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Spoiler Rules
Types of Spells
An Improvised Spell is just that something youve
used your knowledge of the Arcana to come up with.
A Praxis is a spell youve become especially practiced at,
iconic for your character. You get one with every dot of
Gnosis, and can buy more with Arcane Experiences. When
a mage uses one of her praxes, all Magical Tools (NOT all
Yantras tools are a subset, as youll see) count as being
Dedicated, which greatly reduces but never quite eliminates
Paradox Risk.
A Rote is an imago designed by a Master and either cast by
following the instructions in a Grimoire or learned with
Experiences by less-developed mages.
All three use the same dicepool Gnosis + Arcanum. If
youre casting a rote out of a book (which takes hours), or
one you designed yourself, you get the rote factor (reroll
failures) on the roll.
Yantras
In order to use a Yantra, a willworker has to recognize
a specific symbolism in the tool. That reflection then
factors into her arcane understanding, enabling her to use
that symbol as the foundation for an imago. Rather than
drawing a picture of what she wants freehand, she instead
has a stock image she can trace or use as inspiration. The
more Yantras she uses whether different interpretations
of the same tool or different tools altogether the more
basis she has for her imago, making it easier to form.
Naturally, using Yantras in this way has its limits if the
mage cant fit any of the symbols associated with the Yantra
into her working, she cant use it to bolster her magic. A
Guardian might set up a Chamber of Veils that she uses to
hide truths and reveal secrets, but unless she can connect
her Supernal understanding of the Chamber of Veils to a
place of healing, it wont help her when a cabal-mate
stumbles through her door holding his intestines in place.
When a mage uses a Yantra in the working of a spell, she
adds bonus dice to her spellcasting dice pool. The number
of dice varies by the Yantra that she uses. These bonus dice
can help eliminate penalties to her spellcasting pool, or
provide bonuses. A mage can only get so much help from
Yantras after offsetting any penalties, the maximum
bonus from all her Yantras combined cannot exceed 5 dice.
A mage may want to use as many Yantras as possible in her
spellcasting, especially for powerful acts of magic. She can
however only access so many pieces of Supernal knowledge
at once. To reflect this, the number of Yantras she can
apply to a given spellcasting pool is limited by her Gnosis.
If she uses one ritual item in many ways, each individual
use counts as one Yantra for this limit.
Place
Mages seek out or create locations that border the
Supernal in the hope of using that proximity to enforce
ascended laws on the Fallen World. Others find places or
times where the Lie reflects the Supernal without any
specific proximity.
Demesne
Many willworkers enhance their ritual space with a soul stone,
turning it into a weak form of Verge. Mages most often
decorate their ritual spaces according to their Order a
Mystagogues ritual space may be a storehouse of knowledge
that reflects the Orders Tarsi Archive, while a given Libertine
may fit hers out as a machine shop or embed the soul stone in
a sacred tree.
A Demesne is of most use in ritual casting. It provides a
prepared, sacred space where the mystic can work without the
interruptions of the Lie; only a few (such as a dojo used by an
Adamantine Arrow to practice sacred weapon forms) are of any
use with instant spells and then only in defense of the
Demesne. Beyond that, the construction and sacred tools
within a Demesne determine what magics it can apply to. A
Libertines machine shop helps with spells that build, repair, or
dismantle. An Arrows training room helps with spells
involving duels, preparation for battle, self-mastery. A
Guardians Veiled Room helps with spells of disguise,
misdirection, and uncovering truths.
Effect: Casting in a Demesne has a +1 modifier
Environment
Places and times in the Fallen World can bring about the
Supernal if they reflect the spell a mage is using. An Acanthus
may use the sun at noon to see through falsehoods, while a
Magistos might use the light of the full moon reflected in a
pool of water to scry across vast distances. Locatin is just as
important many Obrimos seek out churches to perform
spells of persuasion, command, and stewardship.
