Hexing

Casters can cast "quietly" or "loudly". If cast loudly, the caster needs to shout and gesticulate loudly and dramatically making it obvious what they are doing. It cannot be modified with silent or still casting.   Quiet casting is not mute (unless modified with silent casting), but if there is a cover and background noise or a large crowd it is possible to cast without identifying the Hexer as being someone hexing them.   For the level ●● and higher effects, loud casting turns the OR into an AND.   Using a scroll, wand, potion, or any other form of stored magic is always "quiet" and per usual, always considered a "three success" effect.   (Manipulation + Theology/Engimas)   ● Hexer rolls against target's Willpower and Target suffers a a one-die penalty for one minute (two combat rounds) per net success the hexer wins by. "Loud" casting doubles this duration.   OR   Detect illnesses, curses, or poisons   ●● Hexer rolls against target's Willpower. If the Hexer wins, the target cannot spend or regain temporary Willpower for one scene. If the Hexer wins by three net successes, the target also treats "2"s on d10 rolls as "1"s.   OR   a mildly inconvenient illness or curse that will pass on its own in about three days per net success.   ●●● A single target in the caster's line of sight suffers a one-die penalty per net success the hexer wins by, plus one for one scene. Unless the defender wins by three success, the defender suffers a one-die penalty even if they win.   OR   The target suffers a non-life threatening and somewhat contagious illness that will last about a week per net success or a suffers a very annoying curse for roughly the same period of time.   ●●●● Hexer can target a small group of people afflicting targets equal to the number of successes plus one. Resisted by Willpower, separately rolled for each target. The Hexer does not have to split successes between potency of the hex and the number of target. If the the hexer rolls five successes, than six targets have face a five success attack.   For each net success the hexer wins by, a target suffers a one-die penalty for a scene. Unlike the level ●●●, if the defender ties or beats the hexer's successes with her Willpower roll, they suffer no ill effect.   OR   All the targets suffers a non-life threatening illness that will last about a week per net success and is quite contageous or a suffers a very annoying curse for roughly the same period of time.     ●●●●● The hexer can inflict physical, mental, or social attribute damage to a target in line of sight, resisted by Willpower inflicting one level of damage per net success the hexer wins by.   OR   The target receives a deadly disease or legendarily terrifying curse

Narrative Curses

  Mechanically, most of the curses base line effect on dice pools and the like and it doesn't really matter if the person making the curse is a theurgist of Mera, Greymoria, or Khemra, or anyone else.   Narratively it does matter, the nature of a hex is going to reflect both the theurgist's will and personality and the nature of the deity empowering the magic.   For instance, for the single target ●●● effect or the multi-target ●●●● effect, the dice penalties could come from from muscle cramps, psychic pain, supernatural drowsiness, distracting hallucinations, or phantom telekentic constriction, or any number of things.

Hexing Potions

  A hexing scroll or wand works the same as any other other attack spell, the person using the scroll or wand has to point it at their enemy.   Potions are different. Hexing Potions have half the base reagent cost to make compared to conventional potions.   You cannot drink a hexing potion and then curse someone, you have to make the target drink or eat the potion, like using a non-magical poison, but with additional stipulations.   Potions are odorless and tasteless meaning and they can mixed with food or drink.   Food or drink still register to Detect Magic as an arcane spell or a theurgist with Divination ● (one detects unknown magic in the general proximity, two detects a hex in the general proximity, three successes detects a hex on that specific plate or cup, and four successes also pegs the relative strength of the hex, and five successes reveals the general nature of the hex.   Purification ● and Hexing ● detection works even better, effectively treating one success like two, and two successes like three, etc.   At least 80% of the potion must be consumed by one person for the potion to take efffect, so a taster taking a nibble of the duke's piece of cake is not going to help the duke, but if duke's slice of cake is split into many small pieces and given to his whole family, the hex is broken.   This is why some high level banquets will have the host share the best of his food to his honored guests. The host is not just being magnanimous.   If a hex potion is very powerful, a broken hex may manifest as a lower level hex on multiple people if the hex is dispersed among several people.


Cover image: Symbol of the Nine by Pendrake

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