Instant Madness/ Sanity
Rote · Mage
Like the emotional attack above, this sudden burst of madness overwhelms the senses and drives the target to irrational extremes. In this case, though, a powerful (and possibly vulgar) Mind 4 assault blows the doors off the victim’s sense of reality. Hallucinations, impulses, sudden disconnection from reality – this is the Marauder’s curse, and it’s one that sufficiently skilled Mad Ones and Fallen mages employ with great enthusiasm.
Reversed, the attack can suddenly restore sanity to normally insane characters; metaphysically demented ones, however – like Marauders, or Malkavian vampires – remain immune, even to Masters of the Mind Sphere.
Instant bursts of sanity or madness involve vulgar magick; a clever mage, however, could slowly drive a character (in)sane through perfectly plausible means.
For various forms of insanity and other long-term traumas, see the Derangements section of Mage 20, Appendix II,
pp. 649-650, and Things Man Was Not Meant to Know in Chapter Nine, p. 407.
See also 2
Clans & Bloodlines
- Malkavian vampire/faction/clan/malkavian
Spheres
- Mind mage/power/sphere/mind