DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

New Arcanum: Abyss

Purview: Abyss, Paradox, Disbelief, Acamoth, Fallen World, Anti-Prime, Quiessence, Abyssal
spirits, traveling to and from the Abyss, smothering magic, destroying spirituality. To a lesser
degree, darkness, vice, corruption and failure.

This is the Arcanum that is forbidden, the Ars Abyssal, the mysteries of the blackness that
seperates the Fallen World from the Supernal. It is the art of Paradox, the mastery of Quiescence,
the death of Magic - but also the freedom from the lead weight of the chains that bind Mages to
the Fallen World, a way to reach out and beyond to the Supernal with an ease that is difficult to
imagine. It is corruption, but with the promise of salvation, if one is strong and sure. Few mages
have the moral fiber to daily look into the Abyss, the Abyss looking back - fewer have the
strength to win the blinking contest with the unblinking monsters that lurk therein.

Any mage may learn the Abyssal Arcanum as an Inferior Arcanum with the aid of a teacher, such
as a Nefandus or certain Abyssal spirits, akin to the Acamoth. The Nefandi may learn it as their
Ruling Arcanum.

A mage who studies Abyssal lore has their maximum Wisdom capped at (10 - Abyssal Arcanum).
So, a Mage that is an Adept of the Abyss may not have a Wisdom greater than 6. Such is the
price paid for learning truths man was not meant to know.

The Arcanum is beta, and is yet to playtest. There is no actual “rule” about how you learn the
Arcanum, but there are a few options I suggest:

 Any mage from any path could learn Abyss, but it’s always considered an Inferior
Arcanum. So it takes 8 x new dots experience points to learn. Whether a new character
can or not start to play with dots in Abyss, is left to the Storyteller. Personally, I suggest
“no”.

A Storyteller might force a Wisdom roll to not gain a new mild derangement or to worse
a serious one, without Wisdom loss. If he likes a darker World of Darkness, he could treat
learning Abyss as a sin for a Wisdom 3.

I don’t consider Abyss inherently evil. Dark is not necessarily evil.

 A completely new path with Abyss as its only Ruling Arcanum, and no inferior arcanum.
As any mage, he woud have 2 arcanum at 2 dots, one at one dot, and a free dot. At least
one dot must be Abyss. The Storyteller could rule this new path is immune to
derangement gained through learning Abyss, as well as not, if the upper option is applied.

 Anything else. This is meant to be a tool mostly for Storytellers.

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

Fallen Powers
When talking of Fallen Powers for the Abyss Arcanum, it’s about every supernatural effect not
native of the Supernal Realms. At the first dots in this Arcanum, you can target thaumaturges and
psychics (see Second Sight), vampires and their Disciplines, werewolves and their Gifts,
prometheans’ Transmutations, changelings’ Contracts, sin eaters’ Manifestations and so on. The
only powers that can be targeted by this Arcanum are supernatural merits (like those of
thaumaturges and psychics), and supernatural powers from the other major archetypes, and only
if they are rated with dots. You can affect a power at the same dots of your Abyss dots. You
cannot target the Supernatural Traits (Blood Potency, Primal Urge, Gnosis and so on). A single
Pattern cannot contain more than one Fallen Power obtained by Awakened magic before
the fifth dot in the Abyss Arcanum.

You cannot replicate Fallen Powers that have a direct and integral bond to the nature of the
supernatural creature. Example: Coils of the Dragon, most of Mother Luna’s Gifts, most
Disquietism Transmutations, and so on.

It is also impossible to learn Cruac, Theban Sorcery, Werewolves’ rites and the like. For more
info on supernatural creatures you can read Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken,
Promethean: The Created, Changeling: The Lost, Geist: The Sin Eater and other archetype
books.

Attainments as Fallen Powers?

Reading through the Abyss Arcanum could easily make you realize that rotes about the Fallen
Powers are very specific, and give the most when combined with other supernatural creatures. In
case you don’t have or use vampire, werewolves and other supernatural creatures, you might
want to modify a little the Arcanum to work on legacy attainments. Attainments are this way
considered supernatural but not Supernal. In case the number of dots in the Arcanum used in the
powers are not listed, look at the requirements, and take the highest dots in arcanum as reference.

