Rotes

Traditions and their Attitudes towards Rotes
Despite the desires for easy to understand Magick that all Apprentices and Disciples may feel, all of the Nine Traditions heavily emphasize direct Sphere study over Rote instruction for a number of reasons.
Mages who take the harder road of comprehending the Spheres directly do not get the quicker bang for the buck that Rote study gives, but overall have a deeper comprehending and mastery of the powers that they can perform. "You wanna learn coding, or just how to run apps?", say the Virtual Adepts. These kinds of Mages tend to be more versatile as well. However, most Tradition Mages still make use of Rotes of one kind or another as study aids or as a tool to get them out of a tight spot. The Traditions, for the most part, regard Rotes as just that...time tested tools that are good for teaching and the field. But unlike the Technocracy, the Traditions do not confuse the forest for the trees and are often the better for it.
While less numerous than Technocrats, Tradition mysticks tend to be better Mages overall, not relying on the crutch of a few well learned Rotes but instead being wild and improvisational with their Magick, which frustrates their Technocrat opponents to no end. However, Rotes can also be handy in a lurch, because they're tried, tested and true, and can also be used as a surprise trick in a Mage's bag. Most Tradition Mages put aside their Rotes as they advance and become more Awake (gain in Arete), with some Mages researching new Rotes or expanding on old ones as they progress.
In the Traditions community, new Rotes demonstrate the Mage's mastery of his or her Art, as well as insight, skill and style. Research into Rotes is applied Magick and this research and experimentation pushes the boundaries of Magick, and thus Reality (In this, many Awakened argue, the Technocracy went too far, as they became enamored with the products of Ascension, as opposed to Ascension itself. This charge is also often levelled at the Order of Hermes and the Technomantic Traditions as well...)
Many Mages research Rotes without ever really using them, adding them to their Traditions storehouse of knowledge...The Etherites and House Bonisagus of the Order of Hermes are both famous for this. The Technocracy Conventions of the New World Order, Progenitors, Iteration X and Void Engineers are full of dedicated researchers, creating the Hypertech that will one day filter down to the Masses, in a controlled and orderly manner. Even the Syndicate has it's dedicated economic and management theorists who create new products and services for the masses, although their not as numerous as Sales Personnel. In the Traditions, the groups least likely to research are the Chorus, Dreamspeakers, Cult of Ecstasy and Verbena, as they have an immense body of lore to draw upon, and in the case of the Cult and the Dreamspeakers, are more likely to rely on improvisational Magick as opposed to formulaic Rotes (some more free-wheeling Cultists refer to Rotes as "Blockhead Magick.") The Euthanatos use both formulaic Magicks drawn from many cultures as well as improvisational techniques, and the Akashic Brotherhood, as in all things, takes a balanced approach, making heavy use of Rotes and then leaving them behind as the brother or sister progresses in the Way. All Traditions often codify successfully performed Magickal effects for use by their Tradition brethren.
Most Orphans don't have Mentors and Libraries to turn to, and must learn Spheres by experimentation and a hit or miss approach to Magick. Hollows are a little better off, as the Darklings avidly help each other by exchanging bits of lore that can help keep each other alive. The Hollows and many Orphans also make use of Rotes that are "stolen" from other Traditions, which explains their hodge-podge collections of Foci and Magick style. It's just as often made up, and it infuriates Hermetics and other stuffy Mages when Hollows call upon powers that supposedly exist only in comic books (Such as the infamous Kid Mordo, a Hollow with a thing for old Doctor Strange and Vertigo comics, who calls upon powers like the Rings of Raggador and the Eternal Vishanti in his Rotes.)
In the beginning of training, most Traditions teach only Rotes, which assist the student in understanding the Spheres by demonstrating Magickal principles in action. Further, Rotes are somewhat predictable, and can be easily controlled by a mentor in the confines of a Sanctum if things should go wrong. This method is most heavily used by the Order of Hermes and the Akashic Brotherhood - the former teaches apprentices Hedge Magic, and the latter instructs through both theory and Rotes after Awakening. Many Akashic Rotes have no discernable practical value, but are specifically designed for instruction, so as to teach the student of the art of living and the first steps on the Way, such as the 'non-sense' exercises used in Chinese and Japanese Martial Arts training. Often, an Akashic initiate is surprised to learn that performing the non-sense, back-breaking chore he or she just finished was also practicing what another Tradition would call 'magick'. More prosaically, Rotes in Akashic Instruction work like forms and Katas do in mundane Martial Arts, teaching a student a particular movement so well that he or she can perform the technique at a moment's notice.
Most Crafts also depend heavily on Rotes, as they are not only important in instruction but are also a manifestation of the practicioner's cultural identity and heritage. They're also important in regards to successful teaching, as many of the more naturalistic Crafts do not have extensive Libraries filled with theoretical Sphere Lore. However, this depends heavily on the Craft in question, as ancient songs and oral tradition can teach Spheres directly just as easily as they can teach Rotes, as the Dreamspeakers ably demonstrate.
Marauders, surprisingly, use Rotes, which are favored forms of Magick that some cling to like a favored psychosis. Some Marauders use the same Magick over and over obsessively, others don't use Rotes at all, with the whole Rote question differing from Mad one to Mad one.
Technocrats reply on Procedures so heavily that some Tradition Mages make the mistake of thinking that the Conventions can only use Rote based Magick. While this may be nearly the case with some kinds of Reality Scientists (such as with some Iterators), other Conventions rely on an almost intuitive kind of Reality Science. The New World Order actually is the Convention which relies the least on Rotes, instead emphasing deep comprehension of theoretical principles in it's researchers in the constructs and quick decision making in their Black and Grey agents in the field. The Syndicate lies a close second, relying on off-the-cuff Adjustements to deal with hardasses. Despite it's mavericks, the Progenitors rely heavily on Procedures, mostly being drugs and laboratory processes, with the Clone Mages desiring the high degree of control and preciseness Procedures can give. Iteration X and the Void Engineers are much the same way, with many being in the form of Apparati and Devices. Background checks (which may *also* be Procedures) insure that lower ranking Technocrats do not learn or gain access to Procedures that are beyond their clearance - ST's who run Technocracy based games with this Rote system, take note! This means that while most Technocrats know Procedures, few know ones that have effects that are ranked above the Spheres they already know, except for certain cases and special missions, as well as their Convention's specialty Sphere. Of course, in the ever-political Union, clearance can be given to gain training in normally off-limits Procedures.
Finally, the most enthusiatic users of Rotes tend to be the Fallen. Usually in search of quick and easy power, only the most spiritual and dedicated of Barabbi and Widderslainte have the patience for full-blown Sphere studies. Often, the Fallen will offer a prospective target for the Cauls a peice of knowledge or power (a high level Rote the dupe can cast, with a Qlippothic slant, or perhaps not), in exchange for...considerations. Nephandi Rotes are works of horrid art, the pinnacle of corrupt, evil Magicks.
DreamCast Entropy * Spirit ** Mind *** (Time **)
By: Hugh of the High Hand
Paradigms: Virtual Adept, Dreamspeaker
You have a thought? Good. Place it in the Dreamtime and let it go. Why?
Child, thought must be shared, or what good is it?
[This rote creates a mental image, usually a message of some sort, and places it within the care of a friendly Chimerical spirit. It will then be received by anyone so inclined, generally those who need or would be interested in the message, but only if they are asleep and dreaming at the time it is sent. The more successes on the rote, the more people it will be able to reach. Time ** can be used to predict when certain potential recipients will be dreaming and schedule the broadcast appropriately.]
Token Dream Spirit ** Mind ** By: Hugh of the High Hand
Paradigms: Virtual Adept, Dreamspeaker
If you need to get a message to someone, you need security, and you have some time to wait, use this rote. You take the thought you wish to send them, encode it for their mind, and send it into the Chimerae. It will then pass from one dream to another until it finds the target. It may influence some of the dreams along the way, but in very subtle manners that would be difficult to obtain useful information from. When it finds the target sleeping, it will create a very vivid dream that you prepare that will be remembered upon waking. Strong emotion cannot really be attached without, as the construct is somewhat fragile and will tend to break down.
[This effect is almost always coincedental. Someone trying to find the message would have to know what they were looking for, and even then, each level of success on the TD spell gives the message an effective level of Arcane. The message will, of necessity, arrive at a very arbitrary time, decided by the Storyteller, but it will probably arrive faster the more successes that are attained.]

