Euthanatos
The Euthanatoi are a Tradition of mages intimately devoted to the forces of death, destiny, and karma in the world. They represent a collection of thanatotic cultists, necromancers, priests of fate, assassins, and healers.
Euthanatos mages embrace the role of death in the world as that which cleanses and makes way for future growth. Most believe in the reincarnation of souls, meaning death in one life is not to be feared and in fact may be crucial to one's spiritual development. Even those who do not share this belief recognize a continuous cycle of death and rebirth throughout life, and accept that at times death may be necessary to end suffering.
Most controversially, many Euthanatos see it as their duty to push this cycle forward, removing sources of disease, corruption, and misery from the world in order to quicken the turn of the Wheel of Ages. This means judging when a person's moral degradation has grown too harmful to themselves or others to be allowed to continue, and when it is appropriate to deliver the Good Death. Euthanatos are not cavalier about this responsibility, and are painfully aware of the risk of Jhor, but they know their work is necessary and that they are destined for it.
For detailed information on the Euthanatoi see Euthanatos Tradition Book and MTAs: Tradition Book: Euthanatos.
Contents
Duty and the Sacred Self
Though the Euthanatoi have roots across the world, their magic is most commonly explained through concepts taken from Indian religions. They believe that all animate beings possess an Atman, their sacred self or soul, that which is divine and indestructible. Secondly, a person's Dharma describes their purpose and place in Creation, what they are meant to do and the rules by which they are to live. It is in fulfilling their Dharma that the Euthanatoi find enlightenment, and in doing so, strengthen their connection to the cosmos. Thus, what they use magic for is as important as the tools they employ.
Many Euthanatoi believe they are chosen to be agents of Karma, tasked with judging those who have strayed too far from their Dharma. Those of other cultural heritages have similar concepts with different names; Greeks speak of the Fates as the force which punishes those who act improperly, while the Celtics say all souls are bound by geasa that guide them to their destiny. Likewise, Euthanatoi have long sought guidance from incarnations of death such as various gods, spirits, and other chthonic entities. While this may involve actual worship, it is just as often the mage seeking some form of divine consent before making the life and death decisions they are tasked with.
Tools and Practices
By virtue of their Awakened state and their unique Dharma, the Euthanatoi may merge with divine beings or principles, taking on their roles and attributes in order to perform magic. Shiva, Kali, Rudra, and other Hindu gods are seen as personifications of universal forces that Euthanatoi then embody through ritual and symbolic representations. Others sects extend this idea to pagan gods, Loa, ancestor spirits, Catholic saints, or impersonal forces like death and chance. Through practice, adherence to their Dharma, and greater wisdom they come to rely on these entities less and less as their soul moves closer to divinity in its own right.
Tradition foci serve to bring mages closer to different aspects of the world, with bones and funeral objects symbolizing death, dice and other games of chance representing entropy and luck, while staves signify divine law and punishment. Meditation, ritual purification, and extreme asceticism also help separate the soul from the body, allowing it to attain higher states of being. Mantras and songs attune them to specific gods or the subjects of their magic. As tools of death, weapons often have special meaning to Euthanatos, and serve to remind them of the seriousness of their duties.
History
Proto-Euthanatoi
The spiritual predecessors of the Euthanatoi arose from the merging of the Dravidian people with that of nomadic Aryans. As the two cultures evolved together, their religions combined and their gods became more complex: individual deities could be creators and destroyers, generous and cruel, vengeful but just. They came to see the flow of time as a cycle of life and death, with actions causing karmic reactions. A few heretics come to the belief that even things considered profane, such as handling dead bodies or the murder of others, are necessary for the turning of the Wheel and can serve a virtuous purpose. From these individuals willing to violate the taboos of their society in order to ease the suffering of others and aid destiny's course come the model of the first Euthanatos.
The Himalayan War
The arrival of the Akashic Brotherhood in India around 900 BCE provoked a philosophical conflict with the Thanatoic cults that had grown there. While walking together, an Akashic called White Tiger witnessed a healer named Ranjit performing mercy killings on those too sick to heal in order the stem a plague's spread in the region. Outraged, White Tiger strikes and accidentally kills Ranjit. When he returns to his peers and speaks of the corrupt practices of those like Ranjit, the Akashic Brotherhood decide to coordinate a strike against the disparate cults with the intention of eliminating them. A vicious war begins and continues for centuries, with mages on both sides using their knowledge of the reincarnation of souls to be reborn with their memories in order to fight on and settle old grudges. Eventually disparate group of death mages learn of one another's existence and realize they are threatened by a common enemy. When they unite as the Chakravanti, the Akashics are beaten back and forced into seclusion.
