R EVI§ED EDITION

By CEBNRAD HUBBARD, HfA THER. GR.EBV€ AND SCEBTI T AYLEBR.

CREDITS

Author : Conrad Hubbard, Heather Grove, Scott Taylor Additional Writing: Jess Heinig and Chris Nasipak Development: Jess Heinig

Editing: John Chambers

Art Direction: Aileen Miles

Interior Art: Langdon Foss, Matthew Mitchell, Ron Spencer

Cover Art: David Leri

Front and Back Cover Design: Becky [ollensrea Layout and Typesetting: Becky [ollensten

735 PARK NORTH BLVD. SUITE 128

CLARKSTON, CA 30021

W HIT E WOlf USA

CAME STUDIO

SrtcIAL TH.ANKs

Conrad "Webslave" Hubbard, who put things in order and even got everyone chatting about it.

Kraig "Tingly" Blackwelder, for hating his journeys into weekend retreats in exquisite detail.

John "Oedipus" Chambers, for his reaction to Kraig's journeys.

© 2000 White Wolf Publishing, Inc. AU rights reserved. Reproduction without the written pennissionof the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheers, which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf, Vampire the Masquerade, Vampire the Dark Ages, Vampire, Mage the Ascension, World of Darkness and Aberrant are registered trademarks of Wbite Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Werewolf the Apocalypse, Wraith the Oblivion, Changeling the Dreaming, Hunter the Reckoning, Werewolf the Wild West, Mage the Sorcerers Crusade, Wraith the Great War, Trinity, Sorcerer Revised, Kinfolk Unsung Heroes and Demon Hunter X are trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc, Allrlghts reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by White Wolf Publishing, Inc.

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This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements ate fiction

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jeb Moran stared at the earth beneath his feet. The ground was dry and dustv: most of the grass had already died. Jeb's skin was dry and dusty too - he refused to use the rose-scented moisturizer his wife Mandy bought at the grocery, 50 cracks split the calluses on his fingertips open. rr"....."., • ...,,"'I ....... Shorr, gray hair stuck to his forehead in

L- ...J the heat. "So you see" he said, u1f hi

crop dies, we'll lose the house." His voice cracked. "Mandy's relatives hate me, so we'll have no place to go." He kept his eyes on the ground.

Bruce Clark nodded, his eyes on the sky. The sky was dear and achingly blue, and the weather report [hat morning had only predicted more of the same. His own dark hair stuck up into the air in places where he'd run his hands through it, and rivulets of sweat beaded along his jaw-line. He was a big man, and he moved

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slowly, thoughtfully. He nodded. "That would be a right harne, itwould."Hecho ehiswordscarefuLLyhe knew how difficult it had been for Jeb to come to him, and he didn't want to hurt the man's pride. "I'd bate to lose you as neighbors. I'm sure there'Il be some rain soon."

Jeb glanced up at him sharply. "You're sure?"

"As sure as I can be." Bruce smiled. "Now why don't you go home. Weather like this is nothing (0 be running around in; you heard the advisory on the radio. I'll see you tomorrow."

[eb relaxed visibly. "I'll do that." Bruce nodded and smiled.

•••

"Bur sweerheart, are you sure this is such agood idea?"

Emily's brow furrowed right up the middle, pointing straight to the part in her red hair. "Your father sa id that big things like rainstorms were only for emergencies .... "

Bruce put his hands on his wife's arms and smiled down into her warm brown eyes. "1 can't let [eb down, you know mat. Now plea e call my sister and tell her to come home for dinner tonight."

Emily pulled her flower-printed calendar and address book from the hand-carved bookcase next to the dining room table. She f1lpped through it until she found the right page and picked up the phone.

Bruce kissed his wife on the forehead. "Thank you." Emily smoothed one sweaty hand against her yellow dress. "Well, like you said, we can' let [eb down." She smiled.

•••

Dinner had come to an end. Emily and Susan cleared away the last of the dishes; Emily had brought out the good blue tablecloth for the occasion, and Susan had made her famous maple-apple pie. Everyone was stuffed and hal'lPV.

Emily shooed Anne, her i2-year-old daughter, into the kitchen. "Take care of dishes; we need to handle the crops."

"Can't I help! 11m old enough now. I've been doing my tudies." Anne put her hands on her jeans-dad hips.

"Don't argue with me." Emily glared a Anne, and Anne turned to the kitchen with a roll of her eyes.

Bruce watched her go and shrugged. "We should initiate her soon. She is old enough."

"Oh, don't you let her hear you, or she won't give up nearly so easily next time," Emily teased him.

•••

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By the light of a fla hlight, Bruce took a sturdy hunting knife from the trunk and a grass-green beeswax candle. He stuffed the knife under his arm, while he pulled our a cheap plastic lighter and lie the wick. "Green

for the earth," he whispered as he put the lighter in his pocket and turned off [he fla blight. usan bad taken out another knife, and both of the women lit their candles, whispering the same benediction.

Bruce held his candle high. as he drew a circle around them in tbe dirt wi h his knife - he tried to relax and hold his concentration as he felt the hot wax drip onto his fingers. He put the candle down on a rock near the center of the circle and lifted an oLd, Leather-bound book from the trunk. He read rough, guttural words from its pagesno ne knew what the words meant, but they'd been taught to pronounce the yllables long ago. Not knowing what he said only heightened the sense that something special was about to happen. He felt the quickening of his heartbeat, at once familiar and exciting. He passed the book to Emily, and each family member in [urn readfrom its pages.

Emily put her candle on the ground and stepped to me center of [he circle. She closed her eyes and reached out with her bands and her mind. She felt a spark as her awareness touched the sky, and she gasped for breach. "As our father and mothers before us have alway done, we call to the earth and beg a reply. Bring rain for the crops, or we shall die." in the distance, a faint peal of thunder sounded.

Susan Looked up into the night sky at the sound of thunder and shuddered - she'd done things like chis for years, but it never failed to bring a flush to her cheeks. She brought her attention back [0 the circle and took her place in the center. "In return, we give of ourselves, We nourish the earth, so [hat it might nouri h us in return." She ran her knife along the inside of her Left arm an Stiffened at the pain. Her breath hissed as she queered her arm so the blood would drip onto the dirt and the yellowed grass. Another peal of thunder sounded, a little closer this time. A cool breeze cut through the heat.

Bruce closed the book and put it back in the trunk.

The knives joined it, and the extinguished candles. The flashlight shone out over the field once again, Emily laughed as she shut her eyes and turned her face up to the breeze. She could already feel me moisture in it, the promise of rain.

"It feels incredtble," she said.

"The magic or the coming rain?" her husband asked with a smile as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. They heard Susan gather up the last concenrs of the trunk and carry it back toward the farmhouse .

"Both." She pressed her hands into his and stood for a long time, until a drop of rain fell onto her face, landing in the corner of her clo ed eye.

She shivered .

Nothing had ever felt so perfect in the entire world.

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Welcome to the newly revised edition of Sorcerer, the book of Numina for Mage: The Ascension. While Mage deals with those phenomenal humans who've Awakened to thepower to change reality, Sorcerer details those who have discovered a more limited path to power. Still, they're nothing to sneeze at - a sorcerer, ~~I?-~~" though perhaps not as flexible, is lust as much a dweller in the occult world as any mage.

A sorcerer leads a sort ofbalf-Awakened life, right on the cusp of the magical world burwithout the breadth and flexibility of a full Awakened mage. Grasping at the mythic threads held to legend and history, some resurrect ancient magics from ages long ago. Others push themselves to extraordlnaryunderstanding of science or spirirualiry and develop the capaciry to exceed normal people in phenomenal ways. One can hardly call sorcerers "limited" - they have far more Wisdom, and far more concomitant peril, than most mundane humans. While Awakened mages are the trailblazers who forge new ways , thesorcerers are those humans who dare to walk those paths opened by the Awakened instead of complacently waiting for the world to come to them.

Herein, you'll find newly updated rules for sorcerers, their Paths, their societies and practices, plus a complete set of psychic Numina, new guidelines for storytelling and character crearlon rules for the numinous mortals of Mage. So, without further ado ...

Chapter One: The Twilight World introduces the world from the point of view of a sorcerer.

Chapter Two: Sorcerous Societies looks into the many groups of sorcerers, how they operate, who they recruit and what they believe. Here you'll also discover the role of sorcerers in the various Traditions and Conventions.

Chapter Three: Character Creation examines the creation rules for numinous mortals, including their special Merits, Abilities and powers.

Chapter FoW": Paths and Rituals covers all manner of magical abilities that sorcerers practice, from alchemy to techno-sorcery.

Chapter Five: Psychic Phenomena unearths the strange mental powers possessed by a blessed (or cursedl) few.

Chapter Six: Storytelling advises on how to include sorcerers in games, how to integrate sorcery with the World of Darkness and ways to make sure that sorcerers don't take second seat to more flexible mages.

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I know what my sis~s do MtkllOW. I have see-n what my brothers haue Mt seen. And 1 can never teU them, for it would. break our circll'.. AIll can do is protect them foom what they do not know.

- Caroline Goldberg, Newburg Nighr

Cabal, at age 26 .

Whoue We?

My name is CaroliDe. aDd I have lived for more "thaD 70 years; I speD"t "the las"t 30 of "those chroD.icl1ng the Cli!t .. t.lp of cabals from Maille to Zimbabwe and Cambodia "to Alaska. In those yearlf, have s e en thillgs that do Dot exist, aDd I have done things ~hat cannot be done. Yet, I am nothing compared to

'" "

the monsters that walk in the shadows. I am a just t like normal humans are

-just" _ at lea,st, to those others. Among my OWD people t I am respected for my knowledge aDd wisdom, looked up to for the powers I have gailled. Some \lould say that I have achieved my hopes and dreams - far more so, at least, than

most people ever have the ohallce to.

We sorcerers are the in-bet\','eens - we walk the twilight world. We are hUlnlm, eDt1rely mortal. flo spirits ride ou.r backs. We have a pulse and warm blood. And yet we can do thiDgs no human should do. We are a cOl1tradiction

01' terms, and that makes us iders to everyone. Those who know 01' us fear

us, respeot us, worship us - we're kind of pathetic. We are religious

leaders, pro:fessors, busines , farmers and housewives, aD4 we are pawns,

1'od'er for other people's .... ars and sometime-companions to those other creatures. Perhaps you can see now why we set suoh stock in secrecy.

What is it like to be one of us? It's heartbreaking. Every ohild dreams of ,.

magio. Everyone wishes th~y had powers beyond the norm. Who hasn t daydreamed

of calling forth fire, summoning a spirit or changing their shape? Who has13't longed for the things our parents told us weren't true? Who hasn't wished, just tor a moment, for eVen the dark .hings to be real - just so long as it meant that magic was real, too? To be a sorcerer is to know these things, to understand them, to feel the rush of them in l'fItU belly - to gasp at the thrill along your spine when you create that first spark, when you summon that first breeze to oaress your palm. We fight hard for even,: understanding we reaoh, and this only makes the knowledge that much more ~ ting when we uncover it.

Few mention this to their students aTong with the more traditional warnings, but sorcery is addictive. Once you see someone do something that cannot be done - once you taste real magic - you can never go back. This addiction bites both ways, of oourse. It gives us the enthusiasm and motivation we need for the endless studying and practice, the incredible effort of will that is sorcery. Yet, it also leads some of us to make bargains with devils, demons and far stranger things in the rush to learn more.

For those very few of us who have seen the other things that walk the earth, it bites even deeper. Imagine if you will that you've just gotten your first car, after working for years to pay for it. You're incredibly excited that you can drive now, you can go wherever you want. You're free. Then you discover one day that there are people out there who Call fly. Suddenly your car doesn't look so amazing any more. It's slow and olunky. But you will never be able to fly - it's impossible for you. And you can never return to your innocent state, to your enthusiasm and your freedom. You are forever defined by the boundaries

of your now much-smaller car. .

I suppose I am a little bitter. Pay me no mind, please.

I think the ritual of sorcery attracts as many people as th~ power. People have an insti.nctive love of' ritual - it makes us belong. I believe this is the secret behind the great power religion has over the masses. Even some menial illneSses breed ritual- the motions an obse.ssive-oompulsive performs make her feel better, she becomes stressed if she is prevented from performing them. Whispered prayer calms us. Prescribed motion settles us. Ritual foouses our will, helps ue to control our bodies and centers our minds. Many medit-'1ons involve breathing exercises or precise bodily motion (such as tai chi, which to some people is a meditat ion-in-mot ion) - another type of ritual. Those people who lead us in ritual, such as priests, hold great sway over our emotional and .~itual lives. People give money and time to churches in return for the comfort of ritual. They turn to religion - to ritual - whenever they are most in need, when they have lost loved ones, jobs and homes.

I took an evening psychology class some few years ago, and the lecturer said, "neurosiS is a private religion. religion is a public neurosis." Sorcery is both our religion and our neurosis. It is our co~ort and our obsession, our solace and psyohosis. It may help us to put our lives back together after some tragedy, or it may send us over the edge. It gives us something to belong to and believe in and sets us forever apart from our fellow man. It is the betweenplace, the sharp divide, the fine line and the twilight path. We stand between the mortals and the terror that hunts the night, and we may give aid in the

• form of potions, devices, voodoo and spells, or we may apprentice ourselves

..

to those same terrors 1D s of gaining greater power. We may not be

a~ ihe top of the food but \1e do Mtter. Don't ever let bitter old

Hople like me convince tou otherwise.

dOllp&l'l1ona

What most people oall a cabal, I oall a church, but I'll stick"to the usual terminology so as to avoid confusing you. AS I said, I see no real difference between ritual and religion, so my ritual is my religion. Those who try to oonvinoe themselves that their abal does not matter to them or that their cabal is only a collection of oolleagues are lying to themselves. You oannot

t such an emotional stake inio work and claim that those you work wiih

_an nothing to you - and you eanDo',erform magic without emotion. There

comes a point when ihe work and those orming it become one and the same,

when the magic and the man become Ie. That is the act of will.

Cabals soothe and welcome. The e us a place to be who we are. They

help us to reach our full j)otential. Or they can pressure us into doing things

,

we aren t ready for, keep all of their secrets from us and lead us along the

darkest of roads with bright promises and lies. I've known cabals that make demons look slack, they're so adep' at suo king people down the wrong path. Cabals can be about the search for knowledge, companionship, simple practicality, religious zealotry or several things at onoe.

Bever make the mistake of believing that cabals are Simple social clabs.

Your cabal is yoar responsibility. Y01.l have responsibilities to your cabal - these differ from cabal to cabal - and yoa have responsibilities with respect to yoar cabal. This inclades the need to take noie if your cabal appears to be headed down the wrong path and to either help to turn them back if possible or tarn them over to someone better able to handle the situation if yoa cannot. Worst case, if there is no one better able to handle the situation-and there rarely is-it's your responsibility to run away. Yoa're just as guilty if yoa stand by and watoh atrocities being committed as if

YOU'd committed them yoarself. .

Membership in a cabal may come with resoarces and responsibilities. It often comes with a caase, as well. If yoa're lacky, you may be filled with the rightness of your cause, uplifted and inspired. If you aren't lucky, you'll find yourself wondering what your cabal is really up to uel why they seem to be hiding things from you. Yoa may be pulled into a search for forbidden knowledge, an exploratioll of self-discovery - hing from deviltry to diTinity and everythlllg in-between. Cabals are eBSa~ •• ~ .. ~ almost ~_.nle to learn what yoa really need to know without cabals are also dangerous. They concentrate all the human trail ties of members in one direction - sorcery.

I'll give you a few examples of cabals I've seen and heard aboat; I suspect will be far more effective than any pontificating I could do.

A group of stadents at the eollege I went to sat around dOing drugs and hav~ isions. They seemed pretty harmless. I wasn't into the drag thing, and a. e time, I didn't even realize they were anything other than lazy studen - it wasn't antil later that I could look back and recognize the signs. They sucked people in, though, and those people lost months and years to the rags and visions. Some of them went crazy from what they saw and ended up on psych wards. One killed hilDself; I still don't know why he did i1;. Others just lost 'flme ihat they could have spent learning other magics. I don't want you to think that they were bad - some of them went on to do great things, and one or two developed true power in those smoky rooms. They just weren't for me.

••

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I

It does go to show you tha ou have to be careful about the caba~ tou join. Don't assume that anyone who does soroery is capable of teaching you wonderful things. I could tell you to treat it like goillg to college, to interview and look around, take tours and stay overnight. But that wouldn't be helpful. Maybe in an ideal world. this would be poss1ble, but 1 t ian' t as though there's a list of cabals somewhere with names and contact numbers and 11$ts ot the1r likes, dislikes and bad habits. (T.his one' s a part y cabal; that one t s fOJ. serious scholars; etc.) Just be carefUl is all.

lance met a member of a cabal that operated muoh like a writer's group. They got together once or twice a week and presented their latest magioal work to each other - the results of their studies, their newest acoomplishments, their theories and moments of enlightenment. They pointed out the flaws in each other's \·(ork and helped eaoh other to figure out how to make things better. Other than that, they stayed out of eaoh other's lives, apart from the oocasional dinner together. They convinced themselves that they didn't matter all that muoh to eaoh other; it was just aD issue of praoticality. EveDtua.lly, one of them slaughtered hall' of the group before he could be stopped - the danger of telling powerful people to Dot care about each other.

My own oabal was a tight-knit group.

We bought a house in the suburbs, because that way we ooal. get lots of space l'or not too much money. We spent the rest of our pooled money on books and ritual materials and on the special renovations we wanted. We performed rituals in the morDing to greet the day, rituals before meals aDd. rituals for every sort of' special ~ccasiOD. We studied when we weren't working, and we spent our evenings in quiet contemplation, in study or in the practice of our art. You haven't seen anythiIlg until you've seen all elltire floor of a house with the interior walls knocked out, huge windows reflecting the light ol' 100 blue candles, arcane symbols painted on every wall and

floor - some even on the ce11111&. And who could foraet the figures draped in white robes, chanting in eve anguage from Latin to Egyptian. We did this on the fourth floor, and enough rees grew outside that we felt no need to cover the windows while we ..... orked. !'his eventually proved to be our undoing, but that is another story. If there is anything you can learn from my cabal, it is to keep a cool head. Don 't get too cocky, and sta, in touch with the real woz:ld. lio lil&tter how well intentioned your cabal, it s dangerous to 108e touch with life.

I knew a band that acted as a cabal. some of their stage shows were intricate rituals. Don't laugh. Words care~lly soripted, every note accounted for, and they knew exactly where on the stage they'd move at every turn. It was beautiful to watch them. I also knew a trave~~ theater group that worked sorcery. but they didn't work it into their pel'formances - they tried to keep the two parts of their lives as separate as possible.

~d then there was the earth cult of my cabal-mates almost joined. It

was one of those earth-mother Gaia-w ip sorts of groups. Lots of orystals

and litanies about the moon, that kind of thing. They were so sweet J I'd almost expect them to hold bake sales. But once a month, when that precious moon of theirs grew dark, so did they. Rumor has it they saorifioed babies on those nights, but I expeot that's hyperbole - it must have been animals, or someone would have notioed all those ohildren disappearing. ayway, those sweet girls we.nt out into the woods, paiDted themselves up with blood aDd called down dark magics upon everyone who'd ever wronged them. You really didn't want to get OD their bad side. The plumber w'ho hit on one of them never walked again after the next new moon. Maybe you can say they didn't hurt anyone who didn't hurt them first, but if you ask me, they went more than a little overboard.

It "a easy to go overboard, though, when you get caught u:p Ln magic. You,think, I can make charms and call down hellfire upon my enemies heads, so it s okay for me to do it, right? I mean, What's the point of having these abilities if

, ,

I don t use them? ad when you re hurt because someone betrayed you or angry

at the trick someone pulled on you, it's hard to remember that they're just

,

mortal - they don t have the resources we have and have no protections against

our magics. I think the difference between a "'good" and a "'bad" cabal is the ability of the cabal to gently restrain its members' darker impulses. A good cabal will find a way to repress or channel those impulses to another end, rather than allow them to run rampant. Don't be fooled, however, very few cabals ever figure out how to do it successfully. Eventually, someone always snaps.

!he D1ff1oul t R

There are those for whom lil&gic oomes naturally, instinctively, intuitb.ely Oh yes, they have to work for it, but not like we do. They have spirits to guide them and push them in the right direction. And where one of us might create a ritual through years of study, a few can weave with a Simple word or gesturel ~hV have the knowing of lil&g1c, they can bend it as they will without following a11 of its rules. Where we must study for years and years to be able to see into the spirit world, some of their basest beginners can do the same. They study for decades in order to become powerful beyond your wildest dreams, we study for decades to be able to heal someone' s wounds vdthout too much trouble. We both do magic. A few of these think that they have some special gift or talent tbat sets them apart. Perhaps they do, I have my sorcery and if, perhaps, I am limited by the rules and rituals I know, so too, do I Dot suffer the mistakes and backfires of someone v.ho tries to tamper waDtonly with such potent forces.

Don't listen to anyone · ... ho tells you that your magio is inferior. We're sorcerers, and that I s honorable. So;e may not have some spirit or inspiration giving us a leg up and hortcut into the theory of magic. It means we also don't

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haveaome spirit telling us \Y~ to do. I hear that, for some shamans, their spirits hold their magical abf 1ty hostage until they learn to lump through the right hoops. And if you don't do it the way the spirit wants, well, you don't get that little bit of enlightenment you were searching for, too bad for you. You just have to start allover again until you get it right. If you ask me, that's too high a price to pay for any power. Might as well s,,11 your soul to the Devil at that rate I at least you get to choose that - I lli:lderstand that many don't choose their muses, just as they have inspiration, so too, are they driven, and it can drive you to madness or death. I hear some of these chaotic spirits are pretty nasty too, with their own agendas and goals. Why leave yourself at the mercy of something you didn't even get the option of choosing, wheIl you can learn magic on your OWII iIlstead? So our maiic wi.ll never be as ~owerful or as versatile as some of those who just have the gift." So what? At least it's ours.

Our magic almost never "just come.~ us." Some sorcerers have a greater intuition than others regarding their Path, it's true. Others have Upsychic" abilities that are more inherent than learned. But by and large, we're on our own. We must find a mentor, a teacher or a library to get anywhere, if not all three. Rituals don't just pop up out of the earth, after all. We must research and develop them, painstakingly, over time. We dig up what others before us

,

have done and recreate what was lost. But at least onc e we re done we know that,

time after time, unless we screw something up, we can repeat the same ritual over and over and reliably get the same result. I can paint the same symbols, speak the same syllab les, make the same mot ions and have the same s,Pirit appear in my attic. There's a loi to be said for this sort of dependability.

Also. while our magic may go wrong - say, if we b.reak the circle we stand in or pronounce a syllable iJlcorrectly - it doesn't mess with us the way it does to those who try to bend its rules. Those who try to force their will over the proper rituals are subject to the vicissitudes of the world in a way that a careful magician never is. Bad things may happen i£ we screw up, but at least we aren't as likely to take a building of innocent bystanders with US when we go;

Secrecy is of paramount im,Portance to us. Without it, our lives beoome incredibly difficult. Normal mortals will fear or revile us. SOlDe will worship US - and this can be even worse than their fear. Other magicians and the other creatures you know nothing about will look down on us, use us to fight their battles or kill us when we become an annoyance to them. Some lead us along with promises, claim1n.g that they can teach us what they know - do not believe them. What they are we either cannot or must not become. The only ones who are oapable of conferring their ability upon us are the very worst of all.

Far too many of our kind have died in the service of other creatures' battles.

Do not allow them to recognize and categorize you, or you, too, will likely end your life on someone else's battlefield. It isn't worth it, no matter how sexy you think the vampire is, no matter how beautiful or powerful the ghost. The monsters out there can eat you for breakfast· - don't forget it. Our weapons are secr&Cy and subtlety. We can hold our own but only if we're careful.

At this rate, though, you're going to think the sorcerer's life isn't worth it. Emphatically, it is. When you get something ri~ht, you know you did it you.rself, with ,Perseverance and hard work - it wasn t some damn spirit doing it for you. You answer to yourself and your cabal, not some overa.rching Tradition or Oonvention (although some of our people have been known to willingly help those magicians and their enemies - I'll never understand why) • You don't follow the dictates of some spirit, and you aren't required to throw your life away in some anoient and mis14nderstood war. In short, you are free. You may think your magic limiting, the rules stifling and the ,Price high, but

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au have a talent that obey ou.r commands and brings you knowledie _onfidence, and you owe it 0 to yourself, not to some demon or curse or pirit. We are our own masters. We rule ou.r magic and ourselves. What we do, e do by our own choice. That is something we have gained by beiDS human t and _'t is something we should hold onto for dear life. It is far more precious -haD any power on earth.

e of What We 1)0

Why do people become sorcerers? You might as well ask why people become olice officers or professors 0 parents. They do it because they want to. _hey do it because it fascinates them. They do it because they think they call ~o some good. Or they do it beca~ ~hey feel they have no choice. Everyone oes it for his own reason. In mT '0 y.itars of traveling and studying various

abals (and even a few solitary sore ), I've heard almost as many reasons

~or the study of sorcery as I have orcerers.

Some people do it to protect t es against the evil things that walk

-he earth. When you're mortal, it's easy to feel powerless against the .:::onsters; aDything that gives you a leg up is desirable. Some do it to protect themselves against mundane enemies -wouldn't you like to be able to get the police off of' your back if you're waD'ted in five states? .Protection is a heavy part of sorcery. Look in any paperback on magical herbalism and you'll find that rou§hlY 80 percent of the herbs out there can be used for protection against evil spirits." (The other 20 percent are for fertility. Some of the 80 percent are for fertility and driving away evil spirits) Evil spirits, of course, can be interpreted to mean almost anything. For example, garlic was never a specific ward against vampires - it was, like every other herb, a ward against evil spirits. Vampires just fell into that category along with

very thing else out there. Bad luck was an evil spirit, and the hatred of' your enemies took the form of evil spirits. So protection, as a blanket deSire, holds a powerful place in the &DIlals of sorcery, and many of our rituals oan be either directly or indirectly used in the attempt to protect ourselves from the dangers we eDcounter.

Others become sorcerers in order to protect the people around them. The alt:ruistic use their skills in order to keep others alive, protect people from knowledge of the supernatural and undo the harm that befalls those around them (physical and emotional, natural aDd supernatural). I've known dootors in hospitals who practiced sorcery on their patients. I've heard of detectives who used sorcery to help them track dow:a criminals. Not all sorcerers are graybearded old men in ivory aoademio towers, studying dusty old books.

Many variations upon the traditional theme of revenge exist. What better ·,'ay to strike back against your tormentors or those who killed someone olose to you than to learn the ways of soroery? It is traditionally the tool of she .ho has no other way to strike back against those who have harmed her, she who has no other recourse - she who could not find redress within the standard means provided by society. This is perhaps why so many who were Uoutsiders" in their .Jouth find their way to sorcery - they had no other way to repay those they hated. They had no other means to feel powerful.

This brin~s us to the next reason - to feel powerful. So maDY of us feel as though we re at the bottom of one food chain or another. No matter what we're at the top of, there's always someone else looking hungrily down at us. Sorcery can make you feel a little more in control, although there is always a debate as to whether or not this feeling is illusory. It call make you feel worthwhile and special. Some say this is not a good reason to learn sorcery. But who can say that this reason S Dot at the heart of most of the others? You may claim that you learned sorcer~ in order to protect other people, but

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you obviously felt that you Wit Dot powerful enough to do it on Jou.r own, 41u "

you? So isn't power onoe ag at the heart of the matter'

Some learn soroery simply as a means to an end, a way to complish some specific task. It rarely stops there, of oourse. AS I Ba~d ea;lier, soroery is addictive; it's a shiny thing that's hard to put down once ou've pioked it up. Very few of these people learn only as muoh as they ne to know and no more. Most continue their studies long after their goal has bee_ achieved. Some lose sight of their goal in the pursuit of their studies.

Simple ouriosity may be the ~eason behind one's forays into sorcery. You read about a spell, and out Of ouriosity, you try it. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't, but now you want to kiIoW about other spells. Is this stUff real? Is it not? So many people get hooked ~U8t trying to find out if this kind of thing can really work. I would include in this group those people who delve into soroery in order to feel what I 1 uthe touch of mag1c.~ These are the

people who would do anything to get t thrill aloDg their spine that working

magic gives them. These are also the people most likely to perform sex magic, but I digress.

Family tradition is a powerful reason. Some sorcerous orders require blood relationship as a precursor to in1'tiation (although some will allow those who marry into the family to join, under oertain circumstanoes). I met a man once who had been trained in the ways of his cabal since he was five years old. Rituals were weekend family outings with picnics and barbecue. I'll never understand it - it seems to lack the sense of mystery and wonder that to me characterize so much of sorcery - but I guess it works for them.

Mental illness is another reason that someone might choose to pursue the sorcerous arts. Some would hate me for saying this, would say that I'm perpetuating a bad stereotype. But it's true. Sometimes people try to muck with the stuff of the universe because they're messed up in the head. Maybe they think they're gOds, or maybe they want a way to hurt lots of people. J4aybe their illness makes them think they're capable of sorcery, and somehow, it really works. Hot all mentally ill sorcerers are bad people - mania is a popular disorder to find among sorcerers, perhaps because one of the symptoms of mania is "religious feelings~ - which brings us back to "the touoh of mag10.~ Who can say you' d know the difference between the two? :aut some of'tllose who find their way into sorcery through mental illness are dangerous peQfae indeed. Luokily, they're also the ones who are most likely to get fried when they decide they're capable of calling on massively dangerous spirits &nd~~g

One reason for becoming a sorcerer that may surprise you is When the rest of your family does it, everyone of your Te brothe through initiation when tb.ey reached puberty, and it's expeoted of you, it caD be hard to say no. The same is trtle when your friends try to push you into it. !QO many people embarked upon the road of sorcery not because they want to, but because someone dragged them into it.

How We

ome Iha t We .Are

Kuch 0-1 the how is wrapped up in the why. The family initiates those peo,le who 30in family cabalS. If your friends push you into sorcery, then they re usually the ones handing out books, telling you to sacrifice small animals and cobbling to~ether some trumped-up uinitiation rite~ they found in a fantasy novel. If simple curiosity drew you into sorcery then you probably learned your first stumbling spells trom books at the library, or a Hew Age bookstore. Intense personal study and meditation have a long and venerable tradition, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

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Maybe you found some weird site on the World Wide Web that had spells on

:t. Don't look so surpris may be old, but I'm up with the times. Some

of these sites are legi up by people who believe that all people

have the right to protect elves a,ainst the bad things out there. Others

are attempts to recruit people - they 11 put up spells that are wrong, that shouldn't do anything and see who comes back with, "well, the spell you put

p didn't work. but then I thought, what if I did this? And it ~vorked." Some people have an intu1tion about spells and rituals, and those are valuable -ecrui ts. You must beware, however, some web s1 tea are traps. There are fXoups

out there that don't like 1~ w people mess with reality, and they 11 do

anything they can to root us and stomp on us.

Some people, as I said, have ive sense for sorcery. They might start

out with things they find in and alter them to suit their own

tastes. Or they might make up their erial. Most people really do need

some teacher - whether it's a pers a book - but these few can get by on

their own. They might never learn t ly powerful things, and they rarely

get far with spirit magic (which en requires that you know whioh spirit

ryou're calling on), but they hold their own.

A mentor is the best way to learn sorcery but, of course, leaves you open to the perils of finding the wrong metlt-or. Some cabals and individual sorcerers follow potential recruits for weeks, even years, before deciding to invite them in. Others Simply provide the opportunity to the potential recruit and declare that recruit ready to join when he 19ures things out for himself'. Some people find cabals and invite themselves ifl- tlJ4,.s is a dangerous game, though, because not all sorcerers are nice Jeople, some ~ould rather kill you than invite you to share their fire. Some cabals put their recruits through tests - some of these are ritualistic, but others may be quite deadly.

Ultimately, there are as lD&ny ways to do sorcery, as many ways to learn it, as many ways to get involved with it, as there are cabals. And there are a lot of' cabals out there. Oh, they're. Bot on .very street corner - ndt even in every major city. There are whole states without any sorcerous communities. But if you travel the world as I have, you'll eventually find quite a few sorcerers out there. »e careful - most of them are not your friends. Until you are as old and as learned as I am, I would not recommend doing what I have done. I have escaped from privacy-minded cabals by the skin of my teeth, and I've taken my share of wounds. Hopefully, my research will mean that you may stay safe at home.

They can because they chink ehey can. - Virgil

TH€ fffiRI11S IDP lTIAGIC

teach it new tricks, and so, it tries to bite you now and then. I am trying to get it to do tricks it already knows, which may rake longer sometimes, bm at least the old girl seems happy to Toll over, fetch or play dead without ripping my arm off . Think I am limiting myself? Well, this universe of OUIS is an awfully old dog, and she's got a list of tricks we may never exhaust .

- Hurai the Acolyte

For the last rime, I get so sick and tired of hearing about "hedge magic." Hearing that . ' particu larly stupid phrase just makes me think ~ of enchantments for clipping large ornamen.~ tal shrubbery. Magic is magic.

. ~~ If it will help you to understand better,

~_=~ think of the universe as an old dog. You try to

Linaar Kagi0 S;udies 0.£ the Nature of Linear Magie in E.'£i'ort to Further Expand Universal UnderataZJaing of the' Word

-Exce.rpts from the lectures 01' lIurai, PrllC~1cu& Of Rouse Bonissgus

Greet inge, fe llow Hermetics. I hope that yOu will forgive me if l.. 0..0 n:1rt suffie ient ly explain mys.e 1£ "bu t I have been g1 Ven the. d1fflcul-t~ask of explaining the underpinnings that static magics from traditions asdiY~rseas

-8hamanism, Hermeticism Bnd'Kabbalah share. I am aure that many d'i the terms that I have ob,osen to'uSe would conruae ,surpris'e or perha'ps eveIl anger those of whom I speak. It is nonetheless true that every theory of magic in.clu.des recognizable elements that we can easily categorize fo.r s;i..mple explanation. I am not pu.rporting that the stud.y of magic by any tradition i.6 a slm.ple m Ue only that it is more useful to establish some termino,logy with whioh to . ecfer to commonly shared concepts.

I suppose we should start w1"eh the exoeption to which I ~oerta.1D many of you will take to my terming what has tradHional1y been called statio mag.l as linear. In truth, ,,,hat we commonly refer to as statlc ugic st111oonta!$ elements of change and would thus be considered a dynamic foroe. What s'epa.rata.s my manlpulat ion of realHy from that of mo.re dynami-c practitioners, kDown amongst many of the Order as True Mag'as, is the following of established pat • These paths :may seem winding and lost to the unin,itlated but grow clear cui to thOSe who have .spent long years studying the ways of magic. By following a set method of en.unciat ins certain words of Enochian while e.x.ercising the W111 in a preci.se faotion, I 'can cause Creo Ignem, the ereatl.on 0.1' 1"1?:,e, like thus. Through rigid. practioe of medl.tat.;l.on, oertain mo.nks have been show.n to kave the ability to induce eostatic visions.

I am. quite aware that some of you here oan do thea,e thing,S and more~ ~ my point is this. I can create this flame .1n precisely the aame faslliou-e;a;8ry single time via the same action. To make fire from ll.othl11g, fro:m t JII..!.e..:dset ot my s e 1 fand others whoprac c e s o-oall ed linear SO J?i: a of magio. i.6& aia') byst ep process. First J I learned to make a spark, then a oandleand, eV'entu'411y, under the right circumstattces, a bonfire. The move from spark to bonfire has been a. l,inear prog.res.sion using tbe same principles and e)~ments ~vlth greate. and great er re finellient and applica.t ion of Will. When Luoian 'De,rk descri.bed h1s realizat·1on of the. master;? of the element 0.£ fire to me, 1'1; becameoleaT tbat he had realized somes ort of '0 ommonali ty of fore e s in th.e Word thilt gr.nt I\d him oontrol of all kinetic energies under ens set of p.rlnoiples. lean assur~ you that this 1s not the caae in my own stu.dies. I a.m. still struggling wHll1 the spells to gently nu.dge the smallest rook practioally, yet can easHy incinerate that table in front of you.

ThUS, I propoBe that the art of static or "hedge" mag'ic be termed "lina.ar magic." Magic generally oalled dynam1.o or "A:wakened" displays categorical cO.ntrol that su.ggests the designation of "affin1ti'9'~ maiic'" Various magnitudes of use of the same effect shall be termed Deg.rees. The stu.dy ·of how

to eDact asi'hgle effect to grea.ter and grea.ter d.egree most easily lends Hself to being called a Path. I hope it will not be taken as hubrisio £ur,t, he, r point out t, hat, all magic, whe;eer. ~ affini.tiveo.r. liDear,follows p.ri.nc.lples ·of dynamism" stasU! or en~. Th1S .1.s why I recommend a different label with which to discuss the d1f:fNle!lces'between the two forms of magie,

Ap.ract.1t loner o·.f aff1n1 t 1 ve magic, for example our e,st eemed eo 1 league Lucian, man1.pulates rea11ty with a model that declares that all energies are similar and thus caD bE! manipulated the same ~1ay. The limitati.on sppe.ar,s to be that , in order to learn to affect all energle.s once one decides that th.eyare th.e sante, gne mast expand. Ii much large.r model toa higher Degreee. A linear practitioner, by way of contrast, uses a very tightly ·defined model of one aSIIect of reality ata t ue, say fire "for example • Advancing the P·ath that composes thi.s mucb smaller model is a signi;f'ic81rUy ea:Hex task t:~an a,dYanc.i.ng through the more comprehensive aff'initive degrees. In a sense, it requires that one .step baokagain and again to the beginning of a new Path every ti.me one wishes to pursu.e a. new IIl.near magical &1'1'ect. I 'find that I must begi.na.t the tiniest Degree with virtually no benefit gain.ed from knowledge 01' .Paths that have been.followed to their cllrrentco)'Jclusion.

One of the greatest contriblltions of our Order to the Council of Tr,ad.i t ions w.as the theory that unified magical concept s int 0 Spheres of influence. In order to prevent cODfusion between t.he Spheres of affinit·ive magi,cal thougl:l:t and the spheres o:f .influence which are used almost precisely the same by linear magic, I propose a retur.n to the classical term Elements. ModeI'll magical theories have grown iar beyond those of the Mythic .Age, and magical Elements aIe co:,mmonly ~ccepted amongst the traditions to includ.e nine Art •• Berein, I shall refer to them in thelr Lst ill names: ArsAllimae (Life), Ars COlljunct ionia ( Correspondence), .Ars Essentiae (Forces), Ars Fat! (Entropy), Ars Manium (Spiri.t) t ArB Materiae (Matter), Ars Mentis (Mind), AI'S Temporis (Time) and Ars Vis (Prime) .. the affini t 1. veachoo! of magical study t the se D.1ne Ars (Arts) are ><treah d as complete models 01" prac\lcel learning a Degree of Are Allima& is very trying but g.ifts one with ,ll incred.ible range of 'agic tied into one theory. Lineal' magicrecogn1.ze# the usefulnes·s of the Elements, but breaks them furthe.r down into actual ap~lications.

An Element i.sdirected in use to\'\'·ards a Principle, of dynamism, sta.sis or entropy • .An eff·ect derived from AI'S Anima~ utilizillg the principle of stasis might be to beal the humall body. The linear practitioner literally" l.eariis how to use this combination oi PriIlclple and Element in one specific way, Atiir ,a. ,shama!! may learn to apply certain herbal remedies to heal ·the m.lldlY s1c~ •. OYer time, she may lear:n to regenerate the limbs of an amputee. Thl.s ex.panding abllHyto perforn grea.ter Degcrees of the sane refined .magics.l pOttier is the Pa. th of the linear mage. Eachmag.ical Path is an effect of various Degrees of magnitude that faUs into oneo! thenine Elements of magical.mani;ulation and under one of the three Principles of metaphysics. What this allows us to dOc 1.8 t ocrea. te a mode 1 of 2'1.. t.ype s of Path.s. Regardless ·of the source of the linear mage's power, every Path of: soroery can be classified thus. My creation of fire, for example"is Ars Easent1ae D n&.l:.is ....

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A wameo EaRNffiT, IT's STILL ITIAGIC

Though the preceding essay clearly shows a delineabetween Awakened and non-Awakened magic, aren't necessarily so simple in the World of LJ<1L....._.l"~O. The opmions of one Hermetic scholar, even if happen to fit the model .of the "game rules," do nat comprise the entirety of Hermetic thought on the subject. ~u" .. "''''u, many mages would argue that the distinctions are

unnecessary. Why bather labeling some of the less gifted, less creative magicians as "inferior" or "linear" magicians? They sttll do magic. Trying to create divisions is a waste of time - magicians have better things to do. The typical mage or sorcerer neither knows nor cares about the real boundaries between Awakened and non-Awakened magic.

Magical study by the orcerer of the World of Darkness is a path worn deep by the rravai Is of generanons of past students and masters. For most of us, the steady progress offered by systems that teach, "Do this, and this shall

; happen," is far easier to understand than the broad strokes of affinitive magic and its almost revelatory methods of learning. The linear '"-_,_...;;._ ......... """ path offers the ideal of hard work achieving great results. One of the most important facets of linear magic is that it is more readiJyable to be taught. Affmitive magic, such as thac practiced by "Awakened" mages, seems to require a mindset that can be helped by teaching but must initiate itself through some sort of internal breakthrough. Linear magic, in contrast, demands tremendous degrees of practice and education in its ways, with personal leaps consisting mostly offinally realizing what some lesson means. Indeed, many linear practitioners seem to have a miniarure epiphany, similar to an Awakening but less profound, when their understanding of mysticism cry rallizes into a practical form. However, they lack rhe wild flamboyance of the shatteringly Awakened -they learn through heritage, not through dynamism.

