Spheres Guide

The following is a breakdown of the nine spheres by level.

Correspondence
 Apprentice  Initiate Disciple Adept Master [1] = All uses of pattern spheres with Correspondence are limited by the mage's knowledge of those patterns. In other words, even a Disciple of Correspondence cannot transport a living creature without the appropriate level of Life magic. Level 2 Life and Matter can affect basic patterns (plants, basic organisms, basic homogenous substances.) More advanced patterns require greater knowledge. Likewise, the mage's level of Correspondence must equal the degree of difficulty of the pattern they wish to transport. A Life Adept cannot teleport another person to their side using only Correspondence 2.
 * Sense space: determine the spacial details of a specific area.
 * Sense placement within a space: determine exact location.
 * Sense distances to and sizes of specific patterns, forces, etc. (in conjunction with other spheres.)
 * Sense Correspondence manipulations/disturbances: scrying, remote effects, wards, gates, etc.
 * Sense connections between patterns.
 * Remote sensing / scrying: cast out perceptions to another place (can view, hear, touch, etc. from a distance - manipulation requires the use of other spheres.)
 * Locate a distant pattern, force, event, etc. (in conjunction with other spheres.)
 * Trace Correspondence manipulations back to their source: locate someone attempting a scrying effect, determine a gate's destination, etc.
 * Remote casting (with a successful connection.)
 * Transport small/basic patterns (apportation.) Requires the use of appropriate level 2 pattern spheres (Life or Matter.) [1]
 * Create a ward to block outside attempts to view/sense an area. In conjunction with other spheres, specific parameters may be set.
 * Strengthen or weaken ties between patterns or places.
 * Strengthen the bonds of space / seal gates / create bans to bar entry to an area (in conjunction with other spheres.)
 * Split perceptions over multiple locations / search across many areas at once (can only affect one at a time.)
 * Transport self / teleportation.
 * Transport simple living things (animals) and composite objects (with Life 3 and/or Matter 3.) [1]
 * Create a bubble of reality that exists outside the bounds of space which can only be interacted with via a Correspondence connection.
 * Create a gateway to another location (including a ban in the effect is highly recommended.)
 * Polyappearance: able to exist within multiple locations at once. While under this effect, the mage reacts to all stimuli in all locations simultaneously (they do not act independently in each unless other spheres are employed to help them do so.)
 * Transport other people and/or large or unusual substances in conjunction with Life 4 and/or Matter 4.
 * Co-location: stack multiple locations on top of each other so that they may interact and exist within the same space. Objects affected this way will superimpose upon each other until separated.
 * Spatial mutations: can alter distance and direction as desired / create spaces that are much larger or smaller than they appear on the outside / cause patterns or shapes to appear shrunken, grown or distorted (basically whatever the hell you can imagine.)

Entropy
Apprentice Initiate Disciple Adept Master [1] = The mage cannot choose the exact results of the effect. They are not destroying or strengthening the pattern or place itself, but rather influencing the effect that fate will have on it.
 * Locate areas of weakness, chaos or decay in organizational structures, places or patterns (can be used to augment dice rolls - analyzing patterns requires the addition of pattern spheres.)
 * Sense auspicious or lucky characteristics in patterns or places.
 * Sense where fate has been manipulated by an outside source.
 * Determine the location of a notable event (with Correspondence.)
 * Determine when an event is likely to occur (with Time.)
 * Sense the truth (or untruth) of someone's words (requires that the subject holds some meaning and relevance to the people involved, and the results are often cryptic.)
 * Influence localized probability / luck / games of chance.
 * Influence the timing of specific events (with Time.)
 * Call upon beginner's luck to succeed at an unskilled task.
 * Determine how different patterns will interact with each other (in conjunction with other spheres.)
 * Affect set, predictable (Matter and Forces) patterns. (Cannot affect Life at this level.)
 * Improve patterns/devices that rely on precision / shield them from the effects of Entropy. [1]
 * Damage, destroy or induce chaos/malfunctions in predictable patterns/devices. [1]
 * Affect Life patterns.
 * Curse a living pattern with entropy and decay. [1]
 * Protect a living pattern from the effects of entropy / improve its chance of good health / bestow luck. [1]
 * Affect ephemera (Mind, Time and Correspondence/space.)
 * Alter the course of someone's thoughts.
 * Reweave destiny to take note of a particular person, place or time: ensure that it will become a conjunction of great import (for either good or ill.) [1]
 * Place a powerful curse or blessing on a location. [1]
 * Create a binding oath which, if broken, causes disaster to befall the subject.
 * Influence the interaction of different patterns/ephemera (without the need for other spheres.)
 * Influence the changing fluctuations of ideas, beliefs, events, popularity / create memes.

