[Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition] Lost Crafts

Out of Character (OOC):

Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen

Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition

Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler

Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum

Supernal Materials

Perfected Metallurgy

My comments are in yellow and are regarding my reviews of the system and my own personal and Storyteller's perspective recommendations for use in our Chronicle. 

Sources: The original design of the following materials were created by Mathew Hagen & Korri Smith.

Part III. Lost Craft

Amalgam: Teratosine

By mystically merging perfected silver and perfected mercury, a mage may create a consumable fluid that bestows remarkable protean abilities for a short time. Unfortunately, the liquid is also extremely toxic and instantly fatal to Sleepers. 

Description: Teratosine is an extremely reflective liquid, obviously metallic. It smells vaguely of ozone, and has no taste, and is slick to the touch, but leaves behind no residue. Strangely, it is non-conductive and non-magnetic; one could carry some through a metal detector without triggering any alarms.

Creation (Matter 4 + Life 4): The creation of teratosine is relatively simple; one needs to simply cast a combined Matter 4 + Life 4 spell upon a mass of lunargent and hermium. The spell creates a number of draughts equal to Potency. Reach +2 can make the Amalgam Lasting.

Benefits: After drinking a draught of teratosine, the imbiber gains the ability to change his shape as a reflexive action. The forms he takes are not limited to those found in the natural world; indeed, his body seems to become living liquid metal, capable of shrinking and expanding (may assume any Size from 2 to 10), morphing into any tool or weapon (automatic +5 equipment bonus to any task that could benefit from using tools), or mimicking any person, animal or object he can imagine (Intelligence + Subterfuge for people, Intelligence + Animal Ken for animals, or Intelligence + Crafts for objects), as long as they fit within his size constraints. Additionally, his amorphous form is incredibly resistant to physical damage (immune to bashing, heals 1 lethal per turn). These effects last for a scene, unless the imbiber dies first (see below). Finally, it may have additional effects if the imbiber already possesses some method of changing forms, such as werewolves and some vampires.

Drawbacks: Teratosine is deadly. It has a toxicity of 10, and there is no known method of treatment. Even magic of the Life Arcanum is relatively impotent in deflecting the worst of its effects; only supernatural creatures seem inured to its lethality, and even then, only to a certain degree. Even the undead succumb to the destructive effects of the poison. Every round after consumption, the character must make a Stamina + Gnosis roll until he accumulates 10 successes. Until 10 successes are gained, however, he takes 10 points of lethal damage per round (this cannot be healed by teratosine’s restorative properties). If the imbiber dies while under the effects of teratosine, his body melts into a puddle of mercury, with no traces of anything organic left behind.


True Jade

Jade has always been regarded as a purifying mineral. The myths and legends that predate history hold that this green stone can remove bad luck and keep evil spirits at bay. The truth is far grander and tragic. The jade that is found among the stones of the Fallen World have lost all such protective qualities. There are those who know the secret ways of calling forth true jade, which can cleanse the stains of Awakened hubris.

Description: Most know jade as a green semiprecious soft stone found naturally in the earth. Supernally grown jade, however, comes in a variety of hues. All jade has a translucent sheen, and Supernally created jade seems to shimmer with an inner glow. Each color corresponds to a Supernal realm, embodying the purity of the higher Truths, defying the corruption of the Abyss. The magical tradition of Taoism also associates each color with one of the five Eastern elements, blue for wood, red for fire, yellow for earth, white for metal, and black for water (see Magical Traditions p. 47 for more on Taoism). Green jade that is found naturally is actually inert jade, possibly created during the Time Before.

