The Hidden Grimoire

Overview

The following spells are non-canon Creative Thaumaturgy Spells that are approved for play on Golden Road. These spells are technically in the restricted section of the grand library and can be cast by a student or faculty as a NON-ROTE (do a quick scene in the library). However, they can be turned into rotes if NPC faculty is willing to teach it.

Note: Spells are organized by their primary Arcana.

Fate

Reversal of Fortune (Fate ****)

Reversal of Fortune (Fate 4)
Practice: Patterning
Primary Factor: Duration
Suggested Rote Skills: Occult, Larceny, Subterfuge

Many cultures revere the Sacred Fool, a clownish figure that perverts many of society's mores and yet, in their contrary behavior, are able to access a sort of crazy wisdom that allows them to know things beyond their ken and perform miraculous feats. This archetype rings true in Supernal Arcadia, and the Fate Arcanum allows a mage to tap into this same wisdom, turning hindrances into blessings. The subject of this spell reverses the dice effects of any Conditions and Tilts which they are under, penalties becoming bonuses and vice versa.

+1 Reach: The reversal only applies one way. Penalties become bonuses, but bonuses do not become penalties, for instance.

NB: Created by Prof. Inorai to humble brash students (or faculty)

Adrasteia (Fate ****)

Practice: Patterning
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: Resolve (if desired)
Suggested Rote Skills: Academics, Athletics, Streetwise

Fate often strikes ironically, dooming people in venues where they imagine themselves at their best. This spell gathers a cluster of misfortune around one Skill that the mage names during casting, causing the subject to suffer unexpected setbacks when they attempt to exercise it. The subject gains the Ordeal of [Trait] Persistent Condition keyed to the named Skill. While this can foil a skilled rival in a moment of crisis, mages also levy the curse on those that seek to improve a Skill, as the hardships will provide a more strenuous and rapid course of enrichment.

+1 Reach: During the spell's Duration, minor perturbations of Fate steer the subject into situations where they are obligated to use the marked Trait. This works as a malevolent version of Serendipity, forcing use of the Trait during one important roll of a different Trait from the same type (Skill, Attribute, etc.) and category (Mental, Social, Physical) in a given scene.
+2 Reach: As above, but the marked Trait will substitute in for any Trait of the same type. A diplomat with Ordeal of [Firearms] would find their Socialize effort now hinges on small talk about military hardware, for instance.
+1 Reach: The mage may instead name an Attribute; the Condition will apply to this Trait.
+3 Reach: The mage may instead name an Arcanum, which the subject must possess; the Condition will apply to this Trait.)
+3 Reach: The spell becomes Lasting; the Condition will persist until Resolved.


Ordeal of [Trait] (Persistent)
Fate conspires to foil your efforts regarding a Skill or other Trait. The first time each scene that you roll a dice pool containing the Trait, circumstances turn against you, levying an equipment penalty equal to your dots in the Trait. A character with Medicine 3 discovers that some of their tools have been misplaced and the lighting has become unreliable, imposing a -3 penalty; if they had been less capable fate would have been less cruel, while a master surgeon might find themselves more deeply disadvantaged.

Resolution: Increase your rating in the marked Trait or gain a Specialty or Merit that displays growth in that field. Beat: Suffer the penalty on a roll where the consequences of failure would represent a genuine setback or real hardship for you or those around you.

NB: This is in the restricted section of the library. No one in recent memory has actually cast this spell, but a few of the faculty know it.

Forces

Lei Gong's Spear(Forces ***)

Practice: Weaving
Primary Factor: Potency
Suggested Rote Skills: Athletics, Weaponry, Expression

The mage shapes and contains a source of energy into a melee weapon of elemental force; a campfire becomes a blade of flame, a concert provides a literal hammer of sound, or the mage enters a vampire's den armed with a spear of sunlight. The spell maintains the weapon's form and partially contains its energies, though the bearer suffers the full effects of continuous exposure. If the weapon is used to strike, it releases its stored energy into the target, as if they had spent a turn exposed to the source. The Potency of the effect determines how much energy may be contained in the weapon (as per the chart under Transform Energy), and each discharge reduces the remaining Potency of the effect by one, making future strikes less vicious or negating the spell altogether. The user's passive exposure does not reduce the spell's efficacy, however.

+1 Reach: The containment of the weapon is improved, and the user is no longer subject to its effects while bearing it.

+2 Reach: Strikes do not reduce the Potency of the spell.

