Shadows

Power over darkness is a cliché that some sorcerers have no problem clinging to out of ironic giddiness or genuine belief. One wouldn’t be remiss in guessing the Path of Shadows as the source of the concept that dark forces empower the mystic arts, given how often hucksters make the claim. Regardless of its reputation, the Path does carry a foreboding and intimidating air, as it shapes and shifts the substance of instinctual fear — shadows and darkness.

Practitioners have found the application of the Path of Shadows far more malleable than other Paths. Shadows are omnipresent, and even in the brightest days stand out and provide contrast. The availability of shadows and the potential of adjusting the depth of shades grants greater possibilities than less versatile Paths.

45 Chapter One: Hedge Magic

One may think that the Path manipulates the quality of ambient light, focusing it away from darker areas to make shadows appear deeper and more menacing. This is patently false. Whether it’s a magical implement or a dark matter enhancement field of the more technologically minded, this Path manipulates the very stuff of shadows. The actual nature of this substance is the source of much debate in the magical communities, with a range of theories just as diverse as those concerning the mechanism of Awakening. What practitioners do agree on is that shadowstuff can be used to great effect in a variety of useful ways.

System

Aspects: The Aspects of Area, Distance, Duration, and Number of Targets, as well as Shadowgrip listed below:

Shadowgrip

The severity and persistence of the controlled shadows is gauged by one’s Shadowgrip. When a target attempts to resist the Path of Shadows, they make a Willpower test with a difficulty determined by the select­ ed Aspect. Any success ends the effect on the following turn or after one minute.

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Deepening: Bringing shadows deeper into our vision can create a distracting and intimidating atmosphere. Within an area the overall lighting itself may not change per se, but the shadows deepen, and even sounds become slightly smoth­ ered at the edges. These shadows can also be cast upon others to confer the Path’s benefits, such as a bonus to Stealth tests in shadowy conditions.

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Shaping: Taking further mastery of the dark material that comprises shadow, the sorcerer now crafts pattern and intent behind their shadow weaving. Upon a successful casting, the sorcerer adds two dice to any pools involving Intimidation or Stealth as well as any Subterfuge test to hide their identity. Conversely, the shad­ ows can surround an individual and cast doubt and confusion upon the victim’s senses. At this level of mastery, they are strong enough to cause the target to hesitate or reconsider their actions due to the unidentifiable unease. This causes the target a –1 penalty to rolls made to dodge or that rely on quick reaction time. A Willpower test at difficulty 6 allows the victim to shake the shadows from their eyes and focus on their task at hand.

46 Sorcerer

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Entrenching: Not content with merely strengthening shadows, the sorcerer now animates the shadowstuff itself, letting it shift and roil about them. Should they take their deepening skills further, light now withers in the target location, and color will desaturate before the shadows. Affecting another is now far more ef­ fective. Shadows shift and distort in their eyes, and unsettling whispers can be heard when the victim gets too close to a pool of gathered shade. Being harried in such a way causes a –1 difficulty on all tests. The effect can be broken with a Willpower test at difficulty 7. Finally, the caster can cause shadows to flutter or shake creating visual diversions and increasing the difficulty of all ranged attacks made against the beneficiary by one.

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Commanding: The shadow’s “willingness” to act has become outright eagerness. The torment the shadowstuff visits upon the sorcerer’s foes is maddening and now causes a –2 difficulty on all tests made by the target. Any attempt to shake free calls for a Willpower test at difficulty 8 and may send some enemies into a frenzy or rage if they fail. Wreathing a target in benevo­ lent shadows gives a +4 on all Intimidation and Stealth dice pools and any Subterfuge dice pool that is used to mask one’s identity.

••••• Ruling: Shadows know who their master is and immediately act with abandon at the sorcerer’s call. Enemies may be reduced to a gibbering heap on the floor from the horrific maleficent shades. Opponents must succeed at a difficulty 9 Willpower test or be reduced to uselessness, crumpling to the ground. This test can be repeated on each of the target’s turns, but the target may only act normally on a turn in which they gain a success. If the target leaves the affected area, they regain the ability to act normally. The darkness that engulfs those who wish to remain unseen is nigh impenetrable from without and within, save for the sorcerer themselves, decreasing the difficulty of Stealth tests by one. This darkness carries a weight so palpable, it may damage recording equipment engulfed by its influence.

Sample Rituals

Lifting Shadows (•)

Shadows and shades hide secrets for those who wish to hide them, but the learned sorcerer may reveal those