Imago Focus Awakened Mages need no special tools or rituals to cast their spells, the ability to work magic comes straight from the soul. However, the process of forming an Imago is not always an easy one, especially under stress and adverse conditions. Hence mages tend to develop tricks and habits that help them focus, and get their mind into the ideal state for casting. System: At character creation each Mage's player should delineate a specific style, or set of conditions under which they excel at working their magic. The player should select three foci, one of each from the following list: Object, Task, and Situation. Ideally these should be further divided, with one being extremely easy to apply, another being slightly restrictive, and the third being fairly demanding/difficult. ●
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Object Focus: The Mage has a particular item that helps them focus. Having the object on hand is not enough, the mage must employ it in some way, if only briefly, while casting. [Samples: Wands, timepieces, open flame, iPhone, skateboard, notebook, Ford F-150 ] Task Focus: A specific task, one that is time consuming enough to actually consume the action (so simple mental math is right out). It should be something the Mage can opt to do in most situations, and the player can describe differently each time. [Samples: Kneeling in vocal prayer, taking meticulous notes, driving, performing mathematical equations, cooking ] Situation Focus: Everyone has a specific sort of situation or environment that puts their mind at ease. For some that is peace and quiet, while others find focus in danger and rapid action. A situation focus should be something that is outside of the Mage's control, or difficult for them to accomplish save in specific situations. [Samples: In the rain, fist fighting, performing psychoanalysis, total darkness ] [Situations and tasks can often seem similar, but there are key differences. Situations, when elective, should still only be possible under niche circumstances. For instance: psychoanalysis is elective, but requires a calm setting and captive subject to perform. It’s not something the mage can shoehorn into any scene]
While casting, every foci a mage meets the conditions for adds one die to the casting roll, and removes a single die of paradox. No more than three foci may be applied at any one time. (so a max of +3 dice, -3 paradox). Foci should follow a clear magical theme, and result in a magical style in which the elements resonate with one another. So, unless the aim is to make a deeply silly character, a spread like: Object - Her Gun, Task - Singing Loudly, Situation - Solving Riddles, isn’t appropriate.
Example: Magellan, a Guardian of the Veil with a penchant for mind magic, has a very particular magical style. He is highly analytical, and psychologically oriented, likes recording insights and puzzling things out. So Magellan’s player gives him the following Foci: His notebook (Object), taking meticulous notes (Task), and performing psychoanalysis/interrogation (Situation). So if Magellan is in a situation where he can take meticulous notes in his special notebook concerning the interrogation he is performing, his magic is stronger and more reliable. Other Rules: ● Legacies add an additional foci, drawn from the list of possible oblations/foci. However this still does not allow more than three foci to apply to any one spell. ● An Archmaster’s road and chantries provide the benefits of having three focal conditions met whenever they are present within
Paradox “Paradox is the vector for the Abyss getting its non-concepts incorporated into the world, infecting spells to bring a few lies across with the truth. The ideal Paradox system would be one where a mage knows that his spell will be dangerous for everyone else, and do it anyway because he's certain his cause justifies it. Risking other people for his own convictions.” -DaveB When a mage invokes a vulgar spell, or a covert one is performed too obviously, they risk paradox. Unlike the core system, paradox is not an individual issue that randomly plagues particular spells. Rather it slowly builds as successes amass on paradox rolls, affecting all magic cast by the mage during the scene. When Paradox does begin to occur in earnest it should be kept in mind that the Abyss is insidious. Paradox manifestations won’t automatically go after the caster, Havok won’t thwart his spells outright. The character’s aims might even be accomplished, albeit in a more abyssal way. This is how the Abyss tempts casters, it shows them what the dark can do, it demonstrates its power. Paradox gives the caster what they want at the expense of others (and his wisdom), it is the act of resisting Paradox that does him harm. System: Mages handle rolling paradox like normal, using the dice pool their Gnosis prescribes. However, from here there are a few differences. For one, successes don’t reduce the casting pool, When a success is rolled it does not immediately affect the spell, instead it is added to a general paradox pool which decides the extent to which all their spells are warped. Mana may be spent on a 1:1 basis to reduce the successes on the paradox roll (not the dice). However this mana must be spent before the roll is made, therefore mages must gamble a bit with how much they fear a spell may go awry. Paradox dissipates at a rate of one point per scene, or a point per hour, whichever is shorter.
