When a sorcerer masters his first Art, he can take the High Vow of his
sect. This sets up a mental discipline for him to follow throughout life.
Once the sorcerer has learned the three basic Arts of Intensity, Range,
and Multispell, he can take the vow of the Vessel. For each Art he learns
after that, he may take one (1) additional Vow of his choice. In addition,
for each Sorcery spell he masters at 90%, he may take yet another Vow of
his choice. If a sorcerer somehow forgets an Art, or an appropriate skill
drops below 90, he does not lose the Vow he received for that skill or Art,
but when he relearns the Art or the skill rises to 90 again, he does not
get to take a new Vow. Only one Vow per Art or spell.
This is the first vow that a Sorcery-user normally takes, and it is the only vow that can be taken before a sorcerer has learned all three basic Arts. The candidate must know at least one Art to take this Vow. The High Vows vary with the particular sect of Malkionism, hence there is a High Hrestolim Vow, a High Rokarism Vow, etc. The user must adhere to his Sect's strictures (such as Caste definitions), to take this Vow, which permits him to add a certain score to his Presence. This score is determined by taking the sorcerer's Intelligence plus his Power, and subtracting 20.
If the sorcerer's score would be equal to 0 or less, he automatically gets 1 point for the High Vow. Few sorcerers will bother with training an individual whose potential for Sorcery is lower than 10. When a sorcerer converts from his own sect to another, he loses this Vow. However, he can make it again in his new sect. For instance, if a Hrestoli sorcerer converted to the Galvosti faith, he would lose his High Hrestolism Vow, but could take the High Galvostism Vow the next time he qualifies for a new vow. Even non-Malkioni sects may have an equivalent to the High Vow -- usually some kind of philosophy upon which the sorcerer can base his mind's architecture. While it is possible for a person to learn Sorcery without this kind of framework, it is of course much harder. Unaligned sorcerers must adhere to an ethical doctrine or mental discipline in order to take the High Vow. If they have no such dogma to base their reality around, the High Vow is not possible, and their sorcerous power is correspondingly weakened.
This is a basic and powerful Vow usually considered the mark of a true
sorcerer. This is normally the first Vow taken upon acquiring all the basic
Arts (Intensity, Multispell, and Range). All of the user's own personal
INT that is not taken up in memorizing spells -- his "free INT"
-- becomes a magic Vessel which is added to Presence. INT belonging to a
familiar or in a magic item does not count. This vow is especially useful
because it cannot really be broken. If the user has no free INT, he gets
no Presence from this Vow, but should he forget a spell, the Presence returns.
This Vow normally marks the end of a sorcerer's apprenticeship.
This is a fine Vow which permits the user to increase his Presence by learning certain non-Sorcery skills to 90%. For a non-specialist sorcerer, each Knowledge or Magic skill (not counting Sorcery spells) he masters at 90 gives him 1 Presence. For instance, a wizard who knew Read/Write Brithini, Enchant, Ceremony, Animal Lore, Mineral Lore, and Rokari Lore at 90+ each, would have 6 added to his Presence because of this Vow. The Vow must be qualified for like any other Vow (i.e., by learning an Art or mastering a Sorcery spell), but once in place, continues to increase each time the sorcerer masters a new appropriate skill. This Vow, like the Vessel, cannot readily be broken. If one of the sorcerer's skills drops below 90, the Vow is not broken, but he does lose that point of Presence until it rises again. Sorcerers who specialize can obtain Lore Mastery, too, but generally use different skills to boost their Presence.
After each Vow's name is a number -- this is the amount by which the Vow increases the sorcerer's Presence. These vows may only be taken after a sorcerer has learned all the basic Arts.
Abjure Armor (1, or 2 for Rokari)
never wear any physical armor. Unavailable to the followers of RedEye, the
vadeli, the Brithini and the Hrestoli. The Elves and the Rokari have the
lesser Vow of Abjure Metal Armor, which permits them to wear leather, wood,
or other non-metal armor, for 1 Presence. If such a magicien later takes
Abjure Armor, the lesser vow is subsumed into the greater.
Abjure Divine Magic (1, or 2 if you have never cast a Divine
spell)
you may never sacrifice for Divine magic, and must never cast any that you
already know.Unavailable to Sorcerer/priests or Henotheist sorcerer.