Creation (Path Arcana 3): The act of creating jade is perhaps one of the most hubristic (albeit humbling) acts a mage can perform. She must open a portal to the Supernal realm of her Watchtower while within a demense attuned to that realm. The demense must also contain a potent Hallow. While the portal is open, she must then summon forth a Supernal being. By treaty, guile or force (which is a Wisdom 2 sin if taken against the will of the Supernal being), she must then draw the blood of the Supernal entity and spill it on the ground surrounding the hallow. Left there, it will begin to crystalize, growing into the gleaming colored stone over time. To nurture its growth, the nascent jade will consume the prime energy of the hallow until it has reached its maturity. It may then be harvested and put to use.  When the blood is spilled the entity rolls its Rank.  Successes determine the potency of the Jade.

Benefits: The primary application of jade is to purify the fallen world of Abyssal corruption. When used as a channel for Supernal magic as a dedicated magical tool, it reduces the paradox of any spells cast through it by -2. This can reduce the paradox dice pool to zero, at which point no chance die is rolled, as it perfectly purifies the supernal energy. Additionally, if the magic drawn through it is of the specific Arcana (listed under Purifies) that follows the productive cycle of elements, as shown below, the caster may choose to further reduce the paradox of the spell by its potency. However, each time a piece of jade is used in this manner, it reduces the potency by one, until it becomes a piece of inert green jade at potency zero.

Attuned Jade also offers a passive benefit beyond absolving paradox; it provides its bearer a minor protection against the gross emanations of its controlling elemental realm (+1 to resistance against the Gross Arcana of its listed Path).

These benefits do not stack the more pieces of jade a bearer has attuned.

Additionally, there are passive benefits that are magical in nature (but do not count against spell tolerance), and do not manifest when supernal magic would provide similar benefits. They do, however, stack with appropriate merits. They are outlined in the table below.

Color	Element	Path	Purifies	Passive Benefit
Blue	Wood	Obrimos	Mind and Space	+potency to resisting poisons, venoms and suffocation
Red	Fire	Mastigos	Death and Matter	+potency allowed action on extended rolls
Yellow	Earth	Moros	Fate and Time	+potency bonus to resist any mundane social manipulations
White	Metal	Acanthus	Life and Spirit	+potency bonus on any Wisdom checks
Black	Water	Thyrsus	Forces and Prime	+potency bonus to Speed

Finally, jade has an intangible but powerful effect on resonance. If placed strategically, such as in a ley-line node or a hallow, it will gradually scrub negative resonance from the areas affected. It is often places around sanctums to prevent the buildup or intrusion of any emotional or hostile essence, whether from being in a bad neighborhood or from sharing the sacred space with angry cabalmates. There is no mechanical benefit to this, but the Storyteller should flavor his description of the environment appropriately, keeping in mind the element and Supernal realm to which the jade is attuned.

Special: Certain cabals that follow the precepts of Taoist tradition, primarily based in the Far East, have developed medicinal uses for the various colors of jade.


True Adamant (Adamantine Objects)

Description: Adamant is the platonic form of diamonds and crystalline supersolids infused with the power of the soul.  They are infinitely and fractially complex and unique.

Creation: The creation of Adamant is an arduous and involved process, befitting any working of the soul. The first step is preparing the vessel. Adamant is a fusion of a natural diamond (which cannot be created by science or magic) and a Soulstone. To prepare the diamond vessel, it must be cut perfectly to resonate with the Soulstone which will inhabit it. This involves knowing both the true nature of the Soulstone and the requisite shape of the gemstone. Any Soulstone may be used, but using another living mage’s Soulstone is a Wisdom 1 sin, while using one’s own Soulstone is a Wisdom 4 sin. Using a Soulstone that belongs to a now-deceased mage is not a Wisdom sin, and is currently the only accepted practice (of those that know the secret).

Once understanding has been achieved, the two stones must be harmonized. Either the diamond must be accurately and precisely reshaped, by hand or by magic, or the soul must undergo a metamorphosis to reflect the current condition of the gem. After the stones are compatible, the vessel must be primed to receive the soul fragment.

