Totte - magic example

The party

• Pietro plays Goromaranto of Siena, a true wizard who likes nothing better than dabbling in magic and considers slaying monsters an occasionally necessary nuisance. His talents are str 2, hea 3, dex 2, cha 4, per 4, int 5; his relevant skills are picturing 2, haggling 1, necromancy 6.
• Herbert plays Ha Wong, an oriental warrior.
• Farah plays Xitoltecoatl, a shaman who is an expert in communicating with the spirits. Her talents are str 2, hea 2, dex 3, cha 5, per 4, int 4; her relevant skills are conjuration 4.

There are more people in the party, but they do not play a visible part in this example.

The plan

Pietro: "No, no, it is not for myself! What use do I have for such an infernal machine? No, I will sell it to that pigheaded king Marbullus of you, in return for ... his collection of astral gillipheria!"
GM: "I see ... You want to start the negotiations with 'Piggyhead' first?"
Pietro: "Again no. I need to impress him first and if that does not work, threaten to send the golem after him. For both I need a working one."
GM: "State your plan."
Pietro: "First I build a golem, with armor fused into it and a heavy weapon that is suitable. It must be nearly invulnerable to normal attacks and also be able to withstand the elements. I may need some help with that. The golem must not only be strong, but fast and skillful, so that it is not beaten like all strong-but-stupid brutes are always defeated. So I will conjure up the spirit of an ancient warrior who knows how to swing a sword and bind him into the thing. That is my expertise, no? I already have a target: Belloron of Philete, slayer of the Seven-headed Hydra. The trouble is that I need at least some tiny part of his body or his weapons, but I do not know where he is buried. No matter, that is where Xitoltecoatl comes in. She will help me question the right spirits to track the old skulldugger down. So, there is my plan."

The golem

GM: "Ok, let's start with the golem. How do you tackle that?"
Pietro: "First I draw some pictures of what the golem should look like, from different angles. I make sure that he looks as fearsome as he will be, with massive shoulders, a chin like a brick and eyes glowing like fire. Then I check the technical details with Ha Wong."
GM: "Make a picturing feat to see how that turns out. Difficulty 9 for a decent image." Goromaranto's ability is dexterity 3 + 2 * picturing skill 2 = 7. He rolls a 7 and then a 6 on the random die rolls, so the feat result is 7 - 9 + 1 = -1, a failure.
GM: "It is certainly recognizable as a humanoid, but rather sketchy."
Pietro: "It's the best I can do. I show it to Ha Wong."
Herbert: "Does it look like a warrior?"
GM: "It's Goromaranto's, what do you think?"
Herbert, leaping into his role: "Those shoulder guards are way too big, those will catch sword strokes rather than deflect them. And his weapon scrapes the ground. You have to adjust the proportions and give him a shield."
Pietro: "I put some hours into adjusting the picture as ordered. Better?"
GM: Together you can create a decent working set, though the final design must be done by a real artist."
Pietro: "That is well. Ha Wong, would you like to assist me dealing with the smith? I'm going to visit Old Smudgecheeck."
Herbert: "Of course!"
GM: "The smith welcomes you." (in his role) "Greetings, great wizard! May your beard ever keep growing, but not dangle in the fire! My humble smithy is at your disposal."
Pietro: "Greetings, dear Smudgecheeck. I have a wonderful assignment for you: to forge from the best steel and adamantium a metal warrior who I will instill with dark life later on. Here are the first designs. The creature must stand about 9 feet tall. Can you do it, in what time and more importantly, at what cost?"
GM: "By the gods, that is a big statue. Which parts are steel and which parts are adamantium? Do you have any such metal? Because I do not. Do you want it hollow, solid, or an outer shell with filling inside? Can I make it in parts or should it be a single cast?"
Pietro: "No, no, it's not a statue. I am going to animate it!"
Herbert: "And to answer your questions: No, we do not have any adamantium; it must be hollow, otherwise it will weigh more than 7 tons and sink into the ground; you can make it in parts but they need to be connected very solidly."
Pietro: "Yes. And the armor should be in Theradian style, the pre-Melanal mind you, not the trash from the later period."
GM: "I can do good old fashioned Theradian, no problem. Let me work out a professional design instead of this doodle, then you can decide if you like it. If you give the go, it will take me a week to get all the steel. The molds will take longer, also a week for the simplest ones but at least a month for the head. Soundproofing ... test casting ... about a dozen apprentices - I need more apprentices - the final cast and then polishing ..."
Pietro: "Yes, yes, how much?"
GM: "Some four to five months and 25,000 golden dwerks. This is only an estimate, of course."
Pietro: "That is outrageous! For that sum I could ransom the ancestors of half this town from the Lord of the Netherworld. 5,000 should be enough, after all it's only a steel form."
GM: "Only because you fail to bring in the required materials. But most of the cost comes from the labor. If you want a masterwork from a master, you have to pay a master's fee. I could scrape off a thousand coins if I create two equal arms instead of a left and right ..."
Pietro: "No compromises to quality. I'm willing to put in a few extra thousand if you do it properly, but no more. And if you want a master's fee, then you can get it, from a master necromancer. How about some zombie slaves for your household?"
GM: "Nah, the wife complaints that they stink." (dropping out of his role) "So, the bargaining ensues. Please make a haggling feat."
Goromaranto's haggling ability is charisma 4 + 2 * haggling skill 1 = 6. Pietro rolls a 2 and a 5 on the random die rolls, lowering the end result to a meager 5.
GM: "You manage to talk the price down to 23,000 golden dwerks, but no lower."
Herbert: "Your funds currently reach less than half as high. It seems like we have some adventuring to do in the coming months. Let's also try to hunt down as much adamantium as we can, to at least plate the outside."
The group spends many a happy gaming session hunting after gold and other metals. When done, they return to the next task in the project.

