Out of Character (OOC):
Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen
Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler
Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler
Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum
THE THIRTEEN PRACTICES OF MAGIC
The following is required reading for the Pentacle Academy, the hidden school for newly Awakened hidden in the University of California, San Diego in order to teach the Freshman the basics of magic. Along with a more mechanics basic explanation in the Basics of Spellcasting post and the Creative Thaumaturgy post.
Text provided by our Chronicle's Storytellers in gold.
The 13 Practices and what the Five Dots representTHE THIRTEEN PRACTICES OF MAGIC
The following is required reading for the Pentacle Academy, the hidden school for newly Awakened hidden in the University of California, San Diego in order to teach the Freshman the basics of magic. Along with a more mechanics basic explanation in the Basics of Spellcasting post and the Creative Thaumaturgy post.
Text provided by our Chronicle's Storytellers in gold.
Sources:
- Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition corebook
- Mage: The Awakening 1st Edition corebook
- Tome of the Mysteries sourcebook for Mage: The Awakening 1e
In the Time Before, in days of Atlantis, if the stories are to be believed, the Awakened codified a system of 13 mystic practices, the 13 categories of effect into which all magical feats could be placed. Perhaps, in those elder days, there were other, more esoteric categorizations, but today, only these 13 remain and, from the most hidebound of théarchs to the most irreverent of Libertines, almost all Awakened pass the understanding of these Practices along to their students. Even the Seers of the Throne and the Scelesti teach their apprentices these distinctions and, thus, they have become part of the lingua franca of Awakened society as a whole.
From a rules mechanics perspective, the 13 Practices are divided among the five dots of each arcanum, according to a set progression. To be clear, mages recognize that an individual capable of casting Life Arcanum spells that call upon the Practice of Unraveling is at least an Adept of Life. They know that Unraveling spells require greater training and discipline to cast than Ruling or Fraying effects, but are not quite as difficult to master as those of Making. While mages understand that the willworker in question has attained the fourth tier of Life Arcanum proficiency, they would not indicate as much by saying, “He knows the fourth level of the Life Arcanum.” Instead, they might
say, “He has clearly studied the Practices of Patterning and Unraveling for the Life Arcanum,” or “He is an Adept of the Arcanum of Life.” Likewise, a tremendously powerful mage might indicate her prowess by referring to herself as “a third-degree Master, of the Arcana of Death, Matter and Prime.”
This, of course, also means that mages are aware of the names of the 10 Arcana and use them conversationally with one another. Some Awakened prefer to use more poetic reference for the Arcana (such as a Disciple of Forces announcing himself as “a Disciple of the Arcanum of all force and energy”), but this is not universal, and some deliberately avoid it, to prevent any confusion on
the part of others. Most willworkers habitually include the word “Arcanum” or “Arcana” when referring to spell effects, degrees of mastery and the like (“The spell called upon the Arcana of Space and Time,” or “She’s an Apprentice of the Mind Arcanum,” as opposed to, “It was a Fate spell,” or “He’s an Initiate of Spirit.”) Some mages, however, less reverent or traditional, use the truncated reference, simply omitting any mention of “Arcana.”
When the Awakened classify spells, they most commonly do so in terms of Practice, rather than in terms of dot level. The classification of Practices remains constant. Rather than seeing such higher-level spells as being fundamentally different in their nature (on account of which dot level they belong to), they’re seen as refinements of the same skill. For example, throwing a curveball is harder than throwing a baseball straight, but both are, in essence, the same sort of action. Mages tend to think of higher-level applications of a Practice in these terms, as refinements of the Practice’s lessons, expressions of superior expertise.
Suppose that you want to create a new spell, though? What Practice (and what dot level of the appropriate Arcanum) should the spell fall under? Below is a breakdown of the 13 Practices, intended to clarify the issue. Granted, some particularly creative magical effects may be difficult to classify, but this structure will hopefully point you directly at the proper Practice most of the time.
A Comprehensive System
The 13 Practices encompass virtually anything a mage could want to do. Perhaps there exist Practices beyond the understanding of all save the mightiest of mages, Practices belonging exclusively to the archmasters, but these lofty heights of power would not be easily categorized, even by the ancients for whom, if the stories are to be believed, such things would have been less rare, if still tremendously uncommon.
There are other Practices beyond the thirteen. It is said there were more in the Time Before, laid down by the Atlantean lords and ladies. Many exist as the Imperial Practices of Archmastery. 7 more Practices exist between dots 6 to 10 dots. These spells lie outside the preview of all 13 practices.
When creating spells, it’s probably wise to devote a bit of thought, right at the outset, as to which Practice you want the effect to fall under. This will give you a rough idea of power level (in terms of dots) and may be of help to you in assigning the specifics of the spell. All you need to do is look at spells within the same Practice, of the same dot level under which you intend to place the spell, and you can use the spell effects at that level as a guideline for comparable magics. Don’t be afraid to sample directly from spell rules that you like; this was actually done within the spells section in the Mage: The Awakening 2nd edition core rulebook. The extant rules can be a useful tool in the beginning, but as you get a feel for creating magic, you’ll become increasingly comfortable with the notion of expanding beyond from them.
But what happens if a new spell doesn’t seem to quite fit under the description given for any existing Practice? Don’t worry too much about this. There are a few spells that got placed in their respective Practices because they fi t at a given dot level of power and the Practice in question was the closest to what the spell did. There’s no need to adjust your spell to make it fit within one of the 13 Practices; instead, feel free to adjust the parameters of the Practices themselves to accommodate your new spell. The definition of a Practice is definitely not a hard science (as Sophia, sage of the Mysterium, summarizes it, “The Mysteries cannot be fully tamed by the ordered mind; they evade too close a scrutiny, like a fox evading hounds...”), and the idea behind the rules is to give you the resources you need to make the kinds of effects that you want. If the systems as they stand are in the way of an enjoyable roleplaying experience, rather than facilitating one, change them.
Initiate Level - The First Dot
The Practice of Compelling
Compelling magics, which are almost always covert in their aspect (subtle and hard to notice at all), can actually be a bit tricky to categorize at times. In general, if a given effect subtly influences a simple phenomenon without harming it, granting it the ability to directly cause harm, or fundamentally altering its nature, then the effect is quite probably a Compelling effect. Such spells can almost always be written off as natural or probable by a Sleeper, even if the spells’ effects are directly witnessed: the room seems darker and spookier than it should, but (probably) not unnaturally so, or the guy behind the desk just seems to have a natural knack for multitasking and so on. Overall, spells of the Practice of Compelling are the most surreptitious of the magics used to directly affect the world, interacting with its people, places and things through the use of the Arcana alone.
Compelling In-Story
Some Free Council mentors jokingly refer to this as the “Practice of Suggesting,” as the mage isn’t so much exerting any kind of control over the phenomenon in question as gently nudging it in small ways. Still, Compelling effects tend to be covert in their Aspect and, while they are the least powerful magics that can be used to directly influence a mage’s environment, they are still able to do just that. A clever willworker with only one dot in a given Arcanum can still use Compelling spells to great effect, especially if she has already learned the lay of the land, as it were, with Knowing and Unveiling magics.
Discerning teachers of the Arcana tend to spend a good deal of time educating their students about Compelling spells and their effects, since they are, more or less, the “baby steps” of magics intended to alter phenomena in the Fallen World. Without first learning how to properly make a candle flame burn a little brighter or a little hotter, for example, a willworker will never be able to exert the degree of control necessary to defy gravity or vanish from sight. Also, most mentors see such teaching as a good way to get a handle on a student’s proclivities as a mage, beyond just the magics favored by her Path. How an Apprentice uses Compelling magic says a great deal about how she intends to use mightier magics when they are at last within her grasp.
Even as mages grow in power and experience, the Practice of Compelling remains an eminently useful one. You never know when you’ll need to adjust circumstances just a little bit. Even the most skillful master can find a reason to change this detail or that one every so often. Compelling magics won’t reshape the Fallen World, and they usually aren’t sufficient, in and of themselves, to make the difference at those crucial times, but they can push things in the right direction, and help an insightful willworker to make those changes for herself, whether through other, more powerful magics, or even through fully mundane capabilities.
