2 - Initiate Rotes for Mage: The Ascension

8/14/2019 2 - Initiate Rotes for Mage: The Ascension

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Initiate Rotes (Sphere Level 2)

Think of magic as a body of water. The Apprentice Rotes allow you tobecome aware of the water. The Initiate Rotes allow you to interact with it,although in a clumsy fashion. Imagine throwing a rock into a pond. It mayhave an impressive effect, but you cant control exactly where the rock willland, or what the effect will be. Initiate effects are very rewarding,however, because the Mage shifts from being a passive observer to anactive participant in the world of magic.

Correspondence

Extend Touch The physical body is no longer an obstacle to the Magestouch. He can touch, manipulate, or attack objects within 10 feet of him asif he were standing there. This Rote uses his normal physical abilities; itdoes not allow a weak Mage to push down a brick wall (although bytransferring his push to the top of the wall, he might stand a much betterchance of doing so).

Ward Area The Mage creates a small field of non-connection aroundhim. This Rote prevents other Mages from using Correspondence to scry onthe area and makes it more difficult for others to teleport in and out. Theward lasts only for a short time, however, and sustaining the rote is nearlyimpossible.

Scrying The Mage can send his senses to another place, observing as ifhe were there. Mages usually use elaborate rituals for this Rote whetherusing a crystal ball, a magic mirror, or a pair of LCD sunglasses, this spell isa classic. It is also well known, and easy to defend against with otherCorrespondence Rotes.

Kiarras Multi-Tasking Security Watch The mage opens a window onher triniary PC, showing another place or multiple places. She can see andhear what is going on there, and move the vantage point around, zoom inand out, store images and otherwise transform the image. It is possible tohold as many windows as arte rating. Using a Virtual Reality the mage caneven move around in a virtual copy of the place, seeing, hearing andfeeling things (But he still cannot interact with the place).

1-800-QUINTESSENCE (Correspondence 2, Prime 1) Far from home?Have an angry lioness of a familiar wanting quintessence NOW??? Look nofurther! By using a triniary computer to dial up and call a computer orphone at their home node, the Mage can connect to it and absorb neededquintessence. The connection must be maintained, and a role is stillrequired for quintessential absorption. This rote has been expanded tohigher levels, using the networks as conduits for quintessence to their uses.

Threads of Ariadne (Correspondence 2 Spirit 1 Mind 1) One problemmost Dreamers have is to find their way through the shifting Chimerae and


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other dreams. By concentrating on the destination, the mage can find apath leading to it. This path is by no means the easiest or safest, just theshortest possible path.

Sense the Land (Verbena) (Correspondence 2, Life 2, Mind 1) Firstemployed by the witch Brangian to keep track of the Saxons who wereraiding her land, this rote has become a standard surveillance effect amongthe Verbena. The witch extends her senses and merges them with those ofthe plants and small animals in a given region.

[The Life magic allows the witch to blend her perceptions with those livesaround her, while the Mind sphere enables her to understand thesensations she receives. Because her awareness is covered by the lives inthe area, this effect is very difficult to detect. Every success increases thedifficulty of detection by one.]

Etheric Probe (Etherites) (Correspondence 2 Spirit 1 or 5) Bylaunching a remote probe into the Near or Deep Umbra , a scientist is able

to explore the Umbra without leaving the safety of her laboratory.

[This rote combines Correspondence Sensing with Umbral Sight.]

Psychotronic Energy Scans (Etherite) (Correspondence 2, Forces1,Mind 1) This rote acts as a magickal early-warning system. It worksthough a method called psychotonic scanning, siphoning off a minisculeproportion of an area's energy and immediately returning it. Fluctuation inthe total energy in the area are reflected in the energy of the sample.When something using energy such as an animal or an operating machineenters, the amount of energy sampled changes, and the mage can observe

the change.

[The Mind 1 component is needed to keep the subconscious manualmonitoring of the scan going. often some kind of expert system or anapprentice is given this duty instead. Many pages also add Prime 1 todetect shifts in quintessence levels as well, this reveals mages, talismans,and other quintessence-related changes in the area.]

Psychotronic Biological Diagnosis (Etherite) (Correspondence 2,Forces 1, Life 1) The mage uses psychotronic sampling on a subject's bio-electro-magnetic aura. The mage can examine the aura in this way and

determine if the individual has any form of ailment and identify the natureof such problems. Sons are working on using this to read minds.

EntropyGames of Chance The Mage gains an advantage in any game wherechance has a factor. The player might be allowed to draw two hands andtake the better one in poker, pick two horses instead of one in a race, and


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so on. The effects arent perfect, but theyre a good way to make money.Unfortunately, its fairly trivial for other Mages to detect this Rote in effect.

Cluttered DrawerThe Mage can find items in a cluttered environmentquickly, by simply trusting luck. For example, he could reach into a toolboxand immediately pull out the proper wrench, or reach into a sock drawerand immediately find the one sock that doesnt belong.

Beginners LuckThe Mage can gain a bonus when using any Ability thathe doesnt actually possess. Even a beginner has a chance of hitting a 400yard hole-in-one, and sometimes the less you know about a subject, theeasier it is to succeed by chance.

The Mier of Entropy(Euthanatos) The mage surround herself with afield of negative randomness, giving her some protection against randomevents (like getting the poisoned drink on the tray, winning on lottery orbeing hit by a falling flower-pot). When the mage uses this rote, she takessome item from the vicinity, like a four-leaf clover, a napkin or a coin. This

object will become imbued with entropic resonance to ward of entropy This item will partially show how much "luck" remains or if the rotesuccessfully defends the mage. When the rote ends, the "lucky thing" willbe lost or destroyed.

[Each success protects against one random event. Random events areevents where the different possibilities are about the same probability anddo not depend on somebody or somethings conscious decision. The rotewill protect against all randomness, even beneficial. It will not work againstcoincidental magick.]

Mierers Message(Euthanatos) (Entropy 2, Correspondence 2) Oftenused at a predetermined time to check in with ones cabal or otherEuthanatos, the game is simpleeach persons trying to communicate musthave the same tools (rune stones, for example). Using entropy, the personyou are communicating with will happen to draw the most effective tool inthe set. Successes determine the amount of tools that can be successfullyaltered (2 = 2 rune stones to convey message) Now, interpretation? Thatis up entirely to the character

Shaking the Bones(Euthanatos) (Entropy 2, Prime 2) or (Entropy 2,Time 4) The Euthanatos are not usually very open about their activities

(which is probably very wise), and thus have developed this rote for secretcommunication. The only traditions to rival this system are the Akashicsand the Virtual Adepts. The Euthanatos often cast bones as a means ofdivination and have developed a very sophisticated code in the patternsthey fall in. A Euthanatos wishing to send a message uses her Entropymagick to influence the way they fall and then locks this pattern into thebones with Prime magick. Alternately the mage can use Time magick tocreate a `one-shot' only set of bones. This alternate version can also deliverdifferent messages or a number of different messages depending on some


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pre-chosen circumstance, such as a question asked. These bones are thendelivered to the intended receiver. Most mentors teach their disciples thiscode.

[The more magickal successes achieved, the more complex the messagemay be. Two successes produce a simple message, such as `technocratsare on to us.' Six successes would give details of numbers, locations, battleplans and contingencies.]

Flycatcher (Akashic) (Entropy 2, Correspondence 1, Mind 1) Little Thunder realized that by concentrating on the precision of his bodymovements and identifying the most effective use of energy and space, hecould acchive considerable success in his attacks.

[This rote reduces the difficulty of physical actions that require precision by1 plus 1 per two successes.]

Forces

Electrical Shutdown Computers and other high-tech machines workwith extremely precise flows of electricity. Its fairly simple to bring that allcrashing down. The Mage gains a significant bonus to any attempt to shutdown or crash an electrical machine.

