Rotes - Traditions

Internal Obligation
Mind 4, Prime 3, Time 4 or Life 3, Prime 3, Time 4

The Shi-Ren use this rote to ensure dedication in their bodyguards. The Jnani use it as a therapeutic technique to prevent emotional excesses in the undisciplined. Using advanced acupuncture techniques, a Brother alters a subject's Chi flow to engender a certain response whenever a certain event occurs. Shi-Ren often incorporate a trigger phrase while they're intensifying the fire energy of duty, while Jnani merely describe a condition that might arise while provoking the equanimity of the Metal soul.

When the condition arises, the subject does whatever the conditions require, from having a certain set of emotions to committing murder. Variants alter the subject's Chi balance to give him certain strengths or weaknesses when the event arises.

System: The threshold for this rote is five successes plus the duration according to the guidelines listed in Mage: the Ascension pg. 209. Because of the use of Prime, the mage need not concentrate on the effect once cast. The Mind version can control memories, actions and emotional states, which the subject experiences as if they are his own. The Life based version simply moves the subject's body like a marionette. He might shoot someone or fall unconscious when the stimulus occurs. Combining both versions, the mage can weave a contingent Better Body effect or reduce a physical attribute. Extra successes must be spent on these variations, however. The rote is usually coincidental on the sorts of people that it's typically used on, but for the average person, it's vulgar.

Auspicious Dialogues
Mind 3 or Entropy 2, Mind 2

Originally created by the Kannagara, the Li-Hai perfected this rote in their work to modernize the brotherhood. Auspicious Dialogue translates slang, body language and emotional nuances for a Brother and allows him to replicate them in return. By concentrating and holding her hand in the mudra for Compassion, she learns the real meaning behind street slang, vocal embellishments and corporate newspeak and can use the same gestures in reply. She opens her mind to other perspectives and the knowledge arises spontaneously.

System: While this rote doesn't translate directly, the character can understand and use any slang and dialect from a language that she speaks and use it in return. Thus, the character can get her point across - and look good doing it - to a Syndicate board meeting or a house full of Scottish heroin addicts who constantly refer to Sean Connery's Bond films (or both at the same time, if necessary.) Each success lowers Social difficulties by one for one specific subculture or speaking style, to a maximum of three. The rote is coincidental. A Paradox backlash usually signals some horrific gaffe or misunderstanding.

Drahma Protector
Mind 4, Spirit 4

The Jnani use this rote to convert spirits to the Drahma. These beings guard Bodhimandalas and assist the Brotherhood because of their sincere belief in the truth of Akashic teachings. At heart, that is the ideal situation in which Drahma Protectors are enlisted. In fact, many spirits are bound to the Akashic way whether or not they voice an obvious need for salvation through the Sangha.

Drahma Protector convinces a spirit to see the Akashayana as the true path to inner peace. Such a spirit protects Akashic Brothers wherever they may be found. Unwilling protectors may rebel, but that is merely a sign of its own struggle with the truth. A Jnani chants wisdom from the Akashic sutras after purifying herself, so that the spirit may know the will of the All.

System: This rote has a Threshold equal to the Spirit's Gnosis + Willpower. The rote turns the affected being into a loyal servant of the Akashayana for as long as successes are spent on duration. The spirit will do anything in its power to assist the Brotherhood, as long as that assistance doesn't violate Akashic ideals or the spirit's essential nature. Such spirits guard a number of Jnani controlled Bodhimandalas.

Shinobijustu
Correspondence 3 or Entropy 5 or Forces 3 or Mind 3

Many Akashics know the art of invisibility, from the subtle Lin Shen to the graceful Sulsa. The rotes vary greatly from sect to sect. Some use special walking techniques, others bizarre mudra, and still others feel that visibility is selfishness and that formlessness can be cultivated with an enlightened mind.

System: All of these rotes use different methods to make the user unseen. Correspondence 3 warps a pocket space around the mage, so that light travels around him. Forces 3 creates a physical illusion, while Mind 3 creates a mental one, the former can effect several people at once while the latter requires concentration to effect multiple minds, but deceives all five senses.

The most advanced version is used by Euthanatoi killers - called "Closing Shiva's Eyes," it destroys the idea of the mage's presence, as such, it cannot be resisted with mental defenses or extrasensory powers such as a Vampire's Discipline's or a Garou's Gifts. Only careful Prime and Entropy magic stand a chance. Even then, the mage can spend successes to penalize the attempt.

Tumo
Life 2, optional Forces 2

Tumo is a form of yoga where the practitioner learns to master her body temperature. The magical variety of this skill was developed by Chabnagpa and Karmachakra Brothers as a tool to withstand Tibet's fierce winters. Through this special practice, they can endure ascetic hardships or reach sacred places normally barred to mystics by subzero temperatures. In Southern climes, Brothers use a variant to resist the effects of high temperatures, preventing sunstroke and dehydration. Pushing the limits of body control, Awakened Tumo can also stand against fire and temperatures that freeze flesh stiff.

Taoist Akashics use gentle movements, while other Brothers concentrate on mastering a complex breathing pattern. Whatever the method, it takes only a moment to yoke the body to the mind.

System: With Life alone, a Brother can withstand cold or heat that does no immediate tissue damage. Her body regulates its temperature perfectly. With Forces, antarctic temperatures and bonfires have little effect; each success reduces the damage of a temperature-based attack by two heath levels. Meditating on a mountain on a clear day or walking on coals is coincidental; shrugging off a flamethrower or immersion in liquid nitrogen most certainly isn't.

Balancing the Furies
Prime 3 or Prime 5

This dangerous rote allows an Akashic Brother to temporarily overcome his Resonance or impart it upon another being. Yin, Yang and Heaven all flavor a being's Chi. Through a variety of methods, an Akashayana can adjust the balance between the three forces. For example, a Brother with excessive Yang (Dynamic) Resonance may impose Heavenly (Static) Resonance upon it by meditating in a Confucian library, or retire to a dank cave to erode it with the Yin (Entropic) essence. Herbs, diet and exercises may all be used to adjust his Chi balance.

The rote can also forcibly adjust another being's Chi balance by striking at vital points, chanting special mantras or using certain Do postures. This can cause a mortal to rapidly sicken. This rote also imparts the powers of other supernatural beings.

This is a dangerous practice. Internal harmony is meant to come from enlightenment, not magical control, and it is inauspicious to alter the furies in another without their permission. Still, it happens; in fact, there is said to be a secret technique that allows the balance to be adjusted permanently. However, Masters are few and far between these days. For now, it remains a legend.

System: This rote is always penalized for opposing a mage's Resonance. It can be used to temporarily shift personal Resonance; this requires two successes for every Resonance trait altered. These traits can never be eliminated, but three Entropic traits could be shifted into two Entropic and one Dynamic, or one of each kind. This has a number of uses: it can keep the mage from being recognized by Prime senses or reduce the difficulty of a subsequent effect. Used against other mages, it can warp an enemy's magic, make him appear to be an imposter to friends using Prime senses and break his bond with anything he has linked to his own Pattern. Used therapeutically, it can serve as a last stand against Quiet, Jhor or Clarity by distributing dangerously high Resonance through the three furies.

Kuei-jin, Shih and other beings with questionable levels of Yin and Yang Chi have their temporary Chi balance altered by one per success (after one success is spent to effect another target.) Other creatures are effected at the storyteller's discretion. While being infused with Yin may have little effect on a Vampire, a Werewolf might be crippled by an Entropic infection, which his friends might take for an unhealthy taint.

The Prime 5 version of this rote can permanently alter a subject's Resonance and temporarily adds Resonance traits to the subject's total. There is no known way to eliminate Resonance without destroying the part of an Avatar it's attached to.

Flower Gesture
Mind 3, Time 3

The Buddha Sakyamuni lifted a flower at the conclusion of his final sermon. With a gesture he imparted the essence of his teachings to Mahakasypa.

With this Rote, a Brother can transfer her ideas in an instant. Like Mahakasypa's enlightenment, it comes as a sudden burst of inspiration. Kannagara elders and Shi-Ren scholars use mudras and brief phrases to transmit a burst of thought, said to arise from akashakarma itself.

System: This rote is essentially rapid telepathy. After one success is spent making contact, each success thereafter multiplies the speed at which information arises in the target's mind. The information is immediately understandable.

Ishin Den Shin
Correspondence 2, Mind 2

"From my mind to your mind." This rote allows an Akashic Brother to sense the current emotions of local Sangha, including any physical sensations such as pain or excitement. The Brother breathes deeply and visualizes a sphere of awareness expanding to encompass his comrades.

System: After spending successes to effect another target, and for Correspondence range on each person sensed, the character must spend one success on each subject to successfully sense them.

Turning the Wheel of Ages
Mind 2 or 3, Spirit 1, Time 2

Euthanatoi, who call it Shruti and use it outside of the record, also use this rote. By reading ancient texts in conjunction with meditation, an Akashic Brother experiences the past of another member of the Sangha, even to the extent of recalling their past lives. Some events, such as the Himalayan War and the moments of Samadhi, cannot be accessed in this fashion.

System: Mind plumbs the subject's thoughts, Spirit allows her Avatar to be tracked through many lives, and Time pushes those perceptions into the past. This rote typically has a threshold of five successes, plus those spent to explore the Avatar's past. Mind 2 is used on a willing subject or a member of the Akashayana. Mind 3 is required if the Brother is studying an unwilling subject, unless she is also a Brother. The Akashic Awareness merit does not grant any benefit when the character explores the Avatars of outsiders.

Do Rotes

[Note: the following rotes all require the use of Do as a focus. In this case, Do is used simultaneously while casting the effect.]

Purifying Step
Forces 2 or Spirit 2

Japanese Tao-shih developed this technique to harness the stomping movements now found in modern sumo and Shinto ritual. A focused blow to the floor can have its power channeled to a foe, upsetting her balance or causing injury.

The movement can also draw the attention of local spirits who respond to the shaking of the earth and air. In an area where the Akashic is likely to attrack sympathetic spirits this can be a blessing.

Clapping and vigorous chanting can also have the same effect.

System: With Forces, this rote transmits the energy created by stomping through the ground to a target. This can either cause direct injury (standard damage, less one success for affecting another target) or push the target three feet per success in any direction, where she will most likely lose her footing. The target may roll Dexterity + Athletics, Martial Arts or Do (difficulty 7) to keep her footing. Each success reduces the displacement by a foot, three successes allow her to remain standing.)

As a Spirit effect, the rote is a quick version of Call Spirit (Mage: the Ascension, pg 187.) This is most often used when a Brother is defending a Bodhimandala, and she can easily attract friendly spirits where the Gauntlet is weak.

As an attack, this rote - while usually vulgar - can be made coincidental with the application of a little creativity. The Spirit version may be coincidental or vulgar depending on what the summoned spirits do.

Rolling Hands
Forces 1

Also known as Sticking Hands, Push Hands, or Trapping, this technique becomes even more potent in the hands of an Awakened Tao-shih. Making contact with an opponent's body (usually by touching his guard at the forearm or elbow,) a martial artist can react to an enemy by sensing and redirecting force. With Forces senses, this practice becomes easier and more effective.

System: Each success reduces the difficulty of a parry or block by one, to a maximum of -3. If the Tao-shih strikes in the same turn, he can divide successes between both an attack and a parry or block. This effect is coincidental.

Cinnabar Tears
Life 3, Matter 2

This vicious form of internal alchemy transforms a Brother's bodily fluids into dangerous toxins. By ingesting a small amount of the substance to be created and moving into a series of special postures, an Akashayana can distill and release this substance without harming herself. An Akashic can sweat cyanide, cry acid or envenom a knife with cinnabar (mercury sulfide) "blood" by drawing it along her arm.

System: Akashayana are immune to the poisons they create with this rote. Generally, a toxin does one health level of damage per success on top of an unarmed or weapon attack. Envenomed tools or body parts last for as long as successes are spent to retain the toxin, but they cannot be made permanent. Really exotic or artificial substances cannot be created with this rote, which is usually vulgar.

Iron Snake
Correspondence 2, Forces 2, Mind 3

Developed by the kusarigama master Shishido Baiken, this rote gives a flexible weapon such as a chain, rope or even a length of cloth the power to entrance an enemy and strike from many directions at once. Twirling the weapon in special patterns enhances its force and speed. It can create optical illusions, appearing distant when it is just about to strike.

System: A Tao-shih needs to have at least six dice in her melee dice pool to use this rote, and must spend a turn weaving the pattern of rope, chain or cloth. If successful, the rote reduces the opponent's unarmed and melee dice pools by one per success (after a success is spent to affect the target.) The target's ability to sense the distance and position of the weapon is effectively scrambled by Mind and Correspondence magic. Forces magic allows it to strike at full force at angled that wouldn't normally allow the Brother to land a hard blow. By spending an additional success, a sash or piece of cloth can be turned into an effective weapon (inflicting bashing damage) through the precise channeling of kinetic energy. In addition, the rote is often combined with Time, allowing multiple attacks to strike a relatively defenseless opponent. This rote is usually coincidental, except for creating iron-hard lengths of cloth.

Righteous Fist
Life 3, Mind 4, Time 4

By striking a Metal Element pressure point while chanting portions of the Drahma Sutra, members of the Hsien Chuan and Lohan Chuan schools can key the injury of the blow to the target's thoughts and actions. If the victim performs a proscribed act or thinks a dangerous thought, his meridians channel destructive forces throughout his body.

System: Three successes must be spent to affect the target, contact his mind and bind the conditions with Time magic before spending successes on damage and the duration of the effect. This allows the Brother to stipulate a single thought or action that injures the target. Successes may be spent to add further conditions. Damage is an aggravated Pattern attack, which takes the form of sudden illness. Successes can be used to spread the injury out over time, making it coincidental.

Arashi-Waza
Correspondence 2, Forces 2, Time 3

The Japanese Vajrapani invented the "Storm Technique" rote during the Kamikaze War. A fast-spinning kata gathers internal power and then releases it in a circle of lacerating fists, feet and weapons. When the whirlwind comes to a halt, a tired Warring Fist may have several slain enemies at his feet.

System: This rote increases an Akashic Brother's speed, and then channels his movements to affect any target in his line of sight. Each success spent either adds to his effective combat dice, or allows a target that normally would be out of range to be affected. The Brother uses multiple actions as per the standard combat rules but benefits from the increased dice pool. Weapons can be used with this rote. It is usually vulgar.

The Final Blow
Entropy 4, Life 3, Mind 5, Prime 3

This famous Do rote allows a warrior to hold onto life long enough to fight for a few seconds more. The rote is brief, requiring only that the Brother steady her breathing and focus on the task at hand with every iota of her concentration, so that she literally doesn't realize that her life has ended until the battle is done.

System: Entropy holds back physical and metaphysical decay, Life allows the body to keep operating, Mind allows the Brother's consciousness to thrive in a dead brain and Prime provides the energy to maintain the Brother without the natural supply of Quintessence that permeates a living thing. Each success adds an extra health level, called "Dead," which, when used in conjunction with a Willpower point, allows the Brother to fight on after physical death. Additional successes must be spent on duration. If the magic ends, and the character is wounded down to "Dead," she perishes. Any magic used to heal "Dead" health levels must be vulgar Life/Matter effects.

