Also known as Herbology, Balmomancy, Biomancy, Sextesomancy (in the Realm), Witchcraft, or simply a variation of the word Healing, Dryomancy is the study of life and living things. At its most basic level (Midwife Circle), it allows the accurate diagnosis of and the concoction of cures for common household ailments such as fever, broken bones, and infertility, as well as the gathering of accurate information about a plant's qualities, including toxicity, edibility, and medicinal value. At the middle of its power (Wisdom Circle), it allows the magician to treat more serious ailments such as battle wounds, plagues, and deep-seated infections, as well as diagnose varieties and causes of madness. The magician is also capable of commanding plants to blossom in winter, ensnare opponents, and so forth. At the height of its achievement (Spirit Circle), it can remedy all but the most grievous injuries and maladies, treat madness, and even alter a creature's shape. Animals are now the magician's servants, and he can command all but the most ferocious with ease.
Dryomancy is perhaps the most universal of all areas of magical study. Even the Immaculate Order does not give a Dryromancer a second glance so long as she works magicks related to curing illness and not other, harmful or blasphemous arts, such as controlling animals. Virtually any town or nomad band of reasonable size will have at least one wise woman skilled with medical herbs, and no few of these are Dryomancers of some small skill.
Know What Ails
Cost: 4 motes
Prerequisite Spells: None
Until the end of the scene, the magician can flawlessly diagnose physical ailments and injuries provided she possesses knowledge of the ailment in question by examining a patient for a few minutes and hearing of his symptoms. This is generally a function of her Lore and Medicine knowledge, but provided she has heard of the ailment, the magician cannot mis-diagnose physical injury, infection, disease, or poisoning. This does not allow the magician to diagnose mental illnesses not directly related to existing physical conditions. Hallucinations brought on by a high fever are directly related to an existing physical condition, but amnesia resulting from head trauma is not.
Set Straight the Limbs
Cost: 4 motes
Prerequisite Spells: None
The magician spends a few minutes tending the patient's wounds as part of shaping this ritual. All bleeding from wounds of equal to or fewer health levels than the magician's Compassion ceases, and all injuries the target has received so far this scene only become infected if he botches his Stamina + Resistance check to resist infection. Even in those cases where bleeding is not automatically stopped, the difficulty of the magician's roll to stanch the patient's bleeding is reduced by the hero's Compassion. Wounds may reopen if agitated or become infected if exposed to offal or left exposed to open air. In addition, the target's wounds will mend straight and true without the need for amputation or a permanent loss of mobility, though the patient is likely to spend some time in a cast or on crutches, depending on the nature and severity of his injuries.
Household Herb Lore
Cost: 4 motes
Prerequisite Spells: None
By performing a brief ritual lasting one hour and requiring materials with a Resources value of 1 (or several hours of foraging for the necessary plants and a successful Intelligence + Lore or Survival check - whichever the magician prefers - at standard difficulty), the magician brews a potion, poultice, or other folk remedy that cures a patient of all minor afflictions. Minor afflictions include cough, headache, sore throat, cold, nausea, diarrhea, rash, mild fever, vertigo, and any other symptom or condition resulting from non-fatal illnesses. It can alleviate many of the symptoms, but not the root cause, of many fatal plagues, as well, adding a number of dice to the Intelligence + Medicine check to treat the contagion equal to the magician's Compassion.
Ease into Sleep
Cost: 5 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Household Herb Lore
This spell affects a target the magician touches provided he touches the target within a number of turns equal to his Temperance. The target enters a peaceful and untroubled sleep lasting a minimum of one scene and much longer if the target's body is in dire need of rest. Unwilling targets may roll a reflexive Stamina + Endurance check at a difficulty equal to the magician's Temperance to resist the effects of this spell. Targets whose Heroism or Essence is higher than the magician cannot be affected by this spell if they are unwilling.
Pain-Easing Balm
Cost: 5 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Set Straight the Limbs
The magician performs a brief ritual lasting fifteen minutes and applies a poultice or other short-order cure to the patient's wounds. This balm heals the target of a number of health levels of bashing damage equal to the magician's Compassion. No one may benefit from this spell more than once in a 24 hour period.
