Sorcerer

Start with only the untrained and common moves. Unlock the other moves in this playbook when you have learned how.

Cast Untrained

When you wield magic without training, experience, or practice state your goal and intended effect then ask:

• Is the effect modest and mundane?
• Is the effect safe?
• Are you reaching for the last possible option to save yourself or someone you love?

Roll 1d6 for each ‘yes’:

If there is at least 1 hit, spend it on achieving your goal and intended effect.

the GM holds all misses and may spend them as future arcane reverberations and aftershocks eminating from this weilding.

Learning magic

As you learn magic through observation, practical training, or trial and error, record the answers to the questions associated with arcane comprehension, manipulation, and production. When all questions for a given arcane move (comprehension, manipulation, production) has been answered through play you unlock that move.

Arcane Comprehension

After you have learned the following lessons:

• How do you read the local arcane of which temporal reality reality emurges? How did you learn this?
• By what means do you understand what you read? How did you learn this?
• What arcane reverberations do you fear? Where is this fear from?

When you push your consciousness into the arcane to comprehend its secrets, say how you read and understand it.

Roll as many dice as you want.

For every 6 rolled the GM will give specific and useful information. They might ask what you are looking for or they may give you something unprompted.

For every 5 rolled the GM will give an impression. They might ask you questions. Answer them if they do.

For every 1 rolled the GM holds an arcane reverberation.

Impose your will

After you have learned the following lessons:

• What local specifics of the arcane determine or limit what reality might emurge? How did you learn this?
• How does your will come to impose itself upon the arcane? How did you learn this?
• By what mechanism do you control the arcane and the reality that emurges from it? How did you learn this?
• What arcane reverberations do you fear from drastic or frequent manipulation? Where is this fear from?

When you impose your will upon the arcane emurgence describe the effects you wish to emurge and how you’ll manipulate the arcane to cause it. Describe the outcomes you want those effects to achieve.

Establish the risks and roll as many dice as you want.

Spend hits to avoid a risk or achieve an outcome.

For every 1 rolled the GM holds an arcane reverberation.

Arcane Production

After you have learned the following lessons:

• What is the source of the arcane? How did you learn this?
• How does reality emurge from the arcane? How did you learn this?
• What keeps the arcane from melting the structure of temporal reality? How did you learn this?
• What dire cost makes you dread the need for arcane production? How did you learn this?
• What arcane reverberations do you fear when you must produce the arcane? How did you learn this?

When you impose your will upon the arcane emurgence you may first describe how you shape the specifics of the local arcane to your will.

If you do, pay the cost, shape the arcane, impose your will, and suffer the reverberations.

Check for arcane fallout.

Arc

Let your curiosity about the questions in the following acts pull you towards their answers. Don’t decide on the answers, play to find them out. Let the table know what questions you’re curious about. If you find it helpful, write the current questions you want to focus on on note cards and keep them available for the rest of the table to reference.

Remember all the other PCs have their own similar questions. Cultivate curiosity about theirs. Play to find out the answer to theirs as well. If there is a question about another character you are particularly curious about let them know but be careful not to impose on their character arc.

Feel free to write your own questions where you are inspired. These are drawn from classic archetypes as a framework but go for the arc you’re interested in.

When you complete each of acts 1-4, gain a move from your Path.

The enemy

The archetypal enemy of the Absolute Tyrant. An Absolute Tyrant weilds absolute control over their domain by any effective means and they aim to expand their domain to the entire world. (editors note: Maybe there is a threats, or monster manual type section with this information)

Act One:

Focus: Understanding your home or mundane life and your place within it.

Answer 4 to move to Act Two.

• What makes your home seem small?
• How do your caregivers or colleagues react to your willfullness?
• What naive lie do you believe about dominance?
• What about your home is unfulfilling?
• What about your home keeps you complacent?

Act Two:

Focus: Disruption of your home or mundane life by an Absolute Tyrant. Create it as a world anchor. (designers note: Its cool that this is flexible enough to either have different enemies for each PC, or to have different aspects of the same enemy relate to each PC. For instance: if there is a fighter and sorcerer the absolute tyrant could also be a dragon, or there could be a dragon and a separate tyrant. Just different kinds of stories. Is one better? Feels like a single enemy with facets for each character is more cohesive and more epic fantasy… How do I describe this?!?)

Answer 4 to move to Act Three.

• What inner conflict do you have about controlling your environment?
• What happens that you can’t ignore or abide?
• What responsibilities do you try to avoid and why do you fail?
• What enemy threatens your home and what status quo does the enemy prey on?
• What draws you away from home and who must you defeat before you return?

Act Three:

Focus: Difficulties that challenge your sense of identity. Struggles that force personal growth.

Answer 4 to move on to Act Four.

• What situation are you surprised to lose control of?
• Who questions your motives and how do you challenge them?
• What failures cause self reflection?
• What challenges expose your potential for discipline, apathy, and tyrany?
• What mistake forces you to reflect on your villainous inclinations?

Act Four:

Focus: The seemingly insurmountable struggle to controll the self and to gain some advantage over an enemy.

Answer 4 to move to The Climax

• How does the search for an advantage over the enemy take you even further into the wider unknown world?
• What false victory do you have against the enemy and how do you discover that you haven’t won?
• How do you struggle to control the situation the enemy is creating?
• What value or belief do you betray for a desperate false victory?
• How is the false victory hollow and how does it ruin your aims?
• What fruitless act of domination causes self reflection?

The Climax:

Focus: A true ultimatum. One or the other will back down for good.

Answer this, win or lose, to move on to Act Five

• How do you finally, once and for all, establish who will dominate the other?

Act Five:

Focus: The lessons you learned about control and understanding who you really are deep down

Answer all of the following

• Do you embody your own identity, separate from your dominant instincts? How?
• Do you you love yourself more than the safety of control? How?
• Do you sacrifice your control and embrace love? How?
• Are you empowered by love? How?