Abundance or "Loaves and Fishes"
Matter 2, Prime 2

In times of hardship, the suffering often look at their supplies and wonder how much longer their stocks of lights, candles, food or water will hold out. However, Choristers are aware that the One, author of compassion and hospitality, does not wish for anything to go hungry. The rites for this Effect usually involve a blessing or prayer of thanks, and they may also require sharing parts of the abundance with those in need. In no case does any person see new materials spontaneously generate. Rather, the canteen simply never runs out of water, and no matter how many loaves of bread one makes, the level of flour in the canister doesn't seem to go down. Using Forces, variations on this rote have allowed simply energy sources to last far beyond their normal duration. Batteries don't run down, for instance, and flames consume their fuel very slowly while still burning just as bright.

System: By using Matter and Prime together, the Chorister allows simple material forms (not complex or mechanical forms without a very high number of successes) to replicate slowly and replace what is used. One success should replicate one standard unit of the item replicated (a pint of water, a cup of coffee, a half pound of grain, an arm's length of string,) based on what would be believable in a given circumstance. Continued use of this rote will provoke a Domino Effect unless the caster spaces it out over believable intervals. Any attempt to use this rote while performing actions that would normally deplete the source (emptying a thermos of coffee) would make the effect vulgar.

Find the Lost
Correspondence 1 or 2 and Entropy 2 or Mind 2

The twists and turns of fate and prophecy often lead Choristers into situations in which they know that a troubled or disturbed person is present, but they do not know who it is. Some Choristers use this rote to locate those with specific destinies or callings. Others might use it to locate the owners of a valuable lost item or the author of a suicide note. By using this rote - which usually requires some form of simple divination rite - the caster is able to locate the troubled person before desperate actions are taken.

System: Correspondence searches the area while Mind or Entropy locate the specific individual in question. Players may divide successes between range and duration if they are waiting for the particular person to appear in a given space. Locating individuals who are not in the line of sight requires the use of Correspondence 2. Individuals who are trying to avoid notice or detection may resist with Willpower at the Storyteller's discretion. The Entropy version may also be used to find lost items.

Hope's Birth
Mind 2, optional Prime 2

For the embattled guardian orders, many are the times when neither the mage nor anyone around her can find any sense of hope in the ongoing war with evil. At such times, many of the leaders must call on the One to lift their hopes and sustain them. When one uses this rote, hope comes where there was only fear and discouragement. The caster may engage in some inspirational speech, lead the group in prayer or share some type of sacramental rite with those who have gathered. The result is the same. Spirits lift, hope increases, and energy rises. Some Choristers have used a similar rote, Primal Dread, to instill terror in otherwise fearless and confidant enemies.

System: When a character performs this rote, he converts sheer primal energy into a new human emotion. Range and duration are determined as per Mage: the Ascension. If the mage is merely intensifying or transferring an emotion that is already present, Prime is not required. Each targeted character within the range of the spell regains one dot of temporary Willpower for the duration. (The mage may choose not to target a character who would otherwise be in range.) Additional successes beyond those used for range and duration may either increase the difficulty of Intimidation rolls, or it may be used to reduce damage modifiers by one health level per success. Primal Dread has the opposite effect, reducing the foe's temporary Willpower and enhancing attempts at Intimidation or increasing damage modifiers.

Lighting the Path
Correspondence 2 or Entropy 2

Wanderers, mendicants and pilgrims often find themselves venturing into new territory, unsure of where to go to find what they seek. Others simply wander in any given direction, hoping that the One will take them to a destination they cannot yet know. But the Chorister never forgets that the One watches over his steps, revealing the path a little bit at a time. Choristers who get lost while on a pilgrimage, mission or guest often ask the One, the saints and the angels to guide them. Those who seek with more vague goals pray that the One will lead them to where they may do some act of kindness, justice or compassion.

System: Choristers who seek a specific item, person or place use the Correspondence version of this rote. The greater the number of successes is (and the closer the object is,) the greater the detail the character will gain about the road, the challenges and the traveling conditions involved. The Entropy version helps with more vague requests such as "Where should I go next?" Players may use successes to affect the range of the Entropy version ("What's the most important act of kindness I can do in this immediate area?") or the duration ("What's the most important just act I can do in the next hour?") Successes on the Correspondence version affect the degree of detail that the character learns.

Penance for the Siccari
Correspondence 3, Prime 4, optional Time 4

The legendary White Monks are said to take the castigation of Paradox for their brethren, the Red Monks, so that the latter order may bring justice and righteousness without fear. The ability to do so is lost to the Chorus at this time, but if the White and the Red Monks are real, they would almost certainly use a rote built something like this.

The Prime component allows the monk to redirect the Paradox energies involved. This capability is normally outside the Tradition framework, and it is probably beyond the grasp of anyone but a Chorister, given the way that the rote is built. The Correspondence component establishes a link to the Red Monk in question so as to be able to redirect his Paradox energies. With the optional Time component, the rote can be cast ahead of time so that a Red Monk doesn't have to send any sort of message back to tell the White Monks to cast this ritual on his behalf. It will simply activate when the Red Monk gains Paradox.

Each success scored on this rote will allow the transfer of one point of Paradox from the Red Monk to the White Monk.

Time's Tongue
Mind 3, Time 2

The Earth and the realms that surround it have a long history, and many languages, tongues and dialects have come and vanished over the years. Often, though, Choristers and their Tradition allies are forced to deal with manuscripts in languages that they have long-since forgotten. But the One never forgets. By communing with the One and the One's servants in the past, the Chorister may understand printed or spoken fragments of a dead language or idiom for a time.

System: The Storyteller determines how effectively the character may translate or comprehend the text based on the number of successes minus those used for duration. While a single success would be enough to allow the reader to understand Latin or Classical Greek, the Storyteller may increase the difficulty or the number of successes required for those looking for especially obscure languages. Note that translation is rarely perfect or complete. The Chorister may gain a sense of the meaning, but he probably won't be able to just pick up a book and read it like a native would. Subtexts and cultural angles may be lost on the reader, since they may refer to totally unfamiliar events or idioms. Imagine the Chorister who reads the phrase "break a leg" without any knowledge of Western theater traditions, for instance.

True Form
Entropy 1, Mind 1, Spirit 1, optional Life 1

Practitioners of the Ecstatic arts often claim that chemically induced hallucinations reveal the truth of things. By their reasoning, this altered state allows them to see past the mundane and obvious, into the realm of pure truth. By taking a hit of acid, the Ecstatic can see people as they truly are. Those who are wicked are revealed to be wicked, those who are victims are shown to be the weak, wispy things they are, and powerful men appear like beaming behemoths. How the mage actually sees the true form of others largely depends on the mage's perceptions. A staunchly anti-establishment Cultist might see a police officer as a Gestapo enforcer. If the cop was corrupt, perhaps the Cultist would see money falling out of his pockets. Sometimes, the images are deeply personal. A Cultist might pick out the hidden Technocracy agent, thinking that he is, in actuality, a large bully from her childhood.

System: The mage can get small bits of information about those around herself, although this information is somewhat shrouded in metaphor and layers of symbolism. The sort of information generally involved the target's Nature. These images should be very archetypal and tailored to the mage's outlook. Two people using this rote at once rarely agree on what they see. To the mage sensing True Forms, it is as if he is participating in a filming of Frank Zappa's 2000 Motels, with nuns, djinns, strippers, black shrouded executioners and adult sized children interacting with one another. Adding Life 1 to this rote allows the mage to tell the physical state of those she perceives. This perception could manifest as a physical tumor, a missing limb or, if the target is very close to death, as a feebly animate corpse.

Nostalgia
Mind 2 or Mind 3, Time 3, optional Life 1

The Dissonance Society, a faction of the Cult devoted to creation of an utopia based around the ideal of self mastery and enlightenment, is said to use magically induced stimuli as negative and positive reinforcement. However, the use of Nostalgia is far more effective and sophisticated than a mere waking of a few nerves. The Cultist actually conjures up her target's memory of some overwhelming stimulus he felt in the past, forcing the target to feel the sensation again, as if it had just happened, which makes the experience a very personal one. This effect is useful for a number of reasons. First off, the effect of Nostalgia is not some random sensation, its roots lie in the target's memory. One tends to respond more to, say, a spanking given as a child, than to a random application of pain. Secondly, the mage can use these associations and tie them to something unrelated. For instance, if an Ecstatic wishes to teach a hard-hearted corporate executive some compassion, she could tie the joy of his wedding night to the act of donating money. Therefor, whenever the corporate executive is generous, he feels the elation of just being married.

System: The Ecstatic has no control over what sensations are conjured when she uses Nostalgia, but she may set it as either "positive" (pleasure) or "negative" (pain) stimulus. Doing so generates memories of stimuli, it does not engender full activation of the nervous system. However, using Life 2, the mystic could conjure not only the memory of the stimulus, but the actual stimulus itself. In conjunction with Mind 3, the mystic can "tie" the stimulus to a trigger. By doing so, the mage can encourage or discourage certain behavior.

Grand Style
Mind 2, optional Matter 1, Prime 2

[Editor's Note: I believe this rote had a printed error. In the book it says "Mind 2, Matter 1, optional Prime 2," but after reading the system description I fixed it to what it's supposed to say.]

A variation of a Mind 2 effect known as Mood Swing, Grand Style allows the Ecstatic to use mass communication on an intuitive level. To do so, the Ecstatic must use some form of art. Although live music is the most common vessel for this effect, it can also be placed on visual art pieces. This effect causes those who perceive the artistic display to feel a certain way. Predominantly, this rote is used to bring about feelings of well being, joy, pride, contentment and reverence, although other factions use it for less altruistic purposes. The militant Hagalaz faction uses Grand Style to create riots, militant vigilante activism and good old-fashioned chaos. The occult Acharne use it to fuse brotherhood among its members and create feelings of having been raped for those unlucky enough to learn of their existence. Klubwerks DJs excel at its use and use it to create an atmosphere of pure human impulse. Even the Dissonance Society ties emotions into its pamphlets.

System: The Grand Style effect is generally achieved through music. By using Prime 2 and Matter 1, the mystic may "tie" the effect to a visual work of art. Obviously the type of art that the effect is based on decides the emotion it conjures. A Lords of Acid fast pumping dance track would be ideal for increasing people's libidos, but the medieval painter Hieronymous Bosch's "Temptation of Saint Anthony" triptych would not be able to get a similar effect. But, whereas the dance track would not put the fear of damnation into its listeners, those beholding the triptych would be left shaken and questioning their place in God's Kingdom.

Tolerance
Life 2, Mind 1

Cultists have an amazing survival record in spite of their brushes with overindulgence, and luck's only part of it. Those who dabble too much in damaging habits - drugs, sleep deprivation, asceticism, whatever - generally learn to use meditative techniques and chakra-channeling to focus themselves and overcome the after-effects of their foci. Simple methods to prevent overdosing, flush body toxins and focus the mind all help to keep the Cultist alive. Often, this requires a specific regimen combining yoga or meditation with a lot of water and the occasional herbal additive.

System: Use of the Tolerance rote mitigates some of the potential problems of nasty drugs or other habits. A Cultist might suffer bashing or even lethal damage from a particularly foul overdose; this rote's successes grant extra soak dice against that damage, if the rote's prepared in advance. This isn't a sure defense, but it'll probably help avoid using the adrenaline plunger.

Crime and Consequence
Mind 2, Time 2

As modern Cultists have learned, responsibility for the aftereffects of ecstasy are just as important as the ecstatic experience themselves. Some people refuse to recognize the consequences of their actions, though, and foolishly endanger themselves and others. Cultists use this rote as a sort of warning, to engender a sense of responsibility in others. The Cultist projects ahead the possible outcome of an ill-conceived decision and then sends the emotional impulse of everything that goes wrong into the mind of the subject.

System: The Player must score enough successes to see forward in time to the point of consequences (this might be only a few minutes ahead for a drug overdose, or months ahead for an ill-considered pregnancy or other life-changing event.) The Cultist must also gain a success to project this moment empathically to the subject. If successful, the subject experiences all of the frustration and remorse of this badly chosen course of action as a series of flashes of anger and disappointment, with premonitions of things to come. For instance, a drug abuser might feel his body contracting in spasms, then see himself from the outside as he's dying and convulsing. A careless sex-hound might feel the pain of labor and sense the terrible burden of unassisted, life-crushing poverty for a victim he plans to love and leave. Often, such a flash is enough to at least give pause to the target. This doesn't necessarily give concrete flashes of the true future; it simply provides concentrated glimpses at things that could go horribly wrong due to someone's bad judgment or lack of responsibility.

Zeitgeist
Mind 2, Spirit 2, Time 2

Sometimes, an element of an age carries Resonance so powerful that it ripples through time in a memory carried by a huge mass of humanity. People establish pictures of an era so vivid that just a simple phrase conjures bright pictures and strong emotions - "The Summer of Love," "The Burning Times," "Black Tuesday." As the masters of time and passion, Cultists can call forth these spirits of ages, these zeitgeists, to make manifest all of the wonder - or terror - of a given point in time.

The Cultist simply associates an ecstatic practice with trappings that call forth the spirit of the age itself. This might mean listening to certain music, putting on specific clothes, burning incenses or smoke of a particular type, maybe even playing a movie or going to a specific place. The more the Cultist does to make the mundane surroundings match up with the zeitgeist, the more powerful the manifestation. At the completion of the rite, the Cultist unleashes the spirit's Resonance to touch everyone's emotions in the area. Anyone in the right place, who can see the Cultist and recognize the things she does, feels a sudden surge of that era.

System: Successes apply to the range and to the strength of the effect. The Cultist doesn't necessarily need successes to affect other people; in this case, the Cultist calls forth a spirit, which then does the work of generating the spirit of the age, and the Cultist simply uses magic to help project that spirit. This could provoke actual memories or just passive emotions regarding a specific scene, so a character might feel the unbounded sense of love and heedless joy from the Summer of Love, or the soaring pride and wonder of the the Age of Reason. It helps if the Cultist was personally there (as per arcane connections,) but it's not absolutely necessary.

The Curse of Consequences
Mind 3, Spirit 1

The Red Spears developed this rote early on as a tool of psychological warfare, refining many traditions' legacy of curses for a particular sharp effect. The shaman forces open the "inner eye" of the victim, letting the target see and hear all the spirits who suffer because of the target's actions. Close up, this includes the tiny spirits of dust motes and air currents crushed or shoved aside, the spirits of molds and insects crushed underfoot, the spirits of animals and plants raised and harvested cruelly and without proper sacrifice to provide food. The victim can also hear, far away, the anguished groans of earth and water spirits around landfills and anywhere else the victim's society marks the world.

Most Red Spear rotes remain closely-guarded secrets, on the grounds that only proven warriors deserve them. This one the society teaches far and wide, regarding every spirit magician as deserving of the power to make the soul-blind suffer.

System: The victim must make a Willpower roll, difficulty 5 + the shaman's Arete, to do anything but suffer the misery of increased awareness each turn the curse remains in effect. Even on turns when this roll succeeds, the victim experiences a strong flood of unhappy emotions. On a botch, the victim develops a suitable Derangement. Standard duration, area and other restrictions apply; the curse is vulgar without witnesses in cultures that don't accept shamanism, coincidental elsewhere. After a number of turns equal to the shaman's Arete, the subject will at least be capable of acting in some manner regardless of Willpower, but will still take a two-Trait penalty on all actions (not reflexives) for the rest of the spell's duration.

Moving the World Walls
Spirit 2

This ancient ritual involved specially marking and preparing a region so that the Gauntlet can be locally raised or lowered. This ritual can be used to protect a house or even an entire apartment building against spiritual attack, or to lower the Gauntlet sufficiently that even weak spirits and low-powered mages can leave or enter the umbra.