The Chakravanti
After Alexander the Great's invasion and retreat from India, members of the Chakravanti followed his trail with the intention of learning more of the world and the practices of other mages. They found in Greece cults of the Underworld with practices similar to their own. The beliefs of the Celts likewise included sacrifice, reincarnation, and other ideas with which the Chakravanti could find common ground. Wherever their emissaries traveled over the next several centuries they continued to encounter other death mages, and in 1304 a man named Sirdar Rustam organized a gathering of the different groups to discuss a common foundation for their magic. The emissaries debated for eighteen months, followed by another ten years of discourse by messenger, resulting in the Eight Spoked Wheel of the Law which outlined their collective beliefs.
The Euthanatos
By the time of Grand Convocation, the Chakravanti was a powerful Tradition with members around the known world. Despite this the death mages still have great difficulty earning the recognition and trust of the other Traditions. A number of African and Mayan mages joined them, but their cultures suffer or die completely in the centuries of colonialism. India and Ireland become battlegrounds between the Euthanatoi and the Order of Reason. Later, the Euthanatoi are the only Tradition to oppose the Third Reich from the beginning and actively assassinate mages participating in war crimes. The Tradition continues to quietly police their peers for traitors or Nephandi, while struggling to combat the increasing levels of decay impeding the Wheel's turn.
Organization
The Euthanatoi have never had a strong hierarchy, instead placing great value on mentor-student relationships. Mentors provide magical training, instruct their charges in the Tradition's code, and prepare them to carry the many burdens of the Euthanatos duty. When a student has undergone the Diksha, a near-death ritual meant to give the subject a greater understanding of death, they are considered a true apprentice of the Tradition. Their training under their mentor or other teachers continues for many years until they've obtained the rank of Guru, which generally means having performed their duties under great duress and either having become Master of a Sphere or Adept of several. Only then is the Euthanatos trusted to act without the supervision of their mentor.
Aided
Celtic death mages who sought shelter within the Euthanatoi from Christian persecution and have since maintained a strong group identity. They believe geasa direct everyone to their destiny, and those who violate their geasa are doomed to suffer misfortune until their next life.
Corriguinech: Assassins who follow the triple-goddess Morrigan and employ a combination of poetic curses, martial combat, and tools that are both practical and symbolic of the Celtic gods.
Filidh: Seers who watch over local communities, often employing animal husbandry, protective magic, and weathcrafting for the benefit of their flock.
Chakravanti
The oldest group of Euthanatoi who represent the Tradition's core identity and ethos. They formed from numerous Thanatoic cults in the East during the Himalayan War. They believe in the reincarnation of souls, follow Vedic customs, and seek enlightenment by following Dharma.
Devasu: A new sect of assassins and death mages which has taken over responsibility for protecting Thanatoic cults and holdings from outsiders. They use martial arts and yoga to channel the power of the god Rudra.
Lhaksmists: Individuals who focus entirely on luck and manifestations of chance. Though traditionally associated with gods or goddesses of luck, many modern Lhaksmists see information theory, mathematics, and quantum physics as areas where the dictates of karma manifest.
Natatapas: One of the two original Chakravanti sects (the other being the Consanguinity of Eternal Joy), they are a conservative group who practice historical Buddhism and Hinduism while preserving the oldest Thanatoic rites.
Hierochthonoi
Descendants of Chthonic cults from Greece and Rome, the Hierochthonoi are less an organized group and more category of those Euthanatoi who employ Hellenic rituals and beliefs. Members typically draw upon the power of deities who regulate destiny, death, and the Underworld.
Knights of Radamanthys: An offshoot of the Pomegranate Deme who formed in 1144 to act as guards for Chthonic cults, and later became highly sought mercenaries in the Ascension War.
Pomegranate Deme: A collection of cults that focus on the goddesses Demeter, Hekate, Kore, Persephone, and the Fates. Their numbers have been steadily declining as new Awakened join other, less theological, sects of the Tradition.
