strange, stephen

• SORCERER SUPREME – Having been personally trained by the Ancient One himself in every branch of magic conceivable, including those that exist far beyond the realm of human understanding, the good Doctor is the absolute authority, the final word in all things mystical or arcane in nature. So long as he is not attempting to produce an event that can only be accomplished by way of science or technology, Doctor Strange can accomplish literally anything his imagination will allow him to. So powerful is he in the arts of magic that, should he be forced to do such a thing, Stephen could very well kill a man with a mere snap of his fingers. All of his spells can be classified under one of the following seven categories:
  

Abjuration
Governs healing and protection. Doctor Strange can utilize magic to heal the body of injuries or illnesses in ways that modern science cannot ever hope to accomplish; he can also perform recovery magic on the very soul as well, albeit with somewhat increased strain. Most protective spells he uses fall under this category, and allow him to dispel or ward off energy, sense the approach of enemies, or even bar passage to specific entities.

Conjuration
Governs the transportation, summoning and dismissal of matter and energy, either through the usage of portals or instantaneous matter displacement. With the right incantations, Doctor Strange can either bring to him or send away any living creature or inanimate object anywhere he desires, provided he has a clear image, be it visual or mental, of the summoned subject's intended destination. From animals and extraterrestrial aliens to creatures that exist solely in the realm of the weird, to magical items and artifacts from different dimensions, Stephen can transport whatever he wants at the snap of his fingers. This category also encompasses the multipurpose Teleportation spell, of which has self-explanatory functions, as well as the equally obvious Dimension Gate spell.

Divination
Governs the acquisition of information. Doctor Strange has access to a wide variety of spells that exist predominately to expand his knowledge and awareness over the Omniverse, and as such are more utilitarian than they are applicable for combat. He can use magic to scry events over long distances, dowse for hidden treasures and secrets, utilize numerous forms of extrasensory perception, interpret dreams, predict the course of events that are to soon transpire, see right through illusions and treacherous tactics, or even to read the minds and souls of those before him. Through this branch of sorcery, nothing will stay hidden from the Doctor for very long. Telepathy and Scrying are two common examples of divination-type spells.

Evocation
Governs the creation and manipulation of energy. At its core, this category of magic allows Stephen to create something out of nothing, and often manifests as his famous Mystic Bolts attack. Almost all of these spells are spectacular in their execution and encompass a broad range of effects that draw on the forces of whatever energy source Doctor Strange is channeling at the time. He can create bolts, blasts, beams, blades, bombs, volleys, waves, walls – the possibilities here are truly endless.

Illusion
Governs the manipulation of the mind and the senses. The Sorcerer Supreme also demonstrates unparalleled mastery in this category of magic, as he can create phenomena that is entirely nonexistent to all except those he personally wishes to influence, total figments of the target's imagination. He can trick others into perceiving events that aren't really happening or to completely ignore things that actually are transpiring, plant false memories into others' minds, create phantom noises, and create a myriad of other effects. Two commonly used examples among Stephen's repertoire of spells are Invisibility, which is pretty self-explanatory, and Self-Disguise, so that he can appear, smell, or even sound like anyone he's interacted with before.

Necromancy
Governs the manipulation of death, life, and living energies. This particular branch of magic is rarely employed by Doctor Strange as most of its spells normally require him to deliberately drain the life energy from whatever he wishes to influence, and more often than not it will end up creating some kind of rebound effect on his own essence – its purpose here is to emphasize that, only under the most dire of circumstances, it is entirely within the Sorcerer Supreme's realm of capability. Spiritual Séance, which allows the Doctor to speak to the dead and acquire information from them, and Astral Projection, which permits him the ability to travel the Astral Plane in spirit form, are potentially the only two spells of this category he makes active use out of.

Transmutation
Governs the manipulation of the physical world. Doctor Strange can alter or change the molecular or physical properties of any inanimate object or living organism, either metamorphosing the subject into something completely different or bestowing additional qualities to a preexisting subject, such as the ability to move independently and autonomously as with the Animation spell. The spell of Flight also falls under this branch of sorcery, however Stephen eschews its use in favor of the Cape of Levitation. His most powerful means of influencing the world around him through transmutation spells is Time Manipulation, however an extreme amount of mental and spiritual stress is placed on him when performing such a grandiose level of magic, and a thorough amount of preparation is required before even attempting something of this scale.

