Fortune (Hedge Magic)
Introduction: Fortuna, both Buona and Mala, flows from the hands of the sorcerer who studies this path. By his will, probabilities alter, events realign themselves, and his target’s future is changed. The superstitious ascribed this power to all witches (untrue), and call it the Evil Eye, scientists speak of altering probabilities and chaos math, and priests calls it the Hand of God, but in every case, in the end, the effects are only partly in the hands of the sorcerer.
Some mages look on this as being a set of interrelated effects linked closely with a rudimentary understanding of the Entropy Sphere. Sorcerers gifted in the Path just smile, nod and continue on their lucky way. Supernatural beings can be cursed but get to resist the effect, if they are aware of it.
Short curses normally won’t be discovered unless they are announced ahead of time; a skilled user of Entropy or Prime might detect a curse looming over someone, or someone with Auspex might see it in their aura, however.
The severity of a Fortune effect depends in large part on what the sorcerers wants to do, but the specifics of the effect are never completely under the control of the sorcerer; the caster can suggest, but in the end, every curse or blessing takes its own way.
- A brief inconvenience, or a minor weal; dropping something, saying something utterly stupid (or perfectly brilliant), smashing your shin into the table, catching a bus at just the right moment.
- Something that results in a lasting inconvenience or injury or some minor advantage. Sprains, bad cases of the flu (or other annoying, but not life threatening diseases), breaking something difficult to replace and committing some major faux pas are all possible curses while blessings might convey some minor advantages in battle, render the target immune to some sickness or misfortune or prevent some difficulty that might hinder her path.
- A serious, but not normally life-threatening injury or illness, or some permanent social setback. This kind of curse should be a major setback for the short-term goals of the target. As a blessing, this level conveys some major advantage. Continuing minor luck with dice (or women) or the good fortune to always get the person at the DMV who actually wants help (and always getting there when there aren’t many people in line) are all possible effects.
- A permanent, debilitating injury or illness, or a major turn of events socially or financially. Bankruptcy, spinal injuries, psychosis, blindness, an accountant taking off for Barbados with all of your savings and indictment on tax evasion are all possibilities. Blessings of this magnitude include things like winning the lottery, excellence in battle in some critical fight or overcoming incredible odds against some major social endeavors.
- Normally, a death curse (and usually not a pleasant death; decapitation, wasting diseases, mangling car accidents and worse), although some incredible turn of events might fulfill a curse of this magnitude. Blessings at this level of power involve cheating some inescapable death or misfortune: a last minute reprieve from the governor, landing in the only pond deep enough to cushion your fall after a parachute failure of being saved by the Queen’s Gurkha Rifles just as the cultists start to lower you into the boiling lava are all possibilities.
