The mage creates an ambiance of death so profound that sentient beings are driven to tears (or driven away) by it. The rote as written in the Last Riddle requires the caster to sing or otherwise create music in order to achieve this effect, and the grimoire even includes lyrics (in Greek, granted) that speak of love lost, light extinguished and the inevitability of death.
Casting this rote as described in the grimoire requires that the mage sings or plays an appropriately depressing song. A
mage who improvises this spell doesn’t have to provide a musical component, but the player suffers a -1 to the casting roll. The song engulfs any sentient being within earshot with a feeling of depression and hopelessness. Any listener whose player fails to exceed the mage’s casting successes on a Composure + Gnosis roll suffers a penalty to all deliberate actions equal to the mage’s successes. A “deliberate” action is one into which the character must put conscious effort. Attacking an enemy, searching for an exit and driving a car are all deliberate actions, but a reflexive roll to resist another power is not. Perception rolls are not necessarily deliberate, but noticing one’s surroundings does require a degree of involvement with them, and so such rolls receive a negative modifier equal to the mage’s Expression rating.
Obviously, characters who cannot hear are exempt from the effects of this spell. Also, the caster has no ability to choose targets — it affects everyone within earshot. He can warn any allies in the area, of course, enabling them to prepare themselves (casting a Mental Shield, using earplugs, spending Willpower on the resistance roll), but beyond that, the song saddens everyone who hears it. The effect lasts as long as the mage keeps singing.
Orpheus' Last Riddle Rote
