From: fts5792@cs.tamu.edu (Frank T Sronce)
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 93 02:27:24 CST

I posted my Advanced and Exalted levels for Sorcery and Conjuration here a
while back. The new stuff that I've been working on (and which is not yet
"official" in my game) is included after Exalted Conjuration.

This includes Novice Pattern Imprint, and some new Power Words.

Comments and criticisms are welcome, as always.

===============================================
Here are some extended Powers that I have worked up for my Amber game.

Advanced Sorcery (30 points)
  This gives the character access to 2 additional micro-spells and some new
abilities.

  Advanced Sorcerers can detect and use spells racked by other people,
something that normal Sorcerers in my game cannot. This power works by touch:
like normal sorcerers in my game, they must touch the container in order to
access the spells therein. They can spend a few minutes of study in order to
figure out exactly what the spell does and what lynchpins must be specified, or
they can be brave and try to cast it without knowing what it does...

  Micro-Spell: Invoke Power
     This is used to invoke a Power as part of a spell. I require the Sorcerer
to possess the Advanced form of that Power as well before they can invoke it.
Pattern makes spells more solid and difficult to dispel, and makes them
slightly resistant to the touch of Pattern. Logrus makes the spell more
powerful and more unpredictable. Shape Shifting can be invoked to cast spells
that shape-shift the target into something else. Trump would probably enable
the spell to work in shadows with little or no magic and make mental contacts
and shadow portals easier to open. 
     Trying to invoke two Powers in one spell is a very bad idea... As is
trying to rack a Pattern or Trump invoking spell in the Logrus. If you allow
players to draw upon Powers without requiring the Advanced form, simply reduce
the benefits from those of Invoking the Advanced Power.

  Micro-Spell: Measure Substance
     This is used to perform "detect" and "analyze" and "locate" spells. The
more specific the target being searched for, the more detail can be produced.
ie- A Detect Substance spell could pick out everyone in a crowd with any Powers
or bit of reality to them, but would not specify between Pattern and Logrus,
for example. Detect Magic might spot racked spells and identify a man as a 
sorcerer, but would not notice that he had Pattern Imprint. This micro-spell 
can be used to perform a search for something, but is limited to searching a 
single shadow, since the nature of Magic is usually slightly different in other
shadows and the spell will not function there.

================================================================================

Exalted Sorcery (60 points)
   This gives the sorcerer several new abilities and access to a new
micro-spell.

   The sorcerer can now rack a spell in a person's memory, even his own. One
spell is still the most that can be held in a person's memory at once, but
Exalted Sorcery lets you place a spell in a non-sorcerer's memory. Such spells
can only be forgotten voluntarily; it takes a concussion or similar head injury
to make the subject forget it involuntarily. Spells racked in a living being
cannot be contacted by someone else unless they can achieve complete Psychic
domination. The holder of the spell can cast it at will, as per casting a
racked spell, but only Sorcerers can fill in Lynchpins. Spells racked in memory
decay more slowly than normal spells, and are difficult to detect.
  
   The sorcerer can now create a Tower of Sorcery, a minor Power that he can
draw upon and Invoke when necessary. If included in a spell with the Invoke
Power micro-spell, the Tower will add its energies to those of the caster.
Generally, the Tower's range is limited to the immediate shadows... a Tower
established on a Primal Plane is considerably more powerful (in my campaign, 
Fiona has a tower on the edge of Amber... could it be?) and has a greater
range. 
   The Tower works by absorbing local magic and storing it up for its master's
use. Other sorcerers cannot call upon it unless the current master provides
them with some sort of key (whether a word to be included in the spell or an
actual object that must be held at the casting). Of course, they could just
kill the master and claim the tower for themselves, if they had Exalted
Sorcery.
   The Tower itself can be made intelligent rather easily, but while this
enables it to make value judgements and cast spells itself, they are sometimes
prone to sullenness (remember Ghostwheel?). 
   The sorcerer can recharge his own energies by drawing on the Tower, usually
by a simple spell (Invoke Power, Shadow Portal). It is even possible to draw on
its energies directly, simply by concentrating on it, but this is inefficient
and extremely dangerous should the sorcerer lose control of the flow of energy.
Naturally, the sorcerer can only draw on the Tower's energy while he is within
range of it... although an Advanced Trump artist might be able to draw a Trump
that power could be pulled through.
 
  Micro-Spell: Granted Intelligence
     A spell with this micro-spell will be possessed of a certain degree of
intelligence, and can guide itself without aid from its caster. It can accept
complicated commands, such as a ward whose password or list of authorized
personnel can be updated at will. Spells with this micro-spell and Manipulate
Shadow can be cast across shadow boundries to any shadow in the immediate area
(no significant differences in the function of magic there). A lightning bolt 
could be crafted that would turn a corner and aim for the largest human target,
or "the man in red robes," even if the sorcerer was unsure of the target's
position.

==============================================================================  

Advanced Conjuration (30 points)
   This enables the character to select powers and qualities of up to 8 points.
I limit normal Conjuration to the 4 point powers and qualities listed in the
item creation section. All other restrictions (including time requirements) 
still apply. I have a minimum Conjuration time of 1 hour per point in my
game... if Conjuration is faster in yours, you might want to consider making
this a 40 point Power.
   It also enables the character to analyse a conjured item by touch, slowly 
identifying its various abilities. It is possible to identify the creator of
the item if you have experience with his style of conjuration.

