Mage the Ascension 4dot Rotes

7/30/2019 Mage the Ascension 4dot Rotes

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Adept Rotes (Sphere Level 4)

Now the Spheres become even more powerful, gaining interesting andunpredicted effects in addition to their normal uses. Many of these Rotesare almost game-breaking, and if used intelligently, can make the game amuch more interesting or deadly place. Once any Mages reach the Adeptlevel of a Sphere, the mood of the game will change – because at this level,

if your enemies aren’t prepared to defend against you, you can utterlydestroy them. The threat of Paradox is still there – as always – but that’s asmall price to pay, right?

Correspondence

You Will Not Fail Me Again – Science Fiction has had an insurmountableaffect on the mages of this era. In the tradition of Star Wars, the mageliterally reaches out and makes a choking grip as if on another’s neck…(the sounds of blocked air pressure from Darth Vader have a tendency to

accompany the gesture…) A victim suddenly feels the strangling griparound his neck as the mage applies continual pressure (Strength is stilldamage). Since there is nothing for the victim to pry loose, even the mostphysically weak adept can strangle people. . . it just may take some time…

The Enemy Within (Correspondence 4, Life 3) (Euthanatos) – Many of the Euthanatos' intended victims have turned out to have some surprisingdefenses. Thus the Euthanatos have had to come up with some surprisingtechniques of assassination. During the long Akashic - Euthanatos war, thefamous assassin Delion came up against the equally renowned AkashicBrother Raging Mountain. 'Mountain's skin was invulnerable to all weapons

and he was unbeatable in combat. Taking the second problem first, Delionsimply attacked whilst 'Mountain was asleep. To overcome his invulnerableskin however, Delion devised this rote.

It is when the sword slices through muscle tissue and vital organs that itcauses harm. Therefore it is much more efficient simply correspond theblade inside the victim and wave it about a bit at a distance. This doesn'treally do any more damage - after all, skin and subcutaneous fat havenever provided much of a barrier to tempered steel - but it does overcomea surprising number of magickal defences. This is a highly guarded from theAkashic’s: All whom are taught are summarily sworn to secrecy.

[This rote follows normal Correspondence ranges.]

Summon Person (Dreamer) – Sometimes Dreamers need to get hold of people outside their own dreams. One way is to literally teleport them intothe dream of the Dreamer from their own. This can be quite an advantage,as they no longer reside in a dream of their choosing, and the mage is ableto run the show instead.



Link Dreams (Dreamer) (Correspondence 4 Mind 3) – The ability to linktogether dreams by portals or smooth transitions is an important skill forany budding Dream Lord. It requires that the mage moves them togetherand find a point or place where they fit together somehow (like having twodoors connect or different sides of a lake). When the dreams merge, theresults can sometimes become rather unpredictable. Another problem is of course that the dreamers of the different dreams now suddenly share the

same dream, which can lead to conflicts.

Divine Army (Akashic) (Correspondence 4, Life 2, Mind 1) – This rote wasfirst used by the Akashic monk Parandasambahava during the HimalayanWars, when he found himself surrounded by a half-dozen Euthanatosassailants. By co-locating himself, he was able fight them allsimultaneously.

[Each success scored after the first creates a second version of the mage,able to function independently of the others by virtue of the Mind sphere.However, because they are all the same person, each one suffers the

wounds inflicted on any of them, and only one magic effect can be cast perround, no matter how many of them there are. This effect is almost alwaysvulgar.]

Hyperspace Transmission (Etherite) (Correspondence 4) – This rote isthe cornerstone of most psychotronic processes thatthe Sons of the Etherhave developed. The scientist projects energy into the ether in such amanner that it moves instantly to another location. Note the rote does notitself provide the forces to be transported, which must come from somenatural ot magickal source before the mage can affect it.

[The mage must often get a high number of successes to transmit energyanywhere useful. some Sons have solved this by using special "receiver"for which they are familiar enough with to project to with few successes. ]

Energy Dampening (Etherite) (Correspondence 4, Forces 3/5, Life 3 ) – This Son of the Ether rote is similar to Endothermic Explosion in that itabsorbs the energy from a distant area. Most forms of electro-magneticenergies are drained. This causes the shutdown of most forms of technological devices by denying them power, be it electrical, solar,magnetic or even nuclear (with forces 5). The mage must be able to create

the force he wishes to drain, a mage with forces 3 wouldn't be able to stopa chemically powered device like an internal combustion engine becausethat involves "nuclear" forces of chemical reaction, however, thesparkplugs could be stopped from firing. Mages need Life 3 to drain livingbeings of energy, causing raw damage. Those with life 4 are experimentingwith more selective draining to cause paralization..

Psychotronic Biostimulation (Etherite)(Correspondence 4, Life 2/4 ) – This rote uses psychotronic devices to alter the electromagnetic fields a



living thing creates. Alteration of this field can cause the body to react tothe psychotronic stimuli in manners identical to those of having a physicaldisease or injury. such ailments have no detectable physical cause. Thiscan also be used to re-balance an aura to promote halth and causing thebody to respond similarly. A final option is alter the person's aura so that itis generally more or less unballanced than natural. This increases ordecreases the resistance of a person to disease or poison. Careful work can

change a person's aural balance with respect to a single substance ordisease only.

