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Telesmata

A telesm is a geomantic diagram that taps into magical energies to produce a specific effect. Telesmatic magic is an extremely old form of high magic; whilst its principles are believed to have been first fully formulated by the geomancers of Shas'Ellith, similar but less sophisticated magics were practiced prior to this by various precursors. Following the destruction of Shas'Ellith, a great deal of knowledge on the subject was lost; the Drow of Pryddcael, the Empire of Yua, and the mages of Ras Amur were among the few to preserve more than a cursory understanding of the subject. Even the Empire of Kataris at the height of their power were not capable of duplicating the wonders of the ancient past. Since the fall of the Katari Empire, some telesmata have been rediscovered, but the subject remains poorly understood.   The best-known telesmata - though atypical and rarely considered as such except by those with an academic interest in the subject - are Teleportation Circles, which operate via the encoding of geomantic effects through telesmatic principles.  

Making a Telesm

In principle, all that is required for a telesm is a diagram and a power source. In practice, it is rather more involved than this.   The telesmatic diagram must be replicated to a high degree of precision in order to function; failure to do so will at best lead to nothing happening, at worst to a malfunctioning telesm which can manifest wild and unexpected effects. Whilst one could therefore draw a telesm in chalk and hope for the best, in practice this is such a spectacularly bad idea only the most desperate would ever consider it worth the risk, and only in the most extreme and unusual of circumstances. As there are a number of circumstances in which telesmata can activate spontaneously, most students of the telesmatic art take precautions not to draw them in their complete form.   In practice, telesmata are most commonly made in one of a handful of methods. A smaller telesm is typically etched onto a specially prepared slate disc twelve inches in diameter using a strong acid; the process is complex and time consuming, requiring between five and ten days of work depending on the complexity. The raw materials will typically cost 50gp, and a skilled artisan could charge 10gp a day for this work, resulting in a total cost of 100-150gp or more.   It is possible to cast telesms as moulds or stamps, but this is a hazardous process. A sufficiently accurate mould will, in itself, be a valid telesm which could potentially be activated by accident. One method developed in Rostog in the late 13th century involves the use of discs of beeswax which are stamped in sequence by two partial moulds, the superposition of which imprints the telesmatic pattern into the wax. The resulting wax discs are generally functional, but only the simplest telesmata can be created in this way without introducing a high risk of errors; furthermore, the discs are somewhat fragile and sensitive to temperature, which limits their utility. A wax telesm might be acquired for 50gp or so - provided that the artisan has access to the correct stamps and moulds.   Larger telesmata are generally constructed in place; they are typically 10 to 20 feet in diameter, and are most often made using metals inlaid into stone floors. Making such a telesm will generally take at least a month of labour by several skilled artisans, and will cost on the order of 2000 to 5000GP.  

OOC Mechanics

NPC artisans who have spent many years perfecting the creation of telesmata are assumed to be able to do so with no risk of failure if they take plenty of time and work carefully, providing that they are familiar with the telesm or have a sufficiently detailed reference diagram to work from. Should a non-specialist attempt to create a telesm - or should a skilled artisan need to rush - there is a risk of failure. Creating a telesm in this fashion requires a skill check with a relevant set of crafting tools - typically jeweler's tools in the case of portable telesmata, or mason's tools in the case of larger telesmata, and takes a number of days of work equal to 1/5th of the complexity DC, plus four days. The total number of days can be halved by taking disadvantage on the roll.   It is not always possible to determine whether an error has been made in the course of making the telesm, unless it is a glaringly obvious one; the DM should roll the crafting check and determine whether the telesm is successfully formed or not. Errors can be noticed by closely examining the telesm and making a perception check; if the result of the perception check is higher than the result of the crafting check, then any flaws or errors will be noticed.   A stamped-wax Telesm can be created in less than an hour, provided the right tools are available - but only those with a complexity DC of 10 or less can be created in this fashion.   Designing a new Telesm from scratch is an extended procress which will generally take weeks, if not months, to perfect; a prototype can be designed by making an Arcana check against the complexity DC, but the accuracy of such a prototype cannot be checked by examining it; furthermore, it is likely to have unexpected side-effects, even if it does work.  

Using a Telesm

The activation of a telesm is by comparison substantially simpler than its creation. In all cases, a conductive medium must be applied to the telesm to allow it to interface with the magical forces of the world, and it must be imbued with a measure of power.   The prototypical conductive media is blood, and typically only a small amount is needed - between a few drops for a telesm etched on slate or stamped in wax, to a pint or two for a room-sized telesm twenty feet in diameter. Blood is understood as the substance which binds the body and the spirit together, and is thus by some definitions an inherently magical substance; the origin of the blood is generally unimportant when it comes to its ability to activate a telesm, and it does not matter whether the blood comes from an ensoulled creature or a lesser animal. Many who use small telesms find it convenient to use their own blood; the Katari traditionally used small silver needles to draw blood from their thumbs for this purpose, but in a tight situation a willingness to bite the inside of one's mouth and then spit on the telesm is an effective, if crude, solution.   The conductive media must be charged with focused intent in order to activate it, which can be done in a number of different ways. Once this is done, then provided that the telesm has been properly drawn, it will immediately activate.  

OOC Mechanics

Charging a telesm involves expending a spell slot of a level equal to or greater than that specified in the description of the individual telesm.  

Holy Water and Telesmata

Another frequently used conductive media is holy water, which comes at the advantage of being suitably charged with magic already. The deity to which the water is consecrated does not have an appreciable effect on the activation of the telesm under most circumstances.   The amount of holy water which is needed to charge a telesm increases rapidly with the power of the telesm. Due to practical constraints, portable telesms can only use a single vial of holy water in their activation; a sufficiently large locational telesm can use as much holy water as necessary - though this can be ruinously expensive.  

OOC Mechanics

A vial of holy water is equivalent to a first level spell slot, and multiple vials can be used in this fashion per the table below:  
Spell Slot Level
Number of Vials
Total cost (GP)
1
1
25
2
8
200
3
27
675
4
64
1600
5
125
3125
6
216
5400
7
343
8575
8
512
12800
9
729
18225
 

Silver and Telesms

  Metallic silver has magical properties of its own which interact favourably with telesmatic magic, though its use is not straightforward. A small telesm could easily be etched onto a piece of silver, or a larger telesm constructed from molten silver, but in practice this is rarely done as the resulting telesm will be partially activated from the moment of its creation.  

OOC Mechanics

A solid silver telesm costs ten times as much to create, and increases the complexity category by one step, but lowers the level of spell slot required to activate it by 1d6. If this reduces the effective spell slot requirement to zero or lower, it immediately activates upon creation.  

The Dangers of Telesmancy

  The powers of a telesm are a function of its diagrammatic form; the accuracy of the diagram is thus of the utmost importance. Any error in the creation of the telesm can result in a catastrophic failure when the telesm is charged and activated.   Furthermore telesm which unintentionally comes into contact with a sufficient amount of conductive fluid is potentially able to spontaneously activate.  

OOC Mechanics

If the crafting check for creating the telesm fails, then if activated, the telesm produces an unexpected effect. Such an effect may be tangentially related to the intended function of the telesm; or it may be chosen randomly.   Spontaneous activation is primarily a plot-device; it may occur if a telesm becomes soaked in holy water, or if one is exposed to a conductive fluid whilst in an area saturated with magical power, such as a wild magic zone.  

Known Telesmata


Articles under Telesmata



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