IMBUED ITEM: REDUX

An UnoffIcIal GuIde for creatIng Imbued Items In

Mage: The AwakenIngImbued Item Merit and Spell written by White Wolf/CCP North America and first appeared in Mind's Eye Theatre: The Awakening by Eddy Webb (WW50003, available at http://www.drivethrurpg.com) and Mage: The Awakening by Bill Bridges et al. (WW40000, ISBN 1-58846-418-0, also available at http://www.drivethrurpg.com). Enchanting Failure rules written by White Wolf/CCP North America

and first appeared in Tome of the Mysteries (WW40302, ISBN 1-58846-429-6, available at http://www.drivethrurpg.com). Imbued Item merit, Imbue Item spell, and Enchanting Failure rules

reprinted with modification by Ryan Cape without permission. Sincere apologies for that, but Imbue Item as written was non-functional and desperately needed an overhaul. All revisions are (obviously)

unofficial and unsupported by White Wolf/CCP North America.

All other optional rules and material written by Ryan Cape. Use freely in your tabletop, LARP, and chat games, but give credit where it's due. A picture next to the register and a beer if I'm in town should be

sufficient. Direct all comments, questions, or legal action from White Wolf/CCP North America to ryancape@hotmail.com.

Reference Legend:MtA – Mage: The AwakeningToM – Tome of the Mysteries

FC – Free CouncilAA – Adamantine Arrow

Arm – World of Darkness: Armory

If you can read this sentence, I urge you to get out

more.

RevisionsThe following merit is a total replacement for the Imbued Item merit (p. 84, MtA) while the

following spell is a total replacement for the Imbue Item spell (Prime 3, p. 225, MtA). Any references to the Imbued Item merit or Imbue Item spell in this document refer to these new versions.

Imbued Item (●● or higher)Effect: Your mage possesses an item with one or more magical powers. The Prime Arcanum

and possibly others were used to imbue one or more spells into the object.An imbued item's base Merit dot cost is equal to one dot plus the rating of the item's Arcanum

power, plus one dot per additional power, plus one dot if one or more of the item's powers are persistent, plus one dot if the imbued item has its own Mana pool. If the imbued item has more than one power or uses a conjunctional spell, use the highest Arcanum rating involved to determine its cost.

Imbued items have the following properties.Function: Imbued item powers are considered to be either persistent or contingent. They are

spells that have been encoded into an item. Reflexive action spells are not eligible for Imbuing; the spell to be imbued must be an extended action spell or an instant action spell that the imbuer is capable of casting as an extended action.

A persistent power is always active. The power is not cast by the user to take effect; he simply needs to touch, hold, wear, or generally wield the item. The power cannot be turned on or off. Only spells with a base duration of prolonged may be made into persistent powers. Making a single power persistent adds an additional 3 successes to the target number if created via Imbue Item, or 1 dot to its total cost if being purchased at character generation. As per the Imbue Item spell, the power will still expire at the end of that spell's duration, so this is generally only done with spells that the imbuer can cast with an indefinite duration. Any spell whose effects are contested or resisted by the target are inappropriate as persistent effects and should be contingent powers instead. Some Lasting duration spells may be placed on an item independently of the Imbue Item spell (such as Alter Integrity), but they are generally inappropriate as persistent powers.

A contingent power needs to be activated for each use by the use of a trigger (one contingent power may be used per turn). A trigger is a pre-defined instant action performed within the proximity of the item: command words, gestures, and so on. When the trigger is used, the player tests with the item's spellcasting pool, which is equal to its wielder's Gnosis + the Arcanum dot rating used to determine the item's Merit dots (based on the highest rated power as described above) OR if the item was created in game, the relevant Arcanum rating of the imbuer at the time of the item's creation. The Potency generated by such a test cannot exceed the Potency of the Imbue Item spell itself. The effect's Duration depends on the default Duration of the spell the power mimics, which is usually transitory (one turn) or prolonged (one hour or one scene). Once the Duration expires, the mage may activate the power again. Lasting duration spells are generally more appropriate as contingent powers (such as Psychic Assault and Healing Heart).

Mana: If a power requires Mana, the item either must have its own Mana pool or the wielder must supply the Mana himself. Giving the imbued item its own Mana pool adds an additional 3 successes to the target number if created in game, or costs an additional Merit dot if bought at character generation. The imbued item then holds up to 10 Mana points + 1 per imbued spell, and the user can draw Mana from the imbued item to fuel its powers rather than using his own. This pool is not self-replenishing – once the points are used up, the mage must either spend his own Mana to fuel its powers or use appropriate Prime magic to replenish the item's reservoir. Unlike an Artifact, an imbued item's points can be used only to activate its powers unless the mage uses the Prime Arcanum to place the item's Mana somewhere else.

Spell Tolerance: Imbued Items follow the normal rules for Spell Accumulation (p. 128, MtA).Sleepers: Sleepers can use imbued items – he only has to perform the proper trigger. The

spellcasting test pool is equal to the highest Arcanum dot rating used to determine the Imbued Item's Merit dots (as described above) OR if the item was made in game, the highest relevant Arcanum of the creator at the time of the item's creation. Sleepers must relay on an item's Mana pool to fuel its powers.

Paradox: Vulgar powers in an imbued item can invoke Paradoxes, even when used by Sleepers. Paradox tests for vulgar effects are based on the Gnosis of the wielder at the time the Merit was purchased and not the current Gnosis of the wielder. If the item was made in game, the base Paradox pool is based on the Gnosis of the creator at the time of the item's creation. Sleepers are considered to be Gnosis 1 for purposes of imbued items purchased as Merits, but cannot mitigate the Paradox or choose to take backlash (see “Invoking a Paradox,” p. 123, MtA). Items that produce vulgar effects in front of Sleeper witnesses (including a Sleeper wielder) will also invoke Disbelief (p. 274, MtA). The wielder of the item is considered the caster for purposes of Paradox effects.

An item can be both enhanced and imbued – see “Enhanced Item” (p. 82, MtA). If an item is both enhanced and imbued, simply add the cost of both the Enhanced Item and Imbued Item Merits together to determine the item's total Merit cost.

Characters can spend Merit points for an imbued item only at character creation. After that, characters can gain an imbued item only through in-game actions but acquiring one does not require the expenditure of experience points for dots in this Merit. If an imbued item is ever lost, stolen or destroyed, the player loses any Merit points he spent to gain it.

Imbue Item (Prime ●●●)The mage can imbue an object with one or more spells, sharing the supernal load on his pattern

with the pattern of the object and making that spell's power available to anyone who wields the object.Practice: WeavingAction: ExtendedDuration: Prolonged (one scene)Aspect: SpecialCost: 1 Mana per spell, plus one for an item with a Mana store (plus normal Mana

expenditures for each spell encoded)Imbued items are given one or more magical powers. Effectively, any mage who uses

the imbued item gains the benefits of its spells even though he did not cast them. Seethe Imbued Item Merit, above for details on the capabilities of Imbued Items.

The mage must be able to cast the spell that he wants to imbue as an extended action. If he cannot, the spell is not a valid candidate for imbuing into an item. The spell's target number is determined as if he were casting that spell as an extended action. The factors of all spells to be imbued (including the Potency and Duration of the “Imbue Item” spell as well as the Potency, Duration, Area, and Targeting factors for every spell involved) are combined to find the total successes needed for the “Imbue Item” casting, but each spell is cast one after another as part of the Imbue Item ritual. Only the mage casting “Imbue Item” can cast the spells to be imbued into the item. However, he may use the normal rules for group rituals (p. 129, MtA), and if he and his helpers possess the Ritual Synergy merit (p. 74, ToM) at a sufficient level they may be able to get around this restriction.