System: Every successes raises or lowers the local Gauntlet rating by one point. Since the Gauntlet is not normally perceptible to Sleepers, affecting it almost always counts as coincidental magic. Affecting a doorway is made at normal difficulty. The mage must allocate successes to area in order to determine the size of the alteration. Duration is calculated normally, but if the mage scores two or more successes above those necessary to alter the Gauntlet by the desired amount, the Dreamspeaker can tie the ritual to a set of physical objects, like carved wooden poles or specifically decorated mirrors that mark the boundary of the altered Gauntlet. If this technique is used, the ritual remains in effect until the boundary markers are disturbed.

Walking the Open Path
Spirit 2, Prime 1

This ritual is a version of Moving the World Walls that is specifically designed to lower the Gauntlet at a Node to zero. At this point, a Shallowing is created, and the mage and anyone with her are all able to freely and safely walk into the Umbra. Since the Gauntlet is not being ripped or torn, but rather locally removed, no one entering the Umbra through a Shallowing takes any damage from the Avatar Storms.

System: Every success on this ritual reduces the Gauntlet by two points. Two successes are sufficient to penetrate the Gauntlet at any Node. At midnight or at other especially auspicious times, a single success will reduce the Gauntlet to zero. Because Shallowings are natural occurrences this ritual is coincidental. However, since the Gauntlet continues to thicken, an artificial Shallowing can never be made larger than the wall of a small room. Also, created Shallowings never last longer than a day, regardless of the number of successes rolled. Fortunately, this ritual can be used on both sides of the Gauntlet.

Lesser Binding of Spirits
Prime 2, Spirit 2

While Adepts of Spirit can forge unbreakable Umbral chains around spirits, less skilled Dreamspeakers must rely upon other means of convincing Umbrood to do their bidding. This rote summons a single spirit and immediately surrounds this umbra visitor with a shining corona of fiery quintessence. With the merest thought, the summoner can cause this unnatural fire to harm the spirit. While the damage caused is often not terribly severe, it is always quite painful. Also, the target cannot determine the amount of damage they will suffer beforehand. Most spirits, like most people, are loathe to suffer any harm.

While powerful and lordly spirits will often ignore the risk and attack the summoner for daring to cast such a spell on them, most weak and moderately powerful spirits will agree to perform minor services in exchange for the Dreamspeaker's promise not to harm them. Also, when bargaining with a difficult but not overwhelmingly powerful spirit, this ritual is a useful way to indicate that the summoner is not to be ignored or trifled with.

System: A single success on this roll will summon the spirit; additional successes empower the Prime energy that surrounds the spirit. One additional success surrounds the spirit with energy that will cause two levels of aggravated damage. This magical corona will last one scene before it harmlessly dissipates. Two additional successes cause the energy to last for a full day and can deal up to four levels of aggravated damage to the spirit. In either case, this damage can be inflicted at any time during the duration that the mage chooses. This damage can only be inflicted once, however, unless the spell is cast a second time. As with most summoning spells, knowing the name of the spirit being summoned reduces the difficulty of this spell by two.

Some mages also incorporate a Mind 2 effect into this ritual to produce a magical suggestion of the caster's power and of the uselessness of resistance. This rote can also be used on a spirit that is already present. In that case, all successes go towards energizing the magical corona of Quintessence surrounding the spirit.

Spiritual Persuasion
Mind 2, Spirit 2

While compelling spirits with threats of imprisonment or harm can obtain their cooperation, such tactics can also breed resentment and hatred. Many Dreamspeakers avoid force and coercion and instead rely upon bargaining, alliances and friendship as a way to obtain various services from spirits. In addition, the most powerful spirits are far too strong for any but the mightiest Dreamspeakers to control. Therefor, Dreamspeakers who need the services of Incarna or Celestines must use means other than force to obtain their cooperation. While payment in Tass, help defeating their enemies or pacts of mutual aid can all be used to pay for a spirit's aid, bargaining with spirits - especially with powerful spirits - requires great skill. To aid them in their negotiations, many Dreamspeakers use magical aid to help convince the spirit to accept their offer.

System: Success on this roll both summons the desired spirit and helps to place it in the desired frame of mind for accepting the Dreamspeaker's offer. Each success on this roll (including the first) reduces the difficulty of rolls to convince the spirit of the summoner's wishes by -1. Two or more successes on this roll reduces the difficulty of all suggestions the summoner makes to the spirit during the next full scene by the number of successes rolled.

Umbral Visions
Correspondence 2 or 3, Mind 1, Spirit 2

While actually piercing the gauntlet is now fraught with risk, extending one's senses through it is relatively safe. Using this spell, Dreamspeakers can perceive any point in the Umbra that they are familiar with, and can even communicate with the spirits there. This spell is almost always performed as a lengthy ritual where the caster goes into a deep trance and shuts off her mundane senses as she shifts her perceptions into the Umbra. In the most basic version of this spell, the caster can see and hear Umbral events at whatever locations she desires. While this spell does not allow the caster to form an Umbral body, she can use this spell to allow her to cast other spells at targets she can perceive within the Umbra. Doing so risks sending her magical essence across the Gauntlet, however, and thus attracts the damage of the Storm.

System: Using Correspondence magic, the caster can either send her perceptions to an already known location (using Correspondence 2,) or she can use Correspondence 3 to search for objects or people within the Umbra. Mind 1 is necessary to allow her mind to deal with the unusual input. With the addition of Forces 2, the caster can even form an intangible, ghostlike Umbral body. The number of successes on this spell primarily determines how unfamiliar the caster can be with the location or individual within the Umbra that she desires to perceive. The same number of successes, however, also determines the maximum level of spell that caster can use on spirits or other targets that she can perceive using this spell. If the caster only scored one success, then she could only use first rank Sphere effects on targets perceived using this spell. As with all other spells designed to allow the caster to perceive the Umbra, this spell is normally Coincidental. Effects projected into the Umbra will either suffer heavy Storm damage that degrades and warps the effect, or else cause Storm damage to the caster, as usual.

Shaman's Craft
Matter 3, Spirit 3

The link between smiths and shamans is extremely ancient. This rote is one of the primary magics used by the Spirit Smiths. This spell allows them to repair broken items of all sorts. In addition, Spirit Smiths use it to improve items so that they will function better than they did before. This spell also (temporarily or permanently) awakens the items the Spirit Smith is working on. In some cases, the caster will temporarily awaken the item so that its spirit can help the caster figure out both what is wrong and the best way of repairing it. If there is sufficient time, however, almost all Spirit Smiths use this spell to permanently awaken any item they are working on. Doing so is almost always a lengthy and extensive process. Awakening items in this fashion both improves their function (as long as their owner treats them well) and is part of the Spirit Smiths' plan to reawaken the world and reconnect the mundane world with the Umbra.

System: A single success will repair minor damage and gives the caster a clear idea of both any hidden defects and how its owner has treated the item. More successes provide greater levels of repair. Three successes will repair all but the most severe damage. Even a single success also temporarily awakens the spirit within the item; use the duration chart in Mage to determine how long it remains awake.

Prime 2 must be added to this spell if it is being used to repair objects or devices that have been so badly damaged that they now have large missing pieces. To make this spell coincidental, most casters actually perform some form of physical repair on the item. Some of the more dedicated Spirit Smiths use this spell only as an aid to such mundane efforts. Used in this fashion, each success provides a -2 modifier to the difficulty of any repairs.

Night Battle
Mind 4, Forces 3, Prime 2, Spirit 2

This ritual is one of the most powerful and deadly attacks known to the Dreamspeakers. It allows the mage to separate his spirit from his body and to prowl both the astral planes and the mundane world hunting for victims. Traditionally, the mage's spirit takes on the appearance of a large and dangerous predator. While only mages using spirit senses or individuals and creatures with similar supernatural perceptions can directly perceive this astral form, its effects can be seen and felt by everyone. Using her magic, the Dreamspeaker ventures forth to kill her enemies and destroy objects, while her body remains elsewhere in a deep trance. When the ritual is complete, the target will appear to have been the subject of an attack by a savage animal. No one without powerful magic can even trace this event back to the caster.

System: The caster must roll at least two successes when casting this ritual, since it is not useful if it does not last at least a scene. Also, while the caster's spirit can move with the speed of thought, the caster must already know the target's location or use Correspondence magics to locate the target. Once the target is located, additional rolls are needed for any attacks.

All damage using the Forces effects are made normally, and such damage will look like it was caused by a wild animal. Careful examination of the victim, however, will reveal no evidence of animal fur or other traces that always appear during real animal attacks. If desired, the caster can spend a point of Quintessence and make all damage done by this spell aggravated. Unless care is taken, this ritual is vulgar if used against targets in the mortal world. All attacks on Umbral targets, however, are fully coincidental. Because you must send your spirit out across the Umbra, you do risk the vagaries of the Avatar Storm if you're not at a Shallowing, but you do so only once.

Spirit Slaying
Prime 2, Spirit 2

This rote is commonly used by Dreamspeakers to slay or drive off malevolent spirits. With it, the Dreamspeaker infuses a weapon with raw prime energy and then strikes through the Gauntlet to inflict deadly damage on nearby spirits. This spell is most commonly used to empower swords, knives, clubs and guns with the energy necessary to slay hostile spirits. It can also be performed using symbolic weapons like blunt swords or even crystals and rattles, to allow the Dreamspeaker to attack possessing spirits without harming the host.

System: Like all spells that channel prime energy, this spell does aggravated damage to the target. If this spell is used on a spirit possessing a living host, a single damage roll is made for the attack. The physical weapon damages the target, but all of the aggravated damage affects only the spirit. Depending on the weapon being used, the weapon may do lethal, bashing or even no damage to the target, but the spirit will bear the full brunt of the attack. To perform this spell, the caster must always expend a point of Quintessence. Since this spell only affects spirits, it is almost always coincidental.

Spirit Eating
Mind 3, Prime 3, Spirit 2

Instead of merely slaying or driving off spirits, some Dreamspeakers seek to take the spirit's knowledge and power by consuming the spirit. Like the Spirit Slaying spell, the caster empowers a weapon and uses it to attack the spirit. In addition to harming or killing the target, the caster drains both Prime energy and knowledge from it. Killing a spirit with this spell destroys it forever and gives the caster considerable power.

Despite the temptation of power offered by this spell, many Dreamspeakers consider it to be too horrific to use. It is normally only used in desperation, or by Dreamspeakers who desire to command and rule spirits rather than working equitably with them. Dreamspeakers who regularly use this spell can intimidate spirits into working for them, but will rarely have spiritual allies or friends - the rare exceptions being a few highly predatory spirits that engage in similar tactics. Regular use of this spell will cause most Dreamspeakers to regard the caster as a violent individual who they would rather avoid.

System: The damage caused by this spell is identical to that caused by Spirit Slaying. Every success rolled on damage also gives the caster one point of Quintessence. Each point of Quintessence drained from the spirit also reduces the spirit's power by 5 points. Reducing a spirit's power to zero using this spell destroys it forever. Spirits cannot provide more Quintessence than one-fifth their power.

Successes on this ritual also allow the caster to steal knowledge and memories from the spirit. A single success on any attack will gain the attacker a few random memories. Two successes on one attack give the caster access to most of the spirit's recent memories. Three successes give most of the spirit's memories to the caster, and four or more successes give the caster access to the spirit's most carefully guarded secrets.

Casters who roll two or more successes on an attack must also make a Willpower roll. Rolling a number of successes on this Willpower roll equal to the number of successes rolled on the attack results in the caster experiencing no problems. A successful Willpower roll that scores fewer successes than were rolled for the attack temporarily gives the caster some Mental Flaw or other personality trait possessed by the spirit. This trait remains until the caster next sleeps. A failed Willpower roll results in this trait remaining for the next week, and a botched Willpower roll makes this new trait permanent or can result in the caster believing he is actually the spirit for the next week. An additional Willpower roll must be made for every attack that does significant damage to the spirit. A series of failed Willpower rolls can easily result in the caster gaining a large number of severe mental problems.

Reading the Umbral Skein
Mind 1, Spirit 2, Time 2, sometimes Correspondence 2 or 3

This spell is a favorite for many Baruti. In addition to now being the only safe way that most of them can gain access to their Umbral library of lost tales and ancient memories, this rote also allows them to probe the history of the Umbra itself. According to Baruti doctrine, the world has undergone numerous drastic changes. Whole lands and peoples have suddenly ceased to exist, the rules governing magic have changed, and even the shape and basic geography of the world has not been constant. In most cases, these changes have been so sweeping that they eliminated almost all traces of the previous world and replaced it with histories and artifacts that seem to consistently and inevitably lead to the new present.

The Umbra, however, is both more flexible and more enduring than the mortal world. Significant traces of these prior realities can sometimes remain in neglected corners of the Umbra. Curious Baruti use this spell to cast their consciousness into the Umbra and read its history.

While the validity of the truths gained using this rote are often questionable and impossible to prove, on a number of occasions Baruti using this spell have used the knowledge gained to lead them to strange physical artifacts in the Umbra or in the mundane world. They claim that these curious relics support the stories they have learned. Most other Tradition historians dismiss theories that artifacts like the Mayan crystal skull are proof of the existence of a vastly different world, but the Baruti rarely care about the opinions of others. Some Baruti also use this spell to attempt to divine the future of the Umbra, but their results are even more confusing and inconsistent than ordinary divinations. A few Baruti claim that the odd results obtained using these divinations are further proof that the entire structure of the world will change in the near future and that the Umbra and the mundane world will soon be reunited.

System: This spell is functionally identical to ordinary Time magic divinations, except that it provides information about the past or the future of the portion of the Umbra that corresponds to the caster's location. Because all magic is easier in the Umbra, the amount by which the caster can look into the past (but not the future) is 21 times that obtained by corresponding divinations in the mundane world (see the table in Mage: the Ascension page 209.) If Correspondence effects are added, the mage can determine the history of any portion of the Umbra that she is familiar with. The Mind portion of this rote allows the caster to clearly remember every detail of the odd and confusing information that was gained.

View the Scattered Lotus Petals
Entropy 1, Time 2, optional Correspondence 2

This rote is a more sophisticated version of the prophetic magic common to many Traditions. The mage follows fate's threads along several paths at once and learns about the many possibilities the future might hold. Some Wheel-turners use dice or lots. Others prefer elaborate computer simulations and meditation.

System: Entropy allows the mage to read along several different time lines instead of the single thread allowed by conventional prediction. After spending successes on the target (the subject of inquiry) and the length of time into the future she wishes to look, each success reveals one possibility. These are usually fairly vague, but spending additional successes for each possible future affords visions of greater clarity and detail. Adding Correspondence allows the mage to use this rote at a distance.

Iron Avatar
Life 3, Matter 3, Mind 2, Prime 2, optional Spirit 4, Time 4

The Shivasakti Ayavatara was once considered to be one of the rotes that defined the Euthanatos. An homage to the appearance of the holy Avatara on the final night of the Himalayan War, its meaning has since been corrupted by its most ardent user, Voormas of Helekar. The rote is still occasionally used by the Natatapas; the Aided are known to employ a variant that calls on the power of the Morrigu.

The rote turns the caster into a four-armed killer with a wrathful divine visage formed from the combined attributes of Kali and Shiva. She sprouts up to 10 feet in height and her skin turns the color of wrought-iron, while menacing weapons appear in each of her four taloned hands. These are usually swords, although different manifestations have conjured nooses, lotus blossoms that burn with divine fire and skulls that devour the Ojas of the mage-god's foes.

