Xian Wu 2

Time.

The eternal hangs in the moment. All days are this day, the day of glory.

Spirit.

All things awaken to behold me on the Brilliant Road. My companions are a thousandfold; my truest friends are my sword and my shield.

Space.

The army’s front line is only as wide as the mountain pass. All conflict is drawn down to the point where I stand.

Prime.

My power is both within and without. The prima materia waits only for my hand to draw it from its sheath.

Mind.

My consciousness is a weapon, hard as steel, raised in readiness. I am awake.

Matter.

The bullets are as the earth beneath my feet. The steel is as the sash around my waist.

Life.

My heartbeat is the drum. My breath is the battle cry. My body is the instrument of my glory.

Forces.

My brother is thunder; my sister is fire. I find the way by walking in their footsteps.

Fate.

This is but one more step upon the Adamant Way. The destiny that awaits me is the one I have earned.

Death.

The end is the beginning. I am prepared.

XP

Gespielt: 3

• terror im supermarkt
• wassergeister
• grün am bauwagen platz

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• Band 1: Attribute,Skills 78xp (51+27 sl xp)
• 3-4 composure 20xp
• 1-2 int 10xp
• 3-5 brawl 27xp
  • 0-1 Spez waffeloser brawl 3xp
• 1-2 Academics 6xp
• 0-1 expression 3exp
• 0-1 invest 3xp
• 0-1 Rote Craft Talisman 3xp
• 0-1 Rote Meditieren 3xp

---

• Band 2: Merits,Willpower 84xp (62+ 22 sl xp)
• 3-5 mentor 18 xp
• 0-1 status Taoisten 2xp
• 0-1 Status Adamantine arrow 2xp
• 0-3 Astral Adept 12xp
• 0-2 Magical tradition Taoist 6xp
• 0-1 meditativ Mind 2xp
• 0-2 Bastion 3xp (12xp -15 mentor min 3)
• 0-5 FS:Praying Mantis 11xp (30-25 mentor min 11(1+1+1+3+5))
• 0-4 Scriptoium Time 6xp (20-20 mentor min 6)
• 0-4 Scriptoium life 6xp (20-20 mentor min 6)
• 0-4 Scriptoium mind 6xp (20-20 mentor min 6)
• 0-4 Scriptoium prime 6xp (20-20 mentor min 6)
• 0-2 Multilingual 6xp

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• Band 3: Powers,Supernatural-Merits 93xp (60+ 25slxp +9 storyending sl xp)
• 0-3 mind 27xp (42-15mentor)
• 2-3 life 16xp (21-5 mentor)
• 0-2 prime 11xp (21-10 mentor)
• Rotes
  • 1 x 1er rote mit scriptorium 1xp
  • 1 x 2er rote mit scriptorium 2xp
  • 12 x 3er rote mit scriporium 3xp x 12 = 36xp

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• Band 4: Retainer

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Charakterbeschreibung

war seit der antike in einem Ton soldaten eingespert -stop

hat das meiste seiner macht ein gebüst -stop

muss seine unsterblichkeit wieder erlangen -stop

seine reise durch die jahrhunderte hat seine sinne gedrübt

er kann noch immer in die vergangen heit sehen doch die zukunft bleibt ihm verwehrt-stop

er konnte nur 3 der scriptorien seiner kopie der Bibiliotek von Alexandria schützen -stop

diese haben auch bereits schäden genommen -stop

Charakterentwicklung

Martial Arts Schools The Adamantine Arrow dojo, fencing salle or wuguan is a famous tradition. Outside of martial arts, the order also runs bodyguard academies, elite security training schools and revolutionary cadres that teach the so-called People’s War. An innocuous gun club or firearms safety course could conceal a cabal or caucus from this tradition. In all cases, the group needs to teach more than a collection of ordinary fighting techniques if the school wants to engender a unique magical style. The school must have a specific theory of magic that links its mundane methods (instinctive shooting, kenjutsu or grappling, for instance) to Supernal symbols. A punch has to be more than a fist smacking an enemy. It should describe a host of magical operations. A Chinese martial artist might say the punch flows from focused intent to create fajin power that shoots through bones and tendons. She uses that theory to increase her strength beyond what musculature and even perfect technique allow. The school also needs special customs. Blood oaths, belt rankings and uniforms are examples. Without them, even a school of hardened Talons is an alliance of convenience, not a true teaching brotherhood. Some schools are secret societies with political aims in the Fallen World or monasteries where members govern their souls with physical discipline. Oblations: Practicing a martial arts or fitness routine taught by the school; teaching a class; taking a test for a license or rank; meditating on the grounds of the school; performing a ritual in honor of a master teacher, patron deity or school religion; studying a manual specific to the school.

