【代发】【M:tA-DM】巫妖化法术

[肥肥腌臜]

该书全称为《失落魔法（Dead Magic）（WW4045）》。

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超越死亡

　俄耳甫斯为复活爱妻前往冥府；阿喀琉斯抛弃了凡人武器；海格力斯欺骗死亡成为了神。这些英雄不过是人类历史中反抗凡性的一小撮。类似故事最早能追溯至吉尔伽美什史诗和古埃及的木乃伊仪式。

　埃及对死亡的痴迷导致了直接和冥界互动的魔法的出现。古埃及人被来世与重生的前景所陶醉，开发了生命之咒来复生逝者，令其永生但垂死。
 
　古希腊与罗马同埃及的交流——通过迦太基、马克·安东尼和十字军东征——意味着埃及魔法终会渗入希腊文化。但影响是轻微的——只有极少数死灵师或崇魔狂人会直接同死亡之力交涉，希腊法师更致力于超凡物质。然而此类哲学研习却让希腊人有能力从新方向理解埃及魔法，更高效地集其大成。

 　结果是？虽然埃及诞生了许多与亡者交流的仪式，但希罗人保留了它们。现代法师仍以希腊名称呼古埃及诸神；墨丘利教改进了古埃及符号，被赫尔墨斯秘会所沿袭；生命之咒变成了一种欺骗死亡的手段。

　原始的古埃及生命之咒能制造木乃伊——以自己身体返回光照大地的亡者。但当卡比洛斯《希腊秘文》中的零星记载被墨丘利教所改进时，教派的优先事项已经改变。法师们想直接避免死亡，而非一次次经历它。罗马法师通过研习语言所发展出的惊人把控，改变了秘方。这次改动逆转了生命之咒，法师会永远于死亡边缘徘徊，而非死又复生。但罗马灭亡后它被埋没，直到中世纪才又重现，当时赫尔墨斯法师们想另辟蹊径延寿，以有时间精进他们的复杂秘艺。

 　法术的原始信息仅有残片存世。赫尔墨斯研究者们不得不拼凑必需的部分，并玄添加自己的收尾。它的每个版本都独一无二，为私人法师保存自己式样的手段。

 　欺骗死亡自然不简单——此法术的惊人门槛，使其即使在学术方面，都劝退了绝大多数学生。但总有极少数疯子难以抗拒永生诱惑。 

原文：

劇透 -   :

Beyond Death

　Orpheus traveled Hades to recover his bride; Achilles shrugged off mortal weapons; Hercules cheated death to become a god. These heroes were simply a few in the long line of men and women who defied their own mortality. Stories date as far back as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Egyptian rites of mummification.

　Egypt's obsession with death led to magic designed to deal directly with the Underworld. Fascinated by the prospects of the afterlife and rebirth, the Egyptians created a Spell of Life to bring life to mortals after their time, a spell that caused them to be forever alive but dying.

　Greece and Rome's interaction with Egypt - through Carthage, Mark Antony and later the Crusades - meant that Egypt's magics inevitably seeped into Greck culture. The influence was slight – only the rare necromancer or demented Infernalist bartered directly with the powers of death; Greek mystics focused more on transcendental matters. However, this philosophical training gave the Greeks the ability to comprehend new directions for Egyptian magic, and to describe them in efficient terms.

　The result? Though Egypt birthed many rites dealing with the dead, the Greeks and the Romans preserved them. Modern mages still call the Egyptian gods by their Greek names. Egyptian symbolism filtered through the Roman Cult of Mercury before arriving in the Order of Hermes. The Spell of Life was transformed into a means to cheat death.

　The original Egyptian Spell of Life created mummies, beings who died but returned to the sunlit lands in their own bodies. By the time fragmentary records from the Greek Secret Writings of Cabirus filtered into the Roman Cult of Mercury, though, the cult's priorities had changed. The mages who became the Order of Hermes wanted to avoid death, not to experience it again and again. With the incredible precision they developed through their studies of language, the Roman mages altered the formula. This altered form inverted the Spell of Life; instead of dying and returning, the mage hovered forever on the cusp of death. Buried after the fall of Rome, the spell only resurfaced later in the Middle Ages, when wizards of the Order of Hermes sought alternate means to prolong their lives so that they had time to master the intricacies of their magics.

　Only fragmentary information about the original spell survived. Hermetic researchers had to piece together the necessary components and improvise their own finishing touches. Each version of the spell was unique, a means for the individual mage to preserve his Pattern.

