The Cicatrix

A cicatrix, used extensively by Criamon magi, is a bodily mark made by ritual scarring. Typical techniques practiced by that House is pyrography and the introduction of dyes into the skin by a puncturing needle. The cicatrix has a checkered history, used by Egyptian king-priests, and in Roman penal colonies. The Church prohibits it, with several Fathers writing against the practice. Beyond mystical significance, a cicatrix and be enchanted with magic.

Lesser Enchantments

Any magus can turn a cicatrix into an enchantment. Criamon magi are the most common users of the technique, however, because of the importance of cicatrices in their House's philosophy, and the inherit dangers of injecting yourself with raw vis.

• They can only be lesser enchantments.
• They can only be "effect that govern the device [the magus] alone."
• All form and effect bonuses must derive either be in the form of

1. Materials for the tattooing dye, or
2. The image depicted by the cicatrix itself. For example: to gain the bonus from a clamshell, it must either be ground up and placed in the dye or the cicatrix itself must be the picture of a clam shell. To use a dye ingredient as a form and effect bonus, the maker of the dye must have an appropriate work skill or knowledge, such as Herbalism or Craft (Dyer). To make a cicatrix that actually depicts a form, rather than just a magical pattern, requires Craft (Ritual Scarring).

• Cicatrizing a lesser enchantment into a living body is always an arcane experiment.
• Botch dice for Extraordinary Results are doubled.
• If you are using Vim vis, add +1 Twilight Point per pawn of Vim vis used.

The primary advantage of an imprint is its resilience to disenchantment by magic or physical destruction. If magic is used to disenchant an imprint, any magic resistance of the magi must be overcome. To be physically destroyed, the magus must sustain an appropriate injury (laceration, burns, or something similarly nasty) that costs more Body Levels than the magus current has. For example, a magus with 2 Body Levels of damage, who takes an additional 4 Body Levels, not only drops to Incapacitation but also loses the imprint.

Enigmatic Cicatrices

The Tinct

Criamon magi can make a powerful Tinct by combining the ingredients of their longevity potions with raw Vim vis. The typical longevity potion suspends the natural forces at play within the body of a magus. Through the Tinct, Criamon magi draw their animating spirits directly from magic itself.

Procedure

The procedure for making and using Tinct is:

• You must have designed a longevity potion.
• You must make a dose (or copy, etc.) of your longevity potion.
• Spend a season "opening" your longevity potion by using 1 pawn of Vim vis per magnitude of the longevity potion, turning it into a tattooing dye, the Tinct. You can use less Vim vis by intentionally designing a lower-level longevity potion.
• Make the cicatrix by spending an evening with a knife and a pipe of dye: rolling a stress die + Enigmatic Wisdom + Craft (Ritual Scaring) [if any], with an Ease Factor of 10 + current Twilight points.
• If you botch: a) any current longevity potion fails and b) you must make a number of aging rolls equal to the number of botches rolled.
• If you fail, lose 1 Body Level as you spend the entire night vomiting up lightning and raw vis or something similarly spectacularly grotesque.
• If you succeed, for each pawn of Vim vis incorporated into your body, you gain 1 Twilight point and 2 Magic Might points.

Powers & Prices

The Magic Might produced by an enigmatic cicatrix has many consequences:

• Rather than rely on your body's mundane physical energy, you can draw directly from your Magic Might to work magic. You can spend a temporary point of Magic Might instead of a fatigue level when casting any type of spell. Magic Might spent in this fashion returns after a good night's sleep.
• Even when your Parma Magica is down, you have a Magic Resistance equal to your current Magic Might.
• As a side effect of your closeness to the Magic Realm, your current Magic Might as added to any rolls moving through regiones.
• You gain understand and control of magic through becoming magic. When determining botches for Vim spells and effects, subtract (Magic Might/5), rounded up, from the number of botch dice you need to roll.
• Most importantly, the Tinct allows you more time before Final Twilight, so that you can gain further understand before transcendence. "Closer to the sun, but narrower of gaze," is the saying. When making checks for Temporary Twilight, the Ease Factor is 24 + (Magic Might/5), rounded up. You enter Final Twilight when your Twilight Point total equals 24 + (Magic Might/5), rounded up. In addition, you gain 1 twilight Point for every 40 years on longevity potion, instead of the standard 20.

Last modified: Tues Jan 5, 1999 / Jeremiah Genest