This principal difference creates a cultural community that is stronger than most afflnttive practitioners' I inks. The importance of mentors wi thin linear magic societies is much greater. The relationships between students and masters are stronger. One of the results of this closeness has been lower visibility of sorcerers within mage society; the actions of a group are quicldy credited to the entire Tradition, whereas the actions of one powerful independent mage gain her personal fame within magical society. When a mage looks around her at who is best at what, it is a easy to fall into the hubris of assuming that those who are well known are the most l,Jotent. In reality, the groups of sorcerers who grow together throughexrended mentor and student lines form tight factions that should not be ignored.

When a student early in her path finds a mentor who satisfies her dreams of discovering how to perform miraculous feats, a bond forms that can never truly be broken. Think back [Q the first schoolteacher that ever taught you something you found amazing at the time. Now imagine if

they had instead taught you to fly, tum lead into gold or empathetic ally read emotions. It can be difficult nor to accept the political and social ideas of the teacher, as well as hls metaphysical education. Some teachers even take advantage of this bond to manipulate their followers into acting to further their mentors' own interests. Other times. students simply fmd their masters have so much to teach that they never leave. With so many enemies, ranging from bloodsucking vampires to tyrannical Technocrats [Q raging werewolves, many simply band together for survival.

On the mentor's side, there is much he gains from continuing to help his students. Though many would not admit it, it is a simple fact that often students show aptitudes for Paths that even masters find difficult, A student may help even an aged professor finally understand through some fresh viewpcint Of may simply be able to perform whatever uses for the Path the mentor might have in his stead. As noted above, some teachers are willing to exploit their position in order to further their own agendas. This may be as benevolent as convincing one's students to do healing and charity work or as dangerous as inciting murderous hatred for his enemies. Prestige can also be gained by menroring a particularly successful student, raising a master's position in the eyes of his peers.

Generations of students learning at the feet of those who have already mastered the secret arts inspires tight, loyal groups of fellow practitioners. There are always those who don't fit in though. A young student might realize that he bas taken up a Path that is not to his true taste and, thus, start again elsewhere. He might be subjected to a cruel master's games and seek safety in escape from the society. Depending on the nature of the sorcerous society, it may seek to silence him or simply let him go about his way. Even masters may find reasons to leave their groups. A talented biogeneticist may find her work claimed by a ruthless rival and decide that she is tired of being used. Perhaps she starts her own lab and takes on her own students. She might just retire to private practice. A psychic master might be expelled bV his order for abuse of power, instigating a psychic war as he and his students seek revenge upon the rest of the order. Splinter groups and loner sorcerers add a great sense of uncertainty and spice to the Tapestry of reality.

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GRfA T AND SlTIALL

The societies that fonn when practi rioners of the metaphysical gather are general! y small, for a number of obvious reasons. First of all, only a small portion of humanity as a whole has the patience or desire to learn how to truly manipulate the world around them. Most of us have already been convinced that OUf environment rules us, rather than the reverse. Large organizations require strong public. support, which is also lacking for the sorcerer. Many sorcerous groups are subsets of an even larger organization.lbis is the case most clearly with the Traditions and the Technocracy, OUt mystical orders capable of practicing magic have also nidden within larger orders only reputed to have miraculous powers or simply assumed to be ordin.ary soctcpoittica I forces .. 110st of these groups possess less than 100 members; many of them consist of a mere handful of students surrounding a smgle teacher.

RBRlTIAT

INmATIEeN

This portion of each SOCiety's description presents you with a brief history or introduction to the group from the point of view of someone inside or an outsider watching. It IS upto you as the Storyteller to determine how much of what me order believes is real is actually true in your personal World of Darkness. Some very deluded people can still manage to learn incredibly potent ways to manipulate real, lty. Some of them might not be doing exactly what they think they are doing.

ffiRG.AN1Z.A.llE9N

Any time you have more than one person together, some sort of natural, or unnatural, order results. This pan of their description will briefly show you group dynamics. and give insight. into how new students are chosen and what they should expect.

STYLE

Each society has some special way in which they believe their metaphysical powers work. This model includes the trappings usually associated with or required by the group's practitioners.

PATHS

Essemially, this will list the game titles for the various metaphysical Paths practiced by the magical group in question. In parentheses, any alternate name the society uses for a Pathwill be noted. For example the Path of Heilfire when listed with the Star Council might be (Fire in the Sky) and indicate the mysterious bums associated with UFO sightings.

SEl1RCeRERS PJTIE9NG TH€ TRADITIE9NS

Many "Awakened" or affinitive mages do not sctuallv see any real difference between themselves and their linear partners. Others indulge in hubris based upon a perceived difference between their magic. The truth of the matter is somewhat more complex, of course. In a sense, each type of mage naturally serves a particular sort of role in their Tradition, normally without any realization of exactly why they act as they do. The linear mage is the backbone of the Traditi.on, upholding practices of the ages and acting as the strong link with the beliefs of their culture. The afflnirive mage is the pioneer of the future and the hope that it will be better. Every Tradition and every faction therefore contains both linear and aff'mitive mages, though certain groups' miadsets favor one or the other.

AKAsHlC BREElTH€RHEt*BD

Initiation

The fhst footsteps of the Akashic pathways are familiar to most people, at least vaguely, from watching attempts at dramatizing the Lifestyle. A lot of hard work and dedication goes into learning the techniques that masters make look so effortless. Of course, not eVe!)I gto'Up that falls under the Akashic rubric practices martial arts, or violence of any kind. Strong-asceuc princip1espracticed on. a regular basis can also create the signature unification of body . nd mind. The approach to enlightenment in this manner can be a quest for ~ft uni.ve.rSal brea~throughs or a methodical search for the truth one step at a rime,

Strongly traditlona] factions within the Brotherhood, such as die 6hl-Rcn. and Kannagara, teach powerful regimens qf ancient practices that leadao tncredlble power over ~othenind and body. Even the- Mt:-blobd.ed warriQI of the Vajrat?anl study rigid forms of comb~t.manel,l;vers until they become so instinctual that they dynam~ca1ly, flow forth ,P.s n ded. The Omotq-ryu religion blended Shinto, :r aolsm, Buddhism and ChristianIty with a respect for Budo that incarnated in M'atJhei Uf.eshiba, the great teacher who founded AikUlo. It is perhaps one ef the best examples of teaching a linear p.ath, formulaic almost in itS menu of maneuvers, with a stated goal of eventually creating an infinite repertoire of reactiQn~ As ruth, it respects the eternal student and master equally as long as they both continue upon the path of what is right.

Organization and Style

The master-student relationship ofthe Akashi.c Brotherhood is described very weU in the Mage rulebook .. Similarly, their style of practice and foci are already noted. Oi ven that there is no particular difference between the practices of

As human beings, we like ro name, label, classify and categorize everything. Once we have named something, we think we know it and, thus, to a certain degree, can control it. I t becomes a part of our reality and is thereby somehow suddenly sensible. Nevertheless, this is somewhat of an artificial, manmade convention. It is a practice that we overextend. ever broadening categories until they inevitably include pieces chat just don't fit. Even our social organizations follow this cour e. Arrogance and the quest for power drive great leaders to bring more and more territory'under their control. People band togerher for protection, states become nations, and nations become coal it ions or empires. An eerie facelessness is achieved in the name of compromise and safety. A bizarre, and ultimately false, stereotype evolves in our minds that suggests thar everyone from one of our classiftcanons is really the same.

The same thing has happened in the World of Darkness. The Traditions are a misshapen dump of disparate magical heritages struggling to maintain a reality in which they are free to practice their beliefs. The Technocracy, no matter how unified irmay appear, is a glued together claptrap of conservative minds who essentially believe that safety and perfection are worth sacrificing freedom, The Nephandi serve so many dark lies mar they cannot even truly know one another. The Marauders don't even pretend to any sort of homogeny.

~ In a world shattered by antagonistic ideals. each struggling for control of what is the truth, thousands of cabals, fellowships, cults, orders and individuals cast aside some part of their identity in the name of safety in numbers. That does not make them the same. though. The Bara'a voudun has little truly in common with the dying Ainu mystic. The astronomical physicist maynot even understand the chemistry behind the same metallurgy that lets her rockets be built. Nevertheless, we want to think of them as sharnanic Dreamspeakers or scientist T echnocrats. The only thing they really share is a desire for the right to continue with their studies, beliefs and lifestyles. ~ It is this desire that has been exploited for better and war e by the leaders of the Traditions and the Technocracy, and it is in those leaders' interests to paint a unifying veneer of stereotype.

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linear and affirutive Akashic brothers, you should be using the same organization and trappings. If your Storyteller uses Merits and Flaws, you might note the especial usefulness and appropriate nature of the Flow of Ki Merit.

26

Paths

The Internal Do Path and the External Do Path are common amongst Akashics, in some form or other. Subtle spiritual Paths and magics that strengthen the mind and body are appropriate, if they have a suitable Resonance. If you use psychic powers as Paths, then Akashic pracri tioners are likely to have some degree of Mind Shielding or Astral Projection, depending upon their practices, but channeled through intense meditation, mantras and other such foci.

CeLt:sTIAL CH$R.US

Initiation

As early as the Egyptian pharaoh, Ikhnaron, and probably even earlier, the idea of a single, unique higher consciousness responsible for creation and the order of the universe gained a popular voice. Inexplicable events worldwide, from mass miracles to individuals exhibiting powerful influences explained only as dlvlae aid, seem to support the claims that there is One True Scarce, The power of faith endows the Celestial Choru with their mystical might, but it is a power that the wi st amongst them understand is available [Q the most humble mortal.

It might seem as though pping into the infinite essence of the divine a SUI'~ one of the mindset pf affinitive ma ic, Ages of religious righteousness and rights and wrongs clearly defined for the rna es have created an equaUy strong opposing pathway, though. Thousands of rituals with the force of thousan S of believers have built a veritable fortress of faith for the myMic soul that i willing-and able to learn their divine majesty. The shelter-provided by organized religious groups is an invalua ie boon as well. When you know that the Creator Itselfi behind your power, it is almost as strenuous [Q walk the path as it is to try to ignore it.

Organization and Style

Every aspect of the Chorus from divided, often antagonistic, factions to devoted worshipers is as equally appl icable to the. linear path followers as to its Awakened members. The same religious styles and iconlc symbols that serve affinitive devotees grant power to the strictest adherents.

Paths

Paths of Binding, Ephemera, Healing and Hellfire, perhap SOme Wards of divine nature:

CULT EDF ecSTASY

Initiation

Many the practices of the Ecstatics are not seen as true magic by anyone, Even to cultures that respect the use of hallucinogerue drugs to obtain trances or pain and deprivation to achieve visions, the excesses of many Cultists are regarded as mostly overindulgence of sacred experiences. To modem law enforcers they are dangerous elements out to corrupt the rest of society with their malevolent immorality. The world culture seems to have turned against [he mass distribution of various cultures' easy roads to opening the

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mind to the spiritual. Even the ubiquitous queen, alcohol, which has served as the holy essence for sacrifice, rirual and even the madness of the Maenads has been reduced to a crass commercial product that is demonized by DUI law and raving hate-mongers.

Unfortunately, the most common reaction arnongst Ecstatics is to further their rebellion against (he establish, meat. If the Powers That Be want to belitde and punish them for seeking freedom, then fuck the higher ups! This attitude only strengthens authoritarian response and solidi, fies the position of authorities that treat the p!lblic backlash as opportunity for power and extra me' roo VOtes come election rime. The fqungesr, most rebellious Ecstatics either nevet: achieve l!nl~tenment<-Or, at the very least, tend to avoid the older, more insightful members within the Tradition.

Organization and Style

The Aghqris, Hagalaz and Fellowship of Pan teach ancient pathway's that, however chaotic, actually possess a long tradition o( powerful passions. The bulk of linear Ecstatics come from one of these long-standing groups. Complete sensualists such as the Acharne and the Klubwerks are too wild and dissonant to create much ofa tradition and are likely to fadell~y eV'Q.tuaUy if they never find a longlasting focus. Music, dance, drugs, sex, meditation, fasting and exercise playa.s viral a pan in the advancement of those Ecstatics who practice some orderly path to enlightenment as they do amongst the wide-open dreamers,

Paths

Paths of Divination and Oneiromancy, psychic Empathy or Empathic Hypnosis, insight into the nature of mankind and the universe.

Initiation

When the blossoming Council of the Traditions looked for those magicians who might hold knowledge OUTside their fold, they could nor help but notice an incredible variety of shamanicand spiritual traditions around the world. In a monumentally shallow move, more reminiscent ofthe broad Stroke stereotyping generally attributed to the Technocracy, the Tradition Council chose to invite all of the disparate spiritual magicians into the fold as a single metaphysical and political body. The political seat dubbed Spirit in the Horiron Chantry was offered, and desperate magicians beleaguered by Technocratic expansion around the world were canvinced to take up the Traditions' banner.

Unprecedented spiritual connections arose between places extremely remote from each other. Some of these Umbral ties came about as masters of the shamanic Drearnspeaker groups encouraged young initiates to set out upon long spirit journeys. Others, ironically, owe their origins to the very manifest destiny that the Technocracy created and the Nephancli exploited. Displaced Native

Americans and aborigines passed far from their homelands into the lands of their neighbors or even thousands of miles away. Cruelty and twisted ideals of racial supremacy subjected African tribes to capture, transport across the Atlantic and enslavement at the hands of those who treated themas property rather than people. Cultures and peoples battered by the new masters of the physical world sought to defend themselves with the aid of the spiritual world they had never abandoned.

Those who make their way into the spiritual fold must, perforce, understand and live Lhrough a heritage equalIy burdened by this bitterness and exalted by their own shamanlc ties. May are activists or traditionalists who feel a drive to preserve their culture and h [Story. Others fee [a near -instincrive pull to the spirit world or are chosen by the spirits themselves. Even those who do not Awaken into dynamic magic sti]] have a huge legacy of cultural indoctrination, be it joy at their shared hisroryor bitterness and a desire to lash out ar their perceived oppressors, and ei ther can be a strong motive far the study of magic.

Organization and Style

In the past few decades, leaders of abused ethnic and cultural groups have. been more politically successful than ever before. The. plight of oppression. continues, but efforts to fight against it earn at least lip service on the floor of the United Nations, In the chambers of the United States government and oven the airwaves that blanket millions of televlsionscreens everyday. Unfortunately, that is precisely what many Deeamspeakers consider such activiries - lip service. Casinos, reservations and ;:t.lco'hol continue to erode the rradldonal Nartve American way of Ilfe, Land rights disputes push the Australian aborigines fur.ther from the Dreamti:me. A legal system that is blatantly prejudicial grinds up the lives of black Americans while promoting continued slavery under an. economic mask. ThJs isn't to say that matters are universallv all bad or that some Dreamspeakers don't everreacr ~ tHose who are caught up in being victims too often succumb to bitterness and fail to accomplish anything ~ butby and large, the Dreamspeakers contain cultures who have suffered harshly under the indusrrialized age.

'~What have you done for us?" the Drearnspeakers ask the Tradition Council increasingly. Council meetings see fewer of the spirit mages every session, as, more often, they just stay horne to protect their own people. There is also a sense that the worst times are beginning. The spirit realms seethe with deadly storms, and the Gauntlet bites with razor sharp fangs. The dead walk the earth in startling numbers. It is as if the world has begun its death throes.

Every spirirual tradition at least shares some concept of standing as the doorway between the two worlds. Magic depends upon the relationship between the physical and the immaterial. The ancient origins of these ways also encourage a similarity in use of foci. Chanting, fire, drums, earth, bones

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and plants are universalend vary only in form. Dreamspeaker groups have rarely paid any attention to the differences between linear and affinitive pathways anyway. The power always comes from the spirits and the maintenance of proper relationships with them. Keepers of the Fire, Solitaries, Ghost Wheel Society, Red Spear Society, Barnti and Bata'a alike treat the sorcerer with the respect she earns.

See also The Spirit Ways for a plethora of information regarding un-Awakened shamans.

Paths

Cursing, Enchanrmenr, Ephemera, Herhalism, Oneiromancv and Summontng/W.arding; if you use psychic powers as Paths, Astral Projection is also appropriate.

furnANATEBS Initiation

Eu thana ros philosophies regard personal choice and the karma it creates as very important. Euthanatos also believe it is their duty to make choices for other-s sometimes, most often rhae it is time to move on to another life. An Acarya (mentor) will not discourage a student from any particular Path that might help her along the road [0 enlightenment, unless he senses great danger of it corrupting her soul, The Tradition's home lies in the cradle of Buddhism and Hinduism and, therefore, simultaneously offers an overwhelming array of mystical dogma and a call to rise above the iHusion of it all. The factions most likely to serve as home to linear Eurheaacos are the Naratapas, Madtimbabwe, Pomegranate Deme and the Aided.

Organization and Style

Sorcerers amongst me Euthanaros differ only in [hat they appear to be in a more materialistic karma cycle. There is nothing wrong with the necessary steps a soul must rake through multiple lives in the quest for enlightenment, So long as the sorcerer is due to the Wheel. It is worth noting that the act of choosing life or death for another often means helping them li ve. There are Buddhiseand Hindu Euehanaros who believe in the necessity of death but will not corrupt themselves 1n such a way. Fate will bring those who deserve death into situations where they will meet it. The true duty of the death mage, as they see it, is to ease the suffering and confusion that living and dying causes, so that the sou! will not have to repeat its mistakes.

The faction styles and a general list of foci are found in Mage Revised, Other ways of focusing magical energy used by the Euthanatos include meditation, fasting, medicine and physical representations of the Wheel. Even games that encourage concentration or test one's character are useful, One can watch for telltale signs of frustration, gloating, obsessive behavior, recklessness and learning porenrial across a game table, all while promoting joy in the world and wichoutendangermg anyone.

Paths

Cursing and Divination; Euthanatos also practice Paths that could be used to promote healing or (sometimes) death.

EaRnER $F H€PJl1€S

Initiation

The history of the Hermetic tradition is a long one, extending back to Egyptian alchemy and spells. Formalized during the Dark Ages into approximately its current shape, the Order receives some crincism for doggedly Clutching to its ancient truthseven in the faces of the other Traditions. A hopeful initiate into the Order undergoes tests, trials aru:l a long apprenticeship. The secrets of the Enochian language and the powerful Seals of Solomon become second nature to the student. She learns to craft numerological patterns, wands and pentagrams. Every Hermetic student is initiated into the linear paths of the Order's theories. Many of them stay that way.

One of the great weaknesses of the Order comes, perhaps, from irs own image of the universe. Even as the alchemist seeks to create perfection from We base metal, so the Awakened see themselves as above the lesser mage. This arrogance and hubris is not universal, but it is certainly a powerful force in the Order. Through their own training methods, they push the student intq a sorcerer etindser and then lord it over them if iliey never "rise above" that state. With the crashing fall otDoissestep and the destruction of most of the affinitive Masters, theorists like Pracricus Hurai are finally able to put fonh their proofs mat neither method of magic is superior, just differ1!nt ..

Organization and Style

There isa saying, "Civil servant equals civil master."

The implication is that those who perform your everyday affairs are really in charge of those affairs. This has long been true within the Order of Hermes. Awakened Masters placed themselves so high above the society around them, often removing themselves to pure Horizon realms or spirit domains, that they left the management of the clay to day to their "lessers." Realisricallv, those who achieve an aff"rnittve Awakenin$ are merely accorded status because it is traditional. Like kings born to the tide, they sometimes fall into the trap offeellng tha t they especial] y deserve it. Looking at the smoking ruins of their kingdom, some of these princes are starting to see the value in those they once saw as mere building blocks.

The vast and incredible influence of the Order before its fall left a legacy that srill reflects in the stories of the fantastic. So widespread were itsarts, and so intricately dependent upon a pool of specialized, talented craftsmen, that even today it is easy to find suitable ritual paraphemalia and rexts. What is difficult is separating the good stuff from [he garbage, manufactured or printed by companies that

either intentionally or ignorantly warer down.jomanrtcue or outright lie about magic.

Paths

Alchemy (especially among the Sol ificati) , Binding and Warding, Conjuration, Encharument.Hellflre (crother Forces creations) and Summoning.

SEBNS €&FerneR

Initiation There is a rugged individuality found in theSon of:t;rher; soul that drives him to seek understanding at r$tity like a starving man looking for food. Once he achieves the bre.aJc:~ through that marks his real-life achi~vement, everything_ else is almost gluttony. Having created amodel freaUt ,the~ Son of Ether fits everything into it, concinuously-expanaing his theories to explain the functions of the universeas he sers i [and the interaction of his creations with ~o.se..theories. A times. individual Etherttes may become ftrventabout discarded ideas or lost secrets that c ce embraced s much interest that they possess ahody of beliefs and lore suffic;ient to provide a path. Other times, an Erherite may discover some principle so difficult to integrate with the rest of reality

rhat he may only develop it one facet of creation at a time .. Such individuals follow a linear path, but amongst the Sons of Ether, they are a minority. All too often, the radical theories and models of the Ethentes die with them, leaving no path for others to follow.

" Orgaaieation and Style

Recognition within the Sons of Ether means work. The 'briJ liance of your creations and the sublime understanding of )l,OtU personal theories is what is important. If you aren't peuC\rmmg groundbreaking research, you better be busy e;.cpandin~ upon tHI: work of someone who has, or you are just wasting precious grant money or the time others bother to §f'I,end listening to you. Gaining a teacher amongst the Etbeutestaeans impressing him with your intelligence or your usefulness to !lis projects. After that, your contributions to Science are what matter.

The apparatuses, machines and devices of the Sons of Etker are what generally identify them to others. Their tools arethe source of their power and the result of their inspiration. ~othing works if it does not fit into an Etherire's theories. In addition to those foci listed in Mage Revised, some Scientists use artifacts from ancient, lost civilizations.

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Paths

Technological Alchemy, Conveyance, Weathercraft.

Note that Sons of Ether practice a wide range of technomysticism. To some, technology harnesses powers in ways that can only be described as magical. To others, it's extraordinary science .. Rarely do two Sons of Ether share the same theories unless they trained together.

VfRBPNA

Initiation

Like the Dreamspeakers and Celestia I Chorus, the Verbena owe their origins to roots so old that they are buried too deep to find. Verbena unification has been a natural growth, stemming from a common European cultural basis, powerful group symbols like the Tree of Life and a shared persecution. Verbena view the twin paths of linear and afftnieive magic as a necessary division that naturally occurs, like male and female or night and day. Most of them are aware of some difference, however small, but really don't c-are. Certainly, a majority of I inear Verbena gravitate towards the Gardeners of the Tree and the Twisters of Fate factions, wbile most affinitive Verbena are attracted to the Moon-Seekers and the Lifeweavers, However, this is just a natural tendency of the like minded to flock together.

Organ:ization and Style

Verbena covens usual IV contain mages and sorcerers.

Wisdom of age, insight and past lives earn respect beyond any concern (or how one perceives magic. It is only natural, however, for some conflict to result between traditionalists who desire that the old rites befaithfuHy kept and progressives who want to expand into new ways. The initiation tests vary from coven to coven, but they always reflect the personality of the student and a sense of connection to the natural world (however unforgiving Mother Nature may be). Her magical style and foci. will reflect the types of magic her coven teaches her.

Paths

Cursing, Dlvinatlon, Herballsm and Shapeshifting.

Some Verbena might perform Enchantment as welL

VIRTUAL ADePTS

Though the computer grants unparalleled communication to vast segments of the world population, it bas not yet proved to be our salvation. War, disease, hate and misery continue to exist. in fact, new crimes flnd their creations in the cvber realms, like twisted reflections of the physical world .. Hate groups put up websites: thieves steal credit card numbers or even persona I information about people's lives. Raving anrlsocisls curse, rant and threaten with a passion born of the sudden ability to vent every pent up aggression they have been too cowardly to express to those around

[hem. Nevertheless, it is a powerful tool and one whose potential we have undoubtedly only begun to tap.

Organization and Style

Given the vast hord of people who manage to use computers every day without even a glimmer of Awakening, linear computer mages should be no real surprise. In fact, an almost supernatural realization of the capabilities hidden within computers is much more common rhan a complete Awakening to me idea thai-the computer might be able to control the entire pnysical universe. As Elitists, of course, the Awakened, affinirive Virtual Adept defmitely looks down upon his satellite ima,&ery enhanced lessees. Most linear Virtual Adepts have no power over reality outside of their computers. and the Digital Web. Inside the Digital Web, though, a potent Linear Adept can hold his own with no one the wiser.

ObV'iotisly, the linear computer mage is just as much a technician, hacker, scientist Or techno-geek as any other Virtual Adept. She just doesn 't understand some of the links yet. Foci are. predictably the same compl5ters, programs and equipment char their affinitive brethren use.

Paths

Serving (on the physical world and in the Digital Web), within the Digital Web only - Binding and Warding, Conjuration and Summonin,g. Remember that Virrual Adepts tend to use exceptional science, though a few "wizards" (to borrow a Unix term) also have a decidedly superstitious bent to their hyper-computing capabilities .. Virtual Adepts are also good candidates for Cyberkinesis and Cyberpatby

psychic powers. .

EeRPHANS AND H$LLEBW EaNES

Initiation

The dispossessed mages of the Orphans and those called Hollow Onesgenerally piece their magic together from birs stolen from other T raditions. +he result is a sort of cobbledtogether eclectic mix of myrhic heritage. A. linear Orphan or Hollow One j.rlhesame. She has gatliered a hodgepodge of paths frolj' 50UICes ranging from New Age pip.ctices to archaic, f6rgoue.r). arts.

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O~anization and Style

There is yirtually no organization amongst most Orphanor Hollow Ones groups .. At best, they are loe social groups wuha few €Ommonlnee ing,Blaces. The magical style of each individual is 1 ust a mix of whatever magical practices she has picked to follow. Foci are similarlx jumbled collections of items deemed important to the sorcerer.

Pa~.

It proba.b1y doesn't need saying, but so long as you and your Storyteher,. can come to an a eemem as to how your sorcerer views magJe, then whatever Paths fit that vision are

available to her. -

TECHNEKRATIC SEBRCERfRS (i3xTRAEBRDINARY CITIZeNS)

Initiation

Though the Technocracy boasts hundreds of enlightened members, mOST of its true strength Gomes from the support of the Masses. Chief among these are the few exrraordlnarv citizens who manage to grasp the Technocracy's hyper-advanced theories - the doctor who manages to grasp a treatment for lymphoma, the highly trained technician who can maintain a secret shuttlecraft, the computer engineer who delivers phenomenal precision in his clockwork numbers and parts. These extraordinary citizens have agift to expand beyond the normal bounds of science, just-as sorcerers tap into the wellspring of the mystical.

The Guide to the Technecrac is an invaluable aid in understanding the scientific mages' soeiety and the rules [hat govern it, Ircnicallv, probably the most clear difference between linear and ·aff'mitive mages is within the Technocracy's ranks. The Order of Reason has pushed for change for the sake of mankind since its inception. As the Union increasingly maps, catalogs and labels reality, the difficulty of continuing to push the envelope grows. Mundane craftsmenand intellectuals are 8.8 much responsible for winning mankind over to the T echnocrane ideals as the inventor geniuses whose work they disseminated were, As their own webs of static control close over them, the Technocracy is discovering that the linear scientists may be their future.

Organitation and Style

Extraordinary scientists fill the gap between the mundane specialists that practice the every day works of the T echnocracv and the dynamic visionaries who strive to make the future brighter, They are capable of understanding theories that still

defy what the general public comfortably accepts but that have already been established with the elite scientific community widely enough co at least be acknowledged as "possible," The linear technocrats of lteration X build cybernetic devices, fusion-powered machines and supercomputers. Their New World Order contemporaries practice incredible multilevel satellite surveillance programs, deep hypnotic programming and subliminal propaganda, Progenitors limited to linear paths create designer drugs, practice genetic engineering and limited cloning. The Syndicate manipulates national economies, remakes ideas by commercializing them andgeneralty assures that money is the modem God. Void Engineers venture in to space and voyage to the bottomof the sea ..

All sound famil Lac? That's the point. The linear mage of me Technocracy is performing me techniques taught to him by his Awakened counterparts. However, his Awakened counterparr is having greater trouble coming up with new trick$. The rwo groups' foci and styles grow closer by the day.

Paths

"Alchemy" and "Enchannnent" work for the Iteration X,

as creazions ofsciennfkdevices and fonnuIae. "Divination" and "Fascination" suffice for the New World Order, to represent their command of personality and psyChology, as welt as media manipulation. "Conveyance" and "Coniuradorrcover the Void Engineers' devices. "Alchemy" and "Healing" fit the Progenitors, as drugs or advanced treaemenrs, ''Cursing'' and "Divination" give the Syndicate power to affect odds and outcomes, In all cases, the citizen sees what he does merely as an extension of highly advanced scientific principles; although a Progenitor extraordinary scientist might recognize her work as special and advanced, she'd hardly consider it magical. In all ' cases, the Technocrat uses special procedures and devices to perlonn the "rituals" necessary.

Of course, the Traditions are hardly the only magicians with sorcerous counterpa rrs. ~~"II Severa I other groups of organized magicians ~~"""""l"'iirll still exist, with their own praxes, their own R~~~==...-,,;~I designs and goals. Shielded from the vicissl. tudes of mystic warfare by thetr own

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THe ANCI€NT EBRDER $F THt: Af€:1N RITe>

Initiation

If the study of magic isa search for truth and the practice of magic is a pur.suit of perfection, then the Ancient Order of the Aeon Rites truly have a pure vision. Combining the

mystic threads from thousands of years of civilization, the Order's sorcerers seek out the purest original paeans to divinity in each magical practice. Hidden in the language of angels - Enochian - the Order's practitioners find the secrets of the Aeon Rites.the great magics thac wLU usher in a new, pure, golden era, Once they have mastered the proper formulae and chanted the hidden words handed to man by the Creator, the world will blossom into perfection. The Order truly believes that its practices herald the way to a better world for all humanity,

From the manuscripts and rites passed down from 1873 by Master Agrippa - the Order's modem founder - the group initiated (and continues to initiate) compassionate, dedicated seekers into its mys~edes. Convinced that they have the Great Answer and One Truth at the heart of their

rites, the Ancient Order frrmly guides its members and companions down a humanitarian road. Other magicians

find themselves alternately aided and chastised by the Order, which believes that all sorcerers have a dutY to use their powers in service to the rites that will eventually bring humanity to a new age of enlightenment.

Organizaden

Asa pseudo-secret cult society, the Ancient Order keeps a multi-tiered initiation structure. New pupils make upche outer level; these are the first-, second- and third-degree magiciansthose who have just joined or wh.o still struggle to unlock the basic secrets. These pupils perform mundane work on behalf of the Order. Next is the inner level, three grades ofbrothers and sisters (feareres and sorores) - those who've unlocked enough knowledge to pursue and promote greater truth to the Order's mysteries (that is, those who can develop or master various Paths of magic). These mid-level members also oversee irnporrant Order matters like finance, local political connections and the dissemination of secrets, or the training of novices. Finally, the three degrees of magisters devote most of their time to furthering the Order's esoteric studies. The rnagisters still have their own lives and concerns, of course, but they also hold the greatest mysteries, including the Order's most valued texts and secret knowledge.

Beyond the mortal realms, the Order believes that its mosrenl ightened magisters pass on to become Secret Watchers, disembodied spirits that guide the group in its search. Indeed, founder Johannes Agrippa has appeared from time to time to offer his advice and wisdom -be he ghost or spirit, none in the Order can definitively say, but he has often given aid even to fledgling sorcerers and seems truly concerned with the continued existence of the Ort:ler. As "tenth degree" initiates, these Secret Watchers comprise the most knowledgeab1e of the Order's members, and only the Secret Watchers can initiate other magisters into their ranks after death. Unfortunately, the Secret Watchers rarely seem to attend the functions of the Order; apparently, their higher concerns in guiding humanity keep them ramer occupied.

Materially, me Order functions much like many other secret fraternities: Members contribute a small sum of money for factlieies (in this case, the AOAR sponsors tabernacles for quiet smdy, storage of ritual materials and meetings) and participate in charitable events. Such events also serve as good recrultment drives, chances to look for other helpful and tntelligent individuals who might have the minds to learn the Aeon Rites. The center of the Order, though, is in Amsterdam, where Johannes Agrlppa's copiesof the com, plete rites are stored.

Style

Meticulous, precise and ritualistic, the AOAR magicians use elaborate and carefully constructed trappings to perform their rites. Each tool has a symmetry with the Otherworld and with the numeric keys hidden in the rites themselves. As a result, each tool must be built [0 the true specifications prescribed in the rites. A wand must be exactly

so long; a eablecloehjescso big; a circular pattern made injUSt such an amount of time .. Each ritual is equal parts pteparationand execution, and if even a single minor error results, theenttre titual must be redone. Eac h sorcerer thus builds his or her own tools and pores over the tomes of the Order to memorize and reference the steps for each rite ..

In cheir rabernacles, the AOAR sorcerers don elaborate robes and carry wands all shed to their personal numeric correspondences. Swords, pentacles, altars and cups have both symbolic and practical applications. A participant can expect stands with heavy tomes opened to the appropriate pages for eacb ritual, as the AOAR members reference the exact words, steps and motions for each casting. Even in the outside world, the AOAR sorcerers rely heavily on the precise steps that they've memorized; to bring about a. perfect world, one must follow the. perfect steps, after all.

Paths

AOAR magicians have a wide range of skills available - Hellfire, Summoning, Binding and Warding and Weather Control are only some of the more common powers. Nearly any Path that could be fonnulaically studied can make its way into the AOAR's ritual gr imo ires I decoded from the Aeon Rites themselves.

Once, the Bata'a comprised one of the largest organized Crafts of magic, surpassing even rhe numbers of some Traditiona. Since that time, the Ascension War has ground away at magical societies and created sorp.e new bedfellows. Most Bata'a have thrown in. with the Dreamspeakers. Nevertheless, they retain a degree of cultural identity far greater than that left to such splinter groups as the Templars. The Bata'a represent one of the Largest still living magical tradlnons in me world.

Initiation

The brutal legacy of exploi tatlonand slavery by Europeanshungry for easy wealth left a vietousscar upon the psyche and spi.rituallandscape of the New World. Long ago, before the slavers came, the island people of the Caribbean were caned the Qua'ra. They practiced an an known as quinshithe ability to act as a link between the worlds of spirit and flesh. In return for giving their bodies to ghosts and spirits who desired to experience the material realm, they received favors and. power. The neighboring Arawaks and Carib people called those talented in quinshi choles, or Godflowers. EspeciaUy devout choles gained their villages plentiful harvests and fishing, benevolent weather, warnings of misfortune and other boons. In return, the people forgave the choles th.e strange and often dangerous behaviors the spirits made them perform. This paradise was lost to the European invaders, though. Spanish and French settlers brought disease and murderous pirates. They even enslaved the natives to work their farms and fought those who sought to keep their land.

The Qua'ra people died en masse and, by 1550, were no more. Determined explorers chose to import black slaves to

rake their place. .

According to rradtelon, seven tribes were first chained and brought to the Caribbean as staves from Africa. Early slaves managed to escape and fled to hide amongst the last of the Qua'ra, The last Qua'ra taught the earliest black escapees the arts of quinshi.The spiritual wisdom they gained resembled the beliefs of their own traditional African religions, and over time, the two became one. Christian conversions by their fonner masters also entered the mix, creating creeds I ike Voudun and Santeria. The forgotten gods of the Qua'ta became the loa of the new traditions. From me sacred drums used to awaken the spirits, the new magical society drew its name, and from the spirit world, to which they sacrificed their bodies, they mew their power.

Organization

Strong personal, community and spiritual relationships join to create me Bara'a lifestyle and society. Traditions emphasize union in a number of ways. The sacred partnership between male and female Bata'a is known as Matassa. Most of the partnerships culminate in marriage, but a few remain as nonsexual symbols of union. Most Bata'a also claim lineage to one of the seven original tribes, whom they

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call Rangt, or colors, in honor of the many-hued Rainbow Serpent goddess. The Rangi serve as extended families and tight knit communities. Anyone within a particular Rangi, whether a normal person or a Bata'a, expects to give and receive help from his fellows ifhe needs it. The relationship between the material and spirit worlds is extremely important to the Bata' a sorcerer. Through sacrifice offood, livestock and themselves, the society strives to gain the favor of their ancestor ghosts, Les lnvisibles, and powerful godlike spirits, the loa. To those who achieve it and outsiders who observe it, the power gained is regarded, rightly, with fear .. The Bata 'a see that the dangerous, sacred duty they perform may be the only way to break the chains that continue to bind their people. Even without the physical chains of slavery, the Rangi are bound by poverty,exploitation, prejudice and horrible living conditions.

Style

Les Invisibles are the wraiths of the CaribbeanSkinlands (derailed in the Wraith Player's Guide). Some are ancient Qua'ra still around after centuries. Others are ancestors of the Rangi, slaves who died during the horrible years of chains or new ghosts resulting from the Violence, disease and misery that stilt plagues me region. Les Mysteres, or the loa, are powerful beings, not quite "gods" but functionally me same.

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Some, especially those practicing Santeria, see the loa as messengers from greater gods or God. The greatest desire of every Bata'a is to ensure beneficial relations between their community and the spirit realm. This means serving their ancestors and the loa with respect and by acting as their "horses" - that is, letting themselves be possessed by spirlts who wish [0 have a physical form. This practice is divine, but incred ibly dangerous; when one opens the garewayfor spirits [0 step inside, evil spirits known as baka sometimes take the invitation. With the Sixth Maelstrom raging through the deadlands,. even once benevolent spirits are desperate and angry. The Bata'a job has become more important and [enifying than ever before.

Most Bata'a deal with the Petro, who are dark spirits of the elements and conflict. and the Rada, who are spirits of healing and wisdom. The Rada, A yida- Wedo, is the Serpent Lady of a Thousand Rainbows, and acts as a femh-tine principle of creation and protection. Baron Samed! is the chief Haitian god of Death, and he kills or grams necromantic powers. (Further details on Baron Samedi can be found in Blood ~gic: Tbe Secrets of Thaumaturgy.) Chango, or Shango, isa warlike Petro who commands the weather, guns ~nd explosives. Damballah is the Petro serpent Father of Falling Waters and Serpent of the Sky, consort to AyidaWedo. Enulie, a Rada and one of the most popular ioa,is called upon in the name of love, lust and beauty. Ghede is a Rada form of Baron Samedi who watches over the dead. Legba is the Rada Walking God, who guards the crossroads between all journeys, whether physical or spiritual. The Racla Loco rules healing, herbs and vislons, Fire, wrath and liberation are the spheres of the Petro Ogoun the Chainbreaker, The Petro Simbi represents the elements of air and water, and grants freedom or knowledge of magical powders and potions.

The Bara'a originally appeared in The Book of Crafts.

Additional information can also be found in the Mage Storytellers Companion.

Paths

AU of the power achieved by the Baea'a comes through. interaction wi.th spirits. Most Bata'a believe that the "Avatar" of an Awakened mage is simply a spirit who has chosen to permanently ride the mage in question .. The Bata'a have no respect for those who do not acknowledge the origin of their Avatar and the responsibility it represents. Of course, anyone from their own socierv who has been chosen as a permanent host is regarded with respect-especially as they can still host other spirits. Sorcerers are those who manage to learn charms from me spirits who possess [hem. This knowledge is known as Mjane, and though it can be used without the spirit's help, a devout Bata'a must always remember its source. Misusing such power, without a spirit's help or permission is .8 selfishness that the spirits may not forgive. Not all of the choies, known as horses, or Les Chevaux, can perform any magic without the spirits' aid ..

The loa and the ancestors choose some completely normal people as gateways. Every chole is eligible for the title of pae or papa, or mae or mama, granted by populariry amongst the Rangi, not according to actual power.

Conjuration, Conveyance, Cursing, Divination (secrets told by the spirits, actually), Fascination, Healing, Herbalism, Summoning, Binding, and Warding and Weathercraft are all possible with. the help .0£ the loa, through Summoning and Binding they may even create zombies (see Hunter: The Reckoning's sourcebook The Walking Dead).

TH€CHILDRfN E£f EBSIRIS

I am the life.; I am the resurre.ction.

- from pre-Christian Egyptian tomb fragments Initiation

In ancient times, prehistoric vampires of incredibly potent blood ruled as divine beings over men, and some claim that even the god-king of Egypt , Osiris, was seduced by their power. Whether the lord of the resurrection martyred himself to steal the power of the demons of blood or made a terrible mistake that cose him his life, is uncertain. His fate has been the source of deadly sect warfare that has waged fOI: millennia acrosssorcerous and undead lines. For centuries, worshipers worked in conjunction with a sect of vampires who followed a small core of kindred who claimed to be directly descended from the god-king. Harsh regimens of self-deprivation and devout prayer granted vamplre and mortal alike incredible control of their bodies and souls. Recently, the varnpiric priests of the Chtldren of Osiris have all disappeared. Vampires in the know believe mat their Serite enemies finally eliminated the ancient sect. Morral members of the Children of Osiris have faded into obscurity, but some whisper that the cult has merely returned to their ancient homeland and is engaged in strangeactivities near various ancient sites.

Organization

POI a very long time, the Children of Osiris organized around temples led by vampires practicing the rigid path known as Bardo. This strict discipline tied control of the vampiric nature into the religious beliefs in Ma'at, or truth, balance and right. Strange dichotomies existed, as the lmmortal blood drinkers seemed to embody the eternal nature of the god and yet were forbidden from granting their cursed nature to others. Apparently, some of the most enlightened amongst the undead priests learned to escape death repeatedly even in ways beyond that of the blood demons. The resurrection promised by their god, as living beings, remained beyond their power, however.

