Librum Veritas

(The Book of Truth)

Arete 9, Quintessence 45, Level 7 (Cost 16)

Powers: Instant Insanity - see below (Mind 5, Avatar 4); Protection Against Magick - see below (Entropy 5, Forces 5, Matter 5, Prime 5); Matter Shield - see below (Matter 5)

    Note: the Avatar sphere (to be found in B. J. Zanzibar's) is used along with this talisman.

     This obscure talisman is said to be older than history, having gone through many shapes and assumed the current one in the Dark Ages. Only the wisest Hermetic magi have heard of it, and its power has been whispered troughout the centuries. Perhaps it was written by a Hermetic mage gone Marauder, or perhaps the book was the cause of him going Marauder in the first place. The truth may never be known.

    The Librum Veritas (the Book of Truth) is a hardcover manuscript of about 2000 pages, written in classical Latin, 2' long and 1 1/2' wide. It keeps all of the truth in the world, in the form of written word. This information is highly disturbing, but can also be a powerful tool for enlightening, sometimes even proportionating instant Awakenings and Epiphanies. One must have the Knowledges Occult 5 and Linguistics 3 to read it, but otherwise a non-mage can read it too.
 

Instant Insanity (coincidental)

    In game terms, the book takes (10-Occult) weeks to read. Every week, the reader must roll her Willpower against the book's Arete. Check the results with the chart below.

Chart I

Botch Character automatically goes insane. A mage enters Quiet. (The insanity/ Quiet must be specially complex and difficult to be treated.)
Failure Character continues reading, but begins to feel very disturbed and to present signs of madness. Assume the effects of a Derangement, only roleplay it lighter. For the next weeks, difficulty increases in 3.
Success (1-2) Character has succeeded in resisting the ill effects of the book's truth. For the nect weeks, difficulty increases in 2.
Success (3+) Character didn't only resist the book's madness, but can now learn something from it as well. The difficulty for the next weeks increases by 1. Roll your Arete against the Librum's own Arete on Chart II below for the good effects (non-magi roll Intelligence + Occult).
 

Chart II

Botch Back to Chart I; difficulty increased by an additional 1 for next weeks
Failure Back to Chart I
1-4 successes (successes)2 xp on Arete, Spheres or Occult
5+ successes (successes)3 xp on Arete, Spheres or Occult; roll Arete + Avatar or Intelligence + Occult on Chart III
 

Chart III

Botch Back to Chart I; difficulty increased by another 1 for next weeks
Failure Roll again on Chart II, but add 2 to difficulty
1-4 successes (successes)4 xp on Arete, Spheres or Occult
5-9 successes (successes)5 xp on Arete, Spheres or Occult; non-mages Awaken
10+ successes Character Ascends
 
 

Protection Against Magick (usually coincidental)

    The book has level 5 innate countermagick against Prime, Forces, Entropy and Matter. It can hardly be destroyed by magick, and its Quintessence is not absorbable or useable as Tass. This power is coincidental unless the Effect itself affected something else that turned it into a vulgar Effect, in which case the book's invulnerability makes it vulgar as well (e.g., a Forces 5 nuclear explosion in the whole city that left the Librum untouched).
 

Matter Shield (usually vulgar)

    The book is also nigh-undestroyable through natural means - i.e., no material forms of destruction work on it. The same guidelines as for Protection Against Magick above.
 

Plot Uses

Below are some uses for the Book of Truth in your chronicle.

Please tell me what you think about it, as it is my first entry. Send feedback or comments to rnedal@uninet.com.br