Knacks: Fury, Grace, Guile, Might, Rage

Apprentice Degree: Hatchling
Adept Degree: Serpent
Master Degree: Wyrm

The Devourer reared, roaring, clawing at the air
And belching poison, and began to lunge down
Upon Onyenche. But the warrior slashed into
The Devourer’s heart. His spear cut
And the lifeblood began to spill. Then Onyenche
Was slain, his heart wrested from his chest by
The Devourer’s grasping jaws, swallowed, consumed
To sustain the Devourer’s ebbing life.
For a time…
~The Lay of Onyenche

According to legend, of all the ancient dragons which ever lived in Tar-Netjer, none was more feared than the Destroyer, Erripia: a dragon so vain and so powerful that, when its life began to ebb at the point of Onchenye’s spear, it lashed out with its mighty claws and ripped open a rift in the Barrier, permitting a Bargainer to slip through. Not content to plead for its life, Eripia consumed the Bargainer, drawing its otherworldly life force into itself to sustain its existence.

Then, just as the other dragons had given the Sorcery of Mganga to their Tar-Netjeran servants, Eripia selected its mortal champions and infused them with a shred of its power, creating the Sorcery called Sei. A Sei Sorcerer can channel portions of Eripia’s damned essence to perform incredible feats of strength, move with lightning alacrity, or even send his enemies sprawling to the ground with a swipe of his hand. More powerful Sorcerers are capable of even greater feats.

Those who practice the power of Sei can be identified by their upswept brows and elongated eyes, which manifest in an agonizing night of troubled sleep, physical pain, and vivd nightmares when their power is first awakened. As for Eripia itself, rumor has it that it sleeps in the caldera of the tallest volcano in the Kuba Taaba Mountains, waiting for some mortal foolish enough to disturb its rest and unleash its wrath upon Tar-Netjer…and all of Terra.

Apprentice Degree
An Apprentice of Sei can spend a Drama Die to activate a single boon listed under the Knacks that follow. Unless specified otherwise, each boon lasts until the end of the Scene. An Apprentice cannot have two or more boons active at the same time; however, he is free to change boons as needed, provided he has the Drama Dice to spend. In combat, it takes one Action to activate (or change) a boon.

Adept Degree
A Sei Adept can spend a Drama Die to activate any three boons listed under the Knacks that follow, and may keep these boons active concurrently. Unless specified otherwise, the boons last until the end of the Scene. The Adept may change the combination of boons he has active any time he wishes; however, doing so requires the expenditure of another Drama Die. In combat, it takes one Action to activate (or change) a set of boons.

Master Degree
Sei Masters no longer need to spend Drama Dice to activate their boons; all five boons are considered to be active at all times. In addition, the Master may spend a Drama Die to activate the Master level effect specified under each boon. Unless specified otherwise, spending a Drama Die only activates the Master level effect once, though each nay be activated as many times as the Master wishes, so long as he has Drama Dice to spend.

Sorcerous Knacks

Fury. Fueled by a constant state of rage, Eripia strikes quickly, often before an opponent has a chance to prepare a defense. It can also move so fiercely and suddenly that it can launch an attack from a perfectly still position and bite an opponent in half before he even realizes Eripia isn’t sleeping.

Boon: A Sei Sorcerer may add his Rank in this Knack to each Action Die he rolls. This does not change the value shown on the Action Die, but it counts towards his Initiative Total.

Master Effect: A Sei Master may spend a Drama Die in combat to gain an Action Die showing the current Phase. The Die may be used to attack, for an Active Defense, or any other reason. The Master may use this ability during a Surprise Round (i.e., “Phase Zero”) to take an Action, even if he was caught by Surprise.

Grace. Infused by the Bargainer’s life force, Eripia’s reflexes became so finely tuned that it can outmaneuver a hunting cat, even at its great size, and can twist its body to evade attacks without losing its balance.

