See Summoners for all the fluff.
Doctrine
Parent Path: Obrimos
Prerequisites: Prime 2, Occult 2, and 2 dots between Academics, Expression and Weaponry
Initiation: Display your beliefs through your actions, showing your belief in the righteousness of the Aether and your desire to use its powers not for their own sake but for the protection of the Fallen world from the predations of the Abyss.
Magic:
Ruling: Prime
Yantras: Succeed on an Occult roll relevant to the spell (+2), council your comrades on the dangers you are facing (+1), perform a prayer specifically tailored to the situation you find yourself in (+2), hold a vigil before casting the spell (+1, +2 if this creates an adverse Condition).
Oblations: Assisting local charitable organizations, cleansing Abyssal taint, meditation upon the nature of the Supernal Realms, leading a prayer group, teaching others the hazards of the Abyss.
Attainments:
First Attainment: Eyes of the Aether
Pre-Requisite: Initiation
As an Instant Action, the Mage may open their third eye and view the Supernal (and Abyssal) energies imbued in the world around them. Through scrutinizing a person, place or location for a turn and using this attainment, the Mage may ask a number of the following questions equal to his dots in Prime:
- How much Mana does the target have in her Pattern (alternatively, how much tainted Abyssal Essence does the target contain)?
- To which Supernal World is the target most closely aligned (alternatively, are they connected to the Abyss)?
- What is the target’s highest-rated Arcanum (alternatively, what is its strongest Abyssal influence)?
- How adept is the target in their highest-rated Arcanum (alternatively, what is the dot rating of the target’s strongest Abyssal influence)?
- How many Arcana does the subject know (alternatively, how many Abyssal influences does the target have)?
- What is the target’s Nimbus (alternatively, what concept does the Abyssal entity portray)?
- What is the target’s Gnosis (alternatively, what is the Abyssal entity’s rank)?
Supernal Vision, but modified to also provide information about the abysally tainted nature of the target.
Optional Arcanum: Forces 1
As an Instant Action, the Mage may perceive a number of different aspects of Aetheric Forces equal to his
dots in Forces for a round, increasing to 2 rounds at Forces 2, and 3 rounds at Forces 4. Exceptionally potent sources of energy may temporarily apply the Blind Condition to the Mage for the duration of the attainment.
Simple, no real need to explain, Reach for Instant Casting.
Second Attainment Aetherial Cleansing
Pre-Requisite: Prime 2, Occult 2
The taint of the Abyss is powerful and pervasive; whatever it touches is inevitably stained by the contact. Dominions fight against this through channeling the tremendous power of the Abode of Angels, rallying the primal, raw energy of Magic itself against the Abyss in the hope of protecting the Fallen World from its infectious, insidious presence.
This Attainment enhances the mage’s Universal Counterspell Attainment, allowing its use against any Influence or Numina utilized by Abyssal entities such as an Acamoth or Gulmoth. In a Clash of Wills, these entities roll Rank + Influence, or Rank + Power/Finesse (whichever is higher, though the mage may spend a point of Mana to make them roll with whichever is lower).
When utilizing this power, the mage appears wreathed in a soft white light and may display traditionally “angelic” or “holy” characteristics such as a radiant halo, or soft luminous wings, even without Mage Sight.
Folded counterspelling Acamoth/Gulmoth powers into the Universal Counterspell attainment.
Optional Arcanum: Forces 2
A Mage’s sympathy to the Aether grants them control over one of its most prominent, and purifying tools,
fire. As an Instant Action, the Mage may compel fire within his sensory range to bend, stretch, car and travel
along specified paths. While in many cases this may not be enough to transform a match into an inferno, it
can compel the flame from the match directly into a petrol-soaked Gulmoth monster.
Practice of Compelling on fire. Couldn’t resist. PURGE THE UNCLEAN! BY FIRE BE PURGED!
Third Attainment Arms of the Aether
Pre-Requisite: Prime 3, Occult 3
Praying for assistance in a trying time, the Mage may bind the power of the Aether into a physical, tangible form which suits her purposes. With a scene’s preparation, the Dominion may call upon the Aether to create an item of pure power, which lasts a day (increasing to a Week at Prime 4). The item may be of any simple device of up to size 5, is Durability 1, and contains a single point of Mana. The Mage may enhance the item’s Durability, Mana Capacity (filling not with Mana but with Fallen energies) or equipment bonus/weapon damage by 1 per point of Prime. Each use of the item as a weapon or tool uses up a point of energy, removing the point of Mana last. When the spell ends, the item dissipates back into energies, and unless uses or reabsorbed, the point of Mana is lost.
I always put Platonic Form at the 3-4 dot mark. Why? Because its primary flaws (requiring a lot of Mana to be good, and being obviously Supernal) are completely removed by its nature as a Legacy Attainment.