Psychotronic Mood Projection (Etherite) (Correspondence 4, Mind 2) – The use of Psychotronic methods to alter a person's brainwave patterns is avery new science. To date, mages have only developed firm throries of sensing an projecting general emotional states through these methods. TheSons are close to having a firm theory for mind-reading. Rumors persist of an Afganistanni Son of the Ether Barrabi that has combined psychotronictechnology and Extera-Low Frequency radio transmission devices todevelop a means of long-range Possession.

Entropy

Dissolve – A nasty rote invented by a desperate and hateful Euthanatosagainst her master. The mage dissolves the tissues of her victim. Bonesbecome flexible, muscles turn into jelly and the blood become almostetheric. Usually the victim just collapses and burst open, in a gross andvery vulgar display

Genetic Manipulation (Entropy 4 Correspondence 4 Life 3/4) – This rotehas been secretly developed and used by the Michaels They will use it forothers ( for a sufficient favor ) but will never divulge it's secret to anyonenot of their small order. The Traditions continually seek ways to foil thethreat of Progenitor Cloning. This rote is one such means of anti-cloningmethods. Its use causes small errors in the recipient's genetic structure tobe produced, seeds for a chaotic process of cellular degradation. Thisdegradation causes the cell to begin making "suicidal" enzymes andstructural components. Progenitors trying to use such a cell for cloning willfind the cells untenable, they die out in less than ten divisions. The rote

has three specific sub-versions. All require the adept to make a model of the recipient's DNA.

The first works along with Correspondence 4 and can take up to a week torun. It causes all cells that the recipient has already shed to undergo theentropic genetic change. It takes so long because the computer must Sort Through All-Space to find every little cell. This affects cells with therecipient's DNA even if they are dead.



The second works on the mage himself, involves life 3, and causes the cellshe sheds to develop the entropic gene sequences..

The third and final version uses Life four and is the same as the secondversion except it is used by the adept on another.

[Each success removes two successes from any attempt to clone/grow the

effected cells.

The second and third versions will cause pattern bleeding if maintainedbeyond their normal duration, so those who know this Rote often run thisrote regularly to ensure pattern integrity. Masters insist their apprenticessubmit to versions one and three of this rote before sharing any of thesecrets of the Rote itself. Paradox rote can cause the early expression of thegene errors or strike a close relative with them ( similar codons ). I don'treally want to think what version 1 would do if someone had a clone madeorto an identical twin. ]

Threefold Return (Verbena) – Using the principle that evil done returnsto the doer threetimes, the Druid Hwyll employed this effect to discourage attacks on hisperson. When the Celestial Chorus finally captured and slew him, all thoseinvolved perished within a year.

[Casting this rote involves a ritual bath in a cauldron. From that point on,any harm intentionally done to the bather during the duration of the effectwill eventually return three times upon the person causing the harm. Theexact effects are left to the Storyteller, and they may involve an exact

repetition of the harm or merely something equivalent. The effect is neverimmediate, and in extreme cases may take months or years to play out.]

Hand of the Crone (Verbena) (Entropy 4 Time 4) – The Danish witchGunnhild invented this rote to enable her to destroy the Progenitors whoslew the members of her coven, and the more bloody-minded members of the Tradition continue to employ it to bring sudden death to their enemies.

[The witch employing this effect must make physical contact with hertarget after ritually annointing her body with a potion brewed in hercauldron and stirred with her wand. This sets the effect in motion, and the Time sphere causes the rote to hang for period of time until the Entropysphere suddenly causes catastrophic damage to the victim.]

Forces

Summon the mighty Lord Uolxdo of Earth of Fire, He whosename is Annihilation (Enochian) (Forces 4 Entropy 3 Spirit 2) – The



mage summons one of the Lords of Fire. If the Lord chooses to help themage it can destroy almost anything or anyone, using its own considerablepower or its servitors. This often happen using static magick. Typical effectsis terrorist bombings, small earthquakes, traffic accidents, chemicalexplosions or riots. The targets demise is almost a certainty, since the Lordis known for his tenacity.

Life

End of Blood – The mage touches the victim with some blood (very littleis required). The result is a small infection rendering the victim sterile andunable to pass on undesirable traits. The victim will not notice anything byconventional means; there is no associated cold or backlash…this results assimply a genetic error that has presented itself in the form of an infectionthat the victim did not notice.

Your own Weight in Gold (Life 4, Matter 2) – This rote was reputedly

invented by an ancient sorcerer in Arabia when confronted with a group of adventurers demanding payment. He just turned their skeletons into puregold and walked away. The victims of this rote become extremely heavy,and due to the flexibility of pure gold their skeletons bend and deform. Mostare simply crushed under their own weight. Beside this obvious problem,friends and enemies alike become very interested in their skeletons...

Matter

Transmutation (Alchemists) (Matter 4) – The most well known rote of all

alchemist rotes. The mage heats a piece of metal for a long time, carefullymeditating on the true secrets of transmutation. When the metal cools, ithas become pure gold.

Mind

Talk to animals (Mind 4, Life 2/3) – Simply contacting the minds of animals (and plants) for information is seldom useful, since they lackunderstanding of human questions and the gift of reason. But anexperienced mage can overcome this by temporary making the animalintelligent! Verbena do this by dipping their athame in blood and drawingsymbols on the fur of the animal. The mage builds a temporary mind out of the memories and personality of the animal (and partially of the mage) andcommunicates with it mentally. In this way the animal can respond toquestions, think and even act intelligently for a while. But the mage mustalso keep constant control over its emotions and mind, since they tend toget confused of panic. After the rote ends, the animal return to its originalstate and forgets everything.



