Noble Essence Channels
by Jeffery Keown
Spheres of hypermagical energy bob up and down, orbiting, and sometimes, crashing into each other in the Infinite Sea of Possiblity sometimes called the Void. Spheres generate friction against one another. The energy of this interaction is called Essence, and it is most powerful indeed. The wall between worlds is called the Quantum Thaumaturgic Barrier. It is a permeable membrane through which magic leaks into the world from the Void. It leaks into Reality at Essence Nodes and Rifts, some times as the destructive, wild powerful Chaos, but more commonly as Noble or Dark Essence Channels.
Noble Essence may, in fact, be the same particle as Dark Essence. It has been said that the difference is in the mind of the Channeller.
Philosophy aside, working channels is simple, if powerful, magic. A mere word or two and some “finger wagging” is all that is required to get the Essence flowing. Its power prevents most from employing it, as one must concieve of the energy before one weilds it.
Caleon Mages and Channellers pay one-third the real cost of their spells, just like Turakian Wizards. This is not reflected in the costs below.
The Awareness Cascade consists of 2 spells, Awareness and Awareness True. Drawing on energies imperceptable to others, the Channeller's entire body acts as a conduit for the tiniest of vibrations in the Essence. Moving creatures stir up the ambient magic field quite a bit.
18 Awareness True: Spatial Awareness (Unusual Group), Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), Tracking (37 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
11 Awareness: Spatial Awareness (Unusual Group) (22 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
Dendrites are tentacles of pure essence the caster can employ to help him manipulate objects.
2 Dendrites: Extra Limbs (2) (5 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
A refinement of a much older channel, Essence Blade True is the only version still in use. It creates a glowing, edged rod of pure force the caster may use much like a sword. Earlier, unpopular variations did less damage, or cost a great deal of END.
7 Essence Blade True: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (1 1/2d6 w/STR) (15 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 1
Essence Edge wreathes a blade in swirling essence. The blade will cut armor with ease. This spell is often used in concert with Essence Blade True
18 Essence Edge: Armor Piercing (+1/2) for up to 50 Active Points of HKA, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (37 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
Essence Gain and Essence Gain True open the channellers mind wide, allowing him to sense and control greater quanta of Essence.
38 Essence Gain True: Aid 6d6 Any Essence Channel, One At A Time (+1/4) (75 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
15 Essence Gain: Aid 3d6 (30 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
While most Essence Channellers do not care much for “body magics” healing channels will always be popular. Essence Infusion True is the latest healing channel developed by the Master Channellers at Aar.
33 Essence Infusion True: Healing BODY 4d6, Can Heal Limbs, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (67 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
The only illusion-style spell in most channellers arsenal, Essence Mask leads one to the Unbeing Cascade.
38 Essence Mask True: Invisibility to Sight, Smell/Taste, Touch, Mystic, Hearing and Mental Groups, Danger Sense and Combat Sense , Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (76 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
33 Essence Mask: Invisibility to Sight, Smell/Taste, Touch, Mystic, Hearing and Mental Groups , Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (67 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
The caster's hand is shrouded in energy after channelling the Essence Palm. For as long as he wills, teh essence flows through him and into the target.
18 Essence Palm: Hand-To-Hand Attack +6d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (45 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
Essence Riding is a direct channel. Rising up on currents of Essence, the channeller can take flight. As he is pulling the Essence directly from the Quantum Thaumaturgical Barrier, he can maintain the channel indefinately.
30 Essence Riding: Flight 20“, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (60 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
Highly charged, undirected Essence Static can shut down a single spell or channel. Telenboom of Aar is working up a new version that fills a large room with such static.
27 Essence Static: Dispel 12d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (54 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
Layering Essence Weave into one's body provides defense against Unlight and some Dark Essence channels. As with most cascades, the True version is usually the more popular with established channellers.
7 Essence Weave True: Power Defense (12 points), Hardened (+1/4) (15 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
4 Essence Weave: Power Defense (8 points) (8 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
Using pure, glowing Essence to lift massive weight has always been popular. Like several other channels, lesser similar techniques have fallen out of favor. Such is the case with Exalted Essence Hand. Oddly, the spell uses a term from Formulaic Magic, “Exalted” and “Transcendant” as opposed to “True” to indicate its power level.
33 Exalted Essence Hand: Telekinesis (30 STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (67 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
39 Transcendant Essence Hand: Telekinesis (35 STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (79 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
The Seeing Cascade consists of channels that tune the eyes to the “Essence Spectrum” to detect magic, life or any number of energetic conditions. The use of Seeing is tricky, as the caster must always detect an energy state, thus, one could not use a Seeing to “Detect Evil.” He could, however, “Detect Unlight,” which is almost always a good indicator.
Note to Developers: There are many different spells in the Seeing Cascade, just substitute a different energy for magic, each spell is a distinct channel.
15 Seeing True: Detect Magic 11- (Unusual Group), Discriminatory, Analyze, Perceive into a related group of dimensions, Range, Telescopic: +1 (31 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
2 Sense Life: Infrared Perception (Sight Group) (5 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
The Unbeing Casade has been refined into the two spells below. For centuries, lesser phasing magics sufficed until Lydonach's Woondel learned to shift his entire body into the Essence, making him temporarily invulnerable to any attack save magic spells and channels.
79 Unbeing True: (Total: 159 Active Cost, 79 Real Cost) Desolidification (affected by Magic), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (60 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) (Real Cost: 30) plus Invisibility to Sight, Mental, Smell/Taste, Touch, Mystic and Hearing Groups, Danger Sense, Combat Sense and Spatial Awareness , No Fringe, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (99 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) (Real Cost: 49) 0
30 Unbeing: Desolidification (affected by Magic), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (60 Active Points); Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 0
Tuned carefully for years, the Weather Dome is a channel of convenience. Some go so far as to describe it as frivolous.
13 Weather Dome: Force Wall (6 PD/6 ED/1 Flash Defense: Hearing Group; 6” long and 2“ tall) (45 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about two-thirds of its effectiveness (Only to Block the Effects of Weather; -1 1/2), Requires A Channelling Roll (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) 4