{"id":"mage/power/rote/warding-against-objectives","type":"power","system":"rote","line":"mage","name":"Warding Against Objectives","sources":[{"source":"HDYDT","page":97}],"entries":["By adding various Spheres to {@sphere Correspondence|M20}, the mage impedes certain energies, forces, or beings when they cross the border of the ward and enter the protected space. In game-terms, we’ll call those targets objectives: things that the ward is meant to impede. Think of it this way: When you set a ward against a given thing, then impeding that thing within the protected space is the objective of your ward. (From the Latin obiectum, “thing put before the mind.”)","Each individual objective costs one success and point of Quintessence, per objective, to block. A ward, then, that blocks out steel, insects, and ghosts would demand three successes and three points of Quintessence in order to ward against the three objectives. For details, see Ward Duration and Expanse, below.","Every type of thing that a ward is constructed to block is a separate objective. Steel would be one objective, insects would be one objective, and ghosts would be one objective. A single character would be an objective if that ward is meant to keep him out. Assuming that Dante set up a ward against Black Suits, Black Suits would be the objective of his ward; if Dante wants to block John Courage only, then John Courage would be the objective of that ward.","Various Spheres impede various objectives:","• {@sphere Entropy|M20} 2 or 3, when integrated into a ward, can shift probability in the mage’s favor within the warded area, essentially by blocking out the odds toward misfortune. For details, see The Luck Ward, below.","• {@sphere Forces|M20} 3 sets the ward to block certain types of elemental energy: fire, air, electricity, light and sound spectrums, and so forth. Wards against really potent elements, like intense radiation and explosive nuclear forces, require {@sphere Forces|M20} 5. Warding a place against a nuclear blast would demand {@sphere Correspondence|M20} 5/ {@sphere Forces|M20} 5/ {@sphere Matter|M20} 5, thanks to the titanic energies unleashed. Still, {@sphere Forces|M20} 3 can make a ward airtight, which comes in especially handy when","that portal’s on one side of a hard vacuum or (when combined with {@sphere Matter|M20} 2) water.","• {@sphere Life|M20} 3 blocks a certain class of living thing: mammals, insects, fish, human beings, etc. {@sphere Life|M20} 4/ {@sphere Mind|M20} 4 allows the ward to discern types of people within a given class (Mormons, liberals, Black Suits, etc.). {@sphere Life|M20} 4 sets the ward against a specific living individual. To do the latter, though, the warding mage needs a sample of the forbidden character’s Pattern: a lock of hair, drop of blood, DNA sample, whatever suits the mage and his warding spell. For details, see The Ban, below.","• {@sphere Matter|M20} 2 can block simple homogenous substances (steel, glass, marble, water, etc.). {@sphere Matter|M20} 3 can block most complex material objects (guns, cars, etc.); and {@sphere Matter|M20} 4 blocks complicated artificial materials (robots, computers, etc.). By combining the {@sphere Matter|M20} 4 version with {@sphere Prime|M20} 4, Tradition mages are able to ward against the Technocratic material Primium. That ward’s not 100% effective (see Penetrating a Ward, below)… but if nothing else, it does tend to slow down an invading force.","• {@sphere Mind|M20} 2 can send “bad vibes” to trespassers, while {@sphere Mind|M20} 3 or {@sphere Life|M20} 3/ {@sphere Mind|M20} 3 can give them a psychic shock if they try to pass the ward. {@sphere Mind|M20} 4 allows the ward to “choose” certain individuals, mindsets, moods, or belief-systems, and then impede people with those mental constructs if and when they pass into the ward’s protected space. For details, see The Psychic Ward, below.","• {@sphere Prime|M20} 4 (expelling energy) might be able to ward against certain types of Resonance and/ or Synergy. A holy ward, for example, could block Infernal essence from passing over the threshold. Because this sort of thing could become inexpressibly complex, however, this type of ward is an optional rule. For details about Resonance"],"tags":["hdydt","feat"],"_qa":{"flags":[],"parser":"headed_entries","confidence":0.9,"extracted":"2026-10-12","job":"hdydt-feats"},"level":null,"_links":{"self":"/api/v1/records/mage/power/rote/warding-against-objectives","html":"/records/mage/power/rote/warding-against-objectives","parent":null,"children":"/api/v1/records/mage/power/rote/warding-against-objectives/children","sources":[{"abbr":"HDYDT","page":97,"folio":97,"title":"How Do You DO That?"}]},"_db":{"title":"Warding Against Objectives","props":[],"parent_id":null,"level":null,"category":null,"summary":"By adding various Spheres to Correspondence, the mage impedes certain energies, forces, or beings when they cross the border of the ward and enter the protected space. In game-terms, we’ll call those targets objectives:","tags":["feat","hdydt"],"children":[]}}