Even more Legacies, updated to 2E

[21C Hermit]

Yes, probably there is limit on links per post. When I do my miniesseys for Dark Eras stuff I copy large sections of Wikipedia - then there are a lot of links and forum do not let me post it. I need to lower number of links to only up to 20 or so. Then forum let's post it.
Maybe you will add next links to second post in topic by EDIT it?

*sigh* 20, huh? Looks like I'll have to edit the first post, and the three posts below it to make room. Thanks for telling.

EDIT: Just counted 35 links or so in my first post. Perhaps that is the cap. (I did 35 of them already? Yay.)

Also, I would very much want to see High Speech Merits Advanced version to understand Cryptologos progression better.

Honestly, I haven't given thought of Advanced High Speech, since I was working on the Attainments. I do feel like there's some design space here, maybe even a Style Merit that enables limited conversation in High Speech (there was already something similar to this in the Astral, I believe?)

Do you perhaps have any ideas?

[Adrasalieth]

I've tried to come up with something. It's far from definitive though, so don't hesitate to point out what y'all think is too on the nose.

----- High Speech Fluency (••)

You have acquired some hold over the fluctuating “grammar” of the ur-language: rather than merely aligning words, you understand how to weave them together in phrases, however simplistic and flawed they must seem in face of the mighty incantations of the Time Before. When communicating in High Speech with a being that can understand it, you gain an Exceptional Success on 3 successes instead of 5 when rolling Persuasion and Intimidation: however, you still have a chance die to Subterfuge and Expression, as with Regular High Speech. Once per scene, you can re-roll one attempt to Counterspell a spell if it was cast by Rote.

For all non-Cryptologos mages, High Speech Fluency costs 1 + (5-Order Status) XP, from which at least half (rounded-up) must be Arcane Experience.

Adamantine Arrow
Adamantine Hand (••): Can fully fund the Merit through normal XP.

Guardians of the Veil
Masque: Competency (••): Cost reduced by one.

Silver Ladder
Lex Magica (••): Substract half of the mage’s Consilium Status dots (rounded up) from the cost.

Mysterium
Egregore: Mysteriorum Arche (•): Cost reduced by one.
Egregore: Mysteriorum Anima (••): Cost reduced by two.

Free Council
Techné (••): Cost reduced by one.
Techné pertaining to an unusual linguistic specialty: Can fully fund the Merit through normal XP.

Seers of the Throne
A Seer can’t buy the Merit before reaching Prelacy: Sword (••). However, they only spend 1 Arcane Experience to buy it.

A mage initiated into the Cryptologos needs only to pay 2 Arcane XP: she still benefits from the discounts tied to each Order Merit above if she possesses them.

----- Verbum Draconis (• to •••, Style)

Prerequisite: High Speech ••

It is one thing to speak a language correctly, and another to truly express oneself in it. You pour your heart and Soul in the mystical inflexions of the High Speech, striving to find the adequate turn of phrase to convey your emotions and intents.

For each sub-merit of Verbum Draconis you own, you gain a +1 bonus to investigate records from the Time Before (except Scrutinizing rolls), and one additional die whenever you are to roll High Speech.

Idiom (•) You can swap one of the two favored Skills (Persuasion and Intimidation) with one of the chance dice (Expression and Subterfuge). Also, each time you interact with a Supernal Entity, or any such creature who communicate primarily through High Speech, you can roll your High Speech. On a success, you gain one level of Impression with it for the rest of the scene: however, if you fail, your Impression drops by one level.

Vernacular (••) You gain the Cognoscente Merit for free (if you already have it, gain the Potent Resonance Merit instead). Also, choose one of the two skills incurring a chance die when you speak High Speech: from now on, you only lose the 10-again when you use it while speaking High Speech.

Rhetoric (•••) You gain the Legacy Pedagogue Merit for free. Once per chapter, you may spend a point of Mana and have every sentient being currently under your Nimbus Tilt that you can perceive (remotely or directly) to roll a Clash of Wills. If they fail, they are considered as teamworking for your next spellcasting roll, with a Gnosis equal to their highest Social Skill. The effects of your particular strain of high Speech (exceptional success threshold or chance die) apply. Each success adds +1 to the spellcasting Roll, but each failure adds a dice of Paradox - and two in the case of a drama

------------

Legacy Pedagogue (•)
Prerequisites: Prime •••, Gnosis •••+
Your character's connection with his Legacy is so forceful that when he scribes a Daimonomikon, it remains a part of him even if he parts with it. Whenever another character initiates herself into his Legacy using a Daimonomikon he crafted, you gain an Arcane Beat as though your character had tutored her himself. Only characters learning the first Attainment trigger this Merit.
Drawback: The Daimonomikon functions as a Connected sympathetic link to your character.

Cognoscente (••)
Prerequisites: Prime •••, Academics or Occult ••
Your character has perfected the art of scribing Grimoires and is well-known for his famous tomes. Anyone who casts a rote from a Grimoire he crafted may do so without doubling the ritual casting time.He may also choose to imprint his own Signature Nimbus into the rote Imago when he casts the “Scribe Grimoire” spell (or a variant). If he does, the rotes therein carry his Signature Nimbus instead of simply hiding the caster's own. Once per story, he gains a +2 dice bonus on any Social roll that relies on his fame as a Grimoire scribe and enjoys the benefits of Occultation3.
Drawback: The latter effect of this Merit doesn't function if the character has the Occultation Merit.

[Tessie]

Hang on now; are you changing the High Speech Merit for all mages so that it would better fit the Legacy?

[Adrasalieth]

Yup.

1) High Speech is someone that almost all mages have (since a vast percentage of Mage belongs to an Order): even more so than Occultation and the Blank Badges, it is a phenomenon that I think should be fleshed out.

