ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

Editor's Note: This article was revised for the new rules on spirits found in Mage 2nd Edition.

The references in the text to the Goetic mages are in fact direct quotes from Anders Sandberg's writing on those mages. His writings have been a general inspiration for this piece, but his influences are too numerous to mention. Thanks for your good work on Mage, Anders.

Spirits

A spirit refers to any one of a multitude of denizens of the Umbra. For the most part, spirits are immaterial and invisible to the physical world and do not directly affect it. Some spirits have the power to breach the Gauntlet, but most only approach the physical world if called by a mage or other mystic. A few of the more powerful spirits have an interest in the physical world, and seek to effect it through various machinations. The variety of spirits is staggering, but they do all share some traits in common.

Spirits may be categorized by their level of power, a numerical value from 1 to 5 (or occasionally more). Level 1 spirits (Lesser Minions) are pitifully weak. Level 2 spirits (Minions) are on par with a normal human or an apprentice mage. Level 3 spirits (Lesser Preceptors) are the equal of a Disciple mage. Level 4 (Preceptors) spirits equal Adepts in power, while Level 5 and above (Lords) equal or exceed Master mages. These power levels correspond to those given in the book of Chantries. The level determines the spirit's general abilities as follows.

All the spirit's Attributes, including Arete, equal its level. The spirit's Willpower is its level + 3. The spirit has a number of skills equal to its level, whose ratings are 2 (if its level is 1 to 2), 3 (if its level is 3 to 4) or 4 (if its level is 5 to 6) and so on. The spirit has a number of Spheres equal to its level of power, each of whose rating equals its level of power. For example, a level 3 spirit has 3 Spheres rated at level 3.

• Attributes = Level
• Arete = Level
• Willpower = Level + 3
• (Level) Skills, rating 2 (Level 1-2), 3 (Level 3-4) or 4 (Level 5-6)
• (Level) Spheres at rating = Level

The spirit may be "customized" by switching points around within a given category. Thus, a Level 3 spirit might have Strength 2, Dexterity 5 and Stamina 2 (1 point moved from each of Strength and Stamina to Dexterity). Furthermore, points can be switched between categories subject to the following restrictions: 2 Skill points give 1 Attribute or Willpower point, 2 Attribute or Willpower points give 1 Sphere point, 2 Spheres give a point of Arete. Of course, these rules are merely guidelines, and the Storyteller may choose to strengthen or weaken the spirit beyond these ratings if desired.

Spirit Spheres & Powers

The Spheres a spirit has do not represent Sphere magic per se, but instead are various spirit powers. As such, a spirit may have Sphere ratings in excess of its Arete score. The spirit has one Rote, or effect, per level of the Sphere, varying from level 1 up to the maximum level of the Sphere. For example, a spirit with Forces 3 has 3 Forces Rotes: 1 Level 1, 1 Level 2 and 1 Level 3. The Rotes may also be conjunctional, requiring several Spheres, even Spheres the spirit does not possess.

To use any of its powers, the spirit makes an Arete roll, using all the rules of mage for determining duration, range, etc. If the roll is botched, the spirit takes aggravated damage equal to the level of the power from the strain. Mages view this damage as the forces of Paradox ripping into the spirit. It does not seem to matter whether a spirit's power is "coincidental" or not.

Common Spirit Powers, Healing & Feeding

All spirits have the following basic powers: Airt Sense and Reform. Airt Sense allows the spirit to navigate the Umbra with ease, knowing where it is and where it is going. Reform allows the spirit to heal its wounds, by dropping into an immaterial state called "slumber". Wounds return at a rate of one per hour. If a spirit is "killed" by losing all its wounds, it immediately dematerializes into slumber, until it is completely healed eight or so hours later. Thus, it is a major feat to permanently destroy a spirit.

Spirits take aggravated damage from all the usual sources (natural weapons of supernatural creatures, Prime-charged vulgar magick, etc). Aggravated damage returns at a rate of one per day of slumber. Weaker spirits may be permanently destroyed by Aggravated damage, but strong spirits often reform eventually (though it may take months or years). Most spirits have the usual 7 wound levels, though weaker ones may have less, the larger ones more. Unlike physical creatures, spirits do not suffer from wound penalties.