Imbue Item is an exception to the rules regarding spell factors in that extra targeting factors cannot be used with the Imbue Item spell itself. Meaning that the imbuer cannot attempt to imbue multiple items at the same time with the same “Imbue Item” casting. He must create each magical item individually.

Once cast, the Potency of the “Imbue Item” spell is locked into the item. This Potency rating

does not determine the Potency of any spells cast through the item, but rather the maximum Potency that the wielder may achieve by activating the item. The Potency of Imbue Item also caps the Potency of any persistent effects the item will have and acts as the Potency of the entire item in regards to Disbelief and any Dispel attempts.

Most imbued items are made with spells of indefinite Duration. With Prime 4, the caster may use the advanced duration table (p. 120, MtA) to cast “Imbue Item” with indefinite Duration, but the individual spells making up the powers of the imbued item must also be cast with indefinite Duration, or the spells fade from the item at the end of their Duration. The caster usually relinquishes the “Imbue Item” spell from his control, so the spell no longer applies to his maximum spell limit (the other spells do not need to be relinquished – they and the “Imbue Item” spell are now considered to be one for the purposes of calculating Maximum Spell Limit and relinquishment costs). In all other cases, the spell follows the usual rules for Duration, control and accumulation.

One Mana point must be spent per spell imbued in addition to any Mana normally required for the casting of each spell. Powers that require the use of a trigger (a word, gesture or condition that activates a spell imbued in the item) and an activation roll generate Potency successes from the activation roll, but these successes cannot exceed the Potency of the “Imbue Item” spell holding the enchantment. Imbued item powers are detectable by Unseen Senses and Mage Sight only if activated – otherwise, it requires successful scrutiny to detect that an inactive item is imbued with magic. Individual spells can be discerned with the Prime 1 spell “Analyze Enchanted Item” (p. 219, MtA).

The caster can also give the item the capacity to hold Mana points, which can be handy if an imbued effect requires Mana to activate. Doing so requires three additional successes to the target number during the “Imbue Item” casting, which gives the item a maximum capacity of 10 points plus one per spell imbued. Additional Mana must be spent at the time of the “Imbue Item” ritual for the caster to actually fill the capacity of points, otherwise the item's Mana pool is empty. Someone with the “Channel Mana” spell (p. 224, MtA) can fill the item's Mana capacity later.

When a contingent power is activated, its Duration defaults to the standard Duration of the spell encoded into the item (not the indefinite Duration of the spell as cast during the “Imbue Item” ritual). They are considered contingent effects requiring a trigger unless the imbuer wishes to make the spell a persistent effect (an effect that is “always on”), which adds three successes to the “Imbue Item” target number per persistent spell. Lasting Duration spells do not require extra successes to make indefinite during the imbuing process and are always considered to be contingent powers that require a trigger. However, to be able to indefinitely Imbue a Lasting spell the imbuer must have one arcanum dot higher than is normally required to cast the spell. For example, in order to imbue “Psychic Assault” (p. 212, MtA) into a circlet for later use, the imbuer must have Mind 4, one dot higher than the rating required to cast the spell. In the case of Transitory spells that do not specifically allow for prolonged durations even at higher Arcanum levels (such as Space 1 “Spatial Map,” p. 233, MtA) the mage may indefinitely imbue the spell as a contingent effect if they have two more dots in the Arcanum than is normally required to cast the spell. The resulting duration of the triggered power is dependent on the successes achieved on the activation roll. So to imbue “Spatial Map” permanently into an item as a contingent power, the imbuer must have Space 3. When “Spatial Map” is later activated, its duration is as the spell, with the number of turns it is active dependent on the successes achieved on the activation roll.

The aspect of casting (covert or vulgar) also depends on the spells imbued into the item. If the item is imbued with vulgar spells, it risks a Paradox whenever those powers are used. The base Paradox pool is based on the Gnosis of the imbued item's creator at the time of the item's creation (if his Gnosis later rises, the item's base Paradox pool does not also rise).

Mysterium Rote: Forge of PowerDice Pool: Composure + Crafts + PrimeJust as Mysterium mages seek out relics long lost, they create new objects of power, applying

ancient arts to modern artifice. Silver Ladder willworkers use the rote as well in the crafting of their

own enchanted items.

Imbue Item and Special Spell Factors (Clarifications)The Imbue Item spell allows the user to take a spell effect and place it into an item, which can

then be accessed by whoever uses the item. Things that are not properly spell effects in and of themselves are generally not able to be imbued. These are talents born of insight into how an arcana works rather than an actual spell effect, and as such cannot be stored in an item or added to a spell to be imbued into an item. The following list addresses each of the Special Spell Factors and how they interact with the Imbue Item spell, and imbued items in general.

Conditional Duration (Fate ●●, p. 150 MtA)By setting a Conditional Duration for the Imbue Item spell or individual imbued effects, the

imbuer may more easily achieve the Duration factors he desires at the cost of the item eventually losing some or all of its power.

If a wielder possesses Fate 2, they may use Conditional Duration in conjunction with any activated contingent powers that are valid for use with it by simply paying the requisite Mana cost. This may either come from the wielder or the item if it has Mana capacity.

Conditional Trigger (Fate ●● + Time ●●, p. 151 MtA)Imbued spells are not considered to be Prepared Spells and are either persistent (“always on”) or

can only be triggered by the actions of the item's wielder. Since Conditional Triggers are based on Prepared Spells, this special spell factor is incompatible.

Target Exemption (Fate ●●, p. 154 MtA)If the wielder possesses Fate 2, he may use Target Exemption with any of the item's valid

contingent powers. The normal rules apply, with the Target Exemption penalty applied to the item's activation roll.

Spell Cloak (Prime ●●, p. 70 ToM)An imbuer may add 1 Mana to the cost of the item in order to make the item harder to scrutinize

with magic as per the Spell Cloak rules. For an additional 1 Mana each, the imbuer may also cloak persistent item effects so that they do not register to Unseen Senses and are harder to detect with Mage Sight and scrutinize. Contingent item effects cannot have a cloak “built in” by the imbuer and upon activation will register to Unseen Senses and Mage Sight as per the normal rules.

If a wielder possesses Prime 2, he may Cloak a contingent item effect upon activation by spending the additional Mana point. This may either come from the wielder or the item if it has Mana capacity.

Sense the Threads (Prime ●● + Space ●●, p. 222 MtA)An imbuer may add 1 Mana to the cost of the item to allow the imbuer to passively detect when

their item is being scrutinized or targeted with a dispel as per the normal rules. In order to monitor the attempted scrutiny or suppression of any persistent item effects, 1 Mana per spell to be monitored must be paid at the time of encoding in addition to the normal Mana costs of Imbue Item. Contingent effects may not have a monitor “built in” by the imbuer.

If the wielder possesses Prime 2 and Space 2, he may add Sense the Threads to a contingent item effect upon activation by spending the additional Mana point. This may either come from the wielder or the item if it has Mana capacity.

