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The WoWmancer

If an adept’s power is fueled by obsession, what more obvious object for fascination is there?

The world we live in is a lie. Most adepts agree on this, but only you know the truth of the /real/ world. The world of Azeroth.
You rolled every class, every race, and every possible combination. You explored every dungeon and maxed every profession. But it wasn’t enough. You kept playing, day and night, until slowly, the truth began to emerge.
You had found the real world. In Azeroth you were a legend, unlike the shitty role cast for you in the lie others called reality. In Azeroth you felt /alive/. And eventually, you realized that through careful, ritual study of Azeroth, you could share its glory with the poor fools who hadn’t realized the lie they live.

The primary contradiction of WoWmancy is that it’s a school based on intimate connection to people you’ve never met, some of whom don’t actually exist. It glorifies the meaningless and the repetitive and trains you to view it as a challenge and an accomplishment.

The random magick domain of WoWmancy is control. We’re all just characters, but you can push people’s buttons… maybe even the buttons of fate.

Minor effects relate to the adept’s connection to the game, while significant effects deal more with invoking the world of the game itself.

+Taboo+

There is only one world, and it is Azeroth. It goes without saying that no other fictional world (in video games, movies, or the like) may waste your time without a violation of taboo. Beyond that, you must always make good on your obligations to your fellow inhabitants of Azeroth. Missing a scheduled raid or other guild event on any character is a violation of taboo. If two events are scheduled opposite one another, you cannot devote your time fully to either, and taboo is violated automatically, if you cannot arrange for one to be moved.

+Generating Charges+

Minor Charge: Spend 6 hours playing WoW, with no pauses or distractions.

Significant Charge: Complete a dungeon or raid for the first time. Alternatively, raise a character to level 85. (Allowing for scheduled raids and other unavoidable delays in life, and based on world record research, this will earn you a significant charge every two weeks.)

Major Charge: Create a character who appears as an NPC in a future patch or expansion, or who is mentioned by name in an official, canon piece of fiction.

+Starting Charges+

WoWmancers start with three minor charges and one significant charges.

+Minor Effects+

The Flesh Is Weak (1 Minor Charge) You do not feel the need to eat, drink, sleep, or use the bathroom for 24 hours. Physical effects like kidney damage, dehydration, or the like may occur if this spell is used for multiple consecutive days. For 2 minor charges, it may be cast on someone else.

M (1 minor charge) Immediately recall how to reach any geographical location where you have already physically been.

Upgrade Your Rig (2 minor charges) Regardless of your circumstances, you are able (within an hour of casting) to find whatever physical hardware is necessary to repair or significantly improve the function of a target machine. This does not mean it will be free, nor does it mean you will have the necessary skill to use the hardware. The specifics of the hardware found are at the GM’s discretion.

Grind Mode (2 minor charges) You zone out, allowing you to efficiently perform any simple, repetitive task for up to three hours without slowing down or becoming tired. You may not stop voluntarily. Anyone attempting to distract you from this state (or similar events which would draw your attention) cause you to make a Mind roll. If you fail, you are distracted, and the spell effect ends. If you pass, you are aware of the distracting event, and may immediately choose to end the spell if you so desire.

Reflexes of the Raider (3 Minor Charges) For the duration of this spell’s effect, your speed-based checks are at +20. You may also flip-flop any speed-based rolls. This lasts for 5 minutes if used outside of combat, or three rounds in combat.

PUG It (5 minor charges) This spell takes one hour to fully cast. Once it is complete, you assemble a team of individuals with the talents necessary to complete whatever task you have set before them. They may desire compensation, at the GM’s discretion.

+Significant Effects+

Nerf (1 Significant Charge) Target one opponent. His Body and Speed scores are reduced by 20 for the remainder of the combat, or for ten minutes if not in combat. If he attempts to use a weapon during the duration of this spell, his roll is at -20.

Bind On Equip (2 Significant Charges) Select a physical item. The next person to touch it is the only person capable of using it effectively. Coincidence conspires against any others, giving them -50 on any rolls related to using it. If the item is bound to anyone other than the adept, the effect expires after three months.

Respec (2 Significant Charges) You may immediately rearrange your skill points, moving points from one skill to another with no limit. The spell takes only a moment to cast, and once done, your skills are as unchangeable as they were before you cast the spell. (Which is to say that you could always cast it again, if you have the charges, and you may spend XP on skills as normal in the future.) Your skill scores may not exceed their normal limits, and you may not gain new skills through this spell. You must leave at least one point in each skill. You may not use this spell to adjust your Magick: WoWmancy skill.

Check The Wiki (3 Significant Charges) By casting this spell, you may use your Magick: WoWmancy skill in place of any other skill roll, including the ability to flip-flop rolls. The spell remains active for five minutes (or three rounds in combat, beginning the round after the spell is cast), but may only be used for a single skill.

Level Appropriate Content (6 Significant Charges) An unbalanced situation becomes more even. Not easy, but even. This may manifest in various ways, at the GM’s discretion.

+Major Effects+

It’s unclear if anyone has managed to gain a major charge yet, since it’s a relatively new school. Some of your peers claim that the Bronzebeard Fact-Checker is the only one, and the player responsible for him is the reason Beauty has one fewer pup. With a major charge, you may permanently bring a character from Azeroth to life in our world, removing them from the game forever. Or you could bring a recently deceased person back to life, with -10 to each of their scores. Lastly, you may use a major charge to permanently and irreversibly enter Azeroth yourself, taking on the body and abilities of one of your characters.

3 thoughts on “The WoWmancer

  1. Numanoid says:

    Innovative. I don’t know much of the details of WoW, but I really enjoy that you captured a school of magick based around both the intricacies of the game and the stereotypes surrounding its players. Not sure about balance issues yet (Check the Wiki seems very powerful, though the cost might even it out). You also might want to make Level Appropriate Content more specific wording. But I like it. Kudos!

    Reply
  2. Antagonish says:

    I think this is far too specific, really. People were pissing their lives away over Everquest before WoW, and arcade games before that. Berzerk has a body count due to heart attacks, and Missile Command gave its creator horrible nightmares.

    I do like the paradox, though. I think this school originated as a Videomancy offshoot based around obsessive arcade gaming and holding the high score. It lost all power when people stopped giving a damn, but it’s made a resurgence in the modern age.

    Make it about gaming (or multiplayer gaming) in general, and you’ll have something here.

    Reply

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