Program Bio-Expert System (BES) (Life 3 or 4, Mind 3 or 4 Prime 2)(Technocracy)– Technomages researching biocomputers have made someprogress. They have developed this rote, which allows them to make acomputer inside someone's brain/mind and program it as an expert system.Mind and Life 4 are needed if the mage wishes to create a BES in someoneother than himself.

The mage first prepares a generally unused portion of brain cells with life,and programs them with mind while balancing the necessary prime. Thesystem is programmed with abilities, downloaded as memories from adonor and placed in the recipient's mind as a program. The result is a smallautonomous computer system within the recipient. The abilities the systemis programmed for will kick in automatically whenever the recipient tries toperform actions they would normally be used in. The BES gives therecipient no knowledge of the process, which occurs in a manner similar toautomatic writhing, tasks are performed without knowledge of how orsometimes even what is being done.

For example, a person with a Brawling BES might have no idea how to fight,but the system will cause their strikes to hit appropriate areas of the enemywithout their even considering it.

One "Dirty Trick" arises from the fact that the BES kicks in automatically. A Technomage can program a person with a BES which has less dots in a skillthan the recipient. Every time the recipient tries to used the skill, the BEStakes over and prevents him from reaching any potential higher than thatof the BES.

[Each success gives the BES one dot in an ability taken from a donor. No

BES can have more than four dots in any one skill, more dots in an abilitythan the donor, or abilities from two or more donors.

Unless the mage succeeds in making the BES permanent, it will eventuallydegrade, possibly causing seizures or psychological problems. Trying to usethe Dream background has unpredictable effects. It has been totallysuccessful in some cases, caused deep quiet in others, and cause mentaldamage in the unfortunate.

No person can have multiple BES' These systems have been known toimplant personality traits of the donor into the recipient and cause amnesia

when running.All in all, Adepts feel a very great deal more of research can go into the BESfield. Some are even working at simulating a Trinary Computer in their ownmind so they can do magick with no external focus (they haven't comeclose yet).

Paradox can strike a BES programmer easily by possessing the BES andtaking over the recipient.



Unconfirmed rumors report Progenitors are working on BES and otherbiological computers as an alternative to Iteration X hardware. They alsohint the New World Order is considering establishing "Monitor" BES systemsin sleepers to control them.]

Deep Programming (Mind 4 Prime 2, sometimes Spirit 2) – The mageenters the mind of a person (often while the person is asleep or in trance)

and reprograms it in secret. The most common use is to place suggestionsor ideas into the subconscious, where they will trickle to the surface. Otherpossibilities are deep hypnotic suggestions giving the mage control overthe actions or thoughts of the victim, mental blocks of certain memories,placing "trapdoors" which will give the mage a way around mental defensesor even the creation of full-fledged sub-personalities. The last use, oftencalled Invocation of Thelemic Beings, is sometimes combined with Spirittoo. Such sub-minds will be independent from the main mind, and mayinfluence it, read its thoughts or do other things on a mental level, asprogrammed by the mage. This is a subtle way to sneak around enemymental scanning.

Disrupt Dream (Dreamer) – This rote is a favourite among the moredynamic Dreamers, who are not far from Marauders themselves. Theyreach into the dreams of a person or a place and then blur the line betweendream and reality. Things, situations and people from the dreams willappear coincidentally in the lives of the victims, strange events and oddhallucinations will follow them. Life becomes a slightly surreal affair, wherenothing is certain and everything is possible.

Steal Dream (Dreamer) – This rote allows a Dreamer to try to sever thelink between the person dreaming a dream and the dream itself. If itsucceeds the dream will become free, hopefully without damage. [Thenumber of successes denote the damage the dream took in the process.One success means that the dream was heavily damaged, with majorsections missing and many things changed. With two successes the dreamonly took some medium damage, loosing some minor locations and objects. Three successes ensure only small damage and minor changes, and fourand more successes will generally leave it almost completely intact.]

Dream Dominion (Dreamer) – Not only is it possible for a mage to severthe link between a dreamer and his dream, he can claim dominion over a

free dream. To do this he must extend his mind into the dream andencompass it, essentially learn to dream it. The mage must understand thedream well, and at least have seen most of it. This way Dreamers collectinteresting or beautiful dreams from people when they awaken and buildand improve on their own dreams. Less ethical dreamers wrest control of dreams from their owners and take them. This is also the way theDreamlords try to gain supremacy over the Chimerae, by constantly subtlyinfiltrating the dreams of each other and then suddenly striking, grabbingas many dreams as possible



Dream Knowledge (Dreamer) – In dreams you are often able to dothings you are unable to do in the waking world, or have new skills.Dreamers are able to actually give themselves (or others) new abilities, atleast inside their own dreams and often inside other dreams too. They canalso gain knowledge about things they should not have any knowledgeabout, like what other people are planning or what have happened to them.

However, this will work only in their own dreams or in dreams which allow it(usually Sleeper dreams).

[Each success will give the Dreamer one dreamed dot in a ability. Thisdream-skill is only applicable inside the dream, and cannot work with thingsfrom the outside (have you too woken up with a feeling you had justmanaged to solve a hard problem, and the solution turns out to be justnonsense?)

Dream Barrier (Dreamer) – Many Dreamers are quite paranoid aboutintruders into their dreams, and seek to both hide them from other

dreamers and to raise barriers against them. By using Mind the dream canbe shaped to reject intruders, and by using Spirit the Dreamer can preventthe opening of portals from the Chimerae.