Rote Factors: Using the school’s favored weapon as part of a rote mudra (+1); casting on school grounds (+1); successfully using one of the school’s techniques (specific to the rote) in combat on the previous turn (+1); spending a full turn (or for an extended spell, twice the usual time) performing a martial arts routine for no other reason than to focus the mind (+2).

Charakterbogen

Virtue:     Vice: 

Str: 2        Pre: 2        Int:  2   
Dex: 3        Man: 1        Wit:  3   
Sta: 3        Com: 5        Res:  3   

Skills: 
3 Athletics  
3 Stealth 
2 Survival 
1 Animal Ken 
3 Intimidation 
2 Academics
   Taoismus
3 Medicine 
3 Occult  
5  Brawl  
  FS,Kung fu,Preying Mantis
1 Investigation
1 Expression
Computer  Crafts   Drive  Empathy   Firearms      Larceny 
Persuasion  Politics  Science  Socialize  Subterfuge  Weaponry   Streetwise 

Rotes:
Craft talisman int+craft 2+1 3 Würfel 9 again
Meditieren     wits+com  3+5 8 würfel 9 again

Merits: 
postcognition Sifu mentor 5
   Time,Prime,LU,Praying Mantis,Oathbound
Exemplar mentor 5
   Life,Mind,Bastion,Scriptorium,Space
Status:
  Taoisten  1
  Admantine 1
Astral adept
High Speech
Magical Tradition: Taoist
Medative Mind
Bastion 3 (Astral Sanctum)
Scriptorium 4
 Time , deapth 3
Scriptorium 4
 Life , deapth 3
Scriptorium 4
 Mind , deapth 3
Scriptorium 4
 Prime , deapth 3

Sprachen:
Chinesich muttersprache
Latein 2 (academics)
Multilingual
  Alt Ägyptisch, Altgriechisch,Deutsch,Englisch


Arcana:
Time  3
Fate  1
Life  3
Mind  3
Prime 2

Morality: 7
Derangements: 

Health (8): 
Willpower (8):

Power Stat: Gnossis 3 
Power Pool (12/3):

 Ini Mod:   11;14 (17)   (Dex + com+ life ;(dex+life) +com +life 
 Size: 5      Speed: 10 (30)    
 Defense:  3;6(9)      Armor: 0 ; 3/3

default spells im pattern => overpatternd -1 auf zaubern
Mage armor Time +3/3 armor
honing the form +3 dex (bringt dex auf 6 siehe unten)
acceleration -3 auf angreifer pools und speed x3 (nur in runden wo ich einen punkt mana dafür aus gebe)
healing heart Prepared ritual heilt 20L (ein mana zum befreien)
 

Spezials

Prepared Spells (Time •• + conjunctional Arcanum) Cost: 1 point of Mana (spent when the spell is activated) Some mages choose to prepare a number of spells in advance. The mage performs the casting normally (including spending any required Mana), but when the spell is complete (in the case of extended actions, when enough successes have been accumulated to meet the target number) the caster suspends the spell and sets a trigger to activate it later. The caster must perform this trigger. It’s usually a magic word or a particular gesture, accompanied by the mage’s intent to activate the spell (so accidental uses of the trigger phrase or gesture don’t set the spell off). Activating a prepared spell is an instant action; the mage can do it almost any time. Since all the ritual of casting the spell is already accomplished, mages can use prepared spells subtly, without drawing undue attention from Sleepers. (It’s easier to hide a quick gesture or a whispered word of power than it is a magic staff or a pentagram surrounded by burning candles.) The Storyteller decides if the prepared spell is Improbable to Sleepers depending on the circumstances of its use. If he deems it to be sufficiently subtle, Sleeper witnesses might not impose dice modifiers on the Paradox roll. Any Paradox roll is made when the spell is triggered, not when it is prepared. The amount of time the spell can be held depends on how many factors are incorporated into it. Instant-Action