Ride the Beast's Mind
Cost: 4 motes
Prerequisite Spells: None
The magician drops into a deep trance, losing all her own senses for the duration of this spell. Instead, she experiences the sensory input of one natural animal that was in her line of sight when she shaped this spell. She may ride the creature's senses for as long as she wishes, provided it remains within her Compassion in miles, returning to her body the instant she no longer wishes to ride the creature's senses. If it passes beyond this range or is killed, the magician's consciousness returns to her body immediately. If the creature is wounded, the magician suffers unsoakable bashing damage equal to the number of health levels of lethal damage the animal suffers. This spell does not allow the magician to control the creature in any way, nor can she jump from one animal to another, activate Heroics, cast spells, or perform any other action beside observing what the animal sees, hears, and experiences.
Skin of Wood Attunement
Cost: 10 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Elixir of Miraculous Recovery
This spell counts as an elemental attunement spell. The skin of one target within (Temperance x 10) yards takes on the appearance and toughness of wood until the end of the scene and grants the subject some of the resilience and regenerative abilities of Wood. During the turn when she comes under the effect of this spell, the target gains a number of -0 health levels equal to the magician's Temperance. These health levels are lost at the end of the scene. Moreover, if the target takes no other action during a turn in which she is in contact with a living thing, she may spend a feat or a point of temporary Willpower to convert all the lethal damage she has suffered into bashing damage. The target's limbs also grow more rigid, however, halving both her movement rate and initiative. These extra health levels provide no protection against attacks that inflict aggravated damage, nor can the target spend feats or Willpower to heal aggravated damage. No creature may benefit from this spell more than once at a given time, and no creature may benefit from more than one elemental attunement spell at a time. Casting this spell on a creature already under the effects of another elemental attunement spell simply replaces the current elemental attunement spell with this one.
Sight of the Troubled Soul
Cost: 8 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Know What Ails
This spell affects one target within (Compassion x 10) yards. The magician recognizes all external influences affecting the target's mind. This includes the compulsions that plague Exalted, mind-affecting magic, the Quirks of magicians, and derangements of all kinds. The magician detects all external influences on the target and can trace magical influences backward to their source.
Burn Away the Infection
Cost: 8 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Set Straight the Limbs
The magician treats the patient's infected injuries with herbal concoctions and whispers arcane words over him. If the difficulty penalty of the patient's infection is lower than the magician's Compassion, the infection passes in a number of days equal to the difficulty penalty (no additional rolls needed). If the difficulty penalty exceeds the magician's Compassion, the difficulty of all Stamina + Endurance rolls the patient makes to overcome the infection is reduced by the magician's Compassion. No one may benefit from this spell more than once per incident of infection.
Elixir of Miraculous Recovery
Cost: 12 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Household Herb Lore
The magician administers powerful medicines to the patient that would be poison except for the magic at work upon them. If the untreated Morbidity of one disease from which the target is suffering is lower than the magician's Compassion, the patient recovers from the disease in a number of days equal to the Morbidity of the plague. No further rolls are needed and a failure result on the check to overcome the disease is negated. If the magician's Compassion is lower than the untreated Morbidity of the plague, the magician rolls a number of dice equal to her Compassion, and the Morbidity of the illness is reduced by the number of successes scored on this roll, and the patient may make a new Stamina + Endurance check to survive the disease. This spell has no effect on the Great Contagion.
Mend the Rent Flesh
Cost: 10 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Pain-Easing Balm
The magician performs a ritual lasting thirty minutes and applies a poultice, stitches, or other short-order cure to the patient's wounds. These ministrations heal the target of a number of health levels of bashing or lethal damage equal to the magician's Compassion. No one may benefit from this spell more than once in a 7 day period.
