Rank 6 Spheres
Secrets of the Archmasters
***** * Mind
Universal Unconsciousness
The final rank of Mind is almost predictable. And yet, like its earlier ranks, the potential of the Sphere of Mind is often greatly underrated. The archmaster of Mind learns that all cognitive thought is linked together in a universal unconsciousness that has no physical existence. But the mage is able to delve into this global psyche. Individual minds can be connected or disconnected as a Correspondence mage might establish or dissolve sympathetic bonds. The Mind archmaster can reshape the Astral Realm itself, reformulating the reciprocal representations of the mind, which can in turn affect consequences on what this spirit world symbolizes. And the mentalist oracle is intellectually unbound. No mental challenge is beyond the archmaster, who can, by accessing this universal pool, develop new skills and recognize new knowledge as if the universe was her private library. Ancient Akashayana are known to retreat into meditation until Ascension is achieved, and then through this transcendent existence, inspire wisdom and mutual cognizance in his juniors in the role of a Buddha ascendant.
Inductive Genius (***** * Mind)
While Rank 5 Mind permits a mage to essentially grant himself a “Better Mind” Effect (akin to the Life 3 Better Body Effect), increasing his Mental Attributes, with Rank 6 his consciousness becomes truly unbound. With this Effect, the archmaster becomes capable of making fantastical leaps of intuition and otherworldly genius. Best of all, while such leaps are superhuman, they do not cause the mage’s mind to linger in realms of impossibility, invoking Paradox and Pattern leakage. The mage must choose the subject of his consideration when casting this Effect. If he is analyzing a person, place, thing, or event, the Effect gives him preternatural comprehension of the subject’s history and motives. If he is considering a dilemma or problem, the answer will spring to mind. And if he is trying to understand and apply information and know-how to a task, the knowledge will briefly become like second nature. Akashic gurus utilize this magick, coming out of meditative trances with knowledge and awareness they never had before.
[For each success, the character may gain one temporary dot of any Skill or Knowledge. This Knowledge does not stay, although the mage may purchase it with the normal cost of experience points to make it permanent [so while the Mentor or Library Background bonuses cannot apply, this Effect does replace the need for seeking out a teacher]. [The Martial Arts Skill can be acquired this way, but special maneuvers of the “chi-channeling” category cannot be learned. The Do Skill cannot be learned at all this way.] Alternatively, the player may ask one general or specific question of the Storyteller regarding a person, place, thing, or situation. The more successes rolled the clearer and more accurate the answer will be. Consecutive castings regarding the same issue are subject to the Domino Effect, but otherwise this Effect is coincidental.]
Zombie Nation (***** * Mind)
By tapping into the universal subconscious, an archmaster of Mind can manipulate entire populations with frightening and subtle purpose. Any number of emotions can be incited, but a frequent application by the Old Masters of the New World Order is to drum up the Masses’ apathy. This has the tendency of making people turn a blind eye to things that they don’t need to see, eliminating the need for lesser agents to constantly alter memories with silly stories of swamp gas reflecting off Venus. Of course, this Effect has long term effects that may be detrimental to the Union’s goals and humanity in general… Technically, this Effect could be accomplished through a monumental casting of Mind 2. However, the will of the herd is as strong as the shepherds. Rank 6 bypasses the proverbial shepherds through bypassing the assault on the will of the targets. This Effect instead targets psychic connections on an astral level, which cannot be resisted.
[This Effect is coincidental. Successes are generally spent on area and duration; only mild levels of apathy are usually sought. For the NWO leadership, this is a maintenance Procedure. Instead of apathy, a mage could instead strengthen sympathy, increasing overall kindness and generosity in the Masses, but also attentive concern [and consequently, nosiness]. To generate other emotions en masse, Prime 2 must be added to the Effect to color the raw psychic Resonance that the mage is connecting or disconnecting.]