Kinetic Energy Shield The Mage surrounds himself with an aura ofrepulsive force, turning attacks away from him. He gains a bonus to hisDodge Ability for a few turns.

Invisibility to Light The Mage bends light around him, effectivelyplacing himself in aninvisible pocket of space for a short while. Unfortunately, he cannot seeout, either, unless he uses another Rote to allow him to see outside thevisible spectrum.

The Fire Within The mage discharges static electricity around himself ina weak colored glow. The result is quite eerie and impressive. The light isnot very strong, but can illuminate smaller areas; however, it will not light a

room larger than a closet.

Receptacle for lesser forces (Forces 2 Prime 2) The mage consecratesa container (like a flask, a box or a statue) to be able to contain forces, fillsit with force, and then seals it. When the seal is broken (or the spell fades)the forces will be set free. First the receptacle is consecrated usingstrengthening and protecting forces ("In the name of Uriel the Shield-Bearerand Michael the Sword-Bearer I bind...") and pentacles and prime-symbolsare drawn around it. Then the receptacle is filled, and sealed by the Hebrewletter Resh (which means container) drawn by the Seal of Solomon.


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[Exactly what happens when the seal is broken depends on the nature ofthe force contained. Light can be emitted slowly from an small opening, oras a flash when a box is opened. Electricity can give the opener a shock.After the binding spells have faded, the force is also set free. ]

Diverting the Blow (Akashic) (Forces 2 or 3) This rote has a longhistory among the Akashic, for whom it forms a basic element of theirphilosophy. It redirects the energy of an attack, often returning it upon theattacker, who can be made to strike herself.

[With Forces 2, the force of the blow is diverted, while with Forces 3, it isreturned against the attacker. Each success will counter 2 levels of damage.If the higher level of the rote is used and the damage is completelycancelled, the damage will be done to the attacker.]

Yielding Grasp (Akashic) (Forces 2, Prime 2) By utilizing the principle ofyielding force, the doist can turn a target's force against him when

grappling, thus increasing her ownstrength in relationship to his.

[Each success effectively boosts the doist's Strength by 1 during grapplesand throws. This can be used to immobilize, disarm, or throw a target, butnot to do damage.]

Light the Elemental Fire (Alchemists) (Forces 2) The alchemist use alittle lamp of iron filled with consecrated oil for this rote. By pouring somesulphur into the oil, the oil ignites into a pure blue-white flame. This fire isquite normal except its colour, and is used to ignite other fires in the lab

(Sometimes alchemists use fire ignited by lightning instead). The longer thefire is kept alive, the more pure it will become. Some alchemists have fireswhich have been kept alive for centuries, passing from master to studentcountless times. These fires are almost talismans in themselves, andextremely pure. Their exact powers are not very understood, but they aregenerally sought after.

Life

Alter PlantThe Mage can subtly alter the growth of plants, speeding or

slowing their growth and dictating how they will grow. The Mage mightcause a tree, over the course of a week, to bend over and grow through awindow, or cause vines to wind through the machinery of a car in a fewhours. The process is slow, but can be very useful if the Mage is creative.

Heal SelfThe easiest thing for a Life-user to heal is himself. He quicklyrecovers a level of Bashing or Lethal damage. However, this Rote is unableto fix the damages caused by Paradox, at least not immediately.


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Heal Minor Animal Wounds The Mage can speed the healing of minorwounds on an animal, causing cuts to close and rashes to fade. He cannot,say, regrow a severed limb, but he can effectively smooth over flaws inanimal Patterns.

Blessings of the Blood A sprinkle of blood and all kinds of life in thevicinity of the mage start to grow and multiply faster. Flowers bloom, cropsbecome bountiful, female beings become fertile. A place where this rotehas been used often sometimes looks like a jungle, filled with wines andinsects and live, wild vegetation.

Push the Blood (Life 2, Mind 1 opt. Prime 2 for agg) Le Vay was amaster at controlling the pain that he was feeling. Using this rote the magefeels no pain, regardless of how wounded she is. This is both good and bad,especially since the mage cannot easily tell how hurt she is, which can berather dangerous. Verbena use to perform this rote by ritually cutthemselves in a spiral pattern. At the start of the cut it hurts, but then itfeels less and less and in the end nothing at all.

[The mage will not suffer wound penalties down to his stamina number ofwound boxes (after that the damage is so severe it causes practical hindersfor the mage despite the absence of pain). To find out how hurt the mage isif the situation isn't obvious (like with an arrow in the back), use perception+ alertness with a difficulty of 6.]

Mark the Blood (Life 2, Prime 2) The mage "marks" the blood of aperson. This marking will be passed on to the children, and so on.Sometimes this marking is bound to a special trait that is likened to PrimalMarkings. The mark can be read by Life 1. Different markings have different

meanings, and are used to keep track of certain traits and essential watchthe herd as it grows and evolves. Mages have also found that there existother markings in several bloodlines, which they have not put there. Somebelieve that there must have been other mages doing the same thing asthey in the past. Other explain it away as a "lusus naturae", a strange butuseless natural phenomenon.

Brew Venomous Blood (Life 2, Prime 2, Entropy 1) While the someregarded poison as foul, some of the modern age mages use it in thedefense of their homes and traditions. By boiling together a foul mixture ofblood, salt, yeast, earth, iron, ice and some drops of

snake venom under invocations of the powers of death, they create apotent and untraceable poison. The poison can be applied in food or drink,placed on weapons oreven on surfaces. The poison will seek out the weakest point of the victimand make him very sick or kill him.

[The poison works as an infection or other disease, completely coincidental.Typical effects can be heart attacks, allergic reactions or food poisoning. It


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will find the weakest point in the body of the victim and then strike. Thearte successes are equal to damage caused.]

Black Dagger (Euthanatos) (Life 1, Forces 2) The rote is easilymastered by young Euthantos Disciples. As with most of the traditionalrotes, it is simple, effective and created to kill people. Taking a knifesuitable for throwing, the mage daubs it in the substance of a bodily organto prepare it. This is either vitreous humor (eye), semen (genitals) or blood(heart). This knife then acts as a focus for the magick. The mage hurls thedagger at his enemy and it is drawn towards the correct area. Of course ithelps if the mage's aim is reasonable but the magick greatly increases hischance of success.

There are many very old daggers in use by the Euthanatos, passed downfrom mentor to disciple. These are often Egyptian throwing knives and useof one of these ritual items can make the magick far more potent. Over thecenturies these blades have been stained distinct colours. Yellow bladesmade of amber are drawn to the eye, white blades of steel fly for thegenitals and the obsidean black daggers pierce the heart. It is uncommon,but rumored that Lord Maat, High Priest and Euthanatos Oracle , had ablade wound of all three material

[Life magick identifies the target area, Forces guides the blade towards it.Each success reduces the difficulty of hitting the target area by one. Thebase difficulties are normally eyes +3, groin +2 and heart +2. Use of aknife with the appropriate resonance will reduce the difficulty of themagickal success roll.]

Aura of Death(Euthanatos) (Life 2) Other traditions have noticed that

wherever there is a great disaster, the Euthanatos soon appear. And whenthe Black Death broke out in the cities of Europe, the Euthanatos came outin droves. Although the Euthanatos could cope with the sight and stench ofthousands of rotting corpses, they needed some way to avoid contractingthe plague itself. Conducting this ritual creates a kind of Death Field aroundthe mage which kills all minor life forms that come to close, such as fleas,viruses, insects etcetera. This field is too weak to affect higher organismsbut other people do sense a kind of chilling effect around the mage. Theremay be a way around this but very few Euthanatos actually care.

[Life magick kills all simple life forms within two feet of the mage. Three

successes are needed to activate the rote and the effects last for one day.]