System: Aside from duration, the caster must also devote successes to increasing Strength (to a minimum of 6,) at least three successes to soak lethal and aggravated wounds (at soak dice per success) and two to sprout extra arms capable of being used in combat. These arms add four additional dice to the mage's Unarmed and Melee dice pools, though each extra success can be used to enhance coordination (adding an additional two dice to armed and unarmed combat dice pools per success.) Three successes are spent adding an aura of supernatural terror to the mage's already fearsome appearance. This causes most Sleepers to flee from the field. All others must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 6, three successes required) to maintain their composure. Finally, the mage must spend four successes to create the weapons that she can handle effectively in her new form (one for each arm) and expend one success and three points of Quintessence to power the entire effect. The weapons are usually swords, but variations on Holy Stroke (see Mage: the Ascension pg. 183) are sometimes used as well. The weapons inflict aggravated wounds due to Prime enchantments.

Since this rote is time consuming, Euthanatoi often combine it with the Sphere of Time so that it can be called upon as a hanging effect when the mage is in need. The most dangerous variant of the rote involves the Spirit Sphere, where the caster invited a spirit of destruction to enter her body. The mage gains full use of the spirit's Charms, but anything less than complete success opens her to possession.

Few Euthanatoi have the ability to reliably cast this spell by themselves, so it is often a group working that enhances the fighting ability of a Marabout's protector. Needless to say, it's vulgar magic.

Gift of Prana
Life 2 or 3, Prime 3

Euthanatoi are healers as well as killers. By meditating on the Great Wheel and its effects on the ebb and flow of prana (life energy,) a Wheel-turner can transfer extra vitality to an ally. This is bound into the subject's chakras until he's injured. When the body's energetic balance changes in response to the wound, the extra life energy flows into the proper place and repairs the damage. Chanting, herbal treatments and bloodletting are all common ritual tools in the creation of this effect.

System: After spending successes on duration and targeting, and spending a point of Quintessence (effectively "enchanting" the target) each success creates a "healing pool" of two health levels. If the subject is injured before the end of the rote's duration, these health levels automatically heal the injury as much as possible. Healing bashing damage is coincidental, healing lethal wounds is usually vulgar (minor injuries are an exception) and healing aggravated wounds is always vulgar. The mage must decide what kinds of injuries the spell will heal and whether or not it works around witnesses as she is casting it. This determines the rote's difficulty. The Life 2 version affects only the caster, while the Life 3 Effect can be used on others.

Magic Bullet
Entropy 2, Forces 2

An intersection between technological and mystic mythologies, this rote is cast a number of ways by Euthanatoi who are comfortable with incorporating modern technology into their magic. Lhaksmists work mathematical formulae into the stocks of their rifles. Irony-minded members of the Golden Chalice inscribe "to the fairest" on their bullets in archaic Greek.

The end result is a bullet that, once it strikes a target, takes advantage of improbable - but possible - permutations of physics to travel in unusual directions, ricocheting into secondary targets and baffling investigators. A skilled death mage can dispatch a group of scattered targets with a single shot.

System: Forces and Entropy direct the kinetic energy of the bullet in potent and highly improbable ways, allowing the mage to strike multiple targets with a single shot - even if, in a sane world, the secondary targets would never be in the bullet's trajectory.

Each success allows one additional target to be struck by the same bullet. The player must split his character's Firearms dice pool to take advantage of the ability to shoot multiple targets, although the mage isn't restricted by the gun's normal rate of fire. This rote is often combined with Time magic to enhance the shooter's accuracy. Using Correspondence allows "indirect fire," as the bullet rebounds into a target that the mage can't see (but can perceive with Correspondence.) Believe it or not, this rote is usually coincidental.

Rudra's Bow
Life 3, Forces 2, optionally Other Spheres

Natatapas emulate the power of the archer-god Rudra as well as the legends of the Kshatriya (warrior caste) archers of ancient India. Other Euthanatoi draw power from their own legends, such as Pomegranate Deme warriors who concentrate upon Artemis' ways. In doing so, the Euthanatos makes his bow supernaturally powerful and grants himself the strength to pull it. This rote retains a surprising degree of popularity because of the availability and silence of the weapon it enhances.

Depending on the divine attribute the caster invokes, the arrows have additional effects. Rudra was the plague-bringer of Vedic India, so his arrows typically pass on a potent disease.

System: Each success adds two dice of damage to a single bow shot. Arrows of Rudra deliver aggravated damage (using Life 3) as disease tears through the target's body. They require twice as many successes per shot as well as a single success to affect the target. Other divine arrows burn their enemies, fill them with terror or otherwise inconvenience them. Additional Spheres are needed to activate these effects.

Geasa
Entropy 5

The Aided know the importance of ritual taboos. Even though they're a hindrance at times, they can also grant extraordinary power, such as in the case of Cu Chulainn's battle-might.

Typically, a Wheel-turner lays one or more Geasa after examining the weave of Destiny around the subject; Astrology and Omens are typical foci. The mage then asks fate to give the spell's subject its attention. Geasa are often laid at birth, but it isn't unprecedented to acquire them or even seek them out in exchange for a special blessing, or Buada.

The rite of laying Geasa also includes the granting of Buada. The Wheel-turner doesn't have to magically create the Buada; Destiny reacts to the fundamental change brought about by accepting the taboo and the new blessing compliments it.

System: Every success allows the mage to place one level of the Geasa flaw (see Mage: the Ascension pg. 298-299. Use an inverse value to the point cost listed in the book. Unlike the standard Flaw you may use it to get a Merit or Trait "for nothing") upon a willing subject. Spending five additional successes makes the taboo permanent. Interestingly, the mage has no control over what sort of Geasa manifest, although she knows what they are upon releasing the spell.

For every point of Geasa, the character gains an additional Freebie Trait. This is the Buada. The caster chooses the general nature of the Buada but cannot determine specifics. For example, he can cast the rite to foster Buada that make the subject a better warrior, but he can't specifically grant improved swordsmanship. The player and Storyteller should discuss what the Buada are. These benefit the character for the duration of the Effect.

Multiple Geasa (and attendant Buada) can be laid on a subject, but these have a tendency to go awry, resulting in contradictory Geasa that can't be properly obeyed. Since the casting mage doesn't know what the Geasa will be until the rote is completed, the only thing she can do to prevent the subject from being entangled by them is to refuse to grant them.

Breaking a single Geasa dooms the subject to Flaws or negative Freebie Traits (spend those to reduce character traits) equal to twice the value of all the Geasa that she's accumulated. Instant Gilgul and a Dark Fate are two examples of what can befall a Geasa-breaker.

Persephone's Nectar
Correspondence 3, Life 3, Matter 2

The signature rote of the infamous Golden Chalice, Persephone's Nectar turns an ordinary liquid into a poison that is keyed to a single target's humors. The Euthanatoi use alchemy (substances that mirror the target's mystical "chemistry") or sympathetic magic (blending hair or bodily secretions) to create a poison that will only affect a single, predefined victim. This is usually added to a beverage; anyone who drinks it will notice something unusual about the taste. Depending on the victim's alchemical balance, the brew might taste a tad sweet, bitter or salty, but not to any degree that's out of the ordinary.

Variants of Persephone's Nectar are used with foodstuffs, household cleaning supplies and gasses. Some versions also mystically age their targets, put them to sleep or induce visions. Some Euthanatoi create artifacts that have the power to create Persephone's Nectar at will. The Golden Chalice was well-known for their eponymous devices, but golden goblets have fallen out of fashion; most Sleepers don't use them and many of the Awakened don't trust them.

System: To create the nectar, the player must score enough successes to connect the target to the toxin (as per the Correspondence Range Chart on pg. 209 of Mage: the Ascension) plus successes to inflict injury (2 unsoakable aggravated wounds per success spent) and duration (after which the poison loses its potency.)

Correspondence prevents the substance from injuring anyone else (as a Ban) and Life and Matter compose the supernaturally potent toxin. The presence of the nectar's magic can be detected with Awareness or the appropriate mystical senses; most Euthanatoi use additional magic to mask it if the target is a mage.

Necromancy

The Song of Flies
Mind 2, Prime 1 or Matter 1, Time 2

No death is ever truly forgotten. Some Euthanatoi can pluck the vibrations of an event from the cosmos by chanting the Om and opening their minds to the sudden whispers of death that remain. Others examine the pallor of the deceased, the pattern of a spray of blood, or the paths that corpse-flies flitter to learn how someone died.

Death mages use this rote to hunt down murderers and investigate questionable deaths. It's common to use this rote to examine the victims of neophyte Ethanatoi; their seniors can determine whether a Good Death was skillful or merciful enough.

System: The Mind/Prime version of this rote is used to examine the scene of a death for psychic impressions and magical Resonance. The Matter/Time version is used on a subject's corpse, as the mage looks back through time to discover what killed the victim. The first version of the rote cannot directly identify a murderer, though it can point out the emotional state of any nearby parties and their specific Resonance Traits. Clever mages can use these facts to find a killer or bystander. This version requires 3 successes.

The second version requires 2 successes as well as enough successes to look back in time to the moment of the victim's death. it provides straightforward information, but it can be blocked by Time wards.

Necrourgy

Reanimation
Spirit 2, or Forces 2, Matter 2 and Prime 2

A dance. A shake of the rattle. A rhythmic chant. All of these carry their vibrations into the earth and sky and remind the world of the secret motion that floods all creation. In those sacred moments the still hidden things - the dead things - shake off the inertia of ages and dance to the hidden music of the Iron Wheel.

Reanimation imbues human remains with the power to move in the semblance of life. There are two generally accepted ways to do this. The first is to call a spirit (not necessarily the former owner of the corpse) to rouse the old flesh and bones. The second is to rekindle the fire of Ojas in the bones themselves so that they rise under their own spiritual power. In ancient times the Pomegranate Deme and Natatapas both used permanently animated skeletons, but the Paradox-prone nature of the rite makes it a rarely used one.

System: If a mage knows an appropriate spirit (through the use of an appropriate Knowledge or in-game experience) then he can use the first version of this rote to call it to the body and bargain it inside. Note that there are a few spirits who get a kick out of animating corpses: spirits of fear and the wraiths who used to wear the bodies in question tend to be enthusiastic volunteers, though the mage may be getting more than he bargains for in both cases. The second version rouses the latent Quintessence in a body and uses it to impart motion. As a rough guide, a corpse (or parts thereof) has as many health levels as the Storyteller sees fit for it to have and has a Strength of 2 per success spent (up to the maximum amount of force the body to bring to bear without breaking or tearing.) The caster must score three successes, plus one per animated target.

Salt on the Earth
Correspondence 3, Entropy 1

Indian and Greek traditions recognize the purity of salt. Necrourgists use it to ward off the predation of ghosts. Some do so to defend the innocent from a terrifying haunting, while others simple evade the due that meddling with the Underworld earns them. The mage casts a circle of salt and calls to the gods of the living and the dead to keep their territories separate and sovereign. In turn, the circle marks this strengthened boundary; those within it are warded from the powers of the Underworld.

System: This variation on a Ban prevents Entropic energies from crossing a boundary of the mage's choosing (typically a circle of salt.) Since ghostly powers (such as Arcanoi) carry the flavor of decay, they may not pass the barrier. This only applies to supernatural powers that manifest in the lands of the living; the ghost may use its powers or pass freely through the affected area as long as she remains in the Shadowlands. A wraith can't simply walk across the barrier from the Shadowlands and wreak havoc from the inside; the magic permeates the affected area, not just the circle.

After spending two successes and any successes on duration and/or the number of additional Patterns protected, the rote typically subtracts one success from the use of an Arcanos (or Gift, if you treat ghosts like spirits) per success spent on the ban's potency. At the Storyteller's discretion, very devious or powerful ghosts may be able to evade this. The rote has no effect on the bodies of the Walking Dead (and similarly animated bodies,) who can shamble into the area at will.

Necrosynthesis

Jivitamarana ("Death in Life") Yoga
Entropy 4 or Matter 4, Life 4

The Knights of Radamanthys and the Devasu make use of this rote when they are forced into direct combat. Special breathing and ingesting a near-fatal dose of barbiturate brings the mage to the Coumantha between life and death. In this in-between state, their corpse-like bodies feel no pain and they can shrug off horrific injuries.

System: This rote requires three successes plus successes spent on duration. For the duration of the rote, the mage becomes something very much like a walking corpse; he can soak lethal damage (difficulty 6,) halves all bashing damage before soaking, and suffers no wound penalties. The mage's Life Pattern becomes indistinct, Life effects targeted at the mage have their difficulty increased by 1.

This strength has a price. The mage's body is insensitive to tactile stimulus and he automatically fails most applicable Perception-based tests. His withered, pale visage reduces his Appearance to zero. Finally, the mage possesses an additional Entropic Resonance Trait for the duration of the rote.

Dukhamarana Moksa ("Release of Agonizing Death")
Entropy 4, Life 3

This form of the Good Death is used on particularly sinful or destructive candidates. Some Euthanatoi believe that sometimes the Good Death alone isn't enough to dissuade an evil-doer; his death must be a lesson in of itself. The intense pain that Dukhamarana Moksa creates as it kills is said to discourage a victim from committing evil acts in his next life. Since the spell corrodes victims to dust, it also counters the unnatural hardiness of some supernatural creatures.

By chanting the Dukhamarana mantra and declaring the victim's sins, the Euthanatoi concentrates all of the target's destructive karma and channels it into his body. The dark karma takes form as spontaneous lesions, rotting, and disintegration.

System: After spending a success to affect the target and a success to collect his tainted karma, each success inflicts 2 unsoakable aggravated wounds. Furthermore, any injuries created by this rote will not heal without special intervention; the target's ability to replenish its Pattern with Quintessence has been destroyed. A Prime 3 effect will allow the target to heal naturally for as long as its duration lasts, and a vulgar Life 3 / Prime 3 conjunctional effect will heal a target just like a standard healing rote. Finally, anyone killed with Dukhamarana Moksa is turned into lifeless dust. The victim's body cannot be recreated by any means short of the resurrection power of a mummy or by using the dust's Resonance as a blueprint to create life out of nothingness (requiring Mastery of Life and Prime.) Creatures normally immune to Life Pattern magic are similarly unaffected by this rote, though variations that affect them might exist.

If the Euthanatos uses this rote to kill a victim, she automatically gains one Trait of Entropic Resonance. Thus, most death mages use this rote to wound a particularly evil supernatural target and mundane means to finish it off.

Agama ReSojourn / Agama TeSojourn
Entropy 4, Life 2, Spirit 3 / Entropy 4, Life 2, Spirit 4

This famous rote used to be cast upon almost every new Euthanatos as part of the near-death initiation. As the Maelstrom rages in the lands of the dead, however, many consider the old method too dangerous and use other means to initiate apprentices into death.

The effect puts the subject at the cusp of death, "tricking" the Underworld into accepting his passage over the shroud. The traveler becomes a wraith of sorts, clothed in the spiritual body of a ghost while his mortal flesh lies in the stillness of (hopefully) temporary death. Agama Re carries the mage. Agama Te allows a mage to bring companions or send another mage across.

System: This rote has a threshold of seven successes, in addition to any successes dedicated to the spell's duration or extra "targets." Entropy and Life imbue the mage with the physical and mystical attributes of death, while Spirit allows the mage to traverse the Shroud (the Gauntlet of dread that separates consensual reality from the Shadowlands.) No magic is needed to create the subject's wraithly body; the natural laws of the Underworld clothe dead souls.