Priming the diamond requires casting, in succession, an Unveiling spell from each Arcana (requiring at least one dot in each Arcana). These spells may not be part of a combined casting; they must be cast individually. They may, however, be cast ritually with a properly synergistic cabal, should the primary caster lack the understanding of the Arcana involved (teamwork rolls for spellcasting are used in this case). The difficulty is in sustaining each spell, due to the limitations a mage has in controlling his spells.  Unfortunately, as a ritually synergistic cabal shares the burden of controlling all the spells they have cast together, they cannot alleviate the high Gnosis requirement.

With the stones properly harmonized, and the vessel primed, it is a simple thing to join the two. They must each be placed into a basin of perfected water and they are joined.

Benefits:

Adamant is unbreakable. No known magic or physical force can alter its shape in any way, embodying as it does the true form of the soul shard.

However, Adamant may be consumed in an all but forgotten process to “lubricate” the reacquisition of a Soulstone into a mage’s soul. The use of Adamant in this way allows a mage to return his own Soulstone to its rightful place without the requisite cost in Gnosis. Reabsorbing a Soulstone that has itself been refined into Adamant requires the use of a separate piece of Adamant to facilitate the reclamation.

In every way, Adamant also acts as a Soulstone, with three notable additions. First, Adamant knows no master; even if the Soulstone used to create the Adamant did not belong to the mage using it, it acts as if it were his, and can be used as a dedicated magical tool and to neutralize paradox.

Secondly, in lieu of absorbing your own paradox, you may use a piece of Adamant to absorb another’s paradox once per scene, determined after the paradox pool has been rolled but before it manifests.

Finally, Adamant has no sympathy, even if its soul donor is still alive.

If the mage who brought forth the Soulstone was a member of a Legacy when the Adamant was created, then the Adamant contains the seed of understanding necessary to refine one’s soul similarly. The donor’s Legacy may be learned by any who study the Adamant shard as if it were a Daemonopticon, ignoring the limitations of Path and Order prerequisites. This is the equivalent of creating or rediscovering a Legacy, with appropriate Gnosis requirements.

Note - An Atlantean Highborn’s soul is incompatible with this procedure: neither may he learn a Legacy from Adamant, nor may others ‘learn’ to be an Exile by examining it. Alternatively, a soul mod may gleaned by intensive study.

As a final benefit, Adamant is potentially one of the most dangerous and destructive materials known to the Awakened. There is a reason that the warriors of forgotten Atlantis are known as Adamantine Arrows; weapons crafted primarily of Adamant (and due to the generally small size Adamant, the only viable weapons that can be made are arrowheads) are exceedingly rare. When the diamond is shaped to the soul, it may take any number of forms, but only in very special circumstances is that shape an arrowhead. It is then more reasonable to shape the soul to fit the diamond. This is the source of the title of Adamant Sage; in ancient Atlantis, the soul of the perfect soldier was the only one suitable to hold the shape of the First City’s greatest weapon. They always do aggravated damage, and they also ignore all armor and durability; there is no stopping an Adamantine Arrow once it has been loosed.

Rumors persist of the lost art of using Adamant or Soul Stones as Golem cores and magical batteries for constructs.

Primium

Description:  Light as aluminum, non-conductive, non-corrosive, flexible but virtually unbreakable, it has the color of highly polish Bronze and seems to glow with a bronze coloration

Creation (Matter 5): Alloy of Lunargent (magically rarefied silver) and Orichelcum (magically rarefied gold) created with magic and a Nuclear Furnace… with methods lost since the immediate post-3^rd Age timeline.  Creating it takes powerful Matter mastery spells to re-arrange the molecules of both metals to combine them along with the supernal truth of nuclear fission (not fusion) to make them mesh together as a byproduct of splitting atoms.

To attempt to create this material in the modern age would require a mage to construct a nuclear power plant with a blast furnace chamber capable of sustaining temperatures akin to the surface of the sun.