Sympathetic Spells (Space ●●, p. 114-116 MtA)Imbue Item may be used sympathetically as per the rules for sympathetic magic, but it is not

recommended. Sympathetic penalties make an already trying task much more difficult, and the Imbue Item spell itself becomes vulgar when used in such a way. It also directly affects the target's pattern (the item), and thus requires one dot higher of Prime than normal, which means that the imbuer must have Prime 4 to sympathetically imbue an item at all with normal duration factors – Prime 5 is required to

sympathetically imbue an item with an indefinite Duration.If the wielder possesses Space 2, he may sympathetically cast a contingent item effect upon

activation by spending the additional Mana point. This may either come from the wielder or the item if it has Mana capacity, and the spell is still subject to all the normal rules of sympathetic magic. If the contingent effect directly affects a target's Pattern, the item creator's Arcanum dots related to the spell in question must have been one dot higher than normally required to cast the spell at the time the item was encoded.

Prepared Spells (Time ●●, p. 260-261 MtA)Imbued spells are either persistent (“always on”) or can only be triggered by the actions of the

item's wielder. As such, the Prepared Spell technique is incompatible with imbued items.

Additional RulesThe following rules are minor tweaks and modifications to the game system to help enhance

and regulate the creation of imbued items. Use all, some, or none of these as you see fit.

Spell Relinquishment (Optional)Relinquishing a spell allows a mage to release the spell from his voluntary control, freeing up

space for his Active Spell cap of Gnosis + 3. Once relinquished, the spell persists until its duration ends. Under the rules as written this requires the expenditure of a Willpower dot, whether the relinquished spell has a permanent duration or an hour long duration. This may seem steep to some, and so this modification can help address the disparity between the cost for value of those two options.

Relinquishing a spell of a permanent duration requires a Willpower dot, as normal, while relinquishing a spell of any non-permanent duration costs a Willpower point.

A side effect of this option is that player characters will be able to create larger effects and release them with greater frequency and freedom, so Storytellers of large games may wish to not use this rule for the simple reason of cutting down on bookwork.

Enchanting Failure (Optional)Enchanting an item is a time-consuming procedure that can be prone to failure. Errors can

destroy the mage's work to date, forcing him to start over from scratch. When an item creation spell, be it Imbue Item or something else entirely is an extended action requiring multiple successes, the caster faces the possibility of spoiled work.

If any single roll in the extended action results in dramatic failure, the mage must restart the spell from the beginning. Mana spent on the spell is lost. Further, the willworker must roll Crafts + Gnosis to ensure that the item itself is not damaged. On a success, the item may be reused. On a failure, the item becomes warped, cracked, or in some way unusable. The mage must procure a new base object to enchant before proceeding with a replacement. Though of little concern in the case of a common, inexpensive item, the loss of a rare or expensive object may provoke considerable gnashing of teeth. When possible, skimp on the luxuries, for example, in the case of cursed items: mages would sooner enchant a piece of cheap plastic costume jewelry from a dollar store than a dazzling necklace of platinum and emeralds.

When an item is enchanted with a series of spells, those spells may be performed in any order. Clever willworkers keep the economics of item failure in mind when sequencing their spells. Spells with lower dice pools should be performed early in the process. Those requiring Mana expenditure should be put off until the end.

Spell Tolerance for Imbued Items (Optional)Under the rules as written, there is no upper limit to how many enhancement spells or imbued

spells may be placed on an item at once. Relinquishing one casting of Imbue Item that features multiple persistent effects only requires the expenditure of one Willpower dot, as they are all treated as one spell for relinquishment purposes. Some Storytellers may be uncomfortable with the possibilities of such items, and it is for those Storytellers that this optional rule was designed.

Just as characters have a Spell Tolerance (p. 128 MtA) rating equal to their natural Stamina, items have a Spell Tolerance rating equal to their natural Durability. Every two spells (or fraction thereof) that are imbued into an item count as one point against its Spell Tolerance, reinforcing the notion that the wielder is effectively sharing the load of the spells on his own pattern with that of the item. Every item enhancement spell placed directly onto an item (such as Alter Integrity and similar effects) counts towards this limit on a one for one basis. Every spell on the item beyond its Durability levies a cumulative -1 penalty to activation rolls for any contingent powers the item possesses, as well as to any further attempts to add enhancement spells or imbued spells to the item. Combined with the Enchanting Failure rules above, this can make pushing the upper limits of adding improvements to an item a truly risky proposition.

Item Materials (Optional)Under the rules as written, anything can be imbued. Whether it is a platinum and emerald

necklace or a plastic dollar-store costume piece, either one can be imbued with the exact same spell effects and their material composition won't influence the success or failure of the process. But what if the material composition of an item was significant? What would item imbuing look like then? This optional rule seeks to answer that question.

The MetaphysicsThe five Paths all have a set of materials that they favor when constructing dedicated path tools.

According to myth, the Atlantean kings that became the Oracles imbued the Watchtowers with the virtue of these tools. This rule assumes that the supernal preference for these tools runs deeper than just easing the passage of vulgar magic through the Abyss; it assumes that these materials are more supernally “in-tune” with their respective realms. Just as mages of different Paths have a harder time learning certain Arcana that don't mesh with their supernal realm, certain arcana just don't mix well with particular materials.

When a mage selects an item to imbue, they are very careful in their selection not only in terms of practicality and personal style, but also in the material from which the item is constructed. To some this is the most important consideration. Using the wrong Arcana to imbue into a particular item creates resistance. It isn't impossible to make the imbuing “take,” but the resistance does make it much more difficult – difficult enough that some mages go out of their way to avoid particular materials based on which arcana they intend to use.

The MechanicsThe watchtower of each path, and by extension their Ruling Arcana, favors a certain set of

materials. They are:Acanthus (Fate/Time): Glass, crystal, plastic, silverMastigos (Mind/Space): Iron, brass, leatherMoros (Death/Matter): Lead, bone, precious gemsObrimos (Forces/Prime): Steel, petrified wood, goldThyrsus (Life/Spirit): Wood, copper, stone

What this means for would-be imbuers is that imbuing spells from either of the Ruling Arcana of a particular path into an item made of one of its favored materials is no more difficult than normal

(no penalty) while attempting to imbue a spell from that path's Inferior Arcanum into that same material would create huge amounts of metaphysical resistance (a -4 penalty).

More specifically, the materials break down like this:

Materials Ruling Arcana (no modifier)

Inferior Arcana (-4 penalty)

Common Arcana (-2 Penalty)

Glass, crystal, plastic, silver

Fate, Time Forces Death, Life, Matter, Mind, Prime*, Space, Spirit

Iron, brass, leather Mind, Space Matter Death, Fate, Forces, Life, Prime*, Spirit, Time

Lead, bone, precious gems

Death, Matter Spirit Fate, Forces, Life, Prime*, Mind, Space, Time

Steel, petrified wood, gold

Forces, Prime Death Fate, Life, Matter, Mind, Space, Spirit, Time

Wood, copper, stone Life, Spirit Mind Death, Fate, Forces, Matter, Prime*, Space, Time

*- Prime is considered Inferior for those materials insofar as Imbuing an actual Prime effct into the item is concerned. The Imbue Item spell itself is unaffected.

These penalties only apply to the Imbue Item rolls during which the imbuer is building successes for the particular spell of that arcana. So for instance if the mage was imbuing a brass ring with two spells, one a persistent Mental Shield (Mind 2) spell and the other a Supernal Vision (Prime 1) spell, only the rolls to accumulate successes for Supernal Vision would suffer the -2 penalty.

