Der folgende, englischsprachige, Artikel stammt von der Seite http://www.earthdawn.com/edpt/; er ist, meiner Meinung nach, eine echte Bereicherung für die Welt Earthdawns, da durch GLAMOUR Illusionisten endlich die Möglichkeiten offen stehen, die ich bis jetzt immer vermisst habe...

Glamour

(unter Downloads befindet sich die von Nils übersetzte Version, mein Dank)

The following document was donated to the Library by the famed and powerful Tessal Lightmaster, Illusionist of the 11th Circle. From his deathbed, Tessal had me record these heretofore-unrevealed secrets of the Illusionist Discipline. In keeping with his last wishes, I submit this document to the Great Library for the edification of all.

Unfortunately, Hurik failed to note that Tessal Lightmaster died more than 20 years ago.

--Merrox

Glamour is one of the most basic and most important facets of illusion magic, and the Illusionist Discipline. Glamour is the visual projection of the Illusionist's imagination and will. Most basic illusion spells are nothing more than traditionally formed, specially fashioned glamours.

I attempted to get him to explain this point in more detail. He attempted an explanation that had something to do with learning of the use of 7 senses--the 5 we all know, of which sight is the simplest and easiest, as well as thought and instinct. When I explained this made no sense to me and conflicted with what I've heard from other illusionists, he went into a coughing fit that robbed him of the use of his voice. -- Hurik

Obviously, Glamour is an ability available to all Illusionists no matter their circle. Some Illusionists may have wrongly informed others that they did not gain this ability until later when they had almost finished their apprenticeship, but those Illusionists either concealed their powers or were negligent in their studies.

Glamour is versatile and not confined to a definitive pattern by a rigid spell definition. Rather, the ability creates a pattern open to suggestion and alteration. To me, this is a constant reminder to an Illusionist that the world is open to suggestion and alteration. What is now may not be later, may not have been before・and may not be by the time your senses register its existence.

Here he began to create glamours as examples. I may attempt to have artists render some for me in the future, but my own attempted drawings of them were little more than stick figures and not a worthy representation of the master. -- Hurik

You see the image I have created of a man. It is how I looked forty years ago, or at least a fair imitation. There are little things that are wrong--the eyes are dead, and bear no reflection. The details are blurred--if you looked closely at the skin, you would see no pores, no hair. You may even be able to see through the glamour to what lies beyond it, though I hope I was not so clumsy in its creation that you can.

Now, is that not better? I have refined the details of the glamour. Each strand of hair is individual, and no longer one close mass. If you can casually see through it, then I can indeed be glad I shall soon die. It is how I truly appeared back then!

He had me place him on his carpet, which flew outside for his next demonstrations, complaining that there was not enough room inside. He was quite correct. While he concentrated for many moments, I watched in amazement as his image grew in size, from a normal man to a giant perhaps 200 feet tall! -- Hurik

You see, of course, how I had to make it grow in spurts? It is entirely possible that few other Illusionists alive today could manage such a feat, but a well-trained apprentice could make something the size of a horse or an ogre in this way. As this is almost blocking out the sun, something will surely need to be done to it. On to the next example! Go up to its foot and punch it, sir.

When I did so, I almost fell over in surprise as it disappeared at my blow. I felt nothing.

-- Hurik

A standard glamour may not stray more than 10 feet from its master--the Illusionist, that is. This is a very rigid limitation that hinders many an Illusionist.

A glamour of a hawk that he had made while speaking now leapt into the air and flew towards the village perhaps a mile away.

When that hawk flies about the center of the village twice, they will know that I desire food for the two of us. It will take them some moments, of course.

Perhaps you can help me, however. Some small distance away, I have hidden a small chest. Rather than spend a great deal of time digging and refilling a hole, I found a slight depression and put the chest within. I then covered the hole with a glamour so that it looked like the common ground, and made it stable, so that I need no more concentrate on it, and refined the details so that it looked authentic. Finally, I made it live・no, not in the way you think. I meant that I made its pattern live, so that the glamour would react to conditions around it. The grass would show dew in the morning, or it would be covered in snow in the winter! In this way, no casual observer would ever see through it. Some animals might be confused as to the extra smell of the chest, but animals tend to be afraid of things of magic they do not understand. It is, no doubt, a lesson many Name-givers could learn.

