[RPM] Path of Similarity and Path of Contagion

[tantric]

Yeah, I'm back on the horse, looking at ways to adapt RPM to my setting. I can see changing Matter, Spirit, Mind and Energy into Blood/Moyo (all matter and living things), Spirit/Nsala (Mind+Spirit) and Breath/Mwela (magic and energy), but I need a bit more...so the Golden Bough. The two basic laws of magic are the Law of Similarity and the Law of Contagion*. As part of this, Ritual Adept (Connection) is disallowed - you have to do it manually. Casting any spell with a target requires either Similarity or Contagion, probably Control Similarity and Control Contagion. Sense, Strengthen, Restore and Control I can see for both, but I'm having trouble with Create and Transform. Anyone have any thoughts on what it might mean to Create Similarity or Transform Contagion? It seems very esoteric, but RPM is deep with all the fundamental magical theory stuff/kabala, so the two Laws should fit somewhere. I don't thinking I'm tinkering for the sake of it - I'm trying to do voodoo here, I need Similarity and Contagion, and in this mind set, there is no Chance. Thanks.

Also, didn't someone mention specialization of Paths, so that one might specialize in Path of Blood (Animals) or Path of Breath (Light)?

*

The former principle may be called the Law of Similarity, the latter the Law of Contact or Contagion. From the first of these principles, namely the Law of Similarity, the magician infers that he can produce any effect he desires merely by imitating it: from the second he infers that whatever he does to a material object will affect equally the person with whom the object was once in contact, whether it formed part of his body or not

[Refplace]

Interesting.
I use them as energy discounts rather then Paths.
There is a lot of stuff on mixing things up in various Pyramids, Laws of Magic being the most inclusive I think.
I have a thread I posted a few days ago (no response though) where I posed a question for some alternate Paths.

[tantric]

I can't find that - can you give me a link?

I'm thinking I'd phrase it as the Three Paths and Two Laws, maybe alter the verbs for the Laws. I'd also like to use this Path system for religious magic, which I'm partly borrowing from the fire worship of Zoroastrianism and some cults from Cameroon:

Majisafi is a dualistic tradition. There are two immanent forces, Umaji (water), the Divine Feminine, represented by Mojili the Mother Ocean, and Umoto (fire), the Divine Masculine, represented by Esafa-Moto, the Earth Father. Mojili and Esafa-Moto are the opposite ends of creation. Each of these principles has a counterpart, which is Uroho (breath) for Mojili and Umbo (form or physique) for Esafa-Moto.

[Refplace]

Here is the link
http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=127237

Started with my own Cosmology and if anyone wants to then go into various alternate Paths but no reply. Maybe I labeled it wriing, maybe no one was interested in alternate Paths.

[tantric]

I am trying to reconcile a cosmology and RPM.
The core Cosomology consists of 4 (maybe 5) elements and two gods who combine them.
Time, Thought, Yin, Yang and possibly Aether (spirit energy or life).
The Great Weaver combines them and the Great Namer gives them identity.
the primary gods in the campaign are broken up into three Realms, Sky, Sea and Earth.

So, what if your Paths are Time/Chance, Thought/Spirit then Earth, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal and Magic, but Yin is Decrease and/or Inactivate, Yang is Increase and/or Active, Namer is Sense and Weaver is Transform/Control? That's not undoable, I think - your verbs are Activate, Inactivate, Name and Weave, your Paths are Time, Spirit and the Elements.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by tantric

So, what if your Paths are Time/Chance, Thought/Spirit then Earth, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal and Magic, but Yin is Decrease and/or Inactivate, Yang is Increase and/or Active, Namer is Sense and Weaver is Transform/Control? That's not undoable, I think - your verbs are Activate, Inactivate, Name and Weave, your Paths are Time, Spirit and the Elements.

Interesting take on it but doesnt feel right to me.
Yin and Yang are poles/flavors rather then on/off. I can see them as Adjectives but am happier with them being Realms. For most magic there too broad as Paths. The idea is to create Paths that align with the cosomology of the setting and that those Paths be useful enough for players but also fit in with NPC background magic.

[tantric]

As expected, I'm overcomplicating something meant to be simple for no apparent reason. Well, no - adding the Laws moves RPM from the Middle Ages to something more primal, I think. Mostly finger thinking, this...

