Incarnate practices

The Incarnate practices are magics that deal with Incarnations and related Others.<ref> - Pact Dice: Incarnates WORK IN PROGRESS!!!</ref><ref>“Nicolette, you know her. Auger, dipping into the Incarnate practices. Omens and stuff.” - 3.9 Bonus Material: SunnyDay Logs</ref> Those who employ them are called Incarnate practitioners.<ref name=":0">Incarnate practitioners who specialize in things like the Hungry Choir ritual or dealings with a specific Incarnation, such as Dream or Bondage, will have cause to come here.” - Excerpt from Stolen Away 2.6</ref>

Methodology

When speaking of incarnations almost any practice will touch on the Pillars at some point in time, there are entire practices that focus on an aspect of these pillars, standing in for them or similar.

Incarnate Practitioners can be thought of as specialists working in the aggregate,<ref name=":1">The Incarnate Practitioner is the Specialist among these practices, comfortably sitting at Immaterial x Protection (though it can occupy other spaces), and turn their focus toward understanding and mastering these forces, where others tend to seize on one thing to wrangle- understandable when the forces are as momentous as these. Where many of the Incarnate Practices involve consequences and effects that cut backwards as easily as they can cost the target, the Incarnate Practitioner can reduce the danger and costs to themselves for each minor aspect from the other options on this list that they get a grasp on, or if they can resolve certain wrinkles.

- PACT DICE</ref> often focus on multiple Incarnations, such as Strife, Bondage, or Dream.<ref name=":0" /> Dealing with different incarnations is always a double-edged sword with boons and curses they give you,<ref>Claude is an Incarnate practitioner, addressing Vigor, an Incarnation subordinate to Nature, and to a lesser extent, War.  Tying himself to that pillar of human nature, he gains the ability to spread vigor and steal it, and protects himself and others by having Vigor’s influence wash over areas, deflecting and diminishing incoming events that would impact his own health and energy in any negative way.  He maintains some secondary relationships with Fertility and Integrity to extend his versatility.  However, every Incarnation is a double-edged sword, and comes with its drawbacks, unyielding expectations, and will often extend its influence to his enemies.  The Demesne, Claude reasons, is a place that is just for him, and he can enjoy the full benefits of the incarnations without worrying he will arm his enemies with the same. - Demesnes Text thesespecialistss can minimize the negatives and maximize the positives,<ref name=":1"/> ideally.

Practitioners of this school will often have cause to visit The Ruins.<ref name=":0" /> Among their abilities might be setting Omens on a person. This might be as subtle as having the Omens follow them around causing social problems, or as blatant as causing a person to instantly fumble a weapon they're holding and kill themselves. Omens can also be used as seeing-eyes for Augurs, who also deal in the incarnate.

A power source for a Strife practitioner could be a collection of blood from people who have been touched by different types of disasters.

With some Summoning resources and expertise, an Incarnate practitioner might construct something Incarnation-related like a Ritual Incarnate.<ref>“When dealing with an Augur [...] They focus primarily on immaterial things.  Echoes, spirits, incarnations- often especially incarnations.  Any sentiment or pillar of human nature can be something they specialize in.  Alexander was good at seeing the kinds and shapes of Strife, capital S, and karmic flows.  When he incurs a karmic debt, he is good at staying ahead of it until he can discharge it or pass it on.  I would imagine that if he’s a teacher at this school of his, he would be teaching some classes on Karma.”

Verona took notes.

“The Strife aspect was part of what we were going to summon, that day I was forsworn,” Charles said.  “The specialty in tracking karma was… something I should have anticipated.” - excerpt from Out on a Limb 3.1</ref>

A powerful Incarnate practitioner might project the thing they specialize around themselves by their presence or by using their Sight, such as a Strife practitioner causing their allies to fight among themselves.<ref>“With Nicolette sending omens in to investigate… she was looking for trouble, and then more trouble happened.  That’s how Melissa got hurt. Does Alexander cause strife to happen by turning his Sight on things?”

“It surrounds him, yes.  He’s good at navigating it, to the extent that it may be something of a shield of his.  His underlings may fight more among themselves as a consequence.” - excerpt from Out on a Limb 3.1</ref>

Contacts

Practitioners who serve as the interface, go-between, for the larger practitioner community and Incarnates.<ref name=IC/> Given that they can interact with full manifested incarnates they are by definition rare.<ref>It’s relatively rare for an Incarnate practitioner to work hand in hand with a true Incarnation, and instead, they will manifest the forces in question into briefly-lived personifications, flocks, pillars, and other entities that then broadcast that influence out.  Most are very goal driven, especially among the other, sometimes reactionary or patient protection schools.  They must be, lead, and capitalize on the practice they set up.  Many Incarnations are double-edged swords that the practitioner must learn to wield.

- Pact Dice: Incarnates WORK IN PROGRESS!!!</ref> For Incarnates they might lead them to sources of power related to their nature, presumably other services are provided, in exchange for Omen or omen like agents that they can use.<ref name=IC/> Practitioners consult them to negotiate with specific incarnates in exchange for cash and presumably other resources.<ref name=IC>The Childs were a point of contact between the practitioner community and a lot of incarnations that wandered around making contact with Aware and innocents in the capacity of being whatever they were.  Destruction, Annoyance, Boredom, and so on.  So if someone needed to find an incarnation of Grief the Childs were supposed to be able to hook that someone up with one that was wandering around causing grief or feeding on ambient grief.  They got cash from practitioners and a collection of omen-like agents of various incarnations from the other side, by doing favors for the incarnations.  Like pointing that incarnation of Grief in the direction of a very special tragedy that it might otherwise miss out on. - Excerpt from Playing a Part 15.4</ref>

Notable

• Alexander Belanger (Augury, Strife)
• Nicolette (Augury)
• Charles Abrams (Summoning)
• Childs Family‏‎<ref name=IC/> (Incarnate contacts)

Related Practices

• Chronomancy (Time)
• Immortal Warriors
  • Gore-streaked (War)
• Necromancy (Death)
• Fugitive (Anti-Pillars of Human Existence or other Incarnations)

References

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