[Each success will remove one success from any attempt to get into thedream, or even detect its existence. An intruder inside the dream will notbe hindered, but the dreamer will be instantly alerted by the breach. ]

Summon the mighty archangel Erzla of Air of Air and his four cherubic servitors (Enochian) (Mind 4 Spirit 2) –The mage summons

one of the archangels of pure air. The archangel tend to manifest mentally,speaking directly into the mages mind. Air-angels are quick, highlyintelligent and curious, but have a short span of attention unless the magehave something interesting to say. Erzla is very good at explaining abstracttheories and magick.

Prime

Anti-Reality (Maurader) – This Marauder rote is essentially the exact

opposite of anti-magick (see BoS for details). The marauder dissolves thesupporting threads of the local Tapestry, allowing reality the flow morefreely and adding excess quintessence to it. This creates a local region of dynamic reality, where the normal laws are temporarily suspended. A kindof anti- paradox zone, where vulgar magick may become coincidental.However, the rote itself is *very* vulgar. It will attract Paradox Spirits ashoney attracts bees. But if the spirits enter the area, they becomeinfluenced by the local paradigm and may begin to behave in unexpected



ways. In fact, they might start defending the *local* rules instead for ashort time, in opposition to their unchanged brethren. Very confusing.

Another side-effect is that the dynamic reality and free quintessence makesrandom events occur. This ranges from weak effects like having a glasscoincidentally break or insects behaving strangely when the rote haven'tturned reality very dynamic, over more dramatic effects like potential fire

coming real or spirits manifesting to truly bizarre and dangerous events likeobjects changing shape, breaches of the Gauntlet and reality behaving likea surrealist painting.

[Each success will make vulgar effects of less or equal levels coincidental.For example, with 3 successes all magick up to level 3 in any sphere iscoincidental, while Life 4 would still be vulgar. It will also allow randomeffects up to this level, but they are completely uncontrollable.]

Heal the Primal Wounds (Prime 4 Entropy 1) – The Celestial Chorus seesit as their duty to not only serve mankind, but also the rest of reality. After

confrontations with Nephandi, Marauders and other enemy mages theChorus often have to try to restore some semblance of normality to theareas which have been warped and destroyed. By sprinkling purifying waterand consecrating with fire, they seek to unravel the tangles of paradox,destruction and corruption left behind. They might not be able to restorethings as they were, but they can dissolve the worst warpings of reality.

Cartesian Rending (Prime 4 Mind 3) – This rote is named after ReneeDescartes, who claimed the soul could not interact with the material bodyexcept through a tiny link in the Pineal gland. A logical conclusion to this isof course that the link between the soul (and hence the rational intellect)and the body can be severed by suitable magick. This was alsodemonstrated by the Verbena who used this rote to be able to safelysubdue enemies without killing them. They simply took a drop of blood(preferably from the victim) and cut it in half with their Athame,symbolising the severing of the Soul from the Body. The result is that thesoul and mind of the victim will be unable to influence or sense whathappens to the body. In effect it is locked up in itself while the body goes onliving and retains some rudimentary intelligence, not unlike a zombie (thismight be the real method to create living zombies used by the Voodoomages). To restore the link, the mages have to carefully repeat the rote inreverse.

It goes without saying that the effect of the severing on the victims isprofound and very unpleasant. In the state of total sensory deprivation theysuffer they often develop complex hallucinations and may suffer psychosis,and become incurably insane after a few days. Kind Verbena mages useMind to put them to sleep for the duration of the severing or place them innice dream-realms. Mages are however not completely powerless in thisstate, since they may reach out using their still intact powers of magick. They may not be able to use anything requiring the body (like seeing or



speaking), but many Spheres give them excellent ways to interact withreality.

[The rote works by removing the Quintessence of the patterns that link theMind and Body of the victim. It does not do any physical damage. Normallythe soul of the victim will be desperately truing to reach back to the body,and this often succeeds if the rote is not sustained or very successful. For

some ideas about the effects of sensory deprivation, see the similar Mindrote "Opening the Abyss"]

Into the Twilight Zone (Prime 4 Entropy 2 Spirit 2) (Maurader) – Thisrote is popular among the Discordians, who use it on unsuspectingsleepers. It weakens the link between a person and consensus reality. Theresult is that the victim is no longer protected by the forces of normality,and become vulnerable to all the supernatural forces which normal peoplenever have the bad luck of running into. He will start to run into theweirdness going on behind the scenes, meet people and beings whichshould not be and generally discover that the world is a much darker and

stranger place than he ever thought.

Flaming Spirit Barrier (Prime 4 Spirit 1) – This ward is universally fearedamong the denizens of the Umbra. The Choristers cleanse and purify andarea, and then light a fire along the ward. This purifying fire will burn anddissolve spiritual flesh even more readily as mortal flesh. A spirit can passthrough it, but will suffer agonizing burns and may even be permanentlydissolved if the ward is strong enough. Few spirits dare to even approachthe barrier. This is often used around the Cathedrals of the Chorus.