On rare occasions, rival mages with a penchant for dangerous and/or blatant magics are forced by their Consilium to forego the Duel Arcane, and instead settle their differences through a test of subtlety that allows only for use of Compelling magics. Those Consilii with recourse to such often place each contender under a geas, so that the contest remains fair and each willworker remains bound to use only the simplest of spells. These duels usually take the form of complex puzzles, or long chains of mundane tasks that must be accomplished through the use of small magics alone. Such tests of cunning and discretion are most often invoked, when they are used at all in these times, by very traditional Consilii that are adamant in their commitment to the use of covert magic.
The Practice of Knowing
Knowing magics reveal subtler information than those found within the Practice of Unveiling. While Unveiling imparts sensory knowledge, Knowing allows a willworker to delve into the lore of the Mysteries. Spells from the Practice of Knowing impart information directly to the mage, rather than allowing her to interact with her environment) and are, likewise, almost always covert in their casting. By casting magics of the Practice of Knowing, a willworker can discern the health of a human soul, detect the presence of conscious thought or even learn the qualities of an unknown relic of sorcerous power. Such spells not only answer questions for the Awakened, but also help them to discover the right questions to ask. Such magics are equally useful to spies, investigators, socialites and warriors, bestowing awareness beyond the ken of ordinary thought.
An important detail to note is that Knowing magics specifically do not bestow sensory information upon the mage. The Practice of Knowing deals in facts, not the senses. (Not even exceptional senses, such as those granted by certain Arcana effects.) A mage who casts a Knowing spell simply acquires knowledge thereby, rather than perceiving phenomena that must then be analyzed. A mage doesn’t always understand what Knowing spells help her to learn, but she receives the information directly,without the need for interpretation. What she makes of that knowledge, however, is up to her.
Knowing In-Story
Knowing magics can be strange and even frightening to a newly Awakened person. Such spells can flood an undisciplined mage’s mind with unwelcome awareness, making her detect every living thing nearby (or every thinking mind) or even behold how a given individual died. Thus, the mentors of these willworkers usually try to help them to take the magics of this Practice firmly in hand as quickly as possible. Still, horror stories circulate of those who could not assimilate this knowledge fast enough, and who were broken by what they saw — terrible perceptions that they lacked the training to block out. This danger is much more common with Focused Mage Sight however, which truly delves into the bottomless fractals of truth.
As mages grow in power and understanding, most mages continue to fall back upon the trusty magics of the Practice of Knowing. Even the most jaded and self-important mage knows, on some level, that she doesn’t possess all of the answers, and Knowing spells supplement the most expansive bank of knowledge, helping Apprentice and Master alike to learn the answers to even the most elusive of riddles. Knowing magic tends to be more useful when a mage has time to consider and plan. Knowing magic is perhaps a bit less useful on, say, the field of battle than Unveiling spells, but the Practice of Knowing is a cerebral Practice, more intellectual than the intuitive effects of Unveiling. Some particularly studious, paranoid or eccentric masters make a point of casting Knowing magics rather extensively. These willworkers reason that knowledge is always superior to ignorance, and such extensive cognizance of one’s circumstances and surroundings can only benefit the prepared mind. Of course, there are times when it is better not to know, and so some of these mages have been known to slip into madness, whether born of Paradox, the revelation of some forbidden lore or even just an obsessive over-reliance on being possessed of all the facts. In certain extreme cases, mages have died because of “things man was not meant to know.”
Many sages of Awakened lore contend that Knowing was the last of the most elementary Practices to be formally codified. Because Compelling spells are active magics, and Unveiling effects specifically impart sensory information, these scholars believe that the somewhat more rarefied and ephemeral qualities discerned by the Practice of Knowing made it a slightly more difficult Practice to perfect. Others believe that the drive to learn led the Awakened of Atlantis to develop the Practice of Knowing first, later creating the Practices of Unveiling and Compelling to refine what the Awakened learned with Knowing and then to act upon it, respectively.
The Practice of Unveiling
Unveiling is one of the simplest classifications for new spells. If a mystic effect imparts sensory perception of the phenomenon in question to the mage, then it is an Unveiling effect. These magics are very much extensions of Mage Sight and include the ability to communicate and interact directly with otherworldly beings and the like.
The Practice of Unveiling is an logical extension of Mage Sight. That is why so many of the spells work directly upon mage sight in subtle ways to provide more information. The one dot Attainment is critical to learning the Practice that grows from it.
This facet of Unveiling magic, not limited by Mage Sight is the ability to extend perceptions to others, is perhaps one of the most useful found at any level of any Arcanum. Mages need not merely explain what they can see and understand; they can show one another. This direct sharing of perceptions allows the Awakened to potentially avoid a lot of dangerous misunderstandings.Given the fact that Unveiling magics reveal Resonance to mages, the spells of this Practice are probably some of the most useful in any mage’s repertoire. The importance of being able to interact with Resonance cannot be overstated. Such a sense enables a mage to further augment his Mage Sight to detect the passing of other willworkers, to learn the specific “signature” of a spell and to otherwise discern the presence of otherworldly phenomena (or even just exceptional occurrences of mundane ones). And, as each Arcanum’s Mage Sight imparts a different sense for Resonance, there is a reason to learn each of them and all the Unveiling spells that they can.
Unveiling In-Story
Some Awakened mentors see the Practice of Unveiling as perhaps the most central to a mage’s enlightened state and the logical extension of what is imparted by Mage Sight. To see the truth of things, to look through the lie of the Exarchs, is to know creation for what it is. While Unveiling magics don’t actually lead to universal understanding, or any other such lofty objective, they do help to reveal basic truths about the world and the people, places and things in it. Unveiling magics are practical magics, which help the Awakened to discern fact from fiction.
Mages who favor the Practice of Unveiling tend to be down-to-earth and detail-oriented. Many are more interested in “what” or “how” than “why”; they like to get inside the workings of things and make sense of them. Not a few of the Awakened world’s most prominent researchers and scientists are skilled practitioners of the arts of Unveiling. Because the Practice of Unveiling expounds upon Focused Mage Sight, most Awakened teachers push the knowledge of this Practice mercilessly upon their students, encouraging them to cast, and re-cast, such magics, even when unnecessary. In many ways, the sense for the Resonance behind things is a sense all its own, as valuable to the willworker as sight, hearing or her ability to instinctively perceive mystic phenomena.
Some mentors cast various Mage Sights upon their students (Using the Apocalypse spell) during their apprenticeships, so that they can experience the Fallen World in as many different ways as possible. Such willworkers reason that the greatest possible breadth of understanding, more so than almost any other factor, contributes to the education of a responsible mage. While uncommon, some Consilii actually occasionally punish criminals by forcibly placing Unveiling spells upon them, so that they might truly experience the fruits of their transgressions (compelling a torturer of the unquiet dead, for instance, to be attuned to the Resonance of death, or making an incorrigible psychic manipulator to see the emotions of those he has harmed). As time goes on, however, and modern mages come up in a world increasingly desensitized to the victimization of others, this sentence has gradually fallen out of use.
No matter how experienced a mage becomes, there is always a reason to return to magics of Unveiling. Human beings are creatures of the senses, arguably far more than they are creatures of reason and intellect. To see magic, to hear it and touch it, is to connect in a real and meaningful way with the Supernal. The importance of this connection cannot be overstated. It is one of the surest ways through which willworkers know themselves to be something other than Sleepers, and through which even the most jaded of the Awakened can rekindle a sense of wonderment at the beauty and splendor of magic. Several Awakened historians believe that the Practice of Unveiling was the most crucial for mages after the fall of Atlantis and the severing of the worlds. At that time, the scattered surviving willworkers were trying to make sense of what had become of the universe that they had long taken for granted. Unveiling magics would have helped them to decipher the changes that had taken place, and shown them the ways in which the Fallen World was different from a creation in which profane matter was as one with the Supernal. A few scholarly accounts tell of how devastating a time that must have been, as willworkers came to terms with just how far the world had fallen.