Murder of Crows (Verbena) (Life 2 or 4 Mind 2, sometimes Prime 2) Afavored spell of the Twisters of Fate, this enables a witch to conjure a swarmof creatures which will do her bidding, usually by attacking a target, withonly a wave of her blood-smeared staff.

[This spell will summon, or with Prime 2, create a swarm of animals. WithLife 2, it will summon insects or other invertibrates, while with Life 4, it will


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produce birds, rodents, or other small creatures, up to the size of cats. Thecontrol she has is limited, and only simple commands are possible.]

Tongue of the Adders (Verbena) (Life 2 Mind 2) This simple rote has ahistory dating back to ancient Greece, but it is still common today.

[This spell allows the witch to speak with and understand animals. Mostanimals, it should be noted, have very simple thoughts, and few have muchto say about anything other than food, safety, and procreation.]

Phosphorescent Marker(Etherites) (Life 2 Spirit 1) To aid hersearch for a mysterious creature living in the sewers of San Francisc, FerrisShu released a large quantity of specially treated spores into the sewersystem. These spores quickly matured into a fungus that produced aultraviolet phosphorescence if they came into contact with any lifeform thatwas not native to the Tellurian, and thus she was able to locate the kappathat had gotten trapped on this side of the Gauntlet. Ferris employed awide variety of effects based around simple lifeforms.

[This is one example of the sort of effects that biologist Sons produce on aregular basis. They are generally tailored to one specific circumstance, butthe basic principle is enormously flexible.]

Matter

Heal Simple ObjectThe Mage can magically repair an object which hastaken damage. The object must be mostly made of a single substance the Mage could use this Rote to straighten a sword or smooth a dent out ofa car door, but not repair a watch.

Melt Substance The Mage briefly changes the structure of a substance,rendering it soft and pliable. He can overcome a door simply by tearing ahole through it, or open a lock simply by melting it apart. The substancequickly returns to its natural state.

Transmutation The Mage can change a small, homogenous chunk ofone substance into another similar substance. For example, he could turn aglass pendant into a perfect emerald, or turn copper into gold. Paradoxslowly returns the object to its original form, but while it lasts, the Mage can

make some quick money, or do something else that requires a raresubstance. Sons of Ether prize this rote for allowing them to study light,lasers, and gemstones without needing to leave the lab.

Le Vays Faerie Ale(Matter 2, Prime 2, Mind 2) By adding special herbsand some blood to mead and then brewing it together, the mage cancreate a mead which will infuse the drinker with the emotions of the herchoice. This is used to create the mead drunk during the blot, or a subtleway of influencing people. Only the LeVay know the specifics that go intobrewing this ale, for Authentic Taste others can reproduce lesser


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variations, but when it comes to Faerie Ale all others pale in compressionby taste.

The Better Beer(Matter 2 Prime 2) This popular rote improves beer. Itincreases alcoholic content, and gives it a truly heavenly taste. It evenseems to last longer. The beer is almost literally enchanted, and tends tomake people very happy. Unfortunately it also creates very real hangovers,but that's another problem.

Growing Gold(Matter 2 Prime 2) Another gold-creating rote, this oneinvented by Horatio and Kate (The alchemists need much gold to financetheir expensive magick and for use in finding out not only where theywhere, but WHEN they were). Since everything is alive to some extentaccording to alchemical doctrine, metallic gold can be coaxed to grow giventhe right nutrients. The mage places a small amount of gold in a crucibleand adds another metal, preferably mercury. The crucible is heated, andthe result is that the gold absorbs nourishment from the metal and the heatand grows into more gold.

Diamonds are Forever(Matter 2, Prime 2) The mage makes crystalsgrow out of the air around something or someone, to trap or imprison.Many simply direct powerful electric discharges into the air controlled bytheir meters, forcing the ether to crystallize

(I always thought that nothing was forever; when Heylel did a quicklittle change on the rock that Gazi was going to give Keiryn; well, youshould have seen the look on her face! Instead of changing the smallpebble into a diamond, crystals started appearing out of thin air andsoon she was inside a crystalline prison. By the time that we stopped

laughing, the mood was lost. I think she said yes, anyway!Mm. Fujimiya)

Nastyglass (Matter 2 Forces 2 Mind 2 Prime 2) A weird invention ofDaedalus. It is a special type of glass which modulates light in a verystrange way, turning it irritating to the human mind. Nothing measurablechanges, except that anything viewed through the glass will appear ugly,sickly and slightly nauseating. Light sent through the material will take on ableak look, and people often get headaches out of it. There are rumoursthat Daedalus also have developed other types of glass with positive

emotions.

The Revised Periodic Table (Etherites) (Matter 2) By following theRevised Periodic Table, a Son can subject any chemical to various processesand produce any other chemical he chooses, so long as he carefullymonitors the reaction with his scientific meter. Students learn this as thefirst step in producing new elements and substances.

[This transmutes simple substances into other simple substances. It alsoallows desperate Sons to make do without the proper chemicals in a pinch.]


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Crystallize Ether(Etherites) (Matter 2 Prime 2) This is one of the mostbasic tricks in the corpus of Etheric science, but it has many uses. Bygenerating an electric current on the proper wave band, the Ether in anarea can be crystallized into a hard substance which can be used as abarrier, bridge, or even a prison (crystallized ether is normally gaspermeable, but if the bandwidth is correct, the prisoner may have troublegetting oxygen).

[Each success gives the crystallized ether 2 'Health' levels and 1 soak die.]

Liquid Pleasure (Cultists) (Matter 2 Prime 2 Mind 2/3) Some cultistswant to give others a taste of the pleasures they experience, so they createbottled experiences. This range from the mixing of odd drinks which letsthe imbiber experience whatever emotion the cultist wants to drugs whichcause visions showing the secrets of the cult.

Mind

Distraction and Doubt The Mage hits his target with a wave ofnegative emotion, causing him to hesitate and stumble. In combat, thisthrows off the targets next few attacks or defenses, as they struggle toovercome the emotional weight placed on them.

Powerful Presence The Mage amplifies his own Presence Attribute. Hisperformances are more stirring, his intimidation more terrifying, and hiscommand more inspiring. He gains a bonus to any Presence-basedchallenges.

Social EmbarrassmentThe Mage projects a quick impulse, causing histarget to slip up socially laughing in a tense situation, sneezing whileshaking the Primuss hand, and such. This is a challenge of the castersmagical ability versus the targets Etiquette Ability.

Double Pain The mage increases the susceptibility to pain of a victim. Asmall cut will feel like a deep gash, and a greater wound will paralyze thevictim in agony. This is sometimes used by mages in the AkashicBrotherhood on themselves to train their resistance to pain and their

willpower. They just sit down in Do meditation and concentrate of the painof existence.

[The wound penalties are doubled for the victim. A Hurt or Injured will givea -2 penalty, Wounded -4 and Crippled -10.]

Voice of Command The mage commands somebody with hisresounding, commanding voice. The victim feel a strong impulse to obeythe order of the mage. The order has to be short and possible to act on


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directly, since the victim would otherwise start to think for himself. The rotecannot overcome what the person wouldn't do on his own.

Curse The mage curses somebody, often very graphically and oftenusing some material implement (waving a bone or entrails at the victim, orspitting at him). The mage implants a subconscious desire to get hurt. Thevictim will often become unsettled, nervous or depressed. When anopportunity presents itself, the subconscious mind will try to make thevictim hurt himself (or a loved one). Some mages add Entropy to "give fatea hand", creating more opportunities for the curse to work.

Youve Lost That LOVIN Feeling(Mind 2 Matter 2 Prime 2) The magefocuses on his current emotions and diffuses them through the surroundingarea, making tiny modifications to things. People who enter will feel subtlecues towards the same feeling as the mage left. This is often used to createrooms for different purposes in eastern chantries, or by the Cult of Ecstasyto enchant places they like.

