~ Entropy ~
Specialties: Fate, Fortune, Order, Chaos
The practical applications of Entropy are manifold. Disciples learn to quantify probability energy, which most mages call Destiny, Fate or Fortune. Through observation, a mage may spot "accidents waiting to happen" and take advantage of them, while at higher levels, the mage learns to manipulate the actual threads of probability.
Mages who study Entropy tend to specialize either in sowing chaos and confusion or in reaffirming order and reason, though some follow an enigmatic middle ground. Curses and blessings are their specialty, and they can bring the strange force of Wyrd to bearonobjects, individuals and even ideas and concepts. These mages understandhow allpatterns break down, and thus, how they work in the first place.
Direct Entropy Effects do no damage until the fourth level, after which they do one success less than usual. Applications of entropy-crumbling walls, disintegrated bridges, etc.-are more effective, and inflict the usual damage.
· Sense Fate & Fortune
Disciples of Entropy learn to examine each thing and discern its strengths and weaknesses, examining what it is and what it does. Given this knowledge, the mage can pick a lucky horse, sense if a lock has some defect or choose the original between two identical items. Fate, however, is a fickle thing, and Fortune even more so. These insights are not perfect, just advanced.
·· Control Probability
Now that the threads of Fate have been identified, the dominos of Fortune may be pushed. Disciples learn control over probability by studying where it concentrates. This gives the mage amazing, yet subtle control over hundreds of small events. He may determine the outcome of any minor event that would normally be random. Once he discerns which apparently random events are in fact predetermined, he can then manipulate other eventualities to his own ends.
There's a limit to this control; the greater the probability he tries to affect, the more difficult the act becomes. Determining a coin toss is simple magick. Determining the toss of the same coin 100 times in succession becomes correspondingly more difficult.
···Affect Predictable Patterns
Machines are especially susceptible to entropy. Clocks wind down, engines break, and all things eventually decay. A Disciple of Entropy can "fix" this deterioration, causing a new television set to blow a fuse while an old junker car still runs years after it should have fallen apart. This works best on complex machines-simple objects are harder to erode or maintain this way.
A mystick at this level can also control the fate of objects or people, though his influence is still limited by the realm of possibility. The more unlikely a feat, the more difficult it becomes.
···· Affect Life
Adepts of Entropy study how life forms begin, mature, wither, and die. Through this, a mage learns how to influence the random factors of life, giving him immense power either to destroy it or affect its development. With this magick, a mage can weave a potent spell over a living being, blessing or cursing him and his line. Other Spheres may be woven into such a charm, creating hereditary magickal gifts or flamboyant curses. These Arts affect probability, not Life Patterns themselves.
·····Affect Thought
Masters of Entropy expand their control over reality by studying the ways in which ideas change over time. Thoughts, they point out, can be molded, shaped and influenced over time. While the Masters of Mind rudely subjugate the minds of others, Masters of Entropy merely point out things that will strike a person a particular way and let his thoughts follow the natural progression to other possibilities.
Master of Entropy who specialize in chaos can confuse a person simply by making a few weird comments, while those specializing in order can present logical arguments to guide that person's ideas to some higher (or at least different) conclusion. Masters who specialize in Fate or Fortune can lead subjects to inescapable conclusions or spark random, creative thoughts, which a subject may absorb as he sees fit. This may lead to paradigm shifts, new faiths or insanity.