2) There may be Free Council mages with a linguistical Techné, or Mysterium archaeomancers, who aren't members of the Legacy. Likewise, a Silver Ladder that spends time studying Legalese Atlantean, a Guardian of the Veil who tries to tinker with his Signature Nimbus by breaking his "High Speech patterns", or an Arrow mage who uses Mudras and Mantras to fuel his Adamantine Hand, all may pursue an interest in High Speech while not belonging to a Legacy outside of their Order.

3) Mechanically, Cryptics retain their monopole on High Speech, thanks to their built-in discount and the additional effects of their Attainements.

Then again, that's just the way I see it (and I'll admit that it's more fluff-oriented than anything else). I'm totally open to suggestions, or to a better system altogether.

[Tessie]

I would suggest introducing a new Merit that builds upon the existing High Speech Merit. That way anyone could use your version of the Cryptologos (if that's something you want; I just know that the reason I post anything homebrew here is to share it with others) without having to also modify a core part of the game.

[racain23]

I must have missed something, why can't I just use the legacy rules from the 1e books

[Tessie]

Technically you could, but they wouldn't follow the updated rules for legacies. The most obvious change is that 2e legacies has five Attainments instead of three.

[21C Hermit]

I must have missed something, why can't I just use the legacy rules from the 1e books

You didn’t miss anything - this whole topic is, ultimately, me fanboying over Mage and its new/old Legacies.

[21C Hermit]

The Keepers of the Covenant are here, with some crossover fun added.

Next was going to be the Transhuman Engineers, but first I should fix all the links in the front page, update the older stuff to the template I'm currently using (and like the most), and amend a few mistakes (such as the Cryptologos' Ruling Arcanum being Mind, when Mage 2E core has them as Prime)


EDIT: Just letting people know that I did another version of them here !

---

KEEPERS OF THE COVENANT

The well-dressed man kept reading out loud from his book, in some sort of pseudo-Sumerian language you couldn't quite understand. The little gathering of spirits, clearly hostile only a few moments ago, were now eager to listen to him it seemed. He kept speaking to them after closing his book, and soon the spirits nodded and broke their siege. You took a mental note to yourself; apologize later for having been a jerk the day before.

My Flesh, My Spirit

No one can pinpoint how the Keepers of the Covenant came to be. Ancient records indicate that mages have acted as intermediaries between the flesh and the spirit worlds, who may be the Keepers' predecessors. Certainly, the Elders are tied to the more primordial aspects of the Shadow and the various animistic faiths and traditions of the world, earning them the sobriquet. However their ties meant that when the old faiths were persecuted so were they. The Keepers saved themselves within the Awakened community, but as curiosities of ignominy doomed to fade away.

Then happened a great gathering of Elders in the 20th century, the so-called Great Council to which Keepers who never even met each other were called. The exact records and recounts of the gathering are labyrinthine, almost deliberately so. Theories point to a grand ritual of Fate magic, dire pacts with the Shadow's nobles, the invocation of whatever covenant the Legacy is named for, or something mundane as the older members loosening their policy on apprenticeship. Whatever the cause may be, the Keepers are steadily growing in numbers and are enjoying their new time of renewal.

Origins

Parentage: Thyrsus, Silver Ladder, Free Council
Background: The Elders look for prospective recruits from animistic cultures, often from priesthoods designated as intermediaries between humanity and the spirit world. Sometimes, a mage Obsessed with the Shadow and its workings come to petition for initiation. Regardless of origin, Keepers favor assertive and charismatic personalities, which are appreciated qualities in dealing with spirits.
Appearances: The Keepers' beliefs don't entail a code of attire, so individual Elders are free in what they wear. Some adopt "traditional" fashions of certain religions, but this remains strictly a matter of preference. A more distinct element is all the Resonance they carry with them, and a distant look as they constantly see the two worlds.

Doctrine

Prerequisites: Fate 2, Occult 2, two dots in one of the following Skills; Politics, Academics, Crafts, Subterfuge, Streetwise
Initiation: The aspirant is examined of their dedication to the Shadow, the mentor taking her through the Shadow and along his own diplomatic quests. Once the Elder deems her ready, she is made to swear an oath by her Shadow Name to bind herself to the Shadow and the Shadow to herself, completing the initiation.
Organization: Because each Keeper will build different relationships with the local spirits, a given Elder generally takes only one student at a time and leaves after the education is done. Gatherings of even half a dozen Keepers are rare, and in such instances the older are given respect. However, the Great Council at the early 20th century indicate that the Legacy has some means of communication that outsiders are unaware of.
Theory: The Keepers of the Covenant believe themselves duty-bound to a pact between the Wise and the spirits, hence their name. While the exact wording of the ancient covenant is lost to time, the Keepers know that it involves bridging the two worlds and uniting their fates, and the Supernal responds to their endeavors.

Magic

Ruling Arcanum: Fate
Yantras: Naturally occurring loci (+1); spells that match with local Resonance (+2); fetishes, including non-magical kinds (+2); presence of Essence in one's Pattern (+1, +2 if Essence exceeds Mana)
Oblations: Meditating upon the dichotomy of flesh and spirit; presiding over a non-magical ceremony honoring or appeasing the spirits; studying or constructing Shadowed Doors; communing with the local spirits

Attainments

First: Oath of Synthesis
Prerequisites: Initiation
The Elder takes an oath to bind her destiny to the Shadow, forces of destiny empowering her. She gains access to a persona Yantra worth her Fate dots in dice, applicable only to Spirit spells. This includes Praxes, Rotes, and combined spells.
Optional: Spirit 1
As the Keeper binds himself to the Shadow, he becomes entitled to laws of hospitality from prehistoric times. Spirits must spend a Willpower point the first time they wish to attack him in a scene.