***** * Prime
Diffuse/Suffuse Essence
Students of Prime know that there are essentially two types of primal force – “free” Quintessence and “raw” Quintessence. “Free” Quintessence is easier to manipulate, but it is much harder to tap “raw” Quintessence. Only Masters have fully free reign over this primordial building block. Yet, even they have limits. Archmasters of Prime bypass those limits. With Diffuse or Suffuse Essence, the mage can tap even forbidden sources of energy, and have a consummate comprehension of Paradox itself. Paradox, the Prime Oracle argues, is not merely the antithesis of Quintessence. It is not some distinct force, but is in fact created by a dedicated stream of “raw” Quintessence, as much as any Pattern. Spirits, too, are not some unique ephemeral force. Rather, the ephemeral energy that constitute Umbrood is itself a type of Quintessence. Prime is often seen as the short-cut Sphere to manipulating Patterns. But it can also be a short-cut to directly affecting non-Patterns as well, and Archmasters are able to do just that. By identifying and then channeling or draining the “raw” Quintessence, the mage can bolster, absorb, or obliterate any phenomenon. Even Paradox may be subject to this treatment. As an example, at Rank 5, Prime Master could erase the “raw” Quintessence of a human being (or some other creature) thereby destroying that person. At Rank 6, the Archmaster can go further, diffusing the “raw” Quintessence of his victim’s soul, assuring he cannot reincarnate or return as a wraith. This is not the same as what Euthanatoi refer to as Oblivion (which is Entropic), but rather a primordial erasure of the target’s very existence. It would be as if the victim never was, save in people’s memories. (And with much greater effort, even those memories could be erased, if the Prime Archmaster targets the “raw” Quintessence of this widespread mental phenomenon).
In contrast, the Primal Archmaster could suffuse a crumbling Node, super-charging it so that its regular output far exceeds whatever it once knew. Because of this rank of Prime’s incredibly potential effects, powerful watchdogs – namely the Oracles – are thought to watch after and prevent its abuse. Then again, they may be subtly contributing to its abuse, reshaping the world with singularly profound strokes. Rumor also has it that a special breed of powerful Paradox spirits that, while not immune to Prime 6, are incredibly shrewd and resistant to all forms of magic, and was born just to keep an eye on the Awakened. Archmasters of the Celestial Chorus point out that such powerful gurus of Prime tend to police themselves. More than one Chorister has been lost in the absolute joy of her divine hymn tapping such godlike power, ascending to Heaven in one final burst of Quintessential audacity.
Dissolve Disbelief (***** * Prime)
As noted above, Paradox is as much an energy as the wind. Its mysteries are unraveled at Rank 6 of Prime, and consequently a common application of this magick is to directly dispel. Prime Masters do this on a smaller basis, and only accumulated but unspent Paradox. Dissolve Disbelief targets any level of Paradox, whether it’s the weight of disbelief on a mage’s shoulders (unspent) or a festering wound that doesn’t heal (a Flaw). Even Paradox-inspired Quiet can be countered this way, though the mental shock of sudden sanity tends to leave a mage comatose (and so, few Prime archmasters recommend this use). It is believed that ancient Choristers employed this magick to invoke religious miracles without the bane of Paradox, thereby attracting new waves of converts.
[Although this Effect dispels Paradox and backlashes, the magick itself is vulgar and so generates Paradox. Each success reduces a mage’s Paradox pool or the severity of a Backlash by one. Direct Paradox backlashes that only inflicted damage cannot be healed, as there is nothing to dispel. But no existing force of Paradox is immune to this magick, not even spirits or dreaded Storms. Of course, some backlashes and Paradox pools will demand numerous successes, making this Effect difficult to undertake, and virtually impossible to cast on the fly.]
Empowered Irregularity (***** * Prime)
Whereas Dissolve Disbelief purges Paradox from a target, Empowered Irregularity is a reactive Effect that actually channels Paradox energies into a much more productive form. The Primal archmaster can actually turn Paradox he gains into Quintessence! This Effect was first noted in use by the master Craftmasons of medieval China, who used this method to help break the Wu Lung’s stranglehold over the kingdom’s mythic paradigm.
[This Effect is actually coincidental, no matter how vulgar that the mage’s other magick may be. For every three successes, the mage can transform one point of Paradox into one point of Quintessence. This only applies to the mage’s own Paradox as it is gained that turn, not Paradox previously accumulated. Nor can this Effect stop backlashes, should he gain more Paradox than he can immediately channel.]
***** * Spirit
Empyrean Loom
Oracles of Spirit are virtually gods onto themselves. They have become weavers of the celestial essence, able to rework and redesign all forms of ephemera and ether to their liking. Their influence is such that they can compel greater spirits at whim, reshape spirits like putty, craft instantaneous pocket zones and self-sustaining Horizon Realms, and evoke massive umbral effects. Rumors persist of Dreamspeakers “suggesting” policy to Umbral Lords (including totemic spirits), dissolving entire patches of the Great Web and redefining the arachnid weavers with a dynamic (and savage) mentality, boring illicit tunnel-like networks under Doisstep and other major Horizon Realms, and building armies of spirit-allies that manifest in their defense with the clap of their hands. Such allegations are generally without basis (and more likely perpetuated by one of the few rare Marauder Oracles), but they are not necessarily without merit. An Archmaster of Spirit is quite capable of all this and more.