The cataloger

Pietro: "Now to track down that elusive Belloron. Xitoltecoatl dear, you claimed that you had some informants in the spirit world?"
Farah: "His name is Huehuetecuthli, cataloger of the Deeds of the Dead. As we agreed, I have been preparing to conjure him into this world. However he is a dangerous demi-god and I don't know how he will react to my call. As this is your project, you can do the talking after I summon him."
Pietro: "Of course I will. Set the ritual in motion and I will confront him."
As said, Xitoltecoatl has been preparing for a month to make sure that she gets the magic right. Also, she brings in a book with genealogies of the local nobility as a sacrifice. Her ability for this summons is charisma 5 + 2 * conjuration skill 4 = 13. The difficulty is summons 10 + spirit power major 4 + duration extended 2 + number other 0 - casting ritual month 2 - sacrifice 1 = 13. Xitoltecoatl starts a chant and a dance to get her message across to the spirit world, while burning frightwood to scare off other spirits that might come to investigate. Farah rolls a 1 and then a 3 on the random die roll, so the feat result is 13 - 13 - 1 = -1, a failure. However a 2 point less difficult feat is a call that the spirit may heed, instead of must, and that one is a success. The GM does not fuss about this small difference.
GM: "At the spot of the summons the air thickens and starts to glow eerie green. An apparition forms, the shape of a shriveled old man with skin like leather and an inhumanly high forehead. There is no need for a speak-with-the-dead feat here." (assuming the role of the spirit, speaking with a dry voice) "Name?"
Pietro: "That's quick. Eh ... Belloron of Philete."
GM: "For the first time, the apparition seems to notice you. The eyes in the vague shimmering form seem to focus for instant, actually conveying some kind of emotion: a cold stare of disapproval. The form begins to fade."
Pietro (thinking quick): "Goromaranto of Siena."
GM: "The form flickers back into light." (with the dry voice again) "Pedigree?"
Pietro has not really fleshed out his character's ancestry, but makes one up at the spot: "Son of Fausto son of Ennio son of Demetrio Vecchio of Siena." (to Farah) "How do I get a word in edgeways?"
Farah: "Methinks that he thinks that you are the spirit of dead man, registering himself for eternity."
GM (dry voice): "Any food for the itzcuīntli?"
Pietro looks questioningly at Farah.
Farah: "He means sins for the dogs of the underworld to devour."
Pietro: "Plenty, though I suspect that our concepts of good and evil do not match very well. This is going in the wrong direction." (to Huehuetecuthli) "Lord Huehuetecuthli, hear me. I did not come to be written, but to read. Give me the location of the grave of Belloron of Philete; in return I promise you the first hundred souls that will die from my next creation."
(Herbert gulps)
GM: "He flips a page in his book, quickly writes down a vertical series of logograms, then turns the page towards you with one hand, while presenting a quill in the other, pointing to the bottom. The script is unintelligible."
Pietro: "I will skip the haggling this time. I take the quill and -"
GM: "- cut your finger with it before you know it. Blood drips onto the page. Huehuetecuthli withdraws the book, takes a small wooden tablet from his pocket and swaps it for the quill. Then he fades into darkness. The tablet remains in your hand, physical and tangible."
Herbert: "The first hundred ...?"
Pietro: "The golem, once operational, will no doubt not stand idle like a museum piece. People will die by its hand, many people. When I sell it to Marbullus, this deal must be one of the conditions. No doubt he will agree; he just wants to kill his enemies and does not care what happens with them after that."
Herbert: "But that blood ... Are you sure you did not just promise your own soul to him too?"
Pietro: "I don't think so. Anyway, I plan to attain lich-hood within the next decade. Now, about this tablet."
GM: "It looks like a simple piece of hardwood, with a slightly curving snake carved into the top that is inlaid with either lapis lazuli or glass."
Farah: "That's a compass board. Levitate it, or simply float it in water, and the head of the snake points in the direction where you need to go."
Pietro: "Let's try it out. People, a bowl of water please."
GM: "It seems to work as Xitoltecoatl said. The thing turns briefly and then fixes north northwest."
Pietro: "Excellent! Let's track this man down."