　Naturally, the means to cheat death are not easy. The frightful requirements of the rite put off most students, even in an academic capacity. But there are always a crazed few for whom the lure of immortality is too tempting.

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巫妖化
（熵4，生命4，物质4，精魂4，原质3，心灵1）

　自然确保了任何生命系统最终都会衰败死亡——岁月侵蚀身体，腐败吞噬血肉，灵魂离去或消散。人类最大的诅咒，也许就是对自身死亡的了解。而法师则对超越生命的精神（魂）宿命略知一二，这类恐惧便挥之不去。那些决定在凡人寿命后继续存在的，寻求着秘方，以摆脱自然、永葆青春、停止衰老并欺骗死亡本身。一些法师最终会邀请死亡——不过是以自己的方式——巫妖化。

　尽管赫尔墨斯秘会已普遍使用药水和祭礼延寿（其它宗派也于自身范式内创造了类似法术），但只有秘会内部，对死亡的恐惧和精通魔法的欲望，是如此强烈，以至其成员会为了能抵御死神的法术而冒失去生命和灵魂的风险。虽然巫妖化的秘方已被时间埋葬，被打成邪术，但它毕竟指明了一条路。对那些恐惧死亡、试图立业或被精进秘艺的渴望逼得不择手段的法师来说，永生始终是颗充满诱惑的禁果。

　讽刺的是，它比绝大多数有可比性的永生法术要稍容易施展些。实际上，无需大师就能使用。也许这就是黑暗之路的诱惑吧。

　当一些法师以延缓衰老的法术欺骗死亡时，巫妖化却欢迎它。法师以自我和自身魔法的装点包围自己。凭借强大的执着，他将化身与他周围变化、鲜活的世界分开。在法术结束时，他自杀并引出最后一步，令式样永远徘徊在生死边缘。不再真活着，也并非真死了，而是一种巫妖式的半生状态。他已跨过了死亡之门，再也无需惧怕终亡。

　赫尔墨斯对它的记载很残缺，而且很多秘会法师都认为巫妖是可憎的存在，因此它极少被拷贝或留档。一些法师甚至会摧毁自己发现的任何相关记载。虽然秘会的编年史家和理论家可能保有施法过程的零星提炼。但能确定的是，没有完整副本存世——除了一位现今仍在世的巫妖的墓穴，也许。

　因为秘会记录实在太零碎，人们对它知之甚少，而极少数寻求它的法师也常主观化其步骤。

　法师首先要制造一（或多）把有特殊刃口或穿刺的武器，用于自杀。它必须最先做出，因为要伴随法师完成余下部分。传统的赫尔墨斯范式决定这得用银制成，但其它材料可能也行。

　一旦武器制作完成，法师就得找齐他化身的所有碎片，切断其所有外部联系。这意味着，他必须拿到且摧毁制作的所有魔符，以及灵魂建立的所有联系。如果有使魔，还要杀掉。

 　化身破碎，就得找齐丢失的；有护符匣（译注：存放化身碎片的容器），就得在施展时设法带在身上。化身有烙印和破损不影响，但如果有碎片分离了法师，则必须找回。

　一旦法师切断了和魔法自我的联系，就必须清理掉式样里的所有外部魔法。只有意志能让他在死亡阴影下活着。法师必须隔离自己，只能有他的魔法——没有魔法道具、没有别人施加的法术、没有侵扰的超自然力量。他被自身魔法包围，使其充斥于式样中。

　一些法师以服用一般掺有自己血肉的药水来支撑此步骤，使自身携带的魔法能量聚合。其它法师则专注冥想、剥夺感官或其它精神方法来磨砺自身能量。他必须在孤独中等待一年零一天，没有其它法术或存在的干扰，完全沉浸于自己的魔法意志里。绝大多数走到此步的法师都如此挂念自己的魔法潜能，以至于会花时间进一步提升法术能力。

　法师在隐居并靠自身意志支撑后，最终会从死亡悬崖纵身跳下——他必须喝下一瓶特制药水，原料得从逝兽和其它以长寿和力量出名的事物上取下（龙血、恶魔脓水、水银、墓灰和其它邪恶、稀少的毒物）。法师要用他之前制造的武器，自杀并移除生命点——可能意味着切断动脉、刺穿脉轮甚至心脏。药水维持生命，阻止肉身死亡。

　此时如果法术施展成功，那么他就成了活死尸，游走在生死间。法术把化身和灵魂固定在尸体般的肉身内，他的式样变成介于生命和物质的某种东西。

　如果失败了嘛...