Trouble Maker Spirit ** Entropy *
By: Hugh of the High Hand
Paradigms: Garou, Technomancy
Think to a time of frustration: childhood memories of wanting and not getting, adolescent memories of, well, wanting and not getting, not being able to get the stupid machine to work, whatever. Think of how that made you feel. Let the feeling wash over you for a moment. When you actually start to feel the emotion, it is a sign that a Spirit of Frustration has been attracted by the feeling. Focus the emotion on the target of your ire, try to think of the ways it can best annoy that target, and let it loose. Make sure you don't lose that focus, or those feelings of frustration you are feeling will now have cause. The spirit will strike randomly, having no mind: concentrate on making the most of random chance.
[This rote summons a minor spirit to sabotage a targeted device. It attacks the target at its weakest point, certainly causing it to malfunction temporarily, and possibly causing it to be permanently unusable. Each success will cause the device to malfunction for a turn, and will do a pseudo-health level to it. These health levels only apply if the device would be completely destroyed by them, in which case the device is permanently disabled, otherwise doing nothing. If this spell's target is a device notorious for breaking down, like any computer, it is coincedental.]
[Trouble Maker was the result of desperation. When Hugh and I were young, inexperienced magi, we had several encounters with Lycanthropes (Garou). Durring one of these (which coincided with an epiphany), Hugh encountered a minor GlassWalker (Garou tribe) associated spirit, Saran-Saran, a spirit-of-frustration-with-modern-life, who takes the form of a tangled mass of pastel cling wrap... Later, imprisoned at a minor Technocratic outpost, Hugh found the glass tube he was confined in was not resistant to Spirit magick, so, he called Saran-Saran. The minor spirit did not normally /damage/ technology, only make it more difficult to use, so, Hugh used Spirit and Entropy to direct it to the controls' most vulnerable points, and thus effected his escape...
Zen and the Art of Computer Programming Mind ** Correspondence *
By: Hugh of the High Hand
Paradigms: Akashic Brotherhood, Virtual Adept
Relax your shoulders. Listen to the waves crashing on the rocks. When you are ready, you will know the key to press. Breath in. Breath out. The code is all. Breath in. The code does not matter. Breath. Allow your thoughts to crystalize on the screen. Stay focused. Breath out. Keep your mind clear. Breath in. The words (and bytes) flow from the Universe: let them come. Breath out.
You see? You are finished.
[By bringing out your inner self and putting it in touch with the Computer, you can greatly aid the process of writing code. The trick is not to think about what you are doing. Each success can either reduce the difficulty of the code by one, or it can add an extra die to the roll. This effect is almost always coincidental.]
Born Again Shell Correspondence ** Prime ***
By: Hugh of the High Hand
Paradigms: Virtual Adept, Celestial Chorus
My child, peer into the flame. It is our connection to the One. Gaze upon the flame, touch the flame: it does not burn. Lay your hands upon the flame, for from there does the power flow. The power of magic, the power of the One. Let in now enter you, the great gift of the One. Feel its power, feel the Glory!
Now, please, clean your fingerprints off of the screen.
[This rote must be used twice, once for preparation, once for activation. Take some tass and work the ritual over it to prepare it. Later, you can call the Quintessance from the tass directly to your pattern. One success is enough for the preparation ritual, each success in the calling gives you one point of Quintessence up to the amount in the tass. You may prepare as much as you wish.]
Howl at the Virtual Moon Spirit ** Correspondence ***
By: Hugh of the High Hand
Paradigms: Virtual Adept, Garou
"rrrr. I cannot believe you use that foolish human device, even now. Have my teachings meant nothing to you? And how do you expect a mere image of Luna to serve? Oh, very well. We must have aid in this, and your help in the ritual is welcome. Prepare yourself! Now howl! Call out your rage and bring the Servants of Luna to us! HOWL!!! Ahh, creature of Luna, forgive this unorthodox calling, for we are in great need of your help..."
[Not even the creatures of the spirit world are entirely immune to the illusions of the Virtual Adepts. Normally, a Lune will only appear under moonlight, but this rote "tricks" it into appearing by bringing the moonlight to you. The effect only lasts for a turn per success, and the Lune will disappear the moment the rote ends. And, incidentally, I hope you're on good terms with it or know someone who is, because, summoned moonlight or no, it is not likely to be pleased...]
Thank the Kill Spirit *
By: Hugh of the High Hand
Paradigms: Dreamspeaker/Garou
It is a tradition of many peoples of the world to apologize to and thank an animal you have just killed, or are about to kill. This seems only fair to me. Make sure the kill is as quick and painless as possible. Just after the kill, or perhaps just before, pronounce a short prayer, and possibly perform a ritual dressing of the animal. If the animal's spirit appears to you, it may very well have a request. By all means, do what it asks, if it is not against your personal code (unlikely for most of us).
[Not a particularly useful Rote, perhaps, but it may help your character sleep more easily at night. Anyone may toss and turn when the animals' spirits come calling. And, who knows? You might make some friends in the Spirit planes by doing it (though probably not if that's your goal).]
Thank the Darkness Entropy * Mind ** or *** Spirit ** or ***** Prime ***
By: Hugh of the High Hand
Paradigms: Dreamspeaker/Garou, Nephandic
The Nephandi frequently argue that there is no light without darkness, no good without evil, and so on. That they are necessary to the proper functioning of the universe. That, in their opposition to and frequent corruption of the rest of us, they are actually doing us a favor. That their existance has a purpose. In endeavoring to be a truly eclectic Mage, in striving for an understanding of the Metaphysic of Magic, I have embraced these words.
Their purpose is in giving the rest of us something to feel good about destroying.
On the other hand, that very fact can be our downfall. When we begin to hate the Dark, we become more like it. No matter what attrocities they commit before being destroyed, even with personal attacks, we must strive not to fall too far into this trap. To not hate them at all is beyond most of us, but that hate must not control us. So, upon destroying one of these fiends, take a deep breath, say a short "thank you" to the monster, and let it go. If anything is left of it, maybe this will at least confuse it for a bit
. [Nephandi tend to leave a stain of corruption on anything they interact with, even those trying to destroy them. This rote attempts to cleanse one in mind, body and spirit after such contact. If you "stink of the Wyrm" because of it, it will cleanse that stench with a success. You will recover one Willpower used during that specific fight per success over 3. Finally, if the creature is still about in weakened form, the rote will try to find if it is attempting to possess or otherwise influence you, and drive it off. The Mind 3 version may be used to help another in the same way.
The Spirit 5 version is a bit more serious: in addition to the above, it will attempt to locate any trace of the destroyed Nephandi to deliver a final "thank you" to. After all, if they exist for us to oppose or destroy, the ultimate respect we can show them is in completely destroying them.]
The Tao Jones Entropy * Mind * Time **
Author: Hugh, Eclectic Orphan
Paradigms: Akashic Brotherhood, Syndicate
The tape emerges from the machine. See how it flows. Its sinuous form is the universe. See also the black forms on the one side, surrounded by white: these are the balance and flow of forces, the Tao itself. Within these things we may see the paths we may take, the futures we may invest our time in for greatest benefit. Now it is for you to make the choice of what path to follow.
[This rote does not actually predict the future so much as it gives an idea of possible futures leading from a certain point. To a lesser extent, it gives an idea of what needs to happen in order to achieve a given future, but this can be misleading: any number of outside events can cause the future desired to turn out differently, no matter the effort. Mind is required to expand the consciousness so that the many possibilities can all be examined. This effect is generally Coincidental. The tickertape used in the example can, of course, be replaced by any method of tracking finance:
Correspondence And Entropy Rotes