Supernal Verges
In places where the Supernal touches the Fallen World,
willworkers find it much easier to draw power through an
imago. Such places are natural Yantras, lending their power
to those within. Each Supernal Verge teems with the power
of one of the Supernal Realms, and lends its power to the
Ruling Arcana of that Realm.
Supernal Verges are thus as valuable for their versatility as
their power. In a Pandemonic Verge, any spells that use the
Mind or Space Arcana can draw upon the Verges power, be
that a long ritual to superimpose two locations or a simple
spell to fuddle an opponents senses. A mage in a Supernal
Verge can use his mystic connection to the Watchtower to
use it as a Yantra on any ritual spell that doesnt involve the
paths Inferior Arcanum.
Effect: Casting in a Supernal Verge has a +2 modifier.
Actions
Everything a willworker does can be magic. Orders teach
ritual gestures that bring the imago of a rote to mind
through conditioning and muscle-memory. High Speech
allows a mage to intone or write her spell not in the
imperfect tongues of the Fallen World but the sacred
glossolalia that is what it describes. A mage can even hold
her spells imago in her mind, focusing on it beyond the
point of creation in order to maintain Supernal truth upon
the world.
Some mages use actions as Yantras to get out of a bind
even stripped naked and chained in a cannibal killers
dungeon, a tharch can speak words of High Speech and
focus upon the imago of a spell. It takes a little practice to get
used to, but given a little time to breathe he can work magic
far easier than if he formed an imago from whole cloth.
Concentration
Many spells finish when the willworker forces the Lie to
change. Some hold on for as long as the mage can impose
her will. Its a draining task, but worth it. Most common is a
mage who holds her imago in her mind. If shes particularly
skilled in the High Speech, she may find it easier to keep the
spell in mind by slowly translating her imago into runes back
again, focusing on them. In either case, she must focus on
the spell and only the spell. If she wavers, the effect is lost.
On a basic level, concentration is a mage exerting her will
over even her own mind, forcing herself not to weaken. As
such, its a symbol of ongoing action and a means to have
a spell last longer than it should. The vast majority of mages
focus on a spell over time in order to bolster its duration. A
few mages instead see concentration like a lens, focusing
Supernal truth. While this interpretation can bolster a spell,
it also leaves the mage open to disruption until she
completes her spell.
Effect: Concentrating on an effect provides 2 extra dice. If
the mage is hurt or takes a non-reflexive action while the
spell is active, it ends immediately.
Mantras
High Speech is both a language and not a language, a
description that is the thing described. Though even mages
hear it as gibberish, its Supernal nature ignores the Fallen
idea that the map is not the territory. As such, a mage uses
High Speech to intone her imago, describing the change
that she wills and thus making that change real. As a means
of changing the world it is flexible it requires no external
props nor ongoing concentration but it requires her to
speak the words out loud. Its not enough to coop them up
within the mages mind, she has to express her desire so the
Lie can hear it.
As a Yantra, High Speech is very versatile. Almost every
mage knows enough to declaim her control or dominance
over a subject. She can repeat the words over and over
again as she casts to build up a defense. It is however not
subtle. She cannot work words of High Speech into a
normal sentence to compel a listener to her will. The
metalanguage of the Supernal can not hide in the shallow
grammars and inflections of the Lie.
Effect: Vocally intoning her imago confers a 2-die bonus.
As it takes time to speak the words, she cannot use any
Yantra reflexively when using High Speech every Yantra
including this one adds a turn to the casting time.
Mudras
Mudras are Supernal mnemonics taught by the Orders that
draw on skills and knowledge of the Fallen World, cast
through the Orders philosophy. Creating mudras is part of
defining a rote, codifying the structure of magic in the
symbols of the Lie. Mudras come in many forms
Buddhist Libertines may use zazen, while the Arrow may
tense specific muscles in a set pattern, and Guardians use
specific rhythms of walking and representative hand
gestures. Each rote is unique to the mage who created it
some encode specific symbolism into the positioning of
individual fingers to allow a student to form his own
mnemonic; far more present a paternalistic approach that
teaches the mudra and the magic without an intervening
step to consider the actions meaning.
