This spell enables a mage to discern the presence of a given sort of material in her immediate vicinity. She could decide to search for ferrous metals, clean water or a particular kind of plastic, even a unique object known to her (meaning that the mage almost never needs to worry about where she left her car keys, unless she lives in a singularly enormous house). Among other things, this spell can reveal if a person is carrying a handgun (by looking for gunpowder) or is wearing a wire (by examining for copper wiring on the torso).
Once successes affects a one-yard radius. Additional successes extended the radius:
| Successes
| Radius
|
| 2
| 2 yards
|
| 3
| 4 yards
|
| 4
| 8 yards
|
| 5
| 16 yards
|
The Storyteller levies penalties based on how much or how little of the substance is present. A guy carrying an arsenal of guns under his trench coat has a lot of gunpowder on his person: +2 or +3 bonus. Someone who is hiding a transmitter in his gold fillings has only a tiny amount of the copper wiring sought: –2 or –3.
Silver Ladder Rote: Glimmer in the Shadows
This rote gets its name from mages who use it to seek out precious metals in old abandoned attics, basements, mines and the like (though some think it refers to dragons’ hoards from truly ancient days). Silver Ladder mages use it to detect the presence of that which they seek, whether such is lost treasure or just a measure of leverage in a conversation or hostile encounter.
