[UA] School of Magick - Aesthetomancy

[Gary]

Hello All, from Gary

I'm an occasional lurker (so many unread messages - that's what being a
teacher does for you) and frequent gamer (so many unmarked books). Having
recently moved, and left my old group behind, I've now got a group of
players who really get what UA is about. Spurred on by this, I have written
my first real piece of non-adventure material for ANY RPG. I'd like to post
it on unknown-armies.com, but before that, I need it appraised. Which is
where you astute people come in. I apologise in advance if it's too long.
Any and all feedback is welcome, including if it's too long (did I mention
that already?). I've tried to use the format in UA2. I know I need to work
on the central concept a little more, and one or two of the spells sounded
great before I put flesh to them (such as If It Looks Like A Duck...).
Anyway, I leave it up to your more seasoned brains (must be a recipe
somewhere) to show me how to improve it. Thanks...

The Aesthetomancer
AKA SPARKIES, COLD FISH

You know that the Universe is our master. We are but slaves to the world
around us. But you have broken free from the emotional chains that bind.
Real freedom lies beyond that which makes us human.

Aesthetomancy is not a new school, but not particularly common either.
Charges come from the energy released in breaking the bond between stimulus
and emotion that form normal animal memories. The smell of cut grass
reminding us of the heady days of our youth. The sight of blood stirring up
long-buried thoughts of the pain and suffering of a loved one. Our senses
are our link to the outside environment. They are what connect us to the
universe. They form and colour our experiences, our learning. They inform
our development. As a result, our experiences colour our senses. Memories
linked to a particular taste or smell are brought back when we re-encounter
this stimulus. Our senses become biased by our interpretation, our brain,
our experiences. Stimuli are the same to us all – yet we interpret them
differently. This is the paradox.
This dissociation of sense from emotion explains in part the lack of
Aesthetomancers. Sparkies (or Cold Fish as they are less affectionately
known) can, if not careful, quickly lose any semblance of humanity they once
possessed. No one is sure as to their ultimate fate – some may disappear in
a blaze of psychopathic glory attempting to rid the universe of these
quivering blobs, Others may just disappear, (d)evolving into something not
human).

AESTHETOMANCY BLAST STYLE
The victim’s central and peripheral nervous system begins to rewire and
misfire in an attempt to purge memories of the shackling emotional ties that
limit his evolutionary potential. However, he lacks the self-control
required to do this without the inevitable accompanying trauma. Neurones
overload and feedback. Synapses transmit without rest. Sense organs act
retroactively, spurting stimuli attached to random memories (colours emanate
from the eyes, smells from the nose, etc.). Perception becomes painfully
sensitive as the brain attempts to elevate from primitive sentiments.
Receptors crackle with unwanted bioelectricity. The victim becomes one small
(or large for significant blasts) plasma ball of stimuli.

STATS
Generate a minor charge: Focus on and isolate one sense for a period of
time. Concentrate on memories built upon this sense and purge those memories
of any emotion. This requires Meditating (can be a chosen skill, or use Mind
Stat at half). If a Meditation roll fails, another can be attempted after an
hour or so. The number of charges gained depends upon the length of time
spent in serious contemplation. One charge is gained for every two hours of
Meditation. However, the Isolation begins to kick in after too long. At the
end of the first two hours, the Sparkie must attempt a Rank 1 Isolation
check. Further checks occur every hour thereafter. These checks are
cumulative in any 24 hour period (even you need to eat, drink and sleep) –
an Aesthetomancer cannot meditate for 2 hours, gain a charge while suffering
a Rank 1 check, stop, then Meditate again and take another Rank 1 test. The
second period of Meditation would incur Rank 2 and Rank 3 Isolation stress
checks.
Example: Zen the Aesthetomancer intends to Meditate for a 12 hour session (a
significant period of time) in order to gain 6 minor charges (a huge
reward). This is a long time to go without all of your available senses, and
so the Isolation stress checks build up. Rank 1 will occur after the first
two hours, Rank 2 after the third, Rank 3 after the fourth, and so on. At
the end of the eleventh hour a Rank 10 stress check will occur, and for
every hour after this.
Zen decides to take a break of 5 minutes after 6 hours of Meditation to feed
his cat. Upon returning to a trance, he continues from where he left off
(after a successful Meditation roll of course). If it took him a little
longer to feed the feline, say 24 hours, he would start afresh at Rank 1
after 2 hours.
During charging, all other senses are effectively inhibited due to the
intense concentration necessary. This leaves the Meditator very vulnerable
should his remaining sense not allow him to perceive certain stimuli such as
seeing or hearing a TNI Death Squad break into his home, or smell his
burning cat setting fire to the rest of his apartment.

