The science of tomorrow brought to you today! Wonders come in many shapes, sizes and categories.

All Wonders have a specific “point rating” that can be used to determine their relative power level and their cost as a Background item. Each type of Wonder has a different way of calculating its value, but the Storyteller may always override it and choose to assign a value arbitrarily. After all, what's a powerful Wonder in one chronicle may be useless in another, and vice versa.

An Invention is an apparently ordinary object empowered with some extraordinary ability. Flying carpets, laser cannons, cloaks of invisibility and powered armor suits are all examples of an Inventions. An Invention's power is not limited to a preset number of uses. Inventions may be used time and again, their power limited only by the power and understanding of the scientist who wields them.

An Invention typically has one or two powers that are either continuous or able to be activated at need. For instance, a suit of powered armor would give its wearer a constant bonus to Strength, while a cloak of invisibility might only render the wearer invisible upon command. Furthermore, an Invention can also be a Device. In such a case, it has its own Inspiration, and the user can rely on the item's natural power instead of activating it with his own knowledge.

Inventions also occasionally have drawbacks, strange little curses or odd limitations on their power. A Storyteller may increase the overall power of an Invention by adding Flaws to balance the item's power, or afflicting the item with specific facets or annoying quirks. Some Inventions are unreliable and they don't always work the way the user wants. Others are downright jinxed, causing all manner of problems. Unfortunately, most such items bear a curse that prevents the owner from ditching them.

Storytellers may wish to assess penalties for characters who sleep in their powered armor suits or never remove their Rings of Invulnerability. He may dictate that the suit has become grafted to the character's flesh permanently or that the jewelry junkie has become addicted to her precious ring. Perhaps the wearer becomes the slave or cat's paw of the inventor who empowered the Invention, especially if the item is also a Device. After all, Inventions are the greatest creations of the Scientists and other beings who create them. As such, they Resonate with the power of that being's Facets and personality, and those who use them cannot help but be affected when they do so.

An Invention's value is equal to the Sphere rating of each of its powers. The price doubles if the effects remain active continuously. Therefore, if an Invention has a continuous Forces 2 power and a normal Matter 3 power, its total rating is (2 x 2, plus 3) seven points. Continuous Effects are always on, or they can be turned on and off at the whim of the user. Standard Effects are built in, but they can be activated by only an Inspired user — in effect, giving an Adventurer access to a power that she normally wouldn't have.

Gizmos are single-use Wonders such as super-serums, chemical candles, camouflage powders, miracle formulas, Z-Wave bullets, strings of firecrackers, disposable Kirlian photography cameras and so on. Unlike Inventions, which can have an array of mystical Effects, Gizmos are usually created for a single purpose. Occasionally, there are gizmos with an array of uses (“Cleans teeth and freshens breath!” “It's a floor wax! It's a dessert topping!”), but their powers generally come under a single umbrella if one looks hard enough. For example, while true holy water is useful both for dissolving vampires and banishing demons, its main use is to wash away sin, explaining why both the Damned and the Damnable find it so unpleasant.

A gizmo's physical substance is generally used up when its magic is released. These throwaway items can possess mighty effects, but they disappear eventually. At best, they become mere mementos, husks of their former power. For example, while a view screen that was created as a Device would always be Inspired, a Gizmo view screen would only work for a set number of times before its power gave out—possibly with some dramatic effect like exploding once the last use was done. Such items cannot be recharged as with Devices, although their physical remnants might be used in the crafting of another Gizmo or recycled as parts for an entirely new gizmo depending on the circumstances.

Gizmos are good for only a set number of uses or amount of time before their power gives out, but unlike Devices, they may sometimes be more useful thus. For example, a bottle may have only five pills left, but those pills could be divided between the members of a group. Likewise, a glow candle might be good for two hours, but by chopping it in two, you could get two one-hour candles. Not all gizmos are divisible this way — some, like disposable cameras, lose their power when broken, while others, such as individual pills, don't have sufficient potency to share — but most come in sets of charges that can be used as needed. For particularly difficult feats, or in adverse conditions, Gizmos may also be “beefed up” by increasing the number of charges used at a time.