Madzimbabwe
An ancient society from Africa who have long protected their people by learning from ancestor spirits and quietly dispatching evil with poisons and disease. Despite centuries of decline and weakening identity, their numbers are growing and they have become a greater presence in the Euthanatoi.
N'anga: Shamans who are devoted to an ancestor spirit in the form of a Wraith, Umbrood, or Avatar. They are the orthodox Madzimbabwe who consider themselves inheritors Great Zimbabwe.
Ta Kiti: A subset of the Madzimbabwe tied to the Shona. They mix Santeria and Voudun beliefs, while calling on Ascended ancestors for power and prophecy.
Vrati: The Vrati are groups dedicated to specific duties needed by the Tradition as a whole. Promising members are typically selected from other factions, promoting continued trust and understanding between the Vrati and their more spiritual brethren.
'Albireo: Once considered inter-Tradition diplomats, it has recently come to light that they have long policed internal threats to the Traditions. Their attack on the traitorous House Janissary has exposed their secret, and now Tradition mages are divided on whether to condemn or welcome their actions.
Chakramuni
These mages track the cycle of reincarnation, particular the Avatars of mages. They research the Tradition's history, watch for the return of ancient dangers, and pursue practical applications for their knowledge of the soul.
Golden Chalice: Assassins descend from ancient Byzantium who specialize in eliminating Nephandi and corrupt Sleepers. They are divided into two groups: the Alphas focus on infiltration, disguise, and poisons, while the Omegas are experts in hostage retrieval, demolitions, and executions.
Other Factions
Pallottino: A family of Italian death mages who preserve the magic of their Etruscan ancestors. They are only loosely associated with the Euthanatoi; they focus on protecting the graves of Italy's former rulers and preserving the rites that keep their ancestor spirits at peace.
Yggdrasil's Keepers: Worshippers of Odin and Mimir, the Gallowsmen believe the gods take note of those who perform glorious deeds at great risk to themselves. Many study medicine and become combat medics so that the worthy can pursue their destinies.
Yum Cimil: Secretive followers of Ah Puch who joined the Euthanatoi during the Grand Convocation but have largely been absent ever since. They are sometimes encountered when traveling through Central America.
Rotes
View the Scattered Lotus Petals
Entropy 1, Time 2, optional Correspondence 2
This rote is a more sophisticated version of the prophetic magic common to many Traditions. The mage follows fate's threads along several paths at once and learns about the many possibilities the future might hold. Some Wheel-turners use dice or lots. Others prefer elaborate computer simulations and meditation.
System: Entropy allows the mage to read along several different time lines instead of the single thread allowed by conventional prediction. After spending successes on the target (the subject of inquiry) and the length of time into the future she wishes to look, each success reveals one possibility. These are usually fairly vague, but spending additional successes for each possible future affords visions of greater clarity and detail. Adding Correspondence allows the mage to use this rote at a distance.
Iron Avatar
Life 3, Matter 3, Mind 2, Prime 2, optional Spirit 4, Time 4
The Shivasakti Ayavatara was once considered to be one of the rotes that defined the Euthanatos. An homage to the appearance of the holy Avatara on the final night of the Himalayan War, its meaning has since been corrupted by its most ardent user, Voormas of Helekar. The rote is still occasionally used by the Natatapas; the Aided are known to employ a variant that calls on the power of the Morrigu.
The rote turns the caster into a four-armed killer with a wrathful divine visage formed from the combined attributes of Kali and Shiva. She sprouts up to 10 feet in height and her skin turns the color of wrought-iron, while menacing weapons appear in each of her four taloned hands. These are usually swords, although different manifestations have conjured nooses, lotus blossoms that burn with divine fire and skulls that devour the Ojas of the mage-god's foes.
System: Aside from duration, the caster must also devote successes to increasing Strength (to a minimum of 6,) at least three successes to soak lethal and aggravated wounds (at soak dice per success) and two to sprout extra arms capable of being used in combat. These arms add four additional dice to the mage's Unarmed and Melee dice pools, though each extra success can be used to enhance coordination (adding an additional two dice to armed and unarmed combat dice pools per success.) Three successes are spent adding an aura of supernatural terror to the mage's already fearsome appearance. This causes most Sleepers to flee from the field. All others must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 6, three successes required) to maintain their composure. Finally, the mage must spend four successes to create the weapons that she can handle effectively in her new form (one for each arm) and expend one success and three points of Quintessence to power the entire effect. The weapons are usually swords, but variations on Holy Stroke (see Mage: the Ascension pg. 183) are sometimes used as well. The weapons inflict aggravated wounds due to Prime enchantments.
