Creative Thaumaturgy: Fallen World Edition

[Tessie]

I saw that after I posted. Dissonance rolls are an exception and the book has to explain that in this particular case Withstand is actually a target number (since there is no Potency to compare Withstand to). That is also an exception to how rolls usually work since target numbers are otherwise only a feature of extended actions.

[Mrmdubois]

The goal of the spell is to be something of a paper tiger: it's a very narrow defense that seems much stronger than it really is. It's seeming invincibility against magic ... right up until the players apply lateral thinking to bypass it.

Which I think would be better accomplished by using my suggestion, but that's all I'll say about it for now.

[Mrmdubois]

The goal of the spell is to be something of a paper tiger: it's a very narrow defense that seems much stronger than it really is. It's seeming invincibility against magic ... right up until the players apply lateral thinking to bypass it.

Which I think would be better accomplished by using my suggestion, but that's all I'll say about it for now.

[KaiserAfini]

One of Fate's most interesting purviews is intentions, so this is an attempt to leverage it

The Demagogue's Downfall (Fate ••)
Practice: Veiling
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: Composure
Suggested Rote Skills: Empathy, Persuasion, Socialize

One of the most terrifying realities a diplomat must face is that communication is imperfect. Sometimes the right intentions worded poorly or in the wrong context can cause tragedies to occur. Some of the most devious orators among the théarchs have learned to leverage this to cripple a rival's rhetoric. This allows them to choose up to [Potency] interests, goals or intentions the target may have. Until this spell expires, every Door they would have opened via social maneuvering is instead closed as poor wording, contextual problems and other unexpected twists of fortune cause others to perceive their intentions as irrelevant or counterproductive to the goal. This rote was first developed to uncover a Scelestus infiltrator, one who would work Abyssal symbols into Cryptopolies, causing Sleepwalkers to open Abyssal Verges as they called the Void to them rather than travel to the Supernal.

+1 Reach: Inauspicious coincidences twist every word, causing the target's intentions to be perceived as the exact opposite of their goal. Each Door is instead opened in the opposite direction. Successes in a peace summit roll would instead promote war, a negotiation to have a criminal surrender will instead convince them to lash out violently, etc.

+1 Reach: Successful attempts to increase or decrease impressions levels (based on the caster's choice) instead have the opposite effect. This makes attempts to coerce end in ridicule and emotional appeals create furious rebukes.

[Lareath]

Becoming (Fate ••• or Mind •••)
Practice: Perfecting
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: Resolve
Cost: 1 mana
Suggested Rote Skills: Occult, Drive, Expression

Matter has its shining Argent and Forces has the blazing white inferno of Perfected fire, but what of such ephemeral arcana as Fate or Mind? For that we have Becoming. This spell Perfects the strands of fate, legend, and/or goetic resonance composing a Destiny, Shadow Name, Masque, or Alternate Identity merit possessed by the target, making it into the equivalent of a Perfected Material. When acting within the bounds of what they have Become, the target acts with Supernal perfection, sweeping aside mundane hindrances and receiving a Clash of Wills against supernatural obstruction. And yet to bind a legend so tightly to oneself is also to bind oneself to the legend; the target gains both a Bane and a Ban appropriate to the identity they Become.

Ex. The Swordsworn might find that her knightly blade can cut through stone walls and even (with a Clash of Wills) cut open the spatial iris her publicly avowed foe fled through. However to break her chivalric code or wield any weapon other than a sword requires a daunting act of will, and romance (being the downfall of many knights) is anathema to her. The merest touch of someone trying to pick her up in a bar scorches her flesh.

Much like sympathetic magic is Withstood by the weakness of the sympathetic link, this spell is also Withstood by the weakness of how tightly the target is tied to the identity that they are Becoming.
5 dotes = 0 withstand
3-4 dots = 1 withstand
2 dots = 2 withstand
1 dot = 3 withstand

Shedding Sin (Life ••••)
Practice: Unraveling
Primary Factor: Potency
Withstand: Stamina
Cost: 1 mana
Suggested Rote Skills: Medicine, Survival, Intimidate

The subject's skin rips open, revealing fresh and healthy skin beneath it. As they shimmy their way out of their old skin, they leave the curses and conditions that ailed them behind in the gory husk. Mechanically this functions as Supernal Dispellation, limited to targeting living things but with a chance to contest some non-supernal effects at ST discretion

[KaiserAfini]

An alternate approach to creating a bag of holding:

The Provisioner's Haversack (Time ••••, Fate •)
Practice: Patterning
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: N/A
Suggested Rote Skills: Investigation, Larceny, Survival

One of the most common inconveniences in the life of an archeomancer is the challenge of transporting their gear on the field. Rare research materials, delicate artifacts, dangerous imbued item and more might need to be taken to the most remote or inhospitable corners of the Tapestry. In addition, there is always the danger of exposing Sleepers to them or having them stolen by larcenous supernaturals. To combat this, the legendary archeomancer Livingston devised this spell.