Symbolic Items (Optional)Similar to the Item Material rules above, this takes that same concept a step further and makes

spells of particular effect or intent bond more easily to appropriate kinds of objects. If used in tandem with the Item Material rules, this can require mages wanting to imbue a particular spell to go hunting for just the right kind of item composed of just the right materials in order to avoid supernal resistance potentially mucking up the imbuing process.

The MetaphysicsAs with a path's favored materials, various path tools are made based on Western tarot mythoi.

These tarot symbols are symbolic of particular expressions or intents, and even more specifically than an entire supernal realm liking or disliking one kind of metal, magic of a particular purpose gravitates more readily towards appropriate symbols representative of that supernal law.

The MechanicsTarot symbols form the basis of what is presented below. Other icons of other cultures may be

used just as readily, and rules for such can easily be extrapolated upon by someone more learned than I.Cups: Associated with life, water, and female power. Eggs, the distaff, spheres and ovals are

also representative of these ideas, and objects such as these bond the most readily to spells that heal, restore, or create. Mages attempting to imbue a destructive spell of any sort into one of these objects can expect heavy resistance (-4 penalty). Any other type of spell gives only minor resistance (-2 penalty).

Mirrors: Associated with reflections, the senses, illusions and the soul. Reflecting pools, bowls, crystals, and polished sheets of stone and metal can serve just as well as a glass mirror, and these

objects tend to favor less tangible spells that have to deal with the senses and the soul. Mages attempting to imbue one of these objects with a spell that directly manipulates the physical world can expect heavy resistance (-4 penalty). The mirror only reflects truth; it does not create new ones. Any other spells can expect only minor resistance (-2 penalty).

Pentacles and Coins: Associated with the earth, the world, and cycles of power. The Pentacle represents component energies of reality. The coin is a common version of the disk, associated with the sun and the passage of time. Jewelry and art using the disk can work just as well. These items tend to favor spells that directly affect physical reality, even if they are in ways difficult to perceive through our senses (electrical currents, ley lines, etc). Spells with a more ephemeral focus and nature are difficult to bind into such items (-4 penalty), while others give only token resistance (-2 penalty).

Wands and Staves: Associated with fire, male power, aiming. Some “staves” can take the form of obelisks and linga, and can also be worked into practical tools like digging sticks or arrows. The long shape represents directed power and action. These items are favorable vessels for binding destructive magic of any kind. Restorative or creative magics give strong resistance (-4 penalty) while others give minor resistance to being bound (-2 penalty).

Upgrading Imbued ItemsAn enterprising player may inquire about taking an existing imbued item (whether made by

himself or another) and upgrading one of its imbued spell effects to be more potent. In these cases I point to the rules of Spell Accumulation (MtA p. 128) which state that if one casts two spells that have the same mechanical effect, the most potent one takes precedence: they do not stack.

From this position I recommend that if a player wishes to improve an imbued item's effects, they have to do it the hard way, the same as any other spell; they have to imbue a revised, more potent version of their initial imbuing, exceeding the original imbuing in potency.

The IntentBefore we move on to examples of these rules in action, I'll speak briefly on the intent of both

these unofficial Imbue Item revisions and the new Optional Rules.First of all, the Imbue Item spell and the merit never lined up in terms of capability or cost. The

reason the developers gave for this discrepancy was that they intended for items acquired in game to be more potent to make up for the extra effort in getting them. Trouble is the result that I've seen of this is that absolutely nobody buys Imbued Items at character creation using what few Merit dots they have because items created with the Imbue Item spell are grossly superior. 30 auto-successes on a direct attack spell? I mean, seriously, are you shitting me? This iteration of the World of Darkness was designed to be more low key, but this is the most un-World of Darkness thing I've seen in the game. This is more in line with Exalted than anything. So basically what we have as printed, even including the tentative errata on the White Wolf forums, is a merit that nobody seems to want to buy and a vaguely worded spell that doesn't seem to line up with the power level of the game. Sadly there doesn't seem to be any official or clarified errata forthcoming, especially in light of the recent layoffs at White Wolf.

So I set out to not only bring the power levels of the merit and the spell in line with each other, but also clearly lay out specifics of the process of making an item in-game. This isn't to say that buying an Imbued Item as a merit and making one yourself are roughly equivalent in terms of cost; if your character is one that has invested in the arcana and skill necessary to imbue their own items, it will almost certainly be cheaper to make them yourself as opposed to buying them. For those who have no intention of pursuing that build and lack an imbuer character that is friendly to them, the Merit is still an option, and since the merit and the Imbue spell now operate on the same set of rules, the power of one wouldn't far outstrip another. Coupled with the step-by-step item creation examples on the

following pages, something that the game developers madly never saw fit to give despite the crappy spell, you should have no problem making Imbued Items a bigger part of your game without breaking it. Much of the headache and ambiguity has been taken away now. It's okay. It's safe.

As for my optional rules, take them or leave them at your leisure. To me they seem thematic and help to draw focus to a part of the game that seems to have been overlooked; probably because the item creation spells were such a headache in the first place that nobody wanted to deal with them. In addition to making sure imbued items are more personalized, the intent of the Materials and Symbolic Item rules is to lend just as much weight to what the mage is imbuing the spell into as the spell itself. Symbolism and supernal sympathy are at the heart of the Awakening system, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to underscore that point.

This should also create some interesting gameplay scenarios where player-characters may have a vague notion of what an imbued item probably does based simply on the nature of the object and its material composition, and their expectations should largely be reinforced...except for those instances where their expectations are turned on their heads and the item turns out to be more (or less) dangerous than expected.

ExamplesIn the following sections I will give three examples of item creation using the rules laid down in

this document. The first is a non-permanent ring with two persistent effects. The second is a bicycle with multiple permanent effects and enhancements, both persistent and contingent. The third is a smorgasbord of magic that makes use of all of the optional rules presented here; a set of footwear made of specific materials and stacked with no less than five spells of varying types. All of the dice pool calculations are done step-by-step and itemized so that the reader may follow along.

Before we get started, lets meet our spellcaster. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Twinky McPhee, known better to his fellow mages as Dicebot.

Concept: Let me win or I'll cry.Virtue: Hope Vice: PridePath: Obrimos Order: Free Council Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3 Wits 3 Resolve 3Physical Attributes: Strength 2 Dexterity 2 Stamina 2Social Attributes: Presence 2 Manipulation 2 Composure 3Mental Skills: Academics 2, Computer 2, Crafts 3, Investigation 2, Occult 2, Science 3Physical Skills: Athletics 1, Firearms 3, Stealth 3Social Skills: Intimidation 1, Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 2Arcana: Forces 1, Prime 3, Space 2Rotes: Eye of the Magus 1, Forge of Power 3, Aegis Magicus 2Gnosis: 3 Mana 12Willpower: 6

He will be our punching bag imbuer for the following exercises.

Item 1: That One RingTwinky McPhee enters the game and quickly decides that he needs to see everything that's

going on, all the time, and that he needs to be shielded all the time, but he doesn't want to have to deal with that load on his Spell Tolerance. Learning about Imbue Item and this handy and awesome guide, he decides that he wants to make a ring that grants Supernal Vision (Prime 1, p 221 MtA) and Magic Shield (Prime 2, p. 222 MtA) to the wearer for the entire time they're wearing the ring. He needs to make both of them persistent effects. So the first thing he needs to do is determine his target Potency (how hard he wants the item to be to suppress, or in this case Dispel, since he isn't going to spend a Willpower dot to relinquish a non-permanent item) and his target Duration for the “Imbue Item” spell itself.