Forces Rotes

Where Am I? (Correspondence 1) The mage will know his position relative another, known place (Like his home or his starting point). When the mage moves away from this place he will still know where it is, and feel direction and distance to it. Beacon of Jeron ( Correspondence 1 Prime 2) The mage "marks" an object, which he aftarwards will be able to find (just like the place in "Where Am I?"). Members of Order of Hermes draw a pentagram around the object using the Seal, while Virtual Adepts enter information about the object into their computer, which will keep track of it. Summon Demon Process (Correspondence 1 Spirit 2) The mage summons one of the spirits of technology and communication from a network of some kind. The spirits are quick, efficient entities who know almost everything about their own medium, but unfortunately not much about anything else (Many spirits deny the existence of anything outside their network) The spirits can for example tell the mage about where information has been transmitted or stored, but nothing about what the information means, since it is incomprehensible to them. Virtual Adepts summon and talk to these spirits using query-languages or their own weird dialect of LISP. Window Manager (Correspondence 2) The Adept opens a window on his screen, showing another place. He can see and hear what is going on there, and move his vantage point, zoom in and out, store images and othervise transform the image. Using a Virtual Reality the mage can even move around in a virtual copy of the place, seeing, hearing and feeling things (But he still cannot interact with the place). 1-800-QUINTESSENCE (Correspondence 2 Prime 1) This rote was invented by virtual adepts having problems with getting quintessence when they were far from their nodes. However, by using the ordinary phone-network or internet to call a computer or phone near their home node, the Adepts can connect to it and absorb needed quintessence. This rote has been expanded to higher levels, using the networks as conduits for quintessence to their uses. Aleph (Correspondence 2 Mind 3) The Adept points his terminal towards a victim, and makes it flicker a never ending stream of images into the victims brain. The victim is forced to see everything in the vicinity, without any order. The victim experiences everything from every angle, from the inside out. He will be unable to do much. Prolonged use of this rote can lead to catatonia or (in rare cases) enlightenment. Activate Demon Process (Correspondence 3 Spirit 2) The adept reaches out into the network, releasing search programs and invocation routines to activate one of the present elementals. The spirit can perform small tasks, like debugging, searching, surveillance or help with programming. [ Each success will give the spirit one dot in a mental attribute or ability. If the mage got 4 successes, he could summon a spirit with 5 intelligence, or a spirit with computer 4 or any other combination.] Grip of Darth Vader (Correspondence 4) The Adept wear a virtual-reality gauntlet, and makes a strangling grip in the air. A victim, who can be anywhere, suddenly feels the strangling grip around his neck as the mage bilokates the pressure of the gauntlet. Since there is nothing for the victim to pry loose, even the most physically weak adept can strangle people. Curse of Raistlin (Entropy 1 Mind 2) The mage opens the mind of the victim to the precense of entropy in all things. Euthanatos point their bone against the victim, mumbling something incoherent and mournful. The victim is cursed, forced to see the entropy present in everything. Nothing the victim feel is free from the taint of decay. He will feel how everybody is slowly dying and nothing will remain forever. This curse will make most normal people very depressed, and if the curse persists long enough many victims become insane or commit suicide. Summon the Servitors of Decay (Entropy 1 Spirit 2) The mage summons some of the spirits of entropy in an area of entropy, like a garbage dump, a dying person or a condemned house. Euthanatos usually do this by asking a question while rattling the rattle and then throw the bones. The answer is found depending on how the bones fall. The spirits of entropy are not very good at answering questions about anything that does not involve entropy and randomness. They cannot tell if anybody have passed them, but can give detailed descriptions of the flow of entropy around a murder victim or tell in what way a glass was broken. Protection against the Winds of Randomness (Entropy 2) The mage surround himself with a field of negative randomness, giving him some protection against random events (like getting the poisoned drink on the tray, winning on lottery or being hit by a falling flower-pot). When the mage uses this rote, he takes some item from the vicinity, like a four-leaf clower, a napkin or a coin. This object will become the "lucky thing". This item will partially show how much "luck" remains or if the rote successfully defends the mage. When the rote ends, the "lucky thing" will be lost or destroyed. [ Each success protects against one random event. Random events are events where the different possibilities are about the same probability and do not depend on somebody or somethings conscious descision. The rote will protect against all randomness, even beneficial. It will not work against coincidential magick.] Random Message (Entropy 2 Correspondence 2) Used mainly by the Players and Cultists, but some Virtual Adepts have developed their own Video-Game version. By reaching out with his mind, a player of a game of chance can contact another player, if he is playing the game somewhere else. By influencing the game, he can send messages to the other. These messages are naturally limited to what the game can show and what the other mage can interpret (for example 9 of Swords, 10 of Swords, the Tower, 9 of Wands and Death is a quite obvious "GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!!!"). The Wheel Cannot Hold (Entropy 3) The mage quickly rotates a small bone on a string and let it go, or throw their dices so they drop off the table. The mage channels randomness into an area (for example a building). The result is that lots of random and disorderly things start to happen. Sprinklers will activate, printers will start to print gibberish, computers crasch, documents are lost, wallpapers come loose and the lettering on doors fall partially off, revealing new, interesting messages. This Corrosion (Entropy 3 Prime 2) A classic rote of the Hollow Ones. The mage touches an object, creating a spreading pattern of entropy. While the object appear unchanged on the surface, it decays inside. The effect spreads inside the object, and may infect other objects which touch it. The affected object will break if it is stressed the least. If the mage uses this rote on the chassi of a car, it will spread to the motor and wheels. When someone touches or try to use the car, it will desintgerate.Some mages direct the spread of entropy towards certain objects.

Rotes Ordered After Main Sphere

Forces Rotes


Light of Darkness (Forces 1)
----------------------------
The mage can see in darkness. His eyes give of a weird gleam. 
Hermetic mages usually draw the Hebrew letter Ayin (which means 
eye) on their forehead with the seal while slowly chanting its name.

Evoke the Spirits of the Forces (Forces 1 Spirit 2)
---------------------------------------------------
Hermetic mages have always been interested in elementals. This 
rote is used to communicate with the spirits in different forces like 
light, darkness, heat or electricity. It will not give the summoner 
any control over them, but they might obey him if they want to. 
Hermetics draw a circle, and place some of the force in the Triangle 
of Art outside (If the mage want to communicate with the spirits of 
light, a light source is needed. For the spirits of darkness a pool of 
shadow. For the spirits of radioactivity a piece of uranium). Then 
the spirit is evoked with a long incantation which names all forces 
which control and rule the desired type of spirit. 

Fire of St. Elmo (Forces 2)
---------------------------
The mage discharges static electricity around himself in a weak 
green glow. The result is quite eerie and impressive. The light is not 
very strong, and will not light up darkness very well. It can 
however be concentrated into a small ball of light, usually playing 
up and down on the mages staff or car antenna.

Sphere of Truth (Forces 3 Mind 2 Prime 2)
-----------------------------------------
This rote is used by Order of Hermes at tribunals and trials to test if 
someone tells the truth or talks with true conviction about 
something. The user of the rote draw a symbol above the 
Showstone using the seal, while chanting the twelve secret names 
of Truth. From inside the showstone a small sphere of vibrating, 
dancing light emerges. It can be handled, and while held in the 
palm it will change colour, size and shape depending on the bearers 
state of mind and what he says. If he lies, the sphere will become 
darker, stained and begin to vibrate with a eerie sound. If the 
bearer tells the truth it will become brighter. If the bearer talks 
with true conviction and tells the truth it will jump up and down, 
glittering with intense colours depending on mood.

Lines of Magnetic Force (Forces 3 Prime 2)
------------------------------------------
The mage creates a strong, directed magnetic field which can move 
objects made out of magnetic metal. Hermetics usually do this by 
inclining the Seal to reflect the light from the sun or a lamp on the 
object, and then move the reflected spot.
[ Each success will give the field 1 dot in strength. This rote will 
only affect magnetic materials, but some mages also use Matter to 
make the object magnetic. ]

Arclight (Forces 3 Prime 2)
---------------------------
The mage creates a small pattern of electricity and light. The result 
is an arclightning, which shine with a clear light. Usually the mage 
creates it between the thumb and index finger. It can also be sent 
away as a small lightning bolt. Hermetics do this rote by drawing 
the Hebrew letter shin with the Seal in the air, while chanting the 
name of a god of light or thunder (Like Ormus, Indra, Zeus or Thor).

Receptacle for lesser forces (Forces 2 Prime 2)
-----------------------------------------------
The mage consecrates a container (like a flask, a box or a statue) to 
be able to contain forces, fills it with force, and then seals it. When 
the seal is broken (or the spell fades) the forces will be set free. 
First the receptacle is consecrated using strengthening and 
protecting forces ("In the name of Uriel the Shield-Bearer and 
Michael the Sword-Bearer I bind...") and pentacles and prime-
symbols are drawn around it. Then the receptacle is filled, and 
sealed by the Hebrew letter Resh (which means container) drawn 
by the Seal of Salmon.
[ Exactly what happens when the seal is broken depends on the 
nature of the force contained. Light can be emitted slowly from an 
small opening, or as a flash when a box is opened. Electricity can 
give the opener a shock. After the binding spells have faded, the 
force is also set free. ]

Invocation of Negation (Forces 3)
---------------------------------
The mage negates a force; light becomes darkness, positive current 
becomes negative. This often leads to the neutralisation of the force, 
and can destroy sensitive machinery. The mage perform the rote by 
chanting a invocation of the forces of negativity, and drawing the 
Hebrew letter Aleph in the air with the Seal. 

Circle of Light (Forces 3 Prime 2)
----------------------------------
The mage builds up a circle of power around himself, which attack 
everybody who tries to cross. It often looks like a circle of fire or 
electricity. The mage usually draw the circle on the ground using 
chalk and the Seal, while chanting divine names in the four 
directions. 

Purification with Solar Fire (Forces 5 Prime 2)
-----------------------------------------------
One of Celestial Chorus most devastating effects. The mage holds up 
his fire while singing a strong invocation of the Sun. From the fire a 
stream of solar plasma emerges, streaming around the mage 
towards its target.. The result is a eruption of light and heat, 
destroying anything in its way, which is said to purify everything 
completely. 
[ Note that the mage must have protected himself before casting this 
rote, unless he wants to be killed by the plasma. To strike the right 
target(s), the mage need at least 3 successes. Otherwise the plasma 
will just erupt anywhere. Everybody hit will take successes * 4 
damage (aggravated), everything flammable will ignite or explode 
and everybody is temporarily blinded by the light. Kindred will
have a *hard* time, as they are hurt by the light in addition to the
plasma.]

Correspondence And Entropy Rotes

Forces Rotes










Frostegalder (Life 1)  
------------------------------
By singing this song, the mage is protected from cold
and freezing. The mage sings the galder to his flesh and
limbs, making them liven up and get warm again. 


Follow Blood (Life 1 Time 2) 
--------------------------------------------------------
The mage touches some blood from someone. The result is
that the mage gains physiological knowledge about the
owner, his age, condition, appearance, sicknesses,
markings and so on. By tracing the blood backwards, the
mage can learn how the owner was when he was younger.
The mage may also continue the tracing back to the
owners parents, and their parents, and so on. A single
trait may be followed back to its source. 