Effect: Using a rotes mudra adds the users rating the
rotes encoded Skill to her dice pool. If the Skill is one of
her Orders specialized rote skills, she adds an extra die.
Runes
An intersection between incanting in High Speech and
concentrating on an imago, some mages use runic High
Speech to enhance the power of a spell. Most use the boost
from a runic Yantra to boost a spells duration; the need to
scribe the runes on to the spells subject makes them less
useful for most other castings. Anything that disrupts the
careful shape and arrangement of the runes makes them an
imperfect description of the spells imago, ending the effect.
The runes themselves are a written form of High Speech
quite apart from the fortune-telling iconography of Sleeper
occultists. They most often speak to effects of permanence
and durability.
Tools
Path Tools
Each Supernal Realm has its reflections in the Fallen
World, and a mage knows the tools of magic that align
closely to her Path. While mages with a background in
Sleeper occultism recognize that the Path tools show up in
several traditions, their direct elemental or Tarot
symbolism is the Lies corruption of the Supernal Realms
truth.
Order Tools
An Orders magical tools draw upon that Orders
symbols rather than those of the Supernal world directly,
focusing a willworkers magic in a way that matches her
teachings. The formal magical style of the Diamond
Orders and the Seers of the Throne all resonate through
the same tools the Arrow use martial tools as symbols
of conflict, the Guardians use cloaks, masks, and veils as
symbols of things hidden and revealed, the Mysterium
teach books, writing, and language as tools of knowledge
and communication, and the Silver Ladder uses signs of
authority to as tools of status and persuasion. The Seers
of the Throne each choose a sigil or word that they must
display to use it as a tool.
The Free Council are an oddity among all the other
Orders. Each Libertine learns a style of magic that draws
from Sleeper occult beliefs, and their magical tools
demonstrate that eclectic learning. A Libertine raised in
Wiccan beliefs may use the trappings of that religion,
while one who studies sacred architecture may use
geometric tools.
Sympathy
Rather than defining the what of a spell, sympathetic
tools define the who the person, place, creature, or
institution upon which the mage forces her will. She
may have a persons real name or a lock of her hair, a
ghosts anchor, a chunk of concrete taken from a
building, or a companys articles of incorporation.
Whatever the case, sympathetic tools give her a much
easier time working her subject into the spells imago.
As such, a sympathetic link is always suitable as a Yantra
against the specific individual.
Effects: Each sympathetic link is a separate Yantra. A
mage has to use a Sympathetic Yantra in order to cast a
spell at Sympathetic Range.
Sacrament
A sacrament is any magical tool symbolic of the spell in
question that the mage destroys during casting. Many
times though by no means always it also provides a
sympathetic link to the subject of her spell. She may
infuse bread with herbs and spices to make those who
share the loaf work together smoothly. She may burn a
mans driving license and passport for a spell that
removes him from government records. She may fire a
male figure out of clay then crush it to powder when
changing her body to match her gender. If she can find
one of her enemys magical tools, she has both a
sympathetic link and a sacrament for any spell that
would hurt him.
Some mages go further than finding or creating things
to sacrifice during casting. Some engage on quests into
the other realms of the Fallen World, leaving the flesh
behind to uncover items with magical properties of
their own. Destroying them during casting can make a
spell flare with power. Particularly twisted mages kill
animals and murder humans for the magical power.
The surest way to kill a powerful enemy with magic is to
sacrifice something close to him a beloved pet, or a
family member.
Effect: Most sacraments grant a single die bonus. If the
mage has to spend significant effort to find the right
item or component, the bonus increases to +2, or +3 if
the item comes from a realm other than the physical
world. Using a blood sacrifice as a Yantra gives bonus
dice equal to the amount of mana otherwise gained.
