Advanced magic for non-magical careers

[PhilHibbs]

Anyone can get Divine Magic by joining a cult, but what about sorcery? Is it possible to start with Manipulation and/or a Grimoire without being either a Sorceror or Witch by profession?

I am creating a Keet Phoenic (Peacock) who was taken by pirates at an early age and sold to a Jrustelan noble sorceror who kept him as a pet, not really realising that he was intelligent. He overheard enough of his master's mutterings and musings (and maybe some lessons he was giving) to pick up the basics of Manipulation, and secretly gained access to his owner's grimoire, until he was discovered and had to flee.

I probably will use this character as an NPC in my game, but I'm interested in opinions anyway. Is it ok to take a profession such as Ship's Keet, and spend Free Skill Points on Manipulation and a Grimoire? What about the wider question of, say, a Seshnelan knight or an Aeolian warrior, can they have sorcery magic?

 

[Rasta]

I'd say yes, especially if it fits the game.

For the game I'm running, we had no magical professions, so I just made everyone a laymember of their respective cults, though I would have allowed them to have cult magic skills if they justified it.

 

[Loz]

Anyone can get Divine Magic by joining a cult, but what about sorcery? Is it possible to start with Manipulation and/or a Grimoire without being either a Sorceror or Witch by profession?

Sure. You'd need both a Grimoire skill and Manipulation, plus a rationale for how you can to learn these, and agree what spells are in the grimoire. You'd take the two skills are part of the Free Skill Point allocation, buying them as Advanced Skills.

 

[Mugen]

Personally, I plan on using the following rules :

-Sorcerers, Witches and other professional users of Sorcery gets 1 Grimoire skill, Manipulation and 4 free spells;
-When learning a Grimoire skill, one gets a free spell from that Grimoire;
-Other spells can be learned at the expense of 10% per spell.

 

[EricJ]

You might want to allow Advanced Magic as part of a character's later development. MRQ1 introduced (in Cults, Guilds, and Factions, I think) Guilds that could teach magic to its higher-ranked members. A Guild might have a legendary founder; that founder might be accessible as a Spirit, or he may have pacted with Spirits and passed that ability on to guild members. That might be a Guild secret.

Similarly, a Guild might teach appropriate sorcery spells to its members, but those members shouldn't be beginners. They should prove that they are dedicated, or they should politic for the privilege. In short, allow characters access to advanced magic. But, they need to earn it.