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

Initiate of the Abyss (Abyss •)

“I look with eyes open in the depths of the night, and behold the inevitable truth. The world
floats in an infinite void, without meaning or reason; the few fey sparks on her are fleeting
embers in the endless, chill night. But secrets lay within the void, and I have begun to plumb for
them. The corruption of the human soul becomes clear next to the stark purity of the Void.”

Eyes of Night Storyteller could grant a bonus to scrying

Practice: Knowing attempts: from +1 to +2 in case of very
Action: Instant powerful or recent Paradoxes, or penalities
Duration: Prolonged (One scene) from -1 to -2 for very old ones.
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None Additionally, it grants a +1 bonus to
examining the resonance of any Abyssal
Allows you to operate perfectly well in the phenomena.
dark. You suffer no penalties for blindness,
even in magically created or otherwise Song of the Abyss
unnatural circumstances. This sixth sense is Practice: Compelling
not reliant on sound, scent, or any other Action: Instant
sense; it is often expressed as an extension Duration: Lasting
of feeling. Aspect: Covert
Cost: None
Scent of Vice
Practice: Knowing Target a single spell the mage knows is
Action: Instant incoming, and shares at least one Arcanum
Duration: Concentration with (as with Counterspelling). If the spell is
Aspect: Covert Covert, it becomes Improbable; if
Cost: None Improbable, it becomes Vulgar. If the spell is
already Vulgar, Song of the Abyss has no
Allows you to know what anyone else’s Vice effect.
is, by sight.
Ignorance
Dream of a Dream (Abyssal Sight) Practice: Compelling
Practice: Unveiling Action: Instant
Action: Instant Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Duration: Prolonged (one scene) Aspect: Covert
Aspect: Covert Cost: None
Cost: None
Sometimes Sleepers should forget they
The mage obtains his Mage Sight. He can witnessed a Vulgar or Improbable spell. This
percieve the metaphysical weight of the spells is the best to assure the Veil isn’t cut:
Abyss. calling the Abyss, it creates a little Disbelief
aura.
The spellcaster becomes aware about
Paradoxes that triggered in the area, and a Within the mage’s sensory area, all Sleepers
general idea of when it happened. The mage witnessing Vulgar or Improbable magic
needs Time 1 to know the exact time. The

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

count as having 2 less Willpower dots to

forget the effects.

Read the Fallen Flux

Practice: Knowing
Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None

Detecting the threats of the supernatural is

important, and even more if they are
unknown and dangerous to mages. A mage
with sufficent knowledge of the Abyss
Arcanum can use this spell to know who to
target to find magic of the Fallen World.

The character percieves the presence of a

Fallen Power user. Every success after the
first pierces penalities to read the hidden
aura.

Eyes of the Fallen World

Practice: Knowing
Action: Instant, subtract target’s Resolve
Duration: Concentration
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None

After knowing a creature has Fallen Powers,

the mage can cast this spell to identify their
function.

The first power identified is the one more

used. Then, for every other success the other
less used, if present.

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

Apprentice of the Abyss (Abyss ••)

“I garb myself in the void; like a velvet robe, it surrounds and hides me from my enemies,
guarding me from their magic. I call up the Quiescence of Sleep, or push it away. By my secrets
arts, I hide my magic from the eyes of Sleeper and Awakened alike. I cry to the Void, and the
Void heeds my word.”

