman and urbanomancer (let's
stereotype for a moment here ...) is seriously annoyed by some intrepid
PC's, who are breaking into his Turf one night.  Spending six significant
charges (impressive), he leaps into four people, and gaunt shapes emerge
from the alleys around the group, clutching broken bottles.

There are two downsides to this spell.  Firstly, the people controlled are
obviously not going to be fine physical specimens.  The caster can use his
own physical skills, but they'll be limited by the Body of the targets,
which will likely be 20 + d10 or so.  Secondly, it's an extremely evil and
disturbing thing to do.  It's a Self-6 check just to cast, Self-7 to
control more than one individual and Self-8 and Helplessness-10 for the
targets if they realise what's going on. 

In some big cities, there are homeless who have lost all their
individuality to this spell, and who just sit there, rocking gently, until
one urbanomancer or another decides to use them as a tool.