He decides he wants a Potency of 5, which should make the item reasonably difficult for someone to Dispel in a pinch (the middle of combat). Unfortunately for him he only has Prime 3, so he can't make the item last indefinitely yet, but he'll make it last as long as he can for the time being. To him, the reduced load on his Spell Tolerance is worth it. He consults the Extended Spellcasting factors tables on page 120 (MtA) and comes up with the following numbers.

Imbue ItemPotency: 5 (+5 successes)Duration: Eight days (+7 successes)

Now he needs to calculate his target numbers for the spells themselves. Since they're both prolonged duration and he has at least one dot higher in the Arcanum than the spells require, he gets to

use Advanced Duration factors (p. 120, MtA). He doesn't need to mess with Area or Target factors since the spells will only affect the wearer personally.

Supernal VisionPotency: 1Duration: One week (+3 successes)Contingent or Persistent: Persistent (+3 successes)

Magic ShieldPotency: 1Duration: One week (+3 successes)Contingent or Persistent: Persistent (+3 successes)

All totaled, it appears he needs 12 successes for the backbone of this effect (Imbue Item) and 7 each for his persistent spells, bringing his total required successes up to 26. This spell will cost him 2 points of Mana to cast, one for each spell imbued into the ring. While Magic Shield may be up, per its spell description it doesn't actually block any incoming magic unless the mage spends a Mana point to apply its armor against the spell. So Twinky will still need to spend a Mana from his own pool in order to make use of it, but he won't have to worry about keeping up with the spell itself for a week.

So Twinky gets to work. He needs to cast each of these spells in turn, acquiring the individual target numbers for each before moving on to the next. He needs to complete them all in order to finish the Imbue Item ritual. This is an extended ritual casting. Fortunately for him Twinky was too cool for school or anything representative of a social life, money, or contacts with the outside world, so almost all of his merit dots were spent at character generation on Gnosis 3. So he gets to make one spellcasting roll per hour. He also has rotes for every spell he wishes to cast, which will make this process easier. He doesn't have any sacraments for these spells because he has no means of acquiring them, and thus takes a -1 penalty to each of the rolls. He also doesn't believe in High Speech, so he won't be making use of it for purposes of this casting.

Imbue ItemComposure (3) + Crafts (3) + Prime (3) + 1 (Free Council rote specialty) – 1 (lack of Sacraments) = 9 dice.1st roll: 4 successes. A good start.2nd roll: 6 successes. A better follow-up.3rd roll: 4 successes. 14 total, phase one is finished. Sadly the two dice extra for this portion don't carry over. But he's three hours in to the process and already half-way done in terms of successes he needs, so he keeps right on moving to the first spell.

Supernal VisionWits (3) + Occult (2) + Prime (3) – 1 (lack of Sacraments) = 7 dice.1st roll: 2 successes. Maybe he's running out of steam.2nd roll: 5 successes. Spoke too soon. That brings his total for this portion to six successes. He spends a Mana point. He has been casting for five hours and moves on to the last spell.

Magic ShieldResolve (3) + Occult (2) + Prime (3) – 1 (lack of Sacraments) = 7 dice.1st roll: 2 success. Not so good.2nd roll: 5 successes. A much better showing. The six successes for this spell achieved, he spends the second Mana point. After seven hours of casting the item is finished.

That One RingThis small electro-plated gold ring was created by a beginning imbuer. It will only hold its

abilities for a short time (1 week), but during that time its wearer is constantly under the benefit of the Prime 1 spell Supernal Vision and the Prime 2 spell Magic Shield. The ring has no Mana capacity of its own, and so the wearer must spend his own Mana to use Magic Shield against an incoming spell. Both of these spells are at Potency 5. As it isn't a permanent item, a Dispel effect targeted at the ring itself can undo its imbuing with 6 or more successes.

Item 2: QuicksilverLater on down the road, after Twinky McPhee has achieved greater proficiency in Prime as well

as several other Arcana, his stats look like this:

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3 Wits 3 Resolve 3Physical Attributes: Strength 2 Dexterity 2 Stamina 2Social Attributes: Presence 2 Manipulation 2 Composure 3Mental Skills: Academics 2, Computer 2, Crafts 3, Investigation 2, Occult 3, Science 2Physical Skills: Athletics 1, Firearms 3, Stealth 3Social Skills: Intimidation 1, Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 2Arcana: Forces 3, Prime 4, Space 3, Matter 3Rotes: Supernal Vision 1, Imbue Item 3, Magic Shield 2, Alter Integrity 3, Gnosis: 3 Mana 12Willpower: 6

An order mate of his requests a specially made item; a courier bicycle for better navigating the streets of New York. Twinky plans to start off with a high quality lightweight bicycle and slap an enhancement spell on it, namely “Alter Integrity” (Matter 3, p. 198, MtA). From there he plans to do an Imbue Item ritual and add a persistent Space 1 effect as well as a contingent Forces 2 effect. With Prime 4 he can now actually make this a permanent item by using advanced duration factors. In order to make this easier, he decides to laser-cut Atlantean runes into the frame, which will take care of some of the durability factors (p. 119, MtA). However, he must do this no more than a day before he plans to place the enchantments. So it only makes sense to carve the runes into the bike and then do the imbuing BEFORE he alters the Durability of the item to the point where carving the runes would be a herculean feat.

Twinky engraves the runes, then moves on to the actual imbuing. He plans to include the following spells: “Omnivision” (Space 1, p. 233, MtA) and “Control Traffic” (Forces 2, p. 61, ToM). “Omnivision” will be a persistent effect while “Control Traffic” will be a contingent effect triggered by ringing the bell on the bicycle. He has the following target factors:

Imbue ItemPotency: 8Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to the target number)Other factors: 1 Mana each for the spells imbued (2) + 1 Mana for each Persistent Spell Cloaked (1)

OmnivisionPotency: 1

Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to the target number)

Contingent or Persistent: Persistent (+3)Other factors: 1 Mana Improvised Casting a non-Ruling Arcanum

Control TrafficPotency: 0 (as a Contingent spell, its Potency is determined by its die roll upon activation, with

maximum successes capped by the Potency of Imbue Item (8))Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to the target

number)Contingent or Persistent: Contingent (no modifier)

Total Successes Required: 25Total Mana Required: 4

Now Twinky determines his dice pools and buckles down to cast.

Imbue ItemDice Pool: Composure (3) + Crafts (3) + Prime (4) + Rote Specialty (1) – No Sacrament (1) =

10 dice1st Roll: 6 successes, a great start.2nd Roll: 1 success. Not so great.3rd Roll: 5 successes. Meets the 12 successes needed for the basic Imbue Item spell. He spends a Mana for the Spell Cloak for the item over the course of these three hours and moves on to the next spell.

OmnivisionDice Pool: Gnosis (3) + Space (3) – No Sacrament (1) = 5 dice1st Roll: 2 successes2nd Roll: 1 success.3rd Roll: No successes. Uh oh. Been at this for six hours now.4th Roll: No successes. Crap.5th Roll: 1 success. Twinky has been at this for eight hours now with few breaks. An ST could be

justified in levying a -1 fatigue penalty right now. So let's do that!Dice Pool: Gnosis (3) + Space (3) – No Sacrament (1) – Fatigue (1) = 4 dice6th Roll: 5 successes. Twinky spent a willpower point on this roll, thinking to himself that maybe he should start going through the trouble of acquiring proper sacraments for these rituals. In any case, he has the 8 successes he needed. He pays the Mana for this imbued spell and the Mana to cloak it over the course of the six hours and moves on to the next spell.