Dominion The mage surrounds a room or other place with symbols ofhimself (for example his coat of arms, his monogram or something else).The mage becomes master of the area, making everybody inside obey himwithout question as long as they are inside. Everybody feels the presenceof the mage intensely. The mage becomes the central point of the room.

The Garden of Delight(Mind 2 Life 2) Originally invented by the Cult ofEcstasy, but later used by the Euthanatos. They turn the doll upside downand sensually stroke it with their weapon. The victim will experience allpain as intense pleasure. A pinprick is a pleasurable tickle, a stabbing knifean orgasm. Some Euthanatos use the rote to make honored persons

perform the good death on themselves.

Sight of Cerberus (Mind 2, Entropy 1, Correspondence 1) The mageexpands his mind in all directions. Should it find another mind filled withenmity directed against him personally the mage will immediately know it,and knows the exact position of the enemy. As long as the mage uses thisrote he is safe from ambushes.

Awaken the Blood(Life 2, Mind 2) Some claim that LeVays sexualprowess was legendary, more so than other Verbena whom shared hisaffinity for all pleasures; sex included. This rote instills innate, primaldesires for sexual gratification in the target; but not only in the mind, but inthe very essence of the body as well. This desire can be targeted from oneperson, to another. Many claim that Johnnys Love Life Problems startedhere others have no idea. More wonder what the secrets of this Roteentail; as it often fails if others try to replicate. Some claim that it has to dowith his Kinain nature

Curse of Mier(Mind 2, Entropy 1) The mage preens opens the mind ofthe victim to the presence of entropy in all thing, allowing the wheel to turn


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in the head of the victim. The victim is cursed, forced to see the entropypresent in everything...especially within them selves. Mirrors hold pain andsuffering as the victim realizes all that is wrong within themselves. Thisreflective tool shows every imperfection to the victim. Mier is a relentlessMaster, and uses this often as a learning tool for her Thanatoic apprenticesto ensure that Entropy is fully understood. With understanding, one cansteer clear of the Nephandic path. Nothing the victim feels is free from thetaint of decay. He will feel how everybody is slowly dying and nothing will

remain forever. This curse will make most normal people very depressed,and if the curse is used repetitively and long enough many victims becomeinsane or commit suicide.

Chicks Dig Me (Mind 2, Life 2) Clears up acne and produces a healthyglow that the Ladies find Desirable. It also produces the illusion of Mouse-Wear (inc by Sam) convinces the target that concepts like "RAM" and"K-bytes" are incredibly interesting. Go fig.

The Notice (Mind 2, Prime 2) (Maurader) This hard-to-describe rote

creates a 'quintessence sink,' which fools any Awakened beings intothinking that the mage is much more powerful than she appears. [Just hassome quality of...power about her.] At the same time, it sends out a sort of'mental beacon' which causes everyone in range to notice and look at theMage at the same time.

(lights cigarette) Nobody touches the girl. That's right. The girls mine. Andin ten seconds, me, and her, and the dog, are going to walk out of here. Youknow who I am. Or you ought to. You know my reputation. Now... doesanyone here really want to start something?

-Gabriel Michaels

Commune with Nature (Mind 2, Life 2/3, Correspondence 2) The magegoes into a state of trance and contact the consciousness of all life aroundher, and then spread her senses into the surroundings. The mage feelswhat life around her feels, the consciousness of plants and animals andtheir positions. With some concentration the mage can find all animals andplants in the vicinity, tell their relation to each other and see through theirsenses. If something happens to any living being in the area the mage willimmediately feel it. This can of course cause unpleasant effects ifsomething dramatic or painful happens. Besides, the mage will have big

trouble returning to just having a single consciousness and a single body ifthe experience have lasted long. And after coming out of her trance themage is often disoriented and confused for a while, especially if it has takena long time or her consciousness have been spread out over a large area.

Fishing in the Well of Dreams (Mind 2 Spirit 2) A rote used by manyThey summon their own dreams, fantasies, fears and illusions into thewaking world so they can speak with them, hoping to understand them orbanish them if needed. The Brother ceremonially washes himself and thenstarts to meditate on the part of his mind he wants to meet. He brings it


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slowly closer to the surface, step by step, until it appears clearly to him.This rote is quite hazardous, since it can release dangerous aspects of themage into the light, and they might not always be content to return to theirold places. It has happened that fantasies not only has refused to return,but that they have stayed in the world in physical form (so called Tulpas).[Using Mind 2 or 3 the mage can summon fragments of another presentperson. Some mages have even sent away their own fragments into theminds of others.]

What Time Do YOU think it is? (Mind 2 Time 1) The mage disturbs thesense of time of a person, so he will think that more or less time havepassed. He can make the victim think that its still four or that its alreadysix, until the victim watches his watch (which clever mages can manipulateusing Matter).

No-Time (Mind 2 Time 2 Entropy 2) This rote removes the sense of timefrom the subject. It becomes impossible to plan for the future or rememberthe past, all that exists is an eternal now. By combining this with entropy it

becomes impossible to predict what the subject will do, even with Time.The Cult of Ecstasy usually invoke this by extreme intoxication, loud musicand then by placing the ring on a finger; as long as it remains, the rote willbe active.

Guarding the Tomb(Mind 2) (Euthanatos) Few people would want toinvade the privacy of a Euthanatos mage but this rote was developed bythem in order to keep even these few away. During a long ritual in whichthe Euthanatos sprinkles human ashes over the chosen area, she createsan atmosphere of unsettled fear. The degree of fear she produces is amatter of choice. A subtle impression of unease will deter people without a

genuine reason to go there. A much greater effect will create one of thoseplaces that have a bad reputation - haunted cottages, dangerous alleys andthe areas that you just don't go. A very powerful mage or a cabal cancreate a place that most sleepers cannot even approach, certainly notwithout a very good reason. The trick is to gauge the right intensity. Toolittle and anyone with a few beers inside them wont even notice it; toomuch and the Men in Black will hear about it. In modern times some peopleeven seek out such places. Coincidences can often be used in graveyards,secluded glens and places of tragedy etcetera. Finally, this rote can beexpanded to exclude certain people, those who carry a special seal or anyother signal that the mage desires, although this will require additional

spheres. Nephandi also use a variation on this rote, although theirsproduces a more active sense of evil.

[Typically, in addition to successes needed for area affected (which variesaccording to locale), two successes would be needed for a subtle aura, fivesuccesses for a very real sensation of fear and ten or more to drive awaydetermined trespassers.]


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Keep the Dream Alive (Mind 2, Prime 2) (Dreamer) This rote gives theDreamer power to temporarily sustain a dream even after the dreamer hasended dreaming it, preventing it from dissolving or calcifying. It willcontinue to exist as long as the mage feeds it quintessence (a quite heavytask for greater dreams). The dream will continue as it would, except thatthe original dreamer is now absent (and thus the rules will remain thesame). If the dream is sustained enough it will become completelyindependent and permanent. More powerful dreamers collect beautifuldreams from people and then store them, or leave them as nice surprisesfor sleepers.

Redirect Emotion (Akashic) Employing the principle that a straight lineattack is best met with a circular defense, and applying that principle to the'direction' of emotions, the Dragon Scale Minxing Yuan learned to avoidconflicts by redirecting the emotions that cause them onto other targets.

[This rote shifts the target of an emotion from one thing to another. Forexample, if a Progenitor has decided to attack Min for putting an end to his

experiments on people, she could shift his anger from herself to his labpartner, causing him to attack his comrade instead of her. Strong,unfocused emotions require fewer successes, perhaps 2 to 3, to redirectwhile subtle feelings or emotions strongly focused on a particular targetrequire 4, 5 or more.]

Belly Talking (Akashic) (Mind 2, Life 1) Minxing Yuan realized that theprinciple of devastating one's opponent if one could not avoid combat wasfacilitated if she had some idea of how dangerous a potential opponent wasbefore she fought him. With this in mind, Min learned how to estimate aperson's fighting ability by watching how they moved and how their

thoughts flowed, and thus was able to avoid many fights that she could nothave won.