Apprentice Level - The Second Dot
The Practice of Ruling
Ruling magics are typically elementary manipulations that do not necessarily stray into the realm of obvious magic. The Practice of Ruling can usually be readily concealed from Sleepers, even when cast in their presence. (Provided, of course, that the casting willworker is able to exercise a bit of forethought and restraint.) With Ruling spells, a mage can accomplish basic feats that fall under the purview of an Arcanum: subtly sculpting basic forms of energy, imparting a few quick telepathic words of warning, nudging probability a few degrees in a desired direction. While a few Ruling spells create somewhat grander effects, these are the exception, rather than the rule.
Ruling spells can sometimes be a bit difficult to categorize. (This is actually the case, with many of the Practices that involve direct magical interaction with the mage’s environment, but the issues of distinction really begin with Ruling.) Perhaps the best way to discern if a given spell should belong to the Practice of Ruling is to ask if the spell’s effects manipulate a person, place or thing in some small way. Does the spell suggest, rather than force? Does the spell affect cosmetic change, rather than any true alteration or act of creation? If so, then the spell probably belongs to the Practice of Ruling.
Ruling In-Story
Many young willworkers consider their early castings within the Practice of Ruling to be their first “real” experiences with magic. This error is easy to make; the feeling of power that comes from being able to so directly affect the world around oneself, even if only in small ways, can be truly intoxicating. Such inexperienced Awakened cite that it’s all well and good to see things that others can’t, or to gently nudge one’s environment, here and there, but, for them, the gravity of their gift doesn’t set in until they can make fire dance on their fingertips, or peer through the threads of space, to gaze upon places miles away.
Naturally, this attitude is precisely what makes the Practice of Ruling such a dangerous one. Most willworkers, before they become experienced and powerful enough to make use of Ruling magics, don’t have any appreciable access to spells that can be pushed to great effect, and so are largely forced by their ignorance to preserve the integrity of the Veil and the secrecy of the Mysteries. Thus, most wise mentors begin their students’ instruction in the Practice of Ruling well away from the eyes of Sleepers (and, if at all possible, away from things that could be damaged or destroyed by an incidence of Paradox or two). Those who have access to Demesnes often make use of them, though few teachers (and even fewer students) possess such valuable resources.
As time goes on, some willworkers see themselves as “outgrowing” the elementary manipulations offered by the Practice of Ruling, but those with perhaps better handle on their abilities and a greater appreciation for the gift of magic remember that sometimes the best tool for the job is the simplest one. The mages reason that there is no reason to conjure up lightning when a spark would suffice or to crush another’s will when a powerful suggestion is all that’s required. Many of the magics of the Practice of Ruling are among the subtlest of their kind, so a cautious willworker can use Ruling spells near or even (if he is exceptionally careful and clever) in front of Sleeping eyes and get away with it.
The Practice of Ruling, because of its status of the “second tier” of Practices aimed at manipulation of the Fallen World, often gets overlooked by mages of greater power. To many willworkers, something can either be gently nudged with Compelling or forced with Weaving. To such Awakened, Ruling becomes a nebulous middle ground. Wiser mages, on the other hand, remember the utility of Ruling spells, and their tendency toward covertness, and do not automatically cast them aside in favor of more potent magics. To a true master, or the master spies of the Guardians of the Veil, it is their most cherished practices...
The Practice of Shielding
The Practice of Shielding, which is almost always subtle, is also quite simple and straightforward. If a magical effect bestows protection from harm armor of whatever sort, or otherwise subtracts deleterious effects from an incoming hostile effect, then the spell belongs to the Practice of Shielding. Spells from the Practice of Shielding that are most commonly applied passively, without any targeted effort on the mage’s part.
This is what separates a squishy mortal body from all the arcane and mundane phenomena that would kill a Sleeper. It is also part of the key to what makes mages some of the strongest supernatural beings in the Tellurian. Mages have a passion for powerful defensive wards and while they are by nature, glass cannons compared to the beating a Werewolf or Promethean can take, they have some of the strongest defenses... if given time to call them up. While mage armor takes but a thought to bring forth, layers of defense against a well studied target takes time but makes the mage invincible.
Thunderbolt Guardian Seraph (yeah I guess he finally got promoted), is perhaps the greatest defensive combat mage in the modern era and certainly one of the Adamantine Arrow's most powerful assets in North America when Abyssal problems rear their mollusk-demon bodies. He has layers and layers of semi-permanent defensive spells and hones his body to be an optimized machine. He never casts spells in combat, and employs a form of offensive defense, having come to battle fully amplified for close quarters combat in any situation. He works largely alone though, but is know as a one-man-army. Nobody has ever claimed to have seen him suffer harm.
Any mage who engages in combat on a regular basis (or who, because of position or even just paranoia, fears being attacked) or deals with powerful supernatural phenomena has a use for Shielding spells. In fact, it’s doubtful that the Adamantine Arrow as an order could have survived to the modern day without the existence of
the Practice of Shielding. Some of the most treasured of Artifacts and Imbued Items are enchanted with Shielding magics in addition to their normal Mage Armor. Quite simply, no willworker with an ounce of good sense turns up her nose at the idea of a little extra protection. Note that Shielding spells do “stack” with mundane, or even enhanced, Imbued or Artifact armor, though not with one another. This means that a mage with a well-crafted suit of armor and a powerful Shielding enchantment is virtually untouchable in combat, save by those magics that ignore or otherwise circumvent armor. Also be aware, though, that particularly astronomical magical Armor ratings can invoke Dissonance in Sleepers. (There is, after all, just no sound explanation for how a mage could be shot four times, point-blank, with .10-gauge buckshot, and emerge unscathed. Even the most advanced body armor known to man simply cannot do that.)
The Practice of Shielding is a logical extension of the Mage Armor Attainment. While not actually a spell, Mage Armor is the fundamental skill to learn first. Learning to study it and use it in other spells is an outgrowing of this magical ability. Like all the Attainments, Mage Armor is still something that must be taught and requires enough understanding of the Arcanum to use the Attainment.
Shielding In-Story
Many self-proclaimed Atlantean scholars believe that Shielding was one of the first Practices to be developed by the Awakened. Reading minds, soaring on the wind and distilling tass are all well and good, but one of the first and most pressing human drives is the desire to possess the means to defend oneself. Some scholars maintain that Shielding magics were not always as subtle and refined as they are, for the most part, today, and that some great willworkers of old conjured up armor of writhing flame, fragmented space and ferocious gales. Still, what accounts there are of such things now are unclear at best, and may be nothing more than rumor and legend. With the rise of Paradox and the Fall of the First City, protective magic had to become more and more subtle.
As in ancient days, most modern mentors will not send their students out into the world until they have demonstrated the ability to make use of the Mage Armor Attainment and the Practice of Shielding for at least one Arcanum. For the most part, it is considered criminally irresponsible for an Awakened teacher to allow a new willworker to face the perils of her new life undefended by the auspices of this Practice. In fact, there are those of all five orders who will assist a prematurely released newly Awakened mage in learning at least one Mage Armor, should she not know one, without asking for any favor in return, so basic an obligation is it considered. There are, if rumors are to be believed, even Seers of the Throne who will do so.
As a mage grows more comfortable in her Awakened existence, the Practice of Shielding helps her to feel confident in her dealings with others. She has less need for fear of casual violence and can treat with even considerably more experienced (and, thus, dangerous) willworkers with an increased feeling of safety. When she is sufficiently skilled in an Arcanum, she can go about her business, knowing that most Sleepers are virtually incapable of causing her harm at all. Of course, overconfidence in this (or any) regard can be deadly, but Shielding magics, and the promise of safety that they offer, are part of what allows Awakened society to carry on.
Not surprisingly, the Practice of Shielding comes with a spectrum of psychological effects. On one end of the spectrum is the mage who is overconfident and feels invincible, that he has thought out every possible scenario and ends up dead as a result of his hubris. The other end of the spectrum is the mage who suffers from crippling paranoia and spends the majority of his time layering protective spells and still never feeling completely safe. Neither extreme ends are useful in Awakened society.