Casting Hold spell for up to…             Dice Penalty
10 minutes                                None 
30 minutes                                –2
One hour or scene                         –4
24 hours                                  –6
Two days*                                 –8
* Add an additional two-die penalty per extra two days.

Extended-Action Casting

Hold spell for up to…            Target Number
10 minutes                       —
30 minutes                       +1 successes
One hour or scene                +2 successes
24 hours                         +3 successes
Two days*                        +4 successes
* Add an additional success per extra two days.

Activating a prepared spell requires the mage’s player to spend a point of Mana, which is a surge of focused energy that sets the prepared spell into motion. If the mage doesn’t or can’t dedicate Mana to activate the spell, nothing happens, although the spell remains prepared. If the holding time expires without the spell being activated, it dissipates and is lost. The target of the spell is chosen when the spell is activated. If the spell allows its target a resisted defense (i.e., the target’s Resistance Attribute is subtracted from the spellcasting dice pool), the effect must instead be cast as an aimed spell (see “Aimed Spells,” p. 116). Contested spells function normally. A mage can hold a number of prepared spells simultaneously equal to his Gnosis. He cannot cast them all at once, however. He can activate only one per turn. A prepared spell, even one that has not yet been triggered, is considered an active spell when counted toward the total number of spells a mage can have active simultaneously or cast upon himself (based on Gnosis; see p. 75).

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A mage with Time 3 does not need to add one dot to a spell to be able to use the advanced prolongation factors. So strong is his command of time that he can manipulate Duration factors without requiring increased knowledge of the other Arcana. He must still, however, account for any penalties (for instant castings) or additional successes (for extended castings) levied for increasing the Duration beyond that provided with a basic success.

Spells

Mind

Augment the Mind (Mind •••)
The mage can raise one of his Mental or Social Attributes.
Practice: Perfecting
Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert
Cost: 1 Mana
A single Mental or Social Attributemay be raised by one dot per
success, up to a maximum of the caster’s Mind Arcanum dots.
For example, if a mage has Intelligence 3 and Mind 3 and three
successes are achieved on this spell to boost his Intelligence, that
trait becomes six dots for the spell’s Duration. If four successes
were rolled, he could still only boost Intelligence by three dots,
since he has only Mind 3. Raising Resolve and/or Composure
also raises Willpower dots, but these extra dots do not provide
Willpower points. The boost raises a target’s Willpower capacity
but not her actual supply of points. In addition, the target’s
Willpower cannot exceed 10 dots, no matter how high his
Resolve and/or Composure is boosted with this spell.
Example: Arethusa uses Augment the Mind to boost her Resolve.
She gets two successes on the casting, adding two dots to her
Resolve. This also adds two dots to her Willpower. She does not,
however, gain two extra Willpower points. Note that the same
spell cast to boost a different Mental or Social Attribute does not
combine with the first spell — only the highest Potency spell
takes effect. For example, if a mage boosts his Intelligence by
two dots and then casts a spell boosting his Wits by one dot, only
the first spell applies, since it has the higher Potency. (With the
Mind 4 “Supreme Augmentation” spell, the mage can allocate
successes among different Mental and Social Attributes.)
Guardians of the Veil Rote: Illuminating the Inner
Temple
Dice Pool: Resolve + Academics + Mind
Guardians are called upon to be brilliant, forceful and persuasive.
Such acumen in all fields is not often found within a single
individual. Indeed, Guardians must occasionally be far more
brilliant, forceful or persuasive than any normal human being
could possibly be. This rote enables such willworkers to become
veritable Einsteins, rivaling the genius of even the most renowned
intellect 