Open the Void (Prime 4 Spirit 4) (Nephandi) – A feared Nephandi rote. Itliterally destroys reality, opening a yawning Void in its place. It is commonlyperformed by sacrificing victims around the affected area (or at leastcompletely, needlessly destroying things to create the required waste),often in the form of a destructive symbol. Around the Void reality flows andchanges in unpleasant ways, sometimes spontaneously rupturing further. There are even reports that frightful beings have appeared from the Void,most commonly Pure Forms, but sometimes worse things. Rumours tellthat the Avatars of people vanished into the void become food for theNephandi Lords. [ The mage must break through the gauntlet (like Breachthe Gauntlet) to create a true, somewhat stable Void. Otherwise it will just

become a major Paradox warp instead. Anything inside the Void willdissolve into nothingness at a frightening rate (twice the number of successes per turn). To heal an expanding Void, the spirit rote "SustainExistence" has to be used.]

Transformation Rotes (Prime 4, Sphere 1, Sphere 2/3/5) (Maurader) –Marauders excel in changing the forms of things, just to demonstrate thepossibilities. This is both highly vulgar and entertaining. The maraudersimply dissolves the pattern of something old and creates a new pattern for



it, while keeping the essence unchanged. This works mainly on the patternspheres, but enterprising marauders have experimented with turningpeople into patterns of randomness or spatial relationships. The new pattern will still retain the essence of its previous form.Radioactivity turned into Life will appear as scorpions, air turned into lifewill become birds or butterflies. Gravity turned into matter will becomelead, while Gravity turned into life will become an Elephant or something

heavy. And so on.

[To transform a pattern of one type to another, the marauder must perceiveit (using level 1 of the sphere), take it apart using Prime 4 and rebuild itusing Prime 2 and the new pattern-sphere (Matter 2/4, Life 3, Forces 3/5). The number of successes will tell how well the transformation went andhow stable the new pattern is. Most changed patterns don't survive verywell.]

Disintegration Ray (Etherites) (Prime 4) – A favorite of the Sons of Etherduring the 1950s, this device annihilates an object by draining it of all

Quintessence.

[This is identical to the Flames of Purification rote used by the CelestialChorus. When it is complete, all that is left is a fine layer of granularmatter.]

Spirit

The Sign of Clypsani (Euthanatos) – This sign (symbol) is placed ondoors and openings to seal them from umbrood beings. When drawn, themage must infuse it with Tass to connect it to Clypsani, guardian of theBetween. Most Umbrood, even many of the most powerful respect it sincethey fear the power of the Great One that Dwells Between. However, thereis a catch: If the door is opened, it lets the beings in and out . And there isthe added danger and fear of Clypsani, whom may be lurking in theshadows, waiting for a door to be opened so that she can be freed of thebetween…

Vinculum (Spirit 4 Matter 2) – This rote is a classic method of binding

spirits, mainly used by Order of Hermes. Part of the spirit is simply forcedinto a material object and locked in place. The spirit has to choose betweenleaving the object, or ripping itself part. Such spirit-fetters are a very usefulway of taming dangerous spirits or to keep spirits imprisoned in thematerial world. A common addition to the rote is a condition which will hurtthe spirit if it tries to affect the object, or even destroys the object plus theessence of the spirit if it is harmed.



Magickal Barrier (Spirit 4) – This ritual creates a magickal barrier whichno spirit may pass. Instead of the normal Circle, the mage draws or marksthe barrier (using chalk, stones or other available materials), draws thenecessary seals at strategic positions and performs a powerful ritual tomake it impregnable.

Consecrate Circle (Spirit 4 Prime 3) – This hermetic ritual is used to

consecrate a Circle and/or Triangle to make it easier to summon spirits intoit, and strengthen its protective properties. Usually it is done by sacrificesto the invisible rulers of the spirit world, and long incantation of god-names.

[Each success will decrease the gauntlet inside the Circle and/or Trianglewith 1 and increase it along the circumference.]

Imprison Spirit (Spirit 4) – This rote was reputedly invented by Solomonhimself. The mage orders (or lures) the spirit into a bottle, box or otherspace and then seal it with wax and the seal of the spirit or the mage. Thespirit will be imprisoned in the vessel, and cannot leave until the seal isbroken. Some mages have also thrown crystals or scrolls of parchmentthrough the manifestation of the spirit, but this method is much lessreliable.

Eat Spirit (Spirit 4 Life 3) – This rote was reputedly invented by a veryeccentric hermetic mage, who boasted that he had tasted everything onearth. He finally decided to taste something not of this earth, and inventedthis rote. By drawing a complex hermetic circle, trapping a spirit inside andforcing it to manifest, he was able to make it material... and edible.

According to the stories (which diverge on this), the etheric flesh of thespirit was either the greatest disappointment of his life or of such anexquisite flavour that he never ever could eat any earthly food ever again.

Charge Gauntlet (Spirit 4, Forces 3, Prime 2) (Technocracy) – Many VoidEngineers and once upon a time, Etherites, had to spend at least some of their time on "border patrol", guarding and maintaining the Gauntlet. Theyoften think of their gauntlet as a fence between the spirtual and physicalworlds. There are things out there that can break and practical fence. Dowhat sleepers do when a fence has to hold something really big back, theyElectrify it!

Use the gauntlet as a non-conductive material and separate a charge intothe material and spiritual worlds. The charges stick together due toelectrostatic attraction, but can't normally touch. Whenever something triesto cross the gauntlet, it becomes a conduit between these worlds.ZZZaaaap! Mucho voltage. The discharge is quite spectacular (one of therewards of the often thankless job of a border guard ).



