M:tA First Edition

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Canon Cards

Spell Cards

Spell cards produce a standard, reproducible effect by drawing out the power behind the image printed on them.

Countermagic

Universal

This card displays a wizard, palm out in the 'halt' gesture. with it, Elizabeth can stop and undo the works of others.

Seven Seals

Universal

This card displays a complex array of runic locks. It can seal gateways and workings.

Plot

Glimpse of Spoilers

Entropy 1

This card displays a page of text, seen at an oblique angle that renders it unreadable. With it, Elizabeth can see the threads of plot that run through the world, and their intersection with things and people.

Dapper Fellow

Entropy 2

The Dapper Fellow is always well-dressed, and can ensure that his wielders are too.

Lucky Rogue

Entropy 2

The Lucky Rogue can sneak anywhere and steal anything, though more by luck than judgement.

Inspiration

Garden of Eden

Prime 3

This card displays the wonders of the primordial garden of creation. It was used to channel quint into the barren chantry realm.

Wellspring

Prime 3

This card displays the ideas bursting from the head of an artist. With it, Elizabeth can release the creativity (quintessence) stored in objects, locations and people.

Idea

Psychic Investigator

Spirit 1

This card displays an image of a noir detective with squiggly lines emerging from his fedora. With it, Elizabeth can call upon his power to discern esoteric influences.

Second Sight

Spirit 1
Prime 1

This card displays an image of the cosmic eye, that sees all. With it, Elizabeth can see the portion of the Umbra that is closest, and the threads of creativity that sustain it.

Living Legend

Spirit 3

This card displays a beast formed of words, emerging from a page. With it, Elizabeth can awaken the personal story of an object.

Map of Myths

Spirit 1

This card displays a map of a place that cannot exist, yet does. It shows the way to places and what lies through doors.

Ofuda

Spirit 3
Prime 2

This card displays the markings of an ofuda. It can paralyse and suppress demons.

Porthole of Worlds

Spirit 3
Prime 2

This card displays a circle in darkness, through which can be seen all possibility. With it small gaps can be opened between stories that other magic can be used through.

Spirit-Rending Scythe

Spirit 3

This card displays a wicked scythe, trailing ectoplasm from the edge. It can wound spirits directly or cut away their support.

Summon Cards

Summon cards have a figment - a spirit of the imaginary - bound to their image, to provide power. However, once they are used the figment escapes.

Cherry Blossom Blessing

Kitsune
5d healing

This card restores health to the wounded.

Spirit Cards

Spirit cards are like Summon cards, but have a figment permanently woven into their image, which can be called upon repeatedly.

Proposed Mechanics

Current Expansion

Good Idea

Entropy 2 (affect fate & fortune)
Spirit 2 (call spirit)

This rote calls a figment helpful in the Mage's current predicament.

Heroine's Luck

Entropy 2

The Emperor's guards fire at our heroine, but none quite manage to hit her as she makes her escape. Increases difficulty of rolls to hit the Mage.

Stay In Character

Mind 1 (empower self)

The good storyteller knows that characters must speak from their own perspective, not the author's. She separates her author's mind that knows the truth from her character's mind that speaks what the plot demands. This makes her inventions indistinguishable from honesty, as the mind that speaks is only saying what it truly believes.

Two-Stream Consciousness

Mind 1 (empower self)

Twin streams squares WPM. The Magus while writing separates her mind into two. One half writes, while the other half proofreads, saving a great deal of time.

Next Expansion

Hijack Character

Life 3
Mind 2

The Author, given the image of a character, takes the idea of that character and writes it over their own. The world sees that character in body and mind, but the Author knows the truth and controls them from behind the page.

Moon Portal

Mind 1 (empower self)
Spirit 4 (rend gauntlet)

The magus sends a part of herself to sleep and then opens a gate to her dream along the conduit this creates.

Author's Intent

Mind 2

The magus reads the thoughts and images embodied in a text rather than the text itself, bypassing the need to comprehend the language. Despite the name, the images are not just those laid down by the author, but also those created by readers and the general cultural perception of the work. It is a sharply limited rote, as most texts will not have strong psychic impressions - particularly mass-produced or copy-pasted texts in the current era.

Spirit of the Lore

Mind 3
Spirit 3
optional Entropy 1

This rote fulfils a similar role to Author's Intent but is far more powerful. The spirit of the work is summoned forth and its psychic landscape can be explored by the mage - so long as she does not enrage it and it does not then manage to throw her out. This allows for complex examination of the content, themes and associations of the work through examination of and discussion with the work itself. An optional Entropy 1 enables the mage to percieve what parts relate to the truth of the external world.

Speculative

Create Spirit

Prime 2 (fuel pattern)
Spirit 5 (forge ephemera)

This rote weaves an entirely new figment out of pure quintessence. Further spheres such as Mind may be needed to give it intellect.

Dodge the Named Bullet

Entropy 1 (sense fate & fortune)
Time 2

Not every stroke is dangerous, many are just scenery. The mage can identify the true killing blows that will threaten injury and death, so that she can focus on evading them and ignore the chaff. Lowers dodge difficulties.

Dream Vortex

Mind 3 (walk among dreams)
Spirit 5 (forge ephemera)

The walls between dreams are false. A true storyteller can reach into the dreams of others and move them as one. This rote allows the magus to blend her dream together with those of others and command them as she would her own. Of course, others may contest this command.

Land of Nod

Correspondence 5
Mind 1 (empower self)
Spirit 4 (rend gauntlet)

The author's power is to make their dreams real for themselves and others. This rote sets the mage dreaming, then merges that dream with the real world. As she rules her dreams, she rules 'reality'. Extraordinarily vulgar.

Moon Bridge

Correspondence 2
Mind 3 (mental link)
Spirit 3/4 (pierce/rend gauntlet)

With access to a possession or other sympathetic object of a person, the magus can step into their dream while they are sleeping. Without such an object or knowledge of correspondence they must be present in person.