Stormbringer:Sorcery

Sorcery

The Black Art of Binding in the Young Kingdoms

Sorcery in the Young Kingdoms is not spellcasting. It is domination. The sorcerer does not create power. He compels it. Every working follows the same pattern:

Summon → Bind → Command → Endure

There are no spell lists. All effects come from bound beings.

The Sorcery Roll

To summon and bind a being:

2d6 + Mind + appropriate Career

The Career must reasonably apply (Sorcerer, Witch, Priest, Demonologist, etc.).

Difficulty is based on Magnitude:

Magnitude	Being	Difficulty
I	Elemental / Minor Entity	9
II	Demon (Minor/Lesser)	12
III	Greater Demon / Named Power	15+

Success — The being is summoned and bound Failure — Something arrives, but is not controlled

Time and Ritual

Sorcery is never instant.

Magnitude	Time Required
I	3d6 minutes
II	1d3 hours
III	Hours to days

Rushed Working

• Reduce time by one step
• Gain +1 Penalty Die
• Increase Doom risk

Extended Ritual

• Increase time by one step
• Gain +1 Bonus Die
• Reduce Doom risk

Interruptions force an immediate roll at +1 Penalty Die.

Binding vs Pact

Once summoned, the sorcerer must choose:

Binding

Requires a second working:

Demon Type	Binding Requirement
Minor	Magnitude I
Lesser	Magnitude II
Greater	Magnitude III

Failure means the demon is loose.

Bound demons obey—but resent.

Pact

No roll required.

The demon agrees to serve in exchange for a price:

• Blood sacrifice
• Taboo restrictions
• Service or corruption
• Ongoing offerings

Pacts are always costly, degrading, or dangerous.

Demons (BoL Integration)

Demons are built using the standard BoL framework.

Type	Attributes	Combat	Powers	Lifeblood	Damage	Priority
Minor	2 pts	2 pts	1	10 + STR	d6L	Rabble
Lesser	6 pts (max 4)	6 pts	2	20 + STR	d6	Tough
Greater	12 pts (max 6)	12 pts	4	30 + STR	d6H	Villain

Instead of Careers, demons possess Demonic Powers.Common powers include:

• Armor / Heavily Armored
• Enhanced Weaponry (+1 Bonus Die to attacks)
• Destructive Attacks (higher damage tier)
• Regeneration
• Poison
• Telepathy
• Sorcery (Arcane Power)
• Non-Corporeal
• Special Knowledge (Career Rank 6)

Demons are not tools. They are personalities.

What Sorcery Does

Sorcery grants capability, not fixed spells. Effects are expressed as:

• +1 Bonus Die to actions
• +1 Penalty Die to opponents
• Or enabling the impossible

Common Uses

Sorcerous Weapons

A Demon of the Blade may grant:

• +1 Bonus Die to attack
• Ignore armor
• Life-draining or fear effects

Cost: hunger, whispers, compulsion

Personal Enhancement

• +1 Bonus Die to Strength or Agility
• Increased resilience
• Heightened senses

Risk: mutation, obsession, instability

Elemental Command

• Fire, wind, stone, water
• Environmental manipulation
• Movement or destruction

Protection and Warding

• +1 Bonus Die to defense
• Damage reduction
• Reactive shielding

Knowledge and Divination

• Ask questions
• Gain insight
• +1 Bonus Die to informed actions

Answers are partial, cryptic, or misleading.

Influence and Domination

• Fear, charm, compulsion
• +1 Bonus Die to social actions
• Impose Penalty Dice on resistance

Magnitude III Effects

Storms, devastation, transformation.

These are narrative events, not precise mechanics.

Binding Limit

A sorcerer may maintain:

Mind + Sorcerer Career Rank bindings

Each active demon or effect counts as one.

Exceeding the Limit

For each excess binding:

• +1 Penalty Die to Sorcery rolls
• +1 to Escape rolls
• Doom triggers on 1–3

This is how sorcerers destroy themselves.

Escape and Strain

Demons constantly resist.

At intervals (GM discretion), roll:

2d6 + Magnitude

On 13+, the binding strains:

Roll	Effect
13–14	Strain (twisted obedience)
15–16	Partial break (independent action)
17+	Escape

The sorcerer may attempt control:

2d6 + Mind + Career

Failure worsens the result.

Doom

After each working:

1d6 → Doom on 1–2

Modifiers:

• +1 (Magnitude II)
• +2 (Magnitude III)

Doom represents attention.

Effects of Doom

• Nightmares, whispers
• Physical marks
• Recognition by demons
• Unwanted summoning
• Collapse of bindings
• Fate closing in

Doom is not spent.

It accumulates.

The Nature of Sorcery

Sorcery is not fast.

It is not safe.

It is not clean.

A sorcerer does not cast spells.

He holds shut a door.

And something on the other side is always pushing.

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