I was thinking about what sort of Legacy would make sense for Shortcut, and here is what I came up with (this is a very rough draft). Let me know what you think about it and how you might complete it. It doesn't seem like a Legacy that would have already been founded, but maybe you could come up with a story as to why it might have members already (GR is almost 100 years old, so it's at least plausible). It would need a history and philosophy blurb in this event.
Legacy Name:
Parent Path or Order: Mastigos (Obrimos?) or Free Council
Nickname: Lorentzian
Appearance:
Background:
Organization:
Suggested Oblations: solving complicated differential equations; sketching strangely curved surfaces; writing a research paper; stargazing; teaching mathematics; experiencing large amounts of acceleration for extended periods of time; precisely measuring distances, masses, or time intervals.
Concepts:
Attainments
To understand the nature of the universe as a space-time manifold, a mage learning this Legacy must understand both the Space and Time Arcana. Most Lorentzians also study the Mysteries of Forces and Matter due to the close relationships between these four facets of nature. A good knowledge of Science (3+) is a must to understand the esoteric math invoked by the followers of this Legacy.
1st: Knowing the Frame
Prerequisite: Gnosis 3, Time 2 (primary), Space 1, Science 3
The mage senses local distortions in the space-time manifold. The distortions often appear as "curved space-time" to the user, represented by bulges, constrictions, color-shifting, or "lensing".
This acts mechanically as a combination of Temporal Wrinkles and Spatial Awareness: the holder of this attainment rolls Wits + Investigation (or Composure) reflexively to notice spatial and temporal distortions, including prepared spells held by another mage.
2nd: Transforming the Frame
Prerequisite: Gnosis 5, Time 3, Science Specialty in either Mathematics or Physics
With this Attainment, the Lorentzian understands how to perceive the universe from his soul's perspective. His soul, which can move without moving through space, and remain stationary while moving through space, has its own reference frame, in which the mage with this Attainment may now place himself. If the soul is stationary, the mage sees the world slow down around him as the time directions of the physical world points partially into space. If the soul is moving, the mage sees the world speed up.
With a Stationary Soul, the bearer of this Attainment is affected as if by Time 3 Acceleration with a Potency equal to the mage's Time dots. The mage must concentrate for a turn before activating this Attainment, and must subsequently spend 1 Mana for every turn it is active. The mage may also spend a Willpower point to activate the Attainment for an entire scene, switching it on and off as he desires, but Mana must still be spent each turn. With a Soul in Motion, the mage may slow himself down as in Time 4 Chronos' Curse, activating this effect as an instant action and spending one Mana for each turn it is active.
Optional Arcanum: Forces 3
The mage can force near-infinitesimal amounts of matter to move at the speed of light, causing the mass to be transformed into light energy via Einstein's famous E=mc^2 equation. He may also condense light into tiny amounts of inert matter via the same process. This duplicates the effects of Forces 3 Light Mastery; the mage takes an instant action and Resolve + Science + Forces to determine the effects.
3rd: Dragging the Frame
Requirements: Gnosis 7, Time 4
With increased understanding, the mage Lorentzian learns to pull others into his reference frame. This does not affect their velocity's necessarily, but it does affect the way they perceive the flow of time in the world.
This Attainment allows the mage to include multiple people in the effects of Transforming the Frame. The mage takes an instant action and rolls Intelligence + Science + Time: every two successes (three for a slowing effect) allow him to include another target in his Transformed Frame (targets may resist by rolling Composure + Gnosis vs. Potency = the mage's Time dots). The Lorentzian activating this power must spend one Mana for every turn it is active thereafter. This mage may end this effect at any time as a reflexive action, but reactivating it afterward requires a new instant action and a new roll. The mage may choose to leave himself out of this effect, but the Mana costand target numbers remain the same.
In addition, the mage no longer needs to concentrate to activate Transform the Frame for himself alone; it may be activated reflexively.
Optional Arcanum: Forces 4
The mage is able to alter the velocity of larger objects at this level. This acts mechanically as the Forces 4 spell Control Velocity, requiring an instant action.
