Commanding
(Al-Anbiya 5, Al-Fatihah 3, Al-Layl 5)

　Only the most accomplished mage can force a djinn to act against its will, for a near-complete mastery of the magical arts is needed. For the Batini, this involves presenting the Seal of Sulayman and using its power to actually shape the djinn's very thoughts and destiny (albeit in a limited way). Even this power is not absolute, for a djinn may yet be free to take any action not specifically forbidden by the exact wording of the caster's Command. Besides exercising some of the most powerful Batini Pillars, the Commander must also be careful not to leave any loopholes in her instructions; a background in contractual law can be most helpful here.

　System: Al-Anbiya is needed to constrain the target djinn's future actions, Al-Fatihah is used to implant the Command in its mind, and Al-Layl occludes any thoughts of direct disobedience on the djinn's part. The required number of successes is the djinn's Willpower +3; the base difficulty is 10 but can be reduced as above. Generally only one specific task may be Commanded per casting, but additional tasks may be added with additional successes. The effective duration of a Command is generally only until the completion of the task(s) - and most djinn can accomplish most tasks very quickly, often within the blink of an eye; additional successes can hold the djinn to prolonged tasks for one time increment per success - an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, a decade, a century, etc. Unless the Command is prolonged in this way, the spell is effectively negated upon the death of the caster. A djinn acting under a Solomonic Command cannot be Bound by another, and may only answer the Summoning of another as long as doing so does not violate the Command or interfere with the completion of the task at hand.

　(Ultimately, the outcome of any Command comes down to a battle of wits between player and Storyteller. The player should be as complete and precise as possible when issuing instructions, while the Storyteller should find any loophole possible to subvert the player character's actual desires. This is not necessary when there is genuine goodwill on the part of the djinn toward the caster, but such cases are extremely rare outside of local djinn cults, or when a Spirit-Talker is also involved and can exercise some diplomacy and finesse in the operation.)

Source: Dark Age Mage Grimoire (WW20060), Page 23-24

Ghayba (Occultation or “Unbeingness”)
(Correspondence 4, Mind 2, Prime 4/5, Spirit 3)

　The Batini fancy themselves masters of stealth and misdirection. Not only do the Ahl-i-Batin have the inherent capacity to be hard to find, but also they, of all magi, have the ability to increasingly occult themselves until they become so Arcane that they are undetectable. This Rote, coveted and very closely guarded by the Batini, is the reason why. A Batini scholar in the 4th century noted that certain mages had an inherent tendency toward being hard to find (as manifested in the Arcane Background). After a great deal of study, this master, Ibrahim al-Qarim, isolated that element of a mage's magical nature that accounted for this tendency toward Arcane-ness and perfected it, calling it Ghayba, the Ritual of Occultation (or Unbeingness, as it is sometimes translated). By manipulating his own pattern with Spirit and Prime, a mage could implant a change in his very nature and how he and the Tellurian inter-related. Shaving off the hooks that the universe attaches to, increasingly took the mage out of the chain of cause and effect. While many Batini like the extra anonymity granted them by this rote, most use it only for periods of a year or two when they need the luxury of being impossible to find. Certain extremists, however, use Time magic to make the effects of Unbeingness permanent, and only the most powerful sensory magics have any hope of discovering their whereabouts. The Batini pride themselves on being the “Subtle Ones," and with this Effect they are capable of making themselves as subtle as they can stomach. Unbeingness has its own distinct disadvantages, however. At the upper levels of Arcane, the mage loses everything and everyone that was once his. The rigors of being one of the unnoticed are intense. Friends, family and lovers forget the Occulted one within moments, phones don't register the Occulted one's voice, and, most troubling of all, the universe itself sometimes forgets mages who make themselves too Arcane.

　Many Batini use the Ritual of Occultation when Technocratic pursuit becomes too intense or when Nephandic enemies begin tightening their net.

　System: The Spirit Effect allows the Subtle One to parlay with spirits of knowledge who guard information about the mage. Correspondence magic allows those spirits to be everywhere they're needed to cover up for the mage. The Prime Effect enchants the Batini's body, either temporarily or permanently, depending on which version of the Rote he's casting, and the Mind magic saturates the mage's now-enchanted Pattern with a subliminal impulse that says "He's not here. Pay no attention to him. "

　Each increment of Arcane requires two successes. The duration of this Rote is an exception to normal duration rules because the Effect enhances the mage's Avatar-given Arcane rating. Each success spent on duration causes the mage to be Occulted for one lunar year (about 336 days, about one month short of a solar year). Should the mage be too successful, he may need to put more successes than he had intended into duration to avoid exceeding the tenth degree of Arcane. If the mage reaches the eleventh or higher degree of Arcane, the Tellurian itself forgets him and he ceases to exist - poof, no more mage!

Source: Lost Paths (WW4030), Page 43-44

One Fights as Many
(Al-Fatihah 4, Al-hajj 5)

　Although the name of this rote is decidedly martial, many peaceful purposes have been found for it. The Batini who casts this magic exists as manyselves at once, with each capable of thinking and acting independently of the others. It is, literally, as though the Batini is many persons simultaneously, each with the same knowledge, experience and abilities and each able to act in perfect concert, or not, as the situation demands.

　System: Each success rolled in creating this spell costs a single point of Quintessence (the mystic may spend fewer points of Quintessence than successes if he wishes fewer duplicates) and creates a single duplicate of the Batini for the standard duration for the number of successes rolled. All of these duplicates are identical to the Batini (and may exist anywhere up to the normal distance for the number of successes rolled from the actual Batini and still continue to act as one when desired), save for one exception: Only one of the individuals (caster or duplicate) may use the Batini's magic or spend Willpower in a turn. All Quintessence and Willpower used by any one draws from the Batini's normal total and affects all selves simultaneously. In short, all draw upon the same store of Quintessence and reserves of inner strength. When the duration ends or the spell is willed to end, the Batini may exist in the space previously occupied by any of his duplicates, should he so wish. The Batini suffers damage according to a simple formula that applies no matter how many duplicates of himself he might be employing at any given time. The mystic sustains only the highest damage in a single combat round.

Source: Dark Age Mage (WW20002), Page 109

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.

Source: Tradition Book: Akashic Brotherhood (Revised) (WW4657), Page 71

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.

Source: Tradition Book: Akashic Brotherhood (Revised) (WW4657), Page 69

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.

Source: Tradition Book: Akashic Brotherhood (Revised) (WW4657), Page 68

See the Light
(Mind 3, Entropy 3 or Entropy 5)

　This insidious rote is said to have originated within the Cabal of Pure Thought, and is rarely used within the Chorus, which prefers genuine conversion over coercion. Typically, it destroys a rival's thinking process, unraveling his logic and giving the Chorister the upper hand in a debate. One priest, Diocletes by name, was said to have been punished severely by Valoran for using the spell during the Convocation debates. When he tried it against Nightshade, she revealed his manipulation and nearly withdrew the Verbena from the Council on the spot.

　[By disrupting the usual flow of the target's thoughts, the Chorister can turn her normal reasoning to mush. This usually triggers insecurities, which lead to further gaffes, and so on. Meanwhile, the Chorus mage remains free to reason as he will. The higher rote level, which involves only Entropy, actually distorts the target's ability to reason coherently. Neither version leads to actual religious conversion without further mental manipulation. Although a defeated subject will be more susceptible at first, she'll soon begin to question her devotion.]