Heritage of the Blood (Life 1 Time 2) 
----------------------------------------------
In ancient time, the god Heimdallr travelled the land,
and sired the thralls, the bards, the farmers and the
jarls (the leaders). The trace of the god is still upon
the people, and a asapriest knowledgeable in the ways of
the blood can still see it. By feeling the force in the
blood, the mage can follow the lineage back through time
to its source, and see which group someone really
belongs to. This is also used to trace the lineages, and
find those special bloodlines which contain the life of
the people. 


Song of Life (Life 1 Spirit 2) 
----------------------------------------------
Dreamspeakers often contact the spirits of nature. They
seek to awaken the spirits around themselves by dancing,
drumming and singing ancient songs. If they are lucky
they might contact the spirits around them. Most nature
spirits are weak beings, but sometimes they meld
together into one powerful spiritus loci, which can have
great power. However, most spirits are just conscious of
what happens in their own world, and very bad at
recognising other activities. On the other hand nature
spirits are very good at revealing where different
plants grow, if somebody has passed or forecast the
weather. 


Blessing of Baphomet (Life 2)
-----------------------------
All kinds of life in the vicinity of the mage start to
grow and multiply faster. Flowers bloom, crops become
bountiful, all female beings become fertile. A place
where this rote has been used often sometimes looks like
a jungle, filled with wines and insects. 


Ignore Pain (Life 2 Mind 1)
---------------------------
Verbena sometimes turn off their own pain. Using this
rote the mage feels no pain, regardless of how wounded
she is. This is both good and bad , especially since the
mage cannot easily tell how hurt she is, which can be
rather dangerous. Verbena use to perform this rote by
ritually cut themselves in a spiral pattern. At the
start of the cut it hurts, but then it feels less and
less and in the end nothing at all. 
[The mage will not get any penalties for wounds down to
his stamina number of wound boxes (after that the damage
is so severe it causes practical hinders for the mage
despite the absence of pain). To find out how hurt the
mage is if the situation isn't obvious (like with an
arrow in the back), use perception + alertness with a
difficulty of 6.]


Lust (Mind 2 Life 2)
--------------------
This rote is used by the Verbena to fill their victims
with unquenchable sexual desires, either directed at the
mage or somebody else. 


Mark the Blood (Life 2 Prime 2) 
-----------------------------------------------------------
The mage "marks" the blood of a person. This marking
will be passed on to the children, and so on. Sometimes
this marking is bound to a special trait. The mark can
be read by Life 1. Different markings have different
meanings, and are used to keep track of certain traits.
Mages have also found that there exist other markings in
several bloodlines, which they have not put there. Some
believe that there must have been other mages doing the
same thing as they in the past. Other explain it away as
a "lusus naturae", a strange but useless natural
phenomenon. 


Brew Venom (Life 2 Prime 2 Entropy 1) 
----------------------------------------------
While the Vikings regarded poison as foul, some of the
modern asa-mages use it in the defence of their homes
and traditions. By boiling together a foul mixture of
blood, salt, yeast, earth, iron, ice and some drops of
snake venom under invocations of the powers of death,
they create a potent and untraceable poison. The poison
can be applied in food or drink, placed on weapons or
even on surfaces.  The poison will seek out the weakest
point of the victim and make him very sick or kill him. 
[ The poison works as an infection or other disease,
completely coincidental. Typical effects can be heart
attacks, allergic reactions or food poisoning. It will
find the weakest point in the body of the victim using
an effect like Dim Mak and then strike. It does three
times the number of successes damage levels. ]


Magic Mead (Matter 2 Prime 2 Mind 2) 
---------------------------------------------
By adding special herbs and some blood to mead and then
brewing it together, the priestess can create a mead
which will infuse the drinker with the emotions of the
her choice. This is used to create the mead drunk during
the blot, or a subtle way of influencing people. 


See through Other Eyes (Life 2/3, Mind 3)
-----------------------------------------
The mage touches an animal (or a plant), draws a circle
on its brow or similar area, and contacts its
consciousness. Now the mage can experience what the
animal feels and see through its senses. He has no
direct control over it, other than emotional impulses
and telepathy. The range can be extended by the use of
Correspondence. 


Commune with Nature (Life 2/3, Mind 2 Correspondence 2)
-------------------------------------------------------
The mage goes into a state of trance and contact the
consciousness of all life around her, and then spread
her senses into the surroundings. The mage feels what
life around her feels, the consciousness of plants and
animals and their positions. With some concentration the
mage can find all animals and plants in the vicinity,
tell their relation to each other and see through their
senses. If something happens to any living being in the
area the mage will immediately feel it. This can of
course cause unpleasant effects if something dramatic or
painful happens. Besides, the mage will have big trouble
returning to just having a single consciousness and a
single body if the experience have lasted long. And
after coming out of her trance the mage is often
disoriented and confused for a while, especially if it
has taken a long time or her consciousness have been
spread out over a large area. 


Talk to animals (Life 2/3 Mind 4)
---------------------------------
Simply contacting the minds of animals (and plants) for
information is seldom useful, since they lack
understanding of human questions and the gift of reason.
But an experienced mage can overcome this by temporary
making the animal intelligent! Verbena do this by
dipping their athame in blood and drawing symbols 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) and communicates with it
mentally. In this way the animal can respond to
questions, think and even act intelligently for a while.
But the mage must also keep constant control over its
emotions and mind, since they tend to get confused of
panic. After the rote ends, the animal return to its
original state and forgets everything. 


Simulate (Life 3)
-----------------
Sometimes mages have to appear more hurt than they are,
for example during medical examinations. Using this rote
the mage can simulate all kinds of diseases and wounds,
or make wounds appear healed. Verbena usually wash
themselves with blood and paint their new appearance
using it and special herbs. The results look like the
real thing, but are no real wounds (if the mage doesn't
want to be *too* realistic, of course). By adding Mind 1
the mage can imprint the correct responses too, like
appearing in pain or shivering when touched in certain
spots. 

Eternal Youth (Life 3)
----------------------
The mage simply stops ageing. This requires almost
constant low- level concentration, but is often
coincidentally explained using a healthy diet involving
certain herbs and blood. 


Bath of Beauty (Life 3)
-----------------------
The Verbena have never underestimated the power of youth
and beauty, and have developed this rote. The mage fills
the cauldron with blood, which is consecrated. Then the
mage washes himself from head to feet in the blood while
invoking the powers of youth and life. 
[ Each success triples the number of years the mage
rejuvenates (1 success 1 year, 2 3 years, 3 9 years, 4
27 years...). If the mage wants to continue rejuvenating
another bath is required, and so on.  These changes have
the same weakness as Improve Self, they suffer from
Pattern Bleeding.]


Enchanted Senses (Life 3)
-------------------------
The mage gives himself the sight of the Eagle, the smell
of the Dog, the taste of the Rat and the hearing of the
Cat. Verbena use to do this by anointing eyes, ears,
fingers, nose and tongue with blood while visualising
the power and sounds of the different animals. 


Fountain of Blood (Life 3 Prime 2)
----------------------------------
The mage creates blood. This can be done inside the
mage, inside someone else or even in the environment
(rather vulgar). The amount of blood and the quality
varies depending on how well the mage did. Some Verbena
with a sense of drama use this to multiply blood: they
pour a small amount of blood into the cauldron, and then
makes it rise until it pours over the edges. 


Infection (Life 3 Prime 2)
--------------------------
The mage infects somebody with disease by touching him.
The disease can range from hay fever to anthrax. If the
disease is contagious the victim can himself spread it.
Verbena, who first used this rote, usually take the
blood of a sick animal, and during a long ceremony
concentrate the disease into the blood. Then (for
example) the hand of the mage is coated with the blood,
and used to touch the victim. Sons of Ether use to place
organic material in a vessel, which they then send
electricity through a few hours to cause disrupting
morphogenetic fields to develop. Fragments of the matter
is then placed on the victim. 
[ The mage must succeed on a number of successes
dependent on how serious or complex the disease is. One
success is enough for common, fairly benign diseases
like colds or warts. Two successes gives more serious
diseases like mumps, gonorrhoea or glaucoma.  Three
gives life threatening diseases like Multiple Sclerosis
or Pestilence. Four successes can create practically
incurable diseases like AIDS or severe Cancer. With five
successes the mage can create all known diseases and a
few unknown. ]


Mead of blood (Life 3 Prime 2) 
---------------------------------------
This rote may have started as a kind of travesty of the
Catholic Mass. By pouring mead into the bowl and adding
a few drops of blood, the priest can turn it into blood.
However, it doesn't have to look like blood or taste
like it, the priest can make it appear to be normal
mead. Afterwards, the mead can be used instead of blood
as a foci, be imbibed as a source of strength or even
used as sustenance for vampires (although practically no
modern kindred know about this. Only the oldest
Scandinavian Methuselahs have tasted such mead). 


Reanimation (Life 3 Prime 2) 
----------------------------------------
The alchemist burns a dead (or alive) plant or animal.
The hot ashes is mixed with exotic chemicals and salts.
Finally gold solved in aqua regia is added, and the
mixture is allowed to crystallise. By performing the
necessary incantation and slowly heating the resulting
salts, the mage will restore the being to life. If the
mage succeed well enough, the being will be completely
normal in all aspects. A less successful experiment
would give a being which would die after a while,
turning into salts again. And really bad results create
"nothing but ye liveliest Awfullness". Some alchemists
experiment with turning people to dust, and trying to
raise them again. If anyone have succeeded, they have
not told anybody. 


