[UA] Solipsomancers (was re: UA Vampires)

James Ganong JGanong at webtv.net
Sun Nov 19 06:15:43 PST 2000


This (excellent) thread brought to mind a school of magick I'd been
playing around with:  Solipsomancy.

Once, everyone knew their place;  everyone *belonged*  somewhere,
defined by family, class, race, religion, et. al;  some found it
nurturing, some found it smothering, most just accepted it without much
thought & went on with their lives.

Once, but no more.

Now it's all in freefall.  Neighbors of 20 years don't know each others'
names;  hell, Dahmer's neighbors didn't know they lived next door to an
abbatoir.  Customers aren't people anymore, just marketing data.  No one
wants to get involved, the anonymous, impersonal life in the city is a
cliche & existentialists say that alienation is the norm;  all else is
illusion & the sub- 
conscious realization of this state of affairs creates Sartre's Nausea.
It also creates a path to power.  

Solipsomancy focuses on the power of
social interaction to define reality;  the price is isolation.  This is
the paradox, that to gain power over social reality,  the solipsomancer
must withdraw from social
contact.

The slang term for a Solipsomancer is
a Solo.  

Blast style: The minor blast takes the form of an anxiety attack, as the
target is overcome by feelings of unreality;  the significant blast
takes the form of utter despair, with the target simply losing the will
to live.  Naturally, stress checks are appropriate;  optionally, use the
checks as with the Irascimancy blast to enhance or negate the blast.

Generate a Minor Charge:  Spend a day in isolation; not necessarily
*physical* isolation (but it's the easiest), going out & being alone in
the crowd is acceptable.  The adept can also get a charge by spending 5
hours in a sensory deprivation tank.

Generate a Significant Charge:  Spend one week in isolation (as above)
or 24 hours in the tank.

Generate a Major Charge:  Spend a year in total isolation, without
interacting with
human society in any way.  No commun- 
cation of any kind, not seeing or hearing another human *at all*;
basically, hole up on a desert island &/or in a cave, lving only on what
you can make/catch/find in nature.  No manufactured items or canned
food; make sure no planes or boats pass within sight.  If any manmade
item washes up on the beach & you see it, if you see *any* proof of the
existence of humans other than yourself, start over.  

Taboo:  Deliberately seeking to interact in a personal, social fashion.
Doing things like shopping, business calls, one night stands, hiring or
performing a personal service for money are ok, as long as they're done
in a detached fashion.  Fail any isolation-5 or lower check.

Random Magick Domain:  interactions with humans &/or society;  isolation
& concealment; anonymity.   

Minor Spells:                                   

Social Dynamic (1 minor):  Look at any
social group & tell who's in charge, who's
involved with whom, etc.

What Was Your Name Again? (3 minor)
The next person the target interacts with will temporarily forget where
they know the target from, their name, etc;  it only causes
acquaintances to forget, not friends or family.

Face in the Crowd (2 minor):  same as the Urbanomancy spell.

Anxiety Attack (3 minor):  the minor blast, expensive because
Solipsomancers aren't made for combat. 
  
The Gods' Forgotten: (2 minor) as per the Cryptomancer spell.

Significant Spells

Why Go On? (3 sig)  the significant blast

The Gods' Prison: (3 sig)  as per the Cryptomancer spell, but the victim
is aware & in sensory deprivation.

Fade out: (1 sig) the Solo is invisible to humans & machines.

I Was Never Here: (4 sig)  No traces remain in memory or record of the
Solo's presence in a given scene.

Major Effects

Delete all traces of a person's existence;
become a UA vampire;  affect large scale social interactions.


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