Works & Crafting
A work is magick made into a thing. Where a formula performed once produces an effect that passes, a work is the effect held — in a charm, an amulet, a coin, a tablet, a vessel. Works are why you are dangerous when prepared and harmless when surprised: the phylakterion in the pocket, the periapton at the throat, the talisman on the chain.
The five kinds
| Kind | How it behaves | Upkeep |
|---|---|---|
| Phylakterion | One-shot — consumed on use, deployed automatically | None |
| Periapton | Passive — worn continuously, always on | Purity (theurgy) / feeds on miasma (goetia) |
| Talisman | Charged — spend a charge per use; rekindlable | Rekindle by repeating the working |
| Katadesmos | A spirit bound to a task; has a term | The term ends; the spirit remembers |
| Ensouled work | A vessel made alive by divine presence | The god's grace; it can be wounded |
The three stages
Every work is crafted in three stages, and the order never changes:
- Consecration. The ritual that dedicates the object and you to the addressee — a god (theurgy) or a spirit (goetia). Theurgy requires miasma 0; goetia's "consecration" is the binding or the graveside charge. This fixes the work's spiritual state — what it keeps forever.
- The working. The formula or mystery performed into the object. You must own the formula or mystery it embodies, and its grade must be at or below yours. At leisure with Complete preparation, this stage succeeds without a roll.
- The seal. The closing — the final knot, the drop of blood, the prayer of release. This is the moment of permanence and the only stage that can fail quietly. An unsealed work fades within a day.
Time: theurgic works take days (purification, prayers at set hours); goetic works take hours (the binding hour). The same slowness and speed as the schools themselves.
What it costs
A work costs, in order: knowledge (the formula or mystery), materials (consumed), dynamis (its grade for the working, plus grade × 2 for the seal — permanence is expensive), and the addressee's due (an offering or oath for theurgy; the spirit's price for goetia).
Materials come in tiers, and a work cannot exceed the tier of its materials:
| Tier | Examples | Feeds |
|---|---|---|
| Common | salt, herbs, olive oil, copper, wax, ash | Grade 1 works, small rituals |
| Uncommon | silver, iron, saffron, grave dust, old-mint coins | Grade 2 works, bindings |
| Rare | gold, mercury, a daimon's token, goods of the unburied dead | Grade 3 works, major bindings |
| Extraordinary | a god's tear, a hero's heart, the true name of a bound spirit | Grade 4 works, ensouling |
Common and uncommon materials can be bought. Rare ones usually must be found, traded, or taken. Extraordinary materials cannot be bought at all — they are quests, gifts, and grave goods. No matter how rich you are, the top of the ladder stays a hunt.
Charges, upkeep, rekindling
A talisman holds charges; at zero it is inert, not broken. Rekindling returns it to full by repeating the working: materials + the grade's dynamis + the correct hour (prayer and offering for theurgic, blood or graveside hours for goetic). A katadesmos is rebound — the binding contest again, and the spirit remembers the first time. Theurgic works do not decay with time — consecration is permanence — but defilement puts them dormant. Goetic works decay with use: the spirit's thread frays, and blood-charged talismans lose a charge a month if not fed.
Crafting at leisure, and under pressure
At leisure with Complete preparation, the work is made — no roll. Crafting is reliable when you have time, materials, and cleanliness. The roll appears when you craft under pressure, skimped, or in hostile conditions; and if it fails badly you may make a cursed work — the thing works, but wrong, with a price (more in Chapter 10). Rushing halves the time and drops your preparation a step. Grade 3 and above needs a proper space: a shrine or workshop, a working corner or graveyard — so traveling magicians carry portable kits.
Your legend, in objects
Every work you make is a choice of what matters: the phylakterion for the road, the talisman for the siege, the katadesmos for the thing that hunts you. Works are also legible — a rival who sees your handiwork can read your school, your grade, and sometimes your name in the style of the seal. They say the Coin of Kothos is the finest goetic work of the last century: a daimon bound into a bronze coin that opens any lock it is pressed against, for a term that ended — and whose binder vanished the night the term was up. Craft carefully. Everything you make is signed.