What constitutes a charge or dose and the amount of time for which it's good is a matter of Storyteller arbitration. A candle whose light reveals the presence of Z-Wave auras might be good for five-minutes per charge (one candle obviously consisting of multiple charges), while anti-gravity salve needs to last long enough to get you where you're going. Generally speaking, each charge will last a Scene, whether it's five minutes of non-stop combat or two hours of leisurely chatting over coffee. Multiple doses or charges may also be required for particularly difficult feats. Logical metaphysics should always apply.

Unlike Devices, Gizmos may also be used by the uninspired. Most technological gizmos can be operated by all but the most sheltered native or willfully ignorant shaman. If you believe in them, then they work “like a charm.”

Gizmos are valuable according to their one-shot power. If a Gizmo duplicates a particular Knack or Merit, then its value is one-tenth the Knack or Merit cost. Therefore, it is best to buy Gizmos in groups (like a box of candles, a bunch of flowers or whatnot).

One builds a Charm or gizmo just like an Invention, but because it is not permanently empowered, doing so requires one less level of Prime Sphere skill. With the right Tass, apprentices can forge Charms with Prime 2, so these items are key stepping stones in the creation of more powerful magical Wonders.

Matrixes store Inspirational power. However, as with some sources of Inspiration, Matrixes have a Facet. This facet derives from the fact that Matrixes are, in fact, sublimated Tulleraian power. With 10 pawns of Tass of the same given type — for example, 10 pints of vampire blood or 10 werewolf claws — a Master of Matter can craft, for example, a “bloodstone tear” or a “moonstone crescent,” which has the same Resonance as the Tass from which it's distilled. A Master of Life could use the same materials to make a living Matrixes, or Relic, like a “bloodrose” or a “moonflower” (although such is done less commonly, since those items are less portable). The Matrixes then becomes something like reusable Tass. It can store additional Quintessential energy, especially of the appropriate type, and absorb that energy naturally in the right surroundings. Better still, the Matrixes's power can be used by a mage who doesn't have the Prime Sphere, just because of its own natural ability to channel the power!

Matrixes hold small amounts of Quintessence, just like Tass. Unlike Tass, though, they don't need to be destroyed in order to access the power — they're Tass batteries. When placed in an area filled with Tass of the sort from which the Matrixes was made, it may even draw out the Quintessence from the Tass automatically. A bloodstone might very well suck up blood from a bucket overnight, recharging its Tass but bringing the concomitant damaging Resonance. Still, for mages without access to Nodes or enough Prime mastery, Matrixes are very utilitarian power sources. When set into Talismans or Artifacts, a Matrixes's Resonance matches to the item it is used to empower. A bloodstone tear from a brutal vampire or a moonstone crescent from an warrior werewolf could be used as the pommel for a magic sword, since they would both be empowered with a warlike Resonance. The same jewels could also be set in the navel of a sorceress or the forehead of her pet toad, usable for all their vicious and warlike magic, although they would become flavored over time with the Resonance of the familiar's spirit and the sorceress's Avatar. Eventually, the Periapt would become part of the creature, so the Matrixes's Resonance would match its host, but the host's Resonance would have also slowly changed to reflect the power of the Matrixes. All power, of course, has its inverse, and Quintessence is mirrored by the force of Paradox. Whenever a Matrix's Quintessential energy is used to power a vulgar effect, the gem will draw in and store the Paradox generated, colored with the appropriate Resonance. When the Matrix is used in the future, this Paradox counts as part of the mage's pool for purposes of Backlash. Matrixes used for one too many vulgar Effect become the infamous “cursed gems” and “grid overloads” of so many stories. A powerful Matrixes is something every mage would covet, but not when it's filled to the brim with Paradox energies.

