Chain of Whispers

Rotes by Craft / Tradition

Description: A few words in the right ears (or the wrong ones) can change a person’s world. Hailing from the courtly intrigues of Renaissance Europe, this enchantment turns a simple rumor into a force of social destruction.

To begin the spell, the mage tells something (true or otherwise) to a “trusted friend.” Whatever that secret might be, its nature is innately scandalous. Although the spell caster begs her friend not to let that information slip, the spell actually compels the friend to pass the secret on to someone else... who tells someone else... who tells someone else... and so on, and so on, and so on...

System: Playing off the perverse urge to do forbidden things, this Chain of Whispers wraps the desired message in a magickal compulsion to share that secret freely. Mind implants the compulsion to spread the word, and Correspondence pulls the information from person to person; once that secret has been told, the urge to pass it on goes to the next person in the chain. Each success rolled compels two people to share the information... but after that, the natural human tendency to gossip keeps the secret in circulation long after the spell itself has faded.

In its original form, the Chain of Whispers required human speech and personal contact; these days, though, a phone call, text message, or Internet post can pass the word along. Mass media spreads gossip around as well, but the forbidden nature of the spell loses its potency when too many people get the message quickly. Unless the secret is clearly ridiculous and easily disproved, this spell remains coincidental. A character can resist the urge to pass it on (a simple Willpower roll would be sufficient), but because so many people love great dirt, most folks won’t even bother trying to keep their mouths shut.

Source: Mage V20 -- pg.608