Forces
Apprentice Initiate Disciple Adept Master [1] = At this level, the mage can only affect individual patterns of force, and only on a scale that he can encompass himself (that is, no area effects.)
 * Sense the types and amount of energy in a location / pinpoint sources of and interaction between forces/energies.
 * Forces sight: see by an alternate visual spectrum (heat, sound, x-ray, infrared, etc.)
 * Manipulate/control minor forces: change direction and intensity (cannot transform.) [1]
 * Use forces for Direct Damage attacks, such as directing a fire or electrical current toward a target, etc.
 * Shield self against specific forces. [2]
 * Shield other patterns against forces / influence how forces interact with them (in conjunction with pattern spheres.) [2]
 * Transform one force into another (such as kinetic energy into heat, etc.) [1]
 * Create a force from nothing (with Prime 2 and a dot of Quintessence.)
 * Shift or enhance the intensity of a force. [1]
 * Perform minor telekinetic feats through the manipulation of forces (transmuting energy to lift or push an object, etc - note that fine control is difficult.)
 * Transform energy into other patterns and vice versa (in conjunction with high levels of other spheres.)
 * Control/manipulate major forces (cause area-wide effects - cannot yet transform.)
 * Influence the way major forces interact with places and patterns (in conjunction with other spheres.)
 * Transform major forces (create an inferno from light, etc.)
 * Create major forces (with Prime and Quintessence.)

[2] = Note that repelling a force will have effects on the mage as well. Bending away light will render the mage blind. Buffering sound will mean the mage cannot hear what happens around them.

Life
Apprentice  Initiate 
 * Sense the presence and relative placement of living patterns in an area.
 * Sense details about a specific living pattern.
 * Self


 * Heal (bashing or lethal.)
 * Cure diseases and poisons (minor.)
 * Superficial alterations (eye color, etc.)
 * Regulate internal body temperature / resist heat and cold (coincidental only.)
 * Minor manipulation of most body systems: regulate breathing, pulse, digestive system, etc. (excludes the endocrine system.)
 * "Simple" Living Patterns (plants, single-cell organisms and invertebrates.)
 * Heal / cure diseases.
 * Harm / destroy.
 * Alter (but cannot transform.)
 * Control chemical processes.
 * Induce sleep / hibernation.
 * Control/manipulate movement.
 * All Living Patterns


 * Manipulate pain/pleasure/physical sensations.
 * Ability to manipulate patterns with other Spheres (increasing running speed with Forces, etc.)
 *  Disciple 
 * Self


 * Heal (aggravated.)
 * Cure any disease or poison.
 * Alter (stat modification, gender, appearance, non-human features/defenses.) [1]
 * Control body systems and hormones.
 * Simple Living Patterns

 Adept 
 * Transform.
 * Ability to create (with Prime 2 and Quintessence.)
 * Complex Living Patterns (includes humans)
 * Heal (bashing only.)
 * Harm.
 * Induce sleep.
 * Manipulate most body systems: nervous system, organs, muscles, bones, etc. (cannot alter shape; excludes endocrine system.) [2]
 * Control/manipulate movement. [3]
 * Self


 * Transform (must retain similar mass; prolonged transformation leads to pattern leakage and gradual identity loss.)
 * Slow aging (must be regularly maintained.)
 * Complex Living Patterns

 Master 
 * Heal (lethal and aggravated.)
 * Alter (stat modification, gender, appearance, non-human features/defenses.) [1]
 * Manipulate endocrine system/hormones (can alter emotions without Mind.)
 * Self


 * Perfect metamorphosis (no pattern leakage or identity loss; can change mass.)
 * Halt aging.
 * Complex Living Patterns

[1] = Multiple modifications may be accomplished in a single effect, with enough successes.
 * Restore life (limited to the recently dead.)
 * Create (with the addition of other spheres.)
 * Transform.

