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Old 02-02-2011, 09:58 AM   #24
Icelander
 
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
Default Kabbalah, Overview

Right, I've worked out the Paths that fall under Kabbalah in the setting. Paths or Rituals marked with an asterix are not available to the PC who learnt it at present, as his instructor does not know them, but the PC can extrapolate their existence from other writings and perhaps develop them himself.

The Paths are:

Path of Blessings*
Path of Divinations
Path of Health
Path of Nepheshim [Spirits]*
Path of Protection
Path of the Soul
Path of T'zvaot [Hosts]*

It is not impossible that even more rituals and Paths exist that default to Ritual Magic (Kabbalah).

Qabala: The kabbalistic study of magic has had enormous influence on the Occidental traditions, but its origins are shrouded in mystery. Some Christians claim that it belongs to them every bit as much as to Judaism and that it is the true magic of God. Others claim that it is symbolic of the Judaic rejection of Christ.

Associated skills are Breath Control, Mathematics (Gematria), Meditation, Religious Ritual (Judaic), Ritual Magic (Kabbalah), Symbol Drawing (Hebrew), Theology (Judaic).

Does not allow bonuses from Sacrifices, except Self-Sacrifice and only in extremis. Mathematics (Gematria) and Symbol Drawing (Hebrew) both give bonuses for margin of success as with normal Symbol Drawing. These bonuses do count against the maximum +15 bonus and it takes the normal time to claim them. If the kabbalist has the Intuitive Mathematician Advantage, he can reduce the time taken for Mathematics (Gematria) by one step for free and by two steps at only a -2 penalty.

Bonuses for Purity affect both Meditation rolls to enter the Sephiroth and rolls against Ritual Magic (Kabbalah). As such, a kabbalist who fasts, prays and remains aloof from all wordly distractions can amass high bonuses. On the other hand, those bonuses also count against the maximum +15.

Sephiroth
Before using kabbalah rituals, the kabbalist can attempt to prepare himself by entering a sephirah which has a connection with the magic he wants to work. If he successfully manages that, he enjoys a bonus to certain types of magic. If a ritual falls under more than one category assisted by a sephirah, use only the highest bonus which applies for that sephirah.

Entering the sephiroth uses the Meditation skill and can benefit from Breath Control, Religious Ritual (Judaic) and Theology (Judaic). Add +1/2 of the margin of success or failure for each supporting skill to the Meditation roll. Eath attempt to enter a sephirah takes an hour. The Time Spent rules affect this normally.

It is possible to enter more than one sephiroth in sequence. This can be done consequentially, with each hour representing the entry into one sephirah. In that case, no special modifiers apply and a failure at any stage merely has the consequences given for that sephirah. On the other hand, entering more than one sephiroth can also be done in a much faster sequence, taking no more than the normal hour (this can be reduced further with Time Spent rules). In that case, the success roll is the sum of all the penalties of the sephiroth being attempted, with an additional -1 penalty per sephirah beyond one. If the correct sequence is followed, that -1 penalty is negated by the +1 for maintaining the proper order.

If the kabbalist has entered more than one sephiroth, he uses the sum of all modifiers granted by them when he performs rituals in that state. These bonuses are subject to the maximum of +15 for ritual magic.

No matter how a sephirah or sephiroth are entered, the kabbalist can maintain the effects as long as he Concentrates. If he takes any action other than Concetrate or if he is wounded or otherwise distracted, he must make a Will-3 to retain the effects of the sephiroth.
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