The mortal Children continue the quest for eternal life, and now that they are free from the unnatural concerns sparked by their undead leaders, their vision of their god may finally become dear. In recent rimes.apparently coinciding

with the disappearance of their undead priests, the Children of Osiris have removed themselves to Egypt. Ancient temples resonate wtth chanting, forgotten tombs open in efforts to raise their inhabitants, and new acolytes plunge into me mysteries. Though the ancient god may not have been resurrected, it is as if the hopes of cult have been.

Style

The Children of Osiris share many of the foci and style elements of the Cult of Isis; however, they are predominantly a resurrection cult. Embalming, tombs, funerary practices and protection for the dead until theirretum are all parts of Osirian ritual.

Paths

Alchemy and Summoning, Binding and War<iir\g (Necromantic). If you use Mummy, some mummy hekau might make useful Paths, with a little work - the Sekhem cost can become a cost in mana instead. Don't give away all of the mummies' secrets, though; in general, it's best to assume that mummy hekau, if used by a sorcerer, must be reformulated (research workl) and is one level higher.

TH€ Cut T eP ISIS

Initiation

Almost no mystical heritage has endured so long or reached such incredible heights and depths of power and persecution as that of the magtcians inheriting the ancient teachings of Isis. One could spend a lifetim.e of study simply follOWing rheirortgtns and fate throughout the ages. Pounded in service to the goddess-an-earth, the sister-wife's followers pledged loyalty to the princtplea of Ma'at and learned the secrets of the Ra-hekau. Possessed of the very names of creation, they shaped an Art upon the banks of the Nile chat has survived as one of the wonders of the world. Love for her brother-husband, the god-king OSiris, led Isis to tum from the pursuit of the teachings ofThoth. Her associates became engrossedin the fraternal war between Osiris and his demontainted dark brother, Set.

Some of the descendants of her magical tradition believe that this marked the fall of humanity's chance to ascend into the blessed fields of eternity thmugh Thoth's learning .. They say that she forgot the name of Ra in the name of Osiris and cursed mankind to struggle for a pale shadow of the mystery so auspiciously revealed to them. Others hasten to argue that had the goddess not acted against Set, who had become representative of Apophis on earth, that all of Ma 'at would have been cast into the void. They claim that she sacrificed her life and personal attainment of immortality in order to ensure mat hope remained to restore the Balance of Truth for the entire world. As evidence, they offer the proof that Western mysticism virtually all descends in some part from the knowledge of Isis and Thoth-Hermes- Trismeglsrus.

Organization

During the goddess-queen's lifetime, the Cult oflsis was a loose confederation of magicians whose peaceful meditations gave way to desperate warfare against the dark god and his corrupt followers. After the death of his mother, reputedly at the hands of Set, Horus the Avenger seized control of the Cult and actively pursued every opportunity to cast off the yoke of the serpent. These magicians became the backbone of the priesthood for Virtually every god in Egypt. Set and his vampiric children loathed her legacy and spent mlllenniatearing irapart. By the reign of Cleo patra, the Cult had become a dull band of drug addicts and prostitutes, surrendering even the sacred Spell of Life to their enemy and forgetting the rites of their gods,

Ironically, the very same weakness resulted in a sort of resurrection for the inheritors ofIsis.As Egypt fell to Roman rule, her culture was plundered as effectively as her tombs and riches. Fertility cults halfway across Europe breathed the sacred name of Isis and tied. her power to their own goddesses. After Set's sudden exodus from Egypt around the third decade CE, Isis's immortal son, Horus, tried to rebuild the Cult of Isis into a useful tool. A few factors seem destined perpetually to hamper the recovery of the Cult's original power and unity. Horus continues to treat them as lesser, mortal, beings and ruthlessly conceals some of their own ancient secrets from them. The dilution into hundreds of pagan mystery cults has created innumerable branches and sects, sometimes with dangerously radical beliefs. Resentrnenr of centuries of being treated like simple children even threatens to cause rebellion amongst the modem Cu It against the eternal Son of their founder.

Branches of the Cult of Isis tie directly to or play part in many other mystical organizations within the World of Darkness .. The Hermetic House of Shaea shares the ancient odgins of the Cult, and it is certain that some members of this House belong to the Cult of Isis and vice versa. Fallen members of the. Cult remain twisted kindred of the Followers of Set, their morals and spirits broken by the dark god's corruption. Many of the undying mummies of the Shemsuheru owe their very safety and preservation to the Cult, There are even Isis cultists of orgiastic nature found in Ecstatic and Verbena cabals and of studious bent amongst the Alexandrian Celestial Chorus and Hermetic Solifleati. It is imporeant to note that the Cult ofIsis is by no means a unified force - factions even work agatnsteach other for political gain ot even out of ignorance of their rivals' origins.

Style

Seven thousand years of learning has created a plethora of different images of the original Ra-Hekau of Isis. A number of factors have successfully remained throughout the ages, however. Sensualiry, sex and their power in ritual and social interaction have always. played a part in Cult

magic. Hieroglyphics, Demotic Egyptian chanting and geomantic architecture continue to empower rituals. Amulets with powerful symbols, including the scarab. ankh, djet pillar and {alence images of ancients gods are not even that difficult to find 2,000 years after the final fall of Egypt to invaders. Some even suggest that the gigantic rnlllennium celebration held at the Great Pyramids on the New Years Eve when 1999 gave way to 2000 was a powerful Cult ritual with thousands of unwitting participants.

Paths

Alchemy, oracular Astrology and Enehantment of amulets and statues. Some Healing directed toward fertility would also be appropriate.

THe COLT E!jf meRCURY

Initiation

The Cult of Mercury inherited practices directly from Greek and Roman sources. From Roman cultures they derived the idea of expanding upon the power of orderly mass rituals and drew unparalleled numbers of initiates during the growing fervor oflarge mystery cul ts such as those of M i thras and Isis. Great gatherings of hundreds of Mercurian followers granted sorcerers the ability [0 enact spells that assured their positions of protected wealth and political dominance. Eventually, even a couple of Senators of the Republic owed their rank to the Cult.

Constantine's conversion of Rome to Christianity hurt the Cult badly. Irs practices declined in favor of the mastery of single powerful mages, while its initiates scattered into the arms of the Church.

Organization

Today it is difficult to hold together masses of devoted practitioners in virtually any environment. The surviving Cult is motivated by a few very charismatic sorcerers and their deacons' hard work. The modem Cult's followers expect a return for their participation, learning their parts of rituals In expectation that some portion of their efforts wi\( reward them and their families.

Style

Ritualistic in the extreme, at Least 100 participants are required for any creation of magical effect. Individual masters may in cases of emergency call upon Wards or spells previously empowered bv their congregation for later use, but they may never simply cast spells on the fly. Depending On the actual spell invoked, the initiates. clothed in clean white robes, may bum candles or incense or simply hold some representative object. The entire assemblage intones the incantation in Latin and ancient Greek.

Paths

Fortune (Prosperity and Providence) and Wards. It is important to remember that every Mercurian Path is all ritual. To reflect this, assume that the sorcerer gains no

in tant effect from her level in a Path, but gains two extra rituals at each level. Thus, a Cult of Mercury magician with Path of Providence 3 would begin with nine rituals in that particular Art.

See also Dead Magic for Information regarding the Cult of Mercury's foundation.

ITIAISEBN LIBAN

Initiation

The first decade of the 11 th century featured one of me dark signs of ill-fared T remere's growing power hunger in the form of the Hermetic Schism and the resultant destruction of House Diedne. According to teachings of Lib an mentors, Mathieu de Calice was a trusted pontifex once apprenticed to Master Gorarrix. Discomfited by the brutal magical fratricide of the schism, de Calice began specialization in the practice of the Order"sParma Magica and in various arts destined to defy scrying attempts. When he became aware of the plans behind Goramx's experiments with vampiric blood, de Calice fled to Northern France. Within a month, the conversion to vampirism erupted, with T remere himself seeking immortality.

Fortunately for the Magus de Calice and his apprentices, the Tremere's new difficulties with local vampires combined with the effort necessary to bother tracking down a few msignlficant expatriates, along with de Calice's protecrive and evasive magics, allowed a small house to survi ve to the modem day. Initially, the T remere vampire-mages moved quietly, careful not to let their nature be discovered by the Order of Hermes as a whole. It was 150 years before the Order reacted with the Massasa purge, and that violence lasted for a century. The treachery of Goratrix, who had been assigned to France, also shielded the house's presence, as most strange reports ofT remere-like secretive orders were quickly blamed upon the old master. In the end, de Calice was forgotten to everyone -except his few apprentices and. perhaps, T remere himself.

o rganizatio:n

One of Mathieu de Calice's first actions was to hide the House at a basic level. He renamed the tiny group, which consisted mostly of himself and his apprentices and later French and Spanish refugees whom they adopted and protected from T remere persecution. In recognition of the fact that they remained human, the house became Maison Liban - Liban meaning "live, leave, survive" in the tongue of the Visigoths,

Students are encouraged to keep their private lives separate from their magical practice, yet to maintain normal respectable habits and employment. Unless deemed responsible enough to learn the Art, a sorcerer's famUy, friends or co-workers may never even know that they have been me beneficiaries of numerous spells of protection cast on their behalf.

Maison Liban are not crusaders, though. They do not encourage violence or blatant activitie-s. Even the relationship between master and stud em only requires 5tudentll to be drled initiates until they ale deemed worthy to teach, when they become a prater or mater. The "House" Liban does still recognize a single greatest teacher with leadership responsibilities earned through age and respect of peers. In deference to eheirfounder, this position retains its honorific, Pontifex.

Style

Not all of the trappings of Hermetic sorcery have been left behind by the Liban nor even all of the anresanguinary practices of House T remere. Seals, rings and magical circles predominate, due to their natural resonance wi th protective rituals. Symbols remnant from Hermetic tradition still find use, as does Latin, descending from a trove of tomesapparendy plundered by the Vlsigoths from Rome, but both are supplemented with a liberal use of the Gothic tongue. The concepts of contagion and sympathy remain very strong: objects. that resemble or once belonged to the focus of a spell playa prevalent pan in nearly every mystical ceremony.

Paths

Countermagic (Parma Magica), Protection from Serying and Divination and Summoning, Binding and Warding.

N€BUU~AfEf TH~ $RDER $f TH€ GEBLDSN fly

Initiation

Reputedly, during the reign of the Pharaoh Ramses the Great, the Exodus from Egypt was foreshadowed by a series of divine disasters that befell the land. One of the products of that horrific devastation was bitterness and a deep desire for revenge amongst the Egyptian. people. A small group of wanlor-mystics, each of whom had lost their firstborn child and suffered from the plagues of warning, gathered together in a brotherhood born of hatred.

After years of research and expertraenrarton, their work paid off - maybe .. They discerned the secret names of the angel sent by the god of the people of Israel and determined to control it. A summoning was begun and the ways were prepared. Blood was cast upon the door, a thousand locusts burned in an incense of sulfur, waters from the Red Sea scribed symbols in a circle of dark, wet sand and the firstborn child of an Israelite was offered as sacrjficia] bait. The angel of Heaven descended upon the house of the mystics. The sorcerers demanded recompense, and me angel assented.

Gloating in their new patron, the mystics hungrily learned the secrets of Heaven. They gathered charms to bring plagues or raise fires. What they failed to consider is that they had not controlled the angel. The angel, Mastema, felt anger and hurt pride because it had not been allowed to complete its reputedly divine task of murdering Moses. The angel had turned from the service of Heaven of its own accord, corrupted by irs own deeds in the apocalyptic ravag-

ing of Egypt. It answered their demands with its own desires, wants, born of an unexpected love of death and fear. The order was taught only the darkest of magics,

The name of the Order of the Golden Fly comes from the ancient Egyptian practice of honoring brave warriors with a piece of jewelry in the shape of a golden fly. Essensiallv, this badge of honor was the Egyptian equ ivalent to the Iron Cross or the Purple Heart. The original members of the secretive order were all dangerous soldiers, their skills already honed by magical edges, even before their tapping into the might of an angel. It is mere irony that their serv ice to a fallen angel suggests the name might imply the Lord of the Flies.

Despite irs Egyptian origins, the Order has norremalned in Africa for itseruire history. Always remaining rather small, as its power derives mostly from the contact with a single angelic figure, the Order has, at times, entirely uprooted and fled persecution by other powers. Notably, the forebears of the Celestial Chorus, descending from the principles of Ikhnaron, drove the Order out of Egypt during the Coptic period. For a time, the order survi ved in Turkey, before violent confrontation with Muslim zealots drove its members into Greece. By the early 20th century, they were hiding in Austria and Hungary, and the deep anti-Semitic movements of the period provided them with some protection.

The German occupations of the second World War, however, pushed the Order toO far. During the War, the Priest of the Order tried to contacrcertam members within the Nazi party close to Hitler with offers of assistance of a mystical SOrt. Too many parties took interest in this tum of events, and mysteriously, an explosion destroyed the Order's meeting house. Only a few apprentices and the Priest's acolyte managed to escape. No one is really sure exactly where rhesorcerers went next, Various factions that watched the exchange and perhaps even caused the explosion to prevent the Order's involvement have searched and, so far, been unable to find any solid leads. Traces have turned up in places as far apart as Boston in the United States and Lebanon in the Middle East.

Organisation

The members of the Order of the Golden Flya.re not withered. bearded old scholars searching for lost knowledge. ThefaUen angel they belie .... e that they have bound to their service does not want weak or meek servants. Prom its origins to its present day incarnation, members have consisted of remarkable individuals, possessed of strong, fast forms and quick, tactical minds. Policemen and soldiers with the rare sleepless energy to lnvestinstrange extracurricular studies of esoteric power are the preferred recruits. Over the years, though, nor a few bouncers and even dedicated serial killers have been accepted into the Order. A new apprentice learns the am of hatred, fear and death.

Members of the Order gain authodty through their mastery of their angelic patron's powers, A novice recruit may suffer tortures and humiliation at the hands of his superiors - this is to be expected. The strong-willed and hardy survive and, in tum, become ruthless killers capable of channeling the power of an angel of slaughter.

Style

Rituals and spells used by the sorcerers of the Order have come to depend more upon the power of their fallen angel than they did at the outset of the original mystic ' plans. Over time, their patton has taught more and more of what it wanted them to know and less of the secrets of things [ike binding and command. The angel does not want them ever to discover that it is not really under their contra!'

Paths

Apprentices to the Order learn Binding spells that appear to command the service of the angel, but these are ineffective. It merely masquerades as performing their wishes. (Sorcerers learning the Path of Binding from the Order may learn it (or a mere 2 experience times new rating.) Really, all that their Path is capable of doing, though, is sending out a mystical calL to their angel, which it mayor may not choose to answer. During any use of the Path, the Storyteller should roll all of the player's Binding rolls in secret. If the player succeed, the Path's power has contacted the angel, but the angel still may choose not to appear. All the Path can do is contact it. All of the sorcerer's other Paths are limited by their knowledge of the Path of Binding, because in learning me Path, Golden Fly sorcerers are deluded. They believe that it is their mastery of the angel chat permits them to force it ro teach them everything else. Other Paths include multiple fOIlUS of the Paths useful in warfare, destruction and suffeting.

THE SIL V€R.PEI1R.T AL

Initiation

Most Awakened magicians would be surprised co discover that the raw chaos that is the hallmark of the Marauders lurks within some linear mage societie ° To the rare mage who understands the basic reasons why insanity grants power to the Mad Ones, it is inconceivable that the firm study of the sorcerer could render such mayhem. Thankfully, such disbelieving individuals are for the most part correct. Still, there are deviant orders such as the dreamers of the Silver Portal who shatter this conception.

The sorcerers of the Silver Portal are oneircmancers of a sort, and the ir power rests in dreaming trances. The group inherited eldritch techniques from an ISrh-cenrurv book suppo edly translating a 14th-century Byzantine Greek tome derived from a 5th-century Persianscroil manuscript known as the Zolondrodere, which itself claimed an even older source. Study of the twisted work is intensely difficult, as it has undergone numerous revisions and hints at secrets that seem ridiculous to the ound mind. Reputedly, every thought

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and idea exisrs In a dream-state, waiting to enter reality through someone with the strength to breach the barriers. The magicians of the Silver Portal gaze into the primal tangle of my[h, fantasy and fear, seeking wisdom.

Unfortunately, mankind has abandoned its visions, and mey have become like wild things. The Dream Realms, known as Maya, are said to be ruled by fabulous lords similar ro the mightiest of the Umbrood. Dreamers of the Silver Penal rerum from their rapturous slumber wi.th insights and extraordinary gifts from beyond the shining veil All sense of reality erodes, though, as the sorcerer encounters nightmarish horrors and mundane triviality juxtaposed with ancient fuding gods and desperate hopes for the future. The psyche of the dreaming sorcerer bobs upon the ocean of humanity's illusions until he no longer truly knows when he is wabng.

Organization

Given the nature of the Silver Portals' magic, it is not surprising that there are few real points of order within the group. Irutiarion occurs when someone stumbles into me waking real ity of magician and catches her attention asdeeply as the dream world has. A new student is encouraged to read the enlightening secrets of the Zolondrodere tome and practice obtaining the deep trance thought ofthe Silver Portal, Early on, this will probably require hallucinogenic dmgs and self-hypnotic sessions in front of a mirror marked with exotic symbols. Later, extended sessions of sleep deprivation and even lucid sleepwalking are likely to occur. As the unconscious mind of the initiate gathers the power of the Dream Realms, herpath mosdy reflects unseen bargains with dream-denizens called Onetra, or with quests to bring the majestic beauty and grandiose splendor of her fantasies to life.

Style

Diligent and very deliberate strengthening of the unconscious connection with dreams is the linchpin of every Silver Portal sorcerer's power. Physical fad inevitably include mirrors, which are regarded as symbolic of the portal to dreams andscribbled chants copied from the group's only complete copy of the ZOlOM1'Odere tome. Specifically avoided are any items like alarms or clocks that might dispel any illusions of time or cause premature emergence from a trance. Power derived from a trance session varies with the success of a sorcerer's lucid control over the visions that come and the interference of sentient One ira from beyond the walls of sleep. Such power is always lose in the maelstrom of imagination duti.ng normal. uncontrolled dream periods.

Storytellers and players interested in this fascinating sorcerous sociery must be prepared to deal with its difficulties and look upon themes boons. Createexclting stories revolving around bargains made with Umbrood from the Dream Realms. Indulge shamelessly in confusing imagery. Abuse botched magic rolls in reality bending manners. Cast shadows that provoke paranoia. Stan sessions rhatseem [D be real but tum out to be dreams. Evoke incredible mirages of

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grandeur and apparitions of unspeakable terror. Don't let anyone fall asleep at the wheel.

Paths

Keep careful crack of the total number of Path points and rituals that a Silver Portal smcerer"knows" at aU times. Each time he enters a dreaming trance, have the player choose which Paths and rituals he would like [0 "spend" these points to gain. Success Is measured with a pool of dice equal to Perception + Dream (if the sorcerer has that background) 01 Hypnosis (if he uses such). RoH once for each Path or ritual the dreamer wishes to use in the Dream Realms, with a target difficulty of 6. For Paths, each success results in temporarily dreaming the equivalent of one level in the Path - as the sorcerer dreams, he awakens his mystic powers, but the slumbering mind is not always constant in its capabilities. Any points allocated, but not gained with successes, are inaccessible for that particular trip into slumber. Rituals are harder to obtain from the chaotic jumble of the Maya Realms .. For each ritual, the sorcerer must gamer a number of successes equal to the level of the ritual sought. Failure means that parricular ritual expenditure is simply lost. The Story reller should note a botch on any roll and take advantage of the source of the sorcerer's power. A Path or ritual used later may malfunction in some bizarre way that reflects the power he failed to gain, or the poor magician may suffer from hallucinadons. Dream-gained power only remains until next time the sorcerer sleeps normall y, at which time it returns to the world of fantasy. Evidence of a balance even in dreams is evident in the fact chat the Silver Porta! sorcerer cannot enter another magical trance until his mind spends time in I.Infetter·ed rest.

Note that a Silver PortalsoTcerer's powers aren't limited to dreams- rather, the sorcerer tapsinro the dreams to unlock his powers and then becomes able to focus them in the waking world. Because [he sorcerer can only drawa limited amount of power from the chaotic Dream Realms, he must choose what uncoasctous knowledge [0 bring forth each time he casts his consciousness Into mystic slumber. When he awakes, he "remembers" these Paths and rituals and focuses his ability to use them, until he sleeps ~in and the knowledge floats away again like some unremembered dream.

THE 3T AR C'EBUNClL

Initiation

Slghtlngs ofobjects flying through the sky date back to ancient times, but it was not until the publicized Roswell, New Mexico incident that the term UFO came into mainstream thought. The US Air Force even investigated incidents from 1947 to 1969 asa potentia! threat to national security. Since the 1969 declaration that not one single case had been proved, no official acknowledged program. has been active. Many UFO fans note that even the Air Force could not explain over 700 of those reports and further hint that the

government could be hiding the Illlth. Whatever the facts of the matter, It is certain that the Technocracy wishes no publtc panic over the issue, and therefore, we may never learn what UFOs are until they are ready for us to know.

The sudden flurry of publicity about the Roswell incident created a feeding frenzy that encouraged frauds and those hllFlgry for attention to perpetrate hoaxes, simple and elaborate. Others were just crackpots who believed in the hype and imagined the worst. A few students of the paranormal took the sighttngs seriously but chose to study them. Their quest for knowledge seemed destined to dash with military in tell igence intent upon keeping whatever knowledge they might gain secret, In 1969, a group called the Star Council managed to break inca a restricted hangar and retrieve some very strange devices. Even they aren't completely SUIe what they have, but it seemsas ifit could be alien. The Star Council continues to find it very suspicious that the government chose chat particular year to announce its official lack of concern and bide any public acknowledgmem of UFO study.

Org~iution

The Sta:r Council is a small group composed of loose cannon intellectuals, numbering less than 50. A few of them ate older discredited professors of astronomy, linguistics or physics. Others ate young hackers, intent upon cracking into whatever government mainframe possesses the Holy Grail of knowledge they seek. Two of them are lawyers who 00 longer have a career left outside of defending other Council members. The Star Council has suffered from an antagonistic relationship with the government since its formation, as one might expect - only its small sizemd secretive nature, combined with the techntcaiexpernse ofits younger members, prevents the group's total arrest and collapse.

During the early 60's, before members successfully entered the hangar, the Council was not so selective in its recruitment. Narvelv, the Council didn't fear the government or other UFO nuts. Bizarre fruitcakes with theories about dead planets, lost underground alien civilizations and chariots of the gods were as welcome to attend meetings as the most serious students, One group of attendees even claimed to be in contact with an immortal being of light they called Khuvon,and dubbed themselves the Thal'hun. Ironically, rhe crackpot theories of the Thal'hun were so dose to the way that the devices discovered in '69 worked thac the Council believed them. It was almost the. group's undoing.

The Thal'hun managed co convince a number of Star Council members to participate in an expedition co a site in the Middle East. Somehow, the expedition erupted in violence, and authorities started seTiously investigating the Council. A scared, leaner Star Council abandoned its public offices in San Francisco and went underground. The members know their bizarre comrades were lunatics, but they also know that what they have found is still possibly the biggest secret mankind bas ever kept.

Style

The origin of the technological artifacts the Star Council has hidden in a couple of abandoned warehouses is uncertain. The Council is not aware of the Technocracy and, thus, has no real Way to distinguish between ulrratech and alien technology. Nevertheless, the devices they do have seem to have inhuman markings on them and exhibit properties that de.fy sclentlflc principles. The Council feels as though they are on the verge of learning the!TUth. It has broken some of the. linguistic code emitted by the devices through odd beeps and buzzing. Repeating these codes to some of the artifacts has triggered the discharge of powerful pulses of energy, with inexplicable effects.

Disappearances reminiscent of UFO abduction stories have plagued theo,uncil since 1969, They have, also wtenessed burns without fiXe or radiadon, flying objects moving in impossible ways, signals from empty space on static channels and random failure of radar and compasses. Three of the Council even returned after extended periods they can't seem to remember. Hypnotic sessions hint at their abductions but cannot explain newfound psychic abilities. The Star Council is sure that either aliens or the government is using human belngs for some sort of experiments. b is desperate to decipher more of the codes, fLgure out what me government knowsand leam the truth, if it isn't already too hue.

Paths

Conveyance, Hellfire and Weatbercraft are appropriate for Star Council members with their alien technology; many also have various psychic abilities. Note that most Star Council members consider their "magic" to be alien technology and language -- essentially, a sort of mystical hyper-science.

Several sorcerous societies have fallen by the wayside or been absorbed. These include, but are not limited to:

AsatruFuthark -- A group of pte render-b ike r-Norsewannabe sorcerers, the Asarru Futhark promo ted hate crimes and random violence and rebellion, partly out of a misguided racial superiority complex and partly due to juvenile bore, dom. After several run-ins wtrhother magical authorities bent on putting its activities to rest, the Asatru Futhark met irs match. A small group of Aeon Order magicians managed to utterly destroy half a dosen of the Asarru in a direct confrontation, and the group splintered. Now, the former Asatru tend to take up nomadic criminal Iifescyles,and some have left their former ways completely behind. However, the Aeon Order members involved note that some other group was apparently funding the Asatru - a group calling itself the Thule Society, a group hailin_g from actual ancient Norse religion as transliterated in World War II German society. The true extent, influence and goals of the Thule Society remain unknown.

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Balamob - In Mesoamerica, a few sorcerers conrinued to follow the shapechanging ways of warriors from the old Aztec Empire and its contemporaries. These bloodthirsty sorcerers have since found their way to the Dreamspeakers, recruited by the other Native Americans who study their culture .. (See Dead Magic for details.)

The Dozen Priests of the Pvthiaa Order - A small cabal of divinatory priests, this Order found itself co-opted for its ties to the mythical Greek Oracle. Now, the priests serve whatever entity decided to overtake Delphi. (See also Dead Magic . .)

The Fenian - Not so much a sorcerous society as a family, the Fenian claimed lineage to the fey and had strong magical powers to back up their claims. In recent days, the number of mystical family members has dwindled. The Irish legends maintain their geasa and pass on their secrets of shapeshiftlng and kinship with spirits and faeries. Still, the family's heritage runs thin these days, and only a few are born With the natural gift.

Mogen Ha Chav - The "Shield of the 36" undertakes a search for the 36 perfect human beings whose truly good hearts protect the world. The New York based group uses 3: combination of divination and protective magic to locate and protect these paragons of virtue. In concert with the Lions of Zion, it functions as a small, hidden subsect of Kabbal lsric practitioners. Though it is reclusive and does not often interfere in worldly affairs (due to its highly specialized nature), it likewise does not draw undue attention [0 its actions or to the existence of its Lion patrons.

The Nephite Priesthood - An apocalyptic group of Mormon priest-rnagiclans, the Nephites prepared for the coming millennium. and hunted down threats to its religious community .. On January 4, 2000, s()17Ij!thing happened as the Nephires met in Salt Lake City. Stories ate contradictory,

but rumor holds that one Nephlte survived some sort of massive apocalypse, carrying the knowledge of his order so that it might again he rebom somedav. Others argue that the militant Nephites obviously confronted something beyond their limited capabilities and won't be coming back any time 500n.

The Seven Thunders - At the dawn of the 16th century, a group of seven powerfully faithful sorcerers rampaged across the European countryside, destroying any heretical or magical enemies they came across. They struck fear into the hearts of unbelievers and carried out a crusade with powers born mystical and Heavenly .. In 1992, their testament was rediscovered, and new Thunders took up their mantle, to purge the world of evil before the prophesied apocalypse at the tum of the millennium. Wben the forecasted disaster failed to materialize, many of the Thunders' followers went their separate ways. Now the Thunders have come to realize that perhaps they are not the prophesied messengers for the new age, that some otherwise normal humans have been touched by strange Messengers to perform. their duties. At this time, the Seven Thunders remain alive and active, but how tong they willconrinue their modern crusade is a matter of some speculation.

ThaI'hun - Believers in UFOs and vtbratorv supertechnology, the Thal'hun were subsumed into the group calling itself the Star Council (see p. 39),.

Uzoma - The keepers of African mysticism ha ve been actively sought out by their brothers the Ngoma, who had long ago joined the Traditions. After settling some initial differences, most Uzoma have seen me benefits of working under a worldwide aegis that prov ides them with knowledge and resources to promote their practices .. Conversely, the Uzoma do not have a distinct identity any more but remain sorcerers attached to the T radirioas.

CREATING New EBRDERS

StoryteUersand players should by no means feel constrained to the example orders in this -~%==1 book, of course. The World of Darkness has seen many sorcerous cabals rise and falL Take an idea that has some mystical weight to it, and build asocietv about it. How mightsorcerers take a specific cause or belief and use it to empower themselves ?What magiC hasn't been

explored bV0ther societies? What cultural practices lend themselves to mysticism? For inspiration, try your own take 00 any society or group hom a novel or film that you enjoy - odds are you can find a way to make it a sorcerous society. Not all groups need to be "wizards in robes," either; cabals can be religious, secular, political, physicaU y oriented - any practice that captures human imagination can also extend beyond the mundane.

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- Francis Bacon

"1 see you have returned, lisa," me old man muttered without even glancing upfiom thestrange machinery over which his fingers played. "I know I have been bard on you, but it is because you are special. Have you figured cut yet why it is so hard [0 ~:o;......t.........._ pronounce me words I keep trying to reach you?"

Lisa paused, surprised at the immediate question. but happy nonetheless that hersomewhaterratic friend greeted hersoafterher abrupt departure during the previous month's frusttation. "Because they were not created by human beings?" She could not keep the tone of questioning out of her voice because even now it seemed incredible. "But why must we learn their tongue?"

"How do you suppose they arrived berel'Think ofitl These beings have traveled the Stars and now shepherd humankind toward some unseen goal. If we can bur decipher their meaning and their sciences, we shall inherit the universe, rather than being enslaved by it."

A shiver crept up Lisa's spine as a picture of slimy gray fln",oeIS manipulating the very object Dr. Cartier thrust into her hands

slipped into her thoughts. The professor's experiments suggested that themetalhalf-discwassomesortofcomputer. Ifonlyhervoice could crack: the eodescfthe heavens. ''What iftheyjustuse r:elepathy or sometl:tiQg and only have to speak to their machines? Maybe that would explain why no one bas ever heard one talk." Suddenly, imitating the sounds the crescent disc occasionally emitted seemed fur more impottant than ever.

THE ERUfST BEGINS

Sorcerers in the Warld of Darkness practice magic, but mey view it differeruly than chose popularly called mages by me T raditions, For centuries, they have been called ''hedge'' or "static" mages, but with the close of the Ascension War. the weakened T radinons have been forced to realize the equality of their magical brethren. In truth, all mages and sorcerers practice magics thararestaric, dynamic and entropic. What separates them is the pam to power. The sorcerer may practice shamanism, teclmological advancement, hermetic theory or even the martial arts, but her study proceeds along very linear paths,

It is extremely important to realize that these are individuals who know that they are every bit the equal of their more dynamic partners, Practitioners of linear magic spend long years advancing

•

their knowledge of powerfuIpaths and are confident in their potent abilities. The wisest sorcerers may realize that they are limlned to performing permutations of magical. feats pioneered by others in ancient times.but theyalso know that there are agesefpower to tap. A Lifetime spent digging deep into the universe's secrets can prove morefruitful thanstumblingaround lookingforsamenewway.lthas been said thar everything has been thought of before, and at least amongst religious sorcerers, this is considered a divine tmisro,

SHAPING SEBRC€RfRS

The fustthing that you should do is to decide what made your character step onto the path of sorcery. Some vision, experience, discovery or fanatica] desire sparked the impulse to search for the mysteries of creation and formed. the incredible will necessary to carryon that search. From this initial concept, every singleaspecr of your adopted. persona will flow naturally, and you will And iteasy to follow him down the mystical path.

A sorcerer character is built according to Mage Revised character creation rules, except thatshe usually bas fewer points and somewhat different skills. This chapter begins with the basics of how to design voursorcererand expands to provide herwith new options that will help you define her magical gift and her place in the chronicle.

The basic steps of character creation are ..... -.____...,_ ...... very similar to those from Mage Revised. For an

overview of the whole procedure and abundant advicefor bothStoryteUer and p layers , see pp. 86-94of the Mage rulebook. The chart above provides a quick reference, including changes to reflect sorcerers dIfferent points and costs.

ST€P'$N€:

CHARACT€R. CEBNC€PT

Concept

You diddec ide uponsornesortcfstartingconcepr, cight?What was your character before she became a sorcerer r Whar made her step onto the Path? A great deal of who we are is reflected in what we do, and a strong initial concept will help you make many other decisions whlle designing your character, Think of the details that you canguess jll1itby knowing someone is a policeofficer or a dentist. Wen, perhaps the individual will not fit your picture exacdy, but many generalizations will prove true.

Society

Lineal: mages owe more of their knowledge .of the metaphysical to their mentors and associates than most affmltive mages. There are always exceptions, but a sorcerer will most often continue tJJ belong to the assembly of fellow students and masterfs) who originally instructed her in the Art. Examine the sorcerous SOcieties in Chapter Four and choose one that fits your ideas for your character. You should make sure that any choice you makefits into rhe chronicle with the rest of the players.and with the Storyteller's vision. Autonomous magicians still pessessan origin, from those who have decided to leave the mystica I organization that spawned their learning to the rare self taught wizard struggling through lost tomes or the nervous recipient of alien "visitations." Despite Nephandic claims to the contrary, nobody comes from a complete vacuum.

It is very important to remember that the stereotypical images of a typical member of a society are exactly that - stereotypes. Your character is a person first, nor some faceless entity known to

44

the world asa Cultist of Isis or an Order of AeonRites member. In fact, most people that yourcharaccer knows probably aren't even aware of her sorcerous affiliations. T a them ~he is Chris or T amlka or Dr. Smith. Magical reachings do come from a source, however, and that source colors the sorcerer with its own prejudices, beliefs and thoughts about me universe, She is still .a sum greater than all those parts, and ultimately, hers is the choice of what to adopt and what to discard. Of course, to close-minded individuals, bound up in their own vision of how the world works, she may be seen as exactly the stereotype. A government agent stumbling across the Star Council is certainly likely to see them as a bunch of crackpot UFO conspiracy theorists.

Nature, Demeanor and Essence

Choose your personality archetypes as stated in the Mage rulebook. (You may wish to peruse the additional choices included here.) YOu should choose an Essence fltting to your concept and satiety, as welt, but be aware that the influence of the Avatar is far subtler within the linear mage. If the sorcerer ever comes to understand this influence consciously, he will likelvexperience it mostly as a force guiding him along certain paths of development.

ST€PTWED:

SEL€CT A TTRlBUT€S

The inherent qualities and personal characteristics of your sorcerer character are. determined in the same fashion as detailed on p. 890fMag,:: Revised Unless your Storytetler is allowing the Equal for All option noted previously, yom sorcerer begins with. fewer points than a normalmage. Y 00 mustprioriti:re Physical, Socialand Mental and spend 6 dots on your highest priority, 4 on your secondary and J on your tertiary Attributes.

STEP THRfl8: SEL€CT ABfLm€S

Next, as normal in the creation of a Mage character, you need to assign the Abilities that represent your sorcerer's learning, practice and academia. Again, the sorcerer does not receive as m.any points, unless your Storyteller chooses the Equal for All option. Prioritize Talents, Skills and Knowledges, spending 11 dots toward the primary, 7 upon the secondary and .{ to raise the tertiary categories. Remember that no Ability may be higher than 3 at t:his stage. You will have the opportunity to spend freebie points later. New Abilities designed to represent some of the rare secrets or arts of Linear mages are listed later in

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Step One: Character Concept

Choose concept, society, Nature, Demeanor and Essence Step Two: Select Attributes

Prioritize the three categories: (6/4/3). Begin with. one dot in each Artrlbute and assign points to your Physical, Social and Mental Traits.

Step T1:uee: Select Abilities

Prioritize the three categories: (n/7/4). Choose Talents, Skills and Knowledges. No Ability greater than 3 at this stage.

rep Four: Select Advantages Choose Backgrounds (5 points).

Choose Numina (5) (Paths, rituals, psychic powers, tOCi). Step Five: Finishing Touches

Record Willpower (5) and Mana Pool (equal to Mana Background). Select a Resonance Trait (Dynamic, Entropic OJ: Static).

Spend freebie-points (21).

Choose Specializations.

Ignite the Spark of Life.

fReEBIE PEf)NTS Trait Cost
Trait Cost New Ability 3
Attribute 5 per dot New Path 7
Ability 2 per dot Willpower new rating
Path 7 per dot Ability new rating xl.
Ritual 3 each Attribute new rating x4
Background 1 per dot Path new rating x 7
Willpower 1 perdor New ritual rating of ri tual
Background new rating x3 this chapter. One of the important changes is that the core book of Mage Revised does not contain any Abilities that are unsuitable for sorcerers. This should help you close any artificial gap between the two types of practitioners.

STerfffiUR:

SeLECT Anv ANlAGES

Just like other mages, sorcerers have their own ties to mortal society. In the case of a sorcerer, such ties may even be stronger - often. the sorcerer does not have the all-consuming drive of a pushy Avatar or an overwhelming Tradition and, thus, pays greater attention to worldly details. Conversely, many sorcerers have rather weak magical affinities; they just don't "stumble into" the bizarre situations that many mages encounter. This doesn't mean that sorcerers are without mystic allies and trinkets, just that such toys tend to be hard to come by J Prioritize your advantages according to the way that you see your sorcerer's interplay wirh magical and mundane society. If your Ancient Order of Aeon Rites sorcerer also happens to be an upstanding city councilman, you'll want to pay attention to that with Influence and Resources. A sorcerer who makes a

mUAL f61RALL ""'

One of the themes inherent in Sorcerer Revised is that all magicians are special and that most individuals, supernatural. or otherwise, cannot tell the difference between a "sorcerer" and a "mage." Nevertheless, efforts have been made to keep from stealing tbe thunder from our

~ Awakened protagonists. Some Storytellers may wish to run chronicles in which sorcerers play alongside mages Of just wam to further emphasize the fact that linear mages are not some inferior, lesser cousin £0 affinitive mages. Try creating some Storyteller character mages with Attribute, Ability, Background and freebie points using Sorcerer Revised starting allocations instead of the normal Mage

fJlevels. Or you may wish to have some or all sorcerer characters constructed us ing Mage Revised build values of 7/5/3 to determine Attributes, 13/9/5 for Abilities, 7 Background points. 6 Numina and 15 freebies. With an even playing field to start, the artificial differences between sorcerers and mages dissolve and the real diffeten~ can rand our on their own merit.

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CHffiOOE BACKGREBUNDS

Sorcerer characters receive five points of Backgrounds.

However, not at! of the Traits included in the Mage Revised rulebook are suitable. The common Backgrounds available to aU sorcerer characters are Allies, Contacts, Influence, Libtary, Mentor and Resources. A sorcerer mar even begin play with some son ofWondet, if the Storyteller approves a relic, device, talisman orfetish as being suitable for her style. Arcane, Destiny and Dream are sometimes suitable for the occasional sorcerer bur bear careful consideration by the Storyteller as to whether they fir the role of linear mages in her chronicle. The Node Background requires special mention. Unless the style of the magician stmn!:ly encourages Ideas of a place of power Of the chronicle contains a mixture of mages and sorcerers, Storytellers should not allow this option. All mortals, of course, possess an Avatar, but the Linea! mage guides his down a set road and, therefore, does not possess a rating in the background. New options for Backgrounds intended to help detail your character's special advantages are included later in this chapter.

If you use some supplemental materiaIlikeThe Bitter Road or Guide to the Traditions, the additional Backgrounds in those books may be useful as well- Rank, Fame and even Cult might all be appropriate.

All of the basic decisions you already made in designing your sorcerer character should have you well on the way to designing his magic. In the world of Mage, we Know thaJ all powers beyond those of normal humans are forms of magic. Our magici.ans do not see this overarching lU1Lty so ciearly,and therefore, their beliefs andstyles limit them in how and why this power manifests. In me World of Daikness, the cultist, Reverend, spoon-bender, mad scientist and telepath see their abilities asemirely different and probably consider them unrelated or even deny the existence of other powers. Seeminglyendless traditions, unnumbered rituals, holy miracles, spells, incredible devices and fantastical physical feats fonn a body of lore that even White Wolf will never fully tap. For convenience's sake, we call supernatural abilities possessed by otherwise normal human beings Numina, from numen, or "divine Dod." The StoryteUe r system reflects the common roots that these spiritual arts share with a system of rules that, for the most pan,. achieves the unity that defleli the characters beb.ind them.

The expenditure ofNumina polats depends torally upon the style of the sorcerer's powers. AU styles fall into categorizadonas mythic, technocrancorpsvehlc, and though th is division is arbitrary in a metaphysical sense, it does reflect the baste rules differences and differences in paradigm. Each style controls the type ofNumina that are available and the fOCi necessary in order to use them. Unless the Equal for All options are used,a character has five Numina points to spend. It is perhaps worth noting that the linear mage is NOT limited to spending only three points in a single Path .. Reaching the heights of power in

a narrower field is one otthe advantages of the sorcerer. (Of course, the Storyteller may well veto a character who seems to be nothing more than a bunch of dots geared towar-d, say, Hellfire.)

