Number of yantras you can use
2nd Edition
Spoiler Rules
Types of Spells
An Improvised Spell is just that – something you’ve
used your knowledge of the Arcana to come up with.
A Praxis is a spell you’ve 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 you’ll 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
you’re 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 can’t fit any of the symbols associated with the Yantra
into her working, she can’t 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 won’t 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.
Gnosis Yantras
1 or 2 2
3 or 4
5 or 6
7 or 8
3
4
5
9 or 10 6
It takes time to draw upon the supernal sympathy of objects
and actions. a mage can draw upon one yantra as a
reflexive action when casting a spell; each further yantra
extends the casting time by a turn. someone who wants to
interrupt an involved casting thus has plentiful
opportunities to snatch away mystic items, block out the light
of the full moon, or just shoot the mage in the head.
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
Mystagogue’s ritual space may be a storehouse of knowledge
that reflects the Order’s 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
Libertine’s machine shop helps with spells that build, repair, or
dismantle. An Arrow’s training room helps with spells
involving duels, preparation for battle, self-mastery. A
Guardian’s 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.
An environment has to link to the spell itself, not just the
mage. The Obrimos in a church cannot use it as a Yantra to
magically charge her cellphone. The magic must link to what
Sleepers know about a place or time, not because their
perceptions cause Supernal notice but because they act as
unconsciously reflect the Supernal attributes of a place.
Effect: Casting in an appropriate location grants a +1 modifier.