Multi-Tasking (Mind •••)
The mage performs complex multitasking.
Practice: Weaving
Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None
The mage can perform three mental extended actions or two
mental instant actions simultaneously. Note, however, that none
of these can be spellcasting, which is more than just an exercise
of consciousness. See also the Mind 1 “One Mind, Two
Thoughts” spell, p. 206.
Silver Ladder Rote: One Mouth, Many Voices
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Academics + Mind
Asserting control over one’s own consciousness is one of the
many steps on the path to true mastery over one’s environment.
Mages of the Silver Ladder use this rote to encompass numerous
trains of thought at once, outthinking less gifted individuals and
holding their own against many quick-thinking rivals. Guardians
of the Veil also favor this rote, as it allows them to better analyze
difficult situations before they turn to disasters, or to salvage
disasters.

Psychic Assault (Mind •••)
The mage can perform a crude psychic assault, causing psychic
trauma that translates into damage on a victim’s body as neurons
misfire and muscles spasm damagingly.
Practice: Fraying
Action: Instant; subtract target’s Resolve
Duration: Lasting
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None
Successes inflict bashing damage on a one-for-one basis. This
spell also affects vampires, even though their brains might not
function in the same manner as living creatures’; their minds are
still susceptible to the Mind Arcanum.
Adamantine Arrow Rote: Psyche’s Dart
Dice Pool: Resolve + Intimidation + Mind – Resolve
There are those who think the Adamantine Arrow is nothing more
than a gang of thugs who brandish vulgar magic in the name of
peace. Most mages of that order are content to allow detractors
such illusions, keeping their silence about rotes such as this one.
Often dismissed as a seizure or other neurological ailment, this
magic constitutes a potent weapon in the Arrow arsenal. In fact, it
is so effective and discrete that it is used, in one form or another,
by most mages sufficiently skilled in the Mind Arcanum.

Seal Oneiros (Mind •••)
When “Mental Shield” isn’t enough insurance, a mage makes his
Oneiros off-limits to astral travelers by blocking it with this spell.
Practice:Weaving
Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert
Cost: 1 Mana (optional)
Spells that allow other mages access to the character’s Oneiros
must exceed the Potency of this spell. The spells also contend
with “Mental Shield” if both spells are active. Spending one
Mana with the spell’s activation extends the Duration to a full
day.
Silver Ladder Rote: Mental Barricade
Dice Pool: Resolve + Academics + Mind
Silver Ladder mages consider their minds places of great
importance and incredible secrecy. They use this spell to ensure
that no enemy mages come anywhere near their minds.

Preserve Astral Space (Mind •••)
The astral is a dangerous and interesting place, but one that
shifts rapidly. When a mage needs respite from the dangers or
needs extra time to explore a dream space, this spell delays her
departure.
Practice:Weaving
Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None
This spell affects an area one-yard in radius, protecting
everything within that radius from changing at the whim of Astral
Space. This creates unexpected interactions when all but a small
portion of a set piece whisks away or has changed when the astral
traveler returns; Awakened psychologists prize this spell for its
ability to juxtapose different facets of an Oneiros for interaction
and comparison. While similar to “Preserve Astral Object,” this
spell is not mobile — an object taken out of the affected area is
subject to the realm’s normal laws. If an object’s connected set
piece has already disappeared, it disappears (or changes shape)
immediately upon removal.
Adamantine Arrow Rote: Bastion
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Survival + Mind
No Adamantine Arrow enjoys being behind enemy lines, and
traveling through Astral Space that can change shape without
warning and leave a mage surrounded by hostile creatures with
no way out is as far behind enemy lines as one can get. This rote
produces a base of operations, a place the mage can be sure won’t
abandon him. Mysterium mages have a similar rote (Intelligence
+ Academics + Mind) they use to create repositories of
knowledge within their own Oneiroi, keeping the repositories
safe from external examination and from being washed away by
dream tides.