　很明显，此法术是如此危险，以至只适合不择手段的极少数法师。更糟的是，并无方法可确定秘方是否成功或正确——除要自杀外。也没有两位巫妖用过同个秘方。一些步骤可能被忽略了，而几乎能肯定的是，绝大多数巫妖都采取了没必要的可怕步骤，只是因为根本没办法得知秘方要求。

　对一些愿意接受这种可怕转变的人来说，近乎任何可憎的牺牲都很合理。缺乏所需魔法技艺的法师很可能会寻求其它步骤来降低法术难度——据说有些想变成巫妖的疯法师杀害了全家、自行断肢并吞噬其他法师的灵魂来补给转变。

　一旦法师付出了可怕代价，并走完不可逆的流程后，就成了不死者之一。其身体不再自愈或生长，可能还会遭受时间蹂躏，但除非被魔法杀害，否则不会死去。

　如果法术被错误施展，直接死掉；如果仅部分成功，可能活个一小段时间，但会于几天或周内腐烂死去。一个成功的巫妖除非受到太多矛盾或魔法伤害，否则能一直永“生”。 

原文：

劇透 -   :

Lichdom
(Entropy 4, Life 4, Matter 4, Spirit 4, Prime 3, Mind 1)

　Nature ensures that living patterns eventually degrade and die. Age consumes the body, rot overtakes the flesh and the soul moves on or fades away. And perhaps humanity's greatest curse is the knowledge of its own mortality. Among mages, who have some inkling of the spiritual fates that wait beyond life, such terrors can become obsessions. Those determined to hang around after their mortal days seek cryptic formulae designed to skirt nature, restore youth, halt decrepitude and cheat death itself. Some mages end up inviting death, but on their own terms; they use the rite of lichedom.

　While the Order of Hermes commonly used potions and rituals to prolong life (and other Traditions created similar Effects within their own paradigms), only within the Order did the dread of mortality and the drive to master magic become so great that a mage risked life and soul for a spell to ward off the reaper. The formula for lichedom, though buried by time and suppressed as heresy, promised a way out. Still, the offer of perpetual existence remains a tantalizing shadow to those mages whose fear of death, desire to finish some great deed, or drive to Master their Art pushes them beyond rational measures.

　Ironically, the formula for lichedom is marginally easier to cast than most comparable immortality spells. Indeed, a mage need not even be a Master to use this magic. The temptations of the dark road, perhaps.

　While some mages cheat mortality with age-defying spells, lichedom relies on a means to welcome it. The mage surrounds himself with the trappings of his magic and ego. Through the strength of his dedication, he severs his Avatar from the changing, living world about him. At the end of the rite, he kills himself and invokes the final step, which causes his Pattern to linger perpetually on the cusp of life and death. No longer truly alive, yet not wholly dead, the mage lives the half-existence of a liche. Already straddling the threshold of death, the liche need no longer fear its ultimate demise.

　The Order's records of lichedom are far from complete, and many Hermetics consider lichedom an abominable state. Thus, the rite is rarely copied or archived; some mages even destroy any records that they find regarding lichedom. Chroniclers and theorists of the Order might keep fragmentary ruminations on the process, but it is certain that no whole and complete copy exists except, perhaps, among the tomes of a liche who still exists today.

　Because Order records are so fragmentary, the rite of lichedom is poorly understood, and the steps are often personalized by the few mages who pursue it. The mage starts by building a special edged or piercing weapon (or weapons) with which he kills himself. This weapon is made first because it accompanies the mage through the remainder of the rite. The traditional Hermetic paradigm prescribes that the item be made of silver, though other materials might also function.

　Once the weapon is complete, the mage must reclaim every piece of his Avatar and sever all external ties to it. This means that the mage must capture and destroy every Talisman he has empowered and every sympathetic link that he has tied to his soul. He must even murder his own familiar, if he has one. A mage with a fragmentary Avatar must track down and reclaim the lost pieces; one with a phylactery must somehow manage to keep it on his person for the duration of the rite. Brands and damaged pieces of an Avatar do not hinder this portion of the rite, but if some piece of the whole Avatar has somehow been split from the mage, it must be recovered.