Share the Dream Aegis of the Void

Practice: Unveiling Practice: Shielding
Action: Instant Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged (one scene) Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert Aspect: Covert
Cost: None Cost: Special

Grants Mage Sight, as per Dream of a Redirects the magic of other mages that
Dream, to another. would harm you. If a direct magical attack
targets you, you may spend 1 Mana and roll
Eyes of Sleep your Gnosis + Abyss. If you get more
Practice: Ruling successes than the Potency of the spell cast,
Action: Instant the spell is forced to hit someone else, as
Duration: Prolonged with a Havoc Backlash. You have no
Aspect: Covert direction over who the spell now targets.
Cost: None
With Abyss 3, you may specify that the spell
Summons forth the Quiescence of Sleep, hits anyone of your choosing except the
temporarily beholding the world through the casting mage. With Abyss 4, you may
eyes of a Sleeper. Although the mage specify that the spell hits anyone of your
remains Awake, he counts as a Sleeper for choosing, including the offending mage.
all other purposes save his own spells while
Eyes of Sleep remains in effect, including While using Aegis of the Void, the mage
adding dice to Vulgar Paradox rolls and appears to be suffused with unholy darkness
invoking Disbelief. to Mage Sight.

Abyssal Garb Close the Sleeper’s Eyes

Practice: Shielding Practice: Veiling
Action: Instant Action: Instant
Duration: Prolonged (one scene, or Duration: Prolonged (One Scene)
optionally, 1 day) Aspect: Covert
Aspect: Covert Cost: 1 Mana
Cost: None (or 1 Mana to extend the
Duration to 1 day) One Sleeper per success does not count as a
witness for Vulgar magic for the rest of this
Invokes the Abyss around the mage, scene, nor do they invoke Disbelief.
guarding them from harm. Provides their
Abyss in points of Armor, but not against Hide the Overt Hand
damage dealt in a grapple. Practice: Veiling

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

Action: Instant Ability: Free from the Abyss

Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert Normally, mages are their own worst
Cost: 1 Mana enemies, their magic calling down baleful
forces beyond their control. A mage with at
Turns the next several Improbable or Vulgar least Abyss 2 is largely freed from such
spells cast by the mage into Covert, up to the concerns, and automatically reduces their
number of successes rolled or the mage’s Paradox pool by their rating in the Abyss.
Abyss rating, whichever is lower. If the Even if afflicted by Paradox, they add their
duration ends, all unused chances to turn Abyss rating to their Wisdom for calculating
spells Covert are lost. the severity.

Call Imp
Practice: Ruling
Action: Instant and contested; target rolls
Resistance reflexively
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None

Calls forth an Imp of the Abyss (as per

Mage: the Awakening, pg 273). Such spirits
are drawn to the Fallen World only
unwillingly, and often are as troublesome to
the summoner as they are to any other mage
present, unless bound with stronger magics
(such as Command Spectre or Bind the
Angel of the Void).

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

Disciple of the Abyss (Abyss •••)

“I stare at the blackness, and see the glimmers of light and truth behind it. I sail the depthless
oceans and chart courses where no stars guide me, speaking to intelligences far older than
humanity. By my word is their attention directed towards those who oppose me, and away from
those I wish. I infuse Quiescence as lesser mages direct Mana, returning Sleepwalkers to Sleep
or making a talisman cursed to my one time fellows. The magic of others twists within weak
cages of minds, and madness follows in my wake.”

Imbue Quiescence This spell summons forth the Abyss,

Practice: Weaving reinfusing it into a mortal that has slipped
Action: Extended the bonds of Slumber but is not yet Awake.
Duration: Lasting They contest with Resolve + Gnosis. If the
Aspect: Vulgar spell is successful, they cease being
Cost: None Sleepwalkers, returning to Sleep and
counting as Sleepers for all pertinent
Imbues the Quiescence of the Abyss into a reasons. Over the next several minutes, and
place or thing. Thus imbued, such Quiessent until the spell’s Duration ends, they also
devices count as Sleepers for purposes of forget the truth of Magic, although not their
determining Vulgarity and paradox. Cunning associations with any mages they may know.
masters of the Abyss have also Imbued such
items with benefical effects, such as Fate It requires Abyss 5 to return a mage to
Charms or Talisman-like qualities, Slumber.
encouraging mages who find them to keep
them secret. Sail the Starless Ocean
Practice: Weaving
It requires Abyss 4 to Imbue Quiescence Action: Extended
into a Hallow or Demense. Imbuing Duration: Transitory
Quiescence into a Hallow must overcome Aspect: Vulgar
the strength of the Hallow, having a Potency Cost: 1 Mana
that exceeds the rating. Imbuing Quiessence
into a Demense must overcome the Potency Tears open a wound in the Fallen World, a
of the spell that created the Demense plus portal leading directly to the Abyss.
the number of Soulstones empowering the Travelling their bodily, the mage finds
Demense. If successful, the Demense is themselves engulfed in impenetrable
destroyed, but the soulstones used to make it darkness, a void so complete and oppressive
are unharmed. This is in addition to the as to smother away sanity and hope and
normal effects of making an area Quiescent. faith.

