Code Duello

A combination of Western custom and Atlantean lore, the Code Duello (usually shortened to just “duello”) is a set of customs that determine what constitutes proper behavior during any kind of duel. Everything that is against Lex Magica is against the duello, but the reverse is not so; there are many legal ways to violate the duello, from mocking the loser to arriving late to fight. Some Consilii mandate strict adherence to the duello, but most do not. Even though the duello is fairly consistent across the Americas, variations enough exist to prompt travelers to inquire about what customs hold sway. The following section describes elements of the duello as it exists in the Americas and most of Europe. Asian and African mages often have far different notions about how to organize ritual combat. Even in the West, there are enough variations, local traditions and quirky laws to make a full description of the Code Duello impossible. Mages who twist the duello to their own ends are either hated or given a certain amount of grudging respect. Against expectations, Adamantine Arrows often play fast and loose with the duello. Arrows habitually prepare for un-restricted warfare; by comparison, the average duel is a petty game and treated as such.

• The code Duello: (The tome of mysteries pp. 118 – pp. 125)

Cabals

• Cabals who honour the duello work a sword into their Sigil, banner or emblem.

Consideration

• The result of a fair duel is binding, both parties are protected from declarations of Nemesis regarding the settled matter (from both participants and their allies).
• The result of a duel is the final settlement on a given matter the result and oaths must be honoured or protections shall be stripped and further sanctions evoked by the ruling body of the Consilium.
• Duels can be a matter of privacy and unless the duel has been sanctioned as a means of conflict resolution by the Hierarch or a Councillor there is no obligation to inform anyone not directly involved in the duel of its happening.
• Those who seek to skirt the result of a duel by invoking the right of nemesis for reasons deemed insufficient will face punishment.
• The optional rules on page 122 of the Tome of Mysteries ARE NOT in play.

The Binding Oath

• Both parties are required to swear an oath enforced by the judge or another neutral party if required. If a neutral source of such fate magic is not available then the duelling mages must give oaths that constitute an iron law, before the agreed judge who will in turn discreetly inform a Consilium official so the situation can be ruled upon if needed.
• If both parties agree a non-binding oath can be sworn as iron law In front of a Herald or the Hierarch providing the respective party is neutral in the conflict.

Exemplar Oath

I, who am called Zeno, swear this oath without arcane or mysterious compulsion. Should I be victorious according to the common codes of the Duel Arcane, my opponent, called Aurem, will relinquish the apprenticeship of the mage called Arctos to me for 90 days, transferring all solemn bonds and oaths of service. Furthermore, Arctos shall be free to become my apprentice if he wishes it, without interference from Aurem. Finally, Aurem will not entreat me to perform any service by action of thought, word or deed, for a year and a day from the date of the contest. Should Aurem achieve victory by the Duel Arcane, I vow to pursue the Unclean magus called Angrboda, seeking his irrevocable death and thwarting his desires in all ways, until 90 days have passed, I have died, or I have delivered the head of Angrboda as an assurance of his death. I further vow that I will take the mage called Morvan as my companion and witness in this endeavour. Finally, I will not communicate with the magus Arctos or entertain communications from him for a year and a day from the date of the contest. The contest will be determined according to the common codes of the Duel Arcane, without addendum or alteration. I acknowledge that the duel is Just, and that I may not seek the Great Right of Nemesis against any participant because of its outcome. Let all know that the oath I swear is law. If I break it, let the Awakened inflict fair judgment upon me.

The Challenge

• Any mage may approach any other and put forth any demand or insult. If the recipient refuses the demand or refutes the insult, the aggressor may consider it ground for a challenge.
• The challenged party is under no obligation to accept a duel unless the local Ruling Council demands it (as they might to stave off an even more destructive conflict).
• When an occasion clearly demands a duel, Awakened society labels those who refuse cowards.
• Those who frequently win fair duels are likewise given a degree of prestige.
• The duello considers a mage who attacks a mage, his allies and his resources someone who has offered a duel. A beleaguered mage can put a stop to such predation by accepting the implied challenge.