• "THE WORDS" – As the leader of the mysterious multidimensional cabal of spellcasters known as the Black Priests, Doctor Strange quickly learned and mastered their unique ability to utilize language as a means of shaping reality itself to his whims. Similar to substitution ciphers, every "word" within this system of magic is depicted as a symbol which itself bears a unique "meaning". By adding more "words" in specific sequences, the inherent "meaning" of the initial "word" can be changed entirely, allowing Stephen to create a variety of different effects, ranging from simple energy projection to complete molecular obliteration.
  

• DIVINE CONDUIT – As the Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen is able to draw his magical powers from his own psychic reserves, or he can directly bend the energies of the Omniverse to his will. Nine times out of ten, however, he will invoke one of countless mystical beings, godlike or otherwise, in order to draw upon their strength. He will typically call upon the powers of entities like the Vishanti or the Octessence, although it is not uncommon to see him plead for assistance from more obscure sources, like the Olympian deities or even beings that owe him a debt, such as the demon Dormammu. Under typical circumstances there is no quid pro quo he must uphold when calling upon one of these figures, however there are and have been some who will expect some kind of payment from Stephen upon making an arrangement, as the Vishanti have done many times.
  

• DARKNESS OF THE DIVINE CONDUIT – In the event that Stephen is forced to remove a great evil from Earth, he can forcefully drain the power from another entity, and has only done this against two such beings: Arioch and Shuma-Gorath. To do this requires no spell or incantation and is only possible with immense willpower and strength of mind, thereby making it a testament to Doctor Strange's skill as a Sorcerer Supreme. Great care must be exercised when draining an entity's power, however, as Stephen also assimilates their minds into his being; should his will falter even for a split second, his sense of identity will be lost to whomever he is attempting to seal within himself. But as this is a form of black magic, it is highly unlikely that the good Doctor will ever use this particular power unless the circumstances are especially grave, as was the case with Arioch and Shuma-Gorath.
  

• AUGMENTATION OF THE RESOLUTE THRONE – In a desperate gamble to to prevent the multidimensional Incursions from affecting the universe of Earth-616, Stephen accessed the contents of an ancient tome filled with the darkest of black magics, the Blood Bible, to travel to the Sinner's Market, where he established contact with the Resolute Throne: a 20-foot stone cube which had the power to bestow varying degrees of godhood in exchange for an equivalent piece of the bargainer's soul. It is here that he resolved to sell the entirety of his own soul in exchange for the full power of a god. As of current, it is unknown as to precisely how much power he has gained through his deal with the Throne, but it should be assumed that Doctor Strange is far stronger than he was simply as the Sorcerer Supreme and is not to be taken lightly.
  

ABILITIES

• ASTRAL PROJECTION – With or without the usage of an incantation, Doctor Strange can instantaneously adopt a spirit form at will by sending his soul to the Astral Plane, and does so in the event he must interact with an individual over great distances or to contact an otherworldly or supernatural entity. In this form, Stephen no longer needs to eat, drink, sleep, or even breathe; he is also entirely invisible and intangible, as though he were a departed spirit. Being in astral form also prevents him from receiving damage from any earthly source, however this can be circumvented if his opponent is sufficiently powerful and skilled enough in the magical arts. Finally, Stephen is able to travel at nearly any speed he desires across the Astral Plane, and has done so on numerous occasions to cover immense stretches of distance during his travels through the vastness of outer space.
  

• COSMIC AWARENESS – Entering a state of deep meditation allows Stephen to perfectly synchronize his thoughts and senses to the whole of the Omniverse itself, giving him the ability to sense any incoming dangers that may pose a threat to Earth. He has done this to ascertain the arrival of many cosmic villains and otherworldly beings of great power, from demons like Dormammu to extradimensional horrors like Shuma-Gorath.
  

• DEATH'S EMBRACE – Having won a contest against Death herself, Doctor Strange's life has been lengthened immensely, and his fear of dying has been all but entirely suppressed, represented by the placement of a mystical ankh over his brow. As a result, he has stopped aging entirely and has achieved total immunity to all diseases; however he can still be wounded or even killed in battle, and basic human functions like eating, sleeping, and breathing are still required of him. The ankh will reappear on his head whenever the Doctor's life is in immediate peril and death is the only imminent result, whenever he most desperately needs a reaffirmation of his life. 
  

SKILLS

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EQUIPMENT

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