The grave robbers

Again the party sets out together. The tablet leads them to a dark and miserable forest, where they have to fight off blood-sucking parasites as big as rats. There are also attacks from wights, but those are quickly dealt with by Goromaranto, who simply turns them into servants. At last they find the dead Belloron of Philete, buried under centuries of debris, two meters deep underground.
Pietro: "So this is the site of the Battle of Kerrikal. What a dreary place. Help me remember to sell this information to the sages, who will drool all over it."
GM: "When you dig up the body you find the bones of a large man. There are also a few weapons lying around, almost rusted completely away, but it is unclear if they belong to him. He does not wear armor."
Pietro: "That will probably have been looted long ago. No matter, a part of his body will do. Let's take his big toe. I will use it not just to summon him, but also forge a hold on him. It will be the only vulnerable part of the golem."
Herbert: "You deliberately build in a weakness? You remember how Achilles died, don't you?"
Pietro: "Of course I build in a safety switch. If any foolish king for some reason decides to turn that thing back on us, we will give him a nasty surprise."
Farah: "I don't get it. Belloron was a famous war hero, wasn't he? Why didn't they bury him in a grave with honors and a grand ceremony?"
Pietro: "He was an infamous hero; most people of his time hated his guts. When his side lost the Battle of Kerrikal his enemies slew him and probably just left him as food for the vultures. That's why I chose him; a properly buried man would have made the magic 2 points more difficult. It's hard enough as it is."
The party returns home to find the physical part of the golem mostly finished. The final ritual, to be performed by Goromaranto himself, cannot start yet, but already he sets the last phase of preparation in motion.