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 Verge’s power, be
that a long ritual to superimpose two locations or a simple
spell to fuddle an opponent’s 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 doesn’t involve the
path’s 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 spell’s 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 killer’s
dungeon, a théarch 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. It’s a draining task, but worth it. Most common is a
mage who holds her imago in her mind. If she’s 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, it’s 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. It’s not enough to coop them up
within the mage’s 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 Order’s 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 rote’s mudra adds the user’s rating the
rote’s encoded Skill to her dice pool. If the Skill is one of
her Order’s 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 spell’s duration; the need to
scribe the runes on to the spell’s 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 spell’s 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.
Some inscribe the runes of a healing spell onto their
cabalmates in the form of mystic tattoos that heal injuries,
while others paint or carve them into solid objects to make
them harder than diamond. When using runes on a
person, a mage may paint her subject, scribe the runes with
a tattooing gun, or brand them right into the subject’s
flesh.
Effect: Runic casting adds 2 dice to the mage’s spellcasting
pool. If anything damages or disrupts the runes —
whitewashing runes painted on a wall, or slicing through a
runic tattoo — while the spell is active, it ends immediately.
Tools
Each mage maintains at least a handful of magical tools,
mundane items that have a symbolic link to specific kinds
of magic. Almost no mages rely on just a single tool. Even if
she only uses magic appropriate to its symbol, it’s too easy
to take the tool away from her.
Effect: Each item used as a Yantra adds +1 to the
spellcasting pool.
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 Lie’s corruption of the Supernal Realms’
truth.
Each path has five tools, each of which has a specific
magical function:
Coins or other symbols of material wealth, which represent
construction, repair, and inanimate or intangible things
that last beyond mere human lifespans. It is the tool closest
to the Fallen World, and so is often used to manipulate it
directly, for money or other resources.
Cups or other drinking vessels can involve healing,
intuition, perceptual magic, and gathering together.
Drinking from a shared cup is a common way to spread a
spell between a group. It’s often seen as a symbol of female
sexuality, though what that means depends on the mage.
Mirrors may be actual mirrors, polished plates, or reflecting
pools held in containers of the appropriate material. They
represent sight, soul, and the self, and are the magical tool
most commonly used when the mage would work a spell
upon herself.
Rods, wands, or staves are symbols of control — the ability
to point and have a thing happen. Pointing a rod is a way
of singling out a specific victim, while holding one is a
symbol of rulership and command. It’s also used as a
symbol of male sexuality.
Weapons, most normally knives, are symbols of thought
made action — any spell that takes direct, decisive action
on the world (or a person) can benefit from a weapon.
While often used to harm, weapons also represent the
mastery of intellect and will over the world.
Each Path has specific materials that elevate a magical
tool from merely an object to something resonant with a
Supernal Realm, as well as weapons that can replace the
traditional knife.
Acanthus: Glass, crystal, silver, reflective materials;
Rapier, bow, precision weapons
Magistos: Iron, brass, leather, worked materials; Curved
sword, whip, cruel weapons
Moros: Lead, bone, gems, buried materials; Hammer,
mace, crushing weapons
Obrimos: Steel, petrified wood, gold, perfected
materials; Double-edged sword, spear, noble weapons
Thyrsus: Wood, copper, stone, natural materials; Axe,
sling, hunting weapons
Order Tools
An Order’s magical tools draw upon that Order’s
symbols rather than those of the Supernal world directly,
focusing a willworker’s 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 person’s real name or a lock of her hair, a
ghost’s anchor, a chunk of concrete taken from a
building, or a company’s articles of incorporation.
Whatever the case, sympathetic tools give her a much
easier time working her subject into the spell’s 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
man’s 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 enemy’s 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 mage’s 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.
Paradox and Reach
By default, spells are cast in ritual time (as defined by
Gnosis), on the caster or something the caster is
touching, using the basic versions of all spell factors.
Casting in combat time (Turns), on something the
caster can sense, or using an advanced spell factor all
cost Reach. Many spells have additional effects for
more Reach.
You get one Reach for free with every dot in the
primary Arcanum you meet or exceed the spell’s
Practice by. Every additional Reach risks Paradox dice
according to Gnosis. You can also risk Paradox in other
ways – casting an obviously magical effect in front of
Sleepers adds a die, or using a spell that you’ve burned
your Wisdom over previously. If you have a Paradox
dice pool, you also bag an extra die for each previous
paradox roll your character has prompted in a scene.
Multiple Sleeper witnesses apply a dice trick to the
Paradox roll – a single witness doesn’t, but a handful of
people will give it 9-again, light traffic 8-again and a
crowd gives it the rote quality.
Witnessing magic like this, provoking Paradox, also
makes Sleepers suffer an Integrity breaking point.
Which unless you’re particularly hubristic will probably
make the mage suffer a Wisdom breaking point. It’s
bad all round.
Paradox Risk is reduced by two dice in the Shadow and
Underworld. In the Astral Realms, Supernal Verges,
and Demesnes, it’s removed entirely – no spells suffer
Paradox at all, allowing mages to let loose with the
strongest forms of their spells. In Abyssal Verges,
however, it’s automatic – every die of Paradox Risk
becomes a success with no need to roll.
Once a spell has a Paradox dice pool, you can’t get rid
of it entirely. Spending Mana reduces the Paradox pool
one-for-one, using your dedicated magical tool as a
yantra knocks two dice off. The most you can do is
reduce the Paradox pool to a chance die, though –
once you’re risking Paradox, the Storyteller is going to
roll it.
At this point, you the player haven’t rolled any dice.
You can see the size of your spellcasting pool, you can
see the size of the Paradox pool that’s coming for you.
At this point, you have a decision to make.
Mages can sense the Abyss when it starts to take hold
of a spell, as a clammy, icy feeling in their soul
accompanying the rush of using magic. They can clamp
down on that influx of Paradox, trying to contain it
within themselves, or they can let it go, allowing the
Abyss to warp the spell.
Containment
If a mage tries to contain a Paradox within herself, the
Paradox roll is contested by the character’s Wisdom
score. Any Paradox successes cancelled out become