Masters, who (in their own minds, at any rate) have so much more to live for and so much more to lose truly grow to love and appreciate all of the nuances of the Practice of Shielding. Elder Arrow mages never go anywhere without Shielding magics in place, and even the most pacifistic Mysterium scholar or courteous théarch finds himself feeling safer and more confident with some form of magical protection in place in addition to his Mage Armor. Also noteworthy in all of this is the fact that only the dullest of the Awakened enemies of the five orders go about their business without a Shielding spell. While the willworkers of the orders can occasionally let down their guard, no sensible Tremere lich or Scelestus ever does.
It almost goes without saying that extending these protective spells to objects, people and places of worth is a vast proposition of Shielding works. There are many many things a magus wishes had mage armor, so he does what he can to make sure they have as much protection as he can manage.
The Practice of Veiling
Veiling effects conceal the phenomena encompassed by a given Arcanum, or use such phenomena to grant camouflage or concealment. At this level, when first learned, the mage’s scope of effect is small and/or otherwise limited. In general, the larger or more complex the creature, place or thing to be affected, the more Arcana dots, Reach or spell factors the mage needs in the appropriate areas. In other words, it’s usually harder to cast Veiling spells on a moving car than on a stationary chair, and easier to cast them on a houseplant than on a human being. These limitations are more a matter of dealing with complexity and scope than the actual effect being insufficient.These spells are also subtle in aspect as well as meant to be used for secrecy. This twofold subtlety serves to make Veiling effects especially popular among spies, thieves and even assassins. Such subtlety also makes the Practice of Veiling a fantastic toolkit for performing otherwise dangerously blatant magic in the vicinity of Sleepers without (as much) fear of Paradoxes or Dissonance. A cunning willworker with time to prepare can, in theory, disguise even the most obvious acts of mystic prowess from Sleeping eyes by using Veiling spells. Important to note for the purposes of spell design is the fact that any magical effect intended primarily for concealment of any sort properly belongs to the Practice of Veiling. While a number of spells stray out from other Practice, the fundamental nature of the Practice does not change. So long as a clouding of perception or manifestation of some falsehood doesn’t directly fall under the purview of another Practice then the spell is a Veiling spell.
Veiling In-Story
The Practice of Veiling is believed to have been little used in the days of ancient Atlantis. It was not a place of subtle sorcery, and, it is said, mages reveled in the wonders that they could craft, wonders that awed, delighted and, often, terrified those who did not share in the Atlanteans’ gifts. Since the breaking of Creation, however, and the rise of the gulf between the Profane and the Supernal, the Practice of Veiling has been greatly refined and expanded.
Now, the secrecy of the Mysteries demands such magics of concealment and misdirection. Many Guardians stress the importance of Veiling magic even more so than Shielding spells: one life is unimportant next to the integrity of the Veil itself. Even the most retiring Mysterium willworkers and most flamboyant théarchs can find many practical uses for the Practice of Veiling. There are times for secrecy and stealth in research, just as there are times when what a politician conceals is more important than what she shows.
In fact, given the popularity of the Practice of Veiling among Guardians and other secretive sorts, there are those who fi nd themselves distrustful of mages who specialize in such magics. They wonder if such willworkers have something to hide. To be fair, those who make a habit of going about continually shrouded in Veiling spells usually are hiding something, or else are simply paranoid, neither of which is apt to contribute to their popularity around the Consilium.
Irrespective of whatever stigma may fall upon the Practice of Veiling, however, it remains a popular practice among those mages who understand the importance of stealth and secrecy, or even just the occasional measure of privacy. Young willworkers trying to establish a place for themselves within the Consilium sometimes find that walking silent and unseen is better for their progress within local Awakened society than any amount of known public service. Likewise, all save the most honest of masters (a rare breed at best) have at least one or two things they’d rather conceal, every now and again.
Disciple Level - The Third Dot
The Practice of Fraying
The Practice of Fraying is where the offensive magics truly begin. While some lesser hurts can be caused by magic before this point, Fraying is the least refined Practice almost wholly dedicated to the
art of destruction. When used to directly inflict harm, Fraying spells always inflict bashing damage. (Indirect harm, however, can come in other forms; a mage using a Fraying effect to erode the welds holding part of a large jagged metal sculpture together, dropping it into the head of an attacker, will likely cause lethal damage, instead.) Of course, Fraying magics need not directly hurt anyone or anything. They can also be used to damage less tangible things (such as by hindering a subject’s chances of success at an endeavor or dissolving tass).Only rarely are Fraying spells covert in Aspect, since they usually involve some rather spectacular effects. A few Fraying spells, however, may be cast with some degree of subtlety, and these spells are often prized by militant willworkers for both the spells’ lethality and their ability to be cast with reduced risk of a Paradox. For the most part, Fraying attacks that actually create some kind catalyst for the damage they inflict cost a point of Mana, but this isn’t necessarily universal. Also, some Fraying spells can be scaled up, causing lethal damage with an appropriate Arcanum at four dots, and aggravated damage (which always costs Mana) at five dots.
Although Fraying spells inflict only bashing damage when used to cause direct injury, they rank among the most useful of offensive magics. Certainly, an Unraveling effect will bring an enemy down faster, as will an Unmaking spell, but such magics, used indiscriminately, can kill with alarming swiftness. In addition to the grievous harm this sort of thing can do to a mage’s Wisdom, there are times when death isn’t the desired goal. If a malevolent spirit possesses a willworker’s friend, the mage probably isn’t willing to tear the victim’s body asunder to expel the entity. Likewise, it’s difficult at best to interrogate a corpse for all the details of a Seers of the Throne sanctum, even with a Master of Death on hand.
Fraying In-Story
The Practice of Fraying has always been a popular one. Disciples are just knowledgeable enough to really use some spectacular magics and typically just young enough and sufficiently inexperienced to occasionally want to cut loose with them. Add to this the long, bloody history of the Awakened: the battles between the Atlantean orders and the Seers of the Throne, the attacks by Tremere liches, the depredations of the Scelesti and the like and a pattern of conflict highly conducive to martial studies
makes Fraying a popular subject of research.
As the proliferation of the Sleepers, the eyes of the Fallen World, increases, growing exponentially, most Fraying magics (which tend to be vulgar in their Aspect) become less practical, save under the most dire or most extraordinary of circumstances. Also, since most mages, regardless of order (or lack thereof) recognize the validity of the Duel Arcane to one degree or another, Fraying magics are likely less popular now than they have been at any point in the past. Still, tradition, married to the good old-fashioned instinct to shoot the other guy before he shoots you, ensures that the Practice of Fraying will not stop being taught anytime soon.
Discerning mages maintain uses for the Practice of Fraying throughout their lives. Such spells are subtler than most Unraveling or Unmaking magics and, if used properly, don’t necessarily leave any obvious traces of injury. Some of the most successful and respected of Sentinels first attempt to fulfill their duties through the use of Fraying spells, before resorting to more destructive powers. A well-prepared mage with a solid command of Fraying magics is more than the equal of even the most skilled hand-to-hand Sleeper combatant.
Philosophically speaking, some mages dislike Fraying magic on a metaphysical level. The connotation of the word “fraying” implies damage to a piece of cloth. Some willworkers take this to mean a fraying of the threads holding the Fallen World together (or, perhaps, those keeping the Abyss from flooding in). Most mages, however, dismiss this perspective as an extreme view, unconvinced by the sparse and often questionable materials that the doomsayers use to back up their stance. Thus far, no credible evidence exists to suggest that a Fraying spell has any deleterious consequences on anything other than the person or thing on the wrong end of it. The more common view by far, however, is that “Fraying” refers to fraying the threads of the Pattern targeted.
The Practice of Perfecting
Perfecting effects are used in the process of refinement and, often, of mending. Essentially, spells intended to make a thing better (whether in terms of improving functionality or in terms of repair)
usually belong to the Practice of Perfecting. While some Perfecting spells restore health (whether to corporeal entities or those of a more ephemeral nature), others mend broken objects, and still others expand upon the natural capabilities of creatures or things. In some respects, Perfecting magic is the opposite of that learned within the Practice of Fraying.
