Animation
Animation (Syllabus of Autonomy)
Infusing patterned intent into inert systems. Animation gives purpose and routine to what should remain still. In current play, casting follows Technique Glyph declarations (Intent -> School -> Glyph -> Scale -> Tags). Classification: Core School
Fictional Permission
When you hold Animation in your Grimoire, you have specific fictional positioning.
Animation CAN:
- Give objects autonomous movement and simple decision-making
- Create constructs that patrol, guard, carry, or fight on the caster's behalf
- Infuse projectiles with tracking behaviour (homing bolts, seeking missiles)
- Build semi-autonomous copies of the caster (simulacra) at high complexities
- Affect living beings (if the caster is overwhelmingly powerful or the target is willing)
Animation CANNOT:
- Infiltrate Hostile Biology (Soul Cohesion Law): Living beings passively project an aura of spiritual interference. You cannot directly seize control of an unwilling creature's nervous system or animate their internal biology without overwhelming their Soul Cohesion. Any attempt to directly animate the body of a hostile, living creature is automatically a Miracle (4+ Ticks) effect.
- Create intelligence that exceeds the caster's own
- Generate energy or alter matter (the construct still needs Projection or Alteration for those)
- Produce sensory deceptions (that's Illusionism)
Technique identity: Animation defaults to Puls for behavior cadence and Band for command-link continuity.
The Core Matrix
Your Animation training unlocks cumulative Technique Glyph access:
Use this tier ladder as canonical for live casting.
Stack example: Route a command chain -> Animation -> Faden + Puls -> Standard -> control, relay
Cost Examples
Costs follow the canonical scale (see Magic System). School-specific examples:
- Trivial (0 Ticks): Puls command spark to a simple object.
- Regular (1 Tick): Band follow/guard routine.
- Hard (2 Ticks): Puls + Schmiede robust construct directive.
- Complex (2 Ticks): Kreis sustained autonomous behavior tree.
- Miracle (4+ Ticks): pseudo-sentient construct architecture with major fallout.
Specializations
Specializations now function as Glyph Doctrines:
- Golemancy: Anker + Kreis doctrine (stable construct frameworks)
- Necromancy: Kreis + Anker doctrine (corpse/echo animation with taboo risk)
(For detailed sensory information and theoretical deep-dives, refer to Schools Lore)
Golemancy
The respected craft of building, animating, and programming complex artificial constructs. Golemancers use specialized mana cores and intricate shaping matrices to power their creations. Classification: Specialization Parent School: Animation
Technique Glyph Doctrine
Golemancy emphasizes stable construct frameworks, routine logic, and long-hold command loops.
Glyph Behavior Upgrade: a golem may hold one unspent order: it remembers the last command and executes it when its trigger comes (fiction-gated, no extra tick).
[!NOTE] Doctrine Move
Direct the Servant (doctrine move): When you order a construct through danger, roll + Calculation. 10+: it obeys perfectly; choose one — it shields you, it executes the full sequence, it improvises one sensible step. 7-9: it obeys, but choose one — it's slow (a beat), a trigger misfires (loud), you must focus (can't act freely). 6-: the order corrupts; the GM makes a hard move.
Fictional Permission
When you hold Golemancy in your Grimoire, you have specific fictional positioning.
Golemancy CAN:
- Create tireless, loyal physical servants for labor or combat.
- Program complex, conditional triggers for the golem to follow.
- Utilize mundane materials (stone, iron, wood) to dictate the construct's physical durability.
Golemancy CANNOT:
- Create true, independent sapience (without extreme, highly illegal Soul Magic intervention).
- Animate living beings (Animation can technically target the living, but Golemancy specifically deals with inanimate constructs).
The Core Matrix
This specialization's live-casting access follows its Technique Glyph doctrine.
Cost Examples
Costs follow the canonical scale (see Magic System). School-specific examples:
- Trivial (0 Ticks): Toy golem takes clumsy steps. Animate tiny clay figurine -> Animation -> Faden+Band -> trivial effect, touch range, toy size, short
- Regular (1 Tick): Statue trails the caster. Make stone statue follow -> Animation -> Band+Kreis -> standard effect, near range, human scale, sustained
- Hard (2 Ticks): Labor golem holds a choke point. Order golem to guard portal -> Animation -> Band+Schmiede -> hard effect, near range, human scale, until dismissed
- Complex (2 Ticks): Hulking stone worker or brawler. Animate massive stone golem -> Animation -> Schmiede+Stoss+Kreis -> complex effect, near range, carriage-sized, sustained
- Miracle (4+ Ticks): Pseudo-mind in a colossus (still not a person). Imprint pseudo-sentience on colossus -> Animation -> Kreis+Hall+Schmiede -> miracle effect, near range, building-sized, permanent hook
(For detailed sensory information and theoretical deep-dives, refer to Schools Lore)
Core-school glyph sets by training level: Animation.
Necromancy
Necromancy (Forbidden)
Necromancy is the universally reviled black art of animating corpses using artificial mana structures or bound spirits. Civilians use the word for Soul Magic too, but strictly it covers one thing: creating undead. Classification: Specialization Parent School: Animation
Technique Glyph Doctrine
Necromancy emphasizes corpse/echo animation and taboo control structures with severe fallout.
Glyph Behavior Upgrade: a bound body may be kept warm: it doesn't decay while the binding holds (fiction-gated, no extra tick).
[!NOTE] Doctrine Move
Flesh Puppet (doctrine move): When you drive an animated corpse in a live scene, roll + Willpower. 10+: it moves with you; choose one — it takes a hit for you, it fights on after damage, it follows complex orders. 7-9: it moves, but choose one — it's clumsy (loud), the binding frays (could drop), witnesses mark you (kill-on-sight stakes). 6-: the binding slips; the GM makes a hard move. Clinical tone; the page's permissions stand.
Fictional Permission
When you hold Necromancy in your Grimoire, you have specific fictional positioning.
Necromancy CAN:
- Animate biological matter (corpses, tissue frameworks) into tireless, fearless servants.
- Preserve flesh and halt natural decay indefinitely.
- Utilize bound souls as an infinite power source for the undead construct.
Necromancy CANNOT:
- Resurrect the dead (the original mind is gone; it is just a puppet).
- Be cast in a split second during combat (animating a new undead requires hours of alchemical and ritual prep).
- Be practiced legally. It is a kill-on-sight offense in almost every civilized nation.
The Core Matrix
This specialization's live-casting access follows its Technique Glyph doctrine.
Cost Examples
Costs follow the canonical scale (see Magic System). School-specific examples:
- Trivial (0 Ticks): Twitch a dead hand. Twitch skeletal fingers -> Animation -> Faden+Puls -> trivial effect, touch range, one hand, instant
- Regular (1 Tick): March a fresh corpse. Drive corpse to walk -> Animation -> Band+Kreis -> standard effect, near range, one body, short
- Hard (2 Ticks): Skeleton sentry at a door. Raise skeleton guard -> Animation -> Band+Schmiede -> hard effect, near range, one skeleton, until broken
- Complex (2 Ticks): Massive bone beast lashes out. Animate large skeletal beast -> Animation -> Stoss+Kreis+Schmiede -> complex effect, near range, beast volume, sustained
- Miracle (4+ Ticks): Bind a potent soul into a perfected undead shell. Bind intelligent soul to dead vessel -> Animation -> Kreis+Band+Hall -> miracle effect, touch range, single vessel, permanent hook
(For detailed sensory information and theoretical deep-dives, refer to Schools Lore)
Core-school glyph sets by training level: Animation.