Second: Witness of the Vow
Prerequisites: Fate 2, Occult 3
The confluences of Resonance empower the Elder's thread in the skein of fate. She gains the Destiny Merit at a rating equal to her Fate dots. Any prior instances of the Merit is replaced by the new Destiny, with excess dots subject to Sanctity of Merits.
The Doom of this new Destiny always involves the Shadow. It may be the Elder becoming lost in Deep Shadow, being cut off from the Shadow, or even ending up stuck in the bizarre world within Gauntlet.
Optional: Spirit 2
The Keeper is never an outsider to the happenings of the Shadow. He may spend one Willpower point to peer across the Gauntlet, seeing the Shadow from the material or vice-versa.
Furthermore, when using the Spirit Eyes Attainment, the Keeper may substitute Willpower for Mana for purposes of physically interacting with spirits.

Third: Emissary of the Pact
Prerequisites: Fate 3, two dots in a second Skill among the optional prerequisite Skills
Through out history the Keepers of the Covenant have watched over both Flesh and Spirit, and the bonds of promise that interconnects them. With this Attainment, the Elder replicates the "Interconnections" spell. Reach is assigned to instant use, Advanced Scale, and detecting usurpations of fate (possession, supernatural mind control, and alterations of destiny).
The Elder may bypass Withstand ratings when using this effect on spirits that either fed from Essence given or created by her, or spirits that Manifested using the Conditions she created or strengthened.
Optional: Spirit 3
An emissary will have his routes secured and gates opened. The Keeper treats the local Gauntlet Strength one level lower for purposes of Withstanding when he casts a spell across the Gauntlet. This does not affect anyone else attempting to reach him from the other side.

Fourth: Eidolon of Union
Prerequisites: Fate 4, Occult 4
The Elder grows ever closer to the Shadow, and comes to interpret its arcane laws and rules in Supernal context. With one point of Mana, she may swear oaths with the spirits of the Shadow, emulating the "Sworn Oaths" spell. Reach is assigned to instant use and Advanced Duration.
The Mana cost comes from the automatic Conditional Duration. The Elder is free to assign the condition, and when it is met the effect ends normally.
When choosing the hex, the Elder may choose to impose the Essence Overload or Shadowlashed Conditions. Similarly, when choosing the boon, the Elder may choose to bestow the Symbolic Focus Condition. Standard choices for both hexes and boons are still available.
Optional: Spirit 4
The Keeper may draw the two world a step closer in times of harmony, or a step further to cool down tension. He replicates the "Place of Power" spell, with Reach assigned to Advanced Duration and Advanced Scale.
To use this effect, the Keeper must lace an area with Essence over a scene, equal in points to the level of Scale.
The Keeper may bypass Withstand ratings when another being has crossed the Gauntlet or opened a Shadowed Door within the last week.
In an area where he or another Keeper turned into a Shadow Verge with this effect, the Keeper can co-locate himself in the material and the Shadow instead of merely crossing the worlds.

Fifth: Remembrance of the Covenant
Prerequisites: Fate 5, two dots in a third Skill among the optional prerequisite Skills
The Elder's fate is now intricately bound to that of the Shadow, within its vibrant and arcane pulses. She is effectively a walking extension of the spirit world, and she may wrap the Shadow itself around her to emulate the "Warding Gesture" spell. Reach is assigned to Advanced Duration, Advanced Scale, and granting selective protection against any supernatural effect that targets the area surrounding her. In case of the latter, the Elder scores automatic successes equal to her Fate dots in the provoked Clash of Wills.
To use this effect, the Elder must meditate for a scene basking in the energies of the Shadow. This is can either mean meditating in the Shadow itself, or within the presence of a loci, or in a March created by the optional effect of this Attainment.
Unlike usual area-targetting spells, this effect is centered on the Elder, and moves when she does. This may result in subjects under her initial protection becoming too far for her to protect. She may simply move back closer and "tag" the subject again with a reflexive action.
Optional: Spirit 5
The oldest records of the Keepers tell of a border-world spanning across the Gauntlet, and in his Gnostic spirituality the Keeper may briefly resurrect that connection. The Keeper anoints an area with Essence, marking its borders. As a guideline, three points is enough for a small house, six for a city block, and nine for a castle. Once she stands in the symbolic center of the area and spends a point of Mana, it becomes a place called a March that has the following characteristics.
All mages inside the March gain a bonus to mundane rolls pursuing their Obsessions. This bonus correlates to the local Gauntlet Strength; Strength 2 and 3 grant a +1, while 4 and 5 grant a +2. Furthermore, mages inside can use the March as an Environmental Yantra worth the same dice bonus for Disciple, Adept, and Master spells of the Spirit Arcanum.
The March has no Twilight, and all spirits gain the Materialized Condition upon entering it. Should a spirit attempt to Claim a subject inside the March, it adds its Attributes at a rate of one per hour instead of day.
Space also expands inside the March, creating a zone larger than what it appears to be from the outside. This expansion is greater with a thicker Gauntlet, almost as if the Gauntlet itself was stretching and pushing back to make room. As the March continues to expand, ephemera starts bleeding in to blend with matter, and reflects both Flesh and Spirit to exaggerate into bizarre landscapes.
Despite the changes, the March is still of the material world, and the Gauntlet is still there at its edges. Gauntlet Strength still acts as both Withstand rating and dice modifier on all attempts to change or cross the March.
Marches cannot be created where Gauntlet Strength is zero. Also, any power that raises the Gauntlet rating or close Irises between the material and the Shadow will collapse the March through a successful Clash of Wills against its Keeper. The defending Keeper rolls Gnosis + Spirit + Fate as his dice pool. Once the March is dispelled, anyone and anything who were in the expanded area expelled outside the original space. This does not take into account which world they came from or belong to.



The following Conditions are from Werewolf: The Forsaken Second Edition.