Control TrafficDice Pool: Gnosis (3) + Prime (4) – No Sacrament (1) – Fatigue (1) = 5 dice1st Roll: 1 success. Twinky spends a Willpower point and gets very little return out of it.2nd Roll: 1 success. Twinky spends another Willpower points and still isn't in good shape. He

has 3 left.3rd Roll: 1 success and another Willpower.4th Roll: No successes.5th Roll: No successes and another Willpower point. He's got one left.6th Roll: 4 successes and his last Willpower point. He finally has enough to wrap up this spell.

He spends the mana for this imbued spell and finalizes the ritual. Exhausted, he sacrifices a Willpower dot to relinquish the Imbue Item spell, makes a note to be more prepared next time, and goes to take a nap. The next day he goes to work on enhancing the bike with Alter Integrity.

Alter IntegrityPotency: 8Number of Targets: Up to eight (frame, chain, wheels, tires, brakes, brake lines, gears, gear

lines) (+3 successes)Other factors: Additional Mana point spent to add a Spell Cloak to the effect, making it harder

to scrutinize for alteration.Total Requirements: 11 Successes, 1 ManaBase Pool: Intelligence (3) + Crafts (3) + Matter (3) + Rote Specialty (1) – No sacrament (1) =

9 dice1st Roll: 2 successes2nd Roll: 4 successes. Six total.3rd Roll: 3 successes. Nine total.4th Roll: 5 successes. Target number of 11 met. Twinky finalizes the ritual, spends his Mana for the cloak, and now has a bicycle with 8 more Durability than normal. Note that any further uses of Alter Integrity will NOT stack with this spell. The most potent spell effect takes precedence, so in order to increase its Durability further would be to cast it again with a potency of 9 or higher.

Just for fun, let's look at this using the Spell Tolerance for Items rules presented above. The bicycle is lightweight and made of aluminum, which gives it a natural Durability of 2. Every two spells imbued into the bike counts as one against its spell tolerance, so the Omnivision and Control Traffic effects together count as one. The Alter Integrity spell, being a direct item enhancement, counts as a full spell on its own. This means that the bicycle is now at its capacity for spell tolerance, which as per the normal rules means that every spell cast on this item beyond the ones already on it will levy a cumulative -1 penalty to activation rolls for the bicycle's Control Traffic power, as well as any further attempts to place enhancement spells or imbue spells into it, despite its Durability being magically raised to 10.

Quicksilver (●●●●● ●●●● Enhanced Imbued Item)As the story goes, this lightweight courier bike was purchased and “improved” by a Free

Council crafter as a gift for their Acanthus paramour, who had a day job as a bicycle courier in New York. Between the abilities granted by Quicksilver and the natural talents of the Acanthus, they were able to set a new speed record for the city's bicycle courier races. Not coincidentally, this was the same day of the worst traffic jam in New York's history. Sleepers were stumped, the local Consilium was pissed, and the Free Council was delighted at the display.

Quicksilver is an aluminum courier bike with the statistics of a Street Bike (p. 138-139, Arm) with the exception that its Durability and the Durability of its component parts have been magically enhanced to 10, with its Structure getting a resulting increase to 13. Effectively this means that the brakes will not wear out, the chain will not break, and the tires cannot be punctured by conventional means. While riding Quicksilver, the rider benefits from a persistent cloaked Omnivision (p. 233, MtA) effect. By ringing the bell on the handlebars, the rider may also trigger a contingent Control Traffic (p. 61, ToM) effect with a dice pool equal to 3 plus the rider's Gnosis. The potency of this Imbued Item is 8.

Item 3: Boots of Shit-kickingYears later, Twinky had joined a cabal and grown even more powerful.

Concept: Let me win or I'll cry.Virtue: Hope Vice: PridePath: Obrimos Order: Free Council Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4 Wits 3 Resolve 4Physical Attributes: Strength 2 Dexterity 2 Stamina 2Social Attributes: Presence 2 Manipulation 2 Composure 3Mental Skills: Academics 2, Computer 2, Crafts 4, Investigation 2, Occult 4, Science 3Physical Skills: Athletics 1, Firearms 3, Stealth 3Social Skills: Intimidation 1, Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 2Merits: Ritual Synergy 5Arcana: Forces 4, Prime 5, Space 3, Matter 4Rotes: Eye of the Magus 1, Forge of Power 3, Aegis Magicus 2Gnosis: 5 Mana 14Willpower: 7

His cabal mates are on a similar wavelength as far as arcana is concerned.

Merits: Ritual Synergy 5Arcana: Life 5, Spirit 4, Fate 3Gnosis: 5 Mana 14Willpower: 7

Merits: Ritual Synergy 5Arcana: Mind 5, Space 4, Time 4Gnosis: 5 Mana 14Willpower: 7

There was a fourth member, Twinky's acanthus courier girlfriend, but she has been killed recently by Seers. Twinky decides he wants bloody revenge, and enlists the aid of his cabal to help him do it. Since Twinky isn't very good in a direct fight, they pool their talents together with the Ritual Synergy Merit to bypass the restriction on Imbue Item that requires the imbuer to know all the spells he is imbuing into an item. These three masters will be pooling their arcana together for one ritual. It should be terrifying to see.

They select a pair of leather combat boots, and using the optional Item Material rules presented in this document, Mind and Space spells take most readily to it (no penalty), Death and Matter spells are the hardest to imbue (-4 penalty), and all other arcana give only moderate resistance (-2 penalty). Stricken with grief and fueled by a desire for vengeance, Twinky has given up on his personal refusal to use that High Speech hocus pocus, as well as long since resigning himself to finding proper sacraments.Boots are probably closest to the Pentacle and Coin symbology in that they are objects focused on physical interaction with the world. But the shape of them isn't traditionally correct, so the ST may simply apply a -2 to imbue any spells that deal with the senses and the soul and a -1 to any other spells that don't directly alter physical reality. The symbolic sympathy between boots and those spells isn't as strong because boots aren't a traditional symbol, so too the resistance to other spells probably isn't as high.

They decide to attempt to go all-out with these boots, creating something that can turn the

wearer into an engine of physical destruction. They burn atlantean runes into the shoes in order to help take the edge off of the Duration factors, as well as make sure they have proper sacraments for each spell. The boots will be somewhat resistant to the various spells they try to place into them, both due to the arcana and the nature of the spells themselves, but getting the boots to accept the spells shouldn't be particularly difficult. What WILL give them hell however is the low Spell Tolerance of the material. These combat boots have a Durability of 1 at best and they're planning to go far beyond that in terms of numbers of spells imbued.