The subject's spiritual body (called a corpus) resembles his self-image. A mage's corpus will often manifest features of his Avatar's Essence and appearance as well. The subject now has 10 health levels and doesn't take wound penalties. Since she is no longer housed in a living Pattern, she can no longer be affected by Life magic. She must use the Spirit Sphere to heal any injuries sustained to the corpus. Ghosts can sense that the mage still carries the spark of life with a Perception + Awareness (or a Gnosis) roll, difficulty 6. Like a ghost, the subject can walk through walls or ignore anything from the living world that would harm her by expending a single health level per barrier or hazard. If a mage loses all of her health levels, two things happen. First of all, she immediately gains a new, permanent Entropic Resonance Trait. Secondly, the mage is drawn into a Harrowing.

In Mage terms, a Harrowing is a kind of anti-Seeking. The mage undertakes a symbolic visionquest, but instead of spurring her personal growth it seeks to torment her to the point where she loses hope and takes refuge in Oblivion. The mage's Avatar often takes the role of a victim or companion, but it has no influence over the events of the Harrowing. Instead, malefic forces attempt to separate the mage from her Avatar, inspire her to betray it, or cause her to reject the possibility of Ascension.

If the mage keeps to the ideals of Ascension and stays true to her Avatar, she returns to her mortal body. The spell is finished, regardless of its duration. If Agama Te was used, any companions under the effect return as well.

If the mage fails (betrays or rejects her Avatar or denies Ascension,) the player must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 9.) If the roll is successful, the mage returns to her body just as if she'd succeeded. If the roll is a failure, the mage returns to her body and loses a level of Arete. (She has, after all, denied Ascension and/or her Avatar.) If the mage botches, Oblivion consumes her soul and she becomes an evil ghost, or Spectre.

Betrayal of the Burning Arrow
Correspondence 1, Forces 3

The Technocracy's supremacy on the physical battles of the Ascension War is due to one thing alone: guns. Even the most powerful Master can be laid low by a well-placed bullet. The Order has never been inclined to take such punishment lying down, but most Technocracy agents are intelligent enough to ward their guns against mystic tampering. Thus, some of House Flambeau's more devious thinkers have hatched the Betrayal of the Burning Arrow, which transforms the bullet in a weapon's chamber into a deathtrap.

Breaking a glass or crystal arrowhead inscribed with the Enochian glyph for the number eight (an ill-omened number,) the mage uses basic Correspondence sensing to latch onto the bullet currently in the chamber of a gun in his line of sight. Forces arts transform any kinetic energy about to act on that bullet into heat, generally causing the weapon to erupt into flame when the trigger is pulled and often causing any other bullets left in the gun to explode, detonating the weapon in its wielder's hand.

System: Betrayal of the Burning Arrow inflicts damage as a normal Forces attack and, in the process, destroys the gun used to fire the targeted bullet. A Storyteller might rule, however, that a weapon on its last shot inflicts less damage, while a machine gun with a full clip may inflict significantly more. This rote is usually coincidental.

Ceasar's Due
Correspondence 3, Entropy 2, Prime 2

The mages of the Order of Hermes rank among the busiest and most pressed-for-time people in the world. Fewer than 50 percent of all Hermetics can even entertain the notion of holding a day job. How, then, do they pay for necessities like gas and electricity? Ceasar's Due, a relatively recent innovation from the great minds of House Fortunae, is certainly one solution to the problem.

The rote, most often focused through a circle of seven bank cards (which need not be the mage's, or even active,) scribed with Enochian sigils and arranged around a stack of the mage's monthly bills, creates an aetheric matrix with Prime arts, through which a purely conceptual force (electronic money) will move. Next, Entropy, through the principle of contagion (assisted in this by Correspondence,) sifts through bank records and ongoing fiscal calculations, "latching onto" tens of thousands of the fractions of a cent that are normally discarded by electronic transactions. Correspondence then shuffles all of this "phantom money" into the Prime Pattern within the circle, dispersing it from there to the institutions to which the mage owes money. As most Hermetics who use this rote see it, no one is hurt, nothing that actually exists is stolen and none of this would even be possible was the Technocracy not so sloppy in its application of basic mathematics.

Ceasar's Due may also be enacted, albeit much more crudely, through the use of Correspondence 3, Forces 3, Prime 2, by simply adding the new data (through the creation of the electric impulses that say the bills in question are paid) to the various computers that track the mage's accounts. This approach tends to leave a traceable trail back to the mage, though, and often leaves the same sorts of signs as simply hacking the systems which house the accounts would.

System: This rote pays the bills, plain and simple. Success results in the mage's heat and cable staying on for another month and her accounts remaining flush. One success may leave some bills a few dollars in arrears, while many successes may result in credit for a month or more. Some mages have modified the use of this rote to transfer money directly into a personal bank account, but this is a much riskier proposition (since the Correspondence facet of Ceasar's Due leaves a trail to follow) and its use for such base and avaricious ends is frowned upon by many Order mages. While the enacting of this effect may certainly look weird, it produces no effects that any Sleeper can register and so it is almost always coincidental.

Occlude the Seal of Power
Matter 2, Mind 2, Prime 4

Mages of the Order of Hermes rank among those Awakened most likely to acquire potent and disconcerting forms of Resonance quickly. Naturally, this phenomenon can be detrimental to a Hermetic's ability to socially interact with Sleepers. The Order, however, derives a great deal of its strength from its connections in Sleeping society. To combat the difficulties posed by these two mutually exclusive circumstances, the astute wizards of House Bonisagus dedicated a bit of time and research to learning how to Occlude the Seal of Power.

To enact this rote, the mage chooses a receptacle for his Resonance (often the object will be a container of some sort, such as an urn or chalice.) This receptacle, whatever its nature, must be of the most precious materials obtainable: gold, ivory, rare woods or gemstones, for example. The mage then sits in a meditative posture, surrounded by four lit pieces of frankincense (four for the four elements, four directions, four archangels and four Avatar Essences,) and breathes deeply 10 times, each time exhaling onto (or, in the case of containers, into) the chosen object. With each exhaled breath, the mage gently whispers the Enochian name for each of the Ten Spheres (including Unity) in turn. When this is done, the mage invests the object with a point of Quintessence, enabling it to hold the psychic impression of his Resonance until the effect's duration expires or he again makes physical contact with the receptacle with the intention of reclaiming that Resonance.

This rote may be enacted in a much simpler form, using only Mind 2 to conceal the psychic aura of a mage's Resonance as regards other living creatures, but the mage's Sphere Effects will still carry a mystic impression that colors them, and by which he might be recognized. This same rote, with slightly different implementation and intent, can alter the Resonance of a source of most varieties of Tass (an effect called Sculpt the Fifth Essence.) Likewise, the mage can use Occlude the Seal of Power (upon himself only) to take on a temporarily different Resonance than he normally possesses.

System: This effect, in its primary form, negates the interaction of the mage's Resonance with the world in any metaphysical sense. With one success, this rote might not be fully successful (especially when used by mages with powerful Resonance of one sort or another,) allowing occasional "glimpses" of the mage's Resonance in his workings and when in proximity to others, while many successes make the mage seem as normal as any Sleeper (at least, until the vulgar effects start flying....) Since this effect actually smooths the Tapestry, it is nearly always coincidental.

Vulcan's Hammer
Forces 3, Life 4, Matter 3

There are times when subtlety is called for. Vulcan's Hammer is not a rote for those times. This enchantment transforms a mage into a living weapon of iron and flame. The effect is most often focused on a statuette of the mage in question, sculpted from iron-rich clay and hardened under intense heat. Over the course of working the clay, the mage scribes and then kneads her True Name into it 10 separate times, thus concealing the truth of her identity within it and making the statuette a conduit through which her own living pattern may be affected. (Understandable, an Order mage does well to carefully protect the focus for this effect, as it does contain information about her innermost being, through which all manner of deleterious magics might be worked against her.)

While in the (grossly vulgar) shape of Vulcan's Hammer, the average mage weighs in at just about a ton, and is wreathed in flames of up to 1000 degrees in temperature. Needless to say, there is not much that can stand before the assault, or even the close passing, of such a juggernaut (therefore, beware before using this rote on wooden floors, near gas stations or in a mine shaft, among many other places....)

System: Vulcan's Hammer grants the following changes to Attributes: +3 Strength, -2 Dexterity (to a minimum of 1,) +4 Stamina. The mage automatically fails all Social Attribute rolls, except those involving intimidation, against any Sleeper who is not aware and accepting of the mage's Awakened nature. She inflicts normal Forces damage on those who come in physical contact with her while in this state. By adding Prime 2 to the rote, the mage can deal aggravated damage with hand-to-hand attacks, soak aggravated damage normally and inflict aggravated damage on any who come in physical contact with her. While in this shape, she is immune to phenomena that specifically target organic beings, is subject to phenomena that affect normal iron (save for Prime 4 Flames of Purification, as she is still a living thing) and is a walking Paradox magnet. Naturally, this effect is always vulgar.

Wildfire
Entropy 2, Forces 2

Another innovation from the militant willworkers of House Flambeau, Wildfire allows a mage to begin with a spark and quickly end up with a conflagration. Lighting a fire at the intersection of two interlocked pentacles, one of Mars and one of Pluto, the mage compels the flame to travel on the particular strands of fate that cause it to grow most quickly and efficiently: the wind is blowing in the right direction, a spark hops to the most flammable material at hand, a splash of water simply throws burning embers in every direction, etc.

For exceedingly powerful mages, the option exists of simply using Matter 5 (often focused through some manner of alchemically prepared oil or a pentacle of Jupiter) to increase the flammability of all materials in the vicinity to the point of explosive combustion to achieve this same effect. Those of less grandiose means can use similar foci to transform basic materials (such as tile floors, glass and stone,) using Matter 2, Forces 2, into more readily combustible substances whenever they are touched by flames.

System: Only one success is required to make this effect work, but large numbers of successes can cause even a lighter flame to result in a towering inferno within five or so turns (or fewer if one happens to be in a fuel depot, lumber yard or paper mill, for example.) In fact, this rote is occasionally so effective that it doesn't leave its caster enough time to escape. Ah, life as a Flambeau....

Unless enacted in a grandiose and attention-grabbing fashion, little about this rote immediately suggests supernatural tampering, making it usually coincidental.

Death Ray
Entropy 4 or Forces 3, Prime 2, optional Time 3

A mainstay of Mad Scientists everywhere, the death ray comes in two generally recognized forms. The first is a standard laser or particle beam, easily jury-rigged from available materials. Most of these weapons emit invisible beams, but most Sons of Ether refit them to spray brilliant red, blue or green, as tradition demands.

The second, called the "chaos beam" or "black ray," projects random-frequency microwaves, anti-Etheric particles or contra-Reichian orgone fields (depending on who you ask,) disrupting bodily functions. These death rays take the form of black, jagged bolts, a rippling in the air or a noticeable chill, and they are favored by Etherite psychics as well as weapons engineers.

Recent designs also include repetitive mental techniques or fast crystal-cycling mechanisms to allow an automatic weapon's rate of fire.

If sufficiently bulky (requiring at least 50 kilograms of equipment) and made of precision parts, a laser or particle beam is coincidental. The other versions are vulgar.

System: Both versions inflict aggravated wounds after a success is spent to acquire the target, and each requires a successful Dexterity + Firearms (or Wits + Enigmas, for mental versions) to strike. The Time 3 version gives the death ray the characteristics of a fully automatic weapon (see Mage: the Ascension pg. 241) for four additional successes, plus additional successes spent on the duration. Most death rays inflict aggravated damage through extreme heat or Entropy disruptions.

Etheric Shielding
Matter 2, Spirit 2, optional Prime 2

Ordinary materials can be converted to resist energies from alien dimensions, to provide both physical and mental protection against the horrors of the unknown. Imbuing standard clothing with extra-dimensional material (such as materialized ephemera) or using matter with proven anti-Etheric properties (such as lead or polyester) in precise amounts creates a garment or enclosure that is resistant to alien meddling. Sophisticated versions of this rote actually align extra-dimensional energies to protect against physical alien attack.

System: After successes are spent on duration as well as the clothing or enclosure (based on how many people it could reasonably contain,) each success increases the Gauntlet around the wearer or dweller by one. This barrier must first be breached by any spirit wishing to possess the character. Using Prime, the scientist can also provide two additional soak dice against attacks in or from the Umbra.

Exotic Matter
Matter 5 or Matter 5, Prime 3

A few Sons of Ether have reached the pinnacle of their Craft, and no longer feel constrained by such paltry limitations as the periodic table. Mastery of Matter has limitless possibilities, exemplified by such materials as antimatter and Primium. The guidelines for creating them and their in-game effects are detailed as follows:

Antimatter (requires Matter 5): Using garage-built particle accelerators, stolen research time at CERN and postmodern alchemy are all known ways to create antimatter. Previously, this material required an esoteric command of Forces as well, but the general acceptance of antimatter among Sleeper scientists has simplified the process considerably. Of course, rather than laboring with an unwieldy conventional particle accelerator for the sake of a few measly positrons, Etherites use their own shortcuts.

Unlike standard matter, antimatter is composed of particles with an opposing spin: positrons, antineutrons and antiprotons. When it meets normal matter, each particle annihilates its opposites and releases their combined energy.

Unless kept in a vacuum, antimatter and normal matter meet... explosively. In game terms, successes measure both how much is created and how much it can annihilate, inflicting three aggravated wounds (unsoakable by any material entity or object) per success in a radius of approximately 100 yards per success. (Successes are not divided in this case.) Etherites may measure out small amounts of antimatter for experiments (in the three-to-six-wounds/100-to-200-yard range) or simply use it to blow something up. Magnetic containment fields and the ability to evacuate the area are recommended.

Antimatter requires at least 20 successes to prepare before spending successes on the amount/damage/area of effect. Creating antimatter in these amounts is vulgar, even though the amount is microscopic.

Primium (requires Matter 5, Prime 3): Along with Iteration X, the Sons of Ether are among the few who still know how to create this alchemically perfect gold/silver alloy. Some scientists consider the metal to be the perfect earthly reflection of the universal Ether. Expensive alchemy and/or nuclear furnaces (as well as a king's ransom of base materials) go into its creation. Characters need access to a Resources 5 rating to afford it.

Furthermore, Quintessence is needed. In game terms, each success used to create Primium needs to be backed by one point of Quintessence. After 15 successes are spent on the threshold to create it, successes are spent on its relative mass and potency.

Finished Primium has a near perfect sheen and excellent material strength, but its real benefits come from its perfect antipathy to supernatural energies (representative, it is said, of its perfected structure refusing to yield to such influences.) A Primium weapon's striking surface inflicts aggravated wounds. It also provides permanent countermagic commensurate with its mass: two dice per success spent past the threshold, though no amount of Primium can provide more than 10 dice to resist any single magical effect. Etherites may divide successes spent to create multiple masses of Primium. The countermagic affects magic within a rough two-yard radius of the mass. If the Primium has been made into a weapon, this effect is rolled to weaken the strength of any supernatural defense, allowing Primium blades and bullets to punch through defensive Forces effects and weaken enhanced soak capabilities.

Orgone Accumulator
Prime 3 or 5

Inspired by the work of Doctor Wilhelm Reich, many Sons of Ether use his theories to store and use a unique variation of the Odyllic Force. Orgone theory states that the universal essence is emotional as well as physical. By harnessing it, Etherites may imbue Scientific workings with either their own Resonance or that of another subject, item or place. Particularly advanced accumulators can attract and store ambient Quintessence as well as Resonance.

