Lay Power Rules

Introduction

Whilst Magic is related to colours and elements, Power is related to the aligned Spheres in the Cosmos, primarily Good, Neutral and Evil. These forces can be called upon to utilise Power, inherent in a characters body, to cast invocations.

How Power Works

Power invocations are rated in Ranks; there 5 Ranks of Power available to those able to cast it, 1 - 5.  In order to learn how to use Power to cast invocations you must join one of the three Path Sects: White Path, Grey Path or Dark Path.   Invocations of these Ranks are called “Lay Power”.

If you show sufficient dedication to a particular cause or ethos then you may be invited to join a sect, although this is in no way guaranteed.

The ability to cast Power invocations is available to all classes and races.  However to utilise this ability the character must have three things: access to the Sphere, the ability to cast in the Sphere to a specified Rank, and sufficient Power to cast the invocation.

The Spheres

The three main Spheres derive their names from the emotions connected to the use of their Powers. Thus the Good Sphere functions best with casters who have basically 'Good' drives (i.e. truth, justice, benevolence), whilst the Evil Sphere functions best for those who feel hatred, greed and violence.  The Neutral Sphere is associated with more balanced feelings and a respect for equality.  The Spheres of Good, Neutral & Evil are viewed as aspects of the individual mind – how it considers itself and others, how it prioritizes, its reaction to threat etc. 

Use of, or connection to, any Sphere will slowly turn the users emotions towards that Sphere. Thus anybody who uses the Evil Sphere will feel less benevolence towards his fellow man as time progresses (a personal role playing effect, the extent of which may vary with individuals).

Each Sphere has a number of “Aspects”.   An Aspect is a form that the Sphere chooses to take, or a way in which the Sphere is viewed by its followers.  Examples of Aspects widely worshipped in Heroquest are: Ushaz, an aspect of the Evil Sphere; and Humact, an Aspect of the Good Sphere.

If you as a player wish your character to worship a particular Aspect, then you may choose to do so.  If your Aspect is a non-standard one with in the system, then it may be best to discuss it with a system referee first. Whilst we wish to give as much freedom as possible to players regarding their characters, it is important to note that the feelings of other players should be considered. To this end, contemporary deities from any religion are considered generally unacceptable as Aspects. Further, any activities that would be considered “distasteful” should not be associated with Aspects during game time.  

Power Skills

In order to begin using Power and casting invocations there are a number of skills must be purchased using character points (see points tables for costs).  The cost of these skills varies based on both your race (elves find spiritual matters harder to learn than a human for example) and on your class (a primary Acolyte will find progress easier than a Warrior).

Buy Sphere

Firstly a character must learn and gain contact with a Sphere through the skill `Buy Sphere'. This creates a contact between one chosen Sphere and the character. The first or second Sphere you create a contact with must be Neutral. Training to connect to a third Sphere is not normally available. 

Casting Ranks

After the initial contact with the Sphere a character must be trained to cast Ranks of invocation using his Power.  Casting Ranks must be purchased separately for each Sphere that you can cast.

Power Points

Everybody starts with an inherent amount of Power points contained within their body (5) and may acquire more through additional training (see skills tables).  Hordelings on Orin Rakatha are somewhat unique amongst living creatures in that they do not have normal power. Unless themselves casters, they are usually unaffected, therefore, by Power Drain, Powermeld, Power Steal etc.

The casting of an invocation draws Power from the caster equal to the Rank of the invocation.  Thus a Rank 4 Curse would cost the caster 4 Power and a Rank 5 Regeneration would use 5 Power.

Regaining Power

Upon waking each day the character's Power is replenished and is all contained within their body. Used Power can be rested back at the rate of one point of Power for every 15 minutes of uninterrupted rest.  Your roleplaying should reflect the fact that you are making an effort to rest and recuperate for this to work. 

If for any reason a character's Power drops to 0 then they fall unconscious until they regain a point of Power, 15 minutes later.

If a character has purchased the meditate skill then they can benefit from the Meditate invocation.  When the invocation is cast the recipient enters a trance like state similar to a deep sleep (cannot talk, move, see, hear or react to anything).  After half an hour the recipient will wake up with all of their Power restored.  If the Meditate is interrupted for any reason (say by being hit for damage) before the full half an hour is passed then the recipient will not have recovered all of their Power.  They will have gained a proportionate amount of power back for the time that they spent in meditation (for example if broken out half way through teh meditate, they are likely to regain half of their maximum power available); in this case the player referee will determine the exact effect. A person can only normally meditate once per day.