[The discharge causes successes x2 damage. In addition, each level notsoaked also removes one success from any attempt to cross the gauntlet.One use of the rote can create a number of discharges no greater than thenumber of successes. ]

Rune of Ownership (Spirit 4 Matter/Life 4) (Nephandi) – This spiritualsign is drawn on an item (or being), which will be marked forever as a

possession of the mage. This will work as long as the mage doesn't sell,give away, or free the marked. To mark something, the mage must own andcontrol it at least for the moment. Even Avatars can be marked in such away if the person in question truly agrees about his servitude with themarker for a moment. This is the way many Nephandi collect Avatars fortheir masters (who may have the ownership of their souls...). It is also usedby some normal mages to mark their possessions (in this case Spirit 2 is allthat is needed), and in old times many mages marked their possessionsbefore their death to be able to bring them with them into the Underworld.

Creating the Magical Mystery Machine (4 Matter, 4 Spirit, 2 Prime) –

This Rote was originally taught within the Order of Hermes as a quickmethod of creating reliable transport in the Umbra. After leaving the Technocracy the Sons of Ether used this Roteto create graceful and imaginative Ether sailing ships in the Umbra. Thenan unknown Cult of Ecstasy member, on a very strange and powerful tripduring the nineteen sixties, while listening to the Beetles Sergeant Pepper'sLonely Hearts Club Band record, changed the perceptions of this Roteforever. Since that fateful day no Tradition Mage is ever sure of what thisRote will create, Cult of Ecstasy members claim that being in the midst of areal mellow trip when using this Rote makes the result look, "Really COOLman!"

[With one success the Mage creates a breech in the gauntlet, usuallymanifesting as an invisible doorway, and a small slow Umbral craft whichthe Mage can use the doorway to gain access to. For each additionalsuccess the Umbral craft created becomes larger and faster. Unfortunatelythe Mage has absolutely no control over what the Umbral craft looks like orhow it propels itself through the Umbra. This totally in the hands of theStoryteller and is usually very wild. The Cult of Ecstasy thinks this effect isreally cool, the comments of other Traditions are unprintable.]

Program Expert System(Spirit 4 Mind 3/4 Prime 2) – The Virtual Adepts

are very interested in the possibility of creating their own customizedexpert systems and AIs. This is by no means a simple feat, and AI-programmers are regarded as very Elite by the Adepts. To create a simpleexpert system, the programmer must first create a system which can holdinformation and act on its own. Then it must be programmed with thenecessary skills, behaviors and personality to become functional. This isusually done by having the programmed download part of his memoriesand skills into the system, and then modifying them to fit in. The result isan autonomous system, which exhibits personality traits and behaviors



almost like a real being, although it is not really intelligent or self-aware. The expert system is not truly intelligent, its just a crude simulation (true AIis much harder), but its often hard to tell a cleverly designed Expert fromtrue intelligence.

[Each success lets the mage download one skill-point into the system (itsoften a good idea to slowly build the system under a long time as an

extended action). The skills and memories must come from the mage self,or be downloaded with Mind 4 from another person. Personality is up to thedesigner to determine, but often elements from himself sneaks in. If themage doesn't succeed in making the magick permanent, the expert willcrash after a while and have to be rebooted. ]

Purify Paradigm (Spirit 4 Entropy 3 Prime 3) – This rote is coincidentallyused by technomancers when they build their central laboratories andother installations. By making sure that everything inside is perfectlyordered and that nobody questions the paradigm in any way, and thenchannels some quintessence (funding) into it, they can fix the paradigm to

become "hyper-static". The Gauntlet is quite impermeable. Randomnessand decay is banished. Experiments will be completely repeatable, andfollow theory exactly. The whole area follows their paradigm and activelydampens all forms of magick not compatible with it. A weaker version of this rote is used around important people or in the homes of technomancers.

[Each success will increase the Gauntlet rating one step, and give the areaand anything within a extra dice of countermagick against everything notconsistent with the paradigm.]

Dissolve Spirit (Spirit 4 Entropy 4) (Maurader) – To actually destroy aspirit is often extremely hard, but it is possible. This rote dissolves thespiritual essence of the spirit and scatters it for the winds. This will destroylesser spirits, but really powerful spirits can sometimes appear after aconsiderable time, often both weakened and desperate for revenge. Tomake sure the spirit is destroyed, either the True Name of the spirit has tobe used or Prime 4 can be used to unravel the remaining patterns intonothingness (but even then, extraordinary powerful spirits may returnsometime in the far future).

[The rote does aggravated damage against Spirits not Avatars. If they arereduced below Incapacitated, they are destroyed or banished for a verylong time if they are powerful enough.]

Spirit Flask (Spirit 4 Matter 3) – Another classic rote. By making a materialcontainer impervious to spirits, they can be trapped inside and only escapeif somebody opens it. The trick is to get them inside...



Sustain Existence (Spirit 4 Prime 2) – A great but fortunately uncommondanger is the risk in being trapped in a decaying reality. This problem ismost often encountered under the creation of Horizon realms, since manyearly attempts often break down as the reality crumbles due to unexpectedinternal stresses, or near the chaotic and Wyld zones left in the Umbra byMarauders. An unprotected mage trapped inside a reality whose existenceis unraveling will vanish together with the reality unless he can enforce his

own reality strong enough or at least uphold reality around him. Order of Hermes have developed a effective version where the mage protectseverything inside his circle while constantly drawing powerful symbolsalong the perimeter with the seal, while the Virtual Adepts (whose earlyrealms had an unfortunate tendency to crash at a drop of a hat) weave aweb of network connections around themselves, protecting themselves bythe built-in defenses and inherent stability of the network.