Return to Slumber The connection between the Abyss and the

Practice: Perfecting Fallen World is highly erratic; the non-space
Action: Instant and contested; target rolls of the Abyss can make some journies far
Resolve + Gnosis reflexively faster than they would otherwise be, and
Duration: Prolonged others far longer. Make an extended
Aspect: Covert Intelligence + Occult roll, for a target of 5
Cost: 1 Mana successes. The first roll represents only a

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

second in the Void; the second a minute, the a number of dice from any attempt they
third an hour, the fourth a day, the fifth a make at performing magic by your Abyss
month, and so on. It is impossible to tell rating.
time in the Void, nor do those in it require
food or rest. These rolls must be made Chart a Sunless Course
before returning to Creation, regardless of Practice: Perfecting
where in Creation the mage wants to return Action: Instant
to. Duration: Special
Aspect: Vulgar
Any magic used in the Void is treated as Cost: 1 Mana
being Vulgar with Witnesses, and the
Paradox Pool is rolled with the 8-again Strengthens a target’s connection to the
property. Ironically, however, it is far easier Supernal, thinning the Abyss that lays
to sense the Supernal realms from the between the Fallen and mystic realms. For a
Abyss; double the base casting roll. number of spells equal to the successes
rolled, the target gains a number of dice
Spirits of the Abyss, such as the Acamoth or from any attempt they make at performing
those summoned by a five success Paradox magic by your Abyss rating.
Backlash, frequent the Abyss, and many will
be drawn to the light and life of any Mages Beckon the Eldest Gods
that tresspass that blackness. Practice: Weaving
Action: Instant and contested; target rolls
Command Spectre Resistance reflexively
Practice: Ruling Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Action: Instant and contested; target rolls Aspect: Vulgar
Resistance reflexively Cost: None
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert Summons an Abyssal Spectre of any rank,
Cost: None known or unknown, to the mage. Such
entities are always massively resentful of
Issues a single, simple command per success being pulled into the presence of the Fallen
to an Abyssal Spirit. World, and the summoning mage is
frequently the closest and easiest target at
Shadow the Road hand to vent that frustration.
Practice: Fraying
Action: Instant and contested; target rolls (Author’s Note: I didn’t feel like formally
Composure + Gnosis reflexively writing the rest of the Spirit analogs; treat
Duration: Special Abyss as Spirit for dealing with Abyssal
Aspect: Covert Spectres)
Cost: None
Shatter the Mind
Shadow the Road makes it more difficult for Practice: Fraying
other Mages to use their magic, twisting the Action: Instant and contested; target rolls
connection they have to the Supernal. For a Composure + Gnosis reflexively
number of spells equal to the successes Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
rolled on Shadow the Road, the target loses Aspect: Covert

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

Cost: 1 Mana

If successfully cast, the target is left with a

Derangement of the Storyteller’s choice.
Shatter the Mind may also be used
reflexively if you are aware that you are the
target of a spell; if successful, your opponent
is at -2 to resist.

With Abyss 4, you may chose which

Derangement to inflict.

Temptation
Practice: Ruling
Action: Instant
Duration: Transitory
Aspect: Covert
Cost: None

If the target has the oppurtunity to engage in

their Vice, they must pay successes rolled in
Willpower to not do so.

Blind the Higher Purpose

Practice: Fraying
Action: Instant and contested; target rolls
Resolve + Gnosis reflexively
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Vulgar
Cost: None

The target regains no Willpower by fulfilling

their Virtue while afflicted by Blind the
Higher Purpose.