All spirits have the ability to feed on Quintessence. Each point of Quintessence allows them to instantly heal a (non-Aggravated) wound. Spirits may also store extra Quintessence in their patterns, up to their Arete rating. This Quintessence can be used to reduce the difficulty of their magickal effects or to heal. Some magickal effects may require the spirit to expend its Quintessence. Many spirits have some way of feeding off of natural energies to gain Quintessence. This is only a Prime 1 power for spirits, so it is very common. Spirits feed off such things as human emotions, electricity or heat flows, accumulations of information and so forth. A mage may also channel Quintessence into a spirit with a Spirit 2, Prime 3 effect. Taking energy away from even a weak spirit is a difficult process, and often results in the destruction of the spirit.

Spirits in the Physical World

One common and useful power a spirit may possess is the ability to materialize — enter the physical world. This is a level 3 spirit power, so usually only Preceptors or more powerful spirits know it. The spirit must make an Arete roll to cross the Gauntlet. Once across, the spirit manifests in a body that can interact with the physical world as any living creature can. While physically manifest, the spirit suffers from wound penalties like living creatures. If its body is slain, it is forced back into the Umbra and immediate slumber.

Spirits that do not have this power cannot enter or effect the real world, except possibly through the use of its powers. Most summoned spirits will only approach the real world, refusing to manifest unless coerced. If the spirit is unable to materialize, the mage must provide it with a body of some sort, either an object or a living body. The mage may draw the spirit out of the Umbra with a Spirit 3 effect, along with appropriate conjunctional magick to draw it into the body. All spirits have material form in the Umbra, unless they are in slumber.

Another common ability spirits have is possession. A spirit may "ride" a person (with a Mind 3 Spirit 3 effect), in which case the spirit travels in the person's body, is able to examine their victim's mind, but have no control. With a Mind 4 Spirit 3 effect, the spirit may fully possess an individual, taking complete control of the body. In either case, the spirit body is effectively that of the person they are possessing, and it can be harmed along with its victim.

Some spirits have the power to influence the physical world from the Umbra. This seems to be an easier task for spirits than mages (perhaps a mere Spirit 3 conjunctional effect). When spirits use such powers, they are very "close" to the physical world. While the spirit is not material, there is enough of a link to allow mages to return fire with magick of their own. Other supernatural weaponry, such as enchanted blades or werewolf claws, may also effect it. This applies to mages using Spirit 4 to cast spells through the Gauntlet as well.

Summoning Spirits

A mage may summon a spirit with a Spirit 2 Rote, but the preparations for this magick may be elaborate. If the spirit is strongly associated with another Sphere, this Sphere must be used in a conjunctional effect to summon it (though Level 1 is all that is needed). The mage must get at least as many successes as the level of the spirit to summon it.

It is possible that the mage is unable to get the required number of successes to summon a spirit. This is often true of Umbrood Lords. If the mage gets at least half the needed number of successes, she will at least attract the attention of the desired spirit. The spirit may then come to the mage of their own free will, or at least send some message or servant to deal with the mage.

A summoned spirit will not arrive immediately. It may take some time for the spirit to travel through the Umbra to the mage. Generally, the closest spirit of the desired type will be the one to answer the call. To summon a specific spirit, the mage must use some token identifying the spirit, most typically its name. A specifically summoned spirit may take even more time to reach the mage, however.

More powerful spirits require certain rituals and paraphernalia to summon, appropriate to the spirit. The more powerful the spirit, the greater the requirements. As a rule of thumb, there is one additional requirement for each level of the spirit beyond the first. Summoning a level 3 Fire Elemental might require the use of a flaming brazier in the full light of the sun. For each of these requirements the mage leaves out, the difficulty of summoning the spirit increases by 1. The Goetic mages (a subgroup of the Order of Hermes that deals extensively with spirits) make some suggestions as to what may be required to summon various spirits:

Sacrifices have always been useful, and by sacrificing something (or someone) the summoned being likes, the mage can get some extra goodwill. Blood is a traditional sacrifice for summoning ghosts, and many demons like sacrifices of snakes, cats and other living beings. Angels generally prefer aetheric essences, flowers or expensive balsams. Elementals love substances fitting to their own element (like sacrificing ambra or fish to undines or gasoline to salamanders). Tass is always a hit.