This chest I mentioned is hidden perhaps twelve of your paces from my well, heading towards the setting sun as you can see it now. I'd suggest that you use a stick to prod in front of you, so that you do not fall in.

I followed his instructions carefully, and still almost fell into the hole. It had looked so authentic a patch of ground that if someone had told me it was an illusion, I'm not sure I could have convinced myself of the truth. The stick I carried passed through it and hit the chest, and when I placed my hand on the ground where the stick had gone through, the illusion disappeared. Inside was the small chest he had mentioned. I wondered what riches it might contain: Gems, or powerful pattern items, or perhaps his grimoire. I hurried back to him and presented it. -- Hurik

Take this key, Hurik. Open up the chest, and I will give you some of what is inside. In all my adventuring days, it was one of the greatest comforts and treasures I encountered, and with my death approaching I feel no need to squander it anymore.

My thoughts of riches doubling at his words, I opened the chest. Inside lay a thick book, surely his grimoire. On top of it were a dozen small blue gems, and on the side perhaps two dozen orichalcum coins glittered in the fading sunlight. Underneath it there appeared to be a wand! I reached forward at his command, and blinked as it all disappeared, and my hand closed around a bottle. Inside I saw that there were three bottles, dusty, of some vintage liquor. -- Hurik

Khelorm, my companion in arms used to make a type of brandy you wouldn't believe. We would sit for hours drinking and enjoying each other's company--we shall have some with our dinner. Hah! Surprised you, did I? That was one of the more powerful uses of Glamour in action. You expected something, and it fed off your expectations. Well, the night's almost through and our dinner approaches. I shall show you the final lesson for tonight.

The villagers approached carrying a good deal of fine food. They looked fearful, often covering their eyes, and almost fled after offering up the food. I was surprised, given that people are not usually afraid of Illusionists, particularly ones who look like fragile old men and have lived in their town for years. I asked him of this, worried that he might have done them some harm. -- Hurik

Ahh, there was my final example. It was much harder to observe, unfortunately. To them, I look like I did when I fought Horrors and explored Barsaive. A man of respectable, but not unwieldy years, garbed in a robe of blinding light, with a gaze that penetrates to the souls of men and reminds them of all the wrongs they have ever committed. Upon my shoulders ride the twin drakes of shadow and light I created, licking their lips as if ready to feast. That is how I was to their parents, told in their stories, and to some of them when they were children. When I returned here I used a glamour to make myself appear to them as they expected me to be, and so they reacted much differently than you had expected.

Or he more simply concealed his true appearance from Hurik.--Merrox

Game Information

It is suggested that glamour become a half-magic ability that Illusionists can use at First Circle. If you feel that is too big a change, you can still use the following knacks with the original Fourth Circle version of Glamour. At Fourth Circle, the Illusionist might easily gain the ability to spend Karma on Perception tests, reflecting their greater ability to see the world around them from their studies in concealing it.

The new Glamour ability is a willpower-based half-magic ability. Creating a glamour requires a half-magic test against difficulty number of 5. The result is a blurry, semitransparent, three-dimensional image. It is maximally man-sized, and generally an obvious illusion. Disbelieving is automatically successful, and sensing is relatively easy as well. A glamour's base sensing difficulty is 5. If the Illusionist achieves better than a normal success on the half-magic test, he may raise the sensing difficulty to be equal to the difficulty number for the success level.

Example: A Good success requires at least a 9, and gives a sensing difficulty of 9. An excellent success requires at least an 11, and gives a sensing difficulty of 11. An extraordinary success requires at least a 14. Rolling an 18 would give a sensing difficulty of 14. This glamour was incredibly well made, and is almost as believable as a first circle illusion.

Glamours cannot directly affect their surroundings, cause damage, or generate heat. Heat Vision is still affected, however, as the sense of vision is affected. Glamours may be used for illumination, providing maximally the light of a torch. Glamours are not as stable as spell or talent effects, and in no way affect spell and/or talent effects.

Example: An illusionist attempts to create a light inside of an Ethereal Darkness spell, but it can not affect the spell so has no effect.

Glamours are easily identifiable from astral space. Astral beings can automatically see through it and realize it's a simple illusion. Astral sensing spells, talents, and abilities need to roll a 7 or greater to do so.

Creating glamours costs no strain, but they must be kept within 10 feet of the caster (if the caster moves to a greater distance, the glamour fades into nothing). Maintaining glamours requires little concentration. The caster may perform any other actions he wishes while maintaining glamours, and may maintain a maximum of his half-magic rank in glamours at one time.