It allows a target container to constantly push anything placed within it to the future. This allows it to store a theoretically infinite number of items while remaining empty, ensuring the user can always have the comfort of packing light yet taking everything they need.

When seeking to retrieve something, the spell is able to automatically detect what they are looking for and find the item for the user, allowing them to access their full repertoire in a convenient manner. Furthermore, it is able to distinguish when a user wants to have an item stored or not, allowing them to pack a "disguise suitcase" to throw off onlookers. Lastly, since they are stored beyond normal time, it means provisions never go bad.

The caster can specify up to [Potency] conditions to permit someone to use the storage.

With conjunctional Fate 4 it allows the item to have been taken out of storage and not. Potency can be allocated on a one to one ratio to determine how many times items can be used before returning to storage "having never been used". However, the item's quantity is not increased. A user may pull an ammo clip as many times as needed from storage, but cannot pull two if only one was stored.

+1 Reach: The conditions for using the storage can be more specific, allowing the caster to choose if its a condition to allow/restrict item storage, retrieval or both. Libertines liken this to file permission management in modern computers.

[KaiserAfini]

Poimandian Echo (Fate •• / Prime •• / Time ••)
Practice: Shielding
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: N/A
Suggested Rote Skills: Academics,Crafts, Occult

The first thing that a Thrice Great learns when preparing for their initiation is that while the power of the Supernal is the greatest channel for their Will, those with the proper knowledge can harness the occult energies of the Fallen World to bolster their works and shore up their defenses. This spell is cast upon a created occult charm, preventing the energies of the Fallen World from unraveling its power for the duration. Some use it upon Taoists charms that make commanding certain spirits easier or facilitate summoning specific Supernal entities, others craft crystal pendulums to aid in seeking out Infrastructure.A few more experimentally inclined mages create talismans that make their meddling in the Shadow more difficult to detect by werewolves. Some Libertines even mention building mechanical devices that produce a mathematically chosen set of notes that interfere with teleportation abilities within hearing range. Traditionalists say proper use of this rote is a mark of prestige, a show of mastery of the high rituals of the Vox Draconis , a fact the Stargazers leverage to attract talented new prospects to their lodges.

Review from Hurt Locker: Constructing a weapon or charm to ward off a specific effect from a target supernatural is a Wits+Occult (for a hastily assembled one) or Intelligence+Occult roll (for one carefully put together). The successes become a dice bonus against the specified effect or, in case of weapons, add to the Damage Rating against the target type. Normally they only hold these abilities for a day or so before the magic unravels.

[Redzone]

Sublimate Essence (Prime 4 + Spirit 4)
Practice: Patterning
Primary Factor: Potency
Withstand: N/A
Suggested Rote Skills: Expression, Occult, Science.

This spell allows a willworker to sublimate Essence into Mana, converting an amount of Essence into Mana equal to half the spell Potency.

+1 Reach: the converted Mana solidifies into tass.
+1 Reach: the spell effect is reversed, converting 1 Mana into 2 Essence per Potency instead.

====//====

Sublimate Pain (Prime 4 + Life 4)
Practice: Patterning
Primary Factor: Potency
Withstand: N/A.
Suggested Rote Skills: Empathy, Medicine, Survival.

This spell allows a mage to restore the pattern of a living being by converting his wounds into Mana. Each level of Potency heals two level of bashing or one level of lethal damage. If at least one level of damage was healed this way, the spell produces 1 Mana.

+1 Reach: The spell heals aggravated damage. (Cost: 1 Mana).
+1 Reach: the produced Mana solidifies into tass.

[KaiserAfini]

Craft Immortal Jade (Life ••••, Prime ••••)
Practice: Patterning
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: Composure
Suggested Rote Skills: Academics, Medicine, Occult

Carrying resources as one explores the Tapestry can be cumbersome. Tass can take just about any form, not always a portable or discrete one. Meanwhile, mana batteries can take a long time to replenish. In order to address this issue and inspired by tales of spirit stones that house potent Chi, this rote was developed by a cabal of Nameless students of the Dao of Alchemy.