Since this rote is time consuming, Euthanatoi often combine it with the Sphere of Time so that it can be called upon as a hanging effect when the mage is in need. The most dangerous variant of the rote involves the Spirit Sphere, where the caster invited a spirit of destruction to enter her body. The mage gains full use of the spirit's Charms, but anything less than complete success opens her to possession.
Few Euthanatoi have the ability to reliably cast this spell by themselves, so it is often a group working that enhances the fighting ability of a Marabout's protector. Needless to say, it's vulgar magic.
Gift of Prana
Life 2 or 3, Prime 3
Euthanatoi are healers as well as killers. By meditating on the Great Wheel and its effects on the ebb and flow of prana (life energy,) a Wheel-turner can transfer extra vitality to an ally. This is bound into the subject's chakras until he's injured. When the body's energetic balance changes in response to the wound, the extra life energy flows into the proper place and repairs the damage. Chanting, herbal treatments and bloodletting are all common ritual tools in the creation of this effect.
System: After spending successes on duration and targeting, and spending a point of Quintessence (effectively "enchanting" the target) each success creates a "healing pool" of two health levels. If the subject is injured before the end of the rote's duration, these health levels automatically heal the injury as much as possible. Healing bashing damage is coincidental, healing lethal wounds is usually vulgar (minor injuries are an exception) and healing aggravated wounds is always vulgar. The mage must decide what kinds of injuries the spell will heal and whether or not it works around witnesses as she is casting it. This determines the rote's difficulty. The Life 2 version affects only the caster, while the Life 3 Effect can be used on others.
Magic Bullet
Entropy 2, Forces 2
An intersection between technological and mystic mythologies, this rote is cast a number of ways by Euthanatoi who are comfortable with incorporating modern technology into their magic. Lhaksmists work mathematical formulae into the stocks of their rifles. Irony-minded members of the Golden Chalice inscribe "to the fairest" on their bullets in archaic Greek.
The end result is a bullet that, once it strikes a target, takes advantage of improbable - but possible - permutations of physics to travel in unusual directions, ricocheting into secondary targets and baffling investigators. A skilled death mage can dispatch a group of scattered targets with a single shot.
System: Forces and Entropy direct the kinetic energy of the bullet in potent and highly improbable ways, allowing the mage to strike multiple targets with a single shot - even if, in a sane world, the secondary targets would never be in the bullet's trajectory.
Each success allows one additional target to be struck by the same bullet. The player must split his character's Firearms dice pool to take advantage of the ability to shoot multiple targets, although the mage isn't restricted by the gun's normal rate of fire. This rote is often combined with Time magic to enhance the shooter's accuracy. Using Correspondence allows "indirect fire," as the bullet rebounds into a target that the mage can't see (but can perceive with Correspondence.) Believe it or not, this rote is usually coincidental.
Rudra's Bow
Life 3, Forces 2, optionally Other Spheres
Natatapas emulate the power of the archer-god Rudra as well as the legends of the Kshatriya (warrior caste) archers of ancient India. Other Euthanatoi draw power from their own legends, such as Pomegranate Deme warriors who concentrate upon Artemis' ways. In doing so, the Euthanatos makes his bow supernaturally powerful and grants himself the strength to pull it. This rote retains a surprising degree of popularity because of the availability and silence of the weapon it enhances.
Depending on the divine attribute the caster invokes, the arrows have additional effects. Rudra was the plague-bringer of Vedic India, so his arrows typically pass on a potent disease.
System: Each success adds two dice of damage to a single bow shot. Arrows of Rudra deliver aggravated damage (using Life 3) as disease tears through the target's body. They require twice as many successes per shot as well as a single success to affect the target. Other divine arrows burn their enemies, fill them with terror or otherwise inconvenience them. Additional Spheres are needed to activate these effects.
Geasa
Entropy 5
The Aided know the importance of ritual taboos. Even though they're a hindrance at times, they can also grant extraordinary power, such as in the case of Cu Chulainn's battle-might.