Mythic Numina

If her style is mystical in nature, distribute five points for the sorcerer within Paths listed from the society that you chose for her. Then choose one ritual per level of each Path from those listed in Chapter Follr. This does not mean that you have to take a ritual at eachleve1 of your Path rating, though YOUC3Mot take a ritual ofany speciftc level unless you have at least oneofeach lower level. Thus, if)1oo have a Level Three rating in the Path of Alchemy, you could take a Level One, a Level Two and a Level Thee ritual, or three Level One rituals, or single Level One and two Level TWo rituals. Unless you spend freebie points to gain more, thls results in five rami levels of Paths and five rituals.

WithyourSraryteller'spermissionand assuming the new Paths fit the chara£ter, you may even spend freebies to obtain Paths and rituals outside afher society'.s basic list. Perhaps your magician has studied with other orders or comes from a different cuttural background than is typical for her group.. The imp.1Iomt ~ .~ remember is that all Paths and rituals chosen should be myduc III style and that they should make sense for the story behind theorigin of your character . The majority of sorcerers fall intomernythicstyle, either through their affiliation with a Tradition or because they retain the practices of ancient societies.

Next, choose a signature focus for each Path. Any time the sorcerer uses this specialty tool or keystone. she gains a one-point break on the difficulty. As per normal Mage rules, the magician may choosesolne unique foous for herslgnaturetool and thereby receive a two-point break on c:astingdifficulties~ penalized by the normal lossshould she find herself without access to it. Other possible foci for standard use in magical invocation are listed under thesocietv's section on style. Sotceren; of a mystical bent caught without any focusatallmaystillseektocastthe.irmagic, surpassiagthe temporary need forafocus, bur it is irnmenselydifficult.lnaddition to requiring a point ofWillpowerand imposing a penal ty of three to the magical feat: ron, thepowerenactedmustbesimi.laItoapreviousllSa!:f. Hurai could fight acaru:Ue, even bound and gagged, as he has performed that particular trick many times in the past. The Path, once woven distinctly into the T apeso:y, serves to empower the mystic to rug upon the universe's memory of the act, Sorcerers cannot abandon focjentiIely unless they someday lay aside the linear path for an affinitive A wakening.

Technocratic Numina

Technocraeicsoecerers practice a sdemifi.c style of magic. Of course, theysee their miraculous achievements as merel y the logical extensions of scientif1.cthecrem, but the ·effect is essentially the same. They receive the standard five poinrsofFaths and nve rituals, but these powers predicate upon sclenrific principles and laws. Because their Arts fall Into the realm.otpossiblllty, scientific-based magicians are less likely to faceperseeution or absolute disbelieffrom bystanders. The ilips.ide to this is that their ways are newer and have beenaccepted inrealityfor a farshorter time , and rhus there arefewer established Paths. Chapter Four provides a number of examples of

rt1eDELS eFTHE Cesmes

Every model of the universe finds reflections in the nature of the magtcalsocienes who inhabit it. The static, dynamic and entropic triangleflnds respectively the Technocracy, Marauders and Nephandi embodying its extreme points with the Traduions theoretically walking down the middle. Another division of reality often described by mages is that ofbodv, spirit and mind, The extremes of the Traditions' enemies are nonexistent or at least [fluted among sorcerers, if only due to the nature of I inear magic. Nonetheless, there is a certain obvious correlarior; between the basic types of sorcerers and the segments of the cosmos. Three basic styles of willworking dominate amongst sorcerers and their Nomina.

Scientific or technocratic Nw;nina revolve almost entirely around the physical realms and thus easily reside in the province of body. From astronomy to zoology, the technological logic seeks to redefine all of creation within the scope

its own reason. The power to alter reality in the material universe is potent in the modem era, but it foolishly ignores the wisdom of the ages and suffers fmm a lack of spirituality that invites moral decrepitude. It is common for a scientist to see experimentation as the greater good and to accept other evils in the name of science - "we don't drop the bombs, we JUSt buUd them," as the saying goes.

Nomina Paths of mystical might derive from long-honored rituals that allow me diligent and faithful to draw upon the power of millennia of philosophical and divine thought. The brief explosion of the present isnot yet enough to shatter the historicalinertiaof thousands of years of mythic trad ition, The tapestry of ancient myth is an ocean still waiting within the splritofeverjthing for its deepest secrets to come forth. Unfortunately, the traditional sorcerer resides largely in the past, and every day leaves her a bit more lost to abandoned ideology and forgotten practices.

Mind is not remotely a surprise as the province of the psychic pracrirloner, He likely beats you half to death with reminders that it is aU that matters, the mind overcomes all other concerns, whether body Ot spirit. Purity of lends the psychic a strength that isdiliicult to steal. A sorcerer who has mastered her own mental abilities to the . rhatshe can control the world around her oanalmost never be deprived of her power. Short oflnsaniry, drugs or some other loss of control, she will ~ways be sharp and ready to act. Unfortunately, absolute dedication to one's own mind

encourages hubris. Specifically, it denies access to me immense power thar resides in mythic resonance, confuses spiritual ity with personal achievement and creates an adversanal relationship between the material world and the ego.

Perhaps voursercererwill transcend the limitations that arise naturally out ofhls style, but it is important tokeep them in mind. Whether you allow your character to fall prey to his own.A.rts or excel at guiding bim torise above them, they will playa strong role. The roles of body, mind and spirit are so basic and pervasive tha.t you .may even discover chey are easier to see and incorporate than me principles of stasis, dynamism and entropy. Perhaps you can [(nally recognize that the linear path is more readily seen, followed and mastered.

technocratic Paths, but vou can always adjust other ParhsthematlcaltVifyou can agreewith the Storyteller how to explain their logical super-scientific theory.

Choose a specialty focus for each Path, for which you receive the standard. one-point break, and note thestandardfoci listed under your societis style. Whether due to some remarkable personal invention ora theorem yet unaccepted by the scholarlycommunity atiarge,a technocratic wiUworkermaych~someuniquefocusfor their alterations of reality. k usual, this resu1~ in the two-point hreakon Path difficulty rolls, penalized bya three-poimpenalty plus necessary Willpower expenditure should he lose it Scientific willworkers cannot perform miracles withoutmeir tools, though, and, thus, cannever surpass or abandonJoci. Due to the ubiquitous natureofteclmology in themooem world, technoerati.CSOTCeteISdo not often find themselves deprived ofall foci. 'W'hendoomed by late,. stranded without tools, the technocratic sorcerer is at the mercy of his raw wits, skills and pbysique. Some schools of technocratic thought pr~ for this possibility by seeking [0 redesign the sorcerer's mind and body.

Psychic Numina

To the. psychic practitioner, powerful feats OCOEsolcly by the extension of the might of the mind over me realit). ci rbe bOOy and

the pnysi..ca1 universe, In one sense, they have earned the ultimate respect of many mages, for nothing butwill Is required tochange the world around them. Dedication to the purity of the mind, unfonunately, has cost the psychic the ability to draw upon the inherent power of outside foci and their resonance. To represent this, the psychic practitioner does not have access to rimals Chapter Five goes into more detail about the psychic and ber powers.

While the psychic individual cannot engage in rituals in the traditional sense, he can work together with other cooperarive psychics. Parapsychology studies allow multiple minds [0 work together to achieve a more powerful effect. Each psychic capable of the power in question and working in conjunction may assist and thereby contribute a die pool as if he were splitting actions between a skill roll of Perception + Parapsychology and a psych lc power ro II of Path Rating+ Attribute, i.e. since the two skills are wrapped together, use the lesser die pool tess two dice. As an example, two psychics are trying to warp the mind ofa target, working together. Dr. Dunglas has. four dots of Perception and one of Parapsychology, with three dots of Psychic Hypnosis and three dots of Manipulation. He may roll five dice as the Iesderofa conjunctional effort His partner, Dr. James, possesses two dots of Perception and two of

Parapsychology, with three dots ofPsvchic Hypnosis and two of Manipulation and, therefore, may add but two dice to the conjunctional effect. Between the rwo of them.they may roll seven dice to alter the mind of their victim.

The only focus that a psychic practitioner uses is his own mind's concentration. Concentration requires a fuH combat tum during which me psychic may do nothing else, and thus, the psychic power roll and effect wilt occur on the following tum. If a psychic chooses to do anythin~ else while trying to enact mental powern, he must split actions between a Wits '*' Parnpsychology roll and whatever other action she wants to achieve. At least one success, and possibly more if the Storyteller feels it is fait, isrequired on the Wits ... Parapsychology roll to successfully maintain concentrarion.

In some situations, apsychlc may wish to tty to'fast -cast' some mental power in a real hurry, forbidding her the time necessary to concentrate properly. Ifshe invokes a mental discipline withoutany timefo[ concentration, thepsycruc musr expend a Willpower point and accept a penalty of three to the target difficulty number, as she is essentially surpassing her fOC1.!S- PSychics can never completely abandon the focus of concentration.

STEP Ave: fINISHING TGiUCH€S

Willpower

Sorcerers require the same headstrong and willfuInarurefound in mages in order to persevere cl1tO\lgh the trials and nuances of magical initiation and training. Your sorcerer may find herself requiring a migbry will even more often than her a£6nitive mag):'! Iellowsas she cannot simply tap into reality's underlying power, AU sorcerers start with a Willpower of at (east five dots, bolstered by freebie points if you wish to spend them thus.

Mana, Quintessence and Paradox

Linear mages do not make a habit of slashing the tapestry [oro bits or creating new laws of reality from raw power. DraWIn~ their mastery of the world from its own secret nature, they can coax it into cooperation without suffering the resounding backlash wrought by shattering its subtle surface. Therefore, they do not suffer from Paradox in the same way as their affmitive friends. This is nor to say that abotched spell or ritual cannot cause a sorcerer dangerous problems, but overall, the softer footsteps she takes upon the face of the earth promise her endeavors a somewhat smoother course.

Sorcerers do not foster the wellspring of creation within their Avatars strongly enough to drink directly of irs unadulterated energies. Thus, they do not receive Quintessence either. Some magicians, psychics and martial artists learn IO absorb some bit of the soul of the universe, thought of as Mana or a SOrt of mystical breath or spiritual energy rather than the pure creative energy of reality. Those with the Mana Background begin with a pool of points equal to the Trait rating. Without some gift upon which to draw, it is difficult and unlikely for the linear mage to gain any sort of power outside of her own skills.

CE9ftIBlNING AND CEBNV€R.TING NUlTIINA

Typically, an extraordinary mortal has only one sort of Numina - mythic sorcery , True Faith.exceptional science, psychic powersetc. However, in \lfry rare cases, someone might have multiple talents. To represent this, the cost of any disparate talent after the primary one is doubled. For instance, if a player wants to build a character with both psychic phenomena and mythic sorcery, she can do so by spending two Nurnina dots for each dot of powers in the secondary aptitude. Say the character is naturally psychic; the player would spend five Numina dots bu t could swap two of those dots for asingle dot ofmythic sorcery, leaving the remaining three for psychic phenomena. Similarty, additional dots purchased with freebies have double cost as well. This applies to aU modes beyond the primary. Thus, a character might primarily study extracrdinary science but also have some skill with technomancy (a pseudo-mystical dis-

,

cipline) and psychic phenomena; the Latter two would

come at double cost. Oe the' character could have True Faith but at a cost of 14 points for the Merit instead of the usual 7. (This does not indicate that Numlna dots can be used to purchase True Paith, simply that True Faith's normal case is doubled if it's a secondary area of power.)

Once a character is created, all experience costs are normal. Thus, a character with both psychic phenomena and mythic sorcery can advance both areas at the normal [ate, though of course he has fewer powers to start with and will have to split his experience between the rwo separate areas.

Alternately, you may choose to pick some psvhie power and use it 8.S a Path ofsorcerv, or vice-versa. or instance, you could use psychic Telepathy, but state that your magician uses spells and rituals to communicate mind-to-mind. Or you could have a psychic who's capable of altering the weather with concentration .. Ultimately, such conversions rely upon the discretion of the Storyteller. As a good rule of thumb, such a power should have a strong story reason behind it (a sorcerous society that has a strong mental discipline might teach magical Mind Shielding) and shou ld have some ready correlation .. Psvchi c powers can easily become sorcerous Paths; most of the powers are instant effects, accessible wirha short spell. Conversely, the instant effects of a sorcerou Path can form the COIe of a psychic discipline; the rituals wou ld remain out of reach of psychic powerthe price of a power that springs up from inside without [he aid of focusing tools and aids.

Select a Resonance Trait

A sound exists that causes every object to resound with a like vibration and an article exists forre£lecting every emanation ofsonic energy. Magic is no different and, in fact, may be even more interconnected. Any effort to change meunive.rne works equally within the one who acts, for themagician is the ultimate mirror warping the vision of reality like a funhouse reflection. It may be difficu1ttosee rhe entire path upon which your sorcerer will embark, as any decision isheavilymarked by specific delineated Parhs, Thus, initially you should only choose one. Resonance trait, whether dynamic, static or eruropic, Assign one dot to it and a descriptive tean or specialty . Try to remember that often the resonance of a linearmage istied intotheverystructured wayin which rheyleamed (0 perfann msgic.As your magical knowledgecantinues to develop along different lines, you and your Storyteller should come to any agreements about additional resonance traits or gain in level of resonance tating.

Though sorcerers do not make Arete rolls, because their magic depends u.pon Path rolls instead, Resonance still bas an effect upon everything they do. Color a magician's Paths with his Resonance. As an example, a sorcerer with the Dynamic Resonance of Fiery would rend to do his magic in flickering waves of flame and probably uses a focus that involves fire. Perhaps he meditates upon a candle or his spells always cause a wash ofheat. Even a psycbic: could have such a resonance; his telepathic powers make people feel hotorcauseobjects manipulated to become wann.

The final hard-and-fast rules step is spending the pool of freebie points that lets you really go to town modeling your sorcerer to fit your image of her. Unless youcStoryteller is using the Equal for All option, you receive 21 freebie points to spend according to the chart found in the condensed Character Creation chart. Try to fill in places you missed. Is there a skill your character really should have or have at a higber mcing? Have you given her Background points to cover your vision of her history?

lf your Storyteller allows Merits and Flaws) this would also be me time to choose them. s'menew Merits and Raws, especiallyfor sorcerers, appear latex in thischapter, but it is worth considering how those already presented bythe basic rules might apply. All of the normal Physical and Social Merits and Raws easily ttansfer from affinitivemage to linear sorcerer with no noticeable changes. Infact many of them could even be found amongst mortals or rhus far unA wakened acolytes. It is word! noting that the Primal Marks Raw might be suitable for Maison Liban sorcerers whose genetic traits strike a sense of reminiscence within T remere vampires. MOSt Mental Merits and Flaws can be used wi thout change, indudingthe Time Sense Merit. Those affecting sleep would cause serious problems for sorcerers such as the oneiromancers&om the Silver Portal. Due to the difference in magicrules,rhe Sleepwalker Raw is not suitable for linear mages. Supernaruml Merits and Flaws that affect theA vat:a:r or Spheres ofa mage obviously are notawropriate for a sorcerer. These includeCircumspect.A varar, ManifestAvatar,

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We have already spent a lot of time explaining why the power of the Awakened mage is different from the structured and residual threads that give magical strength to linear mages and other supernatural denizens of the World of Darkness. However, does this mean that Paradox never strikes at other beings? Well, no. As the defender of consensual reality, Paradox levies its toll on anything outside the common world. One could theorize that Paradox affects the vampire by forcing him to drink blood, the werewolf by causing vulnerability to silver and the changeling by making iron particularly deadly .. Nevertheless, might there be ways that sorcerers and othersupernatural creatures could directly suffer from Paradox - or at Least from these scourges, wherever they spring? Not if the Storyteller wishes to keep things simple and avoid that particular path, but if she wants to explore it, here are some options:

The most common source of such a situation might be [hat some Wonde.rsenact affinitivemagical effects and yet are useful to anyone, potentially even sleepers. If such an item has a vulgar effect, the Paradexgatned will channel into the user tamer than the item. In fact, some MaraudersintentionaUy make items that do just that. Paradox gained in this fashion acts~. normal for Mage characters but is tempered in style by the wondrous item used and the purpose to which it was put. The Resonance that the item holds - often gathered from its creation and its creatoralways flavors such Paradox.

Other possibilities include victims altered by magic in such a way that their very presence is an affront to reality. If the Storyteller does not wish to use any Paradox rules for non-mages, the easiest solution is that the force of Paradox acts as unbelief and returns the victim toward its "normal," uninfluenced stare. Alternatively, the force of Paradox further harms the target, focusing on her aberrant nature and its damaging influence. Certain Merits and Flaws may open a linear mage to the assault of Paradox. In addition, other strange situations may arise that offer opportunities for Paradox to strike other beings who are not mages. If a vampire, for example, seeks to gain some special power from the potent blood of a mage, he may discover himself strangely influenced by uncontrolled forces released by that blood., one Paradox point for every blood point spent, perhaps. Options like this arm those Storytellers who wish to emphasize the inscrutable face that mages present to other denizens of the Wodd of Darkness.

, ,

T win Souls,ShattetOO Avatar, SphereNatuml, Avatar Companion and Sphere Inept. The ~dary Attributes Merit, however, is a very good way to help represent some of the remarkable achievemalts of various physical Paths. Most other Merits and Raws of a supernatural origin fit SOICe(efS just as easily as they do ~ or, at lease, can beeasilyaltered to fit. As always, Merits and FlaW'S remain a wholly optional system, but they can be useful ro underscore your sorcerer's magical heritage or to underscore a particular break from convention.

CHE!:'l@Sf SP£CIALIZA.TlEBNS

For each Attribute , AbilitY and Padl rated atfour or higher, you get to assign a specialization. Iv; perthe normal Mage rules, any rime you perform an action that uses the Attrlbure, Ability or magical Path ina way that reflects your character's spec ialized talents, any lOs are kept and another die is added to the pool. In the case of Path ratings, this can be very powerful, since die pools are often higher than Arete ratings for mages. Of course, with lessfleedble magic, it can sometimes be harder to manipulate the situation such that a specialization comes into play.

IGNIT€ THE Sr ARK $F. LIfE

You have been making decisions about your character at every step of the way, so far. Hopefully, you have had a lot more on your mind than just some dots on a piece of paper, but just In case, now is the time to flush out the whole picture. Look at what each of your traits says about your sorcerer. Breathe life into him by deciding what each dot means. What does your magician look Hke? 'What are her hobbies? She is a human

being, ri_ghtiDon'rskip thissra,ge, please, you mightnotrespect yourself in the morning.

Put some thought into the following questions, and try writing them down. Who are your mends, family and associates at your job? Or do you have any? Where do you live, in a house or apartment or on the streets? What are your quirks, mannerisms and habitli that others might remember or find annoying or attractive? Describe your own personal magical style and the types of foci you use. And then go back and examine the questions in theMagerulebook. Howoldare you? How was your life different (what made you step onto the path of magic)? Wbat"touch of strange," or mini~Awakening, opened the mystic to the possibilities of the magical world? What was your upbringing? When did you first encounter ~c? How did you join your magical society? How did you join your cabal? How do you deal with the mundane world? What's your motive? Does your character have a sense of her future? How does your character see his mystic path? What conflicts wait in the road of magical development?

That should be enough to get you started, but don't be afraid to write up however long a description you think you would enjoy. Just remember that an,! pattiQularLy bi2arre backgrounds need backup by poinrs in Traits and, as always, are subject to your Storyteller's permission. Don't W0rry, though, most Storytetler'sare happy to accommodate anv work you put into your character's past, as long as it is reasonable and not ridiculous. Remember, you were a somewhat normal person before stepping foot upon the mystic path.

NfWTRAJTS

Most of what sorcerers do alreadvf ts neatly into the capabilities of normal humans or those of 0-...",..,.._: mages. There 'are things that set sorcerers aside • from the nann, however, that are not always , directly related to their magic. This section derails some of chose special abilities and skills.

.·'New ABILITIES

O£-.--: __

'TALENTS

Lucid Dreaming

For most people, dreams are something that happen to them that they are lucky even to remember. From choosing the subject matter of yOU! dreams to altering their conditions, you have some degree of control over what happens when you are dreaming. This talent is w.eful for achieving imight Into one's subconscious and gaining incredible details for stories. Because dreams gain special meaning and power in the Maya Realms, the talent also is useful for building status and repuearlon amongst the Oneim lords and dream-spirits and weaving new dreams and realities [0 populate the dream world. Without magic that lets one explore the Dream Realms, though, you will never know whether your dreams were merely self-restricted

hallucinarien or epic fantasies envied by the mighl:_ie.st of Oneira.

Novice: Y oueat heavy foods and watch stIange movies to inspire your nightly sessions ..

Practiced: You often dream about things that interest you-

Competent: The contents of vour dreamsare open

to change.

•••• Expert: Your dream world is a continuing project.

••••• Master Do you ever wake up?

Possessed by: Oneiromancets, Dreamspeakers, Authors Specialties: Specl:fk Changes (such as adding oneconsistent

component), Somnambulation, Nightmares

•

••

•••

SKILLS

Hypnotism

Though the true limits of this skill remain unknown to modern science, psychics and psychiatrists continue to test its nuances. While myths of sleeper agents and "Manchurian candidates" are probably far-fetched but hidden truths in the World of Darkness, it is up to the Storyteller to dedde how useful this skill truly proves, Careful attention shouldensure

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that mundane talents do not create feats that should only be possible with magic. Hypnotism can place a subject into a trance, which lets the practitioner gather information or treat psychological problems .. To put a subject into s. trance state requires an opposed Charisma + Hypnotism roll against the target's WillPower. An unwilling subject may automatically resist simply by~nding a Willpower point, so breaking a strong mind may be a very time consuming process. The number of successes indicates how much can be learned. or the extent of psychiatric help applied. Hypnotism used in.conjunction with various mental Numina or Mind magics may have increased effects, such as programming specific actions co occurat a later time. See also the psychic Numina of Empathic Hypnotism, in Chapter Five, which allows a far wider range of effects.

• Novice: People you entrance probably got road hypnosis even without you.

• • Practiced: You can learn some interesting things.

• •• Competent: You feel comfortable enough to engage in sell-hypnosis.

• • • • Expert: You can reach deep into the mind of your subject.

••••• Master: An entranced mind is like clay in your hands.

Possessed. by: Psychiatrists, Interrogation Experts, Holistic Healers, Psychics

Specialties: Interrogation, Behavior Training, Regression, Hypnotherapy

K.NffiWL€J:)3ES

Lore: Specialized

Some types of knowledge are very specialized and invol ve many details that bear little or no reference to anything else. Thus, these secrets are extremely useful when applied to the specific subject at hand but relatively useless in any other context. Knowing the inside circle of the Arcanum or the troth about vampires could very well get you that needed. research gram or save YOllI life if you are faced with the subjeet of your knowledge. But knowing about vampires isn't going to do a single other thing for you. 'When you choose a Lore knowledge, it must be specialized, such as Vampire lore, Arcanum Lore, Technocracy Lore.

• Student: You know many of the basics.

• • College: You are starting co understand some of the secrets.

••• Masters: You are well versed in your subject of Lore.

•••• Doctorate: You know as much as most of your subjects.

• • ••• ' Scholar: You know YOllI subjects better than they know themselves.

Possessed by: Occultists, Anthropologists, Witch,hunters, Kooks

Specialtiese Tradition Lore, Mummy Lore, Shapeshifter Lore, Faerie Lore

Parapsychology

Serious srudy in the field of parapsychology dates to the 1882 founding of the Society of Psychical Research in England Such knowledge continues to be regarded wimsuspicion by rhesdendfic community at large, but dew of its ideas, such as hypnotism have even managed to enter mainstream medicine. Basic experiments and theoryconcem one of two phenomenon: exttasensory perception or psychokinesis. For the theoretical srudent, parapsychology involves the search for evidence of the nature of psi phenomena, including non«:nsory detection, influence of random events, .after death existence and out-cf-bodyexpertences. All too often, such scumesare ftustraringly inconclusive. Forche real psyChic, however, Parapsychology teaches one howeo use his own powers.

You should use Parapsychology rolls for psychic powers to maintain concentration, perfonn group effects and delve into the possihllldes of what can theoretically be done with psychic energy. Maintaining concentration will sometimes require a Wits + Parapsychology roll. Working in conjunction with a group usually demands a Perception + Parapsychology roll. Use of Parapsychology with Paths is as indicated under the specific power in question.

• Student: This stuff is interesting, isn't it?

•• College: You have spent time observing experiments in the fleld, or you have read many serious works on the subject.

••• Masters: You could even make a living by teaching or doing research.

••• • Doctorate: You engage ingroundbreaking work such as that which created hypnotism .

•• ••• Scholar: If you aren't already a psychic, you are getting close.

Possessed by: Parapsychologists, Psychics, Charlatans Specialties: ESP, Psychokinesis, Trances, Conjunctions

NfW BACK.GR.EBUNDS

People don't actually start as blank sheets of paper, and neither do sorcerers. The friends and acquaintances a magician makes may serve to help her find out information or get out of danger, but they say a lot more abont her character. Keeping a job and, thus, an income may not always seem glamorous, but it helps pay the bills and keep food on the table. Nearly every sorcerer belongs to the normal society in which he resides as flrmly as he belongs to his magical society. Still, the very nature of sorcery is intent upon gaining other advantages over the sutroundmg world. The crafty magician will usually gather mystical books, exotic materials, 3 safe place to work her rituals and even a reputation amongst other practitioners. The Backgrounds detailed. in this section represent special advantages that set soecerers apart from mages and mortals alike.

CHEBLe

Youare a medium in the voodoo sense, originallv known amongst the Bata'aand other similar practitioners as chole or Godflowers. That is, your body and mind are open gateways to

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the spirit world. Ghosts, nature spirits and the mighty loa ride you like a flne horse. Today called Les Chevaux, literally The Horses, amongst the Bara'a and other voodoo practitioners, . sorcerers and mages with a strong connection to thespirit world are suitably respected. The sacrifice intrinsic to acting as the open door between the realms is a sacred duty and garners immense attention from otherworldly powers and deep honor among spiritual cultures .. The power you represent is demonstrated in the ease with which spirits may possess you and channel their magical charms through you into the material world. The higher yow rating in this Background, the more easily spirits can use you, for good or ill. This is the ultimate sacrifice, however, and at least some of the loa will truly appreciate and reward you. It is worth noting that this Background can even exist amongst otherwise normal mortals. The will of the other world is not limited to the enlightened alone. X The only voices you hear can be cured with psychi-

atric help.

• Weak - you are the equivalent of a lame nag; -1 to spirit difficulties through you.

• • Medium - you have practice, and spirits appreciate this; - 2 to difflcelries of possession and charms.

••• Strong - spirits favor a link such as you: -) to difficulties to affect theworld rhrough you.

• • • • Powerful- the loa enjoy the gateway you provide; -4 to difficulties to enact spirit powers.

••••• Legendary - even the unbelievers see the divine in YOll; -5 to target numbers for spirits.

GlJ]J)E

A mystical animal or minor spirit has chosen to help the sorcerer along her magical Path, Oenerallysuch entities are very interested inthewelfare (oratleastfoibles)ofhumans but have some motive to attempt to encourage certaih types of behavior in their sorcerer companions, Crafty, knowledgeable in magical concerns andpossessedoftnhumansenses, these be ings have aloe to offer their patrons. Nothing is free, though, and this rela:tionShip is a two-way street Guides expect special treatment, includingfuod, sheleer, friendship and even strange .supemarural necessities. In rerum, guides can help a sorcerer learn mythic lore, gain new Paths or discover unseen things. T alee the opportunity [0 create an interesting, unique creature who has reason to share your sorcerer's fate and influence her behavior.

X Get a pet.

• Weak guide - a talking, relatively non-combative animal with a few occult skills.

• • Minor guide - exceptionally bright smaU animal or spirit with detailed occult knowledge.

... '.

Apt guide - a large, intelligent an imal or a smaller supernatural creature.

Strong guide - an animal or spirit with a few magical abilities of its own.

Powerful guide - a creature with magical talents, vast knowledge and probably a reputation.

•••••

Whemer mey call it chi, essence, kit pneuma, psychic energy. ionized electrolytes or any number of other traditional names, sorcerers can tap into sources of energy that empower them in their performance of magic. Meditating orres ring on ley lines, in holy places or even in supercharged chemical baths grantS the magician who understands their nature a source of power. Other sorcerers ingest a diet of rare substances believed to invoke potency or engage themselves in strenuous rituals, exhausting daily regimens of practice or hypnotic empowerment. Whatever the individual' methods. she exhibits an energy that helps her work her Art. a force described by some as being akin to breath or spirit, or in Latin, "Mana."

When performing Path or ritual magic, a sorcerer may expend Mana to lower the difficulty target number. As usual, her difficulty cannot be lowered by more than three; however, Mana may reduce threshold instead, though never below one. Recovering Mana requires the sorcerer to perform her chosen method of recharging and succeed in a Perception + Meditation roll, difficulty 7. with each success restoring one point.

X You have to get by on your skill alone.

• May store a pool of/expend one Mana

• • May store a pool of/expend twO Mana

• • • May store a pool of/expend three Mana

• • • • May store a pool of/expend four Mana

• • • •• May store a pool of/expend five Mana

STATUS

You have recognition within your occult, religious or super-scientific society. This may be due to anything from the circumstances of your birth to remarkable personal achievements. Note that this does not necessarily mean that you are powerful, bur you have a reputation amongst others of your kind. TI, is standing means associates listen to you and generally defer - it does not automatically mean that you are well liked and, indeed, may even gain you enemies who are jealous of your fame. The esteem you have gained may om always translate into authority in outside organizations either. Words of wisdom spoken by the Pope seldom move even the poorest shaman. Status may be gained in different groups with points spent separately (i.e. Church Status, Bioengineer Status or UFO Experts) or the character may hope that me Storyteller will rule that it applies to the situation in question. Very high levels of Status may gamer some small recognition among mortals. but any real temporal powermusr be purchased with Influence. The size of the sorcerer's group also defines Status within it. High status for a small group may indicate virtual life and death influence and medium status within a very large group may stilt mean being unknown outside of your home turf.

X Who do you think you are?

• Close associates respect you

• • You have great influence over your branch of the society and rna e attached to it

• • • Others often seek your wisdom. sometimes from far away

• • • • Your reputation extends far and Wide. potentially even to other cultures

• • • •• The Dalai Lama

NfW m€Rtfs AND fLAWS

Use of Meri ts and Flaws is by no means mandatory. In fact, if your group is happy assuming character weaknesses and roleplaying their difficulties and strengths without some magicalcarrotona stick, youarepotentially better offwithout them. Liberal use of Merits and Raws encourages goofy, weak, onenote character concepts and min-rnaxing munchkin twinks, On the other hand, they make extremely handy tools to customize your character in ways that bend the standard rules yet keep a universal reference point for everyone playing the game, If your Storyteller sees them as tools rather than a pain in theass, prove her right. Take them in small doses, and make sure you have a strong story motive for doing so. Otherwise, you may just be the straw that broke the camel's back and soured her on their presence in the game at all. Many of the following sample Merits and Raws are intended to help show the special differences between sorcerers and other denizens of the World of Darkness, but read carefully, some of them may be useful in other venues as well.

PHYsICAL meRITS AND fLAws

Sterile (I .. pt. Merit or Flaw)

Put Simply, your sorcerer cannot have children. For those who practice T antric rituals or require.sex as a focus, but do not desire pregnancy or unwanted children, this is a Merit. For those who belong to cultures, strong families or marriages mat expect them to have children, this is a Flaw.

The Flow of Ki (3-pt. Merit)

Most advanced practitioners of the mania! artsspend a lot of time trying to explain that their prowess is notsimply a result of skill. Desperately, they seek to explain that their might comes from an understanding of theenergy we aU possess, the breath of the inner spirit. You understand that lesson in a way that allows you to apply it to physicaL feats. You may spend Mana (chi, ki, whatever your style calls it) points to reduce the difficulty target number of any die pool for a physical action. The difficulty number may not be reduced lower than two, nor may you reduce it by more than three. Obviously, you must already have the Mana to spend or this Merit is useless.

SOCIAL m€RlTSAND fLAws

Faction Favorite (2~pt. Merit)

Awakened mages may be the visionaries who help the Traditions and Conventions build the future, but it is the linear mages who provide the bedrock foundation upon which new recruits, cultural identity, stable Chantries and hopes for the future are actually built. Whether due to a special distinction for conserving the past glories of a Tradition or a solid reputation

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as one of the backbones oforganearional power, you command respect in your Tradition or Convention. This is important because the worldwide influences of the mighty keystone associations of magicians transcend most of the smaller societies that manage to SUIVive the ages, Modify all social rolls connected to T radirlon or Convention Status or decision-making by two points of difficulty in your favor.

Force of Spirit (2-pt. Merit)

The raw inner force of your soul grants you a cerraln character that others may ftod irresistible. Perhaps you glow with an inner light; maybe your beauty seems virtually divine. You may spend Mana points to reduce the difficulty target number ofa social roil. No difficulty may be lower than two, and none may be lowered by more than three. Obviously, you must possess Mana points to be able to spend them.

Ritual Congregation (4 ... pt. Merit)

Some magicians require large numbers of believers to aid them in creating the resonance and trappings necessary to invoke spells or rituals. Most individuals limited in such a way become adept at manipulating or swaying audiences into helping them, unwittingly or not. You have carefully cultivated a group of at least 100 members who are at least familiar enough with the concepts of your magical style to serve as useful aids in the process. Of course, most of them are expecttngsomethingln return, whether it be redemption, social interaction or direct magical benefit.

Mistreated Minority (l-or~more-pt. Flaw)

In many celtures.some group ofpeopl e falls outside of what is considered normal and acceptable by the majority. Prejudice and racial barred are powerful forces that continue to divide and harm mankind throughout the world. You may be homosexual or ofa different color of skin or evenjust speak adifferentdialect. Whatever the.difference, it must be something chat causes you penalties in social interaction due to no real fault of your own. The degree of penalty, and thus the number of Flaw points gained, depends upon just how harmful and prevalent the prej ud ictal behavior of the majority is.

Storyteller's Note: Even discussing this sort of Flaw may causeunexpecred arguments within your group. If you do not feel that your group is mature enough to explore memes of hatred motivated by race or sexual ortentarion, then leave them alone. If you do decide to explore it, you will probablv Ieama lot about yourself and others that you never knew, but make sure everyone goes home happy and still friends. If things get tense, take a break, get some coffee. rernindeach other that you areal! friends and that the reason you are together is because these prejudices are NOT something you feel, Just something you know exists. Unfortunately, these sorts of uncomfortable ideas are often exactly what motivate real-life villains.

meNTAL r1TERITS AND fLAws

Strength of Psyche (Z-pt. Merit)

Your character has trained her mind to tap into the deep reservesofmvseical energy she possesses. PLooded with increased power of thought or perception, her mental faOl lties are tempo-

racily increased greatly, and she finds whatever task she undertakes much easier 1:0 accomplish. Your sorcerer may channel her mystical energy into mental activities other than magic. You may spend Mana points to reduce the difficulty target number of any die pool fm a mental action- The difficulty may not be reduced below 2, nor be reduced by more than three points. Depending upon the use in question, her psyche empowers her perceptive nature, grants her insight into the strange tongue or plunges toward a solution [0 her puzzle.

Detached (4-pt. Merit)

Your psychic has me rare ability to view his psychic abilities as separate fmm his physical existence and can maintain this distance even under adverse conditions. Wound penalties don't affect your use of psychic powers until your character reaches Incapacitated. H be's Incapacitated, then you may spend a Willpower point to use a psychic power at half the normal dice pool (rounded down). This. action may be performed only once per scene, after which the chru:acterfalls unconscious, so choose last-ditch efforts carefully.

Black and White (l-pt. Flaw)

The world is really a collection of shades of gray, but your character doesn't see it that way .. To you, everything is clear as black and white. ¥ au think in terms of people being either for Of against you, bar or cold, good or evil, easy or impossible, stupid or genius. This closed mindset can COSt you dearly in missed opportunities, misunderstandings and under - or overestimation of others. Insocial situations where your judgmental nature comes 1'0 bear, which are more often than you might think, you suffer a one-potnrpenalry to ffifficul ties of rolIs.1llis Raw is particularly suited to pairwith things like Code of Honor and otheroverly focusing Merits.

Pacifist (S-pt Flaw)

Truthfully.spealdng, this sort of behavior should probably not be considered a Raw, buras many insociety view peace as weakness, it can be a disadvantage. Due to strong religious or mornl convictions, you will not barm another being .. You may defend yourself with warding magic or deflective effects, and may even engage in peaceful demonstrations and resistance. However, you may not cause damage to anyone. It is imponane to note that this isa PWChologicaL restriction, not a supernaturalone. Certainly, it is possible for you to h!.lrtsomeoneaccidentally, but you would never do it on purpose. Players taking this Raw should be prepared to play its difficult restrictions. In most Storytelling games there is likely to be some level of ph)'llical con£I.ict that makes playmg it seem impossible, Nevenhelessgreat men from Martin Luther King to Gandhi have practiced pacifism.

SUP€RNA TURAL mmrs ANDfLA ws

Psychic Ritual (2"pt. Merit)

Your p;;ych.ic is a true rarity amongst the pure practitioners of the Arts of mental magic. Some realization of the importance of the universe has crept into his consciousness sufficiently that he has even managed to create a ritual that allows rum to perform some extended. psychic effect. You need to create a ritual, approved ofbvyoul"Storyteller, for one of the levels of one of your character's psychic Paths. When your character perform

this ritual, you may use the normal rules for rituals and extended magic rules, with minor necessary changes. Obviously, as your psychic does noegain Paradox, the penalryfor a oorchfalls to the Sroryreller, gready increasing the horrific effects of the catastrophic failure. Your roll is limited to no more dice than yOlJI psychtc'sStamina + Parapsychotogy. (In thiscase, you may roll simply your Stamina dice,even if you don't have the Parapsychology Knowledge.)

Style Sleeper (2~pt. Merit) Magic only works one way, and your character knows it.

When other people tty to pull stupid tricks, your sorcerer sees them for what they are, or B.t least tries. Anytime you witness magic thatfits imayour characrersstvle, evenrrh:ing isfine; your sorcerer istreated as an Awakened bein$. Any time she witnessesany magic that falls outside of her style, she counts as a Sleeper. Because this speci£ic:ally targets your character's enemies while allowing you [0 merrily continue with your magic as normal, this disbelief in other magic is considered a Merrt. There may be times it harms your character, such as when another mage is trying to heal her and she just thinks he cannot do so. More often, however, her incredulity serves as a partial defense against the Airs of others.

Twin Link (4 .. or6 .. pt Merit) Akin to the Mage Merit Twin Sauls, the psychic shares a I constant psychic bond wi th another person. This gives them the benefit of the Level Two Synergy .effect. Additionally. the psychics joined by a Twin Link get+ 2 to their Empathy score but only with.regards to what their twin is feeling. fu a 6-pt. Merit, the members of the Twin Link can purchase the power Synergy, in addition to other psychic powers they may have, at a cost of7 freebie points per dot and 3 experience points per doc to raise. This Synergy power works only on the other member of the Twin Link.

Wild Talent (4-pt. Merit to 4-pt. Flaw) Though many psychics lack formal training of their gifts, some lack even the most basic control of their powers. These "wild" psychics tend to have powerful gifts, though the lack of control makes up for the extra power they might have. To determine the level of the Flaw, use the following table. The total Merit or Flaw cannot exceed 4 points.

+ 1 For every extra die the character has when using the power.

-1 The character must make a Willpower roll (diffk::uIty 7) to use the power.

-2 The character can only consciously we the power defensively. (i ... e., A precognitive character can activate her Danger Sense, or a telekinetic can use the power to deflect attacks.)

-3 The character has no conscious control of the

power, but it works more often to the character's benefit that not. (A clairvoyant who has. useful clairvoyant dreams.) The character's power activates randomly (at least once per game session) and often at inowomme or

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embarrassing moments. (The channeler contacts the spirit of an ancient warrior during a fancy dinner party.) Blood Magic (5'pt, Merit)

Perhaps you learned magic from a particularly dark cult.

Maybe your spirit needs additional energy. beyond yourstrength of will, toenact magic. Perhaps you foolishly smdied under a vampire or from tomes plundered from vampires. Whatever the reason, your sorcerer's use of magic aiwa¥s requites thesacdflce of his own blood. In some cases, it wiU simply burn away from inside. In others, the magician must cut himself and include it in the ritual. Each use of magic causes an unsoakable level of bashing damage. Furthennote, the Resonance of your magic is likety to be dark, or at the very least, martyred in nature.

Path Natural (5.pt. Merit)

Your sorcerer is especially talented in the exploration of a single Path of power. He may have a natural inclination [award expressing its nature due to incredible related mundane skills, spiritual might deriving from past lives or a supernatural henrage. He may even have struck holy or unholy bargains for power. During character creation, you should choose one magical Path. Inthis Pam, you pay enlythree-quarters experience to advance to h,gher levels or to obtain rituals for the Path chosen.

Struggling Awake (5~pt, Merit)

For most mages, me 31;t of Awakening is a sudden explosion of realization, regardless of how long the study has taken to get her there. For some, however, the trip to understanding affini.tive magic is a bout of glimmering sputtets,and this traipsing back and fonhacrossthe veil may even happen to sorcerers. A subtle understanding of the broad theories that bind together vast (orces of me universe can briefly seem crystal clear and qui.ckly dissolve into a vagJJe sense of loss. In me face of the empty feeling of a deeper understanding,. the linear mage once again takes up the reins of power that have been so thoroughly ingr.ained in ber nature, until the glimmer recurs.