Another way to ensure success is to perform the summoning at a place which fits the summoned beings. For summoning ghosts, crossroads, graveyards and haunted buildings have proven useful. Sylphs can be found at hilltops or any other place where the wind is strong. Undines are naturally summoned by lakes, rivers or the sea. Gnomes in caves or woods, and Salamanders at great fires, volcanoes or in deserts. Angels are of course attracted to holy places, while demons to unholy or pagan places. Nodes are of course very useful, especially if they fit any of the above types. Certain beings have their own preferences, like Astaroth who is more present in America than in Europe, or Hazthoragoth who only will appear if summoned inside a stone circle.

Finally, astrological means to determine time can be very useful. Each day in the week corresponds to one planet, and magick compatible with that planet will become easier (Love magick is, for example, easier on Fridays, while death magick on Saturday). The same is true to a lesser extent about the hours of the planets (each day and night is divided into twelve planetary hours). Other times, like full or new moon, eclipses, conjunctions and the equinoxes are also powerful. Some beings are easier to summon on certain days, like ghosts at Halloween and angels on Good Friday.

There is some evidence that the most powerful spirits, the Umbrood Lords, cannot approach the physical world at all unless successfully summoned by a powerful mystic. It is said there are many ancient wards, recently strengthened and added to by the Technocracy, that prevent such powerful spirits from entering the Near Umbra. A successful summoning opens a gate that allows the lord to reach the world. Once there, the powerful spirit may decide to stay and look around. There are certain sects of mages dedicated to opening such gates to various beings in the Deep Umbra.

Dealing with Spirits

Summoning a spirit does not necessarily give the mage control of it. The mage must then coerce or cajole the spirit into doing what they want. The methods for dealing with spirits vary wildly, depending on the level of the spirit's power.

Minion spirits are incredibly difficult to bargain with. They are not very bright, and their needs are often too alien for the mage to understand. Most mages do not waste their time dickering with these weak spirits, and simply coerce them, either through threats or the use of various Mind/Spirit rotes to take direct control. There is rarely any threat from the coerced minion itself. Unfortunately, the abuse of weaker spirits can adversely effect the mage's reputation amongst the minion's more powerful relatives.

Because of this, some mages work to learn the odd desires of weaker spirits to earn their trust. This is a time consuming process, and is rather like taming a wild animal to make them into a pet. Because of the time involved, most mages concentrate on a few "species" of spirits to cultivate. Over time, through small gifts and favors, the mage can build up a good enough reputation that the minor spirits will do tasks for the mage willingly. More powerful, related spirits will also be favorably inclined toward the mage. This reputation takes constant work to maintain, as the memories of spirits can be frighteningly short.

Preceptor spirits are powerful enough to be truly useful to a mage, but also sufficiently strong that coercion is difficult and dangerous. Mages whose chose to coerce these spirits do so with great care, setting up elaborate protective circles and binding the spirits into objects. There are many ancient texts describing the necessary rites and rituals to bind various types of spirits. Again, this will adversely affect the mage's reputation, though often not as badly as abusing minions. Many spirits believe preceptors should be able to take care of themselves. Those who aren't strong enough deserve what they get.

For mages who don't wish to risk forcing the preceptor may bargain with them instead. Preceptors tend to be much brighter and self-aware than minions, so such dickering is possible. Typically mages attempt to deal with preceptors as equals, and arrive at mutually beneficial bargains. This often amounts to a trade of favors, the mage doing something for the spirit so the spirit will do something for the mage in return. Again, mages often prefer to develop a good working relationship with a few spirits.

At the highest levels of power, coercing even the weakest Umbrood Lords can be quite a feat, even for a master mage. The rewards of such a binding are sufficient that many magi have risked their lives and sanity to attempt it. Umbrood Lords have senses unknown to ordinary men, however. Many of them know of attempts to bind them before they have even begun. Summoning them in such an instance is even more difficult than normal. Even if the mage successfully forces them to appear, they often bring servants along to help protect them. The ensuing battle is one the mage rarely survives.