resistant bashing damage. If the Paradox roll still
succeeds, however, the mage feels the hurt – she gains a
Paradox Condition as the Abyss can’t corrupt the spell
but gets grounded into her instead. The game has one
sample Paradox condition per Arcanum, but we
encourage you to think up your own. Here’s one that
may seem familiar:
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” – it’s
fully entered your character’s 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 pool’s successes
penalize the mage’s 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 didn’t (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 won’t 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.
Example
Mark is playing Wolsey, a paranoid Silver Ladder
Mastigos who is concerned that he’s building up too
many sympathetic connections that the Seers of the
Throne (or his political enemies in Caucus) could
exploit. Wolsey is Gnosis 3 and has Space 3.
He doesn’t need to engage in creative thaumaturgy, as
the spell he’s after is described in the rules.
Veil Sympathy (Space ••)
Practice: Veiling
Primary Factor: Duration
Suggested Rote Skills: Politics, Subterfuge, Survival
A magician’s sympathetic connections allow her to
reach out beyond herself, but they are also an avenue
by which her enemies can attack her. This spell
conceals one of the target’s sympathetic links, chosen
by the mage from those she is aware of. Any attempt to
uncover the link, or to use the target as a Sympathetic
Yantra, provokes a Clash of Wills.
+1 Reach: Rather than suppressing a sympathetic
connection, the mage may instead make the target
appear to have a sympathetic link to someone or
something else instead. Attempts to detect the link
provoke a Clash of Wills to see through the deception,
but attempts to use the target as a Sympathetic Yantra
automatically fail.
+2 Reach: The mage may suppress all the target’s
sympathetic links. This effect applies in both
directions; that is, if the mage casts it on herself, she
cannot be used as a Sympathetic Yantra, nor can any
Sympathetic Yantra target her, without a Clash of
Wills.
Now then. Wolsey has Space 3, so he can manage 2
Reach without risking Paradox. By default, the spell
will affect himself or anything he’s touching (that’s fine
– he’s aiming at himself), and require a ritual which at
his level of Gnosis will take an hour (regrettable, but
doable). The real pain as far as he’s concerned, though,
is that it will only last for three turns (duration is the
primary spell factor, so it moves up the duration chart
by his Space dots. That’s still only nine seconds,
though).
In order to get the spell to last an appreciable amount
of time, he’ll have to Reach. Using one of his two
Reach switches it to the advanced duration spell factor,
where his Arcanum mastery nets him a week. He
doesn’t fancy recasting this spell every week, though, so
takes a 2-dice penalty to his casting roll to make it last
a month. Using High Speech and destroying a photo
of himself in the ritual will give him three bonus dice
from Yantras, anyway, putting him on a mighty
seven-dice casting pool.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t know which angle the Seers
will attack him from. Or even if they exist at all.
Suppressing all of his sympathetic connections costs 2
Reach as per the spell’s description – combined with
making the effect last, that’s beyond his abilities. If he
were an Adept of Space, he wouldn’t have a problem,
but now he’s sitting on two (thanks to his Gnosis)
Paradox dice.
We’ll take the example through both of Mark’s
options here, so you can see them play out.
Wolsey contains the Paradox: Dave (the Storyteller)
rolls the two Paradox dice and gets a success. Mark
rolls Wolsey’s Wisdom (5) and gets two successes.
Wolsey suffers a level of resistant Bashing damage and
the spell goes on unaffected – Mark’s seven dice easily
get a success, and for the next month any attempts to
use a sympathetic connection on Wolsey provoke a
Clash of Wills.
Wolsey does not contain the Paradox: Dave rolls the
Paradox pool and gets a success. Mark’s pool is
penalized by one, reducing it to six. Dave is also feeling
mean, so uses the Paradox’s success to add a Reach
Mark didn’t ask for (if Dave were feeling particularly
vindictive, he’d just undo the Reach for duration and
let the spell elapse in a matter of Turns, but that’s
boring). He uses it to activate the other function of the
spell, to create false sympathies. Mark rolls his
reduced dice pool, still succeeds, and instead of being
off the grid Wolsey now has a collection of nonsensical
sympathies – some of which are noted down in Dave’s
chapter notes to come haunt him later…
Mage Sight
Peripheral Mage Sight is the default—the 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, we’re changing it. Every mage experiences
her Periphery in a different way, linked to her Path
and Nimbus. Many don’t 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
doesn’t trigger it, only the use of powers—a 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.
Active Mage Sight is the next level, the mage
deliberately opening her senses to the Supernal
World. By default, this allows a mage to perceive the
symbols of everything relating to her Ruling Arcana,
and any other Arcana she knows at a cost of 1 Mana
each.
The experience is interpreted and filtered through the
Mage’s soul into her mind as hallucinations and
sensory effects – an Obrimos using his Mage Sight
might see electricity glittering in the wall cables, see a
halo of authority around the leaders of groups, and
feel the burning, life-giving power in sunlight. The
result is confusing or even overwhelming for new
mages not used to it, and presents such an overload of
information that it’s hard to make out details.
What active Mage Sight does do is make glaringly
obvious what was only a feeling of something strange
in Peripheral Sight, as long as it can be seen in the
Arcana used. A Mage using her Sight can see the
Nimbus of other mages when they cast spells, active
spells (both those being cast and those already in effect
– the old edition had only vulgar spells visible, but it’s
all magic now), and the presence of supernatural
entities and inactive items and Merits that are covered
by the Arcana used, even if in Twilight. For example,
Fate Sight will pick up on the presence of destinies
and fate-cursed objects even if those curses haven’t
triggered.
Concealment magic only works against active Mage
Sight if it protects against the full battery of a mage’s
senses — an invisibility spell that warps light will not
mask a living human from a Thyrsus’ Life senses, but a
vampire’s mental “ignore me” field, or a spell that
uses Prime to hide its signature, will work. Even then,
a Mage whose Sight includes the appropriate Arcanum
for the concealment power (such as a Mastigos for the
vampire or an Obrimos for the cloaked spell) gets a
Clash of Wills roll.
The downside of Active Mage Sight is the distraction
factor – it imposes a -2 dice penalty on attribute and
skill rolls – and how wearing it is, requiring a
Willpower point per Scene after the first if it’s kept
up.
The next level is Focused Mage Sight, where the
mage concentrates her awareness on a particular
subject. The hallucinations and sensory artifacts
deepen and become more obvious, which mages
describe as seeing into the Supernal World. The
Obrimos isn’t looking at the world interpreted
through the Aether any more, he’s looking at the
