Some questions about pursuits and character advancement.

[Dealer]

So one of my players was playing some sort of stage magician (Dabbler pursuit) until we recently got Into the Steam and he rerolled an Illusionist. For those who dont own the book its a real fun pursuit that progressively gives the character different Manifested Powers related to Illusions and Tricks (a la Colette). Real fun. Thing is he misses picking up magia and immuto. Progress in the Illusionist pursuit doesnt give those.

Here start my doubts.

- First I thought "Well you could eventually pick up a Grimoire". But then, Illusionists dont get a magic theory (and the same goes for other arcane classes in into the steam like the primal) so Im not even sure they may learn magic this way. Seems their talents are like innate. But then... The Prestidigitaton magia is meant for... Bit confused there. Correct me if im wrong.

Edit: So I found that you cant cast spells without a magical theory (yourvmagical skills are only academic in this case). That solves this point.

- Second thing I thought is. "Well, TTB is really flexible, you could advance in both pursuits. Be an Illusionist and take the Dabbler pursuit (dabble in the arcane arts) for a couple stories." So I checked the character advancement section. You play as a pursuit during a story and ger the next step in the pursuit during the epilogue. Ok. But how about starting abilities, etc. F.e. The starting Grimoire and Magic Theory of the Dabbler or the Stage Magic Talent of the Illusionist. Do you never get those? You get them as soon as you swap pursuits? At the end of the story with the first step?

 

Its not a big deal. I can house rule it in 2 min. ? But I may have missed something or id just love to check some other fatemaster thoughts on this.

[EnternalVoid]

As the magic theory and grimoire are part of the starting gear of the dabbler I do not think you get those automatically period unless that was your starting pursuit.  Kind of like how a gunfighter starts with his pistol and a customization.

The core book on page 221 says a character may choose a magic theory during the game at the fatemaster's discretion, so it really is up to the person running the show.  I know once I had a fatemaster rule you had to spend a general talent to pick up the Magic theory.  So if they did not start as a Dabbler you could have them need to spend a general talent to pick up the theory and have to find a grimorie to get that part. 

[Mason]

Characters gain a Magic Theory as soon they learn or try to cast magic, regardless of whether it's a spell or manifested power. They get it for free and without having to purchase it, but it generally can't be changed afterwards.

 

At the beginning of each session, a character chooses which Pursuit they want to play for that session. They gain the On the Pursuit benefit of their current Pursuit and lose the On the Pursuit benefit of their former Pursuit. At the end of the session, the character gains one rank in their current Pursuit. Note that characters keep any Talents learned from ranking up when they swap Pursuits; if you're a rank 3 Illusionist and you decide to swap to Dabbler at the start of a session, at the end of that session you have the abilities of a Rank 3 Illusionist and a Rank 1 Dabbler.

Dabblers need Grimoires to cast spells, but fortunately, Grimoires are only uncommon and not rare. It's advised that the Fatemaster allow his or her players to find Grimoires every so often, and if a player decides to become a Dabbler, they should find a Grimoire shortly after the prologue to ensure that they have access to spells. The difference between this and the Starting Bonus of the Dabbler is that with the Starting bonus, the player gets to choose the Magia and Immuto in their Grimoire. Those found during a game are subject to the will of the Fatemaster.

 

Let me know if you have any further questions!