Paradox Levels
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Anomaly (1): Spells at this level retain their function, but begin to develop unusual displays or glitches. Creations are off color, magical fire moves abnormally, mind reading is plagued by background noise. This is rarely anything more than cosmetic, enough to show that Paradox is building but without hindering play. Storytellers don’t have to adjust every spell in this fashion, only when they think an anomaly feels appropriate. Bedlam (2): The mage begins to have difficulty maintaining focus as the abyss bites at his mind. He gains the Bedlam condition (see below). Unveiling (3): The paradox manifestation begins to break into the physical. The mage’s magic becomes obvious to all eyes, rendering it blatantly supernatural. Covert spells are considered vulgar and anyone who understands awakened magic can see the beginnings of paradox manifesting in her nimbus. Havok (4): Paradox has invaded the mage’s imago. Her spells no longer function as intended. Whenever a spell is cast the storyteller should secretly roll a chance die. On a success, the spell goes as intended. Failure indicates it works roughly as intended but with some unpleasant side effect, while a dramatic failure means the spell goes totally haywire and falls out of the mage’s control. Manifestation (5): An abyssal entity (or entities) emerges from the Mage’s imago. The spell the mage was attempting to cast automatically suffers a dramatic failure on its havok roll, Paradox is discharged without harm and the Mage suffers a -5 die penalty to casting for the remainder of the scene.
Condition: Bedlam The Abyss besets the Mage's psyche. In an attempt to disrupt the wizard's imago it assaults her with brief ludicrous visions and sensations. This is extremely jarring, and a hinderance to even the most experienced wizards. Without some way to focus their mind and endure past the Bedlam, it will certainly hinder casting. System: The mage takes a -2 dice penalty and +1 die of paradox on all improvised spells cast without at least one foci (i.e. an object, task, or situation). Additionally, all non-spellcasting actions take a -2 die penalty, as a result of the focus the Mage must commit to maintaining their imago. Resolution: Paradox dissipates. Beat: None
Paradox Quick Guide 1. Declare spell is being cast, & determine what modifiers are in play (foci, high speech, rote, etc). 2. Spend mana to cast the spell and/or mitigate paradox. 3. If the spell is Vulgar or unbelievable:
a. Roll paradox, modified accordingly. (+1 die for every previous paradox roll by that mage this scene). b. If the spell was rote, or mana was spent to suppress paradox, subtract successes from the paradox roll (-1 success for rote, -1 success per point of mana spent). Add the remaining successes to the caster’s paradox pool. 4. Roll up the spell as normal. 5. Apply anomalies or havok emergent from paradox.
Backlash Paradox is awful, and letting it build up is extremely dangerous. If it does begin to build up Mages do have a solution, they may take the paradox into their own pattern and disseminate it. This is called backlash, and is deeply harmful to the Mage’s physical body. Doing so requires a point of willpower, and causes the Mage to take one point of resistant lethal damage per point of paradox built up, and gain the Pattern Scarring Condition. Mages may not opt to remove individual paradox points, it’s all or nothing.
Condition: Pattern Scarring The mage has dissipated the Abyssal energies of Paradox through his body, doing physical damage and disrupting his ability to form an Imago. System: For every point of resistant damage caused by Backlash, apply a -1 penalty to all spell casting rolls. Resolution: Damage heals. Beat: None. Other Mitigation: There are few other reliable ways to mitigate paradox that has already begun to build up, and they are rarely safe or simple. Patience is the most obvious, as accrued paradox diminishes in mere hours. Certain artifacts can provide a reprieve of one sort or another, but such treasures are tightly guarded by their creators and bear subtle defects. The only other reliable method is for a mage channel the paradox directly, pulling into into their pattern and instilling it into their spell. In this way the mage may substitute a point of paradox for a point of mana while casting a spell. This option is, however, incredibly dangerous and tantamount to spiritual suicide. Spells cast this way add four additional dice to the roll, and do not incur further paradox. However the caster hands over all control of the spell in question to the abyss, which makes it useless for constructive purposes, and the act deals grave damage to the mage’s soul. They immediately risk a breaking point of wisdom, failure not only drops their wisdom, but also inflicts the Paradox Withdrawal condition.
