Wiki Category: Phenomena

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” — Proverbs 23:7

Speech acts are special abilities granted through the power of primordial otiyot or shoresh roots.

The discovery of speech acts came about through research into the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, and Eretz researchers describe the larger study of speech acts as performativity. The secular world calls supernatural abilities “speech acts” because they involve combining the primordial letters. The more religious call this process Yetzirah, though evil acts and curses are called Yetzer Ra’ magic.

According to a corollary of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, speech acts happen when the yetzirah process transmutes the user’s consciousness into phonemic code, which are then manifested into matter and energy.

Typically, a character may perform a speech act that is based off agent’s natural shoresh family or the natural family of an item or equipment he is using at no bonus or penalty.

The following factors may make speech acts easier:

• The speech act is the exact same as the agent or object’s shoresh and not a permutation: +1R
• Using a raw shoresh root that matches the speech act: +1R
• Using a prepared root byproduct from a matching shoresh root: Varies, but usually +1R or more
• Using a sefer, alfon or other reading device to produce letters/code: Varies, but usually +1R or more
• Roleplaying the prescribed vision for that root. (Requires 1 action turn of setup): +2D roll
• Using sign language of the letters with hands: +1R

The following factors may make speech acts harder:

• Only envisioning or thinking about the Speech Act letters, without speech, signs, actions or tools  -4R roll
• Only speaking the letters and their conjugations: -2R
• The speech act is one or more cipher node degrees away from the agent’s or object’s shoresh: -2D for each additional degree of distance

If a speech act attempt fails, the Narrator may explain how, whether it failed to happen, or was dodged or deflected. If a permutation is gaffed, the permutation might backfire, or if it hits the target, gets absorbed and makes the target stronger.

Like weapons, your dice may “explode” if you roll for damage and hit a target letter (shoresh letter?)