Perfecting spells can be covert or vulgar in Aspect, depending upon the blatancy of the improvements being affected. Some Perfecting spells cost Mana while others do not. Perfecting is a relatively intuitive Practice when it comes to classifying spells but tends to be a bit erratic in terms of overarching qualities. This is especially true of Perfecting magics cast upon non-material phenomena (such as luck, consciousness or Mana-based constructs). Perfecting spells to be cast on potentially unwilling subjects (in the rare event that an individual resists the notion of having herself or her things improved in some way) are almost always resisted reflexively, with one of the target’s Resistance Attributes (Composure, Resolve or Stamina) subtracted from the spellcasting roll.
Perfecting In-Story
Some willworkers speculate that all substances in Atlantis were perfected to levels beyond those that Perfecting magics are capable of creating. Other mages are skeptical of this sort of baseless revisionist history, however, and instead reflect upon the usefulness of the Practice of Perfecting according to its own merits. The critics point to the dearth of Atlantean relics in the modern world as proof of the preposterousness of the notion. Supporters, however, maintain that the ancients might have used great magics to keep Sleepers from stumbling across these great feats of artifice, even millennia later.
Mages who focus on Perfecting magics often tend to be far-thinking and/or supportive types. They see the value in shoring up what exists, and in crafting better building blocks for the future. Some, however, do so because they’re paranoid and untrusting, disdainful of the works of Sleepers and unwilling to entrust their safety (or even comfort) to such “profane artifice.” Others just know a good thing when they see it. Such mages reason that the enhanced substances and purified phenomena offered by the Practice of Perfecting are reward enough on their own, and don’t go looking for any fancier justification than that.
Younger mages skilled in the Practice of Perfecting are often sought out by elder willworkers of their Consilii, and given tasks using Perfecting magics that can eventually translate into official Consilium offices. At first, this sort of thing can seem like drudgery, but it has its practical side; continual practice prepares these mages for the more advanced Practices of manipulation (Patterning and Making) and helps older Awakened to get a handle on their ability to function within a support role (an important quality for any would-be leader to possess).
The Practice of Weaving
The Practice of Weaving tends to be the catchall for third-dot effects that don’t fit into either
Fraying or Perfecting, or a more advanced application of a lower-dot Practice. In terms of mechanics, spells that alter capabilities or somehow otherwise change the function of a thing without fundamentally transforming the nature of that thing are Weaving spells. This is a broad definition, and can be a bit hard to adequately categorize, since there are so many things that Weaving effects can conceivably do.
As befits such an eclectic Practice, Weaving effects run the gamut when it comes to covert versus vulgar and Mana cost versus none. Because of the wide scope of potential Weaving effects, it is a versatile Practice, allowing for all sorts of mid-range magical manipulations, some of them quite strong. Some spells make inert materials pliant, while other spells bestow the ability to strike ephemeral entities, and still others create thinking servants composed of telekinetic force alone.
Because of the wide scope of Weaving’s effects, Weaving is a favorite mid-level Practice for almost any mage. An intelligent mage can fi nd a multitude of uses for almost every Weaving spell in his repertoire. Because of Weaving catchall nature, many newly researched spells end up being classed within the Practice of Weaving.
Weaving In-Story
Some mages describe the Practice of Weaving as the most central to the Awakened state: the art of touching one’s environment with will alone and leaving the environment changed by one’s passing. In many ways, this is the primordial dream of magic, the idea that a person can change the world, in ways both great and small, simply by wishing it so.
Awakened mentors pay close heed to how their students make use of Weaving magics, since this is the first time that the less experienced willworkers are able to express themselves directly using magic, as opposed to through the changes that they create with magic. In other words, while the student could previously use magic to set up conditions that could influence her environment, she
can now do so without the benefit of a “middleman,” as it were. Thus, her mystic style becomes manifest through the magic that she creates.
at higher levels, spells of the Practice of Weaving tend to have decently broad utility and allow the Awakened to perform most mundane tasks with a preternatural aplomb, while still allowing for a considerable degree of competency with purely supernatural works.
No matter how powerful most mages become, they tend to fall back on Weaving spells when the situation warrants. They’re overall less risky to use than the more potent Patterning and Making magics, while still retaining a level of power and flexibility completely beyond the purview of Compelling or Ruling spells. When executed properly, many Weaving magics, even the vulgar ones,
can be performed subtly enough to elude the senses of Sleepers, and the covert ones don’t give up much in the way of effectiveness for the sake of subtlety.
Adept Level - The Fourth Dot
The Practice of Patterning
Patterning is probably the most versatile of all of the 13 Practices. The effects of Patterning span a broad scope of possibilities. Odds are better than average that any given fourth-dot Arcanum effect belongs to the Practice of Patterning. Patterning magics run the gamut: if a spell doesn’t create, destroy or influence a phenomenon, then the spell is probably a Patterning effect. This can, of course, make it a little difficult to accurately place spells into the Practice, since the temptation exists to make the call that almost any vaguely ambiguous classification should default to Patterning. Or, conversely, to deliberately avoid placing in the Practice spells whose categorizations are uncertain, so as to avoid an inundation of Patterning magics. Patterning spells can alter phenomena between roughly related types, or redefine the parameters of said phenomena, sometime even into configurations not normally found within the Fallen World. Memories can be altered, inert materials changed in shape or quality or the flow of time itself made to skip forward suddenly or to cling to an individual, causing her to temporarily “lag” behind its normal flow. Such spells represent the greatest possible degree of facility in manipulating objects, entities or other phenomena without actually being able to create such things out of nothingness, or to reduce them to the same.
Patterning In-Story
Given the tremendous range of effects available to a mage with knowledge of the Practice of Pattering, this Practice is seen as a supremely utilitarian one. Willworkers who make good use of their Patterning magics are often looked well upon within their Consilii, since such skilled mages can help out in many different ways, both in peacetime and in war. In many Consilii, a mage won’t even be considered for offi ce (save perhaps that of Sentinel) until he demonstrates facility with the Practice of Patterning for at least one Arcanum. Before that, a willworker may be seen as too inexperienced, or simply not useful enough.
Some sages of Atlantean lore believe that the Practice of Patterning (whether yet fully codified by that time or not) was essential to not only the construction of that legendary nation but also to its maintenance. Furthermore, after the Fall of Atlantis, these scholars contend, Patterning magics helped to keep alive the traditions, ideas and even aesthetics of Atlantis. Some of the oldest relics of the Awakened world, those that constitute some link, no matter how faint, to those elder days, were in part conceived of, created, protected and preserved by Patterning spells.
Because Patterning magics are so diverse, getting any kind of universal opinion on them, save to say that they are among the most useful of all magics, is difficult at best. Some willworkers believe that the Awakened of Atlantis could have stopped at 11 Practices (all save for Making and Unmaking) and, so long as the Atlanteans had developed the Practice of Patterning, no one would have complained. By the time a mage is sufficiently well trained to develop facility with Patterning arts, she is often well and truly out from under her teacher’s shadow, so few mages learn these spells at the feet of mentors. Likewise, many Awakened educators don’t go far out of their way to teach their students about the specifics of the Practice of Patterning; by the time the youths learn enough about magic to develop such powers, they will already understand just how useful Patterning spells can be.
Even those mages who master an Arcanum regularly return to the well of the Practice of Patterning. These magics are, quite simply, far too useful to forego. While Making and Unmaking spells are superior, in terms of raw power, to those cast under the auspices of Patterning, Patterning effects are more helpful under a greater range of circumstances. Why make an object out of nothing when it’s usually just as easy to transform another item into the one that you need? Whereas Making and Unmaking spells are considered by most wise willworkers as magics of last resort (given the vulgar Aspect of many such spells, as well as the overwhelming power that they bring to bear), Patterning spells are almost never inappropriate for use.