More than any other spirits, however, Umbrood Lords are interested in the physical world. Most of them are in the midst of elaborate schemes spanning the millennia of their immortal existence. Lords are often on the look-out for willing servants in the land of the living. Lords often offer patronage to willing mages, granting them power in the form of service. This is most definitely not a bargain between equals, and the mage would be wise to show deference to the Lord.

It is said in the ancient past there were powerful mages, perhaps the Shining Ones or Oracles, who could deal with Umbrood Lords as equals. The story continues that these mages bound each Lord with a specific set of services, called a Greater Boon, that they must provide to any mage fulfilling the necessary requirements. The Lords are forbidden to seek retribution against a mage using a Greater Boon as well. Mystics search diligently for the requirements of such Boons, and any discoveries they make are closely guarded secrets. It is said that some Umbrood Lords plant false information about Greater Boons to lure the unwary, and it is possible that many such Boons are in fact traps of this nature.

Spirit Pacts & Totems

Some mages, rather than bargaining with a spirit anew each time it is summoned, try to reach a permanent agreement with a spirit for a regular exchange of services. Such an agreement is called a Pact, and various Traditions have wildly differing views on such bargains. Dreamspeakers have arrangements with various Naturae, who enter such pacts by becoming their Totem spirits. The Celestial Chorus often allies itself with various patron Saints or Angels. The Euthanatos sometimes enter such relationships with the spirits of the dead, though they have a less than perfect reputation in their realm. The Nephandi make their own dark deals with strange things from beyond.

Sometimes the pact is little more than a verbal or written agreement of services. However, a true Pact is a spiritual bond between the mage and the spirit. Spirits seem to draw sustenance from this arrangement in the form of a point of Quintessence each day. There is almost always some act the mage must perform to provide the spirit with power, everything from daily prayers to the proverbial witch's teat from which demons receive blood. Spirits of the dead often ask the allies to seek out certain emotional states from which they can draw sustenance. Totem naturae are pleased if their Dreamspeaker ally "assumes the guise of the animal", by ritually acting as if they were a beast of the appropriate nature.

There are generally two parts to a spirit Pact: the Boons and the Bans. Boons of a Pact are the benefits the spirit provides the mage. Indeed, the Boons of the Umbrood Lords are said to be the result of elaborate and ancient Pacts in the past. Boons can be special services the spirit will perform for the mage. Boons may also include special powers the spirit may grant the mage. These powers make include increases in the ratings of a mage's Traits, or the ability to perform certain Rotes through the spirit's power. The Werewolf books provide a plethora of good ideas for Boons.

Bans are the things the spirit asks of a mage. They invariably include some sort of regular ritual to empower the spirit. They almost always include some sort of moral taboos as well, things the mage should or should not do, in keeping with the spirit's moral attitudes. One almost universal ban is that the mage enter no Pacts with other spirits. Should a mage break one of the Bans, either by failing to do something he should or by doing something he shouldn't, the Pact is broken as well. The mage loses all the spirit's Boons, until he is able to reconcile himself with his spirit Ally.

Generally, the more powerful the spirit a mage allies with, the greater the Boons the mage will receive. There are some limits to this, however. The more powerful spirits often have greater Bans as well. In addition, great spirits have many concerns, sometimes having several mortal allies, and can devote less attention to a mage. Thus, while the powers a mage gains may be greater, they are available less often. Many mages seek out weaker spirits with whom to forge Pacts, considering the loss of power worth the increase in reliability.

Communication with Spirits

Since times immemorial, mages have sought to communicate with spirits to learn deep spiritual mysteries. Such mages are often frustrated in their attempts. A simple Spirit 1 effect allows a mage to speak to spirits, but comprehension does not necessarily follow. Spirits are well known for perverseness when it comes to revealing information.

The simpler spirits are difficult to talk to because they are not very bright. It can take a great deal of time just to get the spirit to understand the mage's question, and even more time for it to formulate a sensible answer. The mage must often filter through the spirit's alien perception as well. Such weak spirits know little of consequence in any case.