Whenever me player tries to can upon his A vatar's struggling magic instead of just practicing his normal Paths and nnrals, he mUSE fLrsr declare what he is trying to do. The Storyteller then rolls a single die. A result of one is a botch - yes, the Awakening is dangerous - with the most likely result being some episode of Quiet as the sorcerer strives to come to terms with his consciousness. Otherwise, calculate the effect's raCing in Arete and Spheres. If the single die roll equals or exceeds this total, then the player rolls normally to cast the effect, using the minimum dice possible -- that is, trYing to affect minor forces (Forces 2) would require at least a four on the initial single die (two for the Forces, two (or the Arete) and would allow the player to roll two dice for an effect. If the single did roll falls shore, then the magician probably gets. some minor effect in the desired direction but faUs to do anything spectacular. All other rules apply as normal to a mage, including suffering the forces of Paradox. Fortunately, specialization also applies:

All rolls of 10 garner a freeadditiona! roll, and a mil oflO on the

initial single die grants one automatic success to the magical effect itself.

As one example, Conrad wants to summon anangel tache aid of his Red Monk sorcerer, but does not have the necessary Paths or rituals. His pedagogue of an Avatar pushes him to try anyway. Jess. rolls a die and gets a 10, lucky for COnrad. Merely calling a spirit is a Level Two Spirit effect and therefore Conrad's character gets to roll an Arete of two (the minimum required) for the effect. The tenon the Struggling Awake Merit roll does grant him one automatic success, however. Rolling with an Arete of two Conrad proves exceptionally lucky scoring a success and a 10, allowing him to roll a.,oain, which gran ts him another success for a total of four. Jess rules that a lesser angel hears and decides to make an appearance. Unfortunately for Conrad, this is definitely vulgar, and there isa sleeper present (surprise), so his Red Monk garnersthree Paradox points. "The lord is meant to move in secret," he laments to birru;elf. If the die rolled a mete two" Conrad's sorcererwould have had but one Mere and one level of Spirit available, and he would be potentially granted a vision of the local spirit realms and any angels that might be there. In desperate trouble, he might soon fmd himself joining them.

Totem. (S'pt. Merit)

A powerlUl spirit has taken a special interest in you. This is probably part of yourshamanic path, but it is possible that the spirits have simply chosen you for some higher purpose. Maybe you are somehow related to one of the Changing Breeds. The spirit acts asa mentor, and all of the normal rules for mentors apply, allowing the sorcerer to learn Abilities or Paths related to the nature of the spirit more easily. You should come co an agreement with your Storyteller as £0 a type of spirit that might adopt your SOfie,ereT for what be can offer the natural world. Essentially, the spirit acts like any other mentor except that the wisdom it has to offer are mystical and cosmological beyond the ken of most masters. Unfortunately, its knowledge of the real world, outside of whatever its realm ofdomlnlori might be, is extremely limited, and it probably beHevesftnnly in the concept of cbiminage. (Chimiaage is the ldeathar service between the material and the spiritual.is the expected way that things work.) This attitude might be present ina mortal mentor, but it is sure to exist in a Totem,

A more comprehensive version of this Merit (and of shamanic principles in general) can be found in The Spirit Ways.

Psychic Feedbackf'l-, 2- or t)..pt Flaw)

While the psychic is gifted with potent powers, the use of the talent tires him. Some psychlcs even experience minor cerebral hemorrhages from the strain of using the power. As a 1 point Haw,. themaracter experiences headaches or dizziness fromesch use of the power. Roll. Stamina + Meditation (d1ffi~ culty 1) 0[ experience a round of pain or disorientatlon. AU actions while in this state are at +2 to the difficulty number. As a 2 point Flaw, the psychic. experiences minor long-term pain

from use of the power . You should roll Intelligence (difficulty 6) to "soak" the power's activation successes, which are scored as bashing damage. As a 6 point Raw, the psychic takes this as lethal damage, though a "mental soak" is still allowed.

Unsettling Effect (1~ or 3~ pt. Flaw)

Though many psychic powers are completely intangible and unnoticeable, something about your character's psychic phenomena causes others to recognize that there's something weird going on. For one point, you have a single intangible power (like Telepathy or Psychometry) that generates an unsettling effect - perhaps your subjects can feel your character paging through their minds or everyone around the psychic feels a welter of harmless but eerie emotions when she touches a psychically-charged object. For three points, all of your intangible powers (including ones that you learn later) have some SOrt of unsettling effect like this. This is inaddition to any Resonance thin your character may have.

Big Mouth (2~pt. Flaw)

You talk too much, and it gets you in to trouble. You tend to blurt out painful truths at inopportune times. At least once per high-tension social scene, you must speak your mind. You can avoid the pain and embarrassment this costs by spending 1 Willpower point. This Flaw is particularly dangerous for information-based psychics, who tend to blurt out other people's secrets ali readily as their own.

Psi Focus (3~ or 5~pt. Flaw)

Perbaps your psychic needs his lucky crystals to properly heal the sick. Possibly, hi'; cyberkinetic powers require him to mime the action he wishes the machine to perform. Maybe his telekinesis only works on a hubcap he found one afternoon.

Either way, he requires some form of crutch for his psychic powers to wane Fod points, the character must gesture orspeak some catch phrase or lncanradon for the power to work. For 4 points, the power requires a physical focus to work (crystals. a hypnotist's pocket watch, a harmonica). For 5 points, the power only works with a specific focus, akin to a mage's unique focus. (See pages 202-203 of Mage Revised).

Path Inept (5 .. pt. Flaw)

Forsome reason, your sorcerer is considerably Umited in his ability to advance in the study ofa certain branch of your chosen magic. This may be the result of a curse, poor training or even emotional scars from childhood. Whatever the reason, you must choose a single Path from that available to your character's Society. In this Path, vou must spend one quarter more experience points for any gain of Path level or rituals. Be sure to choose a Path that your character plans to study - your Storyteller has ways to get back at you if you try to avoid your flaw.

Ritual Sleeper (5~pt. Flaw)