Abjure Spirit Magic (1, or 2 if you have never cast a Spirit
spell)
you may never sacrifice for Spirit magic, and must forget any spirit spell
that you now know.
Celibacy (1, or 2 if you have never engaged in coitus; add
+2 for Rokari)
This includes sex of any type, including homosexual or cross-species. Orc
sorcerer and evil mage have the lesser vow of never taking a sexual partner
except against his/her will for 1 Presence.
Create an undead monster each year (+2)
This can be a mummy, ghoul, or vampire, Skeletons and zombies do not count.
Defile a holy place of [deity] each year (+1 to +3 depending
on deity)
This vow is available only to Sorcerer/priests of RedEye and evil sorcerers.
The sorcerer must perform some sacrilegious action in the heart of a holy
place dedicated to the target deity. Such action usually involve murdering
an initiate/priest in the temple, profaning a relic or altar, Performing
blasphemous rituals or acts completely contrary to the doctrine of the religion,
etc...
Never kill a human (1, or 2 if you have never ever done so;
add +2 for the Sedalpists)
This Vow does not mean that the sorcerer cannot let a human die by inaction,
or that he cannot order someone else to kill him. The Orcs and followers
of RedEye have the vow of Never Kill an Orc, which may be taken instead
of this one (but rarely is in practice...)
Sacrifice 1 sentient being each year (+1 to +3, depending on
sacrificial method)
This vow is available only to the followers of RedEye and evil sorcerers.
It implies that the sacrificial victim dies in the most unpleasant fashion
that the sorcerer can achieve. Gruesome physical tortures as well as mental
anguish are always required.
Sacrifice 1 sentient being each season (+3 to +6, depending
on sacrificial method)
This vow is available only to the followers of RedEye and evil sorcerers.
It implies that the sacrificial victim dies in the most unpleasant fashion
that the sorcerer can achieve. Gruesome physical tortures as well as mental
anguish are always required.
Note: if you combine both the above Vows, so you are sacrificing a total
of six times a year, you get +4 to +9 Presence).
Sacrifice Appearance (1)
lower APP by 2. May be taken more than once. Training APP back up is considered
to break the Vow, though using Boost APP is legal. APP cannot be lowered
below 1 by this Vow.
Sacrifice Constitution (1)
lower CON by 1. See Sacrifice Appearance. CON can be reduced to 0 or less,
but if this happens, the sorcerer's CON-boosting spells must be sufficient
to raise his CON to at least 1 or he dies at once. Not available to Hrestoli.
Sacrifice Power (3)
lower species-maximum POW by 1. This does not affect current POW, unless
it is already at species maximum. A human sorcerer who would taken this
vow 5 times would have a species maximum POW of 16. If his POW was 12 and
he got a POW increase check, he would have a 20% chance of raising his POW
by 1d3. Only available to non-aligned sorcerers.
Sacrifice Strength (1)
lower STR by 1. See Sacrifice Constitution. Not available to orcs.
Shun Harm (3)
You may cast no attack spells. Generally only taken by healers. Unavailable
to evil sorcerers, brithini and Vadeli.
Shun [Element] (2)
You may not cast any spells that control, evoke, or otherwise affect the
selected element. For example, if a sorcerer selected Shun Light, he could
not learn or cast Glow. However, a sorcerer with this vow may learn a Resist
spell vs. the chosen element. Shun darkness is unavailable to orcs, and
shun air/storm unavailable to Aeolians
Shun Immortality (1)
Never cast the Immortality spell upon yourself, or receive any similar life-extending
spell. If you have the spell, you must cease maintaining it. Naturally immortal
entities may not take this Vow unless they have somehow become mortal. Unavailable
to Brithini.
Shun Tap (1, or 2 if you have never cast Tap)
If you are currently maintaining a Tap spell, you must drop it upon taking
this Vow. Unavailable to sects which permit Tap.
Tend Familiar (1)
You take this Vow simply by taking a familiar. If your familiar dies, the
Vow is cancelled, but by taking another Familiar (or resurrecting the old
one), you can accept this Vow a second time.
Vegetarianism (1, or 3 for Elves and Sedalpists)
Never eat animal meat. The Elves have the lesser Vow of Partial Vegetarianism,
which forbids eating the flesh of warm-blooded animals (only), for 1 added
to Presence. If such a magician later takes full Vegetarianism, the lesser
Vow is subsumed into the greater.
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