Possess the Beast
Cost: 10 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Ride the Beast's Mind
This spell allows the magician to direct the actions of one normal animal no larger than a horse within her line of sight. This control lasts until the magician chooses to end it, until the creature and magician are separated by a distance greater than her Conviction in miles, or until a number of hours equal to the magician's Conviction have passed. The animal can perform any actions of which it is normally capable. No intelligent creature can be affected by this spell.
Bloom and Fade
Cost: 10 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Ease into Sleep
This spell advances the life cycle of one tree or any number of smaller plants within an area of 25 square feet by a number of months no greater than the magician's Compassion at the rate of one week of growth per hour. This can cause bare trees to take leaf or even bear fruit or induce an early autumn in summer-clad plants. It can also hasten the germination of seeds. This hastening is temporary, and if the affected plants are exposed to conditions not normally hospitable to their current stage of growth, they will gradually return to their normal condition after a number weeks equal to the number of months their life cycle was advanced.
Restore the True Mind
Cost: 17 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Sight of the Troubled Soul
This spell affects a single target within (Compassion x 10) yards. The magician must already know the external influences from which the target suffers, often by using of Sight of the Troubled Mind beforehand. The magic removes insanity or external influences of all kind, to a maximum number of derangements, magical effects, and mind-affecting Quirks equal to the magician's Compassion. Magicians who are cured of Quirks immediately lose all related benefits. This spell has no effect on the Great Curse, though it can eliminate Quirks that imitate it. This spell can only counteract spells of instant duration - ongoing effects must be removed by means of countermagic.
Flawless Antidote
Cost: 17 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Elixir of Miraculous Recovery
If the magician reaches the victim of poison before it has run its course, any herbal remedy she uses on the patient instantly neutralizes one poison at work on the victim, eliminating penalties and preventing damage or death.
Life-Giving Touch
Cost: 17 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Mend the Rent Flesh
After shaping the Essence of this spell, the magician's touch instantly cures a number of patients equal to the magician's Compassion of a number of levels of lethal or bashing damage equal to the magician's Compassion. The magician may touch up to one target per turn and any of these touches leftover at the end of the scene fade away harmlessly. No one may benefit from this spell more than once in a 7 day period.
Dance of Many Forms
Cost: 17 motes
Prerequisite Spells: Possess the Beast
The magician can transform herself and up to 20 pounds of equipment into any natural animal with which she is familiar provided it is no larger than a horse and no smaller than a mouse. She may return to her natural shape whenever she wishes as her dice action for the turn. Otherwise, she may maintain this shape for up to her Conviction in days. While in animal form, the magician cannot cast spells and is limited by the physical capabilities of the chosen shape (including Physical Attributes).
Conjure the Wooden Servant
Cost: 20+ motes
Prerequisite Spells: Bloom and Fade
This ritual requires four hours to complete, and casting it outside of a dedicated ritual space with some connection to the Element of Wood is impossible for a mortal magician. The magician calls up an Elemental of Wood with a maximum Essence equal to the magician's Heroism. If the magician chooses to bargain with the spirit in some way, such as by offering it sacrifices or prayers, she must make a Charisma + Performance at a difficulty equal to (6 - Resources value of the sacrifice) to properly honor it. This difficulty is increased by 1 if the magician is not a priest devoted to that Elemental. If this roll succeeds, the Elemental will accept the offering and might even enter into an agreement with the magician if the number of additional successes on the roll is equal to or greater than the Elemental's Essence. This does not provide the magician with direct control over the Elemental, but is more akin to a temporary alliance. If treated well, the Elemental will accompany the wizard for as long as one lunar month, though it will still behave according to its nature.
If he chooses to spend 5 additional motes, a magician may also attempt to bind the Elemental to its will using the same system as for the Terrestrial Circle Spell Summon Elemental, but a mortal's low Essence score makes such a contest of wills a dangerous prospect. Moreover, Elementals and the Celestial Hierarchy at large frown upon any such enslavement by mortal magicians. The Celestial Hierarchy is likely to be less lenient toward mortals than they are with Exalted Sorcerers, and Elementals enslaved by a mortal are more likely to seek vengeance once their term of service has ended.