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

Adept of the Abyss (Abyss ••••)

“As Sleepers are to the Awakened, so are the Awakened to me. I know the truth behind the lie,
and see my way clearly to the far shores of the Supernal. Spirits of the Abyss accept me as their
own, and I accept them as mine - or twist their immaterial flesh to better suit my need. My magic
is untainted by Paradox, while that of my enemies twists and falters without fail, leaving them
burned and their world twisted. The Void consumes all, as I direct it.”

Bind the Angel of the Void Brand of the Abyss

Practice: Patterning Practice: Unraveling
Action: Extended (target number = Action: Extended (target number = target’s
Spectre’s Rank) and contested; target Wisdom) and contested; target
rolls Resistance reflexively rolls Composure + Gnosis reflexively
Duration: Prolonged (one scene) Duration: Special
Aspect: Vulgar Aspect: Vulgar
Cost: None Cost: None

Binds an Abyssal Spectre, as with the Spirit Afflicts a target with a Branding (as per
effect Bind Spirit (pg 251) page 272). The target is afflicted by the most
powerful Brand they could normally incur
Create Anomaly (as in, based upon their highest Arcanum),
Practice: Patterning and lasts as long as it normally would (based
Action: Instant upon their Wisdom).
Duration: Prolonged (one scene)
Aspect: Covert Consume the Fallen World
Cost: None Practice: Unravelling
Action: Instant
Creates an Anomaly (as per pg 271). You Duration: Lasting
choose which Realm is most strongly Aspect: Vulgar
represented in the Anomaly, and describe the Cost: None
general form it takes.
Tear open a gate to the Abyss, letting the
Feed Pride Void fly forth into the world. It’s acidic
Practice: Unraveling touch slowly dissolves anything it lands
Action: Instant and contested; target rolls upon. In full sunlight, the darkness
Resolve + Gnosis reflexively summoned forth lasts for only one turn;
Duration: Prolonged (one scene) otherwise, it lasts a number of turns equal to
Aspect: Vulgar your successes. Each turn it deals your
Cost: None Abyss in Bashing damage to anyone it was
directed at, or who comes in contact with it.
The target suffers a penalty equal to the If directed against a solid object, it ignore
successes rolled for any check to maintain Durability and dissolve your Abyss in
Wisdom while afflicted by Feed Pride, and Structure each turn.
checks for derangements with a -2 penalty.

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

With Abyss 5, Consume the Fallen World

deals Lethal damage, dealing twice your Entry to the Tartarian Sea may be used to
Abyss in damage to objects. allow you to usher several people into the
Abyss, or to try and trap another within the
Cleanse the Abyss infinite black. If used offensively, the target
Practice: Patterning resists with their Defense.
Action: Instant and resisted; subtract
target’s Composure Walk Without Fear
Duration: Lasting Practice: Patterning
Aspect: Vulgar Action: Instant
Cost: None Duration: Special
Aspect: Covert
Remove one Paradox-inflicted flaw from the Cost: None
target. It may be used to undo the link
between an Abyssal Spectre and the mage, if Allows the Mage to immediately reach
they summoned one forth, but it does not anywhere else in Creation, or to walk the
banish the spirit directly. Alternatively, Astral Realms in the flesh, from the Abyss.
Cleanse the Abyss can remove the They may also approach the borderlands of
ResInstant aspect of damage taken the Supernal, and clearly see the
suppressing Paradox flaws, although it does Watchtowers gleaming through the infinite
not heal the damage so inflicted. It thus blackness. Drawing so close triples their
becomes possible to use Pattern Restoration pool for any magical effect.
or Life Magic to heal such injuries. One
point of ResInstant damage is made normal
or one Paradox flaw removed per success.