ESSENCE OVERLOAD
Your character has attempted to channel immensely
powerful forces through her Essence, and has lost control.
Sparks and heatless flame sputter and limn her. Whenever she
spends a point of Essence, she must succeed at a Stamina roll
or suffer one point of lethal damage. Whenever she suffers an
injury from an attack, she also bleeds out one point of Essence.
Possible Sources: Some Gifts.
Resolution: The character empties her Essence pool or
earths the overloaded energies through a powerful spiritual
conduit.
Beat: n/a


SHADOWLASHED
Your character failed to master the laws of the Shadow
and now suffers for her hubris. For as long as the Condition
lasts, she suffers a –2 penalty on all rolls involving interaction
with the Shadow and its denizens.
Possible Sources: Dramatic failure on a rite.
Resolution: Successfully perform a rite. Have a meaningful
interaction with a spiritual Touchstone. Meditate in
the Shadow.
Beat: n/a


SYMBOLIC FOCUS
Your character is filled with the symbolic power of the
rite that she has invoked, becoming a channel for it. She
achieves an exceptional success on interactions with spirits
with three successes instead of five, and her effective spirit
Rank is increased by one.
Possible Sources: Exceptional success during a rite.
Resolution: Exceptional success on an interaction with a
spirit. Falling into Wasu-Im. Breaking any ban she possesses.
Beat: n/a

[ProfessorDetective]

A precious breather. I hope I'm not sabotaging myself in the long-run by taking a day off, but since I don't have a Future Me coming at me with a vengeance on my back, I think I'm safe for now.

For now, here's the full write-up of the Quiescent.

---

THE QUIESCENT

(insert example character)

Sotto Voce

The Quiescent started as a philosophical movement borne from the aftermath of the Second World War, where the Awakened saw just how much Sleeper technology has moved on. The Quiet philosophy asks its adherents to working of magic within the limits of the Fallen World, within what the Quiescence already draws the line for. Already prone to drawing suspicion from other Awakened, especially that they were Seer fronts, the Legacy lost what tenuous contact it maintained with the larger Awakened society when one of their founders turned Banisher and started hunting them down.

The Quiet philosophy was largely a product of the 1940s and the 1950s, and when the zeitgeist gave way so did the Legacy's main appeal. However, the Liars were always good with keeping their heads down from the authorities, especially with a murderous Banisher on their trails, and a few Quiet cabals have survived to the modern era. With the advent of communications and social media technology, there have even been mages who reinvented the Quiet philosophy in the modern age to better hide from prying Sleeper eyes, some of which have successfully inherited the Quiescents' old mantle.

Origins

Parentage: Moros, Guardians of the Veil or Namelss
Background: The original Liars drew from war veterans, or those who were affected by the World War in one way. They were often comfortable with illegal, if not criminal activities, for the Legacy's founders felt morality less important to their own behavioral code over magic, and morality is best taken in moderation after seeing what horrors a moral man can do. While modern Liars aren't so familiar with war, they are still adept at evading the law and working in grey zones, especially when it comes to avoiding scrutiny.
Appearances: Quiescent mages live on the fringe of society, where they can fade into the background easily. This is easier in the modern era, where big cities that allow such are plenty. Liars dress simply as expected, and get on by with whatever work they find. Many do find work as investigators, or any other occupation where their skills would be needed.

Doctrine

Prerequisites: Time 2, Science 2, two dots in one of the following Skills; Investigation, Stealth, Brawl, Intimidation, Streetwise
Initiation: The Legacy draws exclusively from practitioners of Quiet Magic, and even then it's usually the practitioner seeking them out than the Legacy approaching her. In the applicant's pursuit the elder Liars judge her ability and character, seeing if she can find them with minimal reliance on magic and on others' help.
Organization: The Quiescent are one of the most diffused Legacies, the Legacy offering no greater organization to fall back on to and leaving each Liar on their own. The mentor severs regular contact when his pupil learns the Attainment she was calling to him to help on, and the pupil likewise moves on until she deems herself progressed enough for the next Attainment.
Theory: The Quiescent do not think of the Quiescence as a Lie to be challenged, but just another principle of Supernal magic that can be worked through and around. They believe that it exists to protect Sleepers from the Awakened so that they may progress without intervention. Furthermore, they believe Quiescence also protect the Awakened from Sleepers so that they may work lesser but more stable wonders, free from Dissonance.

Magic

Ruling Arcanum: Time
Yantras: Streets and alleys filled with non-descript buildings (+1); quietly observing the subject (+2); investigatory tools such as magnifiers (+2); confronting but not appearing in front of the subject (+1, +2 if managing the confrontation without verbal interaction)
Oblations: Menial chores such as cleaning; solving a puzzle; mixing drinks; shadowing a Sleeper or a group of them

Attainments

First: No Mistake
Prerequisites: Initiation
The Liar wishes not to disturb the Quiet, so she learns to tread carefully. This Attainment divines whether the subject's next Supernal spell will provoke Quiescence with a "Yes" or "No" answer, essentially being a limited version of the "Divination" spell with Reach assigned to instant use.
Optional: Death 1
Provocation of Quiescence and the taint of Paradox tend to go hand in hand, and the Silencer learns to pick up signs telling whether his subject is willing to be Quiet. This effect resembles the "Soul Marks" spell, but is limited to finding out if the subject is Awakened and if she is suffering a Paradox Condition. Reach is assigned to instant use.
While Withstood by Resolve, the mage can bypass it if he uses this effect immediately after his subject casts a Supernal spell.

Second: No Past
Prerequisites: Time 2, Science 3
The Liar learns to mask themselves from temporal scrutiny into their pasts. This Attainment resembles the "Shield of Chronos" spell, with Reach assigned to Advanced Duration. While providing no protection over the future, the Attainment's protection over the past extends to mundane investigations as well. Mundane scrutiny automatically fails, and the Liar scores automatic successes equal to her Time dots on Clash of Wills provoked by magical scrutiny.
To use this Attainment, the Liar must spend a scene ritually destroying personal belongings that betray her past life, most often pictures and identification, and other items she has used extensively.
Optional: Death 2
The Silencer can now move subtly enough in the present that he doesn't leave a past trail that could follow him. He replicates the "Without a Trace" spell, with Reach assigned to Advanced Duration. The required preparation for this effect is identical to that of the Attainment's main effect, and can be taken in conjunction to enable both effects.