Time

Acceleration (Time •••)
The mage accelerates his personal temporal motion, enabling her
to move and act quicker than is normally possible.
Practice: Perfecting
Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Vulgar
Cost: None during casting, 1 Mana per turn after casting
This spell boosts the mage’s ability to avoid attacks, her Initiative
and Speed. Although the spell’s Duration lasts for one hour, the
mage gains its benefits only in those turns in which she spends
one Mana reflexively, and the benefits last for that turn. (Once the
Duration has expired, Mana can no longer be spent to gain the
benefits.) 
The benefits are as follows: 
• For each Time dot the
mage possesses, one die is subtracted from any and all attackers’
dice pools (including ranged attacks), as the mage moves much
more quickly than normal and is harder to hit. This penalty to
attackers’ pools applies in addition to any armor the mage may
have, as well as to Defense (though note, like armor,
Acceleration’s benefits do not diminish based on how many
attacks the character faces). For example, if the mage has Time 4,
four dice are subtracted from any assailants’ dice pools. 
• Adds one to the mage’s Initiative per dot of Time. This allows her to
move up the initiative roster for that turn by one point for each
bonus. In the following turn, she drops back down to her original
position in the roster. 
• Finally, each dot of Time allows the  caster’s Speed to be added again
to his total Speed rating. Thus,
Time 3 enables a mage with Speed 9 to move at Speed 36 (9 + 9
+ 9 = 27 + base Speed of 9 = 36). With Time 4, the mage can cast
this spell on others.
Adamantine Arrow Rote: Swift as Death
Dice Pool: Stamina + Athletics + Time
Mages of the Adamantine Arrow must be ready for battle at all
times. As history has proven, speed is one the most crucial
advantages in combat. With this rote, the willworker can close on
an enemy with preternatural speed and avoid attacks with ease.
Naturally, this utilitarian rote sees use by members of every order. 

Temporal Shift (Time •••)
The mage protects others. This works like the Time 2 “Temporal
Dodge” spell, p. 261, except that the mage can now cast it upon
others.
Time ••• Disciple of Time 145/228
Practice: Shielding
Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert
Cost: 1 Mana (optional)
The target gains one point of armor per dot the caster possesses in
the Time Arcanum. The effect lasts for one hour, but the Duration
can be made to last for a day by spending one Mana.
Adamantine Arrow Rote: Bending the River’s Flow
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Investigation + Time
Often cast in preparation for battle, this rote enables a mage to
defend a charge, dispersing the force of incoming attacks along
the unseen axes of Time.

Time Out of Mind (Time ••• + Mind ••)
The mage can enter a “timeless” state of mind wherein lengthy
contemplation is possible in virtually no time at all. Practice:
Weaving
Action: Extended
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None
This spell is similar to Temporal Pocket (see Mage: The
Awakening, p. 265) except the spell only affects the mage’s
mental state: the mage is able to think for an extended period of
time “in between” moments. Successes are assigned to the spell’s
Duration, affecting the subjective time the mage has in which to
think. So, at a basic level, the mage can consider for up to an hour
while no time at all appears to pass for everyone else. Additional
successes increase this time as usual for a prolonged spell. The 
caster under this spell is “inside” his or her own mind and has no
resources other than what the mage can think or imagine. Still,
the mage may be able to undertake and complete extended mental
actions, appearing to accomplish them in just a moment’s time.
This does not include extended spellcasting, as that is not a purely
mental action.
Free Council Rote: Seven Thoughts in a Moment
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Science + Time
When a mage needs a “moment to consider,” this techné is just
the thing, since it usually grants more than enough time to puzzle
out a particular situation, giving Free Councilors a reputation for
the ability to think of their feet.

