These Feats are either new or have been altered for this game.
You move more quickly than most in a combat. You take advantage of relative positions and brief flaws in your opponent's guard. This feat allows you to freely attack a foe in specific circumstances.
First, attacks of opportunity are provoked when an opponent who is within the reach of your weapon (usually 5') moves away with a move or greater action. The opponent who takes a short 5-foot step avoids this attack. Second, actions that divert the opponent's attention from defending himself against you in some way provoke attacks of opportunity. This could include unarmed attacks against an armed opponent (or one who has the Improved Strike feat), directly manipulating a piece of equipment other than a weapon or shield, performing a standard-action skill check, using a spell that requires a standard action, making an all-out move past your position, attempting to disarm you, or attempting a grapple.
You may make 1 attack of opportunity in a round per rank in this feat. However, you may only use a single attack of opportunity at a time, even if circumstances allow you to invoke multiple attacks of opportunity or related feats in a single action. This is a normal attack that does not gain the benefit of combat feats unless the feat's description specifically notes that it may be used with or as an attack of opportunity.
By undergoing a 24-hour ritual that involves isolation, meditation, purification, and physical ordeals, you can force yourself to lose Backlash quickly. During the ritual, you may choose to release some or all of your Backlash points in an effect that will run its course by the end of the ritual. Due to the ritual, harmful effects may not cause lethal damage or otherwise injure you for long periods of time.
You have been deeply and permanently changed by magic in some way. This is almost always the result of some kind of bargain you have made with a powerful entity, although it may also be the result of long-term exposure to certain magics.
You may take an Inherent Power. In general, this power should generally only enhance you and have minimal impact on the world around you. The GM is welcome to add more strictures and must approve or disapprove a suggested power.
The first rank of this feat gives you access to either the general powers for humans or supernaturals and your template. Each additional rank can allow you to buy another Inherent Power that does not have to fit into this template. For example, if you want to buy the Mind Shield Inherent Power for your wizard, you'll need an additional rank in this feat.
Every rank in this feat adds +2 to your Mana Characteristic.
It is possible for a magician to develop his own personal style of magic, but it is more common to study the teachings of some magical tradition. This could be finding the true texts of the Order of Hermes Trismegistus, joining a Wiccan coven that has uncovered the ancient rites, or learning the way to actually channel your chi as the Wudan monks once did.
This feat reflects your grasp of your magical style. The categories do not represent specific teachings, but a general grouping of traditions that espouse similar philosophies. The categories are: Animist, Blood Sorcery, Chaos, Hermetic, Hyperscience, Martial Arts, Necromancy, Psychic, Religion, and Technomancy. Each category as its own advantages and Disadvantages, which are increased through your ranks in this feat.
Every rank in this feat adds +2 to your Mana Characteristic.
You can use the Knowledge: Arcane Lore to create and cast rituals. Each rank adds +2 to checks to cast the ritual, with a maximum of +10 to the check bonus.
Every rank in this feat adds +2 to your Mana Characteristic.
This reflects the talent and training which allows you to purposefully direct mana and cast spells. Without this feat, you may only create spells through rituals. Each rank in this feat may add +1 to Arcane Lore or other rolls to examine and understand magical traces.
Every rank in this feat adds +2 to your Mana Characteristic.
Communicating and interacting with the spirits found not only in humans but in plants, animals, rocks, the wind, everything. These spirits may be represented in concepts such as true name, in manifestations such as totems, or direct conversation with even the tiniest spirits.
This is one of the oldest and most widespread styles, with elements appearing in Shinto, Hinduism, native beliefs on every inhabited continent, and even in Neopaganism.
Shamanism is the communication with spirits in general, not necessarily just those from the natural world, but is closely related to animism in other ways.
Advantages: Each rank adds +2 to social rolls involving spirits, and +2 to either Animal Handling or Survival rolls (choose one for each rank).
Disadvantages: Animists are often at odds with technology; while they may appreciate the spirits in complex machines, they are more in tune with more primitive entities. They suffer +1 DC per rank when trying to make a machine perform difficult tasks.
A style practiced primarily by vampires, although certain other magicians have followed suit. There are certain regional and doctrinal differences, but in general the philosophy is that the lifeforce conveyed through the blood can do far more than just remaining alive. The blood is the channel for power, and blood sorcerers learn to direct that power quickly. Many vampires use the blood they've recently consumed for this magic, but ritual sacrifices are not unknown.