[The mage must constantly refuel all patterns around him withquintessence to prevent them from loosing their reality. Spirit is used tosupply "base reality" in the vicinity regardless of the nature of surrounding

reality. Often the local gauntlet is hardened as much as possible to bringmore stability to the region. ]

The Brand of Evil (Nephandi) – This sign is used by the Nephandi tobrand people that have angered them. It is a violent, radical rune which isdrawn in the air against them, painted on objects which are given to themor actually branded into their skins. It makes all Umbrood to recognize thatthe bearer has angered the Forces from Beyond, and most beings either tryto make his life as miserable as possible, or avoid him. The taint of theNephandi can be felt around him, and it is rumored that if the Avatar isbranded, it will be sucked out into the Outside after the bearer's death...

Sign of Protection (Nephandi) – This sign is the opposite of the Brandof Evil, it shows that the bearer is under the protection of the Forces fromBeyond. Anybody harming him risks retribution from Them. Most beingssimply avoid the bearer, and some may become hostile. The strength of theprotection depends upon the strength of the powers invoked by the drawer,and if they are willing to give their protection. However, it is hard to tell if asign is backed up or not, so bluffing is possible.

Rite of Transmutation (Nephandi) – This rote is fortunately uncommon,

but it allows Powers from Beyond to enter the normal world on a large butsubtle scale. When performed, the presence of the Things become strongeraround the mage, and will start to influence reality. Normally this is ancoincidental effect, as living beings develop rare and surreal diseases,plants mutate, animals and humans are born malformed and the normalflow of events turn subtly strange. An area such affected will over timebecome more and more eerie, and if done slowly and carefully, theNephandi can transmute the region more and more without undue paradox.In the end such an region will become a warped nightmare, where plants



and animals have become hideous and surreal creatures, where the normallaws of physics have become warped and the gauntlet weakened. Suchblights can grow in secret, and when they have become large enough theirinfluence will start spreading of its own volition.

Zombie, 'Orleans Style (Life 3, Spirit 4) (Euthanatos) – Euthanatos of Egypt have been raising corpses as long as anyone can remember and

today, those who follow this tradition still use the technique as a wonderfulsource of servants. However, there now seem to be as any rotes for doingthis as there are mages. This particular rote is believed to be the one usedby the renowned Baron Samedi. Several voodoo priests are fond of it andeven sleepers have learnt the basic ritual. The word Zombie does notactually mean an animated corpse in this case however. It is still essentiallya living human being.

The first stage of this rote is to find a suitable subject and induce a state of suspended animation in him. This may be done by magick or a herbalpoison. The poison brings the victim to the point of death (without causing

tissue damage) which weakens the link between the body and the spirit.Most of the rituals of the voodoo priest are solely for the purpose of breaking this link. If too little poison was administered then the link will betoo strong to be broken. Conversely, if too much was used then the bodyquickly dies and is useless. Just as the link is at its weakest (that is whenthe subject is about to die) the mage quickly drives out the spirit if he canand then hurriedly neutralizes the poison and drags the body back to life. This is no easy task and mentors usually make disciples practice on animalsbefore progressing to people. If successful then the mage has a living,intelligent body with no soul - and thus no will of its own - a Zombie.

There are a number of problems facing the young voodoo priest however. If he works too slowly then the body begins to deteriorate before he can dragit back to life. Without oxygen the brain rapidly suffers damage. That iswhy so many Zombies are slow and a little dense. The second problem isthat although the Zombie has no will of its own it has no particular loyalty. If anything it just tends to obey the person that can shout the loudest. Thusthe Zombie needs to be trained. This frequently but does not have toinvolve Mind magick. Finally, a spiritless body is a walking invitation to anypassing Umbrood who fancies playing about in the `real' world. It is likeleaving a Ferrari around with the keys in the ignition. To prevent this themage seals the Zombie against the Umbra. If all this is done then themage

has an excellent servant / body-guard / dinner-date or whatever.

[This is an extended ritual. Firstly the victim must be rendered deeplycomatose (Life 4 or poison). Some experience is needed to judge thiscorrectly. Secondly the spirit must be driven out (Spirit 4). At least 10successes are needed; possibly more for those with strong Avatars. Finallythe body must be healed (Life 3). 4 successes are needed and must beachieved within one turn.]



Open the Ivory Gate (Dreamer) – Most Dreamers are solitary and preferto contact other mages in their dreams, but sometimes they have to bringthem in bodily into their dreams. Adept dreamers are able to open gatesinto their dreams, or other dreams. They can also open portals into theChimerae by their own choosing, not having to depend on the whims of thedreams themselves.

Dreams into Reality (Dreamer) (Spirit 4, Prime 3, Mind 3) – A dream canbe turned into a real realm by weaving it into the spiritual fabric of theUmbra and feeding it quintessence, just like in the creation of a normalhorizon realm. This requires that the dreamer of the dream cooperates orthat the dream is free. The resulting reality has axioms determined by thedream, but also frequently quirks and odd properties not readily apparent,based on the quirks of the original dreamer. Most such realms have adistinct resonance.

Ectoplasmic Depolarization (Etherites) (Spirit 4 Prime 2) – The psychicresearcher Prof. Ephemeris encountered many strange spiritual entitiesduring his years of active research, and he eventually perfected thisprocedure to force disembodied consciousnesses to vacate the hosts theypossess. This process depolarizes the ectoplasm which makes up aspiritual entity, thus reducing the entity's ability to influence human minds.

