The Sorcerous Duel (CShaH)

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On occasion, two sorcerers may have a disagreement for which there is no amicable solution. It is for these instances that the protocol for the sorcerous duel was laid down.
These duels are as old as sorcery itself, and they are respected throughout the Land of Fate. Whoever wins such a duel has the right to name the penalty he wishes to enforce on the loser. In a few cases, this may be death, but it will more likely be a demand of tribute or an order to cease and desist some undesirable activity. In any case, the outcome of a sorcerous duel is inviolate, and there is no such thing as a rematch! Whatever the results are, all sorcerers abide by them.
The duel itself is a relatively simple affair, but arranging it can be extremely difficult. Duels may only be conducted on days that have no religious significance to either of the combatants, which, in and of itself, can make the fight very difficult to schedule.
To arrange a duel, the sorcerers involved must contact the heads of their respective societies. Sorcerers of the same society rarely duel, and in some cases may be expelled from their society for even requesting a duel. The society of each sorcerer must decide whether or not the duel is necessary and may decide to simply try to work out the matter themselves. Each society has its own feeling about duels, and their attitudes are discussed in Chapter 3. In the event that an agreement cannot be worked out between the societies involved, the duel is scheduled to take place on the soonest available date.
The location of a duel can be vastly important, especially if the sorcerers involved are masters of different provinces. If possible, a location is chosen that contains a large amount of both sorcerers' main element so that neither side is unduly favored. If such a location is not readily accessible, an area will be chosen that contains the smallest possible amount of each sorcerer's main province.
Once a date and a location are chosen, the sorcerers prepare themselves for the duel. Study and meditation are undertaken as each sorcerer gets ready for the confrontation. Sorcerers may spend as much or as little time as possible, but the longer one prepares, the better the chances of emerging victorious.
Sorcerous duels are not simply a matter of hurling spells at one another. Nor are they resolved in handto- hand combat. Each sorcerer transforms the spells he knows into raw magical energy, which is stored within his body.
Each sorcerer may hold energy from spells that the character actually knows and can cast. Each spell is converted into "magic points," which are then held within the sorcerer's body for release during the duel.
Each spell may be converted to a number of magic points equal to its level multiplied by 10. In addition, the sorcerer's knowledge of these spells may coax out a bit more magic from every spell. Because of this, the mage's level is added to the total number of magic points available to the mage.
When converting spells to magic points, it is important to note that different types of spells will serve different purposes during the duel. Magic points derived from spells may serve in Attack, Defense, Draining, or Fortifying modes. A separate point tally must be kept for points in each mode.
Spells that are typically used to harm (such as magic missile, fireball, or chain lightning) contribute magic points to the sorcerer's total magic points for Attack.
Spells that are essentially defensive in nature, including those that can be used in combat but which do not cause overt damage (such as web, prismatic sphere, and Bigby's interposing hand) add their points to the total number of Defense points available to the sorcerer during the duel.
Those spells that are primarily used for altering existing objects in a negative way (transmute rock to mud, polymorph other, power word blind) add to the points the sorcerer may use to Drain his opponent.
Finally, spells that alter existing objects or creatures in a positive way, or which cause the creation of a new object or creature, add their points to those that the sorcerer can use to Fortify himself. A convenient list of all spells (from the Player's Handbook, Tome of Magic, Arabian Adventures, and Secrets of the Lamp) is provided in the appendix of this book.
==Duel Structures and Actions==
The duel is structured much like combat. However, the nature of the combat is different and requires a few changes in the basic combat procedure.
First, the combat is resolved in much faster increments than the normal one-minute round. In a sorcerous duel, time is measured in one-second increments. Second, the duel does not take place on the physical plane, but rather between the minds and spirits of those involved. (To the uninvolved, the sorcerous duel is rather unimpressive—just two mages staring at one another intently.) Third, there is no physical contact in a sorcerous duel. All attacks are the result of magic. Fourth, there is no need to roll initiative in a sorcerous duel. All actions occur simultaneously. Even if a character is defeated in a round, his action for that round will still occur as normal. Fifth, and most important, the damage caused in a sorcerous duel is rarely physical, affecting only the magical reserves of the combatant sorcerers.
There are four possible actions that a sorcerer may take in a duel: Attack, Defend, Drain, or Fortify. These actions are all powered by the points the character calculated while converting spells to magic points. At the beginning of every round, each sorcerer writes down both the action he will perform (Attack, Defend, Drain, or Fortify) and the number of points that he will spend in that action. This is part of the strategy of the duel: not only must you divine what action your opponent will take, you must also determine how many points he will spend on that action. Careful action selection and wise point expenditure will assure victory, while uninspired actions and overspending (or underspending) will surely lead to a quick defeat.