Hunting Horror (Life 3 Prime 3 Mind 2)
--------------------------------------
The mage creates a living being and imprints hate
against someone in its mind. Now the being will
relentlessly seek to destroy the victim using all
available means until it is killed or the target is
killed. This rote can be used on normal animals too,
turning them into killing weapons. With Life 4 the
animal can be given extra weapons like sharper claws,
poison or fangs. 


Bond of Blood (Life 3 Prime 3 Correspondence 2) 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Arctus developed this rote. By charging his blood with
quintessence linked to him by drinking liquid Tass, he
can give his blood the power of blood bond. Anyone
drinking it three times will be blood bound to the mage
(although this bond doesn't last as long as a vampiric
blood bond). 


Homunculus (Life 3 Spirit 2 Prime 2 Time 3) 
--------------------------------------------------------
Paracelsus developed this famous rote. The mage takes
some of his bodily fluids, adds silver and gold salts,
and pour the result into a vessel. The vessel is kept at
a constant body temperature for nine months (In the
middle ages, a heap of dung was used). After the time, a
small, fully grown man have developed in the vessel.
This homunculus is intelligent, have a will of his own
and will grow at the normal rate after he have left the
vessel. Some mages keep their homunculus inside it for
safe keeping, feeding them of their own blood. Homunculi
are often used as advisors, familiars or servants. But
if the mage treat them bad, they may rise up against
him. 


Dissolve (Life 4) 
------------------------------
A nasty rote invented by a desperate and hateful
Euthanatos against her master. The mage dissolves the
tissues of her victim. Bones become flexible, muscles
turn into jelly and the blood become almost etheric. 
Usually the victim just collapses and burst open, in a
gross and very vulgar display. 


End Blood (Life 4)
------------------
The mage touches the victim with some blood (very little
is required). The result is a small infection rendering
the victim sterile and unable to pass on undesirable
traits. The victim will not notice anything. 



Constrict Gene Generation ( **** Entropy, and either **** Correspondence,
                                *** Life, or **** Life ) by Michael M. Moolick
        This rote is, as Life Hacking, a closely guarded secret of
the Reality Hackers.  They will use it for others ( for a sufficient favor )
but will never divulge it's secret to anyone not of their small order.
        The Traditions continual seek ways to foil the threat of
Progenito Cloning.  This rote is one such means of anti-cloning methods.
        It's use causes small errors in the recipient's gene structure
to be produces, seeds for a chaotic process of cellular degredation.
This degredation causes the cell to begin making "suicidal" enzymes and
structural components.  Progenitors trying to use such a cell for cloning
will find 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 computer model of the recipient's DNA.
        The first works along with Correspondence **** and can take
up to a week to run.  It causes all cells that the recipient has already
shed to undergo the entropic genetic change.  It takes so long because
the computer must Sort Through All-Space to find every little cell.  This
affects cells with the recipient's DNA even if they are dead.
        The second works on the mage himself, involves life 3, and causes
the cells he sheds to develop the entropic gene sequences..
        The third and final version uses Life four and is the same as the
second version 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 versionswill cause pattern bleeding
if maintained beyond their normal duration, so Life Hackers often run this
rote regularly to ensure pattern interity.
        Life hackers insist their appretices submit to versions one and three
of this rote before sharing any of the secrets of the Life Hacking rote
itself.
        Paradox rote can cause the early expression of the gene errors or
strike a close relative with them ( similar codons ).  I don't really
want to think what version 1 would do if someone had a clone made or
to an identical twin. ]

Time Rotes


Scent of the Hounds of Tindalos (Time 1)

The mage concentrates himself and try to feel when
something happened (or will happen) by imagining it and
different times it might have happened at. The mage will
feel when he gets closer to the right time as the "scent"
gets stronger. This can for example be used to find out
when a building was built or when a clock stopped.  It
cannot tell why or where something happened. This rote is
named for the legendary paradox beings the Hounds of
Tindalos, which ruthlessly hunt down mages who interfere
with Time. They have the ability to find the mage
regardless of the time he exists in, and will appear out
of nearby corners to destroy him. 


Sense Angled Time (Time 1 Entropy 1)

Time does not always flow smoothly, sometimes there are
corners and discontinuities in it for unknown reasons.
These corners are dangerous times, since the defences of
reality and casualty are briefly removed. Powerful beings
of the Deep Umbra and dangerous weirdness may appear, and
many momentous events occur at these times. This makes it
especially important to know them beforehand.  The
Technocracy calls the "Bifurcation Points", and spend
much energy neutralizing them or manipulating events
around them. 


Find Connection (Time 1 Correspondence 1)

This rote is used by mages to find the secret links
between seemingly disparate events. A mage can read a
newspaper, and realise that the current conflicts on
Balkan are linked to the disappearance of several
prominent engineers in England, or that the fluctuations
of the stock market have been strongly influenced by the
person in the border of that picture. He might not know
how or why, but he will see the links. 


What Time is it? (Time 1 Mind 2)

The mage disturbs the sense of time of a person, so he
will think that more or less time have passed. He can
make the victim think that its still four or that its
already six, until the victim watches his watch (which
clever mages can manipulate using Matter). 


Follow Blood (Life 1 Time 2) 

The mage touches some blood from someone. The result is
that the mage gains physiological knowledge about the
owner, his age, condition, appearance, sicknesses,
markings and so on. By tracing the blood backwards, the
mage can learn how the owner was when he was younger. The
mage may also continue the tracing back to the owners
parents, and their parents, and so on. A single trait may
be followed back to its source. 


Astrological Prediction (Time 2 Prime 1 Spirit 1)

The Order of Hermes is the master among the traditions in
matters of astrology and planning. One major use of
astrology has been to find the most suitable time to
perform magick, by studying the conjunctions of the
planets and stars. The astrologer analyses the act of
magick, determines which planets rule it (for example,
Prime is ruled by the Sun while Spirit is ruled by the
Moon) and then tries to find the best conjunctions.
Magick of the right type performed then will be more
powerful and safe. 

[ The number of successes determine how powerful
conjunctions the mage has found (a conjunction with 4
successes will decrease the difficulty for that type of
magick with 4). However, the more powerful conjunctions
are much more rare, so the mage may have to wait for an
inordinate amount of time before the right moment, or use
lesser conjunctions (by removing extraneous successes).
One success means the astrologer has found a minor event,
occurring within a day (generally a suitable planetary
hour). 2 successes occur within a week (generally a
suitable planetary day). 3 successes occur within a month
(often influenced by moon-phase). 4 within a year and 5
within a decade (and so on).  ]


Summon Timekeeper (Time 2 Spirit 2)

One of the more unusual kind of elementals is the
time-elementals, known in the Cult of Ecstasy as
timekeepers. They seems to be the spirits which keep
track of everything, making sure things happen at the
right time for the right reasons. They seldom manifest
physically, preferring to communicate through
coincidences and physical phenomena like the sound of a
ticking clock. The timekeepers know everything about what
has happened and will happen, and may give information to
the mage as long as it will not cause any disturbances of
time. If the mage disrupts time too much, they might
become very dangerous servants of paradox. Persistent
rumours tell that they have a lord known as Chronos, the
Master Timekeeper. Some mages speculate that Chronos may
be Wrinkle. 


Peer into the beyond (Time 2 Entropy 2) 


The Necromancers use this rote in order to see the
outcome of very specific actions.  What the rote does is
allow the caster to look into the future, but be able to
filter out any unnecesary random future events, so that
he can see one specific outcome. 

The Necromancer essentially asks a specific question
about the future, and gets a yes or no answer.  Common
questions include, "Oh, mighty spirits, I beseech you, is
a page of the Necromicon behind this door?" or "If I get
into a fight with this Mage, will I die?" The outcomes
always occur, but not necessarily the way the Mage
thought.  For instance, in the first example, a page may
be behind the door, but it could be buried under 3,000
feet of sand, or in the second example, the Mage may not
die, but may be teleported in a Paradox dimension. 

Correspondence Magick must be combined with this rote, in
order to ask questions about a place the Necromancer
currently is not, like "will I die if I go to Egypt
tomorrow?"

[The number of successes on the Magickal effect roll is
the number of questions the Mage can ask about a
particular scene.  The Mage cannot recast the spell to
gather any information that might be beneficial to him
for that same scene.  For instance, before a battle, the
Necromancer asks a few questions about it's outcome: 
will i die, will this particular attack kill him, etc. 
He cannot later ask "will my friend die," if it's about
the same battle.  Also, the Mage cannot ask anything that
is philosophically vague, such as "is there a God?" This
will occur in one aggravated wound per number of
successes, plus Paradox.]


Detect Pattern (Correspondence 3 Entropy 1 Time 2)


By comparing events with each other and running
sophisticated algorithms, the Forecasters of the
Technocracy can detect patterns which normally would seem
random. They can predict how the patterns will develop,
trace their history and often discover who is behind it. 
Typical applications are scanning for Tradition activity
or crime. 


