Sample Rotes

# Rotes

For the process of creating rotes please see the page Rotes

These sample Rotes will organized according the highest Sphere in use.

The mage can alter the basic properties of a nonliving object anywhere they can reach (consult the char found here for successes require based on range or connection).

### Clairvoyance

Correspondence 2/Optional Mind 3

The mage can view a distant location. With Mind, they can communicate telepathically with anyone who is at that location.

### Conjure Earthly Being

Correspondence 4/Life 2

Summons any living being currently on Earth, directly teleporting it from where it is currently to the mage’s location.

### Create Multiple Images

Correspondence 3

By bending space, the mage can cause an image to appear in multiple places simultaneously. These will all be identical and all will be affected by anything that happens to one of them

### Create Multiple Objects

Correspondence 5/Matter 3/Prime 2

With Matter and Prime, a mage can create a single object. Correspondence allows them to create several copies simultaneously.

### Levitation/Flying

Correspondence 3/Life 2

The mage warps space around themselves so that they appear to defy gravity, hovering above the ground or even flying through the air. Though speed is up to the Storyteller’s discretion, a rule of thumb is 20 MPH/success.

### Levitation/Flying

Correspondence 3/Matter 2

The mage warps space around an object so that it appears to defy gravity, hovering above the ground or even flying through the air.

### Open Gateway Between Locations

Correspondence 4

This creates a gateway between two locations (see chart here for require successes). This gateway is large enough for a heavily encumbered human to walk through without needing more successes. Ten successes can make it permanent.

### Ultimate Multitask

Correspoondence 4/Life 3/Mind 1

The mage can be in multiple places at once. Not only are they able to be in these places and interact with them, but they are able to do so in each place independently. Without the Life sphere, they could only do a single thing in all places.

### Ward/Ban

Correspondence 4/Prime 2/Appropriate Sphere(s) 2

This allows the mage to mark off an area and, using appropriate Sphere(s) at the second rank, prevent anything fitting a given description from entering that area.

## Entropy Rotes

### Alter Probability

Entropy 2+

A mage can change how likely an event is. This ranges wildly, from making dumb luck more likely on something they’ve never tried before (called Beginner’s Luck in Mage Revised) to always being able to make a die come up on the desired number.

### Binding Oath

Entropy 4

Some mages require stronger proofs of loyalty than mundane contracts can manage. They use binding oaths to enforce agreements, where breaking them will immediately have several negative consequences. These include horrible luck, but also often include an Oathbreaker Brand.

### Bless/Curse

Entropy 3+/Optional Life 3

The mage can grant good and bad luck. This effect is confined to an area unless Life is added to tie it to a person. Entropy 3 allows basic luck manipulation, while 4 allows a much more thorough or specific blessing or lethally bad luck.

### Cause Decay

Entropy 3+

By channeling the fundamental power of destruction, the mage can cause something to decay. Entropy 3 suffices for materials, 4 for living beings and 5 for thoughts. When used against living beings, this causes aggravated damage.

### Disintegrate an Object

Entropy 3/Time 3

All things die and disappear in time, even inanimate objects. With this effect, a mage can accelerate the process, causing virtually anything to turn to dust. Only a few successes are needed for fragile objects that would decay rapidly, but sturdy objects like bricks require more.

### Harm Ghost

Entropy 3/Prime 2

This effect allows a mage to directly harm a ghost, giving them the same power over it that Life 3 grants them over the living. In the terms of Wraith: the Oblivion, this damages the wraith’s corpus, but also gives it points of Angst. If a mage does this, they are likely to find themselves face to face with the wraith’s Shadow or worse, to turn the wraith into a Spectre, a ghost who desires nothing more than to drag everything around them screaming into Oblivion.

### Ring of Truth

Entropy 1

One of the most basic Entropy effects, Ring of Truth allows the mage to determine if the target is deliberately lying. Of course, this cannot detect someone passing along false information that they believe to be true, nor find the answer to a question that the person being asked does not know.

