The mage temporarily suppresses the power of an
Artifact or imbued item. This spell dispels any magical
effects produced by the item and makes the item
unusable for the Duration.
Each use of this spell affects only one of the powers
possessed by a single Artifact or imbued item. If themage knows the powers of the
item, she can specifically cast
the spell to affect one specific
power; otherwise, the spell
automatically affects the most
powerful functional enchantment
on the item. A single
success temporarily removes
one die from the dice pools
of a contingent effect. If the
number of successes equals
or exceeds the number of
dots of the highest Arcanum
used in this power, then this
spell temporarily renders this
power unusable. For example,
rolling three successes causes
an item imbued with a single
Life 3 effect to be temporarily
non-magical. Persistent
items are unaffected by any
number of successes less than
the number sufficient to completely
suppress it. This spell
can suppress the powers of an
Artifact, but in all cases, powers
on an Artifact require one
additional success to suppress
with this spell; suppressing a
Life 3 spell on an Artifact would require the mage to
roll four successes.
Repeated castings of this spell are not cumulative,
but the caster can repeatedly attempt to suppress a
single effect by making an especially good roll. Also,
mages can cast this spell repeatedly on an item imbued
with multiple powers in order to suppress each
of these powers in turn. Because magic, just as life, is
a phenomenon that is constantly in flux, it is impossible
to cast this spell with an indefinite Duration; the
longest possible Duration for this spell is one month
(if cast using the advanced prolongation table).
Mysterium Rote: Restraining the Power
Some enchanted items are sufficiently dangerous that
they are difficult to examine safely. Whether attempting
to avoid the affects of a dangerous, millennia-old
Artifact protecting an ancient tomb or trying to study
an eccentric and deadly imbued item created by a
half-mad mage, members of the Mysterium often find
themselves in need of a way to temporarily suppress
dangerous magics that have been placed on an item.
