Corona
Command of Mind
Harking back to the wisdom of Solomon himself, the greatest crown a ruler might don is that of a puissant mind. Building upon that precept, Corona enables the Hermetic mage to enhance the quality, the quantity and the forcefulness of his thoughts. At its most basic levels, the Crown of Kings helps the mage to hone his intellect and to perform subtle manipulations of perceptions and the intellect. When wielded by a Master fluent in its ways, this power can be used to extinguih or create sentience, eradicate free will, forge genius from idiocy or set consciousness free from the shackle of the flesh.
● By taking the first step upon the path of mental clarity, the mage finds himself able to perceive thought and intellection. All thinking minds, whether sentient or feral, are known to him (provided they are not concealed by stronger magics). Though, at this point, the mage cannot read minds or control thoughts, he can hone his own consciousness by analyzing it and acting upon what he sees (thereby creating, for example, a simple mind ward that adds dice to Willpower rolls to resist intrusion or allowing for one parallel thought process per success, up to a limit of the mage's Wits score).
●● Now, the mage can exert his will outward, to encompass other minds. He can speak with emotion alone (creating basic empathic contact) and appeal to directly to the thoughts of his desired subject (by impressing a psychic imperative, such as obedience, fear, or joy, that influences the subject's actions). He can perceive the spiritual auras of other beings, reading their emotion as he might read a book. He can forge bonds between minds, allowing one party to know the feelings and general state of another over vast distances.
●●● True mental communication is possible at this point and the mage is no longer fettered by the crude barrier of language and speech when she chooses not to be. Thought and memories may be explored, tampered with, or even severed from a subject's conscious mind (though they continue to exist in the subconscious) . Emotions can be created, though those inimical to the subject are likely to be pushed aside quickly.
●●●● The mage learns to tread the aether, casting off the chain of flesh to walk in the Astral Umbra as a being of pure thought. Mental afflictions can be created and cured, and the mage is capable of altering deeply held convictions in another with little more than a single enchantment (the subject may, however, attempt to resist with Willpower). He also discovers the means by which the mind might be made to betray the body, assailing it with confused impulses such that damage to the physical form ensues (inflicting a Health Level of bashing damage per success).
●●●●● To create and annihilate consciousness, to project one's mind across the world , to control utterly the will of another -- these are the powers commanded by the master of Corona. The mage can selectively manipulate any aspect of the mind that she wishes, including advancing her own intellect far beyond the capacity of ordinary men (changing Intelligence and Wits by one dot per success). She can move mind between bodies or exist long after physical death as an astral shade, moving from body to body as the mood takes her.
Sample Foci: Circle or crown, dagger, diamond, mirror, silver
Specialties: Creating Consciousness, Subtle Intrusion, Subverting Wills, Telepathy