+1 Reach: The weapon acquires a "core" of kinetic energy that gains heft when swung. If the weapon is used in a Weaponry attack and strikes the target, this buffeting force inflicts bashing damage equal to the attack successes, in addition to the effects of exposure to the stored energy. Armor can reduce this impact damage, but generally does not help against the energy.
+2 Reach: As above, and the core is more refined in shape; the weapon acquires the traits (equipment/initiative modifiers, Size, Strength requirement, etc.) of a weapon with a maximum equipment modifier of [Half Potency, round up.] While it still inflicts only bashing damage (including the weapon's modifier), it is in all other ways treated as the form copied - a flaming chain has the Grapple property, a flaming spear improves Defense and requires two hands to wield, and so on. As an instant action the mage may, if in range of the weapon, reconfigure it into another form within these limits.

+1 Reach: The weapon may be thrown; it has range bands of (Potency x 10/Potency x 20/Potency x 40) and is aimed with Dexterity + Athletics - the target's Defense. A successful throw inflicts damage as a strike. If the weapon has a kinetic element (as above), a throw inflicts additional bashing damage on a successful hit. The "thrown" energy splits off from the original weapon and dissipates upon impact, leaving the weapon itself still in the user's grasp.

NB: Commonly taught in advanced battle magic.

Lei Gong's Raiment (Forces ***)

Practice: Weaving
Primary Factor: Potency
Suggested Rote Skills: Politics, Athletics, Intimidation

The mage harnesses a nearby source of electricity to wrap a subject in a crackling corona of lightning. While the spell anchors the aura and prevents an immediate discharge into the surroundings, anyone that moves or interacts with the subject after the aura is set suffers harm as if they'd come into contact with the power source. Unless they are shielded, this threatens the subject as well, who must remain still to avoid harm. The Potency of the effect determines how much charge can be settled into the aura (as per the chart under Transform Energy), and each discharge reduces the remaining Potency of the effect by one, making future strikes less vicious or negating the aura altogether.

+2 Reach: Strikes do not reduce the Potency of the spell.

+1 Reach: The subject and aura's innate forces are harmonized to one another; the subject may move without harm. As a beneficial side effect, the subject is shielded from other sources of electricity, reducing their effective intensity by the Potency of the spell.
+2 Reach: As above, and the aura exerts a modest "lift" on the subject. As long as the spell's Potency (treated as Strength) is sufficient to lift the subject's weight, they may, as an instant action, jump-float at a Speed of (Gnosis + Potency).

+1 Reach: The subject may "throw" the aura; it has range bands of (Potency x 10/Potency x 20/Potency x 40) and is aimed with Dexterity + Athletics - the target's Defense. A successful throw inflicts damage as a strike. If the subject is not protected in some way, they will be injured upon moving as usual. If the subject is being lifted by the aura (as in the +2 Reach option above), they may opt to "ride" a throw to its destination, the lightning carrying them to a new position.

NB: Commonly taught in advanced battle magic.

Life

Wrack (Life ****)

Practice: Patterning
Withstand: Stamina
Primary Factor: Duration
Cost: 1 Mana
Suggested Rote Skills: Medicine, Athletics, Intimidation

By causing muscles to tug and tense as hard as they can in all sorts of directions, you can get the human body to crush its own bones in a twisted dance of snapping and popping. This applies the Arm Wrack or Leg Wrack Tilts to your subject at intervals determined by your Gnosis-based casting time. Additionally it causes one point of Lethal damage each interval.

+1 Reach: The bones get in on the action and start to tear at other body tissues with their own volition. This spell does an extra point of Lethal each interval.

NB: Created by Miss Diagnosis

Matter

Transparency (Matter ***)

Practice: Weaving
Primary Factor: Duration
Suggested Rote Skills: Crafts, Stealth, Subterfuge

One of the best ways to hide something is to make it invisible. One possible way to do this is to manipulate Forces, forcing light to go though object; the other possible way is to make everybody unsee it with Mind. This spell uses Matter for that effect - it simply makes the matter of object completely transparent. This does not change mass, density or other properties of object, though if it have functions which depend on ability to block light (solar panels, for example), then it can't function anymore. You can wear armor and weapons in this way, and nobody will notice unless you go though scanner or be searched physically.

NB: Commonly taught in advanced alchemy.

Grease (Matter **) and Glue (Matter **)

Practice: Ruling
Primary Factor: Scale: Area
Suggested Rote Skills: Crafts, Brawl, Survival

The easy way to turn the tide of physical combat and make those damn wheels spin, those spells changes the properties of matter it cast upon, causing the following Environmental Tilts:
Grease create Ice Tilt in area it cast upon.
Glue create Glue Tilt in area it cast upon: -4 to Speed, Dramatic Failure causes Immobilized Condition.

NB: Commonly taught in basic alchemy.