General of the Sky (***** * Spirit)
A classic Effect of Dreamspeakers grants them profound privilege over the ethereal. In a pinch or on a whim, an archmaster of Spirit can redirect a spirit with a single command. This command is obeyed by the spirit to the best of its abilities, whether it is a low-ranking Minion or proud Preceptor. Lords cannot be compelled so readily. The mage’s command will end all previous behaviors under which the spirit was operating, instantly awakening it from Slumber or disconnecting it from its fellow Umbrood to answer the mage’s call to service. While fulfilling the mage’s demands, it does not begrudge the caster. And if the mage has it perform a service in line with its natural activities, it will rarely begrudge the mage afterwards either.
[This coincidental Effect first requires that the mage identify a spirit [child’s play for an archmaster]. Then he may issue any order to that spirit with a simple Charisma+Cosmology roll [difficulty equals the spirit’s Willpower]. This Effect does not usually need an Arete roll.]
Unleash Hell (***** * Spirit)
Through this awesome Effect, a mage can summon a powerful storm of spiritual constitution. The storm can be located on either side of the Gauntlet, as the mage wishes. Those caught in the storm, which typically ranges as far as a concentrated thunderhead, will begin to suffer terrible injury. Dreamspeaker elders reserve this spell as a last defense against major assaults, while Euthanatoi gurus frequently use localized storms within an adopted area of the Shadowlands to clear out unwanted ephemeral remnants. (Wraiths call such storms Maelstroms.) Marauder versions of this Effect are the worst, however, because hobgoblins and other dangerous critters tend to ride the storm’s winds and pummel anyone caught in the storm even harder.
[This Effect is vulgar if cast in the material realm. Even if it is cast in the Penumbra or Shadowlands, where it is coincidental, it tends to have noticeable side effects on Earth [such as spawning normal if unusually violent wind or thunderstorms]. Anyone caught in the storm, spirit or otherwise, takes one level of aggravated damage per turn. The radius of these storms is such that it generally takes ten turns on foot from the heart of the storm to safely clear its perimeter. The storm is immobile and its duration lasts no longer than one scene [generally an hour].]
***** * Time
Epochal Continuum
As with Correspondence 6, the relativity of time is irrelevant to the Archmaster of Time. With earlier ranks, a mage can perceive time, and then manipulate time in a crude, short-term fashion, and then freeze time, and finally travel through time. Many believe the Oracles of Time can travel to the past, whereas Masters are limited to the future. This is a myth; a Master of Time can travel to the past or future. Oracles of Time do not learn how to merely travel more effectively. Paradox still hounds any mage brazen enough to travel to the past and threaten all reality with even the most trivial of actions. Achieving Rank 6 does not immunize or reduce that risk to the traveler. In fact, Epochal Continuum has nothing to do with travel per se at all. Instead, at this Rank the mage has a profound handle over the flow of time itself. She can cause it to repeat itself in relation to any person, place, thing, or phenomenon. The degree to which the flow of time repeats is subject to the mystick’s intent and control. Simply setting the stage and letting deterministic actions (probably) cause an event to repeat itself is not a subject of Time, but rather Entropy (as early as Rank 2). Instead, regardless of any variables of behavior or coincidental phenomena, the Archmaster of Time can force an event to be repeated. This repetition, or Möbius loop, creates a paradox (which is subject to Paradox, of course) that in some cases can be relatively inescapable. This can be rendered as a horrible curse (for example, cause a person to forever walk down an empty hall, never finding the way out, until he perishes of old age, which may also be vastly extended by this warping of the temporal flow), or as a means to sidestep reality for long periods of time. Cultists of Ecstasy fantasize that an Epochal Continuum could be one means by which to affect Ascension: lock oneself up in eternal bliss. In some ways, this can be an alternative means to extending life. But as longevity spells go, it is hardly practical. The mage can halt, accelerate, or decelerate age for only defined periods of time, and when the Effect ends, Paradox rushes in and often makes any efforts of longevity painfully irrelevant.