Condition: Paradox Withdrawal
The mage has felt the power of the abyss, they let it into their soul and it got ahold of them. Now it won’t let go, the shard of unreality nestled within them pushes at the mage’s mind, encouraging them to draw on more dark power. And it punishes them when they refuse. System: The mage must employ paradox in the casting of one of their spells each week. Every week they fail to do so they temporarily lose a dot of Gnosis. Lost Gnosis can be restored either by casting a spell infused with paradox (which risks refreshing the condition), or returns at one dot per week after the Paradox Withdrawal condition has passed. A mage who’s Gnosis reaches 0 cannot use improvised magic, but retains access to rotes and legacy powers. Resolution: [11-Wisdom] weeks pass, or the Mage’s Gnosis drops to 0. Beat: Cast a spell infused with paradox. (Mages with Wisdom 0 no longer get a beat for using abyssal magic)
Rotes Rotes serve a similar function, but have the following changes: ● They roll [Arcana+Gnosis+Rote Skill]. They use the base skill rating, unaltered by magic, and do not benefit from odds adjusting spells (i.e no 8-again or Rote). ● Rotes remove one success from their paradox roll, instead of 1 die. ● Rotes still reduce the mana cost by 1 ● Rotes may be created pre-mastery ● Rotes require no Foci, nor any visible mudra or mundra. They still benefit from Focal Conditions. ● Mages may learn rotes for spell combinations they couldn’t normally cast. Such as two five dot spells conjoined pre-archmastery, or a tri-conjunctional spell at Gnosis 2. This still doesn’t allow them to cast spells they don’t meet the arcana requirements for, nor can they invent rotes on their own that they could not cast spontaneously (so there is still value to being taught complex rotes by one’s order).
Ritual Casting Ritual casting works very similarly to how it does in Mage core, but with the following changes. ● A ritual can be rolled up to [Gnosis + (# of Focal Conditions)] times. Each roll still takes a stacking -1 penalty. Each roll beyond the first also requires an additional point of mana. ● The mage must establish the parameters of a spell he wishes to cast before rolling. Excess successes may be spent only on an exceptional success. ● Time per roll is modified as follows ○ Gnosis 1-3: 1 Hour ○ Gnosis 4-5: 30 minutes
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Gnosis 6-7: 15 Minutes Gnosis 8-9: 10 Minutes Gnosis 10: 5 Minutes
Mage Sight The Mage Sight spells no longer exist, not as rolled spells at least. Instead they are an inherent part of the template. System: Seeing the eddies of magic is inherent to all awakened wizards. It is not a power they need to waste time activating or rolling, merely something they can do. Effectively this means a mage has every form of mage sight their respective arcana would grant active at all times. This is not a spell, cannot be dispelled, suffers no paradox of disbelief and will not register to mage sight or unseen senses. It is a facet of their template. They can, however, reflexively suppress one or more of them at will.
Spell Tolerance A Mage can maintain Gnosis+3 spells at once. He may have [Gnosis] (not Stamina) spells active on his person without penalty. Each subsequent spell adds an additional die to his base paradox roll.
Nimbus A Mage’s nimbus is the result of their powers bleeding out of their soul and into reality. Normally a magi’s power remains purely internal, bound up tightly within their soul (though low wisdom Mages can lose control of that as well), however through the expenditure of mana their unconscious vision can begin to impress itself on the world around them. System: Whenever a Mage spends mana to cast a spell, or suppress paradox they begin to build a nimbus. How quickly this buildup occurs is dependent on their Wisdom, a single point of mana is enough to create a Kindled nimbus. Once the mage has spent [Wisdom] points of mana in a single scene their nimbus becomes Radiant . ● Kindled: At this level the nimbus remains visible only to mage sight, and forms of supernatural perception. Other supernatural creatures, even if they cannot perceive the nimbus, begin to develop a sense of that a source of great power is present. Brands remain in an area for [Gnosis] hours before fading. ● Radiant: The nimbus begins to bleed into the real world, becoming visible to the naked eye. Supernatural creatures develop a keen and undeniable knowledge that the mage is not an ordinary human, and feel palpable waves of supernatural power radiate from her (more intense the higher the mage’s Gnosis). Sleepers also begin to take note, though they cannot necessarily trace the source of the anomalies. This makes covert