[This rote gives the doist information on the targets score in Str, Dex, Stam,Do, Brawl, and Melee. A single success tells her if the target has thoseattributes and abilities. Two successes give the general level [low, medium,high]. Three gives them in terms of the doist's own ratings(lower, higher,the same), while four or more gives the exact level.]

Thoughts Like Water (Akashic) This common rote has existed formillenia, although its origins are unknown. By assuming a relaxed state of

mind in which all things flow naturally, the Brother's mind becomesextremely elusive.

[This rote makes it harder for others to detect the Brother's thoughts. Allattempts to detect, read, or manipulate his thought have their difficultyincreased by 1 per success scored by the Brother.]

Elude Senses (Akashic) (Mind 2, Entropy 2) The young Dragon ScaleLittle Thunder spent a great deal of time watching martial arts movies


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about ninjas. Although his mentor chided him for such a frivolous pursuit,Little Thunder was inspired to develop rotes that reproduced some of theabilities of the cinematic ninjas. The most useful such rote involvesidentifying the weak spots in a security system and them using them.Guards are encouraged to overlook the intruder's presence.

[Each success adds one to the difficulty of people to spot the Brother, aslong as the Brother is attempting to be inconspicuous.]

Tree Falling Alone (Akashic) (Matter 2, Prime 2; sometimes Mind 1, Time2) The pious Dragon Scale River Willow once needed to search an office ofthe New World Order but wished to make certain that she left no evidencethat she had done so. She employed the principle that an actionunobserved has essentially not happened, and thus ensured that theynever realized that she had learned their plans.

[This rote is activated before a covert action is attempted. If the action issuccessfully completed without being observed, then no accidental sign ofits occurrence will be left. The Akashic will leave no finger or foot prints orany other similar evidence. With Mind 1, the mage will leave no psychicresidue, and with Time 2 she will not register on Post cognitive effects. Themage may employ other effects to ensure that she is not detected, such asinvisibility or a field of silence. This rote is almost always coincidental.]

Love is in the Air(Cultists) (Mind 2 Life 2 Prime 2) Some cultists enjoyspreading positive emotions around themselves, and this rote wasdeveloped as a simple but efficient tool. The mage creates "love germs",which infect people and give them positive feelings. Gradually the happyemotions spread through a crowd, changing the overall mood. The type of

emotions are determined by the will and personality of the mage; somemages spread happiness and joy, other hardcore lust.

[The "love germs" are completely outside of the realm of technocraticscience, they are immaterial beings which spread their emotions toanybody they infect. The number of successes in casting the rote tells howstrong and tenacious they are; everyone who interacts with an infectedperson under the duration of the rote will have a chance to be infected (thisis resisted by willpower, modified by nature and mood). These newlyinfected persons in turn infect others (although now with an infection onesuccess smaller etc). ]

Love Potion # 9 (Alchemists) (Mind 2 Prime 2) While most alchemiststhink this rote is a bit silly, they can't deny the demand for the potion.Besides, its a classic almost all apprentices want to learn. A typical lovepotion will work by making the drinker both susceptible for seduction andmore amorous. The alchemist mixes mercury salts, rose water, expensivespices and a small amount of gold (preferably from a wedding ring orsomething like that). The mixture is carefully heated and then distilled. Thedistillate is added to food or drink.


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[ Each success will lower the target number with one for all attempts atseduction or other amorous skills for the victim. It will also make the victimsee every possible partner as having more in appearance and charismathan they really do. Each success will increase the apparent charisma andappearance with one. ]

Elixir of the Sun (Alchemists) (Mind 2 Prime 2) The mage mixestogether mercury and gold into an amalgam. This amalgam is left in thesun during the day, and heated during the night. After several days, theamalgam is pulverised and added to wine. This wine will, if drunk, make theuser to appear much more powerful than he really is. The user will, at leastfor a while, make people around him very impressed and awed.

Closing the veil of the temple (Enochian) (Mind 2 Prime 2) This roteis a often used way to protect the temple. The mage cloaks the temple in aveil of uninterest, and seal this by routing some of the templesquintessence into the veil. A person who don't know about the temple willsimply not notice it, or remain uninterested. It will not protect from those

who know of the temple, but even those will have some difficulty to find away in.

Prime

Quintessence Armor The Mage enhances his body with a shell ofQuintessence, granting him the effects of armor but only against magicalattacks. Normal blades and physical attacks are unaffected by his armor,but spirits are. This Rote requires Quintessence to use.

Quintessence Blade The Mage creates a weapon out of Quintessence,making it resonate into all layers of reality. This weapon can strike spirits(although the Mage would need another Rote to be able to see them), andcan attack a person even if theyre in a form which normally cannot be hit,such as dissolved to mist, shifted into the Umbra, or melded with an oaktree.

Quintessence Bolt The Mage hurls a projectile made of pureQuintessence, which strikes both at the body and the soul of the target,doing a level of both Bashing and Lethal damage. This Rote requiresQuintessence to use.

Break the Flow The mage can disturb the flow of quintessence whichsustains a magickal effect. This is done by disturbing it so it won'tdischarge into its target, but into somethingelse or just into reality in general. This will disrupt the magick for a shortwhile (some types of magick may even be dispelled by this). This of courseonly works on magick which is fuelled by a flow of quintessence or isupheld by a concentrating mage. It will temporarily break down a barrier,make an eternal flame go out or turn a temporarily boosted Life- mage


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normal. Hermetic mages usually perform this by "cutting off" the powerwith their seal, while intoning the name of a powerful god or force.

[ Each success removes one success from the affected magickal effect. If itis of the type which demands constant influx of quintessence to functionand remain in existence, like a flame or ward, it may be completelydispelled if all successes are removed. Matter and Life magick will return tonormal function as power returns.]

Aura of Power The mage channels quintessence into himself and hissurroundings. He cannot control where it goes or how it manifests, and itwill spread. The result will be that the mage will be quite noticeable, andappear more "real" than the background. It gives a definite impression ofpower. The negative side is that the quintessence attracts lots of "littlenasties" and can suddenly ground into patterns, turning them more realtoo. Cult of Ecstasy perform this rote by watching light reflecting in thesurface of a drink and then make a silent toast to themselves.

[ Each success will give on extra dice on social rolls. ]

Beacon of David(Prime 2, Correspondence 1) The mage "marks" anobject, which he afterwards will be able to find (just like the place in "WhereAm I?"). Members of Order of Hermes draw a pentagram around the objectusing the Seal, while Virtual Adepts enter information about the object intotheir computer, which will keep track of it. A rather crafty man once felldeeply in love with an deeply absent minded woman; whom he had troublekeeping track of. His greatest fear is that something shiny, or made of

cheese, would distract her to her doom while his back was turned. In orderto keep his Sam as safe as possible, David embedded her wedding bandwith the beacon.

Airbag (Prime 2, Matter 2, Time 1, Forces 1) Desperation is the mother ofinvention, and this rote was invented by a Son of Ether who was fallingtowards an early death after an early experiment in flying. He managed tocalculate the exact instant he would strike the ground, and just before theimpact he created a large amount of air between himself and the ground.He survived the fall but was deafened by the bang. Later mages haveexperimented with creating piles of feathers or coincidental mattresses, but

air is still popular. Air can be created during the fall, creating slowingupwinds. By timing things well, a mage can land almost soundlessly andwith just a weak breeze.