There is no such thing as the quick fix, Real magic takes time and effort. You cannot JUSt wave your hand and expect the forces of the universe to leap at your beck and call- at least, that's what your character thinks. You do not have access to any instant magical effects whatsoever. All of your sorcerer's magic is therefore limited to rituals. Even normally "instant" effects require some ritual; your sorcerer must devise rituals to perform the equivalents of the fast effects that other sorcerers perform. If the rules for your character's magical society already consider this, your Storyteller maydlsallow this option for Flaws. Ironically, this means that any time your character witnesses any instantaneous magical effect, she is treated as a Sleeper.

~~~~;;;;) The arcane arts follow specific rules and forms ~~~~ that those with the necessary talent and dedication may exploit. The sorcerer learns the laws that govern powers beyond nature, whether through extensions of science or progressions into the supernatural. For each route to power there is a Path. Be it a mythic thread hidden in legend - the home remedies passed down in a family or the lOO-year-old formula of a secret "'_.l...L_....L....I society _ or a highly-specialized branch of sci-

ence, each Pam exerts influence over a power beyond the reach of normal, unaided humans.

A sorcerer's swdy of Paths opens me door to various forms of magical practice. Each Path offers command over one aspect of nature or supemarure. Though each Path has limits - one's understanding of the arcane principles of fire does not necessarily translate into a mastery of tranSpOrtation - the diligent student carefully takes step after step until, hopefully, complete dominion over a given area of study is achieved. Other magicians study rrumy Paths in dilettante-like man, gathering a smattering of arcane knowledgeoversevem1mysticaiorsuper-scientiftcprincipLes-just enough to perform curious and impressive feats but far from the power wielded by a master sorcerer.

While each Path breaks down the components to command and control a specific discipline of study, the Paths

themselves give only the most general instruction. A sorcerer's knowledge of Paths opens the door to true study but only provides the tools. True, a sorcerer can perform many tasks with a few steps along a Pam, but there is a difference between controlling something's nature and wulerstanding its nature. As a sorcerer gathers experience, he broadens his knowledge of the Path with rituals. By means ofrituals, the sorcerer applies the Path's principles [Q greater effects. Perhaps the scientist undertakes a long laboratory process designed to distill out the pure form of an element. or a magician reinforces his Path skills with lengthy chants and paeans. In either case, the ritual represents a strength born of comprehension, the means to tum simpler Paths to more complex and spectacular ends.

TH€ STRUClUR€ EI1F P A 1BS

The Paths of magic and science are not dependent on the tools the sorcerer uses or the studies that the sorcerer undertakes. Be it a tedmosorcerer using a teleportarionapparatus or a student of arcane magics transported by a spirit of wind, hom use the Path of Conveyance. although they have very different means of implementation.

Paths are broken down into two different parts: spells {also referred to as effects} and rituals. Spells can be cast quickly and can be modified and customized easily to allow for changing envirorunents and situations. Rituals are much longer, more

59

tormallzed and often more powerful castings that can work permanent changes. Spells and rituals are divided up mro six levels; only the flrsr five are available during character generation (and, in all fairness, Storytellers should restrict newly generated sorcerers EO no more than the third level of ex perience in any given Path).

Asre:rs

Some spells have aspects (or effect components), parts of the spell that the sorcerer must specify prior En casting. When a spell is cast, the player determines how much he wants to emphasize each aspen, by according dots from the Pathrallng into the various aspects .. In essence, a sorcerer must divide up successes among various aspects of the spell, just like a mageaffecting multiple people requires several successes, extending the duration requires extra successes and soon. The default success far a Path assumes casting the speUon one rtlrgetfar tile Path's usual spedfjed duralion. Anything beyond this requires extra successes placed in the aspects, to gain additional targets, longer duration, wider area, stronger effect and so on. Each Path lists several aspect possibilities. These aspects show the typical limits of the Path at that level of casting - if your sorcerer has three dots in a Path, then the typical spell hits the third aspect level at best. If you wish, you cancasr aspell with a lower aspect; since you use the highest aspect co determine difficulty, this means that a sorcerer with a high level in a Path can cast lower-level effects more easily. Each aspect that you invoke beyond the fim level costs one success - so many Paths require twO or three successes to affect anyone other than the caster for more than a moment. Conversely, if you score enough successes, your Storyteller may allow you to pick a higher level aspect: If you manage to double your required successes, you can push one aspect a level above your normal limit! Thus, on a really good roll, your sorcerer might cast a spell with a much stronger effect or longer duration than normal.

RffiLLS

Almost all spellsand rituals require an Attribute 4- Ability roll. Often, this is Intelligence 4- Occult (Intelligence 4- Sctence or Intelligence 4- Technologvfor those pracricingexrraordinary science or tecbnosorcery), but some Paths have different requirements (see each Path for details).

DlfFlCULlY

Effects have a base difficulty of (4 4- level of the path used, or the highest desired aspect if an aspected effect). Some effects will have n10difiers to this base level ofdifficlllty; these modifiers are detailed in the text for each Path.

Tune

Effects nonnally cake one tum per level of the effect (or the highest aspect of the effect) [0 cast, unless noted otherwise. Rituals take a minimumoflO minuresandnormallytakemuchlonger; most rituals have a description indicating their time component.

€xTENDED RffiU.S

If a spell Deeds more successes than the sorcerer thinks he can get in a single period of casting, he can try for an extended

IGNE9RlNG AsPECTS

.:: ..

The new system of aspects for spells and rituals adds flexibility and detail to Sorcery, but at the cost of some simplicity. IfStoryteUelS prefer, they can easily ignore the aspects and merely set all aspectratings to equal the dots of 'knowledge the spreerer has in me Path or chat he is using. So, for instance, ifasarcerer hasthree dots in Healing, then

• any healing he does will cure one level ofbashmg damage., relieve fairly major pains, cure any disease ofT oxin Rating 2 or lower and cause lethal damage to heal 25 percenrfaseer than nonnal, with a difficulty of 7. When choosing to ignore aspeets, the Storytel.ler will. have to adjudicate how many successes are necessary for an effect to work, generally, however, a single success wilt allow for a relatively

.. simple effect ~ocome o~, while ~ successes will ensure that trmost spells WIll work WIthOUt dtfficulty.

Noee that the psychic phenomena in Chapter Five do not use aspects; they're assumed to be simpler in effect, generally because rhey'reeasier to perform. You can easily convert psychic phenomena to use aspects if you want, thoUg~ this can make them more powerful - at thecost- ~ of additional successes the player could specify a much

larger area or effect than normal. .

roll, just as wimmost skill checks. Each additional roll adds time equal to me amount already spent in casting .. For example, if Father Michael had determined that there was little chance of him actually making the blessing work, he could try for an extended roll. Since the.highesraspecr is 3 dots, the flrsc die roll of the casting wit! take 3 rums. The second die roll will also take 3 rums, the third dieIoH wiU take 6 turns to complete, the fourth 12, etc. As with all extended task checks, a failure on a die roll simply means no successes are gathered, but a botch instantly kills the spell. and any chance of success. .

fAILURE

lia sorcerer fails to generate enough successes, the spell fizzl'es·.

Most such failures merely result in the energy being wastedtwith only minor inconveniences or side effects (indeed, for most simple effeclli, failure has no funherresults).

BEeTCH€S

AB, sorcerers don't tug and pull at the T ellurian with the same dynamic force that Awakened mages exert, they don't suffer the burning backlash of Paradox. On the other hand, a sorcerer does still do magic, and channeling such forces is not without inherent risk. When a sorcerer botches, those risks come home.

Typically .a botch results insome sort of chaotic mlsfire or horrid backlash from a spell. The exact effects depend upon the Path in question and the use in particular .. Most Path descriptions include ideas forvarious botch possibilities. TheStorytetier should tailor the results of the botch to the Path's power level, the desires of the sorcerer and the style of magic used. For instance, a machine designed to harness metaphysical energy is far more likely to explode than a Hying carpet.

The Paradox rules (p.194ofMage Revised) give some ideasfor magical botches. Ofcourse, sotcerexsclon'tusua1ly have rnanesend as badly .. In general, a sorcerous botch doesn'rauromatically inflict damage and almostneve.r results ina manifestation of 3..spirit,.realm or Quiet. Usually, the botchsimpiy means that the spell fires off an effect cpmpletelyouc of thesorcererscomrol and against his desire. There are excepriOl"lS,rhough! Sometimes spirits dDshow up to chastise errant sorcerers, and sometimes the magicians find themselves shunted to strange realms or struck insane, It's all part of the price of power ....

RITUALS

Many Paths have rituals associsred with them (and some Paths can only be used as rituals, such as Enchantment and Alchemy). Rituals arecollecnons of precise mystical formulas that take time and effon, and usually some small expense, to bringabout but have effects that are greater than a quick spell. Rituals normally take longer to work than a spell or effect, but their power can be much greater - often greater than that which a student of the Path wouldnormaUy be able to summon

at their current level of experience. .

Most rituals require a basic Level of knowledge about an associated Path; those thatdo not can be learned by anyone, even those who have nor studied the Path (an example of this is Counterspells, which are really just a set of rituals and spells that are common knowledge to all Paths). This knowledge requirement .~ indicated by the dot rating of the ritual; ita ritual has a rating indots, you ml.lSC have af least that many dots in the Path to learn it. All rituals cost 3 points to learn; finding someone to teach oneto your character, or the grlmoires necessary, is always another matter ... many of these rimalsare known only as rurnor or legend. In some exeepdonalcases, even the totally urrinitiate:kan use riruals, castmg them by rote out of 3.. grimoire .... or they can tty! Botches in these cases are usually incredibly bad.

CRfJ\TING RrrUALS

Sorcerers can create new rituals, under certain special circumstances. They might happen upon a Dew alchemical fonnula, for example, Of they may perform a given extended casting of a spell so many times that they formallse the process. Storytellers may also wish to create their own rituals for inclusian in. their games. The guidelines here are just that, guidelines; as always, letvour ownjudgmentas Storyteller and me needs of your chrorucle be yOUl" guides.

That said, typically, a ritual allows a spell to have a greater duration, power or area. of effect than a normal spell will allow, at the cost of a much greater casting time (most rituals take at least 10 minutes to cast, and many take hours oreven days). Someriruals will give the sorcerer access to more ability than he would nonnaHy have (usually equal to an additional dot in the Path; so a Level Three ritual might let the wizard cast an ·effect that would normally need Level Four in the Path). In the case of Paths with aspects, a rituahmght allow the sorcerer to cast an effect created with twice the normal amount of aspected sue-

cess, or might give access to powers that ate related tache Path, but not a normal aspect of the Path.

The creator must have Imowledge in the Path at least one dot higher than that needed to learn the ritual (especially if the ritual allows the sorcerer using it to exceed his normal know]edge). He must also spend some months in research, working on perfecting the new ritual (during which time he will cast the ritual many, many times and likely become thoroughlvsick of it before he is done). Once all this is acoornplished, roU Intelligence + Occult (difficulty 9). You must achieve at [east 3 successes for the sorcerer to successfully create a ritual that will actually be useful and comprehensible to others, otherwise, it's back to the drawing board. At the Storyteller's discretion, an astounding success (6+ successes) may result in a: ritual that is exceptional in some way, it may be easier to learn (lowered Path knowledge), have additional (beneficial) effects or take less power or time to cast. A botch might mean that the work is simply wasted, that the fmal test ritual backfires (injuring the creator) or that the ritual works, but has some unexpected (and undesirable) side effect.

PA TItS AND StYJ..;€S

Thollgh not technically a "game mechanic," a sorcerer's style is as important as any other aspect of practicing a Path. Each sorcerer learned to do magic in a speelfie, linear fashion, and that form always colors the sorcerer's technique, even if the character later learns new methods .. The members of the Ancient Order of Aeon Rites, for instance, base much of their work on Pyth<\gorean numerology and Enochian rituals; practicing Paths through such means seems very different from a wise woman's use of herbs and songs or anexnaordinary scientist's high,tech tools and labs.

The primary division is whether the character is a mythic sorcerer or an extraordinary scientist. The former relies upon magical techniques and builds Paths through supernatural correspondences, tables, rituals, prayers, chants or similar methods, The latter uses extremely advanced scientific theories, spedaliz.ed tools, delicate procedures and speciallv-prepared research environments, To the uneducated observer, the' advanced research lab is just as arcane as the magician's library, and the maddeningly complex 12 circles of ritual summoning are Just as indecipherable as a scientist's tensor calculations relating to space-time motion. Both use "magic," but one proceeds from the mystical while the other proceeds from the rational. The two rarely work together, given the dichotomy between Traditions and Technocrats. (Technically, psychics could be considered. a third style, but their phenomena have special rules detailed in Chapter Five and are typically not included in the usual groups of sorcery.)

Once the base type of style is established, look into the sorcerer's style in a more personal fashion. Does the mystic rely upon runes, charms, special words of power or elaborate dances! Does me scientist study- pharmacology, high-energy physics or bioniCS! See Chapter Two for several societies that give examples of styles.

ADv ANCro T€CHNIERU€S fAST CAsTING

In a crisis, asorcerer can choose to trade difficulty for speedby cutting comers and leavingouecoatrols, the sorcerer is able coger a spell clone more quickly. although the spell is much more difficult mcontrol. Foreverytnm youshaveoff the casting time for t:he.effecr, add a +1 to the difficulty (rnaximw:n 9; .additional modifl.ers create a threshold, as in Mage Revised p. 62). Spells cast this way always require a WiUpower point, above and beyond their normal costs.

IiANGlNG SPELLS

Sorcerers have long realized that while their spells and rituals can produce some impressive results, they are not notmally fust working. Some sorcerers dealt with this problem by studying the martial arts as well as the mystical ones. Others hired guards to protect them or atrempred to make themselves so indispensable [0 their community mat none would want to visit violence upon them. Some, instead, learned new ways of casting spells and rituals so that the sorcerer could carry them, nearly but not qui:re activated, until they were needed. These spells are commonly referred to as being "hung" or stored by the sorcerers who practice this art.

To hang a spell for later casting, the sorcerer casts the spell as per normal but pays one Willpower immediately and adds one to the difficulty. The player then marks down the name of the spell and the number of successes scored. The sorcerer may then release the spell at any time (so long as the sorcerer would normally be able to cast a spell ~ an unconscious magician can't release. a held spell). Releasing a spell' takes one tum; at that time. the player must pay the normal casting cost for the spell or ritual and allocate successes on the spell's aspects, if any.

A hung spell is a constant distraction to the sorcerer; it requires a small level of semi-constant attention. even when sleeping, that is a persistent drain on the sorcerer's focus. The sorcerer adds + 1 to all mental and social tasks while she is carrying a hung spell. This penalty increases by an additional + I for every additional two spells the sorcerer is carrying (+2 at three spells, ""3 at five spells,.ete.) ..

Note that A wakened mages tend to "hang" spells by using a Time effect in conjunction with the regular effect, and a mage's "hung" spell usually only counts against additional magic, not against other tasks. Depending upon how flexible you want to make sorcerers, you could allow a sorcerer to hang spells with only a concentration penalty to additional magic, or you might have an entire Path devoted to hanging spells (in which case the sorcerer would need a Path !"ating for Spell Hanging equal to the Path rating of the spell stored),

TR.AJ)ING Smr., fE9R.PeWfR.

Experienced sorcerers can reduce or even eliminate the high price most Paths chargeIn WHlpower. A sorcerer with two more dots in a Path than the minimum required for a desired effect may choose to cast the spell atthe highe.r difficulty and reduce the costin Witlpower by one.

."..

m€SSING wtrHrneVARlABLf,S

By default, sorcery is a mysteriOUS, meticulous art that takestime to build up, rime to work and, in return, has fairly reliable set effects. Some Storytellers, however, want afasrer-movlng system for sorcery or one mat is easier to work and more potent. Conversely, other Srorvtellers want to make sorcery harder to work, especially in any kind of hurry and much less reliable. Here are some suggestions for each. Usually, adjusting only one of these variables will have the ·effect you want; modifying all of them will make for a very different magic system.

DIFFICULTY

RecluclQg the diffkulty roll to 3 + level of effect

t brings sorcery ona par witha vampite's blood magic and makes sorcerers a little more competitive with other supernatural creatures .. Increasing it to 5 + level of effect makes it much more difficult to pull off large ·effects of any kind.

Trrne

Reducing. the time cost to 1 turn per I levels ofeffect makes small effects very easy eo use and large ones feasible even in combat. Doubling at tripling the time COSt makes effects strictly non-combat (since most fights will be long over by the time the casting is done). If this option is taken, you may want to eliminate the concept of Fast Casting altogether.

WLLLP&WfR.

j~" Many effects cost Willpower to use: reducing or

t eliminating these costs make sorcerersable to carry on their activities for a much longer periodof time (possibly too long). Increasing the Willpower costs makes spell casting a much more unusual: activity, something to he done only when all other chances have been used up.

RfSmCTI:NG KNewu:r:::Ge

Some of the higher levels of Path knowledge can wreak-some pretty impressive effects. Even with Storyteller prerogative and the need to work behind the scenes for the most part, there may be levels of a Path (or entire Paths) that the Storyteller simply doesn't want her players to have access to. This is fine; not every Path ~ is appropriate f.or every game, and some games will stress some Paths above ochers. Sroryrellers should therefore feel free to restrict, or even disallow, any and all Paths from unlimitedadvancement or charge ex cra experience costs (SIr ether. darker, costs) for some Paths.

Example: Danie!le is a master SlUtpeshi/ter, wi~h four dots in me Path. She decides she would rather be a redhead, and works a speU to change her hairco.lor .and adjust her skin and eye color s/ighuy to match. Normally, trus would cost I WiUpower, require

~ .-

1

• • in the Path (w effect multiple small changes at once) and have a difficulty of 6. She decides that she'd rather not deaL with the rosr, cas es the spell at her highes.t difficulry ( B) and forgoes the cos r m WiUpower.

WILLPffiW€R.AND E:RUOO'€SSfNC€

Spending a point ofWiUpower (in addition to whatever costs the spell normally incurs) gives the sorcerer one automatic success, irladdition to those rolledon the. dice. Raw Quintessence is typicaUyuseless to a sorcerer; she literally does not know Il is present and cannot interact with it in any meaningful mmion. A particularly potent bit of Tass might be of use ro the .adept sorcerer ifshe uses it in some appropriate fashion: ingestmg a bit off aerie food, burning the remnants of an archmage's :;mffin a ritual fire, etc. Normally, this will reduce the difficulty of a sorcerer's task by 1 or 2. Most sorcerers stick with a ;;pec:ialized form of Tass or Quintessence according to their version of magic - a sorcerer used to chi energy will store and concentrate only that sort of power (see also the Mana Background, p. 5,3).

CeITIB1N1NG PATHS AND SPfLL.s

Spells from disparate Paths cannot be combined for additional effects: Each spell is a separate entity, and the U\ow\edge of one Path does not easily mesh with that of other Paths. A series of spells could be linked togethee (using Conj uratlon to summon a weapon, then the Hellblade ritual to set it on fire· immediately), but both spells must be enacted separately. Alternately, a sorcerer might be able to fashion a ritual tharrelies upon the knowledge of multiple Paths or bang one spe II in order to cause it to affect a later spell, but these complexities are in the Storyteller's hands. Most sorcerers should be restricted to the 1 lmits of'each individual Path. By defmition, such Paths are linear magics, not the affinltive, flexible power of the Awakened Spheres.

T€AfITWEBRK

Sometimes, you can only get by with a little help from ~'our friends. In order for two or more sorcerers to cooperate on a spell, they must both have rhe same Path (a master Conjuror is oflitrle help to the Healer trying to cure a cancer patient) .. One sorcerer (usually the most skille-d) is chosen as the prime caster, makes aU rolls for the spell and determines how any aspects are set. Note that, generaHy, sorcerers can only cooperate if they have roughly compatible practices. A magician from the Ancient Order of Aeon Rites, used to using precise Pythagorean formulae, may not have any reference point to combine her spells with a psychic's powers or a techno-shaman's spirit machinery.

Each assistant rolls her magic check as well, to see if she succeeds in helping the lead speHcaster. Two sorcerers can operate together withouta problem (aside from the clash of personalities, magical styles, fad, agendas .. ,);each additional sorcerer adds one tum to [he casting time for the spell, Each successful assistant reduces the difficulty of the leader's magic roll by one, to a minimum dIfficulty of 3.

Failure can carry a heavy price .. If none of the assistants succeed at their magic checks, there is no additional problem, but if any assistant botches, add Z to the prime casters difficulty (anything above 9'adds thresholds, as usual). If the leader of the spell botches, any complications gathered fall not only on the leader, bur on the whole team. This can be very unpleasant when perfonning major rituals or Summonings ....

CE9UNTflRSPfLLS AND UNW€A VING

Any sorcerer who does more than dabble in the Arts wiH learn at least some basic counrermagic, if only so that they can try and undo the messes tbey inevitably create while learning. There are as many different forms of countermagic as there are spells; in plain terms, however, they are diVided into two basic types: Counrerspells and Unweaving.

Counterspells are cast at an incoming spell or effect and serve 1'0 blunt or dispel it before it can take effect. Roll Wits + Occult (difficulty 8); each success you score cancels one of the opponent's successes. If the opponent ends up without enough successes for the spell to go off, then it fails (but she sti]] loses whatevercosts she paid, be it blood, Quintessence, Willpower or whatever). You can spend Willpower 1'0 aid a Counterspell, but you must score at least one natural success for the Counterspe 11 to work at all.

Unweaving is the art of disassembling another spellcaster's effect. The sorcerer must have knowledge or the Path that was used to create the effect in the &:sr place (if rrying to unweave an effect not based onsorcery, suchas Thaumanngv, Sphere magic or the like, use the Pam most applicable). If your character has at least one dot in the Path (or a related one) being used, roll Intelligence +Oecuk (difficulty 8), wing the Extended Rolls rules (see above). You must score at least as many successes as the original caster scored 1'0 unweave thespell; otherwise, it may be weakened , buntwill remain. Long standing Enchanonents and those based on Thawnaturgy or Sphere magic can take more effon 1'0 unweave: In the case of very ancient, very powedUI Enchantments, sometimes as many as 15 or even 20 successes might be needed (rime fOIsome teamwork).

Spells cast by sorcerers (or others) that are more knowledgeable than the unweaver are significantly more difficult to undo. For every two levels of difference between the unweaver's level in a Path and the original casters level, an additional success is needed. Thus, if you have no knowledge of the Path ofHellflre and your opponent has fOUT dots with 6 successes on an effect, you would need 3 successes in order to cancel the flISt success and 8 to corapletelv wipe out the spell.

Counterspellsand Unweaving workagalnstsorceryand Sphere magic (and, if the Storyteller wishes, against the mY5tic powers of vampiric magic, faerie glamour and the hire). There are also specialized ve.rsions of Counterspe.llsand Unweaving designed to work against spirit powers (such as spirit Charms, ghosdy raanlfesrations and slmilar otherworldly OCcurrences). These must be bought separately. Each group of countermagic costs 3 freebie or experience points.so buying a 6ill set of countermqgics costs 12 points. For a sorcerer more interested instayinga!ive than indealing ,damage, it's an investment well worth the cost.

CHm€R. R9UR: PATHS AND RITUALS 63 I 1

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Sorcery is an imprecise and mysterious Art chat tries to blend the result is .treated as a borch. (This does not apply if the StoryteUer

inm the shadows whenever it can. With the powers ofknowledge, rules a faiIurewithnoroll.) So, although a sorcerer mavnot becaned will and desperation behind them, sorcerers can perform mighty off by a Paradox spirit he will still suffer the consequences of his feate, but they cannot move mountains, raise the long dead or blast hubris,. and his magic will stilI tum the universe againsthim. Just as elder vampires into dust, If a sorcerer attempts some magic that the sorcererspower is more limited in some ways thananAwakened obviously flaunts realiry (blasting police officer5 into flinders with mage's, so roo are the consequences for failure usually less severe. Hellftre in memiddleofa prisonor making the Sratue ofLibertywalk Usually, In short, a sorcerer doesn'thave the power to flingaround down Broadway) without some seriously gpod explanations, the disaster-free magical effects in public any morethans mage does, but Storyteller is perfecdy wirhin hisprerogative to simplysay "'lbat fails at least he's less likely to explode.

utterly," no matter how many successes the sorcerer generates or Storytellers Note~; This should not be thought of as a loophole how much Willpower the player spends. Some things are simply with which to dick your players at every tum ~ or even just because impossible for a sorcerer, what they are trying todowill mess with whaty0U wane tohavebappen.

'Q:1hi(e. mages have the risk of Paradox when performing It is merely intended. to reflect the !imitAtions a sorcerer works under, impossible feats in public, a sorcerer tends to risk outright failure. If while disc.oumgin~ those who try to abuse the systems presented.

THE lTIANY PATHS

ALCH~

Alchemy is the science, art and study of the transformation of the base and profane into the pure and the sacred, At its hean are me disciplines of the Hermetic student, the holy wordsof the Kabbalah and the Koran, mystic secrets from Asia and China and an inherent assumption in the perfectibility of all things - often tied up . with a healthy dose of Cbristian beliefs and heresies. Although thought by many to be Western magic and to dare from the Renaissance, its ties and history trace themselves throughout Asia Minor and Europe, and even to China, where it is known as Tan, is closely tied with the Wu Keng and dates back at least Z,(XX) years.

The alchemist believes that all things in nature can be transformed, or purified, into a higher essence. At it's most basic, Alchemy is the pursuit of the Philosophet's Stone (which, depending on the alchemist you listen to, is either a tincture [usually red], a glowing stone of beauty, a powder, a solvent, a waxy substance or some other form), which can transform lead into gold (feom the basest metal to the highest), grant immortality, raise the dead and perform a host of ocher miraculous deeds (exactly which deeds are, again, rather bard to pin down).

An alchemist could spend a lifetime trying to separate ttuth from the legends, lies and myths that are wrapped. up in alchemical lore and still not get very far (especially becau~e in a practice that wanders the line between art and science one person's lie is another's solid outh). So most alchemists don't try,instead spending their lives experimenting and analyzing what has worked for them, painstakingly measuring the results .of each test for any new insight or path forward on che way to their Pbilosopher's Stone or spend years apprenticed to another, more knowledgeable alchemist, learnil1g hiscrafr by rote. A few recognize the underpinning ttuth .of alchemy: The process of purification leads inevi.tably to the purification of humanity, the pursuit of spiritual perfection. .

ALCHertlY, HERBALlSm E9R. Any ANCEDCH€flTISTRY?

So which is it? Welt, all three, actually, Depending on the sorcerer and what beliefstructureshe has, she may srudy any of them at some strange mixture of all three! Alchemy as a Path simply represent! any number of material nanstormative skills that result in elixirs useful as potions, salves or unguents .

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Herbalisrn and Brewing is the art of using the natural properties of various plant and animal parts (ranging from St. John's Won and dried bear gonads to even more exotic ingredients) to enhance the natural precesses of the human body, In so doing, the herbalist can also induce effects that U1ay seem magical to others but are (in the herbalist's eyes) merely examples of what the human body Can do when properly motivated and reinforced with the power of nature.

Advanced Chemistry is a science, and its practitioners don't even think of itas being magic at all (although some of its effects, they admit, may seem magical if you don't understand the science behind them). Advanced Chemistry is similar to the more mundane chemistry studied in high school labs around the world but is more impressive in it's application thanks to the advanced understandings that are its foundations. Some Advanced Chemistry relies on chemical formulae and processes as yet undiscovered by more mundane scientists or on new and unique implementations of already existing knowledge, while other advances require the use of bask nanotechnology and DNA/RNA resequencing,

SYSTEm

Roll:

Intelligence + Alchemy (Alchemical Procedures) Intelligence + Herbalism (Herbalism Procedures) Intelligence + Science (Advanced Chemistry Procedures)

t: One Willpower per operation

{odifiers: -1 difficulty if ritual is known

T nne: Default is one day per level of effect. For each dot of knowledge the alchemist has that exceeds the level of the effect, reduce this by one day (Soan alchemist with four dots of Alchemy can do a Level Two operarion in a few hOUl'S). Rarely less than an hour.

Duration: Varies, but normally one scene

Each dot in this Path represents an overall knowledge of e chosen specialization (Advanced Chemistry, Alchemy r Herbalism): more dots indicate that the sorcerer can make more advanced or difficult compounds with greater effects. The rituals are examples and can be undertaken by anyone

ith the appropriate knowledge (most rituals have a counterpart in the other branches of study; an alchemist's Dust of Revealing the Unseen is a rechnosorcerer's Radioactive Tracking Powder or Etheric Interference Detection Gas).

An alchemist may spend one experience point (or one freebie point during character creation) to master a particular ritual. This gives the caster -1 difficulty on aLL rolls for that ritual, and lets him use it as if he had one more level of Alchemy when determining the brewing/casting time.

Note that Alchemy does not have "aspects" as such.

The caster need only score basic success to make a given elixir as listed below. However, the elixir may lose its potency or work with only partial strength if the player does not scare three or more successes.

• The alchemist can create compounds and substances that are simply more advanced and potent versions of chemicals that already exist. These compounds don't appear magical in any way. Painkillers, soporifics, poisons and glues are common examples.

• • More advanced versions of what is available already with one dot. Some of these substances might allow the imbiber to exceed his normal physical limits or to gain access to more mystical senses, in dreams or hallucinations. You can raise one attribute by one dot (up to the normal maximum of five dots) for up to a scene.

• • • You can make substances that enhance their target to superhuman levels or create materials that exceed normal Limitations (supernaturally strong aUoys, etc). Some of these substances can temporarily invest their imbiber with some lowlevel psychic ability (see Chapter Five) for a limited period of time (no more than one hour or so).

• • • • You can create substances that will enhance Attributes by up to two dots for a scene (one dot if affecting multiple Attributes), even beyond normal human maximums, or minor items with some potent effect.

••••• With this level of knowledge, you can duplicate the powers of supernatural creatures, including Gifts, Disciplines and other abilities of up to the third level. You can also duplicate the innate powers of those creatures (the powers of the fae, wraiths and the imbued, cannot be duplicated). These potions will normally require some sample from the being in question (Vitae, powdered

dragon fang, hair from a werewolf, etc.) or extended close up and personal srudy of the subject (this is usually only appropriate for srudentsofAdvanrelChemisttyandmaystillrequiretmlesarnples). Such concoctions often have nasty side effects as well (the mare powerful the Gift or Discipline, the more pronounced the side effects).

• •••• • The pinnacle of alchemical tradition; transmutation of materials from one form to another, immortality regimens, the Philosopher's Stone. Ln theory an alchemist of this level might even be able to concoct a potion that causes Awakening, transformation into a vampire, mummification or true immortality.

SAITIPLf ALCHEITrf RITUALS

• A powder that, when mixed with alcohol, induces slumber almost immediately. The target must roll Stamina (difficulty 8) or spend a point of Willpower to stay conscious; he must remake chis attempt (at a -1 to Difficulty each time) every round until he succumbs or the drug no Longer has a chance of success. Unconsciousness lasts for (10 - Stamina) hours, during which they cannot be roused. Vampires are almost immune to thls drug ( + 2 to Stamina, add Fortitude, and effects, if they succumb, last 10- (Stamina + Fortitude) minutes), but werewolves in their "normal" farm (Hamid or Lupus) are susceptible (+2 to the roll).

• A pill that removes all side effects from a minor cold or flu for 24 hours when taken and reduces the recovery time for the illness to one half.

•• A farm of prophecy-bearing super-LSD. When ingested, the user will be able to see things that were not previously obvious to him or will be granted a vision of the future. These messages will always be cloaked in symbolism and analogy, but will be correct ... to the limits of the user's understanding.

• • A potion that doubles the user's running speed for one scene. After using !:his potion, the user must make a Stamina check (difficulty 6) or be totally out of breath and shaky (-2 on all physical die ralls) for the next hour.

• •• A metal alloy that is lighter and stronger than titanium (but easier to work), retains an edge almost forever and stays more resilient than the finest blade. Armor produced with this alloy gets an extra dot of bashing and lethal soak, and melee weapons made of it do one more die of damage and are -1 difficulty to hit with (due to their light weight and fine balance).

• • • A fine metallic dust that reveals hidden, disguised or invisible things for what they truly are or disrupts illusions.

• • •• A chemical compound that raises the user's Physlcal Attributes for (Stamina +3) hours. During this time, the user will be very hungry, due to the excess strain being placed an her metabolism. This chemical may raise user Attributes to 6 dots or higher.

• • •• A regimen of drugs and potions chat extends the user's life (though not indefinitely). While on the regimen, the user ages at the rate of one month for every year. If the regimen is hal ted, these years come back upon the user at the

65

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rate of one month per day, until the regimen is started back up or the user dies of old age.

•• • .' I A compound that werewolves find anathema.

When. spread on the skin, no werewolf (or other Changing Breed) can approach withinstrikingrange of the user; they can throw things or use ranged weapons but will not wi!lingly get within 10 feetofthe wearer, Of course, the substance smells so had that most humans won't want to either ....

• •••• A patton that gives the user the Stamina, Strength and speed of a vampire for a single scene. The user has one extra acrion per tum, one automatic Suen_gch success and one extra soak die versus aU attacks for the scene following ingestion. The user will also have an unnaturally high temper and a thirst for blood.

CeST E9F fAILURE

Beyond the inevitable ruined glassware and loss of ingredients, a simple failure also normally means a nasty, smelly and hard to clean up mess in the lab. Botches can be much more severe; the substance may look okay hut really have very different effects (and a simple toxin is the best that can be hoped for, in many cases), the substance may catch fire and explode, or something totally different from what was expected or anticipated may happen. which is almost always a bad thing.

CEBNJURATIEBN

The master conjuror can move items (though not himself) through space; scientists call this ability apponarion or telekinesis (depending on whether or not the-item passes through the imervening space between where it is and where the conjuror wishes it to be), while those knowledgeable in Sphere magics claim that this is a limited application of the Sphere of Correspondence.

Many sorcerers who choose to practice their Arts openly, or somewhat openly, master Conjuration, if only to eam a living from the if studies .. With it, all manner of parlor tricks and stage magics can be emulated - of course, when a conjuror claims that there's nothing up her sleeves, there really isn't!

For the best effect, an object must be prepared ahead of rime, in a ritual designed to bond the item to the caster, making it easy for her to latch onto and command later on. This doesn't mean that the Conjuror has to do this; theoretieallv, a conjurorcan take control of anything that she can see, although in practice this is very difi'tcult ro do and much more draining.

The more experienced theconjuror is, the more she is able to move and the farther and more precisely she can move it; an experienced conjuror can tbread needles, summona rabbit into a hat from miles away or move an elephant across a room. The skilled conjuror can also rnanipulare multiple objects.

It is very difficult to use conjuration offensively (even beyond the length of time it normaUytakes to effect a change) .

A wilting subject, properly prepared (which usually involves at least a low level of mesmerism) can be the subject of aconjuracion, but the least resistance renders the effect almost impossible . With enough luck (and Willpower), a sorcerer might be able to conjure a weapon out of the hands of an opponent, but attempts at this ate dreadfully prone to failure.

Distance

No more than a couple of feet Objects. can be moved 20 feet or so.

The conjuror can summon an ob] ect from over 100 feet away.

The object being manipulated can be Sum maned forth from (or sent away to) a I 0 • cation up to a half mile away.

Summoned objects can be made to appear from five miles away.

srsrem

Roll:

Modifiers:

Cost:

Duratiom

AsPfCTS

Weight

•

.'.

•••

••••

•••••

••••••

•

••

•••

••••

•••••

Dexterity + Occult

+ 1 for working against an object in the hands of someone who is resisting

·1 for an object that is well known to the caster (Storyteller's discretion).

..,. 2 to work against a resistingIlving, target None for prepared object, one Willpower for object that has not been prepared, Instantaneous. For lasting effects (a serof puppets dancing without strings, a whirling dervish of knives, erc.) pay one Willpower for every tum you want it to last.

Less than an ounce. A coin, business card, penknife, etc.

A few pounds, a hardcover book. At this level, very small or simple lifefOrrns (insects, snails, etc.) can be manipulated as well.

A largish object (computer monitor, telephone) weighing up to 100 pounds. Living beings can be moved as weU, although the conjurer cannot manipulate humans.

Some Ehing as large as an armoire, weighing 1,000 pounds or so can be moved. Humans can be manipulated, so long as they are willing, unconscious or hypnotized.

At this level, the conjuror can move a car or an elephant around. An unwilling human subject could also be moved, although this is very difficult.

The he~ght of COnjuration allows you to move things as largeas a city bus or a loaded I8-wheeler. Feats of this magnitude must be carefully atranged and prepared for ahead of time, and the cost of failure is exceptionally high.

• • • ••• The conjuror can bring forth items from almost anywhere within the city Limits and even farther; maximum range is about 50 miles.

Accuracy

• Almost none; the objects quiver to ways you want

•• Rough motor control, about equal to he i n g shoved around with an elbow or flst, Things pretty much go where you want them to bur without much flnesse,

• •• Some fine control; equivalent to an object in hands hut slow and unwieldy. Clumsy attacks ( + 1 difficulty) can be made with this level of accuracy.

•••• Fine motor control. Equivalent to a nor m a I pair of hands , able to perform fine tasks (opening locks. slowly threading a needle, etc.).

••••• Extreme control. The item(s) will do whatever you ask, quickly and effkiently ..

•••••• Objects do things you don't ask them tob u t in keeping with what you want done.

Number

•

One item Two items Three items

A small group (under 10) of near-idenu c a I items, or three items that aren't closely r e - lared to each other.

10-20 items of similar nature, or a lesser number of non-similar items.

Up to 100 similar items, or 25 or so unre laced objects.

••

•••

••••

•••••

••••••

RITUALS

Sword Summoning ( ••• )

Although more often used to draw forth loaded shotguns than long swords in these modem times, manyT emplars are taught this ritual so that, in extremis, they are never without a weapon. This ritual is almost always hung - the Templar ritually prepares the weapon before entering some situation where he thinks it may be necessary, and keeps it always in his mind as he works. When he needs the weapon, he finishes the ritual and draws the weapon forth from some convenient shadow or out from underneath a trenchcoat. The difficulty is 7 (6 if the weapon or [001 is well known to the user), and the device must normally be within a mile or 50 of the user and no larger than a shotgun or long sword. No summoning light machine guns with this ritual! If attempted in plain sight of unbelievers, this ritual will almost always faU (difficulty 9).

Shitstonn ( •••• )

This ritual allows the sorcerer to rake a large number of small objects and spin them about himself in a deadly whirlwind of flying debris. The difficulty of this ritual is 7 (8 if cast under duress). Each success gained increases the nurnberofitems in the cloud; the base whirlwind is twO yards

CHAPTER fffiUR: PATHS AND RmJALS

67

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in diameter (usually centered on the caster), plus one yard for each success gained. Anyone caught in the whirlwind. takes (successes) dice in bashing damage; in some cases this might be lethal damage (if the caster is in a room filled with glass breakables or cutlery or other small sharp objects ... ).

PRIce eF! FAILURE

A simple failure means me object fails to move at all, disappears. never to be seen again or drops to the ground at an embarrassing or dangerous moment (like the keys falling right behind the lecturing guard ... ). Botches can summon the wrong object (or person ... ), put it in the wrong place or destroy it in some particularly messy fashion .. Botches with living targets are general very bad; stories tell of magicians assistants that disappear never to be seen again or, worse, show up in the disappearing booth days later, hideously mutilated, And few want to consider the fates of those magicians who have failed some tremendous feat of Conjuration, only to disappear themselves ...

CEaNVf:YANC€

Seven league boots, flying carpets, witches brooms, demonic chariots pulled by skeletal fire-breathing ste eds , teleportation gateways: myth and legend are full of stories of those who could bypass the hazards and annoyances of long journeys, spanning the lengths of countries in hours or seconds. At least some of these stories can be laid at the feet of sorcerers practicing the Path of Conveyance , avoiding the hassles of the road by flying over it, riding it at speeds no oilier could manage or bypassing it altogether.

"Conventional" Conveyance requires some sort of steed; this may be a broom, four-poster bed, bicycle, Oriental rug, giant cauldron or a fiery coach-and-four. More technologically oriented sorcerers use jet packs or impossibly fast Lamborghinis and Prowlers (the deluxe version has stealth capabilities, to avoid police radar, but this is superfluous in general; few troopers will believe that they saw a Ferrari doing over 5.00 kph down a busy thru-way ... especially when it looks like the car isn't actually couching the ground).

With enough understanding of this Path, the sorcerer need not bother with a vehicle at all, merely willing herself to be where she wants to be Without actually crossing the intervening distance. Technosorcerers may refer to this as teleponation, using some kind of booth, apparatus or even phone lines, while a more classical sorcerer may summon up a friendly spirit to do the work (or him,

Conveyance can be used on other people, although only teleportation effects can be used offensively and only with very great difficulty.

SYSTem

Roll: Stamina + Occult

M.odifiers: + 2 for working againsr a resisting object/target, - I for a location that is well known to the caster (Storyteller's discretion). + 1-2 if traveling somewhere whlle being observed.

Cost: One Willpower

Duration: The length of time it takes to pass from point A to polnt B

AsPfCTS

Traveling te a place you have never been to adds one success to the total. T eleporting requires two additional successes. (Teleportarion ill not necessarily instantaneous; you must stili assign a rating [0 Speed.) Crossing through barriers in your way requires one success per barrier (and it must be something that you could actuallv find a way around; a hermetically sealed chamber is safe from your powers).

Range

•

10 feet or less (across a room) 100 feet (across a warehouse) abouta mlle

up to five miles

approximately 10 miles (across the city) 100 miles

••

••••

These ranges are guidelines and assume a relatively inhabuedenvlronment: passingthrou,gh deserted prairies or arctic wildernesses is much easier, and ranges might be doubled or even trebled in such terrains.

Speed

• About three times what you could manage on foot

•• You get thereaboue as fast as you would if you had driven, red lights and all

• • • ~ above, but you ignore speed limits and red lights and tIaffu;:;. about 45 seconds per mile of distance traveled.

•••• You can cover miles in seconds.

••••• Instantaneously

• • • '... You can, when you have co, get there before you left ... or that's the way it seems.

Number

• Yourself, and if you're lucky, your clothes come with you ...

• • Yourself, some clothes and up to 20 pounds of sruff

• • • Yourself and one other person or a couple

hundred pounds

• • • • Two passengers

• • • • • Three passengers

• • •••• Up to five people can come with you

RrruALS

Teleport Ward ( •• )

Even a novice student of the Path of Conveyance can create wards against unwanted intrusion by others using this Path. To ward a room or building against teleporting intruders, the sorcerer must first mark the limits of the ward he is going to place. (rechnosorcerers, for example, will sec up electromagnetic interference waveguides, subspace harmonic oscillarors and ether equipment, while a sorcerer trained in

me Hermetic Arts would scribe sigils of protection on the who knows the opening phrase or command [0 travel swiftly wal [5, doors, windows, floor and ceiling of each room he from one end of the passage to the other .. This ritual takes wanted to protect). Once this is done, thesorcerer rolls days of preparation, some ofwhtch must be spent at both sites Stamina + Occult against a difficulty of 7. Each success (making this unsuitable (or stealthy infiltration of a locarolled is an additional success needed by someone trying to cion ... most of the time). Once these preparations are done, teleport into the warded area without knowin_g how to the sorcerer makes an extended Stamina + Occult ron bypass the ward, This protection degrades by one success per against a diffkulty of 8; each success addset ther 10 miles to month; it can be maintained, however, with the expenditure the range (the total distance between the two gateways of of a point of Willpower and a sin_gle success on a Stamina + the portal must be gathered before the ritual can be com-

Occult roll (difficulty 6). pleted), five uses to the portal or some kind of specification

Get Me The Heck Ourta here] ( ••• ) to the gateway (at either or both ends; for example, a gateway

Often cast as a hanging ritual by those more interested could be designated as one-way. could be restricted [0 women in avoiding fights than finishin,g them, this ritualcames the only, only the sorcerer who created the gate or only those user back to a home location (tbis can be any location the who have a special code word or amulet). Assistants can caster knows well but must be specified when the ritual is (and should) be used for this ritual. A Teleportal costs one performed) instantaneously, as long as the locale is within . permanent point of Willpower to create.

range (no more than 50 miles~. This ritual COStS one Will~ PRICE EI1F PAILURf power, and the user must achieve at least 4 successes on a Sramma » Occult (difficulty 8) roll; additional successes scored can aid in the necessary range (20 miles per additional success), If the borne location is outof reach, a Wits'" Occult roll (difficulty 6) wiU allow the caster to retarget the riTUal to anomer" closer point.

Teleportal( • •• • • ) Master sorcerers can build permanent gateways between locations. These gateways through space allow anyone

The Path of Conveyance is fraught with peril. Beyond any risks of being noticed and the problems inherent to a particular mode of travel (flying brooms are uncomfortable, especially at high speeds, flying carpets are fragile, £lying ointments are a hassle to apply and usually smell funny, Teleportals often bring with them nausea and dizziness), those who travel in this fashion can draw the attention of. ... beings in the realms they travel through. Any journey of more

CHArTeR. feUR.: PA TIfS AND RITuALS 69

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man a mile or so will bring with it the risk of an accident or misstep. Storytellers should feet to ask for a check midway through the journey (0 make sure that it is without incident (typically, a sin~le additional success will be sufficientro avert any kind of disaster).

Normal failures simply mean that the speU dees not go off atall: a botch, however, can range from calamitous todlsastrous, depending on the method of travel and the distances involved; f1yin~ brooms may end up plummeting out of the sky, while teleportatioIl botches give the Storyteller a perfect opportunity to recreate their favorite Star Trek transporter mishap or perhaps some choice scenes from The Fly. About the best the sorcerer can hope for is to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with no idea what has happened.

DIVIM TIEBN (NEB RITuALS)

Lucky numbers for the lottery,. whether happiness wLII be found in marriage, the outcome of a crucial battle - for as long as their has been a concept of "tomorrow," people have wanted to know what would happen in the future. Rulers, merchants, generals and wizards have aU said they wanted to know their fate, although they have just as often rejected that fate when apprised OHI; Cassandra's fare is one that no seer worthy of the title easily forgets. Despite. the perils involved, this Path is a well-traveled one.

SYsTEm

Roll: Perception + Fortune Telling

Modifiers: + 1 if using extraordinary science srvle (but the

answers wiU be more precise)

Cost: None

Duration: Irrelevant

Note: The Storyteller makes all rolls for divinations. A sorcerer rarely knows how accurate her forecasts are.

AsP£CTS Time Period

•

One week One month

••

••.• One year

•••• 10 years

••••• 20 years forward, up to 100 years backward

• ' •• ' •• • Almost unlimited, in either direction

Accuracy

Incredibly vague at best

Generally accurate, but deeply cloaked in

symbolism -

Accurate, but not always explicit

While still cloaked in symbolism, the truth is in

there, and digging it out shouldn't be too hard Your results are almost always accurate and usually easy to understand

You know what will happen, when it will happen and who it will happen to, Without question ... unless you're wrong, of course

•

••

•••

' ... '.

." .. ' ..

••••••

Differentsarrerel3 usedi.fferent pathsofknowledge and tools to see the future. Mostsettle on one set of tools thatsuit them best, whileasmall few wi tl select the tools that are rIlO.'it suitable for a given situation ot a given chenr, Few use mare than a handful of techniques, however.

lngame terms, the tools the sorcerer uses are irrelevant.

In the story, they are vital; you probably won't find a technosorcereeusingtheenrrailsefa goarto tell thefurureor a nee-pagan using powarful probability anal:ysis software. Theroolsyou use can be agreat jumping off point fOIStories; jusrpossessing, for lnstance.anadvancedlapeop forstacistical analysis could get you latrouble in some parts of the world. fur example, and fishing about in the guts of a goat you just slaughteted would be agreat way to get yourself imprisoned. msoraepartsofthe United States (andpossibly killed. laother parts of the world).

Astrology

Predicting the future through the tnreraeaon of che stars and the planets and their positions in the sky. Prediction by observing the actions and flight ofbiIds Drawing the future from randoIllpag&'turn.i.Qginbooks Using a deck of cards to predict tire future (e.g,

rhe wet)

Using carved stones or sticks to srudy the patterns they make (runes, joss sticks) Searching for water, miner als.etc. using a forked stick

Augury

Bibliomancy

Cartomancy

Casting

Dowsing

Haruspicatlon

or wire.

Reading the future in the entrails of a sac.rifice Interpreting the symbolism of dreams.

Reading the future in the lines and SmlCture of the palm of another .

Using chaos math, statisti cal analysis and probability to determine what may hap pen in the future.

Looking for the. future in pools of water, crystal balls,

Oneiromancy

Palmistry

Probability Analysis

mirrors, etc.

Other tools include reading tea leaves, nwnerology,examining the shoulder blade (scapulimancy) and a hostoforhers - some woukIsa.y that there are as many means of divination as there are diviners, although. that might be a bit pedantic,

-

Sf$RYTeLL€RNeTES:

fflANAGING DMNA l1$N

Of all the Paths presented in this book, Divination can be the hardest to keep track of and cope wah because no other Path has the ability to so totally derail what you have planned or what has been building up. It also brings up annoying questions about predestination, whether your players can flaunt fate and other tricky problems.

One way to deal with this is to simply disallow the Path of Divination to player characters. This is perfectly within your rights as a Storyteller (see Messing with the Variables). It allows you to keep a finn grip on 'the divinations, handing them out when you want to, not when yow: playels can't dec ide which bus rotake, scthey throw the joss sticks!

t If you do decide to allow players'characteTS to have

Divination, it should be kept in mind that Divination works in symbolism and signs, not direct answers. (Even extraordinary scientists get only vague predictions and probabilities, rather than exact percentagesand accurate images of the future - ,and their predictions are mote prone to being upset by small changes and modificanons than your average augury is). This means that, unless the sorcerer rolls exceedingly well (or you really want to drop a clue in their lap), you can, and should, be incrediblyvague in your answers. ''You'lldieat the hands of a bllnd man" is a lot easier eo fulfill (and a lot harder for your players to avoid) than, "You'll be run over by a bus driven by a resUy near -sighted bus driver who lost a contact lens at 8.30 in the evening on aT uesday."

One thing to do, when working with a charaerer who has Divination, is to keep the question "And what

• ha.p. pens L.f ~e cas. rs a Divination a~ .. lit <x>,?" in your , head. Even if you don't acrually mite anythmg down,

asking the question gives you an idea of what the responses might be. Knowing this can also allow you to work divinations into yourchronicle ahead of time ....

Once a prediction has been handed down, you will have to decide if it is absolute or ifthe players will be able to avoid itor twist itin some fashion. In general, you may want to allow them to slip out from the noose of doom; predestination makes for great stories but can be hard on both the players and their characters. If you do decide it is an absolute, then the prediction should come to' pass ... in some fashion. Just because the players think a prediction is centered on their characters doesn't mean it has to be; a prediction of death doesn't necessarily mean that one of the player characters is going to die, for example.Iflr isn't absolute, the characters will be able to duck ir ... if theyfigme out the prediction in time and

bow to avoid it. ...

•

Question

A very simple question (can be answered with Yes or No ..... but don't expect co get that simple an answerl).

A specific question that can be answered quickly: "Is this bridge safe?" is okay. "How are the bad guys are going 110 attack us?" is not. A query that is somewhat detailed but could be answered using publicly available knowledge, if you knew where and how to look and had the. time.

A detailed question that requires information or details that have been hidden by time, distance 01 deliberate obfuscation but can stilt be unearthed with effort.

A very detailed question or one that would need access to information that has been lost to time, is very distant or has been actively guarded and hidden.

No question is too complex, no lnforma tion too obscure.

••••

•••••

PRrc€ er=fAILURf

Prophecies are fraught with mischance. A failed roll could mean something as simple as "Future cloudy, try again later" or a false reading. A botched roll indicates an omen chatts dangerously flawed or inaccurate in some fashion. For example, telling someone that the guards are unwary and slothful when, in fact they are an elite force of high I y trained pro fess ionals.

tNCHANTIT1fNT (RITuAL EeNLY)

Enchantment is the an of creating (minor) magical Talismans. An enchanter Imbues each of her creations with a small part of her essence and spends much of her time locked up in a workshop crafting each new piece, cracking down esoteric and mundanelngredlenta, putting out fires, researching new procedures and figuring out why the copper wire in the iron mixture didn't help the blade's temper. Fot those with the time and patience, though, Enchantment provides the ability to forge useful magical tools - most especially, devices that store magical energy for later use or empowered to function on their own, usable by anyone.

Creating a Talisman fIrSt takes talent; an enchanter must usually handcraft the object to be enchanted, whether it is a blade, a ring, a pair of shoes or a book. (This is not always the case, especially wlth items that have a dose personal attachment to the enchanter.) Many enchanters choose one field ofsmdy and specialize in it, creating pieces of art for sale when they aren't working on pieces to be enchanted (after all, a sorcerer has to earn a living somehow). Others develop enough skill to create serviceable tools that can be enchanted in '3 number of different Crafts, relying on their magical abilities to suffice where their craftsmanship does not. Every ritual, therefore, starts with a Crafts roll to determine the quality of the item being enchanted; an exceptional result on this test may make the actual Enchantment easier. Depending on what is being made,dtis may take anywhere from a day or so, to months of