magic increasingly difficult, but has a pleasant upside: as the mage’s soul invades reality it reinforces her magic, spells she weaves will not begin to unravel so long as they are surrounded by her radiant nimbus. Brands will linger in the area for [Gnosis] days. ● Totemic: This display of nimbus occurs only when a mage’s nimbus is already radiant and Imperial Spell Factors are then used to enhance casting. Thus it is only possible for Archmagi. Their golden road begins to physically express itself in the phenomenal world. This can result in permanent changes to people and surroundings, the manifestation of dormant ochema, or accidentally pulling others into attached chantries. (All storyteller discretion at this point). The brand lasts Gnosis [Weeks]
Branding A mage’s nimbus marks the surrounding area with traces of their distinctive magical signature even after she has left. This effect, called branding, is visible only to mage sight (prime being especially effective). It allows magi to determine the nature of the arcana used and, with the proper magic, attempt to trace it back to the wizard to whom the brand belongs. Branding & Ritual Casting: Ritual casting is a mana intensive endeavor, it is not uncommon for the mere act of ritual magic to invoke a radiant nimbus display. However, the focus and intensity of the mages imago during the process is even more extreme than normal. Brands left by ritual casting last [Gnosis] days if the caster’s nimbus was merely kindled, or [Gnosis] weeks if it became radiant. A brand caused by a totemic nimbus lasts Gnosis [Months], while Imperial Spells leave a brand for years to come. [This means that Mages generally seek secluded safe havens to do their major spellwork, as evidence of their actions will be present for a long time after.] Nimbus, Branding & Prime: The Prime Arcana holds power over the nimbus and branding. At four dots an adept of Prime can erase brands left by a mage’s nimbus (theirs or another), or cause them to endure longer than they should. They can also suppress and evoke their own nimbus magically. At five a master of Prime can suppress and evoke the nimbuses of others.
Paradox Emanation The very first place paradox begins to amass around a mage is within their nimbus. In this sense their aura acts as a sort of warning sign, an indicator of the mage’s spiritual health. It also provides a warning system to other supernatural creatures, especially other mages, of the dangers that loom as paradox amasses. This is felt as an oppressive and uneasy sensation radiating in the area around the mage, and worsens as paradox intensifies. ● One Point: A slight sense of unease. Hackles rise, beasts become uneasy. Mortals are unmoved. ● Two Points: A palpable sense that something bad is coming. Natural animals will attempt to leave the scene.
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Three Points: Visible paradox displays in the Mage’s nimbus. At this point bystanders will feel either an inclination to get the hell out of dodge, or a growing sense of morbid curiosity. ● Four Points: There is a beating physical sense of doom. Bystanders either flee, or remain enraptured in awe of the display. Supernatural creatures have the undeniable feeling that something really dreadful is about to come down. ● Five Points: Paradox discharges. Supernaturals feel a blast of dread and the knowledge that something terrible just occurred. Mortals who remain risk Integrity loss due to exposure to the abyss. [Note: Whether a sleeper is drawn in by paradox or driven away in fear tends to be a factor of their integrity. The abyss finds purchase in more degenerate souls, and makes an effort to draw them in. This is, however, not a hard and fast rule. The storyteller should adjudicate which response seems right for the bystanders present and the nature of the scene]
Experience Use the GMC experience values for attributes, merits, skills, specialties, and wisdom. Same as DaveB’s changes here. (see GMC Doc for character creation rules) ● Ruling Arcana: 4xp ● Non-Ruling Arcana: 5xp ● Inferior Arcana: 6xp ● Rote: 1xp (Flat) ● Gnosis: 5xp ● Wisdom: 2xp
Order Advantages Each individual order now, in addition to teaching rotes, provides a particular order advantage to its members. These are given at character creation, or taught upon joining an order.
Adamant Arrow: Militant Thaumaturgy The Adamant Arrow, above all, sees the value of force and both worldly and esoteric power. Their members each receive rigorous training in the art of combat thaumaturgy. System: Adamant Arrows are taught the art of Combat Thaumaturgy. This permits them to combine attack actions and casting, merging both into one fluid act. When taking an Athletics, Brawl, Firearms, or Weaponry action they may use instant spells reflexively to augment that action. [example: Causing a punch to emit a wave of mental exhaustion, charging a sword with lightning, creating homing bullets, or shrinking space to make a spear fly further]
Free Council: Professional Network
The Free Council is a young order, but massive in size despite its age. However, its relative lack of rigid organization and long standing tradition leave the order lacking in order boons. However, what members of the Free Council do have are connections. System: Every starting dot, or point of experience spent in social merits involving the Free Council (Contacts, Mentor, Resources, etc.) is doubled, granting two merit dots as opposed to one.