[Each success grants the equivalent of 3 Willpower successes on anexorcism roll.]

Time

Delay Paradox (Johnny Special # 13) (Time 4 Prime 2) – ParadoxBacklashes are so great disturbances in reality that any mage with Primeand Time will feel them approaching well in advance. So far nobody hasever been able to avert them, but they can be delayed, giving the mage achance at least to prepare himself. He simply twists the time around theapproaching backlash, delaying it. This is of course utterly vulgar, and willfuel it even more. Powerful mages have experimented with Time 4 to freezeParadox completely, but it will inevitably escape and become a Time-backlash of almost mythical strength.

[Botches are *very* nasty. Handling Paradox is inherently paradoxical, andthis rote may even disturb the flow of Time. Caution is advised. Thenumber of turns the mage can delay the Paradox is equal to his successes.Double the strength of the Backlash and use the normal duration table. ]

Compile Virtual Computer (Time 4 Correspondence 2 Prime 2 Forces 1)– The Virtual Adepts have always been interested in applying the ideas of technology and science to magick. One early development was thediscovery that magickal effects could be delayed until certain conditions



had been fulfilled. Since this is essentially the same principle as thetransistor, they began to develop magickal electronics. By joining togethermany separate "transistors" and using magickal events instead of electricity, they were able to first build immaterial digital devices and finallythe virtual computers. These computers are built out of magickal patterns,which interact in complex ways. They require no electricity, since they usecausality itself as their building material (some Adepts claim that space-

time really is built out of a network of information processing units, and thevirtual computers just are man-made imitations).

They have no limitations on speed, size or processing power exceptparadox and the skill of their creators. This turned out to be the greatestobstacle, since the creation of the ultra complex patterns requiresextremely skilled programmers. It was however somewhat simplified whena team of Adepts developed the first compiler, which could compile sourcecode in electronic form into a running virtual program-pattern. Thesecompilers are major feats of magick and programming, and still requireextremely skilled adepts, but its no longer a feat worthy an AI to create a

virtual computer.

[Virtual computers are compiled into extremely complex patterns of causalconnections, which interface with the normal world through the Digital Web. The patterns has to be very exact, otherwise the system will quicklyunravel. Interfacing with the physical world has proven to be too prone toparadox, which wrecks the intricate patterns in a matter of minutes.However, one elegant application which works is expanding the capacity of a normal Adept computer, which is often coincidental or at least doesn'tattract attention. Virtual memory can hold unlimited information and virtualprocessors can process nearly infinite amounts of data. There are persistent

rumours that several experimental virtual computers have achievedconsciousness and Ascended. ]

Petrify (Time 4 Life 4 Matter 2) – This is the classic petrifaction rote, astaple of theVerbena and also rather popular among some of the more drastic Cultists. The victim is literally turned into stone, lasting forever (or at least a longtime). Some Sons of Ether have a stasis rote, based on Forces instead,locking victims inside fields of no-time, but the function is the same. Theserotes can be supplied with conditions which will dispel them, as a kiss fromprince charming or a pre-set time.

[The rote can be used without Time, but then it won't last as long as whenthe Avatar of the victim is frozen into stasis. ]

Weather Conserves (Time 4 Forces 2/4) – An ancient Verbena rote. Themage boils together a broth during a thunderstorm, hurricane or sunny dayand lets it absorb the weather, which is stored in a jar, bottle or sack. If it isopened, the weather will come streaming out again. This can prove useful



as a weapon, as in the case of Mother Huntington's Pickled Lightening orpractical as a diversion (like her Fog Preserves or Hail with Cinnamon).

Warning Curse (Verbena) – The ancient Verbena reputation for effectivecurses rests in nosmall part on the power of this rote, by which the witch warns that direconsequences will strike the target if he fulfills the conditions set by the

witch.

[This spell is cast in conjunction with a second one. The Time sphere allowsthe witch to specify a moment or condition which will trigger the secondspell. There are many versions of this, but one familiar example is "On yoursixteenth birthday, you will prick your finger on a spindle and die." Anotherexample is "If you strike your wife three times, you will lose your family andproperty."]

Chronal Energy Generator (Etherites) (Time 4) – Professor Reflux is justly pleased with this invention, which has enabled him to finish his

experiments when his wife was demanding that he sit down to dinnerimmediately, as well as saving his life a few times. The Chronal EnergyGenerator literally creates time. He has also perfected a small, hand-heldversion that provides a similar, but less powerful effect.

[The Chronal Energy Generator generates extra time within the field of itseffect. Each success creates 1 hour of time for the scientist to use as hepleases. It is possible to cross into or out of the field, but doing so willcause damage equal to the number of successes. The Portable ChronalEnergy Generator acts as the Time 3 effect "Time Dilation".]

Do Not Suffer Today What You Can Suffer Tomorrow (Cultists)(Time 4 Life 3) – This rote is commonly used to avoid the nasty after-effectsof partying for some time; the cultists simply pushes them further into thefuture. It can also be used to move pain, hunger or other negativeexperiences ahead, and even move wounds into the far future. They willstill be felt, but (hopefully) at a time of the cultists choosing.

[When the displeasure appears (as determined how far into time it hasbeen pushed) it will give the usual penalties, in addition to the penalties themage may have had before. Moving wounds is very dangerous, since the

mage may suddenly find himself mortally wounded ].

Documents

Mage the Ascension 4dot Rotes