Glamours can be refined with half-magic, by rearranging the astral energies of the picture, and knacks off the Illusion thread weaving talent by weaving temporary threads to the glamour to fuel it. Glamour is weak, and uses relatively small magical energy, but attaching temporary threads can refine and strengthen the illusion. These threads do not count against the maximum number of threads allowed.

Because it is only an image, touching a glamour will instantly dispel it. Glamours will not be detected by hearing or smell. A blind person would have no way of detecting a Glamour by himself. Someone who notices he can neither hear nor smell a glamour may make an automatic sensing test. If he makes a disbelief roll, it will automatically succeed even if altered by knacks.

All of these knacks require an existing glamour to alter.

Refine Details
Talent: Illusion (3)
Cost: 100
The Illusionist can "sharpen" the image of the glamour. The difficulty number for this is the detection difficulty for the glamour. A successful use creates a more believable image, which has a sensing difficulty equal to the result of the Illusion roll. The glamour can no longer be automatically disbelieved unless touched. It has a disbelief number equal to the casters' circle, or the sensing difficulty if that is smaller than the caster's circle. Use of this knack costs 2 strain.

Grow
Talent: Illusion (4)
Cost: 100
Use of this knack requires 2 strain and allows the Illusionist to make an existing glamour grow to up to double its size. A check must be made against the sensing difficulty of the glamour. This knack may be used on the same glamour multiple times, up to as many times as the Illusionist's half-magic rank. Each time this knack is used, it raises the difficulty number for all further alterations of the glamour by 1 point.

Make it Live
Talent: Illusion (4)
Cost: 100
This knack makes an existing glamour have a life of its own independent of the Illusionist's direct concentration. By summoning more magical energy into the glamour, it becomes able to respond to the effects of its surroundings (An illusionary wall will look wet in the rain, for example). To use this knack, the Illusionist must make an Illusion roll against the sensing difficulty of the glamour, and pay 2 points of strain and 1 of karma (the dice for which are not rolled). If successful, observers must achieve an Excellent success against the sensing or disbelief number. The Refine Details and Make it Stable knacks must be used before this knack.

Make it Stable
Talent: Illusion (4)
Cost: 100
Using this knack on a glamour makes it more stable. The Illusionist makes an Illusion roll against the sensing difficulty of the glamour. If successful, the illusionist no longer needs to concentrate on maintaining the glamour and can leave the glamour where it is. It won't fade away for test result hours. This knack costs 2 strain. By using Blood Magic (2 points of permanent damage), the illusion may be extended for a year and a day. The sensing/disbelief numbers for the glamour are unaffected by this knack.

Astral Glamour
Talent: Illusion (5)
Cost: 100
The Illusionist spends 1 strain to give a glamour the same sensing and disbelief numbers in Astral that it has in the real world. This requires an Illusion roll against the sensing difficulty of the glamour.

From Afar
Talent: Illusion (6)
Cost: 100
This knack allows the glamour to move to and exist greater than 10 feet away from the Illusionist. The Illusionist takes 2 points of strain and rolls against the glamour's sensing difficulty. An average success extends the glamour's range to 50 feet; a good success to 200 feet; an excellent success to 1000 feet; and to any range with an extraordinary success. A clear line of sight is still required between the Illusionist and the desired location, regardless of the success level. The illusionist can only affect the glamour from within 10 feet, however.

Daydream
Talent: Illusion (7)
Cost: 100
This knack costs 4 strain, and allows the Illusionist to connect a glamour to one specific person's expectations and perceptions. A Good success is required on a roll against the target's spell defense. For that person, the sensing/disbelief numbers are raised by the Circle of the Illusionist. More importantly, the glamour taps into the person's expectations and reacts accordingly, as seen in the narrative section of this article.

Stage
Talent: Illusion (10)
Cost: 100
This knack costs 4 strain per subject, and requires a Good success on a roll against the highest spell defense among the subjects. It then works the same as Daydream. Note that when several people believe differing things can happen, the glamour is generally easier to pierce and their sensing difficulties are not increased by the circle of the Illusionist, as in Daydream. In these instances, it may either show each what they want to see or attempt to make something in between their expectations. In extreme cases, it will shatter and be dispelled.

Magie

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