Guardians of the Veil: Masques All Guardians serve a strict purpose, one for which they must often leave their own identity and morals behind to achieve. For this purpose the order provides its members with Masques, mystic veils that disguise, protect, and aid them. System: Guardians of the Veil gain access to the Masques merit, as described in the Guardians of the Veil book (pg. 67)
Mysterium: Ancient Artifice Other orders may have more members, stronger magics, or sheer power, but in terms of knowledge and artifice the Mysterium is unmatched. The art of atlantean runecraft and artifice is taught to every member, and carefully guarded by its teachers. System: Mysterium Mages are taught the art of Atlantean Runecraft. (see below). In addition the order provides a prodigious trove of secret research and ancient documents for their members to peruse. This may be called upon when attempting to research the nature of particular spells or magical objects, halving the time required in the extended roll and reducing the difficulty by one to three points (depending on how obscure the storyteller deems the magics to be).
Silver Ladder: Words of Power The Silver Ladder, above all others, preserves the old words of power. They teach not only the arcane language of Atlantis, but its purpose and power as well. System: All members of the Silver Ladder are taught High Speech. Using high speech while casting a spell adds 2 additional dice to the roll. However, calling on the old ways also exacerbates the paradoxes that haunt them. Covert spells cast with high speech are considered Vulgar.
Merits High Speech
High Speech is now a facet of the Silver Ladder, who rigorously maintain the true high language of the arcane, as set forth by Atlantis. However, over the years archmage tampering in the Temenos has generated dozens of sub-languages and dialects of arcane-speak. As described above, the High Speech, as defined by the Silver Ladder, adds two dice to any spell, but causes casting to become vulgar. It remains accessible only to members of the Silver Ladder, but other dialects may be learned by members of any order.
New Merit: Arcane Dialect • - ••• You character knows a variant of High Speech, likely learned through a knowledgeable mentor or maintained by their legacy. When selecting this merit, choose a single arcana or practice. Using this language in the spell’s casting adds [Merit Dots] extra dice to the spellcasting roll, but causes the spell to become vulgar (if it wasn’t already). No more than one arcane language may be used to enhance a spell.
Atlantean Runes Only the Mysterium has truly maintained what could be called a ‘comprehensive’ library of Atlantean runes. As with high speech, the fall, and subsequent imperial tampering have altered the runic language to a great degree. The Mysterium makes a point of teaching all new recruits a thorough curriculum of the original runes, from which most variants are derived. Others outside the order may still learn them, but without the Mysterium’s vast resources, the process of locating repositories is arduous and taxing.
New Merit: Runecraft •• The mage has learned one of the derivative runic languages of the old world, and may use it in their casting. When buying this merit a character should determine which spell factor the runes in question modify (Potency, Target, Size, Area, or Duration). Using the runes which casting an extended spell increases the chosen factor by +2. However, the spell becomes dependent on the runes to function, and should they be destroyed it will immediately cease. This merit may be purchased multiple times, with each representing a different form of runecraft, but only one modifier may be applied to a single spell. Mysterium members start play with all five variations of this merit (though, variations exist outside the mysterium curriculum that affect factors such as paradox and sympathy).
Masques The Masques merit retains all the functions described on page 69 of M:tA - Guardians of the Veil. Guardians may also purchase a two or four dot version of the merit called “Greater Masque”
Greater Masque •• or •••• A Guardian who is wearing a the token imbued with the properties of the Greater Masque. Is afforded an extra level of supernatural protection against the eyes
of sleepers. To their eyes the guardian embodies their masque in a manner that goes beyond a simple disguise. Sleepers will not question the masque wearer’s identity, nor will they recognize them once the mask is removed. This power is the result of an exploit in Quiescence discovered by the order in its formative years after the fall, as such sleepwalkers and other beings immune to Quiescence are not fooled by this aspect of a Masque. (Thus the +2 to disguise rolls is still valuable). At four dots that limit is removed. The Masque token itself is specifically designed by masters of the order and imbued with the power to fool even awakened eyes. Supernatural beings must roll [Wits + Composure] penalized/improved by the difference between their power stat and the Guardian’s Gnosis. Failure causes the masque to affect them as though they were a sleeper.