Despite the name, Matrixes do not have to be small gems or crystals or pretty flowers. A Matrix could just as easily be an end table or a chair (or in the classic sense, an altar or a throne) or even a huge plant, like the coven trees of the Verbena. Gems are simply durable and portable, and the same ruby can be used as the eye of your idol, the stone for your Hermetic lodge ring, the tip of your wizard's staffer the laser crystal for your Buck Rogers ray gun. The same can not be said of an end table or 50-foot oak. Then again, altars, thrones and large oak trees are far more difficult to swipe or disguise.

Although agents of the Technocracy assert that they do not use the same props as their mystic counterparts, they do. Thrones are now “Command Chairs” and altars are “Powered Workstations,” and they are still set with the same Matrixes as always.

If a Periapt is set into an Artifact or Talisman (or Invention or Device), the gem's power may be used to fuel the Wonder's Effects. Consequently, jewels for rings, crowns, necklaces, the tips of wands, the hilts of daggers and so on are quite popular as Periapts. However, while they can be swapped out like batteries, you also need to have the right type. Sticking a demon's soulgem into a wand of healing is bound to have evil results.

Each point of a Periapt's power represents five points of Quintessence. To access this power, the mage's player must make a Wits + Meditation roll or use the Prime Sphere as if drawing upon Tass. If the Periapt is actually set into the mage in question, then its Quintessence is considered part of the mage's personal Pattern — but so is any of its Paradox.

Periapts and Matrixes are forged from pure Tass. Each dot of the Periapt's power requires the use of 10 points of similar Tass, which must be fused together with a Matter 5 ritual (or Life 5, for a living Periapt). The Periapt's natural Resonance could then be used to forge it into some Artifact or Talisman that would be appropriate, or it could simply be kept as a “Quintessence battery” of reusable Tass.

If your mage wishes to set a Periapt or Matrix into his flesh permanently, it must also first be attuned. To attune a Periapt or Matrix, empty it of all power, then roll Charisma + Meditation (difficulty 6) until you achieve successes equal to the Periapt's rating. However, a botch on this roll indicates that the mage can never attune that Periapt, and it may injure the mage, damage the Periapt or destroy it outright. Note that a Periapt must be created all at once. Thus, Periapts are fairly rare — how often does a modern mage get his hands on 10 or 20 pawns of Tass ? — and anything beyond five points (made from 50 Quintessence) is as rare as hen's teeth.

Devices are infused with part of the essence of a Technomancer, the sacrifice of the very will of one of those who crafted the Wonder. These consummate creations have a magical forcefulness all their own — in game terms, they have an Arete rating. By itself, this Arete does nothing. However, when used as a focus, either as the sacred regalia of a mage's rituals, or the scientific instruments for a technomage's procedures, the mage may use the Talisman or Device's Arete instead of her own. Furthermore, the Talisman may be empowered with additional capabilities like an Artifact, and its own Arete can be used for those tasks. Talismans also store Quintessence much like a Periapt, which they use to empower their Effects.

A Talisman can have any number of powers and Effects, and it often has multiple functions. As a rough estimate, a Talisman's value is computed as equal to its Arete rating. If the Talisman has any additional powers, they can be added to its cost like an Artifact or Periapt. (Talismans in previous editions of Mage are typically calculated at twice the item's Arete cost. Count this cost as the item's Arete value plus the value for the Talisman's Quintessence storage, which is generally five times the item's Arete, as per a Periapt. Additional Effects may cost more. Talismans aren't cheap, especially in this age of dying magic.)

