I hear the chants echoing . . .
I smell the incense burning . . .
I see the knife glistening . . .
I am too late. The ritual has begun.
—The Cantillate, by Vesta Tellurian
Magic is broad, covering many topics. It is also deep. It is complex—intricate. Although sometimes a quick spell or incantation can accomplish a real miracle, other times a particular need requires a more involved solution. This often comes in the guise of long-form magic.
Long-form magic probably represents what someone unschooled in the ways of magic thinks of when they think of working magic. Chants. Candles. Magic symbols on the ground. It doesn’t always have these things, but sometimes it does.
Scholars believe that the earliest practices of magic may have been long-form magic (some suggest that it was the Weaver’s art, while others insist that it was acquiescent incantations). It’s true that there does seem to be something primal inherent in invocations, enchantments, and rituals.
The aspects of long-form magic—the chanting or singing, the movements, the materials and tools—may exist not because they relate directly to magic but because they gain the attention of demons, angels, and other spirits who can manipulate the flow of magical currents. Long-form magic, then, is more like asking someone to open a door for you, while a spell would be opening the door yourself.
Still, there are effects—particularly long-lasting or wide-reaching ones—that can be best achieved (or only achieved) through long-form magic.
A well-armed vislae probably knows at least one or two of these practices as well as a nice repertoire of spells and other abilities.
Long-form magical practices are far more involved than charms, hexes, or even spells. They require specific ingredients, specially prepared locations, and long performance times.
Long-form workings are very similar to spells in that they have varying levels, and those levels determine the Acumen cost to learn the working, a cost in Sorcery, the bonus to the venture once the working is done, and the potency of the resultant effects. As with spells, a vislae with the right secret can add more bene from their Sorcery pool to increase the level. Last, like spells, long-form workings that affect creatures or objects always have an enhancement of at least +1 die. Some have +2 dice.
Because of the elaborate performance required, a vislae must attempt a Sorcery action for each hour (or fraction thereof ) it lasts. The working’s level dictates the challenge. Rather than Sorcery, the vislae may draw bene from their Physicality pool to modify their venture in these challenges, if desired. Skills like magical lore also add to the venture. Failure means that the working fails and all required materials and bene spent are lost.
Most long-form workings have special requirements in terms of time, materials, tools, and more. Requirements of “preparation time” involve preparing the ritual site and all of the other required materials.
Unless otherwise stated, all physical objects and substances listed as requirements are consumed or destroyed in the preparation or performance of the working.
You can always add more materials, tools, or time if you wish. Sometimes, the GM may rule that the additional materials you devote to a working grant you a bonus to the venture, depending on circumstances.
Sometimes, all the details of a long-form practice are laid out in a very special text, often called a monograph. Monographs allow a vislae (or group of vislae) to perform a long-form working without knowing it. All other requirements remain the same.
A given individual (or in the case of rituals, a given group) can use a given monograph only once. After that, they must spend the Acumen to learn it.
Conjurations and evocations are workings that summon a being from another world or plane.
Invocations are calls for assistance from powerful otherworldly entities, or just attempts to gain their attention (and perhaps their favor). Some invocations are performed more as a rite of passage than a magical working, such as the Invocation of Knowledge.
Enchantments and consecrations are magical practices that imbue special objects or places with power or ability.
Rituals are long-form magical workings that require more than one participant.
A ritual’s Sorcery cost can be shared among all participants, but one must be the lead. That person rolls for the ritual, if need be, to see if it takes effect. The lead must know the ritual (or have a monograph) but the rest of the participants do not have to know it—they follow the lead’s guidance.