Orgone Accumulators take many forms (and, in fact, many of them are turned into full fledged Wonders.) The classic Reichian design is a chamber built of alternating layers of conductive metals and organic materials, but the Sons of Ether have experimented with many alternate designs, including accumulator jumpsuits, handheld units and even wood and metal buildings designed to focus orgone energy upon a laboratory.

Orgone Accumulators are also used as foci for Life and Forces effects, relying on the ability to store Resonance in order to make precise changes. Healing and weather control are the most common additional functions of Orgone Accumulators.

System: For the Prime 3 version, each success allows the Etherite's focus to hold two Resonance Traits for as long as the Etherite chooses to commit successes to duration. These Traits may be applied to any other effect the character casts, but doing so expends those Traits. By default, an accumulator absorbs the strongest ambient Resonance in an area, but the effect can be used to take a Resonance sample from a specific person, place or thing by spending additional successes on targeting. The target does not lose any Resonance.

The Prime 5 version also acts as the Prime effect Fount of Paradise, as listed in Mage: the Ascension. Additional successes must be spent to activate this use of the accumulator.

Quantum Temporal Travel
Correspondence 3 or 4, Entropy 4, Time 3 or 5

The introduction of quantum mechanics has solved many of the lethal problems of time travel. By tunneling through to alternate universes, Sons of Ether can travel into the past without suffering an instant visit from an annoying Paradox pest. It's still vulgar and less potentially useful than traveling to the "true" past, present and future. Going to an alternate past cannot change the true present, and fantastic technology retrieved from alternate futures tends to fail to Unbelief. Still, visiting an alternate universe has its uses. Utopians visit the grand futures and idyllic pasts that might have been, or sneak into dystopias to learn harsh lessons about the price of failure. Ethernauts explore these universes out of sheer curiosity, dividing their time between strange alternate universes and those barely different from the "baseline" World of Darkness.

Controlled wormholes in the space-time continuum are created with high-energy particle beams, special electromagnetic fields, locating twists in the Odyllic flow and, in some cases, psychedelic drugs.

System: Correspondence 3 transports one person, while Correspondence 4 creates a tunnel into an alternate universe that can accommodate one traveler per success spent. Further successes can move characters through space as well as time, as a normal Correspondence effect. Time 4 allows a short hop (one turn/success) forward or backward compared to the baseline time, before being pulled back to the point of departure. Time 5 allows for extended journeys into the alternate past or future (using the standard chart for Time effects.) Time and Entropy are used together to isolate the travelers from the time stream and move them to a new "branch" of the continuum. The Time 5 version of the rote must be used to return as well, or it's a one-way trip. Return trips use the Consensus of the alternate universe to determine vulgarity.

Other successes are spent on the dissimilarity between the alternate reality and the traveler's. One success indicates a near clone of the "real" timeline, while five successes allow passage to the most bizarre alternate worlds, such as worlds where the Order of Hermes controls the paradigm or sentient dinosaurs coexist with humanity.

Traveling into an alternate past cannot affect the "real" present, except through any knowledge or artifacts that the traveler brings with her. Objects that have a specific duplicate in the baseline present eventually erode or fade, while objects from the future do so if they can perform any feat of magic or science unknown to the present day. Still, the low-level version of this rote allows characters to hop into an alternate past and grab a temporal duplicate of an object that you desperately need (or need more of) for a brief period to use in the baseline present.

A word of warning: Alternate universes are just that - alternate. Even the most familiar-looking one might have subtle, dangerous differences. Some Sons of Ether note similarities with the Mirror Zone of the Umbra and posit that this rote actually takes them there.

Adder's Tongue
Mind 2

The Verbena have long been known for their ability to understand the natural world, in particular the speech of beasts and birds, and to speak to them in return. The language of animals is not overly complex (though some creatures have very refined understanding of certain concepts.) Animals are generally well-disposed to Verbena who choose to speak to them, provided they're not hungry or threatened in any way. Even then, the beast may speak, if only to communicate those feelings. The creature is under no compulsion to obey the caster, though it could be persuaded to help, particularly if offered something it wants.

System: A single success is enough to allow the mage to speak with and understand any creature within earshot. The animal's vocalizations don't change, the mage simply understands their meaning.

Arrest the Flight of Arrows
Forces 2

In the Norse Hávamál, the god Odin proclaims, "If I see hurled arrows hard at my horde; though rapid in flight I arrest them in air." Since ancient times, rune-workers have known charms for warding off the flight of arrows and similar such weapons, and they have passed this knowledge on to the Verbena. The spell creates a ward that robs all sorts of missile weapons of their motive force, causing them to hang suspended in mid-air for a moment before dropping harmlessly to the ground. A mage protected by this enchantment is shielded not only from hurled spears and arrows, but modern ballistic weapons as well.

System: Successes scored from the spellcasting are subtracted from successes rolled to hit the subject with a missile weapon, from a thrown rock to an arrow or even a bullet. If the attack roll is reduced to zero or fewer successes, then the missile drops harmlessly to the ground a short distance away from the target, robbed of its momentum. Even if the attack still has one or more successes, the hit is still blunted by the spell (since fewer successes mean fewer damage dice.) The caster must allocate successes to duration to maintain the spell, and he can protect multiple targets by assigning successes to increase the effect's area.

Banishing Blessing
Entropy 2, Mind 2, possibly with Correspondence 3

Verbena who hold to the tenet "harm none" find other means to deal with problem people in their lives. One such is to "release with love" as some Moon-Seekers say. Using some connection to the target (such as a photo or a lock of hair,) the Verbena sends good fortune, along with the subtle mental suggestion to seize the opportunity, with the intention that the subject's blessings will take him away (preferably far, far away) for some time. For example, the subject might get a new job opportunity on the other side of the continent (or even the other side of the world,) win a trip or vacation, hear from distant relatives she didn't even know she had and so forth.

System: At least three successes are needed to send the target away for at least a day, with additional successes extending the duration of the subject's absence once the blessing has taken hold. Four successes suffice for a month or so, five successes for six months, and six or more successes can cause the subject to be gone for a year or more (perhaps even permanently, at the Storyteller's discretion.)

Blood of the Sacred King
Prime 3

Verbena understand well the power of sacrifice, the energy bound up in living Patterns, that is released at the moment of death, merging back into the weave of the Tapestry. That power can be captured and channeled toward magical ends, particularly if the sacrifice is willing (and even if he is not.) The emotional resonance of a willing sacrifice works in harmony with the magic, whereas the emotions of an unwilling sacrifice may taint the spell with an unexpected or unwanted resonance (of death, fear, pain or vengeance.)

Among the Verbena, the most common sacrifice (apart from Self Sacrifice ) is that of the Sacred King, who gives his life for the land, or the May Queen, who does the same. The health of the land is the duty of its ruler. When the land falters, the ruler must perish to make it grow strong again.

A Sleeper sacrificing himself can release a remarkable amount of Quintessence. A mage who willingly gives up his own life, however, can achieve truly remarkable things through his sacrifice.

System: For each of the Sleeper sacrifice's health levels (bashing and lethal) the caster gains one point of Quintessence, so a human sacrifice yields 14 points of Quintessence, which the mage may use as desired. If the subject possesses any innate Quintessence, it is added to the above total. The subject's state of mind at the time of death applies a strong Resonance to the harvested Quintessence, which the Storyteller should take into account when it is used.

An Awakened mage who sacrifices himself (or allows himself to be sacrificed,) on the other hand, provides the vital Quintessence, but does far more in addition - he can renew a dying Node by sacrificing his life and his Avatar to open up the Node. If the mage channels his death to this purpose, he increases the rating of the Node by one dot per every two dots of his Arete rating (rounded up if the player rolls any 10s; rounded down otherwise.)

This rote cannot be fast cast. Furthermore, if more than one mage performs such a sacrifice at a Node in the space of one year, the Node may become unstable and begin behaving erratically (varying drastically in its Quintessence output, for example, or by becoming a shallowing or the like.)

A mage who sacrifices herself in this way cannot be brought back by any means. She does not become a ghost of any sort, nor can she be contacted in any way. Her Avatar and spirit are both invested entirely into the Node she is rekindling. Nothing remains of the mage's personality, except possibly some tendency of the land to manifest her personality traits in some vague, symbolic way.

Circe's Enchantment
Life 5

The legendary sorceress Circe used her magic to transform men into beasts. The Verbena have long practiced the art of transformation, though it is a difficult one to master. The mage must touch the subject or subjects of the spell with a wand or sprinkle them with an elixir of distilled herbs to begin the process of transforming them into whatever sort of beast is desired. Some particularly infamous uses of this enchantment include turning some targets into predators and others into prey, restoring the former only after they have hunted, killed and eaten the latter. Another is transforming some subjects into male animals and others into females, allowing them to experience mating and childbirth before they are restored.

Verbena do also use this spell as a blessing of sorts, allowing others to experience life in beast form; soaring as an eagle or swimming as a dolphin, for example. It is a rare gift, and not one given lightly.

System: Five successes are required to transform the target completely. Fewer successes might result in only a partial transformation (such as giving the target the head of a donkey or the lower body of a horse.) Each additional target requires another success, and at least one success must be assigned to duration (for the spell to last more than a moment.) This makes Circe's Enchantment a taxing spell for even a skilled mage.

Curse of Macha
Life 2

In ancient Ireland, the goddess Macha was forced, while pregnant, to run a footrace against the swiftest horse in the kingdom to prove her prowess. She won, and immediately went into labor thereafter, to be delivered of her child. She laid a curse upon the men of Ulster that when they were in need of their strength, they would feel the pangs of labor upon them, just as she suffered them. This curse allows a Verbena to cause the victim, male or female, to feel labor pains clutching at them. Verbena women most often use it to teach men a lesson about "the weaker sex."

System: Each success on the spell is treated as two levels of bashing damage for purposes of determining dice pool penalties due to the terrible pain. Targets Incapacitated by the spell are incapable of doing anything other than moaning and writhing in agony. Successes must be assigned to duration as normal, though the mage can also choose to consciously maintain the spell.

Lay of the Land
Correspondence 2, Life 2

Oneness with nature has long been a deeply held Verbena belief, one that this magic makes a reality. The caster weaves a web of enchantment that connects her to all life within a particular area, both plants and animals, allowing the mage to become aware of the nature of a place and everything that is happening there. Generally, the more sophisticated and plentiful the life in an area is, the more the Verbena learns. This spell is more effective in an old-growth forest or a jungle filled with numerous creatures, less effective in a barren desert, and all but useless in a blasted and barren landscape. Information comes filtered through the life of the land, so it might be somewhat distorted by the different perspectives.

System: One success is needed to create the connection between the caster and the life of the land. Additional successes expand the range of the caster's senses as follows: an area 100 yards in radius with one additional success, up to a mile with two, ten miles with three, 100 miles with four, and 500 miles with five. At greater distances, the information the mage receives becomes increasingly vague simply because there is so much. The Storyteller may require a Perception + Awareness roll (difficulty 1 + total spell successes) to sort out specific information.

Magic Circle
Prime 2, Spirit 2

Verbena often perform their rites within the bounds of a circle that is warded to protect them against all unwanted influences and spirits, intended to keep in the power that they raise until the time is right to release it. Traditionally, they create the circle by walking or tracing its bounds with wand, staff or blade three times. The spirits of the four directions and the four elements are then called upon to consecrate and enforce the circle's boundaries until the Verbena release them.

System: A Magic Circle can have a radius up to the caster's Arete in yards; each success allocated to the radius increases it by a yard. A circle cast for a specific ritual lasts until that ritual is complete. A circle cast for general purposes must have successes allocated to its duration. The remaining success from the casting provide dice for countermagic. These dice are rolled automatically against any spell cast on a subject within the bounds of the circle. Make a Willpower roll (difficulty 6) for any spirit attempting to cross the boundaries of the circle. A number of successes equal to the spell's casting are necessary for it to do so. Spirits cannot affect those inside the boundary with their powers.

Self Sacrifice
Prime 1

The Norse god Odin hung himself from the branches of the World Tree to gain knowledge of the runes. So must the Verbena sometimes sacrifice for their magic. Rituals of pain and endurance - as simple as cutting runes into flesh or scourging or as complex as hanging in imitation of Odin's sacrifice or the Native American Sun Dance - fuel Verbena magic. Other mages consider such primitive and painful rituals unnecessary, but the Verbena understand that sometimes pain is the best way to know that you are alive, and the willingness to sacrifice is one of the greatest strengths.

System: For each level of bashing damage that she suffers, the mage gains a point of Quintessence she can use for a particular spell. For each level of lethal damage, the mage gains an additional point of Quintessence. This damage is done directly to the mage's pattern, so it cannot be healed using magic, only time and rest. In essence, the Verbena is drawing upon her own life force, breaking down the Quintessence of her own being, to fuel her magic.

Strains of Laughter, Sleep and Sorrow
Mind 2

The Celtic god Dagda was said to possess a magical harp that played certain songs that could enchant all those who heard them. These haunting melodies caused uncontrollable laughter or weeping, or they sent listeners into a deep and peaceful sleep. The bards and skalds of the Verbena have long practiced the art of influencing and enchanting listeners with their music and can produce similar effects. Traditionally it is the melody of a harp, pipe or flute that produces the magic, but some Verbena accompany the instrument with a song or even sing unaccompanied. Some casters have been known to achieve the same effects with modern instruments.

System: The caster weaves a powerful strain of emotion with his music. The successes from casting the spell determine the strength of the emotion. Two or three successes are enough for listeners to feel whatever emotion the caster projects. Four or more cause the subject to feel it intensely, and even act upon it. At this level of success, subjects laugh or weep openly or drop off into a deep and peaceful slumber. A target can spend a point of temporary Willpower to shake off the effect briefly, but as long as the caster plays, it will return. The effects of the spell end within a minute after the caster stops playing or singing, though listeners who have fallen asleep will remain so for at least an hour or two, unless they are awakened before then.

Strength of the Earth
Life 3

For the Verbena, the living Earth is a source of great strength, spiritually and magically. Using this spell, it is also a great source of physical strength, investing the caster with the power that raises mountains and directs the course of mighty rivers. To cast the spell, the Verbena must be in contact with bare rock, soil, sand or dirt. Pavement and wooden floors will not do, though solid stone floors set firmly into the ground might, at the Storyteller's discretion. The caster needn't be barefoot, though some Verbena prefer it when using this magic. The spell also ends if the caster loses touch with the earth for any reason.

System: Each success on the spell's casting adds a dot to the mage's Strength. The caster must also assign successes to duration for the spell to last for more than a moment. The spell is coincidental so long as the mage's strength remains within human bounds (five or fewer dots.) Greater levels of strength require vulgar magic to achieve. A similar rote exists that uses oak trees to augment the mage's Stamina.

Threefold Return
Entropy 4, Time 4

Many Verbena believe in the Law of Threefold Return, which says that what you do returns to you threefold in the fullness of time. Some Verbena are not willing to wait for the fullness of time, so they choose to help things along a bit, providing a touch of "instant karma" where others get exactly what they deserve.

The Verbena prepares a suitable charm as a focus for the spell, which must be worn or carried. The most common charm is a small mirror or other reflective item, though metal rings (representing the circular nature of the Law of Three,) symbols connected with fate and woven or knotted cords (particularly of three colors) are also common. The Verbena chooses when to activate the charm, releasing the power of the spell.