Optional Arcanum: Forces 3
A proper understanding of the underpinnings of Forces can turn even the most poorly forged item into a masterwork of its kind. If the item created by Arms of the Aether is a tool or weapon, then with this option the item gains a equipment or weapon bonus (as appropriate) equal to the Mage’s dots in Forces. This stacks with any inherent capacity of the item itself as determined by dot allocation at the time of its creation.
In addition, if the Mage desires the item’s Aetheric glory may be hidden through a proper understanding of Forces principles, ensuring that its otherworldly nature is not immediately obvious (until perhaps the knife cuts straight through a steel girder).
Modification of Platonic Form to increase item bonus. Simple spell, fits within the concept of forces in that all tools are by nature used to more efficiently tune energies, and through use of Weaving, those tools can work with true harmony and syncronisity. A knife that perfectly channels kinetic energy through its cutting edge, a hammer that transfers all momentum directly into the target, a spanner that grips true or a flint and tinder that never fails to spark.
Fourth Attainment Aetherial Avatar
Pre-Requisite: Prime 4, Occult 4
Calling upon the fire of the Aether, the Dominion gives it shape within his soul and channels it outwards in the form of an Avenging Angel formed of Supernal Mana and adorned with fire. Reflections of the Dominion’s Virtue and Vice can be seen by those who closely study it.
By spending a point of Mana as an Instant Action, the mage may summon a Supernal Entity from within his own Soul giving it form and power, and turning it loose against the Abyss and its servants. The entity’s attributes are the lowest of each of the 3 elements which constitute them (e.g. for Power the lowest of Strength, Intelligence and Presence), it has no Influences, Numina, or Manifestations, and persists for a number of rounds equal to the mage’s dots in Prime on the transitory duration table.
The entity may however spend a point of the Dominion’s mana as an Instant Action to cast the spells Celestial Fire (Sensory Range, Lethal damage, Potency equal to Mage’s dots in Prime), or Dispel Magic (Sensory Range, Lasting Effect, Potency equal to the Mage’s dots in Prime), both of these spells may affect ephemeral entities, and Dispel Magic may be used on the Influences and Numina of Gulmoths and Acamoths (treating Withstand as equal to Rank).
This entity is not under the mage’s direct control, however it will act as according to the Mage’s Virtue and Vice, and is compelled to fight against the Abyss and its servants.
Attainment creation rules? What attainment creation rules? Nah this totally makes sense. Look, it’s their textbook ability, 2 of their 3 attainments in the original writeup are based on it. I had to keep it. As it is, the Avatar is normally pretty fucking awful. However, I decided to make its spells the main attraction. This motherfucker can purge Abyssal Manifestations and Numina from the world, and it’s equipped with fucking eye lazers. Sure its stats are likely pretty garbage, but now you’ve got an Angel floating next to you which can annihilate shit with eye lasers while you fuck stuff up with your own spells.
Optional Arcanum: Forces 4
With a sufficient understanding of the fallen manifestations of the energy of the Aether, a Dominion may
grant its Aetherial Avatar further abilities, turning these energies loose upon its foes. A mage with Forces 4
who uses Aetherial Avatar can grant it the following abilities:
- A flight speed with a speed factor equal to Resistance * Forces
- A melee weapon with a weapon damage equal to the Mage’s dots in Forces as Lethal damage, the attack roll being Power + Finesse
- The ability to cast the Turn Momentum spell for an Instant Action and point of Mana (Sensory Range, affects objects equal to Potency of size 0-5, can be cast as Instant Action whenever Defense could be applied).
Fifth Attainment Aetherial Exaltation
Pre-Requisite: Prime 5, Occult 5
After having summoned her Aetherial Avatar, the Mage may spend an additional point of Mana as an Instant Action to power it to even greater heights. The Aetherial Avatar:
- Now determines attributes based on the highest of the appropriate Attributes
- Gains bonus Health equal to the mage’s dots in Prime
- Stays within the Fallen world for twice the normal duration, including time already spent upon activating this attainment
- Is considered to have armor equal to the mage’s dots in Prime
- Gains the Emotional Aura Numina, generating an emotion in keeping with the Mage’s virtue and vice
Okay, NOW it’s a bit better, but ultimately still nowhere as good as most other ephemeral entities summoning attainments I’ve created. I will admit to perhaps going a little overboard with the Bene Ashmeai. So while I was mostly happy to just copy-paste the abilities from 1e to 2e, I changed a few things. They’re now based entirely on Prime (rather than the lowest of its and Forces) and you get ALL the abilities with a single activation. You have to be Gnosis 8+ to learn this. It’s comparatively shit as-in, I don’t want to make it even worse.
Optional Arcanum: Forces 5
A second-degree Master of the Choir who has learned the fifth Legacy Attainment is force to be reckoned
with. When enhanced with this attainment the Aetherial Avatar:
- Enhances their weapon to deal Aggravated damage against Abyssal Entities
- Increases its Flight Speed by a factor equal to the Mage’s dots in Forces
- Gains the Telekinesis Numina, requiring no Essence cost to active, and gaining automatic successes equal to the mage’s dots in Forces