A rote is a magical effect that has been honed by multiple mages, and is distilled into a recipe, formula, or checklist. Rotes are less likely to cause Paradox, and are easier to cast. This is because they utilize symbolism within the Fallen World to filter the Supernal. Rotes make use of mudras[1] - Supernal mnemonics taught by the Orders that draw on skills and knowledge of the Fallen World, cast through the Order’s philosophy. Creating mudras is part of defining a Rote, codifying the structure of magic in the symbols of the Lie. Mudras come in many forms — Buddhist Libertines may use zazen, while the Arrow may tense specific muscles in a set pattern, and Guardians use specific rhythms of walking and representative hand gestures. Each Rote is unique to the mage who created it — some encode specific symbolism into the positioning of individual fingers to allow a student to form his own mnemonic; far more present a paternalistic approach that teaches the mudra and the magic without an intervening step to consider the actions’ meaning.
Rotes cannot be created save by those who have mastery (rank 5) in one of the arcana involved, although anyone with a dot of prime can create a Grimoire from a rote they know - or copy an existing grimoire. Learning a rote can only be done from a master or a specially prepared grimoire.
Rotes[2] provide the following benefits:
- They may be used as yantras that provide a bonus equal to the dots possessed in the relevant rote skill
- The caster gains Reach as though cast with five dots in the arcanum
- Spells cast from non-primary arcana do not cost a mana
If a rote cast from a grimoire (or was designed the caster themselves), the spell gains the rote quality (all failures are re-rolled once), but the spell cannot be cast instantly, and the ritual casting time is doubled.
References[]
- ↑ MTAw: Mage: The Awakening Second Edition, p. 121
- ↑ MTAw: Mage: The Awakening Second Edition, p. 112