Another application was by the diabolic Avatar of Fate, Ricky Smith, who created such a continuum for he and his Avatars, locking them out of reality and the standard flow of time. Eight years of real time passed for one year of real time for Ricky and his friends, enabling them to build their skill, power, and assets mathematically faster than their enemies, and preparing them for the inevitable doomsday scenario. Such an effect could be crudely constructed with Time 3, but not on such a grand scale and certainly not with such precision. And because the continuum is constructed outside of reality, whatever Paradox may accrue does not affect the mage until the Effect’s duration ends. Naturally, the longer the Effect, the greater amount of Paradox that accrues, and the more terrible the backlash is sure to be. Oracles of Time also point out that Paradox has limitless patience. The accrued Paradox may haunt the Archmaster that evokes a particularly vulgar continuum and dies before the continuum ends, crippling her Avatar in future incarnations.
Do-Over (***** * Time)
A very fast and simple application of Epochal Continuum is to cause a very brief repetition of an event that just immediately passed. This permits the mage to react differently than he did the first time. Did you zig instead of zag? Well, presuming you aren’t dead, you get a second chance to zag instead. And many archmasters hang a contingency effect, so that if by zigging the mage would die, time rips her back those last few seconds and let her zag instead to avoid death.
[This Effect overlaps real time so fast that it is unnoticeable except as a brief head-shaking moment of déjà vu. Thus, it is coincidental, albeit subject to the Domino Effect. A mage who benefits from this Effect may repeat any action he took in the last turn, altering his behavior accordingly. So, if he ducked a gunshot the last turn, and his oblivious friend behind took the bullet instead, he could get this “do-over” to instead turn and tackle his buddy so that the bullet misses them both. Mechanically, this Effect reduces the difficulty of any roll that the mage wishes to try again by 2. Alternatively, he may abandon that course of action and try something else entirely, though with no bonuses.]
Möbius Loop (***** * Time)
Seizing a subject into a virtually permanent loop of temporal activity can be a horrible condemnation or a fascinating case study, depending on its use. This Effect makes this a possibility. Subjects are forced to relive the same experience over and over, for the (often lengthy) duration of the Effect. While enduring this loop, the subject(s) is separated from the rest of the universe, trapped in his own temporal reality detached from the normal flow of time. Subjects still age and can be harmed within this loop, and have free will to act as they wish, but the events always play out the same way, except in reaction to the subject’s actions and changes. So, if a person is cursed to relive the murder of his wife, he can try and stop the murder, and possibly even succeed; however, once the loop reaches its predetermined resetting point, the subject is confronted with the same tragedy again. Even tracking down the mage within that temporal loop and forcing her to end the Effect does not work, because that version of the mage is part of this alternate temporal reality. The only way to escape the loop is to reacquire the ebbs and flows of true time, which demands skill in Time, as well as a great deal of analysis and examination. Tracking down the alternate reality mage may, in fact, be another method. But simply demanding the loop be removed will not be enough. The mage would have to reconnect time itself from that alternate reality with the normal flow – an entirely different and more complex effort. Of course, another method of escape is death (victims of this curse do typically commit suicide, a la Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day”, except they don’t get to keep waking up until they figure it out). Ecstatic Oracles occasionally use this Effect on their juniors to teach them humility as well as some specific lesson.
[The mage splits up successes rolled to determine the duration of the loop. The content of the loop itself may span any event in time, short or long. The rest of the mage’s successes go to a diffusion of time for the subject or subjects, effectively extending their life by slowing their aging process, while within the loop. Yes, this is very vulgar.]
Sample Conjunctional Effects (Rotes)
Always Right (*** Entropy/***** * Mind)
A favorite of NWO Old Masters, this rote combines one’s potential for superhuman genius with a deterministic likelihood of knowing and speaking correctly regarding any subject whatsoever, even one to which the mage has no real knowledge. Thus, one can hold debates on equal terms with colleagues of very different disciplines without spending a lifetime acquiring that information. Though turning one into a virtually omniscient “idiot savant” sounds quite handy, it provides no real defensive benefits. It is best reserved for social discussions, which is more than powerful enough. Entire philosophies, theories, and ideas can be reshaped by the mage’s input, regardless of his ulterior motives and true comprehension.
[This coincidental rote makes the mage a highly effective speaker and little more. Through fact rather than conjecture, the mage can argue his points. This reduces the difficulties of all relevant Social rolls to a childish 3. This does not assist other sorts of Social rolls, such as seduction or interrogation.]
