Acceleromancy

[Chad Underkoffler]

Hidey-ho, list.

Here's an idea I had the other day. I just thought I'd send it to the
list to see what all you guys thought of it.

I also have another school of magic that I submitted as an article to
Pyramid magazine; more on that as it develops. 

But, please, enjoy this humble offering. I'd be grateful for any
questions or comments you have on Acceleromancy.

Thanks!


===========================================
Acceleromancy by Chad Underkoffler [chadu at yahoo.com]

     "I feel the need—-the need for speed!" 
          -- Maverick, Top Gun

     "He’s a demon, and he’s gonna be chasing after someone!"
          -- Speed Racer

     There are people out there who feel most alive when they are
moving fast. These are the sorts of people who become fighter or test
pilots, professional racers, or even the local punk kid drag racer
who’s the "King of the Strip." Of those people, some have figured out
that in a way, they are more alive when moving at high speed, and that
they can do… things… that they normally couldn’t. These are the
Acceleromancers, also known in the Occult Underground as racers and
speed demons.

   Thought to be a sub-school of Entropomancy, Acceleromancy is more
about speed itself, rather than the risk involved. It’s also about
inertia, which symbolizes the central paradox of Acceleromancy:
Acceleromancers must always be in motion, be it physical, mental, or
philosophical. An Acceleromancer sets his Goal, whether it be "win
this race," "break the sound barrier," or "assassinate Alex Abel." A
Goal must be something attainable: "Protect my city from crime" is not
an achievable Goal. Any setback or cessation of forward movement upon
this goal causes the speed demon to lose charges. See Taboo (below)
for a fuller exploration of this idea. 
Goals tend to make Acceleromancers rather single-minded people. 
 
Acceleromancy Blast Style: The speed demon can impart some of his
speed to an object, and "throw" it like a projectile at his opponents.
Smaller objects move faster, must as for the blast style of
Dipsomancers. It can also be targeted at inanimate objects, and shares
the same damage effects (a minor blast is equivalent to a strong kick,
and a significant one is like a gunshot).
     This blast works exceptionally well when the speed demon is
moving at a high rate of speed; for every 60 mph the speed demon is
moving, you may roll another die of damage. This damage is added to
both minor and significant blasts.


STATS:

Generate a Minor Charge: Acceleromancers generate charges by moving
fast. Going faster than 120 miles per hour for one minute is worth a
minor charge. You get the minor charge for crossing the boundary line
of 120 mph; if you went 240 mph for a minute, you would not get 2
minor charges. However, if you went 120 mph for a minute, dipped below
120, then accelerated again over 120 mph for a minute, you *would* get
2 charges. Please note that this holds true only if you are the driver
or pilot of the vehicle; if you are a passenger, the time required to
build the charge is increased to 10 minutes of high speed! Win a foot
race or high school track meet.

Generate a Significant Charge: Break the sound barrier, or travel at
120 mph for a minute in a historically significant or famous vehicle
(the Spirit of St. Louis, the 20th Century Limited Railroad Engine,
the Popemobile). Win a professional race, whether track and field,
marathon; the Olympics count for significant charges.

Generate a Major Charge: Achieve escape velocity. Alternately, become
known as "the Fastest Man Alive." Puts a whole new spin on all that
jockeying in *The Right Stuff*, doesn’t it? Break a world speed record
in something.

Taboo: An Acceleromancer loses a charge if he ceases forward motion in
pursuit of his Goal (mentioned above). This is not simply physical
motion, however, though sometimes it can amount to such. If Bob the
Acceleromancer’s Goal is plotting to rob the First National Bank, any
action or thought that he takes that does not contribute directly to
planning or preparing to rob that bank is risking the loss of a
charge. The GM has Veto here, of course, on what actions contribute
directly to a Goal. Every time a speed demon deviates from the path of
achieving his goal, he loses a charge. When Speed stops during the
Race Around the World to help Racer X out of a sinkhole, he loses a
charge. Significant and Major charges can be "changed" to get minor
charges to pay this fine. 
     If an Acceleromancer ever abandons his Goal, either outright or
for a new Goal, he loses all of his current charges. 

Random Magick Domain: Speed, motion, and inertia. 

Starting Charges: Newly-created Acceleromancer have four minor charges. 


Acceleromancy Minor Formula Spells

Overdrive
Cost: 1 minor charge
Effect: This spell allows a speed demon to double his rate of speed,
for any one action or task. It could be to escape a burning building,
climb a rope, take a test, whittle a fork, etc. Essentially, whatever
it is, he either goes twice as fast as normal, or he finishes in half
the time.  In combat, this is worth a +30% shift to all combat-related
skills (including initiative) for the next turn only.  When under the
influence of this spell, a speed demon may not generate charges.

Shortcut
Cost: 1 minor charge
Effect: Because of his connection to the concepts of speed, motion,
and inertia, the Acceleromancer can sense the fastest and simplest
path to follow to reach his destination. This may not always be the
best way to go, but it will always be the one that will get you there
the fastest. This spell also works on less topographic routes as well:
a speed demon asking "How do you get to Carneige Hall?" when casting
this spell could receive a "vision" of which streets to follow to
reach the building, if that’s what he meant, or if he wanted to play
Carneige Hall he might receive the response "Practice, practice,
practice," if that is the shortest way. Of course, the shortest way
for the latter may be something like "Go and marry the stage manager
of the Hall," or some other advice akin to that. 

