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Combat Rotes

              "And, now, young Skywalker,
               you will die..."

                             - The Emperor, 'Return of the Jedi'


Levin Bolt  Forces * * *  Prime * *
     This rote is favored by wrathful Hermetic Mages.  It infuses
a pattern of forces, typically lightning, with free quintessence. 
The result is a blazing bolt of power that only vaguely resembles
electricity and that damages life patterns at the most
fundamental level.  The effect is invariably Vulgar.
     [The mage must spend a point of quintessence to 'energize'
the bolt.  This point is not spent if the effect fails or is
countered - it effectively stays in the mage's pattern because it
has nowhere else to go.  Damage caused is normal for forces of
its rank and is Aggravated.  It can be soaked.]
     F/X - Forget it, it's like trying to hide the Wrath of God.

Mana Blast   Prime * * * 
     An unsophisticated, but often highly effective, magickal
attack is the hurling of raw Prime energies at an opponent.  The
older Traditions call this a Mana Blast, though the Celestial
Chorus has grander names for it.  The appearance of such an
effect varies widely not only among traditions, but from mage to
mage.  When quintessence from the mage's own avatar is projected,
a Mana Blast becomes as uniquely identifying as a finger print.
     [The mage hurls a minimum of one quintessence at his target. 
If he wishes to affect multiple targets he must spend as many
points of quintessence as he would require successes to affect
that area.  Victims take the usual amount of damage for a rank 3,
Indirect effect, and damage is aggravated.  Of course additional
quintessence can be used to lower the difficulty.  If the effect
fails, only that quintessence used to reduce difficulties is lost
as the rest was never projected from the mage's pattern in the
first place.]
     F/X - A Mana Blast is invariably Vulgar.

Blooding the Athame   Matter * *  Prime * * 
     By drawing her dagger across her flesh, a Verbena witch
infuses the Athame with her essence.  A Blooded Athame does
aggravated damage for the duration of the magick, but the effect
is Vulgar.  Only a small amount of blood is required but it must
be the caster's own.
     [The damage the caster must do to herself is not significant
but at least one point of stored quintessence must be spent. 
Only the Verbena's dagger focus (Athame) can be affected with
this rote, but is does aggravated damage for the duration of the
effect (permanent duration is not possible).]
     F/X - As with other effects of this type, coincidental
magick cannot be used.

Spontaneous Generation of Non-Terrene Matter   Prime * *  
                                               Matter * * 
     Etheric science has succeeded in creating unusual forms of
matter composed of raw Quintessence.  This 'non-terrene' (not
natural on earth) matter is highly unstable.  Weapons formed of
non-terrene matter can cause terrible wounds, though they are
dangerous to the wielder as well.
     [Non-terrene weapons do cause aggravated damage.  However,
whenever non-terrene matter is treated violently, their is a
chance that it will disintegrate (roll a d10, if the result is
less than the number of Health Levels done - Boom!), releasing a
burst of Prime that does an aggravated wound to anyone touching
it.  
     By using either Matter or Prime of 3, it is possible to
create extremely volatile forms of non-terrene (or 'contra-
terrene') matter that burst with any violent contact doing 3d of
aggravated damage for each success obtained in their creation. 
Higher sphere levels will allow for even greater damage of
course.  Sufficient successes can be used to increase the area
damaged by the burst of Prime: 1 success, 1 target; 2, anyone
touching the item; 3, small radius (<10'); 4, a large room; 5,
the building comes down. ]
     F/X - Non-Terrene matter is extremely unique in its
appearance and physical characteristics.  Sleepers have been
known to go insane after encountering it.  No coincidental effect
is possible.

Spirit-Lance of Dream-Warrior   Spirit * * * 
     Many Dreamspeakers cultivate a relationship with the shadowy
spirit emanations of primitive warriors who serve as protectors
or guides.  Though not excessively powerful, this sort of spirit
ally is usually easy to find as there will be typically be at
least a few that are ancestors or past friends of the mage.  In
times of need it is possible to call on the spirit to temporarily
materialize his weapon of old to strike down one of the mage's
enemies.  This type of supernatural damage is difficult to heal. 
These weapons have been known to whirl madly about a battlefield
wounding all those hostile to their summoners.
     There are many variations of this spell some of which do not
require the mage to have any special relationship with the
spirits involved.  Instead, the mage merely controls a number of
nearly mindless spirits, forcing them to manifest some damaging
effect, usually a gout of flame, bolt of lightning, disembodied
claw, or other weird occurrence.
     [Regardless of the exact nature of the spirit(s) used, the
effect causes 3d of aggravated damage per Intensity of the
effect.  Greater mastery of spirit increases this damage of
course.  If enough success are scored a number of enemies can be
affected.]
     F/X - The actual effect is produced by the spirit or spirits
summoned, however the summoning of the spirit will be vulgar
unless it manifests in some way consistent with static reality -
which is rare since spirits do not fear Paradox.

