Sorcery skill
Sorcery is new magic skill added in DR 3.0. Your Sorcery skill indicates your ability to use Mana types that you're unfamiliar with. This is used instead of your Primary Magic skill to determine if you're able to cast a spell that uses a different mana type. Training this skill is NOT, in and of itself, illegal. However, some spells are still illegal to use in any town's Justice zones, and if you use them (or explicitly teach Sorcery) you can be charged with Forbidden Practices. The best way to train Sorcery is simply to cast spells from other mana types that you find on scrolls. Very early learning, ~120 ranks or so, can be learned from focusing on runes outside your mana type.
Your Sorcery ranks have three effects:
- ) It serves as an alternate primary magic skill for any off frequency spell. Keep in mind that in most cases, "frequency" is a broader concept than "guild." A Bard would use Sorcery to power Clear Vision (a Lunar spell), but use Elemental Magic to power Fire Shard (an Elemental spell, even though it is not taught by his guild). If there is an extreme difference in skill, a fraction of your PM and Arcana may be used in place of Sorcery, though with none of the other benefits listed below.
- ) It reduces the chance of a sorcerous or necromantic backlash occurring.
- ) Clerics, Moon Mages and Warrior Mages will need to meet minimum Sorcery requirements to permanently learn their guild-based sorceries.
Sorcery is by definition a MU-only skill: it is the skill of casting outside the magician's frequency and is irrelevant for characters that do not have attunement. NMUs cannot learn or teach Sorcery.