Mage Armor Mage Armor no longer exists, not as it is portrayed in the core book. That isn’t to say that Mage’s cannot protect themselves magically, merely that there is no uniform set of penalty inflicting covert spells. How a Mage goes about armoring themselves now varies from Arcana to Arcana, providing either actual armor, or penalizing aggression. In general the Gross Arcana provide stronger armor, more applicable against worldly threats, while the Subtle Arcana are better against supernatural aggression and less likely to suffer disbelief. As a rule scene long magical armor should be capped in some way, usually based on the dots of the highest Arcana in the spell. There are four primary ways of creating persistent defenses: Spells that grant armor (force fields, enhanced gear, hardened flesh), spells that penalize opponents attacks (Probability manipulation, hallucinations, spacial bending), spells that improve the Mage’s defense (improved speed, foresight, improved skills/attributes), and spells that create a warding effects that require contested rolls to overcome (Diplomats protection, Ward/Ban). Retributive shields may also exist, that attempt to tear apart incoming objects and attackers, rather than simply deflect them, but such effect require at least 4 dots. Defensive spells of the same type do not generally stack (though certain wards might). A mage uses the highest armor of all their armor sources to determine soak, the highest penalty determine accuracy, and the largest booster to determine defense. Armor, penalties, and defense DO stack, so if a Mage really wants to layer on 3-4 spells to be really hard to hit they totally can (not like that’s anything new). System: At Rank 2 Arcana can generate penalties to attackers via magic, and work spells that increase a Mage’s Defense. At Rank 3 it can create actual Armor, and Wards capable of preventing harm outright. At Rank 4 Retributive Shields may be cast, that lash out against attacks and attackers. Not all Arcana can justify creating every form of defense (Mind can’t create solid barriers), Storytellers are encouraged to use their best judgement as to what sorts of defenses individual Arcana can generate. (see GMC doc for rules on armor and minimum
damage). All scene long protective spells cost 1 mana. ● Penalty: -[Arcana] ● Defense: +[Arcana] ● Armor: [Arcana-1]/[Arcana-1] or [Arcana]/[Arcana-2] or [Arcana-2]/[Arcana] ● Ward: Successes (Max [Arcana]) vs [Resistance Attribute] + Power Stat ● Retributive Shield: Roll [Arcana] - [Durability or Resistance Attribute] Due to the nature of Creative Thaumaturgy there is no limit to the number of possible defenses a Mage might conjure. Below is a list of potential ways in which a Mage might defend herself with the varying Arcana. Death Inflict penalties by draining energy from attacks, creating ephemeral shields to stop Ghosts and twilight entities, armor made of physical shadows, a barrier which damages and decays any object or attacker. Fate Inflict penalties through bad luck, remove weapon or equipment bonuses via malfunction, increase existing penalties or penalize called shots, gain armor like defense through Geas and Godsend. Forces Turn bullets and high speed projectiles, create a force field that stops attacks and grants cover, manipulate light to inflict penalties to aiming, create a barrier of superheat that damages weapons and attackers. Life Harden skin to create armor, increase dexterity to bolster defense, make form mutable rendering called shots impossible, rapid regeneration or growth of additional defensive organs (like ink sacs or noxious gasses). Matter Reinforce existing clothing and armor, create bubbles of hardened liquid or air that grant cover, degrade weapons causing them to lose their benefits or be destroyed outright. Mind Bolster the Mage’s mind against social and psychic attacks, generate small illusions and hallucinations which make it difficult to aim, create a psychic shield that renders it impossible to make the decision to attack. Prime
Penalize magical aggression, create a protective barrier around the Mages soul, craft phantasmal armor, create a zone of magical control which redirects or counters aggressive spells, suck the mana out of incoming magic rendering it useless. Space Spatial distortions that bend attacks around the Mage, wards and bans against particular forms of attack, barrier that redirects attacks back at the aggressor, temporarily remove the mage’s ability to interact physically with the world and it with him. Spirit Penalize numina and influences, gain armor against twilight attackers, bind the Mage to a Guardian spirit to gain its defensive powers, manipulate spirits into granting numina or influenced based armor effects. Time See several seconds into the future improving defense, alter personal time flows allowing faster movement, greater defense, and the ability to dodge bullets, maintain multiple timelines making enemies roll repeatedly and choosing the preferred result.