Aether in the shape of the world — the walls are
straining, barely holding back the power coursing
through the cables, strange mandalas are visible in
the heart of the sun, and the leader is decked in
chains of office.
Mana and other sources of magical power are now
visible, and the Nimbus of other mages (as well as
the mage using Mage Sight) are visible all the
time. Supernatural powers including attainments
are visible, where only their effects were if covered
by the Arcana earlier (for example, a Fire Spirit
using its Influence to start a fire will show up
under Forces in Active Sight, and both Spirit and
Forces in Focused Sight). Clash of Wills rolls to
see through concealment effects of the Arcana
involved now grant the rote quality to the mage’s
roll.
Once focused, a mage can scrutinize the subject of
his Sight for information, and spend Mana to
assist the attempt. Mages have discovered that
when Mana is released rather than used, it doesn’t
simply vanish but dissipates along invisible lines
and whorls like blood in water. A mage using
Focused Mage Sight can spend Mana and watch
the shapes it makes – shapes that magical runes
are based on, and which can provide details about
the phenomena at hand. Mechanically, Scrutiny is
an instant dice roll, with Mana spent adding
successes after the main roll is successful the same
way weapons do for damage. This allows players to
“bid for clues”, knowing that it won’t be a waste
of time.
Focused Mage Sight increases the penalty for
nonmagical dice pools to -3, and every Turn after
the mage’s Gnosis in Turns requires a Willpower
point, but going this deep into the Supernal
World is dangerous. Every so often, mages catch
sight of one of the Supernal’s inhabitants while
Focusing – our Obrimos might see an Angel – and
keeping Focused too long increases the risk of a
hostile entity taking an interest. While a mage is
focused, Supernal beings don’t need to be
summoned into Fallen reality to use their powers
on him, even if they still can’t physically touch
him. Once you notice them, they notice you.
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 character’s 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 people’s
fears to well up, and sometimes they see their internal
devils.
It’s important to note that the Long-Term Nimbus is not a
controllable force; it’s just a matter of strange, fractal geometry
in the universe. Patterns converge around your character’s life.
However, a character’s 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
mage’s sympathies it spreads – the lower the farther. At high
Wisdom only a mage’s 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 one’s
magical and mundane lives alleviates the Nimbus’ effect —
adopting a Shadow Name causes the Nimbus to “ground” onto
the mage’s 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
Name’s 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.
The Immediate Nimbus appears based mostly on the
character’s Path. It’s a force, a halo of raw creation stuff.
Sometimes, this is visible, sometimes it’s a sensation, a
smell, or a muddy, primal emotion. For Thyrsus, this
might look like a mist of blood, or might cause a deep
rutting instinct. Moros might cause subtle rot around
them, or melancholy. Obrimos bask in holy light, or
cause remarkable inspiration. Acanthus appear as if time
bends around them, and cause fatalism. Mastigos glow
with a sickly green fire, and cause temptation to swell in
onlookers.
When the Immediate Nimbus flares, it causes a Nimbus
Tilt unique to the character, affecting onlookers
according to and an interaction of the mage’s Gnosis
and their Resolve. The effects last only a few seconds
(longer for lower-Wisdom mages) and although Sleepers
are affected they suffer Quiescence once the Tilt ends,
making them forget what they saw. Mages are only
affected by the Nimbus of much stronger mages against
their will, as they add their own Gnosis to resist. Other
supernatural creatures tend to have aura effects that
cause long-term Conditions instead of Tilts. When a
mage is targeted by such an effect, she can flare her
Nimbus and contest it with a Resistance Atribute +
Gnosis roll.
During character creation for Awakening Second
Edition, you craft your mage’s custom Nimbus Tilt,
which then grows in power as they increase in Gnosis.
You can choose positive, negative, or a combination of
mechanical effects.
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 she’s 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 mage’s 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 it’s this method that I recommend to people
joining us from Ascension. Most players will be
somewhere in-between.
Step Two: Determine Arcanum and Practice
The ten Arcana list various phenomena as being under
their purviews, but like the spells those aren’t strictly
speaking exhaustive. If you can think of something we
haven’t, put it into one of them. Second edition clarifies
a few things in terms of the Arcana’s dividing lines –
Death is very clearly the “magic that affects the Soul”
Arcanum now, rather than sharing it with spirit, Prime
is “truths” not “illusions”, as purely sensory illusions are
Forces now. Before each Arcanum goes into the
example spells, they also give any special notes and
advice on how their purviews work; I have personally
noted (often firsthand) a great number of players and
storytellers not “getting” how time – the dimension, not
the Arcnum – works in Awakening and struggling with
improvised spells. That was because principles like “the
past is fixed unless altered by magic, the future is
constantly changing according to probability (which is
itself a function of Fate)” and “if you kill your
grandfather you don’t blink out of existence, but
everyone will forget who you were” were built into 1st
ed’s spells but left to inference. Second edition flat-out
tells you about it, and about how Fate interacts with
destiny, and how magical sympathy and contagion work
with Space.
The Practices are the skeleton behind the Arcana system
– thirteen categories for spells (with a few more as the
secret business of Archmasters) that every spell falls
into. One of the happy results of the new edition’s
Reach system for Paradox is that we have none of the
warping of Practices relative to their dot-ratings first
edition had, and we’ve extended that by removing the
“offsets” some Arcana had for different types of subject:
Every single Fraying spell is three dots, and Life no
longer requires higher dots to cast on animals than
plants. Game balance (such as it is) is administered
through Reach, instead – if you can imagine two
versions of the same spell in the same Practice, and one
is obviously more powerful than the other, our advice is
to make the more powerful one a Reach effect on the
less powerful one. Because the Practices are now
hard-locked to their dot ratings, they’re much improved
as the means for a Storyteller to figure out what
dot-rating a spell needs to be.
Initiate (•)
Compelling spells nudge something into doing
something it could have done naturally. A coin toss can
be made to come up tails (Fate), a bored worker can be
made to take that coffee break now (Mind), or a spirit
can be forced to avoid its bane (Spirit). Making the coin
hover and spin in midair, making the worker walk into
her boss’s office and quit, or making the spirit ignore its
favorite prey are beyond the bounds of a Compelling
spell.
Knowing spells deliver knowledge about something
