Certamen

These rules are still in beta testing and are not official

Maneuvres

Attack: An attack roll is made by rolling Attribute + Gladius Sphere against difficulty defender’s Aegis Sphere + 3. This is a full action.

Block: If the defender chooses to block he rolls Attribute + Aegis Sphere against difficulty attackers Gladius Sphere + 3. Successes to block subtract from the attackers own successes. This is also a full action.

Disarming Attack: A disarming attack is a special attack made by striking against the Aegis rather than the Locus. It rolls Attribute + Gladius Sphere against difficulty defender’s Aegis Sphere + 6. If the attack is succeeds the Aegis Sphere is knocked into reserve. If it succeeds with the Aegis Sphere rating in successes or more, the Aegis Sphere is destroyed, and removed from the match. The defender can attempt to block this attack, in which case block successes subtract from the attack.

Disarming Block: A disarming block is similar to a normal block, but with the intent to damage or destroy the Gladius. It rolls Attribute + Aegis Sphere against difficulty attacker’s Gladius Sphere + 6. Successes subtract from the attack as normal, and if all attacking successes are removed, the Gladius Sphere is knocked into reserve. If, after all attacking successes are removed, the disarming block still scores the Gladius Sphere rating in successes or more, the Gladius Sphere is destroyed, and removed from the match. A disarming block can be attempted against a disarming attack, in which case the rolls become contested, and the loser is immediately disarmed.

Locus Dodge: A Mage may elect to move his Locus out of the way of incoming attacks, rolling Wits+Arete against difficulty 6, with successes subtracting from any attack. A mage cannot attack in the same round he declares a Locus dodge.

Botching: A botched roll means a mage has lost control of the Sphere; he “fumbles” it and it disappears back into Reserve.

Rearming: A mage may bring a sphere out of reserve to replace her Gladius or Aegis, but doing so is a full action. The sphere will be equipped at the end of the turn, leaving the mage vulnerable for a brief period of time. Similarly it takes an action to switch the Gladius with the Aegis if the Mage wants to swap her offense and defense. This also takes a full turn, during which neither the Gladius nor Aegis can be used.

Locus Dodge: A Mage may elect to move his Locus out of the way of incoming attacks, rolling Wits+Arete against difficulty 6, with successes subtracting from any attack. A mage cannot attack in the same round he declares a Locus dodge.

Reserve Spheres: The Mage may tap any reserve sphere as a free action, however they can only do this once per turn.

Correspondence

Gladius - As a Gladius attacks with Per+Sphere. Correspondence Gladii are both extremely difficult to see and all but impossible to block, adding +3 to all difficulties to block or disarm them.
Aegis - As an Aegis defends with Per+Sphere. Correspondence Aegides are formidable, but demand active control by the mage, throwing up an almost impenetrable screen of shifting barriers, and gaining -3 difficulty to all block attempts. However, if the defender fails to declare a block then Correspondence does little to defend the Locus, and the attacker’s difficulty to hit is only is Aegis Sphere + 1
Reserve - Tapping this sphere while in reserve consumes one point of Quintessence and creates multiple images of the Locus, allowing one full Locus Dodge per level in this sphere. After declaring this ability the mage may no longer declare any further attacks that turn.

Entropy

Gladius - As a Gladius attacks with Wits+Sphere. Entropy is a slow moving sphere, but an inevitable one. It suffers a +1 to all the attackers difficulties, but if blocked treats all attacks as disarming attacks, as it corrodes the defending Aegis.
Aegis - As an Aegis defends with Wits+Sphere. Similar to the Gladius, the Entropy Aegis adds +1 to all the defenders block difficulties, but treats all blocks as disarming blocks.
Reserve - Tapping this sphere while in reserve applies the inevitability of fate to the Mage, allowing them to spend one point of Quintessence for one reroll per level in this Sphere.

Forces

Gladius - As a Gladius attacks with Wits+Sphere. Forces Gladii are overwhelmingly powerful, and subtract -1 from attack difficulties.
Aegis - As an Aegis defends with Wits+Sphere. A forces Aegis is a burning, continuously renewing font of power, and immediately subtracts one success from any successful disarm attempt.
Reserve - Tapping this sphere while in reserve consumes one point of Quintessence, but adds the Forces sphere level in die to one roll with Gladius or Aegis that turn.