(This one comes in handy for Airships. Mm. Fujimiya)

The Unintentional Paradox Fixation of Jonathan Bonisagus (Prime2, Matter 2) A rote invented by the creative and overconfident mageJohnny Bonisagus. His idea was to create a stable pattern of matter andthen channel Paradox instead of Prime into it, essentially locking it up in a


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safe form. However, Paradox turned out to be far more insidious thanexpected, and managed to pervert the material patterns regardless of type. Johnny was almost killed several times until he gave up. The rote givesParadox energies a physical form to inhabit, which they usually quicklywarp to their own ends and somehow always manages to turn against themage. In fact, the rote is one of the simplest ways to get nasty paradoxbeings to manifest. A created crystal ball will shatter into shards forming ahunting spirit, a piece of iron will animate into a pursuing snake and a block

of cement may suddenly tip over the mage. Most say that Jon never knewwhat he was doingand it was all completely coincidental.

[The rote doesn't really channel Paradox into the pattern, it just creates apattern in the normal way. But the rote also leads to a minor, imperceptibleParadox Backlash into the material form, giving the powers of Paradoxcontrol over it. The paradox of the cabal generally end up on the caster ]

See the Briatic Plane (Prime 2 Spirit 2) Mages from the Order ofHermes have always wanted to understand how reality works, anddeveloped this rote to gain further understanding. In essence, it allowsthem to see the "Prime Umbra", the aspect of reality which influencesquintessence. According to some theories, it is here the great pool of rawquintessence exists. In the Prime Umbra, the forces which shapequintessence are visible. This ranges from the changes around nodes andley lines to the texture or reality, resonance and paradox warps. Someexperimenters have reported that there seems to exist beings there notbased on much else than pure quintessence without earthly patterns.Perhaps this is the realm paradox spirits come from? Some adventurousmages have even physically entered the Prime Umbra, with varied results.Several times they have been attacked by powerful paradox spirits, lendingcredit to the theory.

The Middle Pillar Ritual (Prime 2 Spirit 2 Mind 1 Life 1) This rote willstrengthen the body, mind and soul of the mage. The mage stands andvisualizes himself as the middle pillar of the Sephirothic Tree. Below him isthe material world, and above his head Keter, the source of prime. He feelsthe energy flowing through him, into the world and from the world back tothe source. The mage will feel filled with power, in perfect balance of mindand body.

[The mage will pump quintessence into his own pattern for a while. This will

temporary strengthen the mages own pattern and hopefully weakenintruding patterns. Each success will remove one success of magick (Bothhelpful and harmful), like a countermagick roll. The target number for therote is the highest sphere involved in the effect + 3, or 5, whichever ishighest. It will not heal any damage already done nor stop any flaws in themages own pattern. Prolonged use of this rote have been shown to causeegocentricity, as the mage unconsciously begin to believe he is the centreof the universe. ]


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Occam's Razor (Prime 2, Entropy 2) (Technocratic) Static magicfunctions through the creation of coincidences - things that are unlikely, butpossible. For example, it is extremely unlikely that a coin flipped 100 timeswill land tails up each time. Possible, but extremely unlikely. Occam's Razorstates that explanations that are extremely unlikely should be rejected infavor of more logical ones. The rote that shares its name works by loweringthe entropy in a system, reducing the random chance that is necessary forcoincidences to succeed. This makes performing static magic much moredifficult the coincidences simply don't happen.

[Anyone subject to this spell must make an Arete roll (diff 7) each time sheperforms static magic, the number of successes dependent on theoutlandishness of the coincidence desired. Failure means the spelldissipates unaccomplished. A botch means that the spell manifests inthe most vulgar manner possible.]

Restore Pattern (Prime 2 Life 1/Matter 1/Forces 1) Many patterns whichare disturbed and damaged by magick can be strengthened again if the

quintessence lost is replaced before they settle into a new pattern. Thisrote has many uses. One use is as countermagick against magick seekingto destroy a pattern, by healing the damage and strengthening it before thechanges even become real (it wont work on any pattern that has alreadybeen changed, since it now is a new, stable, pattern).

Empower Dream (Prime 2, Mind 1) (Dreamer) By infusing an object, abeing or a place in a dream with quintessence, it is given independentexistence. This will empower it greatly, and give it some permanence. Evenif the dream which contains it dissolves, the object will often survive bybecoming a permanent part of the subconscious of the dreamer.

Temporary Inducement of Detangible State (Etherites) (Prime 2,sometimes Mind 1) Another basic effect, this involves running an electriccurrent of the proper frequency through any solid object, thus temporarilydisrupting the object's tangible matrix, which in laymen's terms meansmaking it desolidified briefly. The most common use of this effect is toallow a Son to escape imprisonment (a distressingly common situation). Thus Doctor Pangaea recommends to all the students in his PracticalScience 101 course that they carry a hidden battery on their persons at alltimes for just such emergencies.

[This rote is basically the same effect as Rubbing the Bones, except that ittakes advantage of the target's momentary lack of existence. Thusrestraints can be slipped out of. Mind 1 is sometimes added to enable toSon to calculate the moment of maximum detangibility, thus allowing himto run through a fluxing door before it reforms. Without Mind, there is achance that the door would reform as the Son was passing through it, ahighly unpleasant experience for all involved.]


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Spirit

Spirit Touch The Mage extends his sense of touch into the Penumbra.He can touch spirits and strike them if necessary, using his normal combatabilities. When used from the Penumbra, this Rote allows the Mage to shiftobjects slightly, as a poltergeist might.

Spirit Voice The Mage can now communicate into the Penumbra, withoutactually having to cross over. He can communicate with spirits (who are inno way obligated to listen), or send out a general shout for help. If he is inthe Penumbra, he can communicate back to reality, his voice drifting as awhisper from the air.

Spirit WardThe Mage has learned some basic rituals to prevent spiritsfrom entering an area. By using this Rote, he can make it more difficult forother Mages to cross to or from the Penumbra, and cause spirits to keeptheir distance from the area.

The Invocation of the Four Archangels (Spirit 2) The mage standwith his arms straight out to the sides, so that his body forms a cross. Heinvokes the four Archangels: "Before me Raphael. Behind me Gabriel. Onmy right hand, Michael. On my left hand, Uriel. For around me flames thepentagram, and within me shines the six-rayed star." By using this rote, themage will scare away most spirits, fearful for the powerful Archangels andthe powerful mage. The Rosicrucians have developed their own version, theLesser Banishing of the Pentagram, which works in almost the same way.

[The Archangels will normally not appear in person, but will (if the mage islucky) send subordinates to the mage. They will not manifest physically, buttheir presence is often felt. The subordinate angels will scare away lesserbeings from the vicinity. After they are done, they will report back to theirsuperiors what happened. It is very unwise to misuse this rote.]

Exorcism (Spirit 2) The mage seeks to exorcise a spirit which hasmanifested on thephysical plane. In practice, the mage is trying to throw it out in the Umbraagain. Most spirits are naturally opposed to this, and will use any meansnecessary to prevent this. Most spirits try to sneak away on the physicalplane if they can or the exorcist seems dangerous. Others attack the

exorcist physically, mentally or with cunning.

[The rite is an extended action, where each success of the magetemporarily decreases the Arete of the spirit during the exorcism. Thedifficulty is the Arete of the spirit +4. If it reaches zero the spirit isbanished. If the mage botches the spirit can possess him if it wants to, oreven banish the soul of the mage to the Umbra if it is powerful enough.]

Summon Demon Process (Spirit 2, Correspondence 1) (Technocratic) The mage summons one of the spirits of technology and communication


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from a network of some kind. The spirits are quick, efficient entities whoknow almost everything about their own medium, but unfortunately notmuch about anything else (Many spirits deny the existence of anythingoutside their network) The spirits can for example tell the mage aboutwhere information has been transmitted or stored, but nothing about whatthe information means, since it is incomprehensible to them. Technomagessummon and talk to these spirits using query-languages or their own weirddialect of LISP.