Postcognition (Time ••)
The mage can experience postcognition. She can review the past
of her current location or any moment in her own past, or that of
an object, with flawless clarity. To focus this sense on something
or someplace other than the mage’s current physical location, the
mage must also use Space 2. Without the use of Space 2, she can
do this only for an exact spot in which she was or is. She can look
only at what was going on while she was physically present in
such a location. Generally speaking, the past is much easier to
read than the future (since the past’s variables are already locked
into place ) , giving a more-or-less objective view of how things
unfolded at a given time, in a given place.
Practice: Unveiling
Action: Instant
Duration: Concentration
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None
The mage declares the time and place that she wishes to view, and
casting dice pool is modified by temporal sympathy (see p. 259).
Each success allows the mage to view up to one turn of time in
that place, beginning at the moment declared during casting (such
as “Midnight on New Years Day, 1999, at Times Square”). She
views events in real time (it takes one turn of current time to
review one turn of past time) as if through a camera placed
amidst the scene, but she can fast forward and replay any part
within the viewing period. With Time 3, the mage can view one
minute of time per success, and 10 minutes per success with Time
4. The Duration of this spell is concentration; as soon as the mage
ceases to concentrate on viewing the past, the spell expires.
Mysterium Rote: Gazing Through the Sands
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Investigation + Time
With this rote, a mage of the Mysterium can bear witness to
events that have already transpired, a useful capability for those
who seek to uncover the lost secrets of the past. Guardians of the
Veil use this rote for similar purposes, though they usually apply
whatever knowledge they glean to protecting the occult world
from the scrutiny of the unenlightened.

Perfect Timing (Time •)
This spell allows a mage to accurately assess all of the temporal
components occurring in her immediate presence, giving her an
opportunity to act at exactly the proper time to have the maximum
effect. If she wants to throw a punch, she knows how and where
to strike with the greatest possible (mundane) precision and force.
Or if she wants to convince someone of something, she knows the
most opportune instant in which to speak.
Practice: Knowing
Action: Reflexive
Duration: Special
Aspect: Covert
Cost: 1 Mana
Each success grants the mage a single extra die in the next roll
that has to — or is chosen to — be made. This does not include
spellcasting rolls. If the next roll is for a spell (perhaps the mage
needs to quickly cast a countermagic), the character loses the
benefit.
Adamantine Arrow Rote: Strike True
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Composure + Time
Mages of the Adamantine Arrow who master this rote find that
they need strike only once in order to fell their enemies. By
attuning his perceptions to the perfect instant in time in which to
act, the willworker attacks with efficiency.

Life

Banish Plague(Life •••)
The mage can cure sickness or disease in others.
Practice: Ruling
Action: Instant
Duration: Lasting
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None
As with the Life 2 “Self-Purging” spell, p. 183. At this level, the
mage must touch the target. With Life 4, he can cast this spell at
sensory range.
Mysterium Rote: Reseal the Tomb
Dice Pool: Wits + Medicine + Life
Sickness and disease are just some of the threats encountered by
Mysterium mages and their compatriots as they work to uncover
the secrets of the ancients. With this rote, illness can be banished
from the bodies of friends, or even just innocent strangers. Free
Council mages also make some use of this magic (Intelligence +
Medicine + Life) through the application of cutting-edge medical
techniques and innovative treatments.

Healing Heart (Life •••)
The mage can heal the wounds of other humans.
Practice: Perfecting
Action: Instant
Duration: Lasting
Aspect: Covert
Cost: 1 Mana
Each success heals one bashing or lethal Health wound (the
rightmost wound on the Health chart is healed first). At this level,
the mage must touch the target. With Life 4, he can cast this spell
at sensory range. With Life 4, aggravated wounds can be healed,
although the mage must still touch the target (he can heal
aggravated wounds at sensory range with Life 5).
Mysterium Rote: Balm of Flesh
Dice Pool: Composure + Medicine + Life
Whether through a potion, poultice or some other means,
members of the Mysterium use this rote to mend injuries,
restoring torn flesh and shattered bone. Guardians of the Veil use
a version of this rote (Resolve + Medicine + Life) to remove
evidence of injury by paranormal phenomena.

