ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

Within the Order of Hermes there are two rotes that are known to allow a mage to access the Shadowlands. The exact details of these rotes are carefully guarded secrets. Magick which allows contact with the dead is normally not frowned upon, but actually entering their lands is dangerous as an unwary mage can cause all sorts of problems. In addition, the mage usually enters with even more dangerous motives, such as bringing back the dead. The repercussions of such an act are debated but are probably staggering upon the land of the living.

Dream Quest of Orpheus (Spirit 3, Mind 3, Corr. 2 [Prime 3])

This rote allows the mage to send his consciousness across the Shroud, while safely leaving his body behind. Traditionally, the mage consumes a full meal, lights incense and then falls asleep (often Mind 2). An acolyte then presses a penny on top of each of the mage's eyes. The difficulty of this rote is 6 or the Shoud rating (whatever is higher).

The mage then awakens in the Shadowlands, effectively as a wraith. She has as many corpus levels as the mage has temporary willpower (the connection is tenous). While not having any Arcanos, the mage does have full access to her Spheres, within the paramaters of the Shadowlands. Unfortunately, as the avatar of the mage still rests within the quicklands, the mage cannot use any quintessence. This problem can be corrected by a Prime 3 component to the rote, but this can cause other problems. The mage has two pennies as relics (these disappear when the mage returns to the lands of the quick).

Wraiths will only notice that the mage does not belong on a Per + Awareness roll of 9 (2 successes), or if the mage uses any obvious magick. Healing is a real problem for the mage, so she should tread lightly. If the mage loses all her corpus, then she is flung back into the living. She then must immediately make a willpower roll (difficulty 8, number of successes 1 + excess damage) or permanently lose a Willpower point.

Descent into the Underworld (Spirit 3, Corr. 3, Matter 2)

This rote allows the mage to corporeally enter the Underworld. The advantage of this method is that he can bring along any items that he pleases and brings his Avatar with him. Unfortunately, he takes real damage and can really die if attacked. All goods that are brought in disappear when the mage exits, except for talismans which can exist in the Shadowlands (and are often lost here).

The rote begins with a purification of the self (method varies) and meditation. The mage begins to travel and finds paths not normally in the real world. Eventually these descend into the Shadowlands (and from there to Stygia). Some mages have reported border guards, such as Cerebus, but reports conflict. The mage needs number of successes equal to the Shroud rating but this can be an extended roll. The journay can take minutes/hours/weeks...

Example: Manfred prepares himself in his apartment sanctum. He then leaves, heading down the hallway. He enters a door which is not normally there. It's an elevator which descends. It opens in a dead alleyway. Manfred opens up a sewer grate and climbs down...

The Tremere have ritualized versions of both these rotes (level 5), but these undoubtedly call for baby sacrifices or chopping off limbs or something. The Tremere are like that.

Mages in the Shadowlands

The Shadowlands are not a fun place to wield magick. While there is no paradox and all magick is treated as coincidental, the conditions are not conducive to magick (Correspondence 0, Entrophy -1, Forces -1, Life -3, Matter -2, Mind 1, Prime -1, Spirit 0, Time 0). Trying to create a juniper bush in the middle of a Necropolis will cause a great deal of havoc. Creating food as gifts will make friends, though. Pattern magick such as Matter that requires Prime actually requires the expenditure of the mage's own quintessence since none is readily available.

The Mage's Shadow

Mages have Shadows just like anyone else. Fortunately, their Avatars protect them in the fashion that the Eidolon background does. Of course if they didn't bring their Avatar with them...

For the creation of the Shadow, roll Angst as one would for a Wraith. They do not have thorns yet, but they can use the mage's Spheres if they can sneak it by the psyche (opposed Angst +1 vs Per + Awareness) (although they never can spend quintessence). These shadows are simply not as strong yet as those of the dead. They can, however, call upon any hobgoblins that the mage might have to help them out. Rather than drag the mage to oblivion (since the Shadow is still enjoying life), they take great pleasure in drawing the mage away from Ascension.

For vampires (or mundaners), Shadows roll for Angst with a difficulty of Humanity +1.

Shadows and the Quick

Wraiths and spectres resent the living within the Shadowlands. Quite simply, they ooze of vitality and quintessence. For the Shadows it is like starving in a Somali refugee camp, while watching others throw away a fabulous seven course meal. They will often try to steal quintessence/life away from the living. 1 Quintessence = 1 Pathos (but of the finest vintage)/ as does 1 health level (good vintage). The Storyteller can decide which sort of Arcanos can consume these energies (usury, etc.) or if just simple attacks or some form of spectral vampirism. This is why entering on the sly is usually a good idea.

While the wards of the living (including the Thaumaturgy ritual) do work, they are quickly overwhelmed in the Shadowlands in a matter of minutes and are not considered reliable. Spirit 4 (Shroud Barrier) could provide protection but again only for a brief period of time.