Good and Final Death   Entropy * * * *  or  Prime * * * * * 
     Many Euthanotos are fascinated by Vampires.  Others see the
Kindred as a blight, a disruption of the natural cycle of life,
death, and rebirth.  This determined minority has developed a
simple and hideously effective rote to give the 'Good and Final
Death' to those victimized by the Embrace.  The effect is
dramatic: the Vampire is reduced instantly to a withered corpse
or to even dust and ash.  With gorged Kindred this may be
accompanied by a spray of blood that their disintegrating pattern
can no longer contain.
     [This effect overcomes the inherent (Life/Matter) ambiguity
of Vampiric patterns by destroying them at the most basic level. 
The Prime version inflicts three health levels per Intensity, and
is Aggravated.  Successes are resisted by Willpower and damage
can be soaked by Fortitude.  The Entropy version does 4
aggravated HL per Intensity, is resisted, by will power and can
be soaked.]
     F/X - This rote cannot be covered by coincidental effects.

Extreme Prejudice   Entropy  * * * *
     This infamous Technomancer attack quite simply causes its
target to die.  The victim's Life pattern is scanned for
weaknesses.  When even the slightest susceptibility is found,
Entropy is flooded into the victim's pattern at that point.  Few
subjects survive the successful application of Extreme Prejudice. 
It is the favored means of disposing of supernatural creatures
who recover quickly from other forms of damage.  It is even
effective against Kindred - after all, there's no such thing as
Vampires.  This effect is used exclusively by the New World
Order.  Fortunately for the Traditions, there are few Adepts of
Entropy among the ranks of the Men in Black.
     [The victim takes four health levels per success, resisting
with willpower.  This damage is Aggravated whether cast Vulgarly
or  Coincidentally and can also be soaked.  For some reason,
Garou are particularly resistant to this effect and may roll
Gnosis as well as Willpower when resisting it (difficulty is
still 8).]
     F/X - Victim has a cerebral hemorrhage, aneurism, heart
attack, stroke, etc.  The Progenitors have been diligent in
'discovering' natural causes of death that strike quickly and
without warning.
  
Claws    Life * * *  Prime * * 
     This is a simplification of the Talons rote (Book of
Shadows) that does not use Matter.  The mage grows claws and
infuses them with Quintessence, but does not strengthen them with
matter.
     [For the duration of the effect, the mage can rake opponents
for Str+1 damage.  On any successful hit he may spend a point of
Quintessence to make the damage aggravated.  Damage is soaked
normally, of course]
     F/X - The use of Prime makes this Rote Vulgar.  Simply
growing claws might be covered by a coincidental effect, like
wearing 'nekode,' or having a cybernetic implant.

Creeping Doom   Life * * *  Prime * *
     This ancient Verbena spell creates thousands of swarming,
stinging insects.  Those caught by the Creeping Doom take damage
each round until all of the creatures created have been killed or
lost their stingers.  The Doom ceaselessly pursues and attacks
affected characters and can fly fast enough to keep up with any
natural form of movement.
     [The rote is usually selectively targeted against a single
enemy (2 successes) or a group (four successes).  Characters
attacked by the Creeping doom take one HL of damage per turn, if
they fail their soak rolls, they are also unable to take any
action that round as they are too occupied in fighting off the
attacking swarm.  Characters can forego the soak roll and act
automatically if they wish, but doing so for more than a turn
would require a willpower roll.  Duration is only one turn of
effective attacks per Intensity.  That is, once a target has
taken one health level of damage per Intensity, all the insects
attacking him have stung and died.
     Quintessence can be fed to the Creeping Doom when it is
created, causing its attacks to do aggravated damage.  This also
causes the creatures making up the Doom to take on grotesque
appearances and proportions (huge flying scorpions for instance).
One point of quintessence must be spent for each success required
to achieve the desired area.]
     F/X - Opponent blunders into a hornet nest or hive of
'africanized' bees.  When fueled with raw quintessence to do
aggravated damage, no coincidence is possible.
     
Rip the Man-Body   Life * * * *
     This well-known effect can be cast as Vulgar magick to do
unspeakable damage from which few creatures can recover.  This
version does not merely cause the usual bleeding wounds. 
Instead, organs explode, bones twist and shatter, flesh melts -
no effect is too ghastly.
     [As with the normal application of 'Rip the Man-Body' found
in MAGE, damage is three Health Levels per success.  Victims
resist with Willpower as with any direct effect.  However, damage
is aggravated.]
     F/X - In order to do aggravated damage, this effect must be
utilized as Vulgar magick.

Magic Bullet   Matter * * *  Correspondence *     
     This effect uses Correspondence to track targets and Matter
Pattern Disassociation to allow projectiles to circumvent cover
and armor.  It must be cast with the weapon and ammunition to be
used in hand.
     [Has the same effects as Targeting Computation (Iteration-X,
p47).  In addition to reducing attack difficulties to 4 and
granting an automatic aiming bonus, a Magic Bullet passes through
even hard cover, eliminating any penalties, and armor (no soak
dice from armor).  Only materials created with Matter 5 (like
Primium) are effective against the Magic Bullet.)
     F/X - I'm using 10mm, caseless, high-explosive, light armor
piercing rounds and a laser spotting scope - why do you ask?