Third: No Present
Prerequisites: Time 3, two dots in a second Skill among the optional prerequisite Skills
Hiding one's past is only the first step towards hiding yourself from unwanted attention, and the Liar must learn to protect her present self from unexpected encounters as well. This Attainment duplicates the "Momentary Flux" spell, with Reach assigned to instant use, Advanced Duration, and gaining an Initiative bonus when acting on the gleaned information.
Optional: Death 3
The Quiescent is familiar with violence more than they appear to be, and a Silencer quickly learns how to break things when needed to save his own skin. He emulates the "Decay" spell, with Reach assigned to instant use and directly decreasing the object's Structure.

Fourth: No Future
Prerequisites: Time 4, Science 4
The Legacy was born in the uncertainty of the 1940s, with any prediction of humanity's future only a phantom. The modern era sympathizes still with that uncertainty of the future, and the Liar who internalizes it can choose to shift the future to her immediate benefit. This Attainment replicates the "Choose the Thread" spell, with Reach assigned to instant use and affecting supernatural powers including spellcasting.
While Withstood by Resolve, the Liar can bypass it for subjects who used obviously supernatural powers in front of Sleepers in the same scene. This includes not only Supernal magic and Attainments, but also the non-Supernal powers of other supernatural entities. When using this clause, the roll affected by the Attainment need not be another usage of supernatural power.
Optional: Death 4
A Silencer's pursuit of a Quiet life rarely leaves him with only inanimate objects in his way. He duplicates the "Enervation" spell, with Reach assigned to instant use.
While Withstood by Stamina, the Silencer can bypass it under the same conditions as the Attainment's main effect.

Fifth: No History
Prerequisites: Time 5, two dots in a third Skill among the optional prerequisite Skills
No one is perfect, and even the most dedicated of the Quiescent find themselves violating their philosophy and the Fallen World. The Liar who reaches the pinnacle of her silent reservation in the status quo of the world gain the ability to amend mistakes of her own or others, changing history itself if needed. This Attainment resembles the "Rewrite History" spell, with Reach assigned to Advanced Duration and allowing the Temporal Sympathy Attainment.
With or without Temporal Sympathy, the Liar can only choose moments when the subject provoked Quiescence as the point of divergence. The rewrite only works so that the subject never took the course of action that provoked Quiescence, instead of merely removing the Quiescence from the action's consequences.
To use this Attainment, the Liar must spend a scene ritually creating a portfolio of the subject's life by using objects and symbols dear to them, and ritually destroying them in their presence.
Optional: Death 5
The Silencer outright destroys his own presence in the world, ensuring that he will not marr the Fallen World's natural progress. This effect resembles the "Empty Presence" spell, with Reach assigned to Advanced Duration. Instead of violence, however, it is the provocation of Quiescence that breaks the effect. The Silencer scores automatic successes equal to his Death dots in Clash of Wills provoked by Mage Sight.
To use this Attainment, the Silencer must spend a point of Mana, and follow the same preparation the Attainment's main effect requires.

---

New Merit: Quiet Magic (• to •••••)
Prerequisites: Awakened
Effect: Your character practices magic within what the Sleeping Curse allows the Fallen World. Determine if the results of the spell she is attempting to cast would provoke Quiescence or Dissonance if an average Sleeper saw it. If not, the practitioner can apply the Merit as a Persona Yantra worth its dot rating, and should circumstances change so that the spell becomes subject to Dissonance, the spell gains additional Withstand equal to the Merit's dot rating. If yes, however, attempting to press on and cast the spell anyway imposes a dice penalty equal to the Merit's dot rating, and the spell immediately suffers from Dissonance. If a Sleeper isn't present, use double the Merit's dot rating for the Dissonance roll.
Both the benefit and penalty of this Merit works without actual Sleeper presence, and presumes that a Sleeper is present. The players and the Storyteller should determine beforehand the perspectives of this hypothetical average Sleeper, on what would he perceive as supernatural or not, depending on what is expected of his background.

Thanks for this, man. Now I can move up to 2e without leaving anything major behind. I like the new merit as well.

[21C Hermit]

Okay, so here's the older write-up of the Walkers in Mists I had in the earlier posts, edited out to make room for links.




Walker in Mists

sample

history

present

Origins

Parentage: Acanthus, Mysterium, Free Council
Background: The Walkers in Mists seek the Supernal not in human civilization but the natural world, drawing power from the green life and wisdom from the hedges. Claiming descent from the Celtic druids, the Walkers have long taught others how to travel between regions by following mythic landmarks, and how to navigate the vagaries of fate through games of chance. In modern days the Legacy is marginalized, lamenting the loss of sacred places and hidden roads, but their lore nonetheless proves valuable to those who seek it.
Appearances: Druids lean towards lean and tanned physiques thanks to their outdoor activities, which also leads them to preferring casual clothing and functional gear. On the other hand, a blend of older traditions and modern fashions gives the Druids some natural flamboyance commonly associated with that of bohemian and hippie styles.

