[UA] So you want to write a school?

[mattias.ostklint at husqvarna.se]

So you want to write a school?

These are my thoughts on how archetypes and magick schools should be. Since
this in its entirety is a collection of opinions, it will come across as a
besserwisserish piece of garbage. That's ok, because that is exactly what
it is. Oh, and on my spare time, I speak Swedish, so whatever expectations
you might have on me apologizing for the sorry state of language, grammar,
spelling and idiomatic constructions ahead, stuff 'em!

Magick is, by nature, postmodern. I have no idea how many times the books
say that. Schools that worked 50-100-500-1000 years ago have no guarantee
of working today.
Because we change. With us, the world, and the collective consciousness
changes, and consequently the tricks that it will fall for.

Video killed the radio star.

Take Phobomancy, the magic school of fear.

It's dead. It had its last days of glory during the second world war, yet
now it is dead. Why? What has changed? How has how we see fear changed?
What killed phobomancy?

Horror films. Roller coasters. Bungee jumping. Fear for amusement. We like
being scared. You can't do magic outta that.

Back 400-500 years. There was certainly a school of Alchemy. There might be
a couple of surviving rituals that still works, but the magic of the
mixture got smacked hard by the periodic system and was finally and utterly
killed by E113 and yellow dye number five appearing on cans of soup.

My point is this. At some time you may well find yourself going ballistic
over Hieroglyphs, Alchemy, Voodoo, Tantric magic or plain old
drugs-and-drums shamanism. That's ok. Then you will want to write it up
into an UA school.

You can't.

Because I say so, and because it isn't post modern.

Write a ritual about it instead. Try to make the ritual old-school.

Ok. On to the other end:

You find some cool, subculture, thingamajig and think: "I am so gonna write
a magick school about this!"

You can't.

Because I say so, and because it isn't known enough.

Let me give you an example: Bloggomancy. I read through it and didn't know
what a "blogg" was. I do now, so stop trying to tell me, right now. A
magick school should have an irony that everybody can relate to. Infomancy
works, because everybody lives in this excessive datastream it taps into.
Bloggomancy doesn't work. I would actually say: any Internet-based magick
gets the thumbs down, not enough people have access to it, and even less
have it playing a significant part in their lives. What, everybody you know
have access and use it daily? You need to get out more.

What, you're whining? You really want to make something of this idea of
yours and I'm just really spoiling your vibe? Ok, there is one thing you
can do. Write a duke. Give us a cool, kick-ass adept duke that uses this
thing of yours. Don't write it up into a fully-fledged school with a
complete list of formula spells, just give us the basic irony, taboo, a
couple of spells, small and significant charging and what he thinks might
be needed for a major charge. And what he will do with it if he gets it.

Not weird enough.

Always try to make your school difficult to get into and hard to live with.
Really stretch that taboo and those charging conditions. Let me give you an
example:

Cantomancy.

Go ahead, read it right now, it's right there at the UA website.

The way it is written, it is not a magic school, it's an avatar path called
the wandering troubadour or the unknown bard or something like that. What
the author tries to do is tap into an irony about how music makes one
famous. It aint so. 99 % of all music played is played by utterly unfamous
nobodies in the local marching band, choir or whatever. Or in the shower.
It is also WAY to easy to charge up (playing in a park or near a tourist
trap nets you a significant charge an hour, in addition to the money) and
the taboo is at the same time to weak (it won't happen in a hurry) and to
strong (as soon as it's broken you have to move to a different city).
Still, you can hold a job as a cantomancer, make a living from it, be
socially accepted doing it. I don't like that.

So it should have been an avatar.

Or, it should have been something like this:

Cantomancy remixed

Everybody loves music. Everybody is interested in music. Everybody likes
good music. Everybody likes to listen to good music. Everybody hates bad
music. Somebody's good music is, of course somebody else's bad music.
This is wrong.
You know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the noises 99% of the world
listens to is utter crap, and of the remaining 1%, barely one tenth is
worth listening to.

This school thrives on the irony that while everybody likes good music,
everybody disagree about what is good music.

The cantomancer likes one, very specific, very narrow and very unpopular
subsector of music. Psycho-grindcore, Ultra-hard speedrap, Improvisational
postbop, Electro acoustic music, Noiseout? It has to be narrow, most
peoples (at least 99%) initial reaction to it has to be something along the
line of whatthefuckisthisturnitoff. It is common, but by no means
necessary, that the Cantomancer is a musician in his own right.