Imbue ItemPotency: 15Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5 successes, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to

the target number)Misc Factors: Mana capacity (+3 successes)Mana Cost: 1 per spell (8), plus any Mana required for casting each spellTotal Successes Required: 22

Supreme Honing (Life 4, p. 190 MtA)Potency: 15 (successes distributed among Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina to boost each one

by 5)Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5 successes, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to

the target number)Contingent or Persistent: Persistent (+3 successes)Mana Cost: 1Total Successes Required: 22

Skill Mastery (Mind 4, p. 112 FC)Potency: 15 (successes distributed among Athletics, Brawl, and Weaponry to boost each one by

5)Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5 successes, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to

the target number)Contingent or Persistent: Persistent (+3 successes)Mana Cost: 1Total Successes Required: 22

Feral Reflex (Life 3 Mind 3, p. 180 AA)Potency: 1Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5 successes, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to

the target number)Contingent or Persistent: Persistent (+3 successes)Total Successes Required: 8

Kinesthesia (Mind 3 Space 1 Time 1, p. 183 AA)Potency: 5Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5 successes, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to

the target number)Contingent or Persistent: Persistent (+3 successes)Total Successes Required: 12

Mind Armor (Mind 2, p. 208 MtA)

Potency: 1Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5 successes, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to

the target number)Contingent or Persistent: Persistent (+3 successes)Total Successes Required: 8

Organic Resilience (Life 2, p. 183 MtA)Potency: 1Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5 successes, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to

the target number)Contingent or Persistent: Persistent (+3 successes)Total Successes Required: 8

Acceleration (Time 3, p. 262 MtA)Potency: 0 (as a Contingent spell, its Potency is determined by its die roll upon activation, with

maximum successes capped by the Potency of Imbue Item (8))Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5 successes, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to

the target number)Contingent or Persistent: Contingent (no modifier)Total Successes Required: 4

Magic Shield (Prime 2, p. 222 MtA)Potency: 1Duration: Indefinite (ordinarily +5 successes, due to use of Atlantean Runes he only adds +4 to

the target number)Contingent or Persistent: Persistent (+3 successes)Total Successes Required: 8

The total successes required for this item are a whopping 114. To aid the process along they hire a couple of younger acanthus to keep the three of them going with a Fate 3 “Bestow Exceptional Luck” effect (p. 155 MtA) during the course of the first few spells where they will have the most difficulty, as well as fetch them food and things of that nature during this difficult proceedure. At Gnosis 5 they get to make a spellcasting roll every half-hour.

So lets get this started and see what happens with Twinky as the leader of the ritual, his two cabal mates assisting (masters of Life and Mind, respectively) and all of them using Ritual Synergy at 5 dots. As per normal teamwork rules, the assistants roll first on every casting roll and their successes give the ritual leader extra dice on their roll to achieve successes towards the spell.

Imbue Item (22 successes needed)Dice Pool: Composure (3) + Crafts (4) + Prime (5) + Rote Specialty (1) + High Speech (2) = 15

diceAssistants (2): Gnosis (5) + Prime (0) + High Speech (2) = 7 dice1st Roll: 5 successes from Assistants, +5 dice to Twinky: 8 successes from him.2nd Roll: 5 successes from Assistants, +5 dice to Twinky: 10 successes from him. (18 total)3rd Roll: 3 successes from Assistants, +3 dice to Twinky: 4 successes from him. (22 total)

Supreme Honing (22 successes needed)Dice Pool: Gnosis (5) + Life (0) + High Speech (2) – Incompatible Material (2) = 5 diceAssistants (2): Gnosis (5) + Life (5/0) + High Speech (2) – Incompatible Material (2) = 10/5

dice1st Roll: 3 successes from Assistants, +3 dice to Twinky: 2 successes from him.2nd Roll: 5 successes from Assistants, +5 dice to Twinky: 2 successes from him. (4 total)3rd Roll: 8 successes from Assistants, +8 dice to Twinky: 6 successes from him. (10 total)4th Roll: 3 successes from Assistants, +3 dice to Twinky: 2 successes from him. (12 total)5th Roll: 5 successes from Assistants, +5 dice to Twinky: 3 successes from him. (15 total)6th Roll: 5 successes from Assistants, +5 dice to Twinky: 9 successes from him. Successful, they

spend the mana for imbuing this spell as well as the spell's mana cost (2 total) and move on to the next spell. They've been at work for 4 and a half hours.

Skill Mastery (22 successes needed)Dice Pool: Gnosis (5) + Mind (0) + High Speech (2) = 7 diceAssistants (2): Gnosis (5) + Mind (0/5) + High Speech (2) = 7/12 dice1st Roll: 6 successes from Assistants, +6 dice to Twinky: 3 successes from him. 2nd Roll: 4 successes from Assistants, +4 dice to Twinky: 2 successes from him. (5 total)3rd Roll: 15 successes from Assistants, +15 dice to Twinky: 5 successes from him. (10 total)4th Roll: 8 successes from Assistants, +8 dice to Twinky: 7 successes from him. (17 total)5th Roll: 9 successes from Assistants, +9 dice to Twinky: 7 successes from him. This spell is

successful, they spend the mana for imbuing it and the mana for the spell's cost (2 total) and move on to the next phase. By this point their acanthus interns are completely tapped out of mana and the casters no longer get 9 again on their rolls.

Feral Reflex (8 successes needed)Dice Pool: Gnosis (5) + Life (0) + High Speech (2) – Incompatible Material (2) = 5 diceAssistants (2): Gnosis (5) + Life (5/0) + High Speech (2) – Incompatible Material (2) = 10/5

dice.1st Roll: 2 successes from Assistants, +2 dice to Twinky: 5 successes from him.2nd Roll: 7 successes from Assistants, +7 dice to Twinky: 4 successes from him. Success

achieved, though now we have crossed the Spell Tolerance threshold of the boots. Imbued spells count for half when calculating spell tolerance, with any fractions counting as one. So Supreme Honing and Skill Mastery together count as one, and Feral Reflex counts as half but still causes the spell count to exceed the item's Durability. Thus all further attempts to imbue spells into the boots will receive a -1 penalty, which will get worse as we go.

Kinesthesia (12 successes needed)Dice Pool: Gnosis (5) + Mind (0) + High Speech (2) – Spell Tolerance (1) = 6 diceAssistants (2): Gnosis (5) + Mind (0/5) + High Speech (2) – Spell Tolerance (1) = 6/11 dice1st Roll: 9 successes from Assistants, +9 dice to Twinky: 3 successes from him.2nd Roll: 10 successes from Assistants, +10 dice to Twinky: 3 successes from him. (6 total)3rd Roll: 6 successes from Assistants, +6 dice to Twinky: 7 successes from him. They spend the

mana to imbue this spell and move on. They've been at this for 9 and a half hours now, probably an appropriate time for a fatigue penalty to start creeping in.

Mind Armor (8 successes needed)Dice Pool: Gnosis (5) + Mind (0) + High Speech (2) – Spell Tolerance (1) – Fatigue (1) –

Incompatible Sympology (1) = 4 diceAssistants (2): Gnosis (5) + Mind (0/5) + High Speech (2) – Spell Tolerance (1) – Fatigue (1) –

Incompatible Symbology (1) = 4/9 dice

1st Roll: 5 successes from Assistants, +5 dice to Twinky: 3 successes from him.2nd Roll: 6 successes from Assistants, +6 dice to Twinky: 2 successes from him. (5 total)3rd Roll: 2 successes from Assistants, +2 dice to Twinky: 1 success from him. (6 total)4th Roll: 3 successes from Assistants, +3 dice to Twinky: 4 successes from him. They pay the

mana cost for the spell and move on. Elapsed time: 11 and a half hours. There are now 5 spells imbued into the item, which puts it at 2.5 spells towards spell tolerance. It is effectively at two over capacity, which means Spell Tolerance penalty now goes up by one.

