-=    Chapter 1 : Sigil Scribing and Basic Artificing Lore    =-

 Page 1: sigil scribing basics                   Page 4: artificing theory
 Page 2: advanced sigil scribing
 Page 3: artificing process
>turn my book to page 1
You turn your book to page 1, instructions for crafting sigil scribing basics.
>read my book
You peruse the instructions and begin to understand how sigil scribing works.  Sigils are represented by geometries found in the environment.  Moon Mages might find the constellations a source of mathematical inspiration.  Clerics, holy sites and regalia.  However, much work yet remains before those sources of sigils are fully documented and made available for crafters to partake in.

In the meantime, sigil representations may be found in the everyday environment.  Sigils encompass abstract conditions represented by mundane objects.  A cracked rock, a crooked door, a bubbling pond, a slowly-changing cloud.  Studies have demonstrated that environments are more attuned to particular types of probability producing similar sigils over time.  The weather, mana attunement and season are all believed to play a role in this.

To begin the process of scribing a sigil, you must first PERCEIVE SIGIL.  Repeated perception of the surroundings may reveal the abstract form of a 'Primary Sigil' lurking.  After sufficient perception, the complete sigil will be in your mind and ready for scribing either on blank scrolls or directly on an item undergoing enchantment.  Continued perception may reveal a 'Secondary Sigil', although with greater difficulty and danger.

Even the most iron-clad minds are only able to hold sigils for a short time.  You may therefore hold a burin and a blank scroll, and SCRIBE SIGIL to copy it down.  Crafting halls may also sell sigil books capable of storing and organizing large numbers of sigils.

>turn my book to page 2
You turn your book to page 2, instructions for crafting advanced sigil scribing.
>read my book
You peruse the instructions and glean additional knowledge of the sigil scribing process.  A sigil representation possesses several characteristics that determine its suitability for use with the enchanting process.  The most important of these attributes would be Clarity.  Clarity determines the quality of the sigil and how closely it embodies the mathematical properties of the underlying concept.  A masterwork enchantment will not be possible with unclear sigils, and if the sigils are too unclear it may even prove quite deadly!

The second most important attribute would be the sigil's Precision.  Precise sigils are more effective at manipulating mana streams for an intended purpose.  Higher precision sigils will bonus an enchantment's magnitude or effect.  Although precision provides a significant influence to the enchanting process, imprecise sigils will not add additional danger to the process.

It is possible to improve the precision of your sigil gathering efforts, by first locating a Primary or Secondary sigil, and then PERCEIVE SIGIL IMPROVE.  From this you might devise methods and approaches to better study the sigil and identify aspects that improve its precise features.  Even the most resolute minds quickly tire, and actions will tax your focus, resolve and even your very sanity!  Thankfully you'll encounter opportunities for recovering these along the way.  As if this wasn't complicated enough, repeated perception in such a way has been known to attract otherworldly attention and could spell doom if pursued too frequently in an area.

And finally, one may PERCEIVE SIGIL DISTORT and attempt to identify a new sigil in a place.  This action is also somewhat dangerous but could be extremely useful when the geography is not cooperating.

>turn my book to page 3
You turn your book to page 3, instructions for crafting artificing process.
>read my book
You peruse the instructions and learn about the artificing process.  The steps to imbue an item with inherent magical properties were discovered slowly over the course of recorded history.  The Moon Mage Guild practiced the first structured process for enchanting, although with the rise of crafting societies it was decided that all knowledge should be made available and the once-secret teachings would be governed by the trade group.  However, it is known that some sigils require knowledge specific to a particular Guild and enchantments making use of them will be unavailable to others.

To begin the Enchanting process, an Artificer must first find an enchanting brazier.  Then the crafter must TURN to the page in the crafting book with the enchantment you wish to craft.  Next, STUDY the book and PUT the base ingredient on the brazier.  Be careful, burning yourself while lighting the brazier is never a good sign!  After this you must select an appropriate mana fount and WAVE it at the item on the brazier.  Mana founts store manipulated magical energy, alleviating the need for enchanters to harness it internally and suffer potentially devastating effects.

After the fount is WAVEd at the item undergoing enchantment, the application of an Imbue spell is necessary.  For mages this can be accomplished by casting the spell directly on the item.  For non-magic users an imbuement rod or staff can be used in its place.  The amount of mana used in the imbue spell will affect how dangerous a failure might be.  It is always recommended you use the strongest imbue possible!

The next phase of enchanting usually requires the tracing of sigils on the item undergoing enchantment.  First STUDY the sigil-scroll and then TRACE ITEM to transfer it.  Then hold a burin and SCRIBE the ITEM WITH the BURIN.  Additional sigils may need to be traced onto the item, and some events may occur that require the use of additional tools to resolve.  Eventually the enchantment will be ready for a final application of an Imbue spell.  This is generally the most dangerous part in the enchanting process and can be deadly!

>turn my book to page 4
You turn your book to page 4, instructions for crafting artificing theory.
>read my book
You peruse the instructions and learn more about artificing theory.  During the enchanting process a number of events can arise that require quick thinking to properly handle.  Failure to address these events can be blunted with knowledge of certain techniques, but even exceptional crafters would be wise not to ignore them.

The first difficulty would involve blurring of the sigil patterns.  Often times fatigue can cloud one's sense of perception.  This tends to be an easier problem to resolve.  Simply MEDITATE on the FOUNT to focus your thoughts and move past this problem.

A second problem crafters may encounter involves difficulties with the material accepting sigil scribing.  Although magically imbued, the burin merely reinforces the traced imprint upon the item undergoing enchantment.  Perhaps the initial trace was misaligned, or a knot in the wood has set things askew.  If you FOCUS upon the item a skilled mage can reign in the errant trace and allow continued scribing to succeed.

Another challenge involves an exposure of the sigil pattern, creating a tear or inability to properly channel the mana streams.  To address this problem, the Society invented the Augmentation Loop tool.  Simply PUSH the ITEM WITH LOOP so these leaks may be patched and will no longer penalize further scribing attempts.

Of final concern to artificers is the interaction of the fount and the imbue mana used.  The type of fount sets a cap on the grade and precision of the final enchantment.  For training purposes, a common fount may be of some use.  For obtaining higher quality results however, a more powerful fount will be required.  Founts may be STUDIED or ANALYZED to determine their capabilities.

A fount's sturdiness will determine the best material to pair with it.  For example fragile founts are incapable of taking advantage of anything beyond common materials, but a heavy fount contains sufficient reinforcement to maximize even ultra rare materials such as indurium.

Then you have a fount's surface.  Rough surfaces indicate a lower grade and more textured surfaces indicate a higher grade.  An enchantment's grade is set by the type of fount used, and will forever determine how difficult the enchantment is to use or activate, and the magnitude of the enchantment's effect.

Finally you have the imbue potency.  Rarer materials that possess an increased enchantment capacity will require a stronger imbue, particularly when paired with more precise runes to obtain the full effect and avoid any nasty side effects.

A good rule of thumb is trying for as many streams of mana as the higher of the material's capacity or the sigil's average precision allows for.  Anything less and you risk catastrophe!