Humakt Initiates and 'free' Bladesharp 4

[Cawdorthane]

Step 6 of character generation provides that your starting character gets the various benefits listed under the 'Notes' section of your cult.  For Humakt on page 76, that merely refers to Gifts and Geases.  Bladesharp is there listed as a variable spell for Cult Spirit Magic. 

But on page 296 under the detailed section for Humakt it is stated that Humakt initiates are taught Bladesharp 4 for free.  My own take on this is that the Cult will teach initiates Bladesharp gradually during play (say a free point of Bladesharp due to worship on the high holy day of Storm Season, Death Week, Windsday), rather than automatically giving starting Humakt initiate characters an effective 9 points of Spirit Magic Spells.  Is this broadly how others play it?

 

cheers

Mark

[PhilHibbs]

15 minutes ago, Cawdorthane said:

My own take on this is that the Cult will teach initiates Bladesharp gradually during play (say a free point of Bladesharp due to worship on the high holy day of Storm Season, Death Week, Windsday), rather than automatically giving starting Humakt initiate characters an effective 9 points of Spirit Magic Spells.  Is this broadly how others play it?

I would have said that they just get it in addition to the normal starting spells, but that's an interesting way to do it. However, starting PCs are supposed to have been initiates for several years, you don't just get over 100 points of skills on initiation day.

[David Scott]

There’s nothing stopping a Humakti adventurer starting with bladesharp 4 with one point remaining to spend on something else. It’s not in addition, the other cults that teach free magic don’t work like that. 

[PhilHibbs]

22 minutes ago, David Scott said:

There’s nothing stopping a Humakti adventurer starting with bladesharp 4 with one point remaining to spend on something else. It’s not in addition, the other cults that teach free magic don’t work like that. 

Do you mean to imply that they all have to start with that, or just that they can?

If the former, then that means that despite Demoralize being a cult spell, no Humakti can start with it (it's 2 points). Unless they spend some money on extra spells, I suppose.

If it's the latter, then the sentence is meaningless and should be removed, since any member of any cult can start with 4 points of any one of their cult's variable spells for free.

I've always played that it's a bonus. Battle/Spirit magic acquisition never used to be as closely tied to cult membership as it is now, so the Humakti Bladesharp 4 was always clearly on-top-of.

Edited July 19, 2018 by PhilHibbs

[Jeff]

45 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said:

Do you mean to imply that they all have to start with that, or just that they can?

If the former, then that means that despite Demoralize being a cult spell, no Humakti can start with it (it's 2 points). Unless they spend some money on extra spells, I suppose.

If it's the latter, then the sentence is meaningless and should be removed, since any member of any cult can start with 4 points of any one of their cult's variable spells for free.

I've always played that it's a bonus. Battle/Spirit magic acquisition never used to be as closely tied to cult membership as it is now, so the Humakti Bladesharp 4 was always clearly on-top-of.

Humakti who have been initiates for a full year are taught Bladesharp 4 for free, and more points in the spell may be purchased at 1/2 cost later. We've treated it as part of the 5 points of starting spirit magic - so Humakti usually start with Bladesharp 2 and three points of additional spirit magic (usually Demoralize and Heal 1), and then train up to Bladesharp 4 in play. But  to each their own. 

[PhilHibbs]

Personally I don't see the problem with them having it free to start with. So what, they have a bit more flexibility in their magic options, their MPs are probably still quite limited unless they got lucky (or chose their roll) on the heirlooms table. Being a Humakti is a significant inconvenience in many other ways, so a 4 point spell perk is fine by me.

[jps]

9 hours ago, Cawdorthane said:

Step 6 of character generation provides that your starting character gets the various benefits listed under the 'Notes' section of your cult.  For Humakt on page 76, that merely refers to Gifts and Geases.  Bladesharp is there listed as a variable spell for Cult Spirit Magic. 

But on page 296 under the detailed section for Humakt it is stated that Humakt initiates are taught Bladesharp 4 for free.  My own take on this is that the Cult will teach initiates Bladesharp gradually during play (say a free point of Bladesharp due to worship on the high holy day of Storm Season, Death Week, Windsday), rather than automatically giving starting Humakt initiate characters an effective 9 points of Spirit Magic Spells.  Is this broadly how others play it?

 

cheers

Mark

I agree with you: character creation helps you creating your character and Humaki have their spells both runic and spiritual described in this section. The detailed section is for after character creation and you can tell you have more spells and more cult skills.

So Bladesharp 4 is taught for free to Humakti after the character creation and they can raise their Bladesharp progressively as they gain experience.