Life

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Life

*SENSE LIFE

The mage begins his study by identifying patterns of life. By reading these patterns (however his philosophy defines this), he can learn a lot about a life form - its age, its sex, and every aspect of its health. With this awareness the mage can also sense different forms of life nearby.

**ALTER SIMPLE PATTERNS

HEAL SELF

Life manipulation begins with the simplest living Patterns. A mystick can alter the structure of simple life forms now, from microscopic viruses and bacteria to creatures as complex as insects and shellfish (as a good rule of thumb, any invertebrate is considered a simple life pattern). All plant life, from alga to trees, posses life patterns simple enough for the mage to manipulate.

The mage can only influence these simple patterns at this level; he can heal simple creatures or kill them, cause crabs to sprout extra legs, trees to bear fruit or bees to produce the pheromone that causes a swarm. Whatever he does the creature remains what it always was - he can mature them but he cannot transform them. A cherry tree is still a cherry tree ( even if it now bears poisonous fruit), and a luna moth is still a luna moth (even if it now has a four foot wingspan).

The mage also begins to understand the most complex patterns of life, beginning with the one most familiar to him, his own. At this stage, he may only correct (or create) breaks in his pattern to heal or harm himself as he desires.

***ALTER SELF

HEAL LIFE

TRANSFORM SIMPLE PATTERNS

CREATE SIMPLE PATTERNS

At this rank, the mage can alter his own pattern, making subtle variations and improvements as he did with simple patterns with Life 2. He cannot substantially change what he is (a human), but can change his gender or appearance, or modify his pattern to grow claws, fur, gills, etc.

Simple patterns are now his to command; he may turn them inside out, change one into another or even create them entirely from other patterns, through conjunctional effects involving Forces, Matter or Prime. The mage can change wildfire into wildflowers, glass grapes into living fruit or the Platonic ideal butterfly into its living counterpart.

Unfortunately, anything he creates has no mind beyond what it held before. However, for simple life forms, especially plants, this fault is virtually irrelevant. Even creatures such as crabs or insects can be imbued with some instinctive reflexes that serve for intelligence in the absence of a true mind.

The mystick begins to understand more organisms now, and may heal ( or harm) other people in the same way that he did himself with Life 2.

****ALTER COMPLEX PATTERNS

TRANSFORM SELF

A mage who reaches this rank can change the pattern of any complex life patterns, including those of other sentient beings. As with Life 2, the creatures subjected to this magick still retain their original form, but radical variations on that form are still possible.

A life adept can alter her form to resembler another being of approximately the same size and mass. She may become a deer, but not a mouse. Special abilities(water breathing, flight, etc.) do not carry over at this level without additional Life Effects, and moving around in the new form will take getting used too.

More naturalistic traditions get past this shortcoming by working more instinct into the basic form. A mystick risks losing her mind totally this way,

however. Some have found themselves trapped in the forms of panthers or dolphins, and have only freed themselves when they encountered something which reminded them of what they truly were.

*****TRANSFORM COMPLEX PATTERNS

CREATE COMPLEX PATTERNS

PERFECT METAMORPHOSIS

A Master of Life can transform others as she transformed herself at the previous rank. At this level, she can attain any form she wishes and can change others likewise.

This carries its own problems. A "higher" being transformed into a "lesser" one tends to trade intelligence for instincts, while a "lower" one transformed into a "higher" being tends to have the same problems. A dog transformed into a body guard might be faithful, but not terribly smart, and a turnip transformed into a dinner date would still be a vegetable in mind, if not in body. Getting such creatures to stand on two legs, much less speak, requires long periods of instruction, or a conjunctional effect with Mind 3( less successes needed for the dog, many more for the turnip).

The perfect metamorphosis a Master achieves has no such problems. A mage who shape shifts at this level carries her mind and Arts with her. Whatever she becomes this form is as natural to her as the one she was born in.

At this level the mage also gains a most unique power, which some might hold as divine: he can weave a new pattern to create a new life form, even a human body, using conjunctional magick to translate it from energy, matter or pure Quintessence with the appropriate rank of Forces, Matter or Prime. Unfortunately the life form created has no mind or soul beyond the base material or resonance which it carries. A painting might be haunted by the ghost of its subject, and the mage that caused her step out into life may be a perfectly capable woman (with her own agenda) greeting him, while a handgun changed into a hamster might become a perpetually stupid, yet bloodthirsty, hamster.

Consequently, many mages prefer to create a new being out of Prime Force, certain that it possesses no mind or soul beyond what the mystick gives it. This might seem pointless, but mages have found various uses for such soulless shells. Some create new forms of life merely to study how new "improvements" might effect their living bodies, while others imbue these soulless life forms with preprogrammed reactions that mimic instinctual intelligence. The Progenitors have a "damage control" division which creates beasts whose only instinctive drive is to kill, then unleashes them against their enemies.

Empty husks make ideal resting places for spirits and astral forms as well. Most spirits can manifest in an empty body (or even posses occupied bodies) and interact with the physical world. A mage who helps an Umbrood across his way can demand favors and expect to get them.

Master of both the Life and Mind Spheres can untether their psyches and create new bodies for their own astral forms to fill, while those adept at Spirit have devised a form of life insurance which involves reincarnating in new bodies when the old ones die. Such mages often leave a long trail of different identities behind them, attaining a degree of immortality.


