Living Family

Living Magic
Living magic is the magic of living creatures and covers life and death, thought and emotion, and shapeshifting. While most mages can affect living creatures one way or another, living magic can alter them directly.

Living magic is completely unable to affect inanimate objects in any way, which means mages of the living family are much more limited than elemental mages in what they can do. An air mage is always surrounded by his chosen element – no matter where he goes, there’s air. (If there’s not, he probably has bigger problems to worry about.)  A mind mage, on the other hand, can only affect creatures that have minds. If he’s on his own, he’s kind of stuck. Living mages also can’t directly protect themselves from physical harm in the way that elemental mages can.

That said, living mages have a few things going for them. When it comes down to it most important things in the modern world tend to involve dealing with other people one way or another, and that’s what living mages specialise in. Living magic also tends to be harder to detect than elemental magic, and living mages can blend in with ordinary people more easily than mages from the other families (although part of that is probably because living mages tend to be more social). Finally, while living magic can only affect living creatures, it’s  very good  at affecting living creatures and within their field living mages outshine everyone else by a long way.

Common types of Living Magic
 * Charm Magic
 * Death Magic
 * Life Magic
 * Mind Magic
 * Shapeshifting Magic

Charm Sample Spells
Emotional Track

Read Emotion Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  This spell allows a Charm mage to read a targets emotional state, thus knowing exactly how the target feels without the need to ask or otherwise investigate. This spell is oft the reason for why Charm mages are often feared, and cherished as diplomats.

Empathic Manipulation  Action: 3 rounds of talking  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  This spell allows a Charm mage nudge the natural path of a persons emotional track, so as to allow for somewhat longer manipulation. So should the Charm mage detect a target feeling hatred towards something, one success would allow her to slide that particular emotional track to either Love or Greedy desire (To the sides) or towards Blind hatred or Dislike (Up or down). The shift isn’t sudden, rather it takes place over 11 – Potency days.

First Impression  Action: Reflexive  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  Charm mages are masters of every social situation they carry themselves in, partly because of their great first impressions. This minor spell can have huge implications, despite is relatively minor initial effect. When a charm mage meets a person for the first time, he can enact this spell. Each success adds another dice to any other social rolls directly involving the target, at any later point. These extra dice can be saved indefinitely, though the spell only ever works once per target.

Death Sample Spells
Black bolt  Action: Instant   Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  The Death mage gathers a dangerous amount of Negative energy before launching it at his target like a bolt of black lightning. The negative energy threatens to rip the life from the target, dealing large amounts of damage. This attack deals lethal damage. This attack is both kinetic and energy based.

Death bolt  Action: Instant   Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  This spell one of the deadliest in a Death mages repertoire, it functions somewhat like Black bolt, save that it’s considered to have the 9 again property and deals Aggravated damage. A Mage needs potency 7 before learning Death Bolt

Claws Hades  Action: Instant   Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  The mage conjures a construct in the form of a claw, this is made up of kinetic and negative energy. The claw allows the mage to grabble his opponents and maneuver them around at range. This spell simply gives the mage the ability to work grabbling maneuver at a range of 5 meters per success, using the mages own Strength + brawl modified by +2. If used to do deal damage, the Claw of Hades’ negative energy causes lethal damage.

Life Sample Spells
Self-Healing  Action: Full-round  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  This spell is as simple as the title, it allows the life mage to heal herself from some of the most grievous injuries. The life mage heals 2 points of Bashing damage or 1 point of lethal damage per success. This ability cannot heal Aggravated damage.

Assault body  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  This spell allows the life mage to assault the body of his enemies, causing blood vessels to burst, muscles to tear and cramp and all in a simple touch. This spell deals 1 point of Lethal or Bashing damage, casters choice, per success.

Mind Sample Spells
Suggestion  Action: Full round  Duration: Instantaneous  Disciplines: Power 2, Control 3  Effect  The Mind mage is able to implant a suggestion or course of action into a subjects mind, this suggestion cannot cause the target any harm and cannot be more elaborate than a simple sentence and relatively simple actions. Samples include “Open the door.” Or “Put down the gun, and talk." The successes are countered by the subjects Willpower roll.

Psychic Assault  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  This spell allows the mage to project her magical consciousness directly into another beings mind and scramble their brain just a bit. The target resists by rolling it’s current willpower as defense, every success beyond counts as one level as bashing damage. Armor or defense offers no protection against Psychic strike.

Shapeshifting Sample Spells
Copycat  Action: 3 full round actions  Duration: Instantaneous  Disciplines: Power 2, Control 2  Effect  Copycat, while a simple spell, is one of the most feared spells in a shapeshifters arsenal. It allows a mage to take on the likeness of another human being, to recognize the difference an observer must roll wits + composure and achieve a greater number of successes than the shapeshifter did on the copycat activation roll.

Corporeal Weaponry  Action: Instant  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  The Shapeshifter calls upon his knowledge of anatomy to sharpen and harden the nails and bones of his hands, calling into being actual claws on his hands and feet. These modify brawling dice by two and when so done, the brawl attack deals lethal damage. Moreover the mage has an easier time gripping on to things, reducing the difficulty of climbing by one.

Self-Healing  Action: Full-round  Duration: Instantaneous  Effect  This spell is as simple as the title, it allows the shapeshifter mage to heal herself from some of the most grievous injuries. The life mage heals 2 points of Bashing damage or 1 point of lethal damage per success. This ability cannot heal Aggravated damage.