Quote:

 

Two words:
Informative and Excellent Epic

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• Chaos 6 - Economy of Force / Sense Backlash and Universal Chaos
  Opening himself to the universal chaos, an Arch Master can see the interactions of Chaos Patterns and their natural beginnings and endings. Though normal perceptions of Chaos allow the Arch Master to spot interactions of such Patterns, this level of Arch Mastery lets a mage draw connections between a Pattern and its origins, its interactions with other Patterns and its eventual destination. Such a broad view allows the mage to determine where and how to apply force for maximum effect with minimum effort.
  
  Although at first this may seem of limited use, Arch Masters of Chaos also realize the ability to see Backlash manifest, both in themselves and others. Their view of the interaction of Chaos Energy and Backlash also allows them to see when mages are on the cusp of madness. Furthermore, the Arch Master can channel Chaos Energy into this Backlash, canceling both.
  
  It is at this level that the Arch Master acquires the sixth charted elemental lore. With access to all six charted Elemental Lores, the full understanding of the Cycles of Creation and Control is at his fingertips.
  
  
  
• Chaos 7 - Weaving the Odyllic Paradox / Grasping the Tellurian Strands
  By understanding the true nature of Chaos, a True Arch Master can access supposedly 'inviolate' Chaos Energy. The magus can tap directly into another person's Eidolon and harness the stored Chaos Energy. The High Arch Master can even direct Backlash at his enemies, increasing the severity and creating disturbances that nullify magic.
  
  The High Arch Master has increased his understanding of the Elemental Lores to the point where he can collect all elemental patterns acting on an object into a single vector, and modifies them at whim. By manipulating entire strings of Chaos Patterns at once, the High Arch Master is capable of dropping portions of a continent into the ocean, or raise parts of the sea floor. Without the Correspondence or Time Disciplines, though, he is sure to be caught in the devastation.
  
  
  
• Chaos 8 - Channel Backlash / Toss Around Zones
  The ridiculously vain Effect of giving someone else your store of Backlash rarely breaks even. Taking another's load of Backlash is also possible, though hardly desirable. Still, moving around Backlash - shifting the blame, so to speak - is possible with the esoteric knowledge of the Exemplar.
  
  Normally, a mage's command of Chaos is limited to the interaction of elements that deal with other Patterns. With supreme concentration, though, it's possible to make forces that interact with Tellurian space, designed specifically to push the boundaries of reality itself. Simply put, the Exemplar can now move Zones. Artificial Zones are fairly easy to move, while the larger and more static Zones take a bit more effort. Under the proper circumstances, a mage could alter the apparent positions of various locations in the Umbra, even shoving normally separate Zones into brief contact. Zones are generally too large to be pushed through the Gauntlet, though; the resistance would be phenomenal.
  
  At this level, The Exemplar has finally been able to further his knowledge of the Elemental Lores to the point where he can combine all six charted Lores into the seventh and final Elemental Lore. The Seventh Lore, as a result, supersedes the other six, and is heavily dependent on the Exemplar itself to give it form. All of the mage's experiences, inclinations, attitudes, and convictions combine to give the Exemplar access to only one of two options: True Light or True Dark.
  
  
  
• Chaos 9 - The Realm of the Archon
  At this level of Arch Mastery, the Archon can alter forces that affect the whole sections of the planet. He can manipulate the interaction of the elements, moving them closer to one another or separating them. The Archon can briefly change how a universal force functions, or even invent an entirely new force (e.g. "This is the Force of Thon, which removes the distinctions of gender!").
  
  The overachieving Archon can also toss his Backlash off into the ether. Those few who knows of this power theorize that this is what creates Paradox Spirits.

Talancir D'Landior

Jan 29 2009, 07:26 PM

The Time Discipline: The Millstone's Dirge

Specialties: Perceptions, Temporal Control, Prophecy


Sunrise, sunset, planting, harvest, birth, death, a relentless passage leading to Doomsday and eternity, is that how it has to be? Some say 'no.'

Esoteric doctrines claim time is an illusion. According to the mad seers of history, time is an illusion we choose, When you free yourself of all worldly lies, time falls away and immortality - the dream of every mage - becimes real.

For the majority of the world, time is clearly and blatantly defined by clocks, tuned to minute-by-minute precision. In the more populated and modern areas, time is well measured, though 'long ago' and 'soon' retain a somewhat relative span. Though all is orderly, even the machines by which time is shackled tends to skip a beat or record time too quickly or too slowly. Synchronized worldwide time is almost non-existant, with a few exceptions. The common man still marvels at how time seems to speed up or slow down. Time travel itself remains a mystery - is it possible? Most mages think not, but there have been enough legends to justify a doubt....

Although such magicks puzzle the average mage, the master of Time sees through new eyes. His manners are strange - his speech slides through past / present / future and his gaze hovers far away - but his Arts bedazzle the wizard who thinks of time as a simple, onward progression.


Time 1: The Shifting Hourglass
Before you can sidestep time, you must comprehend it. At this level, an Initiate acquires a precise sense of time. Other folks understand hours; the Initiate understands minutes, even seconds. With minimal effort, he can measure relative time down to the most minute of details; nothing escapes him. The magus also notices time fluctuations - ripples caused by Time Arts, temporal rifts or Otherworldly shifts. Like waves on a pond, such events stir his sight.


