See Legacies – The Ancient for all the fluff
Doctrine
Parentage: Acanthus, Guardians of the Veil
Prerequisites: Mind 2, Occult 2, and 2 dots between Empathy, Subterfuge and Security
Initiation: Be judged a suitable aspirant, possessed of the right temperament and principles by an existing Logophage tutor, after passing the requisite tests, and reacting properly to examples of misused magic.
The aspirant is then entrusted with knowledge in a form that requires personal sacrifice to ensure its destruction. When the knowledge is threatened, the aspirant must destroy it rather than let it be known, regardless of what this means for the Mage.
Passing the test makes the Mage a Proselyte, however they are not trusted nor considered true inductees until they have learned and used the second Attainment to devour one of their personal, secret memories.
Magic:
Ruling: Mind
Yantras: Succeed on an Occult test relating the subject, based on rare and secretly held information (+2), utilize knowledge unknown to a subject against them (+2), destroy physical evidence of a secret (+1, +2 if this involves a significant amount of effort, +3 if this involves the destruction of something truly significant), devour knowledge with Security of the Lost appropriate to the kind of spell you are about to cast (+2, +3 if this information was stolen from the subject).
Oblations: Destroying sources of knowledge (stealing and burning old or rare books from a library or silencing an informant). Spending a few hours spreading misdirection to direct attention away from a specific truth. Forgetting a personal secret and meditating on one’s devotion to the cause for an hour (now nobody knows you pulled that gag in high school).
Attainments:
First Attainment The Whispers of Knowledge
Pre-Requisite: Initiation
Upon initiation, Logophages are capable of discerning the presence of knowledge within the minds of others. As an Instant Action and by raising a subject with an individual (or being present when the subject is raised), the Mage can determine whether they have any knowledge of the subject. This attainment only functions so long as the Logophage’s Mind dots exceed the subject’s Composure.
Mind Scan, reach into Instant Casting, and Thoughts Reading. However the Mage doesn’t get to know the specific nature of the thoughts, and doesn’t get any of the benefits of the base spell.
Optional Arcanum: Fate 1
More than merely understanding whether the subject has some knowledge of the subject, the Logophage
may seek the subtle clues that indicate whether Fate ties the subject to the topic. Such as whether they are
being subtly groomed by the secret society, whether they are Fated to learn a grand secret, or whether their
master intends to entrust them with a secret to keep.
Interconnections, Reach into Instant Casting, the Mage gets to determine a little bit more than their sympathetic connections, instead they get to read any potential Destiny or plan that Fate has for them. So both more useful, and less useful.
Second Attainment: Security of the Lost
Pre-Requisite: Mind 2, Death 1
The mainstay of the Legacy, and the primary reason for their Left-Handed status, the second Attainment
marks the initiate as a true Secret Keeper. As an Instant Action, the Logophage can devour a memory that
currently exists within their own mind, returning it to the Supernal. The decision to devour such knowledge
is rarely done for its own sake, information is frequently kept until it is guaranteed that all evidence of its
existence is destroyed. As such, this Attainment has two forms.
Firstly, in a scene-long Ritual, the Secret Keeper may segment a part of their mind, sequestering knowledge they do not wish to be known from even their own full understanding. This veils the information or memory from all detection, provoking a Clash of Wills in order to read it, or determine its existence. The Logophage is aware that he is forgetting something, but its exact details are not fully available to him. This veil lasts for a period equal to the Mage’s dots in Mind on the Advanced Duration Table.
Secondly, the Secret Keeper may devour knowledge as an Instant Action in order to regain Willpower points. A secret of little to no importance may restore only a single point of Willpower, while one lost to the world, and of significant importance may restore as many as 10 Willpower points.
Optional Arcanum: Prime 2
Whenever the Mage utilizes the destruction of a secret as a Yantra in a spell, either as a Legacy Attainment,
or a Sacrament, then they gain the 8-again dice trick on their spellcasting roll.
As Above, So Below, Reach into Instant Casting (kinda), and the 8-again trick. Limited to only a specific Yantra.
Third Attainment: Knowing the Unknown
Pre-Requisite: Mind 3
Secret Keepers cannot protect what they do not know. While Logophages study to improve their ability to
find and recognize potent information without talking to others, they cannot know everything. The Secret
Keeper can interpret the secret information hidden within any form of communication. Hand signals, written
languages, encoded signals, interpretive dance, or meaningfully placed assortment of pebbles, twigs, or
coffee stains, anything placed with an intent to communicate a message within an established system is fair
game.
Universal Language, indefinite duration. Simple.
Optional Arcanum: Fate 3
Logophages who are disciples of Fate learn to interpret the will of the Supernal, and feel its support in
returning secrets to it from their dismal, Fallen existence. Whenever the Secret Keeper makes attempts to
discern whether gathered information is a major secret, or takes efforts to protect such knowledge, they
may gain a Boon with Potency equal to their dots in the Fate Arcanum, usable only for such a cause. This
Boon may only be gained once per approach to each individual secret, and lasts for a day (a week at Fate 4).
Exceptional Luck, Reach into Instant Casting and Advanced Duration. Kind of reflexive, not really, only triggers for certain kinds of actions.
Fourth Attainment: Righteous Theft
Pre-Requisite: Mind 4
Logophages may not consign their knowledge to the void until they are absolutely certin that this is the last
step in making it safe. They can burn books, wipe hard drives and deface ancient enlightenment as much as
they like, but doing so won’t help as long as there are those who know what is to be forgotten.
This power is the cause of much of the hate of the Logophages, such that a sufficiently powerful and initiated Secret Keeper may with a touch unravel the memories of an individual Mage, removing from their understanding a particular secret. This Attainment requires only sensory range, and functions on subjects who have a Resolve less than the Mage’s Mind dots (they may boost this Withstand with Willpower if they know what is occurring). Such removed knowledge remains apart from the subject’s perception for up to a week.
If during that time the Secret Keeper manages to remove all knowledge of the secret other than that which exists within their own mind, and then uses Security of the Lost, the Mage’s mind loses the memory of that knowledge altogether. A truly frightening prospect for many Mages.
Modified Version of Memory Hold, Reach into Instant Casting, Advanced Duration, Sensory Range.
Optional Arcanum: Fate 4
A Logophage with Adepthood in Fate is utterly relentless. At least once per day, if they have dedicated
themselves to the devouring of a specific secret, they will be offered a clear opportunity to progress towards
such a goal. This will not guarantee its success, but will provide clear directions as to how it may be achieved,
and opportunities which they may take up.
Strings of Fate, reach into Advanced Duration.
Fifth Attainment: The Last Secret
Pre-Requisite: Mind 5, Fate 5
Rumors spread throughout the Logophages of the last Attainment of the Legacy, having reached the point at
which they have evolved their powers fully, they become the perfect guardian for a single, deadly secret. As
an Instant Action, and with a touch, the Mage may seek to expose a subject to the secret which only they
may keep, the resulting shock utterly destroys the subject’s Mind, unless they can maintain their composure
and avoid realizing the Mage’s secret. This means only those of Composure 5, or those aware of the Mage’s action who expend Willpower to boost their Composure may survive this secret. The same fate befalls any
who would read the Mage’s Mind.
Furthermore, the secret is jealous, and all records of the Mage and people who would know of them, or hold knowledge of their actions either forget, die, or are destroyed. Individuals may through their most ardent attempts seek to avoid such a fate, but the result is always the same. It is as if the entire world has turned against the individual. Forget, and live.
Basically a narrative element. Don’t read their mind, try not learn about them. You’ll die. Basically they become a walking cognitohazard.