### Rot Body

Entropy 4

Sometimes, you just need to dispose of a body in a hurry, and can’t afford for Sleeper law enforcement to find it. For any mage unfortunate enough to find themselves in this situation, this effect is a godsend, capable of rotted a body away to nothing. Even better for those who need it, it can be used to start the rotting on a living body, causing aggravated damage, just like Cause Decay does.

### Spot Weakness

Entropy 1

An extremely versatile effect that is often combined with the first rank of another Sphere for more specific information, it reveals the weaknesses in whatever is targeted. For example, with Matter it is easy to find a structural weakness and destroy a building, with Life you can find someone’s bone that’s been broken before and never healed right, and with several other Spheres combined, things like finding weaknesses in defenses and arguments become possible.

## Forces Rotes

### Call Storm

Forces 4+/Prime 2

Powerful Forces mages can call up storms covering at least a town, if not a larger geographic area. They manipulate the temperature of the air, the speed of the winds, and even bring in more humid air to do this, so these storms don’t come from nowhere nor necessarily appear quickly, but with enough successes, nearly any weather event can be brought on.

### Conjure Element

Forces 3/Prime 2

By combining Prime with Forces, a mage can create forces from nothing (except, of course, Quintessence). For many mages, this is done through the classical elements. With Forces, fire and wind (air) can be conjured, but also light, sound and kinetics. This requires a point of Quintessence.

### Conjure Physical Illusion

Forces 2+/Prime 2

By conjuring up forces directly, including light and sound, and infusing them with Prime, the mage can create illusions that have all of the sense of reality of the truth, but yet aren’t real.

### Create Multiple Images

Forces 2+/Prime 2

By crafting light, the mage can create multiple images of an object. This is similar to the Correspondence effect of the same name, but the copies are illusions.

### Direct Existing Elements

Forces 2+

Forces that already exist can be manipulated by the mage. This covers redirecting those energies as well as enhancing or weakening them.

### Erode Energies

Forces 3/Entropy 3

Entropy combines with Forces to allow a mage to degrade and destroy Forces that they come across.

### Immersive Illusions

Forces 4+/Mind 4/Prime 4+

At this level, illusions are solid and detailed enough to seem real. These illusions are extremely convincing, and are sometimes referred to as “holodeck” illusions.

### Invisibility/Silence Field

Forces 2

With this understanding of the Sphere of Forces, the mage can utterly depress a force in an area. This can result in things such as invisibility and silence when applied to light and sound, though without Correspondence, the mage will be unable to see or hear.

### Invisibility on Living Being

Forces 2/Life 2

Like the Invisibility Field, but by adding Life it will follow along with a living Pattern as it moves.

### Levitation/Flying

Forces 2+

This effect allows the mage to fly, lifting themselves into the air. Forces rank determines how fast and maneuverable they are once they start flying.

### Speed/Slow Velocity

Forces 2+

With this effect, the mage can increase or decrease the speed of an object, adding or removing damage dice.

### Transform Forces

Forces 3/Appropriate Sphere(s) 3+

The mage is capable of transforming a force into something else, or vice versa, based on what Sphere they are combining it with. With Matter 3, Spirit 3 or Mind 3, materials, ephemera, and thoughts, respectively, can all be converted to energy. With Life 5, however, a person can be converted into some form of sentient energy.

### Telekinesis

Forces 2+

This effect allows the Mage to move objects around at a distance, as though with Strength and Dexterity equal to their Forces rank.

## Life Rotes

### Adapt to Environment

Life 2 or 3

A Life mage is capable of adapting their body (and others at a higher rank) to extreme environments on Earth. Additional Spheres and ranks may be needed for supernatural environments, however.

### Alter Age

Life 5/Entropy 4 or Time 3

This effect allows the mage to change their or someone else’s age. Decreasing age comes with a +3 difficulty.

### Animate Corpse or Parts

Life 2/Prime 2

The remains of the freshly deceased are still covered by the Life Sphere. So as long as the body is in good shape and relatively recently deceased, it and its parts may be animated through infusion with Quintessence and controlled by the mage with this effect.