Dedicated Tools
Each mage has a dedicated magical tool an item that
synchronizes with her Nimbus and that feeds in to her
understanding of magic. An Thyrsus who trusts to
nature to provide may not have much by way of
possessions, but his walking stick is his staff, and he uses
it even for spells that do not benefit from its
symbolism. A Botswanan Libertine who learned the
magic of the Sangoma may tap a rhythm on her drum
even when the noise has no bearing on her spells, as the
drumming is part of her Nimbus. These dedicated tools
can be of benefit even when the tool has no semiotic
link with the mages desires, limiting the risk of
paradox.
Effect: Using a dedicated tool as a Yantra gives the
mage +1 to her casting and any Paradox invoked
by the spell takes a -2. She only gets bonuses to the
spellcasting pool when the tool is symbolically
appropriate.
Containment
Example
Bedlam
The mage is driven insane by her proximity to the Abyss. If
the Paradox roll nets three or less successes, she gains a mild
derangement. If it nets four or more successes, she gains a
severe derangement (See p. XX).
Paradox Conditions grant Arcane Beats when they
cause you problems, but are technically persistant.
When a period of time determined by your Wisdom
elapses, a Paradox Condition becomes settled its
fully entered your characters pattern and will increase
any Paradox rolls by a die until you remove it and
finally free yourself from it by Pattern Scouring it out
of yourself: effectively completing the attempt to turn
the Paradox into resistant damage.
Whether the Paradox happens or not, the spell roll
itself is unchanged.
Release
If a mage chooses not to take the personal risk of
containment himself, the Paradox pools successes
penalize the mages casting dice pool. More than that,
though, successes on a released Paradox become Reach
Reach that the Storyteller can spend.
Paradox successes cancel Reaches that the player
wanted, add additional ones he didnt (your spell to
affect one target now affects everyone in sensory range,
for example), or even (when the Paradox gets multiple
successes) leave an Environmental Tilt behind or
summon an Abyssal Entity.
No matter what happens, though, the resulting
Paradox wont come after the mage by default unless
you happen to be targeting yourself with your spell,
releasing a Paradox is the safer option. For you. Not so
much for any bystanders.
Mage Sight
Peripheral Mage Sight is the defaultthe baseline
awareness of the strange all Awakened have. It used to
be called Unseen Senses, but as that continually
caused confusion with the Supernatural Merit of the
same name, were changing it. Every mage experiences
her Periphery in a different way, linked to her Path
and Nimbus. Many dont experience it through literal
sight, but as one of the other senses.
Under Peripheral Mage Sight, a mage can sense the
presence of any supernatural effect that is not masked.
Any form of concealment magic defeats it without a
Clash of Wills, but any other power or ability alerts
the mage. The mere presence of supernatural creatures
doesnt trigger it, only the use of powersa ghost will
go unnoticed as long as it stays in Twilight form, but as
soon as it spends Essence or uses a Manifestation,
mages in the vicinity know that something just
happened. Mages sense the presence of continuing
effects like magical wards or spiritual possession until
the effect ends or they leave the area.
Nimbus
Long-Term Nimbus
The Long-Term Nimbus is a series of subtle
coincidences that surrounds your character.
These are purely story-based effects, bits of
strangeness that align with your characters Path. For
example, around Thyrsus, spirits are more likely to
show
up, strange pathogens infect
people, and likewise terminal diseases can vanish.
Moros bring ghastly hauntings, decay, rust, and
mechanical breakdowns. Obrimos cause religious
revelation, extreme weather swings, or blackouts.
Acanthus cause strange luck, lost memories to rise
up, or to see possible fates. Mastigos cause peoples
fears to well up, and sometimes they see their internal
devils.
Its important to note that the Long-Term Nimbus is not a
controllable force; its just a matter of strange, fractal geometry
in the universe. Patterns converge around your characters life.
However, a characters Gnosis determines its general potency.