Attack is just that; the sorcerer uses a portion of his magic points to direct an attack against his opponent. To hit with such an attack, the character must make a successful check versus Intelligence -4, or a successful check versus the sorcerous duelling nonweapon proficiency (see below). A successful Attack erodes the target's Defense points by the number of points used in the Attack, less the target's level.
Defense is an action that uses a few magic points to offset the effects of an attack against a character. The number of points spent on Defense, doubled, is the number of magical points subtracted from an attack directed at the character. The advantage of Defense is that it can repel a powerful attack with a relatively minor expenditure of magic points. The disadvantage is that overspending can expend more points than the attack itself may have expended.
Drain is a subtle attack that creates a siphoning effect on a character's magic points. When a sorcerer decides to use a Drain, he must not only write down which action and how many points he will be using, but also which category of magic points (Attack, Defense, Drain, Fortify) he will affect. The only successful defense against this is the use of Fortify. If the target doesn't use Fortify, or if he fails to use enough points to negate those used to Drain, the Drain affects the targeted category of magic points. The target sorcerer is unaware of which category has been affected and may not realize that he has been affected at all. The next time the "drained" sorcerer uses magic points from the affected category, he loses a number of magic points equal to the number used in the Drain attack (minus any Fortify defense that was in effect), plus any points that would have been used for that action. For instance: Akib and Fazeel are facing off in a sorcerous duel. Akib attacks with 20 points to Drain, and Fazeel counters with 15 points to Fortify. The Drain was able to penetrate the Fortify (though Fazeel doesn't know this) and affects Fazeel's Attack for 5 points. Next round, Fazeel decides to use Attack as his action and expends 10 points. At that time, the Drain occurs, robbing Fazeel not only of the original 5 points of Drain, but also of all 10 points that he had intended to use for Attack.
As can be seen, Drain is a very potent duelling action. It does have its drawbacks, however. If a character uses Drain and is Attacked in the same round, the sorcerer using Drain suffers double normal damage from that Attack.
Fortify is an effective defense against Drain. Unlike the Defense action, the number of points spent on Fortify are not doubled. A character who spends 5 points on Fortify may deflect up to 5 points of Drain. Fortify has no effect against any other action.
Sorcerers near a large supply of their primary elemental province have a certain advantage in a sorcerous duel. Specifically, the sorcerer whose element is most prominent may always add 2 points to any Defense or Fortify actions that he takes. This makes it very important to chose a neutral battleground; a lopsided duel is not at all desirable.
Once a sorcerer has lost all of his or her magic points, it is assumed that they will give up. They have no attack or defense capability, making further fighting pointless—unless the sorcerer opts to convert his own hit points into magic points. A character may convert up to half of his hit points to magic points on a one-toone basis. These points can be placed into any categories the character desires. This is rarely done, however, because it greatly weakens the mage and could lead to death.
If a sorcerer establishes this connection between his hit points and magic points, the character can be killed in the duel. Once all of the new magic points are depleted, any Attack or Drain actions are deducted from the sorcerer's remaining hit points. A particularly strong Attack could very well slay a weakened sorcerer.
A duel is over when one of the sorcerers is either so weakened that he cannot continue or gives up. In either case, the winner has the right to demand the agreed upon restitution, and the argument is considered by all to be resolved.
Once a duel has settled a disagreement, anyone who tries to start it up again faces any of a number of punishments. Banishment is the most common form of punishment for those mages who break an agreement set by a duel. Banished mages are ousted from their Society (if they belong to one) and forced out into the desert. They are allowed to take only what they can carry, and no servants or apprentices may accompany them. Those mages who submit to their fate are allowed to retain their honor and may return to their Society after three years.
Sorcerers who are banished, but who refuse to submit to their fate have their punishment advanced to the next level of severity. The Marking, as this punishment is known, is a terrible fate for any enlightened sorcerer. The offender is hunted down by the members of his spellcasting society and branded with a magical sigil. Throughout Zakhara, this sigil is recognized as the greatest disgrace a mage may have thrust upon him. The sorcerer loses all honor and will be treated poorly even by beggars. Though the sorcerer doesn't lose the ability to command magic, all respect for the character is gone. Most mages willfully banish themselves rather than continue through life with such an indelible stain upon their honor.
==More Information==
Sorcerers are in great evidence throughout the Land of Fate, from back alley soothsayers to the highest-ranking court officials. They have many of their own organizations (including the mysterious Society of Shadows), which are generally hidden from the public eye. They attend a number of meetings every year, during which matters of import to sorcerers across Zakhara are discussed. It is at these meetings that the various sorcerous societies have a chance to air their grievances with one another and during which the largest number of sorcerous duels take place.
All of this information is discussed in detail in Chapter 3.