(Exotic) Sihr, or (Jinni) Summoning

Like Solomonic Sihr, this Iberian version of the Art can summon and bind a jinni, if the sahir can overpower it with his Summoning Total. It is not very common in the Mythic Middle East, since its Solomonic counterpart is so widespread. (Houses of Hermes: Societates, pages 135-136)

This is a rare Summoning variant targeting creatures from a single realm, and so can potentially summon Divine, Faerie, Magic, or Infernal spirits. Currently the only known version summons faeries (Realms of Power: Faerie, pages 131-132), and is found among the yatus of Persia and occasional travelers from Europe, though there are also rumors of a far eastern version aligned to the Divine.

incomes rather than depending on a covenant, the Wealthy Virtue and Poor Flaw have a much greater impact.

Gifted sahirs should occupy the same status as magi. With the troupe's approval, unGifted sahirs may be Mythic Companions, with twice as many points of Virtues as Flaws and a free Minor Virtue, and taking the place of a magus character. Un-Gifted sahirs can also be played as regular companions with the normal amount of Virtues and Flaws.

Virtues and Flaws

Every sahir accepted into the Suhhar Sulayman takes the Free Sahir Social Status Virtue. Unless he takes the Dark Secret Flaw, he should have the Sihr Virtue or another Virtue or Virtues that allow him to summon spirits. For example, a Kurdish group of sorcerers called the Mulhidun in northern Persia (see Realms of Power: The Infernal, pages 136-137) have (Spirit) Summoning, and many of them have joined the Suhhar*.* There are also two societies of elemental wizards found throughout the region, called the Brethren of Purity and the Students of Avicenna (see Hedge Magic Revised Edition, pages 28–32), and a few of them might have a special elementalist summoning art (Theurgical Summoning) and one or more Elementalist Abilities (e.g., Elementalist Fire) that can be used in conjunction to summon an elemental spirit.

A sahir with The Gift and a summon-

ing Virtue or Virtues may begin play after having been initiated into the tradition by another Gifted sahir, with all five of his Solomonic arts opened at 0. He also receives a Minor Virtue at no cost to represent his teacher's influence: usually Puissant (Ability) in the Solomonic art associated with the master's family.

Many sahirs are Educated (see Introduction, Chapter 1) or have Arcane Lore or the Student of Magic Virtue to represent their studies with their mentors. A few sahirs learn their magic from spirits directly, and the Ghostly Warder Virtue is one way to represent this advantage.

Like other characters unaffiliated with a Hermetic covenant, sahirs must spend time every year working to support themselves (this includes their yearly obligation to the Suhhar). For most sahirs, this takes two seasons every year. Characters with the Wealthy Virtue lose only one season a year, and those with the Poor Flaw are free only one season each year. The difference between these two extremes is especially noticeable during character creation; a rich sahir will be many magnitudes more powerful than a poor sahir — nearly all of the greatest sahirs in the history of the Suhhar Sulayman have been wealthy and privileged.

Some sahirs have a long-term mutually beneficial arrangement with a minor spirit, which is best represented by the (Realm) Spirit Companion Flaw. It is not uncommon for young sahirs to have abused or angered spirits before they joined the Suhhar, giving them the Plagued by Spirit or Supernatural Nuisance Flaws.

Experience

Sahirs receive starting experience like normal companions. They begin character creation with Native Language at 5 and 45 experience points to spend on their first five years. Then, in later life, most sahirs receive 15 experience points per year of their starting age (those with the Wealthy Virtue receive 20 and those with the Poor Flaw receive 10).

Once the sahir has joined the Suhhar, he receives 25 experience points per year (30 if he is Wealthy, 15 if he is Poor). This represents his improved access to study

sources and magical resources.