Benefits:

In clothing:  Each point of Primium adds +1 Armor to any material it is added to that exceeds its normal cap and stacks with mundane and magical armor. Each dot adds +1 to Counterspell rolls made by the wearer. Each point adds +1 durability to the materials it is worked into

In weapons:  Weapons made with it do Aggravated damage to vampires (from Orichelcum’s association with the sun) and werewolves (from Lunargent’s association with the moon).  It can effect beings in Twilight and does regular corpus damage to spirits and ghosts and most incorporeal supernatural creatures.

Want more? In ancient texts it mentions the hyperadvanced material called Mendaxium.  Also Temples of the mysterious Time Before are sometimes composed of materials called Adamas, indestructible and bursting with magic their creation has been lost to time.  It is said only Archmasters of Matter and possibly Prime can make them.  There is also Perfect Aperion, a material made by Archamaster Moros that can take on any properties it needs.

[Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition] Supernal Materials

Out of Character (OOC):

Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen

Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition

Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler

Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum

Supernal Materials

Perfected Metallurgy

 My comments are in yellow and are regarding my reviews of the system and my own personal and Storyteller's perspective recommendations for use in our Chronicle. 

Sources: The following text, as written in grey, is straight out of the Mage: The Awakening 2nd edition open development for Signs of Sorcery.  The original design of our Perfected substances was created by Mathew Hagen & Korri Smith.

Additional explanation is in this font, when it helps drive the concepts home.

Part II: More Perfected Materials

Supernal Alloys

The Perfected metals are inert and do not react or alloy with other metals or elements without magical assistance, except in the case of hermium, which can alloy with any of the other Perfected metals to create amalgams. After experimenting with hermium, ancient mages developed spells to artificially alloy the Perfected metals as well, although these alloys are distinct from hermium-based amalgams. Magical alloys of Perfected metals have distinct properties and lose the base properties of the metals that go into creating them. 

New Spell: Forge Thaumium (Matter ••••) 

Practice: Patterning 

Primary Factor: Duration
Cost: 1 Mana
Suggested Rote Skills: Crafts, Occult, Survival

This spell combines Perfected metals into a single metal which is resistant to magic. Called “thaumium” (from the Greek word for “wonder” or “marvel”), this material is forged from an alloy of orichalcum, lunargent and hermium. The object created by this spell is Durability 1 and has the ability to hold one point of Mana, which it spends to shield against magic. Potency may be allocated, one for one, to increasing Durability or Mana capacity. For purposes of the spell’s Scale factor, the alloy has the same Size as the three component metals combined. 

+2 Reach: The spell’s effect is Lasting.

Benefit: As long as a thaumium item has Mana stored in it, it protects its wielder from Supernal magic. Any spell cast at the wielder provokes a Clash of Wills, unless the wielder chooses to allow the spell. The dice pool for the Clash of Wills is equal to the item’s creator’s Gnosis + Matter at the time of casting this spell. Whenever used to Clash, the object expends 1 Mana. Mages can refill the item’s Mana supply using the Prime spell “Channel Mana.”

Add Any Other Arcanum ••: The thaumium object can protect against other kinds of magic, provided they fall under the Arcanum’s purview: For example, Death can protect against ghostly Numina and Manifestations.

New Spell: Forge Sophis (Matter ••••) 

Practice: Patterning
Primary Factor: Duration
Cost: 1 Mana
Suggested Rote Skills: Crafts, Occult, Science

This spell combines Perfected metals into a single metal which scavenges Mana. Called “sophis” (from the Greek word for “wisdom”), this material is forged from an alloy of apeiron, brontium and hermium. The object created by this spell is Durability 1 and has the ability to hold one point of Mana. Potency may be allocated, one for one, to increasing Durability or Mana capacity. For purposes of the spell’s Scale factor, the alloy has the same Size as the three component metals combined. 

+2 Reach: The spell’s effect is Lasting.

Benefit: The first time someone holding the object forged with sophis spends Mana in a scene, the item absorbs one point of spent Mana. This does not change Mana costs, but instead scavenges the spent Mana before it dissipates. Mages can absorb the item’s Mana supply using the Prime spell “Channel Mana.”