System: The caster must achieve at least one success to prepare the charm. When the spell is released, the total number of successes determines its effectiveness. It magnifies the actions of the subject performed for or against the caster and returns that fortune (good or ill.) So someone who did the caster a good turn might gain some small benefit (for one success) to a great windfall (for four or more successes.) Someone who did the caster harm might suffer a similar harm (for one success) to a terrible series of misfortunes (four or more successes.)

Waters of the Well of Life
Life 5

Although the Masters of the Verbena can create life, it is a power they rarely employ. The same is true for the power to restore life to the dead. Therein lay the hubris of Asclepius and Hippocrates, they say, which led to the creation of the Cosian Circle and their modern heirs, the Progenitors. Such power over life and death is necessarily limited, because without death, life has no meaning.

The Verbena do possess mystic secrets for holding death at bay for a time, however. This enchantment has been found (in one form or another,) among many different branches of the Old Faith, from the druids to the witches of Thessaly to the spae-wives of the North. The caster infuses a bath - often in a great cauldron - with sacred herbs and magical power, transforming it into the waters of the Well of Life, which can restore life to the recently deceased.

System: A minimum of four successes are needed to effect the spell, which is only possible if the subject has been dead no more than a number of hours equal to the caster's Arete. The deceased is restored to life with a single health level, and she must recover normally from that point (though magical healing can assist in this as well.) This spell is always vulgar, since tampering with the forces of life and death in this way is no small thing.

Willful Binding
Mind 4

Although they are believers in the tenet, "An it harm none, do what thou wilt," the Verbena also believe that using magic to enjoin others from doing harm (essentially binding them to the same credo) is entirely fair and just. Sometimes rather than calling down a curse upon a wrongdoer (which could invite similar harm to return to them,) Verbena use this spell to bind that person's will and prevent any further transgressions.

The spell requires that the caster be in the presence of the subject and pronounce the binding upon him, or else have some personal connection to the subject to cast the binding from afar. The subject is thereafter unable to violate the commands that the caster has specified - be it as broad as "do no harm" or as specific as troubling a specific person no more.

System: The caster requires Correspondence 2 and a personal item (picture, lock of hair, etc.) to cast this spell on a target she cannot see. Otherwise the binding must be done in the target's presence. Successes determine how long the binding lasts (as given on pg. 209 of Mage.) While under the effects of the Willful Binding, the subject cannot take any action contrary to the mage's prohibitions, though the Storyteller may permit the subject to spend a point of Willpower to momentarily overcome the binding for a round. Countermagic can also undo a Willful Binding.

Here Kitty, Kitty
Correspondence 3, Mind 3, Time 3

Straight up - this is an insane rote and recommended only for the desperate. Basically, it's used in a firefight to bring in someone/something that hates your opponent. The catch is that the critter you call up may not like you either. The original creator of this rote, an Adept named Zer0 Effect, snagged a werewolf with it on his first try and ended up in a hospital for the better part of a year. Still, his opponent ended up in a very small pine box so the situation did have an upside. You can find this rote in the Adept data storage under a "Tweety Bird" icon. Zer0 said this cartoon, in which a "helpless little bird" lures a cat into worse and worse danger, inspired him. One day he pictured the cat as the big, bad Technocracy and knew he had to create this rote.

System: The Mind Sphere draws out something that the target fears (Occult Lore helps as well,) while Correspondence and Time ensure that the object of that opponent's fear shows up. Please note that this is NOT a teleport rote (though some Hacker geeks did devise something called "Summon Critter" that uses Life 4 or Matter 4 to port monsters in.) To reduce Paradox and get around some anti-magic wards, Zer0 decided to draw critters in using incidental means. Correspondence opens up a coincidental "path" for the creature to follow; Time makes sure it shows up before the combat ends. A safer variant on this rote uses Forces instead of Time to make a hologram appear instead of a real creature.

IFF
Correspondence 2, Forces 2

According to some Cyberpunks, this is a surefire way to mess with It-X agents. IFF is a combat rote, designed to confuse enemies so that they do not recognize friend from foe. It works by altering the stream of information entering a target's perception rather than the target itself. ''''

System: The Adept uses Correspondence to locate and "copy" the image of a suitable enemy. Through Forces, the Adept and the person he copied now appear indistinguishable to the target's senses of sight and hearing. This works best in larger, chaotic combats and not in one-on-one battles. For each success on the casting, subtract one from the target's attack roll. Any previous targeting is also lost, and the target must choose who he wants to fire at (the Storyteller must decide in advance which one is the Adept and which one is the person he copied.)

Learn-It
Correspondence 2, Entropy 2, Prime 3, Time 2

Learn-It is a nasty rote that highlights evolution in action. Once activated, it attaches itself to the target's Essence and blends right in. Then, it starts calling up enemies and challenges appropriate to the target's current power level. It's like wearing a big, red Kick-Me sign with flashing neon lights and an alarm. Do or die, baby - that's the lesson of Learn-It. Some bitter graduates of the Learn-It program have claimed a better name would be "Cannon Fodder," but if we called it that, the Technocracy would stop downloading Learn-It to "discover Adept secrets."

System: For every success on the casting, the target becomes a magnet for one skill-appropriate challenge per session. This could mean anything from a pain-threatening situation (a piano dropping on your head, falling scaffolding, etc.) to enemies coincidentally showing up. The number of challenges can be modified by the original caster, assuming the original caster can be found (Learn-It is available in a number of Wonders, both on and off the Digi-Web.) It can also be modified, but not negated, by those with Prime 2, to reduce the effect down to a minimum of one challenge per session. To negate the rote completely, you need an Elite with Prime 3, Entropy 3, so once it's activated, you're usually stuck with it until you progress to that level.

Search Engine
Correspondence 2, Entropy 1, Prime 1

Also known as "Telephone," use this rote when you are looking for a Hacker or a Kibo to fit your needs. It either puts you in touch with someone who matches your request or someone who knows them. It should be noted that you can't find a specific person with this rote (though more advanced versions do exist to perform that function,) just people who fit a general need.

System: Correspondence is used to cast a wide net to search for your target. Prime is used to locate the target via his or her Essence (see the section on Names, pp. 43-44, for more information on why this is important.) Entropy makes sure that this person fits your needs. Each success gives you a 20% chance of locating the target or someone connected to that person. Be careful with this rote! There have been rare occasions when the best teacher for the situation turned out to be a member of the Technocracy - much to the Adept's (and the Technocrat's) surprise.

Hacker Rote

Nick of Time
Correspondence 3, Entropy 2, Time 2

This allows a Hacker to arrive in a timely fashion to a number of situations. For the most part, this is used to gain jobs. With the use of this rote, the Hacker just happens to be online at the same time, at an adjoining table, or any other coincidental means of connecting with a prospective client.

Other Hackers use this to be the proverbial "cavalry," arriving at a desperate situation with guns blazing. The problem with this is that the Nick of Time rote only ensures that the mage arrives somewhere on time - it doesn't ensure survival. A number of Adepts using this rote's "cavalry" option have ended up facing enormous odds and receiving great kudos... posthumously.

System: Correspondence and Time are used to identify the location in question and make sure that the mage arrives there in time for the favorable event to occur. Entropy is used to ensure that the mage enters in the best way possible (usually appearing coincidentally and when just the right questions are asked.) It does not ensure the success of the mission, only that the Hacker has the potential to maximize benefit from the situation. The Hacker casting the rote must first have some working knowledge of what's going on, even if it's vague ("There's a meeting at the docks tonight" would be enough for this rote.) Once the Hacker casts this rote, on a single success, he or his virtual Avatar will arrive on the scene in time for the situation to unfold. If some sort of countermagic is involved (wards or sometimes even a magical battle,) then it becomes a contested roll, even if the countering mage doesn't know what he's fighting against.

Kibo Rote

Core Dump
Correspondence 2, Time 2 and Forces 3 or Mind 3

This rote enables a load of useless data to be directly dumped to a computer (Forces) or a person (Mind.) The effect is intended to be overwhelming and normally prevents the target from acting while he tries to process the information.

System: For each success, the target is unable to initiate an action for three turns. If the number of successes equal the target's current Willpower, computers shut down and the target lapses into a temporary coma (from which he emerges after making a successful Willpower roll once a day.) After a coma/shutdown, some general loss of memory is to be expected, though the victim may remember some of the contents of the core dump.

Chaotician Rotes

Don't Cross the Streams
Correspondence 2, Time 2

This rote is used to warn mages of potential danger. Correspondence is used to scry in on a specific location and then Time gives an impression of what might go wrong. Sometimes the warnings are very specific ("Don't cross that power line with any Forces magic,") and sometimes they're cryptic ("The red may kill.") A mage may use this rote multiple times from different vantage points to further pinpoint where and what the danger may be.

System: On a simple success, the Storyteller provides a vague clue as to something that could go wrong. More successes should give more and more clues. Five or more successes will give the exact danger that the mage may have to face.

Tag
Correspondence 2, Prime 3

This rote is designed to alter the Essence of a person so that he is identifiable as a criminal to other Adepts. The marking is invisible to the one effected and has no effect except for its stated purpose. Properly done tags include a "signature" of the tagging mage so that no one can mistake it for anything other than an official condemnation.

System: Each casting success subtracts one from the difficulty for other Adepts to notice the tag. This mark is invisible to other mages, but may be noticed by mages well versed in Prime.

Cyberpunk Rotes

Arc
Correspondence 2, Forces 2

One of the most basic Cyberpunk rotes, Arc allows an Adept to pull an electrical discharge from any nearby power source. This lightning bolt then arcs around the room hitting everything within a broad category set by the caster (for example, all machines in the room, all people, all plants, etc.)

System: The Adept uses Correspondence to target, and then unleashes an attack with Forces. She has a chance to hit every target within visual range, up to an amount equal to her Wits + Shoot rating, even if one or more targets are hidden or behind cover. Damage is based on the power source the Adept is drawing from, inflicting harm as per the electrocution rules (pg. 248 of the Mage rulebook.) The damage only lasts a single turn, and will not affect grounded targets.

Encode
Correspondence 2, Life 2 or Matter 2, Prime 2

This is a variant on the Apportation effect (see the Mage rulebook, pg. 159) and allows the mage to store something in virtual space to pull out later. There's nothing more frightening than seeing a giggling Cyberpunk use this rote to manifest a chunk of C-4 into her hand.

This rote is done on only very simple patterns (small plants, simple creatures, homogenous materials) until higher levels of the required Spheres are reached. Theoretically, a near infinite amount of items could be stored in virtual space, but realistically, the amount that is stored is limited to what the Adept can access using her Virtual Space Knowledge ability (generally, two times the number of dots in items.) Because it removes something completely from realspace, this rote is always considered vulgar.

System: On a successful casting, an item is sent to or retrieved from virtual space. A botch means the item is permanently lost. The Prime Sphere is used to subtly channel the target's pattern into virtual space or back to realspace. Please note that items in virtual space do not age or decay but may be found there by Adepts or other similar explorers at any time. Living creatures may not walk away (since space and time don't exist in virtual space) unless they are put into a specific digital realm by the caster.

Cypherpunk Rotes

Encrypt
Mind 3, Time 3

This rote, also known as Babel, prevents information from being pried out of someone's head. Whenever coercion occurs, the person will speak solely in gibberish, composed of all the thoughts in their memory, randomly scrambled so that they make no sense. Telepathy or truth serums will not work, as this rote fundamentally changes the way people remember things. When the Mind component is swapped out for Forces, it makes an equally effective protection for digital information and has been used to hide vital Adept data by scrambling all of the coding on the computer so it becomes meaningless binary data. The reverse of this rote, Decrypt, will reveal text or thoughts obscured by magic, and is often used for exposing NWO propaganda for what it is.

System: For each success in the casting, the opponent's Interrogation or Investigation skills are reduced by one. Decrypt increases these same skills by one for every success.

Worm
Mind 4, optional Entropy 2 or Time 2

This neurolinguistic rote is used to erase mental secrets and codes vital to the Adept Tradition's survival. It was originally adapted and upgraded from a New World Order rote known as the T-Virus. It does not change the Adept's personality or alter any of his knowledge of the Spheres or general skills.

System: Mind is used to locate and erase memories. Entropy and Time, which are both optional, ensure that the memories removed are only those relating to Adept secrets and not ones the ex-Adept will need later on. This is not necessary to the casting, but most Adepts use it out of respect for their fellow members. On a single success, most overt memories of Adept secrets will be erased. Multiple successes will erase more subtle memories. A critical success will erase all conscious and subconscious traces of the Adepts, leaving only an Awakened mage who is eager to embrace a new Tradition (whatever that may be.)

Nexplorer Rote

Webcrawlers
Correspondence 3, Forces 3, Prime 2

This rote enables Nexplorers to create small energy-based, arachnid-like creatures in virtual space that follow very simple commands. Generally, they search out information (or its location) for their creator or protect the mage by weaving a suffocating web of force around an enemy. Dreamspeakers who have seen this rote in action claim that the Nexplorers are luring spirit creatures from another plane into virtual space (there is an alternate version of this rote that uses Spirit instead of Prime, further blurring the question.) The Nexplorers could care less as long as the rote works.

System: On a success, a Webcrawler is created with 3 health and the ability to follow simple commands. Multiple successes create multiple webcrawlers. These last for about a scene and will perform one or two general tasks for their creator: find or protect. A find command will set them loose to locate one piece of information that they will retrieve if possible (this only applies if the information is unguarded and not warded.) Otherwise, they will simply log the location and report it to the creator. A protect command will let them use the Correspondence part of the rote to bar an area from passage. Multiple webcrawlers can use this to "box" an enemy in with webbed strands of pure Correspondence. Victims of this attack can defeat the webcrawlers before they are trapped, use countermagic, or wait until the webcrawlers vanish at the end of the scene.

Reality Coder Rotes

Information Overload
Correspondence 2, Mind 2

This is also known as the "Usher Syndrome" and has been used in the past as both a means for enlightenment and torture. The IO rote affects the target's mind, tuning perception way up. Used positively, it can attune an Adept to her computer and virtual space, making VR experiences as intense as real ones. On the flip side, this rote can inflict horrible trauma on someone by stripping away the normal filters people use to deal with sensory input. Under the effect of this rote, a light shining into someone's eyes would seem as bright as the sun. A little sandpaper dragged lightly across his skin would feel to the victim as if his flesh were being ripped off.

System: As Mind magic opens the person's perception, Correspondence makes the target intimately aware of the space around her. Each success on the cast grants plus one die to Perception. A critical success grants supernatural awareness as well (as per the Awareness Ability.) A botch will rob the caster of all sensation until the end of the session. The rote only works for a scene (this may be extended for extra scenes with the expenditure of Quintessence.)

TWACI
Correspondence 3, Forces 3, Mind 2

Pronounced "th-whacky," this is short for "The Walls are Closing In," and it's a paranoid's nightmare. The caster warps gravity, manipulates space, and adds in a creeping sense of doom to slow down opponents and ultimately crush them.

System: Correspondence and Mind magics warp the target's perception, making it appear as if the walls (or other surrounding terrain) are closing in on the target. Then, minor manipulation of gravity causes cumulative damage (one die of bashing damage, increasing each turn up to 10 dice) as Mind magic keeps the target paralyzed with fear for a turn.

Alley Vanish
Correspondence 3, Mind 2

The downtown urban sprawls of the World of Darkness are dark, twisted mazes of graffiti and the dim glow of neon. A Hollower on her own turf who knows this little trick can fake out, misdirect and shake anyone that may be pursuing her. A combination of twisting space and confusing the pursuer's sense of direction, this rote makes back alleyways seem to swallow the Hollow One, throwing off any pursuit.