Galactic Power (***** * Forces/*** Prime)
Quintessence is a rare and expensive resource. Wizardly wars have been waged for centuries over Nodes and troves of Tass. However, another route by which to gain additional energy has long been recognized in the form of Junctures. These events, though usually predictable, are not common. The Archmasters of the Order of Hermes devised this rote, realigning the proverbial stars in order to produce lesser but still productive Junctures of which only they are readily aware, and from which mostly they can therefore benefit. Huge chambers with massive spinning orreries are the traditional foci for this rote.
[This coincidental rote literally shifts distant celestial balance in relatively small means, generating a sort of mini-Juncture. The mage can soak up the gathered energies by rolling Perception+Meditation, difficulty 6. Each success grants one point of Quintessence.]
Invulnerability (*** Life/***** * Matter/** Prime)
The oldest Iterators have evolved beyond a mere blending of man and machine. They can turn themselves into the very essence of reality, a comingling of self-replicating and ever-shifting elemental forces that defies physical change by its own unique dynamic nature. Just as a Verbena wastes her time transforming a werewolf (who can simply shapeshift back to his normal forms), matter fails to connect with the mage under the aegis of this potent rote. He is everything and nothing at the same time.
[This rote may be vulgar as hell, but it’s possibly one of the most impressive defensive spells one can find. By shifting constantly between multiple states of physical existence, he cannot be touched by any other form of matter; he cannot drown, he cannot be crushed by air pressure, bullets and blades pass harmlessly through him. Energy attacks still cause normal damage, so he can be burned by fire or radiation, and jetpacking without a suit through outer space is still fatal due to the deadly cold. Still, due to his dynamic states, he is better able to resist those forces, gaining a soak pool equal to his Stamina against them. What’s better, he is not limited from interacting with matter. While he cannot be shot, for example, he can shoot back. The only way to harm the mage physically is through a similar Effect involving the sixth rank of Matter.]
Soulbleed (***** * Entropy/*** Life)
Direct assaults with Entropy are rare, and the few that do exist tend to be weapons of choice for wielders of Qlippothic magick (namely, Nephandi). However, the Euthanatos keep such rotes on reserve, often made more “natural” by adding Life to attack a target’s Pattern rather than merely invoking massive dark forces of decay. Whereas lesser versions of such rotes tend to aim at a victim’s body, this horrifying magick affects the victim’s very soul. He suffers Pattern leakage (as if he were being eaten from the inside-out by Paradox), and literally bleeds out his spirit. The bleeding looks like normal blood, of course, but the victim can feel his essence pouring out of the wounds along with his life.
[This very vulgar magick inflicts aggravated damage according to the Damage & Duration chart, save that the damage cannot be soaked by any means! The only defense against this nasty rote is countermagick or a defense based on Entropy 6 or powerful Spirit magick.]
Stir Essential Lineage (**** Entropy/***** * Life/** Prime/*** Spirit)
This amazing magick has long been used by Verbena Oracles to propagate the Tradition in a strategic long-term fashion. Through this powerful blessing, the mage is able to greatly increase the likelihood that all descendants from a particular nuclear family will bear children that will Awaken as full-fledged mages. The rote increases probabilities, profoundly alters genetic propensity, and attracts Avatar fragments toward the family. Naturally, such families tend to be watched over closely and protectively to avoid poaching by other mages or supernatural beings. The Verbena have clashed numerous times with Kindred, who see these bright stars as excellent candidates for the Embrace.
[This blessing lasts for as many generations as successes are rolled. Every child of the initial subjects of this magick, and all children that those descendants bear, have a base 40% chance of Awakening regardless of any other factors. This rote is coincidental.]
Symbol of Paradox (***** * Prime/**** Spirit)
This potent rote enables a mage to transfer Paradox he has accrued into another object. That object can then be used as merciless weapon or insidious trap against other mages. Archmasters of the Celestial Chorus developed this rote to punish their Technocratic enemies with valedictions of divine ordinance. A simple signing of the cross could muster brutal effects for the accursed.
[This Effect is coincidental, but only affects mages. For every two successes scored, the mage can draw forth one point of his own Paradox and temporarily (up to 24 hours) store it in an object of his own choice. Thereafter, by brandishing the object forcefully against another mage, the Paradox can be transferred; the targeted mage can resist with Willpower [difficulty 7]. Alternatively, the mage can transfer his Paradox into an object and leave it as a trap. The next mage that so much as touches the item is affected. Only finite objects can be used; floors, walls, roads, and so forth are out of the question. However, the mage could infect a rug and leave it lying on the floor to be stepped on. As soon as the stored Paradox is transferred to the victim, a Backlash is immediately checked.]