[UA] Superskills

[Nicco]

Since picking up UA and Post-Modern Magick, I have been trying to define
what are the boundaries.  Suggestions of candy-magick, porcelain cat magick
and bathroom reading material magick as “anything can be a school of magic
as long as you’re obsessed about it” doesn’t sit well with me.  Why? I guess
it’s because I just don’t like the element of ultimate freedom such a system
would entail.  It doesn’t really address the issue of why some obsessive
people would have magic and others wouldn’t.  I need something that takes
real world talents and abilities and just tips them an inch into the
Twilight Zone. I have considered defining Magick as Superskills (for lack of
a better term).

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from
magic." -Arthur C. Clarke. I think this quote could be modified for UA to
read “Any sufficiently advanced SKILL is indistinguishable from magic”.
Thus, the adapts of UA are obsessed practitioners of normal skills who have
taken them to a level of pure magic (ever heard someone say “Man, he can do
magic with a [tool for skill use]”).

Think of an auto-mechanic or a computer programmer.  What they can do seems
like magic to those who don’t know how to fix cars or write code.  Now
imagine you’re one of the top auto-mechanics or programmers in the world.
In game terms, that would mean you have an obsession skill in the 90’s  You
make ordinary grease monkeys and code kids bounce their jaws on the cement.
But suppose you took it one step further and could do “Magic” with that
skill. Adapts would probably the ones who make those top practitioner’s
heads swim.

Film examples include The God of Gamblers (Chow Yung-Fat uses Gambling
Superskill to toss ammo clips across the room into a friend’s empty gun),
Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal uses Psychology Superskill to slay his cell
mate with just words) and The Matrix (Neo uses Hacking Superskill to do
things that should be impossible in VR).

So how do the present schools fit with a super-skill system?  Here’s my
interpretation:

Amoromancy 		Seduction Superskill
Annihilomancy	Demolition Superskill
Bibliomancy 	Research Superskill
Cliomancy		History Superskill
Cryptomancy (East)Fast Talk Superskill
Cryptomancy (West)Detect Lies Superskill
Dipsomancy		Drug Tolerance (alcohol) Superskill
Entropomancy	Dodge Superskill
Epidermomancy	Body Modification Superskill
Iconomancy		Impersonation Superskill
Infomancy		Hacking / Research Superskill
Irascimancy		Psychology Superskill
Kleptomancy		Pickpocket Superskill
Mechanomancy	Engineering (clockwork) Superskill
Oneiromancy		Constitution Superskill
Personamancy	Acting / Mask-making Superskill
Plutomancy		Commerce Superskill
Pornomancy		Sex Appeal Superskill
Thanatomancy	Autopsy Superskill
Urbanomancy		Area Knowledge (local city) Superskill

Needless to say, many of the above arguments are weak stretches (although I
think Mechanomancy and Amoromancy are pretty solid examples).  The point isn
’t to trace each school back to it’s genesis to justify each specifically
but to use Superskills as a way to justify magickal use and figure out new
schools.  Think of some typical skills from UA, GURPS or D20 and how those
could be developed.

This also allows for translating a fantasy genre into normal (but Cinematic)
game.  Since there is a rationalization (I can do amazing things with a
[Tool] because I am the world's greatest [Skill Occupation]).

Sound reasonable?

Nicco “Nihilism is my obsession skill” Wargon


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