	The City of LeClaire \| home Correspondence \| Entropy \| Forces \| Life \| Matter \| Prime \| Spirit \| Matter \| Mind Life SENSE LIFE The mage begins his study by identifying patterns of life. By reading these patterns (however his philosophy defines this), he can learn a lot about a life form - its age, its sex, and every aspect of its health. With this awareness the mage can also sense different forms of life nearby. *ALTER SIMPLE PATTERNS HEAL SELF Life manipulation begins with the simplest living Patterns. A mystick can alter the structure of simple life forms now, from microscopic viruses and bacteria to creatures as complex as insects and shellfish (as a good rule of thumb, any invertebrate is considered a simple life pattern). All plant life, from alga to trees, posses life patterns simple enough for the mage to manipulate. The mage can only influence these simple patterns at this level; he can heal simple creatures or kill them, cause crabs to sprout extra legs, trees to bear fruit or bees to produce the pheromone that causes a swarm. Whatever he does the creature remains what it always was - he can mature them but he cannot transform them. A cherry tree is still a cherry tree ( even if it now bears poisonous fruit), and a luna moth is still a luna moth (even if it now has a four foot wingspan). The mage also begins to understand the most complex patterns of life, beginning with the one most familiar to him, his own. At this stage, he may only correct (or create) breaks in his pattern to heal or harm himself as he desires. ***ALTER SELF HEAL LIFE TRANSFORM SIMPLE PATTERNS CREATE SIMPLE PATTERNS At this rank, the mage can alter his own pattern, making subtle variations and improvements as he did with simple patterns with Life 2. He cannot substantially change what he is (a human), but can change his gender or appearance, or modify his pattern to grow claws, fur, gills, etc. Simple patterns are now his to command; he may turn them inside out, change one into another or even create them entirely from other patterns, through conjunctional effects involving Forces, Matter or Prime. The mage can change wildfire into wildflowers, glass grapes into living fruit or the Platonic ideal butterfly into its living counterpart. Unfortunately, anything he creates has no mind beyond what it held before. However, for simple life forms, especially plants, this fault is virtually irrelevant. Even creatures such as crabs or insects can be imbued with some instinctive reflexes that serve for intelligence in the absence of a true mind. The mystick begins to understand more organisms now, and may heal ( or harm) other people in the same way that he did himself with Life 2. ****ALTER COMPLEX PATTERNS TRANSFORM SELF A mage who reaches this rank can change the pattern of any complex life patterns, including those of other sentient beings. As with Life 2, the creatures subjected to this magick still retain their original form, but radical variations on that form are still possible. A life adept can alter her form to resembler another being of approximately the same size and mass. She may become a deer, but not a mouse. Special abilities(water breathing, flight, etc.) do not carry over at this level without additional Life Effects, and moving around in the new form will take getting used too. More naturalistic traditions get past this shortcoming by working more instinct into the basic form. A mystick risks losing her mind totally this way, however. Some have found themselves trapped in the forms of panthers or dolphins, and have only freed themselves when they encountered something which reminded them of what they truly were. *****TRANSFORM COMPLEX PATTERNS CREATE COMPLEX PATTERNS PERFECT METAMORPHOSIS A Master of Life can transform others as she transformed herself at the previous rank. At this level, she can attain any form she wishes and can change others likewise. This carries its own problems. A "higher" being transformed into a "lesser" one tends to trade intelligence for instincts, while a "lower" one transformed into a "higher" being tends to have the same problems. A dog transformed into a body guard might be faithful, but not terribly smart, and a turnip transformed into a dinner date would still be a vegetable in mind, if not in body. Getting such creatures to stand on two legs, much less speak, requires long periods of instruction, or a conjunctional effect with Mind 3( less successes needed for the dog, many more for the turnip). The perfect metamorphosis a Master achieves has no such problems. A mage who shape shifts at this level carries her mind and Arts with her. Whatever she becomes this form is as natural to her as the one she was born in. At this level the mage also gains a most unique power, which some might hold as divine: he can weave a new pattern to create a new life form, even a human body, using conjunctional magick to translate it from energy, matter or pure Quintessence with the appropriate rank of Forces, Matter or Prime. Unfortunately the life form created has no mind or soul beyond the base material or resonance which it carries. A painting might be haunted by the ghost of its subject, and the mage that caused her step out into life may be a perfectly capable woman (with her own agenda) greeting him, while a handgun changed into a hamster might become a perpetually stupid, yet bloodthirsty, hamster. Consequently, many mages prefer to create a new being out of Prime Force, certain that it possesses no mind or soul beyond what the mystick gives it. This might seem pointless, but mages have found various uses for such soulless shells. Some create new forms of life merely to study how new "improvements" might effect their living bodies, while others imbue these soulless life forms with preprogrammed reactions that mimic instinctual intelligence. The Progenitors have a "damage control" division which creates beasts whose only instinctive drive is to kill, then unleashes them against their enemies. Empty husks make ideal resting places for spirits and astral forms as well. Most spirits can manifest in an empty body (or even posses occupied bodies) and interact with the physical world. A mage who helps an Umbrood across his way can demand favors and expect to get them. Master of both the Life and Mind Spheres can untether their psyches and create new bodies for their own astral forms to fill, while those adept at Spirit have devised a form of life insurance which involves reincarnating in new bodies when the old ones die. Such mages often leave a long trail of different identities behind them, attaining a degree of immortality.