　Once the mage has severed ties to his magical self, he must purge his Pattern of any external magic. Only his own willpower can keep him alive beyond the shadow of death. The mage must isolate himself, with no magic but his own nearby - no magical items, no spells placed by others, no intruding supernatural forces. Surrounded by his magic, he allows it to suffuse his Pattern. Some mages supplement this step by ingesting potions, often laced with their own flesh and blood, thereby internalizing and concentrating the magical energies that they carry. Other mages focus on meditation, sensory deprivation or other mental techniques to hone their personal energies. For a year and a day the mage must wait in solitude, with no other magical spells or beings disturbing his concentration, as he steeps himself solely in his own magical will. Most mages at this step are so obsessed with their magical development that they spend the time to further refine their techniques.

　Cloistered away and empowered by his own spirit, the mage finally takes the last plummet down the precipice of mortality  — he must quaff a specialized potion, which requires components harvested from Bygones and materials renowned for their longevity and power (dragon's blood, demonic ichor, mercury, grave dust and other foul, rare and poisonous materials). With the weapons previously created, the mage kills himself and removes the seat of his life - this may mean severing his arteries, piercing his chakra points, or even stabbing his own heart. The fluid of the potion sustains him and halts the death of his body. At this point, if the mage's rite is successful, he becomes an undead corpse and hovers on the boundary between life and death. The rite cements his Avatar and soul to his corpselike frame, while his Pattern becomes mutated into something between Life and Matter. If he fails...

　Clearly, the rite of lichedom is so dangerous that it suits only the rare mage who's desperate enough to try it. Worse still, there is no concrete way for the mage to know whether his formula is successful or correct except to kill himself in the attempt. No two liches have ever used the same formula. It's possible that some steps might be omitted, while it's almost certain that most liches have undertaken unnecessarily terrible steps simply because there is no way to know what the formula requires. For someone willing to undertake this hideous transformation, nearly any abominable sacrifice seems reasonable. Mages who lack the skill to use some of the required magics might well seek out alternate steps to make the rite easier. It's said that crazed wizards hoping to become liches have slaughtered their entire families, undertaken personal mutilations and sucked out the very souls of other mages in order to fuel their transformations.

　Once a mage has paid the terrible price and taken the steps that cannot be undone, he becomes one of the undead. His body no longer heals or grows, and indeed may suffer the ravages of time, but it never dies unless slain by magic. If the rite is not performed properly, the mage simply dies; if it is only partially successful, the mage may survive a short time, but decompose and die within a few days or weeks. A successful liche can, barring excessive Paradox or magical injury, expect to "live" forever.

[肥肥腌臜]

系统：

　巫妖化虽代价高昂，但其实相当单纯。法师要做大量研究——多次投掷智力+神秘学/调查，多次拜访图书馆和导师等。这种研究最好演出来。但公开研究相关材料的法师会有巨大风险——被同伴谴责、被没收笔记、被著述搞疯、被希望能杜绝研习此类邪术的正义猎人追捕。

 　研究过程也是法术的一部分。法师要基于研究和特定步骤的执行来投掷魔峰。如果研究甚浅（1或2个成功数），可能就仅有1或2个骰子。同样，如果粗糙或不完美地执行了步骤，可能受到难度罚值。而极其仔细则可能会有加成，如《第3版规则书》第155页的技能影响魔法所述。

　当法师准备好那瓶药水时，法术的最后一次施展开始。累积成功数，决定其程度和持续时间。法师为结束法术，须投入（健康等级）点魔素，并投出足够成功数（10+个）来施展一个现象级法术效果。性质，自然为破则，所以基础难度是9；持续时间，当然是永久最好。但如果成功数不够，这个法术可能不会让他成为巫妖很长时间。

　酿制、喝下药水和自杀都会产生成功数。当然，当他自杀时，受伤罚值也适用于喝下药水。所以最好用个减少疼痛的魔法。

 　最后一步能作为1个拓展仪式完成，采用通常的基于魔峰和意志点的施法时间限制。注意法师只能自己施展，不能用于他人。因为他必须、也只能用自身的魔法装点包围自己，所以也不能借助魔符施展。他还必须用自己的知识完成它。

　法师通过对自身魔法与感官的内聚，和精魂、心灵魔法的运用，能成功将化身、灵魂还有意识和身体捆绑，从而让其在自己死后，仍保持不动。生命、物质和熵魔法停止走向死亡的身体，并将式样变成介于生死间的东西。