Boon: A Sei Sorcerer may add his Rank in this Knack to his TN to be hit at all times (provided that this boon is active).

Master Effect: A Sei Master may spend a Drama Die to turn a failed Active Defense or a roll to evade a trap into a success. He may only affect his own rolls with this ability.

Guile. Like all dragons, Eripia has been alive for a very long time. It has seen it all and done it all, and is not easily swayed by the words of mere mortals.

Boon: A Sei Sorcerer may add twice his Rank in this Knack to any rolls to resist Repartee Actions.

Master Effect: A Sei Master may spend a Drama Die to give himself a Rank of two in a single Knack he does not currently possess until the end of the Scene.

Might. A masterpiece of lean, rippling muscle, Eripia is capable of incredible feats of strength, and can fling an enemy away with the mere flick of a powerful claw.

Boon: A Sei Sorcerer may add twice his Rank in this Knack to any roll he makes (except Active Defenses) using a Knack in the Athlete Skill, or five times his Rank in this Knack if the roll relies on his Brawn,

Master Effect: A Sei Master may spend a Drama Die to make a melee attack using Finesse + Might vs. an opponent’s TN to be hit. If the attack is successful, it inflicts 3k1 Damage (increased as usual by the Master’s Brawn) and the opponent is flung out of melee range and knocked prone.

Rage. Driven by a terrible anger, Eripia can shrug off the effects of wounds and withstand much more damage than even another dragon.

Boon: A Sei Sorcerer may add twice his Rank in this Knack to his Wound Threshold when determining the number of additional Dramatic Wounds suffered if a Wound Check is failed.

Master Effect: A Sei Master may spend a Drama Die to ignore the effects of Dramatic Wounds up to three times his Rank in Resolve until the end of the Scene; thus, he is immune to the effects of being Injured or Knocked Out. If the Master suffers more than three times his Rank in Resolve in Dramatic Wounds, he is instantly killed.

Game Master’s Secrets
The stanza at the top of this page comes from an epic poem called The Lay of Onyenche, which tell s the story of a simple Tar-Netjeran warrior and his defeat of the dragon Eripia, which had been rampaging across the lands of Boroko and Kaya Vua Samaki. The story is believed to be a true account, and it mostly is.

Likewise, the mythology that arose afterwards regarding Eripia’s rending of the Barrier and drawing forth a Bargainer is believed to be the truth, and it is. To a point. Where mythology differs from reality is that while Eripia did indeed consume the Bargainer, it was too powerful to die. Rather, its essence melded with that of the great dragon’s creating a monstrosity that is equal parts dragon and demon.

The creature that was Eripia no longer exists. The Bargainer has assumed control of it, and its first action was to spread its potent Sorcery to the most powerful allies it could find. It had intended to swoop down into the Great Mangrove Marsh, conquering that land en route to taking over the rest of Tar-Netjer and ultimately crossing the seas to Théah.

However, while the Bargainer had taken control of Eripia’s mind, it was still subject to the limitations of its draconic body: it required vast amounts of food, and in the absence of that food (for there was not enough livestock in all Tar-Netjer to feed its hunger), it required years, decades, centuries of sleep. The demon/dragon settled down in its lair, deep in the heart of a volcano, and drifted to sleep, unaware that its champions still sought its blessing, bringing slaves (who perished of starvation or exposure) and treasure (which accumulated into a vast hoard, untouched by the creature). Meanwhile, their bloodlines mingled with the great houses of other nations, and Sei Sorcery spread.

Sei does not affect the Barrier, per se, which is why a Sorcerer’s strength of will (in the form of Drama Dice) is necessary to invoke its powers, However, these sacrifices of will do not vanish into nothingness; they feed the Bargainer, bit by bit. Someday, enough Sorcerers will have sacrificed enough of their potential to wake the creature from its sleep, and when it does, it will find a way to tear through the Barrier as Eripia had, unleashing Armageddon upon Terra.