The Practice of Unraveling
Unraveling magic is more than merely destructive — that is the province of the Practice of Fraying. What Fraying does with a blunt instrument, Unraveling does with a scalpel. Unraveling can work on a finer scale, creating nuanced forms of harm that don’t necessarily rely purely upon pure stopping power. Unraveling spells can hurt the knowledge or ability of others, or the capacity of a phenomenon, as well as simply inflict damage. For the most part, if an Unraveling spell creates an effect that would be perceptibly impossible without magic, the spell is vulgar in Aspect. Otherwise (and this is part of why the Practice of Unraveling is prized by many clever willworkers), the spell tends to be covert. Unraveling spells tend not to cost Mana, as well, which is an added bonus for mages looking to diversify their offensive capabilities.
Because of the lethality, several Unraveling spells often take the place of mundane arms among mages with sufficient skill to possess them. Why go to the trouble of carrying a knife or another, even more cumbersome weapon when the Practice of Unraveling is just as deadly, can’t be anywhere as easily disarmed and leaves less evidence for Sleeper authorities to follow up on? Also, unlike Unmaking spells, what evidence is left behind tends to have at least mildly plausible explanations. While fire-scarring on the brick walls of an alley is unusual and may earn some raised eyebrows, it is nowhere near as unnatural (and, thus, a threat to the Veil) as, say, finding brick walls that have run like water or have shadows seared onto them by radiation.
Unraveling In-Story
Some willworkers think of the Practice of Unraveling as the “thinking man’s Fraying,” since using Unraveling magics to their greatest possible effectiveness takes a degree of wit and discernment. Fraying spells rarely involve meaningful choices in their implementation. They’re usually much more a case of “point and click,” whereas the Practice of Unraveling offers options. Instead of attempting to directly harm a physically resilient foe, the mage could make the enemy less robust. Rather than trying to psychically attack an iron-willed enemy, the mage could erode the enemy’s resolve. Instead of trying to match a master swordsman blow for blow, the mage could simply disintegrate the swordsman’s weapon.
Given the broader focus of Unraveling magics, many mages continue to favor them even after attaining mastery of an Arcanum. Unmaking spells are often crude, without any kind of room for fi nesse. Unraveling effects, on the other hand, can selectively destroy, damage or even just inhibit people or things. In many cases, the ability to limit another individual’s effectiveness at a given endeavor is more useful than the power to obliterate her utterly. Likewise, the incidental casualties of, say, creating lethal levels of radioactivity (via Unmaking) in a place are usually not worth the potential gains for doing so. Far better to beget a controlled conflagration, harming only those whom a willworker truly intends to hurt.
Almost every successful Sentinel has at least a few Unraveling spells in her arsenal. While Fraying magics may be far more merciful, there are times in every Sentinel’s career when mercy is more a weakness than a virtue. In addition, most mages of the Adamantine Arrow aspire to master as many Unraveling magics as possible. The best warriors like to have as many choices as possible when the time comes for the battle to be joined. These spells are also popular among the more martial Guardians of the Veil, since, in skilled hands, such spells can end a violent encounter (whether initiated by the Guardian herself or not) before it truly begins.
Master Level - The Fifth Dot
The Practice of Making
Spells from the Practice of Making give a willworker nearly godlike power. Such mages can craft phenomena out of nothing, and can generate things that otherwise cannot exist within the rude confines of the Fallen World. Few Awakened in this age manage to attain this degree of knowledge and comprehension for any Arcanum. This sort of power has been known to lead mages astray, far off of the path of Wisdom, though many manage to balance the great authority conveyed by such understanding with a sense of responsibility.
Making magics often (but not always) cost Mana, particularly if the mage is creating something that will have physical or even ephemeral substance, using the Mana as the skeleton around which the phenomenon in question will be constructed. If the substance to be created is physical in nature (and is thus blatantly created out of nothingness), then the spell is usually vulgar. Otherwise, if being used to fabricate materials of an immaterial nature or those otherwise too rarified to bend the laws of physics much, then the magic can be covert in its Aspect.
In designing spells for the Practice of Making, it is important to keep in mind the vast potential for the abuse of such magics. Making effects are, in many ways, limited only by the imagination of the caster, unless other limitations are deliberately placed upon them. Most commonly, this takes the form of a brief Duration and/or having a large number of factors that must all be fortified by casting successes (such as any kind of creation that requires the assignment of successes to add to its attributes, Structure, Size, paranormal abilities, etc.) Without these checks and balances, Making spells could rapidly unbalance almost any game.
Making In-Story
The Practice of Making has historically been one of the most hotly disputed in the history of the Awakened. Some mages believe that Making spells actually call down a small measure of the substance of the Supernal, which is then filtered through the Abyss, thereby becoming profane Fallen matter and ephemera. Many dismiss this theory, but no concrete proof exists either way, since Making spells certainly do seem to generate substances out of nothing.
In some cases, the Practice of Making enables mages to generate phenomena (such as thaumium) that simply do not otherwise exist within the Fallen World. Such creations generate even greater speculation and wilder theories. A few Moros, for instance, claim that thaumium is actually drawn from the substance of the Watchtower of Stygia. Likewise, a handful of Mastigos believe that new minds created with the “Psychic Genesis” spell are, in reality, pools of raw psychic energy drawn out of Pandemonium, and briefly given cohesion within the Fallen World.
Most Awakened mentors, just as they do with the Practice of Unmaking, attempt to instill in their students a profound respect for the sheer power of the Practice of Making. The ability to create a thing from nothingness is not one to be taken lightly, and never to be used without thorough forethought and a full appreciation of the consequences of doing so. At least, so goes the reasoning of many of the wisest and the most learned among willworkers.
Mages who demonstrate great proficiency in the arts of Making are often treated with a kind of reverence by lesser willworkers. Some are inclined to see skilled mages as a bridge to the Supernal, while more pragmatic sorts simply understand these mages to be exceptionally talented and powerful Awakened. Some who demonstrate exceptional talent for the Practice of Making come to see themselves as sublime and perhaps even godlike beings. Needless to say, this attitude, coupled with what is arguably nigh-divine power, conspires to erode the Wisdom and essential humanity of even the most temperate willworker.
Those mages skilled in the Practice of Making who manage to avoid the siren song of adoration usually take care to use such magics as infrequently as possible. There is a danger in creation, a desire to remake the world that is less and less apparent to those who treat this amazing power with anything other than the utmost respect and caution. Furthermore, those who display great facility with the arts of Making and a willingness to use them are often hard-pressed to fi nd a moment’s peace. Other, less powerful willworkers tend to flock around these skilled mages, imploring them for potent enchantments, items of power and other favors.
The Practice of Unmaking
Spells from the Practice of Unmaking are terrifying to behold. They eradicate matter, dissolve fl esh and rend asunder the very threads of space and time. More destructive in a way than even the most powerful nuclear bomb, Unmaking effects cause things to completely cease to exist.
These frightening magics are almost always vulgar in their Aspect, since the physics and metaphysics of the Fallen World abhor the utter destruction created by such spells. More often than not, they cost Mana, as the caster is attempting to push something out of existence by the force of his will alone. More dangerous still is the fact that most Unmaking spells can be cast upon a target at range, meaning that the willworker can devastate his foe without ever exposing himself to the threat of hand-to-hand or melee combat.
Unmaking In-Story
Many mages are hesitant to use or teach the Practice of Unraveling. After all, these magics are nothing but destructive, even down to the most fundamental level. Things broken by Fraying spells are still present in the world, albeit in a changed (often badly damaged) form. Those subjected to Unmaking effects are often literally obliterated, in violation of the very laws of nature; such things literally cease to exist. Mages with a lack of discretion and a flawed sense of subtlety can wreak havoc with the Practice of Unmaking on such a level as to necessitate every mage in a Consilium hunting them down.
Some mages believe that the Practice of Unmaking was, despite being codified the same as any other, a forbidden (or perhaps just severely restricted) art in the days of Atlantis. Some willworkers maintain that anything destroyed by Unmaking magics is spat out into the Abyss and that the finite quantity of substance and ephemera in creation can eventually be depleted, negating existence and casting all being into nothingness. One theory propounds the notion that the shattering of worlds during the Celestial War was made possible by every Unmaking spell that had been cast before then, each of which contributed to the strength of the nascent Abyss. Certainly, the frequency with which many of the most powerful Scelesti wield Unmaking spells when they are in a position to get away with such lends a bit of credence to that theory. Of course, such vicious magics might also simply be nothing more than a reflection of the twisted souls of the Wicked.