careful crafting.

CHArrER. RsUR: PATHS AND RITuALS

The next part of the proce s is the Enchantment itself This normally takes one to three days per level of the item, depending on the Tradition of the enchanter and the particulars of the Enchantment (the more complex the Enchantment, in terms of who can use it. how many trmes it can be used, and when it can be used, the longer the initial work). At the end of this period, make an Intelligence + Occult IOU (difficulty 4 + level of the Enchantment), spend a point of Willpower and the Enchantment is completed.

Enchantments are never a matter of numbers and creation systems; they should flow from the story and roleplaying, not die rolls. While we've given orne examples, a smart enchantress can come up with many more.

SYST€ITI

Roll:

intelligence + Occult (Inrelligence + Science for T echnosorcerers}

1 Willpower

-1 Dlfflcul tv for Enchantments that have been mastered

1·3 days per level of the Enchantment, plus the time to craft the item

See following

Cost:

Modifiers:

Time:

Duration:

• Minor items that have a very limited utility and very limited effects that will never be seen as magical by any who don't know what to look for. They might add one (or. less frequently, two) dots to an Attribute or Ability, grant a bonus to an attack or skill (never more than a + 1) or some other boon.

- An army surplus jacket that adds two dots to Arcane whenever the character is in a crowd.

- A custom made handgun that subtracts 1 from the difficulty of all aimed shots made with the weapon (or, alrernauvelv, subtracts 1 from the difficulty of all wild shots made with it).

- A small stuffed animal that brings restful sleep, no matter the recipient's state of mind or state of intoxicationj anyone sleeping in the same bed as the toy will sleep like a baby.

- A small medal! ion with a chrysoprase in the middle of it, carved in the shape of a hawk's eye, carried on a fine silver chain. Once a day, when rubbed, it will give the wearer the vision of a hawk for the space of one scene. (This adds 2 dice to Perception, for purposes of seeing things at long distance or noticing movement).

• • A more powerful version of a Talisman that could be previously made (adding + 2 to an Ability or Attribute or + 2 to some task), or a Talisman capable of changing reality in some subtle but more noticeable or magical fashion.

!£CHN@SEBRCERfRSAND'ENcHANTmENT

Perhaps mote than any other Path (saving only Advanced Chemistry), Enchanrmenr (which technosorcerers know by a whole hose ofother names: material sciences, advanced ballistics, applied high-energy physics,e~.) is the forte of the reehnosarcerer,

.. Working as it does with physical objects and definable effects, Enchantment is a Path rharmanvtechnosorcerers will have at least a basic understanding of. T ecbnology based Enchantments work sljghcly differently; many simple, enchanced items can be used by anyone who knows how to use a normal version of the device {an unnaturally accurate handgun doesn't normally care who

~ wields it}. Given time, almost anyone can be trained in the use of even the most advanced technology based Talisman (called a Device).

Powerful Devices are almost as likely to fail in the public view as the most powerful of Talismans based on mystical principals ate, for reasons that are stiU unknown. T echnosorcerv is somethin.g that works best when it ~ works in the shadows, JUSt as it's counterpart is.

.. - A ~iquor flask that, when carried in a breast pocket, win unemngly attract the first bullet that would rut the carrier (0 itself. This provides three dice of lethal soak. After', the flask is useless. (Apparently this Enchantment was ve ry popular with Allied sorcerers during World War II).

- A handful of bullets (1 per success rolled on the Enchantment] that do anaddleional 2 dice of damage to whatever they hit.

- A silver ankle bracelet, with many hanging baubles" thatgtves the wearer an additional twO levels in Dancing whenever it is worn, if it is plainly visible.

••• These items perform functions mat are obviously magical to those looking for such things and that will be considered very weird by those who aren't.

- A pair of running shoes that doubles the running speed of the wearer. This ability only works when the wearer is trying fa evade pursuit.

- An amulet inscribed with arcane symbols, on a leather thong. When grasped, it will act as a personal ward against sorcery, up to three times a day (number of dice subtracted equals the successes rolled on the Enchantment), This amulet must be kept in a jewelry box carved out of a single crystal when not .w~m or the Enchantment will fade (one success per night) until It becomes a simple piece of jewelry.

- A sword with a core of liquid mercury that does aggravated damage against the Risen and lethal damage to wraiths OJ they can be seen; it provides no inherent ability to see the Restless Dead). A priest must bless the sword every fortnight, or the magic fails.

.. •• • • Talismans ofthls power can defy reality to a large degree, as long as they work within certalnresrncnons, They can increase Attributes and Abilities past normal human

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maximums, duplicate low-level supernatural abilities (no more than the second dot of Disciplines, Gifts, etc.) and otherwise work wonders.

- The fabled Heanseeker - a stiletto that aims unerringly for the heart when drawn and used in rage. This inflicts Strength + 5 dice of lethal damage, and the dagger may be thrown. It muse be bathed in the blood of those it has kiHed after each combat or lose its potency .

-A solid silver tore that. when worn, grants me wearer superhuman Strength .. The wearer's Strength rises to 5 when the tore is worn. In addition, a number of times per day equal to the successes rolled on the Enchantment, the wearer may boost his Strength past normal, gaining 3 automatic successes on all task rolls involving Strength (these successes are added directly to damage rolled, etc . .), The rorcrnust be kept in view of the moon whenever it is not worn, if the moon is visible.

- The skull of a long-dead wizard, which can be used to contact him for assistance. The sorcerer using this Talisman must donate a pint of blood and can ask the wizard as many questions as successes rolled on the Enchantment. These do not have to be yes/no questions, and foHow up questions on the same immediate topic are allowed without using up a question (the Storyteller is the final arbiter of what is or isn't a question). This T alisman can only be used during the new moon, and the sorcerer must make a Willpower test (diffi~ culryequal to the number of times the Talisman has been used + 4) or the skull crumbles to pieces after the final question is asked.

- A bymie of silvered mail that converts up to 4 dice of lethal damage taken in a tum of combatinto bashing damage. Each time this ability is, used, a few more links fall our of the coat, until, eventually, it falls apart, unusable. The mail can never be cleaned or repaired, or it automatically loses its abilities .

.J

ALCH€rtrY VS. fNCHANTITI€NT

On the smface, Alchemy and Enchantment would appear to be almOSt ehesameAn, and infact, many who study one Arthave adeastsomeknowledge in the other Pam as well. At a fundaroeruallevel, however, t:hey are very different.

~ Alchemical elixirs can be used by anyone but rove a definite life span; usually, this is measured in monthsor even yeatS, but evenniallv most alchemicalsubmmces (other than mystical alloys or some other materials made througP Alchemy) will decay inro uselessness. Talismans created with the Path of Enchantmenrretaintheirpowerfordecades,orevencenruries

~ some cases, and, even once the power has left them, still retain some level of inherent mystic "otherness" that those knowledgeable in the Arts will be able to detect, With some research, almost all Talismans can be traced back to their creators, Where a long-dead alchemist is known only by the body of research he leaves behind (if any),aIl enchanter's ~ legacy is wrapped up in every T al_isman he ever created

73

CHAmRRilUR: PAM AND RrruALS

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r ALISIIlANS VS. TAL.ISITIANS

The difference between a Talisman creared by a ~ sorcerer using the Path of Enchantment and one created by a mage using Sphere magic isn't always as clear as one

~ might think. Both will detect as magical to those capable of sensing such things, and both may well have similar or even identical effects. To a lay person, there really is no difference; even some mages and experienced sorcerers may be unable to tell the difference.

~ There are, however, acouple of differences. Sorcery

based T alismans are almost alwayssingle-fimcnon items; they do one thing and one thing only. Wonders based on Sphere magic are more likely to be muld-purpose (al- .. though many are nor).

••••• Items made with this level of skill are almost mythic; their powers ate sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant and always unpredictable. When they work, they can perform minor miracles.

- A money pouch that will always have five dollars in quarters (or 6 Canadian loonies or three pounds sterling or whatever - always in small, but not annoying, sums) in it, as long as at least one quarter is left in the pouch. It can only be drawn from four times a day, or it will lose its power forever.

- An amulet that, when worn, tenders the user almost immune co any kind of physical harm (granrmgthe user fivedice of lethal soak that is also usable against aggravated damage). Every time this ability is used, it subtracts five years from the user's life. The user evinces no outward change, but when he finaUv expires, he will appear to be an old man internally.

- An amulet that wards the user against all magical detection. The amulet adds 4 successes to the number required to find the user with any kind of magical ability (Auspex, Divination, Sphere magic, etc.), The sorcerer wUl be presented with a different riddle, puzzle or other enigma she must solve before the amulet will activate. Once activated, the amulet will be effective for a number of weeks equal to the number of successes rolled on the Enchantment.

- An animated servant. This might be the classical golem from Jewish mythology, a homunculus or some kind of robot. A servant like this is created like a character, but has only 10 points to spend on Attributes and 7 to spend on Abilities. It has human senses, Health levels equal to a normal human (but does not suffer wound penalties) and does not need to eat or sleep, though technologically based servants will usually need recharging.

• • • • • • Talismans of this potency are more rumor and myth than they are quantifiable fact. Lf items of this power still exist or anyone can still make them, they would be capable of feats that would be impressive even to the most powerful sorcerer.

.~ r

RITuALS

Although this entire Path is composed ofvarious rituals, there are some that are more standardized than others. These include;

74

Eldritch Mark (.)

The sorcerer scribes a ymbol or mark into an object or onto the forehead of an Individual. This mark then fades from view, but any student of the mystic Arts who looks at the object or individual will be able to discern the mark and will know the name of the sorcerer who marked it, This ritual takes five minutes to cast and has no cost in Willpower.

Enhance Craftsmanship ( •• )

The enchanter uses his power to enhance the craftsmanship of an object he is making {something enhanced in this fashion can not thereafter be further enchanted}. Thus, he can forge a blade thatwill never break, knit a sweater that wi U never unravel or ensorcel a mirror SO that it will never crack.

An object made in this fashion is not inherently magical in anyway, but an alchemist or another enchanter can discern the methods used to enhance it with a Perception + Occult task (difficulty 6). Thisrituai takes as long to cast as it takes to make the object (15 to 20 minutes for something that is being ensorceled after the fact) and costs no Willpower.

1

PRlCf er fAlLUR£:

The best a sorcerer can hope for on a failure is that his time and effon will be wasted. Ic is more likely that [he sorcerer will end up with a cursed item, one that has some side effect that was not anticipated, an accident that blows the workshop to bits or worse. Botching a creation roll is never a good idea: Enchanters have been engulfed in conflagrations or have simply disappeared, along with their workshops.

f ASCINA TIEBN

Call it bewitching, call it willbinding, speak of love philters and glamours, speak of presence and awe. In the end, what you are talking about is a sorcerer's ability to fascinate - to compel a subject to listen to what she says, to force an attraction that would not otherwise be there. A master of this Path can instill loyalty, lust, confidence, faith and love in those she comes in contact with- in some cases, so much so that the sorcerer is bedeviled with followers so fanatical that they are willing to kill for the object of their affection.

Sometimes utter Fascination is not at all what the sorcerer wants. Stories abound of sorcerer and victim tied up in a web of conflicting loyalties and obsessions, with tragedy the nigh-inevitable result. Even worse is when a third party is brought into the mixture; some seek out sorcerers skilled in this Path, hoping to gain assistance in attracting the eye of some desired paramour.

But not all tales of this Path end in tragedy. Many sorcerers, careful to use onl y enough power to get what they want and no more, make a decent living in the media,as entertainers, as sales representatives and in almost any other job that requires constant contact with people.

Fascination works with the Social Traits; exactly which one depends on the circumstances. Normally, the client's mo t impressive Attribute will be enhanced; a good Looking woman will appear stunning (Appearance), a smooth opera{Of will become impossibly slick (Manipulation), and someone

• . .

with a powerful personality win become posiri vely magnetic (Charisma). A sorcerer can choose to enhance any of the Social Attributes, however; an already charismatic wizard might choose to use Fascination to shore up his Appearance.

A sorcerer can inspire more than simple attraction or interest with Fasdnation; although it is more difficult, she can inspire loyalty, trust, camaraderie, faith, confidence or some other (generally positive) emotional link.

A subject has no real resistance to thisahilitv,aLthoughsubjecrs wlth a hlgh Willpowera.re less likely to be affected. Some people are immune to Fascination altogether, however; anyone wich Iron Will Ofsi.milaradvantagescanignoreaFasc.ination (exceprfromamaster of the Path, at the Storyteller's discretion).

Any attempt to order a subj.ect to do something that he would notnormallvdo (kiU that man over there, jump otfa bridge) allows hitna Willpower check (difficulty 4+ Path level). Each success he scores reduces the sorcerer's holden him by one level. Howoften the subjecrmakes these checks depends, in large part, on hispersonality; astrong-wtlled, confidenrpe:rsonmighc make them rather regularly, while a weak-willed person with low self-esteem would be willing to put up with quite a bit When a Fascination ends, it may taper off (allowing.emotiollS andlxmds built up in the lntervening time to take hold), or it may snap, leaving the subject confused and bewildered.

Those who possesssimuarmind-infIuenclngpowers (vamplric Dominate and Presence, ~chic ®ilities, the Sphere of Mind, etc.) can also typically ignore attempts to influence them wirhthis Path. Innately mystical creatures (shapeshifteISj the fae, erc.) can counter a spell with their own power if they choose to (spending their mystical power sources asappropnare, each point spent reduces the. level of effect by one). The blood bond of vampires is not sufficient, in and of itself, to counter Fascination, but the bond remains in effuct; anvdemands that run counter to the bond willautotnaticallv call for a Willpower check.

StudentsDf this Path can sometimes recognize its tricks being used by others: Often times, they even have a small measure of resistance to its effects. ~en someone uses this Path, or a similar power (vampiric Dominate and Presence, certain Mind effects, etc.], the willbindet can make a Wits + Fascination roll (difficuby 1·9, at the Stntyteller's discretion). He must score atleast as many successes as me caster to detect anything is amiss. This gives the willbinder a + 1 on all Willpower chocks to resisrany effects aimed athim (knowing is half me battle ... J and an additional + 1 to resist: for every 2 successes scored over and above those needed to detect the use in the first place.

SYSTem

Roll:

Cost:

Modifie.rs:

(Social Attribute) + Occult None

+1 difficulty for emorlons other than artraction or interest

+ 1 difficulty if subject's Willpower is 5 or greater. One turn per level of effect

See foHowing

Time:

Duration:

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Level of lnfluence

Minor: Inacrowd, you are noticed, and individuals win fmd you in te resting. Add 1 die to your Social dice pools.

Stirring: You aren't thecenter of the party, but you are being listened to. An individual will make it a-point to hang out with you, Add 2 dice to your Social dice pools.

Life of the Party: Of course you threw this party, didn't you? A subject will go out of his way for you. Add J dice.

Major: You are throwing a party, aren't you?

What you do, others pavattenrion to. Individuals willsacriflce quite a bit toearn your approval Add 4 dice.

Trendsetter; If you jumped off a bodge, more than a few people would follow. Your influence is unmistakable. An individual will do almost anything you ask him to, even kill or die. Add 5 dice. Your influence is legendary, when you want it to be. An individual is utterly besmitten of you , a

virtual (and possibly literal) slave, and willing to do anything you command. Add 6 dice to your Social dice pools.

' ..

•••

••••

•••••

.' .....

Number

• One person

•• Two people

• '. • A small group (less than 10)

•• • • A party of up to 50 people or SO

••••• A crowd of people: hundreds

••••• • A stadium full of people: thousands

Duration

• A short while; a few minutes or so.

••

One scene A day or two

A couple of weeks Several months Indefinitely

•••

•••••

••••••

PRlC€ E9F FAILURe

A simple failure means, at worst, having a bit of egg on your face, in most cases. Botches can be big trouble, however (as ill often me case with sorcery) .. A spell could backfire making you as unattractive and unimpressive as it was supposed to make you impressive and attractive (reverse the adds to Social dice pools to peoalnes). Your meddling with other peoples emotions can have awful consequences; ove ruse of (his ability can result in the emotional equivalem ofa lobotomy, fierce fits of jealousy or just as fierce protective urges. And in extreme versions of the latter two problems, the subject wi!! do anything to keep Y01..l.safe!keep others from having you ... anything .

... ,

Fortuna, both Buona andMa1a, flows from the hands of me sorcerer who studies this path. By his will, probabiliriesalter, events realign themselves, and his target's future is changed. The superstitious ascribed this power to all witches (untrue), and call it the Evil Eye, scientists speak of altering probabilities and chaos math, and priests calls it the Hand of God, but in every case, in the end, the effectsare only partly in the hands of the sorcerer, Some mages look on this as being a see oflnrerrelated effects linked closely with a rudimentary understanding of the Entropy Sphere. Sorcerers gifted in the Path just smile, nod and continue on their lucky way.

Supernatural beings can be cursed but get to resist the effect, if they are aware ofit.with a Willpower check (difficulty = 4 + me magician's Path rating), Most curses will need only a single success, but very powerful or long-lasting curses can require more In order to be removed completely .. Short curses normally won't be discovered unless they are announced ahead of time; a skilled wet of Entropy or Prime m:(ght detect a curse looming over someone, or someone with Auspex might see it in thelraura, however. A character's Arcane rating subtracts from the total successes scored on a one for one ratio (and could well cause the curse to fail utterly).

SYSTem

Roll:

Manipulation + Intimidation (Manipulation + Mathematics for T echnosorcerers)

One WiLlpower

~ 1 Difficulty if some sorcerer has some item closely linked with the wget

See below

Cost:

Modifiers:

Duration:

AsP£CTS

Target

In general, the target must be some specific individual or group of individuals but does not need to be specifically named (So, for example, the target might be '1 ilIUlly Smith, who stole my essay" or "that son of a bitch who just cut me off:" but not "everyone who hates me"). The mote dots in this aspect of the curse, the more people it can affect,. and the less specific the targeting needs to be.

• One specific, named, target

•.• Two targets, or one poorly defined one.

••• A small group (no more than four) of closely linked individuals (a clique or family)

•••• A midsize group of people with some kind

of relationship (an extended family, a football team, etc.)

• • • • • A large group of people (no more man 100): aLI of the patrons of a particular bar, a small company, etc.

An entire town or corporation or military unit (like a battalion) .

.. ' .. '. '.

Duration

This is how long the effect will last; whether it coils, strikes and disappears or hangs about to discomfit the recipient for monrhsor even years. Ar eheir most powerful, effects can last for generations, strikingara specific target in eachgeneration (flrse bornson, for example).

• One shot. The effect waits for an

opportune moment, wreaks its vengeance (or benefits) and then dtssipates,

The effect lasts a day, inconveniencing the

target whenever possible.

The effect lasts for a week or more (up to three), helping the target when appropriate.

The blessing (or curse) lasts for several months. The curse affects the target for years, blighting his very existence.

" ... Andunto the seventh generation shallt h e family of Hedley-Smythe becursed with madness, and terror shall follow them all their days!"

Severity

The severity of a Fortune effect depends in large part on what the sorcerer wants to do. but the specifics of the effect are never completely under the control of the sorcerer; the caster can suggest, but In the end, every curse or blessing takes its own w.ay.

• A brief inconvenience, or a minor weal; d r 0 p pin g something, saying something utterly stupid (or perfectly brilHam), smashing your shin intothe table, catch inga bus atjusr the right moment.

• 'Something thai: results in a lasting inconvenience or injury or some minor advantage. Sprains, bad cases ofthe flu (or other annoying, but nor life threatening, diseases), breaking something difficult to replace and committing some majorfaux pas are all possible curses, while blessings might convey some minor advantage in battle, render the target immune to some sickness or misfortune or prevent some difficulty that might hinder her path.

• •• A serious, but not nOIlfiaUy life-threatening, injury or illness, or somepermanent social setback, This kind of curse should be a major setback for the short -rerm goals of the target. As a blessing, this level conveys some major advantage. An additional die in combat dice pools, continuingminor luck with di.ce (or women) or the good fortune to always get the person at the DMV who actuaUy wants to help (and always getting there when there aren't many people in line) are aU possible effects.

•••• A permanent, debilitating injury at illness, or a major turn of events socially or flnanciallv. Bankruptcy, spinal injuries, psychosis, blindness, an accountant taking off for Barbados with all ofyout savings and indictment on tax evasion are all possibilities. Blessings of this magnitude include thmg~ like winning the lottery, excellence in battle in some crlncal fight or overcoming incredible odds against some major social endeavors.

••

• ••

••••• Normally, a death curse {and usuallynota pleasant death; decapitation, wasting diseases, mangling car aecidenrs and worse}, althoqgh some incredible tum of events might fulfill a curse of this magnitude. Blessings at this level of power involve cheating some inescapable death or misfortune: a last minute reprleve frorn the governor, landing in the only pond deep enough to cushion your fall after a parachute failure or beingsaved by the Queen's Gurkha Rifles just as the cultists start to lower you into the boiling lava are all possibilities.

• •••• • If there is a fate worse than death or a way to cheat death forever, it would take a curse or blessing of this power to do it.

Example: Rachet sraresdaggers at duu stupid Jock that turned her doom. W'ha does he .dtink he is, .ClnytVayl What, isn't sheprerry enough? Fine. She'Us1wwhim,dommi~! Muttering a quick enchant' ntentshe leamedina book found in the backoftlw!ibrary, she finishes. it with a curse and savagely stabs her atliameinto his footprint in the dirtnear theswdium. She is lucky enough to be WGtrhinglater r.hatday w/ten,. showing off, he backfllpsof{ tireoodofhis;friend' s pickup truck, sfips andsmasnes his knee into the pavement, cracking-it. So much f(lf the rest of me football season ..

Rachel has 3 dots il'l the Path of Fortune, her Manipulation is 3, and she has an Intimidation of 2. She sets up her spell as follows - Target: level one (she knows tile name of the "dumb" jock in question), Dur(1tion:basic (she isn't quieebitter enough to want him seriously put out for anyle1'l,gtlJ of time) and Severity; IelJel three (she is bit@"ertOUgh to want .him hurt, however). Since she's assigning each aspect , she needs three successes (one for each aspect). If she'.d wanted to push tile severity even higher, she'd have needecl additional successes.

The Path of Fortune benefits from teamwork in a fashion unlike any other Path; each assistant who is successful in a skill check not only reduces the difficulty for the lead sorcerer by 1, but also adds a single success to the total pool for paying for aspects. In .addition,every three assistants increases me effective knowledge of the Path by one, allowing the group to cast more powerful curses or blessings.

Example: A curse performed. by five members, alIa[ whom have tile Pam ofForr:ulle (with tile leader having a raringof3) would have an effective Path kTIDWledge of 4 to derennine what level of aspect could be used, aru::l would gmn up to 4 extra successes to spend on aspects, in addition to reducing the difficuhy .by up to-4.

Rrru

. .!AL

Death Curse (.)

A magician skilled in the Path of Fortune may invoke a Deeth's Curse. The magician spends all of her permanent Willpower, adds it to her dots and thenspends them as she likes in a final curse (or blessing, although this is much less common), just as if they were autmnati.c successes. For the purposes of this spell alone, the magician can buy aspects two dots higher than they would UOTTTlaUy have access to; while a: lesser magician might only be able to Inconvenience a single person, a powerful one could lay waste to an entire family OT wither an entire small town! Once this effect is cast, the character then falters. and quickly dies, burned out by her rage or taken by her weal,

CHArretFeUR; PATHS AND RrruALS 77 ~~ Ii

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PRrcf $f. PAIL.URf

Messing with destiny and thefuaue is never something CO be undertaken lightly. A failure on the dice roll results in nothing happening (of course, if the ta(get is unlucky enough, the caster may not be able to tell if the curse took effect or not!). A botched curse might boomerang back onto the caster, as the hatred-fueled powe r feeds back into the SO)JIT.e of the bile, ramer than the target. Alternatively, ie .may twist itself into a perverse SOrt of blessing, something that at first appears to be a curse but is, instead, beneficial to the target in astrangesort of way .. (This isespeciaUy appropriate if the caster's hatred of the target is not pure and savage enough - half-hearted curses are better left alone, especially powerful ones.)

Botched blessings can be just as bad, if not worse. A botched blessing might twist itself into a curse (especially with very powerful blessings), targeted either on the caster or on the target (once again, blessings where the motives of the caster are not pure are most likely to do this). More commonly, however, the blessing takes effect but in such a way that it might as well be a curse. This kind of monkey's paw can be particularly devastating. A blessing for long life might twist itself into immortality ttselL. but immortality without vitality is a prison suitable only for the most evil.

A sorcerer can use me Path of Fortune upon herself if she wishes but runs a terrible risk. Any Botched roll means that the sorcerer will suffer the full effects of the worst kinds ofbackfire that she might accidentally inflict upon others. Worse, while the sorcerer can try and unweave even a botched. curse or blessing upon another, she is totally incapable of lifting or unweaving an effect thatshe casts upon herself .. Since a sorcerer may not know the full impact of her casting for some time, the Storyteller should roll the dice for any use of this Parh she works upon herself

H€ALING

Since the earliest days, those whose couch could heal have been held in highest regard. The layi.Qg on of hands by a saint, the Witch's poultice, the intercession of a houngan with Legba and the caring touch of a general practitioner haveall been seen as a kind of miracle. When practitioners of this Path are involved, this appellation it is not far from the truth.

The Path of Heating takes time; there are no miraculous cures, no instant regeneration of wounds and no sudden recov-

eries from fatal illnesses. Even the most experienced healer can only force the body to do so much; a healer normally works by accelerating the body's natura] processes, by helping irdo what it would normally do anyway, only faster and better. Worse, use of this Path saps the user; overuse can lead to burnout and even death. A master of the Path can bring someone back even from deeth's door ... but the cost is often more than he can bear.

Although not absolutely necessary for the use of this Path, most healers have at least some knowledge of medicine,although this may not be traditional Western medicine:

A,upuncture, homeopathy, herbalism or knowleclge of which spirits to propitiate and which to exorcise can all be effective to a healer who believes.

The Path of Healing can relieve pain, cure diseases, speed recoveryfrominjuries {and healsome injuries outright) , evenrestore sight to the blind. It cannot, however, do anything to alleviate ::tggJ3.vated iqjuries ... fire, Pattern magic and add all do things so heinous to the human (or inhuman) l:ody that it cannot be healed in this fashion, For reasons that should be obvious, the Path of Healing cannot be used on the dead (or undead).

A sorcerer may attempt to healanv given injury,. disease or condition once; ifshe fails·orachieves only a limi ted success (due to skill), she may not go back and attempt to improve the situation later.

SYSTem

Roll: Manipulation"," Intuition

Cost: One Willpower per injury or disease

Modifiers: -1 Difficulty if Medicine, or appropriate Lore is equal to or htgherthan raring in Path.

Ihu3tion: Permanent

PAlli

You can relieve the pain of an injury, even if you cannot heal the injury itself. With 4 successes, you can reduce the task penalties from injuries by -2; with 5 successes, the parientcan ignore most penalties that don't involve actual amputationsand even then, the penaltiesere becauseofthemissingIimb, not because it hurts.

TexINs AND DrSfASfS

With a single success, you can virtually guarantee that a patient wilt not suffer from secondary infections or problems as

AsPECTS

You may spend as many successes as needed (including none) on any or all of the (onowing aspects:

Success Pain I· Toxins Bashing Lethal - Other

o none none none none none

minor (headache) antiseptic minor bruises none none

moderate (migraine) rating 1 1 level fixed stabilize none

•• major (groin kick) RatiI"\g 2 heal 25% none

extreme (gut stab) Rating J 2 Levels fixed beal. 50%

incredible (amputation) Rating 4-5 heal 90% eyesight, hearing

NA Rating 6-7 J. levels fixed heal instantly maier

-- 1 .,"',,,'UIV); .......

a. result of disease. With greater numbers of successes, you can cure diseases or counteraer exposure to poisons of a Toxin Rating equal to or below the rating listed and alleviate the symptoms of diseases one level higher (medisea.se is still present and could still kill the patient, but the patient gers + 1 on all survival rolls and at least won't be miserable as he dies .... ). Recovery time is dependent on the virulence of the disease or poison, how massive the exposure was and how long the patient has already been afflicted.

BAsHING DAITIAGf

The healer can dose up minor contusions, scrapes, etc. with but a single success, the injuries fade over the course of 10- 15 minutes or so. For every 2 successes spent on dealing with bashing damage , the healer can reduce thedamage taken by one level (from W ounded to Injured, for example). Bashingdamage that has been converted to lethal damage cannot be·cured in this fashion.

LffHAL DAITIAG€

Two successes lets the healer stabilize even a critically wounded patient; the patient will not regain any levels of Health but will be safe to transport and may even be able to move about under her own power .ar least a little (dependent on injul'ies). Mote successesdonoeacruallv remove health levels of damage bur.do cause the patient to heal at an accelerated rate; this is in addition to any beaefits gained by regular medical care (so an Incapacitated patient who is being created in a hospital bya doctor who also happens to be a healer who scores 4 successes on healing lethal damage would recover completely from her injuries in 51 davs, instead of 102 (or the almost a year that it would take with no medical attention or healer intervention).

EfmieRlNJURIes EaR DEBlunes

With great effort (a minimum of 4 successes needed), a healer can correct congenital defects or problems incurred after birth. Many problems are beyond the ab ility of even the greatest healers to cure (they cannot regenerate l.inlbs, etc.), but they can cure bad vision or tone deafness (with5 successes) and even some neurological conditions (6 successes). Exactly how many successes are needed, and what is beyond tbescope of me healer, is up to the Storyteller.

RITuALS

Healing Sleep (.)

The healer can places padent in a deep, restful sleep that relaxes and revitalizes. ThF patient wakes from even a few hours of sleep refreshed and alert, with a clarity of thought and purpose. In game terms, me player rolls Manipulation + intuition versus a difficulty of 6; if more than one success is rolled, the (willing) patient falls into a deep slumber. This ritual normally results in 9 hours of sleep; subtract one hour foreacb additional success. At the end of thatsleep, the pattenrawakens tevital.ired;. all bashing damage is healed, and the patient regains a. point ofWHlpower.

Mike's Cure-All (. • )

Although the exact version referencedhere appears todate from the Chicago speakeasies of the 19205, versions of this ritual have been around for centuries. When castana patient who has been drugged, poisoned or merely over-indulged, the patient immediately begins to flush any toxins In their system; depending on the length of time it's been since the toxins were mtroducedand the method of introduction, they might be expelled through sweat, vomiting or diarrhea, teats or some combination. This is rarely pleasant for the patient, but In the end, the toxins ate removed, and any effects they may have on the patient are negated (already existing damage wiU not be healed, but any side effects or further damage wtll cease). The difficulty of this ritual is 6, and the healer must score more successes than the Toxin Rating of the drug or poison that the patient has in their system (or the highest Toxin Rating, in case of multiple drugs or poisons). This ritual can be castasan extended cask, and while it will flush out even alchemical concoctions and poisons, it does not affect vitae in any way; a ghoul will not have the vitae in his bloodstream forcibly removed, nor does i[ remove a blood bond.

Wakey~Wakey ( .. )

With this ritual, a Sorcerer can revive anyone from even the deepest sleep. Even magiClllly induced slumber can be broken with thi5 ritual, although the caster must generate more successes than the originator of the sleeping spell did. The base difficulty of this ritual js 6; normally only a single success is needed, although someone who is drugged, is a naturally deep sleeper or is incredibly exhausted may require mote successes. This ritual costs one WiUpower to cast.

Revive ( ...... )

The pinnacle ofunderstandlng in the Path of Healing is the ability to bring back one that has traveled beyond Death's Door. Even masters of me Path can only call back those who have very recently died, and survival is never assured; more than once, a. patient has been revived, only to succumb once again to his injuries. The healer bums two permanent Willpower and rolls against a difficulty of9.; she must achieve atleast 3 successes, plus 1 additional success for every rhreemmutes the parienrhas been dead (not coonting the length of time me ritual takes to cast). Ifsuccessful.the healer loses any remaining Willpower they may have (these polnrs, unlike the iairialtwo, can be regained over time), is physically exhausted and at -2 dice on all dice pools for the next week. The patient, while revived, still suffers from whatever ills killed him in the first place, if immediate medical attention is not forthcoming, he will quickly die once again.

PRrC13 ep·PAlLURf

A simple failure merely means that the healer has no effect; she cannot work on this injury or disease for whatever reason. A botch, however, can be particularly horrifying in the case of this Path; stories tell of tissue surrounding a wound going hypercancerous, orifices like the mouth, nostnls, etc. suddenly "healing" themselves over, diseases going berserk and worse. The hearer can also backlash the injuries of me parienr onto heeselfor subjecrberself to rhe.pojsons or diseases she was nying [0 cure,

.' ...

Thought by many to be at least tainted by darkness, if not oumghrof evil origins, the Path of Hellfire taps into the deepest, most primal, and destructive of forces. Legends ascribe the beginnings of this power to the infernal realms, pacts with malevolent elemental spirits, and bargains with beings bett-er lett alone. The master of the path of hellfire can demand, and receive respect; he will also receive suspicion and fear, whether he demands them or nat.

A student of me Path of HeUflre learns to summon and control powerful elemental attacks; blasts-of lightning, bolts of t1:r·e or mystic energy, clouds of poison gas or other deadly effects. Unsubtle and direct, these powers, utilized properly, can oblieerateeven the most deadly of foes, in the hands of a master. Seadents of this Path should remember that a little knowledge canbe a dangerous thing; they are-not immune to the effectS .of their own powers, and using this power in combat normallv requires planning beforehand.

Hitting a target with a blast of Hellfire requires a successful Dexterity + Melee roll (difficulty 7). Striking at an area lowers the difficulty to 5 but allows those in the area a chance to escape (see Dodging and Resistance in Mage Revised, p. 152).

SYSTfrlI

Roll:

Cost:

Durations

Manipulation'" Occult One Willpower Instant

Asm:rs

Damage

T wodice oflethal damage per success spent. AlthQugh the basic form of Hellfire is a gout of flame, Hellfire does not do aggravated damage by default: for aggravated damage, spend 2 additional successes (some special effects preclude aggravated damage). T oral number of successes spent on damage (including to buyaggravated damage) cannot exceed the dots the caster has in Hellfire.

Range

•

••

•••

••••

•••••

Area

•

••

•••

· .' .. '.

Touch only. The sorcerer must make a successful Brawl attack in order to hit his target and deliver damage (which is in addition to normal melee damage. .

Less than 10 feet

Less than 25 feet

About 50 feet

Any target within 150 feet

A target within 200 yards or so ,/

A single target

A small area; ) square feet or so

No more than a couple of square yards or so

10 square feet (which can be arranged as a wall, circle or whatever).

20 square feet

• ••• •• Approximately 50 square feet

Special Effects

All special effects are optional and, in fact, must be purchased (uslngfreebie.er experience points; cost is equal to the cost in successes + I), as each is a separate study in destruction. Each could be considered a separate destructive Path, of wh.ich Hellfire is simply a generic sampling.

•• Earthquake: The ground cracks open, engulfs the target and crushes him before subsiding. The target will then have to dig his way free (Strength roll against difficulty 6, need as many successes as health levels suffered, extended task). Lethal damage only.

•• Lightning: A bolt of electricity fri·es the target. If the target is touching any conductive material (water, a suitof plate armor, wires, erc.) and anyone else is couching that material, meysuffer the same damage the taJget did. Om be aggravated.

• Decay: Does no damage to living targets, but anything they are wearing 01 carrying begins to rust, decay, warp and generally faU apart at a high rate, Within 2-3 rums, anything they ate wearing or holdin~ will be junk. This effect destroys three pounds of material per point of damage that would be scored (some substances and anyth ing that has been enchanted, will be resistant to this effect).

• Dust Storm: A blinding, stinging cloud offinedust whirls throughthe area, scouring everyone in the area .. Must be bought wlth at least three dots worth of area. All betngs in the path of this cloud are blinded for the duration of the cloud (one tum per

health Ievelofdamage inflicted). .

• Sleet: A blast of freezing water and ice cuts across the target. Not only does this inflict damage, but it can also obscure vision (at least momentarily), and the ground surreundmg the target is at least wet and may be rather slippery. Lethal damage only.

• Smoke: A thick cloud of poisonous smoke billows forth from the caster, enveloping the area. (This effect must be bought with an Area of at least 3 dots), Everyone within the cloud takes one health level of lethal damage per tum, unless they have some kind. of protection (a gas mask buys 2 turns of exposure but is then rendered useless) or do not need to breath (like vampires). Vision is totally obscured (even advanced vision, like thermographlc or night vision) while within the cloud. Can be aggravated.

• • T englewood. nearby plants Lash out, throwing storms of splinters, thorns, etc. at the target. A truly lucky magician might be able to stake a vampire this way, but don't count on it (difficulty 9, at least 5 successes needed) .. If the target is actually standing among any kind of dense undergrowth, the plants will envelop him (extended Strength roll against difficulty 7, need 'as many successes as health levels suffered to break. free) .. Lethal damage only.

• • • • Drowning Tide: This effect requiresalarge Ixxiy of water to work. (an Olympic size swimming pool is sufficient). A sudden wave or unde.rcunent reaches up and drags the target under the swface, smashing her body and causing cIrowning dama,ge. (See the rules on drowning in Mage Revised, p. 249). To escape, the target will have toget to "shore" and dr:aghim.selfout of the water (Strength

roll, difficulty 8, number of successes needed depends on how long he Is in the warerandhowfar he is from safety, but at least 2 successes necessary). Thisconnnuesunnl the targetescapesordies. Drowning damage only.

RrrUALS

Fire's Weal (u)

This ritual allows the user (or whomever they cascthe ritual upon) to resist natural flames, and provides at least some protection against even mystical flames. Roll (Manipulation + Occult) against a difficulty of 7; if you score more than 2 successes, you can soak flre damage as if it were bashing damage, instead of aggravated; more successes reduce the soak number needed (so 5 successes on this check would result in the recipienr being able to soak fire damage as bashing. with a -3 an the soak difficulty). This ritual costs one WHipower and lasts one scene.

Hellblade (. • )

This simple ritual attunes a weapon (normally some kind afbladed weapon, often a dagger OF sword) to the powers of this Path. By spending one Willpower, you may engulf the blade in mystical fires; while burning, the weapon does aggravated damage and does 2 additional dice of damage. These fires last for up ED one scene, unless the magician tries to hand the weapon to another user, at which point the flames die out. Requires a Manipulation ... Occult roli, difficulty 7, with at [east 2 successes Tolled to take effect.

PRice $f fAlLURf

The price of failure ought to be obvious ... the powers you are trying to wield rise up and engulf youl A simple failure JUSt indicates that nothing happened, but a botch typically means that the attack backlashes onto the caster, inflicting whatever fate was intended for the target back on the attacker.

lTIANA lJIANrplJLt\TIEBN

Nearly every sorcerer recognizes the flow of some sort of power: mana, sekhem, chi, vis or some other representation of magical potential. Most magicians learn to feel or describe the energies that course wougb them during the casting of spells. Some, however, learn to direct these power sources in order to reshape the fundamental mystic energy about them. Geomancy, ley line channeling, feng shui - all of these sense and redirece the power of raw magicenetgy into new directions and shapes.

Mana Manipulation is an esoteric Path, and few sorcerers would describe it in such abstract terms - rather, most see it as an exercisedescribed by their specific magical style. A magician used to {eng shui and chi kung, for instance,. will channel chi energies with special mihors or moxa burning. A sorcerer who relies on incantations and wands will use those rools to direct Mana and store it. Spirit-talkers and shamans may rely on elaborate designs to trap and hold energy or paintings that ward off negative energies,

srsran

Roll:

Cost:

Manipulation + Occult I Willpower

DARKPATIIS

Most societies of sorcerers cons ide r certain Paths to be dark knowledge, Paths whose undeTStanding briQgs with it certain costs of insanity, corruption or damnation. Depending an the SOCiety, these Paths may be forbidden, taught only to those already assumed to be free of corruption orforgouen altogether. known of only in legend and myth.

Exactly which Paths are considered Datk Paths depends on the teachings of the society in question. MOIlt Westem societies consider Paths such as Hellfire,

• Shadowcascing, the cursing aspects of the Path of Fortune and Daimonic Summoning to be Dark Paths, but in other cultures or societies, these powers may be considered torally notrrm.l., or evensaerosanot, while others are considered utterly profane.

Many, though not all, societies have a tradition that states in brief that what magic is used far comes back to the user. "As ye reap so shall vesow," and "what you send out, you gee back threefold" are but two examples of this philosophy.

~, Although not universal, this belief seems to ,have some grounding in fact; those who use sorcery for evil often come to evil ends .. Whether or not sorcery has a conscience is up to the Storyteller to decide; it should be kept in mind, however I that sorcery does hot seem to mind being used for profit or even for justified retribution or self-defense. It is only when sorcery is used to needlessly harm others or to gain wealth or power atanother's expense that me law of retribution comes into effect.

The law is also not universal ... far from it. Many ~ evil sorcerers live out their lives without any problems, comfortable in their villainy.

Modifiers: _. 1 for areas of strong Mana (Nodes and the like)

Time: One tum per effect level

Duration.: Varies

Instead of aspects, this Path offers certain feats that may be performed at each level.

• The sorcerer can sense Mana energies. In simple terms" a quick meditation or invocation aUows the sorcerer to determine if an area or item is charged with power (Quintessence, Mana, vampire blood, what have you). With three Of more successes, the sorcerer can tell If it has a specific Resonancerecognizing a sacred grove as a place holy to nature and growth ordetenninlng that somesortof stored Mana is acmallvflavored with a destructive, poisonous Resonance, for instance.

"

•• 'While an initiate can sense magical energy in places or objects, a sorcerer with this level of Mana Manipulation can see the magical energy in and around creatures. The sorcerer's perceptions let him determine if someone is using magic and aUow him to see obstructed or occluded magical flaVo'S, (like blocked chi energies or curses). The sorcerer can ruse make a tough estimate of the potential magicalenergy held by an individual, though this does not guarantee separating a supernatural creature from an otherwise normal human.

• •• Skilled sorcerers can displace or alter the flow of Mana around an area. The sorcerer can briefly block II. Mana flow (each success causes a Node or other wellspring of Mana to become dormant for a tum) or push it ina different direction (again, for one tum per success). The 'sorcerer can cause Mana to become trapped in a simple object, though II. given object can only hold a single point of Mana through II. brief spell of this sort.

•••• Manipulation of personal Mana energies allows II. sorcerer to store additional Mana (temporarily), draw frnm a place of power to fuel his magic or even disrupt a person's Mana flow to cause injury. The sorcerer can draw Mana out of a place of power; each success allows the sorcerer to channel one point of Mana [to the limit of the area's power), which must be used in the next rum .. Striking at a person eodestroy Mana allows the sorcerer to strip Mana from the individual's pool at a onesuccess-for-one-point rate; this can also discharge the power in other magical pools (like Gnosis) on atwo-successes-per-point ratio. Mana Manlpulationat this level can cause injury or hea.ling by alrering the flow of life energy through a subject, essentially promoting health or disease. (This has no immediate effect, but over time may cause degeneration or better health, long-term or powerful alreranons are better performed with the Healing Path.)

••••• The master of Mana can not only sense and redirect Mana, but can use Mana to infuse countermagic (creating a magical "shield" that allows him to add Mana to a countennagic dice pool), block anomer sorcerer's use of Mana (each success stops an opponent's point of Mana from empowering an effect) or even change theResorumce of Mana (turning poisoned Mana into neutral, "clean" energy that could be used. with helpful spells or bending otherwise passive Mana. to a more active, fiery Resonance for use with destructive magic), with successes dictating the level of change ~ one success would alter the Resonance slightly, three would cancel out acharacterisnc and five would reverse ie,

• • • •• • A legendary sorcerer can briefly cause an area to become a nexus of Mana energy .. With a spell. of this level, the sorcerer creates a flow of Mana for II. few moments, turning himself into a sort of magical magnet. Successes garnered on such a spell are spilt between duration (in turns) and power (in Mana per tum). The sorcererer others present may channel this Mana normally. Doing so, however, can be very debilitating; such magic ofien has side effects or burns out the caster (score one level of bashing damage for each success tolled).

RITuALS

Mana Manipulation rituals allow a sorcerer to extend his power over Mana to cover wide areas or long durations.

Infusion (. • )

The sorcerer takes an otherwise normal potion or other consumable object andplaces some ofhis own Mana into it far later use. The successes scored determine how much Mana. can go into the item. Energy usuaily "leaks" during this process: every two points of Mana spent by the sorcerer channel one point into the storage receptacle.

Shape Mana (. • • )

With special mirrors, diagrams, carvings or the like, the sorcerer turns the flow of Mana in an area so tha[ itchanges direction and intent. The sorcerer could causet'bad" energies to become wholesome, alter a spell effect or turn a ley line so that it runs through his residence. The level of success guides the feat:

With one success, the sorcerer could dissipate some unlucky energies so that a place does not attra.ct evil spirits or ill fortune. With three successes, the sorcerer can channel joss so that a location has good fortune (loweting by one the difficulty of all commerce or practices of the area - a store would facilitate business, a hospital would encourage healing, and so on). With five successes, the sorcerer can reshape a magic effect already in !he area to the llmits of his own knowledge (tuming, say, a ward so that it wards against a different creature rype) or even cause a Node or other source of power to channel its energy to a location of his choosing .. Mana reshaped in this form typically lasts until some force "snaps" i.t back to normal, though some places may require spedflc maintenance (yearly for simple effects like good luck, perhaps daily ritualsfor bending ley lines).

El1N€IREBITIANCY

It is a frequent theme in tales of the fantastic and the magical that odd th~ often happen in dreams. Omens of me future are sometimes seen, messages from gods or wizards are passed on. There are tales of lovers who have not yet met, destined for each other, dreaming of their fiDt meeting. The Dream Realm is infinitely malleable, responsive to the conscious and subconscious of the dreamer. A skilled dreamer can. impose his will upon the Dream Realm, creating new images and altering the behavior of old, banishing nightmares or crnfting new horrors with which to terrorize other dreamers. It is said, tOO, that there are worldand beings that exist wholly within the world of dreams and nightmares, from the realms of the fae to the strange worlds described in the wrltings af Burroughs, Lovecraft and Poe.

N early everyone dreams, The oneiromancer walks among those dreams, Like the dream weavers ofhotror movie fame, she can ernft images so realistic that it is hard to tell the difference between them and reality . Still, tbeyare "only" dreams. Or are they? An overly imaginative subconscious can quite literally dream itself to death, though this is rare. More common are the tales of wicked men who dreamed of their ultimate fate and heeded the warning to reform their ways. Such messages ate a fine and subtle weapon of those who walk the dreaming night. And sometimes, dreams can walk amongst men .....

SYsrrm

Roll: Wits -I- Occult,

Cost: None

Distance

In order to affect a dreamer, the oneiromancer must have some sortofcontact with her target. Physical contact is the best, obviously, but the principles of Sympathy and Contagion allow the use of other means.

• Direct physical contact

•• True Name

•• • Body part/secretion*

• • • • Prized possession

• • • • • Other possession*'"'

"' Blood, hair, nail clippings, saliva, urine, etc. It must be unmixed witb other materials.

** Any item that is in frequent contact with or use by the target, such as clothing.

&PEerS:

• The fust step the dreamwalker must master is the ability to reach out and couch the dreams of others. They come to her as do most dreams, in flashes of imagery, often highly distorted by the subconscious.The dreamwalker can, with considerable thought, interpret parts of these shattered fmgments,perhaps giving her some insight into her target's nature or history.

•• Working out the methodology to enter and take part in a dream is the next step. Entering the dream renders you temporarily a part of it, the oneiromancer's dream-self takes on an appearance and initial role in the dream provided by the dreamer's subconscious (and the Storyteller's feel for what is appropriate). It is not hard to make small changes in the dream (conjuringasmaU item from nowhere, say), a Wits + Dream.craft roll at difficulty 6 suffices. Larger changes are very difficult, and me basic theme of the. dream sequence is unalterable. Any chan_ge which violates it will be at a minimumdifficulcy of8 and require multiple successes - and will tend to undo itself unless the dreamer pays constant attention to maintaining it.

••• Eventually, the dedicated dreamwalker will [earn to isolate himself from his subject's dreams .. This aIlows observation of the dream images without being drawn into (possibly quite dangerous) direct participation. A greater degree of control over me dream is also possible now, the dreamwalker banishing or creanngnighrmares and fantasies. It is possible, for example, to guide a dream to images supporting the selfconfidence and surety of the dreamer, helping him to tegain a point of temporary Willpower or to cast horrible terrors that mimic the effect of the Nightmares Flaw.

• • •• ~ce she has achieved sufficient control over rhe dream, the next step is to master dream sendings. The oneiromancer can craft a specific, detailed. dream sequence and send it off to the target, to be repeated as many times as the caster gains successes on his casting roll, The prudent dreamwalker keeps these to one or two repetitions a night; any more and the subject may grow suspicious.

• • ••• A master of the Dream Realm is a powerful individual; she walks freely in me dreams of ethers and is capable ofmelding the dreams of several folk into one (she can

bring one person into the dream for each success on the casting roIl) .. Ofcourse, she has no control over the dreamers' actions, and the initial environment wilt be a mix of their subconscious influences, but careful nudges can send the group into asuitable dream with a bit of effort.

• • • ••• The greatest and most legendary power of Oneiromancy is the ability to make the dream real: phvsical entry into the Dream Realm. One who accomplishes this incredibly difficult feat can walk from dream to dream almost at will and may even be able to bring items (or even living things) out of the dream into the real world - for a rime.

PRIce EI1P fAILURf:

A botched dreamweavtngrypkally casts the sorcerer into aN ightmare Realrnashls own subconscious takes control of the dream. Storytellers are encouraged to reach deep into their bags of tricks. Use the character's fears and memory of past disasters against him. The descriptions of Harrowings in Wraith: The Oblivion can be quite useful in thss. Note also chatsteppin_g into the dreams of a person who suffers the effects of the Nrghemares Flaw can be a d.i&tster all by itself, their dream images are powerful and frequently painful.

SHAOOWCASTING

With mastery of this Parh, the shadows become your tools, the darkness your ally, and the night your friend. Despite the accusations of those who claim that the Path is, if not actively infernal, at least tinged with an ineffable darkness that can corrupt the unwary, the Path of Shadows is no more inherently evil than mostother Paths. Whatever evil a sorcerer finds on the Path of Shadows, he brought himself.

Ashadowcaster learns to manipulate and conjure.shadowstuff - at fust, mere simple shade but, with experience, near-tangible blackness or total nightfall Color and light are absorbed and extinguished by these shadows, which dance and caper at the sorcerer's beck and caIJ. Needless to say I such displays can be quire unnerving; even a novice sorcerer "CaD conjure effects mat will frighten the 'Nits out of most normal humans.

srsren

Roll:

Cost:

Modifiers:

Time:

Manipulation"'" Occult 1 WiHpower

None

One cum per level of ·effect

Duration: Varies

This Path does not have aspects per se, rather, its effects are limited by raw level.

• The caster can deepen and darken sbadowsand darkness in a room or area. The overall Ughting doesn't alter, but those shadows thac do exist will be much darker than they ought to be. l{ yO\1 desire, those shadows can carry with them a feeling of unease and spooktness, Exact effects depend on the situation (using this ablliry in a brightly lit .office will have little effect, while doing it in a shadowy warehouse would give a sorcerer (and others) the effect of an extra dot .of Stealth.

.~ .

, ,

•• By shaping the shadows in his area and muftling me sounds he makes, the sorcerer can become almost impossible to discover. He can make his appearance indistinct, his voice eerie and creepy and the shadows deep and darkaround himself. Add 2 dice to dice pools involving Arcane, Disguise (fOT purposes of hiding your appearance, not for taking on me appearance of others), Intimidation or Stealth. If the sorcerer casts the shadows on another, the victim will begin to see things out of the comer of his eyes, horrible shadowy forms that dissolve when the head turns. Strange creaks, ominous footsteps and hollow laughter wiH inhabit his hearing, and a rising sense of dread will occupy every spare thought. A Witlpower roll (difficulty equal to the number of successes rolled) is aecessaryto avoid fumbling and hesitation; while not enough to cause penalties, this will cause someone to reconsider whether or not they should be here, instead of safe at home in his well-lit living room ....

••• The shadows rile and coil about the shadowcaster.

Color fades from the area, and sounds become mere whispers and murmurs ... or sudden piercing laughs, screams and other sounds of terror. Panic rises in all but the most stout hearted (WUlpower roll, difficulty equal to the successes rolled + 2; failure indicates either a sudden, near irresistible urge to be elsewhere or a -I to all tasks). You may add 3 dice to your attempts to conceal your character (or another).

•••• The shadows are the sorcerer's allies in all ways.

ThOSe who oppose him must make a Willpower roU (difficulty 8) or be struck down in neat-terror (-2 on aU casks - fear this great may drive some to frenzy). Add 4 dice to your dice pools for Intimidation, Arcane and Stealth. Cameras and other electronic recording devices will fail unless the operators succeed at an Intelligence ... (appropriate skill: Computers, Investigation, Photography, Science) roll (difficulty 8, generally, although very simple equipment might need only a 6).

• • • •• The shadows reach out and engulf me caster's opponents; what they see mere is enough to reduce even the greatest to shivering wrecks. Used offensively, the opponent must make a WiUpower check (difficulty 8, 3 successes needed) or he reduced to uselessness for several turns; a victim that was already afraid of the dark orenclosed spaces will probably require psychiatric attention before recovering. Those shrouded in the darkness will be totally invisible to those outside it (and to each other). Naturally, the caster can see in his own darkness. Any recording device brought into the darkness fails immediately (no roll allowed); any pointed at the darkness see only roiling masses of. .. nothing. Inky blackness. Shadows.