[2] = As far as numbers are concerned, killing someone by tearing apart their pattern and killing them by stopping their heart should require the same number of successes.

[3] = This is difficult and requires many successes to pull off in any large degree.

Matter
Apprentice Initiate Disciple Adept Master [1] = At this stage, an object's shape cannot be magically altered, only the composition of the substance.
 * Sense the presence and relative placement of nonliving patterns in an area.
 * Sense details about a specific nonliving pattern.
 * Transmute simple (inert, homogenous) matter into other materials of the same state (solid, liquid, etc.) [1] [2]
 * Create simple matter (with Prime 2 and Quintessence.) [2]
 * Alter and reshape simple matter.
 * Change a simple material's basic state.
 * Destroy simple matter.
 * Transmute and/or manipulate / reshape / combine complex matter (alloys, objects with moving parts, etc)
 * Create complex matter / objects (with Prime 2 and Quintessence.)
 * Destroy complex matter.
 * Alter the basic properties of matter (density, weight, flammability, etc.)
 * Control how material patterns will interact with other patterns (causing a specific chemical reaction, etc.)

[2] = Rare or precious materials require additional successes.

Mind
Apprentice Initiate  Disciple   Adept  Master [1] = If left for too long or raised beyond human limitations, the mage will suffer pattern bleeding.
 * Sense the presence, relative placement and basic details (gender, type) of thinking beings.
 * Empower the mind to improve focus, concentration, memory, thinking capability and the ability to multitask: can temporarily raise mental stats. [1]
 * Read a subject's aura: sense emotions and mood shifts / detect lies / determine basic supernatural information (with the right knowledge.)
 * Sense strong emotions or resonance associated with an object or area.
 * Shield the mind from direct intrusions and assaults. [2]
 * Mask one's own emotions / aura.
 * Empathic projection: create a sudden impulse or emotion in a thinking target / share one's own emotions. [3] [4]
 * Leave an emotional imprint on an object or area, imbuing it with resonance.
 * Read a target's surface thoughts (cannot yet probe beyond what the subject is actively thinking/feeling.)
 * Search for targets feeling specific emotions.
 * Decipher memories associated with the emotional resonance of certain objects or places. [5]
 * Improved mind defenses: can be subtle and tricky, disguising thoughts instead of merely blocking them.
 * Alter the appearance of one's own aura / trick those attempting to read emotions.
 * Hide or alter the impression of one's own resonance / erase traces of one's resonance from a place or object (prevent tracking.)
 * Probe thoughts: search a target's deeper thoughts, memories and subconscious. [4] [6]
 * Create a telepathic link with one or more subjects: share thoughts, emotions and sensory impressions. [7]
 * Cause a target to experience hallucinations. [4]
 * Attack a target's mind with a psychic assault (which does bashing damage.)
 * Surpass the need for language: understand the root concepts beneath words and symbols / make one's own words understood.
 * Maintain full and lucid mental capacity while sleeping: control one's own dreams / contact other dreaming minds / travel to and influence Dream Realms.
 * Enter and/or manipulate a subject's dreams telepathically.
 * Exert direct control over a subject's mind: control thoughts and actions. [8]
 * Alter/manipulate, create or erase a target's memories. [9]
 * Shield the minds of others / alter their auras or resonance.
 * Astral Projection: project one's consciousness away from the body to travel the world and the Astral Umbra as a free-floating being of thought. [10]
 * Greater mastery of Astral Projection / Untether Psyche. [10]
 * Total control over the mind and subconscious: rewrite a subject's personality and beliefs / improve or destroy mental capabilities.
 * Create mind.

[2] = At this level, the defense is obvious and can be bypassed by skilled and subtle effects.

[3] = The target may spend a point of WP to resist the impulse.

