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Mage: The Ascension Rotes

These are some rotes that I have invented for some of my Mages. Some of them are genuinely unique and powerful, while others, though no less powerful, are more based off of other abilities, such as Vampire disciplines. My Mages have a tendency to deal with Vampires, and it's good to have some of their own abilities and defenses to use against them.

Rote Prime
All Spheres 5, Arete 10.

The Perfect Rote. The Prize. Perfection. This mythical rote has had many names, many more than I will put here, and has been sought after by virtually every Mage who has ever lived. This rote is rumored to give its user immortality, perfect clarity of thought and memory, perfect control of fate, perfect control at any distance, mastery of space and time, a flawless body with endless health, and ultimate power to weild from it, just to name a few. Some even speculate that achievement of this rote may reveal the legendary 10th Sphere. Obviously, no one has mastered this rote yet, that we know about anyway, though High Magus Varna of the Order of Hermes is very close.

True Age
Entropy 4, Time 3. Paradox 3.

A real nice rote against old Vampires, this power duplicates the level 5 power of Thaumaturgy: Path pf the Blood's Curse, called Wrath of Ages. It suspends the eternal youth of a Vampire or Mage, bringing all of their years down upon their head and reflecting it on their bodies. For every 10 years of aging, one Physical Attribute decreases by 1 point. When one of the three Attributes reaches 0, the character is crippled. Any target who is over 300 years old will lose all three Attributes, and be in a world of hurt for the rote's duration, if they live through it.

Warp Field
Correspondence 4. Paradox 0.

This effect, inspired by the mutant from Vampire Hunter D, turns a physical attack, such as a sword thrust, against its weilder. While it will look like the weapon is piercing the target, they will suffer no damage, and then the weapon will injure its weilder as if they attacked themselves. This is a very fun spell to use, but it only deflects one attack, and then must be recast. Your opponent doesn't need to know that, though.

Foresight
Time 2. Paradox 2.

This spell allows the caster to see a few moments into the future. It allows the user to decreas the difficulty of an action by -1, while increasing the difficulty of all others by +1. If permanent, these bonuses/penalties become permanent for that character.

Death Scythe
Entropy 5, Spirit 2, Forces 3. Paradox 5.

This rote has the Mage stab something, usually a staff, into the ground, and then wait for 2 rounds while it collects energy from the Dark Umbra. Then the Mage picks it up and wills the black energy into a form, such as a scythe blade. Once done, the weapon will cause Aggravated damage and decay to dust almost anything it hits.

Fortitude
Life 3. Paradox 0.

This allows a Mage to duplicate a Vampire's superhuman durability. The Mage decides how high a level they want to achieve, though it cannot surpass their score in Life Sphere, and then rolls. The first three successes are cancelled, as they made the spell work. The remaining successes, if any, define how many levels of Fortitude the player can claim and how long the effect lasts. While several levels of Fortitude are certainly nice to have, many Mages aim small, having a better chance to make the smaller effect last longer, rather than the bigger defense puttering out in two rounds. Each success after three can either equal one Fortitude or one in duration (see Mage for details on duration). If enough successes are built on the little effect, a Mage could even make it permanent, thus always having Fortitude 1. Even just one dot can save one's life. Future castings and permanents do stack.

Celerity
Time 3. Paradox 3.

Much like Fortitude above, this allows a Mage to duplicate a Vampire's superhuman speed. The Mage decides how high a level they want to achieve, though it cannot surpass their score in Time Sphere, and then rolls. The first three successes are cancelled, as they made the spell work. The remaining successes, if any, define how many levels of Celerity the player can claim and how long the effect lasts. Like Fortitude, it might be nice to have 4 actions per turn, but many Mages aim small, having a better chance to make the smaller effect last longer, rather than the bigger defense puttering out in two rounds. Each success after three can either equal one Celerity or one in duration (see Mage for details on duration). Again, like Fortitude, there is a chance of permament Celerity here. Future castings and permanents do stack.

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