The desecration

The GM states that the magic basically is a conjuration effect, though intelligence talent and necromancy skill should be substituted for charisma and conjuration because the hero is dead. As he must be bound into service than just summoned, the difficulty is higher than that of the magic that Xitoltecoatl worked earlier. He considers the spirit only moderately powerful. The fact that it is locked into the golem form does not make the enterprise any harder or easier. The total difficulty is bind into service 12 + spirit power moderate 2 + duration years 8 + number other 0 - casting ritual month 2 = a staggering 20. Goromaranto's ability is intelligence 5 + 2 * necromancy skill 6 = 17. Clearly this is above Goromaranto's head; he has a chance of 1/64 of success.
Pietro: "I have foreseen this. The operation will need a few boosts. First this: Magic is all about superstition. If enough people think I can pull this off, then I can pull this off. So we'll start by spreading the 'rumor' that the Arch-necromancer Goromaranto is to call the spirit of Belloron of Philete back into the world. We will make sure that the news reaches Tilaikia especially. After all these centuries, they still remember him there. Their spies can come to check our preparations; it's all true."
GM: "That will give you a +1 bonus, provided that you get most people to believe you, in an area as large as you aim for."
Herbert: "And second?"
Pietro: "I am going to have a little talk with Belloron."
Goromaranto starts a ritual to speak with the dead. With the ex-hero's toe he can make a connection with the spirit. This is so routine for the necromancer that the GM does not bother to check for success.
Pietro: "Belloron of Philete, hark! Stir thee from eternal sleep, flutter thine eyes and once more sense the colors of life. Hear me, Belloron, and answer!"
GM (in a grave voice that sounds not so different from his dry voice): "What rouses me? I yearn for peace."
Pietro: "It is I, Goromaranto of Siena. See through my eyes, look upon the world. Dost thou desire it?"
This is a magical effect that Pietro has designed together with the GM long ago. In it, Goromaranto lets undead take partial possession of him, so that they can tap into his senses. There is a risk that the spirit may not stop there and try to take full possession, kicking the necromancer out of his own body! This is a contested feat that must score 0 or more to succeed. The spirit's ability is 3 * intelligence 3 = 9, Goromaranto's difficulty is 2 * intelligence 5 + necromancy skill 6 = 16. To be sure the GM rolls a random die, but is comes up with a 5, so the feat result is 9 - 16 + 0 = -5, a clear failure. So the spirit's control remains restricted to Goromaranto' senses.
GM: "Yes, I see, I hear, I feel! What warmth, what sweetness!"
Pietro: "All this can be thine again, at least for a couple of years."
GM: "A couple of years? What are a few passings of the seasons on the ocean of eternity?"
Pietro: "I will give thee a body of steel, to make war. Once it is spent, I will provide a new house for thine soul, one of flesh. Thou willst have another life to do with as thou sees fit."
GM: "The dead do not lie, and cannot be caught with lies."
Pietro: "I swear it, on my own life-thread."
GM: "Agreed."
Pietro: "The next time I summon thee, thou wilst drink from life once more." (to the GM) "I close the ritual."
GM (using his normal voice again): "You do realize that that means that if you die beforehand, your spirit will haunt the Earth until the promise is fulfilled?"
Farah: "Or if you fail to do so, that you will haunt the Earth forever?"
Pietro: "The great Goromaranto, a common ghost? Not likely."
GM: "We'll see. For the willing cooperation of the spirit I grant you a +2 bonus to the great attempt."
In the following month the public relations campaign goes into full swing. There are verbal threats from kings, magical attacks by priests and one assassination attempt, but all are thwarted by the adventurers. On a night with a new moon Goromaranto performs his final ritual, calling up the spirit of Belloron and anchoring into the steel golem, which is now complete. To cement the rumors, the whole party makes it into a grand show with large bonfires, eerie music, long chants and slaughtering of many animals. The feat result for the magic is now up from -3 to 0, but still subject to random die rolls. Tension runs high when Pietro rolls the d8. It comes up with a 3: no modification, a close success!
GM: "The golem groans to life, its shiny limbs turning life half-liquid metal. It watches its own movements with an inscrutable gaze. Then it walks towards Goromaranto, arms outstretched."
Pietro: "Remember our deal, warrior."
GM: "Belloron slams his fists together in the classic military salute."

The deal

Pietro: "The next day I write a letter to king Marbullus, addressing him with all the usual forms of address and well-wishes, requesting an audience where I will present him Goromaranto's Most Terrifying Smiter, for his deliberation. I sign it with my customary black hand so he knows that quality merchandise can be expected."
GM: "As if the king does not have heard of the enterprise. After two days you receive a reply that he has already acquired the service of the titan Pallassos to serve as champion for his armies and is not interested in purchasing a rival. Also included is an order to remove the golem from the kingdom within three days, to preserve the general safety and well being of the king's subjects. It says that failure to comply brings with it the penalty of death."
Pietro: "So. I sense the hand of the city states of Tilaikia in this."
Farah: "Well, you did antagonize them somewhat."
Pietro: "Oh well, we will find another use for ol' Belloron. And I think we had better leave the kingdom too. Time to set up a new kip. Who's in for raising a fresh stronghold in the Hyazagar mountains, say smack in the middle of the White Pass? Nobody will be able to stop us there and we can levy tolls to make us stinking rich. Ha Wong can build a massive training hall and private armory; for Xitoltecoatl we will dig the Earth-Sky pit that she craves for."