directly to the mage (or to another target). A mage can
divine the cause of a corpse’s death (Death), sense
whether someone has a powerful destiny (Fate), or
unerringly know which way is north (Space.) This
knowledge is a direct awareness of Supernal truth; the
mage doesn’t have to interpret evidence based on her
senses or try to divine the truth out of cryptic riddles.
Unveiling spells expose hidden things to the mage’s
senses, or expand the confines of those senses. She
might gain the ability to hear radio waves (Forces), peer
across the Gauntlet or perceive things in Twilight
(Spirit), or see the flow of Mana across the landscape
(Prime).
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 can’t fundamentally alter
its subject’s 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 Arcanum’s
purview. A Shielding spell might protect against a
ghost’s 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 Arcanum’s purview from detection: A
subject can be made to lose all sense of time (Time), a
fire’s 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 Arcanum’s 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, it’s
impossible to Veil something against an abstract
concept or force: a mage can’t Veil herself against death
or hide from time, for example.
Disciple (•••)
Fraying spells degrade things, weakening them and
enhancing their flaws. Fraying spells can weaken
subjects under the Arcanum’s purview: damping a fire
(Forces), sapping Strength (Life), or eroding the barrier
between worlds (Death, Spirit, or others, depending on
the worlds in question). They can also directly attack
subjects using the energies of the Arcanum: inflicting
damage via the chill of the grave (Death), or psychic
overload (Mind). Damage inflicted by a direct-attack
Fraying spell is always bashing.
Perfecting spells are the opposite of Fraying spells in
many ways: they bolster, strengthen, and improve rather
than weakening and eroding. A Perfecting spell might
repair damage to an object or a person (Matter or Life),
allow a machine to function perfectly, with no wear and
tear (Matter), or make a modest destiny into an
earth-shaking one (Fate).
Weaving spells can alter nearly any property of a subject
without transforming it into something completely
different. Solid steel can be transmuted to liquid
(Matter), a sword can be enchanted to damage beings in
Twilight (Death or Spirit), or a few seconds of time can
be rewritten (Time). A spell that grants the target the
properties of something that falls within the Purview of
another Arcanum, like giving someone diamond-hard
skin (Life and Matter), requires a mage to know the
Practice of Weaving for both Arcana.
Adept (••••)
Patterning spells allow a mage to completely transform
a target into something else that falls under the
Arcanum’s 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 Arcanum’s purview, or directly
inflict severe damage using the forces of an Arcanum. A
raging storm might become a calm summer’s 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
Arcanum’s 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 doesn’t 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 it’s
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 coin’s center of mass. Both are perhaps more
complicated than the Fate approach, but they’re 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
target’s brain to release dopamine and other hormones
that create a similar effect.
Step Three: Determine Effect And Cost
The effects of a spell can be incredibly broad, and it’s
impossible to categorize every conceivable thing a mage
might want to do with a spell, but this section will
highlight some of the more common effects, how to
adjudicate them, and what they should cost. We go
through Damage, Healing, Conditions and Tilts,
Bonuses and Penalties, Dice Effects, Protection,
Hiding, and Narrative Effects.
Don’t think of this section as a “menu;” any individual
spell should have a single, clear effect. If you start
designing a spell that deals damage and grants bonus
dice and imposes a Condition, you’re probably
creating a combined spell (see p. XX), not a single spell.
I’m not going to give you the whole thing in this blog,
but here’s an example:
Conditions and Tilts
As pre-packaged blocks of rules already designed to fit into a
lot of different systems, Conditions are an excellent source of
inspiration for long-lasting spells.
Because the effects of Conditions and Tilts are so broad, it’s
difficult to assign hard-and-fast rules for Practices that inflict
them. Use the Practice descriptions and the following list as a
guideline:
Compelling (•) spells can’t create Conditions out of whole
cloth, but can intensify phenomena that already exist to
inflict Conditions. A Compelling spell can make someone
who’s already nervous Spooked, for example, but can’t make
someone who’s uninterested in the mage romantically
Swooning.
Ruling (••) spells can create most non-Persistent, mundane
Conditions. Supernatural Conditions, such as the soul loss
Conditions or Manifestation Conditions, generally require a
Weaving (•••) spell.
Creating a Persistent Condition is almost always a
Patterning (••••) or Unraveling (••••) effect.
Spells inflict Conditions that harm, hinder, or inconvenience
characters. Wholly beneficial Conditions, like Informed or
Steadfast, should be saved for the benefits of rolling an
exceptional success on the spellcasting roll. Spells can mimic
the effects of a helpful Condition, but using magic to gain a
benefit and a Beat is double-dipping.
Tilts are usually created by applying a Reach to an attack
spell, but if you want to create one on its own, it’s usually a
Fraying (•••) or Patterning (•••) spell.
Conditions created with magic only last as long as the
Duration factor of the spell. If the target resolves the
Condition before the Duration expires, the spell ends early
and the target gains a Beat as normal. (It’s the Storyteller’s
call whether the Beat is normal or Arcane.) If the Duration
runs out, the Condition goes away, but that doesn’t count as
resolving the Condition.
And The Beat Goes On...
At this point, you may be wondering what’s stopping you
from loading up on Condition-causing spells in a relatively
safe environment, resolving them all, and earning Beats by
the bucketload? The honest answer is “nothing, mages do it
all the time.” Mastigos force their apprentices to face
terrifying fears in order to better themselves. Thyrsus
challenge their own bodies with horrible diseases. The only
limits are the rule that a character may only earn one Beat
per scene from resolving Conditions, and the limits of her
own Wisdom (see p. XX). Remember, though, that letting a
Condition-causing spell’s Duration expire doesn’t count as
resolving the Condition.
Costs
When designing the corebook’s spells, we had lists of
what would definitely require Reach, Mana, or both –
and we give both lists here. They’re 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
Step Four: Decide Primary Factor
Determine which Factor is the Primary Factor – the
one that starts at the mage’s Arcana dots in levels
before penalties, while all the others begin at the first
level. This is almost always Potency, or Duration, but
the rule of thumb is “whichever Factor you
immediately think of when you think of a more
powerful version of the spell.” The Primary Factor can
be changed during spellcasting with a Reach. The
Primary Factor of a given spell effect is always the
same; you can’t make a creative thaumaturgy spell
that’s identical to another spell except with a different
Primary Factor.
Step Five: Cast The Spell
And then cast away!
When designing new spells, it’s important to
remember how the spellcasting system works – never
assume what the spell will be cast on, for example,
because that’s a function of the Spell Factors. First
edition had lots of spells that required touch range, or
needed extra dots to cast on someone else, or
stipulated that they were always Aimed; second edition
does none of that, as those things are all handled by
the business of your spell and Paradox dice pools.
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 doesn’t 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 you’re countering
has a higher Arcanum rating than you.
Second Dot: Mage Armor And Lesser Utility
Attainments
We’ve gone back and forth on Mage Armor in writing
and redlines, trying to find a happy level of
expenditure and protection; we had weak mage armor
you could spend Mana on to make strong for a scene,
but that proved both fiddly and terribly difficult to
balance different Arcana against one another. The
version we’ve got now costs one Mana per scene, but
is pitched to be worth it, mechanically. Every
Arcanum has a different Mage Armor, useful in
different situations. For example, Death Armor makes
the mage react to damage like a vampire,
downgrading wounds to bashing, while Time Armor
adds to your Defense and you can spend Mana on a
successful dodge to reduce your opponent’s Initiative.
The Lesser Utility Attainments contain some
long-term players will recognize, like Sympathetic
Range and Hung Spells. Some used to be spells, like
Universal Counterspell for Prime. Some, like Death
and Spirit, allow the mage to see things in the
appropriate form of Twilight when using their Mage
Sight. We’ve used the remaining ones for balance
tweaks to some of the Arcana – the Matter 2
Attainment means Matter spells don’t require Reach
to use Advanced Duration.
Third Dot: Targeted Summoning
All mages can summon Supernal Entities once they
become Disciples. Summoning was first described in the
sourcebook “Summoners,” but in second edition it’s made
it into the corebook as a template ability. This Attainment
means that, for example, an Obrimos who has Mind 3 can
summon angels who have Mind as their secondary
Arcanum.
I should note that this isn’t summoning ghosts, goetia, or
spirits – those are still spells.
Fourth Dot: Greater Utility Attainments
The majority of the new powers we’ve invented for second
edition come here, extrapolated from the two we already
had. Unbound Fate was a power Fate Adepts had in first
edition where they could Counter unwanted changes to
their destiny; converting that into second edition’s
Counterspell mechanics means it becomes a Clash of
Wills, and that got us thinking about what other Arcana
could allow you to Clash. We also had some systems that
we didn’t want to keep as spells, the Prime (pun intended)
example being Imbue Item. Making Imbuing an
Attainment rather than a spell has allowed us to design a
proper system for it that uses extended actions, as it was
one of the most confusing aspects of the previous rules.
Here’s the Death one:
Death: Inviolate Soul
The soul of an Adept of Death is almost impossible to
affect, let alone harm or dislodge. The mage can
reflexively repel deleterious magic that will or could
harm her soul.
System: The mage can reflexively use this attainment
under the following circumstances:
— Her soul is being tampered with or attacked.
— Something attempts to alter or influence her Nimbus
or aura.
— A ghost attempts to use its powers with her as the
target.
Using Inviolate Soul requires that the player spend a
point of Mana. The character enters a Clash of Wills (p.
XX) pitting her Gnosis + Death against the Gnosis +
Arcanum of the incoming spell (if the incoming effect is
not a spell, use the appropriate dice pool).
The mage needs only the Death Arcanum to counter the
attack. She doesn’t need to know all the Arcana involved
in the attacking spell.
Fifth Dot: Create Rote
We’ve talked about the benefits of rotes in
previous blogs, and as in last edition, Mastery
gives the ability to create them. Rote creation
is an extended action costing an Arcane
Experience once successful. Once the mage
has the rote, she can teach it to other mages
directly or scribe it into a Grimoire with a
Prime spell.
 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.
Immersion (•••••): Choose up to five Merit dots.
When your character dons her Masque, she gains
access to these Merits. These Merits must be logical
parts of the identity, at Storyteller discretion, and
cannot include further Masques.
Egregore (• TO •••••)
Prerequisites: Mysterium Status •
Effect: This Merit reflects a deeper inclusion into
Mysterium secrets than the Mysterium Status Merit
normally grants. Mystery Initiation opens the doors
to the communal experience of living magic the
Mysterium calls the egregore. Access to the egregore
opens certain techniques for use within Mysterium
rituals.
Each level of this Merit allows an additional ability.
Mysteriorum Arche (•): Your character does not
need to roll to provide a bonus die when assisting
another Mystagogue in a ritual. The caster receives
one free die for every other Mystagogue with this
Merit participating in the spell.
Mysteriorum Anima (••): At this level, your
character does not need to know the other party for
her Status Merits to apply, since her reputation within
the egregore precedes her.
Mysteriorum Barathrum (•••): Your character is
initiated sufficiently as to be part of the knowledge
base. She’s considered to have the Eidetic Memory
Merit (see p. XX) specifically pertaining to Mysterium
lore and membership. The normal +2 becomes a +4.
Mysteriorum Calamitas (••••): Your character
has been granted secrets of techniques which
decouple physical objects from magic. The first
magical tool your character uses in a spell counts as a
dedicated magical tool.
Mysteriorum Focus (•••••): Your character
connects with the Order’s fundamental ethos, on a
level beyond most any other members. When she’s in
an Order Sanctum, she’s considered to have a
medium sympathetic connection to all members of
the Order.
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
combat techniques as Yantras for instant spells. When
taking this Merit, choose Athletics, Weaponry, or
Brawl, which your character must have three or more
dots in. This Merit allows use of that Skill in combat as
a reflexive Order Tool Yantra, adding dice to a spell
cast on subsequent turns, or to a spell cast reflexively in
the same turn as the combat action. You may purchase
this Merit multiple times to reflect the other styles.
Techné (• 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.
 7 Billion People Can't Be Wrong (•): Your
character can tap into the Supernal echoes
in the works of Sleepers to use with her
magic. Choose either Computer, Crafts,
Occult, Science, Firearms or Expression.
Your character can use items relating to that
field as Order Tool Yantra, which add's their
skill to their casting pool.
Lex Magica (••)
Prerequisite: Silver Ladder Status •
Effect: The laws of the Pentacle are symbolic concepts
designed by people who make symbols real. A Théarch
acting in an official, titled capacity (such as Herald,
Sentinel, Factotum, Deacon, Hierarch, or Magister) gains
certain advantages with this Merit:

Jolly Co-operation (••): Your character is First, add her Silver Ladder Status or Consilium Status
very good at manging groups of Libertines (whichever she’s acting with) to her Doors when a
in co-operative work. When all member of character attempts to outmaneuver her socially (see p.
a ritual casting have this Merit, helpers can XX).
aid the casting if they have at least 1 dot in
the relevent Arcanum. Second, characters cannot use Willpower to increase dice
pools on Social actions or magic which would influence
United in Defiance (•••): Your
her behavior.
character can utilize even the smallest
crack in the Lie, starting with those not
Lastly, your character may use her Silver Ladder Status or
fully Asleep. With this merit,
Consilium Status (whichever is higher) as a Yantra in
Sleeperwalkers or Proximus may aid in any
spells directly enforcing the Lex Magica’s laws. This
ritual your character is the leader of.
includes spells to investigate potential crimes, to pursue
Sleepwalkers can only aid in casting rote
offenders, to use the law to defend innocence, and any
rituals, rolling the relevant Skill +
other spell to help the rule of law work more thoroughly.
Willpower as their dice pool. A Proximi
The dice bonus for the Yantra is half the Merit dots used,
must have the relevant Arcanum, rolling
round up.
Arcanum + Willpower.
No Gods, No Masters (••••): Your Prelacy (Style, • to ••••)
character has learned to deny the servants Prerequisites: Seers of the Throne Status •••
of the Exarchs through the lore of the
Council. By spending 1 point of Mana Effect: A successful Seer who has served her patron
per level of a Seer's Prelacy merit, your Exarch well can cast spells in his name. She hears the
character may disable it's effects for one Tyrants’ voices in her sleep. She understands their
scene. The Seer will notice this, feeling demands directly. A black iron portal forms deep within
the forceful shutting of the iron portal her Oneiros, and her daimon, the goetia representing her
within their Oneiros. If the Seer has a drive to further herself, becomes twisted by the Exarch’s
soul stone, this does not effect the agenda.
Temple, although the target can be the She gains the following effects, at each rank of this Merit:
Soul stone affecting the Temple rank only.
Chosen Vessel (•): your character gains the Persistent
The Internationale (•••••):Your character
Mystery Commands Condition.
has the deepest understanding of the Supernal
echoes in the culture of Sleepers and may now
Sword (••): The character may use the patron Exarch’s
include them in their rituals as helpers. By
symbolism as a Patron Yantra in spellcasting, worth half
convincing Sleepers to perform certain actions
her Prelacy dots in dice (round up).
relating to the ritual, which must require a
Skill roll of some kind that relates to the ritual,
Crown (•••): The character gains an Attainment based
either physically or symbolically. The
on her Exarch’s symbolism.
Storyteller should create a dice pool for the
combined efforts of the Sleepers (perhaps
Temple (••••): If one of your character’s soul stones is
based off your character's successes in
incorporated into a Demesne, the Demesne becomes a
convincing the Sleepers to perform the action),
Supernal Verge keyed to her Exarch, inhabited by
each die representing a Sleeper participant.
Supernal Entities loyal to the Throne. Including soul
Each success adds a bonus die to your
stones from Seers with Prelacy linked to a different
character's casting roll.
Exarch causes the Temple to collapse and immediately
Example: Gus, a powerful Libertine, is casting a destroys all soul stones involved.
ritual to communicate with an entire Assembly of
the Free Council remotely. His magical tool is a Drawback: Once the Exarchs have given a command,
computer server hosting a private email. Gus has they expect it to be carried out without delay. The
convinced 10 Sleepers to send a poem about character may only earn Arcane Beats from their other
communication with others to Gus' private email. Obsessions in a chapter when they have already earned
The Storyteller rolls 10 dice, earning 5 successes, one for following the one granted by Mystery Commands.
representing 5 Sleepers who sent emails. Gus gains
5 bonus die to his spellcasting roll.
Full disclosure, I made up the Free Council
Merit, based on what Dave B mentioned in
Open Development.
Crown Attainments of the Greater Ministries

The four Archigenitors, patrons of the largest Seer

Ministries, bestow the following Attainments on their
Prelates.

The Eye (Panopticon) grants the Crown of Vision. When

using the Sympathetic Range attainment, the character
counts as having a weak Sympathetic connection to any
subject she has no connection for. She reduces the effects
of Occultation and similar powers by her Space dots.

The Father (Paternoster) grants the Crown of Doctrine.

The character adds her Prime dots to her Gnosis to
determine her Mana pool, and may heal resistant damage
by Pattern restoration.

The General (Praetorian) grants the Crown of Fury.

When attacked by a character using a Style Merit, the
Seer may reduce each of her opponent’s Fighting Style
Merits by her Forces dots, denying the use of any
techniques “lost” by instinctively countering them. Also,
she does not spend Mana to raise or change her Mage
Armor.

The Unity (Hegemony) grants the Crown of Obligation.

The character gains an additional Vice, and regains one
point of Mana every time she gains Willpower through
either Vice.

Other Exarchs’ Crown Attainments may be designed by

the Storyteller.

Mystery Commands (Persistent)

Your character hears the voice of the Exarchs, sees their
words scrawled in her mind, and otherwise receives
commands from deep within her Oneiros. Her Exarch’s
will becomes an additional Obsession, with all according
benefits.

The Storyteller will occasionally give commands as part of

this Merit. Additionally, your character can take actions
in the name of her Exarch and reverse-engineer messages
out of the context. Most any action that aligns with her
Exarch’s basic whims should apply to this Condition.

Resolution: Your character cuts off ties to her Exarch.

Traitors are not tolerated, and other characters with this
Condition will be sent to punish her, or kill her if she
will not return to the Throne’s service.

Arcane Beat: Your character faces meaningful setback,

danger, or sacrifice on account of the commands.