Honing the Form (Life •••)
The mage can raise one of his Physical Attributes or that of a base
or median life form. 
Practice: Perfecting
 Action: Instant; subtracttarget’sStamina
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Vulgar
Cost: 1 Mana
A single Physical Attribute may be raised by one dot per success,
up to a maximum of caster’s Life Arcanum dots. For example, if
the mage has Strength 3 and Life 3 and gets three successes on
this spell to boost his Strength, his Strength becomes 6 dots for
the spell’s Duration. If four successes were rolled, he could still
only boost Strength by three dots, since he has only Life 3.
Naturally, this spell also modifies any derived traits (such as
Speed, Health or Initiative). Note that the same spell cast to boost
a different Physical Attribute does not combine with the first spell
— only the highest Potency spell takes effect. For example, if a
mage boosts his Strength by two dots and then casts a spell
boosting his Dexterity by one dot, only the first spell takes effect,
since it has the higher Potency. (With Life 4, he can allocate
successes among different Physical Attributes; see “Supreme
Honing,” p. 190.) When cast upon base or median life forms
(using the same rules as when casting upon himself), the mage
must touch the target. With Life 4, he can cast this spell at
sensory range. If the target resists the spell, subtract its Stamina
from the spellcasting dice pool.
Free Council Rote: Actualizing Potential
Dice Pool: Resolve + Athletics + Life – Stamina
Free Council mages use this rote to tap into enhanced physical
capabilities. Prodigious strength, quick reflexes, enhanced
resilience; all can be manifested by a willworker sufficiently
skilled in the Life Arcanum. This magic can also be used on
lesser life forms, bestowing such amazing capabilities upon
virtually any non-human creature. Given its broad appeal and
amazing usefulness, this rote is practiced among all orders.

Transform Self (Life •••)
The mage can give himself the features of a base or median life
form. He may affect certain changes in his own body, such as
developing fungal, plant or animal features in order to thrive in a
given environment or under a set of circumstances. He could, for
example, supplement his intake of food in a harsh desert by
granting himself the ability to absorb nutrients d i r e c t l y from
the ground, or he could enhance his jaw strength to that of a
hyena in order to crack bones and get at the marrow within.
Practice: Weaving
Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Vulgar
Cost: 1 Mana
The mage can take on one feature of a base or median life form
per success. Among other things, the mage could manifest gills,
sharp claws, fangs (turning his normal hand-to-hand damage
from bashing to lethal and adding one to two dice modifiers to
attack pools depending on the weapon gained), cat’s eyes
(lessening by two penalties from all but absolute darkness), or a
Life ••• Disciple of Life 60/228
rat’s digestive system (allowing him to safely digest all but the
foulest food sources). Note that this spell does not grant any
changes beyond the purely biological. A mage who grows feline
claws doesn’t know how to fight any better than normal. Nor
does a mage with a rat’s iron stomach find the stench of carrion
any more palatable than normal. As mentioned in “Transfer
Median Features,”above, a roll might be needed to get features
right if specimens are not available during casting.
Adamantine Arrow Rote: Harsh Duty
Dice Pool: Stamina + Athletics + Life
The work of a mage of the Adamantine Arrow can be harsh and
unforgiving. This rote enables an Arrow willworker to survive
under all but the most brutal conditions, killing prey with his bare
hands, thriving beneath the waves or in the deadliest cold, or
going for weeks without a drop of water or morsel of food.
Mysterium mages use similar magic to persevere in the
sometimes-perilous environments in which they seek their lore.

Two Faces (Life •••)
The mage can change his features.
Practice: Weaving
Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Vulgar
Cost: None
One feature may be altered per success. Each of the following is
one feature: changing eye color (includes both eyes), skin color,
hair color, hair length, hair texture. Other superficial
characteristics can also be altered: fingers or toes may be slightly
shortened or lengthened, body hair can be made sparse or more
abundant, skin can be rendered dry or more oily, and height and
weight can be very slightly altered (perhaps an inch or two, or up
to 10 pounds, respectively). Perhaps most significantly, facial
features and other distinguishing marks (like moles or scars) can
be changed. Changes more extreme than these (such as changing
fingerprints) require Life 4.
Guardians of the Veil Rote: Incognito Exchange
Dice Pool: Wits + Subterfuge + Life
With this rote, a Guardian can be someone other than himself, a
useful ability in his line of work. Indeed, such a mage can go
from a “blond-haired, clean-shaven, green-eyed, early-30s”
suspect being chased by police to a 40ish man with salt-andpepper
hair and beard saying, “He went that way.” Silver Ladder
willworkers sometimes use the same rote when trying to go
unnoticed.