Organic Resilience (8 successes needed)Dice Pool: Gnosis (5) + Life (0) + High Speech (2) – Spell Tolerance (2) – Fatigue (1) –

Incompatible Material (2) – Incompatible Symbology (1) = 1 dieAssistants (2): Gnosis (5) + Life (5/0) + High Speech (2) – Spell Tolerance (2) – Fatigue (1) –

Incompatible Material (2) – Incompatible Symbology (1) = 6/1 dice1st Roll: 3 successes from Assistants (WP from each), +3 dice to Twinky: 2 successes from him

(WP spent).2nd Roll: 6 successes from Assistants (WP from each), +6 dice to Twinky: 3 successes from him

(5 total, WP spent).3rd Roll: 2 successes from Assistants (WP from each), +2 dice to Twinky: 5 successes from him

(WP spent). They spend the mana for imbuing the spell and move on, 13 hours into casting.

Acceleration (4 successes needed)Paradox: Base (3) – Mana reduction (3) = 0 (Chance die)Paradox Roll: 6 (failure)Dice Pool: Gnosis (5) + Time (0) + High Speech (2) – Spell Tolerance (2) – Fatigue (1) –

Incompatible Material (2) = 2 diceAssistants (2): Gnosis (5) + Time (0/4) + High Speech (2) – Spell Tolerance (2) – Fatigue (1) –

Incompatible Material (2) = 2/6 dice1st Roll: 4 successes from Assistants, +4 dice to Twinky: 3 successes from him (WP spent).2nd Roll: 2 successes from Assistants, +2 dice to Twinky: 3 successes from him. They spend the

Mana to imbue the spell and continue on to the final spell, 14 hours into casting. Fatigue penalty goes up by one, as does the Spell Tolerance penalty. It now has seven spells on it, which count as 3.5 spells towards the spell tolerance, putting it over into a -3 penalty. Thankfully for the last spell Twinky has a rote version of it that he learned as a young mage, which will help keep the process from failing.

Magic Shield (8 successes needed)Dice Pool: Resolve (4) + Occult (4) + Prime (5) + High Speech (2) – Spell Tolerance (3) –

Fatigue (2) – Incompatible Material (2) – Incompatible Symbology (1) = 7 diceAssistants (2): Gnosis (5) + Prime (0) + High Speech (2) – Spell Tolerance (3) – Fatigue (2) –

Incompatible Material (2) – Incompatible Symbology (1) = -1 dice (chance die)It is entirely possible the Assistants could get a dramatic failure and screw this whole thing up on the last spell imbuing. Thankfully they've each got 4 willpower points left.

1st Roll: 1 success from Assistants (WP from each), +1 die to Twinky: 4 successes from him (WP spent, 2 points left)

2nd Roll: 0 successes from Assistants (WP from each), +0 dice to Twinky: 2 successes from him (6 total, WP spent, 1 points left)

3rd Roll: 1 success from Assistants (WP from each, both out of WP), +1 die to Twinky: 5

successes from him. They spend the mana to imbue this spell.

Exhausted after 15 and a half hours of careful casting, depleting their mana and willpower reserves, and having a very close call at the end, the item is complete. They take a day or two to rest and recover their strength and mana. After that time has passed, Twinky puts the final touches on the boots with a ritual cast of Alter Integrity set for Potency 10 to make the boots more rugged.

Alter Integrity (11 successes needed)Potency: 10Number of Targets: Two (+1 success)Total Requirements: 11 Successes, 1 ManaBase Pool: Intelligence (4) + Crafts (4) + Matter (4) + Rote Specialty (1) – Spell Tolerance (3)1st Roll: 4 successes.2nd Roll: 7 successes. Success achieved after one hour of casting.

Since this is an item enhancement spell and wasn't imbued, it counts as a full spell towards the item's spell tolerance. So the boots natural Durability was 1, and it now has Alter Integrity (1) as well as eight spells (which each count for half for a total of 4) spells on it, effectively meaning the boots have five active spells on them. The difference between the item's natural Durability and the number of spells on it is 4, so any further attempts to imbue or enhance the boots will suffer a -4 penalty right out of the gate.

The God Stompers (●●●●● ●●●●● ●●●●● ●●●●● ●●●● Enhanced Imbued Item)These combat boots are covered in Atlantean runes seared into the leather. They were crafted by

a cabal of masters after their imbuer's girlfriend was slain by Seers. A true magical masterwork and testament to level of destructive power that man can harness when properly motivated, these boots transform the wearer into a juggernaut of physical destruction. The Seers that slew the imbuer's lover most certainly did not survive the grieving mage's onslaught, although where he and the boots went from there is a mystery.

The boots have a Mana capacity of 18, and while worn the boots grant the wearer a persistent “Supreme Honing” (Life 4, p. 190 MtA) effect, giving a +5 bonus to each of the wearer's Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina scores. This bonus can increase these Attributes above their normal maximums. The persistent “Skill Mastery” (Mind 4, p. 112 FC) effect similarly grants a +5 bonus to the wearer's Athletics, Brawl, and Weaponry skills and may also increase these skills above their normal maximums.

They also sharpen the wearer's instincts into that of the ultimate predator, giving them a persistent “Feral Reflex” (Life 3 + Mind 3, p. 180 AA) effect that allows them to use the higher of their Wits or Dexterity as their Defense score. Furthermore, the persistent “Kinesthesia” (Mind 3 + Space 1 + Time 1, p. 183 AA) effect heightens her reflexes and adaptability. Her Defense is no longer reduced by multiple attackers in a turn and she disregards up to 5 points of environmental penalties to her actions. She need not check to overcome or avoid simple hindrances on the field, such as dodging around obstacles or vaulting up slight inclines.

The boots also help dampen the abilities of incoming mind-affecting spells that might get the wearer to alter their course of destruction. While worn, the boots grant the wearer a persistent “Mind Shield” (Mind 2, p. 208 MtA) effect of 5. They also benefit from a persistent “Organic Resilience” (Life 2, p. 183 MtA) effect at 5, and a persistent “Magic Shield” (Prime 2, p. 222 MtA) effect at 5, though Mana must still be spent as a reflexive action to apply the Magic Shield against incoming spells. This Mana may be spent from the wearer's own reserves or from the boots' Mana capacity.

Finally, by taking an instant action to dig the heels of the boots into the ground as if to brace for

running, the wearer may activate a contingent “Acceleration” (Time 3, p.262 MtA) effect with a base Paradox pool of 3. The dice pool for the effect itself is the wearer's Gnosis + 4 (as well as a -4 penalty due to the boots' far exceeded Spell Tolerance). The effect lasts for a scene, and the benefits of the power may be activated for a turn by reflexively spending one Mana either from the boots' capacity or her own reserves. During turns this mana is paid, the wearer moves so fast that any and all attacker's dice pools (including ranged attacks) take a -4 penalty. This applies in addition to any mage armor the wearer has at the time as well as to Defense. This benefit does not diminish with multiple attacks in a turn. The wearer also gains a +4 bonus to Initiative in turns this is active, which can move her up the initiative roster. During a turn in which this power is inactive, she drops back down to her normal place in the roster. During active turns, the wearer also quadruple's their Speed.

The Durability of these boots have been magically enhanced to 11. Further attempts to magically modify the boots suffer a -4 penalty due to exceeded Spell Tolerance.