The Form

• The duel, arcane: Square the circle (prime 2) – standard resolutions: First blood, to the yield, or last man standing (it is considered bad faith to force your opponent to kill you for a win).
• The duel arcane (Sanguine) (prime 3 for bashing, prime 4 for lethal, prime 5 for aggravated) – In a lethal or aggravated duel, death is a very real possibility.
• Shadow chess (prime 2 + spirit 3 or 5) both duellists must be bale to or given access to the location in the shadow realm. (warning local spirits and resonance can cause complications)
• Shadow chess (Sanguine) (prime 3 for bashing, prime 4 for lethal, prime 5 for aggravated) In a lethal or aggravated duel, death is a very real possibility.
• Vulgar duels – Use of direct magic to achieve a victory condition (The Consilium of Sacramento rules: any breaches in secrecy will be punished accordingly including the results of any paradoxes incurred) examples include space tag, shapeshifting contests and other feats of magical proficiency.
• The duel, mundane – Any mundane task the duellists can think of and agree to perform without any use of magic. (the resolution and integrity of which his just as binding as any magical duel)

Etiquette of the Squared Circle

The following applies to all forms of the duel arcane and all forms of shadow chess:

• -Presence + Intimidation or his Manipulation + Subterfuge (whichever tactic is preferred) is rolled for the mage with the highest Initiative. The opponent’s Composure is subtracted from the roll. Then the defender does the same, making his taunts or threats, with the other mage’s Composure subtracted from his roll. Whoever gets the most successes unnerves his foe, and a +1 die bonus is gained on all further rolls in the duel. If neither mage rolls any successes, or they have the same number, neither side gains an advantage. Either mage may choose to break off and cede the duel at any point. Otherwise, the contest continues.
• The mage who lost the contest of wills at the start of the duel strikes first (or he can choose to yield first strike to the other duellist, although there are no direct benefits for doing so).
• Each mage chooses two Arcana: one to serve as his sword and the other as his shield. In some formal duels, the challenged chooses the sword Arcanum while the challenger chooses the shield Arcanum, but generally mages are free to choose whichever Arcana they prefer. A combatant cannot use the same Arcanum for both sword and shield in a Duel Arcane.
• The Duel continues until one participant chooses to yield or is reduced to zero Willpower points, or the duration of the Squaring the Circle spell runs out. The winner — whomever loses the least amount of Willpower points — regains one point of Willpower, a surge of confidence from the victory.
• The loser of a Duel is expected to yield the point of contention to the victor, who is in turn expected to gracefully accept and allow the loser to depart peaceably, not pressing the advantage.
• Traditionally, a Duel settles a particular dispute for good. The loser should not challenge the winner over the same matter again.
• Failure to observe these rules can result in a loss of face for the mage and possible censure or mistrust from peers.
• A mage who has lost a Duel is weakened, usually with no Willpower points. Taking advantage of a vanquished foe in such a state is considered an extreme infraction against the Lex Magica worthy of convening the Ruling Council to decide on punishment (usually reparation to the injured party or incarceration of the offender).

The following only applies to forms of the duel arcane:

• Gnosis + Sword Arcanum is rolled for the attacker, after subtracting the defender’s shield Arcana. If the attacker succeeds, the defender loses one Willpower point per success. The defender can choose to forego his attack to devote all his energy to defense against the opponent’s attack, in which case the defender’s shield Arcanum is doubled before subtracting it from the attacker’s dice pool.
• Once the first attack is made, the duellists alternate back and forth between offense and defense, with each attack requiring an instant action.
• Mages can fight a Duel Arcane past mere exhaustion of their Willpower points. If a mage chooses to fight on regardless, any additional damage from the duel is real (affecting Health).

Shadow Chess

For rules on shadow chess see the shadow chess spell.

The Duello

• Should a group of mages have the audacity to challenge a lesser number of opponents (or even a single mage), the challenged is under no obligation to accept. (But consider the alternative might be Nemesis or war)
• The challenger chooses the location and the challenged mage announces the form the duel will take. (All mages must be able to reach or provided access to the location).
• This can be as simple or convoluted as the participants wish. (good form is to only allow for the spells as required for the form of the challenge to be used e.g. only mage sight is required for a duel arcane)
• In the event of squaring the circle a neutral third party will perform the spell, if no mage is able to provide the required spell casting the duellists will need to re-negotiate the form of the duel.
• The time of a duel is either agreed upon by participants or as a matter of local custom (Local custom (For officially demanded duels): The next official Consilium meeting, arrive before the doors lock, after all the details have been agreed and the oaths sworn.)
• At this stage each mage should choose a second, who relays messages between the participants. (If seconds can’t be found or leave the city both mages can agree a neutral Councillor, Herald or the Hierarch as a proxy to both parties to handle messages and arrangements.)
• The duello forbids selecting a duelling form for which one of the participants has little or no skill (in game terms, one dot or none). It’s dishonourable to demand a fencing contest from a bookworm or spirit summoning from an Obrimos.
• Strictly speaking, the duello advises against negotiating duels where one participant will obviously demonstrate superior skill. It is supposed to be beneath a master to duel a mere initiate.
• Neither participant can make any demands that violate Lex Magica by using obvious magic in a public place or endangering non-participants.
• Finally, the participants (or the seconds) negotiate the stakes, outlining the consequences of victory and defeat for each party. (The seconds can also come to a compromise deal and bring that to both parties to honourably prevent a duel).

