Magical Tradition Revised

Author's Note: I set out to do a couple of things with this write-up. First and foremost, I wanted a format that will make it easy to introduce new Magical Traditions to the game. As much as I love the Magical Traditions book, a huge chapter for each Tradition is quite a bit to live up to. I also saw some ideas in some of the Traditions that I'd love to see applied to other Traditions. All of those goals have aligned to result in the following rule-set. Enjoy.

Merit: Magical Tradition (••)

Prerequisite: Occult 2, plus other Prerequisites based on the specific Tradition (described below).

Effects (Mortals): A mortal initiated into the secrets of a Magical Tradition gains a number of benefits, as denoted below:

• Resonance: Places where mortals have performed the rites of their magical tradition can actually alter the Resonance of those places. Individuals who participate in these rituals, items used in the rituals and the places where they are held more readily reveal themselves to fellow practitioners of that magical tradition. Divinations, aura perception and similar effects simply work more effectively when performed on such targets by someone who also practices that tradition: Instant checks gain a +2 bonus to the roll, while the Target Number on Extended checks is reduced by 2. Mortals with the appropriate Magical Tradition Merit using Thaumaturge Merits may reduce any penalties to their ritual roll by 2 as well.
• Sleepwalking: Mortals who possess the Magical Tradition Merit are considered Sleepwalkers for the purpose of witnessing the casting of Tradition Rotes by Awakened magicians. Mortals with this Merit may also purchase the full Sleepwalker Merit by paying 14 XP (rather than the normal 20 XP).
• Unseen Sense: Mortals who possess the Magical Tradition Merit are considered to have the Unseen Sense Merit, but only for the purpose of being aware of magics of their tradition. Mortals with this Merit may also purchase the full Unseen Sense Merit for Magic by paying 6 XP (rather than the normal 12 XP).

Effects (Awakened): X

Merit: Traditional Adept (• — •••••)

Prerequisite: Mortal, Magical Tradition Merit, Occult rating equal to Merit rating

Effects: A mortal initiated into the secrets of Magical Traditions can also learn the Tradition Rotes of that Tradition. Such an initiate may spend the normal XP to purchase a Tradition Rote, just as a Mage can. Though he cannot touch the Supernal Realms at all, he can aid the Awakened who can, helping them to anchor that power that is drawn down. When the Awakened magician casts a Tradition Rote as an Extended spellcasting, he may allow a mortal character with this Merit to assist him. The mortal must spend a point of Willpower to assist in such a fashion, and receives a penalty to his dice pool equal to the Arcana Rating of the spell being performed. Nonetheless, his successes are added as dice to the ritual leader's spell, as with a normal Teamwork effort.

Many such occultists believe that their own performances of those rotes have some kind of power. Anytime the mortal performs that rote ritually, taking at least one hour to do so, he regains a point of Willpower. If he scores an Exceptional Success, he regains two Willpower.