Source: 1st Edition Tradition Book: Celestial Chorus (WW4065), Page 65-66

Mortal Clay
(Repha-El 4, Uri-El 5)

　This effect may be either the most welcome of blessings or, rarely, the most terrible of punishments. The Messianic spins a human shell out of clay and raw mystic power, then inserts into that body, by means of Uri-El's domain, the shade of a deceased human being. The body may look like whatever the caster wishes and be in any condition she deems fitting, though most casters use a shape approximating thar which the subject once knew. While the body is not flawless (beneath the skin, it tends to be quite uniform and not completely anatomically sound), it allows the incarnated ghost to use all of the five normal senses and appears completely human while possessed. Further, the incarnated ghost may use the most basic biological functions of the human form, though without lasting effect; thus, ingested food will be expelled in the state it was in when swallowed and intercourse cannot result in pregnancy, for example.

　System: For each success scored on the roll to create this spell, the body lasts for one day of time before returning to lifeless clay and expelling the spirit back into a purely ephemeral state. Each success also creates an increased degree of realism and consistency with the desired appearance. One success might result in a somewhat misshapen and unwholesome form, whereas five creates exactly what the caster envisioned.

　The spirit can resist with Willpower, unless it chooses to enter into the simulacrum.

Source: Dark Age Mage (WW20002), Page 114-115

Dionysus' Gift
(Life 4 or 5 (possibly with Matter or Forces 3)

　The god of wine, women and song was also an accomplished shapechanger and transmuter. He escaped capture by turning pirates into dolphins and himself into a lion, and often changed chose who offended him into animals or plant. Some Ecstatics, notably the Maenads and Fifth World Tribe, carry on Dionysus' legacy.

　[These various Effects work as per the Lesser Shapechanging, Animal Form and Perfect Metamorphosis Life spells. Working Matter or Forces into the magick will change live creatures to inanimate matter or energy, See page 167 of Mage Second Edition for details.]

Source: Tradition Book: Cult of Ecstasy (WW4061), Page 67

Zen and the Art of Panhandling
(Time 5, Forces 2, Prime 3)

　This effect is the closest thing a non-Oracle has ever achieved to going backward through time. It involves bringing the future back to the present. It was developed by the very knowledgeable Cultist Zak Trainer. After several months of work, Zak was able to contact himself in the future (he didn't know how far in the future) and transfer a quantity of Quintessence to his current self in the present. The problem he did not foresee is that he would someday become that future version of himself and be drained of a like amount of Quintessence. The Technocracy did not miss such a detail, and its minions were poised to strike at Zak at his very moment of weakness. He was slain.

　[One point of Quintessence may be "borrowed" for each success. The Storyteller must remember to inform the player that an equivalent amount of Quintessence is lost in the middle of some future story.]

Source: 1st Edition Core (WW4000), Page 229

Leap Beyond
(Spirit 5, Mind 5)

　The Dreamspeakers believe that the mage Teronymus was the first mage to assume astral form. All previous attempts by mages to explore the Deep Umbra eventually met with grave peril - often a Lord, Preceptor or other malign force intent on harming the mage. Teronymus was able to avoid this by sending just his mind to the Deep Umbra.

　[The mage astrally projects himself into the Deep Umbra. The effect is identical to the Mind effect of Untether, except that the mage's mental essence travels the Umbra instead of the physical world.]

Source: 1st Edition Core (WW4000), Page 227

Song of Orpheus
(Life 4 or 5, Matter 2, Prime 2, Time 2, Spirit 2)

　Dreamspeakers tell of Orpheus, who so loved his wife Eurydice that he journeyed to the underworld to bring her back. Orpheus failed, but other mages have succeeded in this Effect. The mage must have the body on hand, restore the fragmented pattern, revivify the corpse and summon the spirit back to its mortal shell. However, if the death was not recent, it may be difficult to contact the spirit, and the mage may only succeed in restoring the body, but not returning the soul.

　[With the very recently dead (those still recognizable and without missing parts), Prime is unnecessary, while those mages who wish to give a nasty (or wonderful) surprise to a vampire have found no need for the Sphere of Spirit, as a vampire's spirit is already there to revivify the corpse (unless it has been sold or stolen...). The Sphere of Time is needed only if the body is missing, in which case the fifth level of Life must be used, while the second level of Matter is made unnecessary. The difficulty of this rote often depends more upon the circumstances than on the Spheres used. Also note that the revivification might not be permanent. Storytellers can, and should, make this rote as difficult as they like.

　[Entire Chronicles can be based on attempting to use this rote successfully. After all, there are forces that attack mages who attempt such impudent magicks, and there can be very severe or bizarre consequences for mages who fail. (Remember the Monkey's Paw?)]

Source: Book of Shadows (WW4050) , Page 147

Spirit Army
(Chieftain 2, Warrior 5, Wise One 3)

　Powerful mages do not need to sway the hearts or minds of men to create armies. A mage using this rote creates an army out of any plentiful appropriate items by forcing spirits into the items to inhabit them. The items affected by a single casting of this rote must all be similar: trees, corpses, suits of armor, even stones or sand. The mage may prepare these vessels beforehand (statues of clay or stone, for example, or man-shaped constructs of wood, rope and tar) or he may rely on whatever is handy (trees, corpses). Castle walls rip themselves apart to become stone minions of the mage and whole forests will uproot themselves to fight for him. Most mages prefer to prepare their army ahead of time, but some have been known to make do with whatever materials are on hand.

　System: The shaman rolls Sensitivity + Warrior. The rote creates two "soldiers" per success on this roll, provided there are enough of the same kinds of vessels. The Mental and Social Attributes of these warriors are all 1. The particular physical Attributes of these soldiers varies depending on the substance from which the vessel was made.

　Skeletons (Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2, Brawl 2, Melee 4)
　Stone Elementals (Strength 5, Dexterity 2, Stamina 6, Brawl 4, Melee 1)
　Oak Warriors (Strength 4, Dexterity 2, Stamina 5, Brawl 3, Melee 2)
　Willow Warriors (Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Brawl 3, Melee 3)
　Animated Armor (Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 6, Brawl 2, Melee 4)

　The spirits inhabiting the vessels are intelligent entities. They obey the mage who summoned them with a slavish devotion and depart the vessel they inhabit when the duration ends or when the mage drops the spell. Obviously, this exceedingly powerful rote is best performed as an extended spell.

Source: Dark Age Mage Grimoire (WW20060), Page 88

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.

Source: Tradition Book: Euthanatos (Revised) (WW4663), Page 62

The Burning Lotus
(Prime 5, Entropy 4, Forces 3, sometimes with Spirit 3, Mind 2 or both)

　Sometimes self-sacrifice is the only way to win. This catastrophic spell, perfected during the later Himalayan Wars, pulls life energy from within the Chakravat and his surroundings, then channels it into a huge elemental storm which withers, burns and utterly consumes everything nearby. Advanced variants blast through the Gauntlet as well, or project a final, passionate message across the land, proclaiming the death of a noble mystick and the annihilation of his enemies.

　[This exceedingly vulgar Effect funnels Quintessence from within the mage himself, sets up a vortex, and wraps the resulting "package" in a Forces-spawned explosion of fire, water or ice. The vortex disintegrates everything in the "blast area" by drawing its Quintessence out, then scours the vicinity with the storm. This maelstrom consumes the mage himself and inflicts Forces-based aggravated damage on everything within 20 feet per success. Spirits suffer this damage in Power rather than Health Levels. Each point of Quintessence in the Euthanatos' personal reserve adds an additional Health Level to the damage total. Anything killed or destroyed by the Burning Lotus is scattered forever; its spirit might linger, but its form is dust.]

Source: 1st Edition Tradition Book: Euthanatos (WW4063), Page 68

Ball of Abysmal Flame
(Forces 5, Prime 2)

　The Order of Hermes has no idea who created this rote, but it (along with similar effects) has been a mainstay of the more temperamental among the Order for centuries. The version that is typically taught to Adepts seeking Master status was developed by the mage Claudius, who reportedly produced this effect by weaving a Pattern for kinetic energy and feeding it with Quintessence siphoned through the etheric tapestry. The resulting energy is channeled into a targeted object. The kinetic energy consumes the target, agitating its molecules and causing its temperature to skyrocket. Pockets of surrounding air explode in blasts of superheated gases, and solids disintegrate into a gaseous state.

　[Damage to victims caught in such carnage is plain ridiculous. Victims suffer four Health Levels of damage for each success rolled. Successes on a dodge attempt reduce the damage from the pyrokinetic explosion, and the victims can try to soak the damage, but it's probably a moot point. Even victims who survive will suffer horribly from painful, blistering third-degree burns. Note that this effect creates a fire using kinetic energy to produce a huge temperature increase. Flames can also be created via chemical reactions (creating nuclear energy).]

Source: 1st Edition Core(WW4000), Page 223

Ball of Abysmal Flames
(Forces 5, Prime 4/5, Time 4, Matter 3)

　The nuke. It took a while (and many dead mages) to unlock this powerful secret. Hermetic rolls give the credit to Belantine Glass, bani Flambeau, but Caron Mustai disputes her claim. The process is simple, but the magicks involved are not.

　The spell begins with an invocation of the fire god Agni or the archangel Gabriel; the pentacle that contains his essence (typically a fourth pentacle of Saturn) is inscribed on the doomed object or location. As the spell begins, the air begins to haze and thicken; magickal sensitives feel a monumental force gathering and accelerating, until… well...

　The Abysmal Flames pull Quintessence from the surrounding area, ignite it and compress everything within the pentacle. The surrounding air is sucked in and fed to the superheated firestorm, which gathers and grows until the Ball explodes, causing phenomenal amounts of destruction. Unless the magician and her cohorts have fled the scene, they may well be incinerated in the blast; hence, Belantine added a timing spell to the incantation. Since then, the spell has become a fixture in Horizon War assaults.

　A ridiculously vulgar, destructive Effect, the Ball channels Quintessence from every inanimate object (or, with Prime 5, from living beings, too) in the area and feeds the fire with it. Matter, meanwhile, compresses the explosive result into a baseball-sized lump, which Time discharges when the mage reaches safety. The explosion, when it comes, can level a small town.

　[The damage, if you care to determine it, multiplies the magician's successes by five. Thus, a mage rolling five successes causes 30 Health Levels (5 + 1 for Forces magick) worth of aggravated damage to everything for roughly a half mile around. A Forces 6 variant can destroy a city. Countermagick still absorbs successes normally, and beings with the means to do so can try to soak the damage. Primium reinforcements guard Technocratic compounds somewhat, but the Effect is still considerable.

　[The caster can use extended rolls for this Effect, adding new successes each time she does so; it's not smart to roll more than twice, however - a botch or failure unleashes the Effect at once. This spell is not, it should be noted, used lightly. The Technocracy, as we can imagine, really hates it and has developed a similar weapon in response.]

Source: 1st Edition Tradition Book: Order of Hermes (WW4064), Page 67

Distill the Azoth Elixir
(Life 5, Prime 3, Matter 2, possibly with Spirit 4)

　Azoth, the "Life Principle" isolated by Master Paracelsus, is one of history's greatest alchemical creations; modern Hermetic mages often create it using chemical, rather than alchemical, processes. Paracelsus is said to have carried Azoth in a secret compartment in the hilt of his sword. Sleeper scholars claim that what he actually carried was another discovery of his – laudanum - but the Order of Hermes knows the truth.

　Azoth, a highly magickal liquid, can heal any wound, eradicate any disease, and even restore life to the recently dead - or so the tales say. Few mages ever attain the understanding necessary to test these tales, for the creation of Azoth is a complex process that requires nine lunar cycles. On the new moon, the Hermetic mixes her own blood with that of a magickal creature (though never the undead) in a jasper vial stoppered with pearl. Each dawn thereafter, she summons that day's guardian (as determined by the Pymandic Charts). The mage commands the guardian to incant the Nine Orisons of God's Name; during the creature's chant, the magician burns a small quantity of blood from the vial mixed with mercury or other valuable liquids. After nine months, the last drop of the mage's blood in the vial transforms into a dram of Azoth.

　According to Paracelsus, Azoth can be bottled and stored for "no more than a sennight" (a week) without losing potency.

　[For every success on the magick roll, the mage may create one dram (dose) of Azoth, at a cost of one Quintessence per dose. Each dose heals three Health Levels of damage (even aggravated damage). Ten doses revive a person or being who has died within the current story. However, the resurrectee is little more than a mindless husk unless its spirit can somehow be returned to the body; Azoth restores physical, not spiritual, life. Additional Spirit 4 magick might remedy this deficiency, but no modern mage has successfully brewed such Azoth. Use of Azoth is always vulgar, and draws Paradox spirits unusually quickly.]

Source: 1st Edition Tradition Book: Order of Hermes (WW4064), Page 67

Gabriel's Embrace
(Correspondence 2, Matter 2 or Life 5, Prime 2, Forces 3)

　This horrifically brutal Rote transforms the air around a subject (or, in the case of the Life 5 variant, the subject's own flesh) into a flame that burns until the victim is reduced to ash. The mage does so by calling upon Gabriel, Archangel of Fire, and keying a pentacle of Mercury to the victim (whether with a name, a possession or line of sight).

　System: Correspondence 2 allows the caster to fire this Rote from a distance and keep it locked on the victim. Forces holds the flames generated by the transformed Pattern tightly to the subject, and Prime keeps those flames fed (requiring a point of Quintessence per turn, but inflicting damage equal to that generated by the initial casting of the Rote automatically). The Matter version of the Rote inflicts damage as a normal Forces Effect, while the Life variant adds to that damage a number of aggravated health levels (as per a normal Life Effect) appropriate to the number of successes scored. Incidentally, casting the Matter and Life components of this Rote conjunctionally allows a mage to use the second variant of this Rote successfully on a vampire.

Source: Blood Treachery (WW4046), Page 88-89

The Incorruptible Water
(Anima 5, Corona 4, Primus 4)

　More so than any other mystic society known to the civilized world, the Order of Hermes makes use of a variety of longevity elixirs designed to preserve not only flesh and bone, but also to protect the mind against the rigors of days beyond counting. The ultimate conquest, that of Death itself, is not, however, to be had easily or by the inexperienced and this enchantment requires considerable knowledge and power. Still, the potentially limitless life span offered by this spell, which almost invariably takes the form of a portion of some sort, is sufficient of itself to inspire many mages of the Order to pursue such knowledge and power. By means of this enchantment, a handful of Hermetic mages have dwelt among the living since the days when the Founders first gathered the keepers of Hermes' arts together to speak of unification.

　System: For each success on this rote's roll, the mage staves off the ravages of aging for ten years. There are two considerable drawbacks to this process, however (as might be expected of a spell designed to hold the Reaper himself at bay). First, one point of Quintessence must go into the casting of this spell for each year (chronological, not biological) of the caster's life and this power must be garnered from sources conducive to longevity (such as dragon's blood or the tears of an angel) or physical health (a healing spring, for example). Also, every 1 rolled in the casting (provided the effect does not botch, in which case the wizard has other problems...) must be recorded, as these 1s stack over the course of the caster's life in regards to this spell. These 1s are always treated as though they had been rolled in the process of casting each use of The Incorruptible Water, for the purposes of figuring botches. To alleviate this latter effect, though, the mage may expend a point of permanent Willpower to reduce his running total of 1s by his previous permanent Willpower. In this fashion have a handful of mages eked out many centuries of life, though the sources of Quintessence suitable for this effect grow fewer and fewer as the years marchon. Perhaps such eternal life will soon prove unsustainable.

Source: Dark Age Mage (WW20002), Page 124

The Notorious Vampiric Lawn Chair
(Life 5/ Matter 5)

　A feat more spoken of than actually performed (if only because so few mages have Mastered Life and Matter well enough to enact such radical transformations of both), this legendary spell transforms a dreaded undead entity into domestic furniture. Variations include soap bubbles, trees, household pets, and - in one infamous urban legend - a bag of flaming poo. Despite such rumors, though, the realities involved in this sort of metamorphosis make the idea more theoretical than practical.

　According to rumors, both Caeron Mustai and his arch-rival Porthos Fitz-Empress had several pieces of Kindred kindling in their studies, although this seems unlikely, given the risk of said furniture turning back into vampires at inopportune times. Certain vampires have claimed - rightly or wrongly - that mages turned them into chairs and other inanimate objects... typically using that claim to justify the nightmarish fates they inflicted upon those mages afterward. It was speculated that the Massasa Wars were sparked by such disgraceful transformations... and in at least one verified case, that speculation is true. The vengeance worked upon the Hermetic Master in question - who dared to turn a flesh-crafting Tzimisce into a commode - remains an object lesson for mages with more skill than sense.

　System: Seriously, this is a truly stupid spell. No mage with the Sphere aptitude and Arete to perform it is likely to ignore the many complications involved in such a prank - to wit:

　● It's vulgar. Really vulgar. As in, there is no way to possibly justify this by paradigm-level vulgar. Paradox is inevitable.

　● It's got to overcome the innate resistance a vampire has to such spells. (See Night-Folk Counterspelling, p.546.)

　● It must inflict enough successes, after countermagick, to bring that vampire from full strength to Incapacitated. For a young vampire, that would demand at least four successes (eight health levels); the same feat might demand five, six, or even more successes if the mage is trying to convert an elder Kindred.
　● If you're using the divided successes option, then the player must devote at least that many successes to the transformation damage. That means that a four-success roll will change the vampire into a lawn chair for one turn. After that, the lawn chair becomes a vampire again - and the mage had better have a good escape spell handy at that point, or his name becomes "bloodbag."

　● In order to effect a lasting transformation, the player must either spend or roll additional successes, as shown on the Base Damage or Duration chart. Turning a young vampire into a chair for one day, for instance, would require at least seven successes.

　● Turning an undead vampire into some other form of inert material demands Matter 5. "Vampire" is not listed on the Periodic Table of Elements, so transforming that substance into different forms of matter requires full Mastery of that Sphere.

　● Vampires with the Protean and Vicissitude Disciplines can transform back to their original form with very little trouble. The vampire must spend one Blood Point for each success the mage rolled. Every point negates one success on the Arete roll, and the vampire changes back when those successes are all negated.

　● The transformed vampire is still a vampire, and that vampire remains conscious. Said vampire may use any Discipline that doesn't require moving her limbs. If the bloodsucker has minions within summoning distance, things might go rather poorly for the mage.

　● A Kindred on the receiving end of this spell - whether or not the spell succeeds - must make a Frenzy roll at difficulty 8 (outright humiliation, plus dire peril). For players unfamiliar with Vampire: The Masquerade, this means that the vampire will flip her shit unless she makes a successful roll, and anyone within reach will become wallpaper in very short order.

　● A vampire who gets turned into wooden furniture may be set on fire, for the usual amount of damage. If the spell lasts long enough, that vampire might be left out in the sun, again taking the usual amount of damage each turn. That burning Kindred automatically goes into frenzy and may immediately change back into her normal form by expending her entire blood pool, assuming that she has enough blood left to do so. If not, she burns.

　● Vampires hold immortal grudges. Any mage who transforms a Kindred into furniture will be blood-hunted by that vampire, her alls, and probably other vampires as well. (A blood-hunt, for non-Vampire players, is essentially a zero-mercy undead APB.)After all, examples must be made, lest other mages get the wrong idea.

　● When, not if, those hunters find the mage, their revenge will be as gorily theatrical as possible… and when it comes to gory theatrics, it's hard to beat an angry vampire!

　Any mage dumb enough to brag about doing this sort of thing (whether he can actually do it or not) deserves his impending sadistic demise.

Source: 20th Anniversary Edition Core, Page 610-611

Utterance of the 72 Names
(Anima 5, Corona 5, Primus 4, Vires 4)

　By means of this Kabbalistic ritual, a Hermetic magus is capable of raising a greater golem to his service. The wizard must first purify himself in mind, body and spirit, undertaking a lengthy period of meditation and reflection. During this time, he seeks to divest himself of unworthy influences that can (and will) sully the final product and, perhaps, render it mad or even evil. He then combines rich soil, unworked by human hands before its gathering, and pure, fresh water, to form a stiff mud out of which the body (which should be no less than eight feet in height and many hundreds of pounds in weight) can be sculpted. (Alchemically perfected clay is also suitable for use in crafting the golem's body.) The rite culminates with the invocation of the 72-Part Name of God, the slightest mispronunciation of which can strike the speaker dead instantly. If per-formed successfully, this spell will grant the mage a faithful and steadfast (if mute) servant possessed of a titan's strength and a pure heart. (Note that this latter means that the golem will often wordlessly refuse to enact cruel or immoral commands.)

　System: Naturally, this spell is best undertaken as an Ongoing Spell (and, thus, likely requiring a massive outpouring of Quintessence and a not-in-considerable investment of Willpower). If successfully cast, the Utterance of the Seventy-Two Names animates a free-willed golem of the highest order, with the following stats: Strength 10, Dexterity 2, Stamina 8, Charisma 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 0 (a massive, blocky, bipedal-yet-completely-inhuman shape), Perception 2, Intelligence 2, Wits 2. The golem has 10 Health Levels: -0(x4), -1(x2), -2(x2), -5, Incapacitated, Destroyed, and has four dice of armor that can soak any kind of damage, and an effective Willpower of 3.

　The golem is a thaumavore and must consume a point of Quintessence per day or else lapse into a death like slumber. The creator may, at his discretion, deactivate the golem at will (incurring no ill will from the creature), reawakening it whenever he chooses by “feeding” it a point of Quintessence (often imbued into a piece of paper, inscribed with one of the Names of God, that is placed in the golem's mouth). The golem may be “healed” of any damage short of its destruction with an Anima 4, Primus 4 spell (one Health Level mended per success). A botch rolled in the casting of this spell is likely to cause Scouring Backlash (see Dark Ages: Mage, Pg. 139) or to instantly ani-mate the golem with a dark, twisted and brutally destructive spirit.

Source: Dark Age Mage Grimoire (WW20060), Page 57-58

Brain Boost
(Mind 3/5)

　Some Cybernauts will not be bound by their own limitations; imbibing smart drinks, hyperstimulants or experimental drugs, they jack their mental processes to unusual levels. Although VAs are infamous for their enthusiastic approach to stimulants, the real "boosters" include Etherites, It Xers and Warzone fanatics (who obsess over "ripped" icons and virtual strength). Boosting's downside is harsh; many longtime users go totally bonzo or fry their skulls from the inside out.

　[This procedure works like Better Body for the mind, increasing Mental Traits as the Life variant raises Physical ones. Mind 3 can raise those Traits to a maximum of 5; elevating them beyond human range requires Mind 5. Neither shift is permanent. A spinner who Boosts herself more than twice a week is asking for trouble — insanity, hallucinations, hemorrhages, even Quiet - that an imaginative Storyteller will be happy to provide....]

Source: Digital Web 2.0 (WW4016), Page 114

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.

Source: Tradition Book: Sons of Ether (Revised) (WW4658), Page 61-62

Orgone Accumulator
(Prime 3/5)

　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.

Source: Tradition Book: Sons of Ether (Revised) (WW4658), Page 62-63

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.

Source: Tradition Book: Sons of Ether (Revised) (WW4658), Page 63-64

The Incredible Shrunken Machine
(Matter 5, Forces 3, Prime 2)

　Though the Technomancers are pioneering the science of nanotechnology, the Sons of Ether are now using some of their foes' theories to create their own miniature machines. The leader in this field is an eccentric Etheric mage named Dr. Nimbus. The Sons of Ether claim that Nimbus has thrice refused membership among the Oracles in order to stay behind and make sure the Sons win the race for nanotechnology. They'll probably win - unless Nimbus begins to collect too much Paradox.

　Nanotechnology already works a little differently for the Sons of Ether. The machine itself is actually constructed on a large scale, and then shrunk through a different effect. Once shrunk the machine will function normally. Such machines can be used to mark items, build programmed structures, produce radiation, or break down certain compounds. They can be designed for a specific mission and equipped to carry it out (e.g. repair a faulty heart valve in a human).

　[Each success determines how long the machine will function.]

Source: 1st Edition Core (WW4000), Page 224

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.

Source: Tradition Book: Verbena (Revised) (WW4659), Page 66

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.

　Dark Ages: The mages of the Old Faith once cast this spell using Spring 5.

Source: Tradition Book: Verbena (Revised) (WW4659), Page 68-69

Ancient Warder of the Land
(Spring 5, Summer 4)

　In the deepest forests of the world stand trees sometimes centuries old. With boughs that reach halfway to the heavens and roots that spread deep into the bones of the Earth, such titans slumber the seasons away, only dimly aware of the goings-on about them, content in their majesty. Sometimes, however, a druid with the proper knowledge can rouse a sleeping giant to do battle on his behalf, tearing its roots free of the soil and shaking off the lethargy of decades to strike at enemies with limbs as thick around as a man's torso. All but the mightiest of weapons are shrugged off with a few chips of bark and smattering of sap, even as the tree heaps thunderous blows upon all who would dare to incite the wrath of the Old Faith.

　System: Naturally, this effect functions only in places where there is at least one particularly large and ancient tree to call upon. The Ancient Warder follows simple commands ("Attack him," or "Carry me over the river," for example) and typically has the following stats; Strength 8, Dexterity 1, Stamina 8, Wits 1, Brawl 1, eight -0 Health Levels, one -1, one -2 and one -5, and it may soak normally against any source of damage that does not directly attack its pattern(even many kinds of aggravated damage). For every three successes scored, rounding down, the caster may bestow one point in an Attribute that the Warder possesses or another -0 Health Level. At the end of the effect's duration, provided it has not been reduced below its -5 Health Level, the tree simply puts its roots back into the soil, in whatever state it might be in, and resumes its existence as an ordinary, inanimate tree. If the Warder is slain, however, or finishes out the duration of the spell in a place where its roots cannot burrow to soil, it topples over and withers, bleeding a sticky sap stained with threads of crimson.

Source: Dark Age Mage (WW20002), Page 119-120

The Giant's Dance
(Autumn 3, Spring 5)

　The legendary Wyck created many of the sacred stone circles found scattered across Europe, particularly in Celtic lands in western Europe and the British Isles. Some say that they made these places by transforming giants or stands of men into stone by the light of the moon. Whether or not it is so, the mightiest magic of the Old Faith can awaken great stones and even the Earth itself, rousing them to come to the aid and defense of the faithful. Like Ancient Warder of the Land (Dark Ages: Mage, p. 119), the stones or sods rise up and take on roughly humanoid shape, shrugging off the strikes of mortal-made weapons and swinging fists capable of smashing bone as easily as snapping brittle twigs.

　System: The spell must be cast in a place of open ground or near a large area with relatively many stones. Extensively worked stones like castle walls and such are not suitable. The giant typically has the following stats: Strength 8. Dexterity 1, Stamina 8, Wits 1, Brawl 1. Health Levels: -0(x8), -1, -2, -5, and it may soak any sort of damage that does not directly damage its pattern (including many sorts of aggravated damage). For every three successes, the caster may increase one Attribute by a point or add an additional -0 Health Level. The giant follows simple verbal instructions and commands from its summoner (such as "Attack my enemies" or "Guard this place until sunrise.") lf the stone giant is reduced to Incapacitated, it crumbles into a pile of earth and small stones.

Source: Dark Age Mage Grimoire (WW20060), Page 71

The Hollow Hill
(Spring 5)

　Legends tell of the Hollow Hills of the faerie folk, where simple passages in the earth lead into grand palaces and fantastic lands. There are also stories of faerie palaces beneath lakes or hidden behind veils of illusion. Some of these tales no doubt stem from mortals who have inadvertently stepped into the faerie realm, but others may come from the workings of witches. This enchantment creates a space that is larger on the inside than on the outside. For example, a humble cottage may contain the space of a grand palace. A simple hollow tree trunk may have an entire three-story house within. A small satchel can hold as much as several of its size, and so forth. Old Faith legend and folklore says that this spell was a gift from the Fae, although some Batini scholars believe that it is related to their lore.

　System: This is an ongoing spell, requiring a minimum of 10 successes, which doubles the interior size of the object or container. Every additional 10 successes increase the multiplier by one (x3, x4, etc.). Roll once per day, as the caster traces the inside and outside lines of the structure or object with a potion made of spring water and rare herbs and mushrooms from a faerie glen. When enough successes are accumulated, spend five points of Quintessence, plus one per success, and one point of temporary Willpower per 10 total successes to seal the spell.

　At the Storyteller's discretion, this spell may be part of a Chantry Background (Dark Ages: Mage, pp.83-84). Background points can be spent to reduce the apparent size of the chantry; each point so spent reduces the chantry's exterior size to the next level down on the table, while the interior size remains the same. So four points invested in a chantry's size, with two points invested in reducing its apparent size, results in a farmhouse or barn with the space of a manor house within.

Source: Dark Age Mage Grimoire (WW20060), Page 72

Curse of Empty and Endless Roads
(Fara 5, Galdrar 5)

　Those afflicted with this terrible curse can never know comfort or joy. Circumstances conspire to keep them forever wandering, never welcome anywhere and forgotten (or remembered only vaguely with hostility and derision) everywhere. If the victim builds a home, it is rent asunder by the elements or happenstance. If he tries to take a family, that family is torn apart by strife, mistrust and death. His friends no longer know him and treat him as an outcast and a stranger. His brothers scoff at the notion that he is of their blood and demand that he leave. His travels are beset by bandits, foul luck and unsympathetic ears. No one welcomes him in, and he is essentially an exile from humanity, forever traveling and never getting anywhere.

　System: The effects of this spell last for the standard duration and are exactly as described above. Often, the Curse is created as an ongoing spell, ensuring that the recipient may never again know peace or belonging.

Source: Dark Age Mage (WW20002), Page 135

Unsleeping Swords
(Fara 5, Hjaldar 4)

　The lands of the north are heavy with the bodies of fallen warriors, those who have died with sword and spear in hand and been called to feast with the gods. By carving the bodies of the battle-slain with letters of wrath and conflict, their corpses can be raised to make war once again.

　System: For each success the caster scores on this effect, she may expend a point of Quintessence to animate a single body for the express purpose of sending it forth to fight. The average human corpse raised by this effect has Strength and Stamina 4, Dexterity and Wits 1, Brawl and Melee 2, and the following Health Levels: Healthy, Healthy, 1,-1,-2, -5, Destroyed. By channeling extra successes (and Quintessence) into a single body, the Valdaerman may raise any of its Attributes by one or add a -1 Health Level per two successes, or one Ability by one per success.

Source: Dark Age Mage (WW20002), Page 135

Parallax
(Correspondence 5, Forces 2, Mind 1)

　When you absolutely, positively must be in two or three places at once, this prog's for you. An Elite trick of master VAs, this multi-tasking procedure multiplies an icon, projects it into several different locations, and allows the spinner to separate her consciousness between them simultaneously. The VA sets up a complex program, runs it, and disappears from where she is standing. If everything runs smoothly, the different icons blink into being at whatever locations the spinner wants to visit. So long as she keeps from being booted out of the sector(s), our Elite friend can speak, move and act normally in all locations.

　[In Netspace, this procedure mimics the Polyappearance Effect (Mage, p. 191). If one of the icons gets dumped, the remaining ones disappear and the spinner winds up elsewhere (probably back home). If one icons takes Paradox, all of them suffer the consequences. This procedure is coincidental if all of the icons appear within the same sector, vulgar if they scatter into different ones. See "Parallaxing" in SITES 2 and 4 for further details.]

Source: Digital Web 2.0 (WW4016), Page 115

Personal Compression
(Correspondence 5, Life 3)

　The perfect infiltration tool, this rote teaches Virtual Adepts how to reduce their mass and size dramatically. The originator of the rote, an unnamed Adept, is said to have shrunk to the atomic level. If this is true, then a whole new area of reality lies open to investigation.

　A Correspondence Master named Elma Hartley claims to have reproduced this effect. She purports to have found entire subatomic worlds (which she dubbed Horton Realms), and claims that they are distinct from the spiritual Realms visited in the Umbra. Mages of other Traditions speculate whether Elma would know the Umbra from a dark alleyway, and dismiss her claims.

　[The Master's size and mass decrease by 15 percent for each success scored. There is virtually no limit to the size-reduction capacity of this effect, for these percentages are additive, and as 15 percent times seven exceeds 100 percent, seven successes allow the mage to shrink to any size she desires. The Master may shrink his belongings with him if he also has the appropriate knowledge of Matter.]

Source: 1st Edition Core (WW4000), Page 222-223

Semi Auto CAD CAM
(Correspondence 5, Matter 3)

　Perfected by one of the first Virtual Adepts, the infamous Farrus, in the days before Babbage, this rote allows the Adept to combine two guns and intermingle the properties of both. lt is one of the few rotes that is often used by mages. A computer scans the two images and constructs the new weapon. This effect creates such things as a revolver that fires like a Mac 10 or a submachine gun that fires shells. The new weapon usually resembles both of the old guns in style, unless the Adept designs it differently.

　Adepts have utilized this same concept for any number of what they call "fusings." Very powerful computer chips have been created by combining the most useful qualities of different materials, and extremely protective armor has been woven by creating coats that feel and weigh like silk but protect like kevlar.

　[Each magickal effect success allows the player to exchange one of the statistics of the two weapons combined (Difficulty, Damage, Range, Rate, Clip, Conceal).]

Source: 1st Edition Core (WW4000), Page 221

Attach Biomechanism
(Matter 5, Life 3, Prime 3)

　The attachment process is relatively simple. A BioMechanic clamps the prosthesis in place and performs an operation to knit the Life and Matter patterns together at the joint.

　[Five successes are required for the Life and Matter patterns to properly knit. A biomechanism operates as an extension of its owner, tapping the raw Quintessence which naturally flows through one's body. No electricity is involved. If the biomechanism has special effects - such as shock-touch, eye-scanner, or rocket-assisted leaping - it uses its own "battery" of free Quintessence, just as would a Device (because it is one).]

Source: Convention Book: Iteration X (WW4202), Page 50

Craft Biomechanism
(Matter 5, Prime 3)

　The first recorded biomechanism (not just a mundane prosthesis) was a hand created for Sun Tzu in 501 B.C. Since then, the BioMechanics have continued to improve upon the design. What would have been seen in ancient China as magick is now considered a near-future technology. Many modern biomechanisms are crafted from Primium. They are strong, light, and somewhat organic-looking (but still clearly mechanical).

　[To create a biomechanism. the mage must achieve five successes. In game terms, the replacement part operates identically to the original - no superhuman strength or shock-touch. A biomechanism can be given magickal effects of its own, but this would be considered a Device. For the creation of true Devices/Talismans, see The Book of Shadows.]

Source: Convention Book: Iteration X (WW4202), Page 49-50

Perpetual Motion
(Forces 5, Prime 2)

　An 16th century astronomer and mage named Faustmann developed this spell. An associate of Kepler, he used it to set in motion a mechanical model of the solar system. He also kept the pendulum of his clocks swinging perpetually. When Faustmann theorized (correctly) that the moon's orbit was slowing due to tidal drag, he decided to correct this fault of nature. The resulting Paradox shredded him. In Kepler's study, Faustmann's model of the solar system continues to spin to this day.

　[Despite its name, this effect requires five successes for permanence (Faustmann was a Master). Modern Technomancers have use Perpetual Motion to operate vehicles without fuel or provide a bullet with an effective range of line-of-sight.]

Source: Convention Book: Iteration X (WW4202), Page 49

Alter Paradigm
(Mind 5, Entropy 5)

　By inflicting prolonged torture and indoctrination, a Servant of the Ivory Tower can destroy a mage's system of belief. The process involved is the same as the Edit Memory Procedure, but each roll represents a week's worth of effort. The indoctrination takes several steps. Successful completion of the Processing moves the mage one step along the conversion process.

　· Step 1: The mage can still cast magick without using a focus in a nonscientific paradigm.

　· Step 2: The mage requires a focus whenever he works magick, although the Effects are guided by a nonscientific or alternate scientific paradigm.

　· Step 3: The mage requires a technological focus whenever he works magick, although the Effects are guided by a nonscientific or alternate scientific paradigm.

　· Step 4: A technological focus is required every time the mage uses magick or procedures, and the Effect of the mage's magick accedes to a scientific paradigm.

　Sons of Ether and Virtual Adepts begin Processing at Step Two. All other Tradition mages begin at Step One. The mage is moved from step to step until he has been amended to conform to the Reality of the Technocracy.

Source: 1st Edition Convention Book: N.W.O(WW4203), Page 51-52

Degree Absolute
(Mind 5, Correspondence 5)

　A captured mage can be drugged and psychically isolated within virtual reality equipment to make her think she is in another environment. A Servant of the Ivory Tower can then program a series of events to test the reactions and psychological limitations of the subject. Any environment can be created. The mage's mind is in the machine.

　One common version of this is a simulation of the state of Quiet; other possibilities include placing the subject in a "world" parallel to this one but acceding to another reality paradigm (a town in the Wild West, a children's fable, a fantasy world), placing him back in his Chantry with Gray Men impersonating his Chantry mates, or, for extremely dangerous renegades, even a town or village isolated from the real world where he can be subjected to "retirement."

　If Paradox Backlash results, events may begin to go in the subject's favor, the interrogator may take psychic damage from the ensuing battle of wits, or the mage may actually be shunted into another similar reality. In the case of artificial Quiet, the mage's mind may be permanently ripped from his body, yet still exist in the machine.

Source: 1st Edition Convention Book: N.W.O(WW4203), Page 50-51

Personal Assistant Software
(••••• Mind, •• Prime)

　Active Notification and Guidance via Ephemeral Lucidity Aping software, or ANGELA, is the biggest trend in NWO smartphones, thanks to this Procedure. The programmer binds the computer to its owner and creates a fragmented consciousness within the device, based on the new owner’s mind and personality. The consciousness controls the device’s functions and assists the agent in keeping active computing time to a minimum. The splinter consciousness can schedule appointments, send emails, and keep the lonely agent busy with someone to talk to during stakeouts.

　The biggest criticism of ANGELA is that it’s modeled after its owner. This leads to feedback loops and confirmation bias, since ANGELA will usually agree with its owner. Then again, sometimes it doesn’t, which breeds numerous uncomfortable questions. Some popular and clever NWO agents have allowed their consciousnesses to be cloned for ANGELA utilization for this reason. While dangerous, it has the side effect of making those agents even more popular, as many field agents feel they know them thanks to their cellphone personalities.

　Installed on an agent’s smartphone, the software can initiate a single Procedure under specific criteria. Usually, this allows for a last-ditch escape option. For some zealous heirs to Avalon, this is a boost to secure the last shot in a fatal firefight. The Prime Energy used in this Procedure must come from the smartphone, and the Procedure must be one useable by the agent. If it incurs any Paradox, the agent suffers the effects.

Source: Convention Book: N.W.O (Revised), Page 86

Processing
(••••• Mind, •• Prime)

　With Social Conditioning and Programming (see Guide to the Technocracy), the Technocracy manipulates proles and agents to be completely loyal. Indoctrination takes a Reality Deviant and bends him to the Union’s will.

　The Procedure itself is not for the faint of heart. It used to require loud music, straps, holographic projectors, acupuncture needles, bad food, and a dentist’s chair — not necessarily in that order — and all over the course of one hellish week. Today, the NWO finds it more efficient to disconnect a target’s senses from his nervous system (usually through forcible installation of a DNI) before employing many, many sessions of interrogation and personality correction.

　No small number of agents have walked out during field training because of Processing. Members of the Feed have gone so far as to lobby for its removal from standard protocol. The Ivory Tower’s counterargument has been “victory by any means necessary,” and the Operatives use it extensively for their Enlightened Shock Corps experiment.

　What happens when you strap a mage down and make him wish for death? With this Procedure, eventually, you remove his identity. He’s left ready to be rebuilt in the Technocracy’s image. But this rebuilding is not painted over a blank slate; it’s painted over countless scars, resulting in an imperfect creation. This adds to the tragedy, as such newly indoctrinated agents are treated as disposable assets. Some rise to greatness, but this throwaway treatment, along with the emotional trauma of the Procedure, lead to daunting suicide rates. These rates are even higher if one considers the number of new agents who die in a hail of fire from their former allies, ending them out of mercy. This is cruelly referred to as “suicide by Reality Deviant.”

　The Procedure is never truly complete. The indoctrinated agent becomes a Technocrat, for all intents and purposes. However, in a time of massive stress, the player can spend a point of Willpower for his character to briefly snap back to his original identity for one turn. But because of the reprogramming, he’s unable to act against the Union. This often results in self-destructive behavior. Due of this, such assets are routinely re-Processed to ensure continued service.

Source: Convention Book: N.W.O (Revised), Page 86-87

Nanotech Integration
(Life 4, Matter 2, Prime 5)

　Nanotech integration is an advancement of an earlier effort between Iteration X and us. It’s since evolved, becoming far more efficient. The recipient is loaded with nanobots that expel toxins from the body, regulate vital functions, destroy aberrant cells, and regenerate tissue at alarming rates. While massive and immediate trauma can still kill the host, nanotech integration offers remarkable effects that guarantee survival in all but the most extreme situations.

　The Procedure’s recipient gains three dots of Stamina, and regenerates one health level every turn. Mundane drugs, diseases, and poisons will not affect her, even if desired (and has been used to detox a number of Void Engineer substance abusers). She does not age. The procedure requires massive resources. Currently, field scientists sign up for a waiting list that currently accommodates enough subjects to take at least two years. A character with Entropy, Life, or Matter 5 may destroy the nanobots without otherwise hurting the recipient. Otherwise, the nanobots are nigh impossible to remove without highly restricted access to Progenitor computer systems.

Souce: Convention Book: Progenitors (Revised) (M20), Page 74

Nanotech Life Support
(Matter 5, Forces 3, Mind 3, Prime 2, Life 5)

　A joint effort of the Progenitors and Iteration X has produced a means of virtual immortality by using nanotech machines. These tiny machines are produced and mentally attuned to the intended recipient, then introduced into the body. The machines scavenge poisons, drugs and diseases out of the system, destroy abnormal cells, remove the effects of aging, and rapidly regenerate damaged body parts.

　Intense trauma, massive loss of blood, asphyxiation and complete bodily destruction can still kill the host. Otherwise, however, the host is more enduring and therefore harder to damage or kill. The machines can temporarily replace damaged organs such as the eyes, eardrums, heart or liver.

　The recipient permanently gains a 5 Stamina and regenerates one Health level every two turns. He is immune to normal poisons, diseases and drugs, and does not age. The machines can be destroyed by someone with five ranks in Entropy and at least three ranks in Matter. These devices take considerable time to produce and insert; such an "effect" cannot be produced on demand.

Source: Convention Book: Progenitors (WW4201), Page 45-46

Quintessence Net
(Life 2, Matter 2, Prime 5)

　Many hospitals have a Quintessence Net running through a number of their patients, especially those trapped in comas or in intensive care. At least one of the "life-support" machines, "IV" bags or "feeding tubes" is in truth the physical focus for the Quintessence Net. The Net is designed to channel a portion of the patients' Quintessence into the physical storage device. When the Quintessence is removed from the body, it takes the form of a thick, viscous liquid that can then be stored or shipped to Progenitors in the area.

Source: Convention Book: Progenitors (WW4201), Page 46

Checklist
(Entropy ●● or Prime ●●●●●)

　To a Void Engineer, engineering failures are mortal threats, and human error is negligent homicide. That’s the reality of Void survival, and it compels them to distrust informal routines or intuition. They develop standard procedures for everything from EVAs to food processing to minimize risk. VE slang calls these procedural systems “checklists,” though most of them are actually elaborate electronic project management systems that update in response to real time diagnostic information. To use the Checklist Procedure, the Void Engineer uses computerized assistance to break any task down into logical steps and failsafe actions. She follows these steps, eliminating the chance of catastrophic failure.

　When she works up a Checklist for a non-Enlightened action or technology using Entropy 2, one success eliminates the chance of botching. Additional successes extend the duration of this protection, as long as the Technocrat continues to perform the action.

　Prime 5 allows a VE to counteract the Paradox generated by Enlightened Procedures and Extraordinary Devices. Each success removes one point of Paradox at the cost of one point of Primal Energy.

Source: Convention Book: Void Engineer (Revised), Page 85

Create Horizon Realm Construct
(Dimensional Science 5, Matter 4, Prime 4)

　With sufficient planning and blueprinting, a Void Engineer can create a basic Horizon Realm and the Construct within to the specifications of the individual patron group. Extremely large Horizon Realms, such as the Copernicus Research Center, can require anywhere between two and 200 construction specialists.

　Building Horizon Realms is difficult. The exact parameters, variables and specifications may take months to workout. As a general rule, assume that a tiny pocket Realm(house-sized) takes a month, a medium one (a city block) at least three months to a year, and a large one, several years to complete. Even then, a Horizon Realm comprises more than the space it occupies .For more specific details about Realm construction, see The Book of Chantries.

Source: 1st Edition Convention Book: Void Engineer(WW4204), Page 48

Deep Unniverse
(Dimensional Science ●●●●●)

　Computers and enhanced brains continuously recalculate Earth’s fundamental physics to generate a survivable reality around the user, protecting her from the Deep Universe. This Procedure is often applied to spaces and vehicles instead of individuals.

Source: Convention Book: Void Engineer (Revised), Page 87

Format Space
(Correspondence ●●●●●, Dimensional Science ●●●●)

　Void Engineers prefer to regulate extraterrestrial space the easy way: by creating safe models of its phenomena for ordinary citizens to absorb, internalize and impose on the target region. Human minds collapse a region’s dangerous possibilities into manageable Conventional Space. But sometimes, the Convention doesn’t have time to wait for the Masses to send crude probes, and PDC scientists step in with brute force and mathematics. Void Engineers deploy quantum-entangled virtual particle emitters linked to an AI array that models the target area as it should be: obedient to the Anthropic Principle and the Technocratic laws of physics.

　Due to the prodigious scientific knowledge required, Format Space is normally undertaken by two PDC experts directing a team of assistants. Their players must define at least four reference points where virtual particle generators have been deployed — this is enough to affect a tetrahedral volume. The players must score enough successes to make Correspondence contact with each of them (see p. 83 for revised Correspondence ranges.) The team’s players must then score Duration successes, as per p. 209 of Mage: The Ascension Revised. After that, successes generated by their efforts may impose the following effects:

　• Each success raises the Gauntlet by 1 for Reality Deviants, and decreases it by 1 for Technocrats, to a maximum rating of 10 and minimum rating of 0, respectively. In a region outside of Earth, this Gauntlet is called a pericarp, and erects itself even if it didn’t exist before. Pericarps do not manifest the Dimensional Anomaly.

　• Five successes render all Reality Deviant Procedures vulgar, even if they would normally be coincidental, while all Technocratic Procedures become coincidental. The only exceptions to this consist of certain Procedures that are vulgar throughout the Tellurian — including “Format Space.” If this feature is chosen, material, living organisms that cannot be accepted by Technocratic science becomes what Traditionalists call “thaumivores.” Without one point of Primal Energy per day, they will sicken and die, or fade across dimensional boundaries to become para-material EDEs.

　• Five successes force the mundane physics of the region to conform to the Consensus. Hyperspatial “ether” turns into hard vacuum, for example.

　Due to this Procedure’s extreme difficulty, Extraordinary Devices capable of performing some or all of its functions are highly sought after. As mentioned earlier, Formatting Space is always vulgar.

Source: Convention Book: Void Engineer (Revised), Page 86

Gateway Transport
(Correspondence 5, Dimensional Science 5)

　This operation "gates" a ship to a point in the Deep Universe, an operation that only an elite corps of pilots can perform - and only after a sizable amount of preparation. Before "gating," pilots scout the arrival points to map potentially interfering objects. Only under the rarest and most dire circumstances does anyone "gate" to an unexplored region. The craft undertaking the gating must also be "wired for Gateway": that is, R&E designers install a network of Tass conduits into the ship's hull to conduct the Effect evenly over the entire structure. Early Gateways often suffered fluctuations that breached the craft – usually leaving a significant chunk of ship and crew behind, floating in the Deep Universe.

　Because of the skill involved in running a gateway operation, good pilots are in great demand, particularly for large-scale transports and Deep Universe exploration. Because no "vulgar magick" exists in the Deep Universe, this procedure's difficulty depends on the distance the craft covers. Under the best circumstances, Gateway Transport requires five successes at difficulty 8. Unexplored or obscenely distant locations raise that difficulty to 10.

Source: 1st Edition Convention Book: Void Engineer(WW4204), Page 48-49

LERMUization
(Dimensional Science ●●●●●, Life ●●●●●)

　Void Engineers deliver the Living Entity Reality Modulator Unit (LERMU) adaptation package via a tailored retrovirus. Based on genetic studies of the human-like Ka Luon, LERMU adaptations protect recipients from Deep Universe environmental hazards, Void Adaptation, vacuum, and cosmic radiation. LERMUs also no longer need to eat or breathe, as they receive nourishment from a photosynthetic subcutaneous layer. LERMU feet possess opposable thumbs, long toes, and neural pathways allowing them to grasp objects like hands. Their eyes can see for long distances, and can register infrared and ultraviolet radiation.

　Void Engineers used to administer LERMUization to Progenitor-supplied clones during gestation, but the modern Technocracy lacks the capability to ensure a steady supply. Most of these inhabited the old Cop, and sadly were lost along with it. A smaller number of LERMUs were Enlightened Cop staff, and other Deep Universe explorers who took LERMU treatments to help them survive extended missions.

　Unlike other survival Procedures, LERMUization requires five successes before devoting successes to Effect duration. It can be made permanent for 10 successes. LERMUization is an unstable Procedure in Near Conventional Space; subjects carry three points of permanent Paradox while the Procedure remains in effect.

Source: Convention Book: Void Engineer (Revised), Page 87

Liftoff
(Forces 5, Matter 4, Prime 2)

　Common opinion considers this one of the most insanely vulgar Effects in history. Invented by the Void Engineers 40 years ago, it makes any flying vehicle spaceworthy. An additional Spirit 4 Effect can carry the vehicle into the Umbra.

　The procedure is incredibly Paradox-prone for anything short of a rocket; the details are carefully guarded by the Void Engineers. The Syndicate and New World Order have diligently spread news stories of advances in materials and fuels, making the procedure gradually less unlikely in Sleeper society. In the long term, the Engineers hope to introduce a spacegoing automobile without fear of Paradox.

　[The Effect requires seven cumulative successes to reach low Earth orbit and seven more to break the orbit (either to return to Earth or to enter the Deep Umbra). A botch at any point has catastrophic consequences that are left to the Storyteller's imagination. The Sons of Esher Tradtion book Appendix lists the rules for Horizon-breaking.]

Source: Hidden Lore (WW4301), Page 54

Matter-Energy Converter (MEC)
(Prime 2/5)

　Like the Biodisruptor and Disintegrator PFTs, Border Corps troops focus this Effect through exclusive weapons. By touching their targets with a conducting rod, enforcers disrupt their victims' Life Patterns.

　MECs are hand weapons - an attacker has to succeed with a Dexterity + Melee roll (difficulty 6). Because it can be set either to stun or to kill, this weapon is preferred by BDC members who work as guards in the Constructs. Level 2 stuns the target like the Rubbing of the Bones Effect; level 5 allows an Engineer to destroy a living target.

Source: 1st Edtion Convention Book: Void Engineer(WW4204), Page 48

Voidcast
(Correspondence ●●●●, Dimensional Science ●●● or Correspondence ●●●●●, Dimensional Science ●●●●●)

　Voidcasting is the current preferred technology for interdimensional and Deep Universe travel, unifying prior advances in quantum field inversion and particle matrix fluctuation. Voidcasts are not only more energy efficient, but can be generated using improvised equipment. The Void Engineer builds a Faraday Cage around anything she wants to transport and generates a rotating magnetic field. Once the field’s rotation approaches the speed of light, neutrino perturbation generates densely packed virtual particle exchanges, converting anything in the cage to a Primal matter stream that reintegrates at a selected destination.

　At Correspondence 4/Dimensional Science 4 this teleports targets to any known location in Subspace or the Umbral Dimensions. At Correspondence 5/Dimensional Science 5, Voidcasting transports targets anywhere in the known universe - the Procedure can bypass the Spatial Horizon.

Source: Convention Book: Void Engineer (Revised), Page 87