Players should consider spending the character's experience on the following Abilities:

• • To cast spells, a sahir must have a score of 4 in one of the languages sahirs use (Arabic, Parsi, or Greek). To read and write books, he needs this language score at 5 and Artes Liberales 1. (Most of the Suhhar's books are written in Arabic.)
• • Sahirs can often locate new spirits with Area Lore.
• • Bargain is essential when sahirs want to convince spirits to aid them.
• • Many magical effects require Concentration to cast and maintain.
• • Finesse is often used to manipulate active magic.
• • Leadership allows sahirs to lead groups of spirits, or other sahirs in the laboratory.
• • A sahir is able to summon spirits more effectively with Penetration.
• • Sahirs must somehow make a living. Often this is represented with scores in Profession: Apothecary, Profession: Scribe or Teaching, as these trades are typically practiced at buyut al-hikma. Other Abilities can be justified; the character's total in the related Characteristic + Ability should at least equal 6.
• • Realm Lore describes spirits and supernatural places, useful for finding and identifying them.
• • Knowledge of the Suhhar is governed by Organization Lore: Suhhar Sulayman. Their legal code and belief systems are covered by Islamic Law and Theology: Islam; the latter combined with an Arabic score of 6 or more can help protect sahirs against jinn (see Chapter 4: The Jinn, Jinni Weaknesses).
• • Sahirs should not neglect the Abilities associated with their Solomonic arts (Area Lore, Artes Liberales, Medicine, Philosophiae, and Realm Lore), as these scores increase their lab totals and add to their casting totals when they cast spells without magical words or gestures.

Sahirs will likely spend experience on other Abilities appropriate to the character, and on the Solomonic arts and other Supernatural Abilities that they have available to them during character creation because of Virtues, or because they have had The Gift opened by a teacher. A starting sahir should be able to summon a spirit with a Might Score of 10 using his summoning art, and should have a score of at least 5 in one of the five Solomonic arts.

Sahirs can also purchase Solomonic spells during character creation, recorded like Hermetic spells and with a maximum level of (Intelligence + summoning art + Solomonic art + related Ability). Assuming that every sahir studies from appropriate lab texts, each spell costs a number of starting experience points equal to its level. For example, a Level 15 spell costs 15 experience points. Sahirs can start with any spells that their players would like to design.

Spells are extremely valuable to sahirs, and a starting character should always invest in a minimum of 120 spell levels, or his magic will be severely limited.

Spirits

Spirits are essential for a sahir — without them he cannot cast any spells — and so a good sahir will collect Arcane Connections to appropriate spirits, or learn summoning spells he can use for the same purpose. Also, since the sahir's magic is basically channeled through the spirit he summons, the spirit's nature and personality alters the sahir's magic in subtle ways (in much the same way that spells cast by a Hermetic magus show evidence of his casting sigil). Thus, the unique qualities of the spirit a sahir calls have significant influence on his magic.

A starting sahir should choose one spirit that he can summon to be the focus of most of his magic, and assume that he has an Arcane Connection to it. He should also note something about its personality and powers in order to describe a cosmetic effect that accompanies his magic whenever he involves that spirit. If he has spent any of his experience points on summoning spells, he may choose a spirit for each one. Unless he has a Virtue like Ghostly Warder or a Flaw like Magical Spirit Companion, he cannot assume that any of these spirits will do him any favors without being paid for their services or being compelled by his magic.

Laboratory Activities

Players can trade 10 experience points during character creation to have their sahirs spend a season in the laboratory instead of studying, but only as many times per year as the character has free seasons. In this season, the character may perform any seasonal summoning activity described under Solomonic Magic. Assume that the character has access to half the maximum amount of vis as he can spend on the activity, and that he is working in an aura with no bonus or penalty. For activities that affect a spirit during character creation, such as the khadim bond or a greater binding, the sahir must have an appropriate Virtue or Flaw that gives him a willing spirit companion.

Aging and Warping

Characters 35 years or older need to make an Aging roll for each year. Note that knowledge of Solomonic Alchemy and Solomonic Physic can influence the character's Aging rolls (see The Solomonic Art, Magical Defenses, later in this chapter). A typical sahir also gains 2 Warping Points each year after he starts studying and practicing Solomonic magic.