Get a significant charge: ReMindMap. The Sparkie reconfigures her own
memories in order to remove any emotional interpretation – any fuzzy logic
or bias associated with what should be clean, clear stimuli. In a similar
way to Mechanomancers, this involves losing aspects of what makes her
human - “No Live Organism Can Continue For Long To Exist Sanely Under
Conditions Of Absolute Reality”. The Cold Fish must choose a significant
memory – a birthday present, her first kiss, humiliation at the hand of an
overbearing parent, a lover’s touches, or the admonitions of an employer. By
rewiring this memory, the adept breaks the bond between the memory and the
emotion, and the resultant energy manifests as a significant charge. Goody!
The flip side is that this aspect of the adept’s humanity is now lost in any
tangible form – lose one point of Soul and make a Rank 6 Self stress check.

Get a major charge: Unknown. Considering the risks associated with gaining
significant charges, no Aesthetomancer is known to have attempted to gain a
major charge
 or at least, none has spoken of it. Rumours abound of methods
involving consciously sacrificing a complete sense in order to allow others
to compensate and improve, or a complete defragmentation of their neural
network, somewhat akin to Mechanomancers.

Taboo: Your senses and memories must be free and clear. This manifests in
several ways. Firstly, an Aesthetomancer is an adept of surgical clarity,
one who’s power is embedded in the domain of logic and observation, without
personal involvement. In other words, this adept’s Soul must never exceed
their Mind Stat, even temporarily. Secondly, you can never attach an
emotional significance to any event. “Mmmm Mom, this chicken tastes
wonderful” is the metaphysical equivalent to pulling the plug. Watch those
charges drain away. “This chicken tastes like chicken” or “This chicken
tastes like Gallus domesticus protein and fat” is much better. And finally,
an Aesthetomancer’s eyes and ears are her
 well
. eyes and ears. Any
sense-enhancing or sense-affecting agent can only act to interfere with her
perfect assemblance of information. Spectacles, hearing aids and many drugs
are examples of no-nos. Telephones?

Random magic domain: “Purify”. Random Aesthetomancy magick removes any
emotional bias from a memory or experience, allowing others to perceive or
remember in cold clarity. See without rage. Smell without disgust. Touch
without devotion. Taste without satisfaction. Hear without fear.

Starting charges: A starting Aesthetomancer begins with six minor charges,
or even more. Any Sparkie who can spare two hours a day can quickly build up
the charges with minimal risk to his sanity.

Charging Tips: Depends on your level of risk, or how far you are to Madness.
Short and sweet is nice and safe. Want more? Maybe you should have been a
Bodybag.

AESTHETOMANCY MINOR FORMULA SPELLS

PINS & NEEDLES
Cost: 1 minor charge
Effect: This is the Cold Fish’s minor blast. The target becomes extremely
sensitive to his close environment. All stimuli begin to overload his sense
organs, and limit his capability to interact with his surroundings. As well
as taking the damage from the blast, the target applies a –10% shift to all
actions for two rounds (including Initiative). For each extra charge, the
penalty can be increased by 10% per charge up to a maximum of –30%.

SIGNAL BOOSTER
Cost: 1 minor charge
Effect: The target’s perceptions are heightened beyond her normal
capability. This adds +10% to any skill requiring any of the five physical
perceptions (GM’s decision), and lasts for a number of rounds equal to the
tens dice of the roll. This spell can be placed upon the casting adept.

ANAESTHESIA
Cost: 1 minor charge
Effect: The target (possibly yourself) is dulled in a particular sense. They
do not lose that specific sense, but their ability to ‘perceive’ it is
diminished. An analogy is trying to hear with ringing ears (such as after a
concert) Normal noise is dulled by the ringing caused by over-exerted cilia
in the cochlea. Now remove the ringing - this muffled noise is how a target
of this spell would hear sounds. The effect is that the target suffers
a –10% shift to that particular sense, and hence to all skills that use it.
This spell can be used to reduce any effects of extreme stimuli, such as
bright light, high temperatures or harsh chemicals in the air (GM rules on
just how large a reduction).
This spell can be cast on more than one sense on a target, and the shifts
are cumulative where applicable.
Example: Firing a gun requires both touch and sight. Should a Sparkie cast
Anaesthesia on a target’s sense of touch, she would be at –10% shift to fire
the weapon, unable to sense correctly the trigger and best firing position.
However, if the adept also cast Anaesthesia on the target’s sight, she would
be at –20% shift, unable to clearly focus in on her victim.
This spell lasts for a number of minutes equal to the tens dice, or the
total of the two dice in hours if a match.

AXON FIGURE
Cost: 2 minor charges
Effect: By increasing the rate and speed of the target’s neuronal firing and
nervous transmission, anyone affected by this spell can temporarily increase
their Speed by 10% for a number of minutes equal to the tens number on the
dice roll. This can be cumulative up to a maximum shift of 30%, and requires
no extra casting time, just the extra charges (4 charges for +20%; 6 charges
for +30%). At the end of this period however, the hangover kicks in. For
each +10% shift applied, the target is at half their normal Speed value
(this does affect the maximum of Speed skills for this period of time) for
two hours. Again, this spell can be targeted on the casting adept.
Example: Brett Boston, sometime-Duke is about to take on the perpetrator of
a heinous crime, Mr. Perp. His partner, Zen, casts Axon Figure on him.
Motivated by the recent tragic accident involving his cat, Zen spends 6
charges and gives Brett the full +30% shift and boosting his 57 Speed up to
87. Rolling a successful 43, Brett is souped up for four minutes, plenty of
time to take the Perp. After this four minutes however, Brett’s Speed will
drop to 29 for a period of six hours, as will any Speed skills at 30 or
above. Let’s hope Mr. Perp doesn’t have any friends watching

Warning: A fumble on the Aesthetomancy casting is bad – something akin to a
severe electrocution. The GM should decide the most applicable result.

