Unexplored Worlds: Ritual Of Connection (ritual magic)

• For the Ythetian marriage rite, see Ritual Of Connection (marriage).


• Also referred to as Anchoring, the Ritual Of Connection is a spell that tethers the spirit of the magician to that of another person. So long as the spell is in effect, each person has an absolute sense of the location of the other across any difference and upon any plane of existence. As well, any strong emotion will be transmitted along the connection, though the emotions are attenuated by distance.


• Magicians have long used their abilities to teleport themselves to anywhere their imaginations could carry them. However, while teleportation can be safely made to a specific destination over reasonable distances, the risk of the spell going off target magnifies as the distance from the destination increases. Some magicians mitigate this by binding their spirit to the destination magically, but this has various drawbacks. Famously, one magician bound himself to his tower, only to have it destroyed and the stones scattered for miles around. Since the binding spell unexpectedly attached itself to one particular stone in the tower, the magician found himself constantly teleporting into the home of a poor tenant farmer and his family. Instead, magicians now bind themselves to another being. Since these connections are bidirectional, the accuracy is perfect over much greater distances than even the destination binding allowed.


• The spell generally takes half an hour to cast. The magician and subject stand, sit, or lie within a magic circle for the duration of the ritual. There is a short incantation spoken at the beginning of the ritual, but the major of the time is spent in mediation as their two spirits are attuned to one another. The actual duration of the ritual can vary from as short as ten minutes to as long as three hours depending on how willing the subject is to participate actively in the spell. The spell itself will last a number of years depending on the ability of the casting magician and will linger after death.


• Traditionally, subjects are deprived of all garments for the duration of the ritual. However later research has demonstrated that clothing does not interfere with the spell in any way. It is assumed that the Ebon Keep mages were dirty old men who would devise any excuse to spend time with a naked woman.


• Unexplored Worlds is my attempt to design an RPG campaign in the open. Since I have not rolled a d20 in anger in many years, this is my way to keep playing without actually playing. All posts are written to be system-agnostic, so please use whatever keeps your interest in your own games. Just let me know how it goes!

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