City of Countless Names- Wish Magic of the Jinn

In the Celestial Order, mankind sits below the Archons, above the animals, and next to the Jinn.  As mankind came from dust and to dust return, so the Jinn are spirits of smokeless fire, partly natural and physical, partly aetheric and magical. Like men, the Jinn have their own hierarchies, governments, and societies, but unlike men, the Jinn freely wield tremendous magical forces with ease.  Considering the incredible power at a Jinni’s fingertips, it seems impossible the will of lowly men can command such mighty entities to grant their wishes.

Mastering a Jinn

To master a Jinni, first, you must find a Jinni. Ever elusive, Jinn seek out isolated places such as far in the inhospitable desert, deep in the sea, behind thick storm clouds, or in dark places under mountains. Less adventurous would-be masters make the Jinn come to them. Old scrolls and secret grimoires hold invocations summoning certain Jinn by name. Both methods hold equal peril, for both lead to an angry Jinni.

Mastering a Jinni requires an opposed test of Presence or Resolve based skills between the would-be Master and the Jinni. This roll could be modified by any number of circumstances such as:

-The Jinni has been summoned to a holy site: +3 black dice to the Jinni’s roll

-The Jinni is in its home: +3 black dice to the master’s roll

-The master offers something the Jinni desires in exchange for service: +3 black dice to the Jinni’s roll

-The Jinn is currently trapped in a magical prison: +9 black dice to the Jinni’s roll

-The master owns powerful magical artifacts or guardians: +3 black dice to the Jinni’s roll

-More than one Jinni is present: +6 black dice to the master’s roll

Obviously, the master must also survive to the fury of the Jinni in order to command it. It’s possible a master could gain a Jinni’s loyalty through acts of kindness and friendship. Few understand how a lowly man’s will forces the mighty Jinn into servitude, but Nithamiyeen holy men say the evil command Jin in their pride and ignorance, the devout in their holiness and purity.

Wishes

A mastered Jinni gives its master a pool of wishes for their master to spend as they desire. A master receives wishes equal to the Jinn’s Quintessence Pool + the number of the master’s successes over the Jinni’s roll to resist their mastery.  The master spends these wishes as they desire. If the master does not have enough wishes to cover the cost of his desire, he cannot wish for it.

Spent wishes are gone forever, but once a Jinni is in their service, a master can call up a Jinni again to master it starting the process over again.

-A master can command the Jinni to perform an action on their behalf. Every wish a spent by a character before rolling dice negates 1 black die of a single test. If they spent enough wishes to negate the test’s entire black dice pool, the character may spend 1 more wish to gain 2 automatic successes. In effect, the character automatically succeeds the test without rolling.

If they do not spend the extra wish for an automatic success they must roll the skill check with the reduced or negated black dice. In this case, the master only commanded the Jinn to assist them.

-Wishes can also be spent to negate the skill dice of an opposed roll (for example in combat). Before any dice are rolled, each wish negates one skill dice. Again, once all the opponents’ skill dice are negated, the Jinni’s master may spend one more wish to gain two automatic successes. Also, if the master does not pay the extra wish for the automatic success they must roll their skill as normal against the reduced or negated skill dice of their opponent.

-Wishes may also be used to task a Jinni with simple errands not requiring a skill test, such as delivering a message, or retrieving an object needed from their master’s house, These simple tasks cost one wish each. The cost in wishes of more complicated errands (such a following a suspect, answering questions on ancient history, or outright killing someone) is up to the Gamemaster. Jinn do not like to be treated like simple minions. After an errand, the Gamemaster may roll two dice for Treachery if appropriate, and keep 1 or both results.

-A Jinni’s master may also wish for riches, valuables, or other desired objects. If the master wishes for money, the master gets £5 for every wish spent.

-Similarly, masters can command Jinn to spontaneously create an item desired by its master. After calculating the cost of the desired item, the master spends enough wishes to overcome the cost, with each wish worth £5. Note that this is not the value of the objects raw materials, but how much the finished object costs. A stack of bank notes or an invitation to an embassy ball may be pieces of paper covered in ink, but their value is much greater than that.

-Jinn are capable of tremendous magical feats. If a master desires a spell's effect, they must spend wishes equal to the spell’s Cost + Difficulty +1 for the Jinni to automatically and instantaneously cast the spell. Spellcasting commanded by their master does not cost the Jinn Quintessence.

Treachery

If resentful to the commands of their master (as most Jinn are), the Jinni causes his master’s downfall, death, or humiliation by giving their wishes unforeseen consequences. After each wish commanded, the Gamemaster rolls a die for Treachery. If the result is a 1, the Gamemaster can change the result of one test rolled by the Jinn’s master to an automatic Foul Failure. This Foul Failure can occur in the same session or be spent at a later date to embarrass or do deadly harm to the master.

New Talent: Jinn Mastery 3 points

You command a minor Jinni and have a small pool of 10 wishes from its servitude. If you select this talent more than once, you’ve mastered another Jinni with an additional pool of 10 wishes. Once their master uses up their wishes these Jinn must be summoned and forced, cajoled, or pleased into further servitude to gain more wishes.