Curse of Withering

Death	●●●
Covert	Weaving
Duration	Prolonged
Tome of the Mysteries, p. 137 Rotes
The Mysterium :	Tome of Pain
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The magician weaves a curse into a physical object, so that it gradually drains the life force from its owner.

• Practice: Weaving
• Action: Extended
• Duration: Prolonged (this spell uses the advanced prolongation factors)
• Aspect: Covert
• Cost: 5 Mana

To trigger the curse, a victim must take willing possession of the item. From that point onwards, the victim loses one dot in a Physical Attribute every time a predetermined interval passes. The shorter the interval, the greater the target number needed for casting:

Interval / Target Number

• 1 month = 5
• 1 week = 10
• 3days = 15
• 1 day = 20

Dots are lost from the victim’s highest Attribute first. When two or more Attributes have the same current value, the Storyteller randomly chooses between them. This Attribute damage is permanent until the item is destroyed or disenchanted, or is willingly acquired by a new owner. This gives knowing victims strong incentives to pass the curse along.

Mysterium Rote: Tome of Pain

• Dice Pool: Presence + Crafts + Death

This rote is popular among Mysterium librarians and collectors as a measure against book thieves. The curse is woven into an especially rare and tempting volume. Its purloined pages poison the thief from a position of pride in his bookcase. This version of “Curse of Withering” immunizes the creator from the book’s curse.