### Cause/Cure Disease

Life 2 or 3

With control over Life comes control over disease. With Life 2, it is possible to cure disease in yourself (or cause it, for that matter) and with Life 3, in others.

### Conjure Element

Life 3/Prime 2

The mage can, as with the Matter and Forces variants, conjure up a pure example of a living element, most commonly wood. This requires a point of Quintessence.

### Grow New Limbs or Other Features

Life 3 or 4

With Life 3 (for self) or 4 (for others), the mage can make significant changes to humans, adding fundamentally new features, like additional limbs.

### Heal/Harm Living Being

Life 2 or 3

This is one of the most common effects for any Life mage. At Life 2, they can heal themselves, at Life 3 they can heal others and also cause direct aggravated damage (which is vulgar), also sometimes called “Rip the Man-Body.”

### Heal/Harm Supernatural Being

Life 3/Appropirate Sphere 3

Supernatural beings often have a dual nature. This requires a secondary Sphere in order to affect them as Life can affect normal humans. For the fae, this Sphere is Mind, for vampires it is Matter, and for werecreatures it is Spirit.

### Increase Physique/Traits

Life 3 or 4

Also known as “Better Body,” the mage can increase their Physical Attributes by one dot per success. With Life 4 they can increase the traits of others.

### Revive Recently Dead

Life 4/Spirit 4/Prime 3

One of the most powerful and difficult effects available to a Life mage, this allows them to bring the recently dead back to life. Here, recent means a very short time, and is best used within a few minutes of death.

### Shapeshift

Life 4 or 5

A traditional skill of powerful wizards is the ability to change their shape. With this effect, the mage can do this, preserving size with Life 4 and removing that restriction with Life 5.

### Soak Aggravated Damage

Life 3

With this effect, the mage can soak aggravated damage. It is nearly always vulgar, but when it’s needed, it’s worth it.

## Matter Rotes

### Animate Bones & Remains

Matter 2/Prime 2

Once the majority of a corpse has rotted away and all that is left is inanimate matter such as bones, the Matter Sphere (along with Prime) is capable of animating them and giving the mage control over their actions.

### Conjure New Object

Matter 3+/Prime 2

Though the level of Matter needed is dependent on the complexity of the object being conjured, the mage can create it from pure Quintessence. Anything that has complex structure requires the mundane knowledge of how it works in order to make it correctly. This effect will always cost at least one point of Quintessence

### Conjure Element

Matter 3/Prime 2 (earth, metal, water)

Similar to the Life and Forces variants, with Matter and Prime the mage can create material elements, such as earth/stone, water and metal (usually iron). This requires a point of Quintessence

### Consecrate/Harden/Perfect an Object

Matter 3+

With a sufficient understanding of Matter, a mage can build a perfected version of an object. Higher ranks are needed for more complex objects, but the end result is the same: an object created with no flaws, that is more durable than normal, and which can survive the rigors of being used to create a Wonder.

### Create or Destroy Material

Matter 2/Prime 2

For very simple materials, the mage can either create them from raw Quintessence or else draw the Quintessence from them, destroying them utterly.

### Create Periapt/Matrix

Matter 5/Prime 3

With Mastery of Matter along with some Prime, the mage can create a class of Wonders called Periapts by the Traditions and Matrices by the Technocracy. These Wonders can store Quintessence (or Paradox, for that matter) but require at least the second rank of Prime to use.

### Disintegrate an Object

Matter 3/Entropy 3

By combining Matter and Entropy, a mage can utterly destroy an object by infusing it with the pure energy of decay. The object will crumble to dust if enough successes are reached, with more durable objects requiring more successes. If enough successes to turn it to dust aren’t reached, the object may still be rendered useless by the damage it takes.

### Transform Objects

Matter 2+/Appropriate Spheres

This effect converts an object of one sort to an object of another. It only requires Matter to convert between different inert materials, but more complex transformations will require other Spheres. For instance, it would only require Matter 2 to convert water to wine, but converting wine into blood would require an addition of Life 3.

## Mind Rotes

### Astral Body of Light

Mind 4+/Spirit 3/Prime 2

The mage not only untethers from their body, but combines it with a Body of Light, granting the astral form additional protection.

