Sorry about the gap between posts, been busy running campaigns and the muse was in the toilet. For this article, I’ll be creating a new Magical Style. It’s a somewhat unorthodox temple style, as it’s based around a spiritual philosophy (in the vein of Buddhism or Taoism) inspired by Plato’s theory of forms and a weird version of animism rather than the worship of a deity or pantheon. Thus, it comes off as more theoretical and experimental in parts, with sidelines into select applied colleges.
Formulaic Idealism
15 points
Style Prerequisite: Magery 1 (not One College Only).
The Classical Greek philosopher Plato theorized an outline of metaphysics; the physical world is not as real or true as “Forms”. According to this theory, Forms—conventionally capitalized and also commonly translated as “Ideas”—are the non-physical, timeless, absolute, and unchangeable essences of all things, of which objects and matter in the physical world are merely imitations. Plato speaks of these entities only through the characters in his dialogues who sometimes suggest that these Forms are the only objects of study that can provide knowledge. The magicians of the Formulaic Idealism magical style have developed a gnostic theory based on these metaphysics and additional thaumatological discoveries. They believe Platonic forms reside in Briah, The Iconic Realm, where their archetypical perfection can be partially brought down to our reality in extremely watered down doses. Some stylists believe that Atlantis was absorbed into the higher realm by an arcane breakthrough or destroyed on a metaphysical level by a gigantic magical disaster (perhaps caused by a hubristic attempt to achieve Platonic enlightenment). The students and masters of the style see thaumatological scholarship as the way to enlightenment and perfection, drawing down the Forms through magic spells. They are unusually practiced with base matter and physical technology for eccentric intellectual theorists obsessed with a spiritual plane.
The style’s spell list focuses heavily on meta-magic, knowledge, making (with technological aspects), illusion, creation and a slight amount of elemental Earth and Water. Some Food spells creep in, as a side-piece to general matter strengthening/restoring/creating/transforming. Meta-magic and knowledge spells allow the magician to immerse themself in the wisdom and data of the Platonic that’s beyond their current reality. Anything that creates or improves matter is an interest to the stylists, as this is the beginning of calling down material ideals from the higher realm. Illusions are considered the reflection of ephemeral radiation from the higher realm. Magicians of the style study the elements of Earth and Water, as these are considered the most “solid” and “formulaic” of the elements. They study and respect elementals of all the elements, however, due to their origins and nature as entities of the higher realm. Stylists define “spirits” not as ghosts (of humans or any other earthly lifeform) or demons or angels, but as incarnations of concepts that are spawned by the higher realm. (They do not care about any other type of astral being, seeing them as mere elements of the lesser earthly plane “downstream” from Briah.)
Required Skills: Hidden Lore (Spirit Lore), Meditation, Philosophy (Plato), Thaumatology.
Required Spells: Detect Magic, Inspired Creation, Measurement, Purify Air, Seek Earth, Seek Water, Sound and any 3 of Counterspell, Seek Machine, Seek Magic, Seek Food, Tell Time, Test Food and Test Fuel.
Perks: Academic Rank, Area Spell Mastery, Astrological Ceremonies, Better Scrolls, Boost Enchantment, Continuous Ritual, Convenience Casting (any in-style spell), Flexible Ritual, Improvised Items, Improvised Magic, Intuitive Illusionist, Kill Switch, Knower of Names, License, Limited Energy Reserve, Magical Analysis, Magical Style Adaptation, Mana Compensation, Mystic Gesture, Named Possession, Paraphernalia Pro, Pebbles, Precision Recharger, Reduced Footprint, Reinforce, Rinse, Sanctum, Scroll-Reading, Secret Words, Shortcut to Power (Dispel Magic, Enchant), Spark, Special Exercises (Magery, Mana Enhancer, Wild Talent), Spell Bond, Spirit Contract, Stabilising Skill (Thaumatology for Meta-Magic), Staff Attunement, Staff Bond, Super-Sympathy, Thaumatological Doublespeak, Wizardly Dabbler, Wizardly Garb.
OPTIONAL TRAITS
Attributes: Improved IQ and Per.
Advantages: Improved Magery, Languages, Eidetic Memory.
Disadvantages: Curious, Disciplines of Faith (any), Obsession (arcane mysteries).
Skills: Artist (any but Illusion is popular), Engineer (any), Expert Skill (Hydrology), Dreaming, Geology, History, Hidden Lore (Lost Civilisations, Magic Items, Magical Writings), Mental Strength, Physics, Research, Teaching, Writing.
Spell List
Each level of the style requires learning a certain number of spells before the stylist can graduate to the next level’s spells.
Initiate
The first degree of the style covers not just all the required spells but also other basic spells that fit the theory and practice of Formulaic Idealism.
Counterspell, Detect Magic, Inspired Creation, Measurement, Purify Air, Seek Earth, Seek Food, Seek Fuel, Seek Magic, Seek Machine, Seek Water, Sound, Tell Time, Test Food, Test Fuel.
Novice
A stylist must learn the 10 required Initiate spells before they can be bestowed the title of Novice and learn the following spells;
Aura, Complex Illusion, Cook, Identify Metal, Identify Spell, Illusion Disguise, Illusion Shell, Independence, Know Illusion, Mage Sense, Mage Sight, Preserve Fuel, Restore, Reveal Function, Season, Sense Mana, Scroll, Simple Illusion, Suspend Spell, Test Load, Tell Position, Umbrella, Ward.
Adept
When a stylist learns 8 Novice-level spells, they may graduate to the level of Adept and learn the following;
Analyze Magic, Awaken Craft Spirit, Clean, Create Earth, Create Water, Copy, Great Ward, History, Know Recipe, Know True Shape, Mature, Perfect Illusion, Preserve Food, Purify Fuel, Purify Food, Purify Water, Reflect, Resist Water.
Theorist
After learning at least 8 spells of the Adept degree, the magician earns the title of Theorist and can learn the following spells;
Ancient History, Animate Object, Catch Spell, Control Illusion, Create Acid, Create Fuel, Create Ice, Distill, Dispel Illusion, Essential Earth, Essential Fuel, Essential Water, Essential Wood, Find Weakness, Freeze, Gift of Letters, Gift of Tongues, Inscribe, Magic Resistance, Prehistory, Reconstruct Spell, Rejoin, Schematics.
Philosopher
To achieve the degree of Philosopher, a stylist must learn at least 8 Theorist spells. The spells of this degree are;
Control Creation, Control Elemental*, Create Animal, Create Mount, Create Object, Create Servant, Create Warrior, Dispel Creation, Displace Spell, Duplicate, Enchant, Essential Acid, Essential Food, Initiative, Lend Spell, Machine Control, Mystic Mark, Pentagram, Purify Earth, Repair, Resist Acid, Restore Mana, Sharpen, Shatterproof, Spellguard, Spell Shield, Spell Wall, Steal Spell, Summon Elemental*, Suspend Magic, Suspend Mana, Toughen.
Master
Becoming a Master of the style requires learning 8 Philosopher spells. The following spells become available to learn;
Animate Machine, Create Elemental*, Delay, Drain Mana, Hang Spell, Link, Maintain Spell, Penetrating Spell, Rebuild, Reflex, Throw Spell.
- Elementals of any kind and the spells related to them are considered in-style.
Three Hundred and Thirty-Three 