　可能会出现各种疏忽或错误，而这些将对过程产生很多负面影响。

　没有心灵魔法，意识随死亡消散，身体变成无意识的空壳。

　没有精魂魔法，化身逃走，变成有自我意识，但毫无力量的行尸走肉。他失去了魔法能力（而且因为并非真正的吸血鬼或复生者（译注：死灵借躯体复生形成的僵尸，可近似看作西方鬼人），所以也无法学习其它超自然能力）。

　没有足够的熵魔法，肉体转变为物质时，死亡过程不受控制，会老得可怕（所有体能属性失去1级；失去擦伤健康等级；外貌等级清零）。

 　如果没能成功完成法术，会直接死掉。药水除可能让尸体抽搐、窒息和痉挛外毫无作用。

 　如果施法投出大失败，便成功自杀，粉碎化身（可能是永久摧毁），产生惊人矛盾，夷平实验室，并在当地产生1点熵态共鸣。尸体的残块可能成为充满魔素的塔斯肉块（但法师要吃掉它们才能补充魔素）或被外界存在占据。 

　一旦变成巫妖，身体停止成为纯粹的生命式样，变为其它存在。法师被强大意志和魔法能力所维持，将死亡保持在介于生命和物质的状态来规避它。这有数个影响：

　● 一旦变成巫妖，身体变得苍白、憔悴且略蓝，好似想象中的尸体。所有外貌相关的难度+2。

　● 无法自愈，只能用魔法疗伤。1点魔素/个健康等级，所以本质也是噬魔者（译注：指需消耗大量魔素的事物）。

　● 不会因致命伤害死去，只有恶性伤害——伤害式样——才能永久摧毁他。

　因为身体已死，所以冲击伤害减半（吸收后取整）；对致命伤害有全吸收骰（难度6）。这两种伤害可能会让其无法行动，身体停止运转一段时间，但他最终会克服。

　也请记住，伤口罚值不影响施法难度，所以巫妖能轻易使用心灵或精魂魔法来传送虚体，收集魔素，并返回治疗肉体。

　● 身体可能会继续腐烂。许多巫妖使用一些熵魔法来维持它们，但时间一长，就会忽略这些琐事。没有特别的保养法术，它就会以自愈速度腐烂：1天后，失去擦伤健康等级；3天后，受伤等级烂掉，以此类推。此类腐败还肉眼可见，导致失去外貌（1级/个健康等级），直到腐败被治愈。

　● 巫妖当然是不育的，无论何种魔法都无法修复此问题。他可能会像吸血鬼那样模拟交媾，但终究是半死事物，有其他方式消遣不死生命。他仍能吃喝，身体也能代谢食物，但不再需要营养。

　● 因为仅靠自身魔法来维持，所以此法术切断了任何外部的魔法联系。他不能持有真实信仰、妖精之血（译注：人物有换生灵传承，可获得其部分属性）或类似优点。任何这类现存联系都被摧毁。他也不能变成血仆、吸血鬼或其它超自然生物。

　● 完成法术后，得到1点静、熵态共鸣。此外，此共鸣不仅让凡人不安，超自然存在也是。吸血鬼、换生灵、甚至精魂等都会把巫妖辨别为某种不自然的可憎存在。聪明的会逃跑。甚至其他法师也被影响，并倾向于追捕摧毁他们。

　● 作为静态存在，永远无法提升魔峰——永远。虽仍可提升领域，但其智慧和身体、灵魂一同被冻结了。在追求魔法力量时，升华也已被换作不朽。他能遭受化身秘仪——许多在被永久杀死的不久前都遭受了。但巫妖仍有永恒生命来学习、精进和拓展领域知识，而且也很难被杀死。

　● 不能有使魔（还记得吗？杀掉它是法术一部分）。即使他以前都没有，也适用。不死式样无法束缚使魔。

　● 此法术不能用简单的魔法反制来解除，大多数巫妖也会加上其它保护来避免。一旦解除，就会走完死亡之路，变成尸体。因此，逆转法术也需要一些方法来复活死者——祝好。

　● 能把化身放进护符匣（请看《第3版规则书》第300页的护符匣缺点）。如果没有足够的精魂魔法在施法中维持化身和灵魂，那这就是必要的。束缚护符匣仅需精魂3。

　● 有变疯的趋向。没有法师能走完整个流程而不得到至少1项精神疾病。时间一长，绝大多数巫妖都会愈发怪异，直到发现自己完全无法和“普通”世界联系。

　● 法术对式样的改变是如此大，以至会扭曲真名。老真名不再有用，法术扭曲了它。一些熟悉老真名和此法术的人也许能弄清被腐化的真名（智力+神秘学，难度9）。“巫妖”都有一个真名，但也有一个私人的，可以此对其真名束缚、放逐等。