Whatever the case, mages capable of wielding magics from the Practice of Unmaking are often given a wide berth, and treated as objects of awe and no small measure of fear. As most less experienced Awakened see things, a willworker skilled in Fraying or Unraveling spells can kill you; with the Practice of Unmaking, he can make it so that the Fallen World basically forgets that you ever existed at all. Some of the more powerful Awakened mentors give their students fi rsthand experience with the horrors of what Unmaking magics are capable of, to teach them to respect this dread Practice, and not to pursue it until they are not only of sufficient power but also of sufficient understanding and maturity.
In the vast majority of cases, even the most coarse and jaded Sentinel, brutal Arrow mage or callous Guardian hesitates before resorting to the use of the Practice of Unmaking. Those who don’t are often lost to the way of Wisdom and quickly become a danger to themselves and others. Many Consilii carefully monitor the use of Unmaking spells within their geographic boundaries and sometimes in the surrounding areas. Some Hierarchs actually forbid the use of such magics to those not specifically permitted by the will of the Council to cast them, and place harsh punishments upon those who break such laws, save under the most exceptional of circumstances. While some complain of this sort of treatment as cruel and authoritarian, many Hierarchs reply that it is crueler by far to allow unchecked use of such spells, and that a little more authority is a good thing if it keeps the irresponsible use of these destructive magics to a bare minimum.
Radiation: Opening the Gates of Hell
Why, if the creation of radiation is, indeed, an act of creation, is doing so considered to belong to the Practice of Unmaking? The answer to this question is found in radioactive matter itself, material that, by its very nature, destroys organic cells and is among the most dense and “Fallen” of substances.
In a sort of “reverse alchemy,” materials such as plutonium and uranium live out their lives irradiating everything around them until at last they become lead, a heavy, lifeless, poisonous substance — too soft to create anything of value with, a material associated with death and the Underworld. Just as Atlantean cosmology considers the presence of shadow to be indicative of more than merely the absence of light, so, too, does the cosmology perceive the presence of radiation to be a force antithetical to Supernal being, a thing that destroys, unmakes, by its very existence.
Hurting People and Breaking Stuff
Beyond the systems represented by the 13 Practices, a formula based purely upon the needs of game balance determines the power levels of damaging spell effects. Almost without exception, this formula holds true for any offensive spell effect. The formula breaks down as follows:
• At any level below the third dot of an Arcanum, a spell can inflict one point, maybe two, of bashing damage in the right circumstances. Generally speaking, a mage with recourse only to such magics in combat is better off using a mundane weapon or her fists. Such spells can potentially belong to the Practices of Compelling or Ruling. Compelling spells might assist a mage on the offensive, creating a one- or two-dice bonus to a mundane attack or add to the dam, while Ruling spells can produce a minor offensive effect on their own.
• At the third dot of an Arcanum, a mage can inflict bashing damage directly using the Practice of Fraying in most cases. Fraying magics do just that, picking apart the weave or Patterns of things in the Fallen World. While it is certainly possible to destroy a piece of cloth by pulling out individual strands of thread, doing so is certainly not the most efficient way of going about the process, and the damage done will be relatively easy to fix.• At the fourth dot of an Arcanum, a mage can inflict lethal damage directly with the Practices of Fraying or Unraveling. Unraveling magics target those certain threads that hold the whole thing together, and rip them out. The piece of cloth, without those anchoring constants, begins to fall apart. Again, however, a skilled weaver can repair the thing, provided that it hasn’t been completely destroyed by this process.
• At the fifth dot of an Arcanum, a mage can inflict aggravated damage. Such an attack almost always involves the expenditure of a point of Mana and usually involve overt displays of magic. Unmaking spells are the metaphysical equivalent of tossing the piece of cloth into a bonfire. There is no elegance about the process, simply destruction. The mage obviates the need to understand the composition of the piece of cloth, and instead just obliterates it through a more brutally efficient means. Even if a skilled weaver managed to pick some remnant of the cloth out of the fire, he would need to remake entire parts of it, maybe even the majority of it, and it might never end up being quite the same.
The main guidelines for which form of defense to use for a spell are as follows:
• When the spell’s effect is either “on” or “off” (with no half-measures in between), the spell should be contested with a roll, and either the caster “wins” (by having more successes than the target) or the target “wins” (by equaling or exceeding the casting successes).
• If the spell’s effect is graduated, such as in the case of damage or a spell that drains Attribute dots (the target can be affected a little or a lot), use Resisted Defense (subtract a Resistance Attribute). If it’s an effect that would be particularly bad for the target even in small doses, the Storyteller might consider allowing a contested roll (as above) instead.
Also, damaging magics primarily intended to be cast upon inanimate materials are generally more potent and effective that those that can be directly targeted at sentient things. Living things typically have stronger spiritual presences than objects that cannot actively resist destruction. The theory also holds true for things such as zombies (which are really just mobile equipment to a willworker with sufficient skill in the Death Arcanum); destroying them is the equivalent of taking away the enemy’s weapons.
Mages recognize that Unraveling damage is more telling than Fraying damage, and that Unmaking damage is more telling still. They do have a rough sense that being hit with a Fraying attack is a lot like being roughed up with fists. Further, they are aware that an Unraveling attack is more like being stabbed with a knife, and an Unmaking attack literally defies the destructive means to which most Sleepers have recourse; being on the wrong end of such an attack is like receiving high-intensity radiation burns, or being doused in hydrofluoric acid. A sufficiently skilled and experienced willworker can often look at the results of a magical attack after the fact and determine what sort of Practice was likely used to produce it. Even within similar modes of attack, for instance, there are subtle differences that allow a practiced mage to discern that a fire-based magical assault was likely cast out of the Practice of Fraying, rather than Unraveling.
When the 13 Practices were codified, they were intended to stand not just as laws in name but in spirit as well. If a thing were possible within the letter of what qualified as a given Practice, but ultimately violated the essence of what that Practice was meant to do, and what it was supposed to be capable of, then such a spell was classified (and cast) under a different Practice. In that sense, the 13 Practices existed not just as rules to be exploited but also as rules deliberately designed to provide a stable, consistent framework for the Awakened. And also bear in mind that the 13 Practices aren’t merely conceptual frameworks — most mages should believe that they are indeed metaphysical constants, 13 “laws of Supernal physics.” (Or at least, laws of how Supernal physics work in the Fallen World.) Any misunderstandings of which category a spell belongs in are human mistakes, based on incomplete understanding of these metaphysical constants.
Tests of Magical Aptitude
When a mage walks in the door and announces herself as a second-degree master, who’s to know if she’s telling the truth or not? People like to receive recognition for their accomplishments, and mages are no exception. (Indeed, given their natural tendencies toward hubris, mages are likely more inclined to seek out these sorts of accolades.) Sadly, there are those who will settle for receiving acclaim for things that they have not actually accomplished, and there are also Awakened all too willing to fall into that trap. So, how do willworkers keep one another honest?
There are, of course, auguries and simple spells meant to discern truth from lies, but these can be fooled by a cunning con artist. Likewise, gauging the power and grandeur of a mage’s Resonance can give a rough idea of how mystically skilled she is, though a determined deceiver can also fabricate a potent aura. Letters of introduction can be forged (quite convincingly, when one adds magic to the counterfeiter’s arsenal), and signet rings copied or stolen. And all of these factors contribute to the profound difficulty of knowing that a willworker is as skilled as she claims to be: an important piece of information in a society in which power is the only true currency.