More powerful spirits are more understandable, but are more likely to have ulterior motives to any answer they give. Some spirits refuse to answer certain questions because they are "forbidden" by higher powers. Other spirits delight in lying for the simple joy in the confusion this brings. Infernal spirits are particularly nefarious liars, but even seemingly benevolent spirits are not above bending the truth, "for one's own good".

Spirits seem to be particularly resistant to attempts to force information from them. Many having the knack of themselves completely believing anything they say while they say it, so that they appear sincere to any truth-scrying spells. This is true even if they contradict themselves mere moments later. Mentally probing spirits is especially dangerous. The minds of spirits are often alien labyrinths from which a mage is lucky to return with her sanity intact, much less learn anything.

Even the most well-meaning spirits tend to couch their answers in riddles and incomprehensible metaphors. This, more than anything else, accounts for the negative reputation of spirits in this area. There is some evidence that this style of answering is not out of malignancy, however. Spirits are creatures of emotion and metaphor. To them, a metaphorical answer expresses a more fundamental truth than a straight response would. To a spirit, the inherent meaning lies in the emotional and metaphysical context of the question. Spirits are simply confused when asked to answer directly, having already given the best answer they know how.

Spirit Forms

One of the greatest mysteries of spirits is their form. Spirits come in a bewildering variety of shapes and sizes. Some of them appear in different forms at different times, and others change shape even as the mage watches. What does and does not govern the appearance of a spirit and what, if anything, is the "true form" of a spirit, is a matter of much debate amongst mages. There are some mages who believe that the way a spirit is summoned influences the form it takes. Again, according to the Goetic mages:

Using the specific rituals described in the grimoires, the mage can summon specific beings in a specific form to do specific tasks. This is in a way a charade, since the summoned being can in general appear in any form or be almost anything. However, by performing the ritual exactly as described, the mage and the beings bind each other in a kind of covenant, forcing each other to 'play by the rules'. The spirit will appear in its classic form and perform its traditional services.

It is often necessary to modify the rituals to suit the modern times, since their classic forms are prone to Paradox. Having a lion headed man appear out of the air riding on a bear followed by 30 minstrels is not a good idea. Many rituals can be reworked to become coincidental, so the spirit manifests as something more safe, like a black limo with a sharply dressed businessman or a bird landing outside the window. These types of changes are dangerous, since the mage risks making the spirit more unpredictable and free by straying from the traditional methods.

Mages who subscribe to these beliefs often go on to say that the form a spirit takes is larger shaped by the summoning mage's attitudes and expectations. This would go a long way to explaining why certain mages tend to encounter certain spirits more frequently than others. Many Celestial Chorus mages deal mostly with Angels and Demons, while Dreamspeakers encounter more nature spirits. Hermetic Mages tend to meet with more elementals, while Techno-mages meet more Technological spirits.

This seems true even for the greater Umbrood lords. It is said that the Lord of Dreams, when he appears, takes on a form appropriate to his viewer's culture. To the Akashics he has a more Oriental appearance, to African Dreamspeakers he seems black, and so forth. It is even said he has different animal forms, such as that of a great black cat, when he deals with other living creatures as well.

There are a few mages who go so far as to say that a summoning mage completely shapes a spirit's being. According to this theory, spirits have no independent existence until summoned. The Rote of Summoning, rather than calling a spirit, in actuality creates the spirit out of whole cloth from the raw material of the Umbra. Any semblance of an independent existence is added by the mage's expectations. While few mages are willing to go this far, it is becoming a popular theory amongst technomages, particularly certain members of the Sons of Ether and the Technocracy.

Naturae

One of the most common "races" of spirits, the Naturae, resemble normal animals and plants. They wander the Umbral landscapes, living as their counterparts in the physical world do, though they are less numerous. Minion naturae are often indistinguishable from living animals and plants, though they may have a few spirit powers appropriate to their natures. These weak spirits are no more intelligent than their natural equivalents.