Ephemerize   Matter * * *  Spirit * *
     This Rote brings a physical object into the Umbra, granting
it a Spiritual existence.  Ephemerized matter patterns become
real in the Umbra and unreal in the physical world.  Thus a
weapon affected by the Rote can be used to harm spirits, but
could no longer target sleepers.  Note that this Rote is
unnecessary when matter is taken through a shallowing.
     [The Rote allows matter to enter the Umbra when the Mage
steps sideways.  Such items continue to function normally.  The
mage must make a separate roll for the items he wants to take
with him.  The difficulty is still 6 and the number of successes
needed is the same as required to step sideways through the local
Gauntlet.  Ephemerized weapons do normal damage to spirits and
ephemerized armor soaks damage from spirit attacks.]
     F/X - Usually the same as used to Step Sideways.
     
Odyllic Shadows  Matter * *  &  Prime * *  or  Spirit * * * *
     This Rote creates an Odyllic pattern concomitant with a
physical object, and identical to that object in all respects. 
This gives the object both a physical and mystical existence. 
Weapons and armor with Odyllic Shadows can damage spirits and
soak damage from spirit attacks.  
     [If the Odyllic Shadow is charged with raw quintessence, it
can inflict aggravated damage, but the effect become Vulgar.  The
Spirit version is similar but automatically inflicts aggravated
damage to spirit beings (including shape-changers), and cannot be
charged with raw quintessence.]
     F/X - Usually Coincidental since the physical appearance of
the item doesn't change, but becomes Vulgar when charged with raw
quintessence.

Critical Hit   Entropy * *  Life or Matter *
     This is an enhanced version of Dim Mak that not only detects
weaknesses in a target but alters random factors to insure that
such vulnerable areas are hit for maximum effect.  A successful
Critical Hit is dependent upon extremely transient factors, so
the Rote must always be performed at the moment of the attack. 
Because a 'crit' can be so wildly lucky, the actual attack form
used often has little effect.  In fact the Rote can be used in a
Direct form, a Critical Fumble, to cause the victim to have an
unfortunate 'accident.'
     [A Critical Hit does 2 HL per success instead of the normal
damage for the attack in question.  In some cases, such as
firearms or heavy melee weapons, this can actually end up being
less than the attack would normally have done - such are the
vagaries of Entropy.  This effect can never have a duration.  It
must be cast at the precise moment of the attack, requiring the
mage to split her dice pool or use Multi-Tasking. A Critical
Fumble is a Direct effect that does the same amount of damage. 
Both Critical Hits and Critical Fumbles are resisted by Willpower
and any remaining damage can be soaked.
     F/X - This effect will usually remain coincidental as long
as the damage done does not greatly exceed the potential of the
attack/accident in question.

Zanshin  Correspondence * * *  Entropy * *  Force *  Life * * *
         Mind * * *  Prime * *  Time * * *
     Zanshin is a perfect state of  serenity and oneness with the
Universe that many eastern mystics seek for a lifetime without
success.   To the Akashic Brothers, the state of Zanshin is difficult
but not impossible to attain.  Though it seems, at the surface to be
a philosophical idea of little practical utility, this Rote actually
combines the effects of  Flowing Water, Meditative Focus, 
Dim Mak, Multi-Tasking, Serene Temple, Pain Resistance, Sense
the Echo of the Dragon, Better Body and Control Randomness 
into a single combat-enhancing Conjuncitional effect of
considerable effectiveness.
     [Zanshin has the following beneficial effects in combat:
       1. All of the Mage's non-magickal, combat difficulties
           (attack, dodge, damage, soak, initiative, etc) are
           reduced to 4 and cannot be increased (no penalties for
           complications, wounds, changing actions, etc).
       2. The Mage has 1 automatic success for each success
           rolled when the Rote was cast.  Each turn he may
           assign these to any combat related roll or divide them
           among two or more such rolls.
       3. The Mage has one extra action each turn per success
           over 2.
     In addition to the considerable advantages conveyed by the state of
Zanshin, the Mage must deal with some drawbacks and restrictions:
       1. The mage's mind is in a rarified state of  simultaneous perfect
           unity, total concentration, and freedom from the constraints of
           conscious thought.  Thus, most 'Empower Self' (Mind 1) effects 
           like Multi-tasking have no additional effects while in Zanshin.
       2. Rotes that reduce difficulties will not further reduce
           the combat difficulties of a mage in Zanshin.  Likewise
           those that add extra dice or successes do not 'stack'
           with the automatic successes available in Zanshin.
       3. Zanshin is a fleeting state.  Regardless of the number of 
           successes rolled, the rote cannot be maintained for more 
           than a single scene.  The Storyteller can also have the caster
           make a Wits+Meditation roll to maintain Zanshin under 
           difficult circumstances.
     F/X - The Akashic Brotherhood has been surpisingly successful in
getting sleepers to believe in the super-human combat abilities of  master
martial artists, so Zanshin is usually Coincidental.

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