=============================================================================

Exalted Conjuration (40 points)
   As above, but allows access to 16 point powers and qualities, like
Destructive Damage to Creatures of Chaos (Corwin's sword). If you allow the
versions of Conjuration that only take a few minutes per point, I suggest you 
make this an 80 point Power.
   Like Advanced Sorcery, I require the Advanced form of a power before it may
be incorporated in a conjuration, but not all 16 point powers need be dependent
upon another Power. 
   Like Advanced Conjuration, the character can analyse conjured items, but
this can now be done at a distance of several yards, enabling you to examine
another character's item from across the room without alerting him (unless he 
notices you staring at the item in question).

============================================================================

Novice Pattern Imprint (25 points)

    This is the power of an Amberite who has just walked the
Pattern and represents what he can do without experience with it.

Travelling Through Shadow : Slower than an experienced Amberite;
only a little faster than a Shadow Seek item. Unable to avoid most
"trap" shadows without warning.

Leading Others Through Shadow : A virtual crawl... not recommended
when speed is important.

Shadow Time : Novice Pattern Imprint does NOT enable to character
to tell a fast-time shadow from a slow-time shadow, and he cannot
select one or the other.

Shadow Resources : Possible, but about twice as slow as full
Pattern Imprint.

Affecting Probability : At least twice as slow as Pattern Imprint,
and prone to innumerable failures... ie- The cash you just "found"
under a board is of insufficient value, or is counterfeit, or is
a king's ransom, and will get you mugged repeatedly.

Shadows Of Desire : Twice as long to get there, and always chock
full of subconscious choices. 

Pattern Defense : Takes twice as long to bring up, and can only be
maintained half as long.

Walking the Pattern : Just as hard as ever; walking the Pattern
does NOT get easier with experience.

The Blood Curse of an Amberite : This character's curse costs HIM
ten points, but only inflicts five points of Bad Stuff on the
target.

=================================================================

New Power Words (minimum 10 points)

  Power Words are now arranged into 1-point words (Power Words),
2-point words (Advanced Power Words), and 4-point words (Exalted
Power Words). If an Advanced or Exalted word is an extension of a
lesser word that the character already knows, he gets back the
points for the original word. A newly created character who has
Power Words must purchase at least 5 different words, regardless
of type, and pay an additional 5 points for the ability to use
Power Words at all.
  Advanced and Exalted words are more draining than normal Power
Words: Advanced are twice as draining, Exalted four times. Of
course, if a lower-powered version of the Power Word exists, the
character can opt to expend less energy and only use it at the
chosen level.

Shift Feature (1 point): Changes one feature of a shadow object
almost instantly. Can change coinage into local coinage, one color
into another, a hostile dog into a friendly one, etc. The harder
it is to shift shadow in the area, the more likely the shifting is
to fall short of the desired change.

Burst of Strength (1 point): Momentarily boosts the character's
strength, allowing them to land a powerful blow, or lift an object
heavier than they could normally.

Burst of Speed (1 point): Momentarily speeds the character up. Most
useful when you are trying to escape/outrun someone and a last
burst of speed would really help. Can be a slight benefit in combat
by speeding up a swing, but really designed for running, dodging
and diving for cover.

Induce Euphoria (1 point): The target feels happy and euphoric for
a few seconds. An unaggressive target will generally stop noticing
what is going on around them for the duration. While not as useful
in combat as a Neural Disrupt, it has the advantage that the target
may not realize that the happiness was caused by someone else.

Induce Fear (1 point): Fills the target with irrational terror. If
the user of the Power Word has a superior Psyche, the target will
lose all concentration and panic for a second. Animals, or
creatures of similarly low intelligence, will generally bolt and
keep running even after the fear fades, not realizing that the fear
was produced by a Power Word.

Magic Destruction (2 points): An extended form of the Magic
Negation Power Word, this word can damage the magic maintaining a
conjured item, causing it to decay rapidly. If the item is not
destroyed, the conjurer can generally repair the damage and prevent
further decay by spending a minute per point in the item. This has
no effect on powers and qualities paid for with points, but
permanent conjured items just decay more slowly than normal ones.

Hand of Steel (2 points): An extended form of the Burst of Strength
Power Word, this word both boosts the user's strength and
momentarily hardens their skin, confering both Extra Hard and
Resistant to Normal Weapons to them for a moment.

Shadow Hop (2 points): A quick, uncontrolled shift into an adjacent
shadow. Useful for getting away from an enemy, but you end up lost,
and close enough that a shadow shifter can find you in a few
seconds.

Shadow Step (4 points): The expanded form of Shadow Hop, this
allows for a controlled hop. The character can Step out of combat,
run a few feet, and Step back into the original shadow, behind
their bewildered opponent. 

Area of Effect Power Words (4 points): A normal Power Word (like
Resume True Shape) can be extended so that it can affect a large
(10' square) area at once. This can be used as a cone of effect,
or just affecting everyone near the character using the word. Some
of these are dealt with individually because of special features.
If a 2-point version of the Power Word exists as well, this is
considered an extension of it as well, and enables the character
to use the 2-point version by forgoing the area of effect.

Shield (4 points): Creates a momentary barrier, like a Defensive
Shield Spell. The barrier lasts only a second, but can be useful
for stopping a charging opponent, or blocking incoming fire long
enough for the character to dive behind cover safely.

Shatter (4 points): An extended form of the Weaken Structure Power
Word, this Power Word can basically destroy any one shadow object
or Weaken Structure over a large area as for an Area of Effect
Power Word.

==================================================================

Major Kiz

Soldier: "If general Caro returns, what should we do?"
Melcurius: "If he comes back, lock him in his tent!"
(laughter all around)
Melcurius: "Er... Place him under guard."