It can become truly obvious at six or more dots of Gnosis. The
Long-Term Nimbus affects places, people, and things associated
with the mage associated by ties of magical sympathy, not
geographical location. While Gnosis determines how strong the
Long-Term nimbus is, Wisdom defines how far along the
mages sympathies it spreads the lower the farther. At high
Wisdom only a mages Sanctum, magical tools, and close
associates are touched by her magic, while an unwise mage
finds his Nimbus spreading to friends, family, and personal
haunts. Since time immemorial, however, organized mages
have known that keeping a spiritual separation between ones
magical and mundane lives alleviates the Nimbus effect
adopting a Shadow Name causes the Nimbus to ground onto
the mages magical life, so that for example his Sanctum
and Apprentices are touched rather than his home and
children. Especially strong Nimbuses do still leak past a Shadow
Names protection, but not to their full extent a Moros
Master whose Sanctum is avoided by all living animals and
attracts ghosts in great numbers might only create a gloomy
atmosphere in her family home.
The exact rules for Long-Term Nimbus are still in
flux, as they depend on careful balancing
between the Sympathy Chart and the Tiered
effects of Wisdom.
Immediate Nimbus
The Immediate Nimbus is the powerful aura
directly surrounding the mage, wrapping close to
her gnosis and flashing out as the Supernal
World ebbs and flows against her. Under Mage
Sight, when the mage casts a spell, it flares in a
sensory display iconic of her Path. On occasion, it
becomes visible even to Sleeping eyes albeit in a
muted, toned-down form. Mages can deliberately
reveal their Immediate Nimbus, but it also
manifests involuntarily when the mage fulfills
their Virtue or Vice triggers to regain Willpower.
Personal Nimbus
The Signature Nimbus is just that, an identifier your
character leaves on the things her Awakened soul has
touched. When she uses a spell, praxis, rote, or
Attainment, she leaves little wisps of her identity on
that magic. A mage utilizing focused Mage Sight can
recognize those signatures shes seen before. If the
signature comes from a particularly great Gnosis (6+),
it offers a bonus to rolls to scrutinize that pattern. For
every dot of Gnosis above five, add one die to relevant
dice pools.
Signature Nimbus looks the part of residue from the
Immediate Nimbus. If your character has a fiery
Immediate Nimbus, her Signature Nimbus might be
charring and ash, for example. Or if her Immediate
Nimbus causes intoxication, her Signature Nimbus
might feel like a hangover.
If a mage wishes, she can imprint her Signature
Nimbus clearly onto an object, place, or person,
marking them invisibly with her power. Spend a Mana.
In this case, add her Gnosis to any rolls to scrutinize
that Nimbus. Doing this causes the subject to be
affected by the mages Long-Term Nimbus, but it wears
off after a period of time determined by her Wisdom
tier.
Creative Thaumaturgy
Step One: Declare Intent
this can be the hardest part of the process, especially for
a player. It comes with practice, and in taking the
example spells as a starting point rather than an
exhaustive list think of something similar to an
existing spell but not quite covered? That can be your
basis. A minority of players all but abandon the
described spells and think only in terms of the Practices,
and its this method that I recommend to people
joining us from Ascension. Most players will be
somewhere in-between.
Initiate ()
Disciple ()
Apprentice ()
Ruling spells grant fuller control over phenomena than
a mere Compelling spell. Water can be made to flow
uphill or into unnatural shapes (Matter), animals (or
even human beings) can be commanded (Life or Mind),
or time can be momentarily made to accelerate or slow
down (Time). A Ruling spell cant fundamentally alter
its subjects abilities: Water can be directed, but not
turned solid or gaseous. Time can be altered, but not
overwritten. An animal can be commanded, but not
made stronger or fiercer.
Shielding spells, sometimes called Warding spells, offer
protection against phenomena under the Arcanums
purview. A Shielding spell might protect against a
ghosts Numina (Death), make the mage immune to fire
(Forces) or disease (Life), or allow her to survive in a
caustic atmosphere (Matter). Mages protect themselves
from general harm through the power of their Arcana
with the Mage Armor Attainment rather than Shielding
spells.