Imbuing Items All Mages, regardless of Arcana, can imbue objects with magical properties. This process is similar to the Imbue Item spell (which it replaces), but not quite identical. Imbuing objects with magic is done in following manner, with the following restrictions. ● First off, a Mage can only imbue spells that are at least one dot lower than their Gnosis, two dots if they wish to make the imbued spell indefinite. Permanently Imbuing an item requires a single point of arcane experience in addition to all other costs (mass imbues can be done by simultaneously targeting multiple objects, in which case the cost is still only one arcane experience). ● Imbuing a spell into an object requires the spell be ritually cast. This is handled exactly the same way as casting the spell itself, save that the casting is always covert. At the time of casting the spell, the mage needs select not only the factors involved while the spell is Imbued, but also those that will apply to the spell being cast (such spells cannot ever have a “persistent” duration). Once decided, those factors cannot be changed. ● The creator may at this time also choose to apply trigger conditions to the object(s) in question, to restrict their use or prevent accidental activation. ● Spells imbued into an item are not immediately active, instead they must be “powered up” for a single point of mana. Unlike with the Prime spell Imbued items don’t inherently store mana (Prime 3 may be used to fill them). ● Activation occurs either at the speed indicated in the original spell, or however long it takes to perform the trigger (whichever is longer). Imbued objects must be actively held by the personal who is activating them (Prime 3 can circumvent this).
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Once the mana is paid an activation roll must be made, this decides how powerful the spell will be once active. This is done just as if the spell was being cast by a mage, save that it uses a pool of [Potency] instead of [Arcana+Gnosis]. However, no matter what the spell’s potency may be, the user never rolls more dice than the original caster’s dice pool on the ritual casting. (Keep in mind, additional factors can reduce the casting pool, so it is still valuable to have a potency over the caster’s base pool, assuming the spell is going to have a wide effect, hit multiple targets, or last for longer than a few seconds)
Step-By-Step Imbuing 1. Select the spell, and object into which it will be imbued. Must be one dot lower than the caster’s Gnosis (two if it is to be made indefinite/permanent). 2. Determine the factors of the Imbuing (how many objects will be imbued? How long will it last? How big are they?) 3. Determine the modifiers of the spell the object will contain. (Will it need to affect a large area? Does it have to last a while?) 4. Determine any trigger conditions that the object will possess. 5. Ritually cast the spell into the object. Note the caster’s total dice pool as it will become the Imbued Item’s dice cap. 6. If the Imbuing is to be permanent (and the requirements are met), invest a single point of arcane experience.
Step-By-Step Activation 1. 2. 3. 4.
Hold the item in hand (or foot, or tooth, or tail). Perform any activation conditions. Spend a point of mana. Roll [Potency], taking account of any modifiers included in the spell. After other modifiers this pool cannot exceed the item’s dice cap. 5. Profit. [This applies only to imbuing spells for later activation. Placing a one off spell temporarily on an object, such as making a chair levitate, or creating an extra sharp sword, requires no special provisions beyond aptitude in the appropriate arcana(s)]
Altered Merit: Imbued Item Given the changes to the Imbuing process, Imbued Item as a merit is no longer such a cut and dry thing. The dice pool is now based on the original caster, rather than the user, and spell altering factors can affect dice pools. These things must be determined upon the creation of the object. There are two ways to manage this: ● If the item’s creator is a known, statted character the process is as simple as rolling up the item creation using their stats. To determine the merits dot value divide the dice pool used on the activation roll by 3, rounding down.
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If the creator is not an existing character then it becomes necessary to abstract this process a bit. Use [Merit Dots *3] as the maximum dice pool of the creator. Then subtract the spell’s dot value from that pool to determine the number of rolls possible of the ritual casting. Unlike normal ritual casting, this roll cannot fail. For this reason storytellers may want to average the successes (~1 success per 3 dice) rather than actually roll out the Imbuing process. In both cases it becomes possible for Imbued Items worth less than five dots to contain five dot spells, and for a five dot item to contain much lower dot effects. This is intended, but changing it is as easy as putting a dot to spell level equivalence in place, if the rule is disagreeable.