　● 巫妖当然很矛盾，法术也会造成永久矛盾。具体数量由说书人决定。但在一个低奇幻游戏中，巫妖显然会遭受巨量矛盾。 

原文：

劇透 -   :

　System: Despite its terrible costs, lichedom is fairly straightforward. The mage in question needs to do some heavy research - many rolls of Intelligence + Occult or Investigation, many visits to libraries and mentors, and so on. Such research is best roleplayed. A mage who openly looks into such materials risks the censure of his peers and the possibility of seized records, madness-inducing tomes and righteous hunters who hope to stamp out even the study of such abominations.

　The research process is part of the rite. The mage makes his Arete rolls based upon his research and execution of the proper steps. If the mage has done only sketchy research (one or two successes), he may only get to roll one or two dice. Similarly, if he executes the steps shoddily or imperfectly, he may suffer a difficulty penalty, while extreme attention to detail may give a bonus as described under Abilities Affecting Magic (Mage Revised, p. 155).

　The final casting of the rite occurs as the mage prepares the potion for the infusion of lichedom. Successes accumulate to generate the duration and degree of success. To finish the rite, the mage must invest one point of Quintessence for each health level that he has and must score enough successes to perform a phenomenal Effect (10 or more successes). The rite is naturally vulgar, so the base difficulty is 9. A permanent duration is, of course, desirable, but if the mage doesn't score enough successes, the spell may not let him exist long as one of the undead. The mage generates successes as he makes the elixir, drinks it and kills himself. Naturally, wound penalties apply to the task of finishing off the potion while the mage stabs or slashes himself to death, so the mage is advised to also use a rite to resist pain.

　The final task can be done as an extended ritual, to the usual limits of casting time based on the mage's Arete and Willpower. Note that the mage can only cast the rite himself. This rite cannot be performed for someone else. Since the mage must surround himself with only the trappings of his own magic, the rite also cannot be cast with the aid of any Talismans. The mage must finish the spell using his own knowledge.

　With the mage's inward concentration of personal magic and awareness, and the use of Mind and Spirit magic, he manages to shackle his Avatar, soul and consciousness to his body so that they remain even as he dies. The Life, Matter and Entropy Spheres halt his body along the path to death and transform his Pattern into something on the cusp between.

　Various omissions or mistakes are possible, and they can have many detrimental effects on the process. Without Mind magic, the mage's consciousness departs as he dies; his body becomes a shell without volition. Without Spirit, his Avatar flees and he becomes a self-willed but powerless walking corpse, with no magical capabilities (and no ability to learn other supernatural powers, since he is not truly a vampire or one of the Risen). Without sufficient Entropy, the body's death processes do not come under control in the transformation to Matter, and the mage becomes hideously decrepit (losing one point from each Physical Attribute, his Bruised health level and all Appearance).

　If a mage fails to complete the rite successfully, he simply dies, and the potion has no effect except perhaps to make the corpse twitch, choke and burn spasmodically. If the mage botches the ritual, he manages to kill himself, shred his Avatar (permanently destroying it, perhaps) and generate sufficient Paradox to level his laboratory and bestow an Entropic Resonance on the area. The remnants of the mage's corpse may well become Quintessence-laden chunks of Tass (though a mage would have to eat the pieces to gain the Quintessence) or become inhabited by something else out there.

　Once a mage becomes a liche, his body stops being a pure Life Pattern and becomes something else. Sustained by his formidable will and magical prowess, the mage puts off death by keeping it in a sort of holding pattern between Life and Matter. This has several consequences:

　● Once dead, the mage's body becomes cadaverous, gaunt and slightly bluish, like one would expect of a corpse. This raises all Appearance-related difficulties by 2.

　● The liche's body may continue to decay. Many liches use some Entropy magic to sustain them, but over time they become unconcerned with such trivialities.  Without special preservative magic, the liche's body rots at the speed of natural healing: After a day the liche loses his Bruised health level; 3 days later the Hurt level rots away and so on. This rotting is visible and causes the mage to lose Appearance (one dot per health level) as he decays, until the rotting is healed.