Track Manipulations (Time 2 Entropy 2) 

This is continuously done by the Technocracy to see if
other groups attempt to manipulate the trends. The
Forecasters carefully analyse events to see if they have
been manipulated by someone, using their computers to
search for patterns. The difficulty lies in the fact that
most manipulators are very careful, and the results are
seldom apparent until years later. 


Keening of the Banshee (Time 2 Entropy 1)

This rote (also known as the Sight of the Valkyries) is
surprisingly simple, but still very rarely used. By
following the threads of fate forward, the mage can feel
where they end. This can be used to predict how long
anything will remain in existence; inanimate objects,
living beings, people and even love itself. Most mages
prefer not to use this rote at all. The only exceptions
are (of course) the Euthanatos, who simply regard it as a
useful tool or a very powerful demonstration of the total
power of Entropy. They cast the bones and interpret their
patterns. 

[ The rote has some limitations. It cannot predict
exactly where something will end, just a time of great
entropy. Sometimes people survive just barely, and go on
living. Awakened beings also automatically disturb the
predictions by their actions, especially if they have
Time or Entropy themselves (increase difficulty). If the
rote is used on a mage, he will automatically try to
subconsciously countermagick it. ]


MASTER NINJA TIME ROTE (Time 3, Mind 1, Entropy 1) 


Just the thing for the clever coyote, this Rote can turn
anyone into a Master Ninja. It was first used by Glen
Manning, a Mystery Science Theatre fan, who wanted to
fight just like the ninjas in bad martial arts flicks. 

[Time slows down for the Mage, who then can use the Dim
Mak effect to his the best possible spot on the enemy.
Also, absurdly silly but effective dodges are possible,
since the attacker is moving in slow motion; -2 to all
dodge target numbers.]


Temple of Love (Time 3 Correspondence 2)

While the mage uses tantric sex-magick with a partner
inside a circle of lit incense-sticks, the time outside
the participants slow down while their own time
accelerates. The result is a zone of relative safety
around the mage for a short while. The difference in the
passage of time is so abrupt it creates a kind of
barrier, which seeks to delay passing objects or
personas. Most such effects are coincidental, like having
enterers stumble, doors getting stuck or shoelaces
suddenly appearing untied. The mage will also
instinctively know well before when somebody will try to
enter, and have ample time to prepare. 


Resting (Life 3 Time 3)

The mage speeds up sleep for somebody, so he will awake
rested sooner. A pleasurable side-effect is that dreams
will be very beautiful and intense. Very popular among
members of the Cult of Ecstasy. 


Prolong Life (Life 3 Time 3)

By selectively slowing down the processes of ageing, many
Cultists remain young and healthy despite their hectic
lives. In fact, most users of this rote perform it by
simply living as pleasurably as possible. 


Faint (Life 2 Time 3)

The Cult of Ecstasy don't like to hurt people, but
sometimes they have to. This rote was perfected by a Lady
de Joen during the 18th century, who sometimes had the
problem of being surprised in embarrassing circumstances
by the appearance of the wives of her lovers. However, by
slowing down the blood supply to their brains, she could
easily make them coincidentally faint. And people often
forget what the saw just before fainting... 


Preserve (Time 3 Entropy 3 Prime 2 Matter 1/Life 1)

A recurring problem for pattern-mages is that many of
their creations don't last well or begin to dissolve.
This is especially the problem with the creation of
living beings. One solution is to seek to restore their
patterns and slow down their ageing. Some mages have even
begun using it on all their creation to perfect them once
they are created. 

[ The successes of this rote will be added to the
original successes to determine the new duration of the
pattern, if there are more than five the pattern will
exist indefinitely. The rote must involve the relevant
sphere to 1 to work.]


Waste Time (Time 3 Entropy 3/4)

Sometimes nothing seems to get done, regardless of how
much you work or plan noting worthwhile comes out of it.
This effect can be created by a judicious use of Entropy
to make time less "fresh" and useful to people. Some
Cultists use it to sabotage the workings of bureaucracies
or other organisations by making the employees
ineffective and slow. By using even more powerful Entropy
magick time can even be destroyed; the victims will
notice that a certain period has passed but cannot
remember anything of it, and nothing seems to have been
done either. 


Tantric Meditation (Time 3 Prime 2)

One of the more important methods of tantric yoga is to
have intercourse, but avoid orgasm. This is continued as
long as possible, resulting in a powerfully altered state
of mind. The main use is of course theurgical, to
experience the true White Light, but some cultists have
found a more practical, theurgical use of the practice. 
The tantric Masters of course disapprove of it, but its
useful nevertheless. During the state of no-time which
develop, the mage(s) can weave new magickal effects but
just as orgasm is delayed, delay their expression until
the final moment. This gives them the ability to create
extremely complex magick which is released in a single
instant, or strengthen magick greatly. 

[ In order to work, the participants must succeed in
reaching tantric trance, using stamina + meditation with
a difficulty of 6. The successes can be used to lower
difficulties for magick in this state as described in the
Book of Shadows. The rote requires prime to sustain the
etheric patterns of the magick even when the mage directs
his or her will to other purposes in the ceremony. ]


Time is of the Essence (Time 3 Mind 1)

One problem many people have is that they become stressed
or feel they don't have enough time to think in tense
situations. The Cult of Ecstasy has a reputation of
having many great improvisers or wits, and this rote is
one of the reasons. By simply focusing on the present,
the mage can speed his own thoughts to great speed while
appearing to be acting normal. 

[ The rote will not give the mage any increased speed in
movement or other physical actions (like looking at
something else). For practical purposes, the world seems
to have slowed down into slow- motion. Time is slowed at
the rate normal for Time 3. Alternatively, in a
live-roleplaying situation, each success will give the
mage a minute extra to think over his actions, solve
problems or use magick. ]


Delay Paradox (Time 3/4 Prime 2)

Paradox Backlashes are so great disturbances in reality
that any mage with Prime and Time will feel them
approaching well in advance. So far nobody has ever been
able to avert them, but they can be delayed, giving the
mage a chance at least to prepare himself. He simply
twists the time around the approaching backlash, delaying
it. This is of course utterly vulgar, and will fuel it
even more. Powerful mages have experimented with Time 4 to
freeze Paradox completely, but it will inevitably escape
and become a Time-backlash of almost mythical strength. [
Botches are *very* nasty. Handling Paradox is inherently
paradoxical, and this rote may even disturb the flow of
Time.  Caution is advised. The number of turns the mage
can delay the Paradox is equal to his successes if he uses
Time 3. If Time 4 is used, 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 the discovery that magickal
effects could be delayed until certain conditions had
been fulfilled. Since this is essentially the same
principle as the transistor, they began to develop
magickal electronics. By joining together many separate
"transistors" and using magickal events instead of
electricity, they were able to first build immaterial
digital devices and finally the virtual computers.  These
computers are built out of magickal patterns, which
interact in complex ways. They require no electricity,
since they use causality itself as their building
material (some Adepts claim that space-time really is
built out of a network of information processing units,
and the virtual computers just are man-made imitations). 

They have no limitations on speed, size or processing
power except paradox and the skill of their creators.
This turned out to be the greatest obstacle, since the
creation of the ultracomplex patterns requires extremely
skilled programmers. It was however somewhat simplified
when a team of Adepts developed the first compiler, which
could compile sourcecode in electronic form into a
running virtual program-pattern. These compilers are
major feats of magick and programming, and still require
extremely 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 causal connections, which interface with the
normal world through the Digital Web. The patterns has to
be very exact, otherwise the system will quickly unravel.
Interfacing with the physical world has proven to be too
prone to paradox, 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't
attract attention. Virtual memory can hold unlimited
information and virtual processors can process nearly
infinite amounts of data. There are persistent rumours
that several experimental virtual computers have achieved
consciousness and Ascended. ]


Petrify (Time 4 Life 4 Matter 2)

This is the classic petrifaction rote, a staple of the
Verbena and also rather popular among some of the more
drastic Cultists. The victim is literally turned into
stone, lasting forever (or at least a long time). 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. These rotes can be supplied
with conditions which will dispel them, as a kiss from
prince charming or a pre-set time. 

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


Weather Conserves (Time 4 Forces 2/4)

An ancient Verbena rote. The mage boils together a broth
during a thunderstorm, hurricane or sunny day and lets it
absorb the weather, which is stored in a jar, bottle or
sack. If it is opened, the weather will come streaming
out again. This can prove useful as a weapon, as in the
case of Mother Huntington's Pickled Lightening or
practical as a diversion (like her Fog Preserves or Hail
with Cinnamon). 


Strengthen Destiny (Time 5 Prime 2 Entropy 2
Correspondence 2)

Some of the most powerful cultists are not content merely
to watch the flow of history, they want to direct it.
When they see a tendency they like, they perform
elaborate ecstatic rituals to fuel the causal chains
supporting it and increase the chance it will grow.  This
will help the development through random events and "the
flow of history". Some cultists claim that Woodstock was
such and ritual to fuel the whole of the 60's. Others
whisper that the Technocracy is doing the same thing on a
global scale, to ensure their total victory. 