When cast upon tass or a living being, it transforms them into a crystalline form halfway between the platonic ideals of a living being and a mana battery. It does not require food, water, air or rest. But it can still use normal healing time to "self repair". The user can spend an action to scour their Pattern once a day, tranferring the mana either to themselves or the battery, with any excess being lost. They also have a mana capacity of [Potency]. Pigs, rats and fishes made for popular materials.

It would only be later that a Left Handed mage would discover one of its more distressing properties. When transforming a mage, their mana capacity is added to the battery. Furthermore, they can be scoured as many times as the target's Gnosis allows.

Targets are still aware of the world around them. Normally this isn't an issue, but mages are still capable of casting while tranformed. Because of this, additional spellwork is normally employed to "alchemically refine the will into a suitable form". A few Banishers have been known to use them to build up their arsenal of weapons and defenses.

Some whisper that this rote was developed in parallel in Europe. Mysterium scholars suspect that the famous Philosopher's Stone of Nicholas Flamel might be an immortal jade, some even accuse Paris' mythical immortal of being a thaumavoric lich that remains active to this day.

+1 Reach: The immortal jade automatically scours itself whenever its reservoirs are not full, replenishing the battery.

+1 Reach: Rather than losing the extra mana, it instead flows into any mage holding it at the time.

[KaiserAfini]

From the Ethers (Forces •••, Prime •••)
Practice: Weaving
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: N/A
Suggested Rote Skills: Computers, Occult, Science

"Want to summon a powerful being from the Supernal ? There is an app for that". This has been the tagline technomancers of the Free Council use to promote this rote. By transmitting summoning rituals via electronic data (often heavily protected by magical passwords), they have made it possible for others to quickly and conveniently access the powers and insights not native to their Watchtower's Supernal Realm.

By having the burden of summoning be done by someone else, this allows less experienced mages to engage in more ambitious experiments or execute grander acts against the followers of the Lie.

Veteran casters see it as another way to gain revenue or major boons for their own projects. Reactions vary for each Order, but Guardians tend to look at this rote in sheer horror of the potential misuse, especially since anyone can use them (changelings, deviants, Sleepwalkers, etc) and it allows the inexperienced to meddle with forces the cannot begin to comprehend. Arrows tend to see it as a potent new addition to their toolkit.

This spell is cast upon a mage. The next time they summon a Supernal Entity, they may spend a mana to store the ritual as electronic data within an electronic device in sensory range. It can be used and transmitted like any app, with the device holding it acting as the summoning circle. The burden of entreating the Entity lies entirely with the user, yet the app's interface can be used to end the summoning. If the duration expires before it is used, so does the summoning.

[KaiserAfini]

Eye of Penance (Fate •••)
Practice: Fraying
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: N/A
Suggested Rote Skills: Empathy, Intimidation, Investigation

The Guardians know that not only mages move the Diamond Wheel, its turning is the result of many beings pulling it in many directions. In order to ensure they don't impede the quick coming of the Hieromagus, some more devoted members have learned to defer to karma itself to judge the punishment upon their foes.

The target suffers damage equal to 10-their Morality stat. The reference point is always based on humanity. Mages suffer more damage at low Wisdom, vampires at low Humanity, Changelings at low Clarity, Prometheans at low Pilgrimage, Werewolves suffer more damage the closer their Harmony is towards spirit (100% towards flesh is the "ideal"), etc. This makes it a spell of choice when facing against hubristic foes, the Enraptured and ancient vampires.

When cast instead using Fate 4, it does lethal damage, or aggravated for a Reach and a mana

+1 Reach: If the target suffered any damage, they receive the Beaten Down condition as they instinctively understand why they suffered karmic backlash.