New Spell: Forge Dumanium (Matter ••••) 

Practice: Patterning
Primary Factor: Duration
Cost: 1 Mana
Suggested Rote Skills: Crafts, Expression, Persuasion

This spell combines Perfected metals into a single metal which scavenges Mana. Called “dumanium” (from the Greek word for “power” or “strength”), this material is forged from an alloy of kassiterum and siderite. The object created by this spell is Durability 1, and has the ability to hold one point of Mana. Potency may be allocated, one for one, to increasing Durability, Mana capacity, or equipment bonus (to a maximum of +5). For purposes of the spell’s Scale factor, the alloy has the same Size as the three component metals combined. 

+2 Reach: The spell’s effect is Lasting.

Benefit: If the dumanium object is a weapon, the wielder can use the item’s stored Mana to make the weapon’s damage aggravated for a single attack. This is a reflexive action requiring one Mana from the dumanium weapon’s stores. Dumanium must be Size 3 or more to act as effective armor. The mage can allocate Potency into armor made this way for 1/1 armor, instead of equipment bonus (to a maximum of 5/5). Mages can absorb the item’s Mana supply using the Prime spell “Channel Mana.”

Electrum Magicum
Said to require all seven Perfected Metals, no information is available on its arcana requirements or magical properties.
Amalgams
Hermium is capable of forming an amalgam with any of the other perfected metals. The resulting amalgams retain the Supernal properties of both of the combined metals. As the amalgam forms, the metal transitions to a liquid state, then hardens into a firm state. Softer metals, such as orichalcum and apeiron become harder than normal when formed into an amalgam with hermium. In many cases, these amalgams are formed for the sole purpose of shaping one or both of the metals into a specific shape. 

Other Perfected Materials
Of all the Perfected materials, the Orders hold the most lore about the seven classical metals and their Perfected forms, but these are not the only semi-Supernal substances the Awakened have attempted to create. Despite many attempts, attempting to Perfect an alloy fails without a subject mostly composed of one of the seven metals, and then the process simply yields that one metals’ Perfected form. Centuries of research have revealed that other compounds associated with the different Supernal Realms have their own Perfected forms, but are harder to create. These Perfected materials are better than their mundane counterparts similar to the Perfected metals, but they do not carry the same benefits to enchanting, though they also give the 9-again quality to spellcasting when used as a Path Tool.

The following are only a few examples of Perfected materials. The Storyteller should feel free to invent others:

Perfected Acid

Perfected acid is completely corrosive. Mundane containers cannot contain it in aqueous form, as its protons dissociate even the most stable substances. A single drop of perfected acid can create explosive effects with normally reactive substances. 

Pure Fire

Perfected fire is pure white in color and super-heated, though the size of the fire does not increase with perfecting. This intense fire burns oxygen rapidly, and burns for under a minute when in an enclosed space, removing all oxygen from the area, then going out. If touched, the fire deals aggravated damage that ignores armor, and counts as a fire of twice its actual size.




Perfected Gemstones

Certain perfected gemstones look no different than the mundane variety. Most contain a perfect color and clarity not found in nature. The stones are harder than their mundane counterparts. 

Adamant (Perfected Glass)

Perfected glass, or “Adamant,” is perfectly translucent and does not refract light passing through it at all, making it nearly impossible to see. It is extremely hard and resistant to impact. Weapons made of mundane materials do not even scratch the surface. Diamonds can cut it, and so can many of the perfected metals. 

Rumors persist of a special Supernal material called True Adamant, the unbreakable substance of lore, supposedly made from Archmastery, Soulstones, or other sorcery.

Perfected Leather

Perfected leather is soft and pliable, but extremely sturdy. Items made of the material absorb shock perfectly granting immunity to crushing or bashing blows. The material can be punctured with enough force from say a bullet, though. 

Perfected Mirrors

A perfected mirror reflects images perfectly without distorting the image or the color. 