[4] = If the subject has reason to suspect the mage's intrusion, they may roll WP to resist.

[5] = At this level, the impressions are vague and general. A mage could determine that someone died, but not who killed them.

[6] = If the mage wishes to go unnoticed, they must score a number of additional successes equal to the subject's Wits.

[7] = Distraction penalties may apply while a mage is engaged in a telepathic link, depending on the degree of mental chatter and experience level of the other participants.

[8] = Partial control over a specific part of the mind requires 2 or 3 successes. Total possession requires that the mage achieve more successes than the subject's WP rating. Subjects will be aware of the invasion if only partial control is used, whereas a completely possessed subject will believe that the mage's thoughts are their own. [9] = In order to do this, the mage must first succeed at a Possession rote.

[10] = At the Adept level, the mage can only make short trips this way. Long journeys require a Master's knowledge. While traveling, the mage can be detected with Mind magic but has no physical form and is thus silent and invisible. They cannot interact with the physical plane without the use of magic (and may have difficulty casting since they will probably be without foci.) Spending a point of WP allows the mage to materialize as a hazy, idealized image for one turn. While astral, they can directly interact only with other astral beings and thought-constructs (including ghosts and spirits.) They use Wits instead of Dexterity, Manipulation instead of Strength and Intelligence instead of Stamina. Combat injures the psyche and drains WP instead of health. Once the mage runs out of WP, the tether to their body snaps and they will become lost in the Umbra. At this point, their only recourse is to take control of another body via Possession or they will soon be absorbed into the Epiphamies and lost forever. While projected, the mage has no sense of their physical body unless they create a link via other magic.

Prime
Apprentice Initiate Disciple Adept Master [1] = Objects linked to in such a manner are useful in performing sympathetic magic, and can pose a risk to the mage if they fall into the wrong hands.
 * Detect Quintessence (Tass, Nodes, etc.)
 * Detect the weaving of magical effects: determine details about those effects with appropriate knowledge of the spheres involved.
 * Forge a connection between one's pattern and that of an object / infuse the object with personal resonance. [1]
 * Sacrifice health levels to create usable Quintessence. [2]
 * Activate and use the Quintessence stored in inert/nonliving Tass (can be used to create Charms.)
 * Enchant weapons/objects or forces so that they will cause aggravated pattern damage by infusing them with Quintessence.
 * Attack a target with a blast of pure Prime energy (charged with a point of Quintessence.)
 * Create a sword or weapon of light to attack enemies (charged with a point of Quintessence.)
 * Alter the etheric form of a physical object so that it will appear and behave differently when interacting with etheric, spiritual and astral reality. [3]
 * Create forces, illusions, spirit constructs and physical patterns from nothing (with appropriate levels of those spheres.)
 * Create a "Body of Light": a purely etheric construct which takes the form of the idealized self and can be used to house the mage's mind while traveling astrally.
 * Enchant Life patterns so that they will cause aggravated pattern damage by infusing them with Quintessence (as with Enchant Weapon.)
 * Activate and use the Quintessence stored in living or sentient Tass (can be used to create living Charms.)
 * Forge inert/nonliving Tass into minor Artifacts or Talismans.
 * Transfer Quintessence between patterns:
 * Pull Quintessence from Tass, Periapts or a Node and store it one's own pattern (beyond the Avatar rating.)
 * Store Quintessence in a Periapt (or move it between Periapts.)
 * Accept a gift of Quintessence from another Mage or other being.
 * Gift another with one's own Quintessence (or with that stored in an object.)
 * Steal extra Quintessence from another mage. [4]
 * Channel Quintessence from a sacrificed or destroyed pattern as it is released back into the ether. [5]
 * Create nonliving Tass.
 * Create major Artifacts or Talismans, including those meant to be grafted onto a living being (such as a cybernetic arm.)
 * Create a Soulgem.
 * Enchant objects with selective qualities (in conjunction with other spheres.)
 * Destroy inanimate objects and forces by dispersing their natural Quintessence back into the ether and unweaving them from existence.
 * Replenish personal Quintessence at places of power containing Resonance matching the mage's own. [6]
 * Restore personal Quintessence any time at any place.
 * Create a ward with Quintessence to nullify Paradox. [7]
 * Destroy living patterns and spirits by dispersing their natural Quintessence back into the ether and unweaving them from existence.
 * Create living Tass or a Soulflower (living Soulgem.)
 * Enchant living beings or spirits permanently: Create a Relic / living Wonder or Blessed spirit or person.
 * Create a Node or a Juncture (in conjunction with Correspondence or Time magic.)