Doctrine

Prerequisites: Space 2, Survival 2, two dots in one of the following Skills; Academics, Occult, Medicine, Expression, Streetwise
Initiation: The prospective member must travel seven days and seven nights, relying solely on mundane means that he has on his person at the start of the journey. He must not revisit the same location, but otherwise is free to design her course and destination. Once the journey is over, the mentor leads him inside an Iris into the Mists to recognize him as a member among other members of the Legacy. While this initiation has traditionally taken place off developed roads, modern day Walkers relax this limitation and sometimes even allow city-walking.
Organization: The Walkers are nomadic and solitary by nature, with any interaction between them beyond the initial mentorship being considered a momentous occasion. In such "crossing of paths," the two Druids recite their own travels and tutorial lineage, share provisions, and discuss immediate portents and omens. Occasionally, rumors circulate of entire cabals of Druids heading off to solve some grim crisis, or Walker families protecting virgin wilds and sacred sites for generations.
Theory: There is a place and time beyond that of ours, where Nature sings its treasures to those who can read its secret language. This is a nature beyond nature, a "supernature" that interconnects the Fallen World through breath and song and life. In the Mists of destiny, where giants sleep and fairies dance, we tread beyond the seen world to trace the pulsing veins of the world.

Magic

Ruling Arcanum: Space
Yantras: Green, living plant life dominant in the area (+1); games of chance (+2); dice, coins, runes and other divinatory tools (+2); plant life larger than the mage (+1, +2 if the mage personally took part in its care and growth)
Oblations: Trailblazing; orienteering; playing a game of chance with substantial stakes; sharing knowledge of roads and paths with others

Attainments

First: Edge of the Mists
Prerequisites: Initiation
The Druid first familiarizes herself with the hidden trods of nature. With this Attainment, her Peripheral Mage Sight now picks up the presence of Irises. Aberrances and Scars do not register to her Periphery.
Optional: Time 1
By tracing the secret roads, the Walker is now unerred by the vagaries of time in his travels. The Druid replicates the "Green Light / Red Light" spell on his person, with Reach assigned to instant use.

Second: Peer Into the Mists
Prerequisites: Space 2, Survival 3
Now the Druid can glimpse into the Mists, the Emanation of Unknown Destiny, to read from its half-formed manifestations distant times and places. By focusing for a scene, projecting her senses through the Mists, the Druid scrys as if casting the "Scrying" spell, with Reach assigned to sensory range.
The Druid does not conjure a scrying window, and instead uses plant life as a medium. Thus she requires a plant at the location she wishes to scry, but gains the benefit of her scrying requiring both Space and Life to detect via Mage Sight. Other Walkers require only Space as usual to detect each other's scrying attempts via this Attainment.
Optional: Time 2
The past is blurred like haze, but the Walker can rely upon nature's own keystones to find her way through it. This effect resembles the "Postcognition" spell, but can only be used on plant life. The Walker can only view past events that the subject plant was present for. Reach is assigned to instant use and not losing Defense.

Third: Mist Haven
Prerequisites: Space 3, two dots in a second Skill among the initiation Skill list
The Mists are one of the closest Emanations to the Fallen World, and the Walkers in Mists are even closer to that refined reality. Druids with this Attainment can determine if an Iris she observes is a Thura into the Mists, and can open them freely without fulfilling its Keys.
In addition to the Emanation's usual boons, a Druid's Space magic also becomes free of Paradox and Dissonance, as if cast within a Space-linked Emanation. Furthermore, when using Sympathetic Range or Temporal Sympathy together with her Space spells, Time spells, or Legacy Attainments, she need not spend Mana.
Optional: Time 3
The future is indistinct like fog, but a Walker at home in nature can see the weaves of Creation before they take form. This effect emulates the "Divination" spell. Reach is assigned to instant use, sensory range, and more specific inquiries.

Fourth: Paths Through the Mists
Prerequisites: Space 4, Survival 4
Nature opens its hidden trods for all to see, but only those who know where and when to look for may walk them. After a scene of walking amidst or around significant plant life and invoking the Mists, the Druid overlaps multiple locations like the "Co-Location" spell. Reach is assigned to sensory range and Advanced Scale. Unlike the spell, this Attainment invites actual fog to the vicinity and thus alerts even those without Space Sight.
Additionally, a Walker in Mists at this level of initiation is now considered to have at least a Weak sympathetic connection to the Mists itself for purposes of Sympathetic Range, and thus can use this Attainment to Co-Locate an area with the Mists itself.
Optional: Time 4
Modern science suspect that space and time may be one and the same, but the Walkers intuited this wisdom long ago, slipping to the future as they would through between trees. The Walker replicates the "Temporal Stutter" spell, with Reach assigned to instant use. The Walker ignores his subject's Withstand ratings if he uses this effect within the Mists. This does not apply to fellow Legacy members.

Fifth: Inviting the Mists
Prerequisites: Space 5, two dots in a third Skill among the initiation Skill list
The eldest of Walkers walk so closely with the Nature Beyond Nature that she now walks with the realm at all times. When the Druid creates a Demesne with her soul stone, it becomes a Supernal Verge that hosts a Thura into the Mists in its center. She may assign a Key to the Thura either at moment of creation or whenever she wishes later. Destruction of either the Demesne or the Thura destroys the other.
Optional: Time 5
After walking within the Mists for so long, the Walker finds that the Mists follow him even in the Fallen World, and through it he can find his way through the march of history. This effect duplicates the "Prophecy" spell, with Reach assigned to instant use.

[21C Hermit]

... And here's the updated write-up for the Walkers in Mists, in the most recent format I've been using. I tweaked their Attainments, some of their fluff parts, and most importantly, added a homebrew version of unique rules for the Mists, Emanation of Unknown Destiny. Yes, I try to milk out every drop whenever the rules say something can have atypical and unique properties not detailed in the book. No, I have no idea if they're overpowered or balanced, but you can help me with that.

Next week will see me work on either the Transhuman Engineers, or another of my older works to update. Likely the latter, since I plan on restoring the links on the first post only after updating them.

EDIT: Updated the fourth Attainment to reflect feedback, courtesy of Mrmdubois, Tessie, and Vent0.