Prime

Suffer Not A Witch (Prime ***)

Practice: Weaving
Primary Factor: Potency
Withstand: Stamina
Suggested Rote Skills: Intimidation, Medicine, Occult

Considered very dark magic, this spell messily purges mana from a Pattern. The target must immediately spend Mana equal to the spell's potency on absolutely nothing - if this would exceed their limit on mana spent each turn, they continue wasting mana until they have either spent a total amount of Mana equal to the spell's potency or the spell ends. As a side effect, any Mage targeted by this spell immediately flares a warped version of their Nimbus - it lasts for the full duration of the spell, though it doesn't impose their Nimbus Tilt.

+1 Reach: The victim of the spell also suffers from the Nausea tilt - this is not considered part of the spell's effects, and therefore doesn't end when the spell does.
+1 Reach: If the victim was under the effects of Active Mage Sight or Mage Armor, they immediately end. For the duration of the spell, reactivating either effect costs an additional point of Mana.
+1 Reach: The victim must immediately scour their Pattern - doing so doesn't grant them additional Mana (or whatever other benefit they would receive from the scouring).

NB: This is in the restricted section of the grand library. Anyone caught using this spell will definitely make others have a look at them.

Space

Lock Portal (Space ***)

Practice: Fraying
Primary Factor: Duration
Suggested Rote Skills: Survival, Crafts, Subterfuge

Where a mundane or magic portal, iris, is already established, this spell makes passage through it impossible for the duration. Doors lock, passcodes fail, trails end. Archways and otherwise open portals "brick up" the space / material around the space fills in the area.

+1 Reach The sympathy connects of the portal are likewise suppressed. People conveniently forget the passageway in favor of other means, or know the area beyond but can't remember how to get there.

NB: This is a spell commonly taught at the school as the portal through the forest to the university and its numerous entrances are used by this spell. Originally developed by the founder of the university

Iron Chains (Space **)

Practice: Shielding
Primary Factor: Duration
Suggested Rote Skills: Socialize, Politics, Empathy
This spell target a sympathetic connection. As long as the spell endures, this link cannot be altered in strength or quality by mundane events: he'll remain in the friendzone, she'll never manage to get a divorce, this kid will never get bored of his favorite toy.

+1 Reach: Even the supernatural can't break the Iron Chain. Any attempt to alter the sympathetic connection provoke a Clash of Will.
+2 Reach: Instead of targeting a single sympathetic connection, the spell targets all the links of a single target, including non existent ones.

NB: The counter to Twist Link. It was developed by 4th year student, Julius Caesar, after getting majorly friendzoned by Little Orphan Anarchy.

Twist Link (Space ***)

Practice: Weaving
Primary Factor: Potency
Withstood: Sympathy (Connection)
Suggested Rote Skills: Empathy, Politics, Subterfuge

Relationships are fragile, weak things - easily twisted and turned and placed on their head. Twist Link allows the mage to redefine the context of a sympathetic link; they could redefine a business rivalry as a childhood friendship, or a pair of lovers as a pair of enemies. The mage only defines the new relationship in general terms - much like creating or destroying a link, this spell doesn't guarantee outcomes or force reactions. This effect is Lasting, but normal interactions can restore the original link context over time. Much like other weaker sympathy-changing magic, Twist Link cannot affect Connected links. +1 Reach: Place the Embarassing Secret condition regarding the original context of the relationship on the link.
+1 Reach: Place the Swooning condition on the link.

NB: This really is more of a distraction than anything else. Or a really UnWise way to get out of the friendzone. It's a 'ghosting' spell created by the 4th year student NPC, Little Orphan Anarchy. She got tired of some Thearch nerd stalking her.

Spirit

Vicious Gauntlet (Spirit ****)

Practice: Patterning
Primary Factor: Duration
Suggested Rote Skills: Survival, Stealth, Brawl
Withstand: Gauntlet Strength

This spell alters the nature of the gauntlet, adding bitting fangs, snarling thorns and vicious claws to its "surface". The subject of this spell is the gauntlet itself as it covers the area affected by the spell. While the alteration lasts, whenever an entity attempts to cross it, roll Gauntlet Strength x 2, resisted by the entity's Stamina (or Resistance if a Spirit or similar entity). Each success causes a point of lethal damage to the crossing entity. Once the gauntlet has performed a number of attacks equal to the spell's Potency, the spell ends.

+1 Reach: The gauntlet deals aggravated damage instead of lethal. Costs 1 Mana.
+1 Reach: The gauntlet may be altered by the spell in one direction only.
+1 Reach: You may designate a Key that prevents the gauntlet from attacking it's holder.

NB: Created by Prof. Bartholemoi