Seconds

• It is the job of the second to carry messages between participants and to help ensure fair play by all parties involved.
• Any peace negotiated by the seconds (and agreed by the duellists) counts as the duellist’s own peace.
• In breaking with common tradition, the Consilium of Sacramento DOES acknowledge this as official settlement and protects both parties from right of Nemesis on a settled matter as if a duel had taken place.

Resolution

• One duellist meets the victory conditions: This is an ideal, unambiguous victory. The mage scores the first “touch” duelling with Space, blasts away her opponent’s Willpower in the Duel Arcane and so on.
• Both duellists meet the victory conditions. A somewhat awkward conclusion, this occurs when both duellists either score victory simultaneously (mutual “touches” in Spatial duels) or (in a poorly designed duel) both accomplish a task that only one of them was supposed to be able to achieve (binding both rulers of a spirit court without knowing that there were actually two of them). This is usually thought of as an honourable conclusion. Both sides receive the customary protection from reprisal and all non-contradictory demands unless they insist on duelling again (at which point they can renegotiate the terms from the beginning, if they wish).
• One duellist can no longer continue. Unless the objective of the duel is to incapacitate, this is often thought of as a lesser victory — a loss that the opponent inflicted on herself. Unconsciousness, errant Paradoxes, sudden confusion and other circumstances can force a duellist to throw in the towel, so to speak.
• Both duellists can no longer continue. This is the mark of fumblers except in the case of martial duels. In such cases, combatants often have such expert timing that they can only strike simultaneously. Japanese mages call this by the sword fighting term, aiuchi (“mutual killing”), since it might spell the deaths of both fighters. Otherwise, mages have been known to knock themselves out with clumsiness and botched magic. In this case, the duel is considered to have never happened. The duellists must make new arrangements or give up their dispute.
• One duellist surrenders. This is an honourable defeat. According to the duello, the victor should make at least one concession to honour the loser’s good sense.
• One duellist forfeits by failing to attend. Not only does the no-show automatically lose, Lex Magica entitles the victor to use all necessary means to seize his agreed-upon concessions. The loser is not protected from vendetta in the slightest; the winner can use insults, property damage and assassins to harm him at will. Attempting to prevent an enemy from showing up at a duel is cheating and against the Lex Magica. If a duellist has a good excuse for his absence, it is customary (though not legally required) to reschedule the duel for a later date and to forbear from attacking the absent party. Some duellists refuse to accept such excuses, however, and what constitutes a good excuse varies from region to region (The neutral judge has final say). In many cities, it is excusable to miss a duel due to attack, disaster, or order from the Ruling Council. Bad scheduling and magical research are usually not valid excuses, nor is violence that the duellist instigated herself.
• If neither duellist shows, there is no formal result, but plenty of informal contempt. They have, after all, wasted the time of their seconds and made a mockery of Awakened customs.
• The duel is halted by the Ruling Council. A Consilium’s Ruling Council can halt a duel and force a settlement, but most only do so during an emergency. Consilia have, in the past, tried to intervene in every duel, but have almost always drawn the ire of their constituents. Overruling a duel is popularly thought of as a tyrannical act. The law normally lets duellists demand that the Ruling Council settle the conflict for them or compensate them for anything wasted in preparation for the duel.
• One or both duellists cheat. Whoever didn’t cheat, wins and furthermore, retains right of Nemesis over the loser; she can hunt him down and kill him, if desired. Furthermore, since the cheat is effectively an oath breaker, the winner can petition the Consilium for assistance. The Ruling Council also levies additional penalties. One common punishment is a magical oath that compels the mage to describe his crime whenever he enters into an agreement with another will worker. This lasts for at least a year and a day. Less forgiving Consilia may use mutilation, banishment and a host of other sanctions, since oath breakers are almost universally reviled in a society where trust is so tenuous. If both duellists cheat, then both are punished as above. The Ruling Council often resolves the dispute for the duellists by depriving them of whatever it was they were fighting over.