This rote is coincidental if it is accomplished out of the direct sight of a pursuer and if the pursuer can perceive some manner in which the mage may have escaped ("Damn, he must have jumped onto that dumpster, grabbed the fire escape and vaulted over that fence. I'll never catch him now.") If a character vanishes in a dead-end alley with no conceivable means of physical escape, the Effect is vulgar.

Antiquing
Entropy 3, Matter 4, Prime 2

One may ponder, after exposure to Hollow Ones, how these usually unemployed vagabonds always manage to have the coolest goth stuff. The insides of their downtown crash pads / studio apartments seem covered with trinkets and decorations that came straight out of a Hollywood monster-movie set. Just how these street kids afford all the antique candelabras and hearses with black-tinted windows while sleeping all day and not playing the Syndicate's paycheck game is a Hollow One secret. Antiquing allows Hollow Ones to find things in thrift shops, yard sales and junk yards that may be completely nonfunctional, broken down and/or forgotten. The junk, acquired through trade or minimal cash, is then transformed via magic, thus turning someone else's trash into a Hollow One's magical treasures.

System: The magic itself is a complex combination of restoring Matter patterns, turning back the clock on decay and channeling Quintessence to create something from nothing. The result is Gothic-style extravagance on a budget. Not all items require all Spheres, but the more used, the more extravagant the items created or restored.

The Effect is coincidental if performed over time and out of sight of others. If objects are restored instantly, or within someone's view, it is vulgar.

Being Invisible
Forces 3, Mind 3

The ability to remain unseen is crucial for any Hollow One on a stakeout or who finds herself in situations she would rather not be caught in. This rote manipulates the light of the surroundings to cloak the mage's presence. Additionally, the Hollow One enacting the rote projects a mental impulse for anyone nearby to look in other directions. Part trick of the light, part misdirections, Being Invisible is subtle. However, if the mage moves - takes a full step or more - the Effect is nullified, and others may glance in her direction and see her.

Bum a Dollar from the Universe
Entropy 2, Matter 2

On general principle, Hollow Ones hate to play the Technocracy's money game. Yet, they cannot deny that such a trade medium is often their only means for survival. Hence, the creation of this rote. Hollow Ones using it can find money - rarely large amounts of moola, just enough to get by on. It is an effective and mostly coincidental survival technique. People drop money all the time; the Hollow One mage just happens to be the guy who finds these lost bills and coins. Whether the found greenback is just a fiver to eat on or a twenty to catch a ride with, street survival is something Hollowers can summon at will.

Cool Glamor
Mind 2

This Hollow One rote accompanies getting dressed and made-up. It is a ritual where the Hollow One puts a lot more effort than normal into the way she looks. Cool Glamor sets up a particular mental impulse broadcasting to onlookers, creating a sense of respect and awe.

System: While this rote is active, the Hollow One's player can roll Intimidation + Appearance (the difficulty is the target's Willpower) for her character to come across as one cool, self-confident and powerful person. The affected parties will feel the impulse to treat the Hollow One with respect while acknowledging her aura of impressive mystery.

Crowd Surfing
Mind 4

At concerts, parties or any circumstance where there is a large group of people in one place interacting with one another, the vibes are perfect for crowd surfing. Erecting a cool facade of finely chiseled coolness, cigarette hanging out of the lip, the surfer closes his eyes and sees the plane of thoughts. With the cresting waves of emotion and inner voices, intention and inhibition rise and fall in the ocean of minds. The Hollow Mind adept merely walks around the scene, mentally divining and analyzing the local who's who, discovering who is with whom and who really feels what for whom. His mind steers an astral surfboard, cutting through the tides of thought, allowing the crowd surfer to conquer any social scene.

Cup of Joe
Prime 3

One of the most common forms of Quintessence transference, distribution and consumption for Hollow Ones comes in the guise of this coffee ritual. Coffee is a very common focus for Prime, and more than a few Hollow One nodes exist in the form of coffeehouses.

System: A number of points of Quintessence equal to the character's Arete can be invested into a caffeinated beverage (even cola, for those who've just gotta be different.) When consumed, the "liquid-bean-of-life" is treated like Tass being transferred straight into the mage.

Dark Streets
Entropy 2, Forces 2

This rote can create a cover of darkness around the streets a mage currently occupies, helping her to avoid others or to keep her features ambiguous. This rote tends to be coincidental if the mage merely causes a flicker or a dimming of street lamps when he walks past - lights flicker on and off in the urban landscape all the time.

System: The successes rolled equals the extra dice the Hollow One can add to his subterfuge rolls for the scene in which the lights are dimmed.

Riding the Railroad
Correspondence 3 or 4

This ability was developed by Hollow One teleporters to "hop" from Tradition chantries and safehouses the world over. Unfortunately this type of transportation is always vulgar, but the less witnesses, the less Paradox incurred. The Paradox usually takes the form of physical exhaustion, severe jet lag and the need to sleep for long stints after multiple transports.

Railroad Riders can carry luggage with them. Knapsacks, backpacks and fanny packs filled with mail are not uncommon. Often, the Railroader spends a few days at a location, bringing his clique hosts up to speed via normal means and magic. Hollow Railroad Riders are on a perpetual surf, and many learn Mind and Spirit secondary Spheres to further enable them to carry, receive and deliver the bulk of Hollow Railroad "mail."

System: With three levels of Correspondence, the mage can transport himself. With four, he can take more people or large things, although this also requires the Life or Matter Spheres (whichever is appropriate.)

Rooftop Leap
Forces 3, Life 3

A common pastime of young, street-punk Hollowers is to leap from rooftop to rooftop. Punk-combat Hollowers consider this rote a test of bravery and a rite of passage. Over time, through such workouts, the cliques of punks who regularly patrol the streets build up extra muscle in their legs to give them spring. This muscle mass, along with the very subtle manipulation of momentum, can give these street troops leaping routines that rival those of any martial arts movie.

Scent of Control
Life 3, Mind 2

Some Hollow Ones (particularly club-goers) can produce certain behaviorally stimulating scents from their sweat glands. All kinds of subtle messages from "desire me" to "leave me alone" to "protect me," are released through scent-induced hormones to convey and create conscious obedience in others. It takes working up a rather large sweat to be totally effective, but intense dancing, long running and even sex can be pheromone-inducing activities.

Circumstances help determine whether the Effect is coincidental or vulgar - although the target is usually unaware that scent is affecting his emotions, strange and unbidden emotions will not go unnoticed. Projecting "protect me" to a cop who is chasing you down is somewhat vulgar. On the other hand, projecting "desire me" during sexual intercourse is quite coincidental.

Sound/Thought Transfer
Forces 2, Mind 3

Certain sounds evoke certain thoughts and emotions. The Hollow Ones perfect this concept and apply it in several ways. A package of information - be it a story, and encoded message or a secret piece of gossip - can be invested and concealed within a certain pattern of sound waves, usually music or a spoken voice. The sound waves are recorded in any number of ways. Later, when the sounds are played back, the sound evokes mental images of the invested information. Sound/Thought Transfer is the Hollow One method of choice for communicating to each other what they do not want others to hear. Raves, night clubs, pirate radio and even the exchanging of mix tapes and CDs serve as the complex system by which Hollow One knowledge is passed around. Things hidden in music serve as the Hollow One grapevine. This Effect is considered coincidental ("We understand what this music is saying.")

Spot the Man
Correspondence 1, Life 1, Matter 1, Prime 1

This rote is used by Hollow Ones on the street to recognize the enemy. It is usually used on anyone who looks out of place. Those wearing full black suits are often checked, as are most black sedans.

System: With a successful roll, this rote will reveal the existence of any Technomagic implants in a target, as well as identify the presence of the substance known as primium. This rote is considered coincidental.

Summon Fog
Matter 3

This rote conjures ever-creepy and mysterious fog to embellish the Hollow One's rituals or conceal his presence. The Fog can provide safety, cover and privacy from others.

System: The full effects of the fog are up to the Storyteller. It might raise difficulties on Perception rolls and/or lower the difficulty on Stealth rolls, depending on the success of the Effect.

The Effect can be vulgar or coincidental depending on circumstance or location. In early morning San Francisco, the Smokey Mountains or predawn London, fog is most certainly a normal occurrence. In the deserts of the American Southwest or an afternoon in the city, however, fog is an improbable occurrence. The slower the fog takes to set, the more coincidental it can seem.

Traffic Pulse
Entropy 2, Forces 2

For those who choose to listen to the music of the city, there is an underlying pattern, a rhythm, if you will, to all the rumbling and revving of the engines. With mastery of the Traffic Pulse, a mage can effect the time it takes traffic lights to turn, cause traffic to be heavy or sparse, even direct and prevent minor accidents. For a mage who literally lives on the streets, Traffic Pulse can be a useful magical tool.

Vext
Entropy 2, Time 3

Perhaps the most useful of all Hollow One curses is the mighty Vext. The Vext is only evoked on enemies of the Hollow Ones, never on a rival Hollower. The target suffers a series of minor setbacks and annoyances - nothing goes right or according to plan for someone who has been Vext. When Hollow Ones are compelled to warfare (magical or otherwise,) it is common to evoke a Vext on the enemy a few days before a calculated strike.

System: This rote makes its recipient the target of Murphy's Law for a number of days equal to the successes gained on the Arete roll. Since streaks of bad luck are not out of the norm, this rote is coincidental.

We'll Get There
Correspondence 1, Entropy 2

This trick is a way to keep from getting lost in the surreal urban landscape that is a Hollow One's habitat. Combining a keen sense of direction with a good set of odds, the mage can usually stumble to where she wants to be or needs to be.

System: As long as the mage has a good idea of where she's going ("I need to get to Tadd's apartment...") a single success is enough to point her in the right direction and keep her on track. More successes clue the mage into short cuts that get her there faster. This rote is coincidental magic; the name of the rote itself is a good enough way to subtly pass off this effect.

Writing on the Wall
Matter 1, Mind 3

Graffiti is one of the Hollow Ones' hidden languages. All that multicolored scrawl and those odd, letter-like symbols decorating the dark corners are often really cryptic Writings on the Wall. This technique is similar to the old hobo language. Hollow Ones use this language to give others in the Tradition quick clues as to the lay of the land - whose territory is whose, what people to watch out for, where to meet. The writing may mark the lairs of supernatural creatures. All sorts of information about an area is plain to those who know the symbolic language of the spray-paint signs.

System: A single success conveys the simple gist of a message to any Hollow one who views it ("Beware: werewolf lair.") More successes add more nuance or complexity ("Beware: the sewer under the bridge is a Bone Gnawer hangout.") This rote is coincidental, although often illegal.

Hollow Necromancy

Blood from a Stone
Life 3, Mind 4, Spirit 4

Gaunts soon realize that their deceased allies are oftentimes at odds with themselves. Every now and then, a poor soul freaks out and becomes extremely self-destructive in one way or another. This means lashing out at everything he's usually passionate about - including the mage. Blood from a Stone helps ease the buildup of pain-laden angst that befalls a ghost. When the signs of a great catharsis fit are imminent - an observation that only comes from intimately knowing what makes the ghost tick - this rote is typically enacted.

The mage takes a needle to the wax Fetter Ball (see below.) The wraith will usually make a big stink and not be happy about it. It's like trying to give a little kid a shot; there's going to be a lot of moaning and screaming. Once the first few layers of wax are pierced, the rote transforms the ghost's pure negative emotion into a stigmata of blood streaming from the wax ball. The mage catches the blood in a cup. As the pure psychic pain, in the form of ectoplasmic blood, collects, the ghost begins to regain its composure. After the last of the blood has dripped out and the wraith seems as psychologically stable as anyone dead can be, the bloody angst is burned in the metal cup it was collected in, along with a good amount of sulfur. The burning smells awful in a clinging kind of way, but despite the stench, it helps keep ghostly companions grounded and stable. The wraiths themselves call this trick a "castigation" and are usually pretty thankful for the treatment after the ritual.

This rote is always vulgar, and it is therefor usually performed in private.

Fetter Ball
Prime 2, Spirit 4

This process creates a permanent link between a ghost and a Hollow One Gaunt (a free 1-point fetter for the wraith.) The ghost must be a willing participant and voluntarily "sign" a pact. This binding process cannot be taken lightly. Once this pact is sealed and the written agreement is crumpled into a ball, the mage encases it in candle wax. The wraith's ghostly powers cannot affect the Fetter Ball, and the sphere of wax becomes a focus for further necromantic Effects.

If this rote is performed without onlookers, it is coincidental. If mundanes watch the wax and paper ritual, the rote is vulgar.

Shadow Sight
Correspondence 1, Entropy 1, Mind 1, Spirit 1

The ability to see the Underworld is one of the first rotes learned by those Initiates who desire to commune with the dead. Not only does this rote allow a Gaunt to see dead people, he can also perceive the Shadowlands as ghosts see it. The surreal and morbid black-and-white environment that the dead see allows them - and mages using this rote - to perceive weak points in buildings and objects, as well as to perceive the "aura" of life essence in all living things. By concentrating on a particular ghost, a Hollow Gaunt can also see the inky-black, evil shadow that is ever present behind each restless soul.

Shelter from the Storm
Entropy 1, Prime 4, Spirit 4

Just as there is a great Avatar Storm in the Umbra, there is a great maelstrom in the Underworld. The evocation of this rote allows a Gaunt to turn a room or a small building into a temporary shelter from this maelstrom.

System: One success creates a level-one Haunt. Each additional success adds to the levels. The Effect lasts for one scene. Since the mundane eye cannot even perceive a maelstrom, this rote is always coincidental.

Voice Across the Void
Correspondence 2, Mind 3, Spirit 3

Using a Fetter Ball as a focus, the mage may communicate with the ball's partnered ghost no matter where it is in the spirit world. The communication is sent through the Fetter connection as a psychic impulse. This way, the Hollow necromancer does not have to formally summon and interrupt a ghost ally to consult him.

System: One success provides two-way communication between the mage and the Fetter Ball's wraith, no matter the distance between them. However, the wraith does not have to answer any of the mage's queries and may remain silent, although he cannot shut out the voice from afar. The Effect is coincidental when the conversation happens in private.

Oneiromancy

Dream Play
Mind 3, Prime 2, Time 2

Some see these strange forms of magical performance art as a bold new frontier of creativity. The dream artist takes time meditating and visualizing a scenario. Like the loose script of a "choose your own adventure" book or the outline of a video game, details are invested into the feel and mood of the piece. After long hours of meditating and mentally holding an intricate, mental construct in memory, the dream artist approaches a clique to be the audience of the piece. A sleepover is an easy way to conduct this rote, once all the attendees fall asleep. The creator is in the position of director and the audience members are the actors or players. Like a participatory, subjectively experienced movie, the dream drama plays out. When the gossamer curtain closes, the players and director wake up, with full memories of the experience, no worse for the wear, the drama having only been a dream.

Running Scenarios
Entropy 2, Mind 4, Time 2; requires at least one level in the Dream Background

While sleeping normal hours, a Hollow One narcoleptic can extend his REM state to last for hours instead of minutes, effectively giving the dreaming mage weeks of subjective time to work with inside the dream. By exerting control over the dream, the narcoleptic conjures whatever environment she needs for research. Accessing the vast quantities of information available with the Dream Background, countless simulations of possibilities are watched and pondered. When the narcoleptic awakens from her nap, she should have an accurate synopsis of the probability of certain actions and some temporary skills (via the Dream Background) to represent this research.

System: The mage receives a relevant ability associated with the dream, its levels equal to his number of successes or his Dream Background, whichever is lower.