Creating a Talisman requires: Prime 3 with a number of pawns of Tass (of the appropriate Resonance) equal to the desired Talisman rating; or Prime 4 with the same number of points of Quintessence invested by the same mage who grants the point of Willpower; or Prime 5 in the case of creating a living Talisman, unless you have Tass of the appropriate Resonance, in which case the may require only Prime 4. The creation process is generally an extended ritual requiring successes equal to the Talisman's total rating. Prime 3 is used for channeling and funneling Quintessence, infusing an object with existing magical energies, while Prime 4 is used to mold the Quintessential flow of nonliving matter selectively. Talismans made thus actually become vessels for odyllic force, and they may not only hold it (as does a familiar or a mage's Avatar) but refill themselves given the right circumstances. In Technocratic terms, Prime 3 takes existing energies and uses them to power a disposable item while Prime 4 creates a rechargeable battery pack for a Device. Prime 5 alters the flow of Prime in living tissue, creating Relics.

The creation of Talismans and Relics is also quite vulgar. To weave a Talisman, a mage enters his Sanctum or workroom, gathers his ingredients, expends a temporary point of Willpower, then begins an extended bit of ritual, the details varying with his paradigm and the task at hand. The player must then make a roll of Intelligence + an appropriate Ability. Simply making the item in question may require a great deal of time and special materials.

At this point, the player begins the long haul, rolling his mage's Arete each hour against the normal Effect difficulty (typically 8 or more, for a Prime 3+ vulgar Effect). For each point of Arete rating of the Effect he wants the item to possess, he must score a success and incorporate a point of Tass with appropriate Resonance into the Grafting of the Talisman — not the power from his own Avatar. Every hour the mage works, his player continues to make Arete rolls until he gets a regular failure — no successes, but not botches either — at which point he can do no more work, and the Talisman is done. If he does botch, the work is ruined, the Tass is wasted, and there may be a spectacular Paradox accident. Consequently, most mages do not craft Talismans for hours on end.

At the end of the creation process, the player cements the creation by making his temporary Willpower expenditure permanent. He ties a small portion of the mage's enlightened will into the object, forever branding it with magical powers. If the mage does not do so, then the object is nothing more than a Charm. Its powers can be used once before it becomes only a hollow shell again.

By using Prime 5 to reweave the underlying Pattern of a living being or portion thereof, then investing this Pattern with other spells, a Master of Prime may create a Relic, or living Talisman. Many Masters of Prime, particularly of the Chorus, use this power to imbue their limbs or organs with mystical properties, allowing them to cast common Effects and blessings. The Verbena, not to be outdone, have given birth to children whose bodies are Talismans themselves, and they enchant coven trees with powerful magic of their own. Undying roses, magical songbirds and even Tassgathering bees have also been produced by this Effect. This Effect can also grant magical blessings to those a Master favors.

Most Talismans are Awakened with some degree of sentience, but even those that have been lulled to sleep through magic or simple lack of use still have very strong Resonance. This Resonance derives from the fact of their making, since a mage who crafts one sacrifices a permanent point of his Willpower to place the enchantment. The Talisman, in fact, is an extension of the will of the mage who created it, and a mage who has made this sacrifice still possesses this Willpower as long as the Talisman is in his possession. For example, if a Hermetic magus were to enchant his signet ring into a Talisman, he would still have access to his lost point of Willpower as long as he wore the ring. If he were to lose the ring, even taking it off to wash his hands, he would lose that portion of his will until he regained it. (This Willpower, however, cannot be spent, being reserved for the Talisman. The mage only possesses it for the purpose of Willpower checks and rolls.) Relics, being a little bit harder to lose, are accounted the same way — if you've enchanted your right index finger into a Wizard's Finger, you're not going to lose the Willpower until you lose the digit, but you won't have that Willpower point free to burn if you need it.