Time 2: Foreseeing The Unknown
Prophecy is the Time Arts' greatest legacy. Though inexact, future sight allows the Acolyte to plan his next move.

Likewise, he also learns how to scry into the past. By concentrating on an object, person or place, he may snatch glimpses of that subject's experiences. Doing so often takes a lot of work, but offers helpful clues. Alone, this Art presents a vision of the mage's location only; combined with Correspondence 2, it can travel; combined with Matter 2, it can trace the history of an object; combined with Life 2 and Spirit 3, it can see the past through another's eyes.

This Rank also allows the magus to 'thicken' time around himself, reducing another wizard's chances of affecting him (essentially Time countermagick).


Time 3: Spinning the Millstone
Now the Apprentice learns to command time itself, slowing or speeding it as he will. This secret allows the mage to speed his own actions; depending on the success of the spell cast, the mage may act at least twice in the same time it would have taken to act once; greater success yields more action. He may even speed up or slow down another object or person, contracting time around an object or site while the rest of the world keeps moving. Used offensively, Spinning Wheel spells must hit their target before they have an effect; areas, however, are easy to enchant, though they're limited to 10 feet wide.


Time 4: The Endless Moment
A powerful Adept can literally stop time; an arrow may halt in flight, and a drop of water may hang in the air. Again, the area is limted, but the effect is strong. Combined with Entropy 3, it can 'trigger' a spell when some circumstance occurs (a prince kisses, a tree falls); combined with other Disciplines, it can 'hang' a spell until the Time spell passes; tied to an object with Matter 2, it connects that item to a 'time drop,' where nothing happens to the object until the spell wears off.


Time 5: The Unfettered Millstone
A Master may remove items or people from one 'point in time' and replace them 'elsewhile;' step out of time and view the world as a collection of statues; or 'pull' himself through time. What was once prophesized through vision could become a destination to the magus unbound by time.

In game terms, the magus can sidestep time itself; each person or object he touches increases the difficulty, and the odds of failure. As yet, Time still flows relentlessly onward, like a stream. The magus has become strong enough to swim against the current, but as yet he cannot head upstream. Traveling through great lengths of time is exceedingly dangerous; spirits lurk in the void between moments waiting to prey on the prideful, and the course of history can change the way around him in ways he never dreamed possible.

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• Chaos 6 - Aid the Past
  This power allows an Arch Master to send objects, or even Chaos Energy, back in time. When an Arch Master changes the past, the alteration is greatest at the moment of interference. Thus, Backlash may occur on the Arch Master not only when he sends the materials back, but also at the recieving end. Naturally, mages with Time 1 (or even Chaos 1!) picks up all sorts of weird vibes from this interference.
  
  
  
• Chaos 7 - Go to the Past
  At this state, the True Arch Master's abilities to alter the past are vastly improved. He becomes a dynamic force in the time stream, and can follow the course of time, greatly altering the present. He can easily step back further than any of his former Time abilities allowed him to see or alter. The drawback, however, is Backlash. The mage must be careful to step only briefly into the time stream and effect minor changes without calling upon additional magick. Magick displaced through time causes great strain on the Tellurian, reflected by extreme Backlash.
  
  
  
• Chaos 8 - The Door of Time
  Doorways in time can move forward or backward through time or not at all. When an Exemplar at this power level steps forward or backward in time, he no longer exists as a traveling effect along the way. He cannot actually be effected, even by those who understand the Discipline of Time. Effectively, he jumps from one point in time to another.
  
  Often, however, he may create a temporary moving door in the present. Observers see merely an open doorway. Such a doorway is often created to go to a specific point in the time stream, so the other end is non-moving - it always exists at the same point in time in the past or future, and would close as soon as it is used. The door in the present moves forward with the time stream, remaining open and available for use (a non-moving doorway would just exist for a moment, and then as the present moved on, it would continue to exist in that static moment in the past). Theoretically, a mage may even make a door that moves backwards through time; stepping through the doorway at an early point in its creation takes one back only a short time in the past, and the longer since it was created, the further back in time the exit gets.
  
  All doors with a non-moving end - like those used to visit a specific point in time - collapse as soon as somebody steps through. If the two ends of the doors move in different directions through time, they can either converge or diverge. Converging doors collapse when they meet. Diverging doors and doors with both ends going in the same direction exist until collapsed on either end.
  
  
• Chaos 9 - The Realm of the Archon
  It is the privilege of the Archons to view the time line as a whole from beginning to end. Instead of existing as a static moment in the present, the Archons' entire span of existence is fused into a single 'moment' which encompasses the whole age. The Archons could theoretically coalesce to a second and decide to work within the timeline at any point. The annoying problem with such perceptions is that they do not truly span the ages. While all but a few warded times in this age is clear to the Archons, the previous and upcoming ages are difficult to view with any detail. Altering anything outside of their last 'present time' in the timeline places the Archon into an alternate time stream. Especially annoying is that determinism is pretty much meaningless and the Archon finds himself constantly in time flux if he takes any actions at all. Opening Time Doors for others makes no significant impact on the timeline, however.