Preparing for Investigation

[LadyLens]

A group of mages in a vaguely Conan-eque setting are preparing to investigate a dangerous phenomenon a day or two away, and they're naturally going to prepare. They're sure it's some kind of demon or similar creature, and their order's chapterhouse includes a five dot sanctum. There's one mage of each Path, but they have currently no access to a Hallow, and so are extremely reluctant to spend Mana (katha, it's called in this setting), and have a horror of Paradox (void taint, it's called in this setting). They'll naturally prepare by casting spells on themselves and each other, they're a team after all, and I'm looking for suggestions on what those spells might be. They're currently apprentice level, Gnosis 1 with 2 dots in their ruling arcana. None of them are trained in non-magical ranged combat.

[Sir Bardiel]

without overcomplicating it, I'd say mental shield, body control, ground eater, wards and signs, ephemereal shield

[LadyLens]

Interesting. But there's a problem: several of the spells would require doubling up on a particular Path, which I'd rather avoid. My current thoughts are quantum flux, wards and signs, mental shield, and body control (thank you very much for your suggestions), but I'm not sure what to use for Matter or Death.

Looking at their Rotes, I find that if each girl casts one rote to affect them all, I can use Outward and Inward Eye, Pierce Deception, Web of Life, Night Sight and Telepathy.

[21C Hermit]

We’re talking about long-term “buffs,” correct? Perhaps for Death, Speak With the Dead? Or maybe Ghost Shield in case the ‘demon’ is a ghost, and/or Soul Armor for the soul-damaging creatures? For Matter, perhaps Craftsman’s Eye or Detect Substances for analyzing stuff as you go? Alchemists’s Touch adds a level of protection, and Find the Balance can help supplement the use of weapons.

[LadyLens]

Relatively long-term. The expedition's unlikely to last more than a couple of weeks; of your suggestions, I think Speak with the Dead is probably the most useful.

So that brings it down to Outward and Inward Eye, Pierce Deception, Web of Life, Night Sight and Telepathy (if they go for rotes)
or quantum flux, wards and signs, mental shield, body control and speak with the dead (if they don't).

[Mrmdubois]

Or something you don’t expect if they get creative.

[Mrmdubois]

For instance I'd expect the Acanthus to not bother with long term buffs and instead focus on simple Fate workings to keep the cabal pointed in the right direction and liberal use of Divination and Post-cognition to gather information about where they are and where they're going. In fact, long term buffs on Gnosis 1 Mages is pretty limiting in general imo because then they must risk Paradox if they want to cast any potentially useful spells in the moment. They're probably better off getting as close to their final destination as possible, trying to create a secure location when they get there, and even potentially spending some of their limited mana to establish a Demesne in that place so they can cast buffs on themselves with as many Reach options as they want without risk of Paradox, including multiple buffs per Mage, after determining what spells will actually be useful for accomplishing their objective rather than casting some general spells on themselves in the hopes that they'll be useful on the journey and at its end. Mages, especially at low Gnosis and arcana are at their best when preparing for specific circumstances rather than trying to be prepared for everything.

[KaiserAfini]

Do you mean standalone spells or is it ok to have ones with some material setup ? Because if the Moros, for example, carries a bunch of daggers, he can use them as remote projectiles, Ruling them to poke at the weak spots of scale or armor, if they are coated in deadly frog poison, or this creature's weakness, you now have something portable and lethal.

Are coordinated spells allowed ? Lets say the same Moros casts a Ruling of Matter in an AoE, he concentrates air, clay, wood and dried leaves into the enemy's area, instantly shaping them into a primitive kiln, the Obrimos stands at the ready to concentrate heat from the sun (or heat from the lava underground, if he ever figured out that existed) to begin the immolation process.

What about safety ? Apart from the already listed spells, with Veil of Moments, unparalleled efficiency is in your hands. No need for someone to become bone tired because they stood watch at night, no need to eat, sleep, no getting fatigued or needing to have your mounts rest.

[Sir Bardiel]

Interesting. But there's a problem: several of the spells would require doubling up on a particular Path, which I'd rather avoid. My current thoughts are quantum flux, wards and signs, mental shield, and body control (thank you very much for your suggestions), but I'm not sure what to use for Matter or Death.

Looking at their Rotes, I find that if each girl casts one rote to affect them all, I can use Outward and Inward Eye, Pierce Deception, Web of Life, Night Sight and Telepathy.

A mage can take another one's spell on his own Spell Control, if that's the problem
If you don't want the Moros to feel useless, have him cast Without a Trace

[KaiserAfini]

A mage can take another one's spell on his own Spell Control, if that's the problem
If you don't want the Moros to feel useless, have him cast Without a Trace

I thought only Sleepwalkers could hold an imago for a mage, so it applies to other mages too ? But lets say mage A hands mage B something like Warding Gesture, does that make A still able to exclude any targets from their AoE spells ? Does that make B able to exclude any target's from spells A casts, or only his own ?

[lnodiv]

A mage can take another one's spell on his own Spell Control, if that's the problem

There's nothing in RAW that supports this as far as I know.

[Mrmdubois]

There's nothing in RAW that supports this as far as I know.

The book specifically says that anyone can hold a spell for a Mage, but that it would be dumb to give one to a Sleeper because Dissonance would automatically activate and unravel the spell, and Quiesence would kick in and shred their soul as well. It doesn’t mention Mages, but it’s hardly a stretch to imagine that they could also carry spells for each other. It would probably be determined by their free spell control rather than their Sympathetic connection though.

[lnodiv]

The book specifically says that anyone can hold a spell for a Mage, but that it would be dumb to give one to a Sleeper because Dissonance would automatically activate and unravel the spell, and Quiesence would kick in and shred their soul as well.

Sure. In the section talking about Sleepers and Sleepwalkers. Context matters.

It doesn’t mention Mages,

Which is why I said there's no RAW supporting it - there are no rules as written that explain whether or not it's possible, and if so, how.

but it’s hardly a stretch to imagine that they could also carry spells for each other. It would probably be determined by their free spell control rather than their Sympathetic connection though.

I agree. I just think it's important in discussions like this to clearly communicate what's actually in the books, and what reasonable house rules would be, to avoid giving mistaken impressions to people that might not be newer to the gameline and not as well-read.

[Sir Bardiel]

There's nothing in RAW that supports this as far as I know.

"The truth is, technically, anyone with a sympathetic tie to a mage can carry spells for her."
more RAW than copypaste?

[lnodiv]

"The truth is, technically, anyone with a sympathetic tie to a mage can carry spells for her."
more RAW than copypaste?

"Context matters."

There are no written rules that explain how it would work for a Mage. The entire concept is locked behind the section that talks about non-mage supernatural persons.

You'll note that there's nothing in your quote that says a Mage can take another Mage's spell into their own spell control.
You'll note that it's also not written in the Spell Control section.

In fact, you might note that the entire concept hinges on storing spells on a sympathetic tie, not within anyone's spell control, so if you're going to take this completely out of context to argue the point, you'd be better supported arguing that Mages can hold spells for other Mages via their links, not within their spell control, because that at least has some support through a strict reading of the text that totally disregards context.