Law of Embodiment

From Edge of Darkness Wiki

The mage who has studied the occult Law of Embodiment understands the deep secrets of the point of manifestation, where the Supernal macrocosm connects with the Fallen microcosm and true magic happens. These magicians are very skilled with rotes, and capable of performing mundane and magical actions nearly simultaneously.

First, the mage must adapt a rote he knows to this purpose. Even if he cannot normally create the rote, he can adjust any rote that he learns by spending one experience point per rote. Once he has done this, he can Embody that rote in action.

The process is relatively simple: the Embodied rote’s Imago is created in the Awakened will first, and then with only a slight pause, the action is carried out in the physical world. When dealing with instant actions, there is some measure of delay; to outsiders, it appears as though the mage spends one turn focusing, and then acts, his action having both physical and magical purpose.

The mage rolls the rote’s Attribute + Skill dice pool. If it is successful, he then rolls his Arcanum dice for the spell. The successes from the two rolls do not mix — the mundane action is resolved separately from the spellcasting action, even though they take place simultaneously. If the mundane roll fails, the spell casting portion of the action cannot be performed.

A target’s defense is considered separately for both rolls. First, the mundane dice roll is affected by any condition that would normally affect such an action — the target’s Defense against melee attacks, any modifiers for cover or concealment, range penalties, etc. Second, the spellcasting roll is affected by any defense the target is normally allowed.

An Embodied casting might not be as effective as a normal casting if the caster’s mundane dice pool isn’t very good, but since a mundane action is accomplished at the same time, it can prove worthwhile for certain spells — especially those that require the caster to touch the target (so long as the rote Skill used is Athletics, Brawl or Weaponry).

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