Spheres

Specialty Sphere Levels cost 7 x the new level in XP.

Other Sphere Levels cost 8 x the new level in XP.

Your highest Sphere Level cannot exceed your Arete.

With each new Sphere Level you buy, you will receive one Rote for free under that Sphere Level, chosen from the Standard Rotes page. This is non-negotiable; your first Rote is always a standard Rote. You can begin creating custom Rotes with XP after that.

Magic is as limitless and uncategorized as the universe itself. However, hundreds of years ago, Tradition Mages decided that they needed some way to categorize and teach the various realms of Magic. The Order of Hermes proposed general terminology for the Spheres, a way to get many groups to communicate about the same ideas. Thus, the nine Spheres were born.

All things come from the Prime. They are conceived in the Mind, focused in the Spirit, then given form through Forces, Matter, and Life. They are perceived through Correspondence and Time. They break down through Entropy, and eventually return to the Prime.

Note that each Tradition thinks of each Sphere differently. An Akashic Brother might lump Forces, Matter, and Life into just ‘studying the magic of the world.’ He might call the Mind sphere ‘Zen,’ even though he uses it the same way. Nevertheless, the Traditions have agreed that when they gather together, they will use the names of the Spheres – referring to magic that affects living things as Life, no matter how strange that might feel.

Correspondence: All points in space are one. Command of this Sphere allows a Mage to transcend the constraints of space and distance.

Specialty: Virtual Adepts

1 – Immediate Spatial Perceptions

2 – Sense Space, Touch Space

3 – Pierce Space, Seal Gate, Co-Locality Perception

4 – Rend Space, Co-Locate Self

5 – Mutate Localities, Co-Location

Entropy: Things fall apart. The Wheel turns on its inexorable course, destroying what exists to make way for new growth. This Sphere encompasses both fortune and destruction.

Specialty: Euthanatos

1 – Sense Fate and Fortune

2 – Nudge Fate

3 – Affect Predictable Patterns

4 – Affect Life

5 – Affect Thought

Forces: This Sphere provides its students command over the fundamental forces of the universe. Electromagnetism, fire, gravity, kinetic energy and nuclear power are all within its purview.

Specialty: Order of Hermes

1 – Perceive Forces

2 – Control Minor Forces

3 – Transmute Minor Forces

4 – Control Major Forces

5 – Transmute Major Forces

Life: The biology of all life forms (from simple viruses to the complexity of the human body) fall under this Sphere’s control. Biological functions may be sped up, slowed down or even completely rewritten at the whim of the Mage who masters this Sphere.

Specialty: Verbena

1 – Sense Life

2 – Alter Simple Patterns, Heal Self

3 – Alter Self, Transform Simple Patterns

4 – Alter Complex Patterns, Transform Self

5 – Transform Complex Patterns, Perfect Metamorphosis

Matter: This Sphere encompasses the study of material, inorganic patterns. Everything from simple analyses of chemical composition to the transmutation of base metals into gold is possible using the magic of Matter.

Specialty: Sons of Ether

1 – Matter Perceptions

2 – Basic Transmutation

3 – Alter Form

4 – Complex Transformation

5 – Alter Properties

Mind: The study of sentience, perhaps even separate from the biological brain, is the goal of this Sphere. It allows the Mage to plumb the depths of his own consciousness and unlock the powers within.

Specialty: Akashic Brotherhood

1 – Sense Thoughts and Emotions, Empower Self

2 – Read Surface Thoughts, Mental Impulse

3 – Mental Link, Dreamwalk

4 – Control Conscious Mind, Astral Projection

5 – Control Subconscious, Untether, Forge Psyche

Prime: This Sphere covers the study of Quintessence, the raw stuff of Awakened Magic. Mages trained in this Sphere understand and manipulate creation at its most basic, learning to detect, absorb and alter this mysterious Fifth Essence.

Specialty: Celestial Chorus

1 – Etheric Senses, Effuse Personal Quintessence

2 – Weave Odyllic Force, Fuel Pattern, Enchant Patterns

3 – Channel Quintessence, Enchant Life

4 – Sublimate Quintessence, Permanently Enchant Matter & Forces, Tap Wellspring

5 – Alter Quintessential Flow, Nullify Paradox, Permanently Enchant Life, Create Node

Spirit: Knowledge of the Umbra and its inhabitants comes from studying this Sphere. The Mage who commands its power may converse with spirits and travel to their realms (albeit with difficulty).

Specialty: Dreamspeakers

1 – Spirit Senses

2 – Touch Spirit

3 – Pierce Gauntlet

4 – Rend and Repair Gauntlet, Bind Spirits

5 – Forge Ephemera, Outward Journeys

Time: This Sphere promulgates the subjectivity of time. Using it, a Mage may manipulate the perception and passage of time for himself and others.

Specialty: Cult of Ecstasy

1 – Time Sense

2 – Time Sight

3 – Time Manipulation

4 – Time Determinism

5 – Time Travel, Time Immunity

Sphere Levels

1 – Apprentice: Your Mage is just beginning to understand that there are greater forces at work around him. He has learned to see the Sphere – to watch it and understand how it works – but lacks the skill to interact with it and shape it to his will. An Apprentice in a Sphere is entirely a passive observer, with little more power than a Sleeper.

2 – Initiate: You’ve learned to interact with magic, but only in clumsy and unfocused ways. You manipulate the Sphere through brute force of will, often creating interesting effects but lacking in finesse or precision. Any effect that works through skillful or subtle manipulation of the Sphere is far beyond your abilities.

3 – Disciple: You can now interact with the Sphere with natural ease, creating and controlling magic with a thought. However, you are still limited to the surface level of the Sphere’s possibilities, and you cannot yet conceive of grand, Master-level effects. This is generally the point at which a Sphere becomes really useful, although commonly the Sphere’s best effects only apply to the Mage himself.

4 – Adept: You’ve begun to plunge deeper into the Sphere, removing barriers in your abilities and in your mind. You’re now easily capable of working your powerful magic on other people, on groups of things, or even on reality itself. There are still some limits for you – although you may have mastered many of the uses of the Sphere, you still must learn the significance of those uses in the grand scheme of magic.

5 – Master: Very few limits remain for you. You can change the very essence of the things within your Sphere, achieving effects which are even considered impossible to Mages. With a little preparation, you can do almost anything you can conceive of within your Sphere of mastery. There are still greater levels to strive for, Archmage powers you can’t even dream of, but on Earth you are a force to be reckoned with.

Resonance: Each time a Mage purchases a Sphere, or a point of Arete, the ST will determine if his study has caused an increase in Resonance. This is a simple d10 roll. If the d10 roll is less than or equal to the level of the Sphere or Arete being bought, the Mage gains Resonance. For example, if learning an Apprentice Level Sphere, the ST needs to roll above 1 on a d10 to avoid Resonance. If learning a Master Level Sphere, the ST would need to roll above 5 on a d10. (You don’t need to worry anyway – the ST will handle the rolls.)

The Mage always gains the type of Resonance specific to his Avatar Essence. Lusting greatly for power can very quickly make a character unplayable – one of the necessary balances that a Mage must master.

Resonance will also be gained through bad rolls on the Paradox tables, as well as by traumatic in-game events.