Generate a minor charge

Play a piece of your music to someone. Make 'em stay for the duration of
the piece. (or for an easier charging method, listen to your music for one
hour straight)

Generate a significant charge

Convince someone that your music is good. Or play a piece of your music to
an audience of at least 30 people. (for easier charging, play a piece of
your music to someone, make them stay for the duration of the piece)

Generate a major charge

Get a commercial breakthrough for your music. Of course, after a commercial
breakthrough you will be able to get no more charges from that particular
genre.

Taboo

Listen to any other music than your own, even in the background, for more
than the length of a song. Most Cantomancers wear headphones all the time.
Some sleep with them on.

Generally, the spells in the list are ok, I would take away "Sex type
thing", but that's my personal preference. (I like my adepts jerking of,
not getting laid) The random magick domain works just fine, and the cost of
the spells should be tweaked according to what kind of charging you use.

And that's it for Cantomancy remixed. What, you're whining that it's not
complete? Get a life.

Avatars

So, you want to write a cool avatar path.

Well go ahead. Just for heaven's sake DON'T make it post modern. In most
cases it shouldn't even be modern. It should probably not even be a
postmodern replacement of an older archetype. I just can't let you get away
with it, and you don't want me to take my belt off again, now do you?

Because it's to big a deal. When the naked goddess ascended it was a huge,
tremendous, supersize deal that shook the entire occult underground. Last
ascension before the naked goddess was the flying woman back in the?
thirties, right? When the Hunter was replaced it was a big deal, everybody
knew. The ascension war for the messenger involves and is know to all the
movers and shakers in the game. It's a big deal, let it be a big deal. Wars
for godwalkerhood is another thing entirely, and happens all the time.

This shouldn't keep you from writing, just?

Get a good subject. Something old, well known by everybody. And keep the
first channel subtle enough to be kept secret from the avatar him/herself.

The Blacksmith

This is inspired by several old foundry-workers I've met. It seems that
anybody who starts working in a foundry either leaves in six months or
stays for twenty years. I started thinking about a foundry-worker
archetype, but realized it would work even better as a subset of an older
archetype also connected to hot metal.

Muscles, Beard, Apron, scars from burning, hammer, anvil, a furnace, heat,
fire. The avatar has to work with hot metal on a day-to day basis to start
on this path, while the higher channels are available only by hammer and
anvil.

Channel 1
Burn wounds heal well. They leave scars (that further ties the avatar to
the path), but the basic function of the burned limb remains intact. Heat
does not bother the avatar. Heat still burns, but turning meat on a
barbecue with his bare hands shouldn't be a problem. (Taken from reality. I
heard about one guy who, while operating a crane at a magnesium remelting
plant, got splashed with molten magnesium. It went up under his jacket,
poured down his legs and filled his shoes. He was away for several months,
but still works there today, 20 years after the incident)

Channel 2
Metal items the avatar creates work really well. With a successful avatar
check, an item will work to it's maximum potential. In terms of melee
weapons, that would make an extra 3+ damage, firearms would get a +5% to
hit, engines will either run faster or, if properly served, last a
lifetime. This requires a successful skill check in a relevant skill ? you
can't make a very good firearm without knowing how to make firearms in the
first place. (taken from reality, there was a famous finnish knifesmith in
the eighties called Roselli. He used scrap metal to forge singularly ugly
knives that still retain an edge, 10-15 years later. He's still around,
actually: http://www.roselli.fi/)

Channel 3
The avatar cannot be hurt by heat or fire, period. Go ahead, take a swim in
that lava pool, the fumes will suffocate you, but you won't burn.

Channel 4
The avatar can forge magic items. He needs charges, from somewhere. These
items follow the same rules as items created by mechanomancy, only it takes
a week to make a minor magic item, a month to make a significant item and a
year to make a major item. He can also never make more items than the ones
digit of his Avatar:Blacksmith skill, and if this skill drops, one or more
items lose their power down to the allowed amount. If the skill drops to
below 90, all the items lose their power. Of, course, all items left behind
at the ascension of the present embodiment of the archetype were left
behind in perfect condition.

Ok, I've said my piece. Feel free to be as pissed of as you like, I know
I'm right.



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