### Conceal/Alter Aura

Mind 1

By masking their true thoughts, the mage can alter or hide their aura from Spirit and Mind sight.

### Conjure Mental Illusions

Mind 2 or 3/Optional Life 3

This effect creates mental illusions. To make more complex ones requires a higher rank of Mind, bashing damage requires Mind 3. Life 3 must be added to do aggravated damage.

### Influence Mood

Mind 2

Not the fine control of telepathy, but with this effect the mage can alter the mood of a target.

### Psychic Pain Blast

Mind 3/Optional Life 3

This effect is a direct mental attack and does bashing damage, unless Life is included, which causes aggravated damage.

### Scramble Thoughts

Mind 3

This effect causes the target’s train of thought to disappear, leaving them confused and disoriented.

### See Auras

Mind 1

This effect allows the mage to read auras.

### See Avatar

Mind 3/Prime 2/Spirit 1

With this Effect, the mage can see another’s Avatar.

### See Through Mental Illusions

Mind 4

When disbelief fails to pierce illusions, this effect allows the mage to brute-force separate intrusions from reality in their mind.

### Share Perceptions

Mind 2/Appropriate Sphere(s) 1

This effect allows the sharing of mystic perceptions.

### Sleep Spell

Mind 2 or Mind 4

The weaker version suggests and the stronger compels the target to go to sleep.

### Telepathy

Mind 3

The mage can establish direct mental communication.

### Translate Languages

Mind 3/Optional Forces 3

This allows the mage to understand the language of someone they are interacting with. Forces can be added to alter the sound waves and bring others into the conversation.

## Prime Rotes

### Bless/Curse

Prime 5

By infusing a person with the raw energy of existence (or drawing it away from them), the mage can confer a blessing or curse onto them.

### Conceal/Alter Aura

Prime 2

Through subtle changes to Resonance, the mage can alter or hide their aura from Spirit and Mind sight.

### Consecrate/Harden/Perfect an Object

Prime 2

Similar to Bless/Curse, by infusing an object with raw quintessence, it can be made more perfect and capable of being used as a base for a Wonder.

### Craft Wonder

Prime 4+/Spheres of the Wonder's Effect

With this effect, the mage can create a permanent Wonder, and if they so choose, can give it its own Arete so that Sleepers can use it (costing a permanent point of Willpower). Without that ability, it is technically only an Invention or Artifact. This same effect can be used to create a Fetish when the spirit in question is willing.

### Create/Destroy New Node

Prime 4 or 5

A Master of Prime can create a Node, though the ritual is difficult and requires a large number of successes (10 per level of Node Background). With only four ranks, though, a Node can be drained out of existence.

### Create Quintessence Weapon

Prime 3

The mage can craft a weapon directly from Quintessence. This is expensive, costing one Quintessence per use.

### Employ Periapt

Prime 2/Optional Correspondence 2

Though Prime 3 is needed to recharge it or draw the Quintessence into their Pattern, with Prime 2 a mage can make use of a Periapt to power their effects.

### Enchant Weapon/Armor

Prime 2

This effect causes the weapon in question to do aggravated damage, or for the armor to be able to soak aggravated damage if it couldn’t before.

### Fuel New Pattern

Prime 2/Appropriate Sphere

This effect gives fine enough control for the mage to create new Patterns with the appropriate Spheres.

### Nullify Paradox

Prime 5

A Master of Prime is capable of canceling out Paradox by spending quintessence, one for one, limited by successes on this Effect.

### Refine Tass

Prime 4

This effect allows the mage to distill Quintessence from a Node or Wellspring into Tass.

### Share/Exchange Quintessence

Prime 3

The mage can move Quintessence from place to place, using Tass, exchanging it with others, and placing it into a Periapt.

### Tap Wellspring

Prime 4

A Wellspring is a temporary Node, generating Quintessence from some event with a strong Resonance, and with this Effect, a mage can take advantage of one.

### Weave Body of Light

Prime 2

This creates an idealized form of the mage’s body out of Quintessence, protecting them during Astral Travel.

