Corruption Consequence for Spell Failure (Art Magic)

Burning Wheel Modifications, Hacks and Expansions
1

I’ve been tinkering around for an idea to use Corruption in a more limited fashion. If you use the “Dark Arts” you are Corrupted, plain and simple. If you use Death Art or Summon demons or the dead, you are pretty vile.

But I like a route for wizards who struggle to stay on the straight and narrow path. Therefore, if you use Art Magic to cast “White Magic”, basically spells that don’t mess with people in a vile, dark, or corrupt fashion, you use the standard five failure consequences. The Dark Arts are present in most of the Art Magic schools, and the temptation to use their power always exists. If a wizard succumbs and uses his Art Magic to destroy his opponents with Sorcerous Fire, twist their minds, or sorcerously seduce innocent maidens, he has gone over to the dark side.

I see two options for an additional failure consequence involving Corruption:

[ol]
[li]Dreadful Price of Success- if a sorcerer uses the Dark Arts and fails he may invoke this failure consequence, passing his Sorcery test and immediately opening the Corruption emotional attribute (this one is kinda cool; the wizard fails but calls on unholy ones to fuel his failing magics)
[/li][li]Corruption- this is more brutal; anytime a wizard uses the Dark Arts with Art Magic, his next failure consequence will automatically be to open the Corruption attribute
[/li][li]
[/li][/ol]
Which one of these fits best with BWHQ practices as written? I want it to fit well into the basic mechanics. I love the Corruption rules but don’t want a Lovecraftian result for every little thing.

2

I’d say either is perfectly servicable and that it more has to do with the overall feel of magic in your game. Personally, I like the Dreadful Price of Success since it forces people to make terrible choices. If you do roll Dreadful Price of Success, make sure you let them choose success after they know what the failure is (so they go into the choice with eyes open) and that you make the failure consequences pretty bad (to incentivise them taking the success + corruption result.

3

If you want to have a sort of “jedi” feel to the sorcerers, where they’re always trying to resist the temptation to use their great powers in a direct and selfish way, use both your proposed methods. That way the dark power is strong enough to be tempting (negate your failures - attempt something really crazy hard, fail, and make your Faustian bargain to make it happen. Light everyone in town on fire. Make everyone love you), but also subtle enough to sneak up on you (Oh dear, she does what you command but you see a tear trickle down her cheek, and you realize you’ve stepped over the line…).

For the second option, though, I think there should be some way to repent before the toll is taken. You say the next failure will open corruption… perhaps if the sorcerer can pass a Meditation check before he fails anything else he can avoid the cost? Or perhaps he has to repair the damage he’s done (going to be difficult if he just burned with sorcerous fire)?