Veiling spells are twofold: Firstly, they can conceal
things under the Arcanums purview from detection: A
subject can be made to lose all sense of time (Time), a
fires heat and light can be hidden from view (Forces),
or making a building all but impossible to notice
(Matter). Secondly, they can conceal a subject from
concrete phenomena under the Arcanums purview: a
mage can render herself invisible to ghosts (Death) or
ward a powerful Locus from detection by spirits (Spirit)
or walk unnoticed through a crowd (Life or Mind) or
past a camera (Forces). Short of archmastery, its
impossible to Veil something against an abstract
concept or force: a mage cant Veil herself against death
or hide from time, for example.
Adept ()
Patterning spells allow a mage to completely transform
a target into something else that falls under the
Arcanums purview. A memory can be replaced
wholesale (Mind), the mage can turn herself (or a
subject) into an animal (Life), or she can teleport by
rewriting her own location (Space). A spell that
transforms the subject into something that falls within
the Purview of another Arcanum, like transforming
into a living pillar of fire (Life and Forces), requires a
mage to know the Practice of Patterning for both
Arcana.
Unravelling spells can significantly impair or damage
phenomena under the Arcanums purview, or directly
inflict severe damage using the forces of an Arcanum. A
raging storm might become a calm summers day
(Forces), solid iron reduced to dust (Matter), even spells
can be torn asunder (Prime). Mages can hurl fire
(Forces) at their enemies, or cause aneurysms and heart
attacks with a glance (Mind or Life) Damage inflicted by
a direct Unravelling attacks is lethal, but can be
upgraded to aggravated by spending a point of Mana
and one Reach.
Master ()
Making spells allow for the creation of whole new
phenomena ex nihilo. The mage can conjure gamma
rays (Forces), birth new spirits (Spirit), or create a
doorway to the Underworld (Death). Time can be
dilated by creating more seconds, hours, or even days
(Time).
Unmaking spells annihilate subjects under the
Arcanums purview entirely. Life can be snuffed life a
candle (Life), two locations can be forced into each
other by destroying the distance between them (Space),
even Hallows and Verges can be wiped from the earth
(Prime). Unmaking spells are beyond inflicting direct
damage with attacks; a successful Unmaking destroys
the subject altogether.
Astute players will likely figure out a multitude of ways
to accomplish similar effects with different Arcana,
sometimes at different dot levels. This is okay. Just
because a Fate spell can do a thing doesnt mean
a Forces spell that does a similar thing is broken or
should be disallowed.
Take for example influencing the outcome of a coin
toss. A simple Compelling spell of Fate can easily tip
the odds toward either heads or tails, but its
theoretically possible to use a Forces Fraying spell to
alter the kinetic energy imparted to the coin, causing it
to spin slower, or use a Matter Weaving spell to change
the coins center of mass. Both are perhaps more
complicated than the Fate approach, but theyre valid
within the purview of their respective Arcana.
Similarly, a Mind Weaving spell could force a target to
feel love, while a Life Ruling spell could cause the
targets brain to release dopamine and other hormones
that create a similar effect.
Costs
When designing the corebooks spells, we had lists of
what would definitely require Reach, Mana, or both
and we give both lists here. Theyre less important in
Creative Thaumaturgy terms than in actual
spellcasting most Reach is spent to manipulate spell
factors, and most Mana is spent on Attainments or to
mitigate Paradox but when some spell effects do
require one or the other, we tell you
Attainments
First Dot: Countspell
As in first edition, mages who see other mages casting
spells can attempt to Counterspell if they know the
correct Arcana. As second edition doesnt divide spells
as covert or vulgar, you can attempt to counter any
spell, as long as you have Active Mage Sight up to see
them cast. Countering uses the Clash of Wills rules
you might be familiar with from other second edition
games, and costs Mana if the mage youre countering
has a higher Arcanum rating than you.
