Though much harder than having the trained profes- sionals of the various sects perform the unlocking, those who have managed to do it themselves claim far greater satisfaction than those who have let another do it for them. There is an additional benefit to self-training: owing no one allegiance.
However, the drawbacks are as severe. There is a chance of causing irreparable self-damage, and the members of the sects regard one who is self-trained as a renegade, one who is not to be trusted. Although they hate each other, the sects are united in their dis- trust for renegades. Though they do not actively hunt these renegades, they will never offer assistance unless it furthers their own goals.
As previously mentioned, any PC with the Spirit Ability Pool ranked first may attempt to unlock his or her potential. However, the chance of success for those who have lower Attribute scores is severely lim- i ted. PCs have a base chance of unlocking potential equal to the average of Psyche, Willpower, and Intu- i tion; that is, add the three together and divide the result by three. The resulting number is the percent- age chance the PC has of succeeding in unlocking Musical potential.
The ritual is demanding and very intense. If the roll fails, the character cannot try again until his or her Psyche has increased by 10 points. However, the PC suffers no ill effects unless the roll was greater than
85. In this case, consult the table below for the possi-
ble results of such a failure.
Potential Failure
Roll Result
85-90 Roll vs. Psyche; failed roll causes perma-
nent loss of 1 d10 points of Psyche.
91-95 Roll vs. Willpower; failed roll causes per-
manent loss of 1 d10 points of Willpower.
95-99 Roll vs. Intuition; failed roll causes perma-
nent loss of 1d10 points of Intuition.
1 00 Rollvs. average of Psyche, Willpower, and I ntuition. Failed roll indicates immediate death.
Though death is an extremely rare occurrence among those attempting to unlock their own poten- tial, it is an effective deterrent to more than 99% of those who wish to explore the Music. This is at least part of the reason that the renegades of Music are l ooked upon with some trepidation, as well as no small amount of awe.
Each person who follows the way of the Music must make a choice at the beginning of their Musical career as to which Scale they wish to follow. Even if they have not been trained by a member of one of the established Musical Colleges, their temperament will naturally lead them along one of the paths later described, unless they can find another means by which to be judged. Every untrained PC starts at the exact mid-point of this Staff (that is, in Melody), but they can move along the Staff, toward Harmony or Discord, or they can remain in Melody as their hearts desire after they jump onto the Staff.
PCs are not forced to stay within one group. How- ever, they are more powerful if they choose one Scale and stay with it, rather than vacillating from end to end. Every time a PC permanently shifts into another Scale, forsaking his allegiance to the old, he takes a
-5 penalty to all Musical endeavors for 1 5 workings of the Outer Fifth, or for 45 workings of the Inner Fifth. (See "Using the Music," the Inner Fifth and the Outer Fifth.) Also, the Musician's old group will seek his destruction for his betrayal of them and their tenets. They will not rest until that character is gone, for he carries the secrets of the group.
Before any further discussion of these groups, it must be understood that they do not see themselves in terms of good and evil, though they are more likely to ascribe sinister motives to their opponents. The main difference between them is more of a philosophical nature, a debate on how the universe behaves, or at l east, should behave. Their argument is based on
order and entropy, or an even synthesis between the two.
Because of the Colleges' different viewpoints, Musicians of one Scale often hate those of the others, feeling that their Music is working against the best
i nterests of the cosmos. The more fanatical of each sect actively seek to bring about the others' downfall, so that their own might triumph.
Their conflicting desires give them different pow- ers, as well. The Harmonians are more likely to have healing powers, powers that unite things into a more perfect whole, as well as those that promote stasis and stagnation. The Discordians have abilities that more perfectly stress individuality, keeping things from joining together, while also promoting entropy and anarchy. The Melodians champion a balance between the two, yet suffer in the area of great per- sonal power; in making compromises between the two, they limit their potency.
The differing attitudes serve another purpose. They discourage Discordians from using powers that are more true to the Harmonian nature, while ensuring the same difficulty for Harmonians wishing to use the Discordian power. Any Harmonian attempting to use a power from the Discordian Scale (and vice versa) does so with a terrible penalty, which is more clearly defined later in this chapter. (See "Dissonance.")
The entries below describe the various Scales of the Music. Each has its own pocket summary. There are three distinctions among the followers of any given Musical College. Though they are not formal designa- tions, they should serve the GM and players in defin- i ng the PCs and NPCs. The three distinctions are Mild, Moderate, and Fanatic.
Mild: Mild practitioners tend to be far more relaxed about things than their brethren. They do not take things to extremes, and often do not get involved in the affairs of their fellows. They are members of the sect in name only, preferring to live and let live. The l east powerful of any group tend to be the Mild fol- l owers, since they have no real vested interest in pre- serving the power of the group.
Moderate: Moderate followers have no strong lean-
i ngs one way or another. They are devoted to their sect, but generally not enough to go to war over petty differences. However, they can be persuaded by charismatic leaders to carry out some of the society's dirty work. They have fairly strong beliefs, but are not rigid in these beliefs.
Fanatic: Fanatics embody both the worst and the best qualities of the sect. On the one hand, they devote their lives to understanding the possibilities inherent i n their choice of Music, and seek to bestow its ben- efits on the rest of the galaxy. On the other hand, they are close-minded and unwilling to accept new i deas, and especially hate those of rival sects. These are the ones who launched the secret wars that destroyed much of the Musical learning of the previ- ous millennia.
By their very nature, the most powerful tend to be the Fanatics of the sect. Though this is not always the case, the nature of the Music is such that the more fanatical tend to flow toward the ends of the spec- trum. Their devotion to their subject is such that they allow little to stand in the way of their quest for more power and more control over the Music.
The Harmonians strive for law, order, and uniformity of purpose. The Music they hear is regular and paced, beautiful strains of perfect harmony. The Music they strive to bring into being reflects this harmony, though occasionally through their actions they cause tiny notes of Discord. Still, they do their best to promote harmony, and do so by promoting order wherever they can find it. For this reason alone, they support and are supported by the Morione Domain, the most powerful force for order in the Galaxy. Not all Har- monians support the Domain, but most do.
The most powerful Piece the Harmonians have, their Coda, is called the Galactos Barrier: a single, unwavering note of purest Harmony that has the potential to turn entire planets into calcified, unyield- i ng statuary, spinning off into eternity as cold stone.