[Redzone]

Hallow Bond (Prime 3)**
Practice: Weaving
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: Hallow’s dot rating.
Suggested Rote Skills: Occult, Persuasion, Survival

The mage creates a mystical connection with a Hallow, allowing him to place restrictions to those who can harvest Mana from it. When casting this spell, the mage chooses one target – that could be himself or a cabal mate or, using the Scale factor, the entire cabal – to be allowed to use the Hallow. Anybody else trying to harvest mana from the Hallow provokes a Clash of Wills.
Add Death 2: the requirement to harvest mana without a Clash of Wills is to Scour your own pattern.
Add Fate 2: the mage names a particular oblation as a requirement to harvest the mana from that Hallow. Anyone performing the chosen oblation can harvest mana without provoking a Clash of Wills.
Add Space 2: only the mage and those with a Strong sympathetic connection with the Hallow can harvest the mana from it without provoking a Clash of Wills.
Add Spirit 2: to harvest mana without a Clash of Wills, one must offer at least 1 Essence of the same Resonance of the Hallow.
Add Time 2: the mage chooses a moment of the day – like noon, dawn or dusk. Any attempt to harvest mana from the Hallow outside the chosen moment provokes a Clash of Wills.

+1 Reach: the restrictions imposed by the spell applies to the tass produced by the Hallow as well.

** This spell is an adaptation from the homonymous spell presented in Sanctum and Sigil (page 94). Feedback is always appreciated.

Edit (29/09/2020): added suggested Rote Skills.

[KaiserAfini]

Hallow Bond (Prime 3)**
Practice: Weaving
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: Hallow’s dot rating.

The mage creates a mystical connection with a Hallow, allowing him to place restrictions to those who can harvest Mana from it. When casting this spell, the mage chooses one target – that could be himself or a cabal mate or, using the Scale factor, the entire cabal – to be allowed to use the Hallow. Anybody else trying to harvest mana from the Hallow provokes a Clash of Wills.
Add Fate 2: the mage names a particular oblation as a requirement to harvest the mana from that Hallow. Anyone performing the chosen oblation can harvest mana without provoking a Clash of Wills.
Add Space 2: only the mage and those with a Strong sympathetic connection with the Hallow can harvest the mana from it without provoking a Clash of Wills.
Add Time 2: the mage chooses a moment of the day – like noon, dawn or dusk. Any attempt to harvest mana from the Hallow outside the chosen moment provokes a Clash of Wills.

+1 Reach: the restrictions imposed by the spell applies to the tass produced by the Hallow as well.
+2 Reach: For one point of Mana, the effect is Lasting.

** This spell is an adaptation from the homonymous spell presented in Sanctum and Sigil (page 94). Feedback is always appreciated.

Its a pretty cool spell. The only thing I worry about is the Lasting option. It makes it so Prime users will be inclined to make permanent claims on Hallows, making default ones rare or requiring ley line engineering to "reset the system". Its also unusual for a Lasting rather than indefinite effect provokes a Clash of Wills.

Regarding conjunctional Arcana, perhaps Death could make it so a certain offering would need to be sacrificed to access the Hallow for up to [Potency] days. With Spirit, perhaps the oblation would need to spend Essence (release it into the area) of a key Resonance before the Hallow could be used, provoking a Clash of Wills otherwise.

[Redzone]

Its a pretty cool spell. The only thing I worry about is the Lasting option. It makes it so Prime users will be inclined to make permanent claims on Hallows, making default ones rare or requiring ley line engineering to "reset the system". Its also unusual for a Lasting rather than indefinite effect provokes a Clash of Wills.

Regarding conjunctional Arcana, perhaps Death could make it so a certain offering would need to be sacrificed to access the Hallow for up to [Potency] days. With Spirit, perhaps the oblation would need to spend Essence (release it into the area) of a key Resonance before the Hallow could be used, provoking a Clash of Wills otherwise.

Thank you for your thoughts!
I agree that a Lasting effect brings additional complications. I'll remove it.
I liked your suggestions, but i think a sacrifice to harvest the hallows mana is too harsh. Maybe Scour your own pattern as a requirement instead, i don't know.
I'll think in other Arcana options to update the spell.

[Redzone]

Concentrated Effort (Mind 3)
Practice: Perfecting
Primary Factor: Potency
Withstand: N/A
Suggested Rote Skills: Empathy, Expression, Socialize

This spell imbues its target with supernatural determination and dedication to complete any task. When the target of this spell spends a point of Willpower to add a +3 die bonus to a dice pool or +2 to a Resistance trait, the bonus applies to all dice pools or to that Resistance trait for a number of rolls equal to the spell Potency.

+1 Reach: Spending a point of Willpower will both add the +3 die bonus and +2 to a Resistance trait.
+1 Reach: Spending a point of Willpower to add +2 to a Resistance trait will instead add +2 to all Resistance traits.
+2 Reach: Spend a point of Mana. The mage can cast this spell as a reflexive action.