WALKERS IN MISTS

The grizzled man was a walking shamble of belts, pockets, and sacks containing equipment and supplies. So much for a sage, you thought, though his cloak and staff did a fine impression of replicating druidic heraldry. After you travelled with him, passing through mist-laden paths and hearing of his exploits, you realized that there was more to this old wanderer than his supposed vagrancy after all.

Nature Beyond Nature

The Walkers in Mists are an old Legacy, found mostly in cultures of Celtic influence where they are identified as the druids of both history and myth. Legends say that the Walkers taught humanity how to mark past trails and identify landmarks for future travel, freeing mankind from simply following the seasons and thus leaving them free to decide their own fate in where they live. They are also the ones attributed to have first used mundane items such as coins and dice marked with ogham letters in games of chance, in their own divinations and teaching even Sleepers the vagaries of fate

The Druids are marginallized in the modern civilized world. Their parent culture is largely gone, developed cities claimed the paths they traveled through, and their gamblings attract crime and corruption. Many Druids feel themselves loners in the fringes of society, to which the younger generation have been responding by embracing technology in their travels, reintroducing Celtic faiths to the modern world, and redefining civilization and cities just another part of the wilds in the greater scheme. So far, results have been mixed.

Origins

Parentage: Acanthus, Mysterium, Seers of the Throne
Background: Mages who travel frequently, especially in lesser maintained routes, are likely to come across a Walker. Those who step further to initiation are usually those of an imaginative or artistic bent, or those determined and Obsessed to seek the secret trods of nature. While the gambling subculture connect the Legacy with a wider potential recruitment ground, Druids reject those who fall into its corrupted, commercialist form.
Appearances: Walkers tend toward lean physiques shaped and tanned by travel, and their clothes match their outdoor activities, being geared for function. Modern Druids exhibit some level of flamboyance, mostly due to mixing bohemian and hippie fashions with that of older traditions they borrow from.

Doctrine

Prerequisites: Space 2, Survival 2, two dots in one of the following Skills; Science, Expression, Medicine, Streetwise, Occult
Initiation: The aspirant must leave behind her former life and join the mentor in his travels. The shaping of the soul is gradual, each bodily step on the path an equivalent step of spirituality. The final step of the initiation requires the pupil to step off the well-paved road of her mentor's guidance and head off to her own journey, something which the mentor must not tell and instead lure it out.
Organization: Every Walker is a nomad by default, and thus there is little to speak of a cohesive organization backing them up. Every crossing of paths, therefore, is a cherished occasion where each Druid recites their tutorial lineage up to a shared predecessor, and where the two discuss portents and imminent dangers. Bands of multiple Walkers are the stuff of legend, but rumors speak of entire Walking families who tend to the sacred paths and glades of the wild.
Theory: Nature displays its treasures for all to see, but only the diligent and dedicated may parse together its secret language and comprehend its mysteries. The Walkers in Mists turn to the unseen wilds where life and magic is born, and find Supernal enchantment in the outside world that many mages forget to look upon.

Magic

Ruling Arcanum: Space
Yantras: Ancient ruins (+1); game of chance divining the spell's outcome (+2); tools usable for both gambling and divining (+2); glade or garden (+1, +2 if cleared out by the mage themselves)
Oblations: Trailblazing; orienteering; playing games of chance with substantial costs; sharing knowledge of paths and roads with others

Attainments

First: Misty Edge
Prerequisites: Initiation
The Druid catches glimpses of the trails leading into hidden paths. Her Periphery now responds to the presence of Irises, except for Scars and Aberrances Also, her Mage Sight can always identify Thurae into the Mists, the Emanation of Unknown Destiny, for what they are.
Optional: Time 1
The vagaries of time no longer obstruct the Walker. He replicates the "Green Light / Red Light" spell to benefit himself, with Reach assigned to instant use.

Second: Peer into the Mists
Prerequisites: Space 2, Survival 3
The Mists manifest in nature, which the Druid may channel to look through and beyond. As an instant action, she may target a plant life within sensory range and project her perceptions to it, seeing the plant's surroundings as if she were standing there. This counts as remote viewing for purposes of spellcasting.
Any being with supernatural spatial senses may notice that they are being watched, and respond with a Clash of Wills where the Druid rolls Gnosis + Space. If the watched being wins, a scrying window showing the Druid briefly appears over the plant she is using, allowing the being to act accordingly.
Optional: Time 2
Nature remembers what has gone by, and so does the Mists. The Walker may target a plant life and relive its past, replicating the "Postcognition" spell. Reach is assigned to instant use and sensory range. Should the Walker use Temporal Sympathy in conjunction, he does not need a sympathy Yantra and counts as knowing the plant's sympathetic name.

Third: Mist Haven
Prerequisites: Space 3, two dots in a second Skill among the optional prerequisite Skills
A traveller needs a place to rest undisturbed, and in the wild a Druid can conjure havens out of the Mists. After a scene of examining green plant life in a location of her choosing, the Druid replicates the "Ward" spell. Reach is assigned to Advanced Duration and Advanced Scale.
By spending a point of Mana upon conjuring the Haven, the Druid may charge the area with one of the Space, Time, or Life Arcana, provided she has at least three dots in it. For its Duration and within its Scale, the Haven will behave like a Node charged with the invoked Arcanum. The Druid is considered to have already magically examined the area for Space and Time, instantly granting her the benefits.
Optional: Time 3
The Mists contain in it the undecided future, and a Walker may borrow that transcendence to replicate the "Divination" spell. Reach is assigned to instant use, sensory range, and asking more specific questions to receive more detailed answers.