YOUR MIND’S EYE, EAR, NOSE, ETC.
Cost: 3 minor charges
Effect: The adept casts YourMEENE on a target giving a testimony, witness
statement, or any kind of report about an event they saw or were involved
in. After entering a meditative state (Meditation or half Mind Stat) the
adept can revisit the event itself, replacing the role of the target. The
adept can sense the events as they actually occurred, not as they may be
falsely recalled from the target’s memory. Precise and exact facts can be
gleaned from this visitation, although the nature and direction of the event
cannot be altered – the adept could not wander off in a direction that the
target did not take. This spell lasts as long as the vision lasts – should
the adept withdraw from this dialogue, then the image ends. It can be
re-entered however, should the spell be cast again, and the adept can
‘fast-forward’ through the familiar parts.

AESTHETOMANCY SIGNIFICANT FORMULA SPELLS

TRANSFERRENCE
Cost: 1 significant charge
Effect: When cast, the Aesthetomancer can use his magick skill level for any
Mind skill. The Adept does not have to possess this skill herself, and it
lasts for a number of rounds equal to the number on the tens dice.

SYNAESTHESIA
Cost: 1 significant charge
Effect: The significant Blast spell. Axons fire uncontrollably, synaptic
neurotransmitter reuptake is inhibited, the central nervous system
neurochemistry turns to wildfire. The brain becomes so overloaded and
confused that crossed wires cause the target to hear light and see smells.
If the target does not die from the blast, they are incapacitated (no
actions) for a number of rounds equal to the tens dice.

IF IT LOOKS LIKE A DUCK

Cost: varies
Effect: This spell can be cast on both inanimate (1 significant charge) and
animate (2 significant charges) objects (unwilling targets must make a Soul
check and use their humanity to resist the spell – the adept then loses the
charges). The manner of the target’s stimuli change, as chosen by the
caster. The type of stimulus could alter - cabbage tastes like steak, or an
alarm could sound like a bird call. Alternatively, the nature of the
stimulus could change – the smell of burning could be replaced by that of
the feeling of water from a sprinkler.
Anyone encountering this changed object must first identify an anomaly in
the thrall (it may feel like water, but it sure looks like fire!) and then
make a Mind roll in order to see through the illusion. However, if the spell
is cast more than once on the target object, more than one property can be
changed (aah, it IS water).

WHAT LIES BEYOND
Cost: 2 significant charges
Effect: The ranges of the adept’s senses are increased. Sight extends into
infra-red and ultra-violet, while infra- and ultra-sound noises can be
heard. Either the sensitivity or range of touch can be increased (vague
references about an object’s tactile characteristics can be gauged at a
distance in meters equivalent to the tens place on the dice roll.)
Navigating in total darkness is a good benefit of this spell, for example.
Anything that can be felt normally can be felt at a distance. With taste and
smell, specific scents and aromas can be detected at a sensitivity
equivalent to that of a snake or bloodhound (GM’s discretion). For example,
blood can be smelled, or even the hormones and secretions indicating fear or
attraction can be detected, as long as they are strong or fresh. The
duration of this spell is a number of minutes equal to the total of the two
dice. Again, the spell can be cast multiple times to affect more than one
sense.

REMOTE SENSING
Cost: 3 significant charges
Effect: The adept can feel what another person (must be human) feels. The
Aesthetomancer must have sensed the target in person (seen, heard, tasted,
etc.) on a previous occasion. The range of this spell can be quite far – 5
to the power of X in metres, where X is the tens value on the dice. (If you’
re not sure of your maths, 5 to the power zero is one). Communication is
one-way only – you perceive their surroundings, but they do not perceive
you. A critical success offers the same benefits as a successful roll of 90
or above (a success of 90 or above would allow the adept to Remote Sense
anyone the know, anywhere on Earth). A fumble means that as you search for
the target, you find them. Their senses merge with yours, but you fail to
filter out their emotional state. See taboo. Bye bye charges. Duration is
limited to a number of minutes equal to the tens dice.

AESTHETOMANCY SIGNIFICANT FORMULA SPELLS

Completely disable a target’s senses, or borrow them at will. Allow one’s
own sense to float free of corporeal restrictions. Cure diseases involving
the senses or nervous system. Commune with non-humans.

WHAT YOU HEAR: THE AESTHETOMANCER

Only what they allow you to hear, or see, or
 well, you get the idea. Any
rumours are much likely far less imaginative than what the Sparkies actually
get up to themselves.

That's All Folks,

Gary Matthews



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