Naturae preceptors usually have these special powers. They are intelligent and have been known to ally themselves with Dreamspeakers and other mages as "totem spirits". There seems to be a single naturae lord for each species of animal or plant, but the concerns of these spirits are alien, and they care little for the ways of men. They include Fileet, Lady of Birds, Bast, Queen of Catkind and Hastashak, Lord of Lizards. Some ancient texts describe ways to placate and deal with various animal and plant lords.

Elementals

Another sort of spirit mages commonly deal with are elementals. Elemental minions are simple manifestations of their elemental power, and are barely sentient by human standards. Elemental preceptors, or greater elementals, are more intelligent, albeit still alien, and can be bargained with. Again, there seems to be a single lord for each element who war on each other constantly in far off umbral Realms. The weaker elements reside in umbral regions near their physical counterparts, whose energies they feed on.

The four most common elementals are the traditional earth, air, fire and water, called respectively Gnomes, Sylphs, Salamanders and Undines. In addition to their obvious powers, earth is associated with the Sphere of Matter, air with Mind, fire with Forces and water with Life. A mage must use a conjunctional effect, using level 1 of the appropriate Sphere in addition to Spirit 2, to summon an elemental. The elementals lords are Paralda of Air, Djin of Fire, Niksa of Water and Ghob of Earth.

In addition to the traditional four, there are a multitude of other elementals, such as spirits of storm, moonlight, rivers, glass, metal, plastic, electricity, radiation and other peculiar creatures. Some mages believe that the elemental lords of these less common spirits are arrayed in a feudal hierarchy under the four great elemental lords. Others believe a few are independent, or are in revolt against their masters. Most attempts to speak with elementals about their politics ends in confusion.

At least one large segment of elementals seem independent of the elemental lords: the spirits of nature. Moon spirits (or lunes), storm and mountain spirits seem to be subject to different rules and leaders than other elementals. The Dreamspeakers claim they are all ultimately servants of Gaia, and should be more properly grouped under Naturae.

Spirits of Technology

The advance of modern society has led to the proliferation of a large number of technological spirits. These spirits mostly dwell in cities, especially in areas with large amounts of technology. The motivations of these spirits are difficult to understand but they seem to feed off such technological energies as electricity, money or information flow. They also seek to actively spread technology, so as to provide additional sources of energy. The techno-spirits are among the few that the Technocracy is willing to deal with. Virtual Adepts are fond of them as well.

Techno-spirits usually appear in geometric, machine-like or insect-like forms. There actions seem to be very ordered and predictable, though not necessarily comprehensible. Techno-spirits might perform some repeated task (like travelling up and down a phone line) for its entire existence. One of the most difficult parts of dealing with techno-spirits is convincing it to break out of its routine. They are often involved in building some peculiar spiritual construct in the Umbra. They seem to hate disorder, and will swarm to repair any damage to the construction. They rarely directly attack the source of the damage, though repeated attacks on their work will eventually attract their attention.

While techno-spirits seem to be very ordered, it is difficult to discern any sort of hierarchy among them. Weaker spirits defer to stronger ones, but don't seem to follow their orders, per se. At times it seem like a large group of techno-spirits are all working toward a common goal, but if there is any sort of direction, it is more in the nature of some sort of insectile hive-mind. Very often these creations seem to serve little purpose, so perhaps there is no direction beyond simple instinct. Of course, it is always possible there are powerful techno-spirits directing the others in some mysterious fashion beyond the ken of ordinary men.

Many mages believe that techno-spirits are the servants or perhaps even the creations of the Technocracy. It is true the Technomancers utilize these spirits for their work in the Umbra, and Void Engineers in particular have expended a great deal of effort learning to control these creatures. They use them to reinforce Technocracy structure in the Umbra, and to patrol for violations of the Gauntlet by such forces as the Nephandi or Marauders. However, these spirits are sufficiently numerous that there are large numbers not under Technocracy control.

Author's Note: Here are a few more ideas for finishing out the spirit bestiary, but I leave that to you, I'm afraid.

• Spirits of the Dead
• Infernal Spirits
• Angelic Spirits
• Dream Spirits
• Mythologae (Spirits of mythological creatures)