[2] = Damage done this way cannot be healed magically.

[3] = Such objects will still retain their normal form in the physical plane.

[4] = Quintessence stored by the Avatar is inviolable and cannot be accessed this way. Only additional Quintessence stored via the use of Prime magic can be stolen.

[5] = Such Quintessence must be immediately channeled into an effect. It cannot be stored. Sacrifices forced upon resisting or unwilling victims cannot be used to gain Quintessence, as it will create opposing psychic resonance that cancels out any benefit the mage might receive. Willing human sacrifices are of course the most potent, but calm/unresisting animal sacrifices can create between 2-5 points of Quintessence if raised properly and slaughtered humanely. Even the sacrifice of objects can create a point of Quintessence.

[6] = Resonance must be strong enough to be felt by Sleepers. The mage can only replenish as much Quintessence as their (matching) Resonance trait rating at any one time.

[7] = Each point of Quintessence spent this way nullifies one point of accrued Paradox on an effect.

Spirit
Apprentice Initiate Disciple Adept Master [1] = Threshold depends on the level of the Gauntlet in the area.
 * Detect the presence of spirits or spirit energies in an area or within an object or living thing (as in Detect Possession.)
 * Sense the strength of the Gauntlet in an area.
 * Spirit Sight: shift one's perception to see past the Gauntlet into the spirit world. [1] [2]
 * Detect patterns or places that have a connection to the spirit world (with Correspondence.)
 * Communicate with spirits (spirit speech.)
 * Call out to nearby spirits across the Gauntlet to get their attention. [1]
 * Reach across the Gauntlet to touch something on the other side: allows the ability to attack a spirit or briefly interact with it in other ways. [1]
 * Manipulate the strength of the Gauntlet in an area temporarily: make it easier or more difficult to cross.
 * Grant creatures or objects the ability to interact with the Spirit world (in conjunction with appropriate Spheres.)
 * Cast effects through the Gauntlet using other Spheres. [1]
 * Awaken (or put to sleep) the spirit within an object or place. [3]
 * Step sideways into the Umbra. [1] [4]
 * Use other Spheres normally in the umbra as one would in the physical plane (in conjunction with those other Spheres.)
 * Permanently strengthen or repair the Gauntlet in an area. [5]
 * Create a ward to block spirits from an area or trap them inside. [5]
 * Banish a spirit from a person, place or object which it was possessing or bind it into a host: can be used to create a fetish or assist in possession. [6]
 * Bind a spirit into one's own body to form a symbiotic link (much like possession, but the Mage retains control.) [6]
 * Breach the Gauntlet: open a gate between the spirit and physical planes that anyone can pass through. [1] [4]
 * Bring living patterns (including other people) or objects across the Gauntlet when stepping sideways (with appropriate levels of Life or Matter.)
 * Pass through the Horizon and enter the Deep Umbra.
 * Create a shield of spirit magic to protect oneself while traveling the Deep Umbra. (Without this the mage will die.)
 * Heal spirits and/or restore their power.
 * Create, alter or destroy a spirit at will. Can be used to gift a spirit with new or different powers. (Creation requires Prime 2 and Quintessence, as well as Mind if needed.)
 * Create a new realm. (This is very difficult and requires a great deal of Quintessence.)
 * Sense and affect the spirit of a living thing (their soul or Avatar.) (Can be used to perform a Gilgul.)

[2] = Additional successes are required to gain the use of other senses, such as hearing. A mage can only perceive one plane at a time (spiritual or material) without the addition of Life and Mind magic to split their senses between the two.