Typically, a Wheel-turner lays one or more Geasa after examining the weave of Destiny around the subject; Astrology and Omens are typical foci. The mage then asks fate to give the spell's subject its attention. Geasa are often laid at birth, but it isn't unprecedented to acquire them or even seek them out in exchange for a special blessing, or Buada.
The rite of laying Geasa also includes the granting of Buada. The Wheel-turner doesn't have to magically create the Buada; Destiny reacts to the fundamental change brought about by accepting the taboo and the new blessing compliments it.
System: Every success allows the mage to place one level of the Geasa flaw (see Mage: the Ascension pg. 298-299. Use an inverse value to the point cost listed in the book. Unlike the standard Flaw you may use it to get a Merit or Trait "for nothing") upon a willing subject. Spending five additional successes makes the taboo permanent. Interestingly, the mage has no control over what sort of Geasa manifest, although she knows what they are upon releasing the spell.
For every point of Geasa, the character gains an additional Freebie Trait. This is the Buada. The caster chooses the general nature of the Buada but cannot determine specifics. For example, he can cast the rite to foster Buada that make the subject a better warrior, but he can't specifically grant improved swordsmanship. The player and Storyteller should discuss what the Buada are. These benefit the character for the duration of the Effect.
Multiple Geasa (and attendant Buada) can be laid on a subject, but these have a tendency to go awry, resulting in contradictory Geasa that can't be properly obeyed. Since the casting mage doesn't know what the Geasa will be until the rote is completed, the only thing she can do to prevent the subject from being entangled by them is to refuse to grant them.
Breaking a single Geasa dooms the subject to Flaws or negative Freebie Traits (spend those to reduce character traits) equal to twice the value of all the Geasa that she's accumulated. Instant Gilgul and a Dark Fate are two examples of what can befall a Geasa-breaker.
Persephone's Nectar
Correspondence 3, Life 3, Matter 2
The signature rote of the infamous Golden Chalice, Persephone's Nectar turns an ordinary liquid into a poison that is keyed to a single target's humors. The Euthanatoi use alchemy (substances that mirror the target's mystical "chemistry") or sympathetic magic (blending hair or bodily secretions) to create a poison that will only affect a single, predefined victim. This is usually added to a beverage; anyone who drinks it will notice something unusual about the taste. Depending on the victim's alchemical balance, the brew might taste a tad sweet, bitter or salty, but not to any degree that's out of the ordinary.
Variants of Persephone's Nectar are used with foodstuffs, household cleaning supplies and gasses. Some versions also mystically age their targets, put them to sleep or induce visions. Some Euthanatoi create artifacts that have the power to create Persephone's Nectar at will. The Golden Chalice was well-known for their eponymous devices, but golden goblets have fallen out of fashion; most Sleepers don't use them and many of the Awakened don't trust them.
System: To create the nectar, the player must score enough successes to connect the target to the toxin (as per the Correspondence Range Chart on pg. 209 of Mage: the Ascension) plus successes to inflict injury (2 unsoakable aggravated wounds per success spent) and duration (after which the poison loses its potency.)
Correspondence prevents the substance from injuring anyone else (as a Ban) and Life and Matter compose the supernaturally potent toxin. The presence of the nectar's magic can be detected with Awareness or the appropriate mystical senses; most Euthanatoi use additional magic to mask it if the target is a mage.
Necromancy
The Song of Flies
Mind 2, Prime 1 or Matter 1, Time 2
No death is ever truly forgotten. Some Euthanatoi can pluck the vibrations of an event from the cosmos by chanting the Om and opening their minds to the sudden whispers of death that remain. Others examine the pallor of the deceased, the pattern of a spray of blood, or the paths that corpse-flies flitter to learn how someone died.
Death mages use this rote to hunt down murderers and investigate questionable deaths. It's common to use this rote to examine the victims of neophyte Ethanatoi; their seniors can determine whether a Good Death was skillful or merciful enough.
System: The Mind/Prime version of this rote is used to examine the scene of a death for psychic impressions and magical Resonance. The Matter/Time version is used on a subject's corpse, as the mage looks back through time to discover what killed the victim. The first version of the rote cannot directly identify a murderer, though it can point out the emotional state of any nearby parties and their specific Resonance Traits. Clever mages can use these facts to find a killer or bystander. This version requires 3 successes.