Pure Earth (Stone)
Stone Perfected stone is more durable and dense than mundane stone. Structures built of perfected stone have a +1 Durability. 

Alkahest (Water)

Water Perfected water, or “Alkahest” serves as a true universal solvent, able to dissolve any other substance, except other perfected materials. 

Perfected Wood

Perfected Wood is both supple enough to carve easily and hard enough to prevent breakage or scratching from most mundane weapons. It does not burn easily, requires extremely high temperatures to combust. 

Sulvarium (Perfected Sulfur)

Sulvarium is an agent of limited but potent use in a number of alchemical formulae. It takes its name from the Sanskrit word sulvari, meaning sulfur.  In its basic form, sulvarium is a translucent yellow crystal. It is often believed that sulvarium glows in the dark, but this is not strictly accurate; the substance will reflect and refract any oncoming light to the point where even a faint hint of luminescence produces a strong glow within the crystal. The crystals thus glow in any light with a bright yellow hue. Contrary to popular expectation, sulvarium doesn’t have any smell.  Sulvarium by itself does not have any known magical properties. Centuries of painstaking research have revealed only that pure sulvarium is unhelpful in any one of thousands of magical practices applied to it. Sulvarium compounds, however, are another matter, and two such compounds are reasonably well known to Forge Masters and alchemists who study perfected matter.

Sulvaric acid is a clear liquid with an incredibly sharp and potent smell. It is made, as with its mundane counterpart, sulfuric acid, with hydrogen, oxygen, and sulvarium; scientifically minded mages give it the formula H2SuO4. Sulvaric acid is extremely potent, far more so than sulfuric acid. Storage of such acid requires magically treated glass, and great care must be taken in handling it, as it will burn a hole through the whole of a person’s limb in under a second. Even the odour of sulvaric acid is harmful; the smell does considerable damage to the olfactory organs and anyone who takes a deep sniff of the stuff may not be able to smell properly for days. The substance has some alchemical uses, and is also very handy for destroying dangerous or incriminating things such as Abyssal daimonomica, items used in crimes, and even whole corpses.

Phaethon powder is a mixture of sulvarium, charcoal, and potassium nitrate. It is a fine, sand-like powder, but is completely black, barely even reflecting the strongest light. Phaethon powder was discovered by a Viennese mystagogue in the Renaissance, and is famous for destroying the same mage’s entire sanctum and apprentice (the latter was tinkering in the mystagogue’s lab while he was away on Consilium business). Even the slightest pinch of phaethon powder explodes in a manner comparable to a hand grenade, and most mages are afraid to test the exact potency of larger quantities of powder. Again, phaethon powder is useful in a few alchemic reactions. Some Arrow mages use it in impromptu grenades. Rumours persist of a phaethon powder cannon or musket; however, such a thing would probably have to be made of another perfected substance like siderite to prevent the reaction from simply blasting the firearm apart.

Other uses are known to exist, but they are not as widely known as the above two. A number of Awakened laboratories are believed to use sulvarium-based detergents to clean up after their experiments. It's occasionally seen used in sulfur lamps. At least one mage claims it makes a highly effective pesticide, potent even against lesser Abyssal manifestations. Mysterium and Free Council studies into the nature of sulvarium continue, but most sulvarium compounds are a little unstable and are thus quite difficult to work with. Most experiments require the crystals be smashed into fine powder before usage, but even this is a risky proposition. At least one mage has been killed in this manner when a crystal exploded upon being struck in the wrong place. Mages advise experimenting on sulvarium powder in cool conditions and where there is no possibility of a spark. Other mages simply say experimenting on sulvarium isn't worth the risk and effort. 

Perfected Living Materials

The concept of using a physical piece of a person in spellcasting is one from ancient times. The best way to establish a sympathetic link to someone is to use magic like “Borrow Threads” to take that of a physical representation, such as some of their blood or a piece of their body. Physical forms hold power for many reasons, and not just because of the sympathetic ties involved. Blood, bone, and flesh have more than a sympathetic tie to their donors, and have long been incorporated into ritual castings, usually in the form of sacrifice. 