Advantages: Blood sorcerers have a deep understanding of how blood mystically functions in human bodies. When attacking a target, the blood sorcerer may choose to lower their Toughness Save by -1 to add +1 to the target's Fortitude Save DC per rank in this feat.
Disadvantages: Blood sorcerers carry a mystic taint that can be easily seen by anyone with Magic Awareness or Detect Magic. They also have +1 DC per rank to social rolls with people who have not had time to acclimate to their presence.
A style much in vogue in modern days. Chaos mages often say they are working with the fundamental nature of magic, picking and choosing bits of other magical traditions as needed. They believe altered states of consciousness and paradigm shifting are integral to magic. Many also deal with the idea making changes to possibilities and deciding which ones become real. These magicians sometimes play with games of chance and randomizers to perform their magic, although others are more interested in melding together older tools and styles.
Advantages: The chaos magician can shift probabilities. For the cost of 1 Mana, he may add or subtract his ranks in this Feat from a roll that he has made or directly affects him.
Disadvantages: The chaos magician knows that he will not always be able to ride the wave of probability where he wants. Once per game session, the GM may make him reroll a check and take the lowest outcome.
While the term "Hermetic" refers to the Greek god Hermes, who according to several tales helped instruct mortals in the ways of magic in late period ancient Greece. Hermetic traditions have split, combined, and incorporated other beliefs over the centuries. There are dozens of mystic orders today that consider themselves Hermetic in some respect. Many of these are commonly known, such as the Golden Dawn or Rosicrucianism. While the public faces of these order tend not to deal much with real magic, they all have some link to actual paranormal magicians.
The Hermetic styles are based heavily on language, symbology, names, sympathies, and the four classical elements. There is a lot of emphasis on rites, sigils and correct phrasings of magical requests. Not all formulaic magic is Hermetic, but a great deal of it is.
Advantages: Each rank allows the Hermetic magician to either add +2 to Arcane Lore rolls (including during rituals) or to increase the range of a critical hit with a spell by 1.
Disadvantages: Hermetics are deeply committed to the principles of true names and the value of magic sigils. They have +1 per rank to Save DCs against attacks, wards or Backlash effects that involve such things.
This used to be the province of alchemy, astrology and study of the bodily humours. Today, hyperscience is the application of scientific principles to perform magical effects. Many of the theories and techniques being used in hyperscience are extremely difficult to prove or possibly even nonsensical without the ability to use mana. This is where crystal resonance patterns can meet aetheric wave functions while a non-Euclidean geometer sketches curves that summon things from other dimensions.
Hyperscientists are more concerned about the principles behind magic rather than the tools that can take advantage of these principles. That doesn't mean they don't enjoy working with sonic screwdrivers, just that they don't necessarily focus on those things to perform their magic. The right kind of hyperscientist can be dangerous with pencil and paper or a glass tube and common household kitchen items.
Advantages: The hyperscientist is capable of quickly understanding the principles of a magical effect or entity. Given time to study the effect (at least one full-round action) may make an Arcane Lore or appropriate science roll, DC the Power Level of the spell or entity. Every 2 points more than the DC allows him to adds +1 to his checks, saves or DCs against the spell or entity. This is specific to an individual event; he cannot gain a permanent bonus against all fireball spells.
Disadvantages: Hyperscientists are at least somewhat aware of the scientific arguments against the existence of magic. While they may believe these arguments ignore the facts consciously, they are still more prone to Backlash. Backlash points from disbelief are increased by +1 for every 2 ranks in this feat.
There are many cultures where the study of martial arts combined with the study of philosophy. From Shaolin masters, Tibetan monks, Japanese samurai, ancient Myrmidons or knights of Europe, the enlightened warrior has a staple of human history. These disciplines emphasize mastering combat as a means of mastering the mind. With control over the mind, the warrior could perform amazing feats in battle. In some legends, the greatest enlightened warriors was able to do incredible things while fighting, but could turn his mastery of himself into acts such as walking on air or having a complete awareness of the world around him.
Followers of martial arts traditions of magic may learn how to fight, but they may have never seen a real battle. They learn meditation, to channel chi and to breathe in the eternal now.