Alternate Paths - The Three Paths and Two Laws

Advantages: Ritual Adept - in this setting, Ritual Adept (Connection) isn't allowed. This has to be done 'manually' by use of the Laws of Similarity and Contagion. Ritual Adept is thus 20pts or can be split into Ritual Adept (Time) and Ritual Adept (Space).

There are three Great Paths: Blood/Matter, Spirit/Mind, and Breath/Energy, all of which are IQ/VH. Blood is all forms of matter, including flesh, but *not* the animating principle. Spirit is all forms of spirit and mind, all insubstantial. Breath is all types of energy, including magic and the life force, but also gravity and light. Light and heat are Breath, but fire is Blood - if it helps, think of it as plasma. Within the Paths there are many lesser paths. For Blood there are the Lesser Paths of Stone, Earth, Wood, Fire, Air, Ocean, River and Metal.

The Two Laws

The two laws establish kinds of links. There are likenesses - things that resemble another thing, and connections - things that once were physically connected with another thing. Each of the links has a target, the specific item or person to which it is associated. The effects of the Laws largely depend on these links. The strength of these links varies between 0 and 10 (or 0% to 100% linked). These levels of linking are used to offset the range costs on the spell modifiers table. For instance, if a mage has a connection that is 50% linked to a target (5 lvls), the added cost due to range of casting a spell on that target are halved. Given a 100% linkage, range is irrelevant. Note - this is NOT about casting Fireballs for 100km, though it would be possible to cast a Death Spell at that range. Alternately, the link can be used to increase the duration of a spell - the number of levels of link is subtracted from the added energy cost due to duration. When casting simple Similarity or Contagion spells, for instance Strengthening a link, range modifiers do apply and duration becomes key.

NOTE: having no link is a -5 penalty, having a 100% is a +5 bonus, though a 100% likeness is basically a hyperrealism sculpture or wax museum piece, while a 100% connection would have to be still living tissue

Law of Similarity. The Law of Similarity states that like things produce like things. The seed pod of the snap dragon strongly resembles a skull, and according to the Law of Similarity, it is a skull. A figurine of a giraffe is a giraffe. The link item is called the likeness.

Sense Similarity: Tells the caster the degree of similarity between to things (0-10). Can also be expanded to find likenesses to a given target. With the appropriate mods, Sense Similarity can locate all the high power likenesses within a given area - say, finding all the photos of a given person.

Strengthen Similarity: Increases the similarity by one degree for Lesser Strengthen, one extra level per level of Greater Strengthen Similarity. The link must have at least one level to begin with.

Restore Similarity: similarity can be damaged in a number of ways. For instance, you have a figurine of a powerful man, but it is years old, and the man is now an elder. Restore Similarity would age your figurine appropriately. Or perhaps you have a dried flower of the lion's tale flower (Leonotis leonurus) - you could use this to restore it to fresh cut.

Destroy Similarity: Given that a mage or object/person in the power of the mage is the target of an likeness held by an opposing mage, Destroy Similarity will reduce the likeness by one level for Lesser Destroy Similarity and one additional level per Greater Destroy Similarity. The likeness must be located with Sense Similarity <--neat, but this is a Ritual, not an effect, I think

Control Similarity: ??

Transform Similarity: In a situation in which one mage is the target of another mage with a likeness, Transform Similarity when cast by the target mage will create a likeness of his opponent. Lesser Transform Similarity creates a Level 1 likeness, for each level of Greater used, this increases by one level.

Example: Lajinanda wishes to murder Jumone, who is his next door neighbor (range 15yds). He is a bit of an artist, so he sketches a picture of Jumone from memory. He casts Sense Similarity [2], Range 15yds [5], 7pts, which he can do with his energy reserve. It is revealed that his likeness is Level 2. This isn't good enough, so he goes for : Lesser Strengthen Similarity (3) + Greater Strengthen Similarity (3) + Greater Strengthen Similarity (3) + Range, 15 yds (5) + Duration, 1 day (7) = 105. He succeeds, now his very, very accurate drawing is a Level 5 link. He can now cast Death Touch on his neighbor as if he were standing next to him. Death Touch with no range is 48, with 15 yds is 63. So that kinda sucks, but there's the skill factor - casting Death Touch on a guy standing next to you is still at -5 for No Connection. Casting it at 15yds with 5 lvl link is at +/-0. He can also get Ritual Trappings by dripping poison on the drawing, and the one day duration of the link was overkill.

[Refplace]

A bit more complicated then RAW but the idea of a Path with effects to modify, sense and change connections is interesting.