Fourth: Paths Through the Mists
Prerequisites: Space 4, Survival 4
The Druid is no longer bound to physical roads, for she knows Nature's hidden paths. After a scene of walking towards a destination in mind and spending a point of Mana, she can arrive in her chosen destination as per the "Co-Location" spell. Reach is assigned to sensory range and restricting the co-location as a two-dimensional portal.
This Attainment is automatically used with Sympathetic Range. If the Druid either lacks a sympathetic connection to her destination or lacks a sympathy Yantra connecting her to it, she instead arrives at the last location she used the Mist Haven Attainment to conjure a Haven.
Optional: Time 4 Time is but another road, and a Walker is free to sidestep obstacles by simply walking around them. This emulates the "Temporal Stutter" spell, where the Walker appears to walk into thin air and disappear, only to reappear moments later. Reach is assigned to instant use.
This requires the Walker to move at least a step, but he is free to reappear in any location he could have walked to for the Duration. While the Walker can take others with him, he must grab or be grabbed by them if they are not Walkers themselves. Withstand still applies for the unwilling.

Fifth: Inviting the Mists
Prerequisites: Space 5, two dots in a third Skill among the optional prerequisite Skills
After walking within both Nature of the Fallen World and Supernature of the Mists, the Druid's soul resonates with the Mists, allowing her to invite it into the Fallen World. When she incorporates her soul stone into a Demesne, it becomes an Arcadian Verge with a Thura into the Mists at its center, inhabited by the same half-substantial beings of the Mists. The Druid may freely assign a Key to the Thura at the moment of its creation or any time she wishes. Destroying the Thura collapses the Demesne as well.
Optional: Time 5
The Walker's very eyes swell with the Mists, and his gaze coalesces that fog of destiny into a coherent future. This emulates the "Prophecy" spell with Reach assigned to instant use and expanding for use in Social Maneuvering.



To Walk in the Mists

Each Emanation is a singular geography that hosts unique laws. The symbolism of the Mists is that of unknown destiny, the rolling fog that conceals the future but reveals it to those who can navigate it. The following is a non-exhaustive list of the unique laws and aspects the Mists display.

• Mages do not need to be casting at sensory range when they use the Sympathetic Range or Temporal Sympathy Attainments. This includes spells cast sympathetically outside the Emanation.
• Anyone, even non-mages, in the Mists can attempt to shape their future fate out of the destiny-fog. Follow the rules for Building Equipment as per Chronicles of Darkness. The dice pool is a Finesse Attribute + a Skill, both relevant to what kind of future the shaper has in mind. Mages can choose to roll Gnosis + Fate or Time. For Sleepers, assuming they were able to function somehow, this always becomes a Jury Rigging action without its benefits of saved time. The built future is essentially a Plan, granting its equipment bonus to any dice pool rolled by anyone involved that would help realize the future.
• The half-substantial Anachronisms of the Mists will occasionally entertain themselves by appearing in front of them as their potential future versions. Each Fae comes with the intention of having the visitor accept the future they embody, regardless of whether the future is desirable. Treat this as Social Maneuvering, upon which the Fae always have perfect impression. On final success, the Fae will overwrite one of the visitor's long-term Aspirations with its offered future, against which no Supernal magic or Attainment below archmastery can protect against. Resolving the Maneuvering by going with the flow awards an Arcane Beat instead of a normal Beat. Resolving it by offering an alternative allows the Fae to impose a Condition that need not be beneficial, with twists of intent allowed.
• When exiting the Mists, the visitor may find himself displaced in time. He may find that days, weeks, even months and years have passed while he was in the Mists. This displacement never drops the visitor in the past. The only way to prevent this is to Build a future before exiting, or accept one of the potential-Fae's offered futures.
• Lastly, mages and Sleepwalkers may attempt to carry some of the Mists back to the Fallen World, typically in a bottle. When released over or imbibed by a subject, the subject's most likely future abruptly changes to a completely different one. This overrides even supernaturally imposed futures, save for truly powerful ones such as the work of archmasters.

Among the Awakened, the Walkers in Mists are renowned for their facility with the Mists, and have taken the Emanation as their namesake. In addition to the above, a Druid in the Mists gain access to the following features.

• Walkers can spend a point of Mana to obviate any Key placed over a Thura into the Mists.
• Along with Time, the Space Arcanum is considered the Emanation's signature Arcanum as well.
• Using Sympathetic Range and Temporal Sympathy no longer cost Mana.
• When entering the Emanation, a Walker may choose to instead "wrap" the Mists around their Nimbus, allowing her to walk in both the Fallen and Supernal. She can observe and travel parallel to the Fallen World, and those in the Fallen World cannot perceive her unless they use Time Sight. She cannot cast spells at or affect subjects in the Fallen World in any way. This is a taxing experience, however, and she suffers dice penalties and limited time before having to spend Willpower as per Active Mage Sight. Running out of Willpower in this form shunts her back to the "physical" version of the Mists.
• By spending a point of Mana and meditating, the Druid can exit the Mists without passing back through a Thura. Entering the Fallen World this way turns him Twilight, but attuned to Space instead of the typical ephemeral Arcana. This still leaves him vulnerable to temporal displacement, if he did not meet the criterion for avoiding it. Lastly, while Space-Twilight is nearly vacant, Legacy records speak of occasional spirit-like beings of radiant glass, impeccable metal and humming electricity flittering around, and with them extra-spatial paths that even the Awakened were not aware of before seeing the strange beings move through them. Few records agree on just what they are, only that they seemingly aren't Supernal nor Abyssal in origin.

[Mrmdubois]

I think the attainment with Temporal Stutter might need tweaking, I really can’t think of many instances where it’s useful to do that to yourself. Other than that it looks better than ever.

[21C Hermit]

I think the attainment with Temporal Stutter might need tweaking, I really can’t think of many instances where it’s useful to do that to yourself. Other than that it looks better than ever.

I’m out of my creative juices right now. Mind if I ask for a supplement? (And of course thanks for the praise)

[Mrmdubois]

Not sure I have any great ideas either, but maybe some variant of Acceleration? It catches the feel of moving toward the future faster, but retains the ability to be an actor in creating it.