Using Power and Armour

The casting of Power invocations is not affected by the wearing of any armour, including metal armour.

Using Invocations

Casting Invocations

To cast an invocation, the character must call upon their Sphere using a set phrase called a “vocal”.  The player must determine their own vocals for each invocation that they can cast.  An invocation vocal is expected to be the same number of lines in length as the Rank of the invocation being cast, and with at least FIVE words in each line. Hence Rank 5 Invocations require five lines of vocals – or 25 words.

It should also be clear from the spoken vocal what the invocation will be and it is desireable for there to be a different vocal for each invocation that you can cast, which is the same and word perfect every time you use that invocation.

It is essential to note that invocation vocals do not work unless they are spoken at a volume at least equal to that of ordinary conversation. Invocation vocals that are said quietly or whispered will NOT work. Characters with loud, clear, distinctive, characteristic and consistent vocals are likely to be rewarded with a better response from the opposing monsters. It is the responsibility of the Player Referee to monitor players vocals and provide advice, or take appropriate action.

If the caster is interrupted whilst uttering their vocals, then the invocation is lost but the Power is still used by the caster, and any casting damage sustained. Sustaining damage that causes pain will interrupt a casting, as will certain other effects such as the Halt invocation.  A continual source of pain, such as a broken bone, will also normally prohibit casting.  Therefore it is not (normally) possible to cast whilst being hit and a character may find that monsters may ignore any invocations that they attempt to cast whilst being hit.

Casting of invocations usually incurs damage equal to the Rank of the invocation cast. For example, casting a Rank 1 Cure Light Wounds incurs a point of damage to the caster, as well as costing 1 point of Power.  Currently, on Orin Rakatha, the Good and Evil Sphere does not cause casting damage.

At the end of the vocals, the invocation is considered “cast”.

Delivering Invocations

When delivering an invocation the caster needs to employ an empty weapon hand. Touch invocations require a one-handed touch at Rank 1 and a two-handed touch at all higher ranks, unless specifically stated otherwise. Range invocations require one empty weapon hand.

The touch should be a deliberate lunge and if the lunge misses (e.g. shield grabbed instead etc.) then the invocation is discharged.  For invocations above Rank 1, to count as a successful two handed touch, both hands need to touch the victim as a result of the same lunge.  For some invocations, a one-handed connection may result in a lesser effect, as noted in the description; for all others, a one-handed touch exhausts the invocation without effect.

If the hand or arm location is not working for any reason (such as being at zero or below locational life points) then the caster cannot use that location to deliver invocations.

For all invocations, unless stated otherwise in the description, a caster has, after completing the required vocal, 5 seconds to release the invocation either by pointing at the desired target or by touching their victim (as specified in the invocation descriptions), as appropriate. During this period the caster may speak no other words or sounds, but sustaining damage will no longer disrupt the invocation.

Whether touch or range, the player should clearly state the invocation name and rank (or effect) when delivering it.  For example: “CURSE RANK FOUR”.

Extending Invocations

Some invocations (as specified in the invocation description) can have their duration extended by casting the invocation at a lower effective Rank.

For every effective Rank by which the invocation is dropped, the duration of the invocation is multiplied by FOUR.  

For example:  You could cast a Rank 5 Bless invocation as an effective Rank 4 Bless that would last one hour instead of the usual 15 minutes.  If you cast a Rank 5 Bless as an effective Rank 1 it would last for 64 hours.  

Ceasing Invocations

Power ceases to be effective after its caster has died, even if its duration has not expired. In contrast to Magic, Power can be released or cancelled at will by the caster. To do this the caster need merely state "Spirits I release thee" whilst the subject of the invocation is within hearing distance (referee’s discretion).

Power Out

The invocation caster cannot regain Power used on invocations already cast until such invocations have either run their full duration or have been released. The amount of Power used to cast such invocations is dependent upon the Rank of invocation actually cast, but the amount of Power that cannot be regained is equal to the amount of Power required to cast the effective Rank of the invocation.

In the example of the extended effective Bless Rank 1 above, the power to cast is 5 points.  However, the power that can not be regained is 1 point; which is the point needed to continue to run the Rank 1 Bless effect.

Lay Power : Ritual Power : Cosmic Power : Common Lay Invocations : Sect Invocations : Good Invocations : Neutral Invocations : Evil Invocations