....._, •• • •• • The legendary sorcerer can give the shadows a physical form" shaping them into chains or tentacles to grab and hold those he wants stopped. The number of successes scored represents the total amount of Strength that can he brought to hear against opponents; you can divide these points up as you want. Bright light will weaken these sh3.dows; sunlight will destroy them. Alternatively, the caster can use this power to dim even the brightest lights; even the sun will dim, although only temporarily, and only in a small, well-definedarea (an alley way or courtyard,. for example).

PRICE·$F fAlLURf

The shadows are cruel servants ... or are they masters! In any case, botches with this Path are certainly undesirable. Sorcerers can end upbefuddling themselves as much {or more} than their opponents, draWing the shadows they intended to inflict on others upon themselves. Rumors speak of shadowy forms coming out of shadows that didn't exist ... couldn't exist, in broad daylight,. to draw a sorcerer who has badly botched into the darkness, never to be seen again .. Others speak of things drawn forth that have forever pursued students of this Pam .... and thosecaught by them are never quite the same again.

SHAP€SHIFTING (NEB RITUALS)

While the World of Darkness is indeed home to some shapeshifting monsters, a few sorcerers learn to alter their bodies through magical practice rather than inborn heritage. Perhaps it's a spoken word that calls to the primal animal within or the intervention ofan animal .. spirltor even a Ii.ttle judicious genetic engineering. This Path is very elememal, often calling upon instinctive knowledge, and many sorcerers have lost their personalities to the beast-side conjured up. Others lose their identity in malleability. For a few, shapeshifting is less an art than a natural talent, but one unchanneled by th.e callingsof the true Changing Breeds. It seems that Shapeshifting comes in as many forms as its practitioners.

SYSTEm

Roll:

Stamina + Animal Ken (mythic sorcery) Intelligence + Science (extraordinary science) One Willpower per use

None

One scene

Cost:

Modifiers:

Duration:

AsPfCTS Shift Scale

•

A minor cosmetic change: The sorcerer can. change eye colors, grow hale, etc.

Noticeable change: The sorcerer grows small claws, sprouts scales on the hands OI the. like. Significant change: The sorcerer replaces some body part with an animal feature -a full clawed paw, a nasty shark jaw or an externalized digestive system.

Half~shifu The sorcerer can shift half of his body into another fonn or fmd some halfway point between human and animal with s(grtiflcant traits of each. The sorcerer might resemble a bipedal wolf (of size somewhere between human and wolf) or could have bird wings and a beak with human legs.

Full shifting: The sorcerer can change completely into animal forms.

Mythic shifting: Not only can the sorcerer take on animal forms, he may tum into forms that he only imagines.

••

.. '.'

••••

••••••

'W

. - ,

,"",. ,~ .

Subject

••••

The sorcerer can only affect himself.

The sorcerer can affect a different subject instead of himself.

The sorcerer can affect two subjects at once . The sorcerer can affect up to three subjects at a

•••••

••••••

time.

Disparity

.-... The sorcerer can only affect himself and must take only one animal feature,

•••• The sorcerer can make two unrelated shifts: having a wolf claw and a raven's head or changing himself to have fangs and an opponent to have whiskers,

The sorcerer can make three unrelated shifts, The sorcerer can freely mix and match shifting

•••••

••••••

traits.

PRIce eP fAILURf!

Sbapeshifters have a tendency to lose central over their shifting processes; a sorcerer who botches might trap himself in an animal's body of accidentally give 'an enemy useful advantages. The sorcerer could replace his mental acuity with animal instincts, or his body might stan shifting out of control.

surrnI1€I1NING, BINDING AND WARDING (ALL RITuALS)

Perhaps the most ubiquitous among legendary sorceries is the ability to bind and control various natural or supernatural

, ,'II' I t:' ~ 1.

entities. Sorcerers can use their powers to command ghosts, demons, animals - even other people. With proteerlve circles the sorcerer hedges out enemies, while with summoning spells, he calls the subjects to him.

Summoning, Binding and Warding are perhaps the most dangerous of spells. Attempts to bind creatures almost inevitably make them hostile. A sorcerer may not knowrhat a ward is unsuccessful unti] an enemy attacks! And, of course, many hapless sorcerers learn to summon creatures long before learning to bind and control them. Worse still, manyextradimensional beings possess will tOO strong to be easily bound.

AIL Summoning, Binding and Warding powers are rituals; the sorcerer must properly prepare and incant [0 make the effect happen. The aspects determine me sorts of creature that the sorcerer can summon and for how long. Each type of creature requires a separate ritual: Summon Rats, Bind Rats and War'li Against Vampires are aU separate rituals,

Summoning, Binding and Warding covers many dLfferent areas of study. Material Summoning refers to physical creatures, like the summons of rats or bars, Daimonic Summoning affects angelic or demonic entities. Ephemera refers to the practice of dealing with spirits in general; Necromancy covers dealings with ghosts of the dead, Co iling or T echnomantic Summoning refers to the practice of summoning or binding technological items - some modem sorcerers might even call their cars to them or ward their computers against viruses!

SYSTEITI

Roll: Intelligence "" Occult

Cost: One Willpower

.. ~.

I

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• ", I

J'1 flJJJ

• It

Modifiers: None

Duration: See below

Asre:TS

Creatures Affected

A creature compelled by a Summoning must appear [Q the sorcerer. Thus, the sorcerer can see spirits or the like that are brought. forth, vampires are forced from hiding, etc. Note that the creature must moveundet its own power; the spell does not teleport it into the location. Thus, Summonin_g a toaster does little good unless it has wheels.

• Simple creatures: The sorcerer can affect small, uninzelligenranimals, likernts, bats and insects. This also fiinctlons upon simple nature spirits or bask technological devices.

Large creatures: The summoner may a:ffect large animals like wolves. The summoner may also affect ghosts of the dead or larger technical devices like televisions.

Humans: The summoner'S magic functions upon normal humans or upon self-willed natural spirits. Computers and complex: electronics may be affected.

Paranamrah The summoner can affect ghou ls, othersorcerers and similar supernatural entities. Technomagical devices may be affected.

Supernatural: The summoner's powers reach beyond to affect truly supernatural material beings such as. vampires, werewolves and the like. The sorcerer could use technosumrnons against airplanes, wards across entire buildings and so on,

Celestial: The summoner can invoke his powers against gods, demons and angels.

Number

••

.. '.

••••

.' ....

.'.'.'.' ..

Each dot of Summoning allows the sorcerer to summon one creature of the appropriate type or one swarm fur small animals and insects,

W.arding Strength

Each dot causes the subject to lose one die from all actions against the sorcerer.

With Warding at three or above, the sorcerer may create a Warding Circle; unless the creature scores more successes on a Willpower roll than the sorcerer's player scored on the Ward roll, th~reatille cannot pass into or out of the circle.

Binding Intensity

Binding levels are cumulative. Notethac a creature may expend a point of WUlpower to resist a Binding, though the sorcerer may recast It,

• The creature cannot act against the sorcerer.

•• The creature must truthfully answerany single question put to it.

The creature truthfully answers questions and must perform anyone service demanded, though it may twist the latent of the Service.

•••

The creature petfonns a task foe the caster as

directed, following the orders closely, Thesorcerer mayoommand the creature to perform one task on behalf of another person and order it [0 answer any questions put to it by ochers.

The creature follows the spirit as well as me letter of the sorcerer's commands.

Duration

• One tum

•• Three turns

••••

••••••

•••

.. ' ....

... ' .'.

• •••••

One scene One day

One star}' Permanent (?)

PRice eF;PAILURf

Theprice offailure should be self-evident for Summoning, Bmding and Warding. Those who meddle in the affui.rs of demons eventually get what they deserve. A creature may arrive and pretend to be under control; a warding circle might hedge against the sorcerer; a binding may simply enrage the target and even make the subject resistant to the sorcerer's spells.

W€A THER CEBNTR$L (Ne RITUALS)

Weather witches have always been among me most revered and feared members of me sorcerer community. In ancient time, a witch could doom a community to a slow death by withholding the rains the crop; needed ... or could wreck it quickly by bringir1g on storms that flood me fields, destroy homes and kill [he unwary. On the seas, mOO! who could call the winJ.h were lifesavers in truth, for a becalmed vessel was one that would die.

Most cultures consider weatherworking to be a woman's art, drawing on the ties berweenher fenilityand the bounty of the land and the elemenrs, but this is far from univexsal; in some Afiican tribes, weathermagicwasmen 'smagic, for example, T echnosorcerers make nosuchdsnncticns, OfCOUISe, but then, their mastery of this Path isthoughc by most to be limi.red at best. (Whether this is QUe isa question of some debate, however, as there are a few who always seem to have the wind auheirback,.cloudyskiesandconvenientfog banks when they need them.)

Weather magic can be terribly powerful but is also usually very slow to take elfb:t.Clumges in me weatherareusually measured in hours or days; you can speed these processes up, but you cannot summon tidal wavesoutofnothingotstorrosfromdearskies. When given time to wedc, however. weathererafrcancommandforcesthat are truly awesome and teIrifymg to behold, but not without cost. Even simple changes can leave a sorcerer drainedi. major workings can demand terrible sacrifices or even the death of the caster.

SYsTem

Roll:

Cost:

Manipulation + WiUpower

Weatherworking is expensive. An effect costs one Willpower per 2 dots in Intensity, plus one

Mod.i.fi.ers :. Duration:

Note:

for every 3 dots of Duration, Speed and Scale (or fraction thereof).

none

see below

Because of the nature of weathercraft. the sorcerer does not gain the benefit of Path dots as freebie successes; almost al] weathercraft casting wUl be performedas extended task checks.

lntensity

• You can make small changes in the environment: a sudden cold breeze, a slight drop in room temperature, a softening of the light in a room, the sudden flaring of candles. •• Minor changes to the environment are possible; you

can summon up a dense fog, ensure that skies are cloudy or create favorable winds .

••• The rains and winds are at YOUI command. Rainshowers come when you call them, and strong winds blow where you will. You can change the local temperature by as much as 30 degrees in either direction and can calm strong seas or currents,

•••• Storms move and surge where you will; powerful rains, gale force winds, heat waves and ccldsnaps (changes of up to 40 degrees in temperature), and powerful [ides and undercurrents are all at your command, You can also take control of existing weather patterns: an additional Manipulation + Occult roll (difficulty 7) allows you to direct some phenomenon of the storm (hailstones, powerful waves, lightnin_g holts, smashing winds, etc.) at a speCific target. These attacks do (4 health Levels + the caster's successes )"; anew roll must be made for each attack . lightning bolts do lethal damage (aggravated if the subject "botches" thesoak roll), other attacks do either lethal orbashing damage depending on their exact effects ..

• • • •• Your control over the thunderstorm is absolute.

Great waves surge and crash when you command, and no man can stand when you send the winds against him. The blizzard and the drought are your weapons. Elementalattacks sent against omen; do 6 health levels + your successes on a. Manipulation + Occulr roll,

• •••• • You can summon the moot destructive of weamer patterns tornadoes, hurricanes and monsoons, killing frost.;, dust storms, lethal heat waves and raging thunderstorms. Their elemental. attacks cankill even the mostpowetfulof men; attacks do a base of 8 health levels + successes rolled. Storms of this magnirude will disrupt lOcal weather patterns for weeks. or even months after the storm itself fades away; the faster the storm is summoned the more extreme the aftermath anddisrupttons.

Speed

•

Thechanges you request will happen ... eventually .. Depending on the severity .of the change, it might take anywhere from minutes to a week or more for the weather you summon to arrive.

Minor manipulations of the local weather occur within a few seconds or minutes of your enacting the change .. Major changes still take long periods of time to take effect, depending on the severity of the shift.

Small changes take effect within a minute of your calling them, and larger changes require only a few hours to a day to take effect. The most extreme of shifts in weather, however. still take

several days to set up.

Minor changes ate almost instantaneous, larger changes occur within a few hours, and extreme changes happen in a day or two.

Minor changes occur when and how you ask them to, larger changes happen in an hour or so, and even extreme changes usually take place within a day of you asking for them.

•• ••• • Even the largest of storms come within an hour or [WO of your calling memo Summoning a storm with this kind of speed is guaranteed to mess up local weather patterns and will certainly attract large amoUfins-ofattention from those who watch the skies ... not to mention weirding out every meteorologist on the same continent as you are.

Duration

• Afewseconds, nomore, andonlyfonnmorchanges.

•• A minute or so. Major changes cannot last this short a period of time.

••• A few minutes, maybe half an hour at most.

•••• An hour at most

••

.'.'.

'." ..

•••••

•••••

Several hours, maybe a day . Up toa week.

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• •••••

•

50 square feet or 50. Minor changes only .. Affects about a half-mile area.

A mile or two in size. Extreme changes cannot take place in this small an area.

An area roughly fLVe miles in diameter. AU but the most extreme changes are possible.

An area 20 miles in diameter. Any kind of changes are possible.

An area nearly 100 miles in diameter.

••

•••

••••

•••••

PRIce ffiF fAlLURf

Even a simple failure at W earher Control will result in weird shifts anclchanges in the local weather patterns, a botchcandisrupt the local weather almost beyond recognition (snow on the Sahara, droughts in the rain forests, etc) ormuckup the wearherpartemsfcr an entire region to a lesser degree. A sorcerer could find himself summoning up the mother of allbumcanes when he was trying for a simple thunderstorm or fried in her own thunderbolts.

While some few people study for years to unlock mystic potential, a few are born with an innate sense of the strange - the vague feeling that some deeper understanding lurks in the mind or the body, a visceral awareness of the intangible energies around them. Whether psychic phenomena are some sort of intuitive sorcery or an altogether different

L-~ ..JI plane of under tanding, nobody knows. In'

deed, little is conclusively knownabout psychic

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powers; few people believe in them, and fewer still have any sort of talent with them. The rnysteries ofthe psychic world, it seems, will not faU readily to analysis.

Those who make a study of psychic powers, whether through science or mysticism, note many different realms of empathy, extrasensory perception, manipulation and detection. What most psychic powers have in common is their means of use: The majority of psychics find that concenrradon and visualization are the most important tools for their abilities. While such tools are also necessary components of

sorcery, few psychics feel a need for outside rituals or devices. Many simply extend a hand or close their eyes and exert their will, and something happens.

For most psychics, control remains rudimentary and haphazard. Psychic phenomena remain far from reliable or repeatable, in many cases. Under stress or test conditions many powers seem to fade or fail, and even a practiced psychic can rarel y exert power with reliable precision. Sometimes, a power exceeds expectation, other times, it simply won't seem to come to the fore.

Theories of psychic development abound, of course, among those who make study of such things: Throwbacks to Atlantean forbears; alien intervention; the next step in human evolution; mutants; spiritual entities ~ the theories are nearly as wild and diverse as the powers themselves. In the meantime, the psychics hidden among the populace find their powers a mixed blessing, perhaps an insight inro a wider and more maddening world.

Whether psychics are truly distinct from sorcerers or are Simply aseparate brand of them remains a matter ofdispute, The very unreliability of psychic phenomena makes classification difficult. These rules assume that psychics are something relatively distinct, people whose minds or spirits give them access to un usual powers that are not exactly magical but far from normal. If you prefer, though, you can use something resembling more of a unified system: Just assume that a psychic is essentially manipulating the same powers as a sorcerer, but in a different way-through focus and coocentrationalone, maybe with one or two small items tofocus the willbut without elaborare rituals, tools or spiritual aides. In such a case, simply allow thefull range of psychic and sorcerous abilities to overlap, and let characters learn either - the only difference is that the psychic uses fierce concentration (and lots ofWiUpower), while the sorcerer relies more upon tools. Conversely, if you wish.to maintain a separate "feel" between sorcery and psychic phenomena, assume the separation between [he sorts of powers and the idea that the two are totally different disciplines.

PR£v!EBUS W EBRKS

Previously published works have listed a slngle psychic ability here and there, hidden kernels of psychic power among other magical abilities. While this list is far from complete (Hey, where.'s the ability to psychically tum eggs into elephants?), it does attempt to cover the range of psychic phenomena. Additionally, some of the abilities listed do not match previously published versions. Players and Storytellers should work together to decide which version they prefer.

ANITTlAL PSYCRJCS

The gtIlIrd dog SMrled. Hot drool dripped from its muzzle, and Kevin co uld almost count the teeth in the Rottweiler' s mouth.

BurIW ANNA T€L€P$RTTm IllARs ... 1

Players familiar with the White Wolf game T rmiry will notice a difference between the powers and power levels available in this handbook and those presented in that game.

.:' Good. Glad you were payi.r\g attention. i~

The World of Trinity and the World of Darkness are two distinct places. The higher power levels of Trinity fit that game world. Similarly, the eerie, somewhat unreliable psychic phenomena described here are more suited to the World of Darkness.

With that caveat, players and Storytellers Inter~~sted in psychic phenomena should check out Trinity, especially the freeform psi system described in the Trinity Players Guide.

Oh, remember one thing, though: The World of Darkness a game of modem horror in a world almost our own. Really cinematic psychic powers don't fit into the feel of tbe game. Psychic phenomena should be myst - ~ rious and unreliable.

"Good dog," he whispered. The dog's exp-ression changed imme~ diateLy. He sat down and l£c Kevin scratch him behind the ears. "That's a good boy . " Kevin waved for his companion; to join him. Kevin chucked the dog under his chin. The formerly fierce junkyaTd dog licked Kewn's palm. With his other ha.nd, Kevin reached in his pocket. "Got a treat for you."

While most psychic abilities affect other humans, some psychics use ehelr talents on the "lower" animals. The actual method of communication may vary. Some psychics bark or growl at the animal. Others use dressage gestures, even if the animal has never even seen a trainer before. A few simply speak their native language (or even an imaginary one) and hear the animal speak it back to them. Animals may communicatewith the psychic, though the infonnation they relate should be limited by their intelligence and perceptions.

Animal psychics may use their power on any mammal, lizard or bird with no change in me difficulty. In fact, highly intelligent animals (chimpanzees, dolphins, gorillas) or welltrained animals (dogs, horses, circus or show animals) are more susceptible to Animal Psychic. At the Storyteller's discretion, reduce the difficulty by one or two. Fish are harder to control; increase the difficulty by two. Insect minds are too simple (or perhaps too different) for the psychic to affect.

Roll: Charisma + Animal Ken

• Communication: The psychic may "speak" with a single animal, allowing two-way communication with the beast. This communication does not give the psychic control over the animal, though misunderstandings may be explained away. Roll at difficulty 6.

• • Command: The psychic can command the animal to perform for him. The animal will not endanger itself for the psychic. However, it can do any trick the psychic can

adequately describe. Under certain clrcurnstances, an animal will attack for the psychic, though it would be under circumstances where the

animal had some proclivity toward attacking in the first place. A police dog might bring someone to the ground, or a hungry tiger ...... r ..... -'" might go after a hunter. Roll at difficulty 7, with. modifiers . depending upon the complexity of the command (plus one for a rather complex command or one to which the animal is ambivalent; minus one for something it would do anyway).

• • • Mass Communication: This power works like the Communication power, though it now works on all animals within earshot. Additionally,. the psychic may communicate with multiple types of animals Simultaneously. Roll at difficulty 6, plus one for each additional species of animal in the area of communication .

•••• Mind Link; With this power, the psychic joins his mind with that of a single animal, Once the link is esrablished, the psychic's and the animal's minds are linked until the psychic drops me connection. While linked, the psychic can perceived whatever the animal perceives. She can also communicate wirhthe animal, using any of the lesser Animal Psychic powers, with the di.fficulcy reduced by one. The drawback to this power is that if the anima! is injured, the mental feedback injures the psychic. For every lethal wound level the animal takes, the psychic takes One bashing wound level (soakable normally). Difficulty is 8.

• • • •• Domination: This ability gives the psychic total control of'an animal's mind. It will do whatever me psychic wisbes,even at the COSt of its own life. Roll at difficulty 8 and spend 1 Willpower. The animal will explicitly follow one command. The command may be conditional ("if somebody attacks me, [hen kill him") but can not be conjunctional ("follow the scent of this shirt ana attack him").

ANIl"'PSYCHlC

Zippo looked around at the basement of the abandoned building. This will bum nicely, he thought, very nicely. He stUlpped his fingers. His eyes widened, and he looked down at his hand .. He snapped again and whispered, "bum." His voice quavered, and he sT!llpped a trurd time, "bum,damnyou." A voice came from behind him. "Sarry, firebug. Can' dee you do that."

Anti-psychic is the rarest psychic talent yet observed.

The psychics' very presence makes even reliable psychic talents weaken or mil. Sensitives, before their powers fait them, describe the anri-psvchic as generating a "static" in the mental plane. An anti-psychic cannot purchase additional psychic powers. Due to the subtle nature of their powers, most anti-psychics remain unaware-oftheir talent until approached or even attacked by other psychics. Anti-Psychic is useful against all psychic abilities, as well as the Mind Sphere (though it provides only a single level of defense against the latter, regardless of the anti-psychic's power).

Thesnonger the anti-psychic, the larger the radius affected. Anti-Psychic im't"actiV3ted" in the fashion ofotheI powers; rather, it always douds those around the anti-psychic, adding its level to the difficulty of all psychic powers in the area. (As usual, pushing 3 difficulty past 9 generates a threshold for successes.) With a roll of lnrelligence + Meditation (difficultY 7) an antipsychic may dampen this aura down one level per success rolled; this allows

the anti-psychic some attempt at control ling the power .. At the Storyteller's discretion, [he expenditure of a point of Willpower may allow the anti-psychic to suppress his power completelyfor a rum or let him focus it against a. single opponent instead of a large area. Of course, the anti-psychic must firsr learn of his power, what it is, how to channel it and how eo medicaee upon its use before any such attempts are even possible, but that'spar

for the course with psychic phenomena. .

• 5-yard radius.

••

IO-yard radius . IS-yard radius . 20-yard radius . 25-yan:l radius.

. . ".

••••

AsTRAL PRE9I€C11EaN

In the back Seti! of the car, Karla's body twitched ru her spirit reunited with. her body. She wiped he> mouth and stretched. John handed her a can of soda and quietly asked, "So, was the tip far real?" Karlagulped hungrily for the liq uid and nodded. "Yuppers. Mister Vice-- Presidenr for Marketing is doing !11Ol'f than dictation \I!ithhis secretary. His wife cancaltherla.wyers. Thehotelrece(pts should give us all the proof they need. "

The power of Astral Projection allows the psychic to split his spirit off from his body. The discarnate spirit can travel very qu ickly in this form. The spirit intangibly travels across planes of thought while still able to look in on the physical world. While in astral form, the psychic cannot physically affect the real world, though he may use other

psychic abilities (the difficulty numbers for doing so are increased by two). However, while away from his body, he cannot perceive what is happening to it. Manv out-of-body travelers have nightmares about someone moving or harming their physical self while their spirit is roaming free.

Two ascraUy projecting characters may affect each other, though for purposes of astral combat, they substitute their Wits for Dexterity, their Intelligence for Strength and their Perception for Stamina. Some asrrallv projecting psychics could once perceive ghosts and certain spirits, but most such spirits now appear as blurry forms, barely in the realm of perception. In general, an astral spirit can see the material world or other abstract spirits in the realm ofthought, ghosts of the dead and the like usually remain imperceptible except to those psychics who also have some mediumship abilities.

To release the astral form, the player spends one point of WLUpower and rolls for the power. Should the player botch while attempting to have Ills characters step outside his body, the psychic is unable to leave his body for 24 hours. Pyschics who frequent the astral plane whisper that other entities sometimes intrude mere, human or otherwise, and on some occasions find their souls drawn to strange spirit worlds far removed from the mortal plane. A few never find their way back. Caution is the rule when exploring planes unknown to humans.

RoU: Perception + Meditation (difficulty 8)

• With only rudimentary awareness of astral existence, me psychic can shift her senses to feel the astral realm. but

cannot quite enter it. The psychic sees the astral realm overlaid upon the normal physical world. Some psychics prefer to dose their eyes and visualize the astral plane, while others have no difficulty watc.hing both. A psychic may view the astral realm for so long as she maintains her coneentration upon it.

•• The character can leave her body for one minute per point of Stamina. While in astral form, shecan only perceive by sight. She is also limited to traveling approximately one mile away from her body.

••• The character can leave her body for up to 10 minutes per point of Stamina. She gains [he abOi ty to hear in astral form and can travel up to 100 miles from her body.

• •• • The psychic can now leave her body for up to an hour per pain [of Stamina and travel up to I ,000 miles away .. Each add ttional hour out of her body after the nest requires the expenditure of a point of Willpower. If the player succeeds on a Charisma + Occult roU (difficulty 8), the psychic can manifest visually to observers as a translucent, ghostly apparition, though the projector cannot communicate verbaHy with observers.

.' •••• The psychic may astrally travel anywhere in the world, so long as her body remains healthy ,and she may use all of her senses normally. The psychic's form (should she choose to manifest, using the same roll previously noted) appears as a bJlIIl)' and translucent version of her usual physical appearance, somewhat idealized. While manifest, the projector can speak, though only in 3 soft whisper. Like her visual appearance, her speech does not appear on recordings.

BIElK:EDNTREElL

The dollar bills pneJ up on the bar. Five sore!ydrunken men, one only ,acring.somew.har tipsy, stood in a leose circle. "Last one to drop it gets. the kitty, "confirmed the sober one. "One .... two ... three.!" Six matches flickered to life, pinched between clenched fingers, A1; the flame !fat/eLe4 down thf cheap paper, one by one, the matches dropped. At the last, one drunken lTIWt and one sober one held flickering flames between their fingers. Gasping in pain, the Last drunk dropped his match.

"Sumbitchhurtsl" His eyes widened,. "How you dom,grhat, Phill" The sober Phtl watChed the matCh flicker out between his thumb and forefinger. "Practice."

Mo.st psychics turn their paranormal abilities outward, sensing things. beyond normal perceptions orcontrolllng them with their wills. Other psychics rum their powers inward. Psychics with Biocontrolregulate their autonomic nervous systems with the ease that ochers tie. their shoes. Ptoper use of Biocontrol allows a psychic to shut down pain, regulate his internal organs or even direct the flow of blood and glandular secretions at will. While some otherwtse normal people learn basic techniques of biofeedback, the truly talented psychic. can perform marvels beyond all but the most dedicated meditative disciple,

Roll: Stamina + Meditation

• Self-Conttol: The psychic has power over his body to a basic degree. Byenteling a self-induced hypnotic state, he controls basic functions. He can stop a small cut from bleeding, ignore small amounts .of pain or hold his breach longer than he would be able to under normal circumstances. Roll at difftculr;y 6 for the effect to succeed. Whi le lnthis selfimposed trance, the psychic can do nothing else but focus on his body. He remains peripherally aware of their surroundings but can bring himself out of the trance at will.

•• Self-Healing; By maintaining his internal focus over a long period of time, the psychic accelerates the healing process. Psychics with self-healing recover at a vastly accelerated rate, as their bodily conrrols allow them to more efficiently reknit flesh and fight off infections. Roll at difflculty 7, though the current wound penalty does apply to the dice pool. Every success reduces rhetirne for the wound to heal by one stage on the. healing chan (see page 24 7 of Mage:

The Ascension). The character must spend his time resting comfortably (preferably under some sort of medical care 1 for the power to work. For instance, if Raymond was Mauled, he would roll his Stamina + Meditation minus two dice. If he scored 3 successes, he would heal from Mauled to Wounded in three days. He could then roll again to heal from Wounded to Injul'ed.

••• Hysterical Strength: The psychic gains conrrol of his adrenal glands, allowing brief periods ofhysterical strength and speed. The player rolls at difficulty 8. Every two successes on the roll gives the character one additional point to Strength, Dex..terity or Stamina up, to a maximum of five dots in any characteristic. The effect lasts one scene, after which the player must roll again at difficulty 6 to "soak" these successes in bashing damage ~ as the psychic "comes down" from the hysterical episode, his body responds to the excessive stress and pain. (Some psychics see this more as a form of channeled energy man as a Scientific methodology and might well have Hysterical Strength without any glandular '€Sponse. The results are the same . .)

• •• • Ignore Pain Response: The psychic has the ability to shut offhis pain centers for a brief period of time. This does not heal any damage, though it does let him function while injured. Roll against difflculty 7. Every success allows the psychic to ignore one die of wound penalties for one scene. At the end of the scene, the wound modifiers return, and the character cannot deflect away the pain again unnl he has

healed at least one wound level, .

••••• Mind Over Matter: The character's control of his body is complete .. At will, he can stop his own heart, suspend the need for oxygen, regulate digestive functions, control the immune system and accelerate or suppress cell growth, regeneration or processing. In effect, the psych ic can direct her body consciously to perform feats of biology almost as if her cells responded individually to her mind. The psychic can nullify most toxins with a difficulty 8 roll, though sufficiently large doses (like a quart of mercury) would overwhelm his system. He can fight off JUSt about any

CHArrfRFlVe PsYCHK: I1ffNertIfNA

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93

mundane disease, allergen or irritant and can even tty to counteract severe diseases like HIV or cancer (again,. at difficulty 8). With pain control (previous), he can flex and contort his body into unnatural positions and slip out of bonds or into tighrspaces, He can hold his breach for minutes at a time while remaining active and, if necessary, can activelv redirect toxins to other parts of the body - so he m~ght be able to keep his mind and hands working, by shunting the effects of poison gas all into his legs. The psychic can, if he prepares his body against trauma, gain a normal Stamina soak against any sort of damagt!,even aggravated (difficulty 8; successes determine the maximum number of dicethar the psychic can use [Q soak letha! or aggravated damage for the scene, not counting armor or other external modifiers).

C'fWn.:rWNG

Mrs. Jefferson slowly walked from the grocery seore to the bus stop. The bags were heavy and, once again, tile ~ boys pointedly didn't offer to help her carry them. "Kids toOOy," she thought. "Momma, you must be laughing at me. up in Heooen. I deserve it, 1 do." A screech of breaks and a wet, meat)' thump pulled her from her reverie. The SUV and the pedestrian met, and the SUV won. On the street, a. young boy bled from mulriple injuries. His skateboatd.lay in the bushes ne.arby. Mrs. Jefferson prayed to herself, "DOCWf West, that boy needs your help. " She felt Dr. West'S hands move her arrhriric fif'lgers as she/he walked pU1posefuU'J toward are scene. She snaoched the telephone fram the driver of SLN and hung up on his lawyer. Grimacing at the pains shooting throl{gh her knees, she knelt dov.m by the boy and dialed 9 I 1 . With adeepet tloice, she spoke into the..phone. "Helto .. I'm at rhe comer of Murphy and Highway 6. We fuwea pedestrian versus auto. Trauma to the head, chest atulleft arm. Pulse is weak. Stomach feds rigid. The EMTs should be ready with a lavage he. "Mrs. Jefferson let Dr .. West help tk· boy., though in the back. of her head, she fretted about her groceries.

Some psychics nave the ability to draw upon the knowledge of those who have passed on. ChanneLers. tap the knowledge and experience of the dead, briefly obtaining skills that they personally lack. Some psychics have a repertoire of spirits they can call on for help and assistance. Others claim that they tap the collective unconscious.

While the source of knowledge varies, the effects remain the same. The player rolls the Channeling pool (diffkulty 7); every success gives the character one dot of the Talent, Sktll or Knowledge desired for the remainder of the scene. On a botch, the channeler has opened herself up too Widely to the spirit planes; she may summon a malevolent entity that tries to control her actions, lose some of her usual AbilLties as her personality is lost in the influx or simply Hnd herself unable to reach her usual channeling talents for aday,

I l J

sometimes more.

Note that only one personality may be channeled at B time. Thus, a channeler cannot "stack" additional dots by channeling multiple personaltries at a. rime.

Roll: Perception + Awareness

• The character can channel once per day. She has a vague sense of other personalldes floating about and of the existence of some sort of consciousness beyond the body, but tbat's about all.

•• The character can channel twO times per day. She also can, against a diffkulty equal to the Gauntlet, see briefly into the Shadow lands where ghosts live. She can communicate with ghosts for one minute per success rolled.

••• The character can channel [ruee times per day.

She can also see into the Shadow lands for an entire scene by rolling against a diffkulty of the Gauntlet.

•••• At this level and beyond there's no limit to how often the character can channel, though the difficulty increases by one for each time atterthe third until the character sleeps. She also can let ghosts skilled in the am of possession (called "Puppetry" by wraiths) easily enter her body to use all of her skills .. The medium retains full awareness of the wraith's actions. She can also eject a possessing wraith by winning a contest of Willpower against the ghost in question; each attempt costs one Willpower point and takes a full tum of struggling.

• • • •• The psychic can channel two disparate personalities at once (and thus the player can roll Channeling twice and add to determine Ability dots gained). ~ before, there's no effective limit to how often the character can channel a[ this point, though successive attempts become more diffkult until the psychic has a full sleep cycle. When possessed by a ghosr, the channeleroften gains some memories from the ghost, beyond what the possessor might do ortell - while a weaker channe!er might hope that the ghost says or does something significant, the master channeler can access some of the ghost's own memories and passions (in game terms, the channeler gains a sense of the ghost's Nature, Demeanor and driving concerns).

CLA1RVEeY ANCe

"Six ... sewn ... hard to reU. Same thing just on the edge, there, can '.t quite make it out .... " Paul squeezed his already-shut eyes harder , sweat .beading on his fOTehead. "The taU one ... he's there. He's morioning with something. Saying something. res ... looks like money, but it's calared strangely ... no, ie's some kind of di4gram. A pkml A blueprint!"

Paul looked exhausred as he opened.his eyes. ''Valent's got [he plans. We Mtle to move tonight!"

- A clairvoyant has the ability to cast his senses away, allowing him to perceive people, places or things at great distances. Though technically Clairvoyance refers speciflcany to remote sight, some psychics can also cast forth their hearing or other senses as well. Unlike astral proj ectlon, the clairsentienr does not separate his consciousness from his body; he remains aware of what's going on around him (though this can be very confusing if the psychic. tries to concentrate upon two locations at once). Similarly, the clairvoyant does not tra vel through the intervening spacehe simply perceives whatever happens at the tatget site as if he stood there.

The degree of familiaritY the psychic has with the target may raise or lower the difficultY (by plus or minus one or two) .. Once the clairvoyant "locks on" to a target, he can then "pan" his view around, allowing him to see just ahout anything in the immediate area. The limi:ts of their perceptions are the immediate area in question. If the character wishes to see beyond that area, he must refocus, and the player must make a new roll. For example, a character looking into a room in anomer house could see anything in that room. However, to switch perceptions into the hall outside would require a second roll. The clairvoyant cannot perceive anything he could not perceive with his normal senses .. Thus, if the target area is completely darkened, remote sight does no good.

Roll: Pereeption+ Awareness (diffkulcv B)

• The character can see things, though the images are hazy and dreamlike. The character can extend his senses into just the immediate area, approximately a mile from his body.

•• The character can see clearly through remote sight and can faintly hear. The range of perception is now anywhere in the immediate five to 10 miles, depending on the number of successes (1 success '" 5 miles, 2 successes .:::0 6 miles.etc.).

••• The character can see and hear dearly at a distance. He can also "touch" things at the remote Site, though his sense of touch is vague, as if he were wearing heavy gloves. (He cannot move things, naturally.) The character's range expands to 10 miles per success rolled.

•• • • The character can clearly see, hear and touch at range. Additionally, he can detect strong odors. The range is 100 miles per success.

••••• The character can use all flve senses clearly and can perceive things up to 1,rxfJ miles away per success rolled.

CYBeRKJNESIS

"Okay gentlemen, new perp to keep your eye5 peeled for .

Someone's be.en hirdng the Am machines downtown. He's clipped about $17,000 so far. Nobody' s seen anythi.(lg, and the intemal recorders are blanking OUt. We're thinking he's dressed as a repai-rman so nobody notices him cracking the things open. Folks in r:obbery are looking inwthe bank servrces people sosee if one of them has a grudge, or some disgruntled employee.

"All righc, that'S i~. Let's be careful out there."

A relatively new talent, Cvberktnesis is [he ability to control electronic machinery with one's mind. Paranormal researchers believe that Cyberkinests is a specialized application of telekinesis. The cyberkinetic generates small-scale electromagnetic fields that alter the operating systems of computers and other electronic equipment (stereo systems, burglaralanns, etc.). However, while the psychic can control the machine, he cannot "read its mind." That is a separate power: Cyberpatby. For aU powers above Level 'One, he must be able to see what he is doing, generally through a monitor or display readout. Ineffect, a cyberkinedc can send information to a machine but must read it back normally (or with Cyberpatlw).

RoU: Manipulation .... Compute.r

• Switch: The cyberkineric possesses the ability to switch computers or easily operated electronic equipment off and on. Ron at difficulty 6 forrnachines switched by electronic relays. difficulty B for switches that rely on physical relays.

• • Link: The psychic may operate the electronic equipment without touching it, as if by remote control. This does not give him any override codes or passwords. He could enter a password without typing it at the keyboard, but he could not login [0 the machine without a valid password. Ron against difficulty 4 or 5 for simple acts like programming a VCR or entering data into a word processor: V~ry complex actions require higher difficulty numbers, such as 7 for driving a car with power steering or 9 for a computer conrrolled factory.

••• Scramble: The character possesses the ability to send microacale power surges through computers. giving them the equivalent of an epileptic seizure. Computers lock up. Video equipment displays snow, and recording equip, ment picks up nothing but static. The scrambling effect lasts as long as the cyberklnetic concentrates upon it. When the 'effect lapses, the machines return to normal operation, though some less robust operating systems will crash. Roll against difficulCV 7, though complex systems may require an 80r9.

• • •• Password: The cvberkinetic overrides the operating system of computers, essentially giving himself any password or code he desires. He can force rue computer [0 do anything rue normal operating system is capable of performing, He could, for instance, create administrator access for himself, erase data OJ forge e-mail from anyone with an account on the system. Roll against difficulty 7 fOI ordinary desktop machines, difficulty 8 or 9 for machines with high degrees of security or other intrusion countermeasures.

... ••• Run Hot: The psychic has such control of electronics that be can effective.ly "reprogram" the computer to exceed its normal abilities. A computer calculates faster, a robot arm lifts more, a laser bums hotter. Ron against difficulty 8. Every success gives the psychic an extra success to apply to his next use of the machine. However, every success also does one "health level" of damage to the machine. Appl y the wound penalties to the device's subsequent functions until it is repaired.

CYBERP A 11f(

"You're one orou.r best programmers, Sridhar, but your work habits are inexcusable. You come in late. You sneer ae the dress codes. You tfun't follow the company styk guides for your code. You'ue been caught spending company time at that chatroom. And )'OU pw.y yOU1' music too loud .. What have you got to say for you.rself?"

U Atkast I don't spend company rime e-lna.iUng my mistress.

Wouldn't your wife like to know about Vanessa?"

"What? How did you-l"

.~ .

Sridhar shrugged. He leaned back in his chair and Icid<ed his feet up on his boss' desk, right on top of tlu! lapwp. "Let'S talk about my raise instead."

While acyberklnetic possesses the ability to control electronic equipment, the cyberpsrh can read the data stored on the computer. Researchers believe that the method for reading magnetic patrerns in a computer's memory or on a hard drive resembles the way telepaths read the electrical impulses of the human brain.

All uses of Cvberpathv require the psychic to be within sight of the computer .. Characters using Remote Access do not have to be able to see the remote computers they ate linking to, but they mustbe able to see the machine they're using as an entry point. In all cases, the difficulty depends upon the system complexity: difficulty 6 for standard desktop computers to difficulty 9 for heavily encrypted systems .. This ability can also be used to read the data stored on diskettes, rapes or other digital media. Difficulty is 6 for ordinary storage media, 8 for encrypted data. Generally speaking, these powers take 10 to 15 minutes to use, though the cyberpath can use successes from the roll to reduce the time by a minute per success.

Roll: Perception -+ Computer

• Analyze Structure: At this level, the cvberpath pessesses the ability to examine the directory structure of the computer. He. can see wha.t files ate stored on the hard drive but cannot access them. This can be useful to cyberpath hackers looking for a specific piece of data.

•• Read-Only Mode: The cvberpath not only can travel the directory structure but can read the files. Simple text and graphics flles are easy to comprehend. Additionally, he can grasp the functions of executable programs. Unscrambling encrypted flies remains beyond him at this level.

••• Download: The psychic can "copy" a file from a computer to his mind, writing the data in unused sections ofhis brain. While he em read text files, observe graphics or sound files and understand the nature of an executable program, he cannot "run" the program in his brain. With the Level Two Cyberkinesis power Link, the cyberpath can upload the data back onto anorhercompurer. The cvberpath can download one program or file into his mind for every dot in Mental Attributes he possesses. (Example; Sridhar has Perception 3, Intelligence 4 and Wits 3. He can keep up to 10 files in his head.) The Storyteller should decide how much data constitutes a single file, Some large files such as operating system kernels, large software packages or large movie files may take up more than one "file" in thecyberpath's head.

• •• • Remote Access: Wi th this power, the cyberpa th connects to any computer that his local computer connects to. The cyberpath has no additional powers beyond the abilitY to treat a remote computer as if it were sitting on his desktop, For every "hop" between computers, the cyberpath loses 1 die off his pools.

••• •• Decrypt: The cyberpath's understanding of COIDpurersprogresses to the point where he can decrypt encrypted

96

data. The data can be on a computer (either locally or one connected to via Remote Access) or Downloaded into the psychic's mind.

£cTEBPLASITIlC GeNeRATIEBN

The t:ee1UIgers ran out of me house, screaming for someone, anyone, to help them. From her hiding place in the attic, Barbara chu.clde.d to herself. Her "Freaky Phanrom.s, " as me skinny kid called them, worked Ii~ a charm. She let her concentration lapse, and mroughout the house, /ear:s01T1£ creatures of SlilDke and shtulow disso!ved, leaving only a thick, oily residue to .show where they had been. Barbara flipped open her cell phone. "Barb here. Yeah,titase meddling kids won.' t be coming back far some time."

Among the more freakish psychic phenomena, Ectoplasmic Generation coalesces the stuff of spirits·~ plasm ~ into '8. tangible form. Through force ofwtUand persona: Ii ty , the psychic tugs on ghostly energies and makes them solid .. Most often, this manifests as a ffiUCUSY gel, though skilled psychics can disperse it or concentrate it to make oddly glistening webs, sticky vapors and the like. Such creations axe rather disturbing and correspond to no known physical chemistrv.Indeed, ectoplasm tends to "dissolve" into rhe nothingness of the Underworld after a short time and defies scientific analysis.

For wraiths, all ectoplasmic creations ate soUd. They cannot pass through ectoplasmic mists. Psychics who attack wraiths with ectoplasmic entities do full damage to the ghosts, although they would need some way of perceiving the dead in their "Shadow lands. "

Roll: Charisma + Occult

• The B~g Sneeze; The psychic can summon up some strands of snotty material. The ectoplasm created by this power wells OUt of the psychic's orifices or follows in the wake of her touch, leaving slimy, glistening trails. Each success scored causes the psychic to leave a slime trail that lasts for one turn. This goo is disturbing and nasty but has no deleterious effects. Summoning up this goo only has a difficulty of 5. The psychic can also vaguely summon ectoplasmic fog. The thick white mist boils out of the psychic's eyes, nose and mouth. This cloud generated is vaguely spherical and bas a diameter of about five feet, plus one foot in diameter per success rolled in generating it. The cloud hangs in midair in front of the psychic and does not move. The cloud slowly dissolves, leaving oily, viscous goo behind. In still air, the cloud lasts two rums, plus one tum per success rolled. A stiff wind will disperse the doud in half the time. The difficulty to raise such a cloud is only 6.

•• The Mists: The psychic's control of the ectoplasmic cloud coalesces and the cloud begins to obey the commands of the summoner. The cloud no longer disperses in wind and lasts as long as the summoner concentrates on it. [f kept in a sphere, the fog would have a radius of five feet, plus one foot per success rolled in generating it. However, the psychic has rudimentary control over the shape of the fog, though it is merely bask control, No complex shapes can be formed, yet . The cloud initially appears in front of the psychic, though

the cloud can move five feet per round, if the summoner desires. Once the psychic's concentration [apses, the cloud dissolves in five rounds. Difficulty is 7 .

••• "A Fog So Thick.: .": By investing a greater portion of her wHi in the ectoplasmic cloud, it becomes solid to the touch. The cloud itself feels Hke cotton candy and requires a Strength roll (difficulty 6) to pass through. If [he roll succeeds, the character travels at one-quarter of normal speed. Attacking the fog with normal weapons rarely does any good. Bullets, blades and fists may shift the solidecroplasm" but cannot break it down. To generate the fog, the player rolls againstdlfficulry 8. The fog appears in front of the summoner and does not move. The psychic shapes the ectoplasmic wall at the time of creation, though the coral volume of ectoplasm would be a sphere with a radius of five feet plus one foot for every two successes Tolled. The cloud remains solid so long as the psychic concentrates upon it. When concentration lapses, [he cloud remains (though no longer solid) for three rounds .

•••• Dream Shspen The psychic's greater control of her ectoplasm allows her to mold it into complex shapes. The ectoplasmic creation may look like anything the psychic wishes, though the ectoplasm remains a dull white color. The summoner creates the shape near her. Roll against difficulty 8. Once created, the shape moves at 10 yards per turn. During creation, the psychic gets one point for every success rolled to divide among the creation's physical characteristics.

{Example: Matthew gets 4 successes to generate theectoplasmic creature. He has four points to divide among the three physicalcharacteriscics, Because he wants the creation to pick up and carry his groceries, he gives it two points of Strength and twO of Dexterity. It has a Stamina of zero, so any damage, even bashing damage, causesthe creation [0 dissipate.}

The dense ectoplasm takes bashing damage from bullets and cutting weapons and lethal damage from impacts and flre (or other environmental effects). Its bashing soak is determined by its Stamina, and it has no lethal soak. It has three bashing health levels. If the creation takes any lethal damage (including lethal damage from bashing overflow), it disappears. The creation is a puppet, controlled by the w.ill of the psychic. It cannot [ravel outside of the psychic's perceptions or perceive anything the psychic does: not perceive. If the psychic's concentration lapses, the creation vanishes in a puff of smoke .

••••• Tulpa: By a powerful investment of mental energy, the psychic creates an ectoplasmic extension of his will, Unlike the Dream Shape, the T ulpa possesses rudimentary intelligence. The psychic spends a point of Willpower and rolls Charisma ... Meditaeion (difficulty 7). The psychic can spend addi[ional points of Willpower and create the Tulpa as an extended action. Every success generates 3 points. The points can be spent as:

CHAPT@.. AVE: PsYCHIC PHENffilnENA 91

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Dot of Physical Attribute Dot of Mental Attribute (cannot exceed the creator's Mental Attributes)

Health level

Extra senses

(the creation gets one sense

at creation if given any Mental characteristics )

Extra movement

(the crea don flies as fast as a person can run, based

on its Dexterity without an investment of point )

1 point 2 points

1 point 1 point

1 point I yard

PSYCHIC HYrN"EE1SIS

"Look into my eyes, Mr. Reed. Now relax. And ... sleep."

Jane looked at her watch, glad that Mr. Reed was the last client of the day. "You don't want to smoke anymore. Smoking is bad for you. When you think of smoking, you wiu feel ill. " Jane picked up her book and let her client sit there, saU in a trance. The cUents didn't beUetle she had done anything if she took fitle minutes CO hetp them, no matter what the results were. She started to read her novel but looked up after only a paragraph. "Oh, and Mr. Reed. Pay your biU on time."

Many hypnmists promise results. Some even produce them. Psychics with hypnotic powers dwarf the abilities of the best carnival hucksters. Though their abilities lack the speed of a vampire's mental commands or the effects of the Mind Sphere, hypnotic psychics achieve many of the same results, with enough time and effort.

RolI: Manipulation + Expression

• Trance State: The hypnotist can place a willing subject into a hypnotic trance. While in the trance, the subject's memories become clearer. He may also exhibit greater control ofhis physiology. Though thehypnotistcannotCOmrhand the subject, rheperson in the trance automatically becomes relaxed and restful. He may (at theStorvteller'sdtscretion) regain one point ofWillpowerfoI every two successes the hypnotist achieves. The llSVcruc may, if she chooses, hypnotize herself. RoU agalnst difficulty 6 in either case. Placing the subject ina trance takesfive turns. Thesubjectwill come out of the trance if shaken or disturbed .

•• Sideshow Suggestion: After placing the subject in a deep trance (which takes the usual five rums), the hypnotist may command the subject to perform actions while in the trance state, each command taking a round. In the trance state, the subject will perform any action he would not be opposed to doing. Additionally, the entranced subject has far greater control ofhl autonomic responses. A hypnotized person couId walk on hot coals, require less oxygen to breathe or even ignore wound penalties. The hypnotist could also cause the subject to forget previous actions that happened in the [ranee state. Roll difficulty 6 for simple commands, difficulty 7 for embarrassing commands and to

110

e·

forget actions that happen while hypnorued, difficulty 8 for controlling pain response. The sobject will not come our of the trance until the hypnotist commands.

••• Delayed Action: The subject of the hypnotist's powers now performs actions commanded once the trance has been broken. The psychic implants any command or improved memory recall from the lower levels of hypnosis, bur this time, it is programmed to happen at a certain time. The commands are implanted as with Sideshow Suggestion, but the difficulty is raised by one. Every success on the roll gives the hypnotist one command ro implant. Each extra condition requires a success as well. It takes five rums to hypnotize the subject, plus one tum per command to program them. The hypnotist can make one of the commands to be to instantly faU into a trance state at a later time.

Example: The Amazin.g Steve hypnotizes Denise, a member of the audience. He rolls three successes on his attempt to hypnotize Denise. He then orders her that, when someone says the word "rabbit," she wilt jump on one foot (the first success), say the word "duck" (the second one} and then fan back into a trance (the third one). He could also have told her to jump on one foot when someone says "rabbit" (the initial success) and then when someone says the word "carrot" (a second condition, requiring a success) to spin in place (the third success).

•••• Fast Trance: At this stage, the hypnotist has become so adept at inducing trances, that he, by a powerful act of will, may do so with a glance. This COSts one Willpower, and the player must make the normal roll at a difficulty of the subject's Willpower. If the effect succeeds, the subject is entranced for one round per success. While the target is in a trance, the hypnotist can then use any of the other lesser hypnotic powers on the subject.

••••• Manchurian Candidate: With this ability, the pslfchic can perform major amounts of brainwashing on the target. With rnis level of deep programming, the subject will do anything the hypnotist commands, even to the point of death. The target must be placed in a trance, which takes 10 minutes (and may not be done with a Fast Trance). After rhat, the hypnotist spends an hour per command implanted programming the subject. Spend two WiUpower and roll Manipulation + Leadership (djfficultY 1 for commands that are simply against the target's morals, difficulty 9 for commands that lead to the subject's death). h in the Delayed Action power, the number of commands and the number of conditions attached to them depend on the number of successes.

rf1IND SHIeLDS

In the dark alley, the pale man leaned over, looked. Grace in the eyes and said, "Don't resist. "

With glassy eyesshe returned his gaze. "I don't think so," she answered, the slack look disappearing from her face. The pale man '.5 eyes widened for JUSt an instant, then froze in horror. With a meaty "sLurp" rhe sr:.oh slUHnr.o his chest. Grace snickered auhe transfixed vamp.ire. "Havm't you heard! Ie's 'Take Back The Night' night. "With one finger, she poked [he vampiye, who

roppLed over. She reached into her pocket for a lighter. "Wait 'til you see my cand.Le."

Some psychics' possess shields that protect their minds from mental attacks, be they psychic assaults, vampiric Domination, magic spells or other ensorcelment, The discipline of the psychic's mind, the confusion of his thoughts or i ust some innate talent makes him resistant to outside influence.

This resistance only affects assaults on the psychic's mind. It wouLd not, for instance, keep a telekinetic from lifting her or a pyrokinetic from burning her. The psychic can lower these defenses, though opening them to a friend I y psychic leaves her just as open to a Simultaneous mental attack. At Level Three and above, the psychic may differentiate between "friendly" and "hostile" contacts and use the shields against some while aUowingothers to penetrate.

When someone mentally attacks a psychic with Mind Shields, the target gets to roll a number of dice (difficulty 6) as a counter-roll.These successes subtract from the effect. If the defender gets more successes than the attacker, the attack fails. If a psychic assault normally gets a defense roU (such as attacks using the Mind Sphere), the psychiC adds the dice in Mind Shields to her defense pool instead.

Level Versus Psychic Powers VewsOtherMentalAttacks

• 2 dice I die

•• 4 dice. 2 dice

••• 6 dice 3 dice
. ' .. '. 8 dice. 4 dice
. ' .. " .. 10 dice 5 dice In an opulent CO'lTltT office, rAe Vice~Presiden·[ for Acquisitions spoke on the speakerphone with his broker. "You must be mad, Chase. Magadan's climbing like King Kong. We can't seU now."

The tired fJQice on m.e Spet1ker answered, "And the bubble is going to burse, Mr. Vice~President. Late tOday, early tomorrow at Ute latest. You're going to take a bath on this. I'm trying to tell you, but you're nat going ro listen."

The Vice-President smiled, "Chase, you and. the folks at Insight always steered me straight, but I have an MBA from Harvard Business School. I know what I'm doing. I'll w1.k to you tomorrow. " He hUTlg up the phone.

In his Insight Investments office, Chase sighed again. "I knew he was going to sa'Y that."

One of me rarer psychic talents is that of precognition, and only the singular talent approaches the clarity of vision for accurate prediction. Seeing the future is difficult, as the prohabilit[esshift with each action. The best psychics travel the most accurate probablliry tracks, but no seer (except for the fabled Cassandra) has seen the future with 100 percent accuracy.

Roll:. Perception + Awareness

• Intuition: The psychic has yet to develop a clear view of future events. However, his perception of what is yet to come begins to take shape. Generally speaking, me power gives him a bit more luck than the average person, making him a good guesser. Predictions for random events (lono

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