The following would be a "spell-like ability" akin to Sacrifice rather than a spell. The idea is that you are immediately dominating the will of the target(s) by overpowering their own essence, whatever their intrinsic nature, so it is not mind oriented and could work on virtually everything. Possibly even anti-magical creatures. The verb would be "dominate" and you would call it "enthralling" things, with less control over them than 725 or 730, but potentially multiple victims depending on relative powers.
It would have a few different forms that you can unlock with higher training, but the more extreme forms would also be lore-to-creature-type specific with whether they work. This might be revealed by the Assess verb. They will be trying to break free of your influence, so being too ambitious will backfire on the sorcerer.
Motivation
(1) History
Sacrifice was inspired by an episode of "Babylon 5" around ~15 years ago, but it is very similar to the "instant fatal channeling" effects in Rolemaster. These were called "spells of Absolution Pure" in the archaic lore even though they were not spells strictly speaking. One thing that was sort of lost over time is the idea that some classes of undead would naturally obey forces of darkness more powerful than themselves. (Ghouls would obey ghoul masters, skeletons would obey skeletal lords, and so on.) The Evil Cleric profession had "control undead" spells that allowed them to take over targets, but in principle, some things should just instantly yield to more powerful wills.
Bonespear Tower would be a good example of this in the relatively modern history, though I think it was supposed to be implicit in the Despana story. The demon of the tower is the cause of the undead, the eidolons and dybbuks and waern, but the ghost of Bonespear struggles with the demon for control. This causes the undead to freeze up and become unresponsive sometimes. Likewise, the cursed horses of Shadow Valley obeyed the demon of Shadow Valley, until they finally rebelled.
With demons you also had a hierarchical tendency, however more treacherously. In the more modern lore the summoning process is described as garnering the cooperation of demons by threatening to sever their links, stranding them on this plane of existence. This has always struck me as odd because it is an appeal to reason in the context of backing a wild animal into a corner. Especially a malevolent, chaotic entity that loves slaughter. Some of which in the lore have established that they want to come here to feed off us. The older idea of the "battle of wills" and struggle for control exemplified by Torment makes a lot more sense when there is no summoning circle.
(2) Development
The necromancer profession at the moment has very little in the way of powers specifically related to the undead and no way of controlling or influencing them. The Order of Voln can interfere with their controlling principles, force them into submission, and overpower their immunities to fear and sleep. Necromancers also cannot do anything while dead. The demonologists have no way of trying to get a wild demon under control without killing it, or any similar power over other kinds of extra-planar beings. It would help tie the two major branches of sorcery together conceptually as related if this same sorcerous ability was at play in the control of all kinds of entities.
Mechanics
This is a basic sketch of what it might do. Generally, the higher the level difference between sorcerer and creature(s), the more likely they are to obey. The more creatures are being affected simultaneously, the more likely they are to break free or be unaffected. The area effect forms have some time duration. There is a cool off recovery period that can be reduced with lore training. Demonologists can use the targeted forms to exert some limited control over an accidentally summoned demon.
Whether you used Subjugation or Havoc would probably be situational. Subjugation makes you safer for the moment, Havoc gets you out of the field faster. Intimidation (the basic focused form) would have a shorter cool down multiplied by number of victims. Thralldom is what you would use to temporarily heel a rogue demon.
(1) Powers
- Basic Action: (Intimidation) Incurs RT on target(s). If they lose the roll, it drops them to their knees or the ground, and by more also forces into stance offensive. They might gibber, froth at the mouth, have a seizure (i.e. stun if they fail really bad.) This has some cool down period, possibly costs a spirit point. Both can be trained down.
- Higher Lore ranks (30?): (Subjugation) Unlocks wandering area effect. Inverse "empathic tug" where the given kind(s) of entities sometimes hesitate to attack. More likely to hesitate with relevant higher lore ranks and higher relative levels. This is implicitly a defense against maneuvers. You can wander with it.
- Higher Lore ranks (60?): (Havoc) Instead of hesitating to attack you, they start becoming more inclined to attack each other, or redirect attacks onto themselves like Vvrael destroyers. You cannot give them commands. You can wander with it, but they will not follow. Mass hysteria and madness caused by your presence.
- Higher Lore ranks (90?): (Thralldom) Target(s) utterly dominated, totally immobilized. You can tell them to attack others or themselves. Wandering risks breaking your concentration, you lose control if they do not follow. If something manages to break free, the backlash might incur some amount of RT on you. Chance of breaking free increases if you are attacking your thralls. It might have some fixed duration, where you can add new targets individually up to your max, until exhausting yourself.
- When dead: (Possession) You can potentially force a creature to drag your body out of the area, or maybe extend your grip on life if you are making it kill things for you (i.e. the time before decaying.) Maybe involuntary violence is like oculoth possession. Maybe you keep the exp in your head that you earned killing while dead.
(2) Factors
- Basic: Level vs. Level; Sorcerer Base spell research ranks; Influence bonus. Possibly Mana Controls, Aura bonus. Demonology Lore?
- Demonology Lore: Improves ability with demons, other extra-planars, and non-corporeals.
Necromancy Lore: Improves ability with undead, or at least corporeal undead.
Magic Item Use: Improves ability with constructs / golems.
Elemental Lore: Improves ability with elementally influenced creatures. (Anything an elemental soulstone sucks energy from when killed.)
Spirit Summoning Lore: Improves ability with sprites, nymphs, fey, "spirits", servants of higher powers, maybe non-corporeals.
- Some weighted combination of lores improves ability with the living. Some creatures affected by multiple lores. Demonology might be disproportionately influential across the board as something to help make up for Sacrifice being skewed to Necromancy. In a sense it might even be considered "sorcerers acting like demons."
- Multiple victims: Level vs. Level is the primary factor. MOC improves like-level multiple targets.
(3) Syntax
>dominate (not specifying any target or type makes it use the default, tries to hit max # of non-PCs in the room simultaneously)
>dominate [target 1] ... [target N]
>dominate [type of domination]
>dominate set max [max # for unspecified targets]
>dominate set default [type of domination]
>tell thrall [#] to [command]
(e.g. "tell thrall to die" without # makes them all stance offensive and start attacking themselves; "tell thrall to submit" makes them all kneel)
>release thrall [#]
If you get hit with it by another source, it might tell you something like "you feel your own essence turning against you. You feel powerless to resist!" Try to act under its influence and it tells you: "You are overwhelmed." This would only be the single target one-off action where you get forced down, maybe twitching and convulsing a bit... That will be you if you try to do it on something a lot more powerful. (e.g. The Vvrael might be immune because by its nature you are literally facing all of it. Servants of a higher power like priests/paladins might mean your instant channeling accidentally makes you face off with their master through them. Spirit lore reduces the chances.)