Once an organic material has been separated from the body, it is no longer a part of the person, but its own substance. A tooth is no more the person it came from than a strip of leather is the cow. Yet, somehow the tooth of a human carries more significance in a magical ritual than that of a canine. Scholars believe that because the human mind is sensitive to the Lie and feels the pull of the Supernal that it carries more magical weight than any other creature. It could simply be a matter of higher intelligence; the truth is inconsequential to the outcome. 

The most potent organic substances are those imminently separated from the host. A spell or ritual is more likely to call for a blood sacrifice, a burned body, or a ritual dismemberment than a long dead bone. This kind of magic is gruesome and not for the faint of heart. It is often relegated to Left Handed groups, the work of the Mad or liches. Despite the taboo of ritual sacrifice, mages have a large body of research on the various uses of organic materials. Experiments on substances after death, or donated for research have led to a few discoveries, mostly reinforcing the idea that the use of these materials should be shunned. 

Organics have a tie to the Supernal giving them a potent quality on their own, but they can also be Perfected much like other materials. The problem lies in the fact that the substance cannot be separated from a person for more than a few minutes before they become dead, symbolically speaking, and the Perfecting spell results in Perfected bone, leather, or wood. Other substances such as hair and blood don’t have a Perfected form at all once dead — or at least, not one known outside specialist Legacies. The only way to get perfected blood or flesh is to cast Hone the Perfected Form at the exact time of separation of these substances from a living host which is an act of hubris against Falling Wisdom. For this reason, the use of Perfected living materials in crafting is limited. Few mages are comfortable knowing the imbued item they are using required someone to be flayed alive to make. Even fewer are willing to do the deed necessary to make the item.

Benefit: Despite the gruesome implications, Perfected living materials hold a wealth of uses in the crafting of magical items. Perfected living material offer a +1 tool Yantra on spells to enhance or imbue themselves, and if incorporated into Yantras grant the 9-again quality on the spellcasting roll. More importantly, the material does not die unless reverted to its mundane form; a grimoire bound in Perfected skin registers as alive to Life spells and Mage Sight. All items crafted with a Perfected living material gain a +1 to the Durability, regardless if it holds any magical enchantments. Ritual casting times for rotes cast from Grimoires written in Perfected blood, or recorded on Perfected flesh, are normal instead of doubled. Despite the best efforts of many liches, whole life forms (including mages) cannot be turned into Perfected flesh, only parts carefully excised.

Perfected Bone:

Bone as a material is connected to Stygia, and does not follow the same rules as the other organics. It is the only organic material which can be Perfected well after the death of the donor. For that matter, there is no need for the bone to be of human origin. Old or non-human bone has properties more akin to other materials with connections to the Supernal Realms and is not inherently magical. It is harder than normal bone, and holds an edge much like steel. 

Perfected Banes

Many supernatural beings — including all ephemeral, Supernal, and Abyssal entities — have weaknesses to substances or forces. From a ghost unwilling to touch salt, to a high-Rank spirit of corruption that may be slain by a consecrated, silver dagger, to vampires’ legendary allergy to sunlight, mages have long experience of using materials, sometimes formed with magic, to fend off monsters while pursuing the Mysteries. And sooner or later, every young mage dealing with a werewolf wonders what a lunargent weapon would do. The result is both more and less than most apprentices imagine. 

Benefit: Perfected materials count as their mundane counterparts with regard to if a creature counts them as its bane. They don’t do extra damage or have any other greater effect beyond any special rules for the material, but they do discard all other qualifiers a bane might have. If a spirit is only vulnerable to a consecrated, silver, dagger, any lunargent object will affect it as a bane. This extends beyond simple weaknesses of monsters, too — if an artifact can only be melted in dragon’s fire, Perfected flame will do the trick.