The connection between a mage, or “smith,” as the crafters of Talismans are often called, and the tools he creates is very tight. These objects are considered to be at range zero for purposes of the Correspondence Range Chart, and the mage who creates them can locate them almost instantly (or apport them back with Correspondence 2 and the appropriate Pattern Sphere). Likewise, whenever a Talisman's magic is invoked by someone other than the rightful owner, its maker's player may make a roll of Perception + Awareness to note the usage. He may even use countermagic against this use or open a scrying window if he so chooses. Using Correspondence, smiths may even puppet the Talismans they craft, at least in regards to their magical operation. Using a Correspondence 2/ Forces 2 Effect, a mage may transmit kinetic energy that allows him to wield a sword or wave a wand from around the globe, although Paradox still applies. Particularly grisly tricks may be done with Correspondence 2/ Life 2 and living Relics. Since Talismans and Relics are such intensely personal creations, they resonate strongly with the personality of the mage who crafted them. Any mage checking for Resonance will recognize the stamp of the item's creator. Moreover, anyone who uses a Talisman will be influenced subtly by the thoughts of the maker and the item's purpose, prompting him to make use of the item in the way it was intended and in a fashion with which the maker would approve. Such is the case even when the mage who made the Talisman or Relic is dead, since the will that created the Wonder lives on in the legacy of his creations. Of course, the creations may take on different personalities after time and successive owners.

For those who wish exact mechanics, consider a Talisman to have the same Nature and Demeanor as its creator, as well as a Willpower rating equal to its Arete. Roll a contest of will whenever a circumstance arises that is either antithetical to its Nature or is in perfect harmony with its Nature and Demeanor. If the owner attempts to use a Talisman in a manner contrary to its Nature (like a virtuous Cavalier's sword hacking up helpless innocents), and the Talisman wins the contest of will, the wielder is forced to stop. If the wielder wins, the Talisman may roll its own Arete against the wielder's use of its power. This contest does nothing to stop the mundane uses of its physical form, however. When a circumstance arises that is in perfect harmony with a Talisman's purpose (like a blessed rosary driving a demon out of a possessed victim), a similar Willpower contest must be made if the Talisman's owner tries to resist the urge. The Technocracy, of course denies that Devices can have personalities, but this disbelief doesn't change the fact that Iteration X's tools will generally only work for someone of a scientific mindset who is similarly cold, calculating and analytical. Of course, some mages (notably Orphans) and other Technomancers (such as the Virtual Adepts) have been able to hotwire them anyway.

Relics are another matter. In the case of portions of the mage's own body, the wills are one, and there's no conflict. However, when a mage grants such power to her progeny (literally giving birth to it in the case of the Verbena), there can arise a question of will versus will. In the case of a witch's daughter, the will of the mage often forces an accommodation in the life of the child. The child may grow up to be a miniature copy of her mother, only realizing after the witch's death the subtle and not-so-subtle influence she had on her. (“She always knew where I was! And I couldn't use my magic against her if I tried ! ” ) However, in the case of magic power granted to an older recipient, while the subject's Willpower is increased, that extra Willpower is not the subject's own, and he may soon come to fear the link and the legacy. Even killing the mage who cast the spell will not purge the foreign will — the only act that will do so is to physically cut off the enchanted portion of one's anatomy. Of course, if the mage and the recipient are harmonious in nature, there may not be any problem — as is usually the case when grafting on some Relic for the sake of sheer power.

While most Talismans and Relics do not have minds per se, some do. For example, the Virtual Adepts commonly install artificial intelligence programs into their laptops computers, and Iteration X cyborgs have similar programs running within their internal computers. Some witches and wizards have Talismans that are also their familiars, like walking sticks and magic mirrors that actually talk to them and give them advice. And, as anyone who's read too many fantasy novels knows, swords can not only sing, but a few of them talk and have decided opinions as to how to approach a battle.

Players who wish for their characters to have a sentient Talisman or Relic should just use the Mentor or Familiar Background, as appropriate, and define it as a Talisman. (Combining a mentor with a Relic, for example, gives a witch something similar to a familiar, but without the necessity of pacts or Quintessence, and without the advantage of a mental link.)

The most dangerous (and interesting) Talismans and Relics, however, are those that house a human consciousness, especially that of an Awakened mage. Using last-ditch magic, a mage may transfer her consciousness into a Talisman that is able to do various tricks, including possessing a suitable host. Indeed, there are some mages whose “immortality” stems from a sword or ring that passes from one hapless victim to the next.