These tests are still in use in a number of old, traditional, paranoid and/or goal-oriented Consilii around the world. In such Consilii, mages who wish to be recognized and perhaps given responsibilities and honors must pass these trials, demonstrating their skill with the 13 Practices. Most such trials actually test the willworker’s knowledge of each Practice within a given dot level of
the Arcanum in question, so as to minimize the risk of fraud. Of course, those who seem to gain power in excess of their experience in such Consilii are often viewed with equal measures of approval and trepidation, and some such Councils have in place harsh measures to deal with younger sorts who seem to be getting too big for their britches. (Beware the potential consequences of spending experience points exclusively on Arcana!) Of course, some Consilii simply don’t care what a mage claims to be able to do. This is especially common in Consilii dominated by the Free Council, or those Consilii that are home to a significant number of apostates. Under those circumstances, many local willworkers don’t really pay much heed to fancy titles. This is also sometimes the case in Consilii controlled by the Adamantine Arrow, since many such mages are inclined to see talk as cheap, and won’t recognize any claim to power that hasn’t been backed up by action. Whether that means pulling one’s weight in battle, or demonstrating aptitude in the Duel Arcane is immaterial; it is the quality of one’s deeds that count.
To others, such as Magister Stavros, the Duel Arcane is the ultimate test of a mage's prowess...
Many of the Consilii that continue to uphold this practice have traditional tests that they use for each Practice within each Arcanum. Depending upon how understanding or progressive the Council is, the Consilium might be willing to alter a given test, based upon a religious, cultural or ethical objection on the part of the tested (such as the example above, of animating a corpse), but some Consilii simply will not. Such Consilii reason that mages seeking recognition there should put the esteem of the Consilium above personal qualms, or else be content to accept lesser station in the eyes of their fellow mages.
Cheating during Arcane Aptitude Tests
Whenever someone devises a test, someone else will inevitably devise a means for cheating at said test. That said, it can be hellishly difficult to deceive tests of mystical aptitude without actually possessing a great deal of magical knowledge and power. It can be done, naturally (especially with the use of bound ghosts or spirits, Imbued Items and/or Artifacts), but the mage who would attempt such a thing is walking a dangerous line. Many of the Consilii that continue to practice this tradition can be deadly serious about the sincerity of the willworker submitting to the test and he dependability of the results. Nobody likes to be fooled, and mages, certainly not a whole Council of them, are no exception. And willworkers, as a rule, have many terrifying ways of expressing their displeasure at such a thing.
At the Pentacle Academy we have a zero tolerance policy for cheating at official assessments. The Deans will review a reported offense and dismissal from the Academy is typical. In some cases a penance is done to keep the young mage in school.To get away with cheating at a trial of magical prowess, the mage probably needs to be skilled in a number of different Arcana, so as to best replicate any feat under the purview of the appropriate Practice for the Arcanum in question. Of course, tests tend to be unambiguous: conjure a fire from thin air, read a given individual’s surface thoughts, transform raw Mana into tass. Some trials allow for slightly more wiggle room, though. While a dog can be made to act in ways contrary to its behavior with the Mind Arcanum, such a result can also be accomplished with the Life Arcanum, using gross bodily control and even, if the mage has a tremendous sense of finesse, with the Forces Arcanum, through telekinesis. Ultimately, though, few Consilii that use these trials advertise what they are ahead of time, meaning that the would-be cheater needs to be quick-thinking and crafty in order to pull it off.
In many cases it requires less skill and effort to just learn the magic you are supposed to!
The 13 Practices within the Game
Remember, mages actually have to shell out experience points to purchase rotes, meaning that almost no willworker is equally proficient at all of the magics at her command. Some mages choose to concentrate on Fate rotes, for instance, trusting in their raw Gnosis + Arcanum for other spell effects. You can, however, take this one step further, bringing the out-of-game mechanic into the story in a meaningful way that serves to illustrate the importance of the 13 Practices, and the ways in which the Awakened see them and those that develop great proficiency with them.
Perhaps a willworker in your game is particularly talented at Perfecting magics of the Arcanum of Space. Player characters who want to learn such magics (perhaps secret, personal tricks that the mage in question knows exclusively) would have to go to her and bargain for her tutelage. Conversely, a player character who devotes himself to, say, the Veiling magics of the Death Arcanum might find his services in demand, as other willworkers, younger and older alike, come to him to benefit by his expertise. Some may be seeking education from a locally renowned practitioner of Veiling, while others may be looking for advice or lore, whether in a general or specific sense.
If a mage’s fame as a student of a given Practice ranges far enough, others might be enticed to travel in order to meet her. Perhaps the player characters have run afoul of a powerful Seer of the Throne, whose command of Patterning spells for the Mind Arcanum is far and away beyond their ability to cope with. If they hear tales of a Master of that Arcanum, however, who is rumored to be as skilled, if not more so, with the Practice of Patterning, they might be able to get some pointers from him (and perhaps a situational bonus, at the Storyteller’s discretion) if they are willing to chance a journey to a foreign Consilium.
Certain ancient sites, perhaps even dating back to the Atlantean exodus, are believed to have been sealed up or otherwise protected with puzzles that used the 13 Practices as a guide. Imagine a tense journey through a cyclopean ruin, in which the characters are forced to riddle their way through deadly traps and past nightmarish guardians using their command of the Practices, sometimes in very counterintuitive ways. Such dangers serve to demonstrate that the 13 Practices are not just a pointless intellectual exercise for the Awakened; to them, the Practices are a set of universal axioms, stablishing a hierarchy that assists in making sense of phenomena alien to the Fallen World. Any seeming flaw in the 13 Practices is a failing on the part of the Awakened, and not the Practices themselves. Without the 13 Practices, all mages have is a mishmash of various spells, completely without any kind of order or structure.
Custom Merit: Practice Proficiency (Arcanum, Practice) OO or OOOO
Adds +1 or +2 to any spell casting with a specified Ruling Arcanum's specified Practice
Wisdom & Power
Mages who maintain the path of Wisdom tend to use whatever magics are most appropriate for the task at hand, if any. (Bearing in mind, of course, the fact that even the wisest willworkers occasionally make mistakes.) They usually use the power of the Arcana sparingly, and often use spells of the least powerful Practice necessary to get the job done right. If they need a plague of flies
while out in the wilderness, they use the Life Arcanum magics of the Practice of Ruling, rather than those of Making. Both Practices, in such a case, can accomplish the same effect, but the use of the latter is simply a gross display of power.
Among willworkers who abandon Wisdom for the way of hubris, however, there are no universally abused Practices. Some, less subtle, Awakened turn to the brutal magics of Fraying, Unraveling and Unmaking, raining down destruction, where once they used their powers to mend and create. Others come to see themselves as demigods upon the Fallen World, and shamelessly indulge themselves through the Practices of Patterning and Making, reshaping their environments in ways pleasing to them, heedless of the consequences. Some vanish from the sight of the Sleepers and the Awakened alike, concealing themselves behind layers of paranoia and Veiling enchantments, becoming things halfway between urban myth and forgotten legends.
The most important thing to keep in mind as a willworker falls away from the tenets of Wisdom is that she tends to begin to use her magics indiscriminately. When a wise mage casts a vulgar Patterning spell, she usually tries to do so away from the eyes of Sleepers, and in such a way that minimizes the risk to herself and others. A mage who has embraced hubris might instead cast the same Patterning spell without regard for who is present, and heedless of the consequences of doing so, confident in her power and her ability to deal with anything that might come of her careless use of magic. Likewise, a willworker capable of using Veiling magics to vanish from sight may try to create a distraction or otherwise move away from others before doing so, if he is wise. If not, it is likely that he will use his power to disappear whenever he feels it necessary, or even convenient, to do so. In the extreme, mages who have fallen far into the trap of hubris use magics of all Practices to accomplish nearly any task, at any time. They stop seeing the Sleepers around them and, thrilling to the sensations of the Supernal World coursing through them as they cast, unconsciously attempting to become a microcosm of that world — to eventual and inevitable disastrous effect.
Also important to note is the effect that Virtue and Vice have on mages of varying levels of Wisdom. A low-Wisdom mage tends to use magics that reinforce his Vice. Thus, a mage given to displays of Wrath might turn to Unraveling magics of the Forces Arcanum in order to display his displeasure, while one given to Greed uses Patterning and even Making magics of the Matter Arcanum to create beautiful things, swindle others and otherwise make herself wealthy. Conversely, a high-Wisdom willworker often uses magics that demonstrate her dedication to her Virtue. A mage devoted to the principles of Charity, for instance, may use Ruling and Perfecting effects of the Life Arcanum to mend the hurts of others and cure them of illness.
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