Order Merits
Masque ( to , Style)
Prerequisites: Guardians of the Veil Status
Effect: The Guardians must adopt Masques, personas,
in order to detach from the grim necessities of their
work and stay in cover. Their ancient practices allow
these Masques to become different people almost
entirely; they have different abilities and even ethical
codes to suit the role. At each level of Masque, the
persona gains different abilities that are only available
to the character upon donning the Masque. Adopting
a Masque requires spending a point of Willpower,
which cannot be replenished so long as the character
maintains the identity. Shedding a Masque requires a
full minute to get out of character.
To take additional Masques, purchase them as single,
two-dot Merits. This gives the additional Masques at
the same level as the primary Masque.
Identity (): Choose a Virtue and Vice different than
that of your character. While in the Masque, your
character benefits from those traits instead of her
own.
Competency (): Choose Skill Specialties equal to
the Masque Merit dots. Your character uses those
Specialties instead of her own while in the Masque.
Diffusion (): Choose a new Signature Nimbus
(see p. XX). While in the Masque, your character uses
that Nimbus instead of her own.
The Code (): Choose two acts of hubris your
character would normally suffer. While in the
Masque, your character does not risk Wisdom for
those acts.
Adamant Hand ()
Prerequisite: Adamantine Arrow Status , (Athletics,
Brawl, or Weaponry , Special)
Effect: Your character has studied extensively in the
Adamantine Arrow martial arts. This allows her to use
Egregore ( TO )
Techn ( to )
Prerequisites: Free Council Status
Effect: This Merit represents training and
understanding of the Free Council's method of
spellcasting. You're trusted enough to have taken
part in debates, read publications or simply
practiced along with other Libertines on the
Supernal power of Sleeper society.
Each level of this Merit allows an addition ability.
Lex Magica ()
Prerequisite: Silver Ladder Status
Effect: The laws of the Pentacle are symbolic concepts
designed by people who make symbols real. A Tharch
acting in an official, titled capacity (such as Herald,
Sentinel, Factotum, Deacon, Hierarch, or Magister) gains
certain advantages with this Merit:
First, add her Silver Ladder Status or Consilium Status
(whichever shes acting with) to her Doors when a
character attempts to outmaneuver her socially (see p.
XX).
Second, characters cannot use Willpower to increase dice
pools on Social actions or magic which would influence
her behavior.
Lastly, your character may use her Silver Ladder Status or
Consilium Status (whichever is higher) as a Yantra in
spells directly enforcing the Lex Magicas laws. This
includes spells to investigate potential crimes, to pursue
offenders, to use the law to defend innocence, and any
other spell to help the rule of law work more thoroughly.
The dice bonus for the Yantra is half the Merit dots used,
round up.
Prelacy (Style, to )
Prerequisites: Seers of the Throne Status
Effect: A successful Seer who has served her patron
Exarch well can cast spells in his name. She hears the
Tyrants voices in her sleep. She understands their
demands directly. A black iron portal forms deep within
her Oneiros, and her daimon, the goetia representing her
drive to further herself, becomes twisted by the Exarchs
agenda.
She gains the following effects, at each rank of this Merit:
Chosen Vessel (): your character gains the Persistent
Mystery Commands Condition.
Sword (): The character may use the patron Exarchs
symbolism as a Patron Yantra in spellcasting, worth half
her Prelacy dots in dice (round up).
Crown (): The character gains an Attainment based
on her Exarchs symbolism.
Temple (): If one of your characters soul stones is
incorporated into a Demesne, the Demesne becomes a
Supernal Verge keyed to her Exarch, inhabited by
Supernal Entities loyal to the Throne. Including soul
stones from Seers with Prelacy linked to a different
Exarch causes the Temple to collapse and immediately
destroys all soul stones involved.
Drawback: Once the Exarchs have given a command,
they expect it to be carried out without delay. The
character may only earn Arcane Beats from their other
Obsessions in a chapter when they have already earned
one for following the one granted by Mystery Commands.