Time Loop (Correspondence 2, Spirit 4, Time 5) 



Osmosis (Matter 1 Mind 1): The mage "reads" an object by holding
it, and quickly learn all information it holds.  This can take different
time depending on the amount of information, but afterwards the mage can
recite everything out of memory (hopefully he knows the language). Very
practical for books, letters or computer disks. The mage doesn't
necessarily understand the information, but he can recite it or remember
particular parts.


[For electronic media, use Forces 1 instead of Matter.]


Quick Reading (Mind 1): The mage increases his reading speed far 
over the normal.


[One success doubles it, two triples it, three quadruples it, etc. By
adding Time 3 the speed can be increased even more.]


Subprocess (Mind 1): This rote was perfected by the Virtual Adepts.
The mage allocates a small part of his mind to perform a certain task,
like solving a problem or guarding a door. The mage will then forget it
until the subprocess is finished and reunites with the main mind. This can
be used to hide information from the main mind or plant reminders (Time 1
can be combined, creating a timed subprocess). Some Virtual Adepts have
developed recursive subprocesses, which can generate their own
subprocesses. Several of them have however fallen victim to runaway
subprocesses which have eaten their brain capacity, due to erroneous
programming.


Fishing in the Well of Dreams (Mind 1 Spirit 2): A rote the Akashic
Brotherhood sometimes uses. They summon their own dreams, fantasies, fears
and illusions into the waking world so they can speak with them, hoping to
understand them or banish them if needed. The Brother ceremonially washes
himself and then starts to meditate on the part of his mind he wants to
meet. He brings it slowly closer to the surface, step by step, until it
appears clearly to him. This rote is quite hazardous, since it can release
dangerous aspects of the mage into the light, and they might not always be
content to return to their old places. It has happened that fantasies not
only has refused to return, but that they have stayed in the world in
physical form (so called Tulpas). 

[Using Mind 2 or 3 the mage can summon fragments of another present
person. Some mages have even sent away their own fragments into the minds
of others.]


Detect Disinformation (Mind 1 Entropy 1, often Correspondence 3 and/or
Time 2): Many Rosicrucians are paranoid about information they
receive, and seek to test it to see if it is disinformation or lies. This
rote was developed by a group of especially worried mages, who were
barraged by subtle disinformation from the Technocracy. They studied the
information in the mental image of their showstones, invoking Mikael and
other angels of truth to help them to find falsehoods and lies. By seeking
internal inconsistencies, they managed to ascertain some of the validity.
This method was later developed into a very efficient rote by adding
Correspondence and Time. The mage not only studies the internal
consistency of the information, he also compares it to the causal chains
and actual state of the world. This might take a long time if it is
complex information or relates to very specific matters, so the use is
somewhat limited. However, even a brief check can reveal some types of
disinformation.


Double Pain (Mind 2): The mage increases the susceptibility to pain
of a victim. A small cut will feel like a deep gash, and a greater wound
will paralyze the victim in agony. This is sometimes used by mages in the
Akashic Brotherhood on themselves to train their resistance to pain and
their willpower. They just sit down in Do meditation and concentrate of
the pain of existence.


[The wound penalties are doubled for the victim. A Hurt or Injured will
give a -2 penalty, Wounded -4 and Crippled -10.]


Voice of Command (Mind 2): The mage commands somebody with his
resounding, commanding voice. The victim feel a strong impulse to obey the
order of the mage. The order has to be short and possible to act on
directly, since the victim would otherwise start to think for himself. The
rote cannot overcome what the person wouldn't do on his own.


Curse (Mind 2): The mage curses somebody, often very graphically
and often using some material implement (waving a bone or entrails at the
victim, or spitting at him). The mage implants a subconscious desire to
get hurt. The victim will often become unsettled, nervous or depressed.
When an opportunity presents itself, the subconscious mind will try to
make the victim hurt himself (or a loved one). Some mages add Entropy to
"give fate a hand", creating more opportunities for the curse to work.


Leave Feeling (Mind 2 Matter 2 Prime 2): The mage focuses on his
current emotions and diffuses them through the surrounding area, making
tiny modifications to things. People who enter will feel subtle cues
towards the same feeling as the mage left. This is often used to create
rooms for different purposes in eastern chantries, or by the Cult of
Ecstasy to enchant places they like.


Dominion (Mind 2 Prime 2): The mage surrounds a room or other place
with symbols of himself (for example his coat of arms, his monogram or
something else). The mage becomes master of the area, making everybody
inside obey him without question as long as they are inside. Everybody
feels the presence of the mage intensely. The mage becomes the central
point of the room.


The Garden of Delight (Mind 2 Life 2): Originally invented by the
Cult of Ecstasy, but later used by the Euthanatos. They turn the doll
upside down and sensually stroke it with their weapon. The victim will
experience all pain as intense pleasure. A pinprick is a pleasurable
tickle, a stabbing knife an orgasm. Some Euthanatos use the rote to make
honored persons perform the good death on themselves.


Sight of Cerberus (Mind 2 Correspondence 1): The mage expands his
mind in all directions. Should it find another mind filled with enmity
directed against him personally the mage will immediately know it, and
knows the exact position of the enemy. As long as the mage uses this rote
he is safe from ambushes.


Inner Music (Mind 2 Forces 3 Prime 2): All people have their own
inner music, but few can hear it and even fewer can express it outside
themselves. Most people who try simply fail to convey the exquisite
harmonies they find. However, an unknown Cultist of Ecstasy during the
middle ages developed this rote to bring the music into the world.  By
connecting the subconscious of a person with the ability to create sound,
the mage could make the mental music heard. The result was often
staggeringly beautiful. However, the music also influenced the person who
created it in unexpected ways. Since it symbolized the personality and
whole mind of the person, it seemed to reinforce his most dominant traits. 
Fundamentally happy people become even happier when they hear their
exorbitant music. Sad people become even more depressed by hearing their
ominous music. Confused people become more confused while intellectuals
are filled with the urge to study and understand.


Create Meme (Mind 2/3 Prime 2): Memes are mental viruses which
spread from mind to mind, things like rumors, catchy tunes, good jokes or
catch phrases.  Virtual Adepts have found them to be excellent weapons to
sway public opinion and to influence people.  Generally mages design memes
by concentrating on the message they want to spread, and then let their
creative juices flow. Usually they suddenly find a especially catchy way
to convey what they want. It can be anything, ranging from jokes,
catchphrases to pieces of music. When memes are set loose, other people
will find them catchy and repeat them, spreading them quickly. They are
powerful weapons, but can turn against their creators. Just like living
beings they can mutate and evolve, sometimes far beyond the wildest
expectations of their creators.


Somebody Else's Problem (Mind 2 or 3): The mage dampens the
interest of something, for example himself. The victims won't notice
anything unless it's spectacular, and will lose it unless he keeps his
eyes on it. A person with SEP can walk down a street without being noticed
or remembered, but a security guard will probably stop him if he tries to
enter a restricted area (the guard is on lookout for any intruder).  With
Mind 3 the mage can erase all perception of himself, which turns him
invisible for all practical purposes as long as he don't break the
illusion by attacking somebody, turn over something or collide with
someone. This type of protection/invisibility is very common. Cabalists
use the Yetziratic Sealing Rite, Rosicrucians the Rose-Cross Ritual,
Akashic Brothers special silent Do-movements and Verbena wear protective
amulets carved with the athame.


Inner Journey (Mind 3): The mage enters a deep trance and enters
himself mentally, as if he went on an astral journey. He will enter his
own inner world, where all his dreams, memories and thoughts are
represented. He can then wander just as if he was in a normal realm. Mages
can find the most surprising things in the labyrinth of the mind, dreams,
memories of forgotten persons, old hobgoblins and subconscious horrors may
appear, speak to him or even attack. There might be portals from old
dreams to the chimerae. To end the journey the mage has to return to his
starting point, where he will awaken.  One of the greatest risks with such
inner journeys is that the mage may not find his back again (or that he
don't want to, after finding a place, a dream or memory so lovely that he
will never leave it). Some mages spend much time in their own or other
(Mind 4) minds. With some extra mental magick the mage can bring others
into the trance.


Open the Abyss (Mind 3): The mage sends the mind of the victim down
into the Great Abyss.  The body will collapse in coma. The victim cannot
experience anything else but emptiness and cannot do anything other than
think. Most people turn insane after a few days (if time can be said to
exist for them). In the beginning they just fall asleep, but then they
start to drift between dream and wakefulness, unable to tell the
difference. Hallucinations and delusions appear, and the personality
begins to dissolve without any sensory impressions.  Some advanced members
of the Akashic Brotherhood meditate in the Abyss, sometimes for months and
there are rumors of a monastery where several monks lived for years in the
Abyss.


[Each day inside the Abyss the victim has to succeed with his Willpower
against 8 to retain his sanity. If it fails the Willpower is decreased by
one. A botch creates a permanent loss, and when it reaches zero the victim
is incurably insane.]