Fastball
Cost: 2 minor charges
Effect: This is the Acceleromancy Minor Blast. As described, the speed
demon may impart some of his speed into an object , which flies
towards the target of the spell. For every 60 mph the Acceleromancer
is going when he casts this spell, he may add another die of damage.

Cruising Along
Cost: 2 minor charges
Effect: By spending two charges, the speed demon can keep moving
indefinitely, without the need to rest or refuel. This effect works on
both a being running or a vehicle. If an Acceleromancer cast this upon
a car he was driving, it would stop using the gas in the tank, would
never overheat, and the tired would be immune to normal road wear.
This effect lasts until the runner comes to a stop (or a vehicle’s
engine is shut off).

Inertial Flywheel
Cost: 3 minor charges
Effect: Once the Acceleromancer casts this spell upon himself, all
physical damage—including gunshots, but not magickal— that he takes
during the next 3 combat rounds is split: the speed demon takes half
of the damage normally, and the other half is directly applied as a
Speed shift (at a 1 damage point per +1% rate), until the next time he
sleeps. Odd results are rounded up for damage and down for the Speed
shift.
     Example: Billy-Bob whacks Maverick the Acceleromancer with a lead
pipe, rolling a 48 against his Whup-Ass skill of 55%. He would
normally do 4 + 8 + 3 (for being heavy) = 15 points of damage to
Maverick. However, Mav cast Inertial Flywheel upon himself last turn,
so he would only take 8 points of damage, and would gain a +7% shift
to his Speed until the next time he sleeps. If Billy-Bob whacks him
again next turn for 12 points of damage, Mav would still take only 6
points damage, and gain an additional +6% shift, for a total of +13%. 
Unfortunately, if Billy-Bob hits him on subsequent turns, Mav will
take full damage, since Inertial Flywheel is effective only for three
turns.
     There is a persistent rumor that casting Inertial Flywheel before
a high-velocity crash is a sure ticket to join the Invisible Clergy as
the archetype of the Runner. It would, however, take impeccable timing…


Acceleromancy Significant Formula Spells

Afterburner
Cost: 1 significant charge
Effect: Much like Overdrive, but allows a speed demon to quadruple his
rate of speed, for any one action or task. He goes four times as fast
as normal, or he finishes in one-quarter of the time.  In combat, this
essentially doubles the Acceleromancer’s actions: he could attack
twice in the same round, dodge once and attack once, or even dodge
twice. When under the influence of this spell, a speed demon may not
generate charges.

Steal Speed
Cost: 1 significant charge
Effect: Because of his connection to the concepts of speed, motion,
and inertia, the Acceleromancer may "bleed off" speed from a system, a
force, or an event, forcing things to shift down to a slower pace, or
even seemingly shift into "slow motion." A green traffic light may
have it’s speed stolen to extend the length of time it remains lit; a
freeway can have speed stolen to cause a traffic jam; a security guard
may have his speed stolen to slow his reactions to the alarm bell
going off on his console. The "siphoned speed" is automatically used
to help generate some of the effects of this spell, but because of the
Law of Transaction, an Acceleromancer still needs to put in a
significant charge to jump-start the effect. 

Speeding Bullet
Cost: 2 significant charges
Effect: This is the Acceleromancy Significant Blast. As described, the
speed demon may impart some of his speed into an object , which flies
towards the target of the spell. For every 60 mph the Acceleromancer
is going when he casts this spell, he may add another die of damage.

Easy Road
Cost: 2 significant charges
Effect: No matter how unstable a surface is, this spell makes it seem
flat and smooth as glass for the speed demon (or his vehicle). This
allows the speed demon to run up walls as if they were a sidewalk,
dispel air turbulence around his jet, drive his car over sheets of
ice… or even water. The effect lasts for 15 minutes. At the GM’s
option, this may also make switch-backs and hairpin turns seem like
straight shots for the Acceleromancer… Witnessing something like this
is a rank-3  stress check against The Unnatural.

Irresistible Object
Cost: 4 significant charges
Effect: Once this spell is cast, the Acceleromancer becomes a
juggernaut, unable to be stopped, or turned, or swayed in his passage
for the next 15 minutes. (This also affects any vehicle the speed
demon is piloting when he casts this spell.) He can plow through
walls, fall down a chasm, run through a hail of bullets, swim through
a lake of burning oil, take repeated anti-aircraft missiles, absorb
enough damage to take him to beyond the point of death—and still,
somehow,  continues on his path… until his time runs out. If the 15
minutes ends with the speed demon at 0 Wound Points or less, he’s
dead. Game over.  Witnessing something like this is a rank-7  stress
check against The Unnatural. 


Acceleromancy Major Formula Spells

Teleportation. Maybe even break the speed of light?  Slow or speed up
time for a number of people.  Perform an action as if everyone around
you were frozen in time.


==
Chad Underkoffler [chadu at yahoo.com]
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/5751/index.html
"Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three."




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