Advantages: The martial magician has learned to get the most out of his skills in battle. He may modify his Attack, Defense or Damage Save DC to his best advantage, as if he were using All-Out Attack, Defensive Attack or Power Attack before he rolled. That is, if he rolled to hit an opponent and exceeded the Defense by 3, he could choose to reduce his attack roll by -3 to add +3 to damage or Defense. His maximum tradeoff is equal to his ranks in this style.
Disadvantages: The martial artist is more in tune with the mana inside his body, so when it is disrupted, so is he. Drains against his mana, Nullify, or gaining Backlash force a Fortitude Save, DC 10 + (ranks in this feat) + (level of effect or Backlash point). A failure means he is dazed, failure by 5 or more means he is stunned, failure by 10 or more means he is stunned and slowed.
Many cultures speak of the dark magics dealing with death. Most people consider necromancy to be black magic, committed to raising and controlling ghosts, animating the dead, or using the power of corruption and disease against the living.
There are several necromancers who would rather focus on helping ghosts, understanding the mysteries of the Grey Lands, and on keeping the dead in the ground and the living from dying for another day. However, these noble goals are relatively rare even today.
Advantages: For each rank, the necromancer may have +2 to rolls in understanding and interacting with ghosts or other undead, or +1 to his Fortitude saves.
Disadvantages: The necromancer's aura is filled with the energies of death, which can be seen by anyone with Magic Awareness or Detect Magic. They also have +1 DC per rank to social rolls with people who have not had time to acclimate to their presence.
Since at least the 19th century, some groups have identified magical powers as being rooted in special psychic talents. They have focused primarily on the magics of the mind, influencing, protecting, clairvoyance and manipulating objects telekinetically. There have been many works written by Victorians, as well as some attention paid to certain religious sects that emphasize the benefits of meditation and precise thought.
Many psychics are mocked even in the paranormal community. This is because many psychics try to set themselves apart from other magicians. They claim their powers have a different root origin and that they are seen as magical only be default. A few psychics are more open-minded than this, but the divide is hard to get over.
Advantages: For each rank, the psychic gains +1 to his Will saves, or he has +2 to Sense Motive and Notice rolls.
Disadvantages: Psychics must concentrate to use their powers. Whenever he is physically injured, he takes a -1 per rank in this feat to his next magical effect roll. He may spend 1 Mana to overcome this penalty.
The oldest and still most widespread set of traditions involving magic are found in religion. From the shamans of prehistory to the rituals and miracles discussed in almost every modern church, religion is how most magicians approach their magic. Some religions fit better under other styles, such as animism or hermetic philosophy, but the wielding of belief, faith and prayer is common among magicians.
Some churches speak out against the use of magic, but they also accept the place of miracles and the intervention of angels. Many religions have sects that teach ways to use their faith to create a variety of effects. There are some practitioners who even do not adhere to a specific church but overall spiritual principles.
Advantages: A religious magician is usually bolstered by his faith. For each rank, he may have +1 to his Will save or +2 to Arcane Lore or Gather Information rolls relating to his religion.
Disadvantages: It is possible to shake a religious magician's faith. Whenever faced with a desecration of his religion's principles, churches, texts or similar symbols, the magician will be at -1 to rolls and saves in the first round of combat involving the sacrilege, with the penalty reducing by 1 for each successive round.
The primary difference between hyperscience and technomancy is that a technomancer is more interested in making cool magical toys, using cool magical toys, or turning existing cool toys into cool magical toys. This is the style for hackers who embed Enochian code strings into their code, mad scientists who put time travel machines into DeLoreans and engineers who laser-etch the Seal of Solomon into every part of a gun so it can blow away demons.
While not all technomancers are artificiers, they are all about using magic through technology. They might not enchant a cell phone, but they are sure willing to use it to run through n-dimensional calculations or to help them take control of a vehicle. Many other magical traditions take a dim view of most technomancers. However, enough new magicians are steeped in technological culture that the former tensions between styles have faded somewhat.
Advantages: For each rank, a technomancer either gets +2 to any roll to analyze or use a technological device, or he gets +2 per rank for Arcane Lore rolls during enchantment rituals.
Disadvantages: Technomancers are not at all used to working magic without a focus. If they lose their devices or are unable to use them, they suffer a penalty of -2 per rank to rolls or save DCs involving their spells.