## Spirit Rotes

### Awaken Object’s Spirit

Spirit 3

The mage can awaken the spirit of an object. This gives the object a bit of personality, and it will work better for the owner and worse for others, so long as the mage treats it well. If they don’t, then it might fail them at a critical moment.

### Bind Spirit to Fetish

Spirit 4

With this effect, the mage can force an unwilling spirit into a Fetish (or bind a willing one, for that matter).

### Convert Matter to Ephemera

Spirit 3/Matter 2

By combining Spirit with Matter, the mage can convert physical objects into ephemera, pushing them into the Umbra where they can interact with spirits directly.

### Command Spirit

Spirit 4/Mind 4

Just as a powerful Mind mage can control a person, someone who is skilled with both Mind and Spirit can force a spirit to do their bidding.

### Conceal Avatar

Spirit 2/Mind 1

An effect that is essential in rare circumstances but useless most of the time, this allows the mage to hide their Avatar from anyone who searches for it.

### Conjure Spirit

Spirit 3

At this level, the mage can call a spirit to them and reliably compel them to appear. Of course, controlling them once there requires the fourth rank.

### Drain Spirit’s Essence

Spirit 4/Prime 4

This effect allows the mage to damage a spirit’s existence directly and pull Quintessence from them. This is capable of destroying weak spirits entirely

### Harm Ghost/Spirit

Spirit 3

This effect allows the mage to harm ephemeral beings, such as ghosts and spirits, directly. A spirit or ghost destroyed in this way can reform after a time.

### Open/Close Gateway

Spirit 4

The mage is capable of opening and closing gateways into the Umbra.

### Read Resonance/Synergy

Spirit 3/Mind 2

By combining Mind and Spirit (and appropriate Spheres to affect the target), the mage can read the resonance and synergy of an event, place, object, etc.

### See Auras

Spirit 1

This effect allows the mage to read auras

### Touch Spirit

Spirit 2

The mage can interact directly with spirits. With this, they can attack the spirit, even if the Gauntlet lies between them

## Time Rotes

### Aging/Reversing Age

Time 3+/Life 4 (living being) or Matter 2 (object)

The mage can cause living things or objects to become older or younger with this effect. As always, reversing aging is more difficult than causing it, but using this effect regularly is one path towards immortality.

### Increase/Reduce Speed

Time 3

This effect allows the mage to speed something up or slow it down, not by altering its velocity directly (that would be Forces), but rather by altering the flow of time around it.

### Prophecy/Hindsight

Time 2

The mage can see forward or backwards in time, gaining the power of prophecy or hindsight, depending on which they are doing. This is not quite an exact science, and is often best assisted with other Spheres (Mind and Entropy being popular ones) to get more accurate answers.

### Rewind Time

Time 3

This ability allows the mage to turn by time by one turn per two successes. This is quite difficulty, and comes with a +3 difficulty modifier, but is often the only thing standing between victory and defeat in a tense situation where a mistake has been made.

### Set Time Trigger

Time 4/Optional Entropy 3

With this effect added into another, the mage is able to set up a specific trigger, whether it is some event or just an amount of time passing, after which the primary effect goes off. Mages who use this effect often set it up as a failsafe, so that if something goes horribly wrong, they can still escape or, for the bold, turn back time to before it happened, even if they can’t react in that moment. Though time-based triggers only require Time, conditional ones require Entropy as well.

### Speed/Slow Time

Time 3

By speeding up time for the mage, they can move incredibly quickly. This grants one extra action in combat per two successes, though this action cannot be magickal (only one effect per turn is possible). Conversely, the mage can slow someone else down, dividing their speed by the number of successes rolled (so one success has no effect, two halves, three cuts to onethird, etc.)

### Time Travel

Time 5

The ultimate expression of mastery over Time, the mage is now capable of transporting themself to a different point in the timeline. Going backwards gets that +3 difficulty, as always, and without creating an anchor point in advance, there’s a solid risk that the mage will never manage to find their way home

## Sources for Other Rotes

More Rotes can be found in the Revised Mage books, or here