The second version requires 2 successes as well as enough successes to look back in time to the moment of the victim's death. it provides straightforward information, but it can be blocked by Time wards.
Necrourgy
Reanimation
Spirit 2, or Forces 2, Matter 2 and Prime 2
A dance. A shake of the rattle. A rhythmic chant. All of these carry their vibrations into the earth and sky and remind the world of the secret motion that floods all creation. In those sacred moments the still hidden things - the dead things - shake off the inertia of ages and dance to the hidden music of the Iron Wheel.
Reanimation imbues human remains with the power to move in the semblance of life. There are two generally accepted ways to do this. The first is to call a spirit (not necessarily the former owner of the corpse) to rouse the old flesh and bones. The second is to rekindle the fire of Ojas in the bones themselves so that they rise under their own spiritual power. In ancient times the Pomegranate Deme and Natatapas both used permanently animated skeletons, but the Paradox-prone nature of the rite makes it a rarely used one.
System: If a mage knows an appropriate spirit (through the use of an appropriate Knowledge or in-game experience) then he can use the first version of this rote to call it to the body and bargain it inside. Note that there are a few spirits who get a kick out of animating corpses: spirits of fear and the wraiths who used to wear the bodies in question tend to be enthusiastic volunteers, though the mage may be getting more than he bargains for in both cases. The second version rouses the latent Quintessence in a body and uses it to impart motion. As a rough guide, a corpse (or parts thereof) has as many health levels as the Storyteller sees fit for it to have and has a Strength of 2 per success spent (up to the maximum amount of force the body to bring to bear without breaking or tearing.) The caster must score three successes, plus one per animated target.
Salt on the Earth
Correspondence 3, Entropy 1
Indian and Greek traditions recognize the purity of salt. Necrourgists use it to ward off the predation of ghosts. Some do so to defend the innocent from a terrifying haunting, while others simple evade the due that meddling with the Underworld earns them. The mage casts a circle of salt and calls to the gods of the living and the dead to keep their territories separate and sovereign. In turn, the circle marks this strengthened boundary; those within it are warded from the powers of the Underworld.
System: This variation on a Ban prevents Entropic energies from crossing a boundary of the mage's choosing (typically a circle of salt.) Since ghostly powers (such as Arcanoi) carry the flavor of decay, they may not pass the barrier. This only applies to supernatural powers that manifest in the lands of the living; the ghost may use its powers or pass freely through the affected area as long as she remains in the Shadowlands. A wraith can't simply walk across the barrier from the Shadowlands and wreak havoc from the inside; the magic permeates the affected area, not just the circle.
After spending two successes and any successes on duration and/or the number of additional Patterns protected, the rote typically subtracts one success from the use of an Arcanos (or Gift, if you treat ghosts like spirits) per success spent on the ban's potency. At the Storyteller's discretion, very devious or powerful ghosts may be able to evade this. The rote has no effect on the bodies of the Walking Dead (and similarly animated bodies,) who can shamble into the area at will.
Necrosynthesis
Jivitamarana ("Death in Life") Yoga
Entropy 4 or Matter 4, Life 4
The Knights of Radamanthys and the Devasu make use of this rote when they are forced into direct combat. Special breathing and ingesting a near-fatal dose of barbiturate brings the mage to the Coumantha between life and death. In this in-between state, their corpse-like bodies feel no pain and they can shrug off horrific injuries.
System: This rote requires three successes plus successes spent on duration. For the duration of the rote, the mage becomes something very much like a walking corpse; he can soak lethal damage (difficulty 6,) halves all bashing damage before soaking, and suffers no wound penalties. The mage's Life Pattern becomes indistinct, Life effects targeted at the mage have their difficulty increased by 1.
This strength has a price. The mage's body is insensitive to tactile stimulus and he automatically fails most applicable Perception-based tests. His withered, pale visage reduces his Appearance to zero. Finally, the mage possesses an additional Entropic Resonance Trait for the duration of the rote.
Dukhamarana Moksa ("Release of Agonizing Death")
Entropy 4, Life 3
This form of the Good Death is used on particularly sinful or destructive candidates. Some Euthanatoi believe that sometimes the Good Death alone isn't enough to dissuade an evil-doer; his death must be a lesson in of itself. The intense pain that Dukhamarana Moksa creates as it kills is said to discourage a victim from committing evil acts in his next life. Since the spell corrodes victims to dust, it also counters the unnatural hardiness of some supernatural creatures.