Summon the Servitors of Decay(Euthanatos) (Spirit 2, Entropy 1) The mage summons some of the spirits of entropy in an area of entropy; aplace where a dying person lay waiting, or a condemned house. Thesespirits can tell what has happened at a scene; providing detaileddescriptions of the flow of entropy, identification marks that may beentropic in resonance and nature; tell in what way a glass was brokenTheanswer is found depending on how the bones fall. The spirits of entropy arenot very good at answering questions about anything that does not involveentropy and randomness. They cannot tell if anybody have passed them,but can give detailed descriptions of the flow of entropy around a murdervictim or tell in what way a glass was broken. These servitors requirepayment in blood from the Euthanatos summoning them.

Evoke the Spirits of the Forces (Spirit 2, Forces 1) Hermetic mageshave always been interested in elementals. This rote is used tocommunicate with the spirits in different forces like light, darkness, heat orelectricity. It will not give the summoner any control over them, but theymight obey him if they want to. Hermetics draw a circle, and place some ofthe force in the Triangle of Art outside (If the mage want to communicatewith the spirits of light, a light source is needed. For the spirits of darkness

a pool of shadow. For the spirits of radioactivity a piece of uranium). Thenthe spirit is evoked with a long incantation which names all forces whichcontrol and rule the desired type of spirit.

Song of Life (Spirit 2, Life 1) Mages often contact the spirits of nature.Theyseek to awaken the spirits around themselves by dancing, drumming andsinging ancient songs. Most nature spirits are weak beings, but sometimesthey meld together into one powerful spiritus loci, which can have greatpower. However, most spirits are just conscious of what happens in theirown world, and very bad at recognizing other activities. On the other hand

nature spirits are very good at revealing where different plants grow, ifsomebody has passed or forecast the weather. Spirits can tell a variety ofthingscommunicating is a little more difficult. Waking a nature spirit inyour garden may help it grow more lively; wakening a spirit in a tree maybring stronger limbs

Awaken the Spirits (Spirit 2, Matter 1) Dreamspeakers sometimes wantto communicate with the elementals living in material objects. They ticklethe object with their feather and beats their drums to awaken the sleepyspirits. If it succeeds the spirits awaken, and the mage can talk with them.


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The spirits of normal objects are often rather simpleminded and fairlypowerless, but generally very knowledgeable about the nature and use ofthe object. Some objects can have fairly willful and powerful spirits, likecertain cars or buildings.

Find the Rift(Spirit 2 Correspondence 2 Time 2 Entropy 1) (Nephandi /Maurader) This rote is used by Nephandi, Marauders and others of theirilk to learn when and where the Gauntlet or horizon will open enough to letthem through. Marauders usually use this rote subconsciously,coincidentally appearing at the opening at the exact right moment.

Summon Succubus/Incubus (Spirit 2 Mind 2) Succubi and Incubi areas much beings of desire as actual spirits. They take their form from thewildest, most repressed desires of their partners, intent on fulfilling all theirfantasies. This has made them excellent tools of corruption or spies in thepast. Many mages have also fallen for the temptation of using them aslovers, which they are all too willing to become. The longer asuccubus/incubus remain physical and the more lovers it has, the more

powerful will it become until it is beyond the control of any mage.

Feel the Grip of Paradox (Spirit 2 Correspondence 2) (Maurader) After some paradox backlashes parts of reality vanishes into paradoxdimensions, often taking irritating mages and innocent sleepers with them.In these cases it is possible to find the affected places long time afterwardsdue to the subtle distortions of space left behind and the strains on theGauntlet. When such an area is found, a careful (as not to invoke moreparadox) study using Spirit and Correspondence can often reveal theparadox dimensions and mini-realms which have appeared.

See the Dark World(Euthanatos) (Spirit 2 Entropy 2) By singing anddancing the songs of mourning the dreamspeakers are able to see theworlds of the dead and communicate with the wraiths who live there. To seethe dark world, they look through the feather. To speak to the wraiths, theytalk through it and hold it to their ears to hear the replies.

Guardian (Spirit 2 Matter 2) The mage summons a lesser spirit, which isleft guarding aplace or an object. Usually it is connected to a certain object (idols or sealson parchments are popular). If something specified beforehand happens,the spirit contacts the mage and then leaves.

[ Each success increases the awareness and alertness of the spirit with 2. Itwill remain as long as the binding spell lasts. ]

Bless the Faithful Servant(Prime 2 Spirit 2) The mage blesses a spirit,pouring quintessence into its pattern. This is something most spirits desire,as it will make them more powerful in the long run. Besides, at least to ahuman, they seem to derive pleasure from it. This rote is often used tothank spirits who have helped the mage. The Cabalists bless them in the


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name of Tetragrammaton and let the quintessence flow from their seal,while dreamspeakers give them crystals and medicine as gifts.

Haunting (Spirit 2 Entropy 2) The mage summons lots of minor spiritsinto an area to spread an aura of eeriness. The result is a local haunting,where spooky sounds can be heard (or was it just a branch tapping thewindow?), plates fall from the shelves, small objects mysteriously vanish,lightbulbs suddenly go out and similar eerie happenings. The moodbecomes slightly darker, with barely perceived movements in the shadowsand noise just below the threshold of hearing.

Spirit Messenger(Spirit 2 Correspondence 2) A rote which was oftenemployed during the Middle Ages by Order of Hermes. The mage summonsa minor spirit, which is given a message to deliver. The spirit flies away tothe receiver, delivers its message and vanishes (unless ordered to returnwith an answer). The Order had long tables with the names of suitablemessengers, and especially valued spirits who could communicate inseveral languages and work as interpreters.

Summon Being of Change (Euthanatos) This rote summons onetype of spirit, known just as the Beings of Change. They don't have anyvisible appearance, but can be seen due to their effects. The Beings areroughly shaped like thin surfaces, which sweep through matter as if itwasn't there. As they pass through things, they change them. Weak beingsjust change small things like orientation and placement, like making thingsappear in other places or turned upside down. More powerful beingschange inanimate objects into new objects, like turning rocks into piles ofpaper or pencils into glasses of whiskey. After that, the beings can start tochange living beings slightly, or add new things. Ants turn into butterflies,

electronic components appear. Very powerful beings can twist living anddead things into new shapes, add new beings or truly bizarre dead matter.The most powerful beings twist not only the body, but the mind. They canchange personalities and appearances, create completely unreal things anderase things with equal ease.

[Each success will summon a more powerful being, or several smaller ones.The number denotes the level of spheres the beings can emulate. However,they cannot change the amount of quintessence in reality, just whatstructures it is tied into. To create something, something else have to go.The beings will not last very long, since paradox quickly dissolves them.

However, they are not influenced by any form of Prime or Pattern magick,which they simply transform into another form.]

Communion (Spirit 2) (Euthanatos) Few have the Euthanatos knack forcommunicating with the dead; actually none of them want it. Summoningup ghosts is usually easier than getting rid of them. This rote goes back asfar as anyone can remember. Ancient Euthanatos would perform a bizarredeath dance as part of the funeral rites in order to ease the deceased ontheir way. The modern followers of the tradition perform the same dance tocall the spirits up. Mages can call up a spirit knowing only its name, but it is


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much easier if some link to the spirit can be provided. This could be afavourite possession of the deceased's, having a close relative or friend ofthe deceased's present, right up to dancing on his grave (very popular). Ifforced to the mage can attempt to summon a spirit he does not know, e.g.`whoever died here' but this is hard. Of course if the deceased is an active,haunting spirit then this rote is absurdly easy.

Summon Dream-Steed (Dreamer) To travel in the dreaming manymages employ the services of the Dream-Stead, beings which will happilywork for the mage in exchange for Quintessence. They can look likeanything, ranging from horses to fantastic creatures only possible in adream. They are often quite well oriented in the dreaming, and know manysecret pathways and odd corners. Some are even intelligent enough to holda conversation. Over time many become loyal to their mages, and becomeconstant companions.