　● Liches are sterile, of course. No amount of magic can fix that problem. A liche might simulate sexuality, like a vampire, but ultimately is a half-dead thing with other ways to spend eternity. A liche can eat and drink, and its body metabolizes food, but it no longer requires sustenance.

　● The liche does not heal naturally. Only magic can heal his wounds. Each health level healed requires the expenditure of a point of Quintessence, so the liche is essentially a thaumivore.

　● A liche cannot die from lethal damage, only aggravated wounds - Pattern damage - can destroy him permanently. Since the liche's body is dead, he takes only half damage (rounded down after soak) from bashing attacks, and gets a full soak roll (difficulty 6) against lethal damage. Lethal or bashing damage may incapacitate a liche and cause his body to become nonfunctional for a time, but eventually the liche overcomes the hindrance. Remember, wound penalties do not affect magical casting difficulties, so the liche can easily use Mind or Spirit magic to send his astral form to gather Quintessence and return to heal the body.

　● Since a liche is dependent solely upon his own magic to sustain him, the rite burns out connections with any external magical processes. The liche cannot have True Faith, Fae Blood or similar Merits. Any such existing ties are destroyed. A liche can't become a ghoul, vampire or other supernatural creature.

　● Upon completing the rite, a liche gains one dot of both Static and Entropic Resonance. Furthermore, the liche's Resonance is disconcerting not merely to mortals, but also to supernatural creatures. Vampires, changelings, even spirits and the like all recognize the liche as some sort of unnatural abomination. The smart ones flee. Even other mages are affected, and have a tendency to hunt down and destroy liches.

　● As a static creature, the liche can never gain additional Arete - ever. He can continue to improve his Spheres but his enlightenment is frozen along with his body and soul. Ascension has been traded for the chance to exist beyond mortal limits in the quest for magical power. A liche can suffer Gilgul; many do, shortly before they are permanently slain. Still, the liche has eternity in which to study, improve and expand his knowledge of the Spheres, and he's damnably hard to kill, too.

　● Liches cannot have familiars. (You killed yours as part of the rite, remember?) This is true even if the liche never had one in life. The liche's unliving Pattern cannot properly bind familiars.

　● The liche rite cannot be undone with simple countermagic. Most liches also add other protections to prevent unweaving. Should the rite be undone, the liche finishes the process of dying and becomes a corpse. Thus, reversing the rite also requires some way to raise the dead - good luck with that one.

　● A liche can place its Avatar in a phylactery (see the Phylactery Flaw in Mage Revised, p. 300). This is a necessity if the liche does not have sufficient Spirit to hold on to his Avatar and soul during the rite itself; the liche can bind the phylactery with Spirit 3.

　● Liches have a tendency toward insanity. Nobody goes through the rite without gaining at least one Derangement.  Over time, most liches become increasingly eccentric, until they find themselves completely unable to relate to the "normal" world.

　● The process of lichedom so greatly changes the individual's Pattern that his True Name is distorted. The subject's old True Name no longer applies. The rite warps its name; someone familiar with the old name and the liche formula might be able to puzzle out the corrupted name (Intelligence + Occult, difficulty 9). There is a True Name for "liche" but each liche also has an individual True Name that is necessary to affect the individual with True Name bindings, banishments and so on.

　● Liches are, of course, Paradoxical, and the rite gives the caster permanent Paradox. The exact amount is up to the Storyteller. Certainly in a low-fantasy game, a liche suffers from a great deal of Paradox.

[肥肥腌臜]

巫妖角色

　巫妖并非那种能和一群普通玩家法师一起跑的角色。完成此法术的代价极其巨大，且自毁和隔离的要求是如此之高，以至他们会破坏任何团体。绝大多数法师结社也都有些在道德上反对此法术的人。

　而这还未考虑到一个事实，即疯到尝试它的法师很可能如此令人不适，以至无法处理和其余法师（或沉睡者）的关系。而且，如果一个法师是如此执着不朽，以至变成巫妖，那他在追求自身目标时，还会认为有什么是“合理”的吗？

　这并不是说巫妖不属于法师编年史。他们能成为绝佳的敌人——绝大多数法师都没他们那种强大力量，而且一般的门徒也不知道如何对付（译注：门徒一般指法术最高为3级的法师）。这意味着要到处努力发掘材料，并找到在此方面知识渊博的人。

　因为巫妖可能成为宗派间的政治热点，所以一只巫妖能让整个门徒结社四处奔走，以免受谴责，同时尽力搜集信息以解决他——尤其当这个巫妖敌人如此隐蔽，以至要在不惊动宗派其余人的情况下处理掉他。

　此法术的秘方对玩家法师来说，也是个不错的着手点。如果一个法师偶然发现了些碎片，会怎么做？摧毁？藏匿？和（可怕的）朋友或同伴分享？使用？

　玩家法师都很不稳定。肯定有一些，疯到购买或使用此类信息。就这点而言，仅仅知道此法术，就会给角色带来些敌人——圣母般的宗派法师、不想让秘方被知晓（或解除）的多疑巫妖、认为巫妖是竞争对手的吸血鬼...