By chanting the Dukhamarana mantra and declaring the victim's sins, the Euthanatoi concentrates all of the target's destructive karma and channels it into his body. The dark karma takes form as spontaneous lesions, rotting, and disintegration.
System: After spending a success to affect the target and a success to collect his tainted karma, each success inflicts 2 unsoakable aggravated wounds. Furthermore, any injuries created by this rote will not heal without special intervention; the target's ability to replenish its Pattern with Quintessence has been destroyed. A Prime 3 effect will allow the target to heal naturally for as long as its duration lasts, and a vulgar Life 3 / Prime 3 conjunctional effect will heal a target just like a standard healing rote. Finally, anyone killed with Dukhamarana Moksa is turned into lifeless dust. The victim's body cannot be recreated by any means short of the resurrection power of a mummy or by using the dust's Resonance as a blueprint to create life out of nothingness (requiring Mastery of Life and Prime.) Creatures normally immune to Life Pattern magic are similarly unaffected by this rote, though variations that affect them might exist.
If the Euthanatos uses this rote to kill a victim, she automatically gains one Trait of Entropic Resonance. Thus, most death mages use this rote to wound a particularly evil supernatural target and mundane means to finish it off.
Agama ReSojourn / Agama TeSojourn
Entropy 4, Life 2, Spirit 3 / Entropy 4, Life 2, Spirit 4
This famous rote used to be cast upon almost every new Euthanatos as part of the near-death initiation. As the Maelstrom rages in the lands of the dead, however, many consider the old method too dangerous and use other means to initiate apprentices into death.
The effect puts the subject at the cusp of death, "tricking" the Underworld into accepting his passage over the shroud. The traveler becomes a wraith of sorts, clothed in the spiritual body of a ghost while his mortal flesh lies in the stillness of (hopefully) temporary death. Agama Re carries the mage. Agama Te allows a mage to bring companions or send another mage across.
System: This rote has a threshold of seven successes, in addition to any successes dedicated to the spell's duration or extra "targets." Entropy and Life imbue the mage with the physical and mystical attributes of death, while Spirit allows the mage to traverse the Shroud (the Gauntlet of dread that separates consensual reality from the Shadowlands.) No magic is needed to create the subject's wraithly body; the natural laws of the Underworld clothe dead souls.
The subject's spiritual body (called a corpus) resembles his self-image. A mage's corpus will often manifest features of his Avatar's Essence and appearance as well. The subject now has 10 health levels and doesn't take wound penalties. Since she is no longer housed in a living Pattern, she can no longer be affected by Life magic. She must use the Spirit Sphere to heal any injuries sustained to the corpus. Ghosts can sense that the mage still carries the spark of life with a Perception + Awareness (or a Gnosis) roll, difficulty 6. Like a ghost, the subject can walk through walls or ignore anything from the living world that would harm her by expending a single health level per barrier or hazard. If a mage loses all of her health levels, two things happen. First of all, she immediately gains a new, permanent Entropic Resonance Trait. Secondly, the mage is drawn into a Harrowing.
In Mage terms, a Harrowing is a kind of anti-Seeking. The mage undertakes a symbolic visionquest, but instead of spurring her personal growth it seeks to torment her to the point where she loses hope and takes refuge in Oblivion. The mage's Avatar often takes the role of a victim or companion, but it has no influence over the events of the Harrowing. Instead, malefic forces attempt to separate the mage from her Avatar, inspire her to betray it, or cause her to reject the possibility of Ascension.
If the mage keeps to the ideals of Ascension and stays true to her Avatar, she returns to her mortal body. The spell is finished, regardless of its duration. If Agama Te was used, any companions under the effect return as well.
If the mage fails (betrays or rejects her Avatar or denies Ascension,) the player must make a Willpower roll (difficulty 9.) If the roll is successful, the mage returns to her body just as if she'd succeeded. If the roll is a failure, the mage returns to her body and loses a level of Arete. (She has, after all, denied Ascension and/or her Avatar.) If the mage botches, Oblivion consumes her soul and she becomes an evil ghost, or Spectre.