Spirit Fist(Akashic) This rote was created by the Yogis, many of whomuse some variant of it in their struggles with hostile Umbrood.

Contact spirit (Enochian) (Spirit 2) The mage summon the spirit byreading the first enochian key and another key relating to the spiritsposition in the hierarchy. If successful, the mage may communicate withthe spirit through the showstone. This rote is very often used, but the magemust be powerful enough to impress the spirit. Most enochians start outwith cacodaemons and the servant angels, and go on with the greaterangels. All the following rotes use this method to perform magick.

Manifest cacodaemon (Enochian) (Spirit 2 Matter 2 Prime 2) Allows acacodaemon to physically manifest. The mage reads one of the 48 keys,

and draws the three letters of the demons name in the air while chantingthe two secret names who rule over that daemon. Cacodaemons aregenerally not very intelligent, and somewhat lazy. They do not like to haveanybody ordering them around, and would happily escape or hurt the mageif the threat of their superiors keep them in check. The daemons size andphysical shape is up to itself, and often quite weird.

Time

Danger Sense -The Mage uses his preferred method to predict the nearfuture, seeking out danger. For the rest of the night, if he is forced intocombat, he gets one free turn to prepare (including using another Rote, ifdesired) to represent that he saw the conflict coming. This bonus does notapply if he is the one who starts the fight.

HindsightThe Mage gazes into a crystal ball or other object, and seesfleeting glimpses of the recent past. He may glean a few details about whowas there, what was said, and so on. The easiest way to use this Rote is
ftp://ftp.lysator.liu.se/pub/magick/Enochian/cacodemo.gzftp://ftp.lysator.liu.se/pub/magick/Enochian/cacodemo.gz


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simply to find a player who was there, and ask them what you want toknow.

Time Wards The Mage muddles the flow of time around him. Thismakes it more difficult for other Mages to use Time magic to spy on himfrom the past or the future, using Rotes such as Hindsight.

Follow the Blood (Time 2, Life 1) Another trick of the LeVay line ofVerbena is blood lineate. Initially to determine the blood of bastard kings,this now holds many more purposes. The mage must possess pure blood inwhich to place over his eyes. The result is that the mage gainsphysiological knowledge about the owner; his age, condition, appearance,sicknesses, genetic traits, markings and so on. By tracing the bloodbackwards, the mage can learn about the genetic traits of the owner waswhen he was younger, or projected ailments in the future. The mage mayalso continue the tracing back to the owners parents, and their parents,and so on. A single trait may be followed back to its source.

Heritage of the Blood (Time 2, Life 1, Prime 1) This is a slightlydifferent variation, for those special critters that we need to track down. Inancient time, the gods travelled the land, and sired the thralls, the bards,the farmers and men of all kind. These became the prodical children; theKindred; the Garou; the Changelings The trace of the god is still upon thepeople and a priest knowledgeable in the ways of the blood can still see it.By feeling the force in the blood, the mage can follow the lineage backthrough time to its source, and see which deity may have sired that person,or the group someone really belongs to (Eshu, Giovanni, Bu Basti Bastet,ect).

Astrological Prediction (Time 2 Prime 1 Spirit 1) The Order of Hermesis the master among the traditions in matters of astrology and planning.One major use of astrology has been to find the most suitable time toperform magick, by studying the conjunctions of the planets and stars. Theastrologer analyses the act of magick, determines which planets rule it (IE:Prime is ruled by the Sun while Spirit is ruled by the Moon) and then tries tofind the best conjunctions. Magick of the right type performed will be morepowerful and safe.

[The number of successes determine how powerful conjunctions the magehas found (a conjunction with 4 successes will decrease the difficulty for

that type of magick with 4). However, the more powerful conjunctions aremuch more rare, so the mage may have to wait for an inordinate amount oftime before the right moment, or use lesser conjunctions (by removingextraneous successes). One success means the astrologer has found aminor event, occurring within a day (generally a suitable planetary hour). 2successes occur within a week (generally a suitable planetary day). 3successes occur within a month (often influenced by moon-phase). 4 withina year and 5 within a decade (and so on). ]


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Summon Timekeeper(Time 2 Spirit 2) One of the more unusual kind ofelementals is the time-elementals, known as timekeepers. They seems tobe the spirits which keep track of everything, making sure things happen atthe right time for the right reasons. They seldom manifest physically,preferring to communicate through coincidences and physical phenomenalike the sound of a ticking clock. The timekeepers know everything aboutwhat has happened and will happen, and may give information to the mageas long as it will not cause any disturbances of time. If the mage disruptstime too much, they might become very dangerous servants of paradox.Persistent rumours tell that they have a lord known as Chronos, the MasterTimekeeper. Some mages speculate that Chronos may be Wrinkle.

Peer into the beyond (Time 2 Entropy 2) (Nephandi) TheNecromancers use this rote in order to see the outcome of very specificactions. What the rote does is allow the caster to look into the future andfilter out any random future events, so that he can see one specificoutcome. The mage essentially asks a specific question about the future,and gets a yes or no answer. Common questions include, "Oh, mighty

spirits, I beseech you, is a page of the Necromicon behind this door?" or "If Iget into a fight with this Mage, will I die?" The outcomes always occur, butnot necessarily the way the Mage thought. For instance, in the firstexample, a page may be behind the door, but it could be buried under3,000 feet of sand, or in the second example, the Mage may not die, butmay be teleported in a Paradox dimension. Correspondence Magick mustbe combined with this rote, in order to ask questions about a place theNecromancer currently is not.[The number of successes on the Magickal effect roll is the number ofquestions the Mage can ask about a particular scene. The Mage cannot

recast the spell to gather any information that might be beneficial to himfor that same scene. For instance, before a battle, the Necromancer asks afew questions about it's outcome: will i die, will this particular attack killhim, etc. He cannot later ask "will my friend die," if it's about the samebattle. Also, the Mage cannot ask anything that is philosophically vague,such as "is there a God?" This will occur in one aggravated wound pernumber of successes, plus Paradox.]

Track Manipulations (Time 2 Entropy 2) (Technocratic) This iscontinuously done by the Technocracy to see if other groups attempt tomanipulate the trends. The Forecasters carefully analyse events to see if

they have been manipulated by someone, using their computers to searchfor patterns. The difficulty lies in the fact that most manipulators are verycareful, and the results are seldom apparent until years later.

Sounds of Pain (Time 2 Life 1) This little rote allows a mage to mentallyhear the sounds of whatever caused a wound. Some truly twisted cultistshave used it to play music on sick people. [Adding Forces 3 Prime 2 thesounds can be made audible].


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Keening of the Banshee (Time 2 Entropy 1) This rote (also known asthe Sight of the Valkyries) is surprisingly simple, but still very rarely used.By following the threads of fate forward, the mage can feel where they end.This can be used to predict how long anything will remain in existence;inanimate objects, living beings, people and even love itself. Most magesprefer not to use this rote at all. The only exceptions are (of course) theEuthanatos, who simply regard it as a useful tool or a very powerfuldemonstration of the total power of Entropy. They cast the bones andinterpret their patterns.

[The rote has some limitations. It cannot predict exactly where somethingwill end, just a time of great entropy. Sometimes people survive just barely,and go on living. Awakened beings also automatically disturb thepredictions by their actions, especially if they have Time or Entropythemselves (increase difficulty). If the rote is used on a mage, he willautomatically try to subconsciously countermagick it. ]

Replay Dream (Time 2, Mind 2) (Dreamer) By reaching back into time

and into the subconscious of a sleeper, a Dreamer can make him remembera forgotten dream and begin to dream it again. This is seldom entirelyperfect, since it often decay when not actively dreamed, but is sometimesthe only way to restore a destroyed dream. Some dreamers have wholelibraries of memories which they can whip up and create new dreams of.

2 - Initiate Rotes for Mage: The Ascension

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