Entry to the Tartarian Sea

Practice: Patterning
Action: Instant; (if used as an attack,
resisted by target’s Defense)
Duration: Transitory
Aspect: Vulgar
Cost: None

Creates a gateway in a fixed location in the

Fallen World that leads to the Abyss. Mages
(or worse, Sleepers) that stumble into such a
gate may easily find themselves trapped in
the Abyss, as they will likely have only one
chance to make the Intelligence + Occult
roll to find the gate they entered in, and have
no other means of escaping.

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

Master of the Abyss (Abyss •••••)

“In hubris did mages cast down the Gods. They did not die; they have slept long ages in the
darkness beyond time and space. That which has risen may fall, and that which has fallen may
rise again, and when it rises, it shall do so as I command. I call forth the Abyss as a man calls a
dog, and I abase myself before it’s obsidian majesty. It is the prison of humanity and my home,
and I stride its endless lengths as a prince. Tis better to Rule in the Void than to Serve in the
Supernal.”

Forge Ruin Without Fear to reach the border between

Practice: Making the Abyss and the Supernal. It then requires
Action: Instant 50 successes, rather than 5, on the prolonged
Duration: Prolonged Intelligence + Occult roll to navigate the
Aspect: Covert Abyss. It is this ultimate lure that tempts
Cost: None many otherwise good Mages into studying
Abyssal magic, as it provides a shortcut
Transforms an area into a Ruin. Within a around the dangers of building a second
Ruin, treat all magical effects as if they were Celestial Ladder.
cast within the Abyss, without any of the
benefits. Namely, any magic used in the It is unknown if a mage who reaches the
Void is treated as being Vulgar with Supernal can return, or if they simply chose
Witnesses, and the Paradox Pool is rolled not to. What is certain is that nothing has
with the 8-again property. been seen or heard from again of the few
mages that have made the effort.
Tread the Supernal
Practice: Making Darken Soul
Action: Special Practice: Unmaking
Duration: Lasting Action: Instant and contested; target rolls
Aspect: Vulgar Resolve reflexively
Cost: None Duration: Lasting
Aspect: Vulgar
Having ultimate mastery of the Void, you Cost: 1 Mana
may at least attempt to reach the far shore of
the Supernal and, as mages did once before, Either kills a Sleeper, or permanently
tread the realms of pure magic in the flesh. prevents them from ever Awakening.

Such an effort is fraught with danger, as it With Archmastery of the Abyss, it may be
entails crossing the infinite breadth of the possible to use Darken Soul on the
Abyss. It requires the mage first cast Walk Awakened.

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DariusSolluman, Jesuncolo Abyss Arcanum

Nefandi
(Left-Handed Legacy of the Abyss)

It is uncertain if it began as a Moros or Mastigos Legacy, but it is certain that the Nefandi can
corrupt a willing member of any Path to their cause. It is rumored that the Silver Ladder may
secretly train Nefandi, for their unparalleled mastery of the Abyss - a neccesary evil, if the Abyss
is to be overcome and a new Celestial Ladder built. If such were revealed to be true, it could
destroy the Order.

Nefandi learn the Abyss Arcanum as their Ruling Arcanum, losing their previous Ruling Arcana
and Inferior Arcanum. All other Arcana become Common to them. They may teach the Abyssal
Arcanum to other Mages, who learn it as if it were an Inferior Arcanum. Many spirits of the
Abyss (such as Acamoth) may also teach the Abyssal Arcanum as well, to a greater or lesser
degree.

First Attainment: Requires Gnosis 3, Abyss 2 - Activate or deactivate “Eyes of Sleep” as a

reflexive action. It lasts for as long as the Nefandus wills it to.

Second Attainment: Requires Gnosis 5, Abyss 3 - Activate “Sail the Starless Ocean” as an
instant action by spending 1 Mana and rolling Composure + Occult + Abyss. May be activated as
a Reflexive action by spending a Willpower point as well.

Third Attainment: Requires Gnosis 7, Abyss 4 - Activate “Consume the Fallen World” for 1
Mana. It lasts a number of turns equal to your Gnosis.

Suggested Oblations: Engaging in your Vice, spending 4 hours contemplating a black sky,
making a Morality check, causing another to make a Morality check

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