[3] = The older an item is / the more history it has, the more useful and intelligent its spirit will be, but it will also require more successes to awaken. Items with resonance appropriate to the mage will be easier to awaken and more predisposed toward them. Awakened items are not fetishes per se, and they don't have a lot of power on their own, but they take on specific personalities and may do things like malfunction when an enemy tries to use them. These items can also be used to affect both the physical and spirit world - as they exist in both. An awakened knife could be used to harm a spirit in the Near Umbra while the mage still stands in the physical plane.

[4] = When crossing into the Umbra, roll the mage's permanent paradox + Arete. Each successes does one level of aggravated damage from the storm winds.

[5] = Doing this will raise the Gauntlet rating.

[6] = Doing this to an unwilling spirit requires the mage to best the spirit in a contested roll, pitting the successes scored on the Effect against the spirit's ability to travel in spirit form. Creating a fetish with an unwilling spirit or otherwise trapping an unwilling spirit into a host also requires the mage to best the spirit's WP. Likewise, forcing a spirit into an unwilling host requires besting the host's WP.

Time
Apprentice Initiate Disciple Adept Master [1] = The further back or forward the mage looks, the harder it will be to gain clear impressions. Successes on an effect are divided between time (how far forward or backward the mage can look) and accuracy. Without the addition of Correspondence, these effects only work on the mage's current location.
 * Keep a precisely accurate gauge of time that self-adjusts to changes and fluctuations.
 * Sense ripples and distortions in time / detect time magic or time-based phenomena.
 * Divine visions of the past or future. [1]
 * Examine patterns, minds, resonance, ephemera, etc with other Spheres while looking back or forward on the timeline (in conjunction with other Spheres.)
 * Create a time ward to block divination and time scrying in an area.
 * Create localized time distortions that allow people or objects to react to the world at different rates than normal (speed up a person's actions or slow a thrown weapon, etc.) [2]
 * Create a small loop in the local timeline in order to rewind recent actions. [3]
 * Create a contingent effect that will only go off after a set amount of time has passed or when a specific condition is met (in conjunction with other Spheres.)
 * Create a localized stasis field where time is frozen so long as the effect is maintained. [4]
 * Sidestep time completely so that the rest of the world appears to exist in a frozen state. [5]
 * Travel through time / send people or objects to a different point on the timeline. [6]
 * Cast effects into the past or future (in conjunction with other Spheres.)

[2] = The subject will feel as though they are experiencing time normally while the rest of the world is distorted, and things like slowed weapons will retain their deadly force but will be easier to avoid or intercept. Every two success scored on this effect beyond targeting and duration will speed or slow the bubble of distorted time by one factor. For example, allowing the mage to take one extra action per two successes.

[3] = The mage will retain their memory and awareness of the initial play of events and can choose to change their course of action. Successes are spent on the number of rounds the mage wishes to rewind, as well as to increase the area affected and to insulate others from the effect so that they too will be aware of what's happening. (Basically, the mage rewinds the area around them.) Note that doing this will not erase any mental or physical effects (such as wounds from a battle) from the caster or those who have been insulated unless appropriate levels of Life and/or Mind are also used. Rewinding time is extremely vulgar and accumulates the effect's total paradox multiplied by the number of rounds the mage rewinds. It also makes any further time manipulation or scrying extremely difficult, and any attempt to do so in the area must garner more successes than the original effect.

[4] = These stasis fields are difficult to maintain for any prolonged length of time, as Paradox will inevitably erode them, and any attempt from the outside to directly interact with static objects will cause time to resume. Areas larger than a yard or two will cause significant temporal disturbance and will be easily detected. The larger the area, the more quickly the field will erode.

[5] = While under this effect, the mage cannot cast any further magic, as their focus and Arete is effectively tied up. The results of any actions they take while sidestepped from the timeline will not take effect until they re-enter and time is resumed.

[6] = Successes scored determine how far forward or backward in time the mage or others may travel. Additional successes may be used to target other patterns. Time travel creates significant temporal disturbance which tends to attract attention. The mage may leave an anchor-point at the original time, so as to allow a return-trip when ready. Otherwise, it's a one-way trip. Any kind of time travel is, obviously, very vulgar and dangerous.