Candace's Divination of Personal Facts (Life 1, Mind 3) by Deidre:
Allows the mage to divine personal info about a person.  Height, age, real
hair color, number of children, etc.  One question answered per
success.


Reveal the Wandering Carcasses (Matter 1 Mind 3): The mage searches
the vicinity for minds coupled to matter, not life. This will reveal
undead beings and other non-living creatures.


Matter Rotes


Patternweave (Matter 1)

The mage can see a disassembled or shattered object in its
whole form or as it should be. Cult of Ecstasy use to
reflect the image of the parts in their ring, and see the
whole in the reflection. Sons of Ether just measure things
with their meters, while Choristers touch the parts, seeing
how they should fit together. 
[Each success will give one extra dice in repairing or
building the object.  Very useful for furniture from IKEA.]


Awaken the Spirits of matter (Matter 1 Spirit 2)

Dreamspeakers sometimes want to communicate with the
elementals living in material objects. They tickle the
object with their feather and beats their drums to awaken
the sleepy spirits. If it succeeds the spirits awaken, and
the mage can talk with them. The spirits of normal objects
are often rather simpleminded and fairly powerless, but
generally very knowledgeable about the nature and use of
the object. Some objects can have fairly wilful and
powerful spirits, like certain cars or buildings. 


Horn of the Unicorn (Matter 1 Life 1)

An old hermetic rote to find out if food or drink would be
harmful (poisoned, spoiled or very unhealthy). The mage
draws a pentagram over the food, while naming five
revealing spirits. If the food is harmful, the plate or cup
will shudder, as if they were revealed. 


The Immaculate Beer (Matter 2 Prime 2)

This popular rote improves beer. It increases alcoholic
content, and gives it a truly heavenly taste. It even seems
to last longer. The beer is almost literally enchanted, and
tends to make people very happy. Unfortunately it also
creates very real hangovers, but that's another problem. 


Growing Gold (Matter 2 Prime 2)

Another gold-creating rote, this one invented by Nicolas
Flanel (The alchemists need much gold to finance their
expensive magick and for use in Prime). Since everything is
alive to some extent according to alchemical doctrine,
metallic gold can be coaxed to grow given the right
nutrients. The mage places a small amount of gold in a
crucible and adds another metal, preferably mercury. The
crucible is heated, and the result is that the gold absorbs
nourishment from the metal and the heat and grows into more
gold. 


Diamonds are Forever (Matter 2 Prime 2)

The mage makes crystals grow out of the air around
something or someone, to trap or imprison. Hermetic mages
use to draw the Hebrew letters yod and ceth with the seal
while chanting the names of the spirits of earth and
matter. Sons of Ether simply direct powerful electric
discharges into the air controlled by their meters, forcing
the ether to crystallise. 


Your own Weight in Gold (Matter 2 Life 4)

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
pure gold and walked away. The victims of this rote become
extremely heavy, and due to the flexibility of pure gold
their skeletons bend and deform. Most are simply crushed
under their own weight.  Beside this obvious problem,
friends and enemies alike become very interested in their
skeletons... 


Airbag (Time 1 Forces 1 Matter 2 Prime 2)

Desperation is the mother of invention, and this rote was
invented by a Son of Ether who was falling towards an early
death after an early experiment in flying. He managed to
calculate the exact instant he would strike the ground, and
just before the impact he created a large amount of air
between himself and the ground. He survived the fall but
was deafened by the bang. Later mages have experimented
with creating piles of feathers or coincidental mattresses,
but air is still popular. Air can be created during the
fall, creating slowing upwinds. By timing things well, a
mage can land almost soundlessly and with just a weak
breeze. 


Nastyglass (Matter 2 Forces 2 Mind 2 Prime 2)

A weird invention of Daedalus. It is a special type of
glass which modulates light in a very strange way, turning
it irritating to the human mind.  Nothing measurable
changes, except that anything viewed through the glass will
appear ugly, sickly and slightly nauseating. Light sent
through the material will take on a bleak look, and people
often get headaches out of it.  There are rumours that
Daedalus also have developed other types of glass with
positive emotions. 


Nichtmaterie (Matter 3)

By using pattern disassociation a mage can make a material
pattern stop interacting with another type of pattern. This
can be used to create invisible materials, materials living
beings but not air can pass through, weightless matter etc.
But by making *everything* pass through the mage can create
"Nichtmaterie " as it was called by its first inventor,
Professor Hans Grieg of Heidelberg. Nichtmaterie is not
affected by anything, and doesn't affect anything. It
cannot be perceived except by using Prime. It can however
be handled using Matter. Professor Grieg found that it was
a very efficient way of storing things not needed or to
bulky to move; just turn them into Nichtmaterie and turn
them back when needed. A Son of Ether can bring huge
amounts of things with him in Nichtmaterie -form, and then
make them normal when needed. The Professor developed a
Matter/Nichtmaterie -conversion box to do this, creating
almost a literal "bag of holding". He also experimented
with turning living beings into "Nichtleben" and energy
into "Nichtkraft", planning to use it for the creation of a
nichtrealm. However, the good professor recently vanished
completely. 


Clean Without Water (Matter 3)

This rote will efficiently clean the mage (or anything
else). Dust and dirt just vanish, leaving everything
spotless. It also adjusts the hair and makes it shiny,
adjusts make-up and does manicure. It of course includes
perfume and deodorant. 


Dancing Toaster (Matter 3)

Virtual Adepts and Sons of Ether manipulate machines using
their computers and instruments. The mage can make machines
and objects to move themselves as if they were alive.
Usually the mage uses the joints and movements the machine
already has, like the joints of a showroom-dummy, a tape
recorder throws out the tapes or a hose slithers forward.
With enough successes the mage can make toasters to dance
and statues to move. Note that the object will only move as
the mage wills it to move, as soon as the mage ends
concentration the effect will end. Some hermetics trap
spirits inside objects to work as guards and sentinels. 

[The number of successes increases the dexterity and
strength of the object.  This will of course be modified
depending on the nature of the affected object. A lift
probably has a good lifting-strength, which the mage only
need to increase. ]


Strength of Steel (Matter 3)

The mage can make something hard as steel without changing
other material properties. This rote can turn a curtain
into a barrier, a piece of string into a cable or a
paper-plane a deadly killing instrument. Sons of Ether
usually perform this rigidity activation by carefully
measuring the material of the object, and slowly
manipulating the readings to suitable levels. 


In the Hand of the Beholder (Matter 3 Correspondence 1)

By altering the material pattern, a mage can change the
colour of an object.  This has been used to paint many
chantries, but can also be used for artistic endeavours.
This rote is very popular among artistically inclined
mages. The mage reaches out with her senses in the
surroundings, and alter the surface of an object to match
them. The result is a painting of the surroundings, perhaps
altered by the mage. This can of course easily be turned
coincidental by simply painting the object. The image
reflects how the mage sees things, and may be rather
subjective or very objective depending on what the mage
sought to effect. It is also dependent on mood, personality
and tradition.  Images created by Order of Hermes tend
towards the baroque, while technomancers create images of
photographic clarity and Akashic Brothers create works with
a definite Asian style. 


Age (Matter 3 Entropy 3)

By carefully applying entropy to the pattern of an object,
the mage can make it age exactly like it would naturally.
Its impossible to tell the difference between the real
thing and the result. This rote is a popular way earn some
quick cash for mages with roomy consciences, who use it to
create "antiques". 


The Ball is Round (Matter 3 Entropy 2 Mind 2)

This rote is used by some of the more sports oriented mages
to make sure their team is going to win. Most mages
consider this cheating, but everybody agree that a match
between two teams with supporting mages is a sight to
behold: random coincidences occur, the weather changes, the
ball bounces in unlikely angles, the players give their
outmost and the public just goes wild. Some of the Virtual
Adepts have used Correspondence to affect the game from
their own living rooms (although this is risky since the
Technocracy monitors all major events). 


Negative Mass Disruption (Matter 5)

One of the most spectacular (and vulgar) Matter effects
developed by the Postulants of Matter. The mage simply
negates the mass of an object. The result is very strange,
as mechanical forces on the object have the opposite effect
from normal. Gravity repels it. Pressure attracts it, while
tension repels it. Normally affected objects fall upwards,
only to hit the ceiling. This pressure causes it to
accelerate even more powerfully upwards, breaking through
the blocking ceiling and vanishing with supersonic speed
into space. This rote also provides a very nasty offensive
trick: the mage simply throws sand or gravel at somebody,
and negates their mass. The gravel will force its way
through the body of the victim, causing horrendous damage. 


Cavorite (Forces 4 Matter 5)

This weird material is created by a chantry of Sons of
Ether in orbit around the moon. It is named after their
founder Cavor, who also invented it (he is now rumoured to
be stranded in Arcadia after some of his early
experiments). It is a material which is impregnable to
gravity, essentially isolating whatever is above it from
gravity. Anything above a cavorite shield will be
weightless. This has some problems, as the atmosphere above
tends to blow into space if it is placed on earth.
Fortunately it can be easily handled, and as long as it is
tilted vertical its fairly harmless. Its quite useful for
building spaceships and other aerospace vehicles. Its exact
composition is a well guarded secret, but it is known to
contain helium in some way.

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