Life

Gladius - As a Gladius attacks with Dex+Sphere. Life has no other special powers, but it allows the mage to use his physical prowess to strike quickly at the enemy.
Aegis - As an Aegis defends with Str+Sphere. Similar to the Gladius, this allows the mage to use his physical prowess to catch enemy attacks.
Reserve - Tapping this sphere while in reserve, the mage may use his Stamina to soak an attack rather than Prime. This inflicts 1 Health Level of unsoakable bashing damage, with all the associated wound penalties. Most Certamen Marshalls will call a match before allowing a mage to knock themselves insensate in this manner, but it has been known to happen.

Matter

Gladius - As a Gladius attacks with Int+Sphere. A Matter Gladius is a massive and imposing and often hideously complex thing, and cannot be disarmed.
Aegis - As an Aegis defends with Int+Sphere. A monstrous but immobile defense, a Matter Aegis adds +1 to the difficulty of all incoming attacks, but cannot be used to block or disarm. It also cannot be disarmed.
Reserve - Tapping this sphere while in reserve can be used to counteract the effect of damage to the Gladius or Aegis, instantly removing disarm successes equal to the level of this Sphere.

Mind

Gladius - A mind mage can use any mental Attribute to attack. This elusiveness adds +1 to all difficulties to block the Gladius, and one automatic success to any disarm attempt. Each consecutive attack in which the Mind Mage switches the Attribute used increases this by +1, to a maximum of +3 and three automatic successes as the opponent becomes increasingly confused. This subtlety does reduce the raw power of Mind attacks, and the mental Gladius draws one less point of Quintessence from the Locus on a successful attack.
Aegis - The mage may use any mental Attribute to defend, however this grants no other special bonuses.
Reserve - By tapping this sphere in reserve the mage can pay 1 Quintessence to instantly switch either her Gladius or Aegis, either with each other, or another sphere held in reserve - or did she have it in her hand all along? This ability can be used as many times per Certamen match as the mage has dots in Mind.

Prime

Prime has no special powers, but acts as the soak dice for the Locus.
The mage may also use her rating in prime to transfer that much quintessence (restricted by avatar limit of course) from the Locus to use to reduce Gladius or Aegis difficulties. This must be declared before the roll.
Finally, the mage may - if Tass refuelling is allowed (or if it isn’t and she’s cheating) refuel her Locus with Tass by her level of Prime (again, restricted by avatar limit).

Spirit

Gladius - The Spirit Gladius is coerced, manipulated, seduced or commanded, and as such a spirit mage may use any social attribute to attack.
Aegis - Similar to the Gladius, the Spirit Aegis may use any Social Attribute to block. This tactic is especially disconcerting to socially inept mages, and the defender scores automatic successes on any block (but not disarming block) equal to the difference in the defenders chosen Social Attribute, and the attacker highest Social Attribute.
Reserve - Tapping this Sphere while in reserve costs one Quintessence and allows the Mage to resummon a destroyed Sphere. The ability may be used as many times per match as the mage has ranks in Spirit. It should be noted that many "professional" Certamentalists consider the use of this Sphere very dirty pool.

Time

Gladius - As a Gladius attacks with Per+Sphere. A temporal Gladius strikes rapidly, fleeting in and out with incredible speed. This reduces all its attack difficulties by -1, and allows it to be re-armed instantly out of reserve without an action. However the temporal Gladius can only make brief contact with the Locus, and so reduces all Quintessence drained by one point.
Aegis - As an Aegis blocks with Per+Sphere. Like the Gladius, the temporal Aegis can be re-armed instantly out of reserve. The temporal Aegis also seems to know when an enemy attack is coming, and gains a free block each round. However, if a block with the Temporal Aegis fails, it is as if it never happened, and the attacker strikes the Locus with all his rolled successes.
Reserve - Tapping this Sphere while in reserve allows a Mage to add his level in Time to his initiative roll for the next round (so cannot be used on the first initiative roll of the match).

Cheating

There are many ways to cheat at Certamen. It is possible to form a “backup” Gladius or Aegis with a rearming action even before your current one is destroyed or knocked into reserve. If detected, this is usually subject to a minor Quintessence penalty, but some mages consider it a valid tactic. Bringing Tass to a match without being agreed to prior to the event is also a foul, but in the chaos of mutual strikes it is often possible to secretly refuel the Locus.

While it is extremely difficult to cast spells in a Certamen circle without detection (unless the Marshall has been bribed), a mage can try and enter a Certamen match with one or more spells running that simulate or enhance Gladius or Aegis effects in some way, or provide artificial bonuses to Attributes. This incurs a more serious penalty - usually forfeiture of the match.

Even more serious offenses involve tampering with the Certamen circle itself, or bringing outside help in the form of other mages or specifically designed Talismans. If this is detected then the mage may be Censured and banned from ever participating in Certamen again at any reputable circle.