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Saturday, November 10, 2012

Ley Line Jumping

The Druids of Umbria are world-renowned for their deep understanding of nature's inherent architecture - ley lines.  Ley lines conduct the power of nature, and any who are well versed in how to use them can magnify their natural magic.  Druids, Witches, and other natural magicians have for centuries theorized about ways to temporarily meld one's self with ley lines, but the Druids of Umbria have gone further - they can use ley lines for rapid transit.

The Druids of Umbria keep the secrets of ley line jumping to themselves - but patient and well cloaked observers have seen them appear from thin air and have noted the patterns of this travel occur only on known ley lines.

Master of the Ley
photo credit: teobonjour - www.matteomignani.it via photopin cc

What is Ley Line Jumping?
A Druid or Witch trained in this art may open a portal in a properly constructed dolmen arch located on a ley line.  Upon entering the portal, they and any companions are merged into the powerful line for a very brief time period.  The druid will attempt to exit the ley line at the appropriate time to end up at the targeted destination - another location on the same ley line.  It takes only a second to cross vast distances in such a manner.

Advantages to Ley Line Transit
The most significant advantage to traveling by ley line is that it is natural - not arcane.  Whereas much research has gone into defenses against teleporting, most of those defenses are not relevant in the scope of ley line jumping.  Additionally, even when arcane magic is suffering a complete breakdown in a region, a ley jump will still function - so long as nature still exists, ley lines will be available.

Traveling to another sacred dolmen arch on the same ley line does not suffer from inaccuracy - so the Druids of Umbria can hop from sacred circle to sacred circle without fear of irregularity.  This is how the Druids of Umbria gather at solstices and equinoxes in remote domains, without anyone seeing them walk.  As sacred circles are usually built at the intersection of multiple ley lines, the Druids can chart routes that go through multiple ley lines by jumping from circle to circle.

Disadvantages to Ley Line Transit
There are a few.

First and foremost, it can only be used to travel on Ley Lines.  These lines don't cover every location, and they somewhat randomly zig zag across the world in unpredictable patterns.  And, over time, they slowly change their pattern - so the last generation's ley line maps might not exactly match the current layout.  Still, there is probably a ley line that flows somewhere close to most destinations.

Second, travel must start at a dolmen arch - so unless the jump is to another sacred circle, this is a one-way trip.

Casting time is not quick.  It takes a ritual approximately an hour long to open a portal that will only remain in existence for a few seconds (long enough for a party of adventurers to enter).

Accuracy is challenging - the Druid must make a check to determine how well they anticipate the ebb and flow of the ley line.  If the Druid is traveling to another sacred circle, they arrive automatically - but otherwise, a FAI check is required (for Phoenix RPG - use appropriate checks for other systems like Wisdom, Nature, or Knowledge/Nature).  If this check succeeds, the party arrives on target.  If the check fails, then the GM should randomly determine whether the party overshot or undershot the target location, and the degree of the check's failure determines how far off the party exits the ley line.

All of this said, the Druids of Umbria and their close allies have still found great use for ley line jumping, whether it is for sacred celebration, or in times that threaten the natural world.  It is said that ley lines were once used to thwart a demonic invasion - for the demons couldn't figure out how the Druids and Rangers kept appearing in sensitive strategic locations, despite the dimensional barrier put in place.

1 comment:

  1. Very good info. Now, if only I could only find one of these dolmen arches...


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