　巫妖也可能是一个结社的资助人——不知道或关心巫妖存在的。他们拥有海量魔法资源，只要有时间就可能（至少）成为一名真正的大师。

　一个要成巫妖的，可能会派遣其他法师去摧毁他早年制造和丢失的魔符。一个良心发现的巫妖，可能会派人去寻找能恢复他死亡的魔法知识（祝好）。有了长久谋划，他们能发展出和血族长老、大法师等相媲美的高远视野；而门徒和更弱的法师会成为这种游戏中的棋子。

　巫妖绝不普遍。现代实相中可能不多于三或四只，仅一只会想留在现世。像任何强大的存在一样，他们最好被用作剧情设计。即使一只巫妖或法术秘方的暗示，也足以推动一个故事。

　最后，这是黑暗世界。那些以不死诅咒欺骗死亡的家伙鲜有好果子吃。

原文：

劇透 -   :

Liche Characters

　A liche is not the sort of character to run around with a group of players' mages. The dedication required to finish the rite is immense, and the requirements of destruction and solitude are so severe that they disrupt just about any group. Most every cabal has someone with a moral objection to the rite of lichedom. And that's discounting the fact that a mage crazed enough to attempt the rite is probably so maladjusted that he can't handle the company of other mages (or Sleepers) anyhow. Besides, if a mage was so hell bent on immortality that he became a liche, what else might he consider “reasonable” in pursuit of his own goals?

　This is not to say that liches don't belong in Mage chronicles. They make excellent antagonists – most mages don't have as much torque as they do, plus the typical Disciple doesn't know how to fight one. That means legwork to dig up facts and find people knowledgeable on the subject. Since liches could be considered a political hot topic among the Traditions, one liche could have an entire cabal of Disciples running around ducking their heads to avoid censure while trying to get the information necessary to take out an undead enemy — especially if that enemy is so well hidden that the rest of the Traditions can't be bothered to deal with it.

　The liche formula is a neat aside for players' mages to get their hands on as well. If a mage stumbles across a bit of the formula, what does he do? Destroy it? Hoard it? Share it with his (horrified) friends and companions? Use it? Players' mages are a fractious lot; there's gotta be someone crazy enough to pay for or use such information. For that matter, just knowing the rite earns the character some enemies - holier-than-thou Traditionalists, paranoid liches who don't want the formula known (and possibly undone), vampires who consider liches competition....

　A liche might also be a patron to a cabal-one that doesn't know or care about the liche's state. The liche's magical resources are immense, and given time it can probably become a true Master (at least). A would-be liche could send mages out to destroy the Talismans that it created and lost earlier in life. A repentant liche might send people to find the magical knowledge to restore its mortality (good luck). With long-term planning, a liche could develop the extreme views common to elder vampires, Archmasters and the like; Disciples and lesser mages become pawns in such games.

　Liches are by no means common. It's probable that there are no more than three or four in the modern Tellurian, with only a single one even bothering to remain on Earth. Like any potent creature, a liche is best used as a plot device. Even the hint of a liche or its formula can be enough to drive a story.

　And, of course, this is the World of Darkness. Those who cheat death with the curse of undeath rarely meet pleasant ends.

[肥肥腌臜]

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[無濤長夜]

考虑到矛盾问题不提圣贤，巫妖的逼格完全不如大法啊..

[不朽之尘]

考虑到矛盾问题不提圣贤，巫妖的逼格完全不如大法啊..

大法是指？

[無濤長夜]

考虑到矛盾问题不提圣贤，巫妖的逼格完全不如大法啊..

大法是指？

大法师

[不朽之尘]

考虑到矛盾问题不提圣贤，巫妖的逼格完全不如大法啊..

大法